Search results for "Biophysic"

2014

The Vipp1 protein is essential in cyanobacteria and chloroplasts for the maintenance of photosynthetic function and thylakoid membrane architecture. To investigate its mode of action we generated strains of the cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and Synechococcus sp. PCC7942 in which Vipp1 was tagged with green fluorescent protein at the C-terminus and expressed from the native chromosomal locus. There was little perturbation of function. Live-cell fluorescence imaging shows dramatic relocalisation of Vipp1 under high light. Under low light, Vipp1 is predominantly dispersed in the cytoplasm with occasional concentrations at the outer periphery of the thylakoid membranes. High light ind…

Acidic shell proteins of the Mediterranean fan mussel Pinna nobilis.

2011

43 pages; In molluscs, the shell secretion process is controlled by a set of extracellular macromolecules collectively called the shell matrix. The shell matrix, which is produced by the mantle epithelial cells during mineralization, is predominantly composed of proteins, glycoproteins, acidic polysaccharides, and chitin that precisely regulate the deposition of calcium carbonate outside the mantle cells. In the present paper, we focus on the shell of Pinna nobilis, the giant Mediterranean fan mussel, usually considered as a model for studying molluscan biomineralization processes. P. nobilis exhibits indeed a nacro-prismatic shell, the outer layer of which is constituted of the so-called "…

Arbuscular mycorrhiza induced ATPases and membrane nutrient transport mechanisms

2002

The evolutionary success of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis reflects the unique combination of a superior biotrophic mode of fungal carbon acquisition and the ability of the living plant to absorb nutrients, especially phosphorus, from the fungal partner (Jakobsen 1999). This mutualistic way of life must require controlled expression of a large set of membrane transport systems active in phosphate uptake from the soil by the extraradical hyphae, its transfer to the host plant across a symbiotic interface, and coupled to transport of photosynthates in the opposite direction. The implied membrane transporters are therefore integral systems in the functioning of the symbiosis. Very littl…

Activation of the plant plasma membrane H+ -ATPase. Is there a direct interaction between lysophosphatidylcholine and the C-terminal part of the enzy…

1996

The antagonistic effects of the fungal toxin beticolin-1 and of L-alpha-lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) were investigated on the plasma membrane H+-ATPase of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana (isoform 2) expressed in yeast, using both wild-type enzyme (AHA2) and C-terminal truncated enzyme (aha2delta92). Phosphohydrolytic activities of both enzymes were inhibited by beticolin-1, with very similar 50% inhibitory concentrations, indicating that the toxin action does not involve the C-terminal located autoinhibitory domain of the proton pump. Egg lysoPC, a compound that activates the H+-ATPase by a mechanism involving the C-terminal part of the protein, was found to be able to reverse the inhibi…

A secondary mode of action of the herbicide lenacil: Modification of K+ permeability of Acer pseudoplatanus cells

1984

Abstract The action of lenacil on plasmalemma permeability to K+, transmembrane electric potential difference (PD) calculated from the tetraphenylphosphonium distribution, proton extrusion and intracellular pH of Acer pseudoplatanus cells calculated from the 5,5-dimethyloxazolidine,4-dione distribution, was studied and compared with the action of fusicoccin (FC) and diethylstilbestrol (DES). The three compounds temporarily stimulated the rate of 86Rb+ uptake with a half-maximum effect at 5.0 μM for 3-cyclohexyl-6, 7-dihdro-1H-cyclopentapyrimidine-2,4(3H,5H)-dione (lenacil). Lenacil and FC had no action on transmembrane electric potential difference, whereas DES decreased it. Lenacil inhibit…

Interspecific comparison of the performance of soaring migrants in relation to morphology, meteorological conditions and migration strategies.

2012

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al.

Mineral phase in shell repair of Manila clam Venerupis philippinarum affected by brown ring disease.

2011

14 pages; International audience; The mineral phase of shell repair in the Manila clam Venerupis philippinarum affected by brown ring disease (BRD) was characterised at various scales and at various stages of shell repair by confocal Raman microspectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. Spherulitic and quadrangular aragonite microstructures associated with polyene pigments were clearly observed. Von Kossa staining showed that at the beginning of shell repair, hemocytes are filled with insoluble calcium carbonate salts in all fluids and then are transported toward the extrapallial fluids and the repair sites. Our analyses suggest that after a Vibrio tapetis attack and BRD deposit some cl…

Shell repair process in the green ormer Haliotis tuberculata: a histological and microstructural study.

2008

In the present paper, juvenile and adult shells of the green ormer Haliotis tuberculata ('Oreille de Saint-Pierre') were perforated in a zone close to the shell edge and the shell repair process was followed at two levels: (1) by observing the histology of the calcifying mantle in the repair zone and (2) by analyzing with SEM the microstructure of the shell repair zone. Histological data clearly show the presence of calcium carbonate granules into the connective tissues, but not in the epithelial cells. This suggests that calcium carbonate granules are synthesized by sub-epithelial cells and actively transported through the epithelium to the repair zone, via a process which may be similar t…

Magnesium ions promote assembly of channel-like structures from beticolin 0, a non-peptide fungal toxin purified from Cercospora beticola.

1998

Beticolins are toxins produced by the fungus Cercospora beticola. Using beticolin 0 (B0), we have produced a strong and Mg(2+)-dependent increase in the membrane conductance of Arabidopsis protoplasts and Xenopus oocytes. In protein-free artificial bilayers, discrete deflexions of current were observed (12 pS unitary conductance in symmetrical 100 mM KCl) in the presence of B0 (approximately 10 microM) and in the presence of nominal Mg2+. Addition of 50 microM Mg2+ induced a macroscopic current which could be reversed to single channel current by chelating Mg2+ with EDTA. Both unitary and macroscopic currents were ohmic. The increase in conductance of biological membranes triggered by B0 is…

Cytosolic pH regulates root water transport during anoxic stress through gating of aquaporins.

2003

Flooding of soils results in acute oxygen deprivation (anoxia) of plant roots during winter in temperate latitudes, or after irrigation1, and is a major problem for agriculture. One early response of plants to anoxia and other environmental stresses is downregulation of water uptake due to inhibition of the water permeability (hydraulic conductivity) of roots (Lpr)2,3,4,5. Root water uptake is mediated largely by water channel proteins (aquaporins) of the plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) subgroup6,7,8. These aquaporins may mediate stress-induced inhibition of Lpr2,4,9 but the mechanisms involved are unknown. Here we delineate the whole-root and cell bases for inhibition of water upta…