Comparative Analysis of Anticancer and Antibacterial Activities among Seven Trametes Species.

Species in the genus Trametes (Basidiomycota, Polyporales) have been used in natural medicine for a long time. Many studies reported that mycelia or fruiting bodies of Trametes spp. exhibited effects of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial activities. However, comparative analysis in this genus is scarce due to limitation of morphological identification and the sample number. In this study, the 19 strains of seven Trametes species were chosen to generate a five-gene-based phylogeny with the 31 global references. In addition, 39 culture extracts were prepared for 13 strains to test for anticancer and antibacterial activities. Strong anticancer activities were found in several extracts from T. hirsuta and T. suaveolens. Anticancer activities of T. suaveolens, T. cf. junipericola and T. trogii were first described here. The antibacterial ability of T. versicolor and T. hirsuta extracts has been confirmed. The antibacterial activities of T. suaveolens have been reported at the first time in this study. These results suggest an efficient application of the genus Trametes as the drug resources especially for anticancer agents.

Genetic Diversity and Dye-Decolorizing Spectrum of Schizophyllum commune Population.

Synthetic dyes are widely used in various industries and their wastage causes severe environmental problems while being hazardous to human health, leading to the need for eco-friendly degradation techniques. The split-gill fungus Schizophyllum commune, which is found worldwide, has the potential to degrade all components of the lignocellulosic biomass and is a candidate for the treatment of synthetic dyes. A systematic molecular analysis of 75 Korean and 6 foreign S. commune strains has revealed the high genetic diversity of this population and its important contribution to the total diversity of S. commune. We examined the dye decolorization ability of this population and revealed 5 excellent strains that strongly decolorized 3 dyes: Crystal Violet, Congo Red and Methylene Blue. Finally, comparison of dye decolorization ability and the phylogenetic identification of these strains generalized their genetic and physiological diversity. This study provides an initial resource for physiological and genetic research projects as well as the bioremediation of textile dyes.

Draft Genome Sequence of the White-Rot Fungus Schizophyllum Commune IUM1114-SS01.

The monokaryotic strain, Schizophyllum commune strain IUM1114-SS01, was generated from a basidiospore of dikaryotic parental strain IUM1114. It even showed the decolorizing activities for several textile dyes much better than its parental strain. Based on the results of a single-molecule real-time sequencing technology, we present the draft genome of S. commune IUM1114-SS01, comprising 41.1 Mb with GC contents of the genome were 57.44%. Among 13,380 protein-coding genes, 534 genes are carbon hydrate-active enzyme coding genes.

The transcription factor γMYB2 acts as a negative regulator of secondary cell wall thickening in anther and stem.

Secondary cell wall (SCW) thickening provides the mechanical force for anther dehiscence and plays an important role in the formation of xylem structure. We have previously reported that γMYB2, a MYB coiled-coil protein, directly binds to the P1BS cis-element of the PLA2-γ promoter and acts as a co-activator of γMYB1 in controlling the expression of PLA2-γ. In this study, we analyzed morphological phenotypes of the constitutive overexpression (γMYB2-OE) and knock-down (γMYB2-KD) lines of γMYB2. We found that γMYB2 overexpression caused the collapse of the endothecium layer, thereby suppressing anther dehiscence and forming short infertile siliques. The γMYB2-OE also showed less cellulose deposition in the xylem and had a longer primary stem than the wild-type, while γMYB2-KD had greater cellulose accumulation and a shorter primary stem than the wild-type. We demonstrated that the male sterility and the longer primary stem in γMYB2-OE were caused by reduced expression of SCW thickening-related genes. Our results suggest that γMYB2 acts as a negative regulator in controlling the SCW thickening in Arabidopsis.

A Transcription Factor γMYB1 Binds to the P1BS cis-Element and Activates PLA2-γ Expression with its Co-Activator γMYB2.

Phospholipase A2(PLA2) hydrolyzes phospholipid molecules to produce two products that are both precursors of second messengers of signaling pathways and signaling molecules per se.Arabidopsis thaliana PLA2 paralogs (-ß,-γ and -δ) play critical roles during pollen development, pollen germination and tube growth. In this study, analysis of the PLA2-γ promoter using a deletion series revealed that the promoter region -153 to -1 is crucial for its pollen specificity. Using a yeast one-hybrid screening assay with the PLA2-γ promoter and an Arabidopsis transcription factor (TF)-only library, we isolated two novel MYB-like TFs belonging to the MYB-CC family, denoted here as γMYB1 and γMYB2. By electrophoretic mobility shift assay, we found that these two TFs bind directly to the P1BS (phosphate starvation response 1-binding sequence)cis-element of the PLA2-γ promoter. γMYB1 alone functioned as a transcriptional activator for PLA2-γ expression, whereas γMYB2 directly interacted with γMYB1 and enhanced its activation. Overexpression of γMYB1 in the mature pollen grain led to increased expression of not only the PLA2-γ gene but also of several genes whose promoters contain the P1BS cis-element and which are involved in the Pi starvation response, phospholipid biosynthesis and sugar synthesis. Based on these results, we suggest that the TF γMYB1 binds to the P1BS cis-element, activates the expression of PLA2-γ with the assistance of its co-activator, γMYB2, and regulates the expression of several target genes involved in many plant metabolic reactions.

CML10, a variant of calmodulin, modulates ascorbic acid synthesis.

Calmodulins (CaMs) regulate numerous Ca(2+) -mediated cellular processes in plants by interacting with their respective downstream effectors. Due to the limited number of CaMs, other calcium sensors modulate the regulation of Ca(2+) -mediated cellular processes that are not managed by CaMs. Of 50 CaM-like (CML) proteins identified in Arabidopsis thaliana, we characterized the function of CML10. Yeast two-hybrid screening revealed phosphomannomutase (PMM) as a putative interaction partner of CML10. In vitro and in vivo interaction assays were performed to analyze the interaction mechanisms of CML10 and PMM. PMM activity and the phenotypes of cml10 knock-down mutants were studied to elucidate the role(s) of the CML10-PMM interaction. PMM interacted specifically with CML10 in the presence of Ca(2+) through its multiple interaction motifs. This interaction promoted the activity of PMM. The phenotypes of cml10 knock-down mutants were more sensitive to stress conditions than wild-type plants, corresponding with the fact that PMM is an enzyme which modulates the biosynthesis of ascorbic acid, an antioxidant. The results of this research demonstrate that a calcium sensor, CML10, which is an evolutionary variant of CaM, modulates the stress responses in Arabidopsis by regulating ascorbic acid production.

An Arabidopsis R2R3-MYB transcription factor, AtMYB20, negatively regulates type 2C serine/threonine protein phosphatases to enhance salt tolerance.

We have characterized the function of a plant R2R3-MYB transcription factor, Arabidopsis thaliana MYB20 (AtMYB20). Transgenic plants overexpressing AtMYB20 (AtMYB20-OX) enhanced salt stress tolerance while repression lines (AtMYB20-SRDX) were more vulnerable to NaCl than wild-type plants. Following NaCl treatment, the expressions of ABI1, ABI2 and AtPP2CA, which encode type 2C serine/threonine protein phosphatases (PP2Cs) that act as negative regulators in abscisic acid (ABA) signaling, were suppressed in AtMYB20-OX but induced in AtMYB20-SRDX. The electrophoretic mobility shift assay results revealed that AtMYB20 binds to the promoter regions containing the MYB recognition sequence (TAACTG) and an ACGT core element of ABI1 and AtPP2CA. These findings suggest that AtMYB20 down-regulates the expression of PP2Cs, the negative regulator of ABA signaling, and enhances salt tolerance.