Self-assembly of MinE on the membrane underlies formation of the MinE ring to sustain function of the Escherichia coli Min system.

The pole-to-pole oscillation of the Min proteins in Escherichia coli results in the inhibition of aberrant polar division, thus facilitating placement of the division septum at the midcell. MinE of the Min system forms a ring-like structure that plays a critical role in triggering the oscillation cycle. However, the mechanism underlying the formation of the MinE ring remains unclear. This study demonstrates that MinE self-assembles into fibrillar structures on the supported lipid bilayer. The MinD-interacting domain of MinE shows amyloidogenic properties, providing a possible mechanism for self-assembly of MinE. Supporting the idea, mutations in residues Ile-24 and Ile-25 of the MinD-interacting domain affect fibril formation, membrane binding ability of MinE and MinD, and subcellular localization of three Min proteins. Additional mutations in residues Ile-72 and Ile-74 suggest a role of the C-terminal domain of MinE in regulating the folding propensity of the MinD-interacting domain for different molecular interactions. The study suggests a self-assembly mechanism that may underlie the ring-like structure formed by MinE-GFP observed in vivo.

The conserved 5' apical hairpin stem loops of bamboo mosaic virus and its satellite RNA contribute to replication competence.

Satellite RNAs associated with Bamboo mosaic virus (satBaMVs) depend on BaMV for replication and encapsidation. Certain satBaMVs isolated from natural fields significantly interfere with BaMV replication. The 5' apical hairpin stem loop (AHSL) of satBaMV is the major determinant in interference with BaMV replication. In this study, by in vivo competition assay, we revealed that the sequence and structure of AHSL, along with specific nucleotides (C(60) and C(83)) required for interference with BaMV replication, are also involved in replication competition among satBaMV variants. Moreover, all of the 5' ends of natural BaMV isolates contain the similar AHSLs having conserved nucleotides (C(64) and C(86)) with those of interfering satBaMVs, suggesting their co-evolution. Mutational analyses revealed that C(86) was essential for BaMV replication, and that replacement of C(64) with U reduced replication efficiency. The non-interfering satBaMV interfered with BaMV replication with the BaMV-C64U mutant as helper. These findings suggest that two cytosines at the equivalent positions in the AHSLs of BaMV and satBaMV play a crucial role in replication competence. The downregulation level, which is dependent upon the molar ratio of interfering satBaMV to BaMV, implies that there is competition for limited replication machinery.

Overexpression of the lily p70(s6k) gene in Arabidopsis affects elongation of flower organs and indicates TOR-dependent regulation of AP3, PI and SUP translation.

The p70 ribosomal S6 kinase (p70(s6k)) signaling pathway plays a key role in regulating the cell cycle via translational regulation of specific 5'TOP mRNAs. However, the function of this signaling pathway is still poorly understood in plants. Ectopic expression of the lily putative p70(s6k) gene, LS6K1, resulted in up-regulation of NAP (NAC-LIKE, ACTIVATED BY AP3/PI) and PISTILLATA (PI) expression, and significantly inhibited cell expansion for petals and stamens, resulting in the male sterility phenotype in transgenic Arabidopsis. Sequence analysis revealed that the genes involved in petal and stamen development, such as APETALA3 (AP3), PI and SUPERMAN (SUP), probably encode 5'TOP mRNAs. Green fluorescent protein (GFP), fused to oligopyrimidine tract sequences that were identified in the 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of AP3, PI and SUP, was translationally regulated in human cells in response to mitogen stimulation and inhibition by the macrolide antibiotic rapamycin. Furthermore, 35S::LS6K1 significantly up-regulated beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activity in the flower buds of transgenic plants carrying the GUS transgene fused to the AP3 promoter and the 5' UTR. These results have identified a novel role for the p70(s6k) gene in regulating cell division and the expansion of petals and stamens by translational regulation of the 5'TOP mRNAs once ectopically expressed in Arabidopsis.

Regulation of Ku gene promoters in Arabidopsis by hormones and stress.

The Ku70/Ku80 heterodimer plays a crucial role in non-homologous end-joining during DNA repair, and is also involved in multiple cellular processes such as telomere maintenance, transcription, and apoptosis. In this study, we investigate the regulation of AtKu genes in higher plants. Promoters of the AtKu70 and AtKu80 were isolated from Arabidopsis and their activities characterised using GUS reporter constructs. AtKu promoter activities were relatively higher in hypocotyls and cotyledons upon germination and in stigma and siliques as well at their early developing stages. Furthermore, AtKu promoter activities could be enhanced by gibberellic acid, auxins, and jasmonic acid, but repressed by abscisic acid, salicylic acid, heat, drought and cold, respectively. Deletion analysis demonstrates minimal lengths of ~400 bp and 600 bp upstream of transcription start site for functional promoters of AtKu70 and AtKu80, respectively. Taken together, expressions of Ku genes are regulated both by developmental programs as well as by plant hormones and environmental stresses.