New aporphine alkaloids with antitumor activities from the roots of Thalictrum omeiense.

Two new aporphine alkaloids, 6aR-2'-(3-oxobutenyl)-thaliadin (1) and N-methylthalisopynine (2), along with ten known analogs (3-12), were isolated from the roots of Thalictrum omeiense W. T. Wang et S. H. Wang. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic analyses. Compounds 1-7 and 9-12 were tested for their antiproliferative effects in vitro against two human cancer cell lines (A549 and MCF-7). Among them, compounds 1, 3, and 7 exhibited moderate inhibitory activity against the tested cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 23.73 to 34.97 µM.

StHsfB5 Promotes Heat Resistance by Directly Regulating the Expression of Hsp Genes in Potato.

With global warming, high temperatures have become a major environmental stress that inhibits plant growth and development. Plants evolve several mechanisms to cope with heat stress accordingly. One of the important mechanisms is the Hsf (heat shock factor)-Hsp (heat shock protein) signaling pathway. Therefore, the plant transcription factor Hsf family plays important roles in response to heat stress. All Hsfs can be divided into three classes (A, B, and C). Usually, class-A Hsfs are transcriptional activators, while class-B Hsfs are transcriptional repressors. In potato, our previous work identified 27 Hsfs in the genome and analyzed HsfA3 and HsfA4C functions that promote potato heat resistance. However, the function of HsfB is still elusive. In this study, the unique B5 member StHsfB5 in potato was obtained, and its characterizations and functions were comprehensively analyzed. A quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay showed that StHsfB5 was highly expressed in root, and its expression was induced by heat treatment and different kinds of phytohormones. The subcellular localization of StHsfB5 was in the nucleus, which is consistent with the characterization of transcription factors. The transgenic lines overexpressing StHsfB5 showed higher heat resistance compared with that of the control nontransgenic lines and inhibitory lines. Experiments on the interaction between protein and DNA indicated that the StHsfB5 protein can directly bind to the promoters of target genes small Hsps (sHsp17.6, sHsp21, and sHsp22.7) and Hsp80, and then induce the expressions of these target genes. All these results showed that StHsfB5 may be a coactivator that promotes potato heat resistance ability by directly inducing the expression of its target genes sHsp17.6, sHsp21, sHsp22.7, and Hsp80.

[Isoquinoline alkaloids from two species of Thalictrum genus plants].

The chemical constituents from the roots of Thalictrum cultratum and T. baicalense were investigated. By various isolation methods, such as silica gel, aluminium oxide, ODS, and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies, and semi-preparative HPLC, 11 simple isoquinoline alkaloids were isolated from the ethanol extract of the roots of these two plants, including a new compound, named dehydrothalflavine(1), and ten known ones(2-11): N-methylcorydaline(2), N-methylthalidaldine(3), thaliflavine(4), oxyhydrastinine(5), noroxyhydrastinine(6), dimethoxyisoquinolone(7), thalactamine(8), dehydronoroxyhydrastinine(9), 6,7-dimethoxy-2-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline(10), and isopicnarrhine(11). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of HR-ESI-MS and 1 D and 2 D NMR techniques. Compound 1 was a new isoquinoline alkaloid. Compound 11 was obtained from Tha-lictrum plant for the first time. All compounds did not show cytotoxic activities against HL-60, U937, HCT116, Caco-2, and HepG2 cancer cell lines.

Tissue-level transcriptomic responses to local and distal chilling reveal potential chilling survival mechanisms in maize.

Chilling is a major stress to plants of subtropical and tropical origins including maize (Zea mays L.). To reveal molecular mechanisms underlying chilling tolerance and survival, we investigated transcriptomic responses to chilling stress in differentiated leaves and roots as well as in crowns with meristem activity in maize. Chilling stress on shoots and roots is found to each contributes to seedling lethality in maize. Comparison of maize lines with different chilling tolerance capacities reveals that chilling survival is highly associated with upregulation of abscisic acid biosynthesis and response as well as transcriptional regulators in leaves and crowns. It is also associated with the downregulation of translation in leaves and heat response in crowns. Chilling treatment on whole or part of the plants reveals that response to distal-chilling is very distinct from, and sometimes opposite to, response to local- or whole-plant chilling in both leaves and roots, suggesting a communication between shoots and roots in environmental response. This study thus provides transcriptomic responses in leaves, roots and crowns under differential chilling stresses in maize and reveals potential chilling tolerance and survival mechanisms which lays ground for improving chilling tolerance in crop plants.

Mangrovicoccus algicola sp. nov., an alginate lyase - producing marine bacterium.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, ellipsoid bacterium, designated HB182678T, was isolated from brown alga collected from Hainan province, PR China. Growth was observed at 10-50 °C (optimum 37-40 °C), at pH 6-10 (optimum pH 8) and in the presence of 0.5-13% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 2-4%). The predominant isoprenoid quinone was Q-10 and the major fatty acids were C18 : 1 ω7c, C16 : 0, C18 : 0 and C19 : 0 cyclo ω8c. The polar lipids contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, an unidentified phospholipid, two unidentified glycolipids and three unidentified aminophospholipids. The size of the draft genome was 4.40 Mbp with G+C content 68.8 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain HB182678T belonged to the genus Mangrovicoccus, and the closest phylogenetically related species was Mangrovicoccus ximenensis T1lg56T (with the similarity of 96.3%). Whole genome average nucleotide identity (ANI) value between them was 84.3% and in silico DNA-DNA hybridization value was 27.2%. The combined phylogenetic relatedness, phenotypic and genotypic features supported the conclusion that strain HB182678T represents a novel species of the genus Mangrovicoccus, for which the name Mangrovicoccus algicola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HB182678T (=MCCC 1K04624T=KCTC 82318T).

Hoyosella lacisalsi sp. nov., a halotolerant actinobacterium isolated from the Lake Gudzhirganskoe.

A Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming and coccus-shaped strain, designated strain G463T, was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Salicornia europaea L. collected from Lake Gudzhirganskoe in Siberia. Based on 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, strain G463T belonged to the genus Hoyosella, with the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Hoyosella altamirensis DSM 45258T (96.1%). The major fatty acids were C17:1 ω8c, C16:0, C15 : 0 and C17:0. The strain contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the cell-wall diagnostic diamino acid and arabinose, galactose and ribose as the whole-cell sugars. MK-8 and MK-7 were the predominant menaquinones. The polar lipid profile comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, one unidentified phosphoglycolipid, two unidentified glycolipids and several unidentified lipids. Acetyl was the muramyl residue. Mycolic acids (C28-C34) were present. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 68.3 mol%. Based on its phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic features, strain G463T was considered to represent a novel species of the genus Hoyosella, for which the name Hoyosella lacisalsi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is G463T (=JCM 33650T=CGMCC 1.17230T).

Interactive Effects of Light Quality and Temperature on Arabidopsis Growth and Immunity.

We report here the interactive effects of three light qualities (white, red and blue) and three growth temperatures (16�C, 22�C and 28�C) on rosette growth, hypocotyl elongation and disease resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana. While an increase in temperature promotes hypocotyl elongation irrespective of light quality, the effects of temperature on rosette growth and disease resistance are dependent on light quality. Maximum rosette growth rate under white, red and blue light are observed at 28�C, 16�C and 22�C, respectively. The highest disease resistance is observed at 16�C under all three light conditions, but the highest susceptibility is observed at 28�C for white light and 22�C for red and blue light. Interestingly, rosette growth is inhibited by phytochrome B (PHYB) under blue light at 28�C and by cryptochromes (CRYs) under red light at 16�C. In addition, disease resistance is inhibited by PHYB under blue light and promoted by CRYs under red light. Therefore, this study reveals a complex interaction between light and temperature in modulating rosette growth and disease resistance as well as the contribution of PHYB and CRY to disease resistance.

Nocardioides vastitatis sp. nov., isolated from Taklamakan desert soil.

A Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, non-motile, rod-shaped actinobacterium, designated strain 21Sc5-5T, was isolated from a soil sample collected in the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, PR China and investigated by using a polyphasic approach. Strain 21Sc5-5T grew at 10-37 °C (optimum, 28-30 °C), pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and in the presence of 0-3 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences suggested that strain 21Sc5-5T formed a distinct lineage within the genus Nocardioides and had the highest similarity to Nocardioides albidus THG-S11.7T (97.30 %), followed by Nocardioides kongjuensis A2-4T (97.22 %), Nocardioides nitrophenolicus NSP 41T (97.15 %) and Nocardioides caeni MN8T (97.15 %). The results of chemotaxonomic analyses showed that the isolate possessed ll-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid of the peptidoglycan and MK-8(H4) as the predominant menaquinone. The polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, an unidentified phospholipid and three unidentified lipids. The major fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0 and 10-methyl C18 : 0. The genome length of strain 21Sc5-5T was 4.67 Mb containing 372 contigs and with a DNA G+C content of 70.4 mol%. On the basis of data from phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses, strain 21Sc5-5T represents a novel species of the genus Nocardioides, for which the name Nocardioides vastitatis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 21Sc5-5T (=JCM 33365T=CGMCC 4.7608T).

Antiproliferative Dimeric Aporphinoid Alkaloids from the Roots of Thalictrum cultratum.

Inspired by the intriguing structures and bioactivities of dimeric alkaloids, 11 new thalifaberine-type aporphine-benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, thalicultratines A-K, a tetrahydroprotoberberine-aporphine alkaloid, thalicultratine L, and five known ones were isolated from the roots of Thalictrum cultratum. Their structures were defined on the basis of NMR and HRESIMS data. The antiproliferative activities of compounds 1-17 were evaluated against human leukemia HL-60 and prostate cancer PC-3 cells. Most alkaloids showed potent cytotoxicity against selected cancer cells. Preliminary SARs are discussed. The most active new compound (3), with an IC50 value of 1.06 µM against HL-60 cells, was selected for mechanism of action studies. The results revealed that compound 3 induced apoptosis and arrested the HL-60 cell cycle at the S phase with the loss of mitochondria membrane potential. The nuclear morphological Hoechst 33258 staining assay was also carried out, and the results confirmed apoptosis.

Isolation and functional characterization of a cold responsive phosphatidylinositol transfer-associated protein, ZmSEC14p, from maize (Zea may L.).

KEY MESSAGE: A Sec14-like protein, ZmSEC14p , from maize was structurally analyzed and functionally tested. Overexpression of ZmSEC14p in transgenic Arabidopsis conferred tolerance to cold stress. Sec14-like proteins are involved in essential biological processes, such as phospholipid metabolism, signal transduction, membrane trafficking, and stress response. Here, we reported a phosphatidylinositol transfer-associated protein, ZmSEC14p (accession no. KT932998), isolated from a cold-tolerant maize inbred line using the cDNA-AFLP approach and RACE-PCR method. Full-length cDNA that consisted of a single open reading frame (ORF) encoded a putative polypeptide of 295 amino acids. The ZmSEC14p protein was mainly localized in the nucleus, and its transcript was induced by cold, salt stresses, and abscisic acid (ABA) treatment in maize leaves and roots. Overexpression of ZmSEC14p in transgenic Arabidopsis conferred tolerance to cold stress. This tolerance was primarily displayed by the increased germination rate, root length, plant survival rate, accumulation of proline, activities of antioxidant enzymes, and the reduction of oxidative damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS). ZmSEC14p overexpression regulated the expression of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C, which cleaves phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and generates second messengers (inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and 1,2-diacylglycerol) in the phosphoinositide signal transduction pathways. Moreover, up-regulation of some stress-responsive genes such as CBF3, COR6.6, and RD29B in transgenic plants under cold stress could be a possible mechanism for enhancing cold tolerance. Taken together, this study strongly suggests that ZmSEC14p plays an important role in plant tolerance to cold stress.