Molecular cloning, characterization, and functional analysis of the uncharacterized C11orf96 gene.

BACKGROUND: The mammalian genome encodes millions of proteins. Although many proteins have been discovered and identified, a large part of proteins encoded by genes are yet to be discovered or fully characterized. In the present study, we successfully identified a host protein C11orf96 that was significantly upregulated after viral infection. RESULTS: First, we successfully cloned the coding sequence (CDS) region of the cat, human, and mouse C11orf96 gene. The CDS region of the C11orf96 gene is 372 bp long, encodes 124 amino acids, and is relatively conserved in different mammals. From bioinformatics analysis, we found that C11orf96 is rich in Ser and has multiple predicted phosphorylation sites. Moreover, protein interaction prediction analysis revealed that the protein is associated with several transmembrane family proteins and zinc finger proteins. Subsequently, we found that C11orf96 is strictly distributed in the cytoplasm. According to the tissue distribution characteristics, C11orf96 is distributed in all tissues and organs, with the highest expression levels in the kidney. These results indicate that C11orf96 may play a specific biological role in the kidney. CONCLUSIONS: Summarizing, these data lay the foundation for studying the biological functions of C11orf96 and for exploring its role in viral replication.

Calcium ion can alleviate ammonia inhibition on anaerobic digestion via balanced-strengthening dehydrogenases and reinforcing protein-binding structure: Model evaluation and microbial characterization.

Experimental investigation and model simulation was combined to identify the effect of metal ions on mitigating ammonia inhibition during anaerobic digestion. Five metal ions (Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn, Fe) were tested in reactors with 1 g-glucose/L/d and 5 g-N/L under fed batch operation. Ca addition was considered the optimal approach with a 25% increment in methane production via balanced-strengthening dehydrogenases and reinforcing protein-binding structure. Gene-sequencing results suggested 50% and 15% increment in acetotrophic-related and hydrogenotrophic-related dehydrogenases, respectively, after Ca addition. The Anaerobic Digestion Model No.1 was modified by introducing lactate-related reactions, syntrophic acetate oxidation process, and kinetic equation of metal ions, with satisfactory predictions of methane and intermediates (R2 > 0.80). The lowest affinity constant KI_MI value was obtained with Ca supplement, indicating the highest conversion rate of substrates to methane. The model evaluation revealed the balanced ratio on the enzyme contribution of acetotrophic to hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis.