Bacterial metabarcoding by 16S rRNA gene ion torrent amplicon sequencing.

Ion Torrent is a next generation sequencing technology based on the detection of hydrogen ions produced during DNA chain elongation; this technology allows analyzing and characterizing genomes, genes, and species. Here, we describe an Ion Torrent procedure applied to the metagenomic analysis of 16S rRNA gene amplicons to study the bacterial diversity in food and environmental samples.

Bacterial cytoplasm production of an EGFP-labeled single-chain Fv antibody specific for the HER2 human receptor.

The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is the main diagnostic marker of breast and ovary cancers. Here, to obtain a rapid and sensitive immunodiagnostic tool a single-chain antibody (scFv800E6) specific for the HER2 was fused to the N-terminus of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) by a flexible linker. The soluble production of the novel scFv800E6-EGFP protein in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli was investigated at different induction temperatures (25, 30 and 37°C); the intrinsic fluorescent properties and the binding activity to HER2 positive tumour cells of the fusion protein were analysed. Western blotting and fluorescence analysis of SDS-PAGE revealed the presence of two scFv800E6-EGFP forms, with different mobility and optical properties, their ratio depending on the induction temperature. The fluorescent form maintained the optical fluorescence properties of EGFP and exhibited a binding activity to the HER2-expressing cells comparable to that of the non-fused scFv800E6. In addition, to provide an insight into the effect of the induction temperature on the molecular structure, the folding of the fusion protein was assessed at atomic level by performing molecular dynamics simulations of the homology-derived model of scFv800E6-EGFP at 300 K and 310 K. The comparison of the data collected at these two temperatures revealed that the higher temperature affects specific structural elements. To improve the production of the soluble and functional scFv800E6-EGFP protein, "in silico" results could be utilised for ad hoc design of the molecular structure.

First survey of the wheat chromosome 5A composition through a next generation sequencing approach.

Wheat is one of the world's most important crops and is characterized by a large polyploid genome. One way to reduce genome complexity is to isolate single chromosomes using flow cytometry. Low coverage DNA sequencing can provide a snapshot of individual chromosomes, allowing a fast characterization of their main features and comparison with other genomes. We used massively parallel 454 pyrosequencing to obtain a 2x coverage of wheat chromosome 5A. The resulting sequence assembly was used to identify TEs, genes and miRNAs, as well as to infer a virtual gene order based on the synteny with other grass genomes. Repetitive elements account for more than 75% of the genome. Gene content was estimated considering non-redundant reads showing at least one match to ESTs or proteins. The results indicate that the coding fraction represents 1.08% and 1.3% of the short and long arm respectively, projecting the number of genes of the whole chromosome to approximately 5,000. 195 candidate miRNA precursors belonging to 16 miRNA families were identified. The 5A genes were used to search for syntenic relationships between grass genomes. The short arm is closely related to Brachypodium chromosome 4, sorghum chromosome 8 and rice chromosome 12; the long arm to regions of Brachypodium chromosomes 4 and 1, sorghum chromosomes 1 and 2 and rice chromosomes 9 and 3. From these similarities it was possible to infer the virtual gene order of 392 (5AS) and 1,480 (5AL) genes of chromosome 5A, which was compared to, and found to be largely congruent with the available physical map of this chromosome.

Atomic-scale modeling of the interaction between short polypeptides and carbon surfaces.

We performed a comparative study of the adsorption of an in vitro selected peptide on two different carbon surfaces: a flat graphene and a curved (0,15) nanotube. The sequence was selected from recent experiments, as the one giving the highest carbon affinity for carbon nanotubes. Rigid docking of the molecule on the two surfaces by a genetic algorithm was followed by molecular dynamics simulations with empirical force fields (OPLS-AA) in water at finite temperature. The total free energies of folding and adhesion and the quality of surface binding were determined, based on a combination of solvation energy, formation of hydrogen bonds, and amount of the apolar (hydrophobic) contact surface between peptide and carbon surface. For both cases, we find a strong adhesion energy and large nonpolar contact surface. Isoleucines and tryptophans are the most strongly bound residues to the two carbon surfaces, the latter one largely dominating. In the case of the carbon nanotube, the peptide shows several competing stable structures, corresponding to different possible molecular foldings, and a propensity to enhance the intramolecular stability by forming new hydrogen bonds. In both systems, different arrangements of the histidine and tryptophan residues enable a better adaptation to the carbon surfaces. These findings suggest that the experimentally observed surface specificity of the peptide on nanotubes may depend on its capability to support multiple strongly bound configurations.

Tertiary structure in 7.9 M guanidinium chloride--the role of Glu53 and Asp287 in Pyrococcus furiosus endo-beta-1,3-glucanase.

The thermodynamic stability of family 16 endo-beta-1,3-glucanase(EC 3.2.1.39) from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus is decreased upon single (D287A, E53A) and double (E53A/D287A) mutation of Asp287 and Glu53. In accordance with the homology model prediction,both carboxylic acids are involved in the composition of a calcium binding site, as shown by titration of the wild-type and the variant proteins with a chromophoric chelator. The present study shows that, in P. furiosus, endo-beta-1,3-glucanase residues Glu53 and Asp287 also make up a calcium binding site in 7.9 M guanidinium chloride. The persistence of tertiary structure in 7.9 M guanidinium chloride, a feature of the wild-type enzyme,is observed also for the three variant proteins. The DeltaG(H2O) values relative to the guanidinium chloride-induced equilibrium unfolding of the three variants are approximately 50% lower than that of the wild-type. The destabilizing effect of the combined mutations of the double mutant is non-additive, with an energy of interaction of 24.2 kJ x mol(-1), suggesting a communication between the two mutated residues. The decrease in the thermodynamic stability of D287A, E53A and E53A/D287A is contained almost exclusively in the m-values, a parameter which reflects the solvent exposed surface area upon unfolding. The decrease in m-value suggests that the substitution with alanine of two evenly charged repulsive side chains induces a stabilization of the non-native state in 7.9 M guanidinium chloride comparable to that induced by the presence of calcium on the wildtype. These results suggest that the stabilization of a compact non-native state may be a strategy for P. furiosus endo-beta-1,3-glucanase to thrive under adverse environmental conditions.

A consensus procedure improving solvent accessibility prediction.

Prediction methods of structural features in 1D represent a useful tool for the understanding of folding, classification, and function of proteins, and, in particular, for 3D structure prediction. Among the structural aspects characterizing a protein, solvent accessibility has received great attention in recent years. The available methods proposed for predicting accessibility have never considered the combination of the results deriving from different methods to construct a consensus prediction able to provide more reliable results. A consensus approach that increases prediction accuracy using three high-performance methods is described. The results of our method for three different protein data sets show that up to 3.0% improvement in prediction accuracy of solvent accessibility may be obtained by a consensus approach. The improvement also extends to the correlation coefficient. Application of our consensus approach to the accessibility prediction using only three prediction methods gives results better than single methods combined for consensus formation. Currently, the scarce availability of predictors with similar parameters defining solvent accessibility hinders the testing of other methods in our consensus procedure.

Calcium-induced tertiary structure modifications of endo-beta-1,3-glucanase from Pyrococcus furiosus in 7.9 M guanidinium chloride.

The family 16 endo-beta-1,3 glucanase from the extremophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus is a laminarinase, which in 7.9 M GdmCl (guanidinium chloride) maintains a significant amount of tertiary structure without any change of secondary structure. The addition of calcium to the enzyme in 7.9 M GdmCl causes significant changes to the near-UV CD and fluorescence spectra, suggesting a notable increase in the tertiary structure which leads to a state comparable, but not identical, to the native state. The capability to interact with calcium in 7.9 M GdmCl with a consistent recovery of native tertiary structure is a unique property of this extremely stable endo-beta-1,3 glucanase. The effect of calcium on the thermodynamic parameters relative to the GdmCl-induced equilibrium unfolding has been analysed by CD and fluorescence spectroscopy. The interaction of calcium with the native form of the enzyme is studied by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in the absorption region of carboxylate groups and by titration in the presence of a chromophoric chelator. A homology-based model of the enzyme is generated and used to predict the putative binding site(s) for calcium and the structural interactions potentially responsible for the unusual stability of this protein, in comparison with other family 16 glycoside hydrolases.

Improvement in prediction of solvent accessibility by probability profiles.

The capability of predicting folding and conformation of a protein from its primary structure is probably one of the main goals of modern biology. An accurate prediction of solvent accessibility is an intermediate step along this way. A new method for predicting solvent accessibility from single sequence and multiple alignment data is described. The method is based on probability profiles calculated on an amino acid sequence centred on the residue whose accessibility has to be predicted. A profile is constructed for each exposure category considered so as to calculate the probability of a sequence being generated by the different profiles. Prediction accuracy was tested on a variety of protein sets with two- and three-state models. Different thresholds were used according to those adopted by the authors proposing the data sets. The prediction accuracy is significantly improved over existing methods.

Structural plasticity of thermophilic serine hydroxymethyltransferases.

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) catalyzes the reversible cleavage of serine to form glycine and monocarbonic groups, essential in several biosynthetic pathways. The availability of crystallographic structures of SHMT from mesophilic organisms and information produced by the genomic projects prompted the analysis of the adaptation of SHMT to "extreme" environments, such as high temperatures, by exploitation of structural data from thermophilic organisms. The sequences of 10 thermophilic/hyperthermophilic SHMTs were multiply aligned to 53 mesophilic homologs and analyzed by a comparative approach, examining the amino acid compositions and preferred residue exchanges between mesophiles and extremophiles. The structural basis of the observed exchanges was further investigated through the application of homology modeling to the 10 extremophilic SHMTs. The results of this study indicate that, in SHMT, thermal stability can be achieved mainly through three strategies: (i) increased number of charged residues at the protein surface; (ii) increased hydrophobicity of the protein core; and (iii) substitution of thermolabile residues exposed to the solvent. Additional features of the archaeal SHMTs, for which no structural data are available yet, were also investigated to explain their quaternary assemblage and the interaction with modified folates.

Comparative structural analysis of psychrophilic and meso- and thermophilic enzymes.

Enzymes adapted to cold display structures comparable with those of their meso- and thermophilic homologs but are characterized by a higher catalytic efficiency at low temperatures and by thermolability at moderate temperatures. To identify the structural factors responsible of such features, we undertook a systematic comparative analysis of several structural properties in a data set consisting of 7 cold active enzymes belonging to different structural families and 28 related structures from meso/thermophiles representing most of the structural information now available. Only high-resolution and high-quality structures were considered. Properties were calculated and then compared for each pair of 3D structures displaying different temperatures of adaptation using a temperature-weighting scheme. The significance of the resulting differences was evaluated with a statistical method. Results reveal that each protein family adopts different structural strategies to adapt to low temperatures. However, some common trends are observed: the number of ion pairs, the side-chain contribution to the exposed surface, and the apolar fraction of the buried surface show a consistent decrease with decreasing optimal temperatures.