Life Sciences Commons^™

Structural And Functional Conservation At The Boundaries Of The Chicken Β-Globin Domain, Noriko Saitoh, Adam C. Bell, Felix Recillas-Targa, Adam G. West, Melanie A. Simpson, Michael Pikaart, Gary Felsenfeld

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

We show that the 3' boundary of the chicken β -globin locus bears striking structural similarities to the 5' boundary. In erythroid cells a clear transition in DNase I sensitivity of chromatin at the 3' end of the locus is observed, the location of this transition is marked by a constitutive DNase I hypersensitive site (HS), and DNA spanning this site has the enhancer-blocking capacity of an insulator. This HS contains a binding site for the transcription factor CTCF. As in the case of the 5' insulator, the CTCF site is both necessary and sufficient for the enhancer-blocking activity of …

Insect Cellular Reactions To The Lipopolysaccharide Component Of The Bacterium Serratia Marcescens Are Mediated By Eicosanoids, Jon C. Bedick, R L. Pardy, R. W. Howard, David W. Stanley

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Nodulation, which begins with the formation of cellular microaggregates, is the predominant cellular defense reaction to bacterial infections in insects. We suggested that these reactions to bacterial infections are mediated by eicosanoids. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) component of some bacterial cells stimulates defense reactions in mammals and insects. Here, we report on experiments designed to test the hypothesis that eicosanoids mediate microaggregation reactions to LPS. Injections of LPS (purified from the bacterium, Serratia marcescens) into larvae of the tenebrionid beetle, Zophobas atratus, stimulated microaggregation reactions in a dose-dependent manner. Treatments with eicosanoid-biosynthesis inhibitors immediately prior to LPS challenge sharply …

Multiple Factors Independently Regulate Hila And Invasion Gene Expression In Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhimurium, Robin L. Lucas, C. Phoebe Lostroh, Concetta C. Dirusso, Michael P. Spector, Barry L. Wanner, Catherine A. Lee

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

HilA activates the expression of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium invasion genes. To learn more

about regulation of hilA, we isolated Tn5 mutants exhibiting reduced hilA and/or invasion gene expression. In

addition to expected mutations, we identified Tn5 insertions in pstS, fadD, flhD, flhC, and fliA. Analysis of the

pstS mutant indicates that hilA and invasion genes are repressed by the response regulator PhoB in the absence

of the Pst high-affinity inorganic phosphate uptake system. This system is required for negative control of the

PhoR-PhoB two-component regulatory system, suggesting that hilA expression may …

Multiple Factors Independently Regulate Hila And Invasion Gene Expression In Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhimurium, Robin L. Lucas, C. Phoebe Lostroh, Concetta C. Dirusso, Michael P. Spector, Barry L. Wanner, Catherine A. Lee

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

HilA activates the expression of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium invasion genes. To learn more

about regulation of hilA, we isolated Tn5 mutants exhibiting reduced hilA and/or invasion gene expression. In

addition to expected mutations, we identified Tn5 insertions in pstS, fadD, flhD, flhC, and fliA. Analysis of the

pstS mutant indicates that hilA and invasion genes are repressed by the response regulator PhoB in the absence

of the Pst high-affinity inorganic phosphate uptake system. This system is required for negative control of the

PhoR-PhoB two-component regulatory system, suggesting that hilA expression may …

Two-Step Processing Of Human Frataxin By Mitochondrial Processing Peptidase, Patrizia Cavadini, Jiri Adamec, Franco Taroni, Oleksandr Gakh, Grazia Isaya

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

We showed previously that maturation of the human

frataxin precursor (p-fxn) involves two cleavages by the

mitochondrial processing peptidase (MPP). This observation

was not confirmed by another group, however,

who reported only one cleavage. Here, we demonstrate

conclusively that MPP cleaves p-fxn in two sequential

steps, yielding a 18,826-Da intermediate (i-fxn) and a

17,255-Da mature (m-fxn) form, the latter corresponding

to endogenous frataxin in human tissues. The two cleavages

occur between residues 41–42 and 55–56, and both

match the MPP consensus sequence RX ↓ (X/S). Recombinant

rat and yeast MPP catalyze the pài step 4 and 40 …

Rbcs Suppressor Mutations Improve The Thermal Stability And Co2/O2 Specificity Of Rbcl-Mutant Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylaseyoxygenase, Yu-Chan Du, Seokjoo Hong, Robert J. Spreitzer

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

In the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a Leu²⁹⁰-to-Phe (L²⁹⁰F) substitution in the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylaseyoxygenase (Rubisco), which is coded by the chloroplast rbcL gene, was previously found to be suppressed by second-site Ala222-to-Thr and Val²⁶²-to-Leu substitutions. These substitutions complement the photosynthesis deficiency of the L290F mutant by restoring the decreased thermal stability, catalytic efficiency, and CO₂/O₂ specificity of the mutant enzyme back to wild-type values. Because residues 222, 262, and 290 interact with the loop between β strands A and B of the Rubisco small subunit, which is …