Total Amount Of Protein Research Articles

Assessment of Nutritional Properties from Six Varieties of Onion (Allium cepa L., Alliaceae) Produced in Northern Côte d’Ivoire

Aims: Onion is a common vegetable engaging significant nutritional interests and widely consumed over the world. In Côte d'Ivoire, 95% of the onion consumption is filled by imports despite the availability of suitable areas for its local production. The current study aimed to investigate nutritional features of onion varieties for fitting the agronomical trends in order to strengthen the onion cultivation in northern Côte d’Ivoire.
 Study Design: Six onion varieties produced for bulbs, namely ARES, BATI, CARA, DAMANI, KARIBOU, and SAFARI. Onion bulbs sampled, oven-dried, and then processed to powders for analysis. The main study consisted in analyzing the biochemical properties of the resulted onions powders.
 Place and Duration of Study: Experimental farming from the plants experimenting location, and onion samples analyzed from Laboratory of Peleforo Gon Coulibaly University, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire, between March 2020 and April 2021.
 Methodology: Batches of 2 kg fresh bulbs collected per onion variety after harvest. Once at Lab, onion bulbs peeled, washed, cut into small dice-shaped pieces and dried into an oven at 80 °C for 24 h using stainless trays. Dried samples ground and kept for analyses regarding physicochemical traits (moisture, acidity, ash) and nutritive parameters (glucides, lipids, proteins, antioxidants).
 Results: The works showed higher contents in moisture (16.91%), ash (4.46%), and lipids (1.99%) from CARA variety with more significant acidity; while greatest amounts of total soluble carbohydrates (14.5%), tannins (1.02%), and proteins (13.6%) were recorded from BATI and more vitamin C in DAMANI (0.133%). However, SAFARI variety samples were more provided in reducing carbohydrates (1.04%) and total polyphenols (1.46%) as secondary metabolites; and the ARES variety revealed highest flavonoids contents (0.057%). In addition, ARES, CARA, and KARIBOU varieties displayed great dietary fibers amounts compared to BATI, KARIBOU, and SAFARI.
 Conclusion: The particular nutritional traits of the studied onion varieties could be confronted with their agronomical yield and consumption trends for supporting sustainable production of onion in Côte d’Ivoire.

Proteomics

Proteomics is a branch of molecular biology that deals with the identification and quantification of proteins in living objects, as well as the analysis of protein functions and their interactions.
 Proteomics is studied by proteins that are expressed in a given cell, tissue or organism over a period of time (under certain conditions).
 It is known that information about the primary structure of a protein (the sequence of amino acid residues in a protein) is contained in a structural gene in the form of a codon sequence (genetic code). On the other hand, less than 10% of genes are functionally active (expressed) in the somatic cells of our body. Moreover, a distinct tissue-specific expression of genes is observed. This, in turn, leads to the peculiarities of the qualitative composition of the synthesized proteins in various tissues. No less important is the fact that the total amount of proteins synthesized by our tissues is much greater than the total number of structural genes containing information about their original structure. This phenomenon is explained by the activity of such mechanisms as alternative splicing and a wide variety of post-translational peptide processing pathways (covalent modification of a polypeptide synthesized on the ribosome) in health and disease. Thus, even a brief review of the semantic content of the term "proteomics" indicates an extremely complex system of protein molecules in our body, which plays a fundamental role in maintaining homeostasis and is involved in the formation of adaptive responses in response to adverse changes in the internal and external environment.

COMPARISON OF BACTERIAL CELLULOSE PRODUCTION BY KOMAGATAEIBACTER INTERMEDIUS STRAIN USING LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA, ROSA CANINA AND TILIA CORDATA PLANTS AS LOW-COST MEDIA

In this study, the effects of Lavandula angustifolia, Tilia cordata and Rosa canina on cellulose production by Komagataeibacter intermedius strain were investigated. T. cordata was found as the most effective plant (10.64 g/L BC), under the following optimized conditions: 50 g/L plant amount, 8% lactose, 15% inoculum amount at pH=6.0. Total phenolic contents of L. angustifolia (55.42 mg/g), R. canina (16.54 mg/g) and T. cordata (60.03 mg/g), and total protein amounts of L. angustifolia (7.89 g/L), R. canina (3.54 g/L) and T. cordata (5.13 g/L) were analyzed. It has been established that phenolic and protein substances contribute significantly to cellulose formation. Physicochemical analysis showed that all the peaks obtained from FTIR analysis are distinguishable for BC and pellicles show high thermal stability. This research work is the first report on the usage of L. angustifolia, R. canina and T. cordata plants as low-cost substrates in BC production with high yields.

The effect of a novel dietary supplement based on fishery industry waste hydrolysate, essential fatty acids and phytochemicals on honey bee nuclei development

In the late winter or early spring, beekeepers stimulate the colonies to increase the population of bees using different dietary supplements, principally based on carbohydrates and proteins. Honey bees require multiple sources of nectar and pollen to obtain balanced nutrition, so the formulation of effective supplements requires the identification and testing of candidate components, especially at the colony level. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a nutritional supplement (SUP) composed of two important phytochemicals that have been reported to improve honey bee health (abscisic acid (ABA) and p-coumaric acid (CUM)) combined with fish protein hydrolyzate (FPH), and essential omega fatty acids (Ω3/6) in nuclei colonies. We first evaluated the toxicity of SUP compared with the control (sugar syrup) in laboratory bioassays during 96 hours. Then, we tested the effect on the amount of brood, honey, and pollen in bee hives nuclei supplemented with SUP for thirty days. In addition, we quantified and compared the concentration of total proteins in individual honey bees collected at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. The results obtained show that SUP is palatable, nontoxic to Apis mellifera, and significantly increases the amount of open brood and pollen reserves of bee nuclei compared with nuclei feed with sugar syrup. No significant differences were observed, between nuclei feed with SUP and control nuclei, in the amount of honey reserves and total proteins of individual bees. Here, we show the value of a nutritional supplement that combines essential nutritional components and phytochemicals to improve important parameters associated with colony fitness. We expected this nutritional supplement helps beekeepers to develop their colonies in view of the increase of industrial agriculture and the consequent loss of floral resources.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ БИОЛОГИЧЕСКИ АКТИВНОГО ВОДНОГО КОМПЛЕКСА «HALPI» НА БЕЛКОВЫЙ И АЗОТИСТЫЙ ОБМЕНЫ ПОЖИЛЫХ СОБАК

This article presents a study of the effect of the use of a biologically active water complex "HALPI" on protein metabolism in geriatric dogs. When assessing the effect of the biologically active water complex "HALPI" on the indicators of protein metabolism in dogs, it was found that the use of this biologically active water complex promotes an increase in the amount of total protein. in organism. Thus, the use of a biologically active water complex "HALPI" affects metabolic processes by compensating for possible deficiencies of vitamins and microelements, which contributes to the improvement of the quality of life of elderly dogs

Биохимические показатели крови быков-производителей при использовании минеральной добавки из жмыха пантов марала

The seed bulls used for artificial insemination should be in good health, have outstanding genetic characteristics, have high sexual activity, and the biological products ob-tained from them should have high quality indices. One of the possible methods of increasing semen production is the introduction of dietary supplements into the diet. The intro-duction of new feed and biologically active supplements into the diet may cause both positive and negative changes in metabolic processes. Monitoring the biochemical status of blood allows detecting not only metabolic disorders in highly productive animals but also a lack of vitamins, mac-ro-and microelements. The research goal was to study the effect of a natural biostimulant (mineral supplement) made from maral antler press-cake on the blood biochemical indices ofBlack Pied seed bulls in the breeding company AO “Plempredpriyatiye Barnaulskoye”. Along with the basic diet, the seed bulls of the trial group received the natural biostimulant (mineral supplement) based on maral antler press-cake; the daily dose -15.0 g per head, for 30 days with 10 days’ interval after each application. The supple-ment was thoroughly mixed with compound feed before feeding. The mineral supplement is of powder form and contains a complex of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other biologically active substances. The use of a mineral supplement increased the amount of total protein and al-bumin by 7.15% and 18.3%, respectively. The blood glu-cose level in the seed bulls of the trial group was higher by 12% and cholesterol by 17.1% than in the blood of the con-trol group animals. Cholesterol of the seed bulls may be used as a structural material or a precursor in the synthesis of sex steroid hormones. The level of total calcium, alkaline reserve at the end of the experiment increased in the seed bulls when using the mineral supplement made from maral antler press-cake in the diet by 4.8% and 8.1%, respective-ly, as compared to the control group.

Practical Application of Novel Test Methods to Evaluate the Potency of Botulinum Toxin: A Comparison Analysis among Widely Used Products in Korea.

The safe and effective dosing of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) requires accurate and reliable methods to measure their potency. Several novel methods have been introduced over the past decade; however, only few studies have compared the potency of BoNT products with that of the LD50 and other alternative assays. Therefore, the objective of this study was to comparatively evaluate widely used BoNT products using various test methods. Four types of BoNTs (prabotulinumtoxin A, onabotulinumtoxin A, neubotulinumtoxin A, and letibotulinumtoxin A) were used in this study. The estimated potency was assessed using the LD50 assay, and the total BoNT type A protein levels were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The in vitro efficacy of the BoNTs was determined using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assays. The results showed differences in the total amount of BoNT protein and the cleavage activity of SNAP-25 within all types of BoNTs. The SPR study seemed to be useful for evaluating the potency by specifically measuring intact 19S neurotoxin, and these results provide new insights for assessing different BoNT products.

Data-Dependent Acquisition Ladder for Capillary Electrophoresis Mass Spectrometry-Based Ultrasensitive (Neuro)Proteomics.

Measurement of broad types of proteins from a small number of cells to single cells would help to better understand the nervous system but requires significant leaps in sensitivity in high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Microanalytical capillary electrophoresis electrospray ionization (CE-ESI) offers a path to ultrasensitive proteomics by integrating scalability with sensitivity. Here, we systematically evaluate performance limitations in this technology to develop a data acquisition strategy with deeper coverage of the neuroproteome from trace amounts of starting materials than traditional dynamic exclusion. During standard data-dependent acquisition (DDA), compact migration challenged the duty cycle of second-stage transitions and redundant targeting of abundant peptide signals lowered their identification success rate. DDA was programmed to progressively exclude a static set of high-intensity peptide signals throughout replicate measurements, essentially forming rungs of a "DDA ladder." The method was tested for ∼500 pg portions of a protein digest from cultured hippocampal (primary) neurons (mouse), which estimated the total amount of protein from a single neuron. The analysis of ∼5 ng of protein digest over all replicates, approximating ∼10 neurons, identified 428 nonredundant proteins (415 quantified), an ∼35% increase over traditional DDA. The identified proteins were enriched in neuronal marker genes and molecular pathways of neurobiological importance. The DDA ladder enhances CE-HRMS sensitivity to single-neuron equivalent amounts of proteins, thus expanding the analytical toolbox of neuroscience.

Cytokine-Mediated Alterations of Human Cardiac Fibroblast's Secretome.

Fibroblasts contribute to approximately 20% of the non-cardiomyocytic cells in the heart. They play important roles in the myocardial adaption to stretch, inflammation, and other pathophysiological conditions. Fibroblasts are a major source of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins whose production is regulated by cytokines, such as TNF-α or TGF-β. The resulting myocardial fibrosis is a hallmark of pathological remodeling in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Therefore, in the present study, the secretome and corresponding transcriptome of human cardiac fibroblasts from patients with DCM was investigated under normal conditions and after TNF-α or TGF-β stimulation. Secreted proteins were quantified via mass spectrometry and expression of genes coding for secreted proteins was analyzed via Affymetrix Transcriptome Profiling. Thus, we provide comprehensive proteome and transcriptome data on the human cardiac fibroblast’s secretome. In the secretome of quiescent fibroblasts, 58% of the protein amount belonged to the ECM fraction. Interestingly, cytokines were responsible for 5% of the total protein amount in the secretome and up to 10% in the corresponding transcriptome. Furthermore, cytokine gene expression and secretion were upregulated upon TNF-α stimulation, while collagen secretion levels were elevated after TGF-β treatment. These results suggest that myocardial fibroblasts contribute to pro-fibrotic and to inflammatory processes in response to extracellular stimuli.

Optimization of lipase production using fungal isolates from oily residues

Lipases are triacylglycerol hydrolases that catalyze hydrolysis, esterification, interesterification, and transesterification reactions. These enzymes are targets of several industrial and biotech applications, such as catalysts, detergent production, food, biofuels, wastewater treatment, and others. Microbial enzymes are preferable for large scale production due to ease of production and extraction. Several studies have reported that lipases from filamentous fungi are predominantly extracellular and highly active. However, there are many factors that interfere with enzyme production (pH, temperature, medium composition, agitation, aeration, inducer type, and concentration, etc.), making control difficult and burdening the process. This work aimed to optimize the lipase production of four fungal isolates from oily residues (Penicillium sp., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus sp., and Aspergillus sp.). The lipase-producing fungi isolates were morphologically characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The optimal lipase production time curve was previously determined, and the response variable used was the amount of total protein in the medium after cultivation by submerged fermentation. A complete factorial design 32 was performed, evaluating the temperatures (28 °C, 32 °C, and 36 °C) and soybean oil inducer concentration (2%, 6%, and 10%). Each lipase-producing isolate reacted differently to the conditions tested, the Aspergillus sp. F18 reached maximum lipase production, compared to others, under conditions of 32 °C and 2% of oil with a yield of 11,007 (µg mL−1). Penicillium sp. F04 achieved better results at 36 °C and 6% oil, although for Aspergillus niger F16 was at 36 °C and 10% oil and Aspergillus sp. F21 at 32 °C and 2% oil. These results show that microorganisms isolated from oily residues derived from environmental sanitation can be a promising alternative for the large-scale production of lipases.Graphical

TCT-214 The Total Amount of C-Reactive Protein Within the First 72 Hours After STEMI Is Crucial for the Outcome

TCT-214 The Total Amount of C-Reactive Protein Within the First 72 Hours After STEMI Is Crucial for the Outcome

Role of exogenously applied putrescine in amelioration of cadmium stress in Coriandrum sativum by modulating antioxidant system

Abiotic stress reduces the plant growth and biomass production. Putrescine (Put) may be applied to alleviate numerous types of abiotic stresses in plants. The present research was intended to evaluate the role of exogenously applied Put in extenuation of cadmium (Cd) stress in coriander plants. Coriander seeds primed with 0.25, 0.5, and1 mM Put were allowed to grow in 50 mg kg−1 Cd contaminated soil for one month. Put treatment improved seed germination, gas exchange attributes, root growth and shoot growth of coriander. The improved activity of stress-responsive enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase, besides amplification of proline was observed in Put treated seedlings under Cd stress. In addition, a reduced amount of total soluble protein and sugars content were noticed in Cd stressed seedlings. Nevertheless, Put reduced MDA level in treated plants. Our results demonstrated that Put mitigated Cd induced stress by modulating antioxidants and photosynthetic activity of coriander plants. Novelty statement Most of the researchers have studied the role of endogenous putrescine in alleviation of plant stress. However, during current study, we primed coriander seeds with putrescine. Our results elucidated very promising role of exogenously applied putrescine in stress mitigation and growth improvement of coriander seedlings under Cd stress. The findings of current study advocate the application of putrescine for stress alleviation in crop plants.

Characterization of Covid-19 infected pregnant women sera using laboratory indexes, vibrational spectroscopy, and machine learning classifications

Herein, we show differences in blood serum of asymptomatic and symptomatic pregnant women infected with COVID-19 and correlate them with laboratory indexes, ATR FTIR and multivariate machine learning methods. We collected the sera of COVID-19 diagnosed pregnant women, in the second trimester (n = 12), third-trimester (n = 7), and second-trimester with severe symptoms (n = 7) compared to the healthy pregnant (n = 11) women, which makes a total of 37 participants. To assign the accuracy of FTIR spectra regions where peak shifts occurred, the Random Forest algorithm, traditional C5.0 single decision tree algorithm and deep neural network approach were used. We verified the correspondence between the FTIR results and the laboratory indexes such as: the count of peripheral blood cells, biochemical parameters, and coagulation indicators of pregnant women. CH2 scissoring, amide II, amide I vibrations could be used to differentiate the groups. The accuracy calculated by machine learning methods was higher than 90%. We also developed a method based on the dynamics of the absorbance spectra allowing to determine the differences between the spectra of healthy and COVID-19 patients. Laboratory indexes of biochemical parameters associated with COVID-19 validate changes in the total amount of proteins, albumin and lipase.

Preclinical evaluation of anticataract activity of Mentha spicata leaves on isolated goat lens by an in vitro model

One of the major complications seen in patients with diabetes mellitus is cataract. Many medicinal plants have been used for preventing this major secondary complication. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the anticataract activity of the leaf extract of Mentha spicata extract (ME) on glucose-induced cataractogenesis on isolated goat lens. The freshly isolated goat lenses taken were divided into five experimental groups and incubated for 72 hours: 55 mM glucose alone (Group I), 100 μg/ml ME + 55 mM glucose (Group II), 300 μg/ ml ME + 55 mM glucose (Group III), 500 μg/ml ME + 55 mM glucose (Group IV), and 12 ng/ml Enalapril + 55 mM glucose (Group V), respectively. Various biochemical parameters such as total protein, H2 O2 , malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione, Cu2+-induced lipoprotein dienes, and enzymatic antioxidants like catalase and guaiacol peroxidase were measured in the lens homogenate after incubation. Complete opacity was observed in Group 1 which underwent glucose-induced cataractogenesis correlating with high levels of MDA, reduced amounts of total protein, and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants compared to Group II. Due to the presence of ME in Group II, pre-oxidative damage to the lenses caused by glucose was prevented. Hence, it was seen that the leaf extract of M. spicata prevented glucose-induced oxidative damage in the lenses, which may help in delaying the onset of cataract.

Assessment of the Anti-Cancer Efficiency of Silver Moringa oleifera Leaves Nano-extract against Colon Cancer Induced Chemically in Rats.

Background:Colorectal cancer (CRC) categorized as the most common type of gastrointestinal cancers affected both genders equally. Chemotherapeutic drugs became limited due to their deleterious side effects. Therefore, efficiency of M. oleifera leaves extract increased by incorporating silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) then studied against colon cancer induced by azoxymethane (AOM) in rats. Methods:Different hematological and biochemical measurements in addition to specific tumor and inflammatory markers were quantified. Histopathological examination for Colonic tissues was performed. Native proteins and isoenzyme patterns were electrophoretically detected in addition to assaying expression of Tumor Protein P53 (TP53) and Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) genes in colonic tissues.Results: M. oleifera nano-extract restored levels of the hematological and biochemical measurements in addition to levels of tumor and inflammatory markers to normalcy in both of nano-extract simult- and post-treated groups. Also, it minimized severity of the histopathological alterations in the simult-treated group and prevented it completely in the post-treated group. The lowest similarity index (SI%) values were noticed with electrophoretic protein (SI=61.54%), lipid (SI=0.00%) and calcium (SI=75.00%) moieties of protein patterns, catalase (SI=85.71%), peroxidase (SI=85.71%), α-esterase (SI=50.00%) and β-esterase (SI=50.00%) isoenzymes in addition to altering the relative quantities of total protein and isoenzyme bands in colon of cancer induced group. Moreover, levels of TP53 and APC gene expression increased significantly (P≤0.05) in colon cancer induced group. The nano-extract prevented the qualitative and quantitative alterations in the different electrophoretic patterns in addition to restoring levels of the gene expressions to normalcy in both of simult- and post-treated groups. Conclusion: M. oleifera nano-extract exhibited ameliorative effect against the biochemical, physiological and molecular alterations induced by AOM in nano-extract simult- and post-treated groups.

Global Extraction from Parallel Reaction Monitoring to Quantify Background Peptides for Improved Normalization and Quality Control in Targeted Proteomics.

Mass spectrometry-based targeted proteomics employs heavy isotope-labeled proteins or peptides as standards to improve accuracy and precision. The input sample amount is often determined by the total quantity of endogenous proteins or peptides, as defined by spectrophotometric assays, before the heavy-isotope standards are spiked into the samples. Errors in spectrophotometric measurements, which may be due to low sensitivity or chemical or biological interference, have a direct impact on the quantitative mass spectrometry results. Currently used targeted proteomics workflows cannot identify or correct deviations that arise from differences in the input sample amount. We have developed a workflow, global extraction from parallel reaction monitoring (PRM), to identify and quantify thousands of background peptides that are inherently acquired by PRM experiments. These background peptides were used to identify differences in the input sample amount and to reduce this variance by intensity-based, post-acquisition normalization. This approach was then applied to a xenograft study to improve the quantification of human proteins in the presence of mouse tissue contamination. In addition, these background peptides also provided a direct source of quality control metrics related to sample handling and preparation.

ПРИМЕНЕНИЕ ДОБАВКИ С S.CORONATA В РАЦИОНЕ ТЕЛЯТ И КОРОВ

The aim of the research is to study the effect of “Phytocomplex S. coronata” supplement on clinical and biochemical status of calves, blood morphology and productivity of dairy cows. The content of ecdysteroids in the additive was determined by highly-efficient liquid chromatography. The experiments were organized in Kirov region. One control and three experimental groups of calves at the age of 1.5 months were selected. Each group included 10 heads. Phytocomplex S. coronata was mixed with water and given to calves for 30 days: group 1 - 10 g, group 2 - 20 g, group 3 - 30 g / calf. Phytocomplex S.coronata was given in the experiment on lactating cows once a day for 60 days: group 1 - 50 g, group 2 - 100 g and group 3 - 150 g / head. Animals in the control were kept on the farm ration without additives. Blood tests of calves (total protein, albumin, ALT, urea, total cholesterol, sublimate test, reserve alkalinity) and cows (erythrocytes, leukocytes, hemoglobin) were carried out at the beginning and at the end of the experiments. It was found that the concentration of ecdysteroids is 500 mg / kg in Phytocomplex S. coronata. The amount of total protein in the blood of calves from the experimental groups increased to 65.7 ± 4.2 - 68.0 ± 2.5 g / l (P <0.05), albumin to 31.5 ± 1.2 - 33.2 ± 1.2 g / l (P <0.05). By the end of the experiment, the average daily milk yield of cows in the experimental groups exceeded the result in the control by 3.7%, milk fat by 0.3%, protein by 0.6%. (P <0.05). By the end of the experiment, the number of erythrocytes and hemoglobin in the blood of cows of the experimental groups significantly (P <0.05) exceeded these parameters at the beginning of the experiment, while in the control there were no significant changes (P> 0.05).

Cationic surface charge effect on proliferation and protein production of human dental pulp stem cells cultured on diethylaminoethyl-modified cellulose porous beads

Human adult dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are a type of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Recently, DPSCs have been proposed as a new MSC source for treating immune-mediated, inflammatory, and degenerative diseases via cell-based therapy. Hence, large-scale industrial production of the required cell number will be necessary. In this study, to investigate the cationic surface charge effect on DPSC proliferation, we fabricated two types of 2-diethylaminoethyl -modified cellulose porous beads (CPB-DEAE) with different ion exchange capacities. The cationic surface charge effect increased with increase in DPSC proliferation rate for the ion exchange capacity of 0.55–1.82 meq/g. However, the DPSC proliferation rate decreased at 2.50 meq/g. Thus, the optimal ion exchange capacity was determined to be 1.82 meq/g for DPSC proliferation. Additionally, the total amount of protein produced from the DPSCs on the CPB-DEAE microcarriers was higher than that produced under the conventional monolayer culture conditions. Furthermore, the hepatocyte growth factor, which is one of the anti-inflammatory growth factors, was produced from the DPSCs on the CPB-DEAE microcarriers. Finally, the DPSCs were confirmed to maintain their proliferative and multidifferentiation ability after culture on the CPB-DEAE microcarriers. CPB-DEAE microcarriers have the potential to be used for large-scale MSC expansion and protein production.

YfiF, an unknown protein, affects initiation timing of chromosome replication in Escherichia coli.

The Escherichia coli YfiF protein is functionally unknown, being predicted as a transfer RNA/ribosomal RNA (tRNA/rRNA) methyltransferase. We find that absence of the yfiF gene delays initiation of chromosome replication and the delay is reversed by ectopic expression of YfiF, whereas excess YfiF causes an early initiation. A slight decrease in both cell size and number of origin per mass is observed in ΔyfiF cells. YfiF does not genetically interact with replication proteins such as DnaA, DnaB, and DnaC. Interestingly, YfiF is associated with ribosome modulation factor (RMF), hibernation promotion factor (HPF), and the tRNA methyltransferase TrmL. Defects in replication initiation of Δrmf, Δhpf, and ΔtrmL can be rescued by overexpression of YfiF, indicating that YfiF is functionally identical to RMF, HPF, and TrmL in terms of replication initiation. Also, YfiF interacts with the rRNA methyltransferase RsmC. Moreover, the total amount of proteins and DnaA content per cell decreases or increases in the absence of YfiF or the presence of excess YfiF. These facts suggest that YfiF is a ribosomal dormancy-like factor, affecting ribosome function. Thus, we propose that YfiF is involved in the correct timing of chromosome replication by changing the DnaA content per cell as a result of affecting ribosome function.

Seasonal Dynamics of Oxidative and Antioxidative Parameters in Sadleriana fluminensis (Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae)

This is the first study to document the seasonal dynamics of oxidative and antioxidative parameters in Sadleriana fluminensis (Küster, 1853). Sadleriana fluminensis mostly inhabits spring biotopes, which are threatened by anthropogenic activities. We reported changes in the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), total antioxidative capacity (TAC), and the qualitative and quantitative composition of the soluble proteins in S. fluminensis. We collected samples from four sites along the longitudinal profile of the Krupa River in three seasons (autumn, winter, and spring). The amount of total soluble proteins and the qualitative protein composition varied seasonally at all sites. Detected protein bands were in the range of 103.8–5.7 kDa in all three seasons, whereas protein bands in the range of 105–60 kDa and 5–10 kDa were not detected in autumn or in spring. In all three seasons, the highest level of MDA was observed upstream at site 1. The values of TAC varied with site and season and were positively correlated to the soluble protein content. SOD activities were highest in winter, followed by autumn and spring; CAT activities were highest in spring, followed by winter and autumn. Principal component analysis based on oxidative and antioxidative parameters revealed marked differences between seasons. The results of this study enhance our understanding of the seasonal dynamics in protein composition and cell redox status within S. fluminensis and will aid future studies. The approach used in this study could also be applied more generally in other ecosystems for the monitoring of bioindicators.