Proteogenomics of Gammarus fossarum to document the reproductive system of amphipods.

Because of their ecological importance, amphipod crustacea are employed worldwide as test species in environmental risk assessment. Although proteomics allows new insights into the molecular mechanisms related to the stress response, such investigations are rare for these organisms because of the lack of comprehensive protein sequence databases. Here, we propose a proteogenomic approach for identifying specific proteins of the freshwater amphipod Gammarus fossarum, a keystone species in European freshwater ecosystems.

Low doses of gamma-irradiation induce an early bystander effect in zebrafish cells which is sufficient to radioprotect cells.

The term "bystander effect" is used to describe an effect in which cells that have not been exposed to radiation are affected by irradiated cells though various intracellular signaling mechanisms. In this study we analyzed the kinetics and mechanisms of bystander effect and radioadaptation in embryonic zebrafish cells (ZF4) exposed to chronic low dose of gamma rays. ZF4 cells were irradiated for 4 hours with total doses of gamma irradiation ranging from 0.

Subcellular localization and interaction network of the mRNA decay activator Pat1 upon UV stress.

To identify nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttle proteins that relocate to the nucleus upon UV stress, we selected 18 targets on the basis of their conservation amongst eukaryotes and their relatively poor functional description. Their relocation was assayed using quantitative nuclear relocation assay (QNR). We focused on Pat1, a component of the cytoplasmic foci called processing bodies (p-bodies), because it had the strongest response to the stress.

Quantitation of p53 nuclear relocation in response to stress using a yeast functional assay: effects of irradiation and modulation by heavy metal ions.

Many regulatory proteins undergo transient nuclear relocation under physical or chemical stress. This phenomenon is, however, difficult to assess due to the lack of sensitive and standardized biological assays. Here, we describe a new quantitative nuclear relocation assay (QNR), based on expression in yeasts of chimeric proteins in which an artificial transcription factor is fused to a target protein acting as driver for relocation.

Escherichia coli thioredoxin inhibition by cadmium: two mutually exclusive binding sites involving Cys32 and Asp26.

Observations of thioredoxin inhibition by cadmium and of a positive role for thioredoxin in protection from Cd(2+) led us to investigate the thioredoxin-cadmium interaction properties. We used calorimetric and spectroscopic methods at different pH values to explore the relative contribution of putative binding residues (Cys32, Cys35, Trp28, Trp31 and Asp26) within or near the active site. At pH 8 or 7.