Molecular characterization and expression of laccase genes in the salivary glands of the green rice leafhopper, Nephotettix cincticeps (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae).

The green rice leafhopper, Nephotettix cincticeps has a laccase (EC 1.10.3.

The N-terminal region of an entomopoxvirus fusolin is essential for the enhancement of peroral infection, whereas the C-terminal region is eliminated in digestive juice.

The spindles of Anomala cuprea entomopoxvirus (AncuEPV), which are composed of glycoprotein fusolin, are known to enhance the peroral infectivity of AncuEPV itself and of nucleopolyhedroviruses. This has been demonstrated to involve the disruption of intestinal peritrophic membrane (PM), composed of chitin matrix, glycosaminoglycans, and proteins. To identify essential and nonessential regions for this enhancement activity, AncuEPV fusolin and its deletion mutants were expressed in Sf21 cells using a baculovirus system, and their enhancement abilities were analyzed.

The proteomics of plant cell membranes.

Membrane proteins are involved in many different functions depending on their location in the cell. Characterization of the membrane proteome can bring new insights to the function of different plant membrane systems and the subcellular compartments where the proteins are found. Plant membrane proteomics can also provide valuable information about plant-specific biological processes.

Proteome analysis of rice root proteins regulated by gibberellin.

To gain an enhanced understanding of the mechanism by which gibberellins (GAs) regulate the growth and development of plants, it is necessary to identify proteins regulated by GA. Proteome analysis techniques have been applied as a direct, effective, and reliable tool in differential protein expressions. In previous studies, sixteen proteins showed differences in accumulation levels as a result of treatment with GA(3), uniconazole, or abscisic acid (ABA), and/or the differences between the GA-deficient semi-dwarf mutant, Tan-ginbozu, and normal cultivars.

Laccase-type phenoloxidase in salivary glands and watery saliva of the green rice leafhopper, Nephotettix cincticeps.

The activity and composition of leafhopper saliva are important in interactions with the host rice plant, and it may play a physiological role in detoxifying toxic plant substances or ingesting sap. We have characterized diphenoloxidase in the salivary glands of Nephotettix cincticeps, its activity as a laccase, and its presence in the watery saliva with the objective of understanding its function in feeding on rice plants. Nonreducing SDS-PAGE of salivary gland homogenates with staining by the typical laccase substrate 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), hydroquinone or syringaldazine revealed a band at a molecular mass of approximately 85 kDa at pH 5.

Characterization of vacuolar membrane proteins changed in rice root treated with gibberellin.

Rice vacuolar membrane proteins changed by gibberellin (GA) were analyzed using a proteome approach. Vacuolar membrane fractions were isolated using a discontinuous sucrose/sorbitol system and 10 proteins increased in vacuolar membrane of the root, treated with GA(3) as compared with control. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase C-1 and vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase) increased in root vacuolar membrane by GA(3) interacted in rice roots.

Characterization of fructose-bisphosphate aldolase regulated by gibberellin in roots of rice seedling.

Fructose-bisphosphate aldolase is a glycolytic enzyme whose activity increases in rice roots treated with gibberellin (GA). To investigate the relationship between aldolase and root growth, GA-induced root aldolase was characterized. GA3 promoted an increase in aldolase accumulation when 0.

A proteomics approach to investigating promotive effects of brassinolide on lamina inclination and root growth in rice seedlings.

The application of brassinolide (BL) to the lamina joint region of rice (Oryza sativa L., cv. Nipponbare) seedlings caused marked bending of laminae, and BL influenced rice root growth under intact conditions.

Rice proteomics: a step toward functional analysis of the rice genome.

The technique of proteome analysis with two-dimensional PAGE has the power to monitor global changes that occur in the protein expression of tissues and organisms and/or expression that occurs under stresses. In this study, the catalogues of the rice proteome were constructed, and a functional characterization of some of these proteins was examined. Proteins extracted from tissues of rice and proteins extracted from rice under various kinds of stress were separated by two-dimensional PAGE.