SignificanceWhile most small, regulatory RNAs are thought to be "noncoding," a few have been found to also encode a small protein. Here we describe a 164-nucleotide RNA that encodes a 28-amino acid, amphipathic protein, which interacts with aerobic glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and increases dehydrogenase activity but also base pairs with two mRNAs to reduce expression. The coding and base-pairing sequences overlap, and the two regulatory functions compete.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDietary fatty acids (DFAs) play key roles in different metabolic processes in humans and other mammals. DFAs have been considered beneficial for health, particularly polyunsaturated (PUFAs) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). Additionally, microRNAs (miRNAs) exert their function on DFA metabolism by modulating gene expression, and have drawn great attention for their potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlucose is an important nutrient that dictates the development, fertility and lifespan of all organisms. In humans, a deficit in its homeostatic control might lead to hyperglucemia and the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes, which show a decreased ability to respond to and metabolize glucose. Previously, we have reported that high-glucose diets (HGD) induce alterations in triglyceride content, body size, progeny, and the mRNA accumulation of key regulators of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans (PLoS ONE 13(7): e0199888).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-glycemic-index diets, as well as a sedentary lifestyle are considered as determinant factors for the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases in humans. These diets have been shown to shorten the life span of C. elegans in a manner that is dependent on insulin signaling, but the participation of other signaling pathways have not been addressed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: spp. are common soil-inhabiting bacteria that frequently infect humans through traumatic injuries or inhalation routes and cause infections, such as actinomycetoma and nocardiosis, respectively. is the main aetiological agent of actinomycetoma in various countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is no information regarding the role of microRNAs in the development of the external ear in mammals. The purpose of this study was to determine the stage-specific expression of microRNA during external ear development in mice under normal conditions. GeneChip miRNA 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecombinant proteins are widely used as biopharmaceuticals, but their production by mammalian cell culture is expensive. Hence, improvement of bioprocess productivity is greatly needed. A temperature downshift (TDS) from 37°C to 28-34°C is an effective strategy to expand the productive life period of cells and increase their productivity (qp).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroRNAs (miRNAs) comprise a class of approximately 22 nucleotide regulatory non-coding RNAs that play several roles in diverse biological processes. Recent reports suggest that embryonic development in mammals is accompanied by dynamic changes in miRNA expression; however, there is no information regarding the role of miRNAs in the development of the external ear. The aim of this study was to determine the stage-specific expression of miRNAs during mouse external ear development in order to identify potentially implicated miRNAs along with their possible targets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Nutrigenet Nutrigenomics
September 2013
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of evolutionarily conserved, small non-coding RNAs of 19-24 nucleotides in length that regulate gene expression mostly at the posttranscriptional level. They are known to be involved in the control of different processes such as cell cycling, programmed cell death, cell differentiation, tumor development, metastasis, and sensing of nutrient stress. This review summarizes the evidence regarding the changes in miRNA expression that are caused by diets with a deficiency or augmented intake of nutrients such as amino acids, carbohydrates, fatty acids, vitamins, and phytochemicals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioassays of insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis with larvae of the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles albimanus showed that the cytolytic protein Cyt1Aa was not toxic alone, but it increased the toxicity of the crystalline proteins Cry4Ba and Cry11Aa. Synergism also occurred between Cry4Ba and Cry11Aa toxins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Microbiol
March 2010
Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis (Bti) produces four Cry toxins (Cry4Aa, Cry4Ba, Cry10Aa and Cry11Aa), and two Cyt proteins (Cyt1Aa and Cyt2Ba), toxic to mosquito-larvae of the genus Aedes, Anopheles and Culex, important human disease vectors that transmit dengue virus, malaria and filarial parasites respectively. Previous work showed that Bti is highly toxic to Anopheles albimanus, the main vector for transmission of malaria in Mexico.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProteins of 50 or fewer amino acids are poorly characterized in all organisms. The corresponding genes are challenging to reliably annotate, and it is difficult to purify and characterize the small protein products. Due to these technical limitations, little is known about the abundance of small proteins, not to mention their biological functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRiboswitches are mRNAs that regulate gene expression upon specific binding of a small metabolite (vitamin cofactors, nucleobases, amino acids, carbohydrates or even metal ions). Riboswitches must fold into very intricate 3D structures to accomplish their function. Single-molecule studies are very powerful techniques that allow the characterization and elucidation of complex folding paths as well as the identification of intermediate conformational states that an RNA must traverse to acquire its native, functional structure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRiboswitches are genetic control elements located mainly within the 5' untranslated regions of messenger RNAs. These RNA elements undergo conformational changes that modulate gene expression upon binding of regulatory signals including vitamins, amino acids, nucleobases and uncharged tRNA. The thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP)-binding riboswitch (THI-box) is found in all three kingdoms of life and can regulate gene expression at the levels of premature termination of transcription, initiation of translation and mRNA splicing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBoth thiamine and biotin when added to minimal medium subcultures reversed the fermentative-like metabolism exhibited by Rhizobium etli CE3. Thiamine auxotrophs lacking thiCOGE genes were used to investigate the role of thiamine in this medium. A thiC1169::miniTn5lacZ1 thiamine auxotroph subjected to the above subcultures resulted in growth arrest, reduced pyruvate-dehydrogenase activity, and a smaller amount of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate compared with the CE3 strain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNucleic Acids Res
January 2008
RegulonDB (http://regulondb.ccg.unam.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the last ten years a great number of RNAs have been discovered that function by regulating gene expression and do not code for a protein. This RNAs are named ncRNAs or sRNAs (non coding RNAs or small RNAs). More than 70 sRNAs have been documented in Escherichia coli and function by inhibiting/ promoting translation or degradation, some have intrinsic catalytic properties and others modify the activity of a protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRiboswitches are genetic control elements present mainly in the 5' untranslated regions of messenger RNAs that, upon binding of a small metabolite (like some vitamins, amino acids, and nucleobases), undergo conformational changes, affecting the expression of downstream genes. Structural studies of riboswitches are important for understanding how they recognize their ligands with high specificity and affinity. The thiamin pyrophosphate binding riboswitch (THI- box) is widely distributed in the three kingdoms of life and is involved in very distinct modes of gene regulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins are specific to different insects. In Manduca sexta cadherin (Bt-R1) and aminopeptidase-N (APN) proteins are recognized as Cry1A receptors. Previous work showed that Cry1Ab binds to Bt-R1 promoting the formation of a pre-pore oligomer that binds to APN leading to membrane insertion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe use of Bacillus thuringiensis as a biopesticide is a viable alternative for insect control since the insecticidal Cry proteins produced by these bacteria are highly specific; harmless to humans, vertebrates, and plants; and completely biodegradable. In addition to Cry proteins, B. thuringiensis produces a number of extracellular compounds, including S-layer proteins (SLP), that contribute to virulence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvidence is accumulating that small, noncoding RNAs are important regulatory molecules. Computational and experimental searches have led to the identification of approximately 60 small RNA genes in Escherichia coli. However, most of these studies focused on the intergenic regions and assumed that small RNAs were >50 nt.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant genes that are induced during the formation and function of a root nodule are called nodulin genes. Cloning and functional analysis of nodule-specific gene products are of valuable help in establishing the role and requirements of the host plant for the specificity and effectiveness of the symbiosis. A cDNA clone (nod22) was isolated from Phaseolus vulgaris L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn susceptible insects, Cry toxin specificity correlates with receptor recognition. In previous work, we characterized an scFv antibody (scFv73) that inhibits binding of Cry1A toxins to cadherin-like receptor. The CDR3 region of scFv73 shared homology with an 8-amino acid epitope ((869)HITDTNNK(876)) of the Manduca sexta cadherin-like receptor Bt-R(1) (Gomez, I.
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