The Alpha 7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Does Not Affect Neonatal Brain Injury.

Inflammation plays a central role in the development of neonatal brain injury. The alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) can modulate inflammation and has shown promising results as a treatment target in rodent models of adult brain injury. However, little is known about the role of the α7nAChR in neonatal brain injury.

The selective alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist AR-R17779 does not affect ischemia-reperfusion brain injury in mice.

Inflammation plays a central role in stroke-induced brain injury. The alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) can modulate immune responses in both the periphery and the brain. The aims of the present study were to investigate α7nAChR expression in different brain regions and evaluate the potential effect of the selective α7nAChR agonist AR-R17779 on ischemia-reperfusion brain injury in mice.

Spleen proteomics data from high fat diet fed mice.

The composition of the diet affects many processes in the body, including body weight and endocrine system. We have previously shown that dietary fat also affects the immune system. Mice fed high fat diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids survive infection to a much greater extent than mice fed high fat diet rich in saturated fatty acids.

Introduction of a green algal squalene synthase enhances squalene accumulation in a strain of sp. PCC 6803.

Squalene is a triterpene which is produced as a precursor for a wide range of terpenoid compounds in many organisms. It has commercial use in food and cosmetics but could also be used as a feedstock for production of chemicals and fuels, if generated sustainably on a large scale. We have engineered a cyanobacterium, sp.

RcaE-Dependent Regulation of Carboxysome Structural Proteins Has a Central Role in Environmental Determination of Carboxysome Morphology and Abundance in .

Carboxysomes are central to the carbon dioxide-concentrating mechanism (CCM) and carbon fixation in cyanobacteria. Although the structure is well understood, roles of environmental cues in the synthesis, positioning, and functional tuning of carboxysomes have not been systematically studied. is a model cyanobacterium for assessing impacts of environmental light cues on photosynthetic pigmentation and tuning of photosynthetic efficiency during complementary chromatic acclimation (CCA), which is controlled by the photoreceptor RcaE.

Sll1783, a monooxygenase associated with polysaccharide processing in the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803.

Cyanobacteria play a pivotal role as the primary producer in many aquatic ecosystems. The knowledge on the interacting processes of cyanobacteria with its environment - abiotic and biotic factors - is still very limited. Many potential exocytoplasmic proteins in the model unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 have unknown functions and their study is essential to improve our understanding of this photosynthetic organism and its potential for biotechnology use.

Terpenoids and their biosynthesis in cyanobacteria.

Terpenoids, or isoprenoids, are a family of compounds with great structural diversity which are essential for all living organisms. In cyanobacteria, they are synthesized from the methylerythritol-phosphate (MEP) pathway, using glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and pyruvate produced by photosynthesis as substrates. The products of the MEP pathway are the isomeric five-carbon compounds isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate, which in turn form the basic building blocks for formation of all terpenoids.

Production of squalene in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the research and development of sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. Using photosynthetic microorganisms to produce such alternatives is advantageous, since they can achieve direct conversion of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the desired product, using sunlight as the energy source. Squalene is a naturally occurring 30-carbon isoprenoid, which has commercial use in cosmetics and in vaccines.

Light Quantity Affects the Regulation of Cell Shape in Fremyella diplosiphon.

In some cyanobacteria, the color or prevalent wavelengths of ambient light can impact the protein or pigment composition of the light-harvesting complexes. In some cases, light color or quality impacts cellular morphology. The significance of changes in pigmentation is associated strongly with optimizing light absorption for photosynthesis, whereas the significance of changes in light quality-dependent cellular morphology is less well understood.

Convergence and divergence of the photoregulation of pigmentation and cellular morphology in Fremyella diplosiphon.

Photosynthetic pigment accumulation and cellular and filament morphology are regulated reversibly by green light (GL) and red light (RL) in the cyanobacterium Fremyella diplosiphon during complementary chromatic adaptation (CCA). The photoreceptor RcaE (regulator of chromatic adaptation), which appears to function as a light-responsive sensor kinase, controls both of these responses. Recent findings indicate that downstream of RcaE, the signaling pathways leading to light-dependent changes in morphology or pigment synthesis and/or accumulation branch, and utilize distinct molecular components.

Interspecific resource competition-combined effects of radiation and nutrient limitation on two diazotrophic filamentous cyanobacteria.

The cyanobacterial blooms in the Baltic Sea are dominated by diazotrophic cyanobacteria, the potentially toxic species Aphanizomenon sp. and the toxic species Nodularia spumigena. The seasonal succession with peaks of Aphanizomenon sp.

Regulation of phycoerythrin synthesis and cellular morphology in Fremyella diplosiphon green mutants.

Light-dependent modification of photosynthetic pigmentation and cellular growth responses is commonly associated with increased fitness in photosynthetic organisms, including cyanobacteria. Prior analyses of pigmentation mutants in the freshwater cyanobacterium Fremyelladiplosiphon has resulted in the observation that RcaE is a photosensor responsible for regulating organismal responses to changes in red light (RL) and green light (GL). RcaE regulates both pigmentation and cellular morphology, yet previous investigations and the analysis of additional pigmentation mutants here show that the signaling pathways regulating pigmentation and morphology appear to branch downstream of RcaE.

Characterization of green mutants in Fremyella diplosiphon provides insight into the impact of phycoerythrin deficiency and linker function on complementary chromatic adaptation.

Functions of phycobiliprotein (PBP) linkers are less well studied than other PBP polypeptides that are structural components or required for the synthesis of the light-harvesting phycobilisome (PBS) complexes. Linkers serve both structural and functional roles in PBSs. Here, we report the isolation of a phycoerythrin (PE) rod-linker mutant and a novel PE-deficient mutant in Fremyella diplosiphon.

A novel role for a TonB-family protein and photoregulation of iron acclimation in Fremyella diplosiphon.

Photosynthetic organisms display adaptations to changes in light and nutrient availability. Iron, which is required for the function of photosynthetic photosystems and other important biochemical processes, is an essential mineral that consequently impacts not only overall photosynthetic efficiency, but also the physiology of organisms in general. Our recent study represents the first functional characterization of a cyanobacterial TonB protein.

FdTonB is involved in the photoregulation of cellular morphology during complementary chromatic adaptation in Fremyella diplosiphon.

We have characterized a Fremyella diplosiphon TonB protein (FdTonB) and investigated its function during complementary chromatic adaptation. Sequence similarity analysis of FdTonB (571 aa) led to identification of several conserved domains characteristic of TonB proteins, including an N-terminal transmembrane domain, a central proline-rich spacer and a C-terminal TonB-related domain (TBRD). We identified a novel glycine-rich domain containing (Gly-X)(n) repeats.

Photosynthetic response of Nodularia spumigena to UV and photosynthetically active radiation depends on nutrient (N and P) availability.

Biomass of N. spumigena is distributed within the dynamic photic zone that changes in both light quantity and quality. This study was designed to determine whether nutrient status can mitigate the negative impacts of experimental radiation treatments on the photosynthetic performance of N.

Isolate-specific effects of ultraviolet radiation on photosynthesis, growth and mycosporine-like amino acids in the microbial mat-forming cyanobacterium Microcoleus chthonoplastes.

Microcoleus chthonoplastes constitutes one of the dominant microorganisms in intertidal microbial mat communities. In the laboratory, the effects of repeated daily exposure to ultraviolet radiation (16:8 light:dark cycle) was investigated in unicyanobacterial cultures isolated from three different localities (Baltic Sea = WW6; North Sea = STO and Brittany = BRE). Photosynthesis and growth were measured in time series (12-15 days) while UV-absorbing mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) and cellular integrity were determined after 12 and 3 days exposure to three radiation treatments [PAR (22 mumol photon m(-2) s(-1)) = P; PAR + UV-A (8 W m(-2)) = PA; PAR + UV-A + UV-B (0.