Biotechnology for mechanisms that counteract salt stress in extremophile species: a genome-based view

Bressan, Ray A.,Park, Hyeong Cheol,Orsini, Francesco,Oh, Dong-Ha,Dassanayake, Maheshi,Inan, Gunsu,Yun, Dae-Jin,Bohnert, Hans J.,Maggio, Albino 한국식물생명공학회 2013 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.7 No.1

Molecular genetics has confirmed older research and generated new insights into the ways how plants deal with adverse conditions. This body of research is now being used to interpret stress behavior of plants in new ways, and to add results from most recent genomicsbased studies. The new knowledge now includes genome sequences of species that show extreme abiotic stress tolerances, which enables new strategies for applications through either molecular breeding or transgenic engineering. We will highlight some physiological features of the extremophile lifestyle, outline emerging features about halophytism based on genomics, and discuss conclusions about underlying mechanisms.

Immobilization of Fusarium graminearum β-D-fructofuranosidase Using Alternative Cellulosic Supports: Stabilization and Production of Fructooligosaccharides

Heloísa Bressan Gonçalves,João Atílio Jorge,Luis Henrique Souza Guimarães 한국식품과학회 2015 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.24 No.4

The extracellular β-D-fructofuranosidase from Fusarium graminearum was immobilized using hydrophilic cotton, filter paper, multipurpose cloth, sugar cane bagasse, string, or gauze as alternative cellulosic supports, or with cyanogen bromide agarose. All derivatives (support+enzyme) showed high capacity for reuse (up to 23 times). The derivatives obtained with multipurpose cloth and string were stable at 60℃ maintaining 80% of their activity for more than 120 min. The filter paper derivative had a halflife (T50) of 27 min at 70℃. When tested for their pH stability (3.0-9.0), all derivatives were more stable than the free enzyme, especially the cotton derivative. The sugarcane bagasse, string, and filter paper derivatives could efficiently produce fructooligosaccharides (FOS) using sucrose as substrate. According to the retention of enzymatic activity, reuse and stabilities, the filter paper and string were the best alternative supports for β-D-fructofuranosidase immobilization, allowing enzyme stabilization and production of FOS.

EGFL7 expression profile in IDH-wildtype glioblastomas is associated with poor patient outcome

Bruno Henrique Bressan da Costa,Aline Paixão Becker,Luciano Neder,Paola Gyuliane Gonçalves,Cristiane de Oliveira,Allan Dias Polverini,Clara Carlos Afonso,Gustavo Ramos Teixeira,Rui Manuel Reis,Lucas T 대한병리학회 2022 Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine Vol.56 No.4

Background: Despite the advances in glioblastoma (GBM) treatment, the average life span of patients is 14 months. Therefore, it is urgent to identity biomarkers of prognosis, treatment response, or development of novel treatment strategies. We previously described the association of high epidermal growth factor-like domain multiple 7 (EGFL7) expression and unfavorable outcome of pilocytic astrocytoma patients. The present study aims to analyze the prognostic potential of EGFL7 in GBM isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype, using immunohistochemistry and in silico approaches.Methods: Spearman’s correlation analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas RNA sequencing data was performed. The genes strongly correlated to EGFL7 expression were submitted to enrichment gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. Additionally, EGFL7 expression was associated with patient overall survival. The expression of EGFL7 was analyzed through immunohistochemistry in 74 GBM IDH-wildtype patients’ samples, and was associated with clinicopathological data and overall survival.Results: In silico analysis found 78 genes strongly correlated to EGFL7 expression. These genes were enriched in 40 biological processes and eight KEGG pathways, including angiogenesis/vasculogenesis, cell adhesion, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase–Akt, Notch, and Rap1 signaling pathways. The immunostaining showed high EGFL7 expression in 39 cases (52.7%). High immunolabelling was significantly associated with low Karnofsky Performance Status and poor overall survival. Cox analysis showed that GBMs IDH-wildtype with high EGFL7 expression presented a higher risk of death compared to low expression (hazard ratio, 1.645; 95% confidence interval, 1.021 to 2.650; p = .041).Conclusions: This study gives insights regarding the genes that are correlated with EGFL7, as well as biological processes and signaling pathways, which should be further investigated in order to elucidate their role in glioblastoma biology.

It’s Hard to Avoid Avoidance: Uncoupling the Evolutionary Connection between Plant Growth, Productivity and Stress “Tolerance”

Maggio, Albino,Bressan, Ray A.,Zhao, Yang,Park, Junghoon,Yun, Dae-Jin MDPI 2018 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES Vol.19 No.11

<P>In the last 100 years, agricultural developments have favoured selection for highly productive crops, a fact that has been commonly associated with loss of key traits for environmental stress tolerance. We argue here that this is not exactly the case. We reason that high yield under near optimal environments came along with <I>hypersensitization</I> of plant stress perception and consequently <I>early activation</I> of stress avoidance mechanisms, such as slow growth, which were originally needed for survival over long evolutionary time periods. Therefore, mechanisms employed by plants to cope with a stressful environment during evolution were overwhelmingly geared to avoid detrimental effects so as to ensure survival and that plant stress “tolerance” is fundamentally and evolutionarily based on “avoidance” of injury and death which may be referred to as evolutionary avoidance (EVOL-Avoidance). As a consequence, slow growth results from being exposed to stress because genes and genetic programs to adjust growth rates to external circumstances have evolved as a survival but not productivity strategy that has allowed extant plants to avoid extinction. To improve productivity under moderate stressful conditions, the evolution-oriented plant stress response circuits must be changed from a survival mode to a continued productivity mode or to <I>avoid</I> the evolutionary avoidance response, as it were. This may be referred to as Agricultural (AGRI-Avoidance). Clearly, highly productive crops have kept the slow, reduced growth response to stress that they evolved to ensure survival. Breeding programs and genetic engineering have not succeeded to genetically remove these responses because they are polygenic and redundantly programmed. From the beginning of modern plant breeding, we have not fully appreciated that our crop plants react overly-cautiously to stress conditions. They over-reduce growth to be able to survive stresses for a period of time much longer than a cropping season. If we are able to remove this polygenic redundant survival safety net we may improve yield in moderately stressful environments, yet we will face the requirement to replace it with either an emergency slow or no growth (dormancy) response to extreme stress or use resource management to rescue crops under extreme stress (or both).</P>

Role and Functional Differences of HKT1-Type Transporters in Plants under Salt Stress

Ali, Akhtar,Maggio, Albino,Bressan, Ray A.,Yun, Dae-Jin MDPI 2019 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES Vol.20 No.5

<P>Abiotic stresses generally cause a series of morphological, biochemical and molecular changes that unfavorably affect plant growth and productivity. Among these stresses, soil salinity is a major threat that can seriously impair crop yield. To cope with the effects of high salinity on plants, it is important to understand the mechanisms that plants use to deal with it, including those activated in response to disturbed Na<SUP>+</SUP> and K<SUP>+</SUP> homeostasis at cellular and molecular levels. HKT1-type transporters are key determinants of Na<SUP>+</SUP> and K<SUP>+</SUP> homeostasis under salt stress and they contribute to reduce Na<SUP>+</SUP>-specific toxicity in plants. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the function of HKT1-type transporters and their importance in different plant species under salt stress. Comparison between HKT1 homologs in different plant species will shed light on different approaches plants may use to cope with salinity.</P>

Evidence of formation of lithium compounds on FTU tiles and dust

F. Ghezzi,C. Bressan,R. Caniello,C. Conti,M. De Angeli,L. Laguardia,E. Perelli Cippo,M. Laura Apicella,G. Maddaluno,G. Granuci,G. Mazzitelli 한국진공학회 2016 한국진공학회 학술발표회초록집 Vol.2016 No.8

Modified Soybean Affects Cholesterol Metabolism in Rats Similarly to a Commercial Cultivar

Elizabethe A. Esteves,Josefina Bressan,Neuza M.B. Costa,Hercia S.D. Martino,Shawn S. Donkin,Jon A. Story 한국식품영양과학회 2011 Journal of medicinal food Vol.14 No.11

The consumption of soy protein lowers blood cholesterol in humans and animals. Breeding may alter the physiological effects of soybeans, such as its cholesterol-lowering property. Our hypothesis is that breeding affects the hypocholesterolemic effect of soy by modulating the expression of key hepatic enzymes related to cholesterol and bile acid biosynthesis, as well as altering fecal neutral and acidic steroid excretion. Therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a new Brazilian soybean cultivar (UFV-116), lacking lipoxygenases 2 and 3, compared with a commercial cultivar (OCEPAR-19), on 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A) mRNA expression and fecal steroid output in rats. Thirty-six male rats were fed UFV-116, OCEPAR-19, or casein as the protein source, with or without addition of dietary cholesterol (0.25%). Blood and liver cholesterol, HMGR and CYP7A mRNA abundance, and fecal excretion of steroids were measured. Blood and liver cholesterol levels were lowered by both soybean cultivars, with and without cholesterol, but UFV-116 was more effective when included in the cholesterol-free diet. Both soy diets promoted lower levels of HMGR mRNA, higher levels of CYP7A mRNA, and higher excretion of fecal secondary bile acids. There was higher fecal neutral steroid output when cholesterol was added to all diets. These data show that both soybean cultivars acted similarly in lowering serum and hepatic cholesterol; therefore, breeding did not affect the hypocholesterolemic effect of the new cultivar.

Intracellular consequences of SOS1 deficiency during salt stress

Oh, Dong-Ha,Lee, Sang Yeol,Bressan, Ray A.,Yun, Dae-Jin,Bohnert, Hans J. Oxford University Press 2010 Journal of experimental botany Vol.61 No.4

<P>A mutation of AtSOS1 (Salt Overly Sensitive 1), a plasma membrane Na<SUP>+</SUP>/H<SUP>+</SUP>-antiporter in <I>Arabidopsis thaliana,</I> leads to a salt-sensitive phenotype accompanied by the death of root cells under salt stress. Intracellular events and changes in gene expression were compared during a non-lethal salt stress between the wild type and a representative SOS1 mutant, <I>atsos1-1,</I> by confocal microscopy using ion-specific fluorophores and by quantitative RT-PCR. In addition to the higher accumulation of sodium ions, <I>atsos1-1</I> showed inhibition of endocytosis, abnormalities in vacuolar shape and function, and changes in intracellular pH compared to the wild type in root tip cells under stress. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed a dramatically faster and higher induction of root-specific Ca<SUP>2+</SUP> transporters, including several CAXs and CNGCs, and the drastic down-regulation of genes involved in pH-homeostasis and membrane potential maintenance. Differential regulation of genes for functions in intracellular protein trafficking in <I>atsos1-1</I> was also observed. The results suggested roles of the SOS1 protein, in addition to its function as a Na<SUP>+</SUP>/H<SUP>+</SUP> antiporter, whose disruption affected membrane traffic and vacuolar functions possibly by controlling pH homeostasis in root cells.</P>

k-anonymity Diagnosis Centre

Mohammad Reza Zare Mirakabad,Aman Jantan,Stephane Bressan 보안공학연구지원센터 2009 International Journal of Security and Its Applicat Vol.3 No.1

Many efforts have been done in the field of privacy preservation to devise algorithms for data k-anonymization and l-diversification trying to protect privacy, by modification of data, for example. Fewer efforts have been made for devising techniques, tools and methodologies for investigation and evaluation of privacy risks. We are concerned about privacy diagnosis before starting protection. Actually we show privacy leakages threaten data publication. We introduce a Privacy Diagnosis Centre for this purpose. In this paper toward this diagnosis centre we focus on anonymity and, in particular, k-anonymity. Then we aim at k-anonymity diagnosis system. Such a system explores various questions about k-anonymity of data. “For which k is my data k-anonymous?”, “is my data sufficiently k-anonymous?”, “which subset and projection of data can be safely published to guarantee given k?”, “which information, if available from an outside source, threatens the k-anonymity of my data?” are examples of questions can be answered. We leverage two properties of k-anonymity that we express in the form of two lemmas. The first lemma is a monotonicity property that enables us to adapt the a-priori algorithm for k-anonymity. The second lemma, however, is a determinism property that enables us to devise an efficient algorithm for δ-suppression. We illustrate and empirically analyze the performance of the proposed algorithms.

Derivation and Culture of Putative Parthenogenetic Embryonic Stem Cells in New Gelatin Substrates Modified with Galactomannan

Rafael R. Ruggeri,Adriana Bos-Mikich,Fabiana F. Bressan,Nataly M. Siqueira,Flávio Meirelles,Nilo Frantz,Yeda F. Watanabe,Rosane M. D. Soares 한국고분자학회 2014 Macromolecular Research Vol.22 No.10

Human embryonic stem cells (ESC) lines to be used for cell therapies must be created and maintainedunder strict conditions, excluding the use of undefined supplements. Two key steps in the creation of a new embryonicstem cell line are adherence to the substrate and derivation towards the formation of a primary colony. Thebovine parthenote embryo model was used to test different matrices of gelatin nanofibers and gelatin/galactomannanfilms to be used for ESC derivation and culturing. Gelatin/galactomannan films were made in two concentrations ofgalactomannan, 0.1 and 0.3%, in an aqueous solution of gelatin and tested for gel cytotoxicity using cumulus cells(CCs). CCs showed normal cell morphology, with no sign of lysis or degeneration in any of the matrices tested. Innercell masses of parthenote blastocysts (n=116) were placed onto the gel matrices for culture. There were three or fourrepeats for each matrix. Our results showed a good rate of inner cell mass (ICM) adherence on the gelatin/galactomannanfilms (41%-44%) and one derivative of the gel nanofiber (17% adherence to the substrate). These resultsencouraged us to try new gelatin formulations to increase the rates of derivation and cell proliferation under definedculture conditions to comply with good manufacturing practice directives for the potential therapeutic use of ESCs.