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King R, Warsi S, Amos A, Shah S, Mir G, Sheikh A, Siddiqi K. Involving mosques in health promotion programmes: a qualitative exploration of the MCLASS intervention on smoking in the home. Health Educ Res 2017; 32:293-305. [PMID: 28854570 PMCID: PMC5914388 DOI: 10.1093/her/cyx051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 06/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure is high among UK Bangladeshi and Pakistani populations, reflecting higher male smoking prevalence and fewer home smoking restrictions than the general population. The Muslim Communities Learning About Second-hand Smoke (MCLASS) study explored the feasibility and acceptability of implementing SHS education in 14 UK mosques. Religious teachers (RTs) in seven intervention mosques were trained and provided with a culturally appropriate educational package. After the intervention, mosque leaders, RTs and congregants' experiences and perceptions of the intervention were explored through interviews and focus group discussions. Delivery of the intervention varied across mosques. Facilitators and barriers included: mosque diversity (congregation size, organizational structure, educational activities, women's role and involvement); degree of trust between researchers and personnel; and views on SHS. Most participants thought mosques' involvement in SHS health promotion was appropriate, but the perceived importance of SHS differed. We found that a health promotion programme delivered within Islamic religious settings that engages RTs in the process of facilitation, can be acceptable and feasible, but care must be taken to explore the culture and ethos of the institution, including its organizational structure, management committee, RTs and congregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. King
- Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - S. Warsi
- Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK
| | - A. Amos
- Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Medical School, Edinburgh, UK
| | - S. Shah
- Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK
| | - G. Mir
- Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - A. Sheikh
- Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Medical School, Edinburgh, UK
| | - K. Siddiqi
- Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK
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Mir G, Meer S, Cottrell D, Kanter J, McMillan D, House A. Culturally adapted therapy for the treatment of depression in Muslims. Eur J Public Health 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckw175.137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Mir G, Farooq R. Interventions to improve birth outcomes for women at highest risk of infant death-a systematic review. Eur J Public Health 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckw170.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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Guillén Y, Rius N, Delprat A, Williford A, Muyas F, Puig M, Casillas S, Ràmia M, Egea R, Negre B, Mir G, Camps J, Moncunill V, Ruiz-Ruano FJ, Cabrero J, de Lima LG, Dias GB, Ruiz JC, Kapusta A, Garcia-Mas J, Gut M, Gut IG, Torrents D, Camacho JP, Kuhn GCS, Feschotte C, Clark AG, Betrán E, Barbadilla A, Ruiz A. Genomics of ecological adaptation in cactophilic Drosophila. Genome Biol Evol 2014; 7:349-66. [PMID: 25552534 PMCID: PMC4316639 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evu291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cactophilic Drosophila species provide a valuable model to study gene–environment interactions and ecological adaptation. Drosophila buzzatii and Drosophila mojavensis are two cactophilic species that belong to the repleta group, but have very different geographical distributions and primary host plants. To investigate the genomic basis of ecological adaptation, we sequenced the genome and developmental transcriptome of D. buzzatii and compared its gene content with that of D. mojavensis and two other noncactophilic Drosophila species in the same subgenus. The newly sequenced D. buzzatii genome (161.5 Mb) comprises 826 scaffolds (>3 kb) and contains 13,657 annotated protein-coding genes. Using RNA sequencing data of five life-stages we found expression of 15,026 genes, 80% protein-coding genes, and 20% noncoding RNA genes. In total, we detected 1,294 genes putatively under positive selection. Interestingly, among genes under positive selection in the D. mojavensis lineage, there is an excess of genes involved in metabolism of heterocyclic compounds that are abundant in Stenocereus cacti and toxic to nonresident Drosophila species. We found 117 orphan genes in the shared D. buzzatii–D. mojavensis lineage. In addition, gene duplication analysis identified lineage-specific expanded families with functional annotations associated with proteolysis, zinc ion binding, chitin binding, sensory perception, ethanol tolerance, immunity, physiology, and reproduction. In summary, we identified genetic signatures of adaptation in the shared D. buzzatii–D. mojavensis lineage, and in the two separate D. buzzatii and D. mojavensis lineages. Many of the novel lineage-specific genomic features are promising candidates for explaining the adaptation of these species to their distinct ecological niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yolanda Guillén
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Núria Rius
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alejandra Delprat
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Francesc Muyas
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Puig
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sònia Casillas
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miquel Ràmia
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Raquel Egea
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Barbara Negre
- EMBL/CRG Research Unit in Systems Biology, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gisela Mir
- IRTA, Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Campus UAB, Edifici CRAG, Barcelona, Spain The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jordi Camps
- Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG), Parc Científic de Barcelona, Torre I, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Valentí Moncunill
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Edifici TG (Torre Girona), Barcelona, Spain and Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Josefa Cabrero
- Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Spain
| | - Leonardo G de Lima
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Guilherme B Dias
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Jeronimo C Ruiz
- Informática de Biossistemas, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou-Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Aurélie Kapusta
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah School of Medicine
| | - Jordi Garcia-Mas
- IRTA, Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Campus UAB, Edifici CRAG, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Gut
- Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG), Parc Científic de Barcelona, Torre I, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ivo G Gut
- Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG), Parc Científic de Barcelona, Torre I, Barcelona, Spain
| | - David Torrents
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Edifici TG (Torre Girona), Barcelona, Spain and Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juan P Camacho
- Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Spain
| | - Gustavo C S Kuhn
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Cédric Feschotte
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah School of Medicine
| | - Andrew G Clark
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University
| | - Esther Betrán
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington
| | - Antonio Barbadilla
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alfredo Ruiz
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
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Piñol J, Mir G, Gomez-Polo P, Agustí N. Universal and blocking primer mismatches limit the use of high-throughput DNA sequencing for the quantitative metabarcoding of arthropods. Mol Ecol Resour 2014; 15:819-30. [PMID: 25454249 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 248] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2014] [Revised: 11/17/2014] [Accepted: 11/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The quantification of the biological diversity in environmental samples using high-throughput DNA sequencing is hindered by the PCR bias caused by variable primer-template mismatches of the individual species. In some dietary studies, there is the added problem that samples are enriched with predator DNA, so often a predator-specific blocking oligonucleotide is used to alleviate the problem. However, specific blocking oligonucleotides could coblock nontarget species to some degree. Here, we accurately estimate the extent of the PCR biases induced by universal and blocking primers on a mock community prepared with DNA of twelve species of terrestrial arthropods. We also compare universal and blocking primer biases with those induced by variable annealing temperature and number of PCR cycles. The results show that reads of all species were recovered after PCR enrichment at our control conditions (no blocking oligonucleotide, 45 °C annealing temperature and 40 cycles) and high-throughput sequencing. They also show that the four factors considered biased the final proportions of the species to some degree. Among these factors, the number of primer-template mismatches of each species had a disproportionate effect (up to five orders of magnitude) on the amplification efficiency. In particular, the number of primer-template mismatches explained most of the variation (~3/4) in the amplification efficiency of the species. The effect of blocking oligonucleotide concentration on nontarget species relative abundance was also significant, but less important (below one order of magnitude). Considering the results reported here, the quantitative potential of the technique is limited, and only qualitative results (the species list) are reliable, at least when targeting the barcoding COI region.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Piñol
- Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Spain.,CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Spain
| | - G Mir
- CRAG CSIC IRTA UAB UB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Spain.,The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - P Gomez-Polo
- IRTA, Carretera de Cabrils, Km. 2, E-08348 Cabrils, Barcelona, Spain
| | - N Agustí
- IRTA, Carretera de Cabrils, Km. 2, E-08348 Cabrils, Barcelona, Spain
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Salway S, Turner D, Mir G, Bostan B, Carter L, Skinner J, Gerrish K, Ellison GTH. Towards equitable commissioning for our multiethnic society: a mixed-methods qualitative investigation of evidence utilisation by strategic commissioners and public health managers. Health Services and Delivery Research 2013. [DOI: 10.3310/hsdr01140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundThe health-care commissioning cycle is an increasingly powerful determinant of the health services on offer and the care that patients receive. This study focuses on the mobilisation and use of evidence relating to ethnic diversity and inequality.ObjectiveTo describe the patterns and determinants of evidence use relating to ethnic diversity and inequality by managers within commissioning work and to identify promising routes for improvement.MethodsIn-depth semistructured interviews with 19 national key informants and documentation of good practice across England. Detailed case studies of three primary care trusts involving 70+ interviews with key strategic and operational actors, extensive observational work and detailed analysis of related documentation. A suite of commissioning resources based on findings across all elements were tested and refined through three national workshops of key stakeholders.ResultsCommissioners often lack clarity on how to access, appraise, weight or synthesise diverse sources of evidence and can limit the transformational shaping of services by a narrow conceptualisation of their role. Attention to evidence on ethnic diversity and inequality is frequently omitted at both national and local levels. Understanding of its importance is problematic and there are gaps in this evidence that create further barriers to its use within the commissioning cycle. Commissioning models provide no reward or sanction for inclusion or omission of evidence on ethnicity and commissioning teams or partners are not representative of minority ethnic populations. Neglect of this dimension within national drivers results in low demand for evidence. This organisational context can promote risk-averse attitudes that maintain the status quo. Pockets of good practice exist but they are largely dependent on individual expertise and commitment and are often not shared. Study findings suggested the need for action at three levels: creating an enabling environment; equipping health-care commissioners; and empowering wider stakeholders. Key enabling factors would be attention to ethnicity within policy drivers; senior-level commitment and resource; a diverse workforce; collaborative partnerships with relevant stakeholders; and the creation of local, regional and national infrastructure.LimitationsIt was harder to identify enablers of effective use of evidence in this area than barriers. Including a case study of an organisation that had achieved greater mainstreaming of the ethnic diversity agenda might have added to our understanding of enabling factors. The study was conducted during a period of fundamental restructuring of NHS commissioning structures. This caused some difficulties in gathering data and it is possible that widespread change and uncertainty may have produced more negative narratives from participants than would otherwise have been the case.ConclusionsKnowledge mobilisation and utilisation within the commissioning cycle occurs in the context of dynamic interactions between individual agency, organisational context and the wider health-care setting, situated within the UK sociopolitical milieu. Our findings highlight isolated pockets of good practice amidst a general picture of limited organisational engagement, low priority and inadequate skills. Findings indicate the need for specific guidance alongside incentives and resources to support commissioning for a multiethnic population. A more comprehensive infrastructure and, most importantly, greater political will is needed to promote practice that focuses on reducing ethnic health inequalities at all stages of the commissioning cycle.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Salway
- School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - D Turner
- Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK
| | - G Mir
- Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - B Bostan
- Public Health, NHS Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - L Carter
- Communications and Engagement, NHS Airedale, Bradford and Leeds, Bradford, UK
| | - J Skinner
- Public Health, NHS Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - K Gerrish
- School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - GTH Ellison
- Leeds Institute of Genetics, Health and Therapeutics, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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Piñol J, San Andrés V, Clare EL, Mir G, Symondson WOC. A pragmatic approach to the analysis of diets of generalist predators: the use of next-generation sequencing with no blocking probes. Mol Ecol Resour 2013; 14:18-26. [DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2012] [Revised: 07/12/2013] [Accepted: 07/20/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. Piñol
- Univ. Autònoma Barcelona; Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193 Spain
- CREAF; Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193 Spain
- Cardiff School of Biosciences; Cardiff University; Sir Martin Evans Building Museum Avenue Cardiff CF10 3AX UK
| | - V. San Andrés
- Cardiff School of Biosciences; Cardiff University; Sir Martin Evans Building Museum Avenue Cardiff CF10 3AX UK
| | - E. L. Clare
- Cardiff School of Biosciences; Cardiff University; Sir Martin Evans Building Museum Avenue Cardiff CF10 3AX UK
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary, University of London; Mile End Road London E1 4NS UK
| | - G. Mir
- Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica (CRAG) CSIC IRTA UAB UB; Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193 Spain
| | - W. O. C. Symondson
- Cardiff School of Biosciences; Cardiff University; Sir Martin Evans Building Museum Avenue Cardiff CF10 3AX UK
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González VM, Benjak A, Hénaff EM, Mir G, Casacuberta JM, Garcia-Mas J, Puigdomènech P. Sequencing of 6.7 Mb of the melon genome using a BAC pooling strategy. BMC Plant Biol 2010; 10:246. [PMID: 21073723 PMCID: PMC3095328 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2229-10-246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2010] [Accepted: 11/12/2010] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cucumis melo (melon) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, whose economic importance among horticulture crops is second only to Solanaceae. Melon has a high intra-specific genetic variation, morphologic diversity and a small genome size (454 Mb), which make it suitable for a great variety of molecular and genetic studies. A number of genetic and genomic resources have already been developed, such as several genetic maps, BAC genomic libraries, a BAC-based physical map and EST collections. Sequence information would be invaluable to complete the picture of the melon genomic landscape, furthering our understanding of this species' evolution from its relatives and providing an important genetic tool. However, to this day there is little sequence data available, only a few melon genes and genomic regions are deposited in public databases. The development of massively parallel sequencing methods allows envisaging new strategies to obtain long fragments of genomic sequence at higher speed and lower cost than previous Sanger-based methods. RESULTS In order to gain insight into the structure of a significant portion of the melon genome we set out to perform massive sequencing of pools of BAC clones. For this, a set of 57 BAC clones from a double haploid line was sequenced in two pools with the 454 system using both shotgun and paired-end approaches. The final assembly consists of an estimated 95% of the actual size of the melon BAC clones, with most likely complete sequences for 50 of the BACs, and a total sequence coverage of 39x. The accuracy of the assembly was assessed by comparing the previously available Sanger sequence of one of the BACs against its 454 sequence, and the polymorphisms found involved only 1.7 differences every 10,000 bp that were localized in 15 homopolymeric regions and two dinucleotide tandem repeats. Overall, the study provides approximately 6.7 Mb or 1.5% of the melon genome. The analysis of this new data has allowed us to gain further insight into characteristics of the melon genome such as gene density, average protein length, or microsatellite and transposon content. The annotation of the BAC sequences revealed a high degree of collinearity and protein sequence identity between melon and its close relative Cucumis sativus (cucumber). Transposon content analysis of the syntenic regions suggests that transposition activity after the split of both cucurbit species has been low in cucumber but very high in melon. CONCLUSIONS The results presented here show that the strategy followed, which combines shotgun and BAC-end sequencing together with anchored marker information, is an excellent method for sequencing specific genomic regions, especially from relatively compact genomes such as that of melon. However, in agreement with other results, this map-based, BAC approach is confirmed to be an expensive way of sequencing a whole plant genome. Our results also provide a partial description of the melon genome's structure. Namely, our analysis shows that the melon genome is highly collinear with the smaller one of cucumber, the size difference being mainly due to the expansion of intergenic regions and proliferation of transposable elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Víctor M González
- Molecular Genetics Department, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB), Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Andrej Benjak
- IRTA, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB), Carretera de Cabrils Km 2, 08348 (Barcelona), Spain
| | - Elizabeth Marie Hénaff
- Molecular Genetics Department, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB), Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gisela Mir
- IRTA, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB), Carretera de Cabrils Km 2, 08348 (Barcelona), Spain
| | - Josep M Casacuberta
- Molecular Genetics Department, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB), Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Garcia-Mas
- IRTA, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB), Carretera de Cabrils Km 2, 08348 (Barcelona), Spain
| | - Pere Puigdomènech
- Molecular Genetics Department, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB), Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
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Goggin DE, Mir G, Smith WB, Stuckey M, Smith PMC. Proteomic analysis of lupin seed proteins to identify conglutin Beta as an allergen, Lup an 1. J Agric Food Chem 2008; 56:6370-6377. [PMID: 18620408 DOI: 10.1021/jf800840u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Lupin products may be valuable as human foods because of their high protein content and potential anticholesterolemic properties. However, a small percentage of the population is allergic to lupin. In this study, we use in vitro IgE binding and mass spectrometry to identify conglutin beta, a major storage protein, as an allergen in seeds of Lupinus angustifolius and Lupinus albus. Purification of conglutin beta from L. angustifolius flour confirmed that serum IgE binds to this protein. Where IgE in sera recognized lupin proteins on Western blots, it recognized conglutin beta, suggesting this protein is a major allergen for lupin. The L. angustifolius conglutin beta allergen has been designated Lup an 1 by the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) allergen nomenclature subcommittee.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danica E Goggin
- School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
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Domènech J, Orihuela R, Mir G, Molinas M, Atrian S, Capdevila M. The CdII-binding abilities of recombinant Quercus suber metallothionein: bridging the gap between phytochelatins and metallothioneins. J Biol Inorg Chem 2007; 12:867-82. [PMID: 17503092 DOI: 10.1007/s00775-007-0241-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2006] [Accepted: 04/12/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In this work, we have analyzed both at stoichiometric and at conformational level the Cd(II)-binding features of a type 2 plant metallothionein (MT) (the cork oak, Quercus suber, QsMT). To this end four peptides, the wild-type QsMT and three constructs previously engineered to characterize its Zn(II)- and Cu(I)-binding behaviour, were heterologously produced in Escherichia coli cultures supplemented with Cd(II), and the corresponding complexes were purified up to homogeneity. The Cd(II)-binding ability of these recombinant peptides was determined through the chemical, spectroscopic and spectrometric characterization of the recovered clusters. Recombinant synthesis of the four QsMT peptides in cadmium-rich media rendered complexes with a higher metal content than those obtained from zinc-supplemented cultures and, consequently, the recovered Cd(II) species are nonisostructural to those of Zn(II). Also of interest is the fact that three out of the four peptides yielded recombinant preparations that included S(2-)-containing Cd(II) complexes as major species. Subsequently, the in vitro Zn(II)/Cd(II) replacement reactions were studied, as well as the in vitro acid denaturation and S(2-) renaturation reactions. Finally, the capacity of the four peptides for preventing cadmium deleterious effects in yeast cells was tested through complementation assays. Consideration of all the results enables us to suggest a hairpin folding model for this typical type 2 plant Cd(II)-MT complex, as well as a nonnegligible role of the spacer in the detoxification function of QsMT towards cadmium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Domènech
- Departament de Genètica, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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Domènech J, Mir G, Huguet G, Capdevila M, Molinas M, Atrian S. Plant metallothionein domains: functional insight into physiological metal binding and protein folding. Biochimie 2005; 88:583-93. [PMID: 16377055 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2005.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2005] [Revised: 10/31/2005] [Accepted: 11/04/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Plant metallothioneins (MTs) differ from animal MTs by a peculiar sequence organization consisting of two short cysteine-rich terminal domains linked by a long cysteine-devoid spacer. The role of the plant MT domains in the protein structure and functionality is largely unknown. Here, we investigate the separate domain contribution to the in vivo binding of Zn and Cu and to confer metal tolerance to CUP1-null yeast cells of a plant type 2 MT (QsMT). For this purpose, we obtained three recombinant peptides that, respectively, correspond to the single N-terminal (N25) and C-terminal (C18) cysteine-rich domains of QsMT, and a chimera in which the spacer is replaced with a four-glycine bridge (N25-C18). The metal-peptide preparations recovered from Zn- or Cu-enriched cultures were characterized by ESI-MS, ICP-OES and CD and UV-vis spectroscopy and data compared to full length QsMT. Results are consistent with QsMT giving rise to homometallic Zn- or Cu-MT complexes according to a hairpin model in which the two Cys-rich domains interact to form a cluster. In this model the spacer region does not contribute to the metal coordination. However, our data from Zn-QsMT (but not from Cu-QsMT) support a fold of the spacer involving some interaction with the metal core. On the other hand, results from functional complementation assays in endogenous MT-defective yeast cells suggest that the spacer region may play a role in Cu-QsMT stability or subcellular localization. As a whole, our results provide the first insight into the structure/function relationship of plant MTs using the analysis of the separate domain abilities to bind physiological metals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Domènech
- Departament de Genètica, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION Hyperparathyroidism (HPT) is a highly prevalent pathology in the chronic renal disease population, which is associated with considerable morbidity, and mortality. The histopathological findings most often reported are solitary adenoma, diffuse hyperplasia, and autonomous hyperplasia. Carcinoma is an unusual cause of primary parathyroid hyperfunction (0.5% to 4% according to data); in renal transplanted patients it is exceptional. We sought to analyze parathyroid gland histology from renal transplant patients in comparison with nontransplanted patients and to report a parathyroid carcinoma case in a renal transplant patient. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed parathyroidectomies (PTX) and histopathological reports between March 1989 and December 2003. RESULTS Among 72 PTXs 41 were performed because of primary HPT; 26, secondary HPT; and five, tertiary HPT. Among the 41 primary HPT cases there were two carcinomas (4.88% primary HPT operated patients), one of whom was in a kidney transplant recipient. Among the total number of surgeries, seven were performed in six renal transplant patients, including five diffuse hyperplasia cases; one, nodular hyperplasia with an adenoma focus; and one, parathyroid carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS Parathyroidectomy indications in the renal transplant population are usually associated with the clinical picture of tertiary HPT, which does not resolve after a functional renal transplant. In spite of this, diffuse hyperplasia, which is associated with secondary HPT, was the most frequent hystological finding. Two carcinomas were observed: one in a renal transplant patient (16.6% parathyroidectomies) and the other in a patient who did not show renal failure. These data coincide with international records.
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Affiliation(s)
- L M Obregón
- CRAI SUR CUCAIBA, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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13
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Mir G, Domènech J, Huguet G, Guo WJ, Goldsbrough P, Atrian S, Molinas M. A plant type 2 metallothionein (MT) from cork tissue responds to oxidative stress. J Exp Bot 2004; 55:2483-2493. [PMID: 15448172 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erh254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Expression of plant metallothionein genes has been reported in a variety of senescing tissues, such as leaves and stems, ripening fruits, and wounded tissues, and has been proposed to function in both metal chaperoning and scavenging of reactive oxygen species. In this work, it is shown that MT is also associated with suberization, after identifying a gene actively transcribed in Quercus suber cork cells as a novel MT. This cDNA, isolated from a phellem cDNA library, encodes a MT that belongs to type 2 plant MTs (QsMT). Expression of the QsMT cDNA in E. coli grown in media supplemented with Zn, Cd, or Cu has yielded recombinant QsMT. Characterization of the respective metal aggregates agrees well with a copper-related biological role, consistent with the capacity of QsMT to restore copper tolerance to a MT-deficient, copper-sensitive yeast mutant. Furthermore, in situ hybridization results demonstrate that RNA expression of QsMT is mainly observed under conditions related to oxidative stress, either endogenous, as found in cork or in actively proliferating tissues, or exogenous, for example, in response to H(2)O(2) or paraquat treatments. The putative role of QsMT in oxidative stress, both as a free radical scavenger via its sulphydryl groups or as a copper chelator is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela Mir
- Departament de Biologia, Universitat de Girona, Campus Montilivi, E-17071 Girona, Spain
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14
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Puigderrajols P, Jofré A, Mir G, Pla M, Verdaguer D, Huguet G, Molinas M. Developmentally and stress-induced small heat shock proteins in cork oak somatic embryos. J Exp Bot 2002; 53:1445-1452. [PMID: 12021292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The timing and tissue localization of small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) during cork oak somatic embryo development was investigated under normal growing culture conditions and in response to stress. Western blot analyses using polyclonal antibodies raised against cork oak recombinant HSP17 showed a transient accumulation of class I sHSPs during somatic embryo maturation and germination. Moreover, the amount of protein increased at all stages of embryo development in response to exogenous stress. The developmentally accumulated proteins localized to early differentiating, but not the highly dividing, regions of the root and shoot apical meristems. By contrast, these highly dividing regions were strongly immunostained after heat stress. Findings support the hypothesis of a distinct control for developmentally and stress-induced accumulation of class I sHSPs. The possible role of sHSPs is discussed in relation to their tissue specific localization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pere Puigderrajols
- Laboratori del Suro, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, 17071 Girona, Spain
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15
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Puigderrajols P, Mir G, Molinas M. Ultrastructure of Early Secondary Embryogenesis by Multicellular and Unicellular Pathways in Cork Oak ( Quercus suber L.). Ann Bot 2001; 87:179-189. [PMID: 32050735 DOI: 10.1006/anbo.2000.1317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Early cellular events during secondary embryogenesis were studied in a cork oak recurrent embryogenic system in which embryos arise either in a multicellular budding pathway from a compact mass of proliferation or from isolated single cells in friable callus. The compact mass of proliferation originated from the epidermal cells at the hypocotyl whose growth and convolution was characterized by a decrease in the nucleus/cytoplasm ratio and a marked increase in storage products. The transition from the compact mass to meristematic primordia occurred at the periphery and was accompanied by cell dedifferentiation and a drastic reduction of storage products. Meristematic primordia evolved to globular embryos by the organization of a protodermis and two internal centres. Microscope analysis of friable callus showed an hypothetical sequence from single cells to aggregates of a few cells, meristematic cell clusters and globular embryos. Single cells showed typical features of embryogenic cells such as rich cytoplasm and a large number of starch grains and lipid bodies. A progressive cell dedifferentiation and a drastic reduction of storage products was observed when aggregates of a few cells and meristematic cell clusters were compared. Progressive bipolarization in large meristematic cell clusters initiated globular embryo formation. The comparison of both embryogenic pathways at the ultrastructural level showed that subcellular changes follow a similar sequential pattern, especially with regard to the storage products. The possible role of plastid extrusions and multivesicular bodies in the changing pattern of starch metabolism during embryogenesis is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pere Puigderrajols
- Department de Biologia, Universitat de Girona, Laboratori del Suro, Campus Montilivi s/n., E-17071, Girona, Spain
| | - Gisela Mir
- Department de Biologia, Universitat de Girona, Laboratori del Suro, Campus Montilivi s/n., E-17071, Girona, Spain
| | - Marisa Molinas
- Department de Biologia, Universitat de Girona, Laboratori del Suro, Campus Montilivi s/n., E-17071, Girona, Spain
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