Dataset Information

Distribution of circular proteins in plants: large-scale mapping of cyclotides in the Violaceae.

ABSTRACT: During the last decade there has been increasing interest in small circular proteins found in plants of the violet family (Violaceae). These so-called cyclotides consist of a circular chain of approximately 30 amino acids, including six cysteines forming three disulfide bonds, arranged in a cyclic cystine knot (CCK) motif. In this study we map the occurrence and distribution of cyclotides throughout the Violaceae. Plant material was obtained from herbarium sheets containing samples up to 200 years of age. Even the oldest specimens contained cyclotides in the preserved leaves, with no degradation products observable, confirming their place as one of the most stable proteins in nature. Over 200 samples covering 17 of the 23-31 genera in Violaceae were analyzed, and cyclotides were positively identified in 150 species. Each species contained a unique set of between one and 25 cyclotides, with many exclusive to individual plant species. We estimate the number of different cyclotides in the Violaceae to be 5000-25,000, and propose that cyclotides are ubiquitous among all Violaceae species. Twelve new cyclotides from six phylogenetically dispersed genera were sequenced. Furthermore, the first glycosylated derivatives of cyclotides were identified and characterized, further increasing the diversity and complexity of this unique protein family.

SUBMITTER: Burman R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4621522 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Distribution of circular proteins in plants: large-scale mapping of cyclotides in the Violaceae.

Burman Robert R Yeshak Mariamawit Y MY Larsson Sonny S Craik David J DJ Rosengren K Johan KJ Göransson Ulf U

Frontiers in plant science 20151027

During the last decade there has been increasing interest in small circular proteins found in plants of the violet family (Violaceae). These so-called cyclotides consist of a circular chain of approximately 30 amino acids, including six cysteines forming three disulfide bonds, arranged in a cyclic cystine knot (CCK) motif. In this study we map the occurrence and distribution of cyclotides throughout the Violaceae. Plant material was obtained from herbarium sheets containing samples up to 200 yea ...[more]

PMID: 26579135

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Project description:ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:People living in the tropical rain forest of South-Western Nigeria use Rinorea dentata (P. Beauv.) Kuntze (Violaceae) in ethno-veterinary medicine to facilitate parturition. There are no evidence-based pharmacological investigations for the uterotonic activity of this plant. AIMS OF STUDY:(i) Collection of data about the ethnopharmacological uses of R. dentata and evaluation of its uses and applications in health care; (ii) determining potential uterotonic effects in vitro, and (iii) chemical characterization of R. dentata, which is a member of the Violaceae family known to express circular cystine-knot peptides, called cyclotides. MATERIALS AND METHODS:The ethnopharmacological use of R. dentata in settlement camps within the area J4 of Omo forest has been investigated by semi-structured questionnaires and open interviews. Use index analysis has been performed by seven quantitative statistical models. Respondents' claim on the beneficial ethno-veterinary application of the plant to aid parturition has been investigated in vitro by myometrial contractility organ bath assays. The bioactive plant extract was screened by chemical derivatization and mass spectrometry-based peptidomics using reversed-phase HPLC fractionation and MALDI-TOF/TOF analysis. RESULTS:Based on the survey analysis, medicinal preparations of R. dentata have been used for anti-microbial and anti-malaria purpose in humans, and for aiding parturition in farm animals. The latter application was mentioned by one out of six respondents who claimed to use this plant for any medicinal purpose. The plant extract exhibited a weak uterotonic effect using organ bath studies. The plant contains cyclotides and the peptide riden A has been identified by de novo amino acid sequencing using mass spectrometry. CONCLUSION:Few dwellers around the settlement camps of the tropical forest of Omo (Nigeria) use R. dentata for various health problems in traditional veterinary and human medicine. The weak uterotonic effect of the cyclotide-rich extract is in agreement with the low use value index obtained for this plant. Cyclotides have been reported in the genus Rinorea confirming the ubiquitous expression of these stable bioactive plant peptides within the family of Violaceae.

Project description:This article focuses on mapping the Sun's large-scale magnetic fields. In particular, the model considers how photospheric fields evolve in time. Our solar field mapping method uses Netlogo's cellular automata software via algorithms to carry out the movement of magnetic field on the Sun via agents. This model's entities consist of two breeds: blue and red agents. The former carry a fixed amount of radially outward magnetic flux: 10(23) Mx, and the latter, the identical amount of inward directed flux. The individual agents are distinguished, for clarity, by various shades of blue and red arrows whose orientation indicates the direction the agents are moving, relative to the near-steady bulk fluid motions. The fluid motions generally advect the field with the well known meridional circulation and differential rotation. Our model predominantly focuses on spatial and temporal variations from the bulk fluid motions owing to magnetic interactions. There are but a few effects that agents have on each other: i) while at the poles, field agents are connected via the Babcock - Leighton (B - L) subsurface field to other latitudes. This allows them to undertake two duties there: A) the B - L subsurface field spawns the next generation of new magnetic field via new agents, and B) the B - L subsurface field attracts lower-latitude fields via the "long-range" magnetic stress tension; ii) nearby agents affect each other's motion by short-range interactions; and iii) through annihilation: when opposite field agents get too close to each other, they disappear in pairs. The behavior of the agents' long- and short-range magnetic forces is discussed within this paper as well as the model's use of internal boundary conditions. The workings of the model may be seen in the accompanying movies and/or by using the software available via SpringerPlus' website, or on the Netlogo (TM) community website, where help is readable available, and should all these fail, some help from the author.

Dataset Information

Distribution of circular proteins in plants: large-scale mapping of cyclotides in the Violaceae.

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Distribution of circular proteins in plants: large-scale mapping of cyclotides in the Violaceae.

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