Biology subjects

Ouyang, X.

Publications and source records attributed to Ouyang, X..

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

The wheat cytosolic glutamine synthetase GS1.1 modulates N assimilation and spike development by characterizing CRISPR-edited mutants

Glutamine synthetase (GS) mediates the first step in the assimilation of inorganic nitrogen (N) into amino acids, however the function of GS encoding genes is not well understood in wheat (Triticum aestivum). We found that the cytosolic TaGS1.1 was the major transcripted GS1 gene and was up-regulated by low-N availability. CRISPR/Cas9 mediated genome editing was employed to develop two gs1.1 mutants with mutated TaGS1.1-6A, -6B, and -6D. Both mutants had lower grains per spike and grain yield per plant than the wild type under both low-N and high-N conditions in field experiments. In a hydroponic culture treated with different N resources, the two mutants was more sensitive to low-N stress than the wild type, but showed similar sensitivity to high ammonium stress with the wild type. The growth deficiency and impaired spike development were associated with the imbalance of N metabolites in the mutant plants. During grain filling, TaGS1.1 mutation reduced N translocation efficiency and delayed leaf N loss and grain N filling. Our results suggested that TaGS1.1 is important for N assimilation and remobilization, and required for wheat adaptation to N-limited conditions and spike development. HighlightThe wheat cytosolic glutamine synthetase TaGS1.1 is important for N assimilation and remobilization, and is required for wheat adaptation to low-N stress and spike development.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Integrative Proteomic Analysis of Posttranslational Modification in The Inflammatory Response

The posttranslational modification (PTM) of proteins, particularly acetylation, phosphorylation and ubiquitination, plays a critical role in the host innate immune response. PTMs dynamic changes and the crosstalk among them are complicated. To build a comprehensive dynamic network of inflammation related proteins, we integrated data from the whole cell proteome (WCP), acetylome, phosphoproteome and ubiquitinome of human and mouse macrophages. Our datasets of acetylation, phosphorylation and ubiquitination sites helped identify PTM crosstalk within and across proteins involved in the inflammatory response. Stimulation of macrophages by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) resulted in both degradative and non-degradative ubiquitination. Moreover, this study contributes to the interpretation of the roles of known inflammatory molecules and the discovery of novel inflammatory proteins.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2020

Mass spectrometry analysis of newly emerging coronavirus HCoV-19 spike S protein and human ACE2 reveals camouflaging glycans and unique post-translational modifications

The pneumonia-causing COVID-19 pandemia has prompt worldwide efforts to understand its biological and clinical traits of newly identified HCoV-19 virus. In this study, post-translational modification (PTM) of recombinant HCoV-19 S and hACE2 were characterized by LC-MSMS. We revealed that both proteins were highly decorated with specific proportions of N-glycan subtypes. Out of 21 possible glycosites in HCoV-19 S protein, 20 were confirmed completely occupied by N-glycans, with oligomannose glycans being the most abundant type. All 7 possible glycosylation sites in hACE2 were completely occupied mainly by complex type N-glycans. However, we showed that glycosylation did not directly contribute to the binding affinity between SARS-CoV spike protein and hACE2. Additionally, we also identified multiple sites methylated in both proteins, and multiple prolines in hACE2 were converted to hydroxylproline. Refined structural models were built by adding N-glycan and PTMs to recently published cryo-EM structure of the HCoV-19 S and hACE2 generated with glycosylation sites in the vicinity of binding surface. The PTM and glycan maps of both HCoV-19 S and hACE2 provide additional structural details to study mechanisms underlying host attachment, immune response mediated by S protein and hACE2, as well as knowledge to develop remedies and vaccines desperately needed nowadays.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2019

A Pandas complex adapted for piRNA-guided transposon silencing

The repression of transposons by the Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway is essential to protect animal germ cells. In Drosophila ovaries, Panoramix (Panx) enforces transcriptional silencing by binding to the target-engaged Piwi-piRNA complex, although the precise mechanisms by which this occurs remain elusive. Here, we show that Panx functions together with a germline specific paralogue of a nuclear export factor, dNxf2, and its cofactor dNxt1 (p15), as a ternary complex to suppress transposon expression. Structural and functional analyses demonstrate that dNxf2 binds Panx via its UBA domain, which plays an important role in transposon silencing. Unexpectedly, dNxf2 interacts directly with dNxf1 (TAP), a general nuclear export factor. As a result, dNxf2 prevents dNxf1 from binding to the FG repeats of the nuclear pore complex, a process required for proper RNA export. Transient tethering of dNxf2 to nascent transcripts leads to their nuclear retention. Therefore, we propose that dNxf2 may function as a Pandas (Panoramix-dNxf2 dependent TAP/p15 silencing) complex, which counteracts the canonical RNA exporting machinery and restricts transposons to the nuclear peripheries. Our findings may have broader implications for understanding how RNA metabolism modulates epigenetic gene silencing and heterochromatin formation.

molecular biology↗