cDNA cloning of a novel lectin that induce cell apoptosis from Artocarpus hypargyreus

We isolated a novel lectin (AHL) from Artocarpus hypargyreusHance and showed its immunomodulatory activities. In this study, the amino acid sequence of AHL was determined by cDNA sequencing. AHL cDNA (875bp) contains a 456-bp open reading frame (ORF), which encodes a protein with 151 amino acids. AHL is a new member of jacalin-related lectin family (JRLs), which share high sequence similarities to KM+ and Morniga M, and contain the conserved carbohydrate binding domains. The antitumor activity of AHL was also explored using Jurkat T cell lines. AHL exhibits a strong binding affinity to cell membrane, which can be effectively inhibited by methyl-α-D-galactose. AHL inhibits cell proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner through apoptosis, evidenced by morphological changes, phosphatidylserine externalization, poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage, Bad and Bax up-regulation, and caspase-3 activation. We further showed that the activation of ERK and p38 signaling pathways is involved for the pro-apoptotic effect of AHL.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Artocarpus hypargyreus

The complete chloroplast genome sequences of Artocarpus hypargyreus was reported in this study. The length of the sequence was 160,952 bp in length with a large single copy (LSC) region of 89,476 bp, the small single copy (SSC) region of 20,070 bp and two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 25,703 bp. The complete genome contains 129 genes including 84 protein-coding genes, 8 rRNA genes and 37 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis of the Moraceae based on 8 plastome sequence shows that A. hypargyreus is most related to Morus cathayana.

Development and characterization of EST-SSR markers for Artocarpus hypargyreus (Moraceae)

PREMISE OF THE STUDY

Polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed for Artocarpus hypargyreus (Moraceae), a threatened species endemic to China, to investigate the genetic diversity and structure of the species.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Based on the transcriptome data of A. hypargyreus, 63 primer pairs were preliminarily designed and tested, of which 34 were successfully amplified and 10 displayed clear polymorphisms across the 67 individuals from four populations of A. hypargyreus. The results showed the number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 10, and the observed heterozygosity and expected heterozygosity per locus varied from 0.000 to 0.706 and from 0.328 to 0.807, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

These microsatellite markers will be useful in exploring genetic diversity and structure of A. hypargyreus. Furthermore, most loci were successfully cross-amplified in A. nitidus and A. heterophyllus, indicating that they will be of great value for genetic study across this genus.