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Glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) catalyzes the decarboxylation of glutamate to CO2 and gamma-aminobutyrate (GABA). GAD is ubiquitous in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, but only plant GAD has been shown to bind calmodulin (CaM). Here, we assess the role of the GAD CaM-binding domain in vivo. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing a mutant petunia GAD lacking the(More)
The regulation of gene expression by cellular calcium is crucial for plant defense against biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the number of genes known to respond to specific transient calcium signals is limited, and as yet there is no definition of a calcium-responsive cis element in plants. Here, we generated specific cytosolic calcium transients in(More)
The Amoebozoa constitute one of the primary divisions of eukaryotes, encompassing taxa of both biomedical and evolutionary importance, yet its genomic diversity remains largely unsampled. Here we present an analysis of a whole genome assembly of Acanthamoeba castellanii (Ac) the first representative from a solitary free-living amoebozoan. Ac encodes 15,455(More)
Electrophysiological studies were conducted on the cloned plant cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels AtCNGC2 and AtCNGC1 from Arabidopsis, and NtCBP4 from tobacco (Nicotiana tobacum). The nucleotide coding sequences for these proteins were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes or HEK 293 cells. Channel characteristics were evaluated using voltage clamp(More)
BACKGROUND The gamma-aminubutyrate (GABA) shunt bypasses two steps of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and is present in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In plants, the pathway is composed of the calcium/calmodulin-regulated cytosolic enzyme glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), the mitochondrial enzymes GABA transaminase (GABA-T; POP2) and succinic semialdehyde(More)
Abiotic stresses which include drought and heat are amongst the main limiting factors for plant growth and crop productivity. In the field, these stress types are rarely presented individually and plants are often subjected to a combination of stress types. Sorghum bicolor is a cereal crop which is grown in arid and semi-arid regions and is particularly(More)
Characteristics of the binding of lithocholic acid (LC), chenodeoxycholic acid (CDC), and cholic acid to human plasma proteins were studied. Affinity of the different plasma protein fractions for the bile acids studied decreased with increased polarity of the steroid nucleus of the bile acid. Binding of LC, CDC, and cholic acid to the lipoprotein-free,(More)
In plants, as in most eukaryotes, glutamate decarboxylase catalyses the synthesis of GABA. The Arabidopsis genome contains five glutamate decarboxylase genes and one of these genes (glutamate decarboxylase1; i.e. GAD1 ) is expressed specifically in roots. By isolating and analyzing three gad1 T-DNA insertion alleles, derived from two ecotypes, we(More)
γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-proteinogenic amino acid that is found in uni- and multi-cellular organisms and is involved in many aspects of plant life cycle. GABA metabolism occurs by the action of evolutionary conserved enzymes that constitute the GABA shunt, bypassing two steps of the TCA cycle. The central position of GABA in the interface between(More)