Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Mass Spectrometric Techniques (mass + spectrometric_techniques)
Selected AbstractsStudies on the metabolism and toxicological detection of the designer drug 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methyl-,- phenethylamine (2C-D) in rat urine using gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric techniquesJOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (INCORP BIOLOGICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY), Issue 11 2006Denis S. Theobald Abstract The phenethylamine-derived designer drug 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methyl-,-phenethylamine (2C-D) was found to be metabolized in rats by O -demethylation at position 2 or 5 followed by N -acetylation or by deamination with oxidation to the corresponding acids or reduction to the corresponding alcohol. Furthermore, 2C-D was hydroxylated at the methyl group or deaminated followed by reduction to the corresponding alcohol or by oxidation to the corresponding acid. Most of the metabolites were excreted in conjugated form. The authors' systematic toxicological analysis (STA) procedure using full-scan GC/MS allowed the detection of an intake of a dose of 2C-D in rat urine that corresponds to a common drug user's dose. Assuming similar metabolism, the described STA procedure should be suitable for proof of an intake of 2C-D in human urine. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Designer drug 2,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA-2): Studies on its metabolism and toxicological detection in rat urine using gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric techniquesJOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (INCORP BIOLOGICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY), Issue 9 2006Andreas H. Ewald Abstract Studies are described on the metabolism and the toxicological detection of the amphetamine-derived designer drug 2,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA-2) in rat urine using gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) techniques. The identified metabolites indicated that TMA-2 was metabolized by oxidative deamination to the corresponding ketone followed by reduction to the corresponding alcohol, O -demethylation followed by oxidative deamination, and finally O,O -bis-demethylation. All metabolites carrying hydroxy groups were found to be partly excreted in urine as glucuronides and/or sulfates. The authors' systematic toxicological analysis (STA) procedure using full-scan GC/MS after acid hydrolysis, liquid-liquid extraction, and microwave-assisted acetylation allowed the detection, in rat urine, of an intake of TMA-2 that corresponds to a common drug users' dose. Assuming similar metabolism, the described STA procedure in human urine should be suitable as proof of an intake of TMA-2. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Gas-Phase Chemistry of Vanadium Oxide Cluster Cations VmOn+ (m = 1,4; n = 1,10) with Water and Molecular OxygenEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 31 2008Sandra Feyel Abstract Bare vanadium oxide cluster cations VmOn+ (m = 1,4; n =1,10) generated by electrospray ionization are investigated with respect to their reactivity toward water and molecular oxygen by using mass spectrometric techniques. Besides ion hydration, the ion/molecule reactions of VmOn+ with oxygen-labeled water (H218O) also lead to 16O/18O exchange reactions of the vanadium oxide clusters cations. Although the probability of degenerate 16O/18O exchange between VmOn+ and water is fairly high for the cluster cations with a medium valence state of vanadium, oxygen-atom exchange reactions between VmOn+ and 18O2 can only be accomplished by VO+, V3O6+, and V4O8+. Particularly interesting is the fact that not only oxygen atoms from vanadyl units are exchanged in the cluster cations, but bridging oxygen atoms are also most likely involved in the processes. Other reaction channels for the interaction of VmOn+ cluster cations with molecular oxygen are reported as well, such as oxidative degradation of the low-valent cluster cations upon collision with O2 and formation of association complexes for the high-valent cluster cations. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008) [source] Solid-state glycation of ,-lactoglobulin by lactose and galactose: localization of the modified amino acids using mass spectrometric techniquesJOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (INCORP BIOLOGICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY), Issue 1 2004François Fenaille Abstract The Maillard reaction is commonly encountered during food processing or storage, and also in human nutrition, hence there is a need for analytical methodologies to identify and characterize the modified proteins. This paper reports specific methods using mass spectrometric techniques to localize protein modifications induced by lactose and galactose on ,-lactoglobulin (,-Lg) under solid-state glycation conditions. The extent of glycation was first determined by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS). The specific identification of lactose-modified amino acid residues was realized using both NanoESI-MS, NanoESI-MS/MS (neutral loss scanning modes) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) (with and without guanidination of lysine residues) on unfractionated digests. The results indicated that, after 8.25 h of incubation, the lysine residues were the main targets of lactose-induced modification. In addition to the 15 lysine residues, Leu1 (NH2 terminal) and the Arg124 were also found to be modified, thus leading to a total of 17 different modified amino acid residues (versus 15 found by LC/ESI-MS measurement). In a second set of experiments, different strategies consisting of constant neutral loss and precursor ion scanning were compared to characterize galactose-induced modifications. Owing to the high level of ,-Lg glycation, the combined use of these different strategies appeared to be necessary for determining the galactose-modified sites after 8.25 h of incubation. Thus, among the 22 galactose adducts deduced from the LC/ESI-MS measurement, apart from the N-terminal and classical lysine residues, we also observed a few arginine residues (Arg40, Arg124 and Arg148) that were modified, and also dialkylations on specific lysine residues (Lys47, Lys75). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Impact of Chronic Alcohol Ingestion on Cardiac Muscle Protein ExpressionALCOHOLISM, Issue 7 2010Rachel L. Fogle Background:, Chronic alcohol abuse contributes not only to an increased risk of health-related complications, but also to a premature mortality in adults. Myocardial dysfunction, including the development of a syndrome referred to as alcoholic cardiomyopathy, appears to be a major contributing factor. One mechanism to account for the pathogenesis of alcoholic cardiomyopathy involves alterations in protein expression secondary to an inhibition of protein synthesis. However, the full extent to which myocardial proteins are affected by chronic alcohol consumption remains unresolved. Methods:, The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of chronic alcohol consumption on the expression of cardiac proteins. Male rats were maintained for 16 weeks on a 40% ethanol-containing diet in which alcohol was provided both in drinking water and agar blocks. Control animals were pair-fed to consume the same caloric intake. Heart homogenates from control- and ethanol-fed rats were labeled with the cleavable isotope coded affinity tags (ICATÔ). Following the reaction with the ICATÔ reagent, we applied one-dimensional gel electrophoresis with in-gel trypsin digestion of proteins and subsequent MALDI-TOF-TOF mass spectrometric techniques for identification of peptides. Differences in the expression of cardiac proteins from control- and ethanol-fed rats were determined by mass spectrometry approaches. Results:, Initial proteomic analysis identified and quantified hundreds of cardiac proteins. Major decreases in the expression of specific myocardial proteins were observed. Proteins were grouped depending on their contribution to multiple activities of cardiac function and metabolism, including mitochondrial-, glycolytic-, myofibrillar-, membrane-associated, and plasma proteins. Another group contained identified proteins that could not be properly categorized under the aforementioned classification system. Conclusions:, Based on the changes in proteins, we speculate modulation of cardiac muscle protein expression represents a fundamental alteration induced by chronic alcohol consumption, consistent with changes in myocardial wall thickness measured under the same conditions. [source] Application of mass spectrometry in the analysis of polybrominated diphenyl ethersMASS SPECTROMETRY REVIEWS, Issue 5 2010Dongli Wang Abstract This review summarized the applications of mass spectrometric techniques for the analysis of the important flame retardants polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) to understand the environmental sources, fate and toxicity of PBDEs that were briefly discussed to give a general idea for the need of analytical methodologies. Specific performance of various mass spectrometers hyphenated with, for example, gas chromatograph, liquid chromatograph, and inductively coupled plasma (GC/MS, LC/MS, and ICP/MS, respectively) for the analysis of PBDEs was compared with an objective to present the information on the evolution of MS techniques for determining PBDEs in environmental and human samples. GC/electron capture negative ionization quadrupole MS (GC/NCI qMS), GC/high resolution MS (GC/HRMS) and GC ion trap MS (GC/ITMS) are most commonly used MS techniques for the determination of PBDEs. New analytical technologies such as fast tandem GC/MS and LC/MS become available to improve analyses of higher PBDEs. The development and application of the tandem MS techniques have helped to understand environmental fate and transformations of PBDEs of which abiotic and biotic degradation of decaBDE is thought to be one major source of Br1-9BDEs present in the environment in addition to direct loading from commercial mixtures. MS-based proteomics will offer an insight into the molecular mechanisms of toxicity and potential developmental and neurotoxicity of PBDEs. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 29:737,775, 2010 [source] The role of mass spectrometry to study the Oklo,Bangombé natural reactors,MASS SPECTROMETRY REVIEWS, Issue 5 2007J.R. De Laeter Abstract The discovery of the existence of chain reactions at the Oklo natural reactors in Gabon, Central Africa in 1972 was a triumph for the accuracy of mass spectrometric measurements, in that a 0.5% anomaly in the 235U/238U ratio of certain U ore samples indicated a depletion in 235U. Mass spectrometric techniques thereafter played a dominant role in determining the nuclear parameters of the reactor zones themselves, and in deciphering the geochemical characteristics of various elements in the U-rich ore and in the surrounding rock strata. The variations in the isotopic composition of a large number of elements, caused by a combination of nuclear fission, neutron capture and radioactive decay, provide a powerful tool for investigating this unique geological environment. Mass spectrometry can be used to measure the present-day elemental and isotopic abundances of numerous elements, so as to decipher the past history of the reactors and examine the retentivity/mobility of these elements. Many of the fission products have a radioactive decay history that have been used to date the age and duration of the reactor zones, and to provide insight into their nuclear and geochemical behavior as a function of time. The Oklo fission reactors and their near neighbor at Bangombé, some 30 km to the south-east of Oklo, are unique in that not only did they become critical some 2,×,109 years ago, but also the deposits have been preserved over this period of geological time. The long-term geochemical behavior of actinides and fission products have been extensively studied by a variety of mass spectrometric techniques over the past 30 years to provide us with significant information on the mobility/retentivity of this material in a natural geological repository. The Oklo,Bangombé natural reactors are therefore geological analogs that can be evaluated in terms of possible radioactive waste containment sites. As more reactor zones were discovered, it was realized that they could be classified into two groups according to their burial depth in the Oklo mine-site. Reactor Zones 10, 13, and 16 were buried more deeply, and were therefore less weathered than the other zones. The less-weathered zones are of great importance in mobility/retentivity studies and therefore to the question of radioactive waste containment. Isotopic studies of these natural reactors are also of value in physics to examine possible variations in fundamental constants over the past 2 billion years. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 26:683,712, 2007 [source] Mass spectrometry in aging researchMASS SPECTROMETRY REVIEWS, Issue 5 2005Christian Schöneich Abstract This review covers the application of mass spectrometric techniques to aging research. Modern proteomic strategies will be discussed as well as the targeted analysis of specific proteins for the correlation of post-translational modifications with protein function. Selected examples will show both the power and also current limitations of the respective techniques. Experimental results and strategies are discussed in view of current theories of the aging process. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 24:701,718, 2005 [source] IntelliMS: A platform to efficiently manage and visualize tandem mass spectral dataPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 23-24 2008Min-Seok Kwon Abstract With the development of high-speed mass spectrometric techniques, it becomes important to manage large amounts of spectrometric data accurately. We have developed a new data management system with a visualization function named IntelliMS, which can load data into a search engine, filter out the insignificant data, create diagrams of the identification process from spectra to protein and share all the resulting datasets. This software can be used to efficiently manage complicated mass spectral data and the corresponding protein identification information obtained from various proteomics analyses. [source] Structural analysis of ,-Gal and new non-Gal carbohydrate epitopes from specific pathogen-free miniature pig kidneyPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 13 2008Yun-Gon Kim Abstract The major barrier in transplantation of pig organs into humans is the presence of surface carbohydrate antigens (e.g., the Gal,1-3Gal,1-4GlcNAc-R (,-Gal) epitope) expressed on pig endothelial cells. In this study, total N -glycans from membrane glycoproteins derived from specific pathogen-free miniature pig kidney are identified by MALDI-TOF, negative ion ESI MS/MS and normal-phase HPLC (NP-HPLC) combined with exoglycosidase digestion. Over 100 N -glycans, including sialylated and neutral types, were identified. As well as the known ,-Gal antigens, some of these glycans contained novel non-Gal carbohydrate antigens such as (Neu5Gc-Gal-GlcNAc) and Gal,1-3Lewisx (Gal-Gal-(Fuc)GlcNAc) which have not been reported before in N -glycans from pig organs. The ability of MALDI, ESI, and HPLC to measure the relative proportions of the glycans was evaluated. The HPLC resolution was insufficient for accurate work and some minor differences were noted in the ionization efficiencies of different glycan groups when measured by the two mass spectrometric techniques. However, the results indicated that the relative quantity of ,-Gal epitope was in the region of 50% of the complex glycans. High-mannose type glycans were also abundant (35,43%) but appeared to be ionized more efficiently than the complex glycans by ESI than by MALDI. [source] Phospholipids in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry bioanalysis: comparison of three tandem mass spectrometric techniques for monitoring plasma phospholipids, the effect of mobile phase composition on phospholipids elution and the association of phospholipids with matrix effectsRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 14 2009Yuan-Qing Xia Because plasma phospholipids may cause matrix effects in bioanalytical liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) methods, it is important to establish optimal mass spectrometric techniques to monitor the fate of phospholipids during method development and application. We evaluated three MS/MS techniques to monitor phospholipids using positive and negative electrospray ionization (ESI). The first technique is based on using positive precursor ion scan of m/z 184, positive neutral loss scan of 141 Da and negative precursor ion scan of m/z 153. The second technique is based on using class-specific positive and negative selected reaction monitoring (SRM) transitions to monitor class-representative phospholipids. The third technique, previously reported, utilizes in-source collision-induced dissociation (CID)-based positive SRM of m/z 184,,,184. We recommend the all-inclusive technique 1 for use in qualitative assessment of all classes of phospholipids and technique 2 for use in quantitative assessment of class-representative phospholipids. Secondly, we evaluated the elution behaviors of the plasma phospholipids under different reversed-phase mobile phase conditions. The phospholipid-eluting strength of a mobile phase was mainly dependent on the type and amount (%) of the organic eluent and the strength increased in the order of methanol, acetonitrile and isopropyl alcohol. Under the commonly used gradient and isocratic elution schemes in LC/MS/MS bioanalysis, not all the phospholipids are eluted off the column. Thirdly, we investigated the association between phospholipids and matrix effects in positive and negative ESI using basic, acidic and neutral analytes. While the phospholipids caused matrix effects in both positive and negative ESI, the extent of ionization suppression was analyte-dependent and was inversely related to the retention factor and broadness of the phospholipids peaks. The lysophospholipids which normally elute earlier in reversed-phase chromatography are more likely to cause matrix effects compared to the later-eluting phospholipids in spite of the larger concentrations of the latter in plasma. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Unimolecular dissociation of protonated trans -1,4-diphenyl-2-butene-1,4-dione in the gas phase: rearrangement versus simple cleavageRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 17 2006Lianming Wu Fragmentation mechanisms of trans -1,4-diphenyl-2-butene-1,4-dione were studied using a variety of mass spectrometric techniques. The major fragmentation pathways occur by various rearrangements by loss of H2O, CO, H2O and CO, and CO2. The other fragmentation pathways via simple alpha cleavages were also observed but accounted for the minor dissociation channels in both a two-dimensional (2-D) linear ion trap and a quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometer. The elimination of CO2 (rather than CH3CHO or C3H8), which was confirmed by an exact mass measurement using the Q-TOF instrument, represented a major fragmentation pathway in the 2-D linear ion trap mass spectrometer. However, the elimination of H2O and CO becomes more competitive in the beam-type Q-TOF instrument. The loss of CO is observed in both the MS2 experiment of m/z 237 and the MS3 experiment of m/z 219 but via the different transition states. The data suggest that the olefinic double bond in protonated trans -1,4-diphenyl-2-butene-1,4-dione plays a key role in stabilizing the rearrangement transition states and increasing the bond dissociation (cleavage) energy to give favorable rearrangement fragmentation pathways. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Feasibility of different mass spectrometric techniques and programs for automated metabolite profiling of tramadol in human urineRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 14 2006Kati S. Hakala The purpose of the study was to determine the advantages of different mass spectrometric instruments and commercially available metabolite identification programs for metabolite profiling. Metabolism of tramadol hydrochloride and the excretion of it and its metabolites into human urine were used as a test case because the metabolism of tramadol is extensive and well known. Accurate mass measurements were carried out with a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Q-TOF) equipped with a LockSpray dual-electrospray ionization source. A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (QqQ) was applied for full scan, product ion scan, precursor ion scan and neutral loss scan measurements and an ion trap instrument for full scan and product ion measurements. The performance of two metabolite identification programs was tested. The results showed that metabolite programs are time-saving tools but not yet capable of fully automated metabolite profiling. Detection of non-expected metabolites, especially at low concentrations in a complex matrix, is still almost impossible. With low-resolution instruments urine samples proved to be challenging even in a search for expected metabolites. Many false-positive hits were obtained with the automated searching and manual evaluation of the resulting data was required. False positives were avoided by using the higher mass accuracy Q-TOF. Automated programs were useful for constructing product ion methods, but the time-consuming interpretation of mass spectra was done manually. High-quality MS/MS spectra acquired on the QqQ instrument were used for confirmation of the tramadol metabolites. Although the ion trap instrument is of undisputable benefit in MSn, the low mass cutoff of the ion trap made the identification of tramadol metabolites difficult. Some previously unreported metabolites of tramadol were found in the tramadol urine sample, and their identification was based solely on LC/MS and LC/MS/MS measurements. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Fragmentation of mycosporine-like amino acids by hydrogen/deuterium exchange and electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometryRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 2 2006Karina H. M. Cardozo The determination and identification of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) from algae remain a major challenge due to the low concentration. Mass spectrometry (MS) can make an invaluable contribution in the search and identification of MAAs because of its high sensitivity, possibility of coupling with liquid chromatography, and the availability of powerful tandem mass spectrometric techniques. However, the unequivocal determination of the presence and location of important functional groups present on the basic skeleton of the MAAs is often elusive due to their inherent instability under MS conditions. In this study, the use of hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange and electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) for characterisation of four MAAs (palythine, asterina, palythinol and shinorine) isolated from the macroalgae Gracilaria tenuistipitata Chang et Xia was investigated. The accurate-mass confirmation of the protonated molecules was performed on a Q-TOF instrument. We demonstrate that employing deuterium labelling in ESI-MS/MS analysis provides a convenient tool for the determination of new MAAs. Although the fragmentation patterns of MAAs were discussed earlier, to our knowledge, this is the first time that mechanisms are proposed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Primary structural determination of N-terminally blocked peptides from the bark of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv by mass spectrometric analysisRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 9 2003Ren-Huai Huang Sequencing of N-terminally blocked proteins/peptides is a challenge since these molecules inhibit processing by Edman degradation. By using high accuracy Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) tandem mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS), the primary structures of two novel N-terminally blocked antifungal peptides (EAFP1 and EAFP2), purified from the bark of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv, have been determined. The results show that the high mass accuracy provided by FTICR mass spectrometry is effective to determine the N-terminally blocking group, and can simplify the task of spectral interpretation and improve the precision of sequence determination. The combination of MALDI-TOFMS with carboxyl peptidase Y digestion was used to determine the C-terminal 36- and 27-residue sequences of EAFP1 and EAFP2, respectively, to provide the sequence linkage information for tryptic fragments. Compared with traditional peptide chemistry the advantage of mass spectrometric techniques is their simplicity, speed and sensitivity. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Investigation of cytolysin variants by peptide mapping: enhanced protein characterization using complementary ionization and mass spectrometric techniquesRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 22 2002Stanley M. Stevens Jr. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) have been used in conjunction with time-of-flight (TOF) and quadrupole ion trap (IT) mass spectrometry, respectively, to analyze various cytolysin proteins isolated from the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus and digested by the protease trypsin. By employing different ionization methods, the subsequent changes in ionization selectivity for the peptides in the digested protein samples resulted in ion abundance variation reflected in the mass spectra. Upon investigation of this variation generated by the two ionization processes, it has been shown in this study that enhanced protein coverage (e.g., >95% for cytolysin III) can be achieved. Additionally, capillary and microbore reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled with ESI mass spectrometry (MS) as well as flow injection analysis by nanoflow ESI-MS afforded the necessary limit of detection (LOD) for detailed structural information of the cytolysin proteins by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) methods. It can be concluded that cytolysins II and III correspond to sticholysins I and II, that "cytolysin I" is a mixture of modified forms of cytolysins II and III, and that "cytolysin IV" is an incompletely processed precursor of cytolysin III. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Rearrangement with formamide extrusion in the electrospray mass spectra of aminoacylbenzylaminesRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 16 2001Jing Chen Several aminoacylbenzylamines and their analogs were synthesized and analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry together with high-resolution and tandem mass spectrometric techniques. Fragment ions ([M,+,H,,,CH3NO]+) were observed and attributed to a transfer of the benzyl group to the N-terminal amino group, leading to elimination of formamide. The proposed mechanism is supported by accurate mass measurements, and by experiments on deuterium labeling and variations of functional groups. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Social behavior and the evolution of neuropeptide genes: lessons from the honeybee genomeBIOESSAYS, Issue 5 2007Reinhard Predel Honeybees display a fascinating social behavior. The structural basis for this behavior, which made the bee a model organism for the study of communication, learning and memory formation, is the tiny insect brain. Neurons of the brain communicate via messenger molecules. Among these molecules, neuropeptides represent the structurally most-diverse group and occupy a high hierarchic position in the modulation of behavior. A recent analysis of the honeybee genome revealed a considerable number of predicted (200) and confirmed (100) neuropeptides in this insect.1 Is this quantity merely the result of advanced mass spectrometric techniques and bioinformatic tools or does it reflect the expression of more of these important messenger molecules, more than known from other insects studied so far? Our analysis of the data suggests that the social behavior is by no means correlated with a specific increase in the number of neuropeptides. Indeed, the honeybee genome is likely to contain fewer neuropeptide genes, neuropeptide paralogues and neuropeptide receptor genes than the solitary fruitfly Drosophila. BioEssays 29:416,421, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Recent Advances and Future Prospects in Peptaibiotics, Hydrophobin, and Mycotoxin Research, and Their Importance for Chemotaxonomy of Trichoderma and HypocreaCHEMISTRY & BIODIVERSITY, Issue 5 2008Thomas Degenkolb Abstract Fungi of the genus Trichoderma with teleomorphs in Hypocrea are abundant producers of a group of amphiphilic, non-ribosomal peptide antibiotics, which are rich in the non-proteinogenic amino acid Aib (, -aminoisobutyric acid). They are referred to as peptaibiotics, or peptaibols, if a 1,2-amino alcohol is present at the C-terminus. Trichoderma/Hypocrea, like other ascomycetous fungi, also produce hydrophobins, a class of small, cysteine-rich proteins. Advanced soft ionization mass spectrometric techniques such as LC-CID-MS, LC-ESI-MSn, and IC-MALDI-TOF-MS enabled the high-throughput analysis, simultaneous detection and sequence determination of peptaibiotics and hydrophobins from minute quantities of fungal materials. Some Trichoderma species have been recognized to produce peptaibiotics as well as simple mycotoxins of the trichothecene group. The combination of sequence data of both groups of peptides with the pattern of low-molecular-weight secondary metabolites, including trichothecene-type mycotoxins, independently confirmed the results of morphological, molecular, and phylogenetic analyses. This approach established a new lineage in Trichoderma/Hypocrea, the Brevicompactum clade, comprising four new and one redescribed species. Notably, commercial preparations of single or mixed cultures of Trichoderma species, in particular T. harzianum, and T. koningii, are registered as biocontrol agents for soil and plant pathogens. In this context, it is emphasized that the four mycotoxin-producing species of the recently established Brevicompactum clade (T. brevicompactum, T. arundinaceum, T. turrialbense, and T. protrudens) are not closely related to any of the Trichoderma species currently used as biocontrol agents. Furthermore, possible health concerns about release of peptaibiotics in the biosphere are discussed with respect to their bioactivities and their use as drugs in human and veterinary medicine. Finally, future prospects regarding novel bioactivities and further research needs, including interdisciplinary taxonomic approaches, are outlined. [source] The N3+ Reactivity in Ionized Gases Containing Sulfur, Nitrogen, and Carbon OxidesCHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 10 2006Giulia de Petris Prof. Dr. Abstract The N3+ reactivity with SO2, N2O, CO2, and CO is studied by mass spectrometric techniques under a wide range of pressures from 10,7 to 10,4 Torr. The kinetics, reaction mechanism, and role of vibrationally excited ions are investigated by experimental and theoretical methods. Key distinguishing features of the N3+ reactivity are evidenced by comparison to N+ and N2+ ions, which mainly undergo charge-exchange reactions. The N+ transfer to SO2 prompts formation of NO+ ions and neutral oxides NO and SO. The N+ transfer to N2O also leads to NO+ ions by a process not allowed by spin conservation rules. In both cases no reaction intermediate is detected, whereas CO2 and CO are captured to form the very stable NCO2+ and NCO+ ions. NCO2+ ions are characterized for the first time as strongly bound triplet ions of NOCO and ONCO connectivity. DFT and CCSD(T) computations have been carried out to investigate the structural and energetic features of the NCO2+ species and their formation process. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||