SummaryIn plants, the amino acid asparagine serves as an important nitrogen transport compound whose levels are dramatically regulated by light in many plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana. To elucidate the mechanisms regulating the flux of assimilated nitrogen into asparagine, we examined the regulation of the gene family for asparagine synthetase in Arabidopsis. In addition to the previously identified ASN1 gene, we identified a novel class of asparagine synthetase genes in Arabidopsis (ASN2 and ASN3) by functional complementation of a yeast asparagine auxotroph. The proteins encoded by the ASN2/3 cDNAs contain a Pur-F type glutamine-binding triad suggesting that they, like ASN1, encode glutamine-dependent asparagine synthetase isoenzymes. However, the ASN2/3 isoenyzmes form a novel dendritic group with monocot AS genes which is distinct from all other dicot AS genes including Arabidopsis ASN1. In addition to these distinctions in sequence, the ASN1 and ASN2 genes are reciprocally regulated by light and metabolites. Time-course experiments reveal that light induces levels of ASN2 mRNA while it represses levels of ASN1 mRNA in a kinetically reciprocal fashion. Moreover, the levels of ASN2 and ASN1 mRNA are also reciprocally regulated by carbon and nitrogen metabolites. The distinct regulation of ASN1 and ASN2 genes combined with their distinct encoded isoenzymes suggest that they may play different roles in nitrogen metabolism, as discussed in this paper.

The design and synthesis of hollow/yolk-shell mesoporous structures with catalytically active ordered mesoporous shells can infuse new vitality into the applications of these attractive structures. In this study, we report that hollow/yolk-shell structures with catalytically active ordered mesoporous aluminosilica shells can be easily prepared by using silica spheres as the silica precursors. By simply treating with a hot alkaline solution in the presence of sodium aluminate (NaAlO(2)) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), solid silica spheres can be directly converted into high-quality hollow mesoporous aluminosilica spheres with perpendicular pore channels. On the basis of the proposed formation mechanism of etching followed by co-assembly, the synthesis strategy developed in this work can be extended as a general strategy to prepare ordered mesoporous yolk-shell structures with diverse compositions and morphologies simply by replacing solid silica spheres with silica-coated nanocomposites. The reduction of 4-nitrophenol with yolk-shell structured Au@ordered mesoporous aluminosilica as the catalyst has clearly demonstrated that the highly permeable perpendicular pore channels of mesoporous aluminosilica can effectively prevent the catalytically active yolk from aggregating. Furthermore, with accessible acidity, the yolk-shell structured ordered mesoporous aluminosilica spheres containing Pd yolk exhibit high catalytic activity and recyclability in a one-pot two-step synthesis involving an acid catalysis and subsequent catalytic hydrogenation for desired benzimidazole derivative, which makes the proposed hollow ordered aluminosilica spheres a versatile and practicable scaffold for advanced catalytic nanoreactor systems.

PII is a protein allosteric effector in Escherichia coli and other bacteria that indirectly regulates glutamine synthetase at the transcriptional and post-translational levels in response to nitrogen availability. Data supporting the notion that plants have a nitrogen regulatory system(s) includes previous studies showing that the levels of mRNA for plant nitrogen assimilatory genes such as glutamine synthetase (GLN) and asparagine synthetase (ASN) are modulated by carbon and organic nitrogen metabolites. Here, we have characterized a PII homolog (GLB1) in two higher plants, Arabidopsis thaliana and Ricinus communis (Castor bean). Each plant PII-like protein has high overall identity to E. coli PII (50%). Western blot analyses reveal that the plant PII-like protein is a nuclear-encoded chloroplast protein. The PII-like protein of plants appears to be regulated at the transcriptional level in that levels of GLB1 mRNA are affected by light and metabolites. To initiate studies of the in vivo function of the Arabidopsis PII-like protein, we have constructed transgenic lines in which PII expression is uncoupled from its native regulation. Analyses of these transgenic plants support the notion that the plant PII-like protein may serve as part of a complex signal transduction network involved in perceiving the status of carbon and organic nitrogen. Thus, the PII protein found in archaea, bacteria, and now in higher eukaryotes (plants) is one of the most widespread regulatory proteins known, providing evidence for an ancestral metabolic regulatory mechanism that may have existed before the divergence of these three domains of life. The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked ''advertisement'' in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact.

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SummaryThe physiological role of the NADH-dependent glutamine-2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase (NADH-GOGAT) enzyme was addressed in Arabidopsis using gene expression analysis and by the characterization of a knock-out T-DNA insertion mutant (glt1-T) in the single NADH-GOGAT GLT1 gene. The NADH-GOGAT GLT1 mRNA is expressed at higher levels in roots than in leaves. This expression pattern contrasts with GLU1, the major gene encoding Fd-GOGAT, which is most highly expressed in leaves and is involved in photorespiration. These distinct organ-speci®c expression patterns suggested a non-redundant physiological role for the NADH-GOGAT and Fd-GOGAT gene products. To test the in vivo function of NADH-GOGAT, we conducted molecular and physiological analysis of the glt1-T mutant, which is null for NADH-GOGAT, as judged by mRNA level and enzyme activity. Metabolic analysis showed that the glt1-T mutant has a speci®c defect in growth and glutamate biosynthesis when photorespiration was repressed by 1% CO 2 . Under these conditions, the glt1-T mutant displayed a 20% decrease in growth and a dramatic 70% reduction in glutamate levels. Herein, we discuss the signi®cance of NADH-GOGAT in non-photorespiratory ammonium assimilation and in glutamate synthesis required for plant development.

We report the most siliceous FAU-type zeolite, HOU-3, prepared via a one-step organic-free synthesis route. Computational studies indicate that it is thermodynamically feasible to synthesize FAU with SAR=2-7, though kinetic factors seemingly impose a more restricted upper limit for HOU-3 (SAR≈3). Our findings suggest that a slow rate of crystallization and/or low concentration of Na ions in HOU-3 growth mixtures facilitate Si incorporation into the framework. Interestingly, Q (nAl) Si speciation measured by solid-state NMR can only be modeled with a few combinations of Al positioning at tetrahedral sites in the crystal unit cell, indicating the distribution of Si(-O-Si) (-O-Al) species is spatially biased as opposed to being random. Achieving higher SAR is desirable for improved zeolite (hydro)thermal stability and enhanced catalytic performance, which we demonstrate in benchmark tests that show HOU-3 is superior to commercial zeolite Y.

The synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) zeolites has garnered attention due to their superior properties for applications that span catalysis to selective separations. Prior studies of 2D zeolite catalysts demonstrated enhanced mass transport for improved catalyst lifetime and selectivity. Moreover, the significantly higher external surface area of 2D materials allows for reactions of bulky molecules too large to access interior pores. There are relatively few protocols for preparing 2D materials, owing to the difficultly of capping growth in one direction to only a few unit cells. To accomplish this, it is often necessary to employ complex, commercially unavailable organic structure-directing agents (OSDAs) prepared via multistep synthesis. However, a small subset of zeolite structures exist as naturally layered materials where postsynthesis steps can be used to exfoliate samples and produce ultrathin 2D nanosheets. In this study, we selected a common layered zeolite, the MWW framework, to explore methods of preparing 2D nanosheets via one-pot synthesis in the absence of complex organic templates. Using a combination of high-resolution microscopy and spectroscopy, we show that 2D MMW-type layers with an average thickness of 3.5 nm (ca. 1.5 unit cells) can be generated using the surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA), which operates as a dual OSDA and exfoliating agent to affect Al siting and to eliminate the need for postsynthesis exfoliation, respectively. We tested these 2D catalysts using a model reaction that assesses external (surface) Brønsted acid sites and observed a marked increase in the conversion relative to three-dimensional MWW (MCM-22) and 2D layers prepared from postsynthesis exfoliation (ITQ-2). Collectively, our findings identify a facile and effective route to directly synthesize 2D MWW-type materials, which may prove to be more broadly applicable to other layered zeolites.