A novel, to our knowledge, in situ photoirradiation system for solid-state NMR measurements is improved and demonstrated to successfully identify the M-photointermediate of pharaonis phoborhodopsin (ppR or sensory rhodopsin II), that of the complex with transducer (ppR/pHtrII), and T204A mutant embedded in a model membrane. The (13)C NMR signals from [20-(13)C]retinal-ppR and ppR/pHtrII revealed that multiple M-intermediates with 13-cis, 15-anti retinal configuration coexisted under the continuously photoirradiated condition. NMR signals observed from the photoactivated retinal provide insights into the process of photocycle in the ppR/pHtrII complex.

The regulation of energy metabolism, such as calorie restriction (CR), is a major determinant of cellular longevity. Although augmented gluconeogenesis is known to occur in aged yeast cells, the role of enhanced gluconeogenesis in aged cells remains undefined. Here, we show that age-enhanced gluconeogenesis is suppressed by the deletion of the tdh2 gene, which encodes glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a protein that is involved in both glycolysis and gluconeogenesis in yeast cells. The deletion of TDH2 restores the chronological lifespan of cells with deletions of both the HST3 and HST4 genes, which encode yeast sirtuins, and represses the activation of gluconeogenesis. Furthermore, the tdh2 gene deletion can extend the replicative lifespan in a CR pathway-dependent manner. These findings demonstrate that the repression of enhanced gluconeogenesis effectively extends the cellular lifespan.

ChlamydosporeTaxonomy Trophocyst Zygomycota a b s t r a c t A new species, Mortierella thereuopodae, is described for a fungus sporulating on fecal pellets of the centipede Thereuopoda clunifera (Chilopoda). The species produces large cymosely to verticillately branched sporangiophores on well-developed rhizoids with the formation of chlamydospore clusters.In the course of the survey for the mortierellaceous fungi in Japan, unusual species with relatively large cymosely to verticillately branched sporangiophores were noticed around the fecal pellets of a centipede on agar media. The sporangiophores are hyaline, almost lacking a columella, with narrow, dichotomously branched hyphae, suggesting a member of the genus Mortierella that could not to be assigned to a known species. Based on the precise observations on the asexual morphology in pure cultures of the three available isolates, and the special habitat (origin of isolation), the fungus was judged to be an undescribed taxon of section Spinosa of the genus Mortierella. The new species was described with illustrations and the sequences of nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2; ITS) were determined.Animals of the family Scutigeridae (order Scutigeromorpha, class Chilopoda) were collected in Honshu and Ryukyu islands, Japan, then moved to the laboratory and kept in a plastic container to obtain fecal pellets. With the monograph of soil arthropods (Shinohara 1999), the animals were identified as Thereuopoda clunifera. Fecal pellets were placed on agar plates of nutrient-poor media with the addition of penicillin-G sodium salt and streptomycin sulfate; 1.5% water agar (WA) or 0.3% shrimp agar (Sh3A; Degawa and Tokumasu 1997), and incubated at room temperature (ca. 23 C). From the developing sporangiophores, sporangiospores were picked up /locate /m yc m y c o s c i e n c e 5 5 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 3 0 8 e3 1 3 1340-3540/$ e see front matter ª