Semino C E, Robbins P W
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Cancer Research, Cambridge, 02139-4307, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995 Apr 11;92(8):3498-501. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.8.3498.
The Xenopus DG42 gene is expressed only between the late midblastula and neurulation stages of embryonic development. Recent database searches show that DG42 has striking sequence similarity to the Rhizobium NodC protein. NodC catalyzes the synthesis of chitin oligosaccharides which subsequently are transformed into bacterium-plant root signaling molecules. We find that the DG42 protein made in an in vitro coupled transcription-translation system catalyzes the synthesis of an array of chitin oligosaccharides. The result suggests the intriguing possibility that a bacterium-plant type of "Nod" signaling system may operate during early stages of vertebrate embryonic development and raises issues about the use of chitin synthase inhibitors as fungal-specific drugs.
非洲爪蟾的DG42基因仅在胚胎发育的中囊胚晚期和神经胚形成阶段之间表达。最近的数据库搜索显示，DG42与根瘤菌NodC蛋白具有显著的序列相似性。NodC催化几丁质寡糖的合成，这些寡糖随后被转化为细菌 - 植物根信号分子。我们发现在体外偶联转录 - 翻译系统中产生的DG42蛋白催化一系列几丁质寡糖的合成。这一结果提示了一种有趣的可能性，即细菌 - 植物类型的“Nod”信号系统可能在脊椎动物胚胎发育的早期阶段起作用，并引发了关于将几丁质合酶抑制剂用作真菌特异性药物的问题。
