alpha-Hydroxylation of newly synthesised fatty acids by a soluble fraction from germinating pea.

A soluble fraction from germinating pea (Pisum sativum) seeds alpha-hydroxylated newly-synthesised fatty acids to form alpha-hydroxypalmitic and alpha-hydroxystearic acids. In contrast to fatty acid synthesis from [14C] malonyl CoA, alpha-hydroxylation was inhibited by exogenous phospholipids. alpha-Hydroxylation was optimal at pH 8, required reduced pyridine nucleotides and was inhibited by EDTA and imidazole.     

A new nitrogen-fixing Clostridium species from a high Arctic ecosystem.

A hitherto undescribed species of yellow-pigmented, Gram-negative Clostridium sp., possessing nitrogenase activity, has been isolated from a number of sampling sites on the Truelove Lowland of Devon Island in the Canadian high Arctic. This bacterium, tentatively designated Clostridium arcticum sp. nov., accounted for 19% of all isolates recovered which were capable of anaerobic nitrogen fixation.     

The glycoproteins of Dictyostelium discoideum. Changes during development.

The glycoproteins of D. discoideum have been analyzed by direct binding of radio-iodinated lectins to SDS gels of the successive developmental stages. Compared with the total pattern of proteins, many changes are found in the glycoproteins during development. WGA reacts with few gel bands from the vegetative cells and most of these, including a very intense band at the top of the gel, are lost during the first few hours of development. Approximately half-way through the developmental cycle at least 14 new glycoproteins reacting with WGA begin to appear and progressively accumulate. In contrast, ConA labels many glycoproteins over the complete molecular weight range and most are unaffected during development. Lectins which bind fucose label a single component at the top of the gel of vegetative cells and this decreases rapidly as development begins. No other reactive gel bands are revealed by fucose-binding lectins until the final stages of spore and stalk formation, when four high molecular weight glycoproteins are detected. Lectins specific for terminal galactose residues and for N-acetyl-galactosamine, including the intrinsic lectins produced by D. discoideum during its development, failed to reveal any reactive glycoproteins.     

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase cleaves the C--O bond of ribose 1-phosphate. Evidence from the 18O shift in 31P NMR.

An equilibrium mixture of highly enriched [18(O)]Pi (represents the mixture of [[18(O)4]Pi, [[18(O)3]Pi, [18(O)2]Pi as represented in the figures, unless otherwise specified), alpha-D-ribose 1-[16(O)]phosphate, and hypoxanthine plus inosine was equilibrated with calf spleen purine-nucleoside phosphorylase (EC 2.4.2.1). The 31P NMR spectrum clearly indicated the formation of alpha-D-ribose 1-[18(O)4]-phosphate and of [16(O)]Pi. Incubation for the same time span in the absence of alpha-D-ribose 1-phosphate left the [18(O)4]Pi isotopic distribution unchanged. The results clearly demonstrated that the C--O bond of alpha-D-ribose 1-phosphate is cleaved in the enzymatic reaction. It is unlikely that the enzyme catalyzes the exchange of oxygen between Pi and H2O. Several possible mechanistic pathways are ruled out by the results, which demand attack by a phosphate oxygen at the anomeric C-1' atom.     

Evolution in the structure and function of carboxyl proteases

Summary A model for the structure and function of extracellular carboxyl (acid) proteases can be established from three amino acid sequences and four crystal structures of these enzymes. The carboxyl proteases from gastric and fungal origins are very homologous in both primary and tertiary structures. The molecules consist of about 320 residues organized with a secondary structure which is primarily comprised of -strands and very similar tertiary structures. An apparent binding cleft, which can accommodate a substrate with about eight amino acid residues, contains near its midpoint the active center residues Asp-215, Asp-32, and Ser-35. These three residues are hydrogen bonded to each other.An intracellular carboxyl protease, cathepsin D, is very homologous to the extracellular enzymes in N-terminal amino acid sequence and primary structure location of active center residues. The tertiary structure of cathepsin D is probably similar, as well. However, cathepsin D contains a unique hydrophobic tail made up of about 100 residues added on the C-terminal side. Cathepsin D precursor is over 100,000 daltons in molecular weights, as contrasted to the gastric carboxyl protease zymogens, which are about 40,000 daltons.     

Sequence and secondary structure of Drosophila melanogaster 5.8S and 2S rRNAs and of the processing site between them.

Drosophila melanogaster 5.8S and 2S rRNAs were end-labeled with 32p at either the 5' or 3' end and were sequenced. 5.8S rRNA is 123 nucleotides long and homologous to the 5' part of sequenced 5.8S molecules from other species. 2S rRNA is 30 nucleotides long and homologous to the 3' part of other 5.8S molecules. The 3' end of the 5.8S molecule is able to base-pair with the 5' end of the 2S rRNA to generate a helical region equivalent in position to the "GC-rich hairpin" found in all previously sequenced 5.8S molecules. Probing the structure of the labeled Drosophila 5.8S molecule with S1 nuclease in solution verifies its similarity to other 5.8S rRNAs. The 2S rRNA is shown to form a stable complex with both 5.8S and 26S rRNAs separately and together. 5.8S rRNA can also form either binary or ternary complexes with 2S and 26S rRNA. It is concluded that the 5.8S rRNA in Drosophila melanogaster is very similar both in sequence and structure to other 5.8 rRNAs but is split into two pieces, the 2S rRNA being the 3' part. 2S anchors the 5.8S and 26S rRNA. The order of the rRNA coding regions in the ribosomal DNA repeating unit is shown to be 18S - 5.8S - 2S - 26S. Direct sequencing of ribosomal DNA shows that the 5.8S and 2S regions are separated by a 28 nucleotide spacer which is A-T rich and is presumably removed by a specific processing event. A secondary structure model is proposed for the 26S-5.8S ternary complex and for the presumptive precursor molecule.     

Partial duplication of the long arm of chromosome 5: A case due to balanced paternal translocation and review of the literature

Summary A partial duplication of the distal segment of the long arm of chromosome 5 (q31qter) was observed in an infant with congenital malformations and dysmorphic features. The phenotypically normal father had a balanced translocation between the long arm of chromosome 5 and the short arm of chromosome 9: 46,XY,t(5;9)(q31;p24).The clinical and cytogenetic data obtained from six patients with partial duplications of two different long arm segments of chromosome 5 suggest that partial duplication of the distal long arm of chromosome 5 is associated with microcephaly, hypertelorism, epicanthus, strabismus, large upper lip, low-set, dysplastic ears, in addition to growth and psychomotor retardation. Partial duplication of the proximal part of the long arm of chromosome 5, on the other hand, is associated mainly with musculoskeletal abnormalities including muscle hypotrophy and hypotonia, scoliosis, lordosis, pectus carinatum, cubitus valgus, and genu valgum, in addition to psychomotor retardation. The dysmorphic features in this latter group include a bulging forehead, short nose, thick upper lip, low-set protruding ears and tapering, thin fingers.     

Differences in chromatin proteins of resting and growing human lymphocytes.

Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis comparisons were made for the non-histone “Chromatin fraction II” proteins of normal, phytohemagglutinin-stimulated and acute leukemic lymphocytes. The “Chromatin fraction II” proteins were extracted from the nuclear residue fraction after initial treatment with (a) 0.075 M NaCl containing 0.025 M EDTA, pH 8; (b) 0.01 M Tris-HCl, pH 8; and (c) 0.4 N H₂SO₄. Most of the proteins found earlier in the “Chromatin fraction II” of rodent liver and hepatomas were also found in the human cells. Some changes such as the decrease in amount of protein BA of normal rodent cells were found in the comparison of normal and stimulated human cells. By comparison with normal lymphocytes, the phytohemagglutinin-treated cells had decreased spot densities and sizes for proteins BA and Bv and an increase in densities and sizes of proteins CB, C25, CS and CT. In the acute lymphocytic leukemic cells there was a decrease in spots A24, BA, Bv, CD and CD′ by comparison with the normal lymphocytes. Protein CG′ which was found earlier in the hepatomas was found in acute lymphocytic leukemic cells but not in the control or phytohemagglutinin-treated cells. These studies show that there is a loss in specific Chromatin proteins BA and Bv from the Chromatin of rapidly turning over cells. Concomitantly, increases are observed for the amounts of protein spots CB, C25, CS and CT in the actively growing cell samples.