Infection of Tetrahymena pyriformis by Legionella longbeachae and other Legionella species found in potting mixes.

All Legionella longbeachae strains, both serogroups of L. bozemanii, and three strains of L. anisa reproducibly infected washed Tetrahymena pyriformis at 30 degrees C. L. pneumophila serogroup 1 strains infected T. pyriformis less reproducibly than did L. longbeachae. Low-level concentrations of nutrients in cocultures inhibited infection. Four L. micdadei strains and L. anisa ATCC 35292 failed to infect T. pyriformis.     

Iron-related modification of bacterial transfer RNA

Transfer RNAs isolated from E. coli grown in media where ferric iron is not freely available show well characterized chromatographic changes due to the absence of the methylthio moiety of ms2i6A. The altered tRNA molecules include tRNA trp tRNA tyr, tRNA phe and two minor tRNA ser species. It has been suggested that methylthiolation of tRNA affects its function in regulation. We now show iron-related changes in tRNA trp from S. typhimurium, Ps. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae. tRNA trp from S. typhimurium contains ms2i6A and it seems probable that the availability of iron affects the synthesis of ms2i6A-tRNA trp from i6A-tRNA trp in this organism. An iron-related methylthiolating system may also be operative in K. pneumoniae. S. marcescens tRNA trp, however was not affected by the availability of iron. Neither ms2i6A nor i6A was found in S. marcescens tRNA, although an, as yet unidentified, hydrophobic nucleoside was present.     

Phylogeny and biodiversity: Conserving our evolutionary legacy

Historical ecological studies provide information about the origins of species in an area and the origins of traits characterizing the interactions between those species and their environment. Incorporating this evolutionary information into conservation policies will broaden the base of options for making effective decisions about the preservation of biodiversity.     

Deoxyribonucleic acid polymerases of Euglena gracilis. Purification and properties of two distinct deoxyribonucleic acid polymerases of high molecular weight.

Two DNA polymerases of high molecular weight, pol A (mol.wt. 190 000) and pol B (mol.wt. 240 ooo), have been purified 6300-fold and 1600-fold respectively from an extramitochondrial supernatant of a bleached strain of Euglena gracilis. They have very similar requirements when assayed with an 'activated'-DNA primer-template [the optimum conditions of pH and ionic (K+ and Mn2+) composition being 7.2, 25 mM and 0.2 mM respectively]. 0.2 mM-Mn2+ was about 1.5-2-fold as effective as 2 mM-Mg2+, owing to substrate activation by deoxyribonucleoside 5'-triphosphates in the presence of Mn2+. Km values for the triphosphates in the absence of activation were about 10(-6)M with Mn2+ and 8 X 10(-6) M with Mg2+ for both enzymes. They were inhibited to the same extent by N-ethylmaleimide, novobiocin and o-phenanthroline, but differed in their chromatographic behaviour on DEAE-cellulose and in their electrophoretic mobilities on polyacrylamide gel. No evidence was found for the existence in these cells of a DNA polymerase of low molecular weight, but there were indications that a third enzyme of high molecular weight might exist.     

Amino acids and the synaptic pharmacology of granule cells in the dentate gyrus of the rat

Granule cells in the dentate gyrus in the hippocampi of anaesthetized rats were excited by stimulation of the contralateral hippocampus (the commissural input) and the ipsilateral entorhinal cortex (the perforant path). The cells were also activated by the electrophoretic administration of various amino acids. A selective antagonism of glutamate and perforant path excitations was obtained with glutamic acid diethylester, and of aspartate and other amino acid induced and commissural excitations with D- or DL-alpha-aminoadipate. An excitatory effect of alpha-aminoadipate which was sometimes observed was prevented by the gamma-aminobutyric acid antagonist bicuculline, and may be a disinhibitory phenomenon. The results lend support to the proposition that the transmitter of the perforant path is glutamate while that of the commissural fibres is aspartate.     

Chimpanzee insectivory in the northern half of Uganda’s Rift Valley: do Bulindi chimpanzees conform to a regional pattern?

Insects are a nutritious food source for many primates. In chimpanzees, insectivory is most prevalent among communities that manufacture tools to harvest social insects, particularly ants and termites. In contrast to other long-term study sites, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Budongo Forest and Kibale National Park, Uganda, rarely eat insects and have small foraging tool kits, supporting speculation that infrequent insectivory—technically aided or otherwise—characterises chimpanzees in this part of Uganda’s Rift Valley. To expand the dataset for this region, insect foraging was investigated at Bulindi (25 km from Budongo) over 19 months during two studies in 2007–2008 and 2012–2013. Systematic faecal analysis demonstrated that insectivory is a habitual foraging activity at this site. Overall levels of insect consumption varied considerably across months but were not predicted by monthly changes in rainfall or fruit intake. Unlike their Budongo and Kibale counterparts, Bulindi chimpanzees often consume ants (principally weaver ants, Oecophylla longinoda) and use sticks to dig out stingless bee (Meliponini) ground nests. In other respects, however, insectivory at Bulindi conforms to the pattern observed elsewhere in this region: they do not manufacture ‘fishing’ or ‘dipping’ tools to harvest termites and aggressive or hard-to-access ants (e.g., army ants, Dorylus spp.), despite availability of suitable prey. The Bulindi data lend support to the supposition that chimpanzees in this part of the Rift Valley rarely exploit termites and Dorylus ants, apparently lacking the ‘cultural knowledge’ that would enable them to do so most efficiently (i.e., tool use). The study’s findings contribute to current debates about the relative influence of genetics, environment and culture in shaping regional and local variability in Pan foraging ecology.     

The specific, submicromolar-Km ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase purified from human placenta is enzymically indistinguishable from recombinant NUDT9 protein, including a selectivity for Mn2+ as activating cation and increase in Km for ADP-ribose, both elicited by H2O2

Free ADP-ribose is a putative second messenger and also a potentially toxic compound due to its non-enzymic reactivity towards protein side chains. ADP-ribose hydrolysis is catalysed by NDP-sugar/alcohol pyrophosphatases of differing specificity, including a highly specific, low-K(m) ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase. In humans, a submicromolar-K(m) ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase has been purified from placenta, while recombinant NUDT9 has been described as a similarly specific enzyme with a nudix motif, but with a 10(2)-10(3) higher K(m). Here, a comparative study of both proteins is presented showing that they are in fact enzymically indistinguishable; crucially, they both have submicromolar K(m) for ADP-ribose. This study firmly supports the view that the ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase present in human tissues is a product of the NUDT9 gene. In addition, this study reveals previously unknown properties of both enzyme forms. They display the same, differential properties in the presence of Mg(2+) or Mn(2+) as activating cations with respect to substrate specificity, ADP-ribose saturation kinetics, and inhibition by fluoride. Treatment with H(2)O(2) alters the Mg(2+)/Mn(2+) responses and increases the K(m) values for ADP-ribose, changes that are reversed by DTT. The results are discussed in relation to the proposed roles for ADP-ribose in oxidative/nitrosative stress and for ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase as a protective enzyme whose function is to limit the intracellular accumulation of ADP-ribose.