A 2D-1H-n.m.r. study of some Shigella flexneri O-polysaccharides

A 1H-n.m.r. study of the O-polysaccharides from different types of Shigella flexneri has been performed. With the aid of 2D-n.m.r. techniques, namely, J-resolved, spin-spin correlation, and NOESY experiments, most of the structural features of these polysaccharides could be deduced. Sequences could generally be obtained from the NOESY experiments. When using a prolonged mixing time in these experiments, cross-peaks due to spin diffusion from one anomeric proton to the anomeric proton of an adjacent residue could be obtained, thereby giving complementary sequence information.     

Green fluorescent protein as a reporter system in the transformation of barley cultivars

A cereal transformation vector, pN1473, containing the strong constitutive rice actin promoter Act-1 , a multiple cloning site, and the nos terminator, was constructed. Fusion of a plant-optimized gfp gene to Act-1 in pN1473 resulted in the vector pN1473GFP. To assess the suitability of pN1473, and GFP as a reporter system in barley transformation, two barley cultivars (Baronesse and Golden Promise) were transformed by microprojectile bombardment. Transient gfp expression in transformed embryogenic callus material was detectable by fluorescence microscopy less than 12 h after transformation. The presence of the gfp gene in callus and regenerated plantlets was confirmed by PCR amplification and DNA gel-blot analysis.     

Causes of mortality in laying hens in different housing systems in 2001 to 2004

Background  

The husbandry systems for laying hens were changed in Sweden during the years 2001 – 2004, and an increase in the number of submissions for necropsy from laying hen farms was noted. Hence, this study was initiated to compare causes of mortality in different housing systems for commercial laying hens during this change.     

Predacity by nematophagous fungi and its relation to the attraction of nematodes

Predacity, the ability of nematophagous fungi to destroy nematodes, was investigated for eight species of fungi by a method using sterilized soil and the nematodePanagrellus redivivus. In addition, the ability of the fungi to attract nematodes was investigated using an agar plate technique. Predacity and attraction were highly correlated (r=0.98) in these tests. The presence of traps in cultures ofArthrobotrys oligospora increased the ability to attract nematodes by a factor of 2.     

Differences in the spectral interactions between NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and a series of cytochrome P-450 enzymes

The interaction between NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and a series of cytochrome P-450 isozymes was investigated using UV-visible spectrophotometry. In the absence of substrate the interactions between the reductase and RLM3, RLM5, and RLM5a were tight, exhibiting sub-micromolar dissociation constants and resulted in type I spectra of varying magnitude from which the following increases in the proportion of high spin hemoprotein were calculated; RLM3 (7%), RLM5 (36%), RLM5a (6%), LM2 (29%), RLM2 (0%). Preincubation of LM2 with its type I substrate benzphetamine increased the affinity of the cytochrome for the reductase. Using initial estimates of the P-450 spin states in the absence of reductase in conjunction with the spectral binding data and equations relating these parameters to the microequilibria for the association of reductase with high or low spin P-450, RLM3, RLM5, RLM5a and LM2 were shown to bind significantly more tightly to high spin P-450. The relevance of this data to the understanding of spin state influence on P-450 reduction is discussed.     

Definition of the phage G13 receptor as structural domains of trisaccharides in Salmonella and Escherichia coli core oligosaccharides

The interaction between phage G13 and different bacterial and synthetic oligosaccharides has been studied using equilibrium dialysis inhibition. The results, and conformational analysis of the oligosaccharides, make us conclude that the phage G13 carbohydrate receptor is a conformational domain involving three sugar residues. The following trisaccharide elements contain the domain: alpha-D-Galp-(1----3)-[alpha-D-Galp-(1----6)]-alpha-D-Glcp, alpha-D-Manp-(1----3)-[alpha-D-Manp-(1----6)-alpha-D-Manp , and alpha-D-Glcp-(1----3)-[L-gly-alpha-D-man-Hepp-(1----7)]-L-gly-alph a-D- man-Hepp. Thus two structures, either a hexose substituted with alpha-D-glycopyranosyl groups in the 3- and 6-positions, or a heptose substituted with such groups in the 3- and 7-positions are functional G13 binding sites. Such domains are present in several cores of lipopolysaccharides from Salmonella and Escherichia coli species. Some cores, e.g. those from S. typhimurium chemotypes Ra, Rb1 and Rb2, contain two such domains. The identification of two G13 receptor domains within different core saccharides could explain the broad host range of this phage.     

Effects of experimental rewilding on butterflies,bumblebees and grasshoppers

Journal of Insect Conservation - Grassland ecosystems are species-rich habitats that are rapidly declining globally posing serious concerns for biodiversity conservation. This situation is...