An HLA-C-specific DNA probe

Analysis of available nucleotide sequence data for class I HLA genes has established that the seventh intron is one of the gene regions which expresses the highest degree of locus specificity (the percentage sequence divergence between nonallelic genes minus the percentage sequence divergence between allelic genes). We have subcloned short DNA sequences including this region from the HLA-Cw3 gene. Two clones, pC250 and pC800, were tested by hybridizing them at high stringency to a panel of clones containing class I HLA genes. Under conditions permitting a strong hybridization signal with a C-locus gene, pC800 also expressed a weak but significant hybridization to other class I genes, while pC250 appeared to hybridize exclusively to the C-locus gene. Hybridization of the pC250 probe at high stringency to Hind III-digested genomic DNA from a panel of unrelated individuals and homozygous typing cell lines revealed a single band in all cases. However, equivalent hybridization against Eco RI-digested DNA revealed two hybridization bands, one at 7.9 kb which correlated with the serologically defined Cw5 and Cw8 alleles, and one at 7.6 kb which correlated with the Cw1, Cw2, Cw3, Cw4, Cw6, and Cw7 alleles.     

Systematics ofNama (Hydrophyllaceae): Flavonoids and phyletic position of sect.Arachnoidea and sect.Cinerascentia

Eight flavonoids, four 6-oxygenated flavones, two methyl ethers of luteolin, apigenin 6,8-C-diglucoside and quercetin 3-O-glucoside, were isolated fromNama lobbii andN. rothrockii, sole members of sects.Arachnoidea andCinerascentia, respectively. Both taxa diverge markedly from other namas in morphology and chromosome number and their placement inNama has been questioned. The occurrence of 6-oxygenated flavones in these taxa adds to their already distinctive nature. Flavonoid evidence argues that both are more closely allied toEriodictyon than either is toNama.     

On the dynamics of the mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in Barbados

Widespread mortality of the black sea urchin Diadema antillarum occurred in the Caribbean in 1983; beginning in Panama in January, and having its major impact at Barbados in September. Mortality on ten reefs surveyed in Barbados was 93.2%, with the highest being 99.9% and the lowest 86.9%. Mortality on each reef was independent of the pre-mortality density on the reef. Urchins with test diameters between 20 and 40 mm were more severely affected than smaller or larger urchins. Populations on reefs exposed to incoming oceanic water suffered heavier mortality than those on protected reefs. Mean size of urchins was smallest on high density reefs. This may indicate a negative effect of density on urchin growth. At post-mortality densities, urchins may grow faster and reach sexual maturity sooner.     

Growth Regulation In Multilayered Cultures of Human Diploid Fibroblasts: the Roles of Contact, Movement and Matrix Production

Abstract. Early subcultures of human embryonic lung fibroblasts are exceptional, as they grow far beyond confluence before growth ceases: the stationary dish may well contain 3-10 monolayer equivalents. Maximal growth rates, however, occur at about one-sixth confluence when doubling times are 15-20 hr; a density at which cell contacts begin to become frequent. the fact that a slowing down of growth is first apparent at such low densities argues against this regulation being due to diffusion effects. Confirmation of the role of short-range or contact interactions in growth regulation comes from an experiment using mixed cultures of fibroblasts: this shows that growth inhibition is not carried by medium-borne influences but depends on short-range (<1 mm) interactions. Evidence that cells can escape the effects of such contact interactions and so divide comes from time-lapse studies of dense cultures: there is a burst of motility soon after a fresh-medium change, which is followed by a burst of mitosis × 20 hr later. A medium change to conditioned medium supplemented with 10% foetal calf serum leads to neither the burst of motility nor the subsequent burst of mitosis, although this medium is better able to support the growth of sparse cells than is fresh medium. Data are also presented to show that the amount of collagen deposited in superconfluent cultures affects their growth: the stimulation of collagen production with ascorbic acid leads to an unexpectedly low stationary cell density and rather less movement in the culture. This result suggests that the collagen stabilizes cell contacts that are responsible for growth inhibition. the question of why these cells grow more slowly as density increases cannot be answered directly by these experiments; nevertheless, the results suggest that cell contact affects the permeability of the cell membrane to medium.     

Effects of anoxia and flooding on alcohol dehydrogenase in roots of Glyceria maxima and Pisum sativum

Flood tolerant Glyceria maxima and intolerant Pisum sativum were compared in respect of the effects of anoxia and flooding on the maximum catalytic activities of alcohol dehydrogenase in their roots. Small (<73%) increases in enzyme activity occurred when excised roots of both species were incubated in nitrogen for up to 2 days. Further incubation in nitrogen rapidly and permanently damaged the roots of both species. Enzyme activity in flooded roots of Glyceria was about double that in corresponding non-flooded roots. A marginally greater difference was found for roots of Pisum. It was concluded that the two species respond so similarly to the above treatments that variation in the extent of induction of alcohol dehydrogenase is unlikely to be a significant factor in determining their ability to tolerate flooding.     

Relation of some M1 characters to the frequency of M2 mutants inArabidopsis thaliana

The relation of the M₁ root length and the frequency of M₁ chlorophyll chimeras to the sterility grade and to the frequency of M₂ mutants ofArabidopsis thaliana is demonstrated.     

A PLUCHEA HYBRID FROM THE PACIFIC

Two species of Pluchea have been introduced into the Hawaiian Islands in the present century. These are P. indica, native to southeastern Asia, and P. odorata, native to the western hemisphere. Both are erect shrubs. Within the past 30 years a third Pluchea taxon, a sprawling shrub morphologically distinct from the two species, has appeared in the Hawaiian Islands and on other islands in the tropical Pacific. On the basis of morphology, fertility, meiotic behavior, and other evidence, it is concluded that the third taxon is a hybrid between the two species. The hybrid is highly sterile; it has a limited capacity for asexual reproduction. Metaphase I configurations for both species were found to be 10_II; the most frequent configuration in the hybrid was 8_II + 4_I. The hybrid is given a binomial.