A model for gramicidin A′-phospholipid interactions in bilayers

A model is proposed for the effect of gramicidin A on the order and structure of phospholipid dispersions. According to this model, the addition of gramicidin A influences the surrounding lipids via two independent mechanisms. The first arises from a drop in surface pressure for those lipids substantially bounded by gramicidin A. The second mechanism arises from the increase in the phospholipid headgroup spacing due to the small polar region of the polypeptide. The model provides an explanation for the currently available NMR, X-ray diffraction and Langmuir monolayer results. The model also suggests mechanisms for the ability of gramicidin A to trigger a transition of the lipid from the lamellar to hexagonal II phase, the dependence of this transition on the lipid chain length and the formation of a lamellar phase with lysophosphatidylcholine.Abbreviations NMR nuclear magnetic resonance - DMPC dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine - S molecular order parameter - CSA chemical shift anisotropy - DPPC dipalmitoylphosphati-dylcholine - LPC lysophosphatidylcholine     

紫茎泽兰的光合作用特征及其生态学意义

本文研究了紫茎泽兰(Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng)光合作用强度的变化规律及其与环境主要生态因子的关系,比较了它与某些农作物叶片净光合速率的差异,得到如下结果: 1.紫茎泽兰是一种阳性偏阴的C_3类草本植物,其光合作用的光饱和点约为40000 lx,光补偿点约为700 lx,且具有80 ppm左右的CO_2补偿点。 2.紫茎泽兰的最大净光合速率能达到23毫克CO_2/平方分米·时左右,叶片净光合速率的日变化规律呈双峰曲线型(主峰在10时左右,次峰在16时左右)。在一年中有较长的时间,它的光合速率保持着较高的水平。 3.生长在一般菜园土上的紫茎泽兰,当土壤含水量降至17％左右时,叶片光合速率接近0:而且,受过干旱处理的紫茎泽兰植株,在恢复供水后的第三天,其光合速率只达到原来的53％。 根据以上结果,结合受紫茎泽兰危害地区干湿季分明的特点,提出干季是防除紫茎泽兰的最佳季节。     

The effects of guanine and cytosine variation on dinucleotide frequency and amino acid composition in the human genome

Summary One hundred twelve human DNA sequences were analyzed with respect to dinucleotide frequency and amino acid composition. The variation in guanine and cytosine (G+C) content revealed: (1) at 2–3 and 3-1 doublet positions CG discrimination is attenuated at high G+C, but TA disfavor is enhanced, and (2) several amino acids are subject to G+C change. These findings have been reported in part for collections of sequences from various species. The present study confirms that in a single organism-the human-the G+C effects do exist. Aspects of the argument that connects G+C with protein thermal stability are also discussed.     

The γ-crystallin gene families: Sequence and evolutionary patterns

Summary The -crystallin proteins consist of two topologically equivalent domains, each built up out of two similar motifs. They are encoded by a gene family, which already contained five members before the divergence of rodents and primates. A further gene duplication took place in each lineage. To analyze the pattern of evolution within this gene family, the coding sequences of six human genes, six rat genes, and four mouse genes were compared. Between species, a uniform rate of evolution of all regions of the protein is seen. The ratio of synonymous to nonsynonymous substitution in the human/rat or human/mouse comparison is much lower than the ratio when rat and mouse are compared indicating that the -crystallin proteins are better conserved in the rodent lineage. Within species, the regions encoding the two external motifs I and III of the protein show a greater extent of nonsynonymous substitution than the regions encoding the two internal protein motifs II and IV. The low extent of synonymous substitution between the second exons (encoding motifs I and II) of the rat -crystallin genes suggests the frequent occurrence of gene conversion. In contrast, a high extent of synonymous substitution is found in exon 3 (encoding motifs III and IV) of the rat genes. The same phenomenon is seen within the human gene family. The frequencies of occurrence of the various dinucleotides deviate less from those predicted from the frequencies of occurrence of each individual nucleotide in the second exons than in the third exons. The sequences of the third exons are significantly depleted in CpG, ApA, and GpT and enriched in CpT and GpA.     

Novel hemoglobin components and their amino acid sequences from the crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

Summary We found two types of hemoglobin, T and R, from the crab-eating macaque and compared those to A and Q previously reported. The 22 animals studied showed six different phenotypes, A, R, QA, QT, QAT, and QAR. Analysis of the complete amino acid sequences for the chains of hemoglobins Q, A, T, and R revealed that amino acids at four positions, 8, 55, 71, and 78 from the N-terminal, are variable. In the ^A chain, Thr, Val, Gly, and Gln occupy these positions, and in the ^Q chain the analogous amino acids are Thr, Val, Asp, and Gln, respectively. In the newly found ^T chain they are Thr, Val, Gly, and His; and in the ^R chain, they are Ser, Ile, Gly, and His, respectively. Two amino acids (8 Thr and 79 Gln) in ^A of the crab-eating macaque were found to be different from those in the chain of the Japanese macaque.     

On the appearance and role of a spacer group in the protein amino acids

Summary Of the 20 protein amino acids, 16 have a methylene group at the position, and a further three bear a methine group. No aromatic, carboxamido, carboxylic carbon, or hetero atoms are attached directly to the carbon, but they are separated by this methylene or occasionally by a longern-alkylene spacer group. Therefore, the structure of the protein amino acids should rather be formulated as H₂N–CH((CH₂)_n–R)–COOH instead of the generally accepted H₂N–CH(R)–COOH. The appearance of and the role played by the spacer group are discussed in an evolutionary context. It is suggested that the spacer group appeared as a result of prebiotic selection, based on the relative abundance, racemization rate, and suitability for thermal polymerization of the protein amino acids and their homologs with various spacer group lengths. At the biotic level of evolution the requirements for ribosomal polymerization, as well as the abilities of polypeptides to maintain a stable and flexible threedimensional structure and to bind ligands are considered and are proposed to have been responsible for the possible exclusion of longer spacer groups. It is concluded that the general role of the spacer group is to ensure the uniformity of the constant regions H₂N–CH(-)–COOH and the individuality of the R contact groups by spatially separating them.     

Organization and structure of Volvox beta-tubulin genes

Summary Genomic clones encoding two Volvox -tubulin genes have been isolated and shown to represent the only two -tubulin genes in the genome. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was used to demonstrate that the two genes are genetically linked. One of these genes was sequenced and the mRNA start site(s) determined by primer extension. A comparison of its sequence to those of the two -tubulin genes of Chlamydomonas revealed: (1) a high degree of conservation of the coding region, with the predicted amino acid sequence differing only in the C-terminal residue; (2) extensive sequence conservation in the 5 untranslated leader region and a 16 bp (putative regulatory) sequence in the promoter region; (3) the same number and location of introns, with a short region of homology in intron 1, but little significant homology in introns 2 and 3.     

Correlation of physical maps and some genetic functions in the genomes of the kappa-theta phage family of Bacillus licheniformis

Summary Natural recombinant genomes between several, phenotypically distinct forms of phages and were isolated and characterized by DNA restriction fragment mapping and electron microscopic heteroduplex analysis. The phenotypes of the recombinants were correlated with the physical maps of the genomes, and several genetic functions were therfore defined and mapped. All genes necessary for the assembly of infectious virus particles map in a contiguous tract of DNA comprising about 20 kb, or nearly one third of the genome length. No DNA homology occurs within these domains of the two genomes, so that homologous recombination does not take place here and phenotypic mixing of the phages is eo ipso excluded. Other regions of heterology contain regulatory genes responsible for the lytic or temperate character of the phages, and for exclusion of phage by .     

Bacteriophage lambda DNA packaging: A mutant terminase that is independent of integration host factor

Summary ⁺ is able to grow in Escherichia coli cells lacking integration host factor (IHF), producing a burst of approximately 25% that produced in IHF⁺ cells. In vitro, however, we find that the DNA packaging enzyme terminase is strongly dependent on IHF in both cos cleavage reactions and DNA packaging reactions. The cos59 mutation renders dependent on IHF in vivo. The cos59 mutation is a deletion of 3 base pairs at the XmnI site in the cohesive end site (cos) of . Variants of cos59 that were able to grow in the absence of IHF were isolated and found to carry a mutation, called ms1, in the Nu1 gene, which codes for the small subunit of terminase. The Nu1ms1 mutation results in a change of the 40th amino acid of the Nu1 gene product from leucine to phenylalanine. The Nu1ms1 terminase was independent of IHF in packaging reactions in vitro. The results indicate that the mutation either renders terminase: (1) able to utilize some host protein other than IHF, or (2) totally independent of host factors.