Linkage of bovine erythrocyte antigen loci B, C, L, S, Z, R' and T' and the serum protein loci post-transferrin 2 (PTF 2), vitamin D binding protein (GC) and albumin (ALB) to DNA microsatellite markers

Seven bovine erythrocyte antigen loci and three serum protein loci were tentatively assigned to chromosomes or synteny groups by linkage analysis to previously assigned microsatellite DNA markers. The erythrocyte antigen locus EAB was mapped to synteny group U27; EAC to chromosome 18, synteny group U9; EAL to chromosome 3, synteny group U6; EAS to chromosome 21, synteny group U4; EAZ to chromosome 10, synteny group U5; EAR' to chromosome 16, synteny group U1; and EAT' to chromosome 19, synteny group U21. The vitamin D binding protein (GC) and albumin (ALB) loci were assigned to chromosome 6, synteny group U15 and post-transferrin 2 (PTF 2) to chromosome 19, synteny group U21.     

Differences in tissue-specific lipid composition between embryos of wild and captive breeding alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)

Fertile eggs obtained from alligators reared in captivity typically exhibit high rates of embryonic mortality. Also, the fatty acid composition of the yolk lipid of the captive eggs is markedly different from that observed in eggs from wild alligators, possibly as a result of differences in maternal diet in the two situations. The fatty acid compositions of tissue lipids during the embryonic development of wild and captive alligators were compared. The lipids of liver, adipose tissue and heart of the two types of embryo displayed fatty acid profiles which generally reflected the acyl compositions of the respective yolks. Thus the lipids from these tissues of the captive embryos contained markedly higher proportionate levels of linoleic and linolenic acids, lower levels of palmitoleic acid, and, in general, lower levels of docosahexaenoic acid and other C20 and C22 polyunsaturates, in comparison to the values for the wild embryos. In contrast, the fatty acid composition of the brain phosphoglycerides was very similar in the two types of embryo. Thus, at least in those embryos which had survived during the developmental period studied, the brain was able to maintain a relatively constant fatty acid composition, in spite of major differences between the wild and captive eggs in the proportions of the various fatty acids supplied from the yolk. It is suggested that a major cause of embryonic mortality in the captive embryos could be a failure to maintain an adequate level of docosahexaenoic acid in the developing brain.     

Phorbol ester-stimulated superoxide production by murine bone marrow-derived macrophages requires preexposure to cytokines

Murine resident peritoneal macrophages (RPM) generate superoxide (O2-) in response to stimulation with PMA or zymosan. Murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM) generate O2- in response to zymosan but not PMA. However, the ability to generate O2- in response to PMA could be induced in BMM by pre-exposing the cells to certain cytokines, including granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IFN-gamma, and, to a lesser extent, IL-1 alpha. Bacterial LPS also induced the ability to respond to PMA. These same agents were also shown to prime RPM for enhanced PMA-induced respiratory burst. In contrast to GM-CSF, CSF-1 did not enhance the ability of BMM or RPM to generate O2- in response to PMA. Pretreatment with GM-CSF or TNF-alpha did not significantly affect the zymosan-induced release of O2- by BMM. These results suggest that unprimed BMM have a deficiency in the PMA-dependent signaling pathway that is corrected by exposure to selected cytokines. The results also raise the possibility that the basal ability of tissue macrophages to generate a respiratory burst in response to PMA may be a reflection of in vivo exposure to cytokines.     

Detection and characterization of mitochondrial DNA rearrangements in Pearson and Kearns-Sayre syndromes by long PCR

We used a strategy based on long PCR (polymerase chain reaction) for detection and characterization of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) rearrangements in two patients with clinical signs suggesting Pearson syndrome and Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS), respectively, and one patient with myopathic symptoms of unidentified origin. Mitochondrial DNA rearrangements were detected by amplification of the complete mitochondrial genome (16.6 kb) using long PCR with primers located in essential regions of the mitochondrial genome and quantified by three-primer PCR. Long PCR with deletion-specific primers was used for identification and quantitative estimation of the different forms of rearranged molecules, such as deletions and duplications. We detected significant amounts of a common 7.4-kb deletion flanked by a 12-bp direct repeat in all tissues tested from the patient with Pearson syndrome. In skeletal muscle from the patient with clinical signs of KSS we found significant amounts of a novel 3.7-kb rearrangement flanked by a 4-bp inverted repeat that was present in the form of deletions as well as duplications. In the patient suffering from myopathic symptoms of unidentified origin we did not detect rearranged mtDNA in blood but found low levels of two rearranged mtDNA populations in skeletal muscle, a previously described 7-kb deletion flanked by a 7-bp direct repeat and a novel 6.6-kb deletion with no repeat. These two populations, however, were unlikely to be the cause of the myopathic symptoms as they were present at low levels (10–40 ppm). Using a strategy based on screening with long PCR we were able to detect and characterize high as well as low levels of mtDNA rearrangements in three patients. Received: 10 March 1997 / Accepted: 20 May 1997     

The incidence of Weeksella- and Bergeyella-like bacteria in the food environment

Eighty-five catalase- and oxidase-positive Gram-negative rods and cocci susceptible to penicillin G were isolated from a variety of food sources. The phenotypic relationships of these isolates with reference cultures of Bergeyella -like, Chryseobacterium, Empedobacter, Myroides , Moraxella , Sphingobacterium and Weeksella -like strains were examined by numerical taxonomy. Seventy-three isolates were recovered in five groups; 80% of the isolates clustered in groups 1, 2 and 3 and produced indole, bearing a strong resemblance to Weeksella and Bergeyella . They could not, however, be regarded as belonging to the known species of W. virosa and B. zoohelcum . It is suggested that three species may be necessary to accommodate the environmental Weeksella - or Bergeyella -like bacteria. The isolates in groups 4 and 5 had white colonies and were unable to produce indole, in this way resembling the Moraxella genus.     

Mutational analysis of slyD, an Escherichia coli gene encoding a protein of the FKBP immunophilin family

slyD encodes a 196 amino acid polypeptide that is a member of the FKBP family of cis–trans peptidyl–prolyl isomerases (PPIases). slyD mutations affect plaque formation by the phage φX174 by blocking the action of the phage lysis protein E. Here we describe the selection of a set of spontaneous slyD mutations conferring resistance to the expression of gene E from a plasmid. These mutations occur disproportionately in residues of SlyD that, based on the structure of the prototype mammalian FKBP12, make ligand contacts with immunosuppressing drug molecules or are conserved in other FKBP proteins. A wide variation in the plating efficiency of φX174 on these E  ^R strains is observed, relative to the parental, indicating that these alleles differ widely in residual SlyD activity. Moreover, it is found that slyD mutations cause significant growth rate defects in Escherichia coli B and C backgrounds. Finally, overexpression of slyD causes filamentation of the host. Thus, among the FKBP genes found in organisms across the evolutionary spectrum, slyD is unique in having three distinct drug-independent phenotypes.