Concanavalin A Inhibits Auxin-Induced Elongation and Breakdown of (1 -> 3), (1 -> 4)-{beta}-D-Glucans in Segments of Rice Coleoptiles

Concanavalin A (Con A) suppresses auxin-induced elongation ofsurface-abraded segments from both dicotyledonous and poaceousplants. In coleoptile segments of rice (Oryza sativa L.), theauxin-induced decrease in the minimum stress-relaxation timeand increase in the mechanical extensibility of the cell wallswere also inhibited by Con A, indicating that the lectin suppresseselongation by inhibiting the cell wall loosening. Auxin causeda decrease in the level of (1 3), (1 4)-ß-D-glucansin the cell walls of rice coleoptile segments, and this decreasewas also inhibited by the lectin. Con A suppressed the autolytichydrolysis of the glucans, as well as their breakdown in vitroby a protein fraction that had been extracted from the cellwalls of rice coleoptiles with 1 M NaCl. Furthermore, most ofthe glucan-hydrolyzing activity of the wall proteins bound toa Con A-Sepharose column, suggesting that glycoprotein enzymesare involved in the hydrolysis. Although Con A also affectedthe hydrolysis of other wall polysaccharides, the present data,when considered in combination with the inhibitory effects ofglucan-specific or glucanasespecific antibodies, support theview that the breakdown of (1 3),(1 4)-ß-D-glucansis associated with the cell wall loosening that is responsiblefor auxin-induced elongation in Poaceae. (Received August 17, 1994; Accepted February 15, 1995)     

Control of trophoblast cell differentiation: Lessons from the genetics of early pregnancy loss and trophoblast neoplasia

Trophoblast cell differentiation is crucial to the morphogenesis of the placenta and thus the establishment of pregnancy and the growth and development of the embryo/fetus. In the present review, we discuss current evidence for the existence of regulatory genes crucial to trophoblast cell differentiation and placental morphogenesis. The elucidation of regulatory pathways controlling normal differentiation of trophoblast cells will facilitate the identification of sensitive junctures in the regulatory pathways leading to various developmental disorders, including those associated with the initiation of pregnancy, fetal growth retardation and gestational trophoblast disease.     

Effect of Temperature on Pratylenchus penetrans Development

Reproduction and development of Pratylenchus penetrans were studied on genetically transformed ladino clover roots. Solitary females developing on transformed roots in nutrient gellan gum medium (pH 5.5) deposited 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, and 2.0 eggs per day at the respective temperatures of 17, 20, 25, 27, and 30 °C. The number of eggs deposited was highly correlated with temperature. A reduction in egg-laying rates at the start of hatching was observed at all temperatures. Juvenile mortality was higher at 17 °C (50.4%), 20 °C (50.3%), and 30 °C (58.4%) than at 25 °C (34.6%) and 27 °C (37.6%). Life-cycle (egg deposition to egg deposition) duration was 46, 38, 28, 26, and 22 days at the respective temperatures. The developmental zero degrees (°C) and the effective accumulative temperatures (degree-days) required for hatching, female emergence, and onset of oviposition (completion of one generation) of P. penetrans were estimated to be 2.7 and 200, 4.2 and 548, and 5.1 and 564, respectively. Pratylenchus penetrans reproduces over a wide range of temperatures.     

Establishment and maintenance of the breeding territory in the polygynous great reed warbler

Settlement of male great reed warblers in the breeding ground was highly asynchronous at Lake Biwa in Japan. It took over 1 month from the appearance of the first male to a saturation in number of males. In resource-defense-polygyny, males are expected to try to defend as large an area as possible in the optimal habitat. In fact, a small number of the earliest settling males divided up the breeding ground almost completely as territories among themselves and these were later reduced in size with the addition of later settlers. The reduction was not due to a seasonal decline of aggressiveness on the part of the owners but to a higher level of intrusion pressure by later arriving males. The neighbor-neighbor relationship, once established, was rather stable. Home range overlap was small and territorial contacts were few between neighbors. Territorial boundaries seem not to shift despite the addition of new males as long as the neighbors were the same. The stable relationships between neighbors are expected to help the earlier resident to maintain his large and good territories throughout the breeding season and hence polygyny is favored in this species.     

Hexane soluble non-volatiles in flowering to fruiting stages of Fatsia japonica

The n-hexane soluble non-volatile fraction of the acetone extracts from the flower buds, the flowers and the immature and the mature fruits of Fatsia japonica were all found to contain fatty acids, fatty acid methyl esters, squalene, β-amyrin and sterols. At all the stages between budding to the mature fruit, the major fatty acids were palmitic and linoleic acids and the major phytosterol was stigmasterol. In addition steryl and β-amyrenyl esters were found in the flowers and the immature and the mature fruits, but these esters were not present in the flower buds. Sitosteryl ester was the major constituent of the steryl ester fraction in the fruiting stages. Phytol was found in only the flowering stage and triglycerides in only the mature fruits. The variations in the lipid constituents is discussed in relation to the stages from budding to the mature fruit.     

Proposal of Mycobacterium peregrinum sp. nov., nom. rev., and elevation of Mycobacterium chelonae subsp. abscessus (Kubica et al.) to species status: Mycobacterium abscessus comb. nov.

We studied the taxonomic positions of the rapidly growing organism Mycobacterium fortuitum and phenotypically related organisms. We confirmed that "Mycobacterium peregrinum" ATCC 14467T (T = type strain) is genetically independent of M. fortuitum ATCC 6841T by using various DNA hybridization conditions. Strains that were genetically identified as "M. peregrinum" were phenotypically differentiated from M. fortuitum ATCC 6841T. Thus, we propose that "M. peregrinum" should be revived as an independent species, Mycobacterium peregrinum sp. nov., nom. rev. The type strain is strain ATCC 14467. M. fortuitum subsp. acetamidolyticum ATCC 35931T exhibited a high level of DNA relatedness to M. fortuitum ATCC 6841T. The hybridized DNAs maintained stable heteroduplexity at high stringency; thus, we confirmed that M. fortuitum subsp. acetamidolyticum is identical to M. fortuitum ATCC 6841T. We found that M. chelonae subsp. abscessus ATCC 19977T is genetically different from M. chelonae subsp. chelonae NCTC 946T on the basis of the results of quantitative hybridization even under optimal conditions. There was no reason to maintain this organism as a subspecies of M. chelonae. Thus, we propose that M. chelonae subsp. abscessus should be elevated to species status as Mycobacterium abscessus (Kubica et al.) comb. nov. The type strain is strain ATCC 19977.     

Purification and characterization of (Ca2+-Mg2+)-ATPase in rat liver lysosomal membranes.

A (Ca(2+)-Mg2+)-ATPase associated with rat liver lysosomal membranes was purified about 300-fold over the lysosomal membranes with a 7% recovery as determined from the pattern on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of SDS. The purification procedure included: preparation of lysosomal membranes, solubilization of the membrane with Triton X-100, WGA-Sepharose 6B, Con A-Sepharose, hydroxylapatite chromatography, and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular mass, estimated by gel filtration with Sephacryl S-300 HR, was approximately 340 kDa, and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed the enzyme to be composed of four identical subunits with an apparent molecular mass of 85 kDa. The isoelectric point of the purified enzyme was 3.6. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 4.5, a Km value for ATP of 0.17 mM and a Vmax of 71.4 mumol/min/mg protein at 37 degrees C. This enzyme hydrolyzed nucleotide triphosphates and ADP but did not act on p-nitrophenyl phosphate and AMP. The effects of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on the ATPase were not additive, thereby indicating that both Ca2+ and Mg(2+)-ATPase activities are manifested by the same enzyme. The (Ca(2+)-Mg2+)-ATPase differed from H(+)-ATPase in lysosomal membranes, since the enzyme was not inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide but was inhibited by vanadate. The effects of some other metal ions and compounds on this enzyme were also investigated. The N-terminal 18 residues of (Ca(2+)-Mg2+)-ATPase were determined.