Plasmids in Leuconostoc oenos

A new procedure was used to isolate 11 plasmids from eight Leuconostoc oenos strains. Plasmid DNA was not detected in 34 other strains of this species. Plasmid sizes ranged from 2.47 to 4.61 kilobase pairs. This is the first report of extrachromosomal elements in L. oenos.     

Splenic microenvironment of the CBA/N mouse: immunohistochemical analysis using monoclonal antibodies against lymphocytes and nonlymphoid cells

CBA/N mice carry an X-linked immune-deficiency gene, leading to a defect in the ability to form antibodies against T-independent type 2 antigens. By using immunohistochemistry, the organization of the spleen of the immune-deficient male (xid) CBA/N F1 and the normal female F1 were compared. Staining with antilymphocyte markers showed that the total number of cells in the various T- and B-cell areas was smaller in the xid mouse, resulting in very small white pulp compartments. Fewer B cells were seen in the marginal zone. When the spleens of the F1 mice were examined for macrophage markers, the rings of marginal-zone macrophages and the ring of marginal metallophilic macrophages were much thinner in the xid mouse. In particular, the marginal-zone macrophages are thought to play a role in the response against thymus-independent type 2 antigens, and their small numbers in the xid mouse are suggestive of a role for the microenvironment in the defects in these mice.     

Localization and organization of phenol degradation genes ofPseudomonas putida strain H

The genetic organization of the DNA region encoding the phenol degradation pathway ofPseudomonas putida H has been investigated. This strain can utilize phenol or some of its methylated derivatives as its sole source of carbon and energy. The first step in this process is the conversion of phenol into catechol. Catechol is then further metabolized via themeta-cleavage pathway into TCA cycle intermediates. Genes encoding these enzymes are clustered on the plasmid pPGH1. A region of contiguous DNA spanning about 16 kb contains all of the genetic information necessary for inducible phenol degradation. The analysis of mutants generated by insertion of transposons and cassettes indicates that all of the catabolic genes are contained in a single operon. This codes for a multicomponent phenol hydroxylase andmeta-cleavage pathway enzymes. Catabolic genes are subject to positive control by the gene product(s) of a second locus.     

Variability of Xanthomonas Campestris pv. vasculorum From Sugarcane and Other Gramineae in Reunion Island. Characterization of a Different Xanthomonad

Stains presumed to be of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vasculorum (Cobb.) Dye, obtained from sugarcane and other gramineae in Réunion Island, were compared in terms of cultural aspects, pathogenic and physiological reactions, fatty acid profiles and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of genomic DNA. The strains could be divided into two separate groups (G1 and G2). The G1 strains were identical to strains described as X. campestris pv. vasculorum; they showedan important variability in their cultural characteristics and in their aggressiveness. The G2 strains did not induce the usual symptoms of gumming disease on sugarcane cultivars infected under natural conditions or inoculated in the greenhouse. The G2 strains grew faster on agar medium, their colonies were more pigmented and less fluidal and had a different morphology on agar slant. Unlike the G1 strains, G2 strains hydrolyzed starch weakly and casein strongly; they utilized L-fucose and, to a lesser extent, melibioze. The fatty acid and genomic DNA profiles differed between the groups. Differences seemed large enough to support separation of G1 and G2 strains into distinct taxonomic entities, namely G1 as Xanthomonas campestris pv. vasculorum and G2 as a different pathovar of X. campestris. The taxonomic position of G2 strains is discussed.     

Plasmodium berghei: in vivo generation and selection of karyotype mutants and non-gametocyte producer mutants.

We previously reported that karyotype and gametocyte-producer mutants spontaneously arose during in vivo asexual multiplication of Plasmodium berghei. Here we studied the rate of selection of these mutants in vivo. Gametocyte production and karyotype pattern were established at regular intervals during prolonged periods of asexual multiplication of clone 8417 of P. berghei. We found that karyotype mutants and mutants which do not produce gametocytes can replace the original high-producer parasites of clone 8417 within several weeks. The time at which mutants became predominant in the population in different experiments, however, differed greatly. Mutants with intermediate or low gametocyte production were not found. In experimentally mixed infections, containing parasites from two clones from different strains (clone 8417 of the ANKA strain; clone 1 of the K173 strain), high-producer parasites of clone 8417 were overgrown by parasites of the nonproducer clone. Nonproducer mutants from the originally high-producer clone 8417, however, were able to coexist with parasites of the nonproducer clone. These results demonstrate that in our experiments nonproducer parasites had a strong selective advantage during asexual multiplication compared to high producers. All karyotype mutants which became predominant in our experiments were nonproducers. In two experiments a change in karyotype coincided with the loss of gametocyte production which may suggest a causal relationship between these events.     

Sequential assignment of 1H, 13C and 15N resonances of human carbonic anhydrase I by triple-resonance NMR techniques and extensive amino acid-specific 15N-labeling

Summary The backbone NMR resonances of human carbonic anhydase I (HCA I) have been assigned. This protein is one of the largest monomeric proteins assigned so far. The assignment was enabled by a combination of 3D triple-resonance experiments and extensive use of amino acid-specific ¹⁵N-labeling. The obtained resonance assignment has been used to evaluate the secondary structure elements present in solution. The solution structure appears to be very similar to the crystal structure, although some differences can be observed. Proton-deuteron exchange experiments have shown that the assignments provide probes that can be used in future folding studies of HCA I.The chemical shift data have been deposited in the BioMagResBank in Madison, WI, U.S.A.     

Critical evaluation of the VSC model for tip growth

The vesicle supply centre (VSC) model (Bartnicki-Garcia et al., 1989) for hyphal tip growth is powerful because it can model diverse developmental morphologies and predicts cellular organization based in current cell biology. It predicts that tip growth results from the random distribution of cell surface synthesizing vesicles from a point in the tip, the VSC, which determines their pattern of impact and fusion at the plasma membrane. We derive equations for tip-high gradients of vesicle fusions, generated by mechanisms not related to a supply centre, which create typical hyphal morphologies. These equations direct the conceptual basis for tip growth to vesicle fusion gradients, presumably mediated by a putative membrane skeleton associated with the plasma membrane. We also show that the organization and behaviour of motile organelles in growing hyphal tips of the oomycete,Saprolegnia ferax, argue against the presence of an apparatus capable of generating the distribution of vesicles postulated by the VSC model. We conclude that the VSC model is unlikely to describe the mechanistic basis of tip growth inS. ferax, and therefore, at best, it is not universally applicable.     

An expression vector system providing plasmid stability and conditional suicide of plasmid-containing cells

Summary A cloning vector system was constructed on the basis of the pBR322 derivative pEG1 by introducing the whole parB locus of plasmid R1 cloned behind the promoter of the alkaline phosphatase gene (phoA) of Escherichia coli. The parB locus in combination with the phoA promoter ensures both (i) plasmid stabilization due to the post-segregational killing of plasmid-free cells during growth and (ii) killing of the cells induced by the potential environmental signal phosphate limitation. This vector, therefore, appears to be a model system for increasing the stability of recombinant plasmids and for decreasing the potential risks in the application of recombinant bacteria in industrial fermentations.Correspondence to: T. Schweder     

Sequential degradation of a chondroitin sulphate trisaccharide by lysosomal enzymes from embryonic-chick epiphysial cartilage.

The disulphated trisaccharide D-N-acetylgalactosamine sulphate-beta-D-glucuronic acid-beta-D-N-acetylgalactosamine sulphate prepared from 35S- or 14C-labelled chondroitin sulphate was incubated with a preparation of lysosomal enzymes from embryonic-chick epiphysial cartilage. Degradation was demonstrated by analysis of the reaction products. By use of the appropriate intermediate products as substrates, in conjunction with specific enzyme inhibitors, it was shown that the degradation proceeded sequentially from the non-reducing end. It was initiated by sulphatase (preferentially hydrolysing sulphate ester groups at the 6-position), followed by beta-N-acetylgalactosaminidase and beta-glucuronidase, converting the substrate into monosaccharides and inorganic sulphate. The latter enzyme preferentially attacked disaccharides carrying their sulphate ester group at C-4 of the hexosamine residue. Generation of chondroitin sulphate oligosaccharides may occur by the action of an endoglycosidase, previously demonstrated in embryonic-chick cartilage. Endo- and exo-enzymes may thus form a functional unit in lysosomal degradation of chondroitin sulphate.