Genome-wide CRISPR Screens Reveal Host Factors Critical for SARS-CoV-2 Infection

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Space use and genetic structure do not maintain color polymorphism in a species with alternative behavioral strategies

Space use including territoriality and spatial arrangement within a population can reveal important information on the nature, dynamics, and evolutionary maintenance of alternative strategies in color polymorphic species. Despite the prevalence of color polymorphic species as model systems in evolutionary biology, the interaction between space use and genetic structuring of morphs within populations has rarely been examined. Here, we assess the spatial and genetic structure of male throat color morphs within a population of the tawny dragon lizard, Ctenophorus decresii. Male color morphs do not differ in morphology but differ in aggressive and antipredator behaviors as well as androgen levels. Despite these behavioral and endocrine differences, we find that color morphs do not differ in territory size, with their spatial arrangement being essentially random with respect to each other. There were no differences in genetic diversity or relatedness between morphs; however, there was significant, albeit weak, genetic differentiation between morphs, which was unrelated to geographic distance between individuals. Our results indicate potential weak barriers to gene flow between some morphs, potentially due to nonrandom pre‐ or postcopulatory mate choice or postzygotic genetic incompatibilities. However, space use, spatial structure, and nonrandom mating do not appear to be primary mechanisms maintaining color polymorphism in this system, highlighting the complexity and variation in alternative strategies associated with color polymorphism.     

Study of plasmids isolated from saccharolytic Clostridia: Construction of hybrid plasmids and transfer toEscherichia coli andBacillus subtilis

Summary Small plasmids ofClostridium acetobutylicum and related strains were isolated and studied. Their restriction maps were established and different hybrid plasmids were constructed by ligation with plasmid pHV33.     

Studies on haemosiderin and ferritin from iron-loaded rat liver

Summary Haemosiderin has been isolated from siderosomes and ferritin from the cytosol of livers of rats iron-loaded by intraperitoneal injections of iron-dextran. Siderosomal haermosiderin, like ferritin, was shown by electron diffraction to contain iron mainly in the form of small particles of ferrihydrite (5Fe₂O₃ · 9H₂O), with average particle diameter of 5.36±1.31 nm (SD), less than that of ferritin iron-cores (6.14±1.18 nm). Mössbauer spectra of both iron-storage complexes are also similar, except that the blocking temperature,T _B, for haemosiderin (23 K) is lower than that of ferritin (35 K). These values are consistent with their differences in particle volumes assuming identical magnetic anisotropy constants. Measurements of P/Fe ratios by electron probe microanalysis showed the presence of phosphorus in rat liver haemosiderin, but much of it was lost on extensive dialysis. The presence of peptides reacting with anti-ferritin antisera and the similarities in the structures of their iron components are consistent with the view that rat liver haemosiderin arises by degradation of ferritin polypeptides, but its peptide pattern is different from that found in human-thalassaemia haemosiderin. The blocking temperature, 35 K, for rat liver ferritin is near to that reported, 40 K, for human-thalassaemia spleen ferritin. However, the haemosiderin isolated from this tissue, in contrast to that from rat liver, had aT _B higher than that of ferritin. The iron availability of haemosiderins from rat liver and human-thalassaemic spleen to a hydroxypyridinone chelator also differed. That from rat liver was equal to or greater, and that from human spleen was markedly less, than the iron availability from either of the associated ferritins, which were equivalent. The differences in properties of the two types of haemosiderin may reflect their origins from primary or secondary iron overload and differences in the duration of the overload.     

Variants of the anti-Müllerian hormone gene in a compound heterozygote with the persistent Müllerian duct syndrome and his family

Summary The human genome contains a large number of interspersed simple repeat sequences that are variable in length and can therefore serve as highly informative, polymorphic markers. Typing procedures include conventional multilocus and single locus probing, and polymerase chain reaction aided analysis. We have identified simple sequences in a cosmid clone stemming from the human Y chromosome and consisting of (gata)_n repeats. We have compared these with two equivalent simple repeat loci from chromosome 12. After amplifying the tandemly repeated motifs, we detected between four and eight different alleles at each of the three loci. Codominant inheritance of the alleles was established in family studies and the informativity of the simple repeat loci was determined by typing unrelated individuals. The polymorphisms are suitable for application in linkage studies, practical forensic case work, deficiency cases in paternity determination, and for studying ethnological questions. The mutational mechanisms that bring about changes in simple repeats located both on the autosomes and on the sex chromosomes, are discussed.Professor Dr. Otto Prokop (Humboldt-Universität Berlin) on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

Neuronal origin of a cerebral amyloid: neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer''s disease contain the same protein as the amyloid of plaque cores and blood vessels.

The protein component of Alzheimer's disease amyloid [neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), amyloid plaque core and congophilic angiopathy] is an aggregated polypeptide with a subunit mass of 4 kd (the A4 monomer). Based on the degree of N-terminal heterogeneity, the amyloid is first deposited in the neuron, and later in the extracellular space. Using antisera raised against synthetic peptides, we show that the N terminus of A4 (residues 1-11) contains an epitope for neurofibrillary tangles, and the inner region of the molecule (residues 11-23) contains an epitope for plaque cores and vascular amyloid. The non-protein component of the amyloid (aluminum silicate) may form the basis for the deposition or amplification (possible self-replication) of the aggregated amyloid protein. The amyloid of Alzheimer's disease is similar in subunit size, composition but not sequence to the scrapie-associated fibril and its constituent polypeptides. The sequence and composition of NFT are not homologous to those of any of the known components of normal neurofilaments.     

Purification and characterization of succinyl-CoA: tetrahydrodipicolinate N-succinyltransferase from Escherichia coli

Tetrahydrodipicolinate succinylase, an enzyme involved in the diaminopimelate-lysine pathway, was purified 1900-fold from crude extracts of Escherichia coli. The enzyme catalyzes the formation of CoA and N-succinyl-2-amino-6-keto-L-pimelate from succinyl-CoA and tetrahydrodipicolinate. The purified enzyme was shown to be homogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The Stokes radius of the enzyme was determined from its elution volume on a Sephacryl S300 column and its sedimentation constant from sucrose density gradient centrifugation. These were 35 A and 4.7 (S20,w), respectively. The enzyme consists of two subunits each with a mass of 31,000 daltons, as determined using sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Tetrahydrodipicolinate succinylase was shown to be a sulfhydryl enzyme. It has a pH optimum of 8.2. The equilibrium lies predominantly in favor of product formation but the reverse reaction can be demonstrated in vitro.     

L'hématoxyline au plomb permet-elle l'identification des cellules corticotropes de l'hypophyse des téléostéens?

Conclusion La technique à l'hématoxyline au plomb de Mac Conaill permet l'identification d'un type cellulaire situé dans la pars distalis rostrale, en bordure des ramifications de la neurohypophyse dans l'hypophyse de plusieurs Poissons Téléostéens; il est également colorable par le bleu d'alizarine d'Herlant; toutefois, l'intensité de ces deux réactions tinctoriales est très variable selon les espèces. Chez l'Anguille, les Salmonidés et le Cyprin, la nature corticotrope de ces cellules est établie expérimentalement. La colorabilité par l'hématoxyline d'une autre catégorie cellulaire dans la pars intermedia laisse supposer l'existence de constituants communs aux deux types cellulaires, et peut-être même à leurs produits d'élaboration. Cette communauté de certains aminoacides entre l'ACTH et l'intermédine a déjà été démontrée chez divers Mammifères.