Nonspecific lipid transfer protein in the assay of a membrane-bound enzyme CMP-N-acetyl-neuraminate:lactosylceramide sialyltransferase

CMP-N-acetylneuraminate:lactosylceramide alpha-2,3-sialyltransferase is tightly associated with the luminal side of the Golgi membrane as is its lipid substrate, lactosylceramide. In order to understand the kinetics, properties, and regulation of this enzyme, it is necessary to alter the amount and type of substrate in the membrane while minimizing changes in the membrane environment or in the conformation of the enzyme. Therefore, nonspecific lipid transfer protein, which accelerates the transfer of phospholipids, cholesterol, and glycosphingolipids between membranes was used to study the properties and kinetics of rat liver CMP-N-acetylneuraminate:lactosylceramide sialyltransferase. These results are compared to those obtained in parallel experiments using detergent-solubilized substrate. Enzyme activity was increased four- to fivefold by transfer protein and was consistently higher than the activity measured in the presence of detergents. In contrast to the results obtained with detergents, the enzyme activity increased linearly with both Golgi protein and with incubation time for up to 60 min. The Km values for the water-soluble substrate, CMP-neuraminic acid, were virtually identical when determined in the presence of transfer protein (0.23 mM) or detergents (0.27 mM). On the other hand, the apparent Km values for the lipophilic substrate, lactosylceramide, were markedly different when determined in the presence of transfer protein (47.9 microM) or in the presence of detergents (1.2 microM). These observations suggest that transfer protein is a useful tool to study the properties and kinetics of membrane-bound enzymes when both the enzyme and substrate are components of the same membrane.     

Rediscovery of Nebela ansata (Amoebozoa: Arcellinida) in eastern North America: biogeographical implications

Aim The question whether free‐living protists are generally cosmopolitan is currently a matter of debate. In this study we investigate the geographical distribution of a distinctive testate amoeba species, Nebela ansata, and use our data to assess the potential for highly restricted distribution patterns in some protist species. Location Global. Methods We analysed (1) 3400 testate amoeba publications from North America and other continents, (2) unpublished slides of the Penard Collection of the Natural History Museum, London, UK, and (3) 104 Sphagnum samples from eastern North America. Non‐metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was used to visualize the similarities in testate amoeba community composition among 1012 North American samples, including two communities that contained N. ansata. Results We rediscovered N. ansata at a site in New Jersey located close to its type locality, and in Nova Scotia. We also report the existence of an apparently unpublished museum specimen originally collected from New Jersey. Our extensive literature survey confirmed the presence of this species only in the temperate part of eastern North America. The NMDS revealed that communities with N. ansata were less similar to each other than to communities from other parts of North America, suggesting that favourable habitats for N. ansata occur in other Sphagnum‐dominated peatlands, a habitat type that has been extensively sampled in North America and elsewhere. Main conclusions These data provide an unusually convincing case of a free‐living microorganism with a very limited distribution range in the temperate part of eastern North America. The remarkably restricted distribution of N. ansata highlights the extent of our ignorance about the natural history of free‐living microorganisms, and raises questions about the lack of attention to microbial diversity in conservation biology.     

The loss of Drosophila APG4/AUT2 function modifies the phenotypes of cut and Notch signaling pathway mutants

A P-element line ( P0997) of Drosophila melanogaster in which the P element disrupts the Drosophila homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene APG4/AUT2 was identified during the course of screening for cut ( ct) modifiers. The yeast gene APG4/AUT2 encodes a cysteine endoprotease directed against Apg8/Aut7 and is necessary for autophagy. The P0997 mutation enhances the wing margin loss associated with ct mutations, and also modifies the wing and eye phenotypes of Notch (N), Serrate (Ser), Delta (Dl), Hairless (H), deltex (dx), vestigial (vg) and strawberry notch (sno) mutants. These results therefore suggest an unexpected link between autophagy and the Notch signaling pathway.     

The ppuI-rsaL-ppuR quorum-sensing system regulates cellular motility,pectate lyase activity,and virulence in potato opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas sp. StFLB209

Pseudomonas sp. StFLB209 was isolated from potato leaf as an N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL)-producing bacterium and showed a close phylogenetic relationship with P. cichorii, a known plant pathogen. Although there are no reports of potato disease caused by pseudomonads in Japan, StFLB209 was pathogenic to potato leaf. In this study, we reveal the complete genome sequence of StFLB209, and show that the strain possesses a ppuI-rsaL-ppuR quorum-sensing system, the sequence of which shares a high similarity with that of Pseudomonas putida. Disruption of ppuI results in a loss of AHL production as well as remarkable reduction in motility. StFLB209 possesses strong pectate lyase activity and causes maceration on potato tuber and leaf, which was slightly reduced in the ppuI mutant. These results suggest that the quorum-sensing system is well conserved between StFLB209 and P. putida and that the system is essential for motility, full pectate lyase activity, and virulence in StFLB209.     

On the Activity of Alkaline Phosphatase in Intestinal Mucosa from Casein-fed Rats

A novel optical activity of lutein was studied in dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) solution by the measurement of circular dichroism and absorbance. The surfactant was found to bring about the circular dichroism activity of the lutein below the critical micelle concentration (CMC) in a different way from that by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). This phenomenon was interpreted by the card-pack model of the lutein aggregate in which lutein molecule was slightly shifted each other. The above optical activity abruptly became strong just before the CMC of DTAB. This seems to correspond to the transition from the polymeric aggregate of the lutein to the oligomeric one. Such an optical activity disappeared beyond the CMC on the incorporation of the lutein molecules into the surfactant micelles. The molar binding ratios of DTAB to the lutein were determined to be 130 to 210 on the basis of the lutein concentration dependence of the DTAB concentration showing the arbitrary ellipticity. These ratios were clearly larger than those for SDS. On the other hand, filtration measurement showed that the size of the lutein-DTAB complex was larger than 2 μm in diameter. These phenomena were discussed assuming the possible model of the aggregate as a comparative study of the anionic and cationic surfactants causing the novel optical activity of this aggregate.