Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Protein Electrophoresis of Freshwater Photosynthetic Sulfur Bacteria

Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel protein electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was carried out using different bacterial strains of the photosynthetic sulfur bacteria Chlorobium, Thiocapsa, Thiocystis, and Chromatium cultured in the laboratory, and the natural blooms in two karstic lakes (Lake Cisó and Lake Vilar, NE Spain) where planktonic photosynthetic bacteria (purple and green sulfur bacteria) massively developed accounting for most of the microbial biomass. Several extraction, solubilization, and electrophoresis methods were tested to develop an optimal protocol for the best resolution of the SDS-PAGE. Protein composition from different water depths and at different times of the year was visualized within a molecular mass range between 100 and 15 kDa yielding up to 20 different protein bands. Protein banding patterns were reproducible and changed in time and with depth in agreement with changes in photosynthetic bacteria composition. When a taxonomically stable community was followed in time, differences were observed in the intensity but not in the composition of the SDS-PAGE banding pattern. Three environmental variables directly related to the activity of sulfur bacteria (light, oxygen, and sulfide concentrations) had a significant effect on protein banding patterns and explained 33% of the variance. Changes in natural protein profiles of the bacterial blooms agreed with changes in species composition and in the in situ metabolic state of the populations.     

Determination of the Molecular Weights of Gluten Proteins from Ferguson Plots in Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

A mutant of Schizosaccharomyces pombe deficient in both superoxide dismutase with copper and zinc as cofactors and glutathione was hypersensitive to menadione, which intracellularly generates superoxide radicals, and showed short chronological lifespan with more oxidation of proteins. Disruption of the sir2 gene in the double mutant enhanced the short chronological lifespan without more enhanced protein oxidation.     

Reconstitution into Liposomes of the Tonoplast ATP- and Pyrophosphate-Dependent Proton Pumps from Rubus hispidus Cell Cultures

The ATP- and pyrophosphate-dependent proton pumps from tonoplast-enriched vesicles prepared from Rubus hispidus cell cultures were solubilized in the presence of polyoxyethylene(9,10)p-t-octylphenol (Triton X-100) and reconstituted into liposomes of soybean phospholipids, using Bio-Beads SM-2 to remove the detergent. The specific activity of the two pumps was greatly increased by the solubilization-reconstitution procedure. Identical characteristics were found for pyrophosphate-dependent proton transport in native and reconstituted vesicles. On the other hand, the ATP-dependent proton transport of the reconstituted vesicles was no longer inhibited by KNO₃.     

Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis Protein Banding Patterns among Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar phaseoli Strains Isolated from the Mexican Bean Phaseolus coccineus

Several rhizobial strains were isolated from Phaseolus coccineus root nodules and were determined to be Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar phaseoli strains after reinfection of the same host plant. These strains were characterized by cultural procedures (growth on different carbon sources and intrinsic antibiotic resistance) and electrophoretic procedures (sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of total proteins). Our results showed that these rhizobia are very similar to each other, especially in their electrophoretic protein banding patterns, suggesting that they might belong to isolated populations.     

Variation and Genomic Localization of Genes Encoding DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER Male Accessory Gland Proteins Separated by Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

Accessory gland proteins from Drosophila melanogaster males have been separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis into nine major bands. When individual males from 175 strains were examined, considerable polymorphism for nearly one-half of the major protein bands was seen, including null alleles for three bands. Variation was observed not only among long-established laboratory strains but also among stocks recently derived from natural populations. There was little difference in the amount of variation between P and M strains, indicating that P element mutagenesis is not a factor producing the variation. Codominant expression of variants for each of five bands was found in heterozygotes, suggesting structural gene variation and not posttranslational modification variation. Stocks carrying electrophoretic variants of four of the major proteins were used to map the presumed structural genes for these proteins; the loci were found to be dispersed on the second chromosome. Since males homozygous for variant proteins were fertile, the polymorphism seems to have little immediate effect on successful sperm transfer. We propose that a high degree of polymorphism can be tolerated because these proteins play a nutritive rather than enzymatic role in Drosophila reproduction.     

Structural Studies of Avian Myeloblastosis Virus: Comparison of Polypeptides in Virion and Core Component by Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

Two different systems of dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) in separate laboratories detected analogous patterns of dye bands in virions of avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV). At least 11 of the dye bands co-migrated with the major polypeptides reported in Rous sarcoma virus. Particles with the morphology of the AMV core component, obtained after exposure of AMV to the nonionic surfactant Sterox SL, contained major polypeptides p12, p27, p60, p64, p91, and p98. The polypeptide p12 has been previously shown to be the major constituent of the inner ribonucleoprotein (RNP) of the AMV core, and has been designated p12(N). Two RNP polypeptides, p64 and p91, co-electrophoresed with purified AMV DNA polymerase and have now been designated p64(P) and p91(P). The polypeptide p27 has been identified as a probable constituent of the core shell, and has accordingly now been designated p27(C). In comparison to virions of AMV, the AMV core component contained a greatly reduced amount of polypeptide p15 and appeared to lack a major polypeptide, p19. Consequently, these polypeptides may be associated either with the exterior of the core shell or the interior of the viral envelope. Glycopeptides were not detected in AMV cores, in agreement with earlier reports that they reside in external projections from the viral envelope.     

The Dissociation of Wax Bean Hemagglutinin by Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis in Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

(+)-Biotin was synthesized from D-glucosamine in a sequence of 13 reactions.     

Characterization of Proenkephalin-Cleaving Proteinases in Bovine Adrenal Chromaffin Granules Using [35S]Proenkephalin Copolymerized into Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

Proteinases capable of cleaving proenkephalin into smaller peptides have been identified in bovine adrenal chromaffin granules using [35S]methionine-labeled recombinant rat proenkephalin as a selective substrate in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis proteinase radiozymography. This technique was used for the screening of subcellular fractions, general characterization of pH optima, and the mechanistic characterization of proteinases with both reversible and irreversible inhibitors. Two enzymes with approximate molecular masses of 76 and 30 kDa were shown to be localized to the highest-density fractions of chromaffin granules by sucrose density gradient fractionation. Both were enriched in a 1 M NaCl wash of purified chromaffin granule membranes, were active at high pH, and were characterized as serine proteinases based on inhibition by soybean trypsin inhibitor. The 30-kDa enzyme was also inhibited by diisopropyl fluorophosphate, D-Phe-Pro-Arg-CH2Cl, and D-Val-Phe-Lys-CH2Cl and appeared to be the previously described adrenal trypsin-like enzyme. A third enzyme, of 66 kDa, was also associated with the 1 M NaCl wash of purified chromaffin granule membranes but was not localized exclusively to chromaffin granules in sucrose gradients. This proteinase was found to be Ca2+ activated and inhibited by EDTA but not diisopropyl fluorophosphate, soybean trypsin inhibitor, p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid, 1,10-phenanthroline, or pepstatin.     

Core Particles of Hepatitis B Virus and Ground Squirrel Hepatitis Virus I. Relationship Between Hepatitis B Core Antigen- and Ground Squirrel Hepatitis Core Antigen-Associated Polypeptides by Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis and Tryptic Peptide Mapping

The relationships among the core antigen polypeptides of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and ground squirrel hepatitis virus (GSHV) were studied using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and tryptic peptide mapping. The major core antigen polypeptides of liver-derived HBV (p22) and GSHV (p20.5) shared 56% of the spots in their peptide maps. Comparison of hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) p19 or ground squirrel hepatitis core antigen (GSHcAg) p16.5 with their respective major polypeptides indicated that these components probably resulted from cleavage of the major polypeptide of each virus. Other polypeptides smaller than the major component of each virus were often faint on polyacrylamide gels and probably resulted from the cleavage or degradation of components larger than p22 of HBcAg or p20.5 of GSHcAg, since their peptide maps contained spots unique to these high-molecular-weight components. p26 of GSHcAg and p27.5 of HBcAg shared approximately two-thirds of the spots on their peptide maps with those of their respective major core polypeptides. Furthermore, p37.5 of GSHcAg and p40 of HBcAg shared about 60% homology with their respective major polypeptides, and also shared many of the spots that were unique to p26 of GSHcAg or p27.5 of HBcAg but were not found in the peptide map of their respective core antigen polypeptides. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis bands larger than 40,000 daltons were variably present, and peptide mapping indicated that these were aggregates of various smaller core antigen-associated polypeptides. The results suggest that p40 of HBcAg and p37.5 of GSHcAg are the largest unique polypeptides in these core particles, and that they are encoded for by the genome of each virus. That a subset of the spots unique to p40 or p37.5 was also found in p27.5 of HBcAg or p26 of GSHcAg, respectively, as compared to the major core polypeptides, also suggests that p27.5 and p26 are unique proteins encoded by the genome of each virus. It is proposed that the core antigen gene of each virus is larger than that which would encode the major polypeptide of each virus, and that the genetic organizations of the core genes of HBV and GSHV are very similar.     

Two Proton Pumps Operate in Parallel Across the Tonoplast of Vacuoles Isolated from Suspension Cells of Chenopodium rubrum L.*

The kinetics of vacuolar acidification upon addition of ATP and/or pyrophosphate (PPi) has been assayed on single immobilized vacuoles by computer-aided microfluorimetry of 9-aminoacridine, and by acridine orange absorption photometry on vacuole suspensions isolated from green suspension cells of Chenopodium rubrum L. Two proton pumps at the tonoplast, an ATPase and a pyrophosphatase (PPase), operate in parallel to acidify the vacuole with different contributions adding up to a transtonoplast Δ pH of 2.6 pH units at external pH 7.2. The saturable components of proton pumping reach half maximal velocity with 0.32 ± 0.06 mM ATP and 23 ± 2.5 μM PPi, respectively. At saturating substrate concentrations, ATPase and PPase hydrolyse ATP and PPi, respectively, at a ratio of 2.3. The same ratio holds for the corresponding proton fluxes maintaining a given steady-state vacuolar pH. We conclude that both pumps operate at the same stoichiometry.     

变性梯度凝胶电泳技术在微生物分子生态学研究中的应用

变性梯度凝胶电泳在微生物分子生态学研究中的应用日益广泛,已成为研究微生物多样性和动态变化的有力工具.对变性梯度凝胶电泳技术中存在的问题,如基因片段的选择、共迁移、背景色和异源双链分子的形成等作了综述,以期为进一步更好地利用该技术进行微生态的研究奠定基础.     

大鼠背根神经节细胞膜蛋白的提取及双向凝胶电泳分离

为了开展大鼠背根神经节(DRG)细胞质膜蛋白质组学研究,取成年大鼠的背根神经节,用胰蛋白酶和胶原酶等消化处理后经密度梯度离心分离DRG细胞质膜;用裂解液裂解提取膜蛋白并通过双向凝胶电泳将膜蛋白分离.扫描凝胶图谱后进行图像分析,结果表明DRG细胞膜蛋白得到了有效的提取和分离.双向凝胶电泳图谱的建立为进一步进行DRG细胞质膜蛋白质组学的研究提供了重要的基础.     

General Mechanisms for Solute Transport Across the Tonoplast of Plant Vacuoles: a Patch-Clamp Survey of Ion Channels and Proton Pumps

The electrical properties of the tonoplast from a large variety of plant materials such as mesophyll cells, storage cells, tumor cells, suspension cultured cells, guard cells, coleoptile cells, and liverwort cells have been investigated using the patch-clamp technique. Whole-vacuole recordings were employed to study the dynamics of an ATP-dependent proton pump by directly measuring the electrogenic currents. The addition of Mg-ATP induced an inwardly directed current which depolarized the tonoplast (the vacuole becoming positive inside). Furthermore, voltage-dependent passive ion fluxes were analyzed using whole vacuoles and isolated membrane patches. Whole-vacuolar currents and single-channel currents were induced at hyperpolarizing potentials, whereas currents decreased at positive trans-tonoplast potentials. The electrical properties of the tonoplast of vacuoles from various plant tissues were similar and it was concluded that ion fluxes across the tonoplast follow the same general mechanisms.     

Molecular Typing by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis of <Emphasis Type=Italic>Bacillus thuringiensis</Emphasis> from Root Voles

The root voles intestinal strains of Bacillus thuringiensis, were characterised by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). For 14 isolates, three pulsotypes were found, with the use of SmaI or NotI as restriction enzymes. Strains in each pulsotypes presented identical DNA patterns, indicating that the population structure of B. thuringiensis from root voles is clonal. The similarities in banding patterns were estimated at 56% and 33% for SmaI and NotI digests, respectively. The strains under study differed significantly in the size of their entire genome, which varied between 2.4 and 4.2 Mb. No significant differences were detected among the isolates subjected to biochemical properties determined by API tests. Present study showed that genomic diversity is a common feature of B. thuringiensis originating from one ecological niche. PFGE appears to be a useful technique for use in studies on the spread of B. thuringiensis in the environment. Received: 14 May 2002 / Accepted: 21 June 2002     

Role of Tonoplast Proton Pumps and Na+/H+ Antiport System in Salt Tolerance of Populus euphratica Oliv.

Populus euphratica has been used as a plant model to study resistance against salt and osmotic stresses, with recent studies having characterized the tonoplast and the plasma membrane ATPases, and two Na⁺/H⁺ antiporters, homologs of the Arabidopsis tonoplast AtNHX1, were published in databases. In the present work we show that P. euphratica suspension-cultured cells are highly tolerant to high salinity, being able to grow with up to 150 mM NaCl in the culture medium without substantial modification of the final population size when compared to the control cells in the absence of salt. At a salt concentration of 300 mM, cells were unable to grow but remained highly viable up to 17 days after subculture. The addition of a 1-M-NaCl pulse to unadapted cells did not promote a significant loss in cell viability within 48 h. In tonoplast vesicles purified from cells cultivated in the absence of salt and from salt-stressed cells, vacuolar H⁺-pyrophosphatase (V-H⁺-PPase) seemed to be the primary tonoplast proton pump; however, there appears to be a decrease in V-H⁺-PPase activity with exposure to NaCl, in contrast to the sodium-induced increase in the activity of vacuolar H⁺-ATPase (V-H⁺-ATPase). Despite reports that in P. euphratica there is no significant difference in the concentration of Na⁺ in the different cell compartments under NaCl stress, in the present study, confocal and epifluorescence microscopic observations using a Na⁺-sensitive probe showed that suspension-cultured cells subject to a salt pulse accumulated Na⁺ in the vacuole when compared with control cells. Concordantly, a tonoplast Na⁺/H⁺ exchange system is described whose activity is upregulated by salt and, indirectly, by a salt-mediated increase of V-H⁺-ATPase activity.     

Molecular Weight Determination of Gliadin Fractions in Gel Filtration by SDS-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis and Sedimentation Equilibrium

Gliadin was fractionated into three fractions; ω-gliadin, Fraction III (γ-gliadin) and Fraction IV (α- and β-gliadin). The determination of the molecular weights (MW) of the three fractions was performed by both SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) and sedimentation equilibrium. In SDS–PAGE, ω-gliadin gave three bands (MW 50,000, 54,000 and 64,000), Fraction III two bands (MW 38,000 and 46,000) and Fraction IV two bands (MW 33,000 and 38,000), The sedimentation analysis showed that each fraction was fairly homogeneous relative to molecular weight. The molecular weights obtained by sedimentation were 28,000 for Fraction III and 27,000 for both Fraction IV and ω-gliadin. The disagreement in molecular weight between sedimentation and gel electrophoresis was discussed.     

Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Analysis of Vibrio vulnificus Strains Isolated from Taiwan and the United States

Vibrio vulnificus is a marine bacterium that causes human wound infections and septicemia with a high mortality rate. V. vulnificus strains from different clinical and environmental sources or geographic regions have been successfully characterized by ribotyping and several other methods. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is a highly discriminative method, but previous studies suggested that it was not suitable for examining the correlation of V. vulnificus strains from different origins. We employed PFGE to determine its efficacy for characterizing V. vulnificus strains from different geographic regions, characterizing a total of 153 strains from clinical and environmental origins from the United States and Taiwan after SfiI or NotI digestion. V. vulnificus strains showed a high intraspecific diversity by PFGE after SfiI or NotI digestion, and about 12% of the strains could not be typed by the use of either of these enzymes. For PFGE with SfiI digestion, most of the clinical and environmental strains from the United States were grouped into cluster A, while the strains from Taiwan were grouped into other clusters. Clinical strains from the United States showed a higher level of genetic homogeneity than clinical strains from Taiwan, and environmental strains from both regions showed a similarly high level of heterogeneity. PFGE with NotI digestion was useful for studying the correlation of clinical strains from the United States and Taiwan, but it was not suitable for analyzing environmental strains. The results showed that PFGE with SfiI digestion may be used to characterize V. vulnificus strains from distant geographic regions, with NotI being a recommended alternative enzyme.     

Profiiles of Proteins in Guard-cell and Mesophyll Protoplasts from Vicia faba L. Fractionated by Sodium Dodecylsulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

Polypeptides of low molecular weight unique to protoplasts ofVicia guard cells were found by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamidegel electrophoresis. The polypeptides were 16 kDa (2 species),15 kDa and 12.5 kDa, and were concentrated in membrane-richfractions. The large subunit and holoenzyme of ribulose bisphosphatecarboxylase were identified in guard-cell protoplasts by immunoblotting. ³Present address: Biological Laboratory, College of GeneralEducation, Kyushu University, Ropponmatsu, Fukuoka, 810 Japan. (Received January 25, 1989; Accepted April 24, 1989)     

Characterization of the Vacuolar Proton Pumps of the Cortex,Stele and Tip of Maize Roots: Effects of Salinity

Tonoplast and Golgi ATP-driven proton pumping was measured in membrane vesicles isolated from the cortex, stele and tip of maize roots. Two nitrate-sensitive peaks of tonoplast proton pumping were detected on sucrose gradients, a light peak at 16% sucrose, believed to represent small vacuoles, and a denser peak at 25% sucrose, possibly derived from large vacuoles. The nitrate-insensitive Golgi peak occurred at 31 % sucrose. Membrane preparations of the stele and tip were active in H⁺-transport activity and were rich in mitochondria. In contrast, the membranes of the cortex had low levels of both ATP-driven proton pumping and mitochondrial activities. Salinity caused a doubling of the tonoplast H⁺-transport activity of the tip and cortex, particularly in the 25 % sucrose peak. The enhancement of the 25 % peak by salinity was correlated with an increase in vacuolation of the tip. The stelar proton pumps were only slightly stimulated by salinity. The results indicate that the cortex of maize roots is deficient in the metabolic machinery needed for vacuolar solute accumulation, but that it shows some ability to adapt to saline conditions. The physiological implications of these findings are discussed.