Yeast CAL1 is a structural and functional homologue to the DPR1 (RAM) gene involved in ras processing

A 2.3-kilobase pair DNA fragment of the yeast CAL1 gene was cloned by complementation of the cal1-1 mutation, which causes a defect in nuclear division and bud formation (Ohya, Y., Ohsumi, Y., and Anraku, Y. (1984) Mol. & Gen. Genet. 193, 389-394). Nucleotide sequencing of this fragment revealed a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 376 amino acids. Comparative analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence has shown that the CAL1 product has similarity to two yeast proteins: the DPR1 (RAM) gene product that is involved in processing of ras protein at the farnesylation step, and the essential ORF2 protein whose structural gene has a head-to-head arrangement with PRP4, which is involved in mRNA processing. Functional homology between CAL1 and DPR1 has also been suggested from genetic evidence that multiple copies of the CAL1 gene suppress the growth defects of a dpr1 null mutant at high temperature. This suppression is Ca(2+)-dependent, since it was not observed in complete medium containing 200 microM CaCl2 but was apparent in medium containing 100 mM CaCl2. From sequence analysis of the cal1-1 mutation, together with the alignment of the three gene products, we have concluded that the conserved Gly328 in the C terminus is important for activity. We suggest that the CAL1 protein participates in a ras-like C-terminal modification of proteins involved in nuclear division and bud growth.     

Identification of a chloroplast-encoded 9-kDa polypeptide as a 2[4Fe-4S] protein carrying centers A and B of photosystem I

An improved procedure is reported for large-scale preparation of photosystem I (PS-I) vesicles from thylakoid membranes of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The PS-I vesicles contain polypeptides of molecular masses 82, 18, 16, 14, and 9 kDa in an apparent molar ratio of 4:2:2:1:2. The 18-, 16-, and 9-kDa polypeptides were purified to homogeneity after exposure of the PS-I vesicles to chaotropic agents. The isolated 9-kDa polypeptide binds 65-70% of the zero-valence sulfur of denatured PS-I vesicles, and the remaining 30-35% is bound to P700-chlorophyll a-protein 1. The N-terminal amino acid sequence (29 residues) of the 9-kDa polypeptide was determined. Comparison with the nucleotide sequence of the chloroplast genome of Marchantia polymorpha (Ohyama, K., Fukuzawa, H., Kohchi, T., Shirai, H., Sano, T., Sano, S., Umesono, K., Shiki, Y., Takeuchi, M., Chang, Z., Aota, S.-i., Inokuchi, H., and Ozeki, H. (1986) Nature 322, 572-574) and of Nicotiana tabacum (Shinozaki, K., Ohme, M., Tanaka, M., Wakasugi, T., Hayashida, N., Matsubayashi, T., Zaita, W., Chunwongse, J., Obokata, J., Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, K., Ohto, C., Torazawa, K., Meng, B. Y., Sugita, M., Deno, H., Kamogashira, T., Yamada, K., Kusuda, J., Takaiwa, F., Kato, A., Tohdoh, N., Shimada, H., and Sugiura, M. (1986) EMBO J. 5, 2043-2049) identified the chloroplast gene encoding the 9-kDa polypeptide. We designate this gene psaC. The complete amino acid sequence deduced from the psaC gene identifies the 9-kDa PS-I polypeptide as a 2[4Fe-4S] protein. Since P700-chlorophyll a-protein 1 carries center X, the 9-kDa polypeptide carries centers A and B. A hydropathy plot permits specific identification of the cysteine residues which coordinate centers A and B, respectively. Except for the loss of the N-terminal methionine residue, the primary translation product of the psaC gene is not proteolytically processed. P700-chlorophyll a-protein 1 binds 4 iron atoms and 4 molecules of acid-labile sulfide/molecule of P700. Each of the two apoproteins of P700-chlorophyll a-protein 1 contains the sequence Phe-Pro-Cys-Asp-Gly-Pro-Gly-Arg-Gly-Gly-Thr-Cys (Fish, L. E., Kück, U., and Bogorad, L. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 1413-1421). The stoichiometry of the component polypeptides of PS-I indicates the presence of four copies of this sequence per molecule of P700. Center X may be composed of two [2Fe-2S] centers bound to the 8 cysteine residues contained in these four segments.     

Assembly and targeting of peripheral and integral membrane subunits of the yeast vacuolar H(+)-ATPase.

Previous purification and characterization of the yeast vacuolar proton-translocating ATPase (H(+)-ATPase) have indicated that it is a multisubunit complex consisting of both integral and peripheral membrane subunits (Uchida, E., Ohsumi, Y., and Anraku, Y. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 1090-1095; Kane, P. M., Yamashiro, C. T., and Stevens, T. H. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 19236-19244). We have obtained monoclonal antibodies recognizing the 42- and 100-kDa polypeptides that were co-purified with vacuolar ATPase activity. Using these antibodies we provide further evidence that the 42-kDa polypeptide, a peripheral membrane protein, and the 100-kDa polypeptide, an integral membrane protein, are genuine subunits of the yeast vacuolar H(+)-ATPase. The synthesis, assembly, and targeting of three of the peripheral subunits (the 69-, 60-, and 42-kDa subunits) and two of the integral membrane subunits (the 100- and 17-kDa subunits) were examined in mutant yeast cells containing chromosomal deletions in the TFP1, VAT2, or VMA3 genes, which encode the 69-, 60-, and 17-kDa subunits, respectively. The steady-state levels of the various subunits in whole cell lysates and purified vacuolar membranes were assessed by Western blotting, and the intracellular localization of the 60- and 100-kDa subunits was also examined by immunofluorescence microscopy. The results suggest that the assembly and/or the vacuolar targeting of the peripheral subunits of the yeast vacuolar H(+)-ATPase depend on the presence of all three of the 69-, 60-, and 17-kDa subunits. The 100-kDa subunit can be transported to the vacuole independently of the peripheral membrane subunits as long as the 17-kDa subunit is present; but in the absence of the 17-kDa subunit, the 100-kDa subunit appears to be both unstable and incompetent for transport to the vacuole.     

Aromatic‐interaction‐mediated inhibition of β‐amyloid assembly structures and cytotoxicity

Abnormal aggregation of β‐amyloid (Aβ) peptide plays an important role in the onset and progress of Alzheimer's disease (AD); hence, targeting Aβ aggregation is considered as an effective therapeutic strategy. Here, we studied the aromatic‐interaction‐mediated inhibitory effect of oligomeric polypeptides (K8Y8, K4Y8, K8W8) on Aβ42 fibrillization process. The polypeptides containing lysine as well as representative aromatic amino acids of tryptophan or tyrosine were found to greatly suppress the aggregation as evaluated by thioflavin T assay. Circular dichroism spectra showed that the β‐sheet formation of Aβ42 peptides decreased with the polypeptide additives. Molecular docking studies revealed that the oligomeric polypeptides could preferentially bind to Aβ42 through π–π stacking between aromatic amino acids and Phe19, together with hydrogen bonding. The cell viability assay confirmed that the toxicity of Aβ42 to SH‐SY5Y cells was markedly reduced in the presence of polypeptides. This study could be beneficial for developing peptide‐based inhibitory agents for amyloidoses. Copyright © 2017 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Import of proteins into mitochondria. Yeast cells grown in the presence of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone accumulate massive amounts of some mitochondrial precursor polypeptides

Cytoplasmically synthesized precursors of mitochondrial polypeptides have previously been observed in trace amounts after pulse labeling of yeast spheroplasts or after in vitro translation of yeast mRNA (Maccecchini, M. L., Rudin, Y., Blobel, G., and Schatz, G. (1979) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 76, 343-347). Some of these precursors are shown here to accumulate in large amounts (up to 150 micrograms/g of cell protein) during growth of a cytoplasmic petite (rho-) mutant in the presence of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation. Cytochrome c1 precursor accumulated under these conditions is unstable; it is degraded with a half-life of about 10 min. In contrast, the F1-ATPase beta-subunit precursor is degraded considerably more slowly and, following removal of the uncoupler, can be post-translationally imported into mitochondria where it is processed to the mature polypeptide.     

Subunit composition of photosystem I and identification of center X as a [4Fe-4S] iron-sulfur cluster

A photosystem I (PS-I) preparation from barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) containing the reaction center protein P700-chlorophyll a-protein 1 (CP1) and smaller polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 18, 16, 14, 9.5, 9, 4, and 1.5 kDa has been analyzed with respect to subunit stoichiometry. CP1 contains two homologous subunits with approximate masses of 82 kDa. CP1 and the smaller polypeptides were isolated, and the amino acid composition of each component and of the PS-I preparation was determined. Based on the amino acid composition data and the determined ability of each isolated polypeptide to bind Coomassie Brilliant Blue, the PS-I complex is shown to contain 1 mol of each of the homologous 82-kDa polypeptides as well as 1 mol of the 18-, 16-, 9.5-, and 9-kDa polypeptides for each mol of P700. The total polypeptide mass of the PS-I complex is 209 kDa excluding tryptophan and approximately 220 kDa including tryptophan. The two 82-kDa subunits present/P700 provide cysteine residues for binding only one Fe-S center. In conjunction with the earlier reported binding of four iron and four acid-labile sulfides to CP1/P700 (H?j, P. B., Svendsen, I., Scheller, H. V., and M?ller, B. L. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 12676-12684), this demonstrates the center X is a [4Fe-4S] cluster and eliminates the possibility of center X being composed of two [2Fe-2S] clusters.     

Targeted deletion of a yeast enolase structural gene. Identification and isolation of yeast enolase isozymes

Yeast contain two nontandemly repeated enolase structural genes which have been isolated on bacterial plasmids designated peno46 and peno8 (Holland, M. J., Holland, J. P., Thill, G. P., and Jackson, K. A. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 1385-1395). In order to study the expression of the enolase genes in vivo, the resident enolase gene in a wild type yeast strain corresponding to the gene isolated on peno46 was replaced with a deletion, constructed in vitro, which lacks 90% of the enolase coding sequences. Three catalytically active enolases are resolved differ DEAE-Sephadex chromatography of wild type cellular extracts. As expected, a single form of enolase was resolved from extracts of the mutant cell. Immunological and electrophoretic analyses of the multiple forms of enolase confirm that two enolase genes are expressed in wild type cells and that isozymes are formed in the cell by random assortment of the two polypeptides into three active enolase dimers. The yeast enolase loci have been designated ENO1 and ENO2. The deletion mutant lacks the enolase 1 polypeptide confirming that this polypeptide is encoded by the gene isolated on peno46. The intracellular steady state concentrations of the two polypeptides are dependent on the carbon source used to propagate the cells. Log phase cells grown on glucose contain 20-fold more enolase 2 polypeptide than enolase 1 polypeptide, whereas cells grown on ethanol or glycerol plus lactate contain similar amounts of the two polypeptides. The 20-fold higher than in cells grown on the nonfermentable carbon sources. In vitro translation of total cellular RNA suggests that the steady state concentrations of the two enolase mRNAs in cells grown on different carbon sources are proportional to the steady state concentrations of the respective enolase polypeptides.     

The identification of two intra-axonally transported polypeptides resembling myosin in some respects in the rabbit visual system

Two polypeptides (M1 and M2) which co-sediment with F-actin in an ATP- reversible way have been detected in extracts of tissue from the rabbit visual system. Both polypeptides resemble skeletal muscle myosin in their ATP-sensitive co-sedimentation with actin, while they resemble the heavy chain of myosin and the lighter polypeptide of erythrocyte spectrin in their electrophoretic mobilities. (The estimated molecular weights are: MI congruent to 195,000; myosin congruent 200,000; M2 and spectrin congruent to 220,000). M1 and M2 were labeled in the cell bodies of the retinal ganglion cells with a radioactive amino acid and subsequently recovered in tissues (optic nerve, optic tract, lateral geniculate nucleus, and superior colliculus) containing segments of the retinal ganglion cell axons. The temporal sequence of labeling M1 and M2 in these tissues indicated that both polypeptides were synthesized in the cell bodies of retinal ganglion cells and subsequently transported down their axons at different maximum velocities. The estimated velocities were: M1, 4-8 mm per day; and M2, 2-4 mm per day.     

Stability of beta-carotene in spray dried preparation of Rhodotorula glutinis mutant 32

AIMS: To obtain beta-carotene-rich dry cell preparation from mutant 32 of Rhodotorula glutinis and determination of its pigment stability. METHODS AND RESULTS: The mutant 32 of R. glutinis was grown in a 14 l stirred tank fermenter. Cell mass was concentrated 10-fold by cross-flow microfiltration and then spray dried. Butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) and d-tocopherol were used as protecting agents. A two-level, three-variable, factorial optimization was performed to achieve moisture-free, non-viable and beta-carotene-rich feed additive. CONCLUSIONS: The beta-carotene and cell mass in stirred tank fermenter were found to be 54 +/- 5 mg l-1 and 12.8 +/- 2 g l-1, respectively. In the presence of BHT, 97 +/- 3% (w/w) beta-carotene was recovered for all the inlet temperatures studied. The best beta-carotene and yeast powder recoveries were obtained at 160 degrees C, 11.6% (w/v) cell mass concentration and 1 g l-1 BHT. The pigments inside dried yeast powder were stable in dark and cold condition for at least 10 weeks. The purified beta-carotene got almost totally denatured, under similar conditions of storage, within 76 h. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Spray dried and stable preparation of beta-carotene-rich yeast, R. glutinis can provide alternative source of beta-carotene for use in animal nutrition.     

Mannose-binding proteins isolated from rat liver contain carbohydrate-recognition domains linked to collagenous tails. Complete primary structures and homology with pulmonary surfactant apoprotein

Preparations of mannose-binding protein isolated from rat liver contain two distinct but homologous polypeptides. The complete primary structures of both of these polypeptides have been determined by sequencing of peptides derived from the proteins, isolation and sequencing of cDNAs for both proteins, and partial characterization of the gene for one of the proteins. Each polypeptide consists of three regions: (a) an NH2-terminal segment of 18-19 amino acids which is rich in cysteine and appears to be involved in the formation of interchain disulfide bonds which stabilize dimeric and trimeric forms of the protein, (b) a collagen-like domain consisting of 18-20 repeats of the sequence Gly-X-Y and containing 4-hydroxyproline residues in several of the Y positions, and (c) a COOH-terminal carbohydrate-binding domain of 148-150 amino acids. The sequences of the COOH-terminal domains are highly homologous to the sequence of the COOH-terminal carbohydrate-recognition portion of the chicken liver receptor for N-acetylglucosamine-terminated glycoproteins and the rat liver asialoglycoprotein receptor. Each protein is preceded by a cleaved, NH2-terminal signal sequence, consistent with the finding that this protein is found in serum as well as in the liver. The entire structure of the mannose-binding proteins is homologous to dog pulmonary surfactant apoprotein.     

Polypeptide domains of ADP-ribosyltransferase obtained by digestion with plasmin

Proteolysis by plasmin inactivates bovine ADP-ribosyltransferase; therefore, enzymatic activity depends exclusively on the intact enzyme molecule. The transferase was hydrolyzed by plasmin to four major polypeptides, which were characterized by affinity chromatography and N-terminal sequencing. Based on the cDNA sequence for human ADP-ribosyltransferase enzyme [Uchida, K., Morita, T., Sato, T., Ogura, T., Yamashita, R., Noguchi, S., Suzuki, H., Nyunoya, H., Miwa, M., & Sugimura, T. (1987) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 148, 617-622], a polypeptide map of the bovine enzyme was constructed by superposing the experimentally determined N-terminal sequences of the isolated polypeptides on the human sequence deduced from its cDNA. Two polypeptides, the N-terminal peptide (Mr 29,000) and the polypeptide adjacent to it (Mr 36,000), exhibited binding affinities toward DNA, whereas the C-terminal peptide (Mr 56,000), which accounts for the rest of the transferase protein, bound to the benzamide-Sepharose affinity matrix, indicating that it contains the NAD+-binding site. The fourth polypeptide (Mr 42,000) represents the C-terminal end of the larger C-terminal fragment (Mr 56,000) and was formed by a single enzymatic cut by plasmin of the polypeptide of Mr 56,000. The polypeptide of Mr 42,000 still retained the NAD+-binding site. The plasmin-catalyzed cleavage of the polypeptide of Mr 56,000-42,000 was greatly accelerated by the specific ligand NAD+. Out of a total of 96 amino acid residues sequenced here, there were only 6 conservative replacements between human and bovine ADP-ribosyltransferase.     

Inorganic compounds have dual effect on recombinant protein production: influence of anions and cations on serine alkaline protease production

AIMS: Investigation of concerted effects of cations, i.e. Mg2+ and Mn2+, in combination with their anions, i.e. sulphate, chloride and acetate (Ac), on the physiology of Bacillus licheniformis carrying pHV1431::subC to improve the fermentation medium for serine alkaline protease (SAP) production, whereupon, determination of the acid that can be used in pH control. METHODS AND RESULTS: The cell concentrations increased with the increase in MnSO4 and Mn(Ac)2 concentrations, and the highest values were obtained at Co(MnSO4) = 0.20 mmol l-1 and Co(Mn(CH3COO)2) = 4.0 mmol l-1, as 2.3 and 2.2 g l-1, respectively. However, Co(MnCl2) did not influence biomass concentration. SAP production was inhibited with MnCl2 after Co(MnCl2) = 0.60 mmol l-1, but with MnSO4 SAP production was inhibited drastically. Whereas, at high concentrations of Mn(Ac)2 SAP production increased and the highest activity was obtained as ASAP = 1285 U ml-1 at t = 65 h. With the Mg compounds, cell concentrations increased with the increase in the concentrations of MgSO4, MgCl2 and Mg(Ac)2; and the anions did not show any influence on the cell growth. Similar to the results of Mn compounds, the glucose consumption rate increased with the increase in MgSO4 and MgCl2 concentrations; contrariwise, decreased with the increase in Mg(Ac)2 concentrations, due to the use of acetate as the second carbon source. Co(MgSO4) = 0.40 mmol l-1, Co(MgCl2) = 1.60 mmol l-1 and Co(Mg(Ac)2) = 0.40 mmol l-1 were the optimum concentrations separately, and the highest SAP activity was obtained with Mg(Ac)2 as ASAP = 1338 U ml-1 at t = 47 h. Consequently, ion acetate and its acid HAc appear, respectively, as the superior anion for the essential cations and the control agent for pH control in the bioreactor. Finally, optimum initial concentrations and the concerted effects of Mg(Ac)2 and Mn(Ac)2 were investigated, and the optimum concentrations were found respectively as 0.40 and 0.80 mmol l-1, while the maximum activity was obtained as ASAP = 1010 U ml-1 at a shortened cultivation time of t = 39 h. CONCLUSIONS: Mn(Ac)2 and Mg(Ac)2 together enhanced the cell formation and SAP synthesis rates, moreover, SAP synthesis started at an earlier cultivation time. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Each inorganic compound with its cation and anion has dual effect on the metabolism. Mg2+ and Mn2+ at their specific concentrations influence the regulation of the pathways that might cause better coupling of supply and demand for the amino acids on the basis of the amino acid composition of the enzyme molecule.     

The VPH1 gene encodes a 95-kDa integral membrane polypeptide required for in vivo assembly and activity of the yeast vacuolar H(+)-ATPase.

Yeast vacuolar acidification-defective (vph) mutants were identified using the pH-sensitive fluorescence of 6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate (Preston, R. A., Murphy, R. F., and Jones, E. W. (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 7027-7031). Vacuoles purified from yeast bearing the vph1-1 mutation had no detectable bafilomycin-sensitive ATPase activity or ATP-dependent proton pumping. The peripherally bound nucleotide-binding subunits of the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (60 and 69 kDa) were no longer associated with vacuolar membranes yet were present in wild type levels in yeast whole cell extracts. The VPH1 gene was cloned by complementation of the vph1-1 mutation and independently cloned by screening a lambda gt11 expression library with antibodies directed against a 95-kDa vacuolar integral membrane protein. Deletion disruption of the VPH1 gene revealed that the VPH1 gene is not essential for viability but is required for vacuolar H(+)-ATPase assembly and vacuolar acidification. VPH1 encodes a predicted polypeptide of 840 amino acid residues (molecular mass 95.6 kDa) and contains six putative membrane-spanning regions. Cell fractionation and immunodetection demonstrate that Vph1p is a vacuolar integral membrane protein that co-purifies with vacuolar H(+)-ATPase activity. Multiple sequence alignments show extensive homology over the entire lengths of the following four polypeptides: Vph1p, the 116-kDa polypeptide of the rat clathrin-coated vesicles/synaptic vesicle proton pump, the predicted polypeptide encoded by the yeast gene STV1 (Similar To VPH1, identified as an open reading frame next to the BUB2 gene), and the TJ6 mouse immune suppressor factor.     

Cloned cytochrome P-450 cDNA. Nucleotide sequence and homology to multiple phenobarbital-induced mRNA species

Phenobarbital (PB) treatment of rats of various strains leads to the accumulation of liver mRNAs which encode two or three immunochemically related but electrophoretically separable cytochrome P-450 polypeptides. These mRNAs hybridize efficiently to a single cloned cDNA derived from mRNA of PB-treated rats and, therefore, must have extensive sequence homology. The nucleotide sequence of this cloned cDNA was determined and shown to encode the COOH-terminal 211 amino acids of one of the major cytochrome P-450 isozymes induced in rat liver by PB. Together with the recently reported sequence data of Fujii-Kuriyama et al. (Fujii-Kuriyama, Y., Mizukami, Y., Kawajiri, K., Sagawa, K., and Muramatsu, M. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 79, 2793-2797) for cloned rat cytochrome P-450 cDNA, our data suggest that differences between two closely related P-450 isozymes are restricted to the COOH-terminal half of the polypeptides, with highly divergent regions flanking a tridecapeptide which has been previously shown to be highly conserved in two dissimilar forms of rabbit liver cytochrome P-450. The significance of other interesting features of the cDNA sequence such as a second long (409 residues) open frame, an unusual poly(A) addition signal, and the absence of long hydrophobic stretches in the encoded polypeptide is discussed.     

Expression of the four subunits of the Torpedo californica nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Yeast expression vectors were constructed containing complementary DNA encoding the alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-subunits of the Torpedo californica nicotinic acetylcholine receptor under the control of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol dehydrogenase promoter. All four plasmids were integrated into the yeast genome of a single yeast cell. The resulting yeast strain synthesized polypeptides novel to yeast that had the molecular weights and antigenic properties similar to the authentic T. californica receptor alpha-, gamma, and delta-subunits. The beta-subunit polypeptide could not be detected in this yeast strain, even though the poly(A)+ RNA from this strain contained all the information necessary for the expression of functional acetylcholine receptors in Xenopus laevis oocytes. The replacement of the beta-subunit mRNA 5'-untranslated leader and its N-terminal signal sequence by the corresponding alpha-subunit sequences, however, resulted in the expression of the beta-subunit polypeptide in yeast grown at 5 degrees C.     

Identification of hepatitis B virus polypeptides encoded by the entire pre-s open reading frame.

The open reading frame (ORF) that encodes the 226-amino-acid coat protein (hepatitis B virus surface antigen [HBsAg]) of hepatitis B virus has the potential to encode a 400-amino-acid polypeptide. The entire ORF would direct the synthesis of a polypeptide whose C-terminal amino acids represent HBsAg with an additional 174 amino acids at the N terminus (pre-s). Recently, virus particles have been shown to contain a polypeptide that corresponds to HBsAg with an additional 55 amino acids at the N terminus encoded by the DNA sequence immediately upstream of the HBsAg gene. A novel ORF expression vector containing the TAC promoter, the first eight codons of the gene for beta-galactosidase, and the entire coding sequence for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase was used in bacteria to express determinants of the 174 amino acids predicted from the pre-s portion of the ORF. The resulting tribrid protein containing 108 amino acids encoded by pre-s was expressed as one of the major proteins of bacteria harboring the recombinant plasmid. Single-step purification of the tribrid fusion protein was achieved by fractionation on a chloramphenicol affinity resin. Polyclonal antiserum generated to the fusion protein was capable of detecting 42- and 46-kilodalton polypeptides from virus particles; both polypeptides were also shown to contain HBsAg determinants. The ability of the polyclonal antiserum to identify polypeptides with these characteristics from virus particles presents compelling evidence that the DNA sequence of the entire ORF is expressed as a contiguous polypeptide containing HBsAg. The presence of multiple promoters and primary translation products from this single ORF argues that the function and potential interaction of the encoded polypeptides play a crucial role in the life cycle of the virus. Furthermore, the procedure and vector described in this report can be applied to other systems to facilitate the generation of antibodies to defined determinants and should allow the characterization of the epitope specificity of existing antibodies.     

Casein kinase II of yeast contains two distinct alpha polypeptides and an unusually large beta subunit

Casein kinase II of yeast has been purified to near homogeneity by a procedure which includes affinity chromatography on heparin-agarose. The purified enzyme consists of four polypeptides with molecular weights of 42,000, 41,000, 35,000, and 32,000. The 42,000- and 35,000-Da polypeptides are immunologically related and exhibit cross-reactivity with the alpha subunits of calf and Drosophila casein kinase II. Amino-terminal sequencing reveals that the two subunits are distinct but homologous polypeptides and that both sequences share 40-50% homology with the Drosophila alpha subunit. These results demonstrate that yeast contains two distinct alpha subunits which must be encoded by separate genes. The 41,000- and 32,000-Da polypeptides both incorporate phosphate during autophosphorylation, a characteristic of the beta subunit in all type II casein kinases studied to date. The 41,000-Da subunit also exhibits immunological cross-reactivity with the beta subunit of Drosophila casein kinase II. These results identify the 41,000-Da polypeptide as an unusually large beta subunit. The possibility that the 32,000-Da polypeptide may be a beta' subunit is currently under investigation. The interpretation of the subunit structure of yeast casein kinase II reported here differs significantly from previous reports (Rigobello, M. P., Jori, E., Carignani, G., and Pinna, L. A. (1982) FEBS Lett. 144, 354-358; Kudlicki, W. N., Szyszka, R., and Gasior, E. (1984) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 784, 102-107).