A New Antibiotic K–52A,Produced by Streptoverticillium roseoverticillatum subsp. albosporum,Strain No. K–52

Streptoverticillium sp., strain No. K–52, isolated from a soil sample collected in Kumamoto City, was found to produce a new antibiotic, K–52A. From the results of taxonomic studies, strain No. K–52 was identified as a strain of Streptoverticillium roseoverticillatum subsp. albosporum (Thirumalachar) Locci, Baldacci and Petrolini Baldam 1969.

Antibiotic K–52A produced by this strain was thought to be a saccharide, and inhibited the growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa on a chemically defined medium. The growth inhibition was, however, reversed by l-glutamic acid, l-glutamine, l-asparatic acid or l-asparagine.     

Petiolins J–M,prenylated acylphloroglucinols from Hypericum pseudopetiolatum var. kiusianum

Four new prenylated acylphloroglucinols, petiolins J?M (1?4), were isolated from aerial parts of Hypericum pseudopetiolatum var. kiusianum, and the structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data and a single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Petiolin J (1) exhibited antimicrobial activity.     

A new protein (J1-31 antigen, 30 kD) is expressed by astrocytes,Müller glia and ependyma

Monoclonal antibody (MAb) J1-31 raised using human brain homogenate as immunogen in mice can be used as a cell type marker for certain types of CNS macroglia, namely astrocytes, Müller cells and tanycytes as well as ciliated ependymal cells. Except for the ciliated ependymal cells, these types of macroglia express glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). J1-31 antigen is an intracellular protein which has a MW of 30 kD under reducing conditions for gel electrophoresis (Singhet al., 1986). This protein is distinct from GFAP (MW 50 kD) and vimentin (MW 55 kD), the two core proteins of 10 nm IFs known to be expressed in the above types ofmacroglia. This conclusion is based on several criteria including temporal differences in the onset of expression of GFAP and J1-31 antigen during development of the rat cerebellum. Also, there is no detectable (by immunofluorescence microscopy) expression of J1-31 antigen in the prenatal CNS or outside the CNS where vimentin has been reported to be abundant. The most direct evidence that J 1-31 antigen and GFAP are distinct proteins comes from studies on the mature ciliated ependymal cells which do not express GFAP and yet show intense immunostaining for J1-31 antigen.     

A new glossiphoniid leech from Catemaco Lake, Veracruz, México

Haementeria acuecueyetzin n. sp. from Catemaco Lake, Veracruz, Mexico, is described based on the examination of 6 specimens. This new hematophagous leech species resembles other members of the genus in the number and position of the eyespots, number of compact salivary glands, and in the presence of 2 pairs of spheroidal mycetomes, but it is distinguished from the other species by having 6 rows of longitudinal smooth white papillae in the dorsal surface and numerous tubercles in dorsal and ventral surfaces. This new species represents the third species of Haementeria in the Northern Hemisphere of the Americas.