Maintenance of the cellobiose utilization genes of Escherichia coli in a cryptic state

The genes for cellobiose utilization are normally cryptic in Escherichia coli. The cellobiose system was used as a model to understand the process by which silent genes are maintained in microbial populations. Previously reported was (1) the isolation of a mutant strain that expresses the cellobiose-utilization (Cel) genes and (2) that expression of those genes allows utilization of three beta- glucoside sugars: cellobiose, arbutin, and salicin. The Cel gene cluster has now been cloned from that mutant strain. In the course of locating the Cel genes within the cloned DNA segment, it was discovered that inactivation of the Cel-encoded hydrolase rendered the host strain sensitive to all three beta-glucosides as potent inhibitors. This sensitivity arises from the accumulation of the phosphorylated beta- glucosides. Because even the fully active genes conferred some degree of beta-glucoside sensitivity, the effects of cellobiose on a series of five Cel+ mutants of independent origin were investigated. Although each of those strains utilizes cellobiose as a sole carbon and energy source, cellobiose also acts as a potent inhibitor that reduces the growth rate on glycerol 2.5-16.5-fold. On the other hand, wild-type strains that cannot utilize cellobiose are not inhibited. The observation that the same compound can serve either as a nutrient or as an inhibitor suggests that, under most conditions in which cellobiose will be present together with other resources, there is a strong selective advantage to having the cryptic (Cel0) allele. In those environments in which cellobiose is the sole, or the best, resource, mutants that express the genes (Cel+) will have a strong selective advantage. It is suggested that temporal alternation between these two conditions is a major factor in the maintenance of these genes in E. coli populations. This alternation of environments and fitnesses was predicted by the model for cryptic-gene maintenance that was previously published.      

Arabidopsis At5g39790 encodes a chloroplast-localized,carbohydrate-binding,coiled-coil domain-containing putative scaffold protein

Background  

Starch accumulation and degradation in chloroplasts is accomplished by a suite of over 30 enzymes. Recent work has emphasized the importance of multi-protein complexes amongst the metabolic enzymes, and the action of associated non-enzymatic regulatory proteins. Arabidopsis At5g39790 encodes a protein of unknown function whose sequence was previously demonstrated to contain a putative carbohydrate-binding domain.     

Social exploitation of intermittently available foods and the social reinstatement of food preference

To determine whether Norway rats, Rattus norvegicus, could use socially acquired information to track recurrences of an intermittently available food (experiment 1), we allowed observer rats to interact every 2-3 days with demonstrator rats fed one of two diets, then determined the amount of each diet eaten by observers. We found that observer rats showed repeated significant increases in their preferences for foods their respective demonstrators had eaten. Because social interactions repeatedly enhanced preference for a food, we reasoned that after the socially induced food preference of an animal (A1) had waned, that preference might be reinstated in A1 by interaction with a conspecific (A2) in whom A1 had previously induced a preference for the food. In experiment 2, we demonstrated such social reinstatement of a food preference. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.     

Persistent nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence polymorphism in the Amelanchier agamic complex (Rosaceae)

Individual plants of several Amelanchier taxa contain many polymorphic nucleotide sites in the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA). This polymorphism is unusual because it is not recent in origin and thus has resisted homogenization by concerted evolution. Amelanchier ITS sequence polymorphism is hypothesized to be the result of gene flow between two major North American clades resolved by phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequences. Western North American species plus A. humilis and A. sanguinea of eastern North America form one clade (A), and the remaining eastern North American Amelanchier make up clade B. Five eastern North American taxa are polymorphic at many of the nucleotide sites where clades A and B have diverged and are thought to be of hybrid origin, with A. humilis or A. sanguinea as one parent and various members of clade B as the other parent. Morphological evidence suggests that A. humilis is one of the parents of one of the polymorphic taxa, a microspecies that we refer to informally as A. "erecta." Sequences of 21 cloned copies of the ITS1- 5.8S gene-ITS2 region from one A. "erecta" individual are identical to A. humilis sequence or to the clade B consensus sequence, or they are apparent recombinants of A. humilis and clade B ITS repeats. Amelanchier "erecta" and another polymorphic taxon are suspected to be relatively old because both grow several hundred kilometers beyond the range of one of their parents. ITS sequence polymorphisms have apparently persisted in these two taxa perhaps because of polyploidy and/or agamospermy (asexual seed production), which are prevalent in the genus.      

High-level expression of the Endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase F2 gene in E.coli: one step purification to homogeneity

The Endo F2gene was overexpressed in E.coli as a fusion protein joined to the maltose-binding protein. MBP-Endo F2was found in a highly enriched state as insoluble, inactive inclusion bodies. Extraction of the inclusion bodies with 20% acetic acid followed by exhaustive dialysis rendered the fusion protein active and soluble. MBP-Endo F2was digested with Factor Xaand purified on Q-Sepharose. The enzyme was homogeneous by SDS-PAGE, and appeared as a single symmetrical peak on HPLC. Analysis of the amino-terminus demonstrated conclusively that recombinant Endo F2was homogeneous and identical to the native enzyme.      

Lysine acetylome profiling uncovers novel histone deacetylase substrate proteins in Arabidopsis

Histone deacetylases have central functions in regulating stress defenses and development in plants. However, the knowledge about the deacetylase functions is largely limited to histones, although these enzymes were found in diverse subcellular compartments. In this study, we determined the proteome‐wide signatures of the RPD3/HDA1 class of histone deacetylases in Arabidopsis. Relative quantification of the changes in the lysine acetylation levels was determined on a proteome‐wide scale after treatment of Arabidopsis leaves with deacetylase inhibitors apicidin and trichostatin A. We identified 91 new acetylated candidate proteins other than histones, which are potential substrates of the RPD3/HDA1‐like histone deacetylases in Arabidopsis, of which at least 30 of these proteins function in nucleic acid binding. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that histone deacetylase 14 (HDA14) is the first organellar‐localized RPD3/HDA1 class protein found to reside in the chloroplasts and that the majority of its protein targets have functions in photosynthesis. Finally, the analysis of HDA14 loss‐of‐function mutants revealed that the activation state of RuBisCO is controlled by lysine acetylation of RuBisCO activase under low‐light conditions.     

Sexual motivation suppresses paternal behaviour of male gerbils during their mates' postpartum oestrus

Adult male Mongolian gerbils, Meriones unguiculatus, avoid contact with their young on the day that the young are born. However, on succeeding days, fathers spend nearly as much time in contact with their offspring as do mothers. We undertook a series of studies to investigate the causes of the day-to-day change in male parental behaviour. In experiment 1, we tested males' response to pups before, after and on the day of their mates' parturition, and found that males were more parental both before and after the day of birth of their young than on that day. In experiment 2, we compared the parental behaviour of males paired either with intact or with ovariectomized dams (which do not come into postpartum oestrus) and found that males that were mated to intact females were less attentive to pups on the day of their birth than were the males mated to ovariectomized females. In experiment 3, we compared the parental responses of castrated and intact males to newborn pups and found that castrated males were more parental than intact males. In experiment 4, we compared the parental responses of males that were exposed to postpartum oestrous females but prevented from mating for 24 h. Extending the period of male sexual arousal to 24 h inhibited paternal responsiveness to neonates for 24 h. We interpret these results as being consistent with the hypothesis that on the day of birth of a litter, a male's parental behaviour is inhibited by the motivation to mate during his partner's postpartum oestrus.     

On alternatives to selection-induced mutation in the Bgl operon of Escherichia coli

Selection-induced mutations are nonrandom mutations that occur as specific and direct responses to environmental challenge. Examples of selection-induced mutations have been reported both in bacteria and in yeast. I previously showed (Hall 1988) that excisions of the mobile genetic element IS150 from within bglF are selection induced and argued that they occurred because they were potentially advantageous under the selective conditions employed. Mittler and Lenski (Mittler and Lenski 1992) have argued that such excisions are not selection induced but that they occur randomly in nondividing cells. Here I provide further evidence that IS150 excisions are induced by selection and that the excisions are immediately, rather than only potentially, advantageous to the cell. I also provide evidence that excisions, which Mittler and Lenski claim occur randomly in saturated broth cultures, actually occur after samples from those cultures are plated onto selective medium.      

Use of PVC Conduits by Rats of Various Strains and Ages Housed Singly and in Pairs

This study observed the frequency with which laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus) entered polyvinylchloride (PVC) conduits placed in their cages to provide environmental enrichment. The study found that use of PVC conduits by Norway rats varied with subjects' strain, age, sex, and housing condition. Adult male Long-Evans rats rarely entered PVC conduits unless housed in pairs, in which case the lighter (presumably subordinate) pair member frequently used the conduit, possibly to avoid contact with his dominant partner. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats entered PVC conduits only during the illuminated portion of the day-night cycle and only if housed on shelves exposed to direct overhead illumination. Both juvenile rats and female rats made extensive use of PVC conduits throughout the day-night cycle. This article discusses implications of these findings for determining how best to enrich environments in which laboratory rodents are maintained.