Tail-associated structural protein gp61 of Staphylococcus aureus phage φMR11 has bifunctional lytic activity

A tailed bacteriophage, φMR11 (siphovirus), was selected as a candidate therapeutic phage against Staphylococcus aureus infections. Gene 61, one of the 67 ORFs identified, is located in the morphogenic module. The gene product (gp61) has lytic domains homologous to CHAP (corresponding to an amidase function) at its N-terminus and lysozyme subfamily 2 (LYZ2) at its C-terminus. Each domain of gp61 was purified as a recombinant protein. Both the amidase [amino acids (aa) 1–150] and the lysozyme (aa 401–624) domains but not the linker domain (aa 151–400) caused efficient lysis of S . aureus . Immunoelectron microscopy localized gp61 to the tail tip of the φMR11 phage. These data strongly suggest that gp61 is a tail-associated lytic factor involved in local cell-wall degradation, allowing the subsequent injection of φMR11 DNA into the host cytoplasm. Staphylococcus aureus lysogenized with φMR11 was also lysed by both proteins. Staphylococcus aureus strains on which φMR11 phage can only produce spots but not plaques were also lysed by each protein, indicating that gp61 may be involved in 'lysis from without'. This is the first report of the presence of a tail-associated virion protein that acts as a lysin, in an S. aureus phage.     

Phylogeography of the leaf beetle Chrysolina virgata in wetlands of Japan inferred from the distribution of mitochondrial haplotypes

The genetic differentiation among populations of the leaf beetle Chrysolina virgata living in wetlands of Japan was studied based on the sequence data of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene region (750 bp). Two distinct lineages of mitochondrial haplotypes were found: one (clade A) consisted of 26 haplotypes distributed over the distribution range of C. virgata between north‐east Honshu and Kyushu, whereas the other (clade B) was monotypic and confined to a small region in north‐east Honshu where it coexisted with clade A. Nested clade analysis for these haplotypes suggested that range expansion and following differentiation due to isolation by distance might have resulted in the present distribution pattern of the haplotypes in clade A. We discuss the evolutionary process leading to the occurrence of two distinct haplotype clades in Japan in terms of repeated colonization from the continent and range expansion and contraction during climatic changes.     

A new type of glycogen storage disease caused by deficiency of cardiac phosphorylase kinase

A five-month-old Japanese boy was found to have marked glycogen accumulation only in the heart. A survey of enzymes revealed normal activities of phosphorylase, cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, acid maltase and amylo-1,6-glucosidase. However, the heart had capacity of activating neither rabbit muscle phosphorylase b nor endogenous phosphorylase b, which was converted to active form only when supplemented rabbit muscle phosphorylase kinase. In contrast to the heart, activities of phosphorylase kinase were found within normal levels in other organ tissues so far tested. These findings indicate that the present case of the cardiac glycogenosis is caused by deficiency of cardiac phosphorylase kinase.     

Effects of prostaglandin E2 and D2 on gastric somatostatin and gastrin secretion

The effects of PGE2 and PGD2 on gastric somatostatin and gastrin releases were investigated using the isolated perfused rat stomach. In the presence of 5.5 mM glucose, the infusion of PGE2 elicited a significant augmentation in somatostatin release, but suppressed gastrin secretion from the perfusate. On the other hand, PGD2 did not affect somatostatin release, although the gastrin secretion decreased significantly, the same as after PGE2 infusion. These results suggest that PGE2 and PGD2 may be important in the regulation of gastric endocrine function, but that PGD2 does not affect gastric somatostatin secretion.     

Group I introns in the liverwort mitochondrial genome: the gene coding for subunit 1 of cytochrome oxidase shares five intron positions with its fungal counterparts.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from a liverwort, Marchantia polymorpha, contains thirty-two introns. Twenty-five of these introns possess the characteristic secondary structures and consensus sequences of group II introns. The remaining seven are group I introns, six of which happen to interrupt the gene coding for subunit 1 of cytochrome oxidase (cox1). Interestingly, the insertion sites of one group II and four group I introns in the cox1 gene coincide with those of the respective fungal mitochondrial interns. Moreover, comparison of the four group I introns with their fungal counterparts shows that group I introns inserted at identical genomic sites in different organisms are indeed related to one another, in terms of the peptide sequences generated from the complete or fragmental ORFs encoded by these introns. At the same time, the liverwort introns turned out to be more divergent from their fungal cognates than the latter are from one another. We therefore conclude that vertical transmission from a common ancestor organism is the simplest explanation for the presence of cognate introns in liverwort and fungal mitochondrial genomes.     

Structure and function of 5S ribosomal ribonucleic acid from Torulopsis utilis. III. Detection of single-stranded regions by digestion with nuclease S1

Identification of single-stranded regions in Torulopsis utilis 5S RNA was attempted by the use of Nuclease S1, a single-strand specific endonuclease. When T. utilis 5S RNA was subjected to prolonged incubation with Nuclease S1, about 50% of the substrate 5S RNA remained as large oligonucleotide "cores." Such Nuclease S1-resistant fragments were purified and sequenced by column chromatographic procedures. These analyses revealed that regions around positions 12, 40, 57, and 110 are in exposed single-stranded loops at 37 degrees C and that regions around positions 12 and 40 are most exposed at 20 degrees C. These results are compatible with our secondary structure model for T. utilis 5S RNA (Nishikawa & Takemura (1974) J. Biochem. 76, 935-947) except that the 5' part of the molecule (from the region around position 22 to that around position 57) might have a somewhat looser conformation than our secondary structure model suggests. The implications of such results are also discussed in relation to the presumed function of the sequence C-G-A-U-C (around position 40) as one of the recognition sites for initiator tRNA binding on ribosomes.     

The nucleotide sequence of 5S ribosomal RNA from Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The nucleotide sequence of 5S rRNA from the fission yeast, S. pombe, has been established by post labeling procedures combined with cataloging RNase T1- and A-oligonucleotides derived from unlabeled 5S rRNA. The sequence consists of 119 nucleotides without a modified base and shows more dissimilarities (at 38 positions) from that of S. cerevisiae than from that of humans (at 33 positions).     

Clinical study on early changes in thyroid function of hyperthyroidism treated with propylthiouracil and a relatively small dose of iodide.

In order to compare the acute effects of three kinds of antithyroid agents of iodide (I-), propylthiouracil (PTU) and PTU combined with iodide (PTU+I-) on thyroid function in hyperthyroid patients with diffuse goiter, serum concentrations of thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), T3-resin sponge uptake (T3-RU) and free thyroxine index (FT4I) were employed as thyroid function parameters. In the group given iodine (1 mg/day) as iodinated-lecithine, the initial values of T4, T3, T3-RU and FT4I were 20.9 +/- 1.6 microng/100 ml (T4), greater than 740 ng/100 ml (T3), 49.5 +/- 2.3% (T3-RU) and 14.7 +/- 1.8 (FT4I). At the end of one week of therapy, they decreased clearly to 15.6 +/- 2.2 microng/100 ml, 457 +/- 87 ng/100 ml, 42.2 +/- 4.0% and 9.7 +/- 2.4. The so-called "escape phenomenon" from iodide inhibition was observed in serum T4, T3-RU and FT4I values at the end of two weeks of iodide therapy, while serum T3 continued to decrease but the value of T3 was far outside of the normal range. In the PTU group (300 mg/day), thyroid function parameters were 22.5 +/- 0.8 microng/100 ml (T4), greater than 592 ng/100 ml (T3), 54.9 +/- 1.0% (T3-RU) and 18.7 +/- 1.0 (FT4I) before treatment. They decreased continually week by week. At the end of four-week treatment with PTU, the value of each thyroid function parameter was 11.1 +/- 1.9 microng/100 ml, 229 +/- 56 ng/100 ml, 36.6 +/- 4.4% and 5.7 +/- 1.7. In the group of hyperthyroidism simultaneously given both PTU and iodide (300 mg/PTU and 1 mg/iodine), these thyroid function parameters decreased as well as in the group treated with PTU alone for more than two weeks. More rapid or significant decrease of T4, T3, T3-RU and ft4i in PTU+I- group than in PTU group was observed in the present study. These results suggested strongly that iodide alone was not an adequate therapy for hyperthyroidism as well known and they were also compatible with the idea that the concomitant administration of PTU and iodide was more effective in the early phase of therapy of hyperthyroidism than PTU alone.