Some observations on the solitary male among Japanese monkeys

The social behavior pattern of a solitary male at Koshima was studied by means of radio-telemetry. The relationship between the solitary males and the troop was estimated from radio-tracking data of the former's location and movement, and by direct observation of the latter at each corresponding hour.For most of day, the solitary male stayed within a distance of about 20 to 150 m from the central part of the troop, occasionally approaching it. His movement also was synchronized with that of the troop. For two nights, the solitary male slept at places which were about 200 m from the sleeping sites of the troop and faced them across the beach. The relationship between the solitary male and the troop did not seem to be strongly antagonistic.It can be assumed that the solitary male was moving according to certain pre-determined relationships or social contacts with the troop. The example of this solitary male shows the existence of the solitary male that follows and maintains contact with the troop, even outside the copulatory season.This study was sponsored by Scientific Research Grant No. 91620 of the Ministry of Education to the Japan Monkey Centre.     

Location in Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors of Sites for [3H]Propylbenzilcholine Mustard Binding and for Phosphorylation with Protein Kinase C

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors purified from porcine cerebra or atria were covalently labeled with [3H]propylbenzilylcholine mustard ([3H]PrBCM), and then the labeled receptors were subjected to limited hydrolysis with trypsin, V8 protease, and lysyl endopeptidase, followed by analysis involving sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, fluorography, autoradiography, or immunostaining. The labeled peptides were located on the basis of their reactivity with antibodies raised against three synthetic peptides with partial sequences of the m1 or m2 receptor, and of their sensitivity to endoglycosidase F, which was taken as evidence that they contain glycosylation sites near the N terminus. The [3H]PrBCM-binding site in both cerebral and atrial receptors was found to be located between the N terminus and the second intracellular loop, because the size of the smallest deglycosylated peptide that contained both the [3H]PrBCM-binding and glycosylation sites was approximately 16 kDa. Cerebral receptors were 32P-phosphorylated with protein kinase C, and the major phosphorylation sites in cerebral muscarinic receptors were found to be located in a C-terminal segment including a part of the third intracellular loop, because a 32P-labeled peptide of 12-14 kDa reacted with anti-(m1 C-terminal peptide) antiserum. The presence of an intramolecular disulfide bond, probably between Cys 98 and Cys 178 in the first and second extracellular loops, respectively, was suggested by the finding that a peptide of approximately 17 kDa containing the [3H]PrBCM-binding site, but not the glycosylation sites, was partly converted to a peptide of approximately 12 kDa on treatment with beta-mercaptoethanol.     

Frequency of micronuclei in hepatocytes following X and fast-neutron irradiations--an analysis by a linear-quadratic model

The usefulness of the micronucleus assay for investigating the radiation response of hepatocytes was examined. The frequency was defined as the ratio of the total number of micronuclei to the number of hepatocytes examined. The dose-response curves were curvilinear after X rays and linear after neutrons. These dose-response curves were analyzed by a linear-quadratic model, frequency = aD + bD2 + c. The a/b ratio was 3.03 +/- 1.26 Gy following X irradiation. This value is within the range of the alpha/beta ratios reported by others using the clonogenic assay of hepatocytes. While the a/b value for neutrons was 24.3 +/- 11.7 Gy, the maximum relative biological effectiveness of neutrons was 6.30 +/- 2.53. Since the micronucleus assay is simple and rapid, it may be a good tool for evaluating the radiation response of hepatocytes in vivo.     

The chloroplastchIL gene of the green algaChlorella vulgaris C-27 contains a self-splicing group I intron

ThechiL gene product is involved in the light-independent synthesis of chlorophyll in photosynthetic bacteria, green algae and non-flowering plants. The chloroplast genome ofChlorella vulgaris strain C-27 contains the first example of a splitchiL gene, which is interrupted by a 951 bp group I intron in the coding region. In vitro synthesized pre-mRNA containing the entire intron and parts of the flanking exon sequences is able to efficiently self-splice in vitro in the presence of a divalent and a monovalent cation and GTP, to yield the ligated exons and other splicing intermediates characteristic of self-splicing group I introns. The 5 and 3 splice sites were confirmed by cDNA sequencing and the products of the splicing reaction were characterized by primer extension analysis. The absence of a significant ORF in the long P9 region (522 nt), separating the catalytic core from the 3 splice site, makes this intron different from the other known examples of group I introns. Guanosine-mediated attack at the 3 splice site and the presence of G-exchange reaction sites internal to the intron are some other properties demonstrated for the first time by an intron of a protein-coding plastid gene.