Effect of various methods of immobilization on the stability of a microbial biosensor for surfactants based onPseudomonas rathonis T

The operating and storage stability of a receptor element of an amperometric biosensor based on thePseudomonas rathonis strain T capable of degrading surfactants was tested. Microbial cells were immobilized by incorporation in gels (agar, agarose, and calcium-alginate), polyvinyl alcohol membrane, adhesion to Chromatographic paper GF/A, or by cross-linking induced by glutaric aldehyde. Incorporation of microbial cells in agar gel provides long-standing conservation of their activity and viability during measurements of high concentrations of surfactants and allows the receptor element of the biosensor to be rapidly recovered after measurements.     

Tests of the accuracy of cladograms in Gilia (Polemoniaceae) and some other angiosperm genera

 This paper deals with the use of cladistic methods and cladograms in phylogeny reconstruction in plant groups containing numerous taxa. How accurate are the cladograms as to details? Accuracy tests at the level of details require an independently known phylogeny, which excludes most plant groups, but such tests can be carried out in domesticated and experimental plant groups which have documented pedigrees. Four such tests are known and are presented here: a new case in Gilia and three previously published cases in Avena, Hordeum, and Helianthus. The four cases include domesticated and experimental plants, use of morphological and molecular evidence, and presence of dichotomous as well as reticulate phylogenies. The cladograms of the four plant groups all differ in significant details from the known pedigrees. These results are discussed in relation to problems of interpretation of cladograms. Received March 21, 2000 Accepted August 16, 2001     

Ca2+ channel antagonist actions in bladder smooth muscle: comparative pharmacologic and [3H]nitrendipine binding studies

The actions of a series of 15 Ca2+ channel antagonists including D-600, nifedipine, and diltiazem were examined against K+ depolarization and muscarinic receptor induced responses in guinea pig bladder smooth muscle. Responses of bladder are very dependent upon extracellular Ca2+ and sensitive to the Ca2+ channel antagonists, the tonic component more than the phasic component of response. Regardless of stimulant, K+ or methylfurmethide (MF), or component of response, the same rank order of antagonist activities is expressed, suggestive of a single structure-activity relationship and the existence of a single category of binding site which may, however, exist in several affinity states. High affinity binding of [3H]nitrendipine (KD = 1.1 X 10(-10) M) occurs in bladder membranes, and similar high affinity binding was found in microsomal preparations from other smooth muscles including guinea pig and rat lung, rat vas deferens, uterus, and stomach. [3H]nitrendipine binding in the bladder was sensitive to displacement by other 1,4-dihydropyridines, paralleling their pharmacologic activities and showing excellent agreement with binding data previously obtained for guinea pig ileal smooth muscle. Comparison of pharmacologic data for inhibition of K+- and MF-induced responses by a common series of Ca2+ channel antagonists in bladder and ileum revealed excellent correlations. Neither pharmacologic nor binding studies suggest significant differences in Ca2+ channel antagonist properties in smooth muscle from bladder and intestine.     

The detection of fish pathogenVibrio anguillarum in water and fish using a species-specific DNA probe combined with membrane filtration

The marine bacteriumVibrio anguillarum causes disease in fish worldwide and is particularly devastating in aquaculture. Little is known about the ecology ofV. anguillarum in the environment and how this may relate to the pathogenicity of this organism. Combining membrane filtration and a species-specific DNA probe, culturableV. anguillarum cells were detected in water from three habitats and in chinook salmon (Onchorynchus tshawytscha) tissue samples. Results show that different marine habitats have a marked effect on cell numbers and that water temperature may play a role in the culturability and distribution ofV. anguillarum. Vibrio anguillarum was detected from the gills of salmon within 24 h of transfer of fingerlings from freshwater to seawater, with cell numbers reaching a concentration of 1.9 × 10² cells g^–1 tissue 28 days post transfer.Vibrio anguillarum cell numbers were low in the colon throughout the study, andV. anguillarum was not detected in healthy kidney samples. The methodology reported in this paper allows the accurate quantification of culturableV. anguillarum cells and has allowed a preliminary study of the ecology of this species.     

Development of a DNA probe using differential hybridization to detect the fish pathogenVibrio anguillarum

The fish pathogenVibrio anguillarum causes significant economic losses in commercially cultured fish species worldwide. At present, identification ofV. anguillarum requires conventional isolation and culturing techniques. Using differential hybridization, a 310 base pairV. anguillarum-specific DNA fragment was isolated for use as a probe. In specificity studies against 19 different bacterial species, including twoVibrio sp. and fish pathogens, and 223 marine bacterial isolates, the probe hybridized exclusively toV. anguillarum strains. The probe also strongly hybridizes to 7 of 9 serotypes tested, with serotype 09 giving a weak probe reaction and serotype O7 negative. The probe allows rapid and accurate detection of both pathogenic and environmental strains ofV. anguillarum.