Structural studies of the O-antigen polysaccharide of Escherichia coli O4

The structure of the O-antigen polysaccharide of Escherichia coli O4 has been investigated using n.m.r. spectroscopy, methylation analysis, and various specific degradations. It is concluded that the O-antigen is composed of pentasaccharide repeating-units having the following structure.

This structure differs in some details from that recently proposed by Schmidt et al.     

Differences in the occurrence of glutathione transferase isoenzymes in rat lung and liver

Cytosolic GSH transferases have been purified from rat lung by affinity chromatography followed by chromatofocusing. On the criteria of order of elution, substrate specificity, apparent subunit Mr, sensitivity to inhibitors, and reaction with antibodies, transferase subunits equivalent to subunits 2, 3, and 4, in the binary combinations occurring in liver, were identified. However, subunit 1 (and therefore transferases 1-1 and 1-2) was not detected. The most conspicuous difference is the presence in lung of a new form, eluting at pH 8.7, which is not detected in rat liver. This isoenzyme (transferase "pH 8.7") is characterized by its low apparent subunit Mr and high efficiency in the conjugation of glutathione with anti-benzo(a)pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide, considered the ultimate carcinogen of benzo(a)-pyrene.     

Structural studies of gellan gum,an extracellular polysaccharide elaborated by Pseudomonas elodea

The structure of gellan gum, a polysaccharide of potential commercial usefulness elaborated by Pseudomonas elodea, has been investigated. It is concluded that the polysaccharide is composed of tetrasaccharide repeating-units having the following structure.

Of the repeating units, ～25% contain an O-acetyl group linked to C-6 of one of the β-d-glucopyranosyl residues.     

Linear dichroism studies of nucleic acids. III. Reduced dichoism curves of DNA in ethanol–water and in poly(vinyl alcohol) films

The uv linear dichroism of calf thylus DNA has been studied at different degrees of orientation both in flow-oriented ethanol–water solutions and in a stretched aqueous host of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The reduced dichroism (LD^R) curves in the region 250–290 nm for DNA in PVA films at 75 and 100% relative humidity (r.h.) are in fair agreement with the curves calculated for the A- and B-forms of DNA, based on the fiber structures and the π-π* transitions of the free bases. This suggests that DNA adopts its A and B conformations in PVA at 75 and 100% r.h. In ethanol, on the other hand, a deviation from the A-form spectrum shows that the conformation of DNA in the solution can differ from the fiber structure. At shorter wavelenghts, a positive contribution to LD^R is explained in terms of an out-of-plane polarized n-π* transition.     

Microfungi and Microbial Activity Along a Heavy Metal Gradient

Soil fungal biomass, microfungal species composition, and soil respiration rate of conifer mor soil were studied along a steep copper and zinc gradient (up to 20,000 μg of Cu and 20,000 μg of Zn g⁻¹ dry soil) around a brass mill near the town of Gusum in South Sweden. Fungal biomass and soil respiration rate decreased by about 75% along the metal gradient. Above 1,000 μg of Cu g⁻¹, the decrease was clearly evident; below 1,000 μg of Cu g⁻¹, no obvious effects were observed, but there was a tendency for a decrease in total mycelial length. No decrease in CFU was found along the gradient, but fungal species composition was drastically changed. The frequency of the genera Penicillium and Oidiodendron decreased from about 30 and 20%, respectively, at the control sites to only a few percent close to the mill. Mortierella was most frequently isolated in moderately polluted sites, but at the highest pollution levels, a decrease in isolation frequency was evident. Some fungal taxa increased in abundance towards the mill, e.g., Geomyces (from 1 to 10%), Paecilomyces (0 to 10%), and sterile forms (from 10 to 20%). Analyses with a multivariate statistical method (partial least squares) showed that organic matter content and soil moisture had little influence on the fungal community compared with the heavy metal pollution.     

Sex ratio in the spider Pityohyphantes phrygianus affected by winter severity

The sex ratio of subadult Pityohyphantes phrygianus was recorded before and after five winters in a natural population in coniferous forest in south-west Sweden. In autumn, the proportion of males was on average 33–8% (range 28–7–40–1) and the proportion of females was 66–2% (59–9–71–3). In each of the winters 1981 82, 1982–83, 1984–5, the proportion of males decreased significantly. The proportion of males decreased more the lower the February mean temperature. Field experiments showed that low ambient temperature in winter caused high mortality among spiders. Experimental data also suggest that males are more vulnerable to low winter temperatures than are females. Indirect evidence indicates that neither predation pressure nor starvation alone are likely to cause the observed changes in sex ratio in the three winters. However, the combined effect of sex differences in predation by birds and cold-induced mortality may explain why males disappear faster than females in certain winters.     

Correlation between active form and dimeric structure of mitochondrial nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase from beef heart

The active form of purified mitochondrial nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase from beef heart was investigated by crosslinking with dimethylsuberimidate and SDS-PAGE, with or without pretreatment with the inactivating detergent Triton X-100. In the absence of detergent, crosslinked isomers of the dimeric form of 208–235 kDa were obtained. Addition of detergent led to the simultaneous loss of the dimers and the bulk of the activity. Removal of the detergent led to a partial restoration of both activity and the dimeric forms. The results suggest that the active form is a dimer, and that the detergent-dependent conversion to the largely inactive monomer is reversible. It is proposed that the mechanism of inactivation of transhydrogenase by Triton X-100 involves a disruption of essential hydrophobic interactions between the membrane-spanning regions of the monomers.     

The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial DNA of the fin whale,Balaenoptera physalus

Summary The composition of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the fin whale,Balaenoptera physalus, was determined. The length of the molecule is 16,398 bp, and its organization conforms with that of other mammals. The general similarity between the mtDNA of the fin whale and the cow is greater than the similarity between the fin whale and other species (human, mouse, rat) in which the composition of the entire molecule has been described. The D-loop region of the mtDNA of the fin whale is 81% identical to the D-loop of dolphin DNA, and the central portion of the D-loop is similar to the bovine D-loop. The accumulation of transversions and gaps in the 12S and 16S rRNA genes was assessed by comparing the fin whale, cow, and human. The sequence difference between human and the whale and human and the cow was at the same level, indicating that the rate of evolution of the mtDNA rRNA genes is about the same in artiodactyls and cetaceans. In the 12S rRNA gene an accumulation rate of 0.05% per million years places the separation of cetaceans and artiodactyls at about 55 million years ago. The corresponding figure for human and either the whale or the cow is about 80 million years. In the 16S rRNA gene a 0.08% accumulation rate of transversions and gaps per million years yields concurring figures. A comparison between the cytochromeb gene of the fin whale and cytochromeb sequences in the literature, including dolphin (Stenella) sequences, identified the cetaceans as monophyletic and the artiodactyls as their closest relatives. The comparison between the cytochromeb sequences of the fin whale andStenella showed that differences in codon positions one or two were frequently associated with a change in another codon position.     

Disturbances in signal transduction mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease

Many of the treatments directed towards alleviation of symptoms in Alzheimer's disease assume that target receptor systems are functionally intact. However, there is now considerable evidence that this is not the case. In human post-mortem brain tissue samples, the function of the GTP-binding protein G_s in regulating adenylyl cyclase is severely disabled, whereas that of G_i is intact. This difference in the function of the two G-protein types is also found in G-protein regulation of high- and low-affinity receptor recognition site populations. Measurement of G-protein densities using selective antibodies has indicated that the dysfunction in G_s-stimulation of cAMP production correlates with the ratio of the large to small molecular weight isoforms of the G_s subunit. With respect to intracellular second messenger effects, there is a dramatic decrease in the density of brain receptor recognition sites for Ins(1,4,5)P₃ that is not accompanied by a corresponding change in the Ins(1,3,4,5)P₄ recognition site density. Protein kinase C function is also altered in Alzheimer's disease, a finding that may be of importance for the control of -amyloid production. These studies indicate that signal transduction processes are severely compromised in Alzheimer's disease. Some of these disturbances are also seen in cultured fibroblasts from Alzheimer's disease patients, indicating that they are neither restricted to areas of histopathological change, nor non-specific changes found late in the course of the disease. Cellular models to investigate the relation between amyloid production and deficits in signal transduction are also discussed.     

Respiratory effort sensation during exercise with induced expiratory-flow limitation in healthy humans

Kayser, Bengt, Pawel Sliwinski, Sheng Yan, Mirek Tobiasz,and Peter T. Macklem. Respiratory effort sensation during exercisewith induced expiratory-flow limitation in healthy humans. J. Appl. Physiol. 83(3): 936-947, 1997.Nine healthy subjects (age 31 ± 4 yr) exercised with andwithout expiratory-flow limitation (maximal flow ~1 l/s). Wemonitored flow, end-tidal PCO₂, esophageal (Pes) and gastric pressures, changes in end-expiratory lungvolume, and perception (sensation) of difficulty in breathing. Subjectscycled at increasing intensity (+25 W/30 s) until symptom limitation.During the flow-limited run, exercise performance was limited in allsubjects by maximum sensation. Sensation was equally determined byinspiratory and expiratory pressure changes. In both runs, 90% of thevariance in sensation could be explained by the Pes swings (differencebetween peak inspiratory and peak expiratory Pes). End-tidalPCO₂ did not explain any variance insensation in the control run and added only 3% to the explained variance in the flow-limited run. We conclude that in healthy subjects,during normal as well as expiratory flow-limited exercise, the pleuralpressure generation of the expiratory muscles is equally related to theperception of difficulty in breathing as that of the inspiratorymuscles.