Secretion of the sweet-tasting plant protein thaumatin byBacillus subtilis

Summary With the -amylase promoter and ribosome binding site,Bacillis subtilis was used to express the sweet plant protein thaumatin II cDNA fused in the correct reading frame to the -amylase leader peptide. The r-thaumatin was purified from the medium on a S-Sepharose column and detected with western blots by sheep -thaumatin antibodies. The r-thaumatin and authentic thaumatin were the same size when reduced by 2-ME and the same size when not reduced.     

Internal waves, primary production and the compensation depth of marine phytoplankton

Internal waves increase the average light intensity experiencedby phytoplankton and augment the compensation depth below whichno net photosynthesis occurs. These effects may be quite largein eutrophic waters with moderate or high light attenuationcoefficients. Data on internal waves and light attenuation canbe used to correct standard estimates of (new) primary productionin the lower euphotic zone based on uptake rates of carbon ornitrogen isotopes.     

Action of a cell wall proteinase (PI) from Streptococcus cremoris HP on bovine β-casein

Summary The specificity of a cell wall proteinase (P_I) from Streptococcus cremoris strain HP in its action on bovine -casein was determined. To this end an enzymic digest (pH 6.2; 15° C) of -casein was brought to pH 4.6 and the soluble fraction separated by semi-preparative reversed-phase HPLC. Purified peptides were analyzed by amino acid and end-group analysis. Ten chromatographic components were identified, which together accounted for at least seven cleavage sites all being located in the C-terminal fifty-residue part of -casein. In five cases it concerned a Gln-X or X-Gln peptide linkage. The specificity of this proteinase from S. cremoris HP shows similarity to that reported for a cell wall proteinase from S. lactis NCDO 763 in its action on -casein.Presented at the second FEMS Symposium on Lactic Acid Bacteria held in 1987 at Wageningen, Netherlands     

Partial Purification and Characterization of Detergent-Solubilized N-Sulfotransferase Activity Associated with Calf Brain Microsomes

Calf brain 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS):proteoheparan sulfate (PHS) N-sulfotransferase activity is solubilized by extracting salt-washed microsomes with 1% Cutscum. A protocol is described for the partial purification of the sulfotransferase activity utilizing: (1) diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-Sephacel, (2) heparin-Sepharose CL-6B, and (3) 3',5'-ADP-agarose as chromatographic supports. Sulfotransferase activity was followed by using 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phospho[35S]sulfate and endogenous acceptors in heat-inactivated microsomes as exogenous substrates. Two chromatographically distinct fractions (ST1 and ST2) of sulfotransferase activity are resolved on DEAE-Sephacel. Both sulfotransferase activities have been partially purified and characterized. An apparent purification of the two N-sulfotransferase fractions of 22- to 29-fold, relative to the microsomal activity, is achieved by this procedure. Since ST1 appears to represent approximately 24% of the total microsomal activity, a purification of 89-fold has been estimated for this fraction. Neither sulfotransferase activity was stimulated by MnCl2, MgCl2, or CaCl2 added at 10 mM, nor inhibited by the presence of 10 mM EDTA. ST1 and ST2 are optimally active at pH 7.5-8. Apparent Km values for PAPS of 2.3 microM and 0.9 microM have been determined for ST1 and ST2, respectively. ST1 exhibits N-sulfotransferase activity primarily and is inhibited by phosphatidylserine whereas the ST2 fraction contains a mixture of N- and O-sulfotransferase activity and is stimulated by phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylcholine, and lysophosphatidylcholine. The detection of two chromatographically distinct sulfotransferase activities raises the possibility that N-sulfation of proteoheparan sulfates could be catalyzed by more than one enzyme, and that N-sulfation and O-sulfation of proteoglycans are catalyzed by separate enzymes in nervous tissue.     

Conopy architecture of Larrea tridentata (DC.) Cov., a desert shrub: foliage orientation and direct beam radiation interception

Summary At sites in the United States, creosote bushes (Larrea tridentata (DC.) Cov.) orient foliage clusters predominantly toward the southeast. Foliage of bushes at the southernmost distribution extreme in Mexico shows no predominant orientation. Clusters at all sites are inclined between 33° and 71° from the horizontal. Inclinations are steeper in the drier and hotter Mojave Desert than in the Chihuahuan Desert. Individual leaflets, though not measured, appear more randomly oriented than foliage clusters. In several populations studied, branches were shorter in the southeastern sectors of the crown, reducing self-shading early in the morning. Measurements of direct beam radiation interception by detached branches, using digital image processing, indicated that foliage clusters oriented toward the southeast exhibited less self-shading during spring mornings than clusters oriented northeast. This effect was not apparent at the summer solstice. This type of canopy architecture may tend to minimize self-shading during the morning hours when conditions are more favorable for photosynthesis, resulting in an improved daily water use efficiency.     

How can the functional reponse best be determined?

Summary We evaluated three methods for the analysis of functional response data by asking whether a given method could discriminate among functional responses and whether it could accurately identify regions of positive density-dependent predation. We evaluated comparative curve fitting with foraging models, linear least-squares analysis using the angular transformation, and logit analysis. Using data from nature and simulations, we found that the analyses of predation rates with the angular transformation and logit analysis were best at consistently determining the true functional response, i.e. the model used to generate simulated data. These methods also produced the most accurate estimates of the true regions of density dependence. Of these two methods, functional response data best fulfill the assumptions of logit analysis. Angularly transformed predation rates only approximate the assumptions of linear leastsquares analysis for predation rates between 0.1 and 0.9. Lack-of-fit statistics can reveal inadequate fit of a model to a data set where simple regression statistics might erroneously suggest a good match.     

Genome instability in interspecific cell hybrids I. Unstable expression of genes in divergent cell hybrids

Somatic cell hybrids between cells of widely divergent mammalian species display a range of chromosomal and genetic anomalies which may be the equivalent of the “genomic shock” phenomena observed in many plant and animal interspecific hybrids. Mouse-kangaroo hybrids show extreme segregation and fragmentation of the kangaroo chromosomes. Here 1 show that, in addition to the chromosomal instability, some hybrids display unstable expression of three genes borne on the kangaroo active maternal X chromosome. These genes (HPRT, G6PD andPGK) may be co-ordinately inactivated at high frequency, then reactivated once more. I suggest that this reversible inactivation in interspecific hybrids may be the result of an unstable change at an X inactivation centre located in the kangaroo X_q.     

Endurance training in dogs increases vascular responsiveness to an alpha 1-agonist

The effects of endurance training on vascular responsiveness to an alpha 1-agonist and the associated changes in baroreflex modulation of heart rate and vascular resistance were studied. Graded dosages of phenylephrine were given to eight treadmill-trained dogs and to eight untrained dogs; both groups were chronically instrumented and were sedated and resting when tested. These dosages were repeated after ganglionic blockade. Aortic pressure, cardiac output, central venous pressure, peripheral resistance, and heart rate were each averaged over 30 s before injection and 90 s after injection. The slope of the peripheral resistance-dose relationship was significantly increased in trained compared with untrained dogs in both the unblocked and blocked cases [unblocked: trained 0.89, untrained 0.47; blocked: trained 4.30, untrained 2.05 (mmHg.l-1.min)/(microgram.kg-1)]. The unblocked resistance slopes were reduced with respect to the blocked slopes by 77 (untrained) and 79% (trained). The slope of the heart rate-aortic pressure response was reduced, but not significantly, by endurance training. We conclude that 6 wk of endurance training in dogs resulted in a doubling of the vascular responsiveness to an alpha 1-agonist, with no significant change in the baroreflex regulation of resistance or heart rate.     

Gene survival in the Asian wild horse (Equus przewalskii): I. Dependence of gene survival in the calgary breeding group pedigree

The joint probability distribution of the number of distinct (not identical by descent) genes from each founder of the Equus przewalskii population that survive in the five horses of the Calgary Zoological Gardens breeding group has been calculated. The dependence structure of this distribution is investigated, and informative marginal distributions are given, among them the distributions of the genetic contributions of each founder to the Calgary horses and the distribution of wild-type genes in these horses. The dependence pattern is found to be complex; there is no substitute for exact calculation of the full joint probability distribution of numbers of surviving genes. Probabilities of gene survival give a more complete summary of the genetic structure of a set of individuals than is provided by more routine measures such as heterozygosity or founder contributions. The feasibility of computing these probabilities for small groups of current individuals descended from few founders via long and complex pedigrees, provides a new approach to assessing such groups, and could be used also in selecting animals to form the founder stock of propagules for future reintroduction programs.