Growth inhibition of selected food-borne bacteria by tannic acid, propyl gallate and related compounds

Tannic acid, propyl gallate, gallic acid and ellagic acid were tested for their inhibitory effects on selected food-borne bacteria by the well assay technique. Tannic acid and propyl gallate were inhibitory whereas gallic acid and ellagic acid were not.     

Ectomycorrhizal diversity on the roots of Pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) saplings as influenced by remediation and soil metal content

From 1913 to 1980, two zinc smelters in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, emitted large quantities of atmospheric pollutants nearly eliminating forests along a ridge above the town. In 2008, a remediation treatment was applied to the land above one of the smelters that included the planting of several locally adapted plant species. It also included mineral fertilization and mycorrhizal inoculation. One of the species, the Pitch pine (Pinus rigida, Mill.), is a native tree that is both tolerant of metalliferous soils and obligatorily ectomycorrhizal. This report summarizes the results of two observational studies conducted 5 years after the remediation treatment. The first study's objective was to compare ectomycorrhizal communities on treated Pitch pine saplings, with communities on naturally regenerating saplings in an adjacent non-remediated area. The second study's objective was to determine if the composition of the fungal communities on root tips of naturally regenerating Pitch pine saplings differed with distance from the smelters. Fungal community compositions were determined using internal transcribed spacer rRNA sequences. Comparisons of sequences from the remediated and non-remediated sites revealed that communities at the remediated sites had lower taxonomic diversity and were dominated by members of a genus in the remediation inoculant. The results of the smelter-proximity study indicated that although fungal diversity did not differ markedly with distance from the smelters, the relative abundances of some taxa were greater on saplings growing directly above the smelters, where the soils contained highest concentrations of zinc and cadmium.     

Correlation between fibronectin and its receptor in chick myoblast differentiation

Alterations in the amount of fibronectin and in the number of its receptors during myoblast differentiation of chicken embryo were investigated. The amount of fibronectin in the cell surface pool as measured by immunoblotting decreased during myogenesis To identify and characterize the fibronectin receptors on the myoblasts, the interactions of the 28,000 dalton (28 kDa) amino terminal fragment and 85,000 dalton (85 kDa) cell-binding fragment of fibronectin with my-oblasts were examined. The binding of the 28 kDa fragment was found to be time-dependent and reached a maximum level within 60 min. The unlabeled 28 kDa fragment inhibited the binding of the radioiodinated 28 kDa fragment, whereas the unlabeled 85 kDa fragment and antibody to integrin did not inhibit it, suggesting that the 28 kDa fragment interacts with the matrix assembly receptors but not with the cell adhesion receptors. There was a single class of 3.4 × 10⁵ binding sites per cell with an apparent dissociation constant of 1.4 × 10^?7 M on 30 hr old myoblasts. The specific binding of the radioiodinated 28 kDa fragment to myoblasts decreased as the fusion proceeded. This decrease of binding was consistent with the decrease in the amount of fibronectin. Furthermore, the levels of fibronectin and binding of the radioiodinated 28 kDa fragment in the fusion-blocked myoblasts by EGTA treatment appeared to remain constant. These results suggest that the decrease and/or loss of fibronectin during myoblast fusion is closely correlated with the alteration of fibronectin receptors and with the fusion of myoblasts.     

Molecular characterization of the lysosomal acid phosphatase fromDrosophila melanogaster

InDrosophila, unlike humans, the lysosomal acid phosphatase (Acph-1) is a non-essential enzyme. It is also one of the most rapidly evolving gene-enzyme systems in the genus. In order to determine which parts of the enzyme are conserved and which parts are apparently under little functional constraint, we cloned the gene fromDrosophila melanogaster via a chromosomal walk. Fragments from the gene were used to recover an apparently full-length cDNA. The cDNA was subcloned into aDrosophila transformation vector where it was under the control of the 5′ promoter sequence of thehsp-70 gene. Three independent transformants were obtained; in each, Acph-1 expression from the cDNA was constitutive and not dependent on heat shock, as determined by densitometric analyses of the allozymic forms of the enzyme. The pattern of expression indicates thehsp-70 and endogenousAcph-1 promoters act together in some, but not all, tissues. The sequence of the cDNA was determined using deletions made with exonuclease III, and primers deduced from the cDNA sequence were used to sequence the genomic clone. Five introns were found, and putative 5′ up-stream regulatory sequences were identified. Amino acid sequence comparisons have revealed several highly conserved motifs betweenDrosophila Acph-1 and vertebrate lysosomal and prostatic acid phosphatases.     

Effect of Root Zone Temperature on the Mineral Composition of Xylem Sap and Plasma Membrane K+-Mg++-ATPase Activity of Grafted-Cucumber and -Figleaf Gourd Root Systems

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings were grafted onto cucumber-(CG) or figleaf gourd- (FG, Cucurbita ficifolia Bouché)seedlings in order to determine the effect of solution temperature(12, 22, and 32°C) on the mineral composition of xylem sapand the plasma membrane K⁺-Mg⁺⁺-ATPase activities of the roots.Low solution temperature (12°C) lowered the concentrationof NO^–₃ and H₂PO^–₄ in xylem sap of CG plants butnot of FG plants. Concentrations of K⁺, Ca⁺⁺ and Mg⁺⁺ in xylemsap were less affected than anions by solution temperature.The plasma membrane of FG plants grown in 12°C solutiontemperature showed the highest K⁺- Mg⁺⁺-ATPase activity at allATP concentrations up to 3 mM and at low reaction temperatureup to 12°C, indicating resistance of figleaf gourd to lowroot temperature. (Received December 27, 1994; Accepted March 10, 1995)