Postreplication repair in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Postreplication events in logarithmically growing excision-defective mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were examined after low doses of ultraviolet light (2 to 4 J/m2). Pulse-labeled deoxyribonucleic acid had interruptions, and when the cells were "chased," the interruptions were no longer detected. Since the loss of interruptions was not associated with an exchange of pyrimidine dimers at a detection level of 10 to 20% of the induced dimers, we concluded that postreplication repair in excision-defective mutants (or leaky mutants) does not involve molecular recombination. Pyrimidine dimers were assayed by utilizing the ultraviolet-endonuclease activity in extracts of Micrococcus luteus and newly developed alkaline sucrose gradient techniques, which yielded chromosomal-size deoxyribonucleic acid after treatment of irradiated cells.     

Population Increase of Pratylenchus hexincisus on Corn as Related to Soil Temperature and Type

Population increase of Pratylenchus hexincisus on corn was tested over 3 months at 15, 20, 25, and 30 C in Marshall silt loam, Clarion silt loam, Buckner coarse sand, and Haig silty clay loam soils. The optimum temperature for increase was 30 C in all soils. The nematode population was significantly larger in Buckner coarse sand than in other soil types at 50 C. The recovered P. hexincisus populations equaled or exceeded initial inoculum levels at the two higher temperatures in Marshall silt loam and Haig silty clay loam and at 30 C in Clarion silt loam and Buckner coarse sand. P. hexincisus required 32,400 heat units in Haig silty clay loam and more than 40,000 heat units in the three other soil types to reach a level that is known to cause significant height and biomass reduction in corn under controlled condition.     

Effect of Ca ion concentration on cross-bridge kinetics in rabbit psoas fibers. Evidence for the presence of two Ca-activated states of thin filament

The effect of Ca ion concentration on cross-bridge kinetics in a small bundle (one to three fibers) of chemically skinned rabbit psoas muscle is studied. The length of the muscle is oscillated in small amplitude sine waves (0.2% L0 peak-to-peak) at varying frequencies (0.125 -- 167 Hz), and the resulting amplitude and phase shift in tension are measured. The frequency response function (complex stiffness) thus obtained can be divided into three parts, which we name process (A) (centered at 1 Hz), process (B) (3--17 Hz), and process (C) (50 Hz). Process (B), which represents oscillatory work, further splits into two processes (B' and B) at partial Ca activation (less than 50% P0), where the phase-frequency plot appears W-shaped. The slower of the two processes (B') disappears by full activation, at which time the plot appears V-shaped. The characteristic frequencies associated with the minima of the plot do not shift in a graded way with Ca concentration, indicating that there is no change in apparent rate constants. Apparent rate constants of processes (A) and (C) are minimally affected by Ca. The above results are not altered when ionic strength is changed between 128 and 265 mM. We propose that activated thin filaments can have two "on" states and that Ca concentration controls the distribution of these two states. This mechanism generally supports the "switch" hypothesis of Ca regulation.     

A spectrophotometric study of the denaturation of deoxyribonucleic acid in the presence of urea or formaldehyde and its relevance to the secondary structure of single-stranded polynucleotides

1. The thermal denaturation of DNA from rat liver was studied spectrophotometrically. In sodium phosphate buffers denaturation led to a single-stranded form having, at 25 degrees , about 25% of the hypochromism of the intact double helix. 2. The hypochromism of the denatured form was the same in 1mm- as in 10mm-sodium phosphate buffer and was scarcely affected by reaction with formaldehyde. The hypochromism was decreased by about 40% in the presence of 8m-urea. 3. The hypochromism of denatured DNA at low ionic strengths was about the same as that of fragments of reticulocyte ribosomal RNA that were too short to form double-helical secondary structure and about the same as that of RNA after reaction with formaldehyde. 4. The spectrum of DNA was slightly affected by the presence of 8m-urea or 4m-guanidinium chloride. The differences in the spectrum of the native and denatured forms of DNA in 0.1m-sodium phosphate buffer, in 8m-urea-10mm-sodium phosphate buffer and in 4m-guanidinium chloride-10mm-sodium phosphate buffer, pH7.6, were similar but not identical. 5. Denatured rat liver DNA appears to have no double-helical character at 25 degrees in 10mm-sodium phosphate buffer, pH7.6; increasing the buffer concentration to 0.1m leads to a more compact form in which about 40% of the residues form base pairs.     

Direct relation between growth and frost hardening in cabbage leaves

Potted cabbage plants were grown in growth chambers at 25° day and 15° night and hardened successively at 5, 0, and −3°. Leaf growth was determined by measuring leaf area, hardiness by freezing at a series of temperatures and determining percent survival. Leaf growth increased progessively with leaf number, reaching a maximum rate of growth and final area in the tenth and eleventh leaves when the plants become potbound. Leaf growth continued at hardening temperatures of 5 or 0°, the Q₁₀ being 2.0 to 2.5. Ability to harden also increased with leaf number, paralleling the growth rate of the leaves just before hardening as well as the growth rate and the total growth during hardening. The above results were similar whether prolonged (several weeks) or brief (24 hr) hardening was utilized.     

The effects of pH and citrate on the activity of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase from pea mitochondria

1. The effect of pH on the co-operative activation of the NAD-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase from pea mitochondria by isocitrate is shown. 2. The interlinked effects of pH on the affinity of the NAD-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase for isocitrate and the dependence of the pH optimum on the substrate concentration are presented. 3. A consideration of the conditions of pH and substrate concentration under which citrate activates the NAD-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase demonstrates similarities between the binding of isocitrate and citrate. 4. A comparison of the effects of citrate and pH on the gross structure of the enzyme is investigated by density-gradient centrifugation. 5. The kinetic interpretations of these results are briefly considered. 6. The metabolic significance of these studies is discussed.     

Epistatic interactions between four rad loci in yeast

Haploid yeast strains carrying mutations in two or more of four ad genes were contrusted by tetrad dissection, and the UV survival of these strains was measured. It was found that (with one exception) double mutant strains were not significantly more sensitive than the most sensitive single mutants, for strains involving mutant loci rad 1, rad 3 and rad 4. The exception was the double mutant rad 1–5 rad 4-4, but another double mutant involving different alleles of the the same loci did not show an enhanced UV sensitivity. Triple and quadruple mutants also failed to show a significantly increased UV sensitivity with respect to the single mutants. The results indicate that all these four mutant loci confer UV sensitivity by the same mechanism, and it is suggested that the wild-type alleles mediate excision-repair of UV-induced DNA lesions. Enhanced sensitivity of the genotype rad 1–5 rad 4-4 is attributed to leakiness of these alleles.     

An improved, leaf-disk method for determining the freeze-killing temperature of leaves

1.

1. An improved, half-leaf method is described for measuring the freeze-killing temperature (FKT) of a leaf at a specific stage of development, using six similar plants.