Studies on the creeper fowl

Journal of Genetics -     

Ammonium regulation in Aspergillus nidulans

l-Glutamate uptake, thiourea uptake, and methylammonium uptake and the intracellular ammonium concentration were measured in wild-type and mutant cells of Aspergillus nidulans held in various concentrations of ammonium and urea. The levels of l-glutamate uptake, thiourea uptake, nitrate reductase, and hypoxanthine dehydrogenase activity are determined by the extracellular ammonium concentration. The level of methylammonium uptake is determined by the intracellular ammonium concentration. The uptake and enzyme characteristics of the ammonium-derepressed mutants, meaA8, meaB6, DER3, amrA1, xprD1, and gdhA1, are described. The gdhA mutants lack normal nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-glutamate dehydrogenase (NADP-GDH) activity and are derepressed with respect to both external and internal ammonium. The other mutant classes are derepressed only with respect to external ammonium. The mutants meaA8, DER3, amrA1, and xprD1 have low levels of one or more of the l-glutamate, thiourea, and methylammonium uptake systems. A model for ammonium regulation in A. nidulans is put forward which suggests: (i) NADP-GDH located in the cell membrane complexes with extracellular ammonium. This first regulatory complex determines the level of l-glutamate uptake, thiourea uptake, nitrate reductase, and xanthine dehydrogenase by repression or inhibition, or both. (ii) NADP-GDH also complexes with intracellular ammonium. This second and different form of regulatory complex determines the level of methylammonium uptake by repression or inhibition, or both.     

Size Differences Among Root-knot Nematodes on Resistant and Susceptible Alyceclover Genotypes

The influence of plant resistance on the size of individual root-knot nematodes was determined in greenhouse experiments. Five genotypes of alyceclover were inoculated with second-stage juveniles of Meloidogyne incognita race 3 or M. arenaria race 1. Plants were harvested at selected intervals and stained for detection of the nematodes, which were dissected from the roots. Length, width, and sagittal-sectional area of each animal were measured using an image-analysis system, and areas of nematodes in all stages were compared at different times and across alyceclover lines. Nematodes feeding on roots of resistant lines were consistently smaller than those on susceptible plants, with significant differences in growth detected after the final molt. Similar results were observed with both nematode species.     

Mutants of Cellulomonas which produce increased levels of β-glucosidase

Summary Mutants have been isolated from a strain of Cellulomonas which are capable of producing up to 26-fold higher levels of -glucosidase than the parent under certain growth conditions.     

Modulation of coupling in the Escherichia coli ATP synthase by ADP and Pi: Role of the ε subunit C-terminal domain

The ε-subunit of ATP-synthase is an endogenous inhibitor of the hydrolysis activity of the complex and its α-helical C-terminal domain (εCTD) undergoes drastic changes among at least two different conformations. Even though this domain is not essential for ATP synthesis activity, there is evidence for its involvement in the coupling mechanism of the pump. Recently, it was proposed that coupling of the ATP synthase can vary as a function of ADP and P_i concentration. In the present work, we have explored the possible role of the εCTD in this ADP- and P_i-dependent coupling, by examining an εCTD-lacking mutant of Escherichia coli. We show that the loss of P_i-dependent coupling can be observed also in the εCTD-less mutant, but the effects of P_i on both proton pumping and ATP hydrolysis were much weaker in the mutant than in the wild-type. We also show that the εCTD strongly influences the binding of ADP to a very tight binding site (half-maximal effect ≈ 1 nM); binding at this site induces higher coupling in EF_OF₁ and increases responses to P_i. It is proposed that one physiological role of the εCTD is to regulate the kinetics and affinity of ADP/P_i binding, promoting ADP/P_i-dependent coupling.     

Synthesis of the cyanogenic beta-glucosidase, linamarase, in white clover

The beta-glucosidase, linamarase, which specifically hydrolyzes cyanogenic substrates, linamarin and lotaustralin, in white clover, is synthesized in the early stages of leaf and seedling development in genetically competent plants. Plants, from natural populations, possessing at least one Li allele synthesize linamarase but plants with only li alleles do not, nor do they produce inactive but antigenically related linamarase. Linamarase is known to be a mannosyl glycoprotein, which in its active form is a dimer, with a subunit size of 62,000 Mr. We demonstrate that the antibiotic tunicamycin, which prevents N-acetyl-asparagine linked glycosylation, reduces in vivo synthesis of linarmarase. In vitro translation of mRNA from a Li Li plant yields a 59,000 Mr immunoprecipitated linamarase polypeptide which is modified to a 62,000 Mr product by the addition of dog pancreas microsomes. No anti-linamarase immunoprecipitable product is obtained from the in vitro translation products of mRNA from a li li plant.     

Influence of Soil Physical Properties on Plants of the Mussununga Ecosystem, Brazil

Distribution ranges of plant species are related to physical variables of ecosystems that limit plant growth. Therefore, each plant species response to physical factors builds up the functional diversity of an ecosystem. The higher the species richness of an ecosystem, the larger the probability of maintaining functions and the higher the potential number of plant functional groups (FGs). Thus, the richness potentially increases the number of functions of the highly diverse Atlantic Rainforest domain in Brazil. Severe plant growth limitations caused by stress, however, decrease species richness. In the Spodosols of the Mussununga, an associated ecosystem of Atlantic Rainforest, the percentage of fine sand is directly related to water retention. Moreover, the depth of the cementation layer in the Mussununga??s sandy soil is a physical factor that can affect the plants?? stress gradients. When a shallow cementation layer depth is combined with low water retention in soils and with low fine sand percentage, the double stresses of flooding in the rainy season and water scarcity in the dry season result. This study aimed to identify FGs among Mussununga plant species responding to water stress gradients of soil and to verify the effects of the gradients on plant species richness of the Mussununga. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of species abundance and soil texture variables was performed on 18 plots in six physiognomies of the Mussununga. Species richness rarefactions were calculated for each vegetation form to compare diversity. The two main axes of the CCA showed two FGs responding to soil texture and cementation layer depth: stress tolerator species and mesic species. Physical variables affect plant diversity, with species richness rising as the fine sand proportion also rises in the Mussununga. The effect of the cementation layer is not significantly related to species richness variation.     

Elastic deformations of the rotary double motor of single F(o)F(1)-ATP synthases detected in real time by Förster resonance energy transfer

Elastic conformational changes of the protein backbone are essential for catalytic activities of enzymes. To follow relative movements within the protein, F?rster-type resonance energy transfer (FRET) between two specifically attached fluorophores can be applied. FRET provides a precise ruler between 3 and 8nm with subnanometer resolution. Corresponding submillisecond time resolution is sufficient to identify conformational changes in FRET time trajectories. Analyzing single enzymes circumvents the need for synchronization of various conformations. F(O)F(1)-ATP synthase is a rotary double motor which catalyzes the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). A proton-driven 10-stepped rotary F(O) motor in the Escherichia coli enzyme is connected to a 3-stepped F(1) motor, where ATP is synthesized. To operate the double motor with a mismatch of step sizes smoothly, elastic deformations within the rotor parts have been proposed by W. Junge and coworkers. Here we extend a single-molecule FRET approach to observe both rotary motors simultaneously in individual F(O)F(1)-ATP synthases at work. We labeled this enzyme with two fluorophores specifically, that is, on the ε- and c-subunits of the two rotors. Alternating laser excitation was used to select the FRET-labeled enzymes. FRET changes indicated associated transient twisting within the rotors of single enzyme molecules during ATP hydrolysis and ATP synthesis. Supported by Monte Carlo simulations of the FRET experiments, these studies reveal that the rotor twisting is greater than 36° and is largely suppressed in the presence of the rotation inhibitor DCCD. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: 17th European Bioenergetics Conference (EBEC 2012).     

Bacterial translocation can increase plasma corticosterone and brain catecholamine and indoleamine metabolism

The potential contribution of stress-induced bacterial translocation to the activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and brain biogenic amines was assessed. Mice were restrained for various periods, and brain concentrations of tryptophan, catecholamines, serotonin, and their metabolites, plasma corticosterone, and the translocation of viable bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract to the mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, and liver were measured. Restraint induced the translocation of indigenous gram-positive bacteria in only a small proportion of animals, but translocation of gram-negative bacteria did not occur. Restraint induced short-lived increases in plasma corticosterone and brain amine metabolism, whereas bacterial translocation was slower and persisted long after the HPA axis and neurochemical responses had dissipated. When mice were infected with Salmonella typhimurium, spontaneous translocation occurred and plasma corticosterone, interleukin-6 concentrations, and brain catecholamine and indoleamine metabolism were elevated. These findings indicate that the translocation of indigenous gastrointestinal bacteria did not contribute to the HPA axis and neurochemical changes induced by restraint. However, translocation of nonindigenous S. typhimurium with or without restraint did induce HPA and neurochemical responses.