The MR P-type transposable elements and the genetic activities of mutagens and carcinogens in Drosophila melanogaster. I. N,N-Dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)

A technique was developed for the assay of the genetic activities of carcinogens in both the soma and germ line in the course of early larval development and to assess the extent of their modification through the introduction into the genome of the MR IInd autosome P-type transposable elements. The influence of MR on genotoxicity for a given treatment was indicated by the relative frequencies of non-MR (Cy) to MR-carrying sibs emerging within the same cultures. The viable genetic changes in the soma were classified as recombinational or mutational events on the basis of the comparative yields of mosaic sectors in females heterozygous for the markers y w sn carried in standard order (XS) or multiply inverted (XIn) X-chromosomes. The results with this technique are here described for the carcinogen DMN. In the absence of MR, the topical application of DMN induced no larval lethality up to the highest tested doses (20 mM), but raised the yields of the somatic sectors for all the test markers in the emerging females in accordance with a linear dose fit. Comparison of the XS and XIn data indicated that somatic mutagenesis by DMN entailed the induction of recombinational and mutational events in roughly equal proportions. The introduction of MR into the genome, whether patro- or matroclinously, resulted in dramatic and proportionately equivalent enhancements in the activities of DMN, both with respect to the induction of larval lethality and somatic sectoring. These activities increased exponentially with dose, following a 4th-degree polynomial course up to 10 mM, when larval lethality approached 100%. At lower dose levels, the yields of all sector types in the viable females also followed comparable polynomial curves at different heights, except for y sn in the XIn series, where sector recovery remained at the control level throughout the examined dose range. Analysis of the sector size distribution for eye and bristle mosaicism in the XS control and DMN-treated series gave statistically comparable mean values, irrespective of the presence or absence of MR, indicating that DMN alone, or in conjunction with the P elements, did not alter the timing of aberrant clone initiation. In contrast, estimates of the genetic induction events in the somatic primordia with 5 mM DMN indicated greatly increased response in the presence of MR, which was in excess of 20-fold for the mutational changes involving the sn locus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Endospores of Sporosarcina halophila: characteristics and ultrastructure

Sporosarcina halophila forms endospores. Electron micrographs revealed ultrastructural similarity to spores of S. ureae. Spore germination indicated by loss of refractility, darkening, swelling and formation of new vegetative cells was followed by phase contrast light microscopy. To induce spore germination, the endospores needed to be heat avtivated. After activation, they were inoculated into nutrient broth medium supplemented with sea-water. Double concentrated sea-water was found to be optimal for germination. Similar to other bacterial endospores, the spores were found to be resistant to heat and ethanol. An ultraviolet absorbing substance was isolated from suspensions of free spores; it was identified to be pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (DPA) usually present in bacterial spores. DPA was detected in amounts ranging from 5–7% of the spore dry weight; it was not detected in extracts of vegetative cells.Abbreviation DPA 2,6-pyridine-dicarboxylic acid     

Fractionation of organic substances during anaerobic digestion of farm wastes for biogas generation

Summary Generation rate of biogas and its methane component, as well as changes of major organic fractions during anaerobic digestion of fresh cow dung alone and in combination with each of air-dry rice straw, maize stalks, and cotton stalks at a ratio of 11 (on the basis of 70°C dry weight of either source) have been monitored in laboratory fermenters for 75 days at 35°C. Mixtures of cow dung + maize stalks produced the highest cumulative volumes of both biogas and its methane component; i.e. 17.9 and 8.31/1 fermented material respectively, cow dung alone surpassed all of the tested biomass regarding the yield of methane production in relation to the volatile solids consumed which gave 636 l/kg; the other materials came in the succession: cow dung + maize stalks, cow dung + rice straw and cow dung + cotton stalks. Acetic, propionic, and butyric were the major detectable fatty acids formed during the digestion course. Cow dung excelled the other treatments in amounts of such acids produced. Combination between cow dung and crop residues resulted in reducing the formation of fatty acids and NH ₄ ⁺ and loss of nitrogen, but enhanced the disappearance of volatile solids, fats, hemicellulose and cellulose. The lignin content remained unchanged.

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Fractionnement de substances organiques pendant la digestion anaerobie de déchets de ferme pour la genèse de biogaz

Résumé La vitesse de genèse du biogaz et son contenu en méthane, ainsi que les modifications des principales fractions organiques pendant la digestion anaérobie a été examinée en fermenteurs de laboratoire pendant 75 jours à 35°C pour les bouses bovines fraîches, seules et en mélange 11 (sur la base du poids sec à 70°C) soit avec la paille de riz séchée au soleil, les fânes de maïs ou les tiges de cotonniers. Le mélange de bouses de vache et de fânes de maïs a produit le volume cumulatif le plus élevé tant de biogaz que de son constituant, le méthane, notamment respectivement 17.9 et 8.31/l de matériel fermenté. Les bouses de vache ont surpassé toutes les biomasses testées quant au rendement de la production de méthane par rapport aux solides volatils consommés qui donna 6361/kg; les autres matières viennent dans l'ordre décroissant: bouses de vache plus fânes de maïs, bouses de vache plus paille de riz et bouses de vaches plus tiges de cotonniers. Les acides gras principaux détectés et formés pendant le cours de la digestion étaient l'acide acétique, l'acide propionique et l'acide butyrique. La biométhanisation de bouses de vache a excellé par rapport à celle d'autres substrats quant aux quantités produites de ces acides. Le mélange de bouses de vache et de résidus agricoles a résulté dans la diminution de la formation d'acides gras et d'ammonium et de la perte en azote mais dans l'augmentation de la disparition des solides volatils, des graisses, de l'hémicellulose et de la cellulose. Le contenu en lignine est resté inchangé.

     

A specific enzymeimmunoassay for progesterone in human plasma.

An enzymeimmunoassay for plasma progesterone was established using progesterone covalently linked to the enzyme, horseradish peroxidase, as the 'label'. Separation of free and bound steroid was effected by Sepharose-coupled antiprogesterone-11alpha-hemisuccinyl bovine serum albumin antiserum (Sepharose-antisera). The enzymeimmunoassay satisfied the normal criteria of specificity, precision and accuracy. Comparison of assay results obtained by radioimmunoassay (with and without thin-layer chromatography) and enzyme-immunoassay (with and without thin-layer chromatography) showed excellent agreement of results in all cases (r greater than 0.98). This enzymeimmunoassay is particularly applicable to the routine determination of plasma progesterone in the smaller clinical laboratory.     

Large-scale purification and some properties of the mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase from pig heart.

A method has been developed which allows isolation of 0.3--0.5 g of mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase in five days starting from 10 pig hearts; the method does not involve initial preparation of mitochondria. Mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase and the cytoplasmic aspartate aminotransferase may conveniently be recovered from side fractions. The product mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase is homogeneous as judged by various electrophoretic techniques and by N-terminal analysis. Crystals of the enzyme have been obtained both from concentrated, essentially salt-free, solutions and from solutions of ammonium sulphate. The amino acid composition, N and C-terminal amino acid sequences and subunit molecular weight have been determined; these characteristic properties are compared with those of the cytoplasmic isozyme from the same source.