Metabolism of meta- or/and para-chlorinated benzoic acids by the crude extract of Alcaligenes sp. strain CPE3 grown on 3,4-dichlorobenzoic acid

Summary A crude extract of Alcaligenes sp. CPE3 strain grown on 3,4-dichlorobenzoic acid metabolised 3- and 4-chlorobenzoic acid by reactions requiring O₂ and NADH, and 3,4-dichlorobenzoic acid by a reaction requiring O₂, NADH, FAD and FMN. The specific activity of the extract vs. 3-chlorobenzoic acid was described by the Michaelis-Menten kinetics, that vs. 4-chlorobenzoic acid was described by a substrate inhibitory kinetics and that vs. 3,4-dichlorobenzoic acid exhibited a two-peaked profile.     

Exposure to a combination of heat and hyperoxia during cycling at submaximal intensity does not alter thermoregulatory responses

In this study, we tested the hypothesis that breathing hyperoxic air (F_inO₂ = 0.40) while exercising in a hot environment exerts negative effects on the total tissue level of haemoglobin concentration (tHb); core (T_core) and skin (T_skin) temperatures; muscle activity; heart rate; blood concentration of lactate; pH; partial pressure of oxygen (P_aO₂) and carbon dioxide; arterial oxygen saturation (S_aO₂); and perceptual responses. Ten well-trained male athletes cycled at submaximal intensity at 21°C or 33°C in randomized order: first for 20 min while breathing normal air (F_inO₂ = 0.21) and then 10 min with F_inO₂ = 0.40 (HOX). At both temperatures, S_aO₂ and P_aO₂, but not tHb, were increased by HOX. Tskin and perception of exertion and thermal discomfort were higher at 33°C than 21°C (p < 0.01), but independent of F_inO₂. T_core and muscle activity were the same under all conditions (p > 0.07). Blood lactate and heart rate were higher at 33°C than 21°C. In conclusion, during 30 min of submaximal cycling at 21°C or 33°C, T_core, T_skin and T_body, tHb, muscle activity and ratings of perceived exertion and thermal discomfort were the same under normoxic and hyperoxic conditions. Accordingly, breathing hyperoxic air (F_inO₂ = 0.40) did not affect thermoregulation under these conditions.     

Ultrastructural localization of the high molecular weight proteins associated with in vitro-assembled brain microtubules

Microtubules isolated from brain extracts by in vitro assembly (1, 19, 23) are composed principally of two tubulins and two high molecular weight proteins (microtubule-associated proteins [MAPS] 1 and 2) (2,5,7,20). Recently, it was demonstrated that in vitro-assembled brain microtubules (neurotubules) are coated with filaments (5, 7) which are similar to the filaments attached to neurotubules in situ (4, 15, 21, 24, 25), and it was suggested that the filaments are composed of the higher molecular weight MAPs (5, 7, 12). In this study, microtubules were assembled in the presence and absence of the MAPs, and thin sections of the microtubules were examined by electron microscopy. The results show that the filaments only occur on microtubules assembled in the presence of the MAPs and it is therefore concluded that the filaments are composed of the high molecular weight MAP's.     

Studies on the selective agents operating in experimental populations ofTisbe clodiensis (Copepoda,Harpacticoida)

In order to determine the biotic selective factors affecting the fitness of genotypes in the polymorphic speciesT. clodiensis, five types of experimental populations were utilized:

1. Populations started with equal numbers of virgin females and males of the three genotypes (pp, pP, PP) at f(p)=f(P)=0.5 in Hardy-Weinberg proportions;
2. Populations started with equal numbers of heterozygous females and males;
3. Populations started with equal numbers of recessive homozygous females and dominant homozygous females, each fertilized by males of the same genotype;
4. Populations with virgin females and males of the three genotypes at f(p)=0.2, f(P)=0.8 in Hardy-Weinberg proportions;
5. One population as in (4) but with f(p)=0.7 and f(P)=0.3.

The populations were sampled at about three weekly intervals in order to follow the gene frequencies for about fifteen generations. A comparison between group (3) and other groups suggests that interaction between genotypes may affect the survival of the genotypes concerned. Comparison of groups (1) and (2) seems to indicate that sexual selection is also involved. The estimated selective coefficients, which appear to vary in different periods and groups of populations, lead to the conclusion that fitness inT. clodiensis is a function of the genetic structure of the population as well as of the population density. The selection pressure is then determined by a great number of biotic components operating in different stages of the life cycle; and it seems reasonable to conclude that inT. clodiensis, at least under these experimental conditions, a frequency-dependent selective mechanism is involved.     

Histological distribution of the 35-KD protein substrate of the epidermal growth factor receptor/kinase in thymus

Rat thymus has been identified as a tissue comparatively enriched in a 35-KD substrate of the epidermal growth factor receptor/kinase (lipocortin-1) (J Biol Chem 261:13784, 1986). A polyclonal antiserum prepared against the 35-KD protein was used to determine histological distribution of the protein in thymus. Frozen sections of rat thymus were examined after indirect labeling of the 35-KD protein with a rhodamine conjugate of secondary antibody. The antigen was localized primarily in the reticular network of the thymic epithelium, with no detectable labeling of resident thymocytes. Immunoblotting (Western blots) of cytosol extracts also demonstrated that thymocytes did not contain detectable amounts of the antigen. Cultured thymic epithelial cells (TEC), however, contained an abundance of two immunologically related protein bands with molecular weights similar but not identical to the antigen from the parental cell line (human A-431 carcinoma). Paraffin sections of rat and human thymus were subjected to an immunoperoxidase staining procedure, and it was observed that Hassall's corpuscles (keratinized epithelial cells) and other cortical and medullary TECs were intensely stained. The demonstration that the antigen is primarily associated with TEC in thymus, in conjunction with its distribution in other tissues, will aid in deducing its physiological role.     

Degradation and mineralization of 3-chlorobiphenyl by a mixed aerobic bacterial culture

Summary A mixed bacterial culture obtained from polychlorinated-biphenyl-contaminated river sediments proved capable of degrading 3-chlorobiphenyl (3-CB) under aerobic laboratory conditions. Almost total mineralization of 150 mg/l of 3-CB occurred when, after 3 days of incubation, the mineral medium was supplied with benzoic acid as a carbon source. Two strains of Pseudomonas capable of degrading the substrate to 3-chlorobenzoic acid and a strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens capable of co-metabolizing this metabolite were selected from the mixed culture. A nearly stoichiometric amount of chloride, which defines the percentage of total mineralization, was eliminated during mixed culture growth. Offprint requests to: F. Fava