The role of bacterial growth autoregulators (alkyl hydroxybenzenes) in the response of staphylococci to stresses

The investigation of the response of a batch culture of Staphylococcus aureus to exogenous alkyl-substituted hydroxybenzenes (AHBs), chemical analogues of anabiosis autoinducers, showed that C1-AHB at concentrations from 5 microM to 1.5 mM did not influence the culture growth, whereas the more hydrophobic C6-AHB inhibited it at concentrations of 0.5 mM and higher. Either of the AHBs drastically enhanced the phenotypic dissociation of staphylococcal cultures, which manifested itself in an increase in the fraction of cells producing small nonhemolyzing colonies of G type when plated on solid media with erythrocytes. In a submerged staphylococcal culture, the relative number of cells producing G-type colonies varied from 10 to 90%, depending on the concentration of the AHB added. The growth of S. aureus in the presence of AHBs also enhanced cell tolerance to heat shock (heating at 45 or 60 degrees C for 10 min). The role of AHBs, which are structural modifiers of membranes and possess chaperone activity, in the mechanisms responsible for cell tolerance and phenotypic dissociation of microbial populations is discussed.     

Effect of cross-fostering on catalepsy and the brain monoamine level in rat offspring prone to catalepsy and in the control strain

Duration of cataleptic reactions in male rats of Wistar and GC strains depended both on the genotype and on the type of rearing: it was longer in the GC rats than in the Wistar ones. In the GC males reared by Wistar foster mothers this parameter was smaller than in the control GC but higher than in Wistar rats. The NA content was significantly lower in the GC cortex, hypothalamus and striatum, and the level of serotonin and 5-HIAA was lower in cortex of the GC as compared with Wistar rats. The cross-fostering affected monoamine content in some brain structures. On the whole, serotonin, DA and NA systems of the GC rats proved to be more susceptible to stress caused by cross-fostering than those of the Wistar rats. The cross-fostering diminished interstrain differences in the NA level in cortex, striatum, and hypothalamus.     

The role of microbial dormancy autoinducers in metabolism blockade

Alkyl-substituted hydroxybenzenes (AHBs), which are autoinducers of microbial dormancy (d ₁ factors), were found to stabilize the structure of protein macromolecules and modify the catalytic activity of enzymes. In vitro experiments showed that C₆-AHB at concentrations from 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻² M, at which it occurs in the medium as a true solution and a micellar colloid, respectively, nonspecifically inhibited the activity of chymotrypsin, RNase, invertase, and glucose oxidase. C⁶-AHB-induced conformational alterations in protein macromolecules were due to the formation of complexes, as evidenced by differences in the fluorescence spectra of individual RNase and C₆-AHB and their mixtures and in the surface tension isotherms of C₆-AHB and trypsin solutions. Data on the involvement of dormancy autoinducers in the posttranslational modification of enzymes and their inhibition will provide further insight into the mechanisms of development and maintenance of dormant microbial forms.     

Hemispheric asymmetry of the nigrostriatal system of the brain in rats genetically predisposed to catalepsy]

Hemispheric asymmetry of nigro-striate system in a strain of rats GC bred from Wistar for a predisposition to cataleptic reaction was studied by means of biochemical and morphological methods. Hemispheric asymmetry was found in GC and Wistar rats with respect to aminopeptidase activity in neurons of caudate nucleus, with a more pronounced left-side increase in GC rats, the asymmetry index being 13.7%. Acetylcholine esterase activity in subcellular particles of caudate nucleus showed an inversion of asymmetry with higher activity in the left hemisphere of Wistar and right hemisphere of GC rats, and asymmetry index of 15.5%. With respect to the number of astroglia cells in S. nigra, and astroglia and oligodendroglia in N. accumbens there was also an inversion of asymmetry in GC rats who had more cells in the structures of the left hemisphere, whereas Wistar rats had more in the right hemisphere. The asymmetry index was high and equal to 29.8% for astroglia in S. nigra, and 17% for astroglia and 21.4% for oligodendroglia in N. accumbens. However, in S. nigra the number of neurons and oligodendroglia cells was equally increased in the right hemisphere in GC and Wistar rats. The data suggest that the mechanism of hereditary pathology of brain nigro-striate system involves both enhancement and inversion of the hemispheric asymmetry.     

A comprehensive evaluation of the biological properties of the causative agents of typhoid fever isolated from patients and carriers

The biological properties of 106 S. typhi cultures were studied; of these, 59 cultures were isolated from 45 chronic carriers and 47 cultures, from 23 typhoid fever patients. According to the degree of their virulence (CPD50 in the continuous cell-line culture Hep-2), the strains isolated from the patients were more virulent than those isolated from the chronic carriers. The mean value of lg CPD50 was 5.76 +/- 0.04 for the patients and 6.86 +/- 0.03 for the chronic carriers. The strains isolated from the patients showed greater variability in the degree of their virulence. The study of the plasmid spectrum showed that 9.4 +/- 5.6% of the strains contained plasmids. From the patients plasmid-containing strains were isolated more frequently than from the carriers (14.9 +/- 2.5% and 5.1 +/- 2.9%). Multiresistance to antibiotics in combination with the presence of plasmids was detected in 6 strains isolated from the typhoid patients with morbidity having the character of outbreaks.     

On the biology of the Japanese swimming crab <Emphasis Type="Italic">Charybdis japonica</Emphasis> (Portunidae) in waters of primorye at the northern boundary of their range

Data on the biology of the Japanese swimming crab, such as sexual dimorphism, size and weight structure, sex ratio, allometric growth, and fecundity were obtained in Sukhodol Bay (Ussuri Bay). The maximum carapace width was 116 mm and the largest weight was 340 g in males and 107 mm and 210 g, respectively, in females. The female to male ratio was 1.0: 2.4. The mean number of eggs in a clutch was 571300 (94000–1786000). Molting lasted from August through October, and a mass molt was recorded in August. As compared to crabs of the central part of the range, off the Korean Peninsula, Charybdis japonica in Ussuri Bay had larger size and higher fecundity. The breeding period in Ussuri Bay was slightly shifted from June–August to late June-September. The mass hatching of larvae occurred in July.     

Deciphering interactions used by the influenza virus NS1 protein to silence the host antiviral sensor protein RIG-I using a bacterial reverse two-hybrid system

The majority of biological processes are controlled and regulated by an intricate network of thousands of interacting proteins. Identifying and understanding the key components of these protein networks, especially those that play a critical role in disease, is a challenge that promises to dramatically alter our current approach to healthcare. To facilitate this process, we have developed a method for the rapid construction of a chromosomally integrated, bacterial reverse two-hybrid system (RTHS) that enables the identification of interacting protein partners. Chromosomal integration of the RTHS enables stable protein expression, free of plasmid copy-number effects, as well as eliminating false positives arising from plasmid ejection. We have utilized this approach to identify the interactions used by the influenza virus NS1 protein to silence the host's antiviral defences.     

Identical functional organization of nonpolytene and polytene chromosomes in Drosophila melanogaster

Salivary gland polytene chromosomes demonstrate banding pattern, genetic meaning of which is an enigma for decades. Till now it is not known how to mark the band/interband borders on physical map of DNA and structures of polytene chromosomes are not characterized in molecular and genetic terms. It is not known either similar banding pattern exists in chromosomes of regular diploid mitotically dividing nonpolytene cells. Using the newly developed approach permitting to identify the interband material and localization data of interband-specific proteins from modENCODE and other genome-wide projects, we identify physical limits of bands and interbands in small cytological region 9F13-10B3 of the X chromosome in D. melanogaster, as well as characterize their general molecular features. Our results suggests that the polytene and interphase cell line chromosomes have practically the same patterns of bands and interbands reflecting, probably, the basic principle of interphase chromosome organization. Two types of bands have been described in chromosomes, early and late-replicating, which differ in many aspects of their protein and genetic content. As appeared, origin recognition complexes are located almost totally in the interbands of chromosomes.     

Two different template replicators coexisting in the same protocell: stochastic simulation of an extended chemoton model

The simulation of complex biochemical systems, consisting of intertwined subsystems, is a challenging task in computational biology. The complex biochemical organization of the cell is effectively modeled by the minimal cell model called chemoton, proposed by Gánti. Since the chemoton is a system consisting of a large but fixed number of interacting molecular species, it can effectively be implemented in a process algebra-based language such as the BlenX programming language. The stochastic model behaves comparably to previous continuous deterministic models of the chemoton. Additionally to the well-known chemoton, we also implemented an extended version with two competing template cycles. The new insight from our study is that the coupling of reactions in the chemoton ensures that these templates coexist providing an alternative solution to Eigen's paradox. Our technical innovation involves the introduction of a two-state switch to control cell growth and division, thus providing an example for hybrid methods in BlenX. Further developments to the BlenX language are suggested in the Appendix.