Genes involved in the development of bristles and hairs in Drosophila melanogaster

Mutations in three loci influencing the development of bristles and hairs were detected in experiments with strains containing either a mobilized Stalker or a mobilized P-element. The mutations in two genes, suppressor of scute and putative microchaete, modify phenotypic expression of mutations in the scute locus. In particular, su(sc) mutations suppress the sc-phenotype in the scutellum and enhance the Hw-phenotype in the thorax. Mutations in the third gene, pseudoscute, lead to reduction of all bristles and hairs. The latter locus seems to control the development of bristles independently of the achaete-scute complex control.     

Instability in the ctMR2 strain of Drosophila melanogaster: role of P element functions and structure of revertants

Summary Simultaneous multiple transpositions and longterm genetic instability have been described in the ct ^MR2 strain of Drosophila melanogaster and its derivatives. This strain originated from a cross that was dysgenic in the P-M system. While spontaneous instability declined over 2 years, instability has been reactivated by backcross to the progenitor P element bearing strain MRh12/Cy. We show here using germline transformation that active P factor alone cannot mimic the effect of this cross, suggesting that MRh12/Cy contains some other activator. In addition, we have observed that ct ⁺ exceptional progeny arise in the F1 s well as the F2 generations. Molecular analysis of X chromosomes from some ct ⁺ progeny indicates that phenotypic reversion of the ct mutation can arise through two unrelated mechanisms.     

Lysozyme in the overall therapy of patients with burn trauma]

Examination of 108 patients showed that burn disease was accompanied by significant impairments in the host natural resistance. Inclusion of intramuscular administrations of crystalline lysozyme into the complex therapy of such patients during septicotoxemia provided an increase in the factors of humoral and cell immunity. In most of the cases the dynamics of the indices of the host immunological reactivity correlated with the character of the clinical signs of the burn disease. The positive effect of lysozyme was evident in the cases with severe complications such as pneumonia, bacteriemia and burns of the upper respiratory organs.     

Value of cane trash in nitrogen nutrition of sugarcane

The significance of trash containing 0.3 to 0.5% N in the N nutrition of sugarcane (Saccharum hybrid sp.) was investigated in pot- and field experiments using¹⁵N-labelled trash. The data obtained from the pot study with 2 silty-clay loams (a Humic Nitosol and a Humic Acrisol) showed that surface-applied trash (10 tonnes/ha), although ground to pass a 1-mm sieve, contributed less than 10% of N removed by sugarcane. Uptake of trash N was most active during the initial 6 months of the experiment though at the end of the study period of 18 months less than 15% of trash N was altogether recovered by sugarcane. In the absence of fertilizer N in a field study on the Humic Acrisol (C/N ratio 22), unground trash (5 tonnes. ha⁻¹) depressed soil N uptake by sugarcane by immobilizing available soil N. The field study moreover confirmed that the contribution of trash N in the supply of N to sugarcane is negligible. The value of trash would reside in its capacity to increase over the long term the organic matter level in the soils.     

Detection of new genes participating in the trans-regulation of locus yellow of MDG-4 in Drosophila melanogaster

The aim of the present work was to obtain mutations in the genes involved in regulation of the yellow locus and mdg4. For this purpose, we searched for mutations changing phenotypic expression of the y(2) mutation induced by mdg4 insertion into the regulatory region of the yellow locus. Mutations have been obtained in the earlier described system of prolonged genome instability, sometimes combined with P-M hybrid dysgenesis. The mutation mod(mdg4) in a novel gene, modifier of mdg4, was detected which either enhanced or suppressed a phenotypic expression of several mutations induced by mdg4 insertion. We suggest that mod(mdg4) controls the expression of mdg4. In addition, the mutations in five loci located on the X chromosome have been found which enhanced the mutation phenotype of several y alleles induced by insertions of different mobile elements in the regulatory region of the latter. Possibly, the protein products of these genes designated as enhancers of yellow-1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are directly or indirectly involved in control of the yellow locus expression.     

Similarity of decay-associated spectra for tryptophan fluorescence of proteins with different structures

Tryptophan fluorescence lifetimes were analyzed for three proteins: human serum albumin, bovine serum albumin, and bacterial luciferase, which contain one, two, and seven tryptophan residues, respectively. For all of the proteins, the fluorescence decays were fitted by three lifetimes: τ₁ = 6–7 ns, τ₂ = 2.0–2.3 ns, and τ₃ ≤ 0.1 ns (the native state), and τ₁ = 4.4–4.6 ns, τ₂ = 1.7–1.8 ns, and τ₃ ≤ 0.1 ns (the denatured state). Corresponding decay-associated spectra had similar peak wavelengths and spectrum half-widths both in the native state (\(\lambda _{\max }^{{\tau _1}} = 324nm\), \(\lambda _{\max }^{{\tau _2}} = 328nm\), and \(\lambda _{\max }^{{\tau _3}} = 315nm\)), and in the denatured state (\(\lambda _{\max }^{{\tau _1}} = 350nm\), \(\lambda _{\max }^{{\tau _2}} = 343nm\), and \(\lambda _{\max }^{{\tau _3}} = 317nm\)). The differences in the steady-state spectra of the studied proteins were accounted for the individual ratio of the lifetime component contributions. The lifetime components were compared with a classification of tryptophan residues in the structure of these proteins within the discrete states model.     

应用RNA干扰沉默猪内源性反转录病毒

目的:尝试应用RNA干扰(RNAi)沉默猪源PK-15细胞中的猪内源性反转录病毒(PERV),并通过反转录酶活性及pol基因相对荧光定量PCR检测沉默效果。方法:依据GenBank公布的PERV pol基因序列,采用Invitro-gen公司的BLOCK-iT RNAi Designer软件设计Stealth小干扰RNA(siRNA)序列;将合成的siRNA转染PK-15细胞,72 h后检测细胞上清PERV反转录酶活性及细胞内pol基因拷贝数并评价沉默效果。结果:反转录酶活性及pol基因拷贝数检测结果表明,设计的3条Stealth siRNA序列中,位于pol基因3272～3296 bp的序列能有效沉默PERV。结论:RNAi方法可有效使猪源PK-15细胞中的PERV沉默,为进一步研究天然抗病毒分子与PERV的相互作用提供了实验基础,同时也为猪源异种移植研究中去除PERV提供了一种可供尝试的方法。