Distribution of sewage indicated by Clostridium perfringens at a deep-water disposal site after cessation of sewage disposal.

Clostridium perfringens, a marker of domestic sewage contamination, was enumerated in sediment samples obtained from the vicinity of the 106-Mile Site 1 month and 1 year after cessation of sewage disposal at this site. C. perfringens counts in sediments collected at the disposal site and from stations 26 nautical miles (ca. 48 km) and 50 nautical miles (ca. 92 km) to the southwest of the site were, in general, more than 10-fold higher than counts from an uncontaminated reference site. C. perfringens counts at the disposal site were not significantly different between 1992 and 1993, suggesting that sewage sludge had remained in the benthic environment at this site. At stations where C. perfringens counts were elevated (i.e., stations other than the reference station), counts were generally higher in the top 1 cm and decreased down to 5 cm. In some cases, C. perfringens counts in the bottom 4 or 5 cm showed a trend of higher counts in 1993 than in 1992, suggesting bioturbation. We conclude that widespread sludge contamination of the benthic environment has persisted for at least 1 year after cessation of ocean sewage disposal at the 106-Mile Site.     

Rapid purification of the oxygenase component of toluene dioxygenase from a polyol-responsive monoclonal antibody.

A monoclonal antibody designated 302 beta that is specific for the beta subunit of the oxygenase component (ISPTOL) of toluene dioxygenase from Pseudomonas putida F1 was used to prepare an immunoaffinity column. ISPTOL in cell extracts of Escherichia coli JM109(pDTG611) bound to the column, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent elution-screening assay with different combinations of polyols and kosmotropic anions was used to determine the conditions necessary for recovery of active enzyme. Elution from an 8-ml antibody column with 50 mM 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonate buffer (pH 6.8) containing 50% ethylene glycol, 1.0 M ammonium sulfate, 1.0 mM dithiothreitol, and 0.2 mM ferrous ammonium sulfate gave approximately 2 mg of ISPTOL with a specific activity that was more than 300 times the specific activity previously obtained.     

Regio- and stereospecific oxidation of 9,10-dihydroanthracene and 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene by naphthalene dioxygenase: structure and absolute stereochemistry of metabolites.

The oxidation of 9,10-dihydroanthracene and 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene was examined with mutant and recombinant strains expressing naphthalene dioxygenase from Pseudomonas putida (NCIB 9816.4. Salicylate-induced cells of P. putida strain 9816/11 and isopropylthiogalactopyranoside-induced cells of Escherichia coli JM109(DE3)(pDTG141) oxidized 9,10-dihydroanthracene to (+)-cis-1R,2S)-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2,9,10-tetrahydroanthracene (> 95% relative yield; > 95% enantiomeric excess) as the major product. 9-Hydroxy-9,10-dihydroanthracene (< 5% relative yield) was a minor product formed by both organisms. The same cells oxidized 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene to (+)-cis-(3S,4R)-3,4-dihydroxy-3,4,9,10-tetrahydrophenanthrene (70% relative yield; > 95% enantiomeric excess) and (+)-(S)-9-hydroxy-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene (30% relative yield). The major reaction catalyzed by naphthalene dioxygenase with 9,10-dihydroanthracene and 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene was stereospecific dihydroxylation in which both of the previously undescribed cis-diene diols were of R configuration at the benzylic center adjacent to the bridgehead carbon atom. The results suggest that for benzocylic substrates, the location of benzylic carbons influences the type of reaction(s) catalyzed by naphthalene dioxygenase.     

Realized Sampling Variances of Estimates of Genetic Parameters and the Difference between Genetic and Phenotypic Correlations

A data set of 1572 heritability estimates and 1015 pairs of genetic and phenotypic correlation estimates, constructed from a survey of published beef cattle genetic parameter estimates, provided a rare opportunity to study realized sampling variances of genetic parameter estimates. The distribution of both heritability estimates and genetic correlation estimates, when plotted against estimated accuracy, was consistent with random error variance being some three times the sampling variance predicted from standard formulae. This result was consistent with the observation that the variance of estimates of heritabilities and genetic correlations between populations were about four times the predicted sampling variance, suggesting few real differences in genetic parameters between populations. Except where there was a strong biological or statistical expectation of a difference, there was little evidence for differences between genetic and phenotypic correlations for most trait combinations or for differences in genetic correlations between populations. These results suggest that, even for controlled populations, estimating genetic parameters specific to a given population is less useful than commonly believed. A serendipitous discovery was that, in the standard formula for theoretical standard error of a genetic correlation estimate, the heritabilities refer to the estimated values and not, as seems generally assumed, the true population values.     

A comparative study of the glomerular peripolar cell and the renin-secreting cell in twelve mammalian species

The peripolar cell is a glomerular epithelial cell situated within Bowman's capsule at its vascular pole. It is believed to be a secretory cell which forms part of the juxtaglomerular apparatus. Scanning electron microscopy was used to perform a comparative study of the morphology and number of peripolar cells in twelve mammalian species. The number of renin-secreting cells in kidney sections stained by renin antibodies and immunocytochemistry was counted. There was a marked inter-species variation in the number, size and appearance of peripolar cells. They were largest and most abundant in sheep and goat and fewest in dog, cow and human. There was no correlation between the numbers of peripolar cells and renin-secreting cells. This does not support the view that the peripolar cell is part of the juxtaglomerular apparatus.     

4-Hydroxybenzoate-coenzyme A ligase from Rhodopseudomonas palustris: purification, gene sequence, and role in anaerobic degradation.

Anaerobic metabolism of most aromatic acids is initiated by coenzyme A thioester formation. Rhodopseudomonas palustris grows well under anaerobic, phototrophic conditions with many aromatic acids, including benzoate and 4-hydroxybenzoate, as a carbon source. A coenzyme A ligase that reacts with 4-hydroxybenzoate was purified from 4-hydroxybenzoate-grown cells of R. palustris. This enzyme required MgATP, reduced coenzyme A, and 4-hydroxybenzoate, benzoate, or cyclohex-1,4-dienecarboxylate for optimal activity but also used phosphopantetheine, cyclohex-2,5-dienecarboxylate, and 4-fluorobenzoate at lower rates. The 4-hydroxybenzoate-coenzyme A ligase differed in molecular characteristics from a previously described benzoate-coenzyme A ligase from R. palustris, and the two ligases did not cross-react immunologically. The gene encoding the 4-hydroxybenzoate enzyme was cloned and sequenced. The deduced gene product showed about 20% amino acid identity with bacterial coenzyme A ligases involved in aerobic degradation of aromatic acids. An R. palustris mutant carrying a disrupted 4-hydroxybenzoate-coenzyme A ligase gene was unable to grow with 4-hydroxybenzoate under anaerobic conditions, indicating that the enzyme is essential for anaerobic degradation of this compound.     

Mutational analysis of human papillomavirus E4 proteins: identification of structural features important in the formation of cytoplasmic E4/cytokeratin networks in epithelial cells.

We have previously demonstrated that human papillomavirus type 1 (HPV 1) and 16 (HPV 16) E4 proteins form cytoplasmic filamentous networks which specifically colocalize with cytokeratin intermediate-filament (IF) networks when expressed in simian virus 40-transformed keratinocytes. The HPV 16 (but not the HPV 1) E4 protein induced the collapse of the cytokeratin networks. (S. Roberts, I. Ashmole, G. D. Johnson, J. W. Kreider, and P. H. Gallimore, Virology 197:176-187, 1993). The mode of interaction of E4 with the cytokeratin IFs is unknown. To identify E4 sequences important in mediating this interaction, we have constructed a large panel of mutant HPV (primarily HPV 1) E4 proteins and expressed them by using the same simian virus 40-epithelial expression system. Mutation of HPV 1 E4 residues 10 to 14 (LLGLL) abrogated the formation of cytoplasmic filamentous networks. This sequence corresponds to a conserved motif, LLXLL, found at the N terminus of other E4 proteins, and similar results were obtained on deletion of the HPV 16 motif, LLKLL (residues 12 to 16). Our findings indicate that this conserved motif is likely to play a central role in the association between E4 and the cytokeratins. An HPV 1 E4 mutant protein containing a deletion of residues 110 to 115 induced the collapse of the cytokeratin IFs in a manner analogous to the HPV 16 E4 protein. The sequence deleted, DLDDFC, is highly conserved between cutaneous E4 proteins. HPV 1 E4 residues 42 to 80, which are rich in charged amino acids, appeared to be important in the cytoplasmic localization of E4. In addition, we have mapped the N-terminal residues of HPV 1 E4 16-kDa and 10/11-kDa polypeptides expressed by using the baculovirus system and shown that they begin at tyrosine 16 and alanine 59, respectively. Similar-sized E4 proteins are also found in vivo. N-terminal deletion proteins, which closely resemble the 16-kDa and 10/11-kDa species, expressed in keratinocytes were both cytoplasmic and nuclear but did not form cytoplasmic filamentous networks. These findings support the postulate that N-terminal proteolytic processing of the E1-- E4 protein may modulate its function in vivo.     

Identification of a gene that complements an Arabidopsis mutant deficient in chloroplast omega 6 desaturase activity.

Membrane lipids of the fad6 (formerly fadC) mutant of Arabidopsis, which is deficient in chloroplast omega 6 desaturase activity, have increased levels of monounsaturated fatty acids and are deficient in trienoic fatty acids. A putative fad6 cDNA clone was isolated by probing a cDNA library with a degenerate oligonucleotide based on a conserved region within known omega 3 desaturase genes. Expression of the cDNA in transgenic plants of a fad6 mutant restored normal levels of all fatty acids. When used as a hybridization probe, the cDNA identified a restriction fragment-length polymorphism that co-segregated with the fad6 mutation. Thus, on the basis of a genetic complementation test and genetic map position, the fad6 gene is encoded by the cDNA. The cDNA encoded a 418-amino acid polypeptide of 47,727 D that displayed a high degree of sequence similarity to a delta 12 desaturase from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis. The fad6 gene exhibited less sequence homology to any known higher plant desaturase, including an endoplasmic reticulum-localized omega 6 desaturase corresponding to the Arabidopsis fad2 gene.     

The Location of a Disease-Associated Polymorphism and Genomic Structure of the Human 52-kDa Ro/SSA Locus (SSA1)

Sera from approximately 30% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) contain high titers of autoantibodies that bind to the 52-kDa Ro/SSA protein. We previously detected polymorphisms in the 52-kDa Ro/SSA gene (SSA1) with restriction enzymes, one of which is strongly associated with the presence of SLE (P < 0.0005) in African Americans. A higher disease frequency and more severe forms of the disease are commonly noted among these female patients. To determine the location and nature of this polymorphism, we obtained two clones that span 8.5 kb of the 52-kDa Ro/SSA locus including its upstream regulatory region. Six exons were identified, and their nucleotide sequences plus adjacent noncoding regions were determined. No differences were found between these exons and the coding region of one of the reported cDNAs. The disease-associated polymorphic site suggested by a restriction enzyme map and confirmed by DNA amplification and nucleotide sequencing was present upstream of exon 1. This polymorphism may be a genetic marker for a disease-related variation in the coding region for the protein or in the upstream regulatory region of this gene. Although this RFLP is present in Japanese, it is not associated with lupus in this race.