The size of the extracellular space in the isolated midgut ofManduca sexta

The size of the extracellular space in the isolated midgut ofManduca sexta measured statically with labeled sucrose and with labeled inulin was 48 and 50 percent of tissue water respectively. Both labeled sulfate and labeled mannitol yielded loading spaces which approached the volume of the tissue water with increasing pulse time and are not valid markers of the extracellular space. A washout method yielded unreliable values for the sucrose and inulin spaces and its use cannot be justified using presently available midgut chamber designs. Values of the sucrose space measured statistically in this study and other studies using different Lepidopteran larvae and different perfusion chambers range from 42 to 48 percent of the tissue water. Agreement between published values of the sulfate space and these values of the sucrose space is fortuitous, the labeling pulses being short enough to yield approximately half saturation of the actual sulfate loading space.     

IDENTIFICATION OF SEROTONIN WITHIN VITAL-STAINED NEURONS FROM LEECH GANGLIA

Abstract— We have measured serotonin (5-HT) within large and small neurosomata which are vitally stained by Neutral Red dye. A micro-radioenzymatic technique which is sensitive to 50fmol of 5-HT was employed on intact ganglia, 75 μm Retzius Cells (RZ) and a 10 μm ventro-lateral cell (VL) taken from the leech Macrobdella decora. The stain does not affect the levels of 5-HT in either ganglia or RZ. The VL cell body contains 5-HT at concentrations of at least 100 m m . Microspectrofluorometry of all the ganglionic neurosomata which fluoresce following the Falck-Hillarp formaldehyde condensation reaction detected rapidly-fading emission peaks of 509–523 nanometers. We conclude that all seven fluorescent neurons in the leech ganglion very probably contain serotonin.     

Light-scattering studies of bull spermatozoa. II. Interaction and concentration effects.

The complete autocorrelation function of the intensity fluctuations of laser light scattered from motile bull spermatozoa is shown to depend upon several factors not previously considered. Samples of bull spermatozoa generally contain a substantial proportion of dead cells, which give rise to slowly decaying components of the autocorrelation function. Whereas previous work has concentrated on the form of the fast decaying autocorrelation component, we are concerned here with the relative amplitude and shape of the slow autocorrelation component and the general form of the composite function. In principle, the relative amplitudes of the fast and slow components of the autocorrelation function can be used as an assay of the proportion of swimming cells. We show that this amplitude ratio depends upon cell concentration, scattering cell geometry, and scattering angle. A simple model is developed to explain these results on the basis of the asymmetry of light scattered from these cells, motile/immotile cell interactions, wall-swimming effects, and geotactic reorientation of dead cells.     

The Scyphomedusae of the Rockall Trough, northeastern Atlantic Ocean

An extensive series of samples between the surface and 2700m depth have been taken in the Rockall Trough between 1973 and1978. The coronate medusae, in decreasing order of abundanceoccurring in the Trough are: Periphylla periphylla, Atolla wyvillei,A. parva, A. vanhoeffeni and Nausitho? globifera. The last specieswas rare and no information on its biology was obtained. Theother species breed within the Trough, the three Atolla speciesthroughout the year. Few large mature Periphylla periphyllawere caught and its breeding season remains undefined. Theirmorphology and vertical and geographical distributions are brieflydiscussed. The semaeostomid medusae, Pelagia noctiluca, Aureliaaurita and Cyanea lamarckii also occurred, the latter two speciesconfined to the Rockall Bank.     

The snRNP E protein multigene family contains five pseudogenes with common mutations.

Sequence data from three previously-uncharacterized members of the snRNP E protein multigene family suggest that each is a non-transcribed processed pseudogene, even though one clone has the potential to code for a full-length protein with greater than 90% similarity to previously-characterized E protein cDNAs. Each of the newly-analyzed family members is without introns, contains a tract of polyadenylic acid residues, and is flanked by short direct repeats. In addition, the three sequences all contain point mutations that distinguish them from the E protein coding sequence. Seven point mutations are common to the three sequences described here and to two previously-described E protein pseudogenes. Although all of these mutations are transitions, only 5 of 7 could have been generated by deamination of methylated cytosines in inactive genes. Thus, the common mutations in the pseudogenes suggest an origin other than the expressed gene that we have described. Allelic variants for two of the pseudogenes were detected and repetitive elements are located near four of the five E protein pseudogenes that have been characterized.     

The rapid purification of 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase on triazine dye affinity matrices.

3-Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.30) and malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.37) were purified to homogeneity on a large scale involving only two sequential affinity-chromatography steps on two triazine dye-Sepharose matrices. Recoveries of both enzymes were in excess of 60%. Malate dehydrogenase could also be purified by a combination of triazine dye affinity chromatography and gel filtration on Ultrogel AcA-44, but this offered no significant advantage over the purely affinity procedure.     

The relationship between the size of mitochondria and the intensity of light that they scatter in different energetic states

The intensity of light scattered at 90° to the incident beam and the effective hydrodynamic radii of mitochondria incubated under a variety of conditions have been measured. Addition of high concentrations of uncouplers to respiring mitochondria resulted in a decrease in scatter which was not due to swelling. Addition of valinomycin to mitochondria depleted of substrate in K⁺-free medium produced an increase in scatter that was not due to shrinking. It is concluded that changes in the intensity of scattered light are not reliable indices of changes of volume of mitochondria, and that changes in conformation with changes in metabolic state dominate changes in light scatter. A molecular mechanism for the effect of metabolic state upon the scattered intensity is suggested.