Development and intracellular distribution of enzymes of the oxidative pentose phosphate cycle in radish cotyledons

Developmental and compartmentation studies were used to evaluate the relative roles of the oxidative pentose phosphate cycle, the Calvin cycle, and the glycolysis in cotyledons of radish (Raphanus sativus L.).     

On the occurrence of males and production of ephippial eggs in populations of Daphniopsis studeri (Cladocera) in lakes of the Vestfold and Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica

Populations of the cladoceran Daphniopsis studeri Rühe in freshwater and brackish lakes of eastern Antarctica have been thought to consist solely of females that reproduce parthenogenetically by the production of ameiotic subitaneous eggs. This note reports the presence of male D. studeri and the production of ephippial (sexual) eggs in a number of lakes of the Vestfold and Larsemann Hills, which indicate the possibility of sexual reproduction within these populations. Received: 12 May 1997 / Accepted: 8 September 1997     

Clostridium thermoaceticum forms methanol from carbon monoxide in the presence of viologen dyes

Whole cells of Clostridium thermoaceticum, crude extracts of such cells as well as the supernatant of 100 000 × g centrifugations catalyse the reduction of carbon monoxide to methanol in the presence of viologens or cobalt sepulchrate. Without such a mediator methanol could not be detected. The reaction shows a marked optimum at pH 5. The incubation of [5-¹⁴C]methyltetrahydrofolate led only to the formation of ¹⁴C-labeled ethanol; the radioactivity in methanol was negligible. The reaction seems to be catalysed by carbon monoxide dehydrogenase.     

Hepatitis Delta Virus RNA Editing Is Highly Specific for the Amber/W Site and Is Suppressed by Hepatitis Delta Antigen

RNA editing at adenosine 1012 (amber/W site) in the antigenomic RNA of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) allows two essential forms of the viral protein, hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg), to be synthesized from a single open reading frame. Editing at the amber/W site is thought to be catalyzed by one of the cellular enzymes known as adenosine deaminases that act on RNA (ADARs). In vitro, the enzymes ADAR1 and ADAR2 deaminate adenosines within many different sequences of base-paired RNA. Since promiscuous deamination could compromise the viability of HDV, we wondered if additional deamination events occurred within the highly base paired HDV RNA. By sequencing cDNAs derived from HDV RNA from transfected Huh-7 cells, we determined that the RNA was not extensively modified at other adenosines. Approximately 0.16 to 0.32 adenosines were modified per antigenome during 6 to 13 days posttransfection. Interestingly, all observed non-amber/W adenosine modifications, which occurred mostly at positions that are highly conserved among naturally occurring HDV isolates, were found in RNAs that were also modified at the amber/W site. Such coordinate modification likely limits potential deleterious effects of promiscuous editing. Neither viral replication nor HDAg was required for the highly specific editing observed in cells. However, HDAg was found to suppress editing at the amber/W site when expressed at levels similar to those found during HDV replication. These data suggest HDAg may regulate amber/W site editing during virus replication.     

Light harvesting in photosystem II

Water oxidation in photosynthesis takes place in photosystem II (PSII). This photosystem is built around a reaction center (RC) where sunlight-induced charge separation occurs. This RC consists of various polypeptides that bind only a few chromophores or pigments, next to several other cofactors. It can handle far more photons than the ones absorbed by its own pigments and therefore, additional excitations are provided by the surrounding light-harvesting complexes or antennae. The RC is located in the PSII core that also contains the inner light-harvesting complexes CP43 and CP47, harboring 13 and 16 chlorophyll pigments, respectively. The core is surrounded by outer light-harvesting complexes (Lhcs), together forming the so-called supercomplexes, at least in plants. These PSII supercomplexes are complemented by some “extra” Lhcs, but their exact location in the thylakoid membrane is unknown. The whole system consists of many subunits and appears to be modular, i.e., both its composition and organization depend on environmental conditions, especially on the quality and intensity of the light. In this review, we will provide a short overview of the relation between the structure and organization of pigment-protein complexes in PSII, ranging from individual complexes to entire membranes and experimental and theoretical results on excitation energy transfer and charge separation. It will become clear that time-resolved fluorescence data can provide invaluable information about the organization and functioning of thylakoid membranes. At the end, an overview will be given of unanswered questions that should be addressed in the near future.     

Riboflavin, overproduced during sporulation of Ashbya gossypii, protects its hyaline spores against ultraviolet light

Riboflavin (vitamin B₂), essential in tiny amounts as a precursor for oxidoreductase coenzymes, is a yellow pigment. Although it causes cytotoxicity via photoinduced damage of macromolecules, several microorganisms are striking overproducers. A question, unanswered for decades, is whether riboflavin overproducers can benefit from this property. Here, we report an ultraviolet (UV) protective effect of riboflavin. The spores of Ashbya gossypii , a riboflavin-overproducing fungus, are more sensitive to UV than those of Aspergillus nidulans . The addition of riboflavin to suspensions improves the UV resistance of both spore types. Interestingly, we show that regulation of sporulation and riboflavin overproduction in A. gossypii are linked. In batch culture, both were elevated when growth ceased. At constant growth rates, obtained in a chemostat culture, neither was elevated. Supplementation of cultures by cAMP, a known stress signal, negatively affected sporulation as well as riboflavin overproduction, establishing a second, independent argument for the linkage.     

Phosphorus limitation of forest leaf area and net primary production on a highly weathered soil

We tested the hypothesis that P was the nutrient limiting net primary production of a nativeMetrosideros polymorpha forest on a highly weathered montane tropical soil in Hawaii. A factorial experiment used all combinations of three fertilizer treatments: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and a mix of other essential nutrients (OE), consisting primarily of mineral derived cations and excluding N and P. P addition, but not N or OE, increased leaf area index within 12 months, foliar P concentration measured at 18 months, and stem diameter increment within 18 months. Stem growth at 18 months was even greater when trees fertilized with P also received the OE treatment. N and P additions increased leaf litterfall and N and P in combination further increased litterfall. The sequence of responses suggests that increased available P promoted an increase in photosynthetic area which led to increased wood production. P was the essential element most limiting to primary production on old volcanic soil in contrast to the N limitation found on young volcanic soils.     

Effect of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on the turnover of hexokinase II in the rat

Skeletal muscle hexokinase II activity and turnover rates were measured in the normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat. Enzyme activity decreases in the diabetic animal relative to the normal rat; however, the specific activity of hexokinase II is essentially the same for the two conditions. No alteration is observed in the relative rate of hexokinase II synthesis in the normal or diabetic rats, but there is a 3-fold increase in the rate of hexokinase II degradation in the latter group of animals. These results suggest that the primary cause of the well-established decrease in hexokinase II activity in skeletal muscle of the diabetic is an increase in the rate of enzyme degradation.     

Characterization of VAMP-2 gene from marine teleostean, Lateolabrax japonicus

The whole length SPV2 gene of 715 bp, encoding VAMP-2 protein of 110 amino acids from Japanese sea perch, Lateolabrax japonicus, was obtained by using both RT-PCR and anchored PCR strategies while we initiated the structural and functional study on SNARE proteins in marine teleostean. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence indicated that SPV2 has its core arginine residue, a potential N-linked glycosylation site near its N-terminal, and one transmembrane domain in its C-terminal. Advanced structural analysis of bioinformatics approach predicts a coiled-coil α-helix backbone as the characteristic of SPV2 main conformational structure, identical to the structure of rat VAMP-2 obtained by crystallography. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed that SPV2 was generally expressed in 10 neural and non-neural tissues, with the highest concentration in brain and the least in muscle.