We report on the identification, molecular cloning, and characterization of
an alpha1,3 fucosyltransferase (alpha1,3FT) expressed by the nematode,
Caenorhabditis elegans . Although C. elegans glycoconjugates do not express
the Lewis x antigen Galbeta1-- >4[Fucalpha1-->3]GlcNAcbeta-->R,
detergent extracts of adult C.elegans contain an alpha1,3FT that can
fucosylate both nonsialylated and sialylated acceptor glycans to generate
the Lexand sialyl Lexantigens, as well as the lacdiNAc-containing acceptor
GalNAcbeta1-->4GlcNAcbeta1-- >R to generate GalNAcbeta1-->4
[Fucalpha1-->3]GlcNAcbeta1-->R. A search of the C.elegans genome
database revealed the existence of a gene with 20-23% overall identity to
all five cloned human alpha1,3FTs. The putative cDNA for the C.elegans
alpha1,3FT (CEFT-1) was amplified by PCR from a cDNA lambdaZAP library,
cloned, and sequenced. COS7 cells transiently transfected with cDNA
encoding CEFT-1 express the Lex, but not sLexantigen. The CEFT-1 in the
transfected cell extracts can synthesize Lex, but not sialyl Lex, using
exogenous acceptors. A second fucosyltransferase activity was detected in
extracts of C. elegans that transfers Fuc in alpha1,2 linkage to Gal
specifically on type-1 chains. The discovery of alpha-fucosyltransferases
in C. elegans opens the possibility of using this well-characterized
nematode as a model system for studying the role of fucosylated glycans in
the development and survival of C.elegans and possibly other helminths.
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The separate effects of concentration, pH and anion species on intensity of
sourness and astringency of organic acids were evaluated. Judges rated
sourness and astringency intensity of lactic, malic, tartaric and citric
acid solutions at three levels of constant pH varying in normality and at
three levels of constant concentration varying in pH. To assess the
comparative sourness and astringency of the organic acid anions of study,
binary acid solutions matched in pH and titratable acidity were also rated.
As pH was decreased in equinormal solutions, both sourness and astringency
increased significantly (P < 0.001). By contrast, as the normality of
the equi-pH solutions was increased, only sourness demonstrated significant
increases (P < 0.001) while astringency remained constant or decreased
slightly. At the lowest normality tested, all solutions were more
astringent than sour (P < 0.05). Although lactic acid was found to be
significantly more sour than citric acid (P < 0.05), no other sourness
or astringency differences among the organic acid anions were noted. This
study demonstrates for the first time that astringency elicited by acids is
a function of pH and not concentration or anion species, and confirms that
sourness is independently influenced by concentration, pH and anion species
of the acid.
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Complete coding regions of the 18S rRNA gene of an enteropneust
hemichordate and an echinoid and ophiuroid echinoderm were obtained and
aligned with 18S rRNA gene sequences of all major chordate clades and four
outgroups. Gene sequences were analyzed to test morphological character
phylogenies and to assess the strength of the signal. Maximum- parsimony
analysis of the sequences fails to support a monophyletic Chordata; the
urochordates form the sister taxon to the hemichordates, and together this
clade plus the echinoderms forms the sister taxon to the cephalochordates
plus craniates. Decay, bootstrap, and tree-length distribution analyses
suggest that the signal for inference of dueterostome phylogeny is weak in
this molecule. Parsimony analysis of morphological plus molecular
characters supports both monophyly of echinoderms plus enteropneust
hemichordates and a sister group relationship of this clade to chordates.
Evolutionary parsimony does not support chordate monophyly.
Neighbor-joining, Fitch-Margoliash, and maximum-likelihood analyses support
a chordate lineage that is the sister group to an
echinoderm-plus-hemichordate lineage. The results illustrate both the
limitations of the 18S rRNA molecule alone for high- level phylogeny
inference and the importance of considering both molecular and
morphological data in phylogeny reconstruction.
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Abstract 1. The influence of infestation of the larval host plant Gentiana cruciata on the egg‐laying preferences of the xerophilous ecotype of Alcon Blue butterfly (Maculinea alcon) was studied in a semi‐dry grassland area (Aggtelek Karst Region, Northern Hungary). 2. We examined whether oviposition patterns of females differed when G. cruciata stems were uninfested compared with when they were infested by an aphid (Aphis gentianae) or a rust (Puccinia gentianae) species. 3. Females laid more than 90% of their eggs on fertile, uninfested G. cruciata stems, although these stems comprised only ~ 50% of the total stems available. Stems infested by aphids were similar to uninfested ones in properties that had a strong correlation with egg numbers, and yet there were significantly fewer eggs on infested stems than on intact ones. 4. Females never laid eggs on parts of Gentiana stems infested by aphids, and the presence of Lasius paralienus ants, which have a mutualistic interaction with Aphis gentianae, did not increase the repulsive effect of aphids. Infection of Gentiana by Puccinia did not influence the egg‐laying behaviour of females, even though the flowers and buds of infested stems exhibited a delayed development. 5. Aphid infestation can influence butterfly oviposition patterns through both direct and indirect effects. The presence of aphids directly excluded oviposition, but our data also indicated the possibility of an indirect effect of aphid infestation. Stems that had no aphids at the last egg counting, but were infested prior to it, had significantly fewer eggs than those that were never infested. 相似文献
The soils of the Pampas are thought to be generally non-contaminated but there is growing evidence of trace element accumulation at some specific sites. The goal of this study was to measure the current levels of the main Potentially Toxic Elements (PTE) in the top horizon and in specific soil profiles so that we would establish the baseline concentrations of these elements. Eighty-eight top soils and three soil profiles were sampled. The samples were acid digested. Arsenic, boron, barium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, silver, selenium and zinc were determined with inductively coupled argon plasma emission spectrometry (ICPES).
All of the values found are within the normal range for uncontaminated soils as reported from several continents. Elements with high environmental risk potential are lower than the admissible range of the European Union and some of them are orders of magnitude lower than those of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) 501 levels. Potentially Toxic Elements contents increased with depth or showed a maximum concentration at the B2 horizon. This is related to the parent material and the pedogenetic processes but not to recent contamination. Soil profiles showed higher concentrations of PTE in clayey horizons. However, these relationships did not appear in top soil samples in any soil Great Group studied. The shown data establishes a baseline for PTE concentrations for Pampas soils. 相似文献
The Gram negative anaerobic bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis has long been recognized as a causative agent of periodontitis. Periodontitis is a chronic infectious disease of the tooth
supporting tissues eventually leading to tooth-loss. Capsular polysaccharide (CPS) of P. gingivalis has been shown to be an important virulence determinant. Seven capsular serotypes have been described. Here, we used micro-array
based comparative genomic hybridization analysis (CGH) to analyze a representative of each of the capsular serotypes and a
non-encapsulated strain against the highly virulent and sequenced W83 strain. We defined absent calls using Arabidopsis thaliana negative control probes, with the aim to distinguish between aberrations due to mutations and gene gain/loss. 相似文献
ABSTRACT. Entodiniomorphid ciliates are often present in the colons of wild apes. In captive apes the infection tends to gradually disappear, with the exception of Troglodytella abrassarti . We used fecal examinations to screen the gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) in European (Czech Republic, UK) and Australian Zoos to explore the ape-to-ape transmission pattern of T. abrassarti . Gorillas from two out of three European Zoos were positive for T. abrassarti , while gorillas from the Australian Zoo were negative. We documented a horizontal transmission of T. abrassarti to a non-infected adult gorilla introduced into a Troglodytella -positive group in the Prague Zoo and traced the origin of the ciliate infection to the Paignton Zoo (UK) using serial fecal examinations. During this study, two infant gorillas born in the Prague Zoo (CZ) first became positive for T. abrassarti at the age of 9 mo. Ciliate morphology and the sequencing of the small subunit rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer rDNA spacer region revealed that T. abrassarti affects both captive gorillas and chimpanzees. We conclude that zoo transport plays a major role in the distribution of T. abrassarti among captive gorillas. 相似文献