Traditionalism and Modernity in the Music and Dance of Oceania: Essays in Honour of Barbara B. Smith.

Traditionalism and Modernity in the Music and Dance of Oceania: Essays in Honour of Barbara B. Smith. Helen Reeves Lawrence and Don Niles. eds. Oceania Monograph 52. Sydney: University of Sydney, 2001. 267 pp.     

A genetically encoded indicator for monitoring intracellular chloride

Inhibitory drives in the nervous system are provided by synapses operating mostly through Cl⁻ ion channels. We describe a novel CFP-YFP-based fluorescence Cl⁻ indicator, Cl-sensor, characterized by a high sensitivity, which can be successfully used as a tool for monitoring intracellular Cl⁻ in various biological preparations. Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 39, Nos. 4/5, pp. 380–381, July–October, 2007.     

The Mhc class II of the Black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) consists of low numbers of B and Y genes with variable diversity and expression

We found that the Black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) possess low numbers of Mhc class II B (BLB) and Y (YLB) genes with variable diversity and expression. We have therefore shown, for the first time, that another bird species (in this case, a wild lek-breeding galliform) shares several features of the simple Mhc of the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus). The Black grouse BLB genes showed the same level of polymorphism that has been reported in chicken, and we also found indications of balancing selection in the peptide-binding regions. The YLB genes were less variable than the BLB genes, also in accordance with earlier studies in chicken, although their functional significance still remains obscure. We hypothesize that the YLB genes could have been under purifying selection, just as the mammal Mhc-E gene cluster.     

Chlororespiration and cyclic electron flow around PSI during photosynthesis and plant stress response

Besides major photosynthetic complexes of oxygenic photosynthesis, new electron carriers have been identified in thylakoid membranes of higher plant chloroplasts. These minor components, located in the stroma lamellae, include a plastidial NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDH) complex and a plastid terminal plastoquinone oxidase (PTOX). The NDH complex, by reducing plastoquinones (PQs), participates in one of the two electron transfer pathways operating around photosystem I (PSI), the other likely involving a still uncharacterized ferredoxin-plastoquinone reductase (FQR) and the newly discovered PGR5. The existence of a complex network of mechanisms regulating expression and activity of the NDH complex, and the presence of higher amounts of NDH complex and PTOX in response to environmental stress conditions the phenotype of mutants, indicate that these components likely play a role in the acclimation of photosynthesis to changing environmental conditions. Based on recently published data, we propose that the NDH-dependent cyclic pathway around PSI participates to the ATP supply in conditions of high ATP demand (such as high temperature or water limitation) and together with PTOX regulates cyclic electron transfer activity by tuning the redox state of intersystem electron carriers. In response to severe stress conditions, PTOX associated to the NDH and/or the PGR5 pathway may also limit electron pressure on PSI acceptor and prevent PSI photoinhibition.     

Isoelectric profiles of human erythropoietin are different in serum and urine

By adding a step of immunoaffinity to the method we had previously developed for analysing erythropoietin (EPO) in urine, we were able to study the isoelectric profiles of this hormone in human serum samples. This method was sensitive enough to investigate samples presenting physiological levels of this hormone. Comparison with the corresponding profiles in urine showed that natural EPO was systematically more acidic in urine. The acidification process, which was not patent in the non-human primate Cynomolgus macaque, clearly also affected recombinant EPO when injected into humans. This process was unrelated to any enzymatic activity in urine since the incubation of natural or recombinant EPO in urine induced no transformation of their isoelectric profiles. The nature and mechanism of the structural modifications occurring during the renal handling of this hormone remain to be investigated.     

Production of Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi cutinase in Fusarium venenatum A3/5

Fusarium venenatum A3/5 was transformed using the Aspergillus niger expression plasmid, pIGF, in which the coding sequence for the F. solani f. sp. pisi cutinase gene had been inserted in frame, with a KEX2 cleavage site, with the truncated A. niger glucoamylase gene under control of the A. niger glucoamylase promoter. The transformant produced up to 21 U cutinase l⁻¹ in minimal medium containing glucose or starch as the primary carbon source. Glucoamylase (165 U l⁻¹ or 8 mg l⁻¹) was also produced. Both the transformant and the parent strain produced cutinase in medium containing cutin.