Differential Tolerance of Streptomycetes to Sodium Chloride as a Taxonomic Aid

A survey was made of the NaCl tolerance of approximately 1,300 Streptomyces strains belonging to 313 species. The growth medium of the organisms was supplemented with a graded series of NaCl concentrations (4, 7, 10, and 13%). Only 1.8% of the species could not tolerate 4% NaCl; 26.9% could grow at a maximum of 4%; 49.7% could tolerate a maximum of 7%; 18.8% could grow at a maximum of 10%; and only 2.8% could tolerate 13% NaCl. In evaluating the relationships of NaCl tolerance to various taxonomic features, higher tolerance was statistically associated with the "yellow" and possibly the "white"-spored streptomycetes, whereas the "red"-spored series tended to have lesser tolerance. Higher tolerance was also indicated for spiny-spored species, as a group, than for smooth-spored forms. Likewise, nonproducers of melanin, collectively, were more NaCl tolerant than melanin-producing species. Uniformity of test responses between strains of species studied suggested the usefulness of NaCl tolerance as a taxonomic criterion.     

Rash Associated with Coxsackie A9 Infection

Coxsackie A9 virus was identified by the authors during the fall of 1965 in Montreal in six children with fever and exanthem. Three of the six children were siblings. The exanthem was centrally distributed as described by Lerner et al. and consisted of discrete maculopapules 3 to 4 mm. in diameter. The viral agent was recovered and identified in tissue culture in five cases, while in the sixth Coxsackie type-A lesions were produced in suckling mice. Serological confirmation was obtained in two patients from whom sera were available. In contrast, no exanthem was observed in three older patients with a diagnosis of aseptic meningitis associated with Coxsackie A9 virus. In only one of 16 patients with Coxsackie B virus infection was an exanthem observed during the same period.The true incidence of Coxsackie A9-associated exanthems is difficult to determine because of the benign nature of the disease.     

Neuromuscular development following tetrodotoxin-induced inactivity in mouse embryos

Developmental aspects of the neuromuscular system in mouse embryos chronically paralyzed in utero with tetrodotoxin (TTX) between embryonic days 14 and 18 were studied using biochemical and histological methods. The number of lumbar spinal motoneurons (MNs) was higher in inactive embryos than in controls suggesting a decreased motoneuron cell death. In association with the increase in MN number, choline acetyltransferase activity was significantly increased in both spinal cord and peripheral synaptic sites. Paralyzed muscles exhibited a decreased number of mature myofibers and the nuclei were centrally located. Creatine kinase activity was greatly decreased and total acetylcholine receptor and receptor cluster numbers per myofiber were significantly increased in paralyzed muscles. A similar pattern of changes occurs in the neuromuscular system of the mutant mouse muscular dysgenesis (mdg). However, in contrast to the mdg mutant, tetrodotoxin-treated muscles were similar to controls in their innervation pattern, in the ultrastructural aspects of the excitation–contraction coupling system (i.e., dyads and triads) and in the extent of dihydropyridine binding. Thus, neuromuscular inactivity is not sufficient to impair the pattern of muscle innervation or the appearance of either the triadic junctions or dihydropyridine receptors. These results indicate that alterations of dihydropyridine binding sites and triads in muscular dysgenesis cannot be accounted for by inactivity but rather must reflect a more primary defect involving the structural gene(s) regulating the development of one or more aspects of muscle differentiation.     

Gluconate production by spores of Aspergillus niger

Spores of Aspergillus niger obtained by solid state fermentation on buckwheat seeds produced gluconic acid from glucose with a high yield, near 1.06 g gluconic acid/g glucose, close to the stoichiometric value. The reaction itself could be carried out either with purified biocatalyst or with the whole buckwheat medium resulting from spore production process. 200 g gluconic acid/L were obtained in 200 h with sequential feedings of glucose up to 190 g/L.     

Involvement of putrescine in the inductive rooting phase of poplar shoots raised in vitro

Micropropagated poplar shoots rooted 100% on a rooting medium (A) containing NAA, but they did not root in the absence of auxin (NA). Putrescine, but not spermidine and spermine, promoted rooting up to 42% when added to the NA medium. Cyclohexylamine (CHA), an inhibitor of spermine synthase, also promoted (up to 36%) rooting in the absence of auxin. The inhibitors of polyamine biosynthesis DFMA (α-difluoromethylarginine) and DFMO (α-difluoromethylomithine), aminoguanidine (AG) and methylglyoxal-bis-guanylhydrazone (MGBG), inhibited rooting when applied in the presence of auxin and had no effect in its absence.
The rooting inductive phase (in the presence of auxin) was determined by periodical transfer of shoots from A to NA medium, and by changes in peroxidase activity, to be 7 h. Putrescine (not spermidine and spermine) accumulated to a maximum during the inductive phase. Both putrescine and CHA promoted rooting on NA medium when applied during the first 7 h. In contrast DFMA and AG inhibited rooting during this period. The results point to the involvement of putrescine and its Δ¹-pyrroline pathway, in the inductive phase of rooting in poplar shoots.     

Determination of the kinetic parameters in continuous cultivation byDebaryomyces hansenii grown on D-xylose

Summary The kinetic parameters of the yeastDebaryomyces hansenii grown in continous cultivation on D-xylose were determined by different methods. While the values obtained for μ_m by the steady state and the washout methods only gave a 3% difference, the determined K_s values by the steady state and the maximal biomass output methods led a to a 305% difference. The latter method was suggested to overestimate the K_s value.