Spontaneous Activation of Quiescent Uq Transposable Elements during Endosperm Development in Zea Mays

This study addresses the question of the activation of quiescent transposable elements in maize breeding lines. The a-ruq reporter allele of the Uq transposable element system expresses Uq activity (spots or sectors of spots in otherwise colorless aleurone tissue) when exposed to various genotypes of assorted maize inbred lines lacking any active Uq element. This activation of quiescent Uq elements occurs randomly during the growth of the endosperm. It is concluded that there are components in the genome that enhance the rare activation of quiescent Uq elements. Further, it seems that this activation occurs in the absence of any stress-inducing treatment, but that normal growth conditions provide sufficient stimulus for such activation.     

Purification of duck growth hormone and cloning of the complementary DNA

Duck growth hormone (GH) was isolated and purified from duck pituitaries by salt precipitation and HPLC on reverse-phase C18 columns. The duck GH was homogeneous as shown by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a molecular weight of 22,000. The cDNA was synthesized and cloned in Escherichia coli using EcoRI linkers and pBR322 as vector. The positive clones were selected and sequenced. The full-length duck GH cDNA contains 820 nucleotide pairs with an open reading frame coding for the precursor form duck GH of 216 amino-acid residues. The partial amino-acid sequence from the protein completely agrees with that derived from the cDNA, with Phe as the first residue in mature duck GH preceded by a 27-residue hydrophobic signal peptide. The duck GH is almost completely homologous to the chicken GH, with only three conservative substitutions (Ser for Thr, His for Tyr and Lys for Arg) and one deletion (Ala) in the duck GH sequence. Comparison of amino-acid sequence of duck GH with that of various species reveals 56%, 73% and 40% homologies with GHs of human, rat and salmon, respectively.     

Cloning and sequencing of bullfrog growth hormone complementary DNA

Total mRNA was isolated from the pituitary glands of bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), purified by affinity chromatography with oligo(dT)-cellulose columns. The cDNA was synthesized and cloned in Escherichia coli using EcoRI linkers and pBR322 as vector. The cDNA library was screened by hybridization with 32P-labeled duck growth hormone (GH) cDNA. A positive clone was selected and sequenced. The full-length bullfrog GH cDNA contains 950 nucleotide pairs with an open reading frame coding for the precursor GH of 215 amino-acid residues. The partial amino-acid sequence from the protein confirms that derived from the cDNA, with Phe as the first residue in the mature bullfrog GH preceded by a 25-residue hydrophobic signal peptide. The bullfrog GH shares sequence homology with those of other vertebrate species in the following order: duck (61% protein sequence homology; 67% cDNA homology), rat (56%; 61%), human (47%; 57%) and salmon (42%; 50%).     

Selective inhibition of glycoprotein-processing enzymes. Differential inhibition of glucosidases I and II in cell culture

In this study, we compared the effects of 2,6-dideoxy-2,6-imino-7-O-(beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-D-glycero-L-gulohep titol (MDL) to those of the glucosidase I inhibitor, castanospermine, on the purified processing enzymes glucosidases I and II. WE also compared the effects of these two inhibitors on glycoprotein processing in cell culture using influenza virus-infected Madin-Darby canine kidney cells as a model system. With the purified processing enzymes, castanospermine was a better inhibitor of glucosidase I than of glucosidase II, whereas MDL is more effective against glucosidase II than glucosidase I. In cell culture at the appropriate dose, MDL also preferentially affected glucosidase II. Thus, at 250 micrograms/ml MDL, the major [3H]glucose-labeled (or [3H]mannose-labeled) glycopeptide from the viral hemagglutinin was susceptible to endoglucosaminidase H, and the oligosaccharide liberated by this treatment was characterized as a Glc2Man7-9GlcNAc on the basis of size, resistance to digestion by glucosidase I (but sensitivity to glucosidase II), methylation analysis, and Smith degradation studies. These data indicate that at appropriate concentrations of MDL (250 micrograms/ml), one can selectively inhibit glucosidase II in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. However, at higher concentrations of inhibitor (500 micrograms/ml), both enzymes are apparently affected. Since MDL did not greatly inhibit the synthesis of lipid-linked saccharides or the synthesis of protein or RNA, it should be a useful tool for studies on the biosynthesis and role of N-linked oligosaccharides in glycoprotein function.     

Biomass yields and energetic yields of oleaginous yeasts in batch culture

This article provides the analysis on biomass yields and energetic yields of the oleaginous yeasts. The biomass yields of the oleaginous yeasts are consistently lower than nonoleaginous microorganisms, whereas their energetic yields are higher. Data inconsistencies of literature are explained by the variation of energy contents of oleaginous yeasts.     

Ultrastructure of the frontal organ in Convoluta and Macrostomum spp.: significance for models of the turbellarian archetype

Present models of turbellarian evolution depict the organism with a frontal organ — a complex of glands whose necks emerge at the anterior tip of the body — and therefore imply that this organ is homologous throughout the Turbellaria. However, comparisons of representatives of the Acoela and Macrostomida, two putatively primitive orders of the Turbellaria, show that frontal organs in these two are not similar in ultrastructure or histochemistry. The acoel Convoluta pulchra had a prominent cluster of frontal mucous glands whose necks emerged together in a frontal pore at the exact apical pole of the organism, and an array of smaller glands of at least five other types opened at the anterior end, separately from and ventral to this pore. The frontal organs (Stirndrüsen) of two species of Macrostomum on the other hand, comprised an array of discretely emerging necks of at least two gland types including one with rhabdiform (rhammite) and one with globular mucous secretion granules neither of which emerge at the apical pole. In neither species did the organ appear to be sensory. Our findings indicate a low probability of homology between the frontal glands of the Acoela and Macrostomida.     

Is the Turbellaria polyphyletic?

Within the last two decades, syntheses of both light-microscopic and ultrastructural characters have shown that there are three well-defined monophyletic groups within the Platyhelminthes: 1) the Catenulidale, 2) the Nemertodermatida-Acoela, and 3) the Haplopharyngida-Macrostomida-Polycladida-Neoophora (+ parasitic platyhelminth classes). However, the relationships among these three groups are problematic. The possible apomorphies that would unite them are either not true homologues (i.e. frontal organ), are mutually conflicting (i.e. 9+1 axoneme in spermatozoa vs. biflagellate spermatozoa, epidermal ciliary rootlet structure, and protonephridia), or are unrooted with any outgroup and hence untestable or uncertain as apomorphies (protonephridia, mode of epidermal replacement, absence of accessory centrioles on cilia). The chief obstacle to deciphering the relationships of these groups is the lack of information on them; presently available information is insufficient to test potential synapomorphies and insufficient also to allow agreement upon a narrowly defined outgroup for the Turbellaria.A view consistent with the present evidence (and admittedly an unsatisfactory view) is to regard the Turbellaria (and hence the Platyhelminthes) as polyphyletic, consisting of three separate and unrelatable groups.     

Is the large-male mating advantege in anurans an epiphenomenon?

Summary This study examines the idea that variation in forelimb length among male anurans influences reproductive success, and does so independently of body size. Analyses of covariance and multivariate analyses of morphological data for five species of explosives breeders are used to test the prediction that for species in which male-male displacements contribute to variation in male reproductive success, amplectant males have longer forelimbs than do non-amplectant males at any body length. The findings for four of five species are in agreement with expectation. The results lend support to the suggestion that for explosive-breeding anurans, the large-male mating advantage may not be a consequence of large body size per se, but rather is due to the fact that large males have longer forelimbs with which to grasp females securely during amplexus and thus resist displacements by competing males.     

Isolation and characterization of a new 40-kilodalton protein from bovine cardiac muscle

A new protein having a subunit weight of 40,000 has been purified from myosin-extracted bovine cardiac myofibrils. Its amino acid composition and isoelectric point are distinct from actin, eu-actinin, and a variety of sarcoplasmic proteins of similar size. Affinity-purified antibodies made to this protein only react with a single 40-kDa protein band from cardiac myofibrils on immunoblots. The anti-40-kDa protein also shows cross-reactivities with cardiac myofibrils from rabbits, rats, and chickens. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrate that the 40-kDa protein is localized at the Z-bands of cardiac myofibrils and at the intercalated discs. The antibody did not react with skeletal muscle myofibrils by immunofluorescence or immunoblotting. It appears that the 40-kDa protein may play a role in the strong attachments between adjacent myofibrils in cardiac muscle.     

Independence of exercise hyperpnea and acidosis during high-intensity exercise in ponies

We investigated arterial PCO2 (PaCO2) and pH (pHa) responses in ponies during 6-min periods of high-intensity treadmill exercise. Seven normal, seven carotid body-denervated (2 wk-4 yr) (CBD), and five chronic (1-2 yr) lung (hilar nerve)-denervated (HND) ponies were studied during three levels of constant load exercise (7 mph-11%, 7 mph-16%, and 7 mph-22% grade). Mean pHa for each group of ponies became alkaline in the first 60 s (between 7.45 and 7.52) (P less than 0.05) at all work loads. At 6 min pHa was at or above rest at 7 mph-11%, moderately acidic at 7 mph-16% (7.32-7.35), and markedly acidic at 7 mph-22% (7.20-7.27) for all groups of ponies. Yet with no arterial acidosis at 7 mph 11%, normal ponies decreased PaCO2 below rest (delta PaCO2) by 5.9 Torr at 90 s and 7.8 Torr by 6 min of exercise (P less than 0.05). With a progressively more acid pHa at the two higher work loads in normal ponies, delta PaCO2 was 7.3 and 7.8 Torr by 90 s and 9.9 and 11.4 Torr by 6 min, respectively (P less than 0.05). CBD ponies became more hypocapnic than the normal group at 90 s (P less than 0.01) and tended to have greater delta PaCO2 at 6 min. The delta PaCO2 responses in normal and HND ponies were not significantly different (P greater than 0.1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)