"Cap" on the tip of Salmonella flagella

Flagellar filaments isolated intact from a Salmonella short-flagella mutant are unable to serve as nuclei for flagellin polymerization in vitro, whereas the filaments reconstructed in vitro from the mutant flagellin are able to do so. The inability of intact flagella to nucleate flagellin polymerization appears to be common to wild-type bacteria and thus suggests that the tip of intact flagella are generally inactivated or capped in vivo. Careful observations of the tips of intact flagella and reconstructed flagellar filaments of a wild-type species have revealed marked difference between them: the intact flagella usually have blunt ends, whereas reconstructed filaments have concave, "fish-tail" ends. Moreover, a thin structure is often observed attaching to the very end of the intact flagella. We suspect that this "capping" structure is essential to the elongation mechanism of flagellar filaments.     

Heavy meromyosin and subfragment-1 from squid mantle myosin, and Ca-sensitivity of their Mg-ATPases

Heavy meromyosin (HMM) and subfragment-1 (S1) were obtained from squid mantle myosin by tryptic digestion and chymotryptic digestion, respectively. Squid HMM(T) and S1(CT) preparations contained stoichiometric amounts of the two types of light chain subunit; regulatory light chain, LC-2, and essential light chain, LC-1. No difference was detected in the chymotryptic digestibilities of squid mantle myosin in Ca-medium and in EDTA-medium. This is in contrast to the digestibility of scallop adductor myosin. The Mg-ATPase activity of HMM(T) alone and that of acto-HMM(T) were both sensitive to calcium ions. In contrast, the activity of S1(CT) alone and that of acto-S1(CT) were both insensitive to calcium ions. The affinity of HMM(T) for actin was not affected by calcium ions, but the amount of HMM(T) bound to actin was increased by calcium ions from 20% to 60% of the total amount of HMM(T). On the other hand, the actin affinity of S1(CT) and the amount of S1(CT) bound to actin were both unaffected by calcium ions. The role of calcium ions in the regulation of contraction in molluscan muscles is discussed.     

Elastic properties of bacterial flagellar filaments. II. Determination of the modulus of rigidity

Elongation of a helical bacterial flagellar filament subjected to fluid flow was calculated on the assumption that one end of the filament is firmly attached to a substratum. It was found that the quantity [E(d/2 pi r)2 + 2 mu] could be determined by measuring the elongation at various flow rates, where E is Young's modulus, mu the modulus of rigidity, r the radius of the helix, and d the helical pitch. Experiments were carried out to determine the above quantity for Salmonella flagellar filaments assuming a close-coil form. Because the above quantity is almost equal to 2 mu for a helical form with a large radius/pitch ratio, we were able to determine the modulus of rigidity for this kind of flagellar filament from plots of elongation vs. flow rates. The modulus of rigidity was determined to be about 1 X 10(11) dyn/cm2, i.e., 2 orders of magnitude larger than the previously estimated value.     

X-ray diffraction photographs of chicken gizzard G-actin.DNase I complex crystals taken with synchrotron radiation

X-ray diffraction photographs of a chicken gizzard G-actin.DNase I complex crystal have been recorded using the synchrotron radiation beam emitted by the Synchrotron Radiation Source at Daresbury and the Photon Factory at Tsukuba. The resolution limit was extended to 2.4 A and the exposure time was reduced approximately by a factor of 10, when data recorded at the Photon Factory, were compared with those recorded with a conventional rotating-anode source. Using a newly designed Weissenberg camera equipped with a multi-layer line screen, the diffraction data in a 36 degrees oscillation range were recorded on a single film up to 3.5 A resolution.     

Submicromolar levels of calcium control the balance of beating between the two flagella in demembranated models of Chlamydomonas

When detergent-extracted, demembranated cell models of Chlamydomonas were resuspended in reactivation solutions containing less than 10(-8) M Ca++, many models initially swam in helical paths similar to those of intact cells; others swam in circles against the surface of the slide or coverslip. With increasing time after reactivation, fewer models swam in helices and more swam in circles. This transition from helical to circular swimming was the result of a progressive inactivation of one of the axonemes; in the extreme case, one axoneme was completely inactive whereas the other beat with a normal waveform. At these low Ca++ concentrations, the inactivated axoneme was the trans-axoneme (the one farthest from the eyespot) in 70-100% of the models. At 10(-7) or 10(-6) M Ca++, cell models also proceeded from helical to circular swimming as a result of inactivation of one of the axonemes; however, under these conditions the cis-axoneme was usually the one that was inactivated. At 10(-8) M Ca++, most cells continued helical swimming, indicating that both axonemes were remaining relatively active. The progressive, Ca++-dependent inactivation of the trans- or cis-axoneme was reversed by switching the cell models to higher or lower Ca++ concentrations, respectively. A similar reversible, selective inactivation of the trans-flagellum occurred in intact cells swimming in medium containing 0.5 mM EGTA and no added Ca++. The results show that there are functional differences between the two axonemes of Chlamydomonas. The differential responses of the axonemes to submicromolar concentrations of Ca++ may form the basis for phototactic turning.     

Blood clotting factor IX BM Nagoya. Substitution of arginine 180 by tryptophan and its activation by alpha-chymotrypsin and rat mast cell chymase

Factor IX BM Nagoya (IX Nagoya) is a natural mutant of factor IX responsible for severe hemophilia B. A patient with this mutant is characterized by a markedly prolonged ox brain prothrombin time. IX Nagoya was purified from the patient's plasma by immunoaffinity chromatography with an anti-factor IX monoclonal antibody column. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that treatment of IX Nagoya with factor XIa/Ca2+ resulted in cleavage only at the Arg145-Ala146 bond. Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography of a trypsin digest of IX Nagoya showed an aberrant peptide, which was further digested with proteinase Asp-N. Primary structure analysis of one of the Asp-N peptides revealed that Arg180 is replaced by Trp. An essentially complete (99%) amino acid sequence of IX Nagoya was obtained by sequencing fragments derived from a lysyl endopeptidase digest in which no other substitutions in the catalytic triad or substrate binding site were found. We also found that IX Nagoya is activated by alpha-chymotrypsin or rat mast cell chymase by monitoring the rate of factor X activation using a fluorogenic peptide substrate in the presence of factor VIII, phospholipids, and Ca2+. These results indicate that the substitution of Arg180 by Trp impairs the cleavage by factor XIa required for activation of this zymogen and that the substitution causes hemophilia BM.     

Effects of a New Plant Growth Regulator Prohexadione Calcium (BX-112) on Shoot Elongation Caused by Exogenously Applied Gibberellins in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Seedlings

The effects of a novel plant growth regulator (PGR) prohexadionecalcium (BX-112; calcium 3,5-dioxo-4-propionylcyclohexanecarboxylate)on shoot elongation caused by exogenously applied GA₁, GA₃,GA₄₎ GA₁₉ and GA₂₀ were investigated in rice (Oryza sativa L.cv. Nihonbare and cv. Tan-ginbozu) seedling test. Dependingon the dose, BX-112 reduced shoot elongation in both cultivarscaused by GA₁₉ and GA₂₀, but not by GA₁. When a high dose ofBX-112 (e.g. 250 ng/plant and over) was applied with GA₁, orGA₄, shoot elongation was even promoted. This promotive effect,however, was not observed with GA₃. These results suggest thatBX-112 inhibits gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis in the rice plantat the 3ß- and 2ß-hydroxylation of GAs,namely steps of activation and inactivation, respectively. (Received September 6, 1989; Accepted November 27, 1989)     

Analysis of the Epitopes Recognized by Mouse Monoclonal Antibodies Directed to Yersinia enterocolitica Heat-Shock Protein 60

To determine amino acid sequences of the epitopes recognized by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) 3C8 and 5C3 directed against Yersinia enterocolitica heat-shock protein (HSP60), a dot blot analysis was perfomed using synthesized peptides of Y. enterocolitica HSP60 such as peptides p316-342, p327-359, p340-366, p316-326, p316-321, p319-323, and p321-326 which represent positions of amino acids in Y. enterocolitica HSP60. The dot blot analysis revealed that 5C3 mAb reacted with p316-342, p316-326 and p321-326, and 3C8 mAb p316-342 and p316-326. These results indicate that the epitopes recognized by the mAbs were associated with eleven amino acids, Asp Leu Gly Gln Ala Lys Arg Val Val Ile Asn, of p316-326. The sequence homology between p316-326 of Y. enterocolitica HSP60 and the rest of the HSP60 family suggests that the five amino acids of Lys, Arg, Val, Ile and Asn, which are highly conserved in the HSP60 family, might be related with the epitope recognized by 3C8. In contrast, it was also demonstrated that three amino acids of Leu, Gly and Val, which are not well conserved in the HSP60 family, might be related to the epitope recognized by 5C3.