Nucleotide sequence of cDNA for nonmuscle tropomyosin 5 of mouse fibroblast

A cDNA clone for mouse fibroblast tropomyosin (TM) 5 was obtained from a cDNA library using human TM pseudogene as a probe. Sequence analysis of the clone revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence is different only at the 4th position from the human counterpart and that both the 5' and 3' untranslated regions are highly conserved.     

The carbohydrate moiety of Japanese monkey pepsinogens. Its composition and site of attachment to protein.

Identification and determination of the carbohydrate component of Japanese monkey pepsinogens have been performed, and the amino acid sequence around the carbohydrate chain has been investigated. Glycopeptides were prepared by successive digestion of pepsinogens with thermolysin and aminopeptidases. Analyses of their carbohydrate composition by paper and gas-liquid chromatography showed the presence of 4 glucosamine, 6 galactose, 6–8 mannose, and 8–10 fucose residues per molecule of the carbohydrate chain, among which the high content of fucose is especially unique. The amino acid sequence of a major glycopeptide was deduced to be Ile-Gly-Ile-Gly-Thr-Pro-Gln-Ala-Asn, in which the asparagine residue is the site of attachment of the carbohydrate chain.     

Cytotoxin-converting phages, φCTX and PS21, are R pyocin-related phages

Abstract φCTX is a temperate phage of Pseudomonas aeruginosa harbouring the ctx gene that encodes cytotoxin (CTX). We identified φCTX as an R pyocin-related phage, by serological and molecular analysis, based on the findings that the infectivity of the phage was inhibited with the antisera directed R pyocins and R pyocin-related phages and that the φCTX genome showed DNA homology to the genome of PS17 (a representative of the R pyocin-related phages) as well as to the pyocin R2 genes. Another new CTX-converting, R pyocin-related phage named PS21 was isolated from a CTX-producing strain of P. aeruginosa , suggesting the distribution of the ctx gene by certain members of R pyocin-related phage family.     

Hydrophobicity of the cell surface and drug susceptibility of Escherichia coli cultivated at high pressures up to 30 MPa

Summary Escherichia coli was cultivated under hydrostatic pressures up to 30 MPa (300 bar) and then partitioned between an aqueous phase (physiological saline) and oil phase (n-hexadecane). The partition coefficients were used as measures of hydrophobicity of the surface of the cells and correlated with the susceptibility to an antimicrobial agent (dodecylpyridinium iodide). This agent is lethal to the cells and the effect of pressure on its concentration for a lethal effect on E. coli was determined. A good correlation was found between the hydrophobicity of the cells and their death rate on treatment with this reagent.     

Effects of ethanol on the growth and elongation of Escherichia coli under high pressures up to 40 MPa

The effects of ethanol on growth, viability and cell length were studied in Escherichia coli cultured under pressures up to 40 MPa (400 bar). A pressure of 10 MPa reversed the effect of ethanol in retarding cell growth. Cells cultured in the absence of ethanol became about seven times longer at 40 MPa than at atmospheric pressure, and some cells showed incomplete cell division. Ethanol also increased cell length but these effects were not seen at pressures of 20 MPa or more.     

The maximum and minimum water content and cell volume of human erythrocytes in vitro

The maximum and minimum water contents of human erythrocytes were measured after exposure to various osmotic pressures. Within a range of osmolarities, at which no haemolysis occurred, the water content reached its maximum, 78.1%, at 180 mosM and its minimum, 54.8%, at 800 mosM. Simultaneously, the mean cell volume increased to 98.5 microns 3 at 180 mosM and decreased to 77.2 microns 3 at 800 mosM.