Factors involved in the production of banded structures in mammalian chromosomes

Dozens of reagents were tested for their ability to produce bands in Chinese hamster chromosomes by incubating air-dried preparations in aqueous solutions of these reagents for a definite period prior to the Giemsa staining. Acids were found to be without effect on the band production. Many of salts were able to induce bands if their pH was alkaline. Strong bases were also found to be potent band inducing reagents. They produced bands only in a few seconds. Protein denaturants such as urea, guanidine-HCl and several surface active compounds were also effective in the band production. — In the light of these results, it seems very likely that the solubilization or extraction of some chromosomal proteins, probably of acid nature, would be the primary cause of the appearance of the banded structure in chromosome arms.Contribution No. 885 from the National Institute of Genetics, Japan.     

A simple porometer for precise recording of leaf resistance

A porometer, which can be easily constructed with a common photometricunit and yet records the air flow through a leaf blade accuratelyand sensitively, was developed and used to record the flow changesthrough Brassica chinensis leaves under several light, air andwater conditions. (Received May 17, 1973; )     

Fine structure of the mouse anterior pituitary maintained in a short-term incubation system

Summary Anterior pituitaries of mice were incubated for periods up to four hours in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate glucose gassed with 95% O₂5% CO₂. The incubated explants survived and retained a fine structure that approximated the condition in situ. The few necrotic cells were sharply localized, and were found to be due to initial mechanical damage to the tissue.Some cells of the six granulated types exhibited slight but significant changes attributable to the liberation from the hypothalamic control: in LTH cells there was a release of preexisting granules and a development of cell organelles, whereas in other cell types there was an inhibition of release of granules and an enhanced digestion of the accumulated granules by the lysosomal system.Follicular cells responded uniquely to the changed environment by hypertrophy of the cytoplasm and were found to phagocytize cell debris. A part of non-epithelial elements of the gland showed a tendency to modulate cytologically.The author would like to express his appreciation to Mr. T. Anzai and Mr. S. Terada for their excellent technical assistance.     

Isoprenoid quinones and fatty acids ofZoogloea

NineZoogloea strains including the type strain ofZ. ramigera (IAM 12136=ATCC 19544=N.C. Dondero 106) and newly isolated strains were investigated for isoprenoid quinone composition and whole-cell fatty acid profiles. Seven of the tested strains, having phenotypic properties typical ofZoogloea, were characterized by their production of both ubiquinone-8 and rhodoquinone-8 as major quinones, whereas the remaining two strains,Z. ramigera IAM 12669 (=K. Crabtree I-16-M) and IAM 12670 (=P.R. Dugan 115), formed ubiquinone-10 and ubiquinone-8, respectively, as the sole quinone. All rhodoquinone-producing strains contained palmitoleic acid and 3-hydroxy-decanoic acid as the major components of nonpolar and hydroxylated fatty acids, respectively. Marked differences were noted in the fatty acid composition between the strains with and without rhodoquinones. The chemotaxonomic data suggested that the rhodoquinonelacking strains should be excluded from the genusZoogloea. Since there have been no reliable taxonomic tools forZoogloea, rhodoquinone analysis may provide a new criterion of great promise for identifyingZoogloea strains.     

Javanicinosides D-H, quassinoid glucosides from Picrasma javanica

From Picrasma javanica, five new quassinoid glucosides, javanicinosides D-H, together with known quassinoids, neoquassin and picrasin A and triterpenoids, hispidol A and lanosta-7,24-dien-3-one were isolated. The structures have been determined by spectral analysis and chemical evidence.     

Gene responsible for dificient activity of the β subunit of C8, the eighth component of complement,is located on mouse chromosome 4

Sera from 73 strains of mice were tested for hemolytic activity through the classical and the alternative pathways (CP and AP) in a single radical hemolysis assay. Sera from 16 out of 45 laboratory inbred strains had n o lytic activity, and Ouchternoly analysis with anti-C5 serum showed them to be C5-deficient. Sera from 2 out of 28 strains derived from wild mice also had no lytic activity, but the C5 molecule was detectable in both. The hemolytic activity of sera from these strains can be restored serum deficient in C8-, leading us to conclude that strains M.MOL-MSM (MSM) and Mae are deficient in the subunit of C8. Typing of (DBA/2J ×MSM)F₁ hybrids and of progeny of a backcross to MSM showed that this C8 deficiency is controlled by a singles recessive gene, designated C8b; the allele with hemolytic activity is C8b ¹; and the allele with no activity C8b ⁰. Because of synteny homologies in mouse and human , we looked for and found close linkage between C8b and Pgm-2. Typing of recombinant mice for Mup-1 mapped the C8b locus 2.3 centimorgans (cM) telomeric to Pgm-2 on mouse chromosome 4.     

Gene organization of chloroplast DNA from the broad bean Vicia faba

Summary Six protein genes have been mapped on broad bean chloroplast DNA by Southern hybridization using the tobacco chloroplast genes as probes. In broad bean chloroplast DNA, the genes for the and subunits of proton-translocating ATPase and the 32,000 dalton thylakoid membrane protein are located near the large subunit gene of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. The gene for the subunit of proton-translocating ATPase is distantly located from the and genes. The gene for the ribosomal protein CS19 was found close to the ribosomal RNA operon. The gene organization of broad bean chloroplast DNA is therefore quite different from that of tobacco chloroplast DNA. The nucleotide sequence of the spacer region between the large subunit and the genes of the broad bean has been determined. Conserved sequences are found among the putative promoter regions of the chloroplast protein genes.     

High degree of homology of the deduced protein structures of the tetracycline-resistance determinants between Bacillus subtilis plasmid pNS1981 and Staphylococcus aureus plasmid pTP5

The Protein Journal - The amino acid sequences of the tetracycline-resistance (Tcr) determinants of Bacillus subtilis plasmid pNS1981 and Staphylococcus aureus plasmid pTP5 have been deduced from...     

The application of immunoperoxidase staining for the detection of causative fungi in tissue specimens of mycosis I

This study was performed in order to identify the fungi of four species (Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium anthophilum, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans) in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections by the indirect method of immunoperoxidase staining. Mature albino rabbits were immunized by formalin-killed organisms. The antibodies were prepared by precipitation at a 50% saturation of ammonium sulfate and were checked for cross-reactivities by Ouchterlony's double immunodiffusion and precipitin test. The immunoperoxidase staining was applied to the paraffin-embedded tissue sections of infected mice, human autopsy and biopsy specimens. Although each fungus was stained clearly the cell wall, cross-reactivities appeared among them, however it was possible to identify four fungi by absorption and dilution of the antisera.