Attempts to Detect Agrobacterium tumefaciens DNA in Crown-Gall Tumor Tissue

Primary and secondary crown gall tissue cultures were established from sunflower plants (Helianthus annuus, variety Mammoth Russian) wound-inoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Smith and Townsend) Conn strain B(6). Growth rates of tumor tissues and habituated healthy sunflower stem section tissues on basal medium lacking auxin and cytokinin were compared to those of healthy sunflower stem section tissue grown on the same medium with added phytohormones. No difference was detected in the thermal denaturation midpoints (74.8 C) and melting profiles in 25 mm sodium phosphate (pH 6.8), or the buoyant densities in cesium chloride equilibrium centrifugation (1.687 g cm(-3)), between deoxyribonucleic acids (DNAs) isolated from crude nuclear preparations of the four tissue types. No satellite DNA was observed in equilibrium centrifugation of unsheared plant DNAs.Heterologous DNA renaturation kinetic analyses were performed in 0.14 m sodium phosphate (pH 6.8) at 70 C. Thermal stability measurements of reassociated DNA revealed less than 1% of mismatched base pairs. Reannealing of sheared, denatured, radioactive A. tumefaciens B(6) DNA (molecular weight, 325,000 daltons) in the presence of a 5400-fold excess of sheared calf thymus, healthy tissue, or secondary sunflower crown gall DNA obeyed second order kinetics, with a Cot((1/2)) of 2.8, identical to that observed when B(6) DNA was reannealed in the absence of foreign DNA.Reannealing rates of B(6) DNA in the presence of 5400-fold excesses of DNA from two lines of primary sunflower crown gall were increased 2.24- or 1.47-fold. Digestion of the tumor DNA preparations with pancreatic deoxyribonuclease I until no detectable DNA remained, followed by restoration of solution viscosity by added calf thymus DNA, failed to remove the acceleration effect of the tumor DNA preparations. Reisolation of the reannealed nucleic acid formed in this experiment, and digestion with ribonuclease A or deoxyribonuclease I revealed that the double-stranded fraction was composed entirely of DNA-DNA duplexes, with no detectable DNA-RNA hybrids.The data indicate that tumor, but not healthy tissue DNA preparations contain some factor or factors (not DNA) which accelerate the reannealing of bacterial DNA. Sunflower tumor tissue DNAs, therefore, do not contain integrated A. tumefaciens DNA sequences in amounts greater than a random (1/5) of the bacterial genome per diploid amount of plant DNA, or a complete bacterial genome per five diploid plant cell DNA equivalents. Further, the possibility of the presence of many copies of a specific portion greater than 5% of the bacterial genome is excluded.     

Inhibitory effects of mersalyl and of antibodies directed against smooth-muscle myosin on a calcium adenosine triphosphatase of the plasma membrane from mouse liver cells.

The effect of mersalyl and of antibodies, directed against smooth-muscle myosin and skeletal muscle myosin, on the (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-activated adenosine triphosphatase (Ca,Mg)ATPase) system of mouse liver plasma membranes has been studied. Antismooth-muscle myosin inhibited by 38.6% at optimum substrate concentration the (Ca,Mg)ATPase with a K_m of 0.88 × 10^?3m. Mersalyl (0.5 mm) also inhibited this enzyme, the percentage inhibition being 44.6% at optimal substrate concentration. These results suggest the presence of a smooth-muscle myosin-like protein in the plasma membrane of mouse liver cells which has an associated (Ca,Mg)ATPase activity.     

Role of the intramitochondrial adenine nucleotides as intermediates in the uncoupler-induced hydrolysis of extramitochondrial ATP.

1. A formula is given that describes the appearance of [14C]ATPADP outside the mitochondria after the addition of [14C] 1atp during the steady-state uncoupler-induced hydrolysis of extramitochondrial ATP. If the transported adenine nucleotides equilibrate with the intramitochondrial pool, [14C]ADP0 would be expected to appear with a lag phase that corresponds with the time needed for the radioactive labelling of the intramitochondrial adenine nucleotide pool. 2. The rates of formation of [14C]ADP outside the mitochondria after addition of [14C]ATP during the steady-state uncoupler-induced ATP hydrolysis catalysed by rat-liver mitochondria at 0 degree C were measured. 3. In the presence of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone the time course of the [14]ADPo formation was the same as that predicted on the basis of the above assumption. 4. In the presence of the less effective uncoupler, 2,4-dinitrophenol, the time course of [14C]ADPo formation was not consistent with the theoretical predictions: no lag phase was present and the measured rate was higher than the maximal calculated rate. These results can be explained by assuming a functional interaction between the adenine nucleotide translocator and the mitochondrial ATPase (F1). 5. It is concluded that under phosphorylating as well as dephosphorylating conditions, the adenine nucleotide translocator and the mitochondrial ATPase can be functionally linked to catalyse phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of extramitochondrial ADP or ATP, without participation of the intramitochondrial adenine nucleotides.     

A chemical and physical method for determining the complete base composition of plant DNA.

Two physical methods are routinely used to determine the base composition of DNA. One measures the temperature corresponding to the midpoint of the absorbance rise (TM) and relates it to base composition with the equation, TM = 41 (dG + dC) + 69, the other measures buoyant density (rho) and relates it to base composition rho = 0.098(dG + dC) + 1.6535. The base composition of DNA from various sources was first determined by a chemical method and these values compared to those determined by the physical methods. Higher plants contained up to 7 mol% 5-methyldeoxycytidine in their DNA and in all cases tested deoxyguanosine = deoxycytidine + 5-methyldeoxycytidine. After determining that TM was unaffected by the amount of 5-methyldeoxycytidine in DNA, the mol% of dA, dT, dG, and the total of dC plus 5-methyldeoxycytidine for any DNA could be calculated. Buoyant density on the other hand, was lowered 0.004 g . cm-3 for every 6.3 mol% 5-methyldeoxycytidine. Therefore, both physical parameters were related to the mole fraction of 5-methyldeoxycytidine by the following equation: (see article). With a value of r 5-methyldeoxycytidine an estimation of deoxycytidine was made. The resultant values agreed with the chromatographic determinations.     

Sequence- and strand-specific cleavage in oligodeoxyribonucleotides and DNA containing 3'-thiothymidine.

Oligonucleotides containing a 3'-thiothymidine residue (T3's) at the cleavage site for the EcoRV restriction endonuclease (between the central T and A residues of the sequence GATATC) have been prepared on an automated DNA synthesizer using 5'-O-monomethoxytritylthymidine 3'-S-(2-cyanoethyl N,N-diisopropylphosphorothioamidite). The self-complementary sequence GACGAT3'sATCGTC was completely resistant to cleavage by EcoRV, while the heteroduplex composed of 5'-TCTGAT3'sATCCTC and 5'-GAGGATATCAGA (duplex 4) was cleaved only in the unmodified strand (5'-GAGGATATCAGA). In contrast, strands containing a 3'-S-phosphorothiolate linkage could be chemically cleaved specifically at this site with Ag+. A T3's residue has also been incorporated in the (-) strand of double-stranded closed circular (RF IV) M13mp18 DNA at the cleavage site of a unique EcoRV recognition sequence by using 5'-pCGAGCTCGAT3'sATCGTAAT as a primer for polymerization on the template (+) strand of M13mp18 DNA. On treatment of this substrate with EcoRV, only one strand was cleaved to produce the RF II or nicked DNA. Taken in conjunction with the cleavage studies on the oligonucleotides, this result demonstrates that the 3'-S-phosphorothiolate linkage is resistant to scission by EcoRV. Additionally, the phosphorothiolate-containing strand of the M13mp18 DNA could be cleaved specifically at the point of modification using iodine in aqueous pyridine. The combination of enzymatic and chemical techniques provides, for the first time, a demonstrated method for the sequence-specific cleavage of either the (+) or (-) strand.     

The effect of several lymphocytotoxic agents on murine leukemogenesis

5-(3,3-dimethyl-l-triazeno) imidazole-4-carboximide (DTIC) induced lymphomas with a 70 day lag period and with an incidence greater than 90% in both AKR/J and outbred Swiss Albino mice. On the other hand, treatment with cortisone acetate and 5'-azathioprine prolonged survival of AKR/J male mice. Treatment with all three agents reduced the population of medium-sized lymphocytes in the thymus within two days and additionally, cortisone and DTIC led to a reduction i in spleen weight.