The Medusa of Velella velella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hydrozoa, Chondrophorae)

A mature medusa of Velella velella (Linnaeus, 1758) is reportedfor the first time from the North Atlantic; previously adultmedusae were known only from the Mediterranean. This specimen,collected by SCUBA divers, is the largest specimen recordedto date. Distinctive features are: two opposite adaxial-axialpairs of perradial capitate tentacles; two marginal bulbs lackingtentacles; conical manubrium with 4 perradial longitudinal gonads;perradial exumbrellar cnidae tracts; cnidome of stenoteles andmacrobasic euryteles; and zooxanthellae within the subumbrella.Since this specimen was collected near the surface and has zooxanthellae,it is likely that V. velella medusae are epipelagic.     

Purification of the protein employed in an immunodiffusion test to diagnose infectious bovine rhinotracheitis.

The antigen used in an immunodiffusion test to diagnose infectious bovine rhinotracheitis has been purified by affinity chromatography. The homogeneity of the antigen was indicated by sedimentation rate and sedimentation equilibrium experiments. A So20,w of 0.749 was determined and a molecular weight of 8900 was calculated from sedimentation equilibrium analysis. The purified antigen formed precipitin lines of identity with crude diagnostic antigen. Purified antigen remained serologically active in the immunodiffusion test after lyophilization and subsequent reconstitution.     

Undescribed toxin in pseudomembranous colitis.

A girl aged 12 developed pseudomembranous colitis after a short course of oral penicillin. She had no history of adverse reaction to penicillin before or after the illness. No pathogenic bacteria, mycoplasmas, or viruses were found in her faeces, but they did contain a toxin. Toxin was also found in four of five other patients with pseudomembranous colitis but not in six specimens obtained from patients with diarrhoea caused by other disorders. Further studies may show that pseudomembranous colitis is caused by a bacterial toxin.     

Left-handed Z-DNA helices in polymers, restriction fragments, and recombinant plasmids

Studies on DNA polymers, restriction fragments, and recombinant plasmids have revealed the following: A) A family of left-handed DNA conformations exists for (dC-dG)n.(dC-dG)n. The observation of a particular conformation is dependent on the salt, the salt concentration and dehydrating agent. B) In sodium acetate solutions, (dC-dG)n.(dC-dG)n forms left-handed, psi(+)-condensed structures as detected by Raman spectroscopy and circular dichroism. C) (dT-dG)n.(dC-dA)n undergoes a right-to-left-handed transition only when reacted with AAF and at high salt concentrations. D) Transitions observed for polymer DNAs also are observed for restriction fragments containing both (dC-dG).(dC-dG) and (dT-dG).(dC-dA) sequences, but the transitions in the fragments generally require higher salt concentrations than observed for the polymers. E) Studies with recombinant plasmids containing (dC-dG) sequences from 10 to 58 bp in length demonstrate that left-handed Z-DNA segments can exist contiguous to B-DNA segments. F) Negative supercoil density (sigma less than or equal to -0.072) is sufficient to convert the (dC-dG) regions in those plasmids into left-handed structures under physiological ionic conditions (200 mM NaCl). G) The favorable free energy contribution of methylation in stabilizing the Z form in fragments and plasmids is approximately offset by the unfavorable free energy contributions of the B/Z junctions. H) Sl and BAL 31 nucleases recognize aberrant structural features at the confluence of the B and Z regions. I) Detailed mapping of Sl nuclease cleavage on supercoiled plasmids shows that the nuclease sensitive regions extend over at least five to ten bp. J) Even though the (dT-dG)n.(dC-dA)n polymer requires base modification and high salt conditions to undergo the R----L transition, supercoiling (sigma less than or equal to -0.07) can supply enough energy to allow a plasmid containing the intervening sequence of a human fetal globin gene with (dT-dG).(dC-dA) sequences to undergo a R----L transition.     

XYLARY UNION BETWEEN THE NEW SHOOT AND OLD STEM DURING TERMINAL BUD BREAK IN POPULUS DELTOIDES

Bursting terminal buds and subtending stems of Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh. plants were examined at several stages to determine the pattern of xylary union between the 1st- and 2nd-yr growth increments. Metaxylem vessels differentiated first in traces serving the basalmost leaf in the bud. As successively younger leaves began growth, metaxylem vessels differentiated in their traces. The site of metaxylem reactivation was in the second or third internode beneath the bud (i.e., in the 1st-yr stem), and subsequent differentiation progressed bidirectionally in each set of traces as the leaves they served expanded. Traces leading either to abscised leaf positions on the 1st-yr stem or to bud-scale leaf positions were reactivated by the tangential “spread” of activity from adjacent traces serving expanding leaves. The new elements were all secondary xylem vessels, as were those of the basipetal trace components, although they were functionally continuous with the metaxylem vessels that differentiated acropetally. Xylem fibers were initiated in the same position and differentiated in the same sequence as vessels. However, fiber differentiation lagged behind that of vessels. Whereas vessel differentiation was associated with leaf expansion, fiber differentiation was associated with leaf maturation. As each leaf matured in sequence, the primary-secondary transition zone advanced acropetally to the bud base and then in the new shoot until it attained a positional relation with leaf maturation comparable to that of 1st-yr plants.     

Alcohol-inducible cytochrome P-450IIE1 lacking the hydrophobic NH2-terminal segment retains catalytic activity and is membrane-bound when expressed in Escherichia coli

We have expressed in Escherichia coli a cDNA encoding rabbit liver cytochrome P-450IIE1, the ethanol-inducible P-450. The expressed P-450 is located primarily in the bacterial inner cell membrane and comprises 3% of the E. coli total membrane protein. The partially purified cytochrome exhibits a reduced CO difference spectrum with a maximum at 452 nm, characteristic of P-450IIE1, and solubilized membranes or partially purified P-450 preparations reconstituted with NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and phosphatidylcholine catalyze the deethylation of N-nitrosodiethylamine with a turnover number equal to that of purified liver P-450IIE1 (approximately 4.5 nmol/min/nmol of P-450). A modified IIE1 cDNA that encodes a protein lacking amino acids 3-29, a proposed membrane anchor for cytochrome P-450, was also expressed in E. coli and, unexpectedly, the shortened protein was also found to be predominantly located in the bacterial inner membrane rather than the cytosol. Like the full-length protein, this truncated cytochrome has a reduced CO difference spectrum characteristic of P-450IIE1 and is fully active in the deethylation of N-nitrosodiethylamine. These results demonstrate that the NH2-terminal hydrophobic segment is not solely responsible for attachment to the membrane and evidently is not required for proper protein folding or catalytic activity.     

Differential binding, biological and biochemical actions of recombinant PDGF AA, AB, and BB molecules on connective tissue cells.

We have compared the biological and biochemical properties of recombinant PDGF AA, AB, and BB using three types of fibroblastic cells: NIH/3T3, human skin fibroblast, and fetal bovine aortic smooth muscle. PDGF binding, receptor autophosphorylation, phosphatidyl inositol hydrolysis, as well as chemotactic and mitogenic responses of the cells were analyzed. PDGF-AB and PDGF-BB showed similar receptor binding, receptor autophosphorylation, and potent biological activity for all three of the cell types tested. In contrast, PDGF-AA was biologically active only for the NIH/3T3 cells in which binding sites for PDGF-AA were abundant, but was inactive for bovine aortic smooth muscle cells and human skin fibroblasts in which binding sites for PDGF-AA were absent. PDGF-AA could not induce any biochemical changes in the human skin fibroblasts or smooth muscle cells. Western blot studies with anti-Type alpha and beta PDGF receptor antibodies indicate that the NIH/3T3 cells contained both PDGF alpha and beta receptors, whereas the human skin fibroblasts and bovine smooth muscle cells contained only detectable levels of beta receptors. These results indicate that cells possessing high levels of PDGF beta receptors only are capable of responding equally well to either PDGF AB or BB.     

Molecular cloning of two linked loci that increase the transformability of transformation-deficient mutants of Haemophilus influenzae.

A plasmid containing a 13.3-kb insert (pER194) was isolated from an EcoRI genomic library of Haemophilus influenzae on the basis of its ability to increase the transformability of the transformation-deficient mutants Com-78 and Com-101. The plasmid failed to increase the transformability of the Rec-1 and Rec-2 mutants, indicating that the mutations producing the Com-78 and Com-101 phenotypes are distinct from those giving rise to the Rec-1 and Rec-2 phenotypes. The physical mapping of the cloned fragment on the H. influenzae chromosome was found to be consistent with the genetic mapping of the Com-101 trait. A 2.8-kb EcoRI-BglII subfragment, representing one end of the 13.3-kb clone, was found to increase the transformation frequency of the Com-78 and Com-101 mutants when supplied in trans, indicating that the subfragment carries one or more loci required for chromosomal transformation. The corresponding region of the Com-101 chromosome was determined by hybridization analysis to contain a 0.3-kb insertion, suggesting that the Com-101 strain may contain an insertion mutation at this locus. A 3.0-kb EcoRI-MluI subfragment, representing the other end of the 13.3-kb EcoRI fragment, was found to increase the transformation frequency of the Com-101 mutant but not of the Com-78 mutant, suggesting that the Com-101 phenotype results from a complex genotype involving mutations at two or more transformation-related loci. This conclusion is consistent with data indicating that the Com-101 trait can be genetically separated into at least two components.     

Characterization of crystals of an Fab fragment of a murine monoclonal antibody.

The Fab fragment of an antibody, made against an E2-specific feline infectious peritonitis virus neutralizing antibody, has been crystallized in a form suitable for X-ray diffraction analysis from PEG 4000 using vapor diffusion methods. The Fab fragment crystals diffract to about 2.9 A resolution and are of triclinic space group P1. Unit cell dimensions, by which the reciprocal lattice can be indexed, are a = 57.16 A, b = 70.85 A, c = 75.81 A, alpha = 85.11 degrees, beta = 121.28 degrees and gamma = 116.33 degrees. There are two Fab fragments comprising the asymmetric unit of the crystals. The presence of a pseudo-mirror plane in the diffraction pattern suggests the presence of at least an approximate dyad axis relating the two Fab fragments within the asymmetric unit.