The 35-kilodalton protein gene (p35) of Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus and the neomycin resistance gene provide dominant selection of recombinant baculoviruses.

Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) recombinants were constructed to test the effectiveness of the AcMNPV 35-kilodalton protein gene (35K gene) and the bacterial neomycin resistance gene (neo) as dominant selectable markers for baculoviruses. Insertion of the AcMNPV apoptosis suppressor gene (p35) into the genome of p35-deletion mutants inhibited premature host cell death and increased virus yields up to 1200-fold at low multiplicities in Spodoptera frugiperda (SF21) cell cultures. When placed under control of an early virus promoter, the bacterial neomycin resistance gene (neo) restored multiplication of AcMNPV in the same cells treated with concentrations of the antibiotic G418 that inhibited wild-type virus growth greater than 1000-fold. The selectivity of these dominant markers was compared by serial passage of recombinant virus mixtures. After four passages, the proportion of p35-containing virus increased as much as 2,000,000-fold relative to deletion mutants, whereas the proportion of neo-containing viruses increased 500-fold relative to wild-type virus under G418 selection. The strength and utility of p35 as a selectable marker was further demonstrated by the construction of AcMNPV expression vectors using polyhedrin-based transfer plasmids that contain p35. Recombinant viruses with foreign gene insertions at the polyhedrin locus accounted for 15 to 30% of the transfection progeny. The proportion of desired viruses was increased to greater than 90% by linearizing the parental virus DNA at the intended site of recombination prior to transfection. These results indicate that p35 and neo facilitate the selection of baculovirus recombinants and that p35, in particular, is an effective marker for the generation of AcMNPV expression vectors.     

Primary structure of tyrosinase from Neurospora crassa. I. Purification and amino acid sequence of the cyanogen bromide fragments

Cyanogen bromide (CB) cleavage of Neurospora tyrosinase resulted in four major fragments, CB1 (222 residues), CB2 (82 residues), CB3 (68 residues), and CB4 (35 residues), and one minor overlap peptide CB2-4 (117 residues) due to incomplete cleavage of a methionylthreonyl bond. The sum of the amino acid residues of the four major fragments matches the total number of amino acid residues of the native protein. The amino acid sequences of the cyanogen bromide fragments CB2, CB3, and CB4 were determined by a combination of automated and manual sequence analysis on peptides derived by chemical and enzymatic cleavage of the intact and the maleylated derivatives. The peptides were the products of cleavage by mild acid hydrolysis, trypsin, pepsin, chymotrypsin, thermolysin, and Staphylococcus aureus protease V8. The cyanogen bromide fragment CB1 was found to contain two unusual amino acids whose chemical structure will be presented in the following paper.     

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) as a proliferative marker during embryonic and adult zebrafish hematopoiesis

We investigated the expression of proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in zebrafish to delineate the proliferative hematopoietic component during adult and embryonic hematopoiesis. Immunostaining for PCNA and enhanced green fluorescence protein (eGFP) was performed in wild-type and fli1-eGFP (endothelial marker) and gata1-eGFP (erythroid cell marker) transgenic fish. Expression of PCNA mRNA was examined in wild-type and chordin morphant embryos. In adult zebrafish kidney, the renal tubules are surrounded by endothelial cells and it is separated into hematopoietic and excretory compartments. PCNA was expressed in hematopoietic progenitor cells but not in mature neutrophils, eosinophils or erythroid cells. Some PCNA+ cells are scattered in the hematopoietic compartment of the kidney while others are closely associated with renal tubular cells. PCNA was also expressed in spermatogonial stem cells and intestine crypts, consistent with its role in cell proliferation and DNA synthesis. In embryos, PCNA is expressed in the brain, spinal cord and intermediate cell mass (ICM) at 24 h-post fertilization. In chordin morphants, PCNA is significantly upregulated in the expanded ICM. Therefore, PCNA can be used to mark cell proliferation in zebrafish hematopoietic tissues and to identify a population of progenitor cells whose significance would have to be further investigated.     

A Lectin HPLC Method to Enrich Selectively-glycosylated Peptides from Complex Biological Samples

Glycans are an important class of post-translational modifications. Typically found on secreted and extracellular molecules, glycan structures signal the internal status of the cell. Glycans on tumor cells tend to have abundant sialic acid and fucose moieties. We propose that these cancer-associated glycan variants be exploited for biomarker development aimed at diagnosing early-stage disease. Accordingly, we developed a mass spectrometry-based workflow that incorporates chromatography on affinity matrices formed from lectins, proteins that bind specific glycan structures. The lectins Sambucus nigra (SNA) and Aleuria aurantia (AAL), which bind sialic acid and fucose, respectively, were covalently coupled to POROS beads (Applied Biosystems) and packed into PEEK columns for high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Briefly, plasma was depleted of the fourteen most abundant proteins using a multiple affinity removal system (MARS-14; Agilent). Depleted plasma was trypsin-digested and separated into flow-through and bound fractions by SNA or AAL HPLC. The fractions were treated with PNGaseF to remove N-linked glycans, and analyzed by LC-MS/MS on a QStar Elite. Data were analyzed using Mascot software. The experimental design included positive controls—fucosylated and sialylated human lactoferrin glycopeptides—and negative controls—high mannose glycopeptides from Saccharomyces cerevisiae—that were used to monitor the specificity of lectin capture. Key features of this workflow include the reproducibility derived from the HPLC format, the positive identification of the captured and PNGaseF-treated glycopeptides from their deamidated Asn-Xxx-Ser/Thr motifs, and quality assessment using glycoprotein standards. Protocol optimization also included determining the appropriate ratio of starting material to column capacity, identifying the most efficient capture and elution buffers, and monitoring the PNGaseF-treatment to ensure full deglycosylation. Future directions include using this workflow to perform mass spectrometry-based discovery experiments on plasma from breast cancer patients and control individuals.     

The capacity of various types of immunoglobulin for intravenous use to interact with Fc receptors of human monocytes and macrophages

The capacity of immunoglobulin for intravenous application (IgG-IV) to interact with Fc receptors of human monocytes and macrophages was tested by quantifying the inhibition of phagocytosis of IgG-sensitized erythrocytes. To this end a spectrometric phagocytosis test has been used. When compared with IgG for i.m. use (IgG-IM), all IgG-IV had reduced activity. This reduction was related, in part, to the reduced amount of IgG dimers and polymers in IgG-IV. On a weight basis dimeric IgG and polymeric IgG exerted 6-fold and 14-fold higher activity, respectively, than monomeric IgG. When this difference was corrected for, chemically modified IgG-IV still had significantly reduced inhibitory activity; DEAE-Sephadex-treated IgG and acid-treated IgG had an activity similar to IgG-IM, and PEG-treated IgG showed a slightly reduced activity. Pepsin-treated IgG was greater than 100-fold less active than IgG-IM. The reactivity of IgG-IV with monocyte and macrophage Fc receptors was closely correlated. The most conspicuous differences found were related to the concentration at which IgG was used. Thus, beta-propiolactone-treated IgG and plasmin-treated IgG were found to have significantly reduced activity at concentrations greater than 20 micrograms/ml, but almost normal activity when used at lower concentrations.     

Purification and properties of a yeast protein kinase.

A protein phosphokinase (EC 2.7.1.1.37) was isolated from baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) after a 17,000-fold purification; the purified enzyme is homogeneous according to the criteria of gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifuge analysis. The enzyme has a high isoelectric point of ca. 9 and appears to exist as a monomer with a molecular weight of 42,000 plus or minus 1500. It is neither stimulated by cyclic 3',5'-AMP, -GMP, -CMP or -ump nor inhibited by the regulatory subunit of rabbit muscle protein kinase (Reimann, E. M., Walsh, D. A., and Krebs, E. G. (1971), J. Biol. Chem. 246, 1986). In the presence of divalent metal ions, preferably Mg-2+ or Mn-2+, the enzyme readily transfers the terminal phosphate group of ATP to phosvitin, alphaS1B- and beta a-casein and an NH2-terminal tryptic peptide derived from beta a-casein, but not to protamine, lysine, or arginine-rich histones or to yeast enzymes such as phosphorylase, phosphofructokinase, or pyruvate carboxylase; serine and polyserine were also inactive as phosphate acceptors. Km values of 0.17 mM for beta a-casein and 0.2 mMfor ATP were determined at 10 mM Mg-2+. The urified yeast protein kinase also catalyzes the reverse reaction, namely, the transfer of phosphate from fully phosphorylated beta a-casein or its NH2-terminal peptide to ADP resulting in the formation of ATP. AMP, GDP, UDP, and CDP did not serve as phosphate acceptors in this reaction. As observed by Rabinowitz and Lipmann (Rabinowitz, M., and Lipmann, F. (1960), J. Biol. Chem. 235, 1043) both reactions have different pHoptima with values of 7.5 for the forward reaction (phosphorylation of the proteins) and ca 5.2 for the formation of ATP; both are differently affected by salts. Phosphorylation of beta a-casein with [gamma-32-P]ATP followed by digestion of the labeled protein with trypsin indicated that all the radioactivity was exclusively introduced in an NH2-terminal peptide possessing the unique sequence: Glu-Ser(P)-Leu-Ser(P)-Ser(P)-Ser(P)-Glu-Glu...(Ribadeau-Dumas, B., Brignon, G., Grosclaude, F., and Mercier, J.-C. (1971), eur J. Biochem. 20, 264). By subjecting beta a-casein and its NH2-terminal peptide to the combined action of almond acid phosphatease and purified yeast protein kinase, it was determined that the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation reactions proceed randomly, i.e., all seryl phosphate residues are equally susceptible and that the rate of phosphorylation decreases drastically as the number of bound phosphate groups in the substrate diminishes.     

Levels and limits in artificial selection of communities

Artificial selection of individuals has been determinant in the elaboration of the Darwinian theory of natural selection. Nowadays, artificial selection of ecosystems has proven its efficiency and could contribute to a theory of natural selection at several organisation levels. Here, we were not interested in identifying mechanisms of adaptation to selection, but in establishing the proof of principle that a specific structure of interaction network emerges under ecosystem artificial selection. We also investigated the limits in ecosystem artificial selection to evaluate its potential in terms of managing ecosystem function. By artificially selecting microbial communities for low CO₂ emissions over 21 generations (n = 7560), we found a very high heritability of community phenotype (52%). Artificial selection was responsible for simpler interaction networks with lower interaction richness. Phenotype variance and heritability both decreased across generations, suggesting that selection was more likely limited by sampling effects than by stochastic ecosystem dynamics.     

DNA Sequence Explains Seemingly Disordered Methylation Levels in Partially Methylated Domains of Mammalian Genomes

For the most part metazoan genomes are highly methylated and harbor only small regions with low or absent methylation. In contrast, partially methylated domains (PMDs), recently discovered in a variety of cell lines and tissues, do not fit this paradigm as they show partial methylation for large portions (20%–40%) of the genome. While in PMDs methylation levels are reduced on average, we found that at single CpG resolution, they show extensive variability along the genome outside of CpG islands and DNase I hypersensitive sites (DHS). Methylation levels range from 0% to 100% in a roughly uniform fashion with only little similarity between neighboring CpGs. A comparison of various PMD-containing methylomes showed that these seemingly disordered states of methylation are strongly conserved across cell types for virtually every PMD. Comparative sequence analysis suggests that DNA sequence is a major determinant of these methylation states. This is further substantiated by a purely sequence based model which can predict 31% (R²) of the variation in methylation. The model revealed CpG density as the main driving feature promoting methylation, opposite to what has been shown for CpG islands, followed by various dinucleotides immediately flanking the CpG and a minor contribution from sequence preferences reflecting nucleosome positioning. Taken together we provide a reinterpretation for the nucleotide-specific methylation levels observed in PMDs, demonstrate their conservation across tissues and suggest that they are mainly determined by specific DNA sequence features.