Triterpenoid saponins from Clinopodium polycephalum.

A new triterpenoid saponin, clinopodiside A, has been isolated from Clinopodium polycephalum. Its structure was established by spectroscopic methods and X-ray diffraction analysis as 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1----6)-[ beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1----4)]-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-olean-11,13(18)-diene-3 beta,16 beta, 23,28-tetrol.     

Formation of substrate and transition-state analogue complexes in crystals of phosphoglucomutase after removing the crystallization salt.

Crystals of phosphoglucomutase, grown in 2.1 M ammonium sulfate, "desalted", and suspended in a 30% polyoxyethylene-8000/1 M glycine solution as described in the accompanying paper [Ray, W. J., Jr., Puvathingal, J. M., Bolin, J. T., Minor, W., Liu, Y., & Muchmore, S. W. (1991) Biochemistry 30 (preceding paper in this issue)], were treated with glucose phosphates to form an equilibrium mixture of the catalytically active substrate/product complexes. However, this treatment extensively fractured the crystals, even when very dilute solutions of glucose phosphates were used. But formation of the desired complexes was achieved, without fracturing, by introducing the glucose phosphates at high salt concentration, where they do not bind significantly to the enzyme, and maintaining their presence during subsequent sulfate-removal steps, in order to obtain essentially uniform binding throughout the crystal at all times. Although this procedure produced unfractured crystals of the catalytically active complexes, an adjustment in water activity was required to prevent the crystals from slowly liquefying in the presence of the added glucose phosphates. After this adjustment, the quality of diffraction-grade crystals subjected to this treatment was not significantly altered. An even larger adjustment in water activity was required to stabilize crystals that had been largely converted into a mixture of vanadate-based transition-state analogue complexes [cf. Ray, W. J., Jr., & Puvathingal, J. M. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 2790-2801] by means of an analogous procedure. The rationale for, and the implications of, this adjustment of water activity are discussed. The phenomenon of lattice-based binding cooperativity also is discussed together with a possible role for such cooperativity in the fracturing of protein crystals during formation of ligand complexes and possible ways to circumvent such fracturing based on the annealing of crystals at fractional saturation. An assay for quantifying the extent of formation of the vanadate-based transition-state analogue complexes in crystals of phosphoglucomutase is described. A solution to problems associated with producing and maintaining a steady-state in treated crystals is discussed within the context of maximizing the fraction of the crystalline enzyme present as a complex with one such inhibitor, glucose alpha-1-phosphate-6-vanadate. One of these problems, achieving a substantial reduction in sulfate concentration, could not be successfully addressed by employing the desalting procedure used to produce the substrate/product complexes, because of reduced diffusional rates in the final solution.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Fanconi anemia: evidence for linkage heterogeneity on chromosome 20q

Fanconi anemia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder in which affected individuals are predisposed to acute myelogenous leukemia and other malignancies. We report the results of a genetic linkage study involving 34 families enrolled in the International Fanconi Anemia Registry. A significant lod score was obtained between D20S20, an anonymous DNA segment from chromosome 20q, and Fanconi anemia (Zmax 3.04, theta max = 0.12). However, six other anonymous DNA segments from chromosome 20q, including D20S19, which is highly polymorphic and tightly linked to D20S20, showed no or only weak evidence for linkage to Fanconi anemia. An admixture test revealed significant evidence for linkage heterogeneity (chi 2 = 6.10, P = 0.01) at the D20S19 locus. Lod scores suggestive of linkage between Fanconi anemia and this locus were obtained with two of the largest kindreds studied (lods = 2.6 and 2.1, at theta = 0.001). Thus, our data support the provisional assignment of a Fanconi anemia gene to chromosome 20q.     

Ion selectivity of the Vibrio alginolyticus flagellar motor.

The marine bacterium, Vibrio alginolyticus, normally requires sodium for motility. We found that lithium will substitute for sodium. In neutral pH buffers, the membrane potential and swimming speed of glycolyzing bacteria reached maximal values as sodium or lithium concentration was increased. While the maximal potentials obtained in the two cations were comparable, the maximal swimming speed was substantially lower in lithium. Over a wide range of sodium concentration, the bacteria maintained an invariant sodium electrochemical potential as determined by membrane potential and intracellular sodium measurements. Over this range the increase of swimming speed took Michaelis-Menten form. Artificial energization of swimming motility required imposition of a voltage difference in concert with a sodium pulse. The cation selectivity and concentration dependence exhibited by the motile apparatus depended on the viscosity of the medium. In high-viscosity media, swimming speeds were relatively independent of either ion type or concentration. These facts parallel and extend observations of the swimming behavior of bacteria propelled by proton-powered flagella. In particular, they show that ion transfers limit unloaded motor speed in this bacterium and imply that the coupling between ion transfers and force generation must be fairly tight.     

An amino-terminal signal sequence abrogates the intrinsic membrane-targeting information of mitochondrial uncoupling protein

Mitochondrial uncoupling protein, a polytopic integral protein of the inner membrane, is initially made in the cytoplasm as a soluble polypeptide (307 amino acids) lacking a cleavable targeting (signal) peptide. Earlier studies (Liu, X., Bell, A. W., Freeman, K. B., and Shore, G. C. (1988) J. Cell Biol. 107, 503-509) identified internal regions of the molecule that are critical for targeting and membrane insertion. Here, we demonstrate that the ability of uncoupling protein to insert into the inner membrane is abrogated when the molecule is fused behind the matrix-targeting signal of preornithine carbamyltransferase; the hybrid protein was imported across the inner membrane and deposited in the matrix where it was processed. In this context, however, the processed product remained in the matrix and was incapable of inserting into the inner membrane.     

Limited Multiplication of Symbiotic Cyanobacteria of Azolla spp. on Artificial Media

We examined various media and conditions to isolate symbiotic cyanobacteria from the leaf cavities of Azolla spp. Cyanobacteria survived and multiplied to a limited extent on a medium with fructose, Casamino Acids, yeast extract, and NaNO₃ under 1% O₂. These cyanobacteria were antigenically identical to the endosymbionts.     

The inhibition of peroxidase and indole-3-acetic acid oxidase activity by British Anti-Lewisite

British Anti-Lewisite (BAL) binds to horseradish peroxidase in a manner which results in inhibition of both peroxidatic and oxidative functions of the enzyme. BAL competes with hydrogen peroxide for binding on peroxidase, and the inhibition of peroxidatic activity is irreversible. Solutions of purified horseradish peroxidase and individually resolved peroxidase isozymes show a gradual loss of peroxidatic activity with time when incubated with BAL. In these same treatments, however, the inhibition of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) oxidase activity is immediate. With increasing amounts of enzyme in the incubation mixture, IAA oxidase activity is not completely inhibited and is observed following a lag period in the assay which shortens with longer incubation times. Peroxidase activity during this same time interval shows a lag period which increases with longer incubation times. Lowering the pH removed the lag period for oxidase activity, but did not change the pattern of peroxidase activity. These results suggest that the sites for the oxidation of indole-3-acetic acid and for peroxidatic activity may not be identical in horseradish peroxidase isozymes.