Comparison of population dynamics between slow- and fast-growing strains of the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus pallas in continuous culture

Summary The population dynamics of a slow- and a fast-growing strain of the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus are compared. Rotifers were grown in steady-states, at various specific growth rates (), in both two-stage chemostat and turbidostat cultures on the green alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa. Population variables, including specific ingestion (I), loss (L) and filtration (F) rates, yield (Y), production (P) and half-saturation coefficient of growth (K _g), were calculated using a growth model based on saturation kinetics. I, L, F and K _g were shown to be higher and Y and P lower for the fast-growing strain. Differences between the two strains with regard to these variables may represent tradeoffs associated with the faster potential growth rate. Steady-state relationships between these values and for the fast-growing strain, however, deviated from model predictions which suggest a possible shift from carbon to non-carbon growth limitation.     

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Periplasmic secretion of human growth hormone by Escherichia coli

The gene coding for human growth hormone (hGH) was fused to the coding sequence for the signal peptide of a secreted Escherichia coli protein. STII heat-stable enterotoxin. This hybrid gene was expressed in E. coli. The signal peptide is properly processed and hGH is secreted in to the periplasmic space. In E. coli, some of the material made is proteolytically clipped or deamidated. The effect of culture conditions on the expression and secretion of hGH was studied and several important parameters were identified, including culture temperature and duration, cultivation pH, K+ levels, plasmid structure, and nutrient supplements. Alteration of culture conditions significantly improves the recovery yield and product quality of human growth hormone.     

Ultrastructure of carotenoid deprivation in photoreceptors of Manduca sexta: myeloid bodies and intracellular microvilli

Summary The ultrastructural effects of carotenoid (vitamin A) deprivation were studied in the adult photoreceptors of the tobacco hornworm moth Manduca sexta. Moths were reared on a deprived diet, which lacked the carotenoid sources of the photopigment chromophore, 3-hydroxy retinal, or on a control, fortified diet, containing ample carotenoid. The latter supported normal levels of visual function, whereas visual pigment and sensitivity were reduced by at least 3 log units in moths reared on the deprived diet. Myeloid bodies, massed cisternae of hypertrophied smooth endomembrane, filled the cytoplasm in the receptors of deprived animals. The myeloid bodies assumed various configurations that included lamellate stacks of parallel cisternae, and tubular networks in a paracrystalline form. Freeze-fracture preparations of myeloid membranes revealed a high density of P-face particles. Vacuoles containing microvilli similar to those of the rhabdomere were also present in deprived photoreceptors. We suggest that the elaboration of smooth endoplasmic reticulum as myeloid bodies in chromophore-deprived photoreceptors may stem from the hypertrophy of a biochemical system for processing the chromophore or the interruption of the intracellular pathway that normally carries visual pigment to the rhabdomere.     

Mammalian phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C isoenzymes

Procaryotic and eucaryotic cells have evolved multiple pathways for communication with their external environment. The inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate/diacylglycerol second messenger system is an example of such a signal transduction pathway which is present in multicellular eucaryotic organisms. Binding of an agonist to a specific cell surface receptor promotes rapid hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. The pivotal enzyme for this second messenger system is phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C which hydrolyzes phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate to generate the two second messengers, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and diacylglycerol. Recently, much progress has been made in the purification, characterization and cDNA cloning of multiple PI-PLC isoenzymes. The results of the recent studies on phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C are reviewed.     

Cell death by apoptosis during involution of the lactating breast in mice and rats

The role of cell death in involution of lactating breast was investigated in mice and rats by light and electron microscopy. Apoptosis, recognized by sharply demarcated compaction of chromatin against the nuclear envelope and by shrinkage and budding of the whole cell to form membrane-bounded apoptotic bodies, was responsible for major loss of cells in both species. In the mouse, rapid involution during the first 2 days was associated with shedding of large numbers of apoptotic bodies derived from alveolar epithelial cells into alveolar lumens. This was followed by more gradual regression, during which the bodies were mostly phagocytosed by macrophages within the epithelium. In the rat, glandular involution was a more gradual and uniform process, with shedding of apoptotic epithelial cells into alveolar lumens being much less conspicuous. Apoptosis of myoepithelial cells was observed in mice, the resulting apoptotic bodies being phagocytosed by intraepithelial macrophages, but was not detected in rats. Apoptosis of capillary endothelial cells caused rapid regression of the capillary beds in both mice and rats. Intraepithelial macrophages increased in number during involution, developed cytoplasmic lipofuscin pigment, and either remained within the epithelium or migrated to the interstitium and regional nodes. Cell loss by apoptosis has been demonstrated during involution and atrophy of a variety of other glands. It characteristically results in shrinkage of a tissue without disruption of its basic architecture.     

Novel Pathway of Toluene Catabolism in the Trichloroethylene-Degrading Bacterium G4

o-Cresol and 3-methylcatechol were identified as successive transitory intermediates of toluene catabolism by the trichloroethylene-degrading bacterium G4. The absence of a toluene dihydrodiol intermediate or toluene dioxygenase and toluene dihydrodiol dehydrogenase activities suggested that G4 catabolizes toluene by a unique pathway. Formation of a hybrid species of ¹⁸O- and ¹⁶O-labeled 3-methylcatechol from toluene in an atmosphere of ¹⁸O₂ and ¹⁶O₂ established that G4 catabolizes toluene by successive monooxygenations at the ortho and meta positions. Detection of trace amounts of 4-methylcatechol from toluene catabolism suggested that the initial hydroxylation of toluene was not exclusively at the ortho position. Further catabolism of 3-methylcatechol was found to proceed via catechol-2,3-dioxygenase and hydroxymuconic semialdehyde hydrolase activities.     

Isolation and Characterization of Mutants of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 Deficient in Acetoacetyl-Coenzyme A:Acetate/Butyrate:Coenzyme A-Transferase (EC 2.8.3.9) and in Other Solvent Pathway Enzymes

Mutants of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 exhibiting resistance to 2-bromobutyrate or rifampin were isolated after nitrosoguanidine treatment. Mutants were screened for solvent production by using an automated alcohol test system. Isolates were analyzed for levels of butanol, ethanol, acetone, butyrate, acetate, and acetoin in stationary-phase batch cultures. The specific activities of NADH- and NADPH-dependent butanol dehydrogenase and butyraldehyde dehydrogenase as well as those of acetoacetyl-coenzyme A:acetate/butyrate:coenzyme A-transferase (butyrate-acetoacetate coenzyme A-transferase [EC 2.8.3.9]) (CoA-transferase), butyrate kinase, and phosphotransbutyrylase were measured at the onset of stationary phase. Rifampin-resistant strain D10 and 2-bromobutyrate mutant R were found to be deficient in only CoA-transferase, while several other mutants exhibited reduced butyraldehyde dehydrogenase and butanol dehydrogenase activities as well. The colony morphology of 2-bromobutyrate mutant R was similar to that of the parent on RCM medium; however, it had about 1/10 the level of CoA-transferase and increased levels of butanol dehydrogenase and butyraldehyde dehydrogenase. A nonsporulating, spontaneously derived degenerated strain exhibited reduced levels of butyraldehyde dehydrogenase, butanol, dehydrogenase, and CoA-transferase compared with those of the original strain. When C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824 was grown on medium containing low levels of 2-bromobutyrate, an altered colony morphology was observed. Not all strains resistant to 2-bromobutyrate (12 mM) were non-solvent-producing strains.     

The spectrin-actin junction of erythrocyte membrane skeletons

High-resolution electron microscopy of erythrocyte membrane skeletons has provided striking images of a regular lattice-like organization with five or six spectrin molecules attached to short actin filaments to form a sheet of five- and six-sided polygons. Visualization of the membrane skeletons has focused attention on the (spectrin)5,6-actin oligomers, which form the vertices of the polygons, as basic structural units of the lattice. Membrane skeletons and isolated junctional complexes contain four proteins that are stable components of this structure in the following ratios: 1 mol of spectrin dimer, 2-3 mol of actin, 1 mol of protein 4.1 and 0.1-0.5 mol of protein 4.9 (numbers refer to mobility on SDS gels). Additional proteins have been identified that are candidates to interact with the junction, based on in vitro assays, although they have not yet been localized to this structure and include: tropomyosin, tropomyosin-binding protein and adducin. The spectrin-actin complex with its associated proteins has a key structural role in mediating cross-linking of spectrin into the network of the membrane skeleton, and is a potential site for regulation of membrane properties. The purpose of this article is to review properties of known and potential constituent proteins of the spectrin-actin junction, regulation of their interactions, the role of junction proteins in erythrocyte membrane dysfunction, and to consider aspects of assembly of the junctions.