Transient response of forests to CO2-induced climate change: simulation modeling experiments in eastern North America

Summary The temporal response of forests to CO₂-induced climate changes was examined for eastern North America. A forest stand simulation model was used with the assumption that climate will change at a constant rate as atmospheric CO₂ doubles, and then as CO₂ doubles again. Before being used to project future vegetation trends, the simulation model FORENA was verified by its ability to reproduce long, temporal sequences of plant community change recorded by fossil pollen and by its ability to reproduce today's vegetation. The simulated effects of changing monthly temperature and precipitation included a distinctive dieback of extant trees at most locations, with only partial recovery of biomass in areas of today's temperate deciduous forest. In the southern portion of today's deciduous-coniferous transition forests the simulated dieback was indistinct and recovery by deciduous tree species was rapid. In more northerly transition areas, the dieback not only was clearly expressed, but occurred twice, when new dominant species replaced extant conifers, then were themselves replaced, as climate change continued. Boreal conifers also underwent diebacks and were replaced by deciduous hardwoods more slowly in the north than in the south. Transient responses in species composition and carbon storage continued as much as 300 years after simulated climate changes ceased.Environmental Sciences Division Publication No. 2625     

Complementation of an Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora protease mutant with a protease-encoding cosmid

Summary We report the complementation of a genetic lesion in the genome of Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc), a pathogenic bacterium that incites soft rot of plants. A Sau3AI genomic library of Ecc was constructed using the conjugal cosmid pLAFR-3 as a vector. Sixteen cosmid clones encoding various plant tissue-degrading enzymes were identified, including a proteolytic clone, five cellulolytic clones, and ten pectolytic clones. We detected a mutant of Ecc with no proteolytic activity following transposon mutagenesis with an unstable Tn5-carrying plasmid. Conjugal transfer of the protease-encoding cosmid to this mutant restored near-wildtype extracellular protease production. Further manipulation and study of genes encoding pathogenic determinants in Ecc will be possible using this system.     

Growth, dry matter partitioning, and diurnal activities of RuBP carboxylase in citrus seedlings maintained at two levels of CO2

The long-term response of citrus rootstock seedlings to CO₂ enrichment was examined in Carrizo estrange ( Poncirua trifoliata (L.) Raf. x Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] and Swingle citrumelo ( P. trifoliate x C. parodist Macf.]. Plaotlets 14 weeks old were transferred to outdoor controlled-environment chambers and maintained for 5 months from Feb. 14 to July 21. During this period, new growth (cm) of citrange and citrumelo shoots at 660 μl1⁻¹ was 94 and 69% greater, respectively, than at 330 μ1 1⁻¹. Total dry weight of both rootstock shoots had increased by over 100%. Growth of few species is affected this markedly by elevated CO₂ levels.
More carbon was partitioned to above-ground organs in CO₂-enriched citrus seedlings. Stem dry matter per unit length was also 32 and 44% greater in citrange and citrumelo, respectively. Total leaf area was increased by 124% in citrange and 85% in citrumelo due to greater leaf number and size. Variations in overall relative growth rate appeared to be related to the rapid, sequential, flush-type growth in citrus, in which an entire shoot segment with its associated leaves remains an active sink until fully expanded. RuBP carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.39) activity in leaves of recently-expanded flushes was higher in citrumelo plants grown at 660 vs 330 μ1 1⁻¹ CO₂ and changed diurnally for citrange (but not citrumelo) leaves at both CO₂ levels. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that positive long-term effects of CO² enrichment may be greater in species or during growth periods where sink capacity for carbon utilization is high.     

Cloning, nucleotide sequencing, and expression of tetanus toxin fragment C in Escherichia coli.

The amino acid sequence of the first 30 residues of fragment C of tetanus toxin was determined, and a mixture of 32 complementary oligonucleotides, each 17 bases long, was synthesized. A 2-kilobase (kb) EcoI fragment of Clostridium tetani DNA was identified by Southern blotting and was cloned into the Escherichia coli plasmid vector pAT153 with the 32P-labeled oligonucleotide mixture as a probe. A second 3.2-kb Bg/II fragment was identified and cloned with the 2-kb EcoRI fragment as a probe. The nucleotide sequence of 1.8 kb of this DNA was determined and was shown to encode the entire fragment C and a portion of fragment B of tetanus toxin. The tetanus DNA was expressed in E. coli with pWRL507, a plasmid vector containing the trp promoter and a portion of the trpE gene. The trpE-tetanus fusion proteins were visualized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and were shown to react with anti-fragment C antibody.     

Promoter recognition by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. Effects of substitutions in the spacer DNA separating the -10 and -35 regions

A family of variants of the PRM promoter of lambda phage was constructed, bearing nine base pair substitutions in a stretch of the spacer DNA separating the contacted -10 and -35 regions. The substituted sequences were chosen for their potential to adopt structures different from those of average B-form DNA and thus to affect the interaction of RNA polymerase with the two contacted regions. Characterization of the promoters in vitro and in vivo provides additional support for the lack of specific contacts in the substituted spacer region and shows that a small change in the relative rotational orientation of the -10 and -35 regions is inconsequential to promoter function. However, a 2-3-fold reduction in promoter activity is observed with promoters bearing substitutions of nonalternating dG-dC base pairs in either orientation. This corroborates other studies indicating the anomalous behavior of such sequences and suggests that the structure of the spacer DNA can modulate promoter recognition.     

Physicochemical properties of the N-formyl peptide receptor on human neutrophils

In order to investigate the physicochemical properties of the N-formyl peptide receptor of human neutrophils, the receptor was specifically and covalently labeled with an iodinated, photoactivatable derivative of the chemotactic hexapeptide, N-formyl-norleucylleucyl- phenylalanyl-norleucyl-[125I]iodotyrosyl-N epsilon-(6- (4'-azido-2'-nitrophenylamino) hexanoyl)-lysine. After labeling isolated neutrophil membranes, the receptor was extracted with Triton X-100, digitonin, or octyl glucoside and subjected to gel filtration on a calibrated Ultrogel AcA 34 column. The Triton X-100- and digitonin-extracted receptor eluted as single molecular species, with Stokes radii of 40 and 33 A, respectively. This material was subjected to further physicochemical analysis. When octyl glucoside-extracted material was gel-filtered, a second peak containing specifically labeled material eluted in the void volume. Subsequent sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacryl-amide amide gel electrophoresis analysis indicated that this species was the result of disulfide bonded aggregates containing the monomeric species. Sedimentation equilibrium analysis was carried out in H2O and D2O/H2O mixtures, yielding an apparent molecular mass of 63,000 daltons for both Triton X-100- and digitonin-extracted receptor. This agrees closely with the reduced sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic value of 50,000-60,000 daltons, indicating that the receptor extracted from unstimulated membranes is monomeric in these detergents. From the sedimentation equilibrium data, the partial specific volume (v) and frictional ratio (f/f0) were calculated. The v is high in both Triton X-100 (0.880) and digitonin (0.829), indicating that the receptor may be associated with tightly bound endogenous lipid or that it is a hydrophobic membrane protein. This latter likelihood is further supported by the quantitative extraction of receptor into Triton X-114 by a phase-separation method. The frictional ratio of 1.1-1.3 is consistent with an elongated globular protein having an axial ratio of approximately 3:1. This in conjunction with the Stokes radius of 40 A would indicate that the receptor is capable of spanning the 35-40-A nonpolar center of the lipid bilayer. The state of the receptor in situ is discussed.     

Brain peptides and glial growth. I. Glia-promoting factors as regulators of gliogenesis in the developing and injured central nervous system

Glia-promoting factors (GPFs) are peptides of the central nervous system which accelerate the growth of specific glial populations in vitro. Although these factors were first discovered in the goldfish visual system (Giulian, D., Y. Tomozawa, H. Hindman, and R. Allen, 1985, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA., 83:4287-4290), we now report similar peptides are found in mammalian brain. The cerebral cortex of rat contains oligodendroglia-stimulating peptides, GPF1 (15 kD) and GPF3 (6 kD), as well as astroglia-stimulating peptides, GPF2 (9 kD) and GPF4 (3 kD). The concentrations of specific GPFs increase in brain during periods of gliogenesis. For example, GPF1 and GPF3 are found in postnatal rat brain during a peak of oligondendroglial growth while GPF2 and GPF4 are first detected at a time of astroglial proliferation in the embryo. Stab wound injury to the cerebral cortices of rats stimulates astroglial proliferation and induces marked elevations in levels of GPF2 and GPF4. Our findings suggest that two distinct classes of GPFs, those acting upon oligodendroglia and those acting upon astroglia, help to regulate cell growth in the developing and injured central nervous system.     

Isolation and characterization of a 37,000-dalton protein associated with the erythrocyte membrane

We have purified a 37,000-dalton polypeptide (p37) from the red cell membrane that was found in previous studies to undergo a lineage-specific alteration in its membrane association. Our data suggest that p37 associates with the red cell membrane through electrostatic interactions that are resistant to 0.5 M NaCl or 10 mM EDTA. Conditions found to elute p37 from red cell ghosts include H2O at pH 12, 0.1 N NaOH + 1 mM ethanol and 1.0% Triton X-100. p37 was purified substantially from ghosts by Triton X-100 solubilization followed by sequential DEAE-Sephadex and CM-Sephadex chromatography. When p37 was analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, a family of isoelectric focusing variants was detected ranging in pI from 7.0 to 7.8. All of the isoelectric focusing variants showed homology to one another when compared serologically with anti-p37 antibodies or by limited peptide mapping using Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease. The isoelectric focusing variants appear to represent distinct, yet related polypeptides rather than degrees of post-translational modifications to a single species, inasmuch as all of the variants are present in anti-p37 immunoprecipitates prepared from in vitro translations programmed with p37 mRNA.     

Comparison of glucokinase in C3H/He and C58 mice that differ in their hepatic activity

Partially purified preparations of the hepatic glucokinase from C3H/He and C58 inbred mice have been used to explore the molecular basis for the observed twofold difference in activity between the strains. The single codominant gene that appears to regulate activity, the alleles of which are designated Gk^a and Gk^b, respectively, for the two strains, could represent a structural gene change. This now seems unlikely because the mouse enzyme, although showing small differences from rat glucokinase, appeared to be identical in the two strains with respect to thermal stability, electrophoretic mobility in agarose gels, and kinetic properties such as the apparent K _m values for MgATP^2– and glucose and the unique cooperative interaction with the latter substrate. The enzymes also reacted identically in a range of immunological tests (double-diffusion, immunoelectrophoresis, immune precipitation and immune inhibition assays) and ELISA immune inhibition assays indicated that the twofold difference in activity was due to a similar difference in antigenically active enzyme. Genetic control over the physiologically significant regulation of enzyme amount is therefore probable.This work has been supported in part by a grant from the British Diabetic Association and a Training Studentship to PAJ from the Medical Research Council (U.K.).