Bioassay strain development for the analysis of bacitracin in bacitracin/chlortetracycline combinations

A variant strain was developed fromMicrococcus luteus ATCC 10240 for the purpose of bioassay analysis of bacitracin in the presence of chlortetracycline (CTC). Strain EN5 resulted from four sequential mutation steps, using quantitative resistance to CTC and retained bacitracin sensitivity as a selective criterion. Strain EN5 was tested for bioassay response, stability, and identity. The strain measured bacitracin activity with no interference from 40 g ml^–1 added CTC.     

Molecular population genetics of the alcohol dehydrogenase locus in the Hawaiian drosophilid D. mimica

Sequence variation among 10 alleles of the alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) gene of the Hawaiian drosophilid D. mimica was analyzed with reference to the evolutionary history of the Hawaiian subgroup as well as to levels and patterns of polymorphism of the Adh gene in continental drosophilid species. The Adh gene of D. mimica is less polymorphic than that of other drosophilid species, and no replacement substitutions were found. Statistical analyses of the Adh alleles suggested the action of balancing selection and revealed significant linkage disequilibrium among three of the variable sites. The effective population size was estimated to be only slightly smaller than that of continental species and, surprisingly, on the same order of magnitude as the actual size.      

Effect of serotonin on intracellular free calcium of rat cerebrovascular smooth muscle cells in culture

Smooth muscle cells were dissociated from conducting cerebral arteries of adult rats and maintained in culture for 2-4 days. The calcium-sensitive fluorescent probe, fura-2, was used to study the effect of the vasoconstrictor serotonin (5-HT) on the level of free intracellular Ca2+ in these cells. The baseline level of free intracellular calcium was 39 +/- 3.6 nM. In 74 out of 110 cells, 5-HT application transiently increased the free Ca2+ content. This effect was dose-dependent and was suppressed by nanomolar concentrations of the 5-HT2 receptor antagonist, ketanserin. The 5-HT induced rise in free intracellular calcium was not prevented by the presence of Co2+, La3+, or nifedipine, blockers of voltage-sensitive calcium channels. These results indicate that 5-HT mobilizes intracellular Ca2+ in cultured smooth muscle cells derived from the rat cerebrovasculature. The mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ appears to be triggered by a 5-HT2 type receptor, although further pharmacological experiments are required to verify this hypothesis.     

Bacterioplankton Dynamics in the McMurdo Dry Valley Lakes, Antarctica: Production and Biomass Loss over Four Seasons

Abstract Research of the microbial ecology of McMurdo Dry Valley lakes has concentrated primarily on phototrophs; relatively little is known about the heterotrophic bacterioplankton. Bacteria represent a substantial proportion of water column biomass in these lakes, comprising 30 to 60% of total microplankton biomass. Bacterial production and cell numbers were measured 3 to 5 times, within four Antarctic seasons (October to January), in Lakes Fryxell, Hoare, and Bonney. The winter-spring transition (September to October) was included during one year. Lake Fryxell was the most productive, but variable, lake, followed by Lakes Bonney and Hoare. Bacterial production ranged from 0 to 0.009 μg C ml-1 d-1; bacterial populations ranged from 3.2 x 10(4) to 4.4 x 10(7) cells ml-1. Bacterial production was always greatest just below the ice cover at the beginning of the season. A second maximum developed just above the chemocline of all the lakes, as the season progressed. Total bacterioplankton biomass in the lakes decreased as much as 88% between successive sampling dates in the summer, as evidenced by areal integration of bacterial populations; the largest decreases in biomass typically occurred in mid-December. A forward difference model of bacterial loss in the trophogenic zone and the entire water column of these lakes showed that loss rates in the summer reached 6.3 x 10(14) cells m-2 d-1 and 4.16 x 10(12) cells m-2 d-1, respectively. These results imply that bacteria may be a source of carbon to higher trophic levels in these lakes, through grazing.     

拐芹根化学成分研究Ⅱ

从伞型科当归属植物拐芹(Angelica polymorpha Maxim)的根及根茎中又分得4个结晶性化合物。经物理常数测定、光谱分析,分别鉴定为欧前胡素Ⅰ,异氧化前胡内酯Ⅱ,Pabulenol Ⅲ,Phellopterin Ⅳ。