Rearing in a distorted magnetic field disrupts the ‘map sense’ of juvenile steelhead trout

We used simulated magnetic displacements to test orientation preferences of juvenile steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exposed to magnetic fields existing at the northernmost and southernmost boundaries of their oceanic range. Fish reared in natural magnetic conditions distinguished between these two fields by orienting in opposite directions, with headings that would lead fish towards marine foraging grounds. However, fish reared in a spatially distorted magnetic field failed to distinguish between the experimental fields and were randomly oriented. The non-uniform field in which fish were reared is probably typical of fields that many hatchery fish encounter due to magnetic distortions associated with the infrastructure of aquaculture. Given that the reduced navigational abilities we observed could negatively influence marine survival, homing ability and hatchery efficiency, we recommend further study on the implications of rearing salmonids in unnatural magnetic fields.     

Mining the human autoantibody repertoire: Isolation of potent IL17A-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies from a patient with thymoma

Anti-cytokine autoantibodies have been widely reported to be present in human plasma, both in healthy subjects and in patients with underlying autoimmune conditions, such as autoimmune polyendocrinopathy candidiasis ectodermal dystrophy (APECED) or thymic epithelial neoplasms. While often asymptomatic, they can cause or facilitate a wide range of diseases including opportunistic infections. The potential therapeutic value of specific neutralizing anti-cytokine autoantibodies has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we used mammalian cell display to isolate IL17A-specific antibodies from a thymoma patient with proven high-titer autoantibodies against the same. We identified 3 distinct clonotypes that efficiently neutralized IL17A in a cell-based in vitro assay. Their potencies were comparable to those of known neutralizing antibodies, including 2, AIN457 (secukinumab) and ixekizumab that are currently in clinical development for the treatment of various inflammatory disorders. These data clearly demonstrate that the human autoantibody repertoire can be mined for antibodies with high therapeutic potential for clinical development.     

Body temperature variation controls pre-mRNA processing and transcription of antiviral genes and SARS-CoV-2 replication

Antiviral innate immunity represents the first defense against invading viruses and is key to control viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2. Body temperature is an omnipresent variable but was neglected when addressing host defense mechanisms and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we show that increasing temperature in a 1.5°C window, between 36.5 and 38°C, strongly increases the expression of genes in two branches of antiviral immunity, nitric oxide production and type I interferon response. We show that alternative splicing coupled to nonsense-mediated decay decreases STAT2 expression in colder conditions and suggest that increased STAT2 expression at elevated temperature induces the expression of diverse antiviral genes and SARS-CoV-2 restriction factors. This cascade is activated in a remarkably narrow temperature range below febrile temperature, which reflects individual, circadian and age-dependent variation. We suggest that decreased body temperature with aging contributes to reduced expression of antiviral genes in older individuals. Using cell culture and in vivo models, we show that higher body temperature correlates with reduced SARS-CoV-2 replication, which may affect the different vulnerability of children versus seniors toward severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Altogether, our data connect body temperature and pre-mRNA processing to provide new mechanistic insight into the regulation of antiviral innate immunity.     

Cellulose-binding polypeptides from Cellulomonas fimi: endoglucanase D (CenD), a family A beta-1,4-glucanase.

Five cellulose-binding polypeptides were detected in Cellulomonas fimi culture supernatants. Two of them are CenA and CenB, endo-beta-1,4-glucanases which have been characterized previously; the other three were previously uncharacterized polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 120, 95, and 75 kDa. The 75-kDa cellulose-binding protein was designated endoglucanase D (CenD). The cenD gene was cloned and sequenced. It encodes a polypeptide of 747 amino acids. Mature CenD is 708 amino acids long and has a predicted molecular mass of 74,982 Da. Analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence of CenD shows that the enzyme comprises four domains which are separated by short linker polypeptides: an N-terminal catalytic domain of 405 amino acids, two repeated sequences of 95 amino acids each, and a C-terminal domain of 105 amino acids which is > 50% identical to the sequences of cellulose-binding domains in Cex, CenA, and CenB from C. fimi. Amino acid sequence comparison placed the catalytic domain of CenD in family A, subtype 1, of beta-1,4-glycanases. The repeated sequences are more than 40% identical to the sequences of three repeats in CenB and are related to the repeats of fibronectin type III. CenD hydrolyzed the beta-1,4-glucosidic bond with retention of anomeric configuration. The activities of CenD towards various cellulosic substrates were quite different from those of CenA and CenB.     

A novel device for the non-invasive measurement of free hemoglobin in blood bags.

The production of red blood cell concentrates from human donors is a very expensive procedure and human resources are in short supply. Under perfect storage conditions at a temperature of 2-6 degrees C, a blood bag must be used within 35-49 days (in Germany). Visual inspection of the bag for apparent hemolysis by a blood bank physician is a crucial but subjective quality control assessment. Since an interruption of the cold chain cannot be definitely ruled out, bags are often disposed of prematurely for safety reasons. There is currently no method of testing a closed blood bag with respect to hemolysis for its suitability to be used in a transfusion. The proposed optical measuring device is a hemoglobin sensor which determines the free hemoglobin in standard erythrocyte concentrates without opening the bag. The optical measurements are done on the flexible tube connected to the main bag. The optical measurements were evaluated using standard hemoglobin solutions with an accuracy of 0.005 g/dL. These investigations show that in the future each blood bag can be tested non-invasively for its content of free hemoglobin. This will contribute to decreasing the wastage rate of red blood cell concentrates.     

Nucleotide sequence of the maize chloroplast rpo B/C1/C2 operon: Comparison between the derived protein primary structures from various organisms with respect to functional domains

Summary The genes (rpo B/C₁/C₂) coding for the , , subnits of maize (Zea mays) chloroplast RNA polymerase have been located on the plastome and their nucleotide sequences established. The operon is part of a large inversion with respect to the tobacco and spinach chloroplast genomes and is flanked by the genes trnC and rps2. Notable features of the nucleotide sequence are the loss of an intron in rpoC₁, and an insertion of approximately 450 by in rpOC₂ compared to the dicotyledons tobacco, spinach and liver-wort. The derived amino acid sequence of this additional monocotyledon specific sequence is characterized by acidic heptameric repeat units containing stretches of glutamic acid, tyrosines and leucines with regular spacing. Other structural motifs, such as a nucleotide binding domain in the subunit and a zinc finger in the subunit, are compared at the amino acid level throughout the RNA polymerase subunits with the enzymes from other organisms in order to identify functionally important conserved regions.The sequence data presented in this paper will appear in the EMBL/Gen Bank/DDBJ Nucleotide Databases under the accession number X17318     

Saturating the genetic map of Arabidopsis thaliana with embryonic mutations

One goal of the Arabidopsis genome project is to identify every gene with an essential function in growth and development. Towards that end, the results are reported here of a mapping project designed to enhance the linkage map of Arabidopsis and establish a valuable resource of mutations in essential genes with known map locations. Embryo-defective (emb) mutations were chosen because they represent the most common heritable defect identified following mutagenesis in Arabidopsis. Multiple marker lines with easily scored phenotypes were constructed to facilitate mapping efforts. Recombination data were obtained for 169 mutants defective in embryo-genesis. The chromosomal locations of 110 emb genes are presented in this report. Twenty-six of these genes are tagged with T-DNA. Nine other mutants isolated following seed transformation appear to contain chromosomal translocations. Another 31 mutant genes in the collectiohave been assigned to a linkage group but not yet placed on the map. Nineteen examples of duplicate alleles have also been found. This is consistent with the estimate that approximately 500 genes readily mutate to give an embryo-defective phenotype in Arabidopsis. With continued progress, it may therefore be possible to approach saturation for this important class of mutations. Molecular cloning of these genes should be facilitated by identifying cDNAs and genomic sequences that map to similar locations.     

Analysis of a restriction endonuclease map for bovine papillomavirus type 2 DNA

A physical map was constructed for bovine papillomavirus type 2 DNA by the use of restriction endonucleases. A comparison between the genomes of bovine papillomavirus types I and 2 in regard to location and number of cleavage sites of seven enzymes is also presented. This comparison revealed similarities between the two genomes.     

Multiple domains in endoglucanase B (CenB) from Cellulomonas fimi: functions and relatedness to domains in other polypeptides.

Endoglucanase B (CenB) from the bacterium Cellulomonas fimi is divided into five discrete domains by linker sequences rich in proline and hydroxyamino acids (A. Meinke, C. Braun, N. R. Gilkes, D. G. Kilburn, R. C. Miller, Jr., and R. A. J. Warren, J. Bacteriol. 173:308-314, 1991). The catalytic domain of 608 amino acids is at the N terminus. The sequence of the first 477 amino acids in the catalytic domain is related to the sequences of cellulases in family E, which includes procaryotic and eucaryotic enzymes. The sequence of the last 131 amino acids of the catalytic domain is related to sequences present in a number of cellulases from different families. The catalytic domain alone can bind to cellulose, and this binding is mediated at least in part by the C-terminal 131 amino acids. Deletion of these 131 amino acids reduces but does not eliminate activity. The catalytic domain is followed by three domains which are repeats of a 98-amino-acid sequence. The repeats are approximately 50% identical to two repeats of 95 amino acids in a chitinase from Bacillus circulans which are related to fibronectin type III repeats (T. Watanabe, K. Suzuki, K. Oyanagi, K. Ohnishi, and H. Tanaka, J. Biol. Chem. 265:15659-15665, 1990). The C-terminal domain of 101 amino acids is related to sequences, present in a number of bacterial cellulases and xylanases from different families, which form cellulose-binding domains (CBDs). It functions as a CBD when fused to a heterologous polypeptide. Cells of Escherichia coli expressing the wild-type cenB gene accumulate both native CenB and a stable proteolytic fragment of 41 kDa comprising the three repeats and the C-terminal CBD. The 41-kDa polypeptide binds to cellulose but lacks enzymatic activity.     

Muscle glycogenolysis. Regulation of the cyclic interconversion of phosphorylase a and phosphorylase b

Regulation of glycogenolysis in skeletal muscle is dependent on a network of interacting enzymes and effectors that determine the relative activity of the enzyme phosphorylase. That enzyme is activated by phosphorylase kinase and inactivated by protein phosphatase-1 in a cyclic process of covalent modification. We present evidence that the cyclic interconversion is subject to zero-order ultrasensitivity, and the effect is responsible for the "flash" activation of phosphorylase by Ca2+ in the presence of glycogen. The zero-order effect is observable either by varying the amounts of kinase and phosphatase or by modifying the ratio of their activities by a physiological effector, protein phosphatase inhibitor-2. The sensitivity of the system is enhanced in the presence of the phosphorylase limit dextrin of glycogen which lowers the Km of phosphorylase kinase for phosphorylase. The in vitro experimental results are examined in terms of physiological conditions in muscle, and it is shown that zero-order ultrasensitivity would be more pronounced under the highly compartmentalized conditions found in that tissue. The sensitivity of this system to effector changes is much greater than that found for allosteric enzymes. Furthermore, the sensitivity enhancement increases more rapidly than energy consumption (ATP) as the phosphorylase concentration increases. Energy effectiveness is shown to be a possible evolutionary factor in favor of the development of zero-order ultrasensitivity in compartmentalized systems.