Structure of the phosphopeptidomannans from flocculent and non-flocculent yeast Kluyveromyces lactis

After extraction from whole cells, and purification by gel filtration, the chemical composition and molecular mass estimation of the cell-wall phosphopeptidomannan (PPM) showed no significant difference respectively between flocculent, weakly, very weakly and non-flocculent Kluyveromyces lactis yeast strains. However, when PPMs were tested as ligands of a lectin, extracted from the flocculent strain, the PPM isolated from the flocculent and weakly flocculent strain were recognized to a higher degree than those isolated from the non and very weakly flocculent strains. Acetolysis of PPM extracted from the four strains produced five oligosaccharide fractions corresponding to mono-, di-, tri-, penta-and hexa-saccharides. The flocculent strain was characterised by a high content of di-and penta-saccharides. The ¹H NMR analysis of the oligosaccharides demonstrated that the flocculent strain contained equivalent levels of the two mannobioses: Man( 1 → 2)Man and Man( 1 → 3)Man and of the two mannotrioses Man( 1 → 2)Man( 1 → 2)Man and Man( 1 → 3)Man( 1 → 2)Man. In contrast, the non-flocculent and the very weakly flocculent strains contained a single type of mannobiose Man( 1 → 2)Man and one type of mannotriose Man( 1 → 2)Man( 1 → 2)Man.     

Plants adapted to warmer climate do not outperform regional plants during a natural heat wave

With ongoing climate change, many plant species may not be able to adapt rapidly enough, and some conservation experts are therefore considering to translocate warm‐adapted ecotypes to mitigate effects of climate warming. Although this strategy, called assisted migration, is intuitively plausible, most of the support comes from models, whereas experimental evidence is so far scarce. Here we present data on multiple ecotypes of six grassland species, which we grew in four common gardens in Germany during a natural heat wave, with temperatures 1.4–2.0°C higher than the long‐term means. In each garden we compared the performance of regional ecotypes with plants from a locality with long‐term summer temperatures similar to what the plants experienced during the summer heat wave. We found no difference in performance between regional and warm‐adapted plants in four of the six species. In two species, regional ecotypes even outperformed warm‐adapted plants, despite elevated temperatures, which suggests that translocating warm‐adapted ecotypes may not only lack the desired effect of increased performance but may even have negative consequences. Even if adaptation to climate plays a role, other factors involved in local adaptation, such as biotic interactions, may override it. Based on our results, we cannot advocate assisted migration as a universal tool to enhance the performance of local plant populations and communities during climate change.     

Isolation and characterisation of three fucosyloligosaccharide-1-phosphates from normal human urine

Three phosphate-containing fucosyloligosaccharides were isolated from normal human urine using charcoal adsorption, gel-filtration, ion-exchange chromatography and paper chromatography. Chemical investigations and 400 MHz¹H-NMR spectroscopy analyses led to the following structures: Their oligosaccharide chains are identical with, or similar to the fucosyloligosaccharides and urinary compounds synthesized by the stepwise transfer ofN-acetylglucosamine, galactose, fucose andN-acetylgalactosamine to free galactose or glucose residues. A transfer reaction of monosaccharides to free hexose-1-phosphates or glycosylnucleotides is proposed for explaining the origin of these sugar-phosphates.     

Malignant transformation of hamster cells following infection with bovine herpesvirus (infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus.

Hamster embryo cells, following infection with IBR virus, showed malignant transformation. Hamsters of all ages, inbred or random bred, inoculated with two of the transformed cell lines developed solid tumors. Preliminary characterization of the tumors induced by one of the cell lines has indicated undifferentiated sarcomas. Viral specific antigen was detected in about 5% of the transformed cells and 10% of primary tumor cells in culture. Viral specific antibody was detected in the serum of tumor-bearing hamsters by the indirect immunofluorescent method, but no neutralizing antibodies were found. Infectious virus has not been recovered from either the transformed or tumor cells by cocultivation with bovine embryonic kidney cells.     

Trichogramma semblidis [Chalcidoidea: Trichogrammatidae] as a parasite of the bark beetle eggs [Coleoptera: Scolytidae]

It has been found thatTrichogramma semblidis (Aurv.) parasitizes the eggs ofleperisinus fraxini (Panz.),L. orni (Fuchs) andHylesinus crenatus (Fabr.) in typical variant ofCircaeo-Alnetum Oberdorfer 1953 in the Laski Experimental Forestry near Kepno. Thorough studies were conducted on exposed European ash logs and split wood in 3 methodical variants. The analysis of the galleries ofLeperisinus fraxini has showed that the average egg infestation amounted to 14.1%, 13.0% and 11.1% respectively. The egg infestation of individual gallery systems in the exposed control logs and split wood ranged between 2.7–51.2%, 1.2–44.1% and 1.7–69.2%, respectively, in different variants and the average effectiveness of the parasite amounted to 12.7% of the host egg mortality in 1970. Earlier observations and analyses of the gallery systems made on the ash trunks and branches in 1967 and 1968 showed 80.0% and 98.0% infestation of the eggs ofL. fraxini and 10.0% and 1.5% infestation of the eggs ofL. orni. Separate developmental stages of the parasite, the behaviour of the latter and penetration of the gallery systems were observed too. The most important data on the host species ofT. semblidis have been compared.     

Cytosolic glycosidases: do they exist?

The substrate specificity of the alpha-D-mannosidases of rat liver lysosome and cytosol was examined using oligosaccharides of the oligomannosidic type. The hydrolysis products were characterized by 400 MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Both catabolic pathways occur in ordered ways, but are quite different. In fact, the lysosomal pathway is a two-step process: the first step involves a Zn(2+)-independent alpha-1,2-mannosidase activity, whereas the second involves a Zn(2+)-dependent alpha-1,3- and alpha-1,6-mannosidase activity. The final product is the disaccharide Man(beta 1-4)GlcNAc. In contrast, the cytosolic pathway leads, in one step, to a unique hexasaccharide (Man5GlcNAc) which has the same structure as the polyprenolic intermediate synthesized on the cytosolic face of the rough endoplasmic reticulum during the biosynthesis of N-glycosylprotein glycans: Man(alpha 1-2)-Man(alpha 1-2)Man(alpha 1-3)[Man(alpha 1-6)] Man(beta 1-4)GlcNAc(beta 1-4)-GlcNAc(alpha)P-P-Dol. In addition, the enzymatic parameters of lysosome, endoplasmic reticulum and cytosol alpha-D-mannosidases are quite different. These results lead to the conclusion that the cytosol contains specific alpha-D-mannosidases which do not originate from lysosomes nor from endoplasmic reticulum. The discovery of cytosolic endo-N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase active on 'immature complex glycans' (glycopeptides of the oligomannosidic type and of the desialylated N-acetyllactosaminic type) as well as on the glycosyl-dolichol pyrophosphate intermediates allows us to hypothesize that these enzymes belong to a control system of N-glycosylprotein biosynthesis, their role being to destroy unfinished glycans. The fate of the formed oligosaccharide structures is discussed: are they destroyed by cytosolic or lysosomal exoglycosidases, or do they carry an 'oligosaccharin-like activity'?     

Sequential1H and13C resonance assignments for an octa- and decasaccharide of theN-acetyllactosamine type by multiple-step relayed correlation and heteronuclear correlation nuclear magnetic resonance

400 MHz¹H-NMR and 100 MHz¹³C-NMR spectra of a neutral octasaccharide and of a disialyldecasaccharide of theN-acetyllactosamine type were studied. The resonance assignments were made by combining multiple-relayed coherence-transfer chemical-shift-correlated spectroscopy (multiple-RELAY-COSY) and¹H/¹³C-shift correlated 2D experiments. The complete analysis of the¹H and¹³C spectra was performed.     

Emergence of donor control in patchy predator—prey systems

We study a general predator—prey system in a spatially heterogeneous environment. The predation process, which occurs on a behavioural time-scale, is much faster than the other processes (reproduction, natural mortality and migrations) occurring on the population dynamics time-scale. We show that, taking account of this difference in time-scales, and assuming that the prey have a refuge, the dynamics of the system on a slow time-scale become donor-controlled. Even though predators may control the prey density locally and on a behavioural fast time-scale, nevertheless, both globally and on a slow time-scale, the prey dynamics are independent of predator density: the presence of predators generates a constant prey mortality. In other words, in heterogeneous environments, the prey population dynamics depend in a switch-like manner on the presence or absence of predators, not on their actual density.     

O-GlcNAc level variations are associated with the development of skeletal muscle atrophy.

O-linked N-acetylglucosaminylation (O-GlcNAc) is a regulatory posttranslational modification of nucleocytoplasmic proteins, which consists of the attachment of N-acetylglucosamine to serine or threonine residues of a protein. This glycosylation is a ubiquitous posttranslational modification, which probably plays important roles in many aspects of protein function. Our laboratory has previously reported that, in skeletal muscle, proteins of the glycolytic pathway and energetic metabolism and contractile proteins were O-GlcNAc modified (Cieniewski-Bernard C, Bastide B, Lefebvre T, Lemoine J, Mounier Y, and Michalski JC. Mol Cell Proteomics 3: 577-585, 2004). O-GlcNAc has been recently demonstrated to play a role in modulating cellular function in response to nutrition and also in stress conditions. Therefore, we have investigated here the implication of the glycosylation/deglycosylation process in the development of atrophy in rat skeletal muscle after hindlimb unloading. The high O-GlcNAc level found in control soleus [compared with control extensor digitorum longus (EDL)] becomes lower in atrophied soleus. On the opposite side, the low rate of O-GlcNAc in control EDL reaches higher levels in EDL, not atrophied after hindlimb unloading. These variations in O-GlcNAc level are correlated with a variation of the O-GlcNAc process enzyme activities and could be associated with a differential expression of heat shock proteins. Our results suggest that O-GlcNAc variations could control the muscle protein homeostasis and be implicated in the regulation of muscular atrophy.     

New Phosphitylating Reagents Containing P-F Bond and Their Application in the Synthesis of P-Fluoro Nucleosidyl Phosphates,Thiophosphates and Selenophosphates

Abstract

An efficient and general synthesis of phosphorofluoridates RO-P(X)(OH)F (X=O) and their analogues (X=S, Se) based on two new phosphitylating reagents: 2-cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropylfluorophosphoroamidite F-P(NPrⁱ ₂)OCH₂CH₂CN and tertbutyl-N,N-diisopropylfluorophosphoroamidite F-P(NPrⁱ ₂)OBu^t is described.