Bromine oxidation of 1,2-O-isopropylidene-α-d-Glucofuranose and sucrose

Sucrose and $\text{1,2-O-}\text{isopropylidene-α-}\text{d}\text{-glucofuranose}$ (1) were oxidised with bromine in aqueous solution at pH 7 and room temperature. The resulting keto derivatives were converted into their more-stable O-methyloximes, which were characterised by spectroscopic and chromatographic methods. Oxidation of 1 occurred at C-3 and C-5, with a preference for C-5. In the sucrose derivatives isolated after oxidation, those having a keto group in the glucopyranosyl moiety preponderated. The axial fructofuranosyl aglycon protects position 3 in the glucopyranosyl group and oxidation occurs only at C-2 and C-4. Small amounts of sucrose oxidised at C-3 in the fructofuranosyl moiety were also found.     

Isolation and characterization of the dut gene of Escherichia coli. II. Restriction enzyme mapping and analysis of polypeptide products

Restriction endonuclease mapping of previously constructed dut plasmids has been carried out using the enzymes PvuI, PvuII and SacI. Various dut plasmids were also tested in the "maxicell" protein-synthesizing system. They all show two protein bands in common, one of Mr 16000 in agreement with the size previously reported for the purified dUTPase subunit (Shlomai and Kornberg, 1978). With the information obtained the structural gene for dUTPase can be assigned to a 950-bp SacI-PvuII fragment of the E. coli genome. Studies, described in the preceding paper, on the overproduction of dUTPase by bacterial strains carrying different dut plasmids strongly suggest that the dut gene is transcribed in the direction from the SacI site towards the PvuII site and that the SacI site is located within the dut control region. The second protein band observed in the "maxicell" experiments has an Mr of 23500. Its identity is unknown but it may represent a precursor of dUTPase or the product of a separate gene located between dut and pyrE.     

Characterization of cDNAs encoding CuZn-superoxide dismutases in Scots pine

A Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) cDNA library was screened with two heterologous cDNA probes (P31 and T10) encoding cytosolic and chloroplastic superoxide dismutases (SOD) from tomato. Several positive clones for cytosolic and chloroplastic superoxide dismutases were isolated, subcloned, mapped and sequenced. One of the cDNA clones (PS3) had a full-length open reading frame of 465 bp corresponding to 154 amino acid residues and showed approximately 85% homology with the amino acid sequences of angiosperm cytosolic SOD counterparts. Another cDNA clone (PST13) was incomplete, but encoded a putative protein with 93% homology to pea and tomato chloroplastic superoxide dismutase. The derived amino acid sequence from both cDNA clones matched the corresponding N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified mature SOD isozymes. Northern blot hybridizations showed that, cytosolic and chloroplastic CuZn-SOD are expressed at different levels in Scots pine organs. Sequence data and Southern blot hybridization confirm that CuZn-SODs in Scots pine belong to a multigene family. The results are discussed in relation to earlier observations of CuZn-SODs in plants.     

Constitutive production of lymphocyte activating factors by normal tissues in the adult rat

Lymphocyte activating factors (LAFs), e.g., interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-1-like factors, have previously been demonstrated outside the immune system in the skin, thymus epithelium, and the human and rat testis. We have studied the presence of LAFs in normal tissues of the adult rat, utilizing a highly IL-1 sensitive murine thymocyte proliferation assay. We have demonstrated high amounts of LAF activity in the tongue, esophagus, proventricular part of the stomach, and the liver. Some activity was also demonstrated in the duodenum, placenta, spleen, Peyer's patches, glandular stomach, and jejunum, but no bioactivity was present in other gastrointestinal, endocrine, lymphoid, or haematopoeitic tissues. We were also unable to detect any LAF activity in the reproductive organs (except for the testis), urinary tract, skeletal and muscular tissues, brain, eyes, salivary glands, or lung. In the esophagus the activity was mainly localized to the mucosa. The LAF activity in the skin was partly inhibited by treatment with a mixture of antibodies against human IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta. Dose response curves and gel filtration on a Sephacryl S-200 column suggested the presence of a high molecular weight (90,000-100,000 Da) LAF inhibitory factor in the liver. In all positive tissues, the demonstrated LAFs had a molecular weight of 15,000-25,000 Da, as determined by Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration. Of the positive tissues, the skin, tongue, esophagus, and the proventricular part of the stomach all contain stratified squamous epithelium. It is tempting to suggest that the detected LAFs have a similar function in these barrier tissues, e.g., to serve as host defence factors, or, alternatively or additionally, as tissue growth factors.     

Two phytoalexin glycosides from potato tubers infected with Phoma

Four coumarins and seven isoprenoid compounds have been identified in potato tubers infected with Phoma exigua var. foveata. Among these were the 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside of 7-hydroxy-6,8-dimethoxycoumarin (isofraxidin) and the sesquiterpene 2-(11,12-dihydroxy-11-methylethyl)-6,10-dimethyl-spiro[4,5]dec-6-en-8-one and its 12-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, which apparently have not been previously identified in potato tubers. At least two diastereoisomers of the latter glucoside were present. Analysis of eight fluorescent compounds in different parts of infected potatoes was performed by an improved HPLC technique.     

Bromine oxidation of methyl α- and β-pyranosides of D-galactose,D-glucose,and D-mannose

Methyl α- and β-pyranosides of D-galactose, D-glucose, and D-mannose have been oxidized with bromine in aqueous solution at various pH values. The resulting keto glycosides were converted into their more-stable O-methyloxime derivatives which were characterized by spectroscopy and chromatography. Oxidation at a ring carbon atom where the hydrogen is axial is hindered by bulky substituents in syn (i.e., a 1,3) diaxial relationship. Thus, the aglycon group in the α anomers protects position 3, the axial HO-4 in galactopyranosides protects position 2, and the axial HO-2 in mannopyranosides protects position 4 from oxidation.     

Einige Gesichtspunkte zur Benutzung der Statistik im Versuchswesen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Transgenerational effects and the cost of ant tending in aphids

Ant protection of extrafloral nectar (EFN)-secreting plants is a common form of mutualism found in most habitats around the world. However, very few studies have considered these mutualisms from the ant, rather than the plant, perspective. In particular, a whole-colony perspective that takes into account the spatial structure and nest arrangement of the ant colonies that visit these plants has been lacking, obscuring when and how colony-level foraging decisions might affect tending rates on individual plants. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that recruitment of Crematogaster opuntiae (Buren) ant workers to the EFN-secreting cactus Ferocactus wislizeni (Englem) is not independent between plants up to 5 m apart. Colony territories of C. opuntiae are large, covering areas of up to 5,000 m², and workers visit between five and 34 EFN-secreting barrel cacti within the territories. These ants are highly polydomous, with up to 20 nest entrances dispersed throughout the territory and interconnected by trail networks. Our study demonstrates that worker recruitment is not independent within large polydomous ant colonies, highlighting the importance of considering colonies rather than individual workers as the relevant study unit within ant/plant protection mutualisms.