Electron microscopic study of Saccharomyces cerevisiae rDNA chromatin replication.

An electron microscopic study was made of the replication of rDNA chromatin of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Two different methods were used to synchronize cells. cdc7-1 cells were raised to a restrictive temperature, whereas A364a cells were blocked with mating factor. Replication bubbles typically opened in the nontranscribed spacers of rDNA repeats in both cell types. The mean position of the center of these bubbles corresponds closely to a position where an autonomously replicating sequence previously has been mapped in an rDNA repeat. Clusters of replication bubbles containing up to four bubbles spaced one to three genes apart were seen opening in early S phase.     

INCIDENTAL MORTALITY OF NORTHERN SEA LIONS IN SHELIKOF STRAIT, ALASKA

The incidental catch of northern sea lions ( Eumetopias jubatus ) in the walleye pollock ( Theragra chalcogramma ) joint-venture fishery in Shelikof Strait, Alaska, was studied during 1982–1984 to assess the nature and magnitude of the catch. Data were obtained by placing U.S. observers on foreign processing vessels. Dead sea lions recovered from trawl nets were counted, sexed and measured, teeth were removed for age determination by dental laminae; and stomach contents were analyzed. Although the fishery has continued to expand both in number of boats and estimated total catch (74,136 metric tons [t] in 1982 to 171,539 t in 1984), the estimated incidental catch of northern sea lions has declined (ranging from 958 to 1,436 in 1982, 216 to 324 in 1983 and 237 to 355 in 1984). Of the sea lions processed, 73 percent were caught between 2000 and 0500 h, probably during net retrieval. Most caught sea lions were females ranging in age from 1–25 yr with a mean age of 6.43 yr; 79 percent of the females were sexually mature and probably part of the reproducing population. Males had a mean age of 4.8 yr and only 12 percent were old enough to obtain and defend territories. Analysis of stomach contents showed that the sea lions consumed pollock the same size as that taken by the commercial fishery. The impact of the incidental catch on the Gulf of Alaska sea lion population is unknown.     

Paleolimnology of the Peten Lake District,Guatemala

Long-term changes of sedimentary particle-size distribution in two tropical lowland lakes were compared with changes of human population sizes, estimated archaeologically, in the drainage basins. Mean particle size of silt and clay fractions (<64 µm) varied between 3 and 15 µm. High positive skewness and kurtosis of the distributions were associated with smaller particle sizes; hence small mean size resulted from greater influx of small particles while influx of larger particles was probably constant. An inverse correlation between mean particle size and human population size is interpreted to mean that disturbance-induced erosion results in delivery of very fine inorganic particles at higher rates. Within any one basin, particle-size stratigraphy is more precisely related to archaeological time periods than is pollen stratigraphy. An absolute chronology still eludes us, owing to the failure of ¹⁴C dating of calcareous, colluvial sediments, but our relative chronology is now more precise than before. If certain assumptions about past hydrologic relations can be met, particle-size analysis is a way of comparing the histories of geographically very different lakes, including lakes from tropical, temperate, and arctic regions.     

Interaction of Agromyces ramosus with Other Bacteria in Soil

Agromyces ramosus occurs in very high numbers in most soils and, based on studies of laboratory isolates, does not require host cells for growth. Nevertheless, it attacked and destroyed most of the gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial species tested as possible host organisms. A. ramosus also attacked and destroyed Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The possibility of attack on fungi was unclear. Among the bacteria serving as hosts were the important soil species Azotobacter vinelandii, Rhizobium leguminosarum, Rhizobium meliloti, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Dead cells were not attacked. A. vinelandii cysts were attacked but left unharmed. To some extent, A. vinelandii seemed to survive this attack by encysting. Attack by A. ramosus occurred in natural soil and over a broad range of nutritional levels in laboratory media. The attack did not seem to be a means for obtaining an increased supply of commonly available nutrients. Instead, it seemed to be a means of obtaining something produced, perhaps in small amounts, by a variety of organisms, but not by all organisms. Several types of culture filtrates were tested for activity. The filtrates neither stimulated nor inhibited the growth of A. ramosus or the host organisms. The availability of catalase activity in host organisms did not seem to be involved. It is not known whether the attack by Agromyces ramosus in soil can be manipulated to cause a decrease in numbers of Agrobacterium tumefaciens or other pathogens without simultaneously depressing the numbers of beneficial organisms in this habitat.     

Relationship between lactic acid concentration and bacterial spoilage in ground beef.

Lactic acid concentration correlated with organoleptic spoilage of refrigerated, coarsely ground beef stored in casings with low oxygen permeability. The samples were assayed over time for lactic acid concentration, total aerobic plate count, percentage of gram-positive organisms, and pH. Lactic acid increased in all samples, as did the bacterial counts and percentage of gram-positive organisms in the total microflora, the latter representing an increase in the lactic acid-producing bacteria. pH was found to decrease in all samples, with the smallest decrease in pH being observed in the meat sample which maintained the lowest proportion of gram-positive organisms. With samples evaluated by a sensory panel, lactic acid levels were found to correlate inversely with odor acceptability.     

beta-Thalassemia due to a deletion of the nucleotide which is substituted in the beta S-globin gene.

Sickle-cell anemia results from an A leads to T transversion in the second nucleotide of codon 6 of the beta-globin gene. We now report an uncommon beta-thalassemia gene that contains a deletion of this nucleotide. Thus, one mutation (GAG leads to GTG) produces sickle-cell anemia, while the other (GAG leads to GG) eliminates beta-globin production. These data establish that different alterations affecting one specific nucleotide can produce either an abnormal hemoglobin or beta-thalassemia. Moreover, the nucleotide sequence comprising codons 6-8 of the beta-globin gene appears to be particularly susceptible to mutations affecting nucleotide number.     

Sequence analysis of mitochondrial DNA in a mouse cell line resistant to chloramphenicol and oligomycin.

A mouse L-cell line, designated 111-OB3, is described which is resistant to two drugs, chloramphenicol and oligomycin. The cells contain two types of mitochondrial DNA molecules, in roughly equal proportions, which differ in that one is cleaved by endonuclease EcoRI at a novel site within the coding sequence for subunit 6 of the mitochondrial ATPase (ATPase-6). Sequence analysis reveals that the cleavage site was created by a single transversion which predicts a replacement of valine in the wild-type ATPase-6 by glutamic acid. The replacement occurs in a hydrophobic amino acid sequence which is highly conserved in mouse, human, and bovine proteins. The position of the replacement is similar to a substitution observed in one class of yeast mutants resistant to oligomycin. Both of the mitochondrial DNA molecules in 111-OB3 also have a single nucleotide change in the gene encoding the large (16S) rRNA. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that oligomycin resistance in mammalian cells can be cytoplasmically determined and can result from alterations in ATPase-6. The appearance of the mutation before selection in oligomycin suggests a model for the origin of mitochondrial mutations in mammalian cells.     

Active transport of l-aspartic acid in Neurospora crassa

Transport of l-aspartic acid in Neurospora crassa conidia is shown to be mediated by neutral and general amino acid transport systems. The transport activity is dependent on pH and results in accumulation of l-aspartic acid against a gradient. Mutants deficient in transport of l-aspartic acid are described.