Immunoelectron microscopic studies on the localization of peptidoglycan peptide subunit pentapeptides in bacterial cell walls

The peptide subunit pentapeptide H-L-Ala-D-Glu(L-Lys-D-Ala-D-Ala-OH)-NH₂ of peptidoglycan was localized in the cell walls of several Gram-positive bacteria employing the indirect immunoferritin technique. Specific antibodies to the D-alanyl-D-alanine moiety of non-crosslinked peptide subunit pentapeptide were raised in rabbits by immunization with synthetic immunogen albumin-(CH₂CO-Gly-L-Ala-L-Ala-D-Ala-D-Ala-OH)₃₉. Specificity of these antibodies for the peptide subunit pentapeptide and not for the peptide subunit tetrapeptide was corroborated in a Farr-type radio-active hapten binding assay. Specificity of labelling with ferritin was established by immunoelectron microscopic controls, and by the excellent correlation between specific labelling of cells with ferritin and the particular peptidoglycan primary structure of bacterial strains investigated. Cells of Lactobacillus gasseri, Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus revealing non-crosslinked peptide subunit pentapeptides in their peptidoglycans could specifically be labelled. Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bacillus subtilis, on the contrary, missing such pentapeptides, failed in labelling.The implication of this method to possibly localize the points of attack of penicillin or cycloserine is discussed.Abbreviations used meso-A₂pm meso-diaminopimelic acid - DSM Deutsche Sammlung für Mikroorganismen, Göttingen, FRG This paper is dedicated to Professor Gerhart Drews on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Class I and class II restriction pattern polymorphisms associated with independently derived RT1 haplotypes in inbred rats

This communication reports the DNA level identification of class I and class II sequences associated with 20 RT1 haplotypes which have been assigned previously to eight RT1 groups. Sixteen to 22 bands in genomic blots hybridized with the mouse pH-2III class I cDNA probe. Only the three RT1 ^khaplotypes associated with identical class I restriction fragment patterns. Differences in restriction bands between putatively identical RT1 haplotypes were either less than or equal to 6%, or greater than 50%, suggesting a relatively high level of recombination between serologically identified RT1.A genes and the majority of class I sequences. Restriction fragment patterns associated with three RT1 ^uhaplotypes differed by less than 6%. However, intra-RT1 ^a,intra-RT1 ^b,and intra-RT1 ^lrestriction fragment differences were between 50 and 64%. In specific cases, different RT1 haplotypes associated with identical class I restriction patterns, e.g., RT1 ^m(MNR) and RT1 ^d(MR); higher resolution confirmed the difference (two bands) between RT1 ^mand RT1 ^d.Results of hybridization with the human DC₁ probe confirmed that the AVN RT1 ^aand NSD RT1 ^bhaplotypes were generated by recombinations within the vicinity of the RT1.B : RT1.D regions. These results demonstrate that a previous classification of RT1 haplotypes was incomplete and did not include the majority of class I and class II sequences which distinguish RT1 haplotypes.     

Evidence for the importance of histidine at the active site of argininosuccinate synthetase from soybean

Studies to determine the role of histidine in catalysis by L-argininosuccinate synthetase (EC 6. 3. 4. 5) were carried out with the enzyme isolated from soybean cell suspension cultures. These experiments utilized analogues of the substrates citrulline and aspartate to investigate substrate binding, and to determine which portion of the molecule were required for binding at the active site of the enzyme. Photooxidation studies using rose bengal were carried out to define the importance of histidine residues for catalysis. These studies suggest that an active site histidine residue has an important role to play in the formation of argininosuccinate by this enzyme.     

Stoichiometric binding of diacylglycerol to the phorbol ester receptor

The major phorbol ester receptor is the Ca++-activated, phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C. Diacylglycerol stimulates protein kinase C in a fashion similar to the phorbol esters. Likewise, it inhibits phorbol ester binding competitively. Both results suggest that diacylglycerol is the/an endogenous phorbol ester analogue. Alternatively, the diacylglycerol might simply be acting to modify the phospholipid environment of the protein. If diacylglycerol were indeed functioning as an analogue, it should interact with the receptor stoichiometrically. This interaction can be quantitated by measuring the perturbation in apparent diacylglycerol binding affinity as a function of the ratio of diacylglycerol to receptor. We report here that 1,2-dioleoylglycerol interacts with the receptor with the predicted stoichiometry.     

Weight differences, brood reduction, and sibling competition among nestling Stonechats Saxicola torquata (Aves: Turdidae)

Weight differences within broods of nestling birds are commonly assumed to be the outcome of a parental strategy of selectively starving one or more offspring so as to enhance the survival of the remaining chicks. This study examined patterns of development of nestling Stonechats to reveal the significance of weight hierarchies in determining the relative growth and survival of siblings. Although Stonechat broods display obvious weight hierarchies, the results show that a low rank does not strongly influence survival within the nest, especially early in the nestling period, and in small broods. Low ranking chicks were more likely to leave the nest at lighter weights, however. A proximate mechanism for the establishment of weight hierarchies was investigated, involving competition among nestlings for advantageous positions in the nest, in which the heavier siblings were more successful.     

Neither an enhancement of autolytic wall degradation nor an inhibition of the incorporation of cell wall material are pre-requisites for penicillin-induced bacteriolysis in staphylococci

In contrast to what has been postulated, penicillin G at its optimal lytic concentration of 0.1 g per ml did not lead to a detectable activation of autolytic wall processes in staphylococci in terms of the release of uniformly labelled wall fragments from cells pretreated with the drug for 1 h. Rather a considerable inhibition of this release was observed. A similarly profound inhibition of the release of peptidoglycan fragments occurred when staphylococci pretreated for 1 h with 0.1 g penicillin per ml acted as a source of crude autolysins on peptidoglycan isolated from labelled normal cells of the same strain. This clearly demonstrated that the overall inhibition of autolytic wall processes caused by penicillin was mainly due to a decreased total autolysin action rather than to an altered wall structure. Furthermore, no substantial penicillin-induced inhibition of the incorporation of ¹⁴C-N-acetylglucosamine into the staphylococcal wall could be observed before bacteriolysis started, i. e., approximately during the first 80 min of penicillin action. These results are not consistent with any of the models hitherto proposed for the action of penicillin.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Gerhart Drews on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Energy flow and the vertical structure of real ecosystems

Summary Three possible explanations for the well-known limitation of food chain lengths to two or three links for the most part are subjected to an empirical test, using the fact that ectotherms, especially invertebrates, tend to have higher production efficiencies than endotherms. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that food chain lengths are limited by the availability of energy.     

Organization of the ribosomal ribonucleic acid genes in various wild-type strains and wild-collected strains of Neurospora

Summary The organization of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) repcat unit in the standard wild-type strain of Neurospora crassa, 74-OR23-1A, and in 30 other wild-type strains and wild-collected strains of N. crassa, N. tetrasperma, N. sitophila, N. intermedia, and N. discreta isolated from nature, was investigated by restriction enzyme digestion of genomic DNA, and probing of the Southern-blotted DNA fragments with specific cloned pieces of the rDNA unit from 74-OR23-1A. The size of the rDNA unit in 74-OR23-1A was shown to be 9.20 kilobase pairs (kb) from blotting data, and the average for all strains was 9.11+0.21 kb; standard error=0.038; coefficient of variation (C.V.)=2.34%. These data indicate that the rDNA repeat unit size has been highly conserved among the Neurospora strains investigated. However, while all strains have a conserved HindIII site near the 5 end of the 25 S rDNA coding sequence, a polymorphism in the number and/or position of HindIII sites in the nontranscribed spacer region was found between strains. The 74-OR23-1A strain has two HindIII sites in the spacer, while others have from 0 to at least 3. This restriction site polymorphism is strain-specific and not species-specific. It was confirmed for some strains by restriction analysis of clones containing most of the rDNA repeat unit. The current restriction map of the 74-OR23-1A rDNA repeat unit is presented.