An O-antigen study of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from serological group O11]

In the study of P. aeruginosa cultures, serogroup O11, strains agglutinated simultaneously by factor sera 11b and 11c have been detected. In experiments on cross agglutination and agglutinin adsorption the antigenic structure of these strains, viz. 11a, 11b and 11c, has been determined.     

A rat gene encoding heart 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase.

There are at least 3 isozymes of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase, a bifunctional enzyme which catalyzes the synthesis and degradation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. A 22-kb rat gene that encodes the heart isozyme has been identified and compared with the 55-kb rat gene encoding the liver and muscle isozymes which had been described earlier. Although these 2 genes include 12 successive similar exons, they contain dissimilar exons at both ends, consistent with the occurrence of different regulatory domains at the N- and C-termini in the 3 isozymes.     

Effect of retinyl acetate on transglutaminase 2 activity in carcinogen treated rat liver

Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) has been implicated in wound healing, cellular differentiation, apoptosis and cell survival. TG2 activity increases following acute and chronic liver injury; however, the role of TG2 in tumors, is controversial. TG2 is a retinoid-inducible enzyme. We investigated the effects of retinyl acetate (RA) on the activity and levels of TG2 during the initiation and promotion stages of liver cancer. p-Dimethylaminoazobenzene (p-DAB) was used as initiator and 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) was used as promoter in our model of carcinogenesis. Rats were divided into four groups of 24: control, corn oil control, p-DAB + TCDD, and p-DAB + TCDD + RA. Six rats from each group were sacrificed at days 30, 60, 90 and 120. TG2 activity decreased in the p-DAB + TCDD treated group, but TG2 immunostaining scores did not change by days 90 and 120. Neither TG2 enzyme activity nor the immunostaining score of TG2 protein changed in the tissues of the p-DAB + TCDD + RA group by days 90 and 120. TG2 activity was not be ameliorated by RA during the initiation or promotion stages of carcinogen induced liver cancer.     

Surplus acylcarnitines in the plasma of starved rats derive from the liver

The method used here to assess the contribution of liver to plasma acylcarnitine is based on the idea that in rat, shortly after administration of [3H]butyrobetaine the [3H]carnitine appearing in the plasma derives from the liver and so does the acyl moiety of [acyl-3H] carnitine. In the perchloric acid extracts of plasma and liver, the ester fraction of total carnitine was determined by enzymatic analysis and that of [3H]carnitines was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The ester fraction of total carnitine in the plasma of fed rats was 32.6% while that of [3H]carnitines was 67.9%, 1 h following injection of [3H]butyrobetaine. For 48 h starved rats the equivalent values were 54.2 and 84.0%, respectively. 24 h after the administration of [3H]butyrobetaine, the ester content became the same in the total and [3H]carnitines. That the newly synthesized carnitine was more acylated (67.9 versus 32.6%, fed) indicates that liver exports acyl groups with carnitine as carrier. The observation that the ester fraction in the newly synthesized plasma carnitine increased with fasting (84.0 versus 67.9%) indicates that the surplus plasma acylcarnitine in fasting ketosis derives from the liver. Perfused livers, however, released carnitine with the same ester content (60-61%) whether they were from fed or fasted animals. Probably, the increased plasma [acylcarnitine] in fasting develops not by an increased ester output from the liver but by an altered handling in extrahepatic tissues.     

Concerning Measurements of the Self-Diffusion Coefficient of Water Molecules and Time of Proton Spin-Lattice Relaxation in Plant Tissues

Measurements of the coefficient of water molecules self-diffusion (D) and the time of spin-lattice relaxation (T ₁) in prosenchyme (elongated) plant cells, whose length significantly exceeding their transverse size, show that the orientation of plant tissues in the H ₀field significantly affects the measured parameters. We conclude that this effect should be taken into account in experiments on the measurement of self-diffusion coefficients and time of proton spin-lattice relaxation in plant tissues containing prosenchyme cells.     

Fungal proteinase expression in the interaction of the plant pathogen Magnaporthe poae with its host.

Infection by pathogenic fungi involves breaching the outer layer of the host by either mechanical or enzymatic means. Subtilisin-like proteinases are considered to be important in the infection process of entomopathogenic, nematophagous, and mycoparasitic fungi. Little is known regarding the expression of such proteinases by plant pathogenic fungi. Magnaporthe poae, a fungal pathogen of Kentucky bluegrass, expressed a subtilisin-like proteinase, proteinase Mp1, in the infected roots. Antibody was produced against the purified enzyme. From immunoblot analysis, expression of the proteinase in infected roots correlated with increasing severity of disease symptoms. Sequence analysis of a genomic clone indicated proteinase Mp1 was homologous to other fungal subtilisin-like proteinases. DNA gel blot analysis indicated proteinase Mp1 was encoded by a small gene family.     

Cryptic species in Diacyclops bicuspidatus (Copepoda:Cyclopoida): evidence from crossbreeding studies

The problem of cryptic species in Diacyclops bicuspidatus was examined using interpopulation crosses of four populations collected from a: (1) permanent flood lake in Kiev, Ukraine, (2) temporary pool in Kiev, (3) permanent pond in St. Petersburg, Russia (1200 km to north from Kiev) and (4) lake in Crimea (1100 km south of Kiev). The only interpopulation crosses to exhibit fertility were those between the St. Petersburg population and each of the two Kiev populations. The crosses between the Kiev and Crimea populations, between the St. Petersburg and Crimea populations, and between the two Kiev populations were sterile, as evidenced by either nonviable eggs, empty egg membranes or incomplete copulations. The F₁ hybrids resulting from the St. Petersburg permanent pond X Kiev flood lake cross were fertile and produced mature F₂ offspring. Some data on development times of parental and hybrid lines are presented. The St. Petersburg parental line showed development times almost twice as long as those of the Kiev flood lake population when reared at 10 °C and 20 °C in the laboratory. The F₁ offspring of the cross between St. Petersburg females and Kiev floodlake males showed similar development times to females of the St. Petersburg parental lines at both temperatures. The F₂ hybrids also showed development times that approximated those of the St. Petersburg parental line. These crossbreeding studies suggest the presence of cryptic species in the D. bicuspidatus inhabiting ecologically different populations in many parts of its large holarctic range.