Effect of polyamines on cyclic AMP-dependent and independent protein kinases from mouse epidermis.

Soluble extracts from mouse epidermis contained both cyclic AMP-dependent and independent protein kinases which could be separated by DEAE-Sephadex chromatography. The cyclic AMP-dependent histone kinase activity was inhibited by millimolar concentrations of the polyamines putrescine, spermidine and spermine. Similar concentrations of polyamines stimulated the cyclic AMP-independent phosphorylation of casein. The polyamines did not inhibit cyclic AMP binding by soluble epidermal extracts.     

Fat body: a site of hemoglobin synthesis in Chironomus thummi (diptera)

Fourth instar larvae of Chironomus thummi were permitted to incorporate labeled amino acids and/or sigma-aminolevulinic acid (sigma-ALA) in vivo and in organ culture. The products secreted into the hemolymph or into the culture medium were examined by acrylamide gel electrophoresis. Nine electrophoretic bands can be resolved as hemoglobins without staining. When gels are sliced for scintillation counting, incorporated amino acids and sigma-ALA are shown to be associated primarily with the same nine hemoglobin bands, suggesting that hemoglobins are assembled and secreted. Staining of gels with Coomassie brilliant blue reveals that there are several bands in addition to the visible hemoglobins. These bands incorporate amino acids, but not sigma-ALA, suggesting that they are non-heme proteins. The results of culturing isolated salivary glands, gut, and fat body demonstrate that the fat body is the major site of hemoglobin synthesis and secretion. Labeled products of the gut represent about 5% of the total hemoglobins produced by the tissues, while no hemoglobins are produced by the salivary glands. Although nine hemoglobins are visibly resolved on gels, labeling techniques reveal as many as 14 hemoglobins. This is the first demonstration of hemoglobin synthesis by specific tissues in culture in an invertebrate.     

Measurement of growth and iron deposition in Sphaerotilus discophorus.

Aspects of the physiology of iron deposition of an iron-precipitating strain of Sphaerotilus were investigated in laboratory culture to characterize the process. Measurement of growth (incorporated L-[3H]alanine) and iron deposition (incorporated 59Fe) demonstrated that Sphaerotilus exhibit a characteristic temporal pattern of iron deposition, which is delayed until the latter portion of the exponential or the onset of the stationary growth phase. The growth rate (mu=0.17 h-1) was apparently independent of the iron concentration in the medium. There was, furthermore, no direct correlation between the iron concentration and final cell protein yield. It was concluded from experiments involving growth on artificial substrata (glass cover slips) that sessile populations derived no phsiological advantage (manifested as differences in growth rates) over free-living cells. There was no difference in the rate or onset of iron deposition of attached compared to suspended cells. Blocking of protein synthesis by the addition of chloramphenicol suggested that, once iron deposition was initiated, continued protein synthesis was not required for full expression of this capability. The results suggested that iron deposition may be possibly mediated by certain of the constituents of the organism's sheath.     

Isolation and properties of a ferredoxin from Anabaena Flos-Aquae

Ferredoxin was isolated from the blue-green alga Anabaena flos-aquae. Its homogeneity was shown by conventional and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gel columns, the latter indicating a pI at ca pH 3·7. The absorption spectrum had, in the oxidized state, maxima at 462, 421, 327 and 276 nm, with a shoulder at 284 nm, a spectrum characteristic of plant-type ferredoxins. The 421 : 276 nm absorbance ratio was typically 0.49. The ferredoxin effectively mediated the photoreduction of NADP⁺ by barley chloroplasts depleted of native ferredoxin. The MW obtained by sedimentation-equilibrium and sedimentation velocity-diffusion coefficient studies was ca 12 000 daltons, a value somewhat higher than suggested by amino acid composition data. The ferredoxin contained 2Fe and 2S per molecule.     

Approach and following behaviour of 24-hr old chicks as a function of stimulus complexity.

In a straight runway, following or approach behaviour of day-old broiler and leghorn chicks was found to be mainly a linearly decreasing function of stimulus complexity. The patterned stimuli used were checkerboard-like matrices containing, on the average, 4, 36, 100, 400, or 900 bits of information. Preference for simpler stimuli was not found to depend upon experience in the test situation nor upon the degree of complexity of the home pen. When stimulus illuminance was varied, there was a tendency for a plain grey square (zero bits) to be preferred over the pattern containing 4 bits of information, suggesting that approach or following behaviour is energized maximally by some optimal combination of stimulus illuminance and complexity.     

Amphiphiles for supercritical CO2

A semi-fluorinated hybrid amphiphile, pentadecafluoro-5-dodecyl (F7H4) sulfate, has been shown to form reversed micelles in dense CO₂; the aggregates evolve to form water-in-CO₂ (w/c) microemulsion droplets on addition of water. Aggregation structures in these w/c phases have been characterised by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), showing the presence of cylindrical droplets, which change into dispersed lamellar phases at even higher water loadings. Other systems are also introduced, being high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) with brine, and liquid and supercritical CO₂, stabilized by certain commercially available nonylphenol ethoxylates (Dow Tergitol NP-, and Huntsman Surfonic N- amphiphiles). These dispersions have been characterised by SANS for the first time. Quantitative analyses of the HIPEs SANS profiles show that they behave similarly to hydrocarbon-water emulsion analogues, with regard to total interfacial areas and the effects of amphiphile concentration on the underlying structures. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches for controlling the physico-chemical properties of liquid/supercritical CO₂ in potential applications are compared and contrasted. These results highlight the importance of using specially designed CO₂-philic amphiphiles for generating self-assembly structures in dense CO₂.     

Organic and inorganic acids as the stimulus for exsheathment of infective juveniles of nematodes

Petronijevic T., Rogers W. P. and Sommerville R. I. 1986. Organic and inorganic acids as the stimulus for exsheathment of infective juveniles of nematodes. International Journal for Parasitology 16: 163–168. A variety of organic and inorganic acids stimulated exsheathment of infective juveniles of Nematospiroides dubius over the range pH 2–7. Activity, in relation to pK values, suggests that the undissociated form of the acid was the active agent. Under normal conditions of exposure, exsheathment of infective juveniles of Haemonchus contortus was not obtained below pH 6, and at higher pH values activity was low except in the presence of CO₂ at pressures >9-5 kPa in the gas phase. Brief exposure to HCl at concentrations up to 2N did not induce exsheathment but in the presence of CO₂ in the gas phase, 95.3 kPa, activity was obtained in 0-O1N HCl when the times of exposure were 3–25 min.The differences in the responses of N. dubius and H. contortus to a stimulus at low pH values may be attributed to the stability of the exsheathing enzyme of N. dubius in acid media as well as to the relative sensitivity of the two species to stimuli generally.     

The utilisation of arginine by oral streptococci grown glucose-limited in a chemostat

Abstract Legionella pneumophila occurring in drinking water was subjected to environmental stress through holding tests at ambient and elevated temperatures and by chemical disinfection. The bacterium in its native environment was more resistant to adverse conditions, as compared with laboratory-grown organisms. Of the several chemical disinfectants acceptable to drinking water treatment and tested for Legionella inactivation, ozonation was the most efficient method. The C · t ' products indicated that free chlorine was superior to mono- and dichloramines.     

Mitotic checkpoint gene expression is tuned by codon usage bias

The mitotic checkpoint (also called spindle assembly checkpoint, SAC) is a signaling pathway that safeguards proper chromosome segregation. Correct functioning of the SAC depends on adequate protein concentrations and appropriate stoichiometries between SAC proteins. Yet very little is known about the regulation of SAC gene expression. Here, we show in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe that a combination of short mRNA half‐lives and long protein half‐lives supports stable SAC protein levels. For the SAC genes mad2 ⁺ and mad3 ⁺, their short mRNA half‐lives are caused, in part, by a high frequency of nonoptimal codons. In contrast, mad1 ⁺ mRNA has a short half‐life despite a higher frequency of optimal codons, and despite the lack of known RNA‐destabilizing motifs. Hence, different SAC genes employ different strategies of expression. We further show that Mad1 homodimers form co‐translationally, which may necessitate a certain codon usage pattern. Taken together, we propose that the codon usage of SAC genes is fine‐tuned to ensure proper SAC function. Our work shines light on gene expression features that promote spindle assembly checkpoint function and suggests that synonymous mutations may weaken the checkpoint.