Blastomycosis in wild wolves

Blastomycosis was fatal to a wild wolf in Minnesota, and serologic evidence of blastomycosis was found in a Wisconsin wolf. No unusual movements were detected in the Minnesota animal from October 1983 through October 1985. However, by early December 1985, this wolf was weak and debilitated, and it perished on 14 December after approaching a human residence.     

5-aza-C-induced changes in the time of replication of the X chromosomes of Microtus agrestis are followed by non-random reversion to a late pattern of replication

Treatment with 5-azacytidine (5-aza-C) causes an advance in the time of replication and enhances the DNase-I sensitivity of the inactive X chromosome in Gerbillus gerbillus fibroblasts. We found that these changes were not stably inherited and upon removal of the drug the cells reverted to the original state of one active and one inactive X chromosome. In order to determine whether this reversion was random, we used a cell line of female Microtus agrestis fibroblasts in which the two X chromosomes are morphologically distinguishable. In this work we show that the reversion to a late pattern of replication is not random, and the originally late replicating X chromosome is preferentially reinactivated, suggesting an imprinting-like marking of one or both X chromosomes. The changes in the replication pattern of the X chromosome were associated with changes in total DNA methylation. Double treatment of cells with 5-aza-C did not alter this pattern of euchromatin activation and reinactivation. A dramatic advance in the time of replication of the entire X linked constitutive heterochromatin (XCH) region was however, observed in the doubly treated cells. This change in the replication timing of the XCH occurred in both X chromosomes and was independent of the changes observed in the euchromatic region. These observations suggest the existence of at least two independent regulatory sites which control the timing of replication of two large chromosomal regions.Deceased on 2 Jan. 1987     

The N-terminal region of Escherichia coli lactose permease mediates membrane contact of the nascent polypeptide chain

Plasmids encoding N-terminal segments of the Escherichia coli lactose permease (also referred to as lactose carrier) have been used to analyze the biosynthesis and membrane insertion of this complex integral protein of the cytoplasmic membrane. Such truncated polypeptides were found to be stably associated with the membrane and to resemble the full-length protein with respect to their solubilization characteristics. Membrane-bound and free cytoplasmic polysomes were prepared from plasmid-bearing cells and incubated in the presence of [35S]methionine to permit completion of polypeptides initiated in vivo. Under these conditions, lactose permease was found to be radiolabeled in the fraction of membrane-bound polysomes; beta-galactosidase, used as a control, was translated almost exclusively by free polysomes. From similar experiments with N-terminal segments of lactose permease, we estimate that at most a polypeptide of 120 amino acid residues emerging from the ribosome is needed to target the nascent chain to the lipid bilayer and to mediate attachment of the ribosome to the membrane during elongation. Additional data support the idea that even shorter N-terminal sequences of 50 and 71 amino acid residues contain sufficient 'information' to provide contact with the membrane.