Activities in vitro and in vivo of enzymes of benzodiazepine alkaloid biosynthesis during development of Penicillium cyclopium

In the hyphae of Penicillium cyclopium the in vitro measurable activities of 3 enzymes of alkaloid biosynthesis are induced endogenously during     

Esr,a second locus in the house mouse controlling esterase-5

Electrophoretic variation characterized by the presence (ES-5B⁺) or absence (ES-5B^–) of esterase-5B in the plasma of the house mouse has been observed. It is suggested that the expression of esterase-5B is controlled by an autosomal locus, Esr, linked to Ldr-1 on chromosome 6, in addition to the presumptive structural locus Es-5, which is located on chromosome 8. A gene order of Lyt-3-Esr-Ldr-1 was determined by two crosses.Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 46).This is communication No. 33 of a research program devoted to the investigation of cellular distribution and genetics of nonspecific esterases.     

A new human colon carcinoma line

Supported by the “Tumorzentrum Heidelberg-Mannheim”.     

Effect of mutual shading on the emergence of nodal roots and the root/shoot ratio of maize

The effect of mutual shading on the root/shoot ratio and on the number of nodal roots of maize was studied. Plants of two varieties (Dea and LG2281) were grown in individual pots of 9 L, at three plant densities: 7.5, 11 and 15 plants m^–2. A control experiment was carried out in order to study if root growth was affected by the small size of the pots. Maize plants (cv Dea) were grown at a low plant density (7.5 plants m^–2) in pots of two different volumes (9 and 25 L respectively). In both experiments plants were watered every two hours with a nutrient solution. Some plants were sampled at five dates in the main experiment and the following data were recorded: foliar stage; root, stem and leaf dry weight; number of root primordia and number of emerged roots per phytomer. The final sampling date occurred at silking.Results of the control experiment showed that the root biomass was lower in small pots but the number of nodal roots per phytomer was not affected.Results of the main experiment showed that the total plant biomass and the root/shoot ratio were lower at high plant density. The number of emerged roots was strongly reduced on the upper phytomer (P₈). This reduction was mainly due to a lower percentage of root primordia which elongated. A proposed interpretation is that the number of roots which emerge on upper phytomers is controlled by carbohydrate availability.     

Gelation of xanthan with trivalent metal ions

In-situ gelation of semidilute xanthan solutions with trivalent chromium, aluminum or iron ions was studied by rheology and UV-spectroscopy. Measurements of the elastic modulus of xanthan gel cylinders prepared by dialysis against the complexing ion at pH values from 2 to 6 indicate that monomeric species of the ion are ineffective, whereas dimeric or higher oligomeric species are effective in crosslinking the polysaccharide. When chromium was used as the crosslinking species, the dependence of the gelation rate on the ionic concentration followed a power law with a coefficient of 1·7. The gelation time and the gelation rate were found to extrapolate to zero at 1 m Cr for 2·5 mg/ml xanthan. The limiting concentration of xanthan needed for gelation with 5 m Cr(III) at 20°C was estimated as 0·35 mg/ml. This critical xanthan concentration is close to the overlap concentration c^* estimated from the experimentally determined intrinsic viscosity [η] using c^* = 1·4/[η]. An apparent activation energy for crosslinking of xanthan was calculated as E_a = 42 kJ/mol and E_a = 108 kJ/mol for Cr and Al ions, respectively. The fractal dimensionality of xanthan-Cr at the sol-gel transition was estimated as 1·3 applying the Chambon-Winter criterion for gelation, thus indicating that this gelation criterion is applicable also to stiff-chain polysaccharides such as xanthan.     

Genetic and biochemical characterization of a new chymotrypsin isozyme of the house mouse,CTRA-1

Genetic variation of a codominantly inherited pancreas protease, designated CTRA-1, was discovered in the house mouse by isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gels. Phenotype CTRA-1A was found in MOLH/Fre and in the majority of common laboratory mouse strains. Phenotype CTRA-1B was found in PWD/Ph. It was characterized by the absence of a corresponding protease band. A third phenotype, CTRA-1C, was observed in IS/Cam and a fourth phenotype, CTRA-1D, was detected in SEG/1. CTRA-1 was found only in the pancreas and may represent the A form of chymotrypsin. The enzyme was shown to be controlled by the presumed structural locus Ctra-1 located on chromosome 8. From two backcross series, including a total of 274 animals, the gene order (Es-1, Es-9)-3.9 +/- 1.7%-Got-2-3.9 +/- 1.7%-(Es-2, Es-7, Es-23)-0.7 +/- 0.5%- Ctra-1-6.3 +/- 2.2%-Prt-2 was established.     

Nonradioactive in situ nick translation combined with counterstaining: Characterization of C-band and silver positive regions in mouse testicular cells

The DNase I sensitivity of three different chromatin regions in mouse testicular cells was analysed by in situ nick translation with biotin-dUTP combined with various counterstaining techniques. The regions were: (i) the constitutive centromeric heterochromatin, (ii) an interstitial C-band positive insertion on chromosome 1, Is(HSR1;C5)1Lub, and (iii) the chromatin containing rDNA (designated nucleolar chromatin herein). Incorporated biotin was detected either by the horseradish peroxidase reaction with diaminobenzidine (DAB) or the alkaline phosphatase reaction with fast red. The latter resulted in a water insoluble red precipitate, which was easily removable by any organic solution thus allowing the application of various counterstaining protocols. DNase I sensitivity of the three chromatin regions was screened in different cell types of the mouse testis. The interstitial Is(HSR) region was highly DNase I sensitive when it was recognizable by strong mithramycin fluorescence. The centromeric heterochromatin was DNase I resistant when it was compacted into microscopically visible chromosomal structures (mitosis, pachytene, metaphase I and II). In interphase nuclei from Sertoli cells and spermatogonia it became highly DNase I sensitive. In round spermatids it displayed medium DNase I sensitivity. Nucleolar chromatin was not labelled by in situ nick translation when silver staining demonstrated strong protein production. Sperm cells were highly DNase I sensitive from stages 11 to 15, but resistant as mature spermatozoa.     

Conformational study of native and acid-dissociated states of porcine lutropin (pLH) by vacuum circular dichroism and ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy

Porcine lutropin shares with ovine lutropin common structural features. They exhibit identical vacuum circular dichroism down to 170 nm with characteristic negative bands at 173, 194, and 210 nm. The band at 210 ± 1 nm is shifted to 201 nm upon dissociation with disappearance of the 194-nm band. For the two hormones the acid transition involves a significant loss of the three recognized periodic structures α helix, β sheet, and β turns of type II, unshields near the same number of tyrosyl residues (2.2 ± 0.7), and gives rise to an identical absorption difference at 287 nm in a two-step mechanism. However, pLH also exhibits noticeable differences: 5 to 10 times lower rates of acid transition with a lower pK_a (3.7 ± 0.1) and different transition behavior of tyrosine residues compared to ovine lutropin.     

Antagonistic effect of cocultivation on mitomycin C-induced aberration rate in cells of a patient with Fanconi's anemia and in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Summary The rate of spontaneous chromosomal aberrations in fibroblasts of a patient with Fanconi's anemia was slightly reduced after cocultivation with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. However, after mitomycin C treatment, a significant reduction of induced chromosomal damage was found in the FA cells while a significant increase was observed in the CHO cells. This antagonistic effect could be attributed to some diffusible agent(s). The results are discussed with respect to the underlying mechanism of the disease.