Mechanisms of tetracycline and rifampicin resistance inBacteroides fragilis mutants obtained by ionizing radiation

Summary Based on a dose-survival curve, a radiation dose of 3.99 C/kg was used to induce antibiotic-resistant mutants inBacteroides fragilis. Escherichia coli B/r membrane fragments were employed as a reducing agent. Antibiotic-resistant mutants ofB. fragilis were utilized to study the mechanism by which these organisms become resistant to selected chemotherapeutic agents. Decreased accumulation of tetracycline by resistant mutants ofB. fragilis suggests that the resistance to this antibiotic is associated with the outer membrane permeability. There is a marked difference in the inhibitory action of rifampicin on RNA polymerase activity in rifampicin-sensitive and-resistant strains ofB. fragilis. This enzyme is, therefore, the likely target for inhibition of bacterial growth in this anaerobe by rifampicin.     

Change of speciation of Cu(II) in growth medium due to uptake of ammonia byPseudomonas testosteroni during growth

Growth ofPseudomonas testosteroni in a medium containing 1mm Cu(II) causes a color change from blue to green. The spectrum of the supernatant solution from the blue culture shows an absorption at 660 nm, identical to that of 1mm [Cu(II)] in the medium. The green supernatant solution shows a UV absorption, which tails into the visible and so is responsible for the green color, and ad-d absorption at 720 nm. The absorption at 660 nm for the blue supernatant solution is probably due to [Cu(NH₃)₃(H₂O)₃]²⁺. Growth of the organism causes loss of ammonia and a speciation change to [Cu(NH₃)₂(H₂O)₄]²⁺, with a shift in absorption maximum from 660 to 720 nm. These conclusions are based upon the spectra of known aquaammine complexes of Cu(II) and calculations of the speciation of Cu(II) before and after growth. Change in metal speciation owing to nutrient uptake by an organism does not appear to have been recognized previously.     

Macrophylloside, a flavone glucoside from Primula macrophylla

A new flavone glucoside macrophylloside has been isolated from the whole plant of Primula macrophylla and its structure was determined by spectroscopic methods as 2′-hydroxy-7-O-β- -glucopyranosyloxyflavone. Sitosterol glucoside was also isolated for the first time from this plant.     

Enhanced production of cellulase usingAcidothermus cellulyticus in fed-batch culture

Summary Fed-batch fermentations of Acidothermus cellulolyticus utilizing mixtures of cellulose and sugars were investigated for potential improvements in cellulase enzyme production. In these fermentations, we combined cellulose from several sources with various simple sugars at selected concentrations. The best source of cellulose for cellulase production was found to be ball-milled Solka Floc at 15 g/l. Fed-batch fermentations with cellobiose and Solka Floc increased cell mass only slightly, but succeeded in significantly enhancing cellulase synthesis compared to batch conditions. Maximum cellulase activities obtained from fermentations initiated with 2.5 g cellobiose/l and 15 g Solka Floc/l were 0.187 units (U)/ml, achieved by continuous feeding to maintain <0.1 g cellobiose/l, and 0.215 U/ml using the same initial medium when 2.5 g cellobiose/l was step-fed after the sugar was nearly consumed. In batch, dual-substrate systems consisting of simple sugars with Solka Floc, substrate inhibition was evident in terms of specific growth rates, specific productivity values, and maximum enzyme yields. Limiting concentrations of glucose or sucrose at 5 g/l, and cellobiose at 2.5 g/l, in the presence of Solka Floc, yielded cellulase activities of 0.134, 0.159, and 0.164 U/ml, respectively. Offprint requests to: M. E. Himmel     

Identification of a Putative Structural Gene for Cathepsin D in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans having about 10% of wild-type activity of the aspartyl protease cathepsin D have been isolated by screening. Mutant homozygotes have normal growth rates and no obvious morphological or developmental abnormalities. The mutant gene (cad-1) has been mapped to the right extremity of linkage group II. Heterozygous animals (cad-1/+) show intermediate enzyme levels and animals heterozygous for chromosomal deficiencies of the right extremity of linkage group II have 50% of wild-type activity. Cathepsin D purified from a mutant strain has a lower activity per unit mass of pure enzyme. These data suggest that cad-1 is a structural gene for cathepsin D.     

Enzyme polymorphism in Drosophila melanogaster populations in Iraq

Electrophoretic studies of the degree and pattern of polymorphism at two third-chromosome loci, esterase-6 (Est-6) and phosphoglucomutase (PGM), were carried out in three Drosophila melanogaster populations collected from different localities in Iraq: Mosul, Tuwaitha, and Basrah. The results show that only the Tuwaitha population was polymorphic for both loci; the other two populations were polymorphic for Est-6 and monomorphic for PGM. The allele frequency changes at both loci were followed for 20 generations in an experimental cage derived from the Tuwaitha population; it was found that there is a deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at both loci toward the homozygote.     

The Molecular through Ecological Genetics of Abnormal Abdomen in DROSOPHILA MERCATORUM. I. Basic Genetics

The abnormal abdomen syndrome (aa) in Drosophila mercatorum is characterized by the persistence of juvenilized cuticle on the adult abdomen. The aa phenotype is shown to depend on at least two X-linked genetic elements that are about one map unit apart near the centromeric end of the X chromosome. These two genetic elements are necessary for aa expression; one behaves as a dominant element and the other as a recessive. Overlaying these genetic studies upon molecular work reported elsewhere, it is argued that the dominant element is the presence of a 5 kb insertion in a majority of the X-linked repeats coding for the 28S ribosomal RNA. The recessive element appears to be a locus controlling differential replication of noninserted over inserted 28S genes during polytenization. The aa syndrome requires both the presence of the inserted repeats and the failure to preferentially amplify noninserted repeats. Given the necessary X-linked elements for aa, a variety of modifiers are revealed. First, aa expression in males is Y-linked, apparently corresponding to a deletion of the 18S/28S rDNA gene cluster normally found on the Y. Moreover, all major autosomes can modify the penetrance of aa.     

Isolation of the first trypsin inhibitor from the genusAspergillus

The fungusAspergillus flavipes was grown on a Czapeck sucrose medium; the biomass so obtained was treated with high concentration of sucrose to release intracellular metabolites. Sephadex G-75 chromatography of the latter yielded a pure protein having anti-trypsin activity in vitro.     

A review of the taxonomy and systematics of the pentastomid genus Raillietiella Sambon, 1910 with a description of a new species

Systematic Parasitology - Four previously established Raillietiella spp. are redescribed. Two of these, R. kochi and R. shipleyi from African monitor lizards, cannot be reliably separated, R....