Abnormalities of Fuel Utilization as Predisposing to the Development of Obesity in Humans

A number of recent investigations in man have demonstrated that a low ratio of fat to carbohydrate oxidation (i.e., a high respiratory quotient or RQ) was associated with actual and/or subsequent body weight gain in obese non-diabetic Pima Indians, in American men of various ages and in post-obese European women investigated shortly after the cessation of a hypocaloric diet. It is well known that numerous exogenous and endogenous factors influence the RQ at rest such as: the level of feeding (positive vs. negative energy balance), the composition of food eaten (high vs. low carbohydrate), the size of the glycogen stores, the amount of adipose tissue as well as genetic factors. It should be stressed that some nutritional situations can coexist during which a low ratio of fat to carbohydrate is observed (i.e., a high RQ) despite weight loss. Furthermore, in most studies mentioned above, the low fat to carbohydrate oxidation ratio explains less then 10% of the variance in weight gain, suggesting that numerous additional factors also play a substantial role in the onset of weight gain. It is concluded that: 1) A low fat to carbohydrate oxidation ratio or an abnormal fat oxidation is difficult to define quantitatively since it is largely influenced by the energy level and the composition of the diet. 2) Following a dynamic adaptation phase to positive energy balance, a low fat oxidation is progressively compensated: increased body fat is the price to pay for normalizing fat oxidation since, at least in resting conditions, there is an increase in fat oxidation of approximately 20 g/day for each 10 kg additional fat gain. The subject with a low fat to carbohydrate oxidation ratio will equilibrate at a body fat level allowing to reach a new fat balance.     

Yeast spindle pole body duplication gene MPS1 encodes an essential dual specificity protein kinase.

The MPS1 gene has been previously identified by a mutant allele that shows defects in spindle pole body (SPB) duplication and cell cycle control. The SPB is the centrosome-equivalent organelle in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and it nucleates all the microtubules in the cell. We report the isolation of the MPS1 gene, which encodes an essential protein kinase homolog. The MPS1 open reading frame has been fused to those that encode the LexA protein or the GST protein and both of these constructs function in yeast. The fusion proteins have been affinity-purified from yeast extracts and the GST chimeric protein has been found to be a phosphoprotein. Both proteins have been used to demonstrate intrinsic in vitro protein kinase activity of Mps1p against exogenous substrates and itself (autophosphorylation). A mutation predicted to abolish kinase function not only eliminates in vitro protein kinase activity, but also behaves like a null mutation in vivo, suggesting that kinase activity contributes to the essential function of the protein. Phosphoamino acid analysis of substrates phosphorylated by Mps1p indicates that this kinase can phosphorylate serine, threonine and tyrosine residues, identifying Mps1p as a dual specificity protein kinase.     

Osmotic shock improves <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tnt1</Emphasis> transposition frequency in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Medicago truncatula</Emphasis> cv Jemalong during in vitro regeneration

Insertion mutant collections are powerful tools for genetic studies in plants. Although large-scale insertional mutagenesis using T-DNA is not feasible in legumes, the Tnt1 tobacco retrotransposon can be used as a very efficient mutagen in the Medicago truncatula R108 genotype. In this article, we show that Tnt1 can also be exploited to create insertional mutants via transformation and/or regeneration in the reference cultivar Jemalong. Tnt1 insertional mutagenesis in Jemalong following Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation was found to be very efficient, with an average of greater than 15 insertions/line. In contrast, regeneration using low-copy transgenic starter lines resulted in a highly variable rate of new Tnt1 insertions. With the goal of increasing the number of additional Tnt1 insertions during regeneration of starter lines, we have compared the insertion frequencies for a number of different regeneration protocols. In addition, we have been able to show that sucrose-mediated osmotic shock preceding regeneration significantly increases the transposition frequency. Under optimal conditions, 95% of the regenerated Jemalong plants possess new insertions.     

Genetic variability associated with hovering time inTabanus nigrovittatus Macquart (Diptera: Tabanidae)

The salt marsh horse fly, Tabanus nigrovittatusMacquart, exhibits two nonoverlapping daily periods of hovering and mating activity, which are correlated with different environmental temperatures. Allelic and genotypic frequencies of hovering males collected during the two periods were compared by electrophoresis of three polymorphic enzyme loci. Approximately 26% of early-hovering males possessed a Pgmallozyme that was absent in our sample of late-hovering males. However, based on other allozyme loci, we found no evidence for reproductive isolation between early and late hoverers. All the genetic data are consistent with the hypothesis that the Pgmpolymorphism is associated with behaviorally and physiologically distinct groups of males that, by all other criteria, form a single Mendelian population.