Temperature-dependent kinetic variation among phosphoglucose isomerase allozymes from the wing-polymorphic water strider, Limnoporus canaliculatus

Phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) allozymes were isolated from the wing- polymorphic water strider, Limnoporus canaliculatus, and were characterized biochemically with respect to temperature-dependent kinetic and thermostability properties. At higher temperatures, the allozymes exhibited significant differences in Michaelis constant (Km) values for substrates of both the forward and reverse reaction directions. Results were consistent with expectations of adaptive kinetic differentiation based on the latitudinal variation of PGI allele frequencies. PGI genotypes also differed with regard to maximal velocity (Vmax)/Km ratios at higher temperatures. These differences were due primarily, if not exclusively, to allozyme-dependent variation in Km values. The allozymes also exhibited dramatic differences in thermostability. However, no thermostability differences were observed when the substrate analogue 6-phosphogluconate was present in the incubation medium. The data from this study, together with data from Mytilus edulis and Metridium senile on temperature-dependent kinetic variation among PGI allozymes, form a consistent picture of natural selection influencing the clinal variation of alleles at this locus in these three phylogenetically distant organisms. More definitive support of this hypothesis, however, must await additional studies on the physiological effects of the allozymic variation as well as direct measurements of fitness differences among the enzyme genotypes.      

Single photon radioluminescence. I. Theory and spectroscopic properties.

The excitation of a fluorescent molecule by a beta-decay electron (radioluminescence) depends upon the electron energy, the distance between radioactive 'donor' and fluorescent 'acceptor', and the excitation characteristics and solvent environment of the fluorophore. The theory for calculation of single photon radioluminescence (SPR) signals is developed here; in the accompanying paper, measurement methods and biological applications are presented. To calculate the three-dimensional spatial profile for electron energy deposition in an aqueous environment, a Monte Carlo calculation was performed incorporating theories of electron energy distributions, energy loss due to interactions with matter, and deflections in electron motion due to collisions. For low energy beta emitters, 50% of energy deposition occurs within 0.63 micron (3H, 18.5 keV), 22 microns (14C, 156 keV), 25 microns (35S, 167 keV), and 260 microns (36Cl, 712 keV) of the radioisotope. In close proximity to the beta emitter (100 nm, 3H; 10 microns, 14C) the probability for fluorophore excitation is approximately proportional to the inverse square of the distance between the beta emitter and fluorophore. To investigate the other factors that determine the probability for fluorophore excitation, SPR measurements were carried out in solutions containing 3H and a series of fluorophores in different solvents. In water, the probability of fluorescence excitation was nearly proportional to the integrated absorbance over a > 1,000-fold variation in absorbances. The probability of fluorescence excitation was enhanced up to 2,600-fold when the fluorophore was in a "scintillant" aromatic or hydrocarbon solvent. SPR emission spectra were similar to fluorescence emission spectra obtained with photon excitation. The single photon signal due to Bremsstrahlung increased with wavelength in agreement with theory. The distance dependence for the SPR signal predicted by the model was in good agreement with measurements in which a 14C donor was separated by known thicknesses of water from a fluorescently-coated coverglass. Quantitative predictions for radioluminescence signal as a function of donor-acceptor distance were developed for specific radioisotope-fluorophore geometries in biological samples.     

Interdependent MHC-DRB exon-plus-intron evolution in artiodactyls

Exon 2 sequences of an expressed MHC-DRB locus from sheep were examined for polymorphisms in both the antigen-binding regions and the adjacent intronic mixed simple tandem repeat. Twenty-one novel exon 2 Ovar-DRB alleles were identified. Short nucleotide motifs are extensively shared between certain exon 2 regions of Ovar-DRB alleles. The simple repeat variations, the number of different amino acids at usually polymorphic sites, and the number of silent substitutions were reduced in the intraspecies analyses of sheep DRB sequences, compared with those of cattle and goats. It was paradoxical that the abundance of different sheep alleles was similar to that of cattle and goats. This paradox may be explained by postulating a relatively small number of "ancient" alleles, with the present-day Ovar-DRB alleles being generated by reciprocal exchange of nucleotide motifs. At the antigen-binding sites, new combinations of amino acids were maintained in Ovar-DRB alleles by strong positive selection. In sheep--and less pronounced in goats and cattle--the DRB alleles can be divided into two groups. In one group, silent substitutions are increased when compared with the other. This suggests separate evolutionary pathways for certain groups of DRB alleles within a species. The simple repetitive sequences are also discussed with respect to the evolution of DRB alleles.      

Effect of L-carnitine and acetyl-L-carnitine on the human erythrocyte membrane stability and deformability

In this study we examined the effect of carnitine and acetylcarnitine on the human erythrocyte membrane stability and membrane deformability. Since erythrocyte membranes are impermeable to these compounds, we resealed erythrocyte ghosts in the presence of different concentrations of carnitine or acetylcarnitine. Resealed ghosts can be adequately studied in their cellular deformability and membrane stability properties by means of ektacytometry. Both carnitine and acetylcarnitine alter the membrane stability but not membrane deformability of the red cell membrane. Resealed ghosts containing 20, 50, 150, and 300 microM carnitine had 1.1, 1.6, 0.9, and 0.7 times the normal stability. While resealed ghosts containing 20, 50, 150, and 300 microM acetylcarnitine had 1.1, 1.5, 1.3, and 1.2 times the normal stability. Such changes were found to be reversible. We also conducted SDS PAGE of cytoskeletal membrane proteins from membrane fragments and residual membranes produced during membrane stability analysis, and unsheared resealed membranes in those samples where we observed an increase or a decrease of membrane stability. No changes in the cytoskeletal membrane proteins were noticed, even when the samples, prior SDS PAGE analysis, were treated with or without dithiothreitol. In addition, fluorescence steady state anisotropy of DPH in the erythrocyte membrane treated with carnitine or acetylcarnitine shows no modification of the lipid order parameter. Our results would suggest that both carnitine and its acetyl-ester, at physiological concentrations, may increase membrane stability in mature erythrocytes, most likely via a specific interaction with one or more cytoskeletal proteins, and that this effect would manifest when the erythrocytes are subjected to high shear stress.     

Developing a scalable model of recombinant protein yield from Pichia pastoris: the influence of culture conditions, biomass and induction regime

Background  

The optimisation and scale-up of process conditions leading to high yields of recombinant proteins is an enduring bottleneck in the post-genomic sciences. Typical experiments rely on varying selected parameters through repeated rounds of trial-and-error optimisation. To rationalise this, several groups have recently adopted the 'design of experiments' (DoE) approach frequently used in industry. Studies have focused on parameters such as medium composition, nutrient feed rates and induction of expression in shake flasks or bioreactors, as well as oxygen transfer rates in micro-well plates. In this study we wanted to generate a predictive model that described small-scale screens and to test its scalability to bioreactors.     

Structural conservation and variation in the mitochondrial control region of fringilline finches (Fringilla spp.) and the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

We sequenced the entire control region and portions of flanking genes (tRNA(Phe), tRNA(Glu), and ND6) in the common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), blue chaffinch (F. teydea), brambling (F. montifringilla), and greenfinch (Carduelis chloris). In these finches the control region is similar in length (1,223-1,237 bp) and has the same flanking gene order as in other birds, and contains a putative TAS element and the highly conserved CSB-1 and F, D, and C boxes recognizable in most vertebrates. Cloverleaf-like structures associated with the TAS element at the 5' end and CSB-1 at the 3' end of the control region may be involved with the stop and start of D-loop synthesis, respectively. The pattern of nucleotide and substitution bias is similar to that in other vertebrates, and consequently the finch control region can be subdivided into a central, conserved G-rich domain (domain II) flanked by hypervariable 5'-C-rich (domain I) and 3'-AT-rich (domain III) segments. In pairwise comparisons among finch species, the central domain has unusually low transition/transversion ratios, which suggests that increased G + T content is a functional constraint, possibly for DNA primase efficiency. In finches the relative rates of evolution vary among domains according to a ratio of 4.2 (domain III) to 2.2 (domain I) to 1 (domain II), and extensively among sites within domains I and II. Domain I and III sequences are extremely useful in recovering intraspecific phylogeographic splits between populations in Africa and Europe, Madeira, and a basal lineage in Nefza, Tunisia. Domain II sequences are highly conserved, and are therefore only useful in conjunction with sequences from domains I and III in phylogenetic studies of closely related species.      

2D proteome analysis initiates new Insights on the Salmonella Typhimurium LuxS protein

Background  

Quorum sensing is a term describing a bacterial communication system mediated by the production and recognition of small signaling molecules. The LuxS enzyme, catalyzing the synthesis of AI-2, is conserved in a wide diversity of bacteria. AI-2 has therefore been suggested as an interspecies quorum sensing signal. To investigate the role of endogenous AI-2 in protein expression of the Gram-negative pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium), we performed a 2D-DIGE proteomics experiment comparing total protein extract of wildtype S. Typhimurium with that of a luxS mutant, unable to produce AI-2.