Affinity capture of a biotinylated retrovirus on macroporous monolithic adsorbents: towards a rapid single-step purification process

A streptavidin derivitised macroporous monolith was developed to enable single-step capture of chemically biotinylated Moloney Murine Leukaemia Virus (MoMuLV) from crude, unclarified cell culture supernatant. Monoliths were prepared by aqueous cryopolymerisation of acrylamide with N,N'-methylene-bis (acrylamide) and glycidyl methacrylate (Arvidsson et al. [2003] J Chrom A 986:275-290). Streptavidin was immobilised to the epoxy functionalised monoliths. Particulate-containing cell culture supernatant was passed through the monolith without preclarification of the feedstock and adsorption capacities of 2 x 10(5) cfu/ml of adsorbent were demonstrated (cf. Fractogel streptavidin, at 3.9 x 10(5) cfu/ml of adsorbent). The specific titre of the recovered fraction was increased by 425-fold; however, recoveries of less than 8% were achieved. Adsorption of nonbiotinylated MoMuLV on the streptavidin-coated monolith was not observed.     

Clade age and species richness are decoupled across the eukaryotic tree of life

Explaining the dramatic variation in species richness across the tree of life remains a key challenge in evolutionary biology. At the largest phylogenetic scales, the extreme heterogeneity in species richness observed among different groups of organisms is almost certainly a function of many complex and interdependent factors. However, the most fundamental expectation in macroevolutionary studies is simply that species richness in extant clades should be correlated with clade age: all things being equal, older clades will have had more time for diversity to accumulate than younger clades. Here, we test the relationship between stem clade age and species richness across 1,397 major clades of multicellular eukaryotes that collectively account for more than 1.2 million described species. We find no evidence that clade age predicts species richness at this scale. We demonstrate that this decoupling of age and richness is unlikely to result from variation in net diversification rates among clades. At the largest phylogenetic scales, contemporary patterns of species richness are inconsistent with unbounded diversity increase through time. These results imply that a fundamentally different interpretative paradigm may be needed in the study of phylogenetic diversity patterns in many groups of organisms.     

Above- and below-ground impacts of introduced predators in seabird-dominated island ecosystems

Predators often exert multi-trophic cascading effects in terrestrial ecosystems. However, how such predation may indirectly impact interactions between above- and below-ground biota is poorly understood, despite the functional importance of these interactions. Comparison of rat-free and rat-invaded offshore islands in New Zealand revealed that predation of seabirds by introduced rats reduced forest soil fertility by disrupting sea-to-land nutrient transport by seabirds, and that fertility reduction in turn led to wide-ranging cascading effects on belowground organisms and the ecosystem processes they drive. Our data further suggest that some effects on the belowground food web were attributable to changes in aboveground plant nutrients and biomass, which were themselves related to reduced soil disturbance and fertility on invaded islands. These results demonstrate that, by disrupting across-ecosystem nutrient subsidies, predators can indirectly induce strong shifts in both above- and below-ground biota via multiple pathways, and in doing so, act as major ecosystem drivers.     

The affinity adsorptive recovery of an infectious herpes simplex virus vaccine

The chromatographic purification of a recombinant Herpes Simplex Virus (type 2) from salt- and heparin-released harvests of infected complementing Vero (CR2) cells is addressed. Functionalized matrices and process operating conditions are identified that provide adequate virus titres in eluates that are significantly reduced in CR2 cell protein and DNA and possess a low level of HSV-2 protein. Virus from diluted salt-released harvests (0.14 M NaCl) was not appreciably adsorbed onto either heparin-Sepharose or Cellufine-heparin matrices but was virtually completely adsorbed onto Cellufine-sulfate and heparin-HP matrices. Virus was recovered by either a linear salt gradient elution (0.14-2 M NaCl) or by a single-step elution with 1.5 M NaCl in phosphate buffer. Recoveries of infectious virus with step elution were 21% and 89%, respectively, for these matrices. Virus from undiluted salt-released harvest (0.8 M NaCl) was substantially adsorbed onto Cellufine-sulfate gel (44% adsorption) and completely adsorbed onto heparin-HP matrices. This virus was recovered with high yield by either gradient or step elution with phosphate-buffered saline. Finally, heparin-harvested virus was fed directly to these matrices and quantitatively adsorbed. The virus could be completely recovered from the heparin-HP matrix with 1.5 M NaCl buffer to provide a purified preparation containing only 0.05 pg protein/pfu and 1.2 x 10(-4) pg DNA/pfu.     

Lethal Mutations Flanking the 68c Glue Gene Cluster on Chromosome 3 of DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

We have conducted a genetic analysis of the region flanking the 68C glue gene cluster in Drosophila melanogaster by isolating lethal and semilethal mutations uncovered by deficiencies which span this region. Three different mutagens were used: ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), ethyl nitrosourea (ENU) and diepoxybutane (DEB). In the region from 68A3 to 68C11, 64 lethal, semilethal, and visible mutations were recovered. These include alleles of 13 new lethal complementation groups, as well as new alleles of rotated, low xanthine dehydrogenase, lethal(3)517 and lethal(3)B76. Six new visible mutations from within this region were recovered on the basis of their reduced viability; all proved to be semiviable alleles of lethal complementation groups. No significant differences were observed in the distributions of lethals recovered using the three different mutagens. Each lethal was mapped on the basis of complementation with overlapping deficiencies; mutations that mapped within the same interval were tested for complementation, and the relative order of the lethal groups within each interval was determined by recombination. The cytological distribution of genes within the 68A3-68C11 region is not uniform: the region from 68A2,3 to 68B1,3 (seven to ten polytene chromosome bands) contains at least 13 lethal complementation groups and the mutation low xanthine dehydrogenase; the adjoining region from 68B1,3 to 68C5,6 (six to nine bands) includes the 68C glue gene cluster, but no known lethal or visible complementation groups; and the interval from 68C5,6 to 68C10,11 (three to five bands) contains at least three lethal complementation groups and the visible mutation rotated. The developmental stage at which lethality is observed was determined for a representative allele from each lethal complementation group.     

Synthetic segments of the mammalian beta AR are preferentially recognized by cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C

Desensitization of the beta-adrenergic receptor has been correlated in some cell systems with receptor phosphorylation. Various kinases have been implicated in these phosphorylation processes, including both cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C. In the present study, we have utilized the protein sequence information obtained from the cloning of the mammalian beta-adrenergic receptor to prepare synthetic peptides corresponding to regions of the receptor which would be predicted to act as possible substrates for these kinases in vivo. Two of these receptor-derived peptides were found to serve as substrates for these protein kinases. A peptide corresponding to amino acids 257-264 of the beta-receptor is the preferred substrate for the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, while protein kinase C showed a marked preference for phosphorylation of a peptide corresponding to residues 341-351 of the beta-adrenergic receptor.     

Multisensory stimulation can induce an illusion of larger belly size in immersive virtual reality

Background

Body change illusions have been of great interest in recent years for the understanding of how the brain represents the body. Appropriate multisensory stimulation can induce an illusion of ownership over a rubber or virtual arm, simple types of out-of-the-body experiences, and even ownership with respect to an alternate whole body. Here we use immersive virtual reality to investigate whether the illusion of a dramatic increase in belly size can be induced in males through (a) first person perspective position (b) synchronous visual-motor correlation between real and virtual arm movements, and (c) self-induced synchronous visual-tactile stimulation in the stomach area.

Methodology

Twenty two participants entered into a virtual reality (VR) delivered through a stereo head-tracked wide field-of-view head-mounted display. They saw from a first person perspective a virtual body substituting their own that had an inflated belly. For four minutes they repeatedly prodded their real belly with a rod that had a virtual counterpart that they saw in the VR. There was a synchronous condition where their prodding movements were synchronous with what they felt and saw and an asynchronous condition where this was not the case. The experiment was repeated twice for each participant in counter-balanced order. Responses were measured by questionnaire, and also a comparison of before and after self-estimates of belly size produced by direct visual manipulation of the virtual body seen from the first person perspective.

Conclusions

The results show that first person perspective of a virtual body that substitutes for the own body in virtual reality, together with synchronous multisensory stimulation can temporarily produce changes in body representation towards the larger belly size. This was demonstrated by (a) questionnaire results, (b) the difference between the self-estimated belly size, judged from a first person perspective, after and before the experimental manipulation, and (c) significant positive correlations between these two measures. We discuss this result in the general context of body ownership illusions, and suggest applications including treatment for body size distortion illnesses.