The lysostaphin endopeptidase resistance gene (epr) specifies modification of peptidoglycan cross bridges in Staphylococcus simulans and Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus simulans biovar staphylolyticus produces an extracellular glycylglycine endopeptidase (lysostaphin) that lyses other staphylococci by hydrolyzing the cross bridges in their cell wall peptidoglycans. The genes for endopeptidase (end) and endopeptidase resistance (epr) reside on plasmid pACK1. An 8.4-kb fragment containing end was cloned into shuttle vector pL150 and was then introduced into Staphylococcus aureus RN4220. The recombinant S. aureus cells produced endopeptidase and were resistant to lysis by the enzyme, which indicated that the cloned fragment also contained epr. Treatments to remove accessory wall polymers (proteins, teichoic acids, and lipoteichoic acids) did not change the endopeptidase sensitivity of walls from strains of S. simulans biovar staphylolyticus or of S. aureus with and without epr. Immunological analyses of various wall fractions showed that there were epitopes associated with endopeptidase resistance and that these epitopes were found only on the peptidoglycans of epr+ strains of both species. Treatment of purified peptidoglycans with endopeptidase confirmed that resistance or susceptibility of both species was a property of the peptidoglycan itself. A comparison of the chemical compositions of these peptidoglycans revealed that cross bridges in the epr+ cells contained more serine and fewer glycine residues than those of cells without epr. The presence of the 8.4-kb fragment from pACK1 also increased the susceptibility of both species to methicillin.     

The Lysostaphin Endopeptidase Resistance Gene (epr) Specifies Modification of Peptidoglycan Cross Bridges in Staphylococcus simulans and Staphylococcus aureus

Volume 61, no. 4, p. 1478, Table 2, column 4: The diameters (in milliliters) of the zones of inhibition for 5-(mu)g methicillin disks given (from top to bottom), "116," "72," "107," and "32," should read "33.5," "22.6," "34.2," and "21.0," respectively. [This corrects the article on p. 1475 in vol. 61.].     

Expression and characterization of recombinant murine cytomegalovirus protease.

The protease domain of the murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) M80 open reading frame was expressed in and purified from Escherichia coli. The recombinant enzyme was recovered as a mixture of active one- and two-chain forms. The two-chain enzyme was formed by internal cleavage of the one-chain enzyme at the I site. Activity measurements showed that MCMV protease cleaves R- and M-site peptide mimics with kinetics similar to those of recombinant human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) protease. Both the MCMV and HCMV proteases cleave I-site peptide substrates very poorly, but the crystal structure of the HCMV protease indicates that the cytomegalovirus I site likely resides on a solvent-exposed loop close to the active site.     

Phosphorylation of E47 as a potential determinant of B-cell-specific activity.

The E2A gene encodes two basic helix-loop-helix proteins designated E12 and E47. Although these proteins are widely expressed, they are required only for the B-lymphocyte lineage where DNA binding is mediated distinctively by E47 homodimers. By studying the properties of deltaE47, an N-terminal truncation of E47, we provide evidence that phosphorylation may contribute to B-cell-specific DNA binding by E47. Two serines N terminal to the deltaE47 basic helix-loop-helix domain were found to be phosphorylated in a variety of cell types but were hypophosphorylated in B cells. Phosphorylating these serines in vitro inhibited DNA binding by deltaE47 homodimers but not by deltaE47-containing heterodimers, such as deltaE47:MyoD. These results argue that hypophosphorylation may be a prerequisite for activity of E47 homodimers in B cells, suggesting the use of an inductive (nonstochastic) step in early B-cell development.     

Genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity in a trophically polymorphic population of pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus)

Summary Adaptive variation can exist at a variety of scales in biological systems, including among species, among local populations of a single species and among individuals within a single population. Trophic or resource polymorphisms in fishes are a good example of the lowest level of this hierarchy. In lakes without bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) can be trophically polymorphic, including a planktivorous limnetic form found in the pelagic habitat, in addition to the usual benthic form found in the littoral zone. In this paper we examine the degree to which morphological differences between the two forms are caused by genetic differences versus phenotypic plasticity. Adults from pelagic and littoral sites in Paradox Lake, NY, were bred separately and their progeny were raised in cages both in the open water and shallow water habitats of an artificial pond. The experimental design permitted two tests of genetic differences between the breeding stocks (in open and shallow water cages, respectively) and two tests of phenotypic plasticity (in the limnetic and benthic offspring, respectively). Limnetic progeny were more fusiform than benthic progeny raised in the same habitat. In addition, progeny of both stocks displayed limnetic-type characteristics when raised in the open water and benthic-type characteristics in the shallow water. Thus, genetic differences and phenotypic plasticity both contributed to the trophic polymorphism. Phenotypic plasticity and genetic differentiation accounted for 53 and 14%, respectively, of the variation in morphology. This study addresses the nature of subtle phenotypic differences among individuals from a single population that is embedded within a complex community, a condition that is likely to be the norm for most natural populations, as opposed to very large differences that have evolved in relatively few populations that reside in species-poor environments.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of substrate interaction with cobalt substituted alcohol dehydrogenase from liver.

The role of zinc in liver alcohol dehydrogenase has been studied by replacement of 1.3 and 3.5 of the four Zn(II) ions with Co(II) and measuring the effects of the paramagnetic Co(II) on the relaxation rates of the protons of water, ethanol, and isobutyramide. Water relaxation studies at 8, 24, 100, and 220 MHz indicate two classes of bound Co(II). The similar to 2 readily replaced Co(II) ions retain one fast exchanging water proton in their inner coordination spheres, while the similar to 2 slowly exchanging Co(II) ions coordinate no detectable water protons, indicating that the former replaced Zn(II) at the "catalytic sites" and the latter replaced Zn(II) at the "structural sites" detected crystallographically. Ethanol, acetaldehyde, and isobutyramide bind with appropriate affinities to the Co(II) substituted alcohol dehydrogenases decreasing the number of fast exchanging protons at the catalytic Co(II) site by greater than or equal to 54 percent. Coenzyme binding causes smaller changes in the water relaxation rate which may be due to local conformation changes. The paramagnetic effects of Co(II) at the catalytic site on the relaxation rates of the methyl protons of isobutyramide at 100 and 220 MHz indicate that this analog binds at a site 9.1 A from the catalytic Co(II). This distance decreases to 6.9 A when NADH is bound, and a Co(II) to methyne proton distance of 6.6 A is determined indicating a conformation change leading to the formation of a second sphere enzyme-Co(II)-isobutyramide complex in which a hydroxyl or water ligand intervenes between the metal and the substrate analog. Similar behavior is observed in the enzyme-ethanol complexes. The paramagnetic effects of Co(II), at the catalytic site, on the relaxation rates of the protons of ethanol at 100 and 220 MHz, indicate that this substrate bind at a site 12-14 A distant from the catalytic Co(II) but that this distancedecreases to 6.3 A in the abortive enzyme-NADH-ethanol complex. The role of the catalytic Co(II) thus appears to be the activation of a hydroxyl or water ligand which polarizes the aldehyde carbonyl group by hydrogen bonding. The role of the structural Co(II), which is more distant from isobutyramide (9-11 A), may be that of a template for protein conformation changes. By combining the present distances with those from previous magnetic resonance studies on the liver enzyme, the arrangement of coenzyme, metal, and substrate at the active site in solution can be constructed. This arrangement is consistent with that of ADP-ribose and zinc in the crystalline complex of liver alcohol dehydrogenase as determined by X-ray crystallography (Branden et al., (1973), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.70, 2439).     

Compensation point and isotopic characteristics of c(3)/c(4) intermediates and hybrids in panicum

Leaf CO₂ compensation points and stable hydrogen, oxygen and carbon isotope ratios were determined for Panicum species including C₃/C₄ intermediate photosynthesis plants, hybrids between C₃/C₄ intermediates and C₃ plants, C₃ and C₄ plants in the Panicum genus as well as several other C₃ and C₄ plants. C₃ plants had the highest compensation points, followed by hybrids, C₃/C₄ intermediates, and C₄ plants. δ¹³C values of cellulose nitrate and saponifiable lipids from C₄ plants were about 10‰ higher than those observed for cellulose nitrate and saponifiable lipids of C₃/C₄ intermediates, hybrids, and C₃ plants. Oxygen isotope ratios of cellulose as well as those of leaf water were similar for all plants. There was substantial variability in the δD values of cellulose nitrate among the plants studied. In contrast, such variability was not observed in δD values of water distilled from the leaves, nor in the δD values of the saponifiable lipids. Variability in δD values of cellulose nitrate from C₃/C₄ intermediates, hybrids, C₃, and C₄ plants is due to fractionations occurring during biochemical reactions specific to leaf carbohydrate metabolism.     

Purified rat lens aldose reductase. Polyol production in vitro and its inhibition by aldose reductase inhibitors.

The production of polyols in vitro by highly purified aldose reductase (EC 1.1.1.21) was monitored by g.l.c. In the presence of NADPH aldose reductase reduced glucose, galactose and xylose to the respective polyols sorbitol, galactitol and xylitol. The rates of formation of these polyols closely mirrored the Km values for the substrates obtained from kinetic measurements that monitored the rate of disappearance of NADPH. No polyol production occurred in the absence of purified aldose of purified aldose reductase, and analysis by g.l.c. revealed only the presence of unchanged monosaccharides. Addition of the aldose reductase inhibitor sorbinil to purified rat lens aldose reductase incubated with xylose in the presence of NADPH resulted in decreased xylitol production. However, aldose reductase inhibitors produced no effect in altering the rate of Nitro Blue Tetrazolium formation from either glucose or xylose, indicating that the observed inhibition in vitro does not result from a free-radical-scavenger effect.