Real-time fuzzy-knowledge-based control of Baker's yeast production

A real-time fuzzy-knowledge-based system for fault diagnosis and control of bioprocesses was constructed using the object-oriented programming environment Small-talk/V Mac. The basic system was implemented in a Macintosh Quadra 900 computer and built to function connected on line to the process computer. Fuzzy logic was employed in handling uncertainties both in the knowledge and in measurements. The fuzzy sets defined for the process variables could be changed on-line according to process dynamics. Process knowledge was implemented in a graphical two-level hierachical knowledge base. In on-line process control the system first recognizes the current process phase on the basis of top-level rules in the knowledge-base. Then, according to the results of process diagnosis based on measurement data, the appropriate control strategy is subsequently inferred making use of the lower level rules describing the process during the phase in question. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Hormonal control of seasonal morph determination in the swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus L. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Seasonal morphs (spring and sumer forms) of Papilio xuthus L. are determined coincidentally with diapause and non-diapause in pupae by larval exposure to short days and long days respectively. The neuroendocrine principle underlying seasonal-morph determination was studied using surgical operations in P. xuthus.When recipient 0-day old or chilled diapause pupae were joined to donor 0-day old non-diapause pupae, the recipients developed into summer or intermediate morphs. When the same kinds of recipients used above were joined to 0-day old or chilled diapause pupae, there were no significant effects on the adult morph. In contrast, recipient non-diapause pupae all developed into summer morphs, regardless of groups of the type of donors.Furthermore, when the brain of 5th-instar larvae, pharate pupae or pupae, predetermined to be diapause, was transplanted into the abdomen of 0-day old, 30-day old or chilled diapause pupae, the recipients developed into summer or intermediate morphs.The results indicate that the brain of non-diapause pupae secretes a humoral factor producing the summer morph. In non-diapause pupae, the factor may be secreted at about the stage of larval-pupal ecdysis coincidentally with that of prothoracicotropic hormone.     

The chloroplast-targeting domain of plastocyanin transit peptide can form a helical structure but does not have a high affinity for lipid bilayers.

Conformational properties and interactions with lipid membranes were studied for the chemically synthesized peptides PC(1-37) and PC(1-43), corresponding to the N-terminal 37 and 43 residues, respectively, of the transit peptide of the precursor to plastocyanin of Silene pratensis. PC(1-43) covers the entire chloroplast targeting domain of the transit peptide. CD spectra of PC(1-37) and PC(1-43) showed that both peptides have little ordered structure in aqueous solutions but form partially helical conformations in the presence of detergent micelles or in methanol. Vesicle disruption and direct-binding experiments revealed, however, that neither PC(1-37) nor PC(1-43) had a high affinity for lipid membranes. Since in the intact plastocyanin transit peptide the chloroplast-targeting domain is followed by a hydrophobic thylakoid-transfer domain, the plastocyanin precursor may well be transported to the chloroplast surface first with the aid of the thylakoid-transfer domain. The chloroplast-targeting domain may then form a helical structure in the lipid environments, and a chloroplast-specific motif displayed on the helical structure may be recognized by a receptor protein located at the chloroplast envelope membranes.     

Comparison of the modes of action of a Vero toxin (a Shiga-like toxin) from Escherichia coli, of ricin, and of alpha-sarcin.

The modes of action of a Vero toxin (VT2 or Shiga-like toxin II) from Escherichia coli, of ricin, and of alpha-sarcin were compared. Elongation factor 1 (EF1) and GTP-dependent Phe-tRNA binding to ribosomes in the presence of poly(U) was inhibited by these three toxins, but EF1 and guanylyl (beta, gamma-methylene)-diphosphate-dependent Phe-tRNA binding was inhibited by alpha-sarcin only. EF1- and Phe-tRNA-dependent GTPase activity was inhibited by these toxins, but nonenzymatic binding of Phe-tRNA was not. The turnover rate of EF1 binding to ribosomes during Phe-tRNA binding was also decreased by these three toxins. The addition of EF1 recovered the inhibition of Phe-tRNA binding to ribosomes by VT2 and ricin but not by alpha-sarcin. The formation of and EF2- and GTP-dependent puromycin derivative of phenylalanine was inhibited slightly by the three toxins, indicating that translocation is not influenced significantly by them. EF2-dependent GTPase activity was stimulated by these toxins, and especially by VT2 and ricin. In contrast, the binding of EF2 to ribosomes was inhibited strongly by VT2 and ricin, and slightly by alpha-sarcin. The stimulation of EF2-dependent GTPase activity by the toxins may compensate for the decrease of EF2 binding to ribosomes which they caused during translocation. In total, these results indicate that VT2 and ricin inhibit protein synthesis through the disturbance of the turnover of EF1 binding to ribosomes during aminoacyl-tRNA binding to ribosomes, and that alpha-sarcin inhibits the synthesis through the inhibition of the binding of the complex of Phe-tRNA, EF1, and GTP to ribosomes.     

NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase-Dependent Cyclic Electron Flow around Photosystem I in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803: a Study of Dark-Starved Cells and Spheroplasts

Electron donation to P700⁺ through plastoquinone in the intersystemchain from both respiratory substrates and the photoreductantsin PSI has been shown to be mediated by the NAD(P)H-dehydrogenasecomplex (NDH) in Synechocystis PCC 6803 cells [Mi et al. (1992)Plant Cell Physiol. 33: 1233]. To confirm the participationof NDH in the cyclic electron flow around PSI, the redox kineticsof P700 and Chi fluorescence were analyzed in cells rendereddeficient in respiratory substrates by dark starvation and inspheroplasts. Dark-starved cells showed a high steady-state level of P700⁺under far-red (FR) illumination and the plastoquinone pool wasin a highly oxidized state. An NDH-defective mutant consistentlyshowed a high level of P700 oxidation under FR before and afterthe dark starvation. Donation of electrons either from exogenousNADPH or from photoreduced NADPH⁺ to the intersystem chain viaplastoquinone was demonstrated using spheroplasts from wild-typecells, but not those from the NDH-defective mutant, as monitoredby following changes in the kinetics of Chi fluorescence andthe redox state of P700. The electron flow to PSI via plastoquinone,mediated by NADPH, was sensitive to rotenone, Hg²⁺ ions and2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone, inhibitors of mitochondrial NDH andsuccinate dehydrogenase, but not to antimycin A. The pool sizeof electrons that can be donated to P700⁺ from the cytosol throughthe intersystem chain increased with increasing duration ofillumination time by actinic light and was sensitive to rotenonein both wild-type cells and spheroplasts, but no such resultswere obtained in the NDH-defective mutant of Synechocystis 6803.The results support our previous conclusion that NDH is a mediatorof both respiratory electron flow and cyclic electron flow aroundPSI to the intersystem chain in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis. (Received August 20, 1993; Accepted November 22, 1993)     

The ribosomal RNA identity elements for ricin and for alpha-sarcin: mutations in the putative CG pair that closes a GAGA tetraloop.

alpha-Sarcin is a ribonuclease that cleaves the phosphodiester bond on the 3' side of G4325 in 28S rRNA; ricin A-chain is a RNA N-glycosidase that depurinates the 5' adjacent A4324. These single covalent modifications inactivate the ribosome. An oligoribonucleotide that reproduces the structure of the sarcin/ricin domain in 28S rRNA was synthesized and mutations were constructed in the 5' C and the 3' G that surround a GAGA tetrad that has the sites of toxin action. Covalent modification of the RNA by ricin, but not by alpha-sarcin, requires a Watson-Crick pair to shut off a putative GAGA tetraloop. Either the recognition elements for the two toxins are different despite their catalyzing covalent modification of adjacent nucleotides in 28S rRNA or there are transitions in the conformation of the alpha-sarcin/ricin domain in 28S rRNA and one conformer is recognized by alpha-sarcin and the other by ricin A-chain.     

Expression of four mutant human ornithine transcarbamylase genes in cultured Cos 1 cells relates to clinical phenotypes

Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency is an X-linked disease with a heterogeneous phenotype, even in affected males. To detect mutations in the OTC gene using genomic DNA, we have developed a method in which all exons and adjacent introns are amplified and sequenced. Although this approach detected mutations in many cases, the relationship between a mutation and the OTC phenotype was not firmly established. Therefore, we investigated the issue by expression analysis of mutant OTC cDNA in cultured cells. Four mutant OTC cDNAs were constructed, based on the reported cases, using our newly developed method. The normal (wild-type) human OTC cDNA was reproducibly expressed at high levels in these Cos 1 cells. Predicted OTC activities of mutant OTC cDNAs ranged from 0% to 8.9% of the normal level together with variable amounts of the enzyme protein. The predicted enzyme activities account for the clinical phenotype of the disease. Our observations confirm that these mutations are responsible for OTC deficiency in these patients.     

The underground life of the oriental mole cricket: an analysis of burrow morphology

The underground life of the oriental mole cricket Gryllotalpa orientalis has been investigated by studying the structure of its burrows under different environmental situations and in different seasons. The different uses of different burrow types and their advantages and disadvantages have been examined. The total length, number of tunnels and combination of burrow types varied from a simple tunnel to a more complex one with branches at various angles to the surface, burrow types being divided roughly into shallow horizontal or deep vertical ones. In horizontal burrows, the branching structure was well developed in various directions. It is notable that the vertical burrows of G. orientalis were occupied by only one individual. Both vertical and horizontal burrows were used for foraging: vertical burrows for plants with subterranean stems and horizontal burrows for creeping plants. Vertical burrows were also used for hiding from predators, resting, moulting and overwintering, whereas horizontal burrows were used for escaping from predators and as mating routes. Egg chambers were constructed beside horizontal burrows, and calling burrows were constructed as part of horizontal burrows. Based on their current requirements, mole crickets continuously modify their burrow structures or change burrowing sites.     

Novel Feline Leukemia Virus Interference Group Based on the env Gene

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) subgroups have emerged in infected cats via the mutation or recombination of the env gene of subgroup A FeLV (FeLV-A), the primary virus. We report the isolation and characterization of a novel env gene, TG35-2, and report that the TG35-2 pseudotype can be categorized as a novel FeLV subgroup. The TG35-2 envelope protein displays strong sequence identity to FeLV-A Env, suggesting that selection pressure in cats causes novel FeLV subgroups to emerge.