Infection and development of Nosema bombycis (Microsporida: Protozoa) in a cell line of Antheraea eucalypti

Spores of Nosema bombycis derived from diseased insects were highly purified by Urografin density gradient centrifugation. Antheraea eucalypti cells were inoculated with the purified spores primed with 0.1 n KOH solution to start a continuous propagation of N. bombycis in cell culture. The first increase in the number of infected A. eucalypti cells was observed at 48 hr postinoculation, and it was caused by the secondary infective forms of N. bombycis. The secondary infective forms were produced during the course of sporoblast differentiation. The parasites in cell cultures divided synchronously until 36 hr postinoculation. Mature spores were observed initially 6 days postinoculation at 27°C. The infected cultures were subcultured extensively for more than 1 year with the addition of healthy A. eucalypti cells.     

Manganese-histidine cluster as the functional center of the water oxidation complex in photosynthesis

The recent model of Kambara and Govindjee for water oxidation [Kambara T. and Govindjee (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 82:6119–6123] has been extended in this paper by examining all the data in order to identify the most likely candidate for the redox-active ligand (RAL), suggested to operate between the water oxidizing complex (WOC) and Z, the electron donor to the reaction center P680. We have concluded that a very suitable candidate for RAL is the imidazole moiety of a histidine residue. The electrochemical data available on imidazole derivatives play heavily in this identification of RAL. Thus, we suggest that histidine might play the role of an electron mediator between the WOC and Z. A model of S-states in terms of their plausible chemical identity is presented here.Abbreviations J electronic spin of ion - P680 reaction center chlorophyll - RAL Redox active ligand - S_n state of the oxygen-evolving system - WOC water oxidation complex - Z electron donor to P680 Dedicated to Prof. L.N.M. Duysens on the occasion of his retirement     

Properties of cytosolic components activating rat hepatic 5'' [corrected]-deiodination in the presence of NADPH.

The effects of cytosol, NADPH and reduced glutathione (GSH) on the activity of 5'-deiodinase were studied by using washed hepatic microsomes from normal fed rats. Cytosol alone had little stimulatory effect on the activation of microsomal 5'-deiodinase. NADPH had no stimulatory effect on the microsomal 5'-deiodinase unless cytosol was added. 5'-deiodinase activity was greatly enhanced by the simultaneous addition of NADPH and cytosol (P less than 0.001); this was significantly higher than that with either NADPH or cytosol alone (P less than 0.001). GSH was active in stimulating the enzyme activity in the absence of cytosol, but the activity of 5'-deiodinase with 62 microM-NADPH in the presence of cytosol was significantly higher than that with 250 microM-GSH in the presence of the same concentration of cytosol (P less than 0.001). The properties of the cytosolic components essential for the NADPH-dependent activation of microsomal 5'-deiodinase independent of a glutathione/glutathione reductase system were further assessed using Sephadex G-50 column chromatography to yield three cytosolic fractions (A, B and C), wherein A represents pooled fractions near the void volume, B pooled fractions of intermediate Mr (approx. 13 000), and C of low Mr (approx. 300) containing glutathione. In the presence of NADPH (1 mM), the 5'-deiodination rate by hepatic washed microsomes is greatly increased if both A and B are added and is a function of the concentrations of A, B, washed microsomes and NADPH. A is heat-labile, whereas B is heat-stable and non-dialysable. These observations provide the first evidence of an NADPH-dependent cytosolic reductase system not involving glutathione which stimulates microsomal 5'-deiodinase of normal rat liver. The present data are consistent with a deiodination mechanism involving mediation by a reductase (other than glutathione reductase) in fraction A of an NADPH-dependent reduction of a hydrogen acceptor in fraction B, followed by reduction of oxidized microsomal deiodinase by the reduced acceptor (component in fraction B).     

Flavonoids in the leaves of twenty-eight polygonaceous plants

Flavonoids in the leaves of twenty-eight species belonging to the Polygonaceae were studied. Thirty-three kinds of flavonoids were isolated, and eighteen kinds were obtained as crystals. Quercetin glycosides were commonly found in the family. In the quercetin glycosides, 3-O-rhamnoside was most frequently found: 3-O-glucuronide is also distributed widely. Myricetin glycosides were rare. Methylated flavonols were found in some species of the sectionsEchinocaulon andPersicaria. Eleven kinds ofC-glycosylflavones were found in the present survey, andC-glycosylflavones were distributed in all species of the genusRheum and in almost all species of the section Tiniaria.Rumex Acetosella andPolygonum suffultum are exceptional, the former contains flavone glycoside and the latterC-glycosylflavones only, as main components.     

Interaction of glycylglycine and Na+ at the mucosal border of Guinea-pig small intestine: A non-mutual stimulation of transport

Sodium-dependence of glycylglycine (Gly-Gly) influx and stimulation of Na⁺ transport by Gly-Gly were studied in everted sacs, sheet preparations and brush-border membrane vesicles isolated from guinea-pig ileum. Gly-Gly influx was found to be independent of the presence of Na⁺, while Na⁺ transport was stimulated by Gly-Gly as evidenced by increases in transmural potential difference (PD_t), short-circuit current (I_sc) and Na⁺ influx. The change in PD_t (ΔPD_t) induced by Gly-Gly was a saturable function of Gly-Gly concentration, showing a Michaelis-Menten type relationship. The half-saturation concentration for Gly-Gly estimated from the electrical data was nearly identical with that estimated from influx data. At a constant Gly-Gly concentration the relationship between I_sc and Na⁺ concentration was sigmoid, and the Hill coefficient was 1.5. Kinetic analysis according to Garay Garrahan indicates that each Gly-Gly carrier has two equivalent non-interacting binding sites for Na⁺, and that translocation of Na⁺ occurs when the two Na⁺ sites on the carrier loaded with Gly-Gly are occupied by Na⁺. However, our results indicate that the resultant Na⁺ flow is not capable of stimulating Gly-Gly translocation.     

Variations of Natural 13C Abundances in Leguminous Plants

The natural ¹³C abundance (¹³C value) of the field-grown leguminousplants (soybean, kidney bean, pea, azuki bean, mung bean, peanutand cowpea) was investigated by mass spectrometry with a precisionbetter than %0.2 for ¹³C. Among organs of premature plants,the leaves had the most negative values, and the nodules generallyhad the least negative values, and other organs, fruits, stemsand roots, showed intermediate values. In the soybeans so farinvestigated, the grains of nodulating plants exhibited higher¹³C values than nonnodulating lines. The ¹³C values of the grainsvaried depending on the species: peanuts showed the most negativevalues. Possible causes underlying these variations are discussed. ³Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Sakura-mura,Ibaraki 305, Japan. (Received December 3, 1982; Accepted May 25, 1983)     

Interindividual distance and influence of dominance on feeding in a natural Japanese macaque troop

In a natural troop of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata yakui), the dominant-subordinate relationship restricted the feeding behavior of the subordinate in two ways: (1) the dominant drives away the subordinate through agonistic interactions; and (2) the subordinate avoids approaching the dominant without any agonistic interactions. These occurred only infrequently, and only when an interindividual distance was less than a certain distance, which is called the “tolerance/intolerance” (T/I) distance. On the other hand, the usual interindividual distance when feeding was much greater than the T/I distance. Therefore dominance has little influence on feeding in the study troop. In the study troop, the T/I distance between kin-related females was shorter than that between unrelated individuals. Although this difference may facilitate kin selection if the troop faces severe competition over concentrated food, the difference does not seem to influence survival or reproductive rate in the study troop.     

Adenosine 3′,5′-Cyclic Monophosphate-Deficient Mutants of Vibrio cholerae

Two adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (AMP)-deficient mutants of Vibrio cholerae (biotype El Tor) were successfully isolated by nitrosoguanidine treatment followed by pencillin screening for pleiotropic sugar-negative clones. Exogenous cyclic AMP is required for the fermentation of sucrose, trehalose, fructose, maltose, and mannose but not of glucose, as well as for the formation of normal flagella and specific somatic antigens. A striking characteristic of the mutants is their growth behavior at higher temperatures. They cannot grow on TCBS selective plates at 37 C or higher unless they are provided with a supply of exogenous cyclic AMP, although they are capable of producing colonies on the same medium, even without cyclic AMP, at temperatures lower than 30 C. Since the mutants are converted to spheroplasts, spindle forms, and spiral filaments in cyclic AMP-free media at 37 C, and this phenomenon is stopped by the addition of cyclic AMP or a combination of 20% sucrose and 0.2% magnesium chloride, it is assumed that cyclic AMP is essential for the synthesis of the cell wall of V. cholerae at higher temperatures.