Fast, efficient and selective deprotection of the tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) group using HCl/dioxane (4 m).

Fast, efficient and selective deprotection of the tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) group of various amino acids and peptides was achieved by using hydrogen chloride (4 m) in anhydrous dioxane solution for 30 min at room temperature. In the cases studied in our laboratory, this protocol provided superior selectivity to deprotect Nalpha-Boc groups in the presence of tert-butyl esters and tert-butyl ethers, including thio-tert-butyl ethers, but not phenolic tert-butyl ethers.     

Plant litter feedback and population dynamics in an annual plant,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Cardamine pensylvanica</Emphasis>

The presence of litter has the potential to alter the population dynamics of plants. In this paper, we explore the effects of litter on population dynamics using a simple experimental laboratory system with populations of the annual crucifer, Cardamine pensylvanica. Using a factorial experiment with four densities and three litter levels, we determined the effect of litter on biomass and plant fecundity, and the life stages responsible for these changes in yield. Although litter had significant effects on seed germination and on seedling survivorship, we show, using a population dynamics model, that these effects were not demographically significant. Rather, the potential effect of litter on population dynamics resulted almost entirely from its effect on biomass. Persistent litter suppressed plant biomass and apparently removed the direct density effect present in the absence of litter. Thus, litter changed the shape of the recruitment curve from slightly humped to asymptotic. In addition to changing the shape of the recruitment curve, litter reduced the carrying capacity of the populations. Thus, the population dynamics model indicated that not all statistically significant responses were dynamically significant. Given the potential complexity of litter effects, simple population models provide a powerful tool for understanding the potential consequences of short-term responses. Received: 8 September 1999 / Accepted: 5 April 2000     

Sequence features and phylogenetic analysis of the stress protein hsp90alpha in chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), a poikilothermic vertebrate.

We cloned and sequenced a chinook salmon Hsp90 cDNA; sequence analysis shows it to be Hsp90alpha. Phylogenetic analysis supports the hypothesis that alpha and beta paralogs of Hsp90 arose as a result of a gene duplication event and that they diverged early in the evolution of vertebrates, before tetrapods separated from the teleost lineage. Among several differences distinguishing poikilothermic Hsp90alpha sequences from their bird and mammal orthologs, the teleost versions specifically lack a characteristic QTQDQP phosphorylation site near the N-terminus. We used the cDNA to develop an RNA (Northern) blot to quantify cellular Hsp90 mRNA levels. Chinook salmon embryonic (CHSE-214) cells responded to heat shock with a rapid rise in Hsp90 mRNA through 4 h, followed by a gradual decline over the next 20 h. Hsp90 mRNA level may be useful as a stress indicator, especially in a laboratory setting or in response to acute heat stress.     

Conformational heterogeneity of the bacteriopheophytin electron acceptor HA in reaction centers from Rhodopseudomonas viridis revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and site-directed mutagenesis.

The light-induced Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) difference spectra corresponding to the photoreduction of either the HA bacteriopheophytin electron acceptor (HA-/HA spectrum) or the QA primary quinone (QA-/QA spectrum) in photosynthetic reaction centers (RCs) of Rhodopseudomonas viridis are reported. These spectra have been compared for wild-type (WT) RCs and for two site-directed mutants in which the proposed interactions between the carbonyls on ring V of HA and the RC protein have been altered. In the mutant EQ(L104), the putative hydrogen bond between the protein and the 9-keto C=O of HA should be affected by changing Glu L104 to a Gln. In the mutant WF(M250), the van der Waals interactions between Trp M250 and the 10a-ester C=O of HA should be modified. The characteristic effects of both mutations on the FTIR spectra support the proposed interactions and allow the IR modes of the 9-keto and 10a-ester C=O of HA and HA- to be assigned. Comparison of the HA-/HA and QA-/QA spectra leads us to conclude that the QA-/QA IR signals in the spectral range above 1700 cm-1 are largely dominated by contributions from the electrostatic response of the 10a-ester C=O mode of HA upon QA photoreduction. A heterogeneity in the conformation of the 10a-ester C=O mode of HA in WT RCs, leading to three distinct populations of HA, appears to be related to differences in the hydrogen-bonding interactions between the carbonyls of ring V of HA and the RC protein. The possibility that this structural heterogeneity is related to the observed multiexponential kinetics of electron transfer and the implications for primary processes are discussed. The effect of 1H/2H exchange on the QA-/QA spectra of the WT and mutant RCs shows that neither Glu L104 nor any other exchangeable carboxylic residue changes appreciably its protonation state upon QA reduction.     

Stereoselectivity of the membrane potential-generating citrate and malate transporters of lactic acid bacteria.

The citrate transporter of Leuconostoc mesenteroides (CitP) and the malate transporter of Lactococcus lactis (MleP) are homologous proteins that catalyze citrate-lactate and malate-lactate exchange, respectively. Both transporters transport a range of substrates that contain the 2-hydroxycarboxylate motif, HO-CR(2)-COO(-) [Bandell, M., et al. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 18140-18146]. In this study, we have analyzed binding and translocation properties of CitP and MleP for a wide variety of substrates and substrate analogues. Modification of the OH or the COO(-) groups of the 2-hydroxycarboxylate motif drastically reduced the affinity of the transporters for the substrates, indicating their relevance in substrate recognition. Both CitP and MleP were strictly stereoselective when the R group contained a second carboxylate group; the S-enantiomers were efficiently bound and translocated, while the transporters had no affinity for the R-enantiomers. The affinity of the S-enantiomers, and of citrate, was at least 1 order of magnitude higher than for lactate and other substrates with uncharged R groups, indicating a specific interaction between the second carboxylate group and the protein that is responsible for high-affinity binding. MleP was not stereoselective in binding when the R groups are hydrophobic and as large as a benzyl group. However, only the S-enantiomers were translocated by MleP. CitP had a strong preference for binding and translocating the R-enantiomers of substrates with large hydrophobic R groups. These differences between CitP and MleP explain why citrate is a substrate of CitP and not of MleP. The results are discussed in the context of a model for the interaction between sites on the protein and functional groups on the substrates in the binding pockets of the two proteins.     

Graphical representation of the salient conformational features of protein residues.

A composite plot for depicting in two dimensions the conformation and the secondary structural features of protein residues has been developed. Instead of presenting the exact values of the main- and side-chain torsion angles (φ, psi and chi(1)), it indicates the region in the three-dimensional conformational space to which a residue belongs. Other structural aspects, like the presence of a cis peptide bond and disulfide linkages, are also displayed. The plot may be used to recognize patterns in the backbone and side-chain conformation along a polypeptide chain and to compare protein structures derived from X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy or molecular modelling studies and also to highlight the effect of mutation on structure.     

Variable modes of inheritance of morphometrical traits in hybrids between Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans.

We investigated body-size inheritance in interspecific sterile hybrids by crossing a Drosophila simulans strain with 13 strains of Drosophila melanogaster, which were of various origins and chosen for their broad range of genetic variation. A highly significant parent-offspring correlation was observed, showing that the D. melanogaster genes for size are still expressed in a hybrid background. Superimposed on to this additive inheritance, the size of hybrids was always less than the mid-parent value. This phenomenon, which at first sight might be described as dominance or overdominance, is more precisely interpreted as a consequence of a hybrid breakdown, that is, a dysfunction of the parental genes for size when put to work together. This interpretation is enforced by the fact that phenotypic variability was much more prevalent in hybrids than in parents. We also analysed body pigmentation inheritance in the same crosses and got a very different picture. There was no increase in the phenotypic variance of F(1) hybrids and only a low parent-offspring correlation. Apparent overdominance could be observed but in opposite directions, with no evidence of hybrid breakdown. Our data point to the possibility of analysing a diversity of quantitative traits in interspecific hybrids, and indicate that breakdown might be restricted to some traits only.