Absence of Turner stigmata in a 46,XYp-female

A 46,XY female patient with streak gonads and a large deletion of Yp is described. The deletion included the Y chromosomal genes SRY, ZFY, and RPS4Y. The patient did not display any Turner stigmata, such as webbing of the neck, cardiac or other abnormalities. The findings argue against an important role of RPS4Y in the prevention of Turner stigmata in males and are consistent with a role of SRY in testis differentiation in humans.     

The Machado-Joseph disease locus is different from the spinocerebellar ataxia locus (SCA1).

Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative spinocerebellar ataxia that has been described primarily in families of Azorean or Portuguese descent. MJD and chromosome 6p-linked spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA1) are difficult to differentiate clinically, and it has been suggested that they may be allelic variants of the same disorder. We have tested MJD families for linkage to six DNA sequence polymorphisms located on chromosome 6p, including the highly informative dinucleotide repeat, D6S89. Seventeen centimorgans telomeric to and 41 cM centromeric to D6S89, a region that includes the SCA1 locus reported to be within 3 cM of D6S89, have been excluded. These data provide conclusive evidence that MJD and SCA1 are nonallelic.     

Cyclic behavior of plum curculio,Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), within caged dwarf apple trees in spring

From 12 to 19 May 1987, during Morspur apple bloom, 21 radioactively labeled (⁶⁵ Zn) adult plum curculios, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), were released within a field cage containing four dwarf apple trees and located three times a day. A technique was developed for quickly obtaining (x, y, z)coordinates of location for adults foraging within apple trees. Cyclic patterns of behavior were detected using spectral analysis procedures. Over 70% of plum curculios exhibited diel periodicity with respect to activity and rate of movement, 36% exhibited such periodicity with respect to presence in the trees, and 27% with respect to movements from the center to the periphery of the canopy. Presence in fruit clusters, height in the trees, and movements along east-west and north-south axes showed little or no periodicity. Factors triggering cyclic behavior and practical implications of the results are discussed.     

A theoretical analysis of radiation interception in a two-species plant canopy.

Classical radiation interception laws for monospecific canopies cannot be used directly for bispecific canopies. They are always based on the gap frequency concept (i.e., the probability of no interception), which does not provide any information about the sharing of intercepted radiation between species. A theoretical analysis is reported that relates the radiation interception probabilities to the geometrical structure of the crop (i.e., the leaf area density and the leaf angle distribution of each component) and the foliage dispersion. The leaf dispersion globally describes the spatial relations between the leaf elements; it may be regular if the leaves avoid mutual shading, random, or clumped if they tend to overlap. For such two-species canopies, the leaf dispersions within each component (WSLD: within-species leaf dispersion) and between two species (BSLD: between-species leaf dispersion) are distinguished. Using bivariate multinomial distributions, general expressions for the gap frequency and the interception probabilities of a homogeneous vegetation layer were set as exponential functions of the foliage thickness, taking into account a number of dispersion parameters as small as possible. First, one WSLD for each species describes the rate of foliage overlap between the leaves of this species; it is quite similar to the leaf dispersion of single-species canopies. Second, the rate of foliage overlap between species is characterized by one BSLD. As in monospecific canopies, this parameter is positive, zero, or negative, respectively, for regular, random, or clumped BSLD. Third, another BSLD parameter has to be used if the foliage overlap between species is more than random (i.e., in the case of clumped BSLD); the latter shows the direction of overlap between species and may be taken as the probability of finding a leaf element of the first species in the case of marked overlapping. Suggestions for estimating the leaf dispersion parameters and possible uses of such relations are also discussed.     

Quantitative immunolocalization of four immunodominant antigens of Toxoplasma gondii

Ultrastructural localization of four immunodominant antigens of Toxoplasma gondii was investigated quantitatively on thin sections and replicas by an immunogold technique using four monoclonal antibodies (Mab). On immunoblot Mab IV47, GII9, II38 and IE10 identified proteins of 28, 30, 45 and 66-70 kDa, respectively. Use of digital image analyzer and a semi-automatic procedure developed by us, the patterns of label distribution were compared in three cell structures: cell surface, submembrane area and rhoptries. On the whole cell surface, protein P28 and P30 were 2.5 and 4 times more abundant than P66-70 respectively. The protein P28 was essentially concentrated in the submembrane area with a labeling of 195.4 +/- 46.7 gold particles/microns 2 that follows a decreasing gradient from this area to the cell centre. In the rhoptries, all four antigens were detected, P45 and P66-70 being major with a labeling of 97.1 +/- 31.1 gold particles/microns 2 and 155.1 +/- 39.3 gold particles/microns 2 respectively. The results support the hypothesis that rhoptries are the essential site for antigen storage.     

Genomic targets of the serendipity beta and delta zinc finger proteins and their respective DNA recognition sites.

The closely related Drosophila serendipity (sry) beta (beta) and delta (delta) Cys2-His2 zinc finger proteins show partly overlapping in vitro DNA binding specificities and distinct patterns of binding sites on polytene chromosomes. Using a newly developed procedure, we identified genomic DNA targets for these two proteins. Both the sry beta and delta proteins protect an 18-22 base region from DNase I digestion within each analysed genomic binding site, that includes a 13 bp consensus sequence. The consensus recognition sites sry beta 5'-YCAGAGATGCGCA-3' and sry delta 5'-YTAGAGATGGRAA-3' thus differ by nucleotides at four out of 13 positions. They are determinant for specific binding of the sry beta and delta proteins, respectively, produced in Escherichia coli or present in Drosophila embryos. We further show that sry beta is the major (if not exclusive) Drosophila nuclear protein that specifically binds the 5'-CAGAGTGCGC-3' sequence. The identified sry beta genomic targets are all contained within single-copy DNA in euchromatic regions of the genome. Two out of the five characterized in detail map at cytological positions coincident with binding sites of the native sry beta protein on polytene chromosomes.     

Genetic mapping of the Xq27-q28 region: new RFLP markers useful for diagnostic applications in fragile-X and hemophilia-B families.

We have characterized and genetically mapped new polymorphic DNA markers in the q27-q28 region of the X chromosome. New informative RFLPs have been found for DXS105, DXS115, and DXS152. In particular, heterozygosity at the DXS105 locus has been increased from 25% to 52%. We have shown that DXS105 and DXS152 are contained within a 40-kb region. A multipoint linkage analysis was performed in fragile-X families and in large normal families from the Centre d'Etudes du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH). This has allowed us to establish the order centromere-DXS144-DXS51-DXS102-F9-DXS105-FRAX A-(F8, DXS15, DXS52, DXS115). DXS102 is close to the hemophilia-B locus (z[theta] = 13.6 at theta = .02) and might thus be used as an alternative probe for diagnosis in Hemophila-B families not informative for intragenic RFLPs. DXS105 is 8% recombination closer to the fragile-X locus than F9 (z[theta] = 14.6 at theta = .08 for the F9-DXS105 linkage) and should thus be a better marker for analysis of fragile-X families. However, the DXS105 locus appears to be still loosely linked to the fragile-X locus in some families. The multipoint estimation for recombination between DXS105 and FRAXA is .16 in our set of data. Our data indicate that the region responsible for the heterogeneity in recombination between F9 and the fragile-X locus is within the DXS105-FRAXA interval.     

H-2 Polymorphisms Are More Uniformly Distributed than Allozyme Polymorphisms in Natural Populations of House Mice

Patterns of H-2 and allozyme polymorphism in natural populations of house mice from Europe, North Africa and South America were analyzed. The purpose of the analysis was to determine whether H-2 and allozyme polymorphisms were similarly distributed both geographically and temporally in wild mice. Two subspecies of house mice, Mus musculus domesticus and M. m. musculus were sampled and the polymorphisms of two H-2 class I genes, H-2K and H-2D, and 34 allozyme-encoding genes were surveyed. The three kinds of analyses that were conducted included a hierarchical gene diversity analysis, an analysis of the effects of barriers to gene flow, and an analysis of similarity networks. Each of the comparisons demonstrated that H-2 polymorphisms were more uniformly distributed than allozyme polymorphisms and provided additional evidence that H-2 and allozyme polymorphisms are subject to different evolutionary pressures. The analysis of similarity networks also demonstrated that H-2 genes provide little information about the phylogeny of wild mice.     

Increase in the formation of leukotriene B4 and other lipoxygenase products in peritoneal macrophages of adrenalectomized rats

The effect of adrenalectomy on the formation of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase products by activated peritoneal rat macrophages was determined. After isolation, the cells were incubated with [1-14C]arachidonic acid and the calcium ionophore A23187 and the metabolites isolated by HPLC chromatography. The main components formed in the controls are 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha, thromboxane B2 and 12-HETE. One peak represents 5,12-di-HETE. Smaller amounts of prostaglandin F2 alpha, prostaglandin E2, prostaglandin D2, leukotriene B4 and 15-HETE are also present. After adrenalectomy, a considerable increase occurs in the amounts of leukotriene B4, 15-HETE and 12-HETE. The increase in the prostaglandins is smaller. The compounds formed from endogenous arachidonic acid are also determined. In the cells of the controls, 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha and thromboxane B2 are produced in higher amounts than leukotriene B4. After adrenalectomy, the formation of leukotriene B4 is much more increased than that of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha. These effects are most probably related to a diminished amount or inactivation of lipocortin, a glucocorticosteroid-induced peptide with phospholipase A2 inhibitory activity in adrenalectomized animals.