Life history of the importedScymnus (Nephus) Reunioni [Col.: Coccinellidae] predator of mealybugs

The life history ofNephus reunioni, introduced from the Reunioni island has been studied. Optimum temperature for the development of the entomophagous insect is 24–25°C. In this case the population has the highest survival at preimaginal stages, life duration of adults and reproductive capacity. The rate of population growth was calculated by the formula:

Lutte biologique et intégrée dans les vergers de citrus en zone méditerranéenne

Les problèmes posés par les ravageurs des Citrus ont pris une importance considérable au cours de ces 3 dernières décennies et cela pour plusieurs raisons:

Nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence of bovine adrenal medulla chromogranin B (secretogranin I)

1. A novel 1745-dalton pyroglutamyl peptide (BAM-1745)6 was recently isolated and characterized from bovine adrenal medulla chromaffin granules. Its amino acid sequence was found to be 93% identical to residues 580-593 of human chromogranin B (secretogranin I). 2. Based on this sequence a degenerate oligonucleotide probe was synthesized and used to identify a 2.4-kb bovine adrenal medulla chromogranin B cDNA. 3. The deduced polypeptide is 647 amino acids long and begins with a putative signal sequence of 20 residues as in the human, rat, and mouse proteins. Also conserved in the bovine protein is a tyrosine residue which may be sulfated, two N-terminal cysteines, and many paired basic amino acids which may serve as sites of posttranslational processing. The peptide BAM-1745 is flanked by paired basic amino acids and therefore is most likely a product of posttranslational processing. Bovine chromogranin B is 67, 58, and 58% identical to the human, rat, and mouse chromogranin B proteins, respectively. 4. The carboxyl terminus of bovine chromogranin B, including BAM-1745, was found to be the most conserved region of the polypeptide and may identify it as an important functional domain.     

Identification of the ATP·Mg-dependent protein phosphatase activator (Fa ) as a synapsin I kinase that inhibits cross-linking of synapsin I with brain microtubules

The ATP·Mg-dependent protein phosphatase activating factor (Fa) has been identified and purified to near homogeneity from brain. In this report, as evidenced on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by autoradiography, factorFa has further been identified as a cAMP and Ca²⁺-independent brain kinase that could phosphorylate synapsin I, a neuronal protein that coats synaptic vesicles, binds to cytoskeleton, and is believed to be involved in the modulation of neurotransmission. Kinetic study further indicated that factorFa could phosphorylate synapsin I with a lowK _m value of about 2 µM and with a molar ratio of 1 mol of phosphate per mole of protein. Peptide mapping analysis revealed that factorFa specifically phosphorylated the tail region of synapsin I but on a unique site distinct from those phosphorylated by Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and cAMP-dependent protein kinase, the two well-established synapsin I kinases. Functional study further revealed that factorFa could phosphorylate this unique specific site on the tail region of synapsin I and thereby inhibit cross-linking of synapsin I with microtubules. The results further suggest the possible involvement of factorFa as a synapsin I kinase in the regulation of axonal transport process of synaptic vesicles via the promotion of vesicles motility during neurotransmission.     

Persistent measles virus infection enhances major histocompatibility complex class I expression and immunogenicity of murine neuroblastoma cells

The effect of persistent measles virus infection on the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigens was studied. Mouse neuroblastoma cells C1300, clone NS20Y, were persistently infected with the Edmonston strain of measles virus. The persistently infected cell line, NS20Y/MS, expressed augmented levels of both H-2K^k and H-2D^d MHC class I glycoproteins. Activation of two interferon(IFN)-induced enzymes, known to be part of the IFN system: (2–5)oligoadenylate synthetase and double-stranded-RNA-activated protein kinase, was detected. Measles-virus-infected cells elicited cytotoxic T lymphocytes that recognized and lysed virus-infected and uninfected neuroblastoma cells in an H-2-restricted fashion. Furthermore, immunization of mice with persistently infected cells conferred resistance to tumor growth after challenge with the highly malignant NS20Y cells. The rationale for using measles virus for immunotherapy is that most patients develop lifelong immunity after recovery or vaccination from this infection. Patients developing cancer are likely to have memory cells. A secondary response induced by measles-virus-infected cells may therefore induce an efficient immune response against non-infected tumour cells.     

The population dynamics of pike,Esox lucius,and perch,Perca fluviatilis,in a simple predator-prey system

Synopsis The population dynamics and predator-prey relationship of pike, Esox lucius, and perch, Perca fluviatilis, were examined in simple fish communities in two adjacent shallow lakes, Lochs Kinord and Davan, Deeside, Scotland. Few perch survive to age 3 but Z is low for fish > 3 years and perch live up to 17 years. Population fecundity remained relatively high and constant in perch because of the multi-age spawning stock and the presence of older more fecund perch. Growth rates of perch in both lochs are relatively high as a consequence of low stock abundance. The N, B, and P of adult perch were unusually low. The age range of pike, and N, B, P, and growth were in the range of values reported elsewhere. There was little variation in the strength of pike year classes and the importance of cannibalism and low occurrence of alternative prey in the lochs suggest that the populations were self-regulating. Cannibalism by adults was responsible for most of mortality in perch larvae, and predation by pike and adult perch was responsible for the majority of juvenile losses. This conclusion is supported by the high biomass ratios of pike:juvenile perch of 1.0–30.8. While the number of adult fish was almost equal, the biomass of adult pike was 2–3 × that of perch in Kinord and 6 × in Davan. In L. Kinord, where year class strength was stable, high predation pressure from perch and pike reduced perch abundance rather than eliminated year classes. Perch year classes fluctuated in abundance in L. Davan and were eliminated in the first summer in two sampling years. The pike, and particularly the perch populations, have features characteristic of fish communities in unperturbed ecosystems: namely, a wide range of age classes, stability in biomass with variation dampened by longevity, and low production.     

HLA gene and haplotype frequencies in galicia (NW Spain)

The genetic structure of six populations of Iran (Turks, Kurds, Lurs, Zabolis, Baluchis and Zoroastrians) was examined using data on blood groups, serum proteins and cell enzymes. Our results show conclusively that there are genetic differences among the six populations and the analysis of superimposed R and S matrices defined by Harpending & Jenkins (1973) show that the dispersion of some of the alleles correspond to the dispersion of the populations. The F_ST estimates are not large enough to favour selection on any of the loci studied. The F_IT and F_IS estimates are positive and moderately high suggesting that the genetic differentiation to some extent is influenced by inbreeding.     

Isolation and genetic structure of IS112, an insertion sequence responsible for the inactivation of the SalI restriction-modification system of Streptomyces albus G.

Summary IS112 is a transposable element identified in Streptomyces albus G by its frequent mutagenic insertion into the genes for the SalI restriction-modification system. IS112 is present in several copies in the genome of S. albus G. Homologous sequences were detected in other Streptomyces strains. Sequence analysis revealed that IS112 has a length of 883 by with a GC content of 67.4%. The copy that was isolated contained imperfect inverted repeats (16/20 match) at its ends and was flanked by a 2 by duplication at the target site, which was located within the gene (salIR) for the Sall endonuclease. A long open reading frame (ORF) encoding a putative polypeptide of 256-253 amino acids spans almost the entire sequence. Significant homology was detected between this polypeptide and that corresponding to ORFB of IS493, an insertion sequence recently isolated from Streptomyces lividans 66.

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Signal peptidase I overproduction results in increased efficiencies of export and maturation of hybrid secretory proteins in Escherichia coli

Summary The effects of 25-fold overproduction ofEscherichia coli signal peptidase I (SPase I) on the processing kinetics of various (hybrid) secretory proteins, comprising fusions between signal sequence functions selected from theBacillus subtilis chromosome and the mature part of TEM-β-lactamase, were studied inE. coli. One precursor (pre[A2d]-β-lactamase) showed an enhanced processing rate, and consequently, a highly improved release of the mature enzyme into the periplasm. A minor fraction of a second hybrid precursor (pre[Al3i]-β-lactamase), which was not processed under standard conditions of SPase I synthesis, was shown to be processed under conditions of SPase I overproduction. However, this did not result in efficient release of the mature β-lactamase into the periplasm. In contrast, the processing rates of wild-type pre-β-lactamase and pre(A2)-β-lactamase, already high under standard conditions, were not detectably altered by SPase I overproduction. These results demonstrate that the availability of SPase I can be a limiting factor in protein export inE. coli, in particular with respect to (hybrid) precursor proteins showing low (SPase I) processing efficiencies.     

Genetic assay of misincorporation

A system to characterize mutations arising from in vitro nucleotide misincorporation, which avoids the effects of in vivo mismatch repair on recovery of mutants, was constructed and evaluated. The lacI gene of Escherichia coli was inserted into phage M13 and the M13-lacI recombinant was introduced into a strain of E. coli lacking a resident lacI gene. In this system the function of the M13-bearing lacI gene can be detected by plaque color. Mutants in the 5'-region of the lacI gene (encoding operator-binding domain) are seen as blue plaques when the host strain is grown in the presence of chromogenic substrate, X-gal, in the absence of inducer. The use of uracil-containing single stranded DNA from M13-lacI as template for DNA synthesis avoids the contribution of mismatch repair (in transfection recipients) on the recovery of mutants. To demonstrate the usefulness of the M13-lacI system we produced nucleotide misincorporations by in vitro DNA synthesis in the N-terminal region of the lacI template in the presence of only 3 deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs). Such mutagenic reactions were conducted in the absence of dATP with 4 different primers and in the absence of dGTP with 2 primers. The type of mutants produced by these reactions were identified through sequencing of DNA from progeny phage after screening for i- (blue plaque) phenotype. Mutations recovered in this system consisted of single and multiple base substitutions in the region of the template near the 3'-terminus of the primer. Nearly all of the mutants induced by '-A' conditions were T----C base substitutions, and those induced by '-G' conditions were C----T transitions. In general, the results were consistent with the spectrum of spontaneous mutants produced in strains deficient in mismatch repair, although some differences were noted. Several new base substitutions within the lacI gene (producing i- phenotype and unobserved by others) were isolated by the procedures described in this paper.