Inhibition of glycoprotein oligosaccharide processing in vitro and in influenza-virus-infected cells by alpha-D-mannopyranosylmethyl-p-nitrophenyltriazene.

The effects of alpha-D-mannopyranosylmethyl-p-nitrophenyltriazene (MMNT) on mannosidases involved in asparagine-linked oligosaccharide processing were investigated. MMNT was found to inhibit the activity of rat liver Golgi alpha-mannosidase I in a concentration-dependent manner (50% inhibition with 0.18 mM-MMNT), whereas rat liver endoplasmic-reticulum alpha-mannosidase appeared to be resistant (less than 5% inhibition at 1 mM-MMNT). Jack-bean alpha-mannosidase was also sensitive to inhibition by MMNT (50% inhibition with 0.32 mM-MMNT). Treatment of influenza-virus-infected chick-embryo cells with 1 mM-MMNT led to a decrease in the formation of complex-type asparagine-linked oligosaccharides and an accumulation of high-mannose-type oligosaccharides with the composition Man8(GlcNAc)2 and Man7(GlcNAc)2 on the viral glycoproteins. The biological activities of influenza-virus haemagglutinin and neuraminidase synthesized in the presence of 1 mM-MMNT remained unchanged, but the virus was less infectious than the control.     

Phylogeny of Greya (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae), based on nucleotide sequence variation in mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and II: congruence with morphological data

The phylogeny of Greya Busck (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae) was inferred from nucleotide sequence variation across a 765-bp region in the cytochrome oxidase I and II genes of the mitochondrial genome. Most parsimonious relationships of 25 haplotypes from 16 Greya species and two outgroup genera (Tetragma and Prodoxus) showed substantial congruence with the species relationships indicated by morphological variation. Differences between mitochondrial and morphological trees were found primarily in the positions of two species, G. variabilis and G. pectinifera, and in the branching order of the three major species groups in the genus. Conflicts between the data sets were examined by comparing levels of homoplasy in characters supporting alternative hypotheses. The phylogeny of Greya species suggests that host-plant association at the family level and larval feeding mode are conservative characters. Transition/transversion ratios estimated by reconstruction of nucleotide substitutions on the phylogeny had a range of 2.0-9.3, when different subsets of the phylogeny were used. The decline of this ratio with the increase in maximum sequence divergence among taxa indicates that transitions are masked by transversions along deeper internodes or long branches of the phylogeny. Among transitions, substitutions of A-->G and T-->C outnumbered their reciprocal substitutions by 2-6 times, presumably because of the approximately 4:1 (77%) A+T-bias in nucleotide base composition. Of all transversions, 73%-80% were A<-->T substitutions, 85% of which occurred at third positions of codons; these estimates did not decrease with an increase in maximum sequence divergence of taxa included in the analysis. The high frequency of A<-->T substitutions is either a reflection or an explanation of the 92% A+T bias at third codon positions.      

Analysis of plastid DNA-like sequences within the nuclear genomes of higher plants

A wide-ranging examination of plastid (pt)DNA sequence homologies within higher plant nuclear genomes (promiscuous DNA) was undertaken. Digestion with methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes and Southern analysis was used to distinguish plastid and nuclear DNA in order to assess the extent of variability of promiscuous sequences within and between plant species. Some species, such as Gossypium hirsutum (cotton), Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco), and Chenopodium quinoa, showed homogenity of these sequences, while intraspecific sequence variation was observed among different cultivars of Pisum sativum (pea), Hordeum vulgare (barley), and Triticum aestivum (wheat). Hypervariability of plastid sequence homologies was identified in the nuclear genomes of Spinacea oleracea (spinach) and Beta vulgaris (beet), in which individual plants were shown to possess a unique spectrum of nuclear sequences with ptDNA homology. This hypervariability apparently extended to somatic variation in B. vulgaris. No sequences with ptDNA homology were identified by this method in the nuclear genome of Arabidopsis thaliana.      

Debenzylation of carbohydrate benzyl ethers and benzyl glycosides via free-radical bromination

The dealkylation of benzylated carbohydrates by free-radical bromination and hydrolysis has been further examined. Free-radical bromination of methyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-α-D-glucopyranoside (1) methyl 2,3-di-O-benzyl-α-D-glucopyranoside (2) 6-O-benzyl-3,5-O-benzylidene-1,2-O-isopropylidene-α-D-glucofuranose (4) and 6-O-benzyl-D-glucose (3) appears to be quantitative. Spectroscopic evidence of a CBr bond indicates that an α-bromobenzyl ether is the product. Alkaline hydrolysis yielded methyl α-D-glucopyranoside from 1 and 2 and D-glucose from 3 and 4. A benzyl group present as an aglycon could be removed in the same way. Reaction of benzyl α-D-glucopyranoside tetraacetate (6) with bromine and chlorine under free-radical conditions and examination of the products by t.l.c. and i.r. spectrophotometry indicated that the first product was an α-halobenzyl glycoside and that the aglycon could be displaced by Br^- or Cl^- to form the tetra-O-acetyl-D-glucopyranosyl halide, undoubtedly with anomerization. Treatment of the mixture of products with moist ether and silver carbonate yielded only 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-D-glucopyranose.     

Banana starch: production, physicochemical properties, and digestibility—a review

The large quantity of green cull bananas has the potential of being used industrially and, thereby, to improve banana economics and eliminate the large environmental problem presented by banana waste. This review summarizes the present knowledge of the composition, structure, physiochemical properties, modifications, and digestibility of banana starches and provides suggestions for needed research to improve the utilization of green cull bananas.     

Effect of sulfate and citrate salts on derivatization of amylose and amylopectin during hydroxypropylation of corn starch

Common corn starch was modified in 0.56 M sodium sulfate solution and in 0.31 M potassium citrate solution. It was found that about 1.8 times the amount of reagent (propylene oxide) was needed to get a same molar substitution (MS) when potassium citrate was used. Hydroxypropylated starches were fractionated on a size-exclusion column to separate amylose from amylopectin, and MS values of the whole starch, the amylose, and the amylopectin were determined. In all preparations, amylose was derivatized to a greater extent than was amylopectin. The data indicate that, with common corn starch: (1) the greater the overall derivatization, the greater was the preference for derivatization of amylose; and (2) the preference for amylose derivatization was greater for corn starch modified in potassium citrate solution than in sodium sulfate solution when the MS values for the two preparations were essentially the same.