Sex-biased dispersal promotes adaptive parental effects

Background  

In heterogeneous environments, sex-biased dispersal could lead to environmental adaptive parental effects, with offspring selected to perform in the same way as the parent dispersing least, because this parent is more likely to be locally adapted. We investigate this hypothesis by simulating varying levels of sex-biased dispersal in a patchy environment. The relative advantage of a strategy involving pure maternal (or paternal) inheritance is then compared with a strategy involving classical biparental inheritance in plants and in animals.     

Antitumour activities of levans produced by Zymomonas mobilis strains

Levans produced by four Zymomonas mobilis strains showed antitumour activity against sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich carcinoma in Swiss albino mice. Levans from two strains (ZAP and CP4) had the highest effects. NMR analysis showed that the polymers were composed only of fructose units. The results suggested that the antineoplasic effect is associated to the polysaccharide molecular weight and that a particular molecular weight range may be responsible for this effect.     

Substrate particle size affects pit building decision and pit size in the antlion larvae Euroleon nostras (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae)

Abstract. The larvae of the antlion Euroleon nostras are pit-builders, constructing pitfall traps in loose sand. The number of pits and the pit diameter are recorded when larvae are kept in substrates with different particle sizes. The most convenient pit-building sand fractions are two fractions with fine sand (≤ 0.23 mm; 0.23–0.54 mm). The largest pits are constructed in sand with a particle size of 0.23–0.54 mm. In this sand fraction, larvae of all three instars most readily build pits. No pits are constructed in sand with a particle size greater than 1.54 mm. First- and second-instar larvae avoid building pits in substrates of particle size 1–1.54 mm, but third-instar larvae construct pits in this sand fraction. It is assumed that the antlion is capable of distinguishing between substrate types and this hypothesis is tested by giving larvae the choice of building a pit in one of four particle-size fractions. Larvae of all three instars prefer to build pits in the fraction with a particle size of 0.23–0.54 mm. Only third-instar larvae build pits in all four fractions, but only occasionally in the coarser fraction.     

Gating processes of channels induced by colicin A,its C-terminal fragment and colicin E1 in planar lipid bilayers

The dependence on pH and membrane potential of the pore formed by colicin A and its C-terminal 20 kDa fragment has been measured using planar lipid bilayers. The single channel conductance of the pore formed by both colicin A and the fragment increases with pH with an apparent pK of 6.0. At pH 5.0 the gating by membrane potential of the channels formed by either colicin A or its fragment is identical. At the same pH, quite similar pore properties were found when using the related bacteriocin, colicin E₁. In agreement with previous studies, these data indicate that the protein structure containing the lumen of the pore resides in the 20 kDa C-terminal part of the colicin A and favours the recently proposed model, based on protein sequence analysis, which proposes that colicin A, E₁ and I_B C-terminal domains are folded in the same three-dimensional structure. However, it is also shown that colicin A and not its C-terminal fragment undergoes a pH dependent transition between an acidic and a basic form of the pore with an apparent pK of 5.3. The two forms of the pore differ by their gating charge but not by the channel size. These results suggest that there is a pH dependent association between the C-terminal domain carrying the lumen of the pore and another domain of the molecule which affect the pore sensitivity to membrane potential.     

Three-dimensional reconstruction of maltoporin from electron microscopy and image processing.

Two dimensional crystals of maltoporin (or phage lambda receptor) were obtained by reconstitution of purified maltoporin trimers and Escherichia coli phospholipids by detergent dialysis. Two different trimer packing forms were observed. One was hexagonal (a = 7.8 nm) and one rectangular (a = 7.8 nm, b = 13.6 nm). In this paper we describe the three-dimensional structure of maltoporin, deduced from the study of the rectangular form by electron microscopy and image processing. At a resolution of approximately 2.5 nm, maltoporin trimers form aqueous channel triplets which appear to merge into a single outlet at the periplasmic surface of the outer membrane. The pore defined by maltoporin has a similar structure to that outlined by the matrix protein. From the results of functional studies by conductance measurement, it is concluded that the three channels defined by maltoporin act, contrary to those formed by the porin (OmpF protein), as a single conducting unit. A tentative outline of the maltoporin promoter is given. Maltoporin appears to be constituted by three different domains: a major rod-like domain spanning the membrane, a minor domain located near the periplasmic surface of the membrane and finally a central domain responsible for the splitting of the channel.     

The molten globule intermediate for protein insertion or translocation through membranes

Insertion of some protein toxins into membranes proceeds through an unfolding step. The unfolding trigger can be the low pH in endosomes, exposure to body temperature, reduction of disulphide bonds or proteolytic cleavage occurring at the membrane surface. The insertion intermediates are not fully unfolded but have the features of a 'molten globule state' that is also observed at early stages of polypeptide folding. In this article, we review the evidence supporting these ideas and speculate about the implications of the molten globule intermediate for understanding the general mechanisms of protein insertion and translocation across membranes.     

Inhibition of N-linked oligosaccharide processing does not prevent the secretion of thyroglobulin. A study with swainsonine and deoxynojirimycin

The effects of two drugs, swainsonine (SW) and deoxynojirimycin (dNM), on synthesis and export of thyroglobulin were studied in folliculized porcine thyroid cells cultured in a serum-free medium. These drugs were expected to alter N-linked glycans in thyroglobulin. Newly synthesized thyroglobulin labeled with [2-3H]mannose or [4,5-3H]leucine was obtained by immunoprecipitation from the follicular contents, culture media and cell extracts; the first two compartments, containing secreted thyroglobulin, were sometimes analyzed together. Leucine incorporation was not inhibited by SW and only slightly by dNM. In contrast dNM strongly decreased mannose incorporation (by up to 50-75% at 1-3 mM). However after 16-h mannose labelings, SW and/or dNM at 2.5 microM and 3 mM respectively did not significantly modify the relative proportions of radioactive thyroglobulin in the above-mentioned compartments. Pronase glycopeptides prepared from these thyroglobulins were examined with respect to behaviour on concanavalin-A-Sepharose and position on Bio-Gel P-4. Oligosaccharides released by endoglucosaminidase H and with high affinity for the lectin, i.e. high-mannose and certain hybrids, were further characterized by various exoglycosidase treatments. Thyroglobulin from control cells displayed complex and high-mannose glycans comparable in size and proportion to those attributed to tissue-extracted porcine thyroglobulin. After treatment with SW (an inhibitor of alpha-mannosidase II), complex glycans were almost totally replaced by sialylated hybrid glycans. In contrast to this nearly total suppression, dNM (an inhibitor of the trimming glucosidases) caused only a 30% decrease in labeling of complex units and an about 50% increase in high-mannose glycans, covered to some degree by glucose. Finally a [3H]leucine pulse-chase study was performed on thyroglobulin secretion in the absence or presence of both SW and dNM. Though a slowdown was detectable in the first few hours, this study revealed no change in the long-term export of thyroglobulin.     

A molecular, genetic and immunological approach to the functioning of colicin A, a pore-forming protein

We have constructed, by recombinant DNA techniques, one hybrid protein, colicin A-beta-lactamase (P24), and two modified colicin As, one (P44) lacking a large central domain and the other (PX-345) with a different C-terminal region. The regulation of synthesis, the release into the medium and the properties of these proteins were studied. Only P44 was released into the medium. This suggests that both ends of the colicin A polypeptide chain might be required for colicin release. None of the three proteins was active on sensitive cells in an assay in vivo. However, P44 was able to form voltage-dependent channels in phospholipid planar bilayers. Its lack of activity in vivo is therefore probably caused by the inability to bind to the receptor in the outer membrane. PX-345 is a colicin in which the last 43 amino acids of colicin A have been replaced by 27 amino acids encoded by another reading frame in the same region of the colicin A structural gene; it was totally unable to form pores in planar bilayers at neutral pH but showed a very slight activity at acidic pH. These results confirm that the C-terminal domain of colicin A is involved in pore formation and indicate that at least the 43 C-terminal amino acid residues of this domain play a significant role in pore formation or pore function. Fifteen monoclonal antibodies directed against colicin A have been isolated by using conventional techniques. Five out of the 15 monoclonal antibodies could preferentially recognize wild-type colicin A. In addition, the altered forms of the colicin A polypeptide were used to map the epitopes of ten monoclonal antibodies reacting specifically with colicin A. Some of the antibodies did not bind to colicin A when it was pre-incubated at acidic pH suggesting that colicin A undergoes conformational change at about pH 4. The effects of monoclonal antibodies on activity in vivo of colicin A were investigated. The degree of inhibition observed was related to the location of the epitopes, with monoclonal antibodies reacting with the N terminus giving greater inhibition. The monoclonal antibodies directed against the C-terminal region promoted an apparent activation of colicin activity in vivo.     

Study of elastase-type activity in blister fluids of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa

Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is characterized clinically by blister formation due to minor trauma and ultrastructurally by a progressive disappearance of anchoring fibrils at the dermoepidermal junction and of the oxytalan-type fibers which belong to the elastic fiber system. In this study, we determined the elastase-type activity in blister fluid obtained from 8 patients suffering from RDEB as compared to the suction fluid of experimental blisters in a healthy person and to the blister fluid of a patient suffering from epidermolysis bullosa simplex. One patient with dominant dystrophic epidermolysis of the albopapuloid type was also studied. Seven of the eight children with RDEB showed highly elevated values. The eighth child, treated with etretinate, as well as the patient suffering from dominant epidermolysis bullosa had moderately increased values. The determination of elastase-type activity in the blister fluid could therefore be useful to establish the differential diagnosis of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.     

Soft rot Erwinia bacteria in surface and underground waters in southern Scotland and in Colorado, United States

An anaerobic liquid enrichment method followed by plating on a selective medium revealed that the soft rot coliform bacterium Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora was generally present in water from drains, ditches, streams, rivers and lakes (including reservoirs) in southern Scotland and in Colorado, United States, in mountainous, upland and arable areas through the year. Many sites were remote from susceptible or diseased crops. Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica was isolated much less frequently and no Erwinia bacteria were isolated from underground waters. Erwinia bacteria were also found in rain-water in Scotland, in winter snow from mountain passes in Colorado, and in sea water from the west and east coasts of Scotland and from the coasts of Oregon, California, Texas, Louisiana and Florida. The significance of the occurrence of these bacteria in water is discussed in relation to the control of blackleg and soft rot diseases of potato by production of Erwinia -free stocks.