Onset of penicillin-induced bacteriolysis in staphylococci is cell cycle dependent.

Synchronously growing staphylococci were treated with "lytic" concentrations of penicillin at different stages of their division cycle. Coulter Counter measurements and light microscopy were used to determine the onset of bacteriolysis. Independent of the stage of the division cycle at which penicillin was added, (i) the cells were always able to perform the next cell division; (ii) the following division, however, did not take place; and (iii) instead, at this time, when the onset of the subsequent cell separation was observed in control cultures, lysis of the penicillin-treated cells occurred. These results support a recent model (P. Giesbrecht, H. Labischinski, and J. Wecke, Arch. Microbiol. 141:315-324, 1985) explaining penicillin-induced bacteriolysis of staphylococci as the result of a special morphogenetic mistake during cross wall formation.     

Inactivation of recombinant plasmid DNA from a human erythropoietin-producing mouse cell line grown on a large scale

Summary Experiments were carried out to assess the survival of recombinant plasmid DNA during large-scale production of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhuEPO) in a fermentation pilot plant. The analyses revealed DNA-degrading activities in the fermentation broth and in the waste-water, leading to rapid destruction of plasmid DNA added to medium or waste-water. The capability of the plasmid-DNA-spiked samples to transform competent bacteria was drastically reduced. The DNA-degrading activity in the waste-waters could be blocked by addition of EDTA or by boiling, indicating the presence of DNA-degrading enzymes (DNases). No plasmid-specific DNA sequences were detected in waste-water samples by in-vitro amplification with Taqpolymerase. Genomic DNA preparations of cell debris collected from waste-water samples only contained degraded plasmid DNA. Furthermore, it was shown that intact plasmid DNA could be degraded to fragments of less than 1000 bp by incubation at 121°C for 20 min, leading to a decrease in the plasmid-specific transforming capacity by a factor of 10³ per minute. Thus, DNA from the rhuEPO production pilot plant was efficiently inactivated at three different levels: (i) in the fermentation medium (DNase), (ii) in the waste-water container (DNase), and (iii) by heat inactivation for 20 min at 120°C. These results indicate that the probability of delivery of recombinant DNA into the environment is extremely low in such biotechnological production processes. Offprint requests to: M. R. Fibi     

The quantification of the haemagglutinin content of influenza whole virus and Tween-ether split vaccines

Monovalent whole virus and Tween-ether split vaccines prepared from influenza A/Bangkok, A/Brazil and B/Singapore were assayed for haemagglutinin content using single radial immunodiffusion (SRID), quantitative sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunization of guinea pigs. When SRID was performed with split vaccines, haemagglutinin values were consistently recorded which were in the range of 50 to 25% of the values obtained before disruption of virions. When, however, disruption was conducted in the presence of excess detergent, thus preventing aggregate formation of solubilized haemagglutinin, test values comparable with those of whole virus vaccines were obtained. In agreement with these results, immunization experiments revealed that whole virus and corresponding split vaccines exhibited comparable immunogenicity in guinea pigs. Additionally it could be calculated from SDS-PAGE and densitometer tracings, obtained by scanning the gels after staining with either Coomassie blue or FITC-Con A, that 90 to 95% of whole virus HA2 was recovered in Tween-ether split vaccines. On the basis of these findings we conclude that precise quantification of Tween-ether split vaccines is not possible by the SRID test alone. As aggregate formation of solubilized haemagglutinin occurs, we suggest that either a physico-chemical method including a disaggregation procedure, such as SDS treatment, or immunological evaluation of the original whole virus preparation before disruption of virions should be applied as an additional criterion for quantification of influenza Tween-ether split vaccines.     

Technetium and rhenium complexes of mercapto-containing peptides 1. Tc(V) and Re(V) complexes with mercaptoacetyl diglycine (MAG2) and X-ray structure of AsPh4[TcO(MAG2)]·C2H5OH

The reaction of mercaptoacetyl diglycine (MAG₂) with technetium(V) gluconate in aqueous solution produced [TcO(MAG₂)]⁻. A single X-ray structure determination was carried out for the tetraphenylarsonium salt. The dark brown crystals are monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n, with a=12.478(5), b=14.922(5), c=17.183(9) Å and Z=4. The [TcO(MAG₂)]⁻ ion has a square pyramidal geometry with the technetium atom displaced by 0.756 Å towards the oxo ligand from the plane formed by the equatorial S,N,N,O atoms. The rhenium complex AsPh₄[ReO(MAG₂)] was prepared analogously starting from Re(V) gluconate and characterized.     

Molecular drift of the bride of sevenless (boss) gene in Drosophila

DNA sequences were determined for three to five alleles of the bride-of- sevenless (boss) gene in each of four species of Drosophila. The product of boss is a transmembrane receptor for a ligand coded by the sevenless gene that triggers differentiation of the R7 photoreceptor cell in the compound eye. Population parameters affecting the rate and pattern of molecular evolution of boss were estimated from the multinomial configurations of nucleotide polymorphisms of synonymous codons. The time of divergence between D. melanogaster and D. simulans was estimated as approximately 1 Myr, that between D. teissieri and D. yakuba as approximately 0.75 Myr, and that between the two pairs of sibling species as approximately 2 Myr. (The boss genes themselves have estimated divergence times approximately 50% greater than the species divergence times.) The effective size of the species was estimated as approximately 5 x 10(6), and the average mutation rate was estimated as 1-2 x 10(-9)/nucleotide/generation. The ratio of amino acid polymorphisms within species to fixed differences between species suggests that approximately 25% of all possible single-step amino acid replacements in the boss gene product may be selectively neutral or nearly neutral. The data also imply that random genetic drift has been responsible for virtually all of the observed differences in the portion of the boss gene analyzed among the four species.      

The contractile basis of amoeboid movement: V. The control of gelation, solation, and contraction in extracts from dictyostelium discoideum

Motile extracts have been prepared from Dictyostelium discoideum by homogenization and differential centrifugation at 4 degrees C in a stabilization solution (60). These extracts gelled on warming to 25 degrees Celsius and contracted in response to micromolar Ca++ or a pH in excess of 7.0. Optimal gelation occurred in a solution containing 2.5 mM ethylene glycol-bis (β-aminoethyl ether)N,N,N',N'-tetraacetate (EGTA), 2.5 mM piperazine-N-N'-bis [2-ethane sulfonic acid] (PIPES), 1 mM MgC1(2), 1 mM ATP, and 20 mM KCI at ph 7.0 (relaxation solution), while micromolar levels of Ca++ inhibited gelation. Conditions that solated the gel elicited contraction of extracts containing myosin. This was true regardless of whether chemical (micromolar Ca++, pH >7.0, cytochalasin B, elevated concentrations of KCI, MgC1(2), and sucrose) or physical (pressure, mechanical stress, and cold) means were used to induce solation. Myosin was definitely required for contraction. During Ca++-or pH-elicited contraction: (a) actin, myosin, and a 95,000-dalton polypeptide were concentrated in the contracted extract; (b) the gelation activity was recovered in the material sqeezed out the contracting extract;(c) electron microscopy demonstrated that the number of free, recognizable F-actin filaments increased; (d) the actomyosin MgATPase activity was stimulated by 4- to 10-fold. In the absense of myosin the Dictyostelium extract did not contract, while gelation proceeded normally. During solation of the gel in the absense of myosin: (a) electron microscopy demonstrated that the number of free, recognizable F- actin filaments increased; (b) solation-dependent contraction of the extract and the Ca++-stimulated MgATPase activity were reconstituted by adding puried Dictyostelium myosin. Actin purified from the Dictyostelium extract did not gel (at 2 mg/ml), while low concentrations of actin (0.7-2 mg/ml) that contained several contaminating components underwent rapid Ca++ regulated gelation. These results indicated : (a) gelation in Dictyostelium extracts involves a specific Ca++-sensitive interaction between actin and several other components; (b) myosin is an absolute requirement for contraction of the extract; (c) actin-myosin interactions capable of producing force for movement are prevented in the gel, while solation of the gel by either physical or chemical means results in the release of F-actin capable of interaction with myosin and subsequent contraction. The effectiveness of physical agents in producting contraction suggests that the regulation of contraction by the gel is structural in nature.     

The dangeardien and its significance in the taxonomy of the ascomycetous yeasts

The concept of a dangeardien is discussed in relation to the ascomycetous yeasts. In species of ascomycetous affinity the dangeardien may be expressed not only as the ascus, but also in the taxa showing an alternation of generation in the absence of an ascosporal state, as a site of reduction division. In such cases it is proposed to refer to the dangeardien as a meioconidiophore and to the externally delimited haplophase, as meioconidia. Taxa showing the formation of meioconidiophores are considered to represent perfect states.     

Ascospores in Torulopsis dattila (Kluyver) Lodder

It has been found that the type strain of Torulopsis dattila constitutes a perfect state since it is characterized by the formation of asci which rupture at maturity liberating 1–4 smooth, spheroidal ascospores which tend to agglutinate. On the basis of its physiological properties this strain is considered to be representative of Kluyveromyces thermotolerans.