The cationic polymerization of 3-O-acetyl-β-arabinofuranose 1,2,5-orthobenzoate

Cationic polymerisation of 3-O-acetyl-β-L-arabinofuranose 1,2,5-orthobenzoate initiated by either triphenylcarbonium tetrafluoroborate or benzoylium perchlorate has been studied. The existence of living chains was demonstrated by termination of polymerisation with tritium-labelled 1-butanol. The number of growing chains reached a maximum after ≈10 min and then decreased.     

Preparation and characteristics of monoclonal antibodies to DNA-dependent RNA-polymerase of bacteriophage T7

The monoclonal antibodies to DNA-dependent RNA-polymerase of bacteriophage T7 have been obtained. Twenty of the obtained 500 clones have inhibited the enzyme activity. Three specificity groups were identified for seven of the clones supporting their affinity for different antigenic determinants.     

Characteristics of rhamnan isolated from preparations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharides

A polysaccharide isolated from the degraded lipopolysaccharides of P. aeruginosa serogroup O7 (Lányi--Bergan classification) was characterized by liquid chromatography, acid hydrolysis, and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. It has molecular mass 15,000 and represents mainly a rhamnan of the structure----2)-alpha-D-Rha-(1----3)-alpha-D-Rha-(1----3)-alpha-D-Rha-(1 ----, identical to the structure of O-specific polysaccharides of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pvs morsprunorum and cerasi. Some minor constituents, such as glucose, mannose, an unknown sugar, and phosphate, are found in the polysaccharide preparation as well. Distribution of the rhamnan in some other P. aeruginosa serogroups is discussed and its identity to the common polysaccharide antigen of P. aeruginosa is suggested.     

Structure of the carbohydrate chain of riboflavin-binding glycoprotein from hen egg white. Neutral oligosaccharides of the hybrid type

Reductive cleavage of the riboflavin-binding glycoprotein from hen egg white with LiBH4/tert-BuOH followed by NaBH4 treatment gave rise to oligosaccharide alditols. After fractionation by HPLC two individual oligosaccharide alditols of a hybrid type were isolated. Their structures were proved by 1H NMR 500 MHz spectroscopy and methylation analysis. One of the oligosaccharides has earlier been found in ovalbumin, whereas the other is identified in glycoproteins for the first time.     

Structure of an extracellular cross-reactive polysaccharide from Pseudomonas aeruginosa immunotype 4

A neutral small molecular mass (approximately 6.5 kDa) polysaccharide comprising a pentasaccharide repeat unit was isolated from culture supernatants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa immunotype 4. The polysaccharide had a pentasaccharide repeating unit as follows (formula; see text) where Rha is rhamnose. The structure was determined using acid hydrolysis, solvolysis with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, methylation analysis, and 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy including nuclear Overhauser enhancement experiments. The polysaccharide bound antibody raised to the lipopolysaccharide of the seven P. aeruginosa Fisher-Devlin immunotype strains. Inhibition assays demonstrated the presence of a serologically similar polysaccharide in supernatants of these strains. Affinity-purified antibody to the polysaccharide bound to lipopolysaccharide and whole cells of the immunotype strains of P. aeruginosa in a Western immunoblot and colony blot assay, respectively. This polysaccharide seems to contain an antigenic determinant present in the core of the P. aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide or may represent another minor polysaccharide substituent on the lipopolysaccharide in addition to the O side chain.     

Biodegradation of Phenanthrene by Pseudomonas Bacteria Bearing Rhizospheric Plasmids in Model Plant–Microbial Associations

The consumption of phenanthrene in soil by model plant–microbial associations including natural and transconjugant plasmid-bearing rhizospheric strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens and P. aureofaciens degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was studied. It was shown that phytoremediation of soil polluted with phenanthrene in the rhizosphere of barley (Hordeum sativum L.) was inefficient in the absence of the degrading strains. Inoculation of barley seeds with both natural and transconjugant plasmid-bearing Pseudomonas strains able to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) protected plants from the phytotoxic action of phenanthrene and favored its degradation in soil. Rape (Brassica napus L.) was shown to be an appropriate sentinel plant, sensitive to phenanthrene, which can be used for testing the efficiency of phenanthrene degradation in soil. Biological testing with the use of sensitive rape plants can be applied for estimation of the efficiency of phyto/bioremediation of PAH-polluted soils.     

Mechanism of action of cyclic AMP-dependent histone kinase. Substrate specificity of the catalytic enzyme unit]

Interaction of several nucleotide derivates with homogenous catalytic subunit of cyclo-AMP-dependent histone kinase from pig brain is studied. Inhibition constants of these compounds are calculated, and the affinity of inhibitors to the enzyme active site is evaluated. The nature of heterocyclic base is found to be the main contribution into binding with substrate. The enzyme specificity with respect to a number of bivalent metal ions is studied, and Mg2+ is demonstrated to be the only efficient enzyme activator. It is shown by means of stationary kinetics that histone kinase-catalysed phosphotransferase reaction has a "ping-pong"-like mechanism.     

Practical synthesis of O-β-d-mannopyranosyl-, O-α-d-mannopyranosyl-, and O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)-d-galactoses

The koenigs-Knorr glycosylation of 4,6-O-ethylidene-1,2-O-isopropylidene-3-O-(2,3-O-isopropylidene-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl)-α-d-galactopyranose (3) by 4,6-di-O-acetyl-2,3-O-carbonyl-α-d-mannopyranosyl bromide (10), as well as Helferich glycosylations of 3 by tetra-O-acetyl-α-d-mannopyranosyl and -α-d-glucopyranosyl bromides, proceeded smoothly to give high yields of trisaccharide derivatives (12, 16, and 17). An efficient procedure for the transformation of 12, 16, and 17 into the α-deca-acetates of the respective trisaccharides has been developed. Zemplén de-acetylation then afforded the title trisaccharides in yields of 53, 52, and 62 %, respectively, from 3. A new route to 1,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2,3-O-carbonyl-α-d-mannopyranose is suggested.     

Synthesis of the tetrasaccharide repeating-unit of the O-specific polysaccharide from Salmonella senftenberg

The oligosaccharide β-d-Man-(1 → 4)-α-l-Rha (1 → 3)-d-Gal-(6 ← 1)-α-d-Glc, which is the repeating unit of the O-specific polysaccharide chain of the lipopolysaccharide from Salmonella senftenberg, was obtained by glycosylation of benzyl 2,4-di-O-benzyl-6-O-(2,3,4-tri-O-benzyl-6-O-p-nitrobenzoyl-α-d-glucopyranosyl)-β-d-galactopyranoside or benzyl 2-O-acetyl-6-O-(2,3,4-tri-O-benzyl-6-O-p-nitrobenzoyl-α-d-glucopyranosyl)-β-d-galactopyranoside with 3-O-acetyl-4-O-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-d-mannopyranosyl)-β-l-rhamnopyranose 1,2-(methyl orthoacetate) followed by removal of protecting groups.     

Block-synthesis of higher oligosaccharides: Synthesis of hexa- and nona-saccharide fragments of the o-antigenic polysaccharide of Salmonella newington

Successive condensation of derivatives of the trisaccharide, biological repeating-unit of the O-antigenic polysaccharide of Salmonella newington, followed by removal of protecting groups, has given the hexa- and nona-saccharides. The structures of these oligosaccharides were confirmed chemically and by ¹³C-n.m.r. spectroscopy.