Antimicrobial and antiviral activities of an actinomycete (Streptomyces sp.) isolated from a Brazilian tropical forest soil

A promising producer of bioactive compounds isolated from a Brazilian tropical soil was tested for its range of antimicrobial activities. Strain 606, classified as Streptomyces sp., could not be identified up to species level, suggesting a possible new taxon. The supernatant and 10 extracts and fractions, obtained by extraction and chromatographic techniques, presented antimicrobial activity using antibiograms. The methanolic fraction was highly active against pathogenic bacteria, phytopathogenic fungi and the human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. It also possessed high antiviral activity inhibiting the propagation of an acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus type 1 strain on HEp-2 cells at non-cytotoxic concentration. The strong cytotoxic effect suggests an antitumour action. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The excavations of La Isabela,the first European city of the New World

In the present note the author presents history of the discovery and of the status of the excavation of the site La Isabela, the first settlement planned by Columbus in the New World during his second trip to America in the summer of 1493.     

Water Balance in Cucumis Plants, Measured by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, I

In this paper we demonstrate the study of plant water balanceby the non-invasive measurement of tissue water content andwater flow using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Sapvelocity and flux were measured independently in the presenceof an excess of stationary tissue water. The instrumentationdescribed allows automated and unattended measurement of flow-and water content-variables in a well-defined region of theplant over periods of several days, with a time resolution betweensuccessive measurements of c. 5 s. Using this apparatus theeffect of changes in light intensity (day/night rhythm) andrelative humidity on stem tissue water content as well as onthe velocity and flux of xylem sap in the stem were investigatedin a cucumber plant. The results are in agreement with predictionsfrom a simple model for plant water balance, which is basedon water potential, flow rate and resistance to flow. As longas only transpiration is varied, flow rate and water content(or potential) are affected in opposite ways as demonstratedin this paper. In contrast, the model predicts that changesin uptake (resulting from changes in, for example, root resistance)will induce changes in water content and flow in the same direction.An experimental verification of this prediction is given ina subsequent paper, where, in addition, the NMR results arecompared to those obtained with a dendrometer. Key words: Water balance model, Cucumis sativus L., flow, water content, NMR, water balance measurement     

Urinary excretion of digoxin-like immunoreactive factor and arginine-vasopressin in rats after several osmotic loads

Urinary digoxin-like immunoreactive factor (DLIF), arginine-vasopressin (AVP) and other urinary parameters were investigated under normal conditions and after the i.p. injection of the following solutions: distilled water, isotonic and hypertonic NaCl, NaHCO3, KCl and urea, at a rate of 3 ml/100 g body weight. The measurement of digoxin-like immunoreactivity by two different radioimmunoassays showed that DLIF was stimulated by all volume loads regardless of the presence or absence of osmolar compounds. This dissociation between DLIF and urinary sodium excretion suggests that DLIF may not constitute the natriuretic hormone. Moreover, a dissociation between DLIF and AVP excretion also were found, which speaks against the hypothesis of a common mechanism of stimulation for both substances.     

Mutational analysis identifies functional domains in the influenza A virus PB2 polymerase subunit.

A collection of influenza virus PB2 mutant genes was prepared, including N-terminal deletions, C-terminal deletions, and single-amino-acid insertions. These mutant genes, driven by a T7 promoter, were expressed by transfection into COS-1 cells infected with a vaccinia virus encoding T7 RNA polymerase. Mutant proteins accumulated to levels similar to that of wild-type PB2. Immunofluorescence analyses showed that the C-terminal region of the protein is essential for nuclear transport and that internal sequences affect nuclear localization, confirming previous results (J. Mukaijawa and D. P. Nayak, J. Virol. 65:245-253, 1991). The biological activity of these mutants was tested by determining their capacity to (i) reconstitute RNA polymerase activity in vivo by cotransfection with proteins NP, PB1, and PA and a virion-like RNA encoding the cat gene into vaccinia virus T7-infected COS-1 cells and (ii) complete with the wild-type PB2 activity. In addition, when tested at different temperatures in vivo, two mutant PB2 proteins showed a temperature-sensitive phenotype. The lack of interference shown by some N-terminal deletion mutants and the complete interference obtained with a C-terminal deletion mutant encoding only 124 amino acids indicated that this protein domain is responsible for interaction with another component of the polymerase, probably PB1. To further characterize the mutants, their ability to induce in vitro synthesis of viral cRNA or mRNA was tested by using ApG or beta-globin mRNA as a primer. One of the mutants, 1299, containing an isoleucine insertion at position 299, was able to induce cRNA and mRNA synthesis in ApG-primed reactions but required a higher beta-globin mRNA concentration than wild-type PB2 for detection of in vitro synthesis. This result suggested that mutant I299 has diminished cap-binding activity.     

TASTE GROUP THRESHOLDS AND SENSORY EVALUATION OF SPANISH WINE VINEGARS

Wine vinegar is a product obtained from wine acidification which contains at least 5% by wt. of acetic acid, in general without any additives or colorings.
Aspects studied in this work include: the determination of the taste group thresholds (geometric mean of the individual best-estimate thresholds "BET") of two different acids (citric and acetic acids) in aqueous solution and spanish vinegars produced from table and sherry wines. The results obtained suggest that wine vinegar can be considered something more than just an acidulant agent.
In order to evaluate differences among wine vinegars, discriminant tests for twenty-five spanish vinegars (sherry, table and flavored vinegars) were applied. Six of the twelve attributes freely chosen by assessors allowed grouping of the spanish wine vinegars according to their sensory aspects.     

Arginine deprivation in KB cells: I. Effect on cell cycle progress

When exponentially growing KB cells were deprived of arginine, cell multiplication ceased after 12 h but viability was maintained throughout the experimental period (42-48 h). Although tritiated thymidine ([(3)H]TdR) incorporation into acid-insoluble material declined to 5 percent of the initial rate, the fraction of cells engaged in DNA synthesis, determined by autoradiography, remained constant throughout the starvation period and approximately equal to the synthesizing fraction in exponentially growing controls (40 percent). Continous [(3)H]TdR-labeling indicated that 80 percent of the arginine-starved cells incorporated (3)H at some time during a 48-h deprivation period. Thus, some cells ceased DNA synthesis, whereas some initially nonsynthesizing cells initiated DNA synthesis during starvation. Flow microfluorometric profiles of distribution of cellular DNA contents at the end of the starvation period indicated that essentially no cells had a 4c or G2 complement. If arginine was restored after 30 h of starvation, cultures resumed active, largely asynchronous division after a 16-h lag. Autoradiographs of metaphase figures from cultures continuously labeled with [(3)H]TdR after restoration indicated that all cells in the culture underwent DNA synthesis before dividing. It was concluded that the majority of cells in arginine-starved cultures are arrested in neither a normal G1 nor G2. It is proposed that for an exponential culture, i.e. from most positions in the cell cycle, inhibition of cell growth after arginine with withdrawal centers on the ability of cells to complete replication of their DNA.