A putative GDP–GTP exchange factor is required for development of the excretory cell in Caenorhabditis elegans

The Caenorhabditis elegans excretory cell extends tubular processes, called canals, along the basolateral surface of the epidermis. Mutations in the exc-5 gene cause tubulocystic defects in this canal. Ultrastructural analysis suggests that exc-5 is required for the proper placement of cytoskeletal elements at the apical epithelial surface. exc-5 encodes a protein homologous to guanine nucleotide exchange factors and contains motif architecture similar to that of FGD1, which is responsible for faciogenital dysplasia. exc-5 interacts genetically with mig-2, which encodes Rho GTPase. These results suggest that EXC-5 controls the structural organization of the excretory canal by regulating Rho family GTPase activities.     

Sequential polymerization of flagellin A and flagellin B into Caulobacter flagella

The mode of polymerization of two species of flagellins, flagellin A and flagellin B, in polar flagella of Caulobacter crescentus was examined. By immunological staining we found that 1 to 1.2 μm of the portion of the flagellar filament proximal to the cell was composed of flagellin B, whereas about 5 μm of the distal portion was composed of flagellin A. This result, together with the previous observation that a flagellin B-less mutant cannot form normal flagella but instead forms stubs in spite of their high level of flagellin A synthesis, indicates that flagellin B is very important for the formation of complete flagella and/or for the initiation of filament formation from the hook.     

Agricultural Activities of a Meadow Eliminated Plant Litter from the Periphery of a Farmland in Inner Mongolia,China

The purpose of our investigation was to clarify the effects of agriculture on the process of loss of litter at the periphery of a farmland. This study revealed the generation process of an ecologically unusual phenomenon that is observed around cropland in semi-arid regions. We hypothesized that the vegetation around a farmland cannot supply plant litter to the ground surface because the ecological structure has been changed by agricultural activities. The study was conducted at Xilingol steppe, Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Four study lines were established from the edge of an arable field to the surrounding meadow and parallel to the wind direction during the strong wind season. Key measurement for each line was set at the border between the farmland and steppe. Four study sites were set at intervals along each line. Plant litter, soil particle size distribution, plant species composition, plant volume, and species diversity were investigated. Despite using the same mowing method at the meadows of all study sites, the litter at the only periphery of the farmland completely disappeared. Soil particle size distribution in steppe, which was adjacent to the farmland, was similar to that of the farmland. Plant community structure at the periphery of the farmland was different from that of the far side from the farmland. This implies that soil scattered from the farmland affected the species composition of the steppe. Consequently, the change in plant community structure induced litter loss because of mowing. We concluded that plant litter was lost near the farmland because of the combined effects of farming and mowing. The results support our hypothesis that the vegetation around a farmland cannot supply plant litter because the ecological structure has been changed by agricultural activities.     

RNA-Induced Interference with Animal Virus Infection

Some RNAs, including both single- and double-stranded RNAs, when incubated with chick embryo cell culture induce cellular resistance against viruses. Evidence was now obtained indicating that the induction of cellular resistance by RNA depends on the cellular metabolic activity, especially on the synthesis of cellular RNA and protein. Thus, inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis, actinomycin D and cycloheximide, were found to inhibit the development of an antiviral state when added before, or during the relatively early period of, incubation of the cells with RNA. In the course of induction of cellular resistance, three stages may be distinguished, the priming stage, the developing stage, and the established resistant stage.     

Isolation and Chemical Structure of New Oxidation Product of 5-Ketogluconic Acid,and a Hypothetical Pathway from Glucose to Tartaric Acid through this New Compound

In the course of study on the mechanism of the tartaric acid formation from 5-ketogluconic acid, a new intermediary substance with mauve color to Abdel-Akhel and Smith’s reagent was isolated from intact cell culture liquid. The chemical structure of this substance was determined as 1,2-dihydroxyethyl hydrogen L(+) tartrate from the results of hydrolysis experiments and from the identifications of the constituents of the molecule, and named “pretaric acid.” Tartaric acid was evidently produced from pretaric acid by intact cell culture. Clearly, then, pretaric acid appears to be an intermediate in the formation of tartaric acid from 5-ketogluconic acid. The authors assumed that in the formation of pretaric acid from 5-ketogluconic acid, a Baeyer-Villiger type oxidation occurred.     

Methylation strongly enhances DNA bending in the replication origin region of the Escherichia coli chromosome

Summary Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, at high and low temperatures, and gel mobilities of circularly permuted DNA segments showed a large bending locus about 50 bp downstream from the right border of the 245 by oriC box, a minimal essential region of autonomous replication on the Escherichia coli chromosome. Bending was strongly enhanced by Dam methylation. In DNA from a Dam^– strain, the mobility anomaly arising from altered conformation was much reduced, but was raised to the original level by methylation in vivo or in vitro. Enhancement of the mobility anomaly was also observed by hybrid formation of the Dam^– strand with the Dam⁺ strand. Near the bending center, GATC, the target of Dam methylase, occurs seven times arranged essentially on the same face of the helix with 10.5 by per turn. We concluded that small bends at each Dam site added up to the large bending detectable by gel electrophoresis.     

The genotoxicity of a variety of aniline derivatives in a DNA repair test with primary cultured rat hepatocytes

The genotoxicity of a variety of aniline derivatives was examined by a DNA repair test with rat hepatocytes. Out of 37 aniline derivatives, 6 chemicals, i.e., 2,4,6-trimethylaniline (mesidine), 2,4-xylidine, 3,5-diaminobenzoic acid, 3,4-diaminochlorobenzene, 2-chloro-4-methylaniline and 4-chloro-N-methylaniline, elicited positive DNA repair responses. The results are in agreement with the bacterial mutagenicities with or without norharman of these compounds. Positive compounds of unknown carcinogenicity in the present assay, i.e., 3,5-diaminobenzoic acid, 2-chloro-4-methylaniline and 4-chloro-N-methylaniline are suspected of being potentially carcinogenic.