Nitrogen Oxyanion-dependent Dissociation of a Two-component Complex That Regulates Bacterial Nitrate Assimilation

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for growth and is readily available to microbes in many environments in the form of ammonium and nitrate. Both ions are of environmental significance due to sustained use of inorganic fertilizers on agricultural soils. Diverse species of bacteria that have an assimilatory nitrate/nitrite reductase system (NAS) can use nitrate or nitrite as the sole nitrogen source for growth when ammonium is limited. In Paracoccus denitrificans, the pathway-specific two-component regulator for NAS expression is encoded by the nasT and nasS genes. Here, we show that the putative RNA-binding protein NasT is a positive regulator essential for expression of the nas gene cluster (i.e. nasABGHC). By contrast, a nitrogen oxyanion-binding sensor (NasS) is required for nitrate/nitrite-responsive control of nas gene expression. The NasS and NasT proteins co-purify as a stable heterotetrameric regulatory complex, NasS-NasT. This protein-protein interaction is sensitive to nitrate and nitrite, which cause dissociation of the NasS-NasT complex into monomeric NasS and an oligomeric form of NasT. NasT has been shown to bind the leader RNA for nasA. Thus, upon liberation from the complex, the positive regulator NasT is free to up-regulate nas gene expression.     

Evidence from nitrogen-15 and solvent deuterium isotope effects on the chemical mechanism of adenosine deaminase

We have determined 15N isotope effects and solvent deuterium isotope effects for adenosine deaminase using both adenosine and the slow alternate substrate 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoadenosine. With adenosine, 15N isotope effects were 1.0040 in H2O and 1.0023 in D2O, and the solvent deuterium isotope effect was 0.77. With 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoadenosine, 15N isotope effects were 1.015 in H2O and 1.0131 in D2O, and the solvent deuterium isotope effect was 0.45. The inverse solvent deuterium isotope effect shows that the fractionation factor of a proton, which is originally less than 0.6, increases to near unity during formation of the tetrahedral intermediate from which ammonia is released. Proton inventories for 1/V and 1/(V/K) vs percent D2O are linear, indicating that a single proton has its fractionation factor altered during the reaction. We conclude that a sulfhydryl group on the enzyme donates its proton to oxygen or nitrogen during this step. pH profiles with 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoadenosine suggest that the pK of this sulfhydryl group is 8.45. The inhibition of adenosine deaminase by cadmium also shows a pK of approximately 9 from the pKi profile. Quantitative analysis of the isotope effects suggests an intrinsic 15N isotope effect for the release of ammonia from the tetrahedral intermediate of approximately 1.03 for both substrates; however, the partition ratio of this intermediate for release of ammonia as opposed to back-reaction is 14 times greater for adenosine (1.4) than for 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoadenosine (0.1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Experimental Methyl Mercury Neurotoxicity: Locus of Mercurial Inhibition of Brain Protein Synthesis In Vivo and In Vitro

Brain cell-free protein synthesis is inhibited by methyl mercury chloride (MeHg) following in vivo or in vitro administration. In this report, we have identified the locus of mercurial inhibition of translation. Intraperitoneal injection of MeHg (40 nmol/g body wt) induced variable inhibition of amino acid incorporation into the post-mitochondrial supernatant (PMS) harvested from the brain of young (10-20-day-old) rats. No mercurial-induced disaggregation of brain polyribosomes nor change in the proportion of 80S monoribosomes was detected on sucrose density gradients. No difference in total RNA was found in the PMS. Initiation complex formation was stimulated by MeHg, as detected by radiolabelled methionine binding to 80S monoribosomes following continuous sucrose density gradient centrifugation. After micrococcal nuclease digestion of endogenous mRNA, both in vivo and in vitro MeHg inhibited polyuridylic acid-directed incorporation of [3H]phenylalanine. However, the in vivo inhibition was no longer observed when [3H]phenylalanyl-tRNAPhe replaced free [3H]phenylalanine in the incorporation assay. The formation of peptidyl[3H]puromycin revealed no difference from controls. There was significant mercurial inhibition of phenylalanyl-tRNA Phe synthetase activity in pH 5 enzyme fractions derived from brain PMS of MeHg-poisoned rats. These experiments revealed that the apparent MeHg inhibition of brain translation in vivo and in vitro is due primarily to perturbation in the aminoacylation of tRNA and is not associated with defective initiation, elongation, or ribosomal function.     

Solvent isotope effects on the reaction catalyzed by yeast hexokinase

The pH dependence of the maximum velocity (V) for the phosphorylation of glucose, the V/Kglucose and the V/KMgATP have been obtained in H2O and 2H2O. In H2O, V decreases below a pK of 5.8, V/Kglucose decreases below a pK of 6.1 and V/KMgATP decreases below a pK of 6.7. In 2H2O, complex behavior is observed for these parameters as a function of pD. The ratios of the parameters in H2O and 2H2O above their respective pK values give solvent deuterium isotope effects of about 1.5-1.7 for all three parameters. When 1,5-anhydromannitol is used as an alternative substrate, an isotope effect different than unity is obtained only for V/K1,5-anhydromannitol which gives a value of about 0.7. Both the complex pH profiles and the relative magnitude of the isotope effects are interpreted in terms of a pH-dependent change in the E X glucose complex.     

Distribution of Vibrio vulnificus and Other Lactose-Fermenting Vibrios in the Marine Environment

During the summer of 1981, 3,887 sucrose-negative vibrios were isolated from seawater, sediment, plankton, and animal samples taken from 80 sites from Miami, Fla., to Portland, Maine. Of these, 4.2% were able to ferment lactose. The lactose-positive strains isolated from the various samples correlated positively with pH and turbidity of the water, vibrios in the sediment and oysters, and total bacterial counts in oysters. Negative correlations were obtained for water salinity. Numerical taxonomy was performed on 95 of the lactose-fermenting environmental isolates and 23 reference strains. Five clusters resulted, with the major cluster containing 33 of the environmental isolates and all of the Vibrio vulnificus reference strains. The 33 isolates, which produced an acid reaction in lactose broth within hours of initial inoculation, represented 20% of all lactose-fermenting vibrios studied. These isolates were nearly identical phenotypically to clinical strains of V. vulnificus studied by the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga., and by our laboratory, and their identification was confirmed by DNA-DNA hybridization studies. V. vulnificus was isolated from all sample types and from Miami to Cape Cod, Mass., and comparison of the environmental parameters of the eight subsites yielding this species with those of all 80 subsites revealed no significant differences. The majority of the isolates were obtained from animals, with clams providing most (84%) of these. On injection into mice, 82% of the V. vulnificus isolates resulted in death. Members of the remaining four clusters contained strains which differed from V. vulnificus in such phenotypic traits as luminescence and in urease or H₂S production. None of the other reference cultures, including nine other Vibrio species, were contained in the remaining clusters, and these isolates could not be identified. Most of these were also lethal for mice. Phenotypic differences, potential pathogenicity, and geographic distribution of the five clusters were examined. It is concluded that V. vulnificus is a ubiquitous organism, both geographically and in a variety of environmental sources, although it occurs in relatively low numbers. The public health significance of this organism and of the other unidentified lactose-fermenting Vibrio species is discussed.     

Effect of Ferricyanide, Ferrocyanide and KCN on Growth and Flowering in the Short-Day Plant Lemna paucicostata 6746

Flowering in the short-day plant Lemna paucicostata 6746 canbe induced under continuous light by the addition of ferricyanie,ferrocyanide or KCN to M-sucrose medium. Each substance is nearly10 times more effective when the flasks are covered by glassbeakers than when cotton plugs are used. By contrast, when floweringis induced under continuous light by copper or by short-daytreatment, neither flowering nor growth are affected by whetherglass beakers or cotton plugs are used. Ferricyanide, ferrocyanideand KCN are also able to induce long-day flowering when theplants are grown on Msucrose medium in small beakers that areplaced in a covered storage dish that also contains a solutionof one of these compounds. Addition of a KOH trap to the storagedish completely blocks the flowering induced by these compounds.If [¹⁴C]ferrocyanide is added to the storage dish both the M-sucrosemedium and the plants contain significant amounts of radioactivity,the amount of radioactivity being proportional to the floweringresponse. These results indicate that ferricyanide, ferrocyanideand KCN break down to release HCN and that it is the HCN whichis responsible for inducing flowering in L. paucicostata 6746under continuous light. ¹Present address: Department of Biology, Osaka Kyoiku University,Ikeda, Osaka 563, Japan. ²Present address: Institute of Horticulture, The Volcani Center,P. O. B. 6, Bet-Dagan, Israel. (Received January 17, 1983; Accepted March 24, 1983)     

Instability of the growth-limiting proteins of the Avena coleoptile and their pool size in relation to auxin

Summary The stability and pool size of the growth-limiting proteins (GLP) of the Avena coleoptile have been studied by measuring the time required for cycloheximide to inhibit the growth of auxin-treated segments. Inhibition of growth follows inhibition of protein synthesis by 20–25 min regardless of the growth rate. This indicates that the growth inhibition is due to inherent instability of the GLP rather than to exhaustion of the pool through growth. A study of the amount and rate of auxin-induced growth which occurs when cycloheximide is added just before or after the auxin indicates that the rate of elongation is determined by the size of the GLP pool, and that the pool of GLP is low in the absence of auxin, but rapidly expands and reaches a maximum 20–25 min after addition of auxin. Three ways in which auxin might expand the pool of GLP are discussed.     

Exercise-induced translocation of protein kinase C and production of diacylglycerol and phosphatidic acid in rat skeletal muscle in vivo. Relationship to changes in glucose transport

Contraction-induced translocation of protein kinase C (Richter E.A., Cleland, P.J.F., Rattigan, S., and Clark, M.G. (1987) FEBS Lett. 217, 232-236) implies a role for this enzyme in muscle contraction or the associated metabolic adjustments. In the present study, this role is further examined particularly in relation to changes in glucose transport. Electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve of the anesthetized rat in vivo led to a time-dependent translocation of protein kinase C and a 2-fold increase in the concentrations of both diacylglycerol and phosphatidic acid. Maximum values for the latter were reached at 2 min and preceded the maximum translocation of protein kinase C (10 min). Stimulation of muscles in vitro increased the rate of glucose transport, but this required 20 min to reach maximum. There was no reversal of translocation or decrease in the concentrations of diacylglycerol and phosphatidic acid even after 30 min of rest following a 5-min period of stimulation in vivo. Translocation was not influenced by variations in applied load at maximal fiber recruitment but was dependent on the frequency of nontetanic stimuli, reaching a maximum at 4 Hz. The relationship between protein kinase C and glucose transport was also explored by varying the number of tetanic stimuli. Whereas only one train of stimuli (200 ms, 100 Hz) was required for maximal effects on protein kinase C, diacylglycerol, and phosphatidic acid, more than 35 trains of stimuli were required to activate glucose transport. It is concluded that the production of diacylglycerol and the translocation of protein kinase C may be causally related. However, if the translocated protein kinase C is involved in the activation of glucose transport during muscle contractions, an accumulated exposure to Ca2+, resulting from multiple contractions, would appear to be necessary.     

Somatostatin gene expression in the thymus gland

A complex pattern of interactions appears to exist between the immune and neuroendocrine systems. Recently, vasopressin, oxytocin and vasoactive intestinal peptide have been isolated from the thymus. Using a rat somatostatin antisense RNA probe we have demonstrated expression of the somatostatin gene in the rat thymus. Furthermore, we have shown that the levels of thymic somatostatin mRNA exhibit a bell-shaped response to dexamethasone administration. Lipocortin I and II antisense RNA probes have been used as a positive control for the effects of the dexamethasone. We would suggest that somatostatin acts in the thymus in a paracrine mode to modulate T lymphocyte development.