RexAB proteins of bacteriophage lambda enhance the effect of photolyase-dimer complexes on lacZ gene expression in Escherichia coli.

Summary Expression of the lacZ gene in Escherichia coli is inactivated by exposure to ultraviolet light (UV). Inactivation is exceptionally effective when cells contain amplified levels of DNA photolyase (which forms complexes with pyrimidine dimers in the absence of light for actual photoreversal) and a prophage. Without amplified photolyase, the prophage or both, inactivation rates are similar and much lower. UV-inactivation of lacZ gene expression in the presence of both amplified photolyase and is even more effective if cI857 is used in place of the wildtype prophage but is wholly unexceptional if the prophage carries defects in the genes rexA or rexB. When Rex AB proteins are provided by expression from a plasmid and the cell also contains amplified photolyase, exceptional inactivation rates again obtain; in fact inactivation is most effective under these conditions. The data are considered to reveal a role for Rex AB proteins, which mediate superinfection exclusion, in the exceptional inactivation of gene expression by photolyase bound to pyrimidine dimers in DNA. Photolyase-dimer complexes may mimic the structure of certain complexes that arise during phage development and thus influence Rex A and/or B proteins, thereby shutting down cell metabolism.     

Lipids and fatty acids in the copepod Jaschnovia brevis (Jaschnov) and in particulates from Arctic waters

The small, sub-ice copepod Jaschnovia brevis is rich in triacylglycerols, suggesting a feeding behaviour not constrained to the seasonal phytoplankton bloom. The copepod's triacylglycerol reserves contain: the diatom biomarkers 16:1n-7 (23.9%), 20:5n-3 (8.5%) and C16 PUFA (1.3%), the flagellate biomarkers 18:4n-3 (3.7%) and 22:6n-3 (3.3%), and the Calanus copepod biomarkers 20:1n-9 (7.7%) and 22:1n-11 (6.2%). Total lipid from particulates in the water column contained polar lipid (45.0%), wax esters (24.9%) and triacylglycerols (11.2%) as major components. The total lipids in the particulates were rich in 18:1n-9 (31.5%) and 16:0 (21.2%), and relatively rich in 18:0 (7.8%) and 18:2n-6 (9.2%). The triacylglycerols in the particulates contained 16:1n-7 (20.7%), C16 PUFA (4.1%), 18:4n-3 (1.9%), 20:5n-3 (3.6%), 22:6n-3 (1.9%), 20:1n-9 (5.2%) and 22:1n-11 (3.9%). The polar lipids in the particulates contained 16:1n-7 (17.3%), C16 PUFA (7.8%), 18:4n-3 (3.3%), 20:5n-3 (14.5%) and 22:6n-3 (9.6%). The fatty alcohols in the wax esters of the particulates were mainly 16:0 (11.3%), 20:1n-9 (21.1%) and 22:1n-11 (30.6%). The nature of the particulates, their possible origin in living and non-living material, and their role in the nutrition of J. brevis are discussed.     

Stimulatory Effect of Xenobiotics on Oxidative Electron Transport of Chemolithotrophic Nitrifying Bacteria Used as Biosensing Element

Electron transport chain (ETCh) of ammonium (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) participates in oxidation of ammonium to nitrate (nitrification). Operation of ETCh may be perturbed by a range of water-soluble xenobiotics. Therefore, consortia of nitrifying bacteria may be used as a biosensor to detect water contamination. A surprising feature of this system is an increase of oxygen consumption, detected in the presence of certain inhibitors of ETCh. Thus, to shed light on the mechanism of this effect (and other differences between inhibitors) we monitored separately respiration of the bacteria of the first (AOB - Nitrosomonas) and second (NOB -Nitrobacter) stages of nitrification. Furthermore, we measured plasma membrane potential and the level of reduction of NAD(P)H. We propose a novel model of ETCh in NOB to explain the role of reverse electron transport in the stimulation of oxygen consumption (previously attributed to hormesis).     

Spatial distribution and life-cycle timing of zooplankton in the marginal ice zone of the Barents Sea during the summer melt season in 1995

The marginal ice zone (MIZ) in the northern Barents Sea is ecologically important because it represents a highly productive area in Arctic water masses north of the Polar Front. During a multi-disciplinary cruise in 1995, ecological and oceanographic processes were investigated at four stations located in a north-south transect in the MIZ. This study was carried out in Arctic water masses north of the Polar Front where ice conditions varied from dense first-year pack ice to open water. Also, the phytoplankton development varied along the transect from a pre-bloom situation at the northern-most station to a post-bloom situation in the open water. This paper includes a study of the zooplankton community and population structure of some of the dominant copepod species. Numerically, the most important mesozooplankton components were the copepods Calanus glacialis, Pseudocalanus minutus and Oithona similis. Copepods of Atlantic origin, such as Calanus finmarchicus and Oithona atlantica, gave evidence of an advection of Atlantic water masses into the area. It is concluded that the occurrence of new cohorts of Arctic copepods coincides with the onset of the phytoplankton bloom in the MIZ, and, that therefore, the spawning relies on stored energy.      

Distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Calanus</Emphasis> populations in a glaciated fjord in the Arctic (Hornsund,Spitsbergen)—the interplay between biological and physical factors

The distribution and diversity of copepods of the genus Calanus were investigated in Hornsund Fjord (on the southwest coast of Spitsbergen) in summer 2001. The Bhattacharya method was used to sort individuals by species based on their prosome length. The established prosome length boundary values for the Calanus copepodid stages coincided with those defined for the Calanus species from Kongsfjorden (on the northwest coast of Spitsbergen). The predominant species in the main and inner fjord basins was Calanus glacialis, whereas Calanus finmarchicus was the prevailing species outside Hornsund. Younger copepodid stages (CI–CIII) of both species concentrated in the surface water layers (0–50∼70 m), while older copepodids (CIV–CVI females) that were ready for wintering stayed in deep layers (50∼70 m to bottom). Calanus hyperboreus was present in low numbers, predominantly as CIV, and in Hornsund deep water layers. The distribution and diversity of Calanus species complied with the notion that the marine fauna in Hornsund is of a more Arctic character than in Kongsfjorden, a fjord 260 km to the north on the west coast of Spitsbergen.     

Lipids and life strategies of Calanus finmarchicus, Calanus glacialis and Calanus hyperboreus in late autumn, Kongsfjorden, Svalbard

Stage IV and V copepodites were the dominant forms of Calanus finmarchicus, C. glacialis and C. hyperboreus in Kongsfjorden in late September 1997. Stage IV and V copepodites of C. glacialis and C. hyperboreus were rich in lipid, largely wax esters, and were well fitted to overwinter. Stage IV copepodites of C. finmarchicus were also rich in wax esters, but stage V copepodites of C. finmarchicus were less wax ester-rich. Large size increments between stage IV and V copepodites and between stage V copepodites and females were noted in C. finmarchicus. A very large increment between stage IV and V copepodites was noted for C. glacialis but the size difference between stage V copepodites and females was very small in this species. Particularly large increments were noted between stage IV and V copepodites of C. hyperboreus and also between stage V copepodites and females of this species. The very large, wax ester-rich C. hyperboreus is well adapted to survive the most extreme variations in the Arctic, in Arctic basin waters, whereas the smaller, wax ester-rich C. glacialis is adapted to survive less extreme Arctic variations, as in Arctic shelf waters. The smallest of the three, C. finmarchicus, is best adapted to survive the more predictable waters of the North Atlantic and the Barents Sea. Accepted: 3 January 2000