Binding of 11-cis retinaldehyde to the partially purified cellular retinaldehyde binding protein from bovine retinal pigment epithelium

Summary 11-cis retinaldehyde binding analysis was performed on a bovine retinal pigment epithelium preparation of cellular retinaldehyde binding protein (CRALBP), whose purity degree was estimated as 75%. Equilibrium binding studies were carried out measuring the replacement of tritium-labeled with unlabeled 11-cis retinaldehyde at 25°C. Analysis of the experimental data both by a direct curve-fitting procedure utilizing a non linear least square regression analysis and by a conventional Scatchard plot revealed a single non-interacting binding site with an apparent equilibrium constant of 0.9×10^–7 M.A binding stoichiometry of approximately 1 mol of 11-cis retinaldehyde/mol of binding protein can be calculated from the experimental data. Competition studies carried out in the presence of unlabeled trans and cis isomers of Vitamin A derivatives confirm the high degree of specificity of the 11-cis retinaldehyde binding.     

Self-labeling of human polymorphonuclear leucocyte myeloperoxidase with125iodine

In order to obtain a radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique for the measurement of human plasma myeloperoxidase (MPO), we purified the enzyme from polymorphonuclear granulocytes (neutrophils), and compared three methods of labeling it with¹²⁵Iodine: chloramine T, lactoperoxidase, and an original technique of self labeling based on the ability of the enzyme to oxidize and bind¹²⁵I in the presence of H₂O₂. The chloramine T technique produced a degraded protein, as well shown by a high non-specific binding of tracer to antibody. The lactoperoxidase technique did not succeed in labeling MPO with an adequate specific activity. In contrast, the self-labeling method gave a stable tracer with a specific activity of 23 Ci/gmg MPO (85 MBq), a satisfactory level of immunoreactivity, and a low-specific binding (3%). After labeling, purification of tracer was achieved by gel filtration chromatography in phosphate buffer (0.05 M; pH7) to which 0.1% poly-L-lysine was added. The labeled molecule remained stable for 40 days and could be used for RIA with a polyclonal antibody raised in rabbits.     

Evolutionary distinctiveness of the endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle

The endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempi) nests almost exclusively at a single locality in the western Gulf of Mexico, whereas the olive ridley (L. olivacea) nests globally in warm oceans. Morphological similarities between kempi and olivacea, and a geographical distribution that "...makes no sense at all under modern conditions of climate and geography", raise questions about the degree of evolutionary divergence between these taxa. Analysis of mitochondrial (mt) DNA restriction sites shows that Kemp's ridley is distinct from the olive ridley in matriarchal phylogeny, and that the two are sister taxa with respect to other marine turtles. Separation of olive and the Kemp's ridley lineages may date to formation of the Isthmus of Panama, whereas the global spread of the olive ridley lineage occurred recently. In contrast to recent examples in which molecular genetic assessments challenged systematic assignments underlying conservation programmes, our mtDNA data corroborate the taxonomy of an endangered form.     

Effects of a change in the level of inbreeding on the genetic load

"The effects of inbreeding may not be as noticeable in the first generation as the invigoration immediately apparent after crossing". This statement, published in 1919, has received little attention, and has apparently never been tested empirically, although the reduction of the genetic load of populations by inbreeding is well known in theoretical terms. Because inbreeding increases homozygosity, and hence the effectiveness of selection against recessive or partially recessive detrimental alleles, changes in levels of inbreeding can lead to a reduction in the frequencies of such mutant alleles. This results in equilibration at higher population mean fitness and is referred to as 'purging' populations of their genetic load. Severe inbreeding can also reduce genetic load due to overdominant alleles, provided selection coefficients are not symmetrical at all loci, because alleles giving lower fitness will be reduced in frequency at equilibrium. With either fitness model, however, reduction in genetic load takes time, and the initial effect of an increase in inbreeding is reduced fitness due to homozygosity. There are few data relating to the extent to which fitness is reduced during inbreeding in a set of lines and to how long the reduction lasts before increasing again to the initial level, or higher. Inbreeding experiments involving sib mating in mice and Drosophila subobscura, and successive bottlenecks in house flies have yielded some evidence consistent with the purging hypothesis. Here, we report results of an experiment demonstrating a prolonged time-course of recovery of mean fitness under self-fertilization of a naturally outcrossing plant, and also compare our results with expectations derived by computer calculations. Our results show that the genetic load present in an outcrossing population can be explained only with a high mutation rate to partially recessive deleterious alleles, and that inbreeding purges the population of mutant alleles.     

Identification and possible biological relevance of spermatozoal transglutaminase

Summary Normal human spermatozoa were demonstrated by dot immunoblot analysis and immunohistochemistry to possess transglutaminase (TGase). The immunological identification of spermatozoal TGase is consistent with reports by others of its biochemical identification and suggested role in sperm motility,and provides, in view of the immunoregulatory properties of seminal plasma TGase, presumptive identification of a means whereby spermatozoa, under normal physiological conditions, may possibly be protected from immunological attack within the female reproductive tract.