The membrane attack complex ofXeopus laevis complement

Summary Rabbit erythrocyte membranes lyzed byXenopus laevis serum exhibited a typical ultrastructural complement lesion with an inner diameter of 80±9Å. The protein pattern associated with lyzed membrane is compared to a similar human preparation.Acknowledgments. I wish to thank Dr. I. Hadji-Azimi for her interest and encouragement, and Professor N. Parrinello for critical reading. This work was supported by a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (3.083–0.84).     

Crystallographic evidence for the structural isomorphism of deer and beef catalase

Summary 2 crystal forms of deer liver catalase have been grown and analyzed by X-ray diffraction. Both are of space group P2₁2₁2₁ with cell dimensions I: a=88.5 Å, b=140.5Å and c=235 Å; II: a=124 Å, b=128 Å and c=154 Å. The first of these 2 forms appears to be virtually isomorphous with crystals of beef liver catalase.Acknowledgment. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, grant GM21 398 and RR00576. The authors also wish to thank Wardens John Kreider and Jack Schweitzer of the Pennsylvania Game and Fish Commission for providing the deer liver.     

Effect of the juvenoid methoprene on the hemolymph composition of the cabbage maggotDelia radicum (Diptera: Anthomyiidae)

Summary Treatment of post-feeding larvae of the cabbage maggotDelia radicum with methoprene did not affect the capacity of the insect to pupate, but suppressed eclosion to the adult stage. The concentration of hemolymph trehalose was significantly decreased by methoprene treatment, although hemolymph protein and amino nitrogen levels were unaffected.19 December 1986The authors are grateful to D. C. Read of the Research Centre, Agriculture Canada, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Canada for supplying eggs ofD. radicum for the stock colony. TheD. radicum colony was maintained at the Agriculture Canada Research Station, St. John's West, Newfoundland, Canada. The sample of methoprene was donated by Zoecon Corp., Palo Alto, California, U.S.A. This research was supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Operating grant A6679).     

Freeze tolerance in the frog,Rana sylvatica

Summary Wood frogs survive extracellular freezing at moderate subzero temperatures (–4°C) for at least 11 days. Freezing survival is aided by the accumulation of high concentrations of glucose as a cryoprotectant in blood and tissues. Glucose production was accompanied by a rapid decline in liver, but not muscle, glycogen levels suggesting that liver is the organ controlling cryoprotectant synthesis.Acknowledgments. This study was supported by grants to L.M.G. from the Kroc Foundation (Santa Ynez, California) and from the National Institute of Dental Research (Grant No. DE-03987). The authors wish to thank K. Yorko, M. Shakin, J. Finan and Mrs N. Manivannan for their technical and secretarial assistance.Acknowledgments. I thank Dr J. Ballantyne, Dr F. Schueler and I. McMurray for help with frog collections and Dr. W. Schmid, Dr J. Bogart and Dr F. Cook for helpful discussions. Supported by an N.S.E.R.C. operating grant and by a grant from the Atkinson Charitable Foundation.     

Ansamitocin P-3, a maytansinoid,fromClaopodium crispifolium andAnomodon attenuatus or associated actinomycetes

Summary Guided by cytotoxicity, ansamitocin P-3, a maytansinoid, was isolated in very low yield from two members of the moss family Thuidiaceae,Claopodium crispifolium (Hook.) Ren & Card. andAnomodon attenuatus (Hedw.) Hueb. Ansamitocin P-3 showed potent cytotoxicity against the human solid tumor cell lines A-549, HT-29. A possible basis for the occurrence of this compound in mosses is discussed.Presented at the XV International Symposium on Natural Product Chemistry, Monterrey (Mexico) April 28–30, 1988 and at the International Research Congress on Natural Products, Park City (Utah, USA) in July 1988.Acknowledgments. This work was supported by grant No. CA 33326 from the NCI, NIH, USA. K.S. is the recipient of support from the Anandha-Mahidol Foundation, Thailand. The 470 MHz NMR instrument was available through the Purdue University Biochemical Magnetic Resonance Laboratory supported by NIH grant No. RR1077 from the Biotechnology Resources Program of the Division of Research Resources. Special thanks are due to the Purdue Cell Culture Laboratory for in vitro testing data and to Dr M. Antoun forC. crispifolium extraction. The animal testing data are the results of screening performed under the auspices of the Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division of Cancer Treatment, the NCI.     

Gamete formation reflects the sexual pheromone hierarchy ofDictyostelium giganteum

Summary Sexual development inDictyostelium giganteum begins with the appearance of small, amoeboid gametes that fuse to produce mainly binucleate cells which differentiate into zygote giant cells. The data presented here show that the number of gametes produced by each strain (WS589>WS606>WS607>WS588) is directly related to its position in this hierarchy.This work was supported by a grant (A6807) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Transdifferentiation of larvalXenopus laevis iris implanted into the amputated hindlimb

Summary Fragments of larvalXenopus laevis iris, autoplastically implanted into the stump of the amputated hindlimb, transdifferentiated into neural retina. However, when such iris fragments were implanted into the caudal fin, no transdifferentiative process was observed.Supported by grant from the P.I. ministry.     

Studies onHolothuria polii (Echinodermata) antibacterial proteins. I. Evidence for and activity of a coelomocyte lysozyme

Summary Lysozyme activity has been detected in coelomocyte lysate of the echinodermHolothuria polii. The bacteriolytic reaction was stable when the lysate was heated in acidic buffer but heat-labile in alkaline medium. An incubation temperature of 35°C, acidic pH values (5.2 and 6.2) and an ionic strength of 0.175 were found to be the best conditions for the coelomocyte enzymatic activity. A low level of lysozyme was also evidenced in cell-free coelomic fluid where it could represent a basal defense level of bacteriolytic molecules released by the coelomocytes.Acknowledgments. This work was supported in part by a grant from MRES (C. C.). The authors thank M. Lasségues and F. Lassalles for their help and criticism.     

The effect of reserpine on the intraneuronal vesicles of the rat vas deferens

Zusammenfassung Die Wirkung von Reserpin auf die intraneuronalen Vesikeln des Ductus deferens der Ratte wurde elektronenmikroskopisch untersucht. Es konnte festgestellt werden, dass die Granula der kleinen Vesikeln (3–600 Å Durchmesser) nach Reserpinbehandlung verschwanden, dass aber diejenigen der Grossen (8–1200 Å Durchmesser) unverändert blieben.

---

---

This work has been supported by Research Grant (12x-715-01) from the Swedish Medical Research Council and by a grant from Stiftelsen G. och T. Svenssons Minne».     

Mating type-specific antibodies in the ciliateEuplotes raikovi

Summary Three different types of gamones, each representing a different mating type ofEuplotes raikovi, were used to elicit the production of antisera in mice. Each type of antiserum proved to be capable of preventing the gamone activity in correlation with the different specificities of the mating type.This work was supported by a grant from Italian M.P.I.     

On the loss of mesodermal competence of theTriturus gastrula ectoderm in vivo

Résumé Des expériences ont été effectuées pour déterminer l'action inductrice de la moelle osseuse sur l'ectoderme de la gastrule agée deTriturus vulgaris. Un Tableau et une Figure en présentent les résultats.

---

---

The investigation was supported by a research grant from the Emil Aaltonen Foundation. As a member of the research team of ProfessorS. I. Toivonen, I have also received support from a grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Public Health Service (CA-05347).     

Endocytosis and inositol hexakisphosphate levels inras transformants ofDictyostelium discoideum amoebae

Summary Fluid-phase pinocytosis kinetics and lysosomal enzyme secretion parameters were measured inDictyostelium discoideum amoebae constructed from strain AX3 by transformation with a multicopy plasmid carrying either a normalras gene (ras-Gly12), a mutatedras gene (ras-Thr12) or by the vector carrying the geneticin resistance gene only (pDNEO2). It was found that the pinocytosis rate and extent as well as the lysosomal enzyme secretion were slightly different in the three strains. These changes, however, were related to minor modifications of the cellular volumes. The overall concentration of inositol hexakisphosphate was similar in the three strains.This work was supported in part by a grant from the Ligue Nationale Française contre le Cancer (n^o 880258) to MS, and by a grant from the Fonds National Suisse de la Recherche Scientifique (No. 3.623-087) to CR.     

Malarial parasites complete sporogony in axenic mosquitoes

Summary To obtain sporogonic stages of malaria free from microbial contaminants for in vitro studies,Anopheles stephensi were reared under sterile conditions using a mosquito cell line as larval food. The adult females, kept in sterile humidified containers and allowed to engorge on parasitemic hamsters, supported the sporogonic development of the rodent malarial parasitePlasmodium berghei. In 10 experiments, the proportion of infected mosquitoes varied from 0 to 92%, and the geometric mean number of oocysts per female mosquito from 2.5 to 58,6, with a range of 1 to 548. The average number of salivary gland sporozoites per infected mosquito was determined by direct sporozoite counts in the pooled homogenate of the thoraces of all female mosquitoes. In five experiments, it varied from 2.7×10³ to 9.0×10³. The sterile sporozoites, harvested on day 19 or 20 after the infective blood meal, were as infective for rodents as nonsterile ones.Supported in part by Public Health Service research grant AI 18345 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, by a grant from the Agency of International Development DSPE-5542-G-SS-3042-00, and by a Charles and Johanna Busch award.     

Moth visual potentials in response to middle UV-radiation

Zusammenfassung Das dunkeladaptierte Facettenauge vom NachtschmetterlingManduca sexta wurde mit UV-Licht mittlerer Wellenlänge (2700–3100 Å) bei niedriger Intensität bestrahlt. Der photorezeptorische Anteil des ERGs war vermindert oder verschwunden, aber nachsynaptische Wirkungen wurden beobachtet. Impulsaktivitäten wurden bei einem hauptsächlich efferenten Flugmuskelnerv ausgelöst, wenn das kontralaterale Auge beleuchtet wurde.

---

---

This research was supported in part by a USDA-ERD research grant No. 12-14-100-7742 (33).     

On the ultrastructure of nerve-muscle contacts in Onychophora

Summary The polyneutral innervated muscle fibres in the somatic longitudinal muscles ofPeripatoides leuckarti (Onychophora) have nerve-muscle-contacts with presynaptic vesicle accumulations, paramembranous presynaptic appositions, a 600-Å wide synaptic cleft and a specialized extracellular subcleft system. Synaptic sites resemble those of annelids.Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant Schu. 374/1). The investigation was carried out in the Department of Neurobiology, R.S.B.S., The Australian National University, Canberra/Australia.     

Torus shaped bands at the 2R telomere region and at the region 68 of the salivary gland chromosomes ofDrosophila auraria

Summary The telomere of the 2R arm of the salivary gland chromosomes ofD. auraria exhibits a definite toroidal structure in routine squashed preparations, stained either by propionic orcein-carmine or by fluorescent dyes. There is evidence that a band (or bands) of region 68 (possibly homologous to that ofD. melanogaster) of the 3L chromosome arm also exhibits a toroidal structure. These toroids are associated with heterochromatin, but it is not certain that they are themselves heterochromatic.Acknowledgments. This work was supported by a grant from Volkswagenwerk-Stiftung to C.D.K. The outstanding technical assistance of Ms G. Karamanlidis is acknowledged.     

Acyl fluorides as reactive mimics of aldehyde pheromones: hyperactivation and aphrodisiac inHeliothis virescens

Summary Substitution of fluorine for the aldehydic hydrogen provides behaviorally active, chemically reactive pheromone mimics. In male moths of the tobacco budwormHeliothis virescens, Z9–14:Acf and Z11–16:Acf cause hyperactivity and irreversible extension of the genitalia in over 80% of treated moths. In addition, a combination of the two components leads to 10–50% of the pairs involving one treated partner becoming locked in copula.Supported by NSF grant PCM-8112755 and DMB-8316931, by a Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (1981–85), and by Teacher-Scholar Grant from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation (1981–86) to G.D.P. Address correspondence to G.D.P.     

Electrical resistance and spike activity in tarsal chemosensilla ofPhormia regina (Meig.)

Summary The relationship between hair electrical resistance and responsiveness to stimulation has been investigated in the tarsal chemosensilla ofPhormia regina. Results showed that the lower the hair electrical resistance, the higher is the spike-firing frequency.This study was partly supported by a grant from the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR, Rome, Italy).     

Changes in IAA oxidase activity in rooting hypocotyl cuttings ofPhaseolus mungo L.

Summary IAA oxidase activity increased concomitant with root initiation during 16–52 h, in all cultures, thus showing the necessity of an active IAA oxidase for root initiation inPhaseolus mungo hypocotyl cuttings. The increase being very sharp in IAA alone, but less in all other cultures. The role of sucrose in root initiation via IAA oxidase activity has been discussed.The research has been partly financed by a grant from the US Department of Agriculture. One of us (R.N.C.) is thankful to the CSIR, India, for financial assistance.     

Abnormal development of phialides in a strain ofAspergillus niger

Summary AnAspergillus niger mutant strain (hpp) produces an average of 4.1% of conidiophores with phialide proliferations. Increased frequency of proliferations could be induced on all studied strains by growth on potato dextrose agar. The characteristic is recessive and seems to be due to a pleiotropic effect of the mutation for olive conidia color.Acknowledgments. The authors are indebted to CNPq for financial assistance provided with grant PIG/SIP 04/053 as well as the scholarships Pesquisador Científico (R.B.Jr) and Iniciação Científica and Aperfeiçoamento (G.U.V.).