No sex difference in the waveform of the pulse type electric fish,Gnathonemus petersii (Mormyridae)

Summary A communication signal in an African freshwater electric fish, its pulse-like Electric Organ Discharge (EOD), was investigated in order to determine whether inter- or intraindividual variability of the EOD waveform provides a putative cue for communication, in addition to the electric cues already identified. In contrast to an individual's highly stereotyped EODs showing extremely low variation (fig. 1), variability between individuals was considerable (fig. 2). The dependence of an individual's EOD duration on temperature was weak with a Q₁₀ of close to 1.5. In none of four quantitative EOD waveform measures can a sexual dimorphism be discerned (table).Gnathonemus petersii very likely relies on mechanisms other than discrimination of intraspecific EOD waveforms for mate recognition.     

Production of 'hybrid' antibiotics by genetic engineering

The recent development of molecular cloning systems in Streptomyces has made possible the isolation of biosynthetic genes for some of the many antibiotics produced by members of this important genus of bacteria. Such clones can now be used to test the idea that novel antibiotics could arise through the transfer of biosynthetic genes between streptomycetes producing different antibiotics. The likelihood of a 'hybrid' compound being produced must depend on the substrate specificities of the biosynthetic enzymes, about which little is known. In attempts to demonstrate hybrid antibiotic production, we therefore began with strains producing different members of the same chemical class of compounds in order to maximize the chance of success. Here we report the production of novel compounds by gene transfer between strains producing the isochromanequinone antibiotics actinorhodin, granaticin and medermycin. These experiments were made possible by the recent cloning of the whole set of genes for the biosynthetic pathway of actinorhodin from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) (ref. 8). We believe that this represents the first report of the production of hybrid antibiotics by genetic engineering.     

Autophagy and lysosomal proteolysis in the liver

Autophagy is defined as any process whereby cellular macromolecules destined for degradation gain access to the lysosomes. A review is presented on the physiological significance, mechanisms and regulation of autophagy in hepatocytes, concentrating on the issue of regulation. The article ends by discussing techniques available for future research.     

Association of rheumatoid arthritis and primary osteoarthritis with changes in the glycosylation pattern of total serum IgG

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a widely prevalent (1-3%) chronic systemic disease thought to have an autoimmune component; both humoral and cellular mechanisms have been implicated. Primary osteoarthritis (OA) is considered to be distinct from rheumatoid arthritis, and here damage is thought to be secondary to cartilage degeneration. In rheumatoid arthritis, immune complexes are present that consist exclusively of immunoglobulin, implying that this is both the 'antibody' (rheumatoid factor [RF]) and the 'antigen' (most commonly IgG). Autoantigenic reactivity has been localized to the constant-region (C gamma 2) domains of IgG. There is no evidence for a polypeptide determinant but carbohydrate changes have been reported. We have therefore conducted a study, simultaneously in Oxford and Tokyo, to compare in detail the N-glycosylation pattern of serum IgG (Fig. 1) isolated from normal individuals and from patients with either primary osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. The results, which required an evaluation of the primary sequences of approximately 1,400 oligosaccharides from 46 IgG samples, indicate that: (1) IgG isolated from normal individuals, patients with RA and patients with OA contains different distributions of asparagine-linked bi-antennary complex-type oligosaccharide structures, (2) in neither disease is the IgG associated with novel oligosaccharide structures, but the observed differences are due to changes in the relative extent of galactosylation compared with normal individuals. This change results in a 'shift' in the population of IgG molecules towards those carrying complex oligosaccharides, one or both of whose arms terminate in N-acetylglucosamine. These two arthritides may therefore be glycosylation diseases, reflecting changes in the intracellular processing, or post-secretory degradation of N-linked oligosaccharides.     

Genes for the major protein antigens of the leprosy parasite Mycobacterium leprae

Leprosy, a chronic infectious disease afflicting between 10 and 15 million people, is caused by the obligate intracellular parasite Mycobacterium leprae. Although M. leprae was the first identified bacterial pathogen of man, basic biochemical, immunological, diagnostic and therapeutic investigations have been severely limited because it remains one of the few human pathogens that have not been cultured in vitro. An M. leprae recombinant DNA expression library was constructed to provide a source of genes encoding proteins relevant for such studies. Monoclonal antibodies directed against M. leprae specific antigens have been used to isolate the genes encoding the five most immunogenic protein antigens of the leprosy bacillus. We report here that M. leprae specific epitopes recognized by all of 13 monoclonal antibodies tested were produced by recombinant phage in Escherichia coli.     

Distribution of some similarity coefficients for dyadic binary data in the case of associated attributes

Parameters are derived of distributions of three coefficients of similarity between pairs (dyads) of operational taxonomic units for multivariate binary data (presence/absence of attributes) under statistical independence. These are applied to test independence for dyadic data. Association among attributes within operational taxonomic units is allowed. It is also permissible for the two units in the dyad to be drawn from different populations having different presence probabilities of attributes. The variance of the distribution of the similarity coefficients under statistical independence is shown to be relatively large in many empirical situations. This result implies that the practical interpretation of these coefficients requires much care. An application using the Jaccard index is given for the assessment of consensus between psychotherapists and their clients.

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La distribution des coefficients de similarité pour les données binaires et les attributs associés

Résumé Les paramètres de la distribution de trois coefficients de similarité entre paires d'éléments taxinomiques opérationels de données multivariables binaires (présence/absence) ont été dérivés dans l'hypothèse d'indépendance statistique. Ces paramètres sont utilisés dans un test d'indépendance pour les données dyadiques. L'existence est autorisée, dans la population d'éléments, d'une association entre plusieurs attributs. Il est également permis que les deux éléments de la dyade soient tirés de deux populations différentes, ayant différentes probabilit és quant à la présence des attributs. Dans beaucoup de situations empiriques, la variance des coefficients de similarité peut être relativement élevée dans le cas d'indépendance statistique. Par conséquence, ces coefficients doivent être interprétés avec précaution. Un exemple est donné pour le coefficient de Jaccard, qui a été employé dans une recherche sur la concordance entre des psychothérapeutes et leurs clients.