Coexistence of A- and B-form DNA in a single crystal lattice

It is well known that DNA can exist in a variety of conformations which can be interconverted by relatively mild changes in conditions. The in vivo conformation of DNA is usually thought to be the B form, but there is recent evidence that other conformations may be important in DNA-protein recognition. Different fragments of DNA crystallized under virtually identical conditions can form A, B or Z helices. A fragment that adopted an A conformation in a crystal was found in the B conformation in solution, whereas NMR spectroscopy of A-DNA films revealed the presence of a substantial amount of disordered B-DNA. Until now, however, a DNA fragment of a given sequence has not been crystallized in more than one global conformation. We report here an X-ray diffraction study of crystals of the DNA octamer dGGBrUABrUACC. In addition to a 'framework' of A-DNA, which gives discrete X-ray reflections, there are partially disordered B-DNA helices, recognized by their diffuse scattering features.     

Lectin-induced lymphocyte stimulation in pigs — a kinetic study of NORs

Summary Early reactions of rRNA-cistrons in lectin-stimulated PBL cultures of domestic pigs are shown. Interphases showing 3 or more clusters of stained areas were attributed mainly to cells after first division. Clear differences are shown between PHA-and ConA-induced NOR-expression patterns compared to the patterns in PW-stimulated cultures.We thank Dr W. Gratze for valuable techniqual assistance, Dr M. Kundi from the Institute of Environmental Health of the University of Vienna for the statistical treatment of our data and the Ludwig Boltzmann Society for financial support.     

Divergent effects of theophylline on adenylate cyclase preparations from guinea-pig heart and lung

Zusammenfassung Theophyllin verringert die Aktivität der Adenyl-Cyclase (AC) in der plasmamembranreichen Fraktion der Meerschweinchenlunge in Konzentrationen von 6–10 mM; es hat dagegen keinen Einfluss auf die Aktivität der AC in Meerschweinchenherzen. Diese Resultate weisen darauf hin, dass in verschiedenen Geweben geringe Unterschiede in der Enzym-Katalyse bestehen können.     

Exudative diathesis produced by vitamin e-deficient diets without polyenoic fatty acids

Zusammenfassung Bei Fütterung von Küken mit einer Vitamin-E-freien Nahrung, die als Eiweissquelle eine spezielle Trockenhefe, frei von mehrfach ungesättigten Fettsäuren, enthielt, wurde eine jedoch verhältnismässig milde, exsudative Diathese beobachtet.     

The genome sequence of Atlantic cod reveals a unique immune system

Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is a large, cold-adapted teleost that sustains long-standing commercial fisheries and incipient aquaculture. Here we present the genome sequence of Atlantic cod, showing evidence for complex thermal adaptations in its haemoglobin gene cluster and an unusual immune architecture compared to other sequenced vertebrates. The genome assembly was obtained exclusively by 454 sequencing of shotgun and paired-end libraries, and automated annotation identified 22,154 genes. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC)?II is a conserved feature of the adaptive immune system of jawed vertebrates, but we show that Atlantic cod has lost the genes for MHC?II, CD4 and invariant chain (Ii) that are essential for the function of this pathway. Nevertheless, Atlantic cod is not exceptionally susceptible to disease under natural conditions. We find a highly expanded number of MHC?I genes and a unique composition of its Toll-like receptor (TLR) families. This indicates how the Atlantic cod immune system has evolved compensatory mechanisms in both adaptive and innate immunity in the absence of MHC?II. These observations affect fundamental assumptions about the evolution of the adaptive immune system and its components in vertebrates.     

Forcing of wet phases in southeast Africa over the past 17,000 years

Intense debate persists about the climatic mechanisms governing hydrologic changes in tropical and subtropical southeast Africa since the Last Glacial Maximum, about 20,000?years ago. In particular, the relative importance of atmospheric and oceanic processes is not firmly established. Southward shifts of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) driven by high-latitude climate changes have been suggested as a primary forcing, whereas other studies infer a predominant influence of Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures on regional rainfall changes. To address this question, a continuous record representing an integrated signal of regional climate variability is required, but has until now been missing. Here we show that remote atmospheric forcing by cold events in the northern high latitudes appears to have been the main driver of hydro-climatology in southeast Africa during rapid climate changes over the past 17,000 years. Our results are based on a reconstruction of precipitation and river discharge changes, as recorded in a marine sediment core off the mouth of the Zambezi River, near the southern boundary of the modern seasonal ITCZ migration. Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures did not exert a primary control over southeast African hydrologic variability. Instead, phases of high precipitation and terrestrial discharge occurred when the ITCZ was forced southwards during Northern Hemisphere cold events, such as Heinrich stadial 1 (around 16,000?years ago) and the Younger Dryas (around 12,000?years ago), or when local summer insolation was high in the late Holocene, that is, during the past 4,000?years.