scholarly journals AN EFFECT OF ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE ON THE LIGHT SCATTERED BY SUSPENSIONS OF CILIA

1965 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 707-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. R. Gibbons

Cilia were isolated from Tetrahymena pyriformis by an ethanol-calcium method. Addition of adenosine triphosphate to a suspension of intact or digitonin-extracted cilia caused a decrease of about 20 per cent in turbidity. Study of fractionated cilia showed that the presence of two distinct axonemal components, the outer fibers and the 30S dynein (the axonemal ATPase protein), was necessary for this effect on turbidity to occur. The decrease in turbidity is interpreted as a result of a specific interaction of ATP with these protein components causing an effective increase in hydration. The high nucleotide specificity suggests that the change in hydration is closely related to the processes responsible for motility. The outer fibers themselves swell when suspended in media of very low ionic strength. The concentration of salt needed to prevent this swelling (2 mM MgSO4 or 30 mM KCl) is about the same as that needed to keep dynein bound to the fibers. The recombination of purified 30S dynein with the outer fibers can be followed by the rise in turbidity resulting from increased dry mass of the particles.

1976 ◽  
Vol 157 (3) ◽  
pp. 721-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
L P G Wakelin ◽  
M J Waring

Echinomycin is a peptide antibiotic which binds strongly to double-helical DNA up to a limit of approximately one molecule per five base-pairs. There is no detectable interaction with rRNA and only extremely feeble non-specific interaction with poly(rA)-poly(rU). Heat denaturation of DNA greatly decreases the binding, and similarly limited interaction is observed with naturally occurring single-stranded DNA. Association constants for binding to nine double-helical DNA species from different sources are presented; they vary by a factor of approximately 10, but are not simply related to the gross base composition. The interaction with DNA is ionic-strength-dependent, the binding constant falling by a factor of 4 when the ionic strength is raised from 0.01 to 0.10mol/litre. From the effect of temperature on the association constant for calf thymus DNA, the enthalpy of interaction is calculated to be about -13kJ/mol (-3kcal/mol). Binding of echinomycin persists in CsCl gradients and the buoyant density of nicked bacteriophage PM2 DNA is decreased by 25 mg/ml. Echinomycin interacts strongly with certain synthetic poly-deoxynucleotides, the binding constant decreasing in the order poly(dG)-poly(dC) greater than poly(dG-dC) greater than poly(dA-dT). For the latter two polymers the number of base-pairs occluded per bound antibiotic molecule is calculated to be three, whereas for poly(dG)-poly(dC) it is estimated to be four to five. Poly(dA)-poly(dT) and poly(dI)-poly(dC) interact only very weakly with the antibiotic. Poly(dI-dC) interacts to a slightly greater extent, but the binding curve is quite unlike that seen with the three strongly binding synthetic polynucleotides. Echinomycin affects the supercoiling of closed circular duplex bacteriophage PM2 DNA in the characteristic fashion of intercalating drugs. At low ionic strength the unwinding angle is almost twice that of ethidium. Likewise the extension of the helix, determined from changes in the viscosity of rod-like sonicated DNA fragments, is nearly double that expected for a simple (monofunctional) intercalation process. On this basis the interaction process is characterized as bifunctional intercalation. At higher ionic strength the unwinding angle relative to that of ethidium and the helix extension per bound echinomycin molecule fall, indicating a smooth progression towards more nearly monofunctional intercalation. Two simpler compounds which act as analogues of the quinoxaline chromophores of echinomycin, quinoxaline-2-carboxamide and the trypanocidal drug Bayer 7602, interact with DNA very much more weakly than does echinomycin, showing that the peptide portion of the antibiotic plays an essential role in determining the strength and specificity of the interaction.


Author(s):  
J.S. Wall ◽  
V. Maridiyan ◽  
S. Tumminia ◽  
J. Hairifeld ◽  
M. Boublik

The high contrast in the dark-field mode of dedicated STEM, specimen deposition by the wet film technique and low radiation dose (1 e/Å2) at -160°C make it possible to obtain high resolution images of unstained freeze-dried macromolecules with minimal structural distortion. Since the image intensity is directly related to the local projected mass of the specimen it became feasible to determine the molecular mass and mass distribution within individual macromolecules and from these data to calculate the linear density (M/L) and the radii of gyration.2 This parameter (RQ), reflecting the three-dimensional structure of the macromolecular particles in solution, has been applied to monitor the conformational transitions in E. coli 16S and 23S ribosomal RNAs in solutions of various ionic strength.In spite of the differences in mass (550 kD and 1050 kD, respectively), both 16S and 23S RNA appear equally sensitive to changes in buffer conditions. In deionized water or conditions of extremely low ionic strength both appear as filamentous structures (Fig. la and 2a, respectively) possessing a major backbone with protruding branches which are more frequent and more complex in 23S RNA (Fig. 2a).


1960 ◽  
Vol 4 (01) ◽  
pp. 031-044
Author(s):  
George Y. Shinowara ◽  
E. Mary Ruth

SummaryFour primary fractions comprising at least 97 per cent of the plasma proteins have been critically appraised for evidence of denaturation arising from a low temperature—low ionic strength fractionation system. The results in addition to those referable to the recovery of mass and biological activity include the following: The high solubilities of these fractions at pH 7.3 and low ionic strengths; the compatibility of the electrophoretic and ultracentrifugal data of the individual fractions with those of the original plasma; and the recovery of hemoglobin, not hematin, in fraction III obtained from specimens contaminated with this pigment. However, the most significant evidence for minimum alterations of native proteins was that the S20, w and the electrophoretic mobility data on the physically recombined fractions were identical to those found on whole plasma.The fractionation procedure examined here quantitatively isolates fibrinogen, prothrombin and antithrombin in primary fractions. Results have been obtained demonstrating its significance in other biological systems. These include the following: The finding of 5 S20, w classes in the 4 primary fractions; the occurrence of more than 90 per cent of the plasma gamma globulins in fraction III; the 98 per cent pure albumin in fraction IV; and, finally, the high concentration of beta lipoproteins in fraction II.


1981 ◽  
Vol 193 (1) ◽  
pp. 375-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
A R Ashton ◽  
L E Anderson

Plastocyanin is soluble at high concentrations (greater than 3 M) of (NH4)2SO4 but under these conditions will adsorb tightly to unsubstituted Sepharose beads. This observation was utilized to purify plastocyanin from pea (Pisum sativum) in two chromatographic steps. Sepharose-bound plastocyanin was eluted with low-ionic-strength buffer and subsequently purified to homogeneity by DEAE-cellulose chromatography.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document