The Hydra viridis/Chlorella symbiosis. Growth and sexual differentiation in polyps without symbionts.

To investigate interactions between the basal metazoan Hydra viridis and its symbiotic Chlorella algae, we generated aposymbiotic hydra lacking algae and compared them to symbiotic ones with regard to growth and sexual differentiation. Under standard feeding conditions aposymbiotic polyps proliferated similarly to symbiotic polyps. Under moderate and low feeding conditions asexual growth was reduced in polyps lacking algae, indicating that the symbionts supply nutrients to their hosts.

Symbiotic Hydra express a plant-like peroxidase gene during oogenesis.

Symbiotic associations accompanied by gene exchange between the symbionts form the phylogenetic origin of eukaryotic cells and, therefore, had significant impact on species diversity and evolutionary novelty. Among the phylogenetically oldest metazoan animals known to form symbiotic relationships are the Cnidaria. In the Cnidarian Hydra viridis, symbiotic algae of the genus Chlorella are located in endodermal epithelial cells and impact sexual differentiation.

Missense mutations as a cause of metachromatic leukodystrophy. Degradation of arylsulfatase A in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Metachromatic leukodystrophy is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of arylsulfatase A (ASA). Biosynthesis studies of ASA with various structure-sensitive monoclonal antibodies reveal that some epitopes of the enzyme form within the first minutes of biosynthesis whereas other epitopes form later, between 10 and 25 min. When we investigated 12 various ASAs, with amino acid substitutions according to the missense mutations found in metachromatic leukodystrophy patients, immunoprecipitation with monoclonal antibodies revealed folding deficits in all 12 mutant ASA enzymes.

The functional consequences of mis-sense mutations affecting an intra-molecular salt bridge in arylsulphatase A.

Metachromatic leukodystrophy is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by the deficiency of arylsulphatase A. We describe the functional consequences of three mis-sense mutations in the arylsulphatase A gene (Asp-335-Val, Arg-370-Trp and Arg-370-Gln), affecting an apparent intramolecular Asp-335 to Arg-370 salt bridge, and interpret the effects and clinical consequences on the basis of the three-dimensional structure of arylsulphatase A. Asp-335-Val and Arg-370-Trp substitutions each cause a complete loss of enzyme activity and are associated with the most severe form of the human disease, whereas the Arg-370-Gln-substituted enzyme retains some residual activity, being found in a patient suffering from the milder juvenile form of the disease.