Interactions between beta-enolase and creatine kinase in the cytosol of skeletal muscle cells.

We studied interactions in vivo between the cytosolic muscle isoform of creatine kinase (M-CK) and the muscle isoform of 2-phospho-D-glycerate hydrolyase (beta-enolase) in muscle sarcoplasm by incubating glycerol-skinned fibres with FITC-labelled beta-enolase in the presence or absence of free CK. A small amount of bound beta-enolase was observed in the presence of large concentrations of CK. The mobility of enolase was measured in cultured satellite cells by modulated-fringe-pattern photobleaching.

Presence of enolase in the M-band of skeletal muscle and possible indirect interaction with the cytosolic muscle isoform of creatine kinase.

Glycerol-skinned skeletal muscle fibres retain the defined sarcomeric structure of the myofibrils. We show here that a small fraction of two enzymes important for energy metabolism, the cytosolic muscle isoform of creatine kinase (EC 2.7.

Preocular tear film characteristics of nonwearers and soft contact lens wearers.

The aims of the current investigation were to: (1) characterize (structure, volume, and stability) the preocular tear film of contact lens wearers and nonwearers and (2) test for any difference between contact lens wearers and nonwearers and between symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects. The tear film structure and stability were tested using the Tearscope in conjunction with the biomicroscope observation system. The tear prism height, which is indicative of the tear volume, was measured with the slitlamp.

Genetic dissection of sexual behavior in Drosophila melanogaster.

Mating of Drosophila melanogaster is a sterotypically patterned behavior consisting of a fixed sequence of actions that are primarily under genetic control. Mutations that disrupt specific aspects of mating activities offer a starting point for exploring the molecular machineries underlying sexual behavior. Several genes, identified as causing aberrant sexual behavior when mutated, have been isolated and cloned, providing molecular probes for expression and mosaic analyses that can be used in specifying the cells responsible for the behavior.

Cloning symbiosis-related cDNAs from eucalypt ectomycorrhiza by PCR-assisted differential screening.

As part of a project to identify symbiosis-related genes, we report here a simple differential screening procedure for isolating up- and down-regulated fungal transcripts from a cDNA library of the developing Eucalyptus globulus-Pisolithus tinctorius mycorrhiza. cDNA inserts of randomly selected λZAP plaques were amplified by PCR and separated by agarose gel electrophoresis. The PCR-amplified cDNA samples were then screened by Southern blotting, using radiolabelled-cDNA probes of high specific activity.

Effects of chloramphenicol on the mitochondrial respiratory chain in the wild strain and in a cytoplasmic chloramphenicol-resistant mutant of Tetrahymena pyriformis.

The effects of chloramphenicol (CAP) on mitochondrial respiratory activity in the wild strain (ST) and in a cytoplasmic CAP-resistant mutant (STR1) of Tetrahymena pyriformis were studied by determining oxygen consumption, by spectrophotometry, and by cytochemistry. In the absence of CAP both strains had the same respiration capacity, and the low-temperature spectra of their isolated mitochondria were similar. Furthermore, the mitochondria of both strains showed a positive reaction with diaminobenzidine, denoting a similar cytochrome oxidase activity.