Can Med Assoc J, 1977 Jul 9, 117(1), 33 - 6 Recurrent malignant melanoma: effect of adjuvant immunotherapy on survival; McCulloch PB et al.; Twenty-nine patients referred consecutively to a cancer clinic because of recurrent metastatic malignant melanoma were given 5 mg of Connaught Laboratories bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) by multiple cutaneous puncture at weekly and later at monthly intervals . Eight were also treated with autologous tumour vaccine and three with intralesional BCG . This group was compared with a retrospective control group of 54 patients treated with surgery and radiotherapy alone after recurrence . Prognostic features such as site of primary and of first metastasis, disease-free interval, age and sex were similar in the two groups . However, the median survival from the time of first recurrence was 12 months in the control group but 21 months in the BCG-treated group . The major improvement was in patients with disease limited to the regional lymph nodes: the median survival was 16 months in the control group but over 32 months in the BCG-treated group . Autologous tumour vaccine appeared to have no effect on survival . Serial testing of immunocompetence did not offer any prognostic advantage, although the results of some tests correleated well with extent of disease. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1977 Jul 7, 461(1), 109 - 23 Cyanide-resistant electron transport in sporulating Bacillus megaterium KM; Hogarth C et al.; The NADH oxidase activity of stage V mother-cell membranes, isolated from sporulating Bacillus megaterium KM, shows a greater inhibition by cyanide and displays this response at lower concentrations of cyanide than the stage V forespore inner membrane . Comparison of the effects of various respiratory inhibitors reveals that the difference in cyanide sensitivity between these membranes is located on the oxidase side of the 2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide-sensitive step . Both membranes contain cytochromes a+a3, b-562, b-555, c and d, with three potential oxidases: cytochromes a+a3, o and d . Cyanide difference spectra suggest that cytochromes b-562 and d may be the components involved in the cyanide-resistant electron transport pathway . Membrane ascorbate-N,N,N',N'-tetramethylphenylenediamine and ascorbate 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol oxidase activities are highly sensitive to cyanide . Evidence is presented for terminal branching of the respiratory chain with branches differing in cyanide sensitivity . The cyanide sensitivity of the NADH oxidase of membranes prepared from various stages of sporulation is compared . Morphogenesis of the mother-cell plasma membrane to a cyanide-sensitive form during stages II and III of sporulation is postulated. Mikrobiologiia, 1977 Jul-Aug, 46(4), 730 - 6 {Polylysogeny in Bacillus thuringiensis var . Galleriae cultures}; Kochkina ZM et al.; The culture of Bacillus thuringiensis var . galleriae was shown to be polylysogenic . As has been found earlier, the culture has a phage with the original structure of particles whose tail possesses a special substructure called a "collar" . The phage was described in detail as a phage of Bac . thuringiensis 1-97 with a "collar" . Further studies of the culture of Bac . thuringiensis var . galleriae 1-97 has shown that it also contains another phage which differs sharply from the first one in the morphology of particles, the spectrum of lytic action, and other properties . Electron microscopy of the cultural fluid of the Bac . thuringiensis var . galleriae cultures has revealed in them the presence of different amounts of the particles of both morphological types found in the strain 1-97 . These data suggest that the cultures of Bac . thuringiensis var . galleriae are polylysogenic . The methods for the isolation of the new phage are described. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1977 Jul, (7), 111 - 6 {Alteration of the natural humoral immunity in experimental diphtheritic infection induced by different doses of the agent}; Kolisnichenko NI; The authors carried out a complex study of natural humoral immunity factors in rabbits experimentally infected with various doses of diphtheria bacillus (500, 200, 100, 50 and 1 million, 10 000 and 1000 microorganisms) . Natural protection factors--the complement, properdin, and lysozyme proved to undergo similar dynamic changes with each infection dose . The extent and direction of the changes depended on the infection dose . No significant natural immunity changes were caused by a low dose . A dose of 10 000 microbes caused stimulation of properdin and lysozyme activity . Dose of 1, 5, and 50 million suppressed the activity of all the components, the most pronounced with the later dose . Changes occurring with the doses of 200 and 100 million microbes were phasic in character. Biochem J, 1977 Jul 1, 165(1), 71 - 9 A pulse-radiolysis study of the manganese-containing superoxide dismutase from Bacillus stearothermophilus . A kinetic model for the enzyme action; McAdam ME et al.; The enzymic reaction mechanism of a manganese-containing superoxide dismutase from Bacillus stearothermophilus was studied by using pulse radiolysis . During catalysis (pH 8.9; 25 degrees C), changes occurring in the kinetics of substrate disappearance and in the visible absorption of the enzyme at 480 nm established that the simple two-step mechanism found for copper- and iron-containing superoxide dismutases is not involved . At a low ratio (less than 15) of substrate concentration to enzyme concentration the decay of O2--is close to exponetial, whereas at much higher ratios (greater than 100) the observed decay is predominantly zero-order . The simplest interpretation of the results invokes a rapid one-electron oxidation-reduction cycle ('the fast cycle') and, concurrently, a slower reaction giving a form of the enzyme that is essentially unreactive towards O2-- but which undergoes a first-order decay to yield fully active native enzyme ('the slow cycle') . The fast cycle involves the native enzyme EA and a form of the enzyme EB which can be obtained also by treating the form EA with H2O2 . Computer calculations made with such a simple model predict behaviour in excellent agreement with the observed results. Am J Trop Med Hyg, 1977 Jul, 26(4), 663 - 78 Intracytoplasmic bacteria in Onchocerca volvulus; Kozek WJ et al.; Ultrastructural studies on Onchocerca volvulus disclosed intracellular organisms within the lateral chords of adult worms and of the larval stages . In the females the organisms were also present in the oogonia, oocytes, developing eggs and microfilariae . The organisms, found within vesicles of host (filarid) membrane and limited to the cytoplasm of infected cells, appeared to have a developmental cycle consisting of three morphologically distinct forms: a small spheroidal form up to 0.3 micronm in size, a bacillary form up to 1.5 micron7 in length and 0.7 micronm in diameter, and a third form, intermediate in size between the former and the latter, characterized by a dense inclusion . The intravesicular location and the developmental cycle consisting of three distinct forms are the two characteristics which suggest that these organisms are more similar to the chlamydiae than to the rickettsiae, in spite of their being transovarially transmitted . The significance of these findings with respect to the host-parasite relationship and pathogenesis of onchocerciasis is presently unknown and will require further study. Can J Microbiol, 1977 Jul, 23(7), 931 - 2 {Effect of aflatoxin B1 on the enzymatic activities of Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner)}; Boutibonnes P; At 20 degrees C, aflatoxin B1, at a sublethal dose, decreases the activity of alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1), alpha-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.20), esterase (EC 3.1.1.1), chymotrypsin (EC 3.4.21.1), leucine aminopeptidase (EC 3.4.11.1), and phosphoamidase (EC 3.9.1.1) biosynthesis in Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) . In contrast, at 41 degrees C no significant decrease was observed . At this temperature, the mycotoxin is not destroyed or metabolized and bacterial cells are resistant to the toxin. Mol Biol (Mosk), 1977 Jul-Aug, 11(4), 901 - 8 {Physico-chemical properties of several phages of Bacillus thuringiensis}; Bogush VG et al.; A study was made of biological and physico-chemical properties of phages of Bac . thuringiensis as well as of a number of parameters of nucleic acids isolated from these phages . The phages contain double-stranded DNA . Molecular weights of DNA from three phages--Tg9, Tg10 and Tg13 have been determined by two independent methods: by measuring the contour length of DNA, from the sedimentation constant and for DNA of phage Tg10 also by endonuclease EcRI hydrolysis . These methods gave similar results . On the basis of the temperature of DNA melting the content of GC pairs was found equal to 37.9, 33.4 and 35.1 mole% for DNA's of phage Tg9, Tg10 and Tg13, respectively . On the basis of measuring the intervals of DNA melting a conclusion was made that DNA of the Tg9 and Tg13 phage has a random distribution of base pairs, while DNA of phage Tg10 displays some clustering of base distribution along the molecule . It has been shown that restrictase EcoRI hydrolyses phage Tg10 DNA into 6 fragments of different molecular weights; DNA's of Tg9 and Tg13 phages are not hydrolyzed . A possibility of existance of phage Tg10 DNA in linear and ring forms has been established . The characteristics of phage particles have been determined by electron microscopy. Ann Sclavo, 1977 Jul-Aug, 19(4), 750 - 7 {Determination of residual antibiotic activity in cerebro-spinal fluid (author's transl)}; Aureli G et al.; A microbiological method for the determination of residual antibiotic activity in CSF is described . This disc-diffusion method, utilizing Bacillus stearotermophilus as test organism, is highly sensitive for many antibiotics, including those crossing the blood-brain barrier. J Trop Med Hyg, 1977 Jul, 80(7), 144 - 6 A critical review of B.C.G . vaccination programme in Egypt; Madkour M et al.; PIP: Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination became compulsory in all governorates of Egypt in 1974 . However, a study of 1138 infants attending a private clinic or child welfare center in Cairo found that 624 (55%) had not been vaccinated . There was no significant difference in the vaccination rate between the 2 socioeconomic groups (56% at the private facility and 54% at the public clinic) . 70% of the infants who showed evidence of vaccination and were tuberculin tested had negative results in the determination of postvaccination tuberculin sensitivity . The low rate of vaccination, despite its obligatory nature, appears attributable to concern on the part of both mothers and physicians about the frequency of complications . 90% of pediatricians at the university hospital in Cairo routinely advise their patients against BCG vaccination . The low incidence of tuberculin sensitivity found in this study could not be attributed to social class or racial differences or to an intrinsic defect in the vaccines used . Rather, the poor results are judged to stem from faulty technique of vaccination and/or damage of the vaccine . Administration of intradermal BCG requires a highly trained staff, and use of freeze-dried vaccine is preferable to ensure validity . Independent retesting to evaluate the efficacy of BCG vaccine in randomly selected groups by determining postvaccination conversion rates of tuberculin, vaccination scars, and lymphadenopathy is recommended . Also suggested is the possibility of vaccinating entrants to primary school . The medical service could then have more control over the vaccinations and would be able to monitor more easily the methods used . Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis, 1977 Jul-Sep, 45(3), 221 - 7 Cell-mediated immune response in Mycobacterium leprae infected mice; Navalkar RG et al.; Positive skin reactions to homologous antigens in mice infected with Mycobacterium leprae were observed at the time that the bacillary multiplication was nearing the plateua level . Once developed, the skin reactivity persisted for a considerable length of time . Lymphocyte transformation studies indicated that the lymphocytes from infected animals were unable to respond to specific antigenic stimuli in the early phase of infection . Possible explanation for this failure could be that the lymphocytes although sensitized, were not capable of responding to the stimuli due to a rather low level of sensitization . The elevated lymphocyte stimulation index in the later stages of infection, coupled with skin reactivity indicates the production and proliferation of antigen-reactive lymphocytes which in turn govern the activity of mononuclear phagocytic cells through the production of lymphokines . Occurrence of all the events appears to coincide with the time closer to the plateauing of M . leprae in the foot pad of the mouse . It is suggested that the cell-mediated immune response in the M . leprae infected mouse is basically a T cell rather than a B cell response. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1977 Jul, 34(1), 7 - 13 Epoxidation of aldrin to exo-dieldrin by soil bacteria; Ferguson JA et al.; Twenty-two strains of soil bacteria, including representatives of the genera Bacillus, Micromonospora, Mycobacterium, Nocardia, Streptomyces, Thermoactinomyces, and Pseudomonas and 10 unidentified gram-negative, motile, rod-shaped bacteria, were shown to degrade aldrin to its epoxide dieldrin . In every case, the exo-stereoisomer of dieldrin was produced exclusively. Postgrad Med J, 1977 Jul, 53(621), 397 - 9 A case of Bacillus cereus bacteraemia; Barnham M et al.; A case is presented of Bacillus cereus bacteraemia in a patient receiving hepatic perfusion with 5-fluorouracil (5FU) for metastasis from a carcinoma of the breast . The literature concerning systemic B . cereus infections is briefly reviewed. Cancer Res, 1977 Jul, 37(7 Pt 1), 2251 - 6 Monitoring immunotherapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin by antibody titer; Wile AG et al.; Antibody titer to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) was determined by complement fixation in 111 normal volunteers and 83 melanoma patients . In 43 of these melanoma patients, sequential determination of antibody titer was made and correlated with clinical course.Low titers of antibody to BCG were found frequently in normal volunteers and in melanoma patients prior to BCG immunotherapy . The typical response to BCG immunotherapy was a rapid rise of antibody titer to high levels . Six of 19 patients with recurrence had disappearance of antibody preceding clinical recurrence by up to 5 months . In 13 of 40 patients receiving BCG, serum antibody was a better indicator of the patient's response than measurement of delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity to purified protein derivative . These results suggest that measurement of the antibody response to BCG may be useful in developing an optimum mode of BCG immunotherapy as well as predicting clinical recurrence in patients with melanoma. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1977 Jul, 34(1), 102 - 4 Uptake of glucose and maltose by Bacillus popillae; Taylor DC et al.; Results of experiments with glucose and its analog, methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside, indicated that when glucose was present at low concentrations, it was transported into Bacillus popilliae NRRL B-2309MC cells as glucose 6-phosphate by a phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system . An additional mode(s) of entry may be operative at higher glucose concentrations . Maltose appeared to enter the cells by a nonphosphorylative process and was hydrolyzed intracellularly to glucose . No phosphoryl donor was necessary for this hydrolysis. J Neurosurg, 1977 Jul, 47(1), 35 - 43 Immunobiology of primary intracranial tumors; Mahaley MS Jr et al.; The avian sarcoma virus-induced glioma model in rats was used to study the effectiveness of immunotherapy, namely, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) with or without sarcoma cells and/or chemotherapy with 1,3-bis (2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU), upon survival times . The most consistent prolongation of survival time was produced by triple therapy: BCG + intraperitoneally administered sarcoma cells + intravenously administered BCNU. J Bacteriol, 1977 Jul, 131(1), 98 - 104 Bacillus megaterium mutant deficient in membrane-bound adenosine triphosphatase activity; Decker SJ et al.; An adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) mutant of Bacillus megaterium was isolated and characterized . This mutant (designated A37) was unable to grow on nonfermentable carbon sources and possessed less than 5% of the wild-type ATPase activity . Oxygen uptake by the mutant was comparable to that in the wild type . Sporulation in the wild type occurred in both glucose- and nitrogen-limiting media; however, A37 sporulated only in the nitrogen-limiting medium . The inability of A37 to sporulate in glucose-limiting medium seemed to be due to insufficient adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) levels during the sporulation stages . Fructose, which can generate ATP via substrate-level phosphorylation, is equally efficient in stimulating ATP synthesis in the wild type and A37 . Malate-stimulated ATP synthesis in the wild type was shown to have many characteristics associated with oxidative phosphorylation and was absent in the mutant . These data suggest that the ATPase deficiency results in the loss of oxidative phosphorylation. Biochem J, 1977 Jul 1, 165(1), 81 - 7 A pulse-radiolysis study of the manganese-containing superoxide dismutase from Bacillus stearothermophilus; McAdam ME et al.; In the preceding paper the mechanism of catalysis of the manganese-containing superoxide dismutase from Bacillus stearothermophilus was shown to involve a 'fast cycle' and a 'slow cycle' {McAdam, Fox, Lavelle & Fielden, 1977 (Biochem . J . 165, 71-79)} . Further properties of the enzyme was considered in the present paper . Pulse-radiolysis studies, under conditions of low substrate concentration to (i.e . when the fast cycle predominates), showed that enzyme activity decreases as pH increases (6.5-10.2) . Activity was unaffected by the addition of H2O2 or NaN3 but slightly decreased by KCN . Both H2O2 and the reducing radical anion CO2-- caused a decrease in A480 of the native enzyme . The rate of the fast catalytic cycle was independent of temperature (5-55 degrees C), and as temperature increases the slow cycle becomes relatively more important . Arrhenius parameters of the rate contants were estimated . The possible identity of the various forms of the enzyme is considered. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1977 Jun 22, 487(3), 487 - 94 Characteristics of a cytochrome P-450-dependent fatty acid omega-2 hydroxylase from bacillus megaterium; Matson RS et al.; The fatty acid (omega-2) hydroxylase from Bacillus megaterium ATCC 14581 was examined with respect to some general enzymatic properties attributed to an intact complex isolated in a partially purified state . Hydroxylase specific activity was found to increase with increasing protein concentration in a manner consistent with a reversible association of the components in the complex . There was a substantial kinetic lag phase for palmitate hydroxylation which was abolished by a substrate preincubation in the absence of NADPH . The substrate bound and presumably activated the hydroxylase complex without the formation of a substrate-derived intermediated . The oxidation of NADPH and the hydroxylation of palmitate were found to occur in a one to one molar ration, independent of the protein concentration . Finally, a cytochrome P-450 component of the complex was identified on the basis of its CO-binding difference spectrum . It appears, that this cytochrome P-450 component is not identical to P-450 meg of the steroid hydroxylase system of B . megaterium ATCC 13368, since progesterone, an active substrate for the latter, is not hydroxylated by the preparation from B . megaterium ATCC 14581. Biochem J, 1977 Jun 15, 164(3), 669 - 74 Number and activity of active ribosomes in bacterial polyribosomes; Stenesh J et al.; Polyribosomes were isolated from Baccillus licheniformis, grown at 37 and 46 degrees C, and from Bacillus stearothermophilus, grown at 46 and 55 degrees C . The polyribosomes were incubated with either {3H}puromycin or {14C}phenylalanine . The number of active ribosomes (i.e . those to which growing polypeptide chains are attached) was calculated from the amount of {3H}peptidyl-puromycin formed . The activity of an active ribosome (i.e . the total number of amino acid molecules incorporated/unit time per active ribosome) was calculated from the uptake of {14C}phenylalanine . The number of active ribosomes per migrogram of RNA was as follows: for B . licheniformis, 1.66 X 10(12) and 1.72 X 10(12) at 37 and 46 degrees C respectively; for B . stearothermophilus, 2.59 X 10(12) at 46 and 55 degreesC respectively . The activity per active ribosome was as follows: for B . licheniformis, 0.61 and 0.05 at 37 and 46 degrees C respectively; for B . stearothermophilus, 0.58 and 0.42 at 46 and 55 degrees C respectively. C R Acad Sci Hebd Seances Acad Sci D, 1977 Jun 13, 284(22), 2301 - 4 {Regulation of isoleucine and valine biosynthesis in Bacillus cereus T: possible role of threonine deaminase}; Raimond J et al.; Threonine desaminase: a possible regulatory element suggested by the analysis of isoleucine, valine pathway regulation in Bacillus cereus T. Tropenmed Parasitol, 1977 Jun, 28(2), 202 - 4 {Latex-Chagestest-reactions of immunsera against Bartonella bacilliformis, Haemobartonella muris and Eperythrozoon coccoides (author's transl)}; Schottelius J; Sera from 10 patients positive for Carrion's disease were analysed by means of the latex Chagas test . Sera from 40 SPF-rats experimentally infected with Haemobartonella muris and 5 SPF-mice experimentally infected with Eperythrozoon coccoides were similarly tested . Both the human and mice sera were negative whereas positive reaction was observed with rat sera . The nature of this positive reaction has not been clarified. Can J Microbiol, 1977 Jun, 23(6), 726 - 32 Simultaneous presence of antiviral activity and its degrader in Bacillus extracts; Smart KM et al.; Extracts of uninfected Bacillus species ATCC 27877 cells contained both an antiviral activity and a degrader for this activity . The antiviral activity was stable to 90 degrees C, caused a rapid inhibition of phage adsorption, and resulted in a gradual loss of phage infectivity . When extracts were incubated at 37 degrees C, the degrader inactivated the antiviral activity and the degrader was retained . When the extracts were heated at 90 degrees C, the degrader was inactivated and the antiviral activity was retained . A comparison was made of these two activities in extracts from cells of various incubation ages . The apparent association of maximal antiviral activity with prespore cells seemed due to the high content of degrader in vegetative and stationary cells . Both antiviral activity and its degrader appeared to be characteristics of vegetative cells. Am J Med, 1977 Jun, 62(6), 949 - 53 Amikacin in the treatment of gram-negative pneumonia; Trenholme GM et al.; A clinical efficacy study of amikacin in the treatment of 15 adults with nonbacteremic, gram-negative bacillary pneumonia is presented . All patients had serious underlying illnesses (11 organic heart disease, five chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, one cancer); 11 had undergone major surgical procedures . All had required respiratory assistance during their hospitalization and all had recently received other antibiotics . Thirteen of 15 patients showed clinical improvement with amikacin therapy; the pathogen was also eradicated in 10 of the 13 . The mean minimum inhibitory concentration of amikacin for the 17 isolated pathogens was 3.13 microng/ml . The mean peak serum concentration of amikacin was 17.7 microng/ml . No evidence of ototoxicity or nephrotoxicity was seen . Seventy-three case reports submitted to the manufacturer by multiple investigators of patients with gram-negative pneumonia, treated with amikacin, are also reviewed . All isolated pathogens were sensitive to both amikacin and gentamicin . Fifty-four (74%) of these patients showed improvement with amikacin therapy. J Immunol, 1977 Jun, 118(6), 2288 - 90 The effect of BCG on experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice; Weintraub J et al.; The effect of administration of live Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a nonspecific immunostimulant, on the course of experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice was investigated . BALB/c mice were injected in the footpad with Leishmania tropica, NIH S-strain; in mice that were not pretreated with BCG this produced a reproducible fatal infection characterized by local inflammation, regional lymphadenopathy, and dissemination of parasites with hepatosplenomegaly . In mice that were pretreated with BCG and similarly infected with L . tropica there was a reduction in the severity of cutaneous disease and a significant (p less than 0.005) decrease in mortality without evidence of visceralization. J Clin Invest, 1977 Jun, 59(6), 1017 - 26 Effect of chemotherapy and immunotherapy on tumor-specific immunity in melanoma; Mitchell MS et al.; The effects of chemotherapy, with nitrosoureas or dimethyl-triazeno-imidazole-carboxamide (DTIC), or immunotherapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), on cell-mediated immunity (CMI), and serum blocking factor (BF) to melanoma cells were studied in 23 patients . Studies were performed with autologous or allogenic melanoma target cells obtained from recent biopsy, in 16 mm diameter plastic wells . Assays for lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity and BF were performed at weekly intervals over the course of 3-4 mo, with some studies extending beyond 3 yr . The specificity of cytotoxicity was good with these methods . Nine patients given nitrosoureas, predominantly methyl-chloroethyl-cyclohexyl-nitrosourea, showed a transient decline in CMI from 42.2 to 14% 3 wk after administration of a single dose of the agent, with a rapid recovery within 1 week . 10 patients given 5-day courses of DTIC at 3-wk intervals showed no decline in CMI after two courses, and 7 of the 10 had no decline even after three courses . Three of the four patients who achieved a remission lost BF previously present: BF reappeared in both patients studied during a subsequent relapse . BCG intradermally or intralesionally elevated CMI within 2 mo after initiation of therapy, but despite continuation of the injections CMI returned to base line in all but two of the nine patients studied . These results indicate that chemotherapy for melanoma with nitrosoureas or DTIC at these schedules is not profoundly immunosuppressive towards tumor-specific immunity, as measured by our procedures . Putative immunotherapy with BCG at these schedules was likewise only transiently stimulatory. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand {B}, 1977 Jun, 85(3), 219 - 26 Inhibition of the synthesis of phospholipase C in Bacillus cereus by a component of the growth medium; Valle KJ et al.; A low molecular weight compound, probably of peptide nature, present in the Beef Heart Extract component of the growth medium, inhibits post-transcriptionally the biosynthesis of phospholipase C by a strain of Bacillus cereus . The compound also prevents the increase of proteolytic activity in the growth medium, thus suggesting that the synthesis of another enzyme, an extracellular protease, is also inhibited, and that the inhibitory compound may therefore have a more general effect on exoenzyme synthesis in this strain of Bacillus cereus. Zentralbl Bakteriol {Orig A}, 1977 Jun, 238(2), 255 - 62 {Detection of Bacillus cereus-toxins (author's transl)}; Katsaras K et al.; During the logarithmic state of growth, B . cereus produced extracellular toxins, which could be precipitated by ammoniumsulphate . The toxins were not dialysable . 9 strains of B . cereus were tested and showed lethal, hemolytic, and phospholipase-C-reactions . The lethal toxin injected i.v., killed mice within 20 minutes . An intradermal injection of the 9 toxin-precipitates in rabbits produced skin reactions, which could be neutralized by a specific antiserum against the B . cereus strain B-4ac . Relatively high doses (50 mg/ml) of the toxin caused fluid accumulation after injection in ligated loops of rabbit gut (Tab) . The hemolysin of the tested B . cereus strains was found to be thermolabile . The phospholipase-C activity withstood the temperature of 55 degrees C for a period of 10 minutes . The prepared specific antiserum, which inhibited the phsopholipase-C activity totally, had no effect on the hemolysis . Intradermal and enteropathogenic activities point to the presence of an enterotoxin . For detection of the enterotoxin, the skin-test in guinea pigs or rabbits seems to be most appropriate. Eur J Biochem, 1977 Jun 1, 76(1), 299 - 307 The action of lysozyme on peptidoglycan with N-unsubstituted glucosamine residues . Isolation of glycan fragments and their susceptibility to lysozyme; Amano K et al.; 1 . A peptidoglycan preparation N-acetylated at about 30% of glucosamine residues was obtained by the treatment of the lysozyme-resistant cell wall paptidoglycan of Bacillus cereus with acetic anhydride at pH 7 . Fractionation of dialyzable material resulting from lysozyme digestion of the glycan component of this peptidoglycan preparation yielded five oligosaccharides designated as S1 to S5 besides the disaccharide GlcNAc-MurAc . 2 . Oligosaccharide S3, which accounted for about 30% of the disaccharide units recovered as disaccharides and oligosaccharides, was identified as GlcN-MurAc-GlcNAc-MurAc . Oligosaccharide S1, accounting for about 20% of the disaccharide units recovered, was characterized as GlcN-MurAc-GlcN-MurAc-GlcNAc-MurAc, while oligosaccharide S2, present in a smaller amount, as GlcNAc-MurAc-GlcN-MurAc-glcNAc-MurAc . Oligosaccharides S4, and S5, present in small amounts, were identified as GlcNAc-MurAc-GlcNAc-MurAc and MurAc-GlcNAc-MurAc, respectively . 3 . Oligosaccharides S1, S3 and S5 proved to be completely insusceptible to lysozyme, whereas S2 was digsted by lysozyme to produce GlcNAc-MurAc and S3 . S1 was found to act as a more potent inhibitor than S3 in lysozyme-catalyzed digestion of polysaccharides . 4 . The results obtained show that the lysozyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of peptidoglycan oligosaccharides had an obligatory requirement for the N-acetyl group on the glucosamine residue located in subsite C in the enzyme-substrate complex. Br J Exp Pathol, 1977 Jun, 58(3), 273 - 80 A severe necrotic enterotoxin produced by certain food, food poisoning and other clinical isolates of Bacillus cereus; Turnbull PC et al.; The ability of certain strains of Bacillus cereus consistently to elaborate a filterable non-dialysable toxin capable of causing severe disruption and necrosis of the intestinal mucosa and submucosa is confirmed . This property is not universal to all B . cereus strains and different degrees of production of this toxin are exhibited by the different strains which produce it . The necrotic effect is produced by whole-cell cultures of the toxin producing strains in broth and in boiled rice . Some characteristics of this necrotic toxin are described and its relationship with the diarrhoeal and other known B . cereus toxins is discussed. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1977 Jun, 74(6), 2417 - 21 Membrane ultrastructural changes during calcium phosphate-induced fusion of human erythrocyte ghosts; Zakai N et al.; Nascent calcium phosphate promotes the agglutination and fusion of human erythrocyte ghosts . Membrane phospholipids of erythrocyte ghosts treated with Ca2+ and phosphate ions become exposed to attack by phospholipase C (phosphatidylcholine cholinephosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.3) (Bacillus cereus) . Freeze-fracture pictures of fused erythrocyte ghosts show the presence of regions deficient in intramemebrane particles in the protoplasmic face which we believe to be regions of fusion . Discontinuous regions of the protoplasmic and exoplasmic faces are observed, which are apparently intermediate stages in the process of fusion . TH-in-section electron micrographs reveal deposits of calcium phosphate in areas of contact and fusion of ghosts . Ca2+ in the presence of N-{tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl}glycine (Tricine) buffer causes the formation of blebs in the membrane but does not cause changes in the intramembrane particle pattern or induce fusion . It is suggested that nascent calcium phosphate acts by forming protein-free regions of phospholipid bilayer which can fuse readily. Can J Microbiol, 1977 Jun, 23(6), 818 - 23 Phage types of Mycobacterium bovis, substrains of BCG; Mankiewicz E et al.; Nineteen substrains of Mycobacterium bovis, strain bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) used in laboratories throughout the world for the preparation of BCG vaccines were phage-typed with a battery of mycobacteriophages . The results revealed differences in their susceptibility to phage lysis that allow subdivision of these strains of BCG into two or more phage types. J Clin Invest, 1977 Jun, 59(6), 1134 - 42 Circulating immune complexes detected by 125I-Clq deviation test in sera of cancer patients; Teshima H et al.; The presence of circulating immune complexes in freshly drawn sera of patients with various forms of malignancies was detected by the 125I-Clq deviation test of Sobel et al . More than 50% of the 459 cancer sera showed a high inhibition of 125I-Clq uptake by sensitized sheep erythrocytes when compared with sera of 50 healthy laboratory personnel . The levels were compared with levels of total hemolytic complement and immunochemical determinations of Cl1 and C3 . A correlation between high levels of circulating immune complexes and low levels of Clq was suggested . These immune complexes were separated by sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation at low pH and were found to be heavier than 19S . Fluctuation of levels of immune complexes was evident when serial samples from the same patient were tested . Decrease of levels of immune complexes and a concomitant increase of Clq were detected after Calmette-Gueerin bacillus and autologous tumor cell treatment in some melanoma patients. Cancer Res, 1977 Jun, 37(6), 1743 - 9 A cytokinetic analysis of bacillus calmette-guérin-induced growth control of a murine leukemia; Olsson L et al.; The cytokinetics of an isogeneic, transplantable, lymphoid leukemia, growing as an ascitic tumor in the C57BL/6 mouse, has been investigated during normal growth and during regression induced by weekly injections i.v . of 1.0 mg Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) . Survival was significantly prolonged in the BCG-treated group, and 27% of the mice were apparently cured . The tumor growth curves showed, furthermore, that BCG-rreated mice could be divided into two groups according to whether the ascitic tumor cell number was at control level or below that of the controls . By methods such as stathmokinetics, tritiated thymidine autoradiography, and cytophotometry, it was demonstrated that the proliferative activity was higher in BCG mice with a low tumor mass as compared to controls and BCG mice with a tumor mass similar to that of controls . The cytokinetic characteristics of BCG mice with a low ascitic tumor cell number were especially expressed by high mitotic activity, high initial labeling indices, short potential tumor doubling time, and a low number of G0-G1 cells . Furthermore the ascitic tumor cell loss rate was increased in these mice during the whole experimental period . It was deduced from the various parameters and especially from the cytophotometric and autoradiographic results that BCG induces a preferential kill of tumor cells in G0-G1 and the first part of the S phase . In addition, the cytological aspects of the ascitic tumor were found to be related to the cell kinetic pattern as the amount of small and large tumor cells increased and decreased, respectively, with accumulation of tumor cells in G0-G1. Aust N Z J Surg, 1977 Jun, 47(3), 362 - 5 Complete remission of metastatic malignant melanoma following immunotherapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG): report of a case; Coates AS et al.; A complete response to BCG is described in a case of recurrent melanoma . In a woman aged 38 years, intracutaneous metastatic deposits confined to the limb of origin had occurred after excision of a malignant melanoma from the ankle, and elective groin dissection had shown two lymph nodes infiltrated with melanoma . BCG vaccine was applied to the buttock, initially by scarification and later by a multiple puncture gun . All metastases slowly regressed, and biopsy of a metastatic site at six months showed no tumour cells . The patient remains free of detectable disease 36 months after the commencement of therapy . It is inferred that BCG may facilitate remission of melanoma, perhaps by reason of antigenic cross-reactivity between BCG and surface components of human melanoma cells. Nucleic Acids Res, 1977 Jun, 4(6), 1829 - 35 The specificity of S1 nuclease toward RNA-DNA hybrids as studied using isotopes of phosphorus-32 and phosphorus-33; Wittelsberger SC et al.; Hybrids were formed from Bacillus cereus DNA and ribosomal RNA . They were treated with various combination of S1 nuclease and ribonuclease, and the molar ratios of the RNA and DNA moieties remaining in the treated hybrids were determined using a 32P-33P dual-label technique . It was found that both S1 nuclease and ribonuclease are required to give hybrid with RNA and DNA in a perfect 1:1 molar ratio . It was noted that the dual-label technique which employs orthophosphate as the sole phosphorus source for both labels gives unambiguous molar ratios and obviates the need to calculate specific activities, make quench corrections, or correct for base content. Can J Microbiol, 1977 Jun, 23(6), 695 - 700 Use of sepharose-conjugated BCG antibodies for the purification of tuberculin-active components; Laguerre M et al.; Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) antibodies conjugated with CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B led to the isolation of tuberculin-active components from the protoplasmic materials of BCG . From these results; it is concluded that most of the tuberculin-active components (sensitins) have mycobacterial antigenic properties. J Bacteriol, 1977 Jun, 130(3), 1010 - 6 Oxygen-dependent inactivation of gramicidin S synthetase in Bacillus brevis; Friebel TE et al.; Incorporation of L-{14C}ornithine into gramicidin S by crude, unfractionated lysozyme extracts of Bacillus brevis ATCC 9999 was shown to represent the activity of the gramicidin synthetase complex . Frozen-thawed cells were the source of active extracts, but when cells were shaken in air at 37 degrees C, they rapidly lost activity in a first-order reaction with a half-life of 13 min . Protease inhibitors and inhibitors of energy metabolism had no effect on the inactivation process in frozen-thawed cells . Stabilization was achieved when the cells were shaken in nitrogen or helium instead of air . The addition of dithiothreitol produced a moderate degree of stabilization . The L-ornithine- and D-phenylalanine-activating activities of the gramicidin S synthetase complex were also lost during aeration of the cells . Crude cell-free extracts also lost activity when they were shaken in oxygen, but, in this case, inactivation was slower (half-life of 80 min) . Nitrogen also stabilized these cell-free extracts. Antibiotiki, 1977 Jun, 22(6), 486 - 9 {Physicochmemical characteristics of the new antineoplastic antibiotic, nocamycin}; Brazhnikova MG et al.; Nocamycin is produced by Nocardiopsis syringae . It is recovered from the culture fluid by extraction with chloroform . The molecular weight of the crystalline antibiotic is 503, its melting point is 147--149 degrees, {alpha}20 degrees D = --50 degrees (c . 0.21, chloroform), lambdamax235 and 348 nm(E1%sm= = 150 and 420), the summation formula is C26 H33NO9, the biological activity is 100000 Units/mg with respect to Bacillus mycoides . Nocamycin forms salts with alkalies soluble in water . On hydrolysis with an alkali it forms carbonic acid having no ester bond (IP spectrum) and methoxylic group present in the antibiotic molecule . Nocamycin is a new natural substance. J Biol Chem, 1977 May 25, 252(10), 3252 - 4 Complementation of peptides of barnase, extracellular ribonuclease of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens; Hartley RW; Recovery of ribonuclease activity by complementation of peptides of barnase is reported . Activity is restored to barnase-(1-102), which lacks eight amino acids from its COOH terminus, by combination with peptides-(88-110), -(95-110), or -(99-108), and also with succinylated peptide-(88-110) . The dissociation constants are about 8 X 10(-6) M for the first two combinations and little, if any, greater for the other two . Based on barnase-(1-102) concentration, up to 80% of native activity is obtained with peptide-(88-110) but only 5 to 20% with the others . The octapeptide-(103-110), equivalent to the residues missing from barnase-(1-102), does not complement barnase-(1-102), suggesting that an intact sequence about His-102 and Tyr-103 is required for activity . Barstar, the natural inhibitor of barnase, completely inhibits all activity of the complementing peptides. J Biol Chem, 1977 May 25, 252(10), 3170 - 5 Inactivation of bacterial D-amino acid transaminase by beta-chloro-D-alanine; Soper TS et al.; Purified D-amino acid transaminase from Bacillus sphaericus catalyzes an alpha,beta elimination from the D isomer of beta-chloroalanine to yield equivalent amounts of pyruvate, chloride, and ammonia; the L isomer of chloroalanine is not a substrate for this transaminase . During the beta elimination there is a synchronous loss in enzyme activity; the Kinact for beta-chloroalanine was estimated to be about 10 micrometers . The alpha-aminoacrylate-Schiff base intermediate formed after beta elimination of chloride ion is probably the key intermediate that partitions between one inactivation event for every 1500 turnovers . In the presence of D-alanine and alpha-ketoglutarate, which are good substrates for the transaminase activity of this enzyme, beta-chloroalanine is a potent, competitive inhibitor (K1 = 10 micrometers) with D-alanine and a weak, uncompetitive inhibitor with alpha-ketoglutarate. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1977 May 16, 467(1), 44 - 50 Vesicle penicillinase of Bacillus licheniformis 749/C . Apparent identity with the plasma membrane enzyme; Traficante LJ et al.; A substantial fraction of the total membrane penicillinase of Bacillus licheniformis 749/C is attached to the vesicles released during conversion of the cells to protoplasts . This enzyme was purified since there was indirect evidence that it differed from the enzyme that remained with the protoplast . The purified vesicle penicillinase has the same molecular weight and general properties as the plasma membrane (protoplast) enzyme and, similarly, contains a covalently linked phosphatidylserine residue . Treatment of the two enzymes with trypsin produced phosphatidylserine-containing peptides which could not be distinguished by gel or paper electrophoresis . The two membrane penicillinases are very similar, if not identical. J Mol Evol, 1977 May 13, 9(3), 191 - 201 The rates of evolution in some ribosomal components; Hori H et al.; The rate of nucleotide substitution (k(nuc)) of 5s RNA was estimated to be (1.8 +/- 0.5) x 10(-10) per site per year by comparing the nucleotide sequences of human and Xenopus 5s RNA and using the geological time elapsed since the separation of mammals and amphibians . Similarly, k(nuc) of 5.8s rRNA was calculated to be 0.93 10(-1u) per site per year from the sequences of rat hepatoma cells and Saccbaromyces cerevisiae . For the comparison of these data with the amino acid substitution rate of known proteins, the k(nuc) values of 5s rRNA and 5.8s rRNA were converted to the rate of amino acid substitution (k(aa')) . The k(aa') values in pauling units were 0.4 and 2 0.3, respectively . The average k(aa) of ribosomal proteins was also estimated to be 0.2 0.3 pauling from the N-terminal amino acid sequences of seventeen 30s ribosomal proteins of Bacillus stearothermopbilus and Eschericbia coli . Thus, the evolutionary rates of these ribosomal components studied here are similar to each other; they considerably slower than that of the known cellular proteins . Most, if not all, of the replacements in ribosomal proteins occurred between amino acids of a chemically similar nature. Arch Microbiol, 1977 May 13, 113(1-2), 23 - 31 {Studies on the thiamine transport system in Bacillus cereus (author's transl)}; Toburen-Bots I et al.; The thiamine transport system in Bacillus cereus exhibits rhythmical changes of resorption- and excretion-phases lasting 1-2 h . These main phases are subdivided in shorter ones with an average duration of 45 s . The velocity of the thiamine uptake is influenced by pH, temperature, age of cells, energy and substrate supply and thiamine concentration of the medium . The Michaelis-Menten-Kinetic can be used to describe the uptake: Km = 1.98 x 10(-8) M; Vmax = 1.19 x 10(-6) mol/g dry weight x min . The rate is enhanced by K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+, and inhibited by Pyrithiamin, EDTA, H+-ions, proton donors and proton acceptors; OH(-)-ions cause a change in the direction of transport . A theoretical explanation can be given by assuming a coupling of the thiamine permeation with proton movements in the membrane. Vet Pathol, 1977 May, 14(3), 229 - 35 Intestinal Tyzzer's disease and spirochetosis in a guinea pig; McLeod CG et al.; Tyzzer's disease (bacillus pilirformis infection) was diagnosed in young guinea pig killed because of diarrhea and poor condition . There was necrosis and inflammation of the colon, cecum and ileum . Typical B . piliformis were in intestinal epithelial cells . Spirochetes were in large numbers in intestinal crypts and were often adjacent to the intracellular B . piliformis . Extracellular B . piliformis occasionally were surrounded by spirochetes. Antibiotiki, 1977 May, 22(5), 411 - 3 {Stability of the amidine analogs of penicillin and deacetoxycephalosporin to the penicillinase of Bacillus licheniformis 749/c}; Veinberg GA et al.; Fermentative hydrolysis of 3 derivatives of 6-beta-amidinopenicillanic acid and I derivative of 7-beta-amidinodeacetoxycephalosporanic acid by penicillinase produced by Bacillus licheniformis 749/c was studied . It was found that 6-beta-{(hexahydro-IH-azepin-I-yl) methyleneamino} penicillanic acid, 6-beta-(N1 N-dimethylformamidino-N1) penicillanic acid and 6-beta {(morpholin-I-yl) methylenemino} penicillanic acid were hydrolyzed by the enzyme 50, 70, and 160 times respectively slower than benzylpenicillin . 7-beta-{(Hexahydro-IH-azepin-I-yl)' methylenemino} deacetoxycephalosporanic acid proved to be at least 10 times more stable to the effect of penicillinase than methicillin . In addition unlike the amidine analogues of penicillin the above compound had an inhibitory effect on penicillinase produced by Bacillus licheniformis 749/c. J Protozool, 1977 May, 24(2), 335 - 40 Reduced pyridine nucleotide oxidases of Eugena gracilis var . bacillaris; Mohanty MK et al.; Cell-free extracts of a streptomycin-bleached strain of Euglena gracilis var . bacillaris have been examined for enzyme systems primarily responsible for the oxidation of reduced pyridine nucelotides . NADH lipoyl dehydrogenase, NADH and NADPH oxidase, NADH and NADPH diaphorase, and NADH and NADPH cytochrome c reductase have been demonstrated . The NADPH-linked enzymes had lower activity rates and were less sensitive to N-ethyl maleimide and p-hydroxymercuribenzoate than their NADH-linked counterparts . NADH cytochrome c reductase was the most sensitive to antimycin A . Michaelis-Menten constants (Km) determined were as follows: NADH diaphorase, 350 muM; NADPH oxidase 150 muM ; NADH lipoyl dehydrogenase, 0.35 muM . Enzyme activities after storage at -5 C indicate that the diaphorases are less labile than the other tested enzymes, and the differential activities of the NADH and NADPH linked enzymes suggest that functionally they may have different roles. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1977 May, 33(5), 1105 - 11 Study of inhibition of outgrowth in Bacillus cereus T by ethyl picolinate; Pandey NK et al.; The effects of ethyl picolinate on germination, outgrowth, and sporulation of Bacillus cereus T were studied in a synthetic medium containing glucose . Ethyl picolinate specifically inhibited at two stages, outgrowth and sporulation . The initiation of germination and cell division was not affected . The inhibition of outgrowth by ethyl picolinate could be reversed by enrichment of inoculum with aspartic acid, asparagine, lysine, phenylalanine, and tyrosine among the amino acids and by oxalacetate . Nicotinic acid and nicotinamide also possessed this ability . Ethyl picolinate failed to block outgrowth when added to cultures incubated for a short time after inoculation . Enrichment of the medium with lysine plus zinc sulfate stimulated sporulation in the presence of ethyl picolinate to a significance degree. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1977 May, 74(5), 1821 - 5 Rapid transmembrane movement of newly synthesized phospholipids during membrane assembly; Rothman JE et al.; The transbilayer distribution of phospholipids in Bacillus megaterium is asymmetrical, with twice as much phosphatidylethanolamine internally as externally (Rothaman, J . E . & Kennedy, E . P . (1977) J . Mol . Biol . 110,603-618) . We now report that the biosynthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine is also asymmetrical . Newly synthesized phosphatidylethanolamine was found first on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane of pulse-labeled cells and later was redistributed until the specific radioactivity of the outer face became equal to that of the inner face of the bilayer . The rate of transmembrane movement is at least 30,000 times faster than the rate of spontaneous diffusion (flip-flop) of phosphatidylethanolamine across artificial phospholipid bilayers, indicating that transmembrane movement must be a facilitated process in living cells, perhaps involving membrane proteins. Medicine (Baltimore), 1977 May, 56(3), 241 - 54 Gram-negative bacillary pneumonia in the compromised host; Valdivieso M et al.; The clinical and radiological characteristics of 217 consecutive episodes of gram-negative bacillary pneumonia occurring in 189 adult cancer patients between November 1968 and December 1974 were analyzed . The majority of patients had acute leukemia (54%) . Fever larger than or equal to 101 degrees F was the single most common symptom and sign of the presence of infection (90%) . Next in frequency were crepitant rales (65%), cough (41%), dyspnea (19%) and chest pain (18%) . Radiographic evidence of pneumonia was found in 83% of cases and it consisted mainly of alveolar infiltrates involving both lung fields and predominantly the bases . Up to one-third of the patients had normal chestx-ray examinations at the onset of infection, though they subsequently became abnormal in 42% of them . The majority of patients (81%) whose initial chest x-rays did not reveal the presence of pneumonia were neutropenic (less than 1000 circumlating neutrophils/mm3) . Klebsiella sp . and Pseudomonas sp . were the most common infecting organisms . The overall cure rate was 61%; 70% for Klebsiella sp . infections and 64% for Pseudomonas sp . infections . Pulmonary abscesses occurred in 14% of the cases . Cures were related to the antibiotic sensitivity of the infecting organisms and to the number of circulating neutrophils during the period of infection . Best results were obtained with the administration of gentamicin, the newer aminoglycoside antibiotic sisomicin, tobramycin and amikacin, or the combination of gentamicin with carbenicillin or with cephalosporins . Early and vigorous therapy of gram-negative bacillary pneumonia with appropriate antibiotics has improved the prognosis of this infection at our institution. Infect Immun, 1977 May, 16(2), 542 - 6 Common antigen of Mycobacterium leprae, M . lepraemurium, M . avium, and M . fortuitum in comparative studies using two different types of antisera; Kronvall G et al.; No . 21 mycobacterial antigens of Mycobacterium lepraemurium, M . avium, M . fortuitum, and M . leprae were compared in crossed immunoelectrophoresis using two different antibody sources, a serum pool from lepromatous leprosy patients (LSII) and a rabbit anti-M . smegmatis antiserum . M . lepraemurium, like M . avium, was found to contain the 21 A and 21 C determinants . M . fortuitum contained in addition a new type of determinant, 21 D.M . leprae antigen no . 21 carried the A as well as the B dertminants, the latter found so far only in the leprosy bacillus . The separate taxonomic position of M . leprae, suggested by earlier studies of the no . 21 antigen, is further supported by the present results, which also demonstrate the potential use of submolecular heterogeneity for such investigations. J Bacteriol, 1977 May, 130(2), 869 - 76 Isolation and characterization of a polynucleotide phosphorylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens; Erickson RJ et al.; Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BaM-2 produces large amounts of extracellular enzymes, and the synthesis of these proteins appears to be dependent upon abnormal ribonucleic acid metabolism . A polynucleotide phosphorylase (nucleoside diphosphate:polynucleotide nucleotidyl transferase) was identified, purified, and characterized from this strain . The purification scheme involved cell disruption, phase partitioning, differential (NH4)2SO4 solubilities, agarose gel filtration, and diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex chromatography . The purified enzyme demonstrated the reactions characteristic of polynucleotide phosphorylase: polymerization, phosphorolysis, and inorganic phosphate exchange with the beta-phosphate of a nucleotide diphosphate . The enzyme was apparently primer independent and required a divalent cation . The reactions for the synthesis of the homopolyribonucleotides, (A)n and (G)n, were optimized with respect to pH and divalent cation concentration . The enzyme is sensitive to inhibition by phosphate ion and heparin and is partially inhibited by rifamycin SV and synthetic polynucleotides. Mikrobiologiia, 1977 May-Jun, 46(3), 580 - 2 {Chemical composition of cells of a chemostatic culture of Bacillus megaterium during exposure to an alkaline pH value}; Sakharova ZV; The culture of Bacillus megaterium was grown under chemostat conditions at a rate of 0.2, 0.4 and 0.7 hr-1, the growth being limited by a low content of citrate, and at alkaline pH values . Critical pH values were obtained for each growth rate: 9.6, 9.2 and 7.6, respectively . The content of protein decreased at alkaline pH, while the synthesis of total lipids, poly-beta-hydroxybutric acid and phospholipids was stimulated . Some changes were found in the ratio between polyphosphates of high molecular weight. J Biochem (Tokyo), 1977 May, 81(5), 1375 - 81 Two omega-amino acid transaminases from Bacillus cereus; Nakano Y et al.; Bacillus cereus strain K-22 produced two distinct omega-amino acid transaminases, one catalyzing the transamination between beta-alanine and pyruvic acid and the other that between gamma-aminobutyric acid and alpha-ketoglutaric aic . The two enzymes were partially purified and separated from each other by various chromatographies . beta-Alanine:pyruvic acid transaminase and gamma-aminobutyric acid:alpha-ketoglutaric acid transaminase were induced by the addition of beta-alanine and gamma-aminobutyric acid, respectively, to the growth medium . beta-Alanine transaminase showed an optimum pH of 10.0 and optimum temperature of 35 degrees C, and its Km values for beta-alanine and pyruvic acid were both 1.1 mM . gamma-Aminobutyric acid, epsilon-aminocaproic acid, 2-aminoethylphosphonic acid, and propylamine showed about 30-40% of the activity of beta-alanine as amino donors, and oxalacetic acid was as good an amino acceptor as pyruvic acid . The optimum pH and temperature of gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase were 9.0 and 50 degrees C, respectively, and its Km value for gamma-aminobutyric acid was 2.8 mM, while that for alpha-ketoglutaric acid was 2.3 mM . gamma-Aminobutyric acid and delta-aminovaleric acid were good amino donors but other omega-amino acids were virtually inactive with gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase; alpha-ketoglutaric acid, and to a lesser extent glyoxylic acid, were active amino acceptors . Sulfhydryl reagents specifically activated gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase. J Biochem (Tokyo), 1977 May, 81(5), 1367 - 73 Dihydrodipicolinate reductases from Bacillus cereus and Bacillus megaterium; Kimura K et al.; Dyhydrodipicolinate reductases were purified 100-fold from crude extracts of B . cereus and B . megaterium and their properties were compared with those of the reductase from B . subtilis . The molecular weights of the reductases of B . cereus and B . megaterium were fount to be 155,000 and 150,000, respectively . These reductases were shown to be free of flavin, unlike the B . subtilis enzyme, which contains flavin . Both NADPH and NADH acted as coenzymes for these two reductases . NADPH being three or four times more effective than NADH . The Km values for NADPH and dihydrodipicolinate were 8 micrometer and 62 micrometer, respectively, with B . cereus reductase, and 13 micrometer and 59 micrometer with B . megaterium reductase . The pH optima of the enzymes from B . cereus and B . megaterium were pH 7.4 and 7.2, respectively . The reductases were inhibited by dipicolinate noncompetitively with respect to dihydrodipicolinate and the Ki values were 85 micrometer and 140 micrometer, respectively . Lysine and diaminopimelate were not inhibitory . The properties of the reductases from B . cereus and B . megaterium were similar, but they differed considerably from those of the B . subtilis enzyme . However, all three Bacillus reductases were markedly inhibited by dipicolinate, unlike the enzyme from E . coli. Biokhimiia, 1977 May, 42(5), 919 - 25 {Purification of phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus by chromatography on aminoalkylpolysaccharide adsorbents}; Gerasimene GB et al.; Purification of phospholipase C from Bac . cereus by chromatography on aminoalkylpolysaccharide adsorbents is described . The dependence of the degree of enzyme purification on the amount of ligant and effect of pH and buffer systems on the adsorption-desorption of phospholipase have been studied . At a pH below 9.0 phospholipase C is not retained by the adsorbents and is purified 4-5-fold and up to 23-fold, when aminoalkyl-Sepharose and hexamethylenediamine Sephadex are used respectively . With an increase in the pH value up to 10.0, the enzyme is bound by the adsorbent and is eluted with a 40-90% yield of activity and 7-10-fold purification . The resulting phospholipase C is highly purified and electrophoretically homogeneous . A mechanism of the enzyme-adsorbent interaction is discussed. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1977 Apr 26, 487(1), 163 - 74 Membrane lipid metabolism of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-induced rabbit alveolar macrophages; Wang P et al.; We examined the uptake of radiolabeled lysophospholipids and oleic acid by Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-induced rabbit alveolar macrophages either in the presence or absence of challenge particles . There was no difference in the uptake and metabolism of lysophospholipids by control or challenged cells for incubation periods up to 5 h . When incubated with {3H}oleic acid, challenged cells consistently exhibited a slightly greater uptake of radioactivity . Extraction of the whole cells revealed that the greater amount of radioactivity found in the challenged cells primarily was in triacylglycerol . There was no marked difference in the amount of radioactivity associated with the phospholipids in the whole cell extracts from control and challenged cells . When the macrophages were pre-labeled for 15 min with {3H}oleic acid and then reincubated in fresh medium in the presence or absence of autoclaved Escherichia coli B, more radioactivity was retained by the challenged cells, again in the form of triacylglycerol . Only in isolated plasma membrane fractions did we observe a difference in the amount of radioactivity associated with phospholipids from control and challenged cells . Plasma membranes isolated from Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-induced rabbit alveolar macrophages that had been incubated for 6 h with {3}oleic acid in the presence of E . coli B contained significantly higher level of radioactivity in all lipids than plasma membranes from control cells . Since the greatest and the most consistent difference between control and challenged cells is associated with the triacylglycerol molecule, it is postulated that this molecule may serve as a precursor in the synthesis of alveolar macrophage phospholipids, both by the reacylation pathway and the de novo pathway . It is possible that the high level of radiolabeled phospholipid found in the plasma membrane arose via the de novo pathway following the cleavage of an acyl group as we have found cytidine diphosphocholine phosphotransferase in the plasma membrane fraction (Wang, P., DeChatelet, L.R., and Waite, M . (1977) Biochim . Biophys . Acta 450, 311--321). Biochemistry, 1977 Apr 5, 16(7), 1355 - 60 Isolation and identification of cytokinins from Euglena gracilis transfer ribonucleic acid; Swaminathan S et al.; Three ribonucleosides responsible for cytokinin activity in Euglena gracilis var Bacillaris tRNA have been isolated and identified as 6-(3-methyl-2-butenylamino)-9-beta-D-ribofuranosylpurine, 6-(4-hydroxy-3-methyl-cis-2-butenylamino)-9-beta-D-ribofuranosylpurine, and 6-(4-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-butenylamino)-2-methylthio-9-beta-D-ribofuranosylpurine . The structures of these compounds were assigned on the basis of their chromatographic properties and ultraviolet and mass spectra which were identical with those of the corresponding synthetic compounds . The elution profiles of cytokinin bioassay activity and of 35S radioactivity suggest the presence of a trace amount of 6-(3-methyl-2-butenylamino)-2-methylthio-9-beta-D-ribofuranosylpurine. J Biochem (Tokyo), 1977 Apr, 81(4), 813 - 22 Carbohydrate metabolism in Bacillus brevis ATCC 9999; Asatani M et al.; Bacillus brevis ATCC 9999, which produces gramicidin S, was found to be unable to ferment various carbohydrates such as glucose, galactose, mannose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, and mannitol . This defect in carbohydrate utilization was attributed to the lack of the transport system(s) for various carbohydrates . This organism can take up only fructose and glycerol and form acids . The presence in this organism of the phosphoenolpyruvate: sugar phosphotransferase system for fructose, but not glycerol, as well as kinases for fructose and glycerol was demonstrated. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1977 Apr, 33(4), 878 - 80 Bioassay for homogeneous parasporal crystal of Bacillus thuringiensis using the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta; Schesser JH et al.; A method for determining the toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp . kurstaki parasporal crystal to the tabocco hornworm, Manduca sexta, is described . The use of both mortality and weight loss data have provided a highly sensitive and reproducible bioassay that can be used to compare relative toxicities of crystals from other subspecies as well as toxic components contained therein. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1977 Apr, 33(4), 865 - 70 Pyrolysis gas-liquid chromatography of the genus Bacillus: effect of growth media on pyrochromatogram reproducibility; Oxborrow GS et al.; Pyrolysis gas-liquid chromatography was performed on dried Bacillus microorganisms to evaluate the effects of growth media . Six cultures of Bacillus and six lot numbers of Trypticase soy agar (BBL) were used to test the hypothesis that a microorganism grown on various lot numbers of the same chromatogram . Also tested was the effect of three different media on chromatogram reproduction using the same six cultures . Results show little or no differences observed between the chromatograms of the individual Bacillus spp . grown on the six lot numbers of Trypticase soy agar . When chromatograms of the three different media were compared, several differences were observed, particularly in the areas most characteristic of individual species . Pryolysis gas-liquid chromatography can be a useful tool for the characterization or identification of the genus Bacillus if the chromatographic and cultural conditions are maintained. Lab Anim, 1977 Apr, 11(2), 75 - 8 Studies on Tyzzer's disease: isolation and propagation of Bacillus piliformia; Fries AS; Mice from a colony with subclinical Tyzzer's disease were treated with prednisolone in order to activate a Bacillus piliformis infection . From the livers of these mice the organism was isolated and serially passaged in embryonated eggs . It resisted heating at 75 degrees C for 20 minutes and was still infective after storage at -80 degree C for 24 days, but not for 52 days or more . Infectively was maintained for more than a year by storing infectious liver tissue at -190 degrees C . B . piliformis was also isolated from the liver of a mouse with naturally-occurring Tyzzer's disease and maintained for more than 300 passages . Mice inoculated with different egg passages developed fatal Tyzzer's disease and B . piliformis was reisolated from their livers. J Wildl Dis, 1977 Apr, 13(2), 114 - 6 Tyzzer's disease in wild-trapped muskrats in British Columbia; Chalmers GA et al.; A diagnosis of Tyzzer's disease (Bacillus piliformis infection) was made in a group of recently-trapped muskrats (Ondatra zibethica) . The major lesions consisted of enteritis and focal necrosis of the liver, with organisms resembling B . piliformis in hepatocytes on the periphery of these foci . The outbreak was associated with recent capture, housing, and the use of sulfaquinoxaline-medicated feed. J Virol, 1977 Apr, 22(1), 194 - 202 Bacteriophage conversion of spore-negative mutants to spore-positive in Bacillus pumilus; Bramucci MG et al.; A pseudolysogenic phage, PMB1, was isolated from soil on the basis of its ability to increase the sporulation frequency of the oligosporogenic Bacillus pumilus strain NRS 576 (sporulation frequency, less than 1%) . Several spore-negative mutants (sporulation frequency, less than 10-8) derived from strain NRS 576, which were converted to spore positive by infection with PMB1, were subsequently identified . PMB1 repeatedly grown on a given spore-negative mutant (e.g., GW2) converted GW2 cells to spore positive . Each plaque-forming unit initiated the conversion of a spore-positive clone in semisolid agar overlays . GW2 cells remained spore positive as long as they maintained PMB1 . Return of PMB1-converted cells to the orginal spore-negative phenotype correlated with loss of PMB1 . In liquid media, PMB1 infection increased the sporulation frequency of mutant GW2 over 106-fold . More than half of the spore-negative mutants we isolated from strain NRS 576 were converted to spore positive by PMB1 infection . PMB1-induced spores of the spore-negative mutant GW2 were somewhat more heat sensitive than uninfected or PMB1-infected spores of the spore positive parent of GW2 . PMB1-induced spores of GW2 do not differ from wild-type spores in morphology by phase-contrast microscopy, dipicolinic acid content, or rate of sedimentation through Renografin gradients. J Bacteriol, 1977 Apr, 130(1), 375 - 83 Characterization of the entomocidal parasporal crystal of Bacillus thuringiensis; Bulla LA Jr et al.; The parasporal crystalline protoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis contains a single glycoprotein subunit that has a molecular weight of approximately 1.2 X 10(5) . The carbohydrate consists of glucose (3.8%) and mannose (1.8%) . At alkaline pH, the proendotoxin is apparently solubilized and activated by an autolytic mechanism involving an inherent sulfhydryl protease that renders the protoxin insecticidal . Activation generates protons, degraded polypeptides, sulfhydryl group reactivity, proteolytic activity, and insect toxicity . Chemical modification of the sulfhydryl groups inhibits the proteolytic and insecticidal activities, suggesting that cysteine residues may be present in the active site of the protein. Am J Clin Nutr, 1977 Apr, 30(4), 592 - 8 Weight fluctuations after immunization in a rural preschool child community; Kielmann AA; After inoculations with diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DPT), smallpox Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), polio, and DPT + polio vaccine preparations, weight-for-age fluctuations were monitored in over 470 rural preschool children and compared to those in nonvaccinated control children matched for age, weight-for-age, season and year of immunization, and village affiliation . It was found that children immunized with live agents (BCG, smallpox, polio, DPT + polio) who also were below 6 months of age suffered statistically significant reductions in their weight-for-age compared to matched nonimmunized controls . Children inoculated with polio or smallpox who also were below 80% of the Harvard weight-for-age median experienced a larger decrease in their nutritional levels than those above, with correction for age distribution . It is suggested that in the developing world immunizations with live agents to children below 6 months of age should be given only if the infectious illness in which immunization is provided poses a real threat to health, or if vaccination coverage of children above 6 months of age would subsequently be difficult to achieve. J Biochem (Tokyo), 1977 Apr, 81(4), 843 - 50 Production of copper coproporphyrin III by Bacillus cereus . II . Regulation of the biosynthesis of coproporphyrin III and its copper complex by oxygen and heavy metal ions; Yamada-Ankei T et al.; The effects of oxygen and heavy metal ions on the production of copper coproporphyrin III were studied in Bacillus cereus strain 2 . The formation of copper coproporphyrin III was found to be maximum when the cells were cultivated in G-medium at a low level of oxygen supply, but it was suppressed at extremely low oxygen supply levels . When the cells were cultured in metal-free G-medium, neither metal-coproporphyrin III nor coproporphyrin III was formed . In the presence of copper in the medium (400-100 micrometers), the formation of coproporphyrin III copper salt was maximum, but the addition of various heavy metal ions other than copper to the copper-free medium resulted in the formation of neither coproporphyrin III nor its metal chelates . Copper ions appear to be specifically required for coproporphyrin III formation. J Biochem (Tokyo), 1977 Apr, 81(4), 835 - 42 Production of copper coproporphyrin III by Bacillus cereus . I . Purification and identification of copper coproporphyrin III; Yamada-Ankei T et al.; Bacillus cereus strains 2 and T did not form spores and accumulated a large amount of purple pigment inside the cells, when cultured in a yeast extract-ammonium salt medium with excess glucose . The pigment was extracted and crystallized as the ethyl ester . It was identified as copper coproporphyrin III. J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1977 Apr, 30(4), 283 - 8 Microbial production of vitamin B12 antimetabolites . III Compound 102804 from Bacillus cereus; Kageyama M et al.; A basic compound with empirical formula C12H16N2O5 was isolated from Bacillus cereus 102804 fermentations of a soybean meal-glucose medium . The inhibitory activity of compound 102804 on growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria growing in a chemically defined medium was reversed by vitamin B12, by L-methionine, and by D-methionine . It has no inhibitory activity for Escherichia coli (Davis 113-3) when grown in media containing L-methionine . The biosynthesis of 102804 coincides with the sporulation of the B . cereus, and the compound is not produced in the absence of sporulation. J Bacteriol, 1977 Apr, 130(1), 242 - 8 Role of glutamate in the sporogenesis of Bacillus cereus; Charba JF et al.; Bacillus cereus T, sporulating in a chemically defined medium under optimum conditions, requires substrate quantities of glutamate during the first 4 h of sporogenesis . Seventy percent of the glutamate utilized was catabolized to CO2 during this period, with the remaining glutamate carbon assimilated into various spore constituents, principally protein and nucleic acid . The importance of glutamate as the primary source of reducing potential and energy for early stages of spore formation was investigated . Although the relative efficiency at which tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates substituted for glutamate was suggestive of oxidation via the tricarboxylic acid cycle, only partial inhibition of glutamate oxidation by fluoroacetate was observed. J Bacteriol, 1977 Apr, 130(1), 173 - 80 Specificity of siderophore receptors in membrane vesicles of Bacillus megaterium; Aswell JE et al.; Membrane vesicles of Bacillus megaterium strains SK11 and Ard1 bound the ferrischizokinen and ferriferrioxamine B siderhores (iron transport cofactors) . An approximately equimolar uptake of both labels of {3H, 59Fe}ferrischizokinen indicated binding of the intact chelate . Binding reached equilibrium in 2 to 5 min, was temperature independent, and was unaltered by the addition of several energy sources . A 91% dissociation of bound {Fe}ferrischizokinen was achieved in 60 s by the addition of excess ferrischizokinen . Ferriaerobactin, a siderophore which is structurally related to ferrischizokinen, caused no detectable release of bound {59Fe}ferrischizokinen . Of several other ferrigydroxamates tested, only ferriferrichrome A achieved the release (11%) of {Fe}ferrischizokinen . Rapid dissociation (92%) of bound {59Fe}ferriferrioxamine B by the addition of ferriferrioxamine B was observed, and a 67% release of {59Fe}ferriferrioxamine B was caused by ferriA2265, its structural relative . Ferrischizokinen, ferriferrichrome A, and ferrirhodotorulic acid produced a 6, 25, and 29% dissociation, respectively, of {59Fe}ferriferrioxamine B; ferriaerobactin caused no dissociation . {59Fe}ferriaerobactin was bound by the membranes, but its dissociation was not effected by unlabeled ferriaerobactin, suggesting no specific receptors for this chelate . The respective binding affinity constants and maximal binding capacities of membrane vesicles of strain SK11 were 2 x 10(7) M-1 and 280 pmol per mg of protein for ferrischizokinen and 7 x 10(7) M-1 and 37 pmol per mg of protein for ferriferrioxamine B . These values in strain Ard1 were, respectively, 1.4 x 10(7) M-1 and 186 pmol per mg of protein for ferrischizokinen and 11 x 10(7) M-1 and 23 pmol per mg of protein for ferriferrioxamine B . Separate, specific binding sites (receptors) for ferrischizokinen and ferriferrioxamine B exist on the vesicles . The ferrischizokinen receptors have a lower affinity but a higher binding capacity (eightfold) than that shown by the ferriferrioxamine B receptor . These receptors may be components of independent transport systems. Ann Intern Med, 1977 Apr, 86(4), 456 - 71 Gram-negative rod bacteremia: microbiologic, immunologic, and therapeutic considerations; Young LS et al.; During the last 2 decades, Gram-negative rod bacteremia has become the leading infectious disease problem in American hospitals . With improvements in conventional microbiologic techniques, bacteremic infection can be diagnosed reliably within 3 days using only three sets of cultures . Clinical management still requires aggressive, presumptive use of antimicrobials in patients with the most adverse host factors . In the latter group, the use of combinations of antibiotics that interact synergistically in vitro has improved clinical results . In bacteremia due to anaerobes, particularly Bacteroides species, drainage of infected sites is probably more important than specific drug therapy . Various host defects have been associated with Gram-negative bacteremia; the most common in the nonleukopenic patient is impaired opsonization . The evidence that endotoxins are involved in the pathophysiology of Gram-negative bacillemia is inferential . Nevertheless, both clinical and experimental evidence suggest that active or passive immunization with endotoxin components or antigens similar to Gram-negative polysaccharides may be protective. Am Rev Respir Dis, 1977 Apr, 115(4), 617 - 23 Mycobacterial antigens relating to experimental pulmonary cavity formation; Maeda H et al.; Lipid-protein mixtures were obtained from 2 strains of mycobacteria, and their cavity-forming activities were examined in rabbit lungs . The mixtures were separated into lipid and protein fractions by gel filtration on Sephadex LH-20 column . Neither lipid nor protein fraction alone had cavity-forming activity; however, restoration of the cavity-forming activity was observed by recombining the fractions . The activity was also reconstructed by combining the protein fraction with cell walls of bacille Calmette-Guerin . The protein fraction from Mycobacterium phlei was further separated into 2 fragments . The larger molecular fragment with a molecular weight of 10,000 daltons consisted of 60% protein and 40% carbohydrate and had cavity-forming activity in combination with the cell walls . The roles of lipid and protein of mycobacteria in cavity formation are discussed. Pathol Biol (Paris), 1977 Apr, 25(4), 245 - 6 {Report of a case of subcutaneous abscess due to Eikenella corrodens in a splenectomized patient (author's transl)}; Peloux Y et al.; A case of subcutaneous abscess of the chest-wall due to Eikenella corrodens is reported in a patient recently splenectomized . This bacillus was grown in pure culture . Processing specimens and identification methods of this little Gram-negative bacillus are described . Eikenella corrodens is a commensal frequently encountered in mucous membrane surfaces . It is likely that this microorganism may be an "opportunist" pathogen. Infect Immun, 1977 Apr, 16(1), 213 - 7 Protective role of complement in experimental Escherichia coli endocarditis; Durack DT et al.; Fourteen strains of Escherichia coli were tested for ability to cause infective endocarditis in rabbits prepared by prior placement of an intracardiac catheter . Strains that were resistant to the bactericidal action of serum caused E . coli endocarditis in 91.4% of rabbits, whereas serum-sensitive strains usually failed to cause persisting infection (11.3% infected, P less than 0.001) . Although serum-sensitive E . coli lodged on heart valves within 1 h after intravenous injection, they survived less than 24 h in most normal rabbits . In contrast to normals, all five C6-deficient rabbits injected with a serum-sensitive strain of E . coli developed infective endocarditis (P less than 0.005) . No correlation was found between the presence of K1 antigen and the incidence of experimental E . coli endocarditis . Thus, the ability of strains of E . coli to establish persisting endocardial infection in rabbits appears to be directly associated with resistance to the complement-mediated serum bactericidal system . These findings may explain in part the rarity of gram-negative bacillary endocarditis in patients; they also indicate that in certain special circumstances the serum bactericidal system can play a decisive role in host defense. Lab Anim, 1977 Apr, 11(2), 69 - 73 Studies on Tyzzer's disease: application of immunofluorescence for detection of Bacillus piliformis and for demonstration and determination of antibodies to it in sera from mice and rabbits; Fries AS; Bacillus piliformis antigens were demonstrated in smear preparations from infected mouse livers by direct immunofluorescence technique . Mouse serum antibodies against B . piliformis were demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence technique . The test was employed quantitatively both on sera from experimentally infected mice and on sera from clinically healthy mice from colonies infected with B . piliformis, and could be used for the quantitative demonstration of antibodies in sera from a stock of rabbits with Tyzzer's disease . It was found very useful for the detection of subclinical infection. Acta Hepatogastroenterol (Stuttg), 1977 Apr, 24(2), 102 - 5 Clearance of viable Calmette-Guèrin bacillus by the in vitro isolated and perfused rat liver; Ruggiero G et al.; Liver efficiency in clearing circulating BCG (Clamette-Guerin bacillus) was studied using the isolated rat liver . Bacteria were added to the perfusate at a concentration of 1 X 10(6) cells/ml, and the medium was then sampled at subsequent intervals for 6 hours in 2 perfusions and for 1 hour in 7 perfusions . At the end of all perfusions, liver and bile samples were obtained and used for viable bacterial counts . For each perfusion the bactericidal activity which might have been exerted by serum present in the perfusate was also investigated . About 95% of BCG disappeared from the perfusate after 6 hours of perfusions, and 90% after 1 hour . Recovery of viable bacteria in the liver at 60 minutes averaged 80% of the inoculum . Recovery in bile was negligible . Control experiments indicated that extrahepatic factors in possible reduction of bacterial concentration in the perfusate did not interfere with hepatic removal, per se. Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb, 1977 Apr, 115(2), 249 - 52 {Bone tuberculosis of the bovine type after BCG-vaccination (author's transl)}; Torklus D; It is reported about the BCG-osteomyelitis in early childhood . A long intervall between BCG-vaccination and the onset of clinical symptoms, the good general condition of the patient, nearly unrestricted joint function, often negative bacteriological culture for the tubercle bacillus and negative guinea-pig test are characteristics . Even with extensive lesions of the epiphysis and metaphysis of the long bone and formation of an abscess, the course of the disease seems to be fairly benign . Operation is recommended for getting biopsy material for histological proof of the tuberculous process and for quicker healing. J Lab Clin Med, 1977 Apr, 89(4), 792 - 803 Tissue factor generation by human mononuclear cells: effects of endotoxin and dissociation of tissue factor generation from mitogenic response; Rickles FR et al.; The effects of the presence of endotoxin in a mononuclear cell culture system have been assessed . Endotoxin was shown to be mitogenic for human peripheral blood lymphocytes and capable of stimulating the generation of tissue factor . Concentrations of endotoxin, found to contaminate many commercial mitogens and antigens, activated mononuclear cells in a time-dependent manner . Generation of tissue factor was detected in cultures harvested from 2 to 72 hours following stimulation with endotoxin . Dose-response curves relating concentrations of endotoxin to mononuclear cell stimulation were determined; as little as 0.001 microng/ml . of E . coli endotoxin was capable of stimulating the generation of tissue factor in the cell cultures . The mitogenic effect of endotoxin was modest, however, and appeared to be unrelated to the ability of endotoxin to active tissue factor . Inhibition of DNA synthesis in the cell cultures by cytosine arabinoside or nonlethal irradiation failed to impair the generation of tissue factor . Endotoxin contamination of various reagents used in cell culture was evaluated with the Limulus assay, which detected as little as 1 X 10(-4) microng/ml . of endotoxin . Endotoxin was detected in preparations of phytohemagglutinin, purified protein derivative of the tubercle bacillus, mumps vaccine, tetanus toxoid, concanavalin A, and pokeweed mitogen . Because of the broad implications of contamination by endotoxin of various reagents, we assessed the specificity of the Limulus assay for the detection of endotoxin in the lectin, concanavalin A, and determined that the reaction was specific for endotoxin . Contamination by endotoxin of mononuclear cell culture systems should be considered as a possible factor in the production of various biological effects attributed to some commonly used mitogens and antigens. Cancer Res, 1977 Apr, 37(4), 1191 - 6 Effects of methanol extraction residue of Bacillus calmette-Guérin in humans; Perloff M et al.; Forty patients with histologically confirmed neoplastic diseases were treated with the methanol extraction residue of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (MER) . Thirty-six received concomitant chemotherapy . MER was initially given intradermally twice a month, 1 week apart, at a dose of 200 mug into each of five sites draining different lymph node-bearing areas on the anterior body surface . Thirty-seven patients developed local ulcerations at least 0.5 cm in diameter at MER injection sites . Typical lesion evolution was characterized by erythema and induration followed by vesicle formation and central necrosis . Either granulation tissue or a thick nonulcerated eschar preceded healing, leaving a linear, flat scar . Systemic toxicity consisted of malaise, fever, and myalgias on the day of MER administration . No hematological or biochemical changes directly attributable to MER were observed . Dose titrations in decreasing 10-fold dilutions in a linear array in a single anatomical region were carried out on 35 occasions . All patients but three developed at least a 5-mm induration to the 1-mug dose within 2 weeks of titration . Dose reductions were necessary in 19 instances . The minimal dose that produced a 1-cm inflammatory lesion with central necrosis was 0.01 mug . Serial biopsies were performed . These indicated a time-related series of changes from a nonspecific inflammatory lesion to an acute inflammatory response with microabscesses, followed by noncaseating granulomata and ultimately fibrosis . MER is a quantifiable nonviable immunostimulant that obeys dose-response relationships in its cutaneous lesions. J Comp Neurol, 1977 Apr 1, 172(3), 381 - 407 Scanning electron microscopy of the subarachnoid space in the dog . V . Macrophages challenged by bacillus Calmette-Guerin; Merchant RE et al.; Mongrel dogs were anesthetized intraperitoneally with pentobarbitol . One cc of cerebrospinal fluid was drawn through a needle inserted into the cisterna magna and mixed with 1 cc (4-9 million viable BCG organisms) of freeze-dried bacillus Calmette-Guerin . One minute later this mixture was injected by the same needle into the cisterna magna . At 1 and 12 days postinjection, experimental animals were perfused with buffered aldehydes . Samples of the leptomeninges were post-fixed in OsO4 and routinely prepared for scanning and transmission electron microscopy . Leptomeningeal samples of untreated, control animals were similarly prepared . Scanning and transmission microscopy confirm that free cells resting on the subarachnoid linings and within the subpial connective tissue space of control animals possess the morphology of macrophages (Malloy and Low, '76) . Viable BCG in the subarachnoid space produces a 3-fold increase in the free cell population of the leptomeninges in 24 hours and a 10-fold increase in 12 days . These cells tend to form associations varying from loose aggregates to tight clusters . Approximately 80% of these free cells express macrophage morphology, with abundant plasma-lemmal microappendages and cytoplasmic vacuoles . Transmission electron microscopy of the free cell population of BCG-stimulated animals reveals at least two other members of the leukocyte series on the leptomeningeal linings. Rev Ig Bacteriol Virusol Parazitol Epidemiol Pneumoftiziol Bacteriol Virusol Parazitol Epidemiol, 1977 Apr-Jun, 22(2), 87 - 92 {Research on anti-diphtheria immunization in the city of Bucharest}; Spinu I et al.; Biological, sero-epidemiological and bacteriological investigations, carried out in the town of Bucharest for evaluating the present diphtheria vaccination programme showed: -- high anatoxin titers, exceeding the titer considered as protective, in the vaccinates ; -- a concentration of the level of the titers of 1--4 AU/ml, in over 62% of the subjects, which means that the protective titer was exceeded 33 to lucru: -- negative Schick reaction, in the mean 95.06%, in the subjects examined during the 1969--1975 period; -- isolation of the Bacillus diphtheriae in a proportion of 0.08%, none of the toxigenic gravis type . The authors, correlating these data, consider the present vaccination calendar too loaded both as number of inoculations and as antigen concentration per revaccination dose, and recommend reconsideration of the vaccination programme. Antibiotiki, 1977 Apr, 22(4), 308 - 12 {Processes of spore formation and gramicidin C formation by Bacillus brevis var . G.B.}; Egorov NS et al.; Correlation between gramidicin C biosynthesis and sporulation in the process of Bac . brevis var . G.B . cultivation under various aeration conditions was studied . It was shown that biosynthesis of gramicidin C was characteristic of the young cells and its level was the highest during the culture active growth . The time of the sporulating forms appearance depended on the aeration rate which defined the quantitative composition of the population during the phase of the culture active growth and the stationary phase . Under the optimal aeration conditions the spore formation started during the phase of the culture active growth after some decrease in the maximum level of the cell productivity with respect to the antibiotic . When the aeration rate was increased the spore formation was shifted to later periods of the culture development, i.e . the stationary phase and the phase of the cell autolysis, the gap between the highest levels of gramicidin C buosynthesis and the beginning of sporulation being increased . Under certain aeration conditions the spore formation was not observed, while gramicidin C was synthesized . A conclusion has been made that there is no correlation between gramacidine C biosynthesis and sporualtion in Bacillus brevis var . G.B. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1977 Apr, 74(4), 1478 - 82 Biological function of gramicidin: selective inhibition of RNA polymerase; Sarkar N et al.; This paper describes a novel biochemical effect of gramicidin, a class of peptide antibiotics produced by Bacillus brevis during the transition from vegetative growth to sporulation . Gramicidin inhibits RNA synthesis by purified RNA polymerase (nucleosidetriphosphate:RNA nucleotidyl-transferase, EC 2.7.7.6) by interfering with the binding of RNA polymerase to DNA . This effect seems to involve the destabilization of the "open" RNA polymerase-DNA complex, a mode of action consistent with the control of promoter selection . Selectivity in the inhibition of RNA synthesis by gramicidin is observed when transcription is partially blocked by low levels of actinomycin D . Since the inhibition of RNA synthesis by gramicidin is obtained in a highly purified system devoid of membranes, it must be distinct from the ionophoretic activity of the antibiotic . It is possible that this new mode of action reflects the function of gramicidin during bacterial sporulation. Can J Biochem, 1977 Apr, 55(4), 453 - 7 Reversibility of the ampicillin-and nitrite-induced inactivation of beta-lactamase I; Durkin JP et al.; beta-Lactamase I was isolated from Bacillus cereus 569/H . Treatment with ampicillin in the presence of sodium nitrite at pH 4 or 5 resulted in the inactivation of the enzyme presumably by modification of a carboxyl group in the active site . However, this inactivation was rapidly, reversible at neutral pH and the available evidence points to the participation of a second carboxyl group which is involved in the reactivation process. Nature, 1977 Mar 24, 266(5600), 328 - 33 Sequence and structure of D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus; Biesecker G et al.; The glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydogenase holoenzyme of Bacillus stearothermophilus possesses precise 222 symmetry: in this respect it differs from the reported structure of the lobster muscle enzyme . Pairs of active sites are linked through a flexible polypeptide loop which probably mediates the structural changes giving rise to cooperative effects . Three additional salt bridges made by each subunit to others would make a major contribution to thermostability of the tetramer. J Biol Chem, 1977 Mar 10, 252(5), 1745 - 7 Penicillinase-releasing protease of Bacillus licheniformis 749 Specificity for hydroxyamino acids; Aiyappa PS et al.; The membrane penicillinase of Bacillus licheniformis 749/C differs from the exopenicillinase in that it has an additional 24 amino acid residues and a phosphatidylserine at the NH2 terminus (Yamamoto, S., and Lampen, J.O . (1976) J . Biol . Chem . 251, 4095-4101) . The conversion of the membrane penicillinase to the exo form is probably carried out by a specific penicillinase-releasing protease (PR-protease) whose properties are generally consistent with the properties of penicillinase secretion . The substrate specificity of the PR-protease was determined by identifying the NH2 and COOH termini of the peptides produced by hydrolysis of ribonuclease B and beef insulin . The enzyme hydrolyzed only peptide bonds involving the carboxyl groups of serine or thrombine . Similar bonds in synthetic di- or tripeptides of L-serine were not cleaved . The existence of seryl-lysine and threonyl-glucamic acid bonds in the protease-susceptible (phospholipopeptide) region of the membrane penicillinase and the presence of only lysine or glutamic acid at the NH2 terminus of the exoenzyme released in vivo are consistent with the specificity of PR-protease; hence, we propose that this enzyme has an essential role in the formation of exopenicillinase . The PR-protease is a potential tool for protein sequence determination because of its narrow and novel substrate specificity. Eur J Biochem, 1977 Mar 1, 73(2), 557 - 65 Specificity profiles of the membrane-bound gamma-D-glutamyl-(L)meso-diaminopimelateendopeptidase and LD-carboxypeptidase from Bacillus sphaericus 9602; Arminjon F et al.; Immunological studies on the carboxypeptidase Y mutant prel-1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed the origin of mutation in the structural gene of carboxypeptidase Y . The absence of carboxypeptidase Y has no effect on growth, even after drastic changes of growth conditions... Invest Urol, 1977 Mar, 14(5), 369 - 72 Bacillus Calmette-Guérin and dinitrochlorobenzene immunotherapy of chemically induced bladder tumors; Lamm DL et al.; Immunologic incompetence is correlated with increased susceptibility to malignacy . Immunostimulation with such agents as Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) have resulted in regression of cutaneous maligancies . An evaluation of the effect of BCG and dinitrochlorobenzene sensitization and bladder irrigation in Fischer rats revealed no decrease in the incidence of bladder tumors induced by 2-formylamino-4-(5-nitro-2-furyl) thiazole (FANFT) . However, direct intralesional injection of BCG into early bladder tumors was effective in preventing the progression of such tumors in seven of ten BCG-sensitized rats (P less than 0.005) . No effect was seen when BCG was injected intralesionally in unsensitized rats or when control solutions were injected. Cancer Res, 1977 Mar, 37(3), 721 - 5 Characterization of macrophage chemotaxins in tumor cell cultures and comparison with lymphocyte-derived chemotactic factors; Meltzer MS et al.; Culture fluids from five murine sarcomas were chemotactic for syngeneic peritoneal macrophages in vitro . Peritoneal macrophages from mice infected with Mycobacterium bovis, strain Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, were more responsive to the chemotactic factor in tumor cultures than were normal macrophages . Peritoneal granulocytes, however, did not significantly respond to this factor . The level of chemotactic activity in tumor cultures paralleled cell growth for all five tumors; maximal levels occurred during log growth . Culture medium alone or fluids from proliferating spleen cell cultures stimulated with mitogens did not have detectable chemotactic activity . Chromatography of the tumor culture fluids resulted in a single peak of chemotactic activity in the 15,000-molecular weight range on Sephadex G-100 and at about 7.5 mmho/cm specific conductance on diethylaminoethyl cellulose . By both biological and physicochemical characteristics, the chemotactic activity in tumor culture fluids was different from mouse lymphocyte-derived chemotactic factor. Biochem J, 1977 Mar 1, 161(3), 677 - 85 Enzymic assays for isomers of 2,6-diaminopimelic acid in walls of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus megaterium; Day A et al.; An enzymic assay for individual isomers (meso-, LL- and DD-) of 2,6-diaminopimelate was developed . The enzyme 2,6-diaminopimelate decarboxylase specifically attacked meso-diaminopimelate and was used to measure this isomer manometrically . The meso- and LL-isomers were measured together manometrically in a coupled assay with diaminopimelate decarboxylase and diaminopimelate epimerase (which converts LL-diaminopimelate into meso-diaminopimelate) . The DD-isomer was not attacked by either enzyme and was measured, as residual diaminopimelate after the coupled assay, by a colorimetric method, which was also used to measure total diaminopimelate before enzymic treatments . The coupled enzymes were also used to prepare pure DD-isomer from chemically synthesized diaminopimelate . A mixture of diaminopimelate isomers was present in walls of four strains of Bacillus megaterium {in each about 75% (w/w) meso-, 18% LL- and 7% DD-} and in walls of two strains of Bacillus cereus (about 85% meso-, 8% LL- and 7% DD-) . One strain of B . cereus contained at least 95% meso-diaminopimelate, with only traces of LL- and DD-isomers . Peptidoglycan from Escherichia coli was assayed as containing at least 95% meso-isomer . The proportion of isomers in the wall of a strain of B . megaterium remained constant after growth in a variety of different media. J Bacteriol, 1977 Mar, 129(3), 1272 - 80 Initiation of Bacillus spore germination by hydrostatic pressure: effect of temperature; Murrell WG et al.; Suspensions of Bacillus cereus T, B . subtilis, and B . pumilus spores in water or potassium phosphate buffer were germinated by hydrostatic pressures of between 325 and 975 atm . Kinetics of germination at temperatures within the range of 25 to 44 degrees C were determined, and thermodynamic parameters were calculated . The optimum temperature for germination was dependent on pressure, species, suspending medium, and storage time after heat activation . Germination rates increased significantly with small increments of pressure, as indicated by high negative deltaV values of -230 +/- 5 cm3/mol for buffered B . subtilis (500 to 700 atm) and B . pumilus (500 atm) spores and -254 +/- 18 cm3/mol for aqueous B . subtilis (400 to 550 atm) spores at 40 degrees C and -612 +/- 41 cm3/mol for B . cereus (500 to 700 atm) spores at 25 degrees C . The ranges of thermodynamic constants calculated at 40 degrees C for buffered B . pumilus and B . subtilis spores at 500 and 600 atm and for aqueous B . subtilis spores at 500 atm were: Ea = 181,000 to 267,000 J/mol; deltaH = 178,000 to 264,000 J/mol; deltaG = 94,000 to 98,300 J/mol; deltaS = 264 to 544 J/mol per degree K . These values are consistent with the concept that the transformation of a dormant to a germinating spore induced by hydrostatic pressure involves either hydration or a reduction in the visocosity of the spore core and a conformational change of an enzyme. Surv Ophthalmol, 1977 Mar-Apr, 21(5), 429 - 35 Endogenous E . coli endophthalmitis; Shammas HF; A case of Escherichia coli septicemia with associated metastatic en dophthalmitis and endocarditis is presented . The ocular signs and symptoms were the initial manifestations of sepsis . Irreversible damage to the eye occurred in less than 24 hours . The pattern of metastatic bacterial endophthalmitis has changed since the introduction of potent antimicrobial agents, with an increased incidence of Gram-negative bacillemia . E . coli endophthalmitis carries a poor prognosis . Early diagnosis and systemic treatment will prevent the life-threatening complications of sepsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1977 Mar, 74(3), 999 - 1003 Aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme of an antibiotic-producing bacterium acts as a determinant of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli; Courvalin P et al.; Bacillus circulans NRRL B-3312, a nonpathogenic bacterium that produces the aminoglycoside antibiotic butirosin, is known to contain an aminoglycoside phosphotransferase that is similar to the neomycin phosphotransferases of clinically isolated antibiotic-resistant bacteria . Purified DNAs from B . circulans and the plasmid ColE1-ApR were digested with EcoRI endonuclease and the resulting fragments covalently joined with polynucleotide ligase . The recombined DNA was used to transform E . coli and ampicillin-neomycin resistant colonies were selected . Analysis of several clones indicated that neomycin resistance in the E . coli transformants was due to the presence of the B . circulans phosphotransferase gene . This observation is consistent with the notion that anitbiotic-modifying enzymes from antibiotic-producing organisms may be the sources of antibiotic resistance in plasmid-containing bacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1977 Mar, 74(3), 1200 - 3 Endotoxin-induced serum factor controlling differentiation of bone-marrow-derived lymphocytes; Hoffmann MK et al.; Serum from bacillus Calmette-Guerin-infected mice injected with endotoxin induces the appearance of surface immunoglobulin, Ia antigen, and complement receptor on the surface of precursor bone-marrow-derived (B) cells . While endotoxin itself causes phenotypic conversion of both thymus-derived (T) cells and B cells in vitro, the endotoxin-induced serum factor was found to be a selective inducer of B cell differentiation . Spleen cells rendered immunodeficient by removal of B cells bearing the complement receptor regained the capacity to cooperate with helper T cells and to produce antibody against red cell antigens in vitro upon upon addition of the serum factor to the culture medium . Thus, a factor that controls selective phenotypic and functional differentiation of B cells has been identified and can now be characterized, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1977 Mar, 74(3), 1254 - 8 Alterations of spore coat processing and protein turnover in a Bacillus cereus mutant with a defective postexponential intracellular protease; Cheng YS et al.; A mutant with an alteration in the major intracellular serine protease produced by postexponential Bacillus cereus was isolated by screening mutants defective in spore germination . The purified enzyme from the mutant is more labile to heat and alkaline pH than the protease from the wild type . Protease activity appears at the same time as in the wild type but only reaches 50% of the specific activity and decays more rapidly during sporulation . Coincident with the decay is a decrease in the rate of protein turnover . Generation of amino acids by turnover seems to be important for sporulation because the number of spores produced by the mutant is increased 4- to 10-fold by addition of casamino acids . As anticipated, the mutant produces spores that germinate poorly but, surprisingly, these spores are very deficient in coat protein . Coat antigen is present in cell extracts of mutant and wild type, however, both as large molecules not found on mature spores and as spore coat protein monomers . The large molecules rapidly disappear in a pulse chase experiment in the wild type with some increase in the coat monomers . In mutant extracts, however, this large coat antigen is slowly and improperly processed. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1977 Feb 7, 459(2), 278 - 89 NMR characterization of three forms of ferredoxin from Desulphovibrio gigas, a sulphate reducer; Moura JJ et al.; A NMR and magnetic susceptibility study of the oxidized and reduced states of three different oligomers (forms) of a {4Fe-4S} ferrodoxin protein from Desulphovibrio gigas, FdI, FdI', and FdII was carried out . FdI and FdI' are different trimers and FdII a tetramer of the same basic subunit . A probable assignment of the contact shifted resonances is indicated . Since the temperature dependences of the contact shifted responances associated with each {4Fe-4S} are not all similar a delocalized model for the spin densities on the 4Fe does not apply . The exchange rate between oxidized and reduced states is slow on the NMR time scale . The three oligomers are not magnetically equivalent . Using the "three state hypothesis" terminology it is shown that FdIox is predominantly in the C2- state and changes upon reduction into the C3- state, while FdIIox is in the C- state and changes into the C2- state . FdI' does not easily fit into this classification . This study shows a similarity of magnetic behaviour between FdI and bacterial ferredoxins (e.g . Bacillus polymyxa) and between FdII and HiPIP from Chromatium sp . The influence of the quaternary structure on the stabilization of the different oxidation states of ferredoxins as well as on their redox potentials is discussed. Mutat Res, 1977 Feb 1, 46(1), 19 - 26 Cytogenetic hazards from agricultural chemicals . I . A preliminary study on the responses of root meristems to exotoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis a constituent of a microbial insecticide, thuricide; Sharma CB et al.; It reported for the first time that the exotoxin, thuringiensin A, from Bacillus thuringiensis, a component of the insecticide thuricide, inhibits spindle and cytokinesis and induces micronuclei, chromocentric nuclei and minor deviations in spindle activity . The binucleate cells also undergo mitosis yielding biprophases and bimetaphases . Spindle seems to have been inhibited even in bimetaphase . Microtubular systems and chromosomes are implicated as the primary targets . Most effects resemble those of caffeine, colchicine, aminopyrin, chloral hydrate and vinblastine to different extents, and are therefore suggestive of the anti-neoplastic and mutagenic potentialties of the exotoxin . The extensive use of thuricide on crop plants, in view of its mutagenic potential, may be hazardous . The results also suggest that the exotoxin may be used as a pre-treating agent in chromosome analysis and as a candidate-tagging tool for synchronization and cell cycle analysis, besides its probable utility in studies on cancer cells. J Bacteriol, 1977 Feb, 129(2), 1091 - 101 Bacterial parasite of a plant nematode: morphology and ultrastructure; Sayre RM et al.; The life cycle of a bacterial endoparasite of the plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne incognita was examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy . The infective stage begins with the attachment of an endospore to the surface of the nematode . A germ tube then penetrates the cuticle, and mycelil colonies form in the pseudocoelom . Sporulation is initiated when terminal cells of the mycelium enlarge to form sporangia . A septum within each sporangium divides the forespore from the basal or parasporal portion of the cell . The forespore becomes enclosed by several laminar coats . The parasporal cell remains attached to the forespore and forms the parasporal microfibers . After the newly formed spores are released into the soil, these microfibers apparently enable a mature spore to attach to the nematode . These results indicate that the endoparasite is a procaryotic organism having structural features that are more common to members of Actinomycetales and to the bacterium Pasteuria ramosa than to the sporozoans or to the family Bacillaceae, as previous investigatios have concluded. J Bacteriol, 1977 Feb, 129(2), 1051 - 8 Role of teichuronic acid in Bacillus licheniformis: defective autolysis due to deficiency of teichuronic acid in a novobiocin-resistant mutant; Robson RL et al.; nov-12, a novobiocin-resistant mutant of Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 9945, grows as long chains of cells, a characteristic of autolytic-deficient (Lyt-) mutants . Isolated walls from nov-12 autolyzed at a rate equal to 5% of that displayed by wild-type walls, thus confirming the Lyt- phenotype . Protein-free nov-12 walls displayed marked resistance to, and also failure to bind, added autolysin solubilized from wild-type walls . Comparison of isolated cell walls revealed a deficiency in teichuronic acid in the mutant . Lesser differences were observed in walls of this strain, including a reduction in galactose, an increase in the proportion of peptidoglycan, and small quantitative differences in peptidoglycan composition though the proportions of protein and teichoic acid were similar in walls of both strains . Autolytic sensitivity was studied in walls in which protein, teichoic acid, and teichuronic acid were removed successively by selective extraction procedures . Autolysis of wild-type walls was unaffected by removal or protein or teichoic acid, but teichuronic acid removal rendered wild-type walls as insensitive to autolysis as mutant walls had been throughout . Therefore, in this mutant, deficiency in teichuronic acid alone leads to the Lyt- phenotype and, hence, activity and binding of autolysin(s) are dependent upon teichuronic acid but not teichoic acid . Also, the potential rate of autolysis of cell walls in this organism was correlated with the proportion of teichuronic acid in the wall . The possible significance of these findings with respect to control of autolysis and cell separation is discussed. J Bacteriol, 1977 Feb, 129(2), 1045 - 50 Morphological changes associated with novobiocin resistance in Bacillus licheniformis; Robson RL et al.; Spontaneously occurring novobiocin-resistant (Nov) mutants of Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 9945, resistant to low levels of novobiocin (15 mug/ml), were isolated with a frequency of 3 in 106 organisms . Such isolates grew well, but nearly all exhibited consistent plleiotropic alterations in colonial and cell morphologies . One mutant, nov-12, grew as chains of unseparated but clearly distinct daughter cells in the absence of novobiocin in liquid culture . When novobiocin was present, nov-12 grew as very long "filaments" which were, however, septate . Septa formed in the presence of the antibiotic were normal, except that no annular clevage of the septal wall was observed . Septa were also irregularly positioned along the filament . These observations were compared with previous findings on the effects of novobiocin and novobiocin resistance described for other organisms . It was c