Staphylococci Bind Heparin-Binding Host Growth Factors

Staphylococcus aureus, which mediated binding to heparan sulfate, and also strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) adhered in high numbers to polymers with end-point attached heparin. A characteristic feature of several cell growth factors is strong affinity for heparin. In the present study, binding of the ¹²⁵I-labeled heparin-binding growth factors (HBGF), acidic and basic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF, bFGF), and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) by S. aureus and CNS strains was examined. Staphylococcal strains used in this study bind bFGF and PDGF, but not aFGF. The binding of bFGF and PDGF was time dependent, influenced by pH and ionic strength for S. aureus Cowan 1. Preincubation of staphylococcal cells with unlabeled bFGF enhanced bFGF binding, but heparin, protamine sulfate, poly-L-lysine, and suramin were potent inhibitors of ¹²⁵I-bFGF binding to cells of S. aureus Cowan 1. Glycosaminoglycans of comparable size (chondroitin sulfate), other polysulfated polymers (λ-carrageenan, fucoidan), and some polysulfated polysaccharides (dextran sulfate, pentosan polysulfate) inhibited binding of both GFs to various extents. The partial inhibition of binding of both GFs after protease and periodate treatments indicates that both proteinaceous and other carbohydrate moieties participate in the binding. A lysozyme cell surface extract and bacterial lysates of S. aureus Cowan 1 competitively inhibited binding of ¹²⁵I-bFGF and ¹²⁵I-PDGF. These results suggest that staphylococci have the ability to bind two of the HBGFs, bFGF and PDGF, but not aFGF, via more than one cell structure. These binding structures seem to be exposed on the cell surface and deeply anchored in the cytoplasmic membrane as well.     

Regulation of hemicholinium binding sites in isolated nerve terminals.

High-affinity uptake of choline, the rate-limiting, regulatory step for the synthesis of acetylcholine is regulated via presynaptic auto- and heteroreceptors. Binding studies using tritiated hemicholinium-3 ([3H]HCh-3) as the specific ligand for the choline carrier revealed that the number of hemicholinium binding sites in nerve terminals isolated from insect brain changes corresponding to the activity of synaptosomal kinase A and kinase C. Activation of kinase A apparently increases the total number of hemicholinium binding sites by recruiting additional occult carriers, whereas the effect of kinase C activity is most appropriately explained by preventing a down-regulation of carrier proteins. The kinase-mediated regulation of choline transporters is obviously due to a phosphorylation of the carrier protein itself.     

Choline fluxes in synaptosomal membrane vesicles

Synaptic plasma membrane vesicles isolated from the highly cholinergic nervous tissue of insects were used to study the translocation of choline across the membrane via a high-affinity carrier-mediated mechanism energized by ion gradients as the sole driving force. The uphill movement of choline, energized mainly by the Na+ gradient, attained levels of choline severalfold the final equilibrium value at the peak of the overshoot. Efflux of choline required the presence of internal sodium ions and was promoted by external choline if Na+ was present. External choline inhibited choline efflux in the absence of sodium. It is concluded that the efflux of choline is in many aspects symmetrical with its uptake.     

Regulation of high affinity choline uptake

High affinity uptake of choline, the rate-limiting, regulatory step for the synthesis of acetylcholine (ACh), was found to be regulated via presynaptic auto- and heteroreceptors. The transport rate was reduced by a muscarinic agonist and neuropeptides, but was significantly enhanced by octopamine. Intracellular messengers, including cyclic nucleotides, appear to modulate the transport activity, apparently by activating specific protein kinases.     

The mechanism of the C-13(3) esterification step in the biosynthesis of bacteriochlorophyll a

5-Aminolaevulinate labelled with 18O at its C-1 carboxy oxygen atoms was prepared and incorporated into bacteriochlorophyll aphytyl of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides and bacteriochlorophyll ageranylgeranyl of Rhodospirillum rubrum. The biosynthetic samples of the bacteriochlorophylls were separately processed to obtain their isoprenyl alcohol components from the C-17(3) ester linkages and methanol from the C-13(3) methoxycarbonyl group. Methods were developed for the quantification of the isotopic composition of the various alcohols (methanol, phytol, geranylgeraniol). It was shown that the hydroxyl oxygen atoms of all the three alcohols originated from one of the C-1 oxygen atoms of the precursor 5-aminolaevulinate. In the light of these results the in vivo mechanism for the O-methylation reaction at C-13(3) during the biosynthesis of the two species of bacteriochlorophylls is discussed.     

Response thresholds alone cannot explain empirical patterns of division of labor in social insects

The effects of heterogeneity in group composition remain a major hurdle to our understanding of collective behavior across disciplines. In social insects, division of labor (DOL) is an emergent, colony-level trait thought to depend on colony composition. Theoretically, behavioral response threshold models have most commonly been employed to investigate the impact of heterogeneity on DOL. However, empirical studies that systematically test their predictions are lacking because they require control over colony composition and the ability to monitor individual behavior in groups, both of which are challenging. Here, we employ automated behavioral tracking in 120 colonies of the clonal raider ant with unparalleled control over genetic, morphological, and demographic composition. We find that each of these sources of variation in colony composition generates a distinct pattern of behavioral organization, ranging from the amplification to the dampening of inherent behavioral differences in heterogeneous colonies. Furthermore, larvae modulate interactions between adults, exacerbating the apparent complexity. Models based on threshold variation alone only partially recapitulate these empirical patterns. However, by incorporating the potential for variability in task efficiency among adults and task demand among larvae, we account for all the observed phenomena. Our findings highlight the significance of previously overlooked parameters pertaining to both larvae and workers, allow the formulation of theoretical predictions for increasing colony complexity, and suggest new avenues of empirical study.

This study uses automated tracking of clonal raider ants and mathematical modeling to reveal how previously overlooked traits of larvae and workers might shape social organization in heterogeneous ant colonies. By incorporating the potential for variability in task efficiency among adults and task demand among larvae, the authors were able to account for all empirically observed phenomena.