Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Prakash

Publications and source records attributed to S Prakash.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

Distinctions among allelic variants associated with chromosome 3 inversions in Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila persimilis.

Efforts were made to discriminate new genetic variants among electrophoretic alleles that are associated with chromosome 3 inversions of Drosophila pseudoobscura and D. persimilis. Apparent genetic similarities for electrophoretic alleles between these two species and among the common inversions they carry were reexamined by altering gel concentration and buffer pH. At the amylase locus, the 1.09 electrophoretic allele could be further separated into two allelic classes that differentiated the WT and KL arrangements. Similarly, the 0.84 electrophoretic allele was divided into two allelic classes, one characteristic of the Santa Cruz phylad arrangements, TL and SC, and the other found in strains of the Standard phylad arrangements and CH. Uncommon amylase alleles proved to be different alleles in the two species. No new allelic variants, however, could be found among strains with the amylase 1.00 allele, the commonest allele in the Standard phylad of both species. No major new allelic variation was detected for acid phosphatase-3 and larval protein-10 that revealed any further differentiation among species or inversions. Variation at all three loci in strains of the Bogota population remained genetically similar to variation in strains of mainland D. pseudoobscura.

Amylases↗

Activity variants of acid phosphatase-3 among chromosome 3 inversions of Drosophila pseudoobscura.

Allozymes of the Ap-3 locus in Drosophila pseudoobscura show very strong associations with chromosome 3 inversions. The 0.98 electrophoretic allele is associated with The TL, SC, CH and PP gene arrangements, while the 1.00 electrophoretic allele is characteristic of the AR and ST gene arrangements. Variation in relative 0.98 and 1.00 AP-3 allozyme activities of chromosome 3 isogenic strains was examined on acrylamide gels in F1 heterozygotes obtained by crossing these strains individually to a reference strain with a slower 0.87 mobility allozyme. F2 analyses demonstrated that the activity variants co-segregate with the Ap-3 locus. Both 0.98 and 1.00 allelic classes are polymorphic for AP-3 activities. In contrast to the virtual monomorphism for an electrophoretic allele, each inversion is polymorphic for AP-3 activities. These results reveal substantially more genetic differentiation among gene arrangements than is evident from electrophoretic allele comparisons. Strains having the PP arrangement are distinct from TL strains in their AP-3 activity expression, and ST strains have a wider range of variation than AR strains. In contrast, no geographical differentiation is evident for strains from the Bogota population of D. pseudoobscura.

Acid Phosphatase↗

Variation in biochemical properties of allozymes of xanthine dehydrogenase in Drosophila pseudoobscura.

Twenty-six D. pseudoobscura strains isogenic for xanthine dehydrogenase alleles from Mesa Verde, Colorado, were tested for differences in the biochemical properties of different allelic forms of xanthine dehydrogenase. No significant differences in binding affinity (Km) or substrate specificity of the enzyme were found. Significant variation among strains, in activity (Vmax) and among electromorphs, as well as among strains, in thermolability was found. For the few strains tested, the activity and thermolability differences were shown to co-segregate with the electrophoretic mobility of the variant allele.

Alleles↗

Decreased UV mutagenesis in cdc8, a DNA replication mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A DNA replication mutant of yeast, cdc8, was found to decrease UV-induced reversion of lys2-1, arg4-17, tyr1 and ura1. This effect was observed with all three alleles of cdc8 tested. Survival curves obtained following UV irradiation in cdc8 rad double mutants show that cdc8 is epistatic to rad6, as well as to rad1; cdc8 rad51 double mutants seem to be more sensitive than the single mutants. Since UV-induced reversion in cdc8 rad1 and cdc8 rad51 double mutants is like that of the cdc8 single mutants, we conclude that CDC8 plays a direct role in error-prone repair. To test whether CDC8 codes for a DNA polymerase, we have purified both DNA polymerase I and DNA polymerase II from cdc8 and CDC+ cells. The purified DNA polymerases from cdc8 were no more heat labile than those from CDC+, suggesting that CDC8 is not a structural gene for either enzyme.

Alleles↗

Three additional genes involved in pyrimidine dimer removal in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: RAD7, RAD14 and MMS19.

The ability to remove ultraviolet (UV)-induced pyrimidine dimers from the nuclear DNA of yeast was examined in two radiation-sensitive (rad) mutants and one methyl methanesulfonate-sensitive (mms) mutant of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The susceptibility of DNA from irradiated cells to nicking by an endonuclease activity prepared from crude extracts of Micrococcus luteus was used to measure the presence of dimers in DNA. The rad7, rad14 and mms19 mutants were found to be defective in their ability to remove UV-induced dimers from nuclear DNA. All three mutants belong to the same epistatic group as the other mutants involved in excision-repair. All three mutants show enhanced UV-induced mutations. The rad14 mutant also shows epistatic interactions with genes in the other two UV repair pathways.

DNA Repair↗

Microbial fixation of nitrogen in presence of lanthanum sulphate with sodium molybdate.

The effect of lanthanum sulphate together with 100 micrometer of sodium molybdate show that there is considerable increase in nitrogen fixation and carbon consumption in the culture medium of nitrogen-fixing Azotobacter species A1 and A2, isolated from Allahabad soil. But these combination decrease the nitrogen fixation and carbon consumption in case of another species, Azotobacter A3, of the same soil.

Azotobacter↗

A comparative study of the esterase-5 locus in Drosophila pseudoobscura, D. persimilis and D. miranda.

Electrophoretic phenotypes of the esterase-5 locus were examined in the sibling species D. pseudoobscura, D. persimilis and D. miranda. D. persimilis alleles were found to have uniformly higher charge on monomers than corresponding alleles of either D. pseudoobscura or D. miranda. Consequently, D. persimilis shares no alleles in common with either D. pseudoobscura or D. miranda, while the latter two species share a number of alleles. It was discovered that by increasing the concentration of acrylamide gel and increasing the length of migration, more allelic differences could be distinguished. Also more alleles were discovered by examining monomer mobility in addition to dimer mobility. In D. persimilis and D. miranda it was found that the previously known high frequency allelic classes broke down into several allelic classes. A test of goodness-of-fit to the infinite alleles model was done and a rough agreement with the model was found.

Alleles↗

Further studies on gene polymorphism in the mainbody and geographically isolated populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura.

We have examined polymorphism at 22 additional loci in the populations from the mainbody of Drosophila pseudoobscura and an isolated population from Bogotá, Columbia, which also shows partial reproductive isolation from mainbody populations. These studies extend our previous observations of reduced gene polymorphism and apparent lack of unique allele in the Bogotá population.

Alleles↗

Isolation and characterization of MMS-sensitive mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have isolated mutants sensitive to methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Alleles of rad1, rad4, rad52, rad55 and rad57 were found amoung these mms mutants. Twenty-nine of the mms mutants which complement the existing radiation-sensitive (rad and rev) mutants belong to 22 new complementation groups. Mutants from five complementation groups are sensitive only to MMS. Mutants of 11 complementation groups are sensitive to UV or X rays in addition to MMS, mutants of six complementation groups are sensitive to all three agents. The cross-sensitivities of these mms mutants to UV and X rays are discussed in terms of their possible involvement in DNA repair. Sporulation is reduced or absent in homozygous diploids of mms mutants from nine complementation groups.

Alleles↗

Increased spontaneous mitotic segregation in MMS-sensitive mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Methyl methanesulfonate (MMS)-sensitive mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae belonging to four different complementation groups, when homozygous, increase the rate of spontaneous mitotic segregation to canavanine resistance from heterozygous sensitive (canr/+) diploids by 13-to 170-fold. The mms8-1 mutant is MMS and X-ray sensitive and increases the rate of spontaneous mitotic segregation 170-fold. The mms9-1 and mms13-1 mutants are sensitive to X rays and UV, respectively, in addition of MMS, and increase the rate of spontaneous mitotic segregation by 13-fold and 85-fold, respectively. The mutant mms21-1 is sensitive to MMS, X rays and UV and increases the rate of spontaneous mitotic segregation 23-fold.

Canavanine↗

Allelic heterogeneity within allozymes separated by electrophoresis in Drosophila pseudoobscura.

Electrophoretic separation of esterase-5 allozymes of Drosophila pseudoobscura in gels of different acrylamide concentrations and in different buffer systems has revealed the existence of six different alleles within the most frequent class, esterase-5(1.00), and three alleles in the other most frequent class, esterase-5(1.07). Two of the alleles affect subunit binding. Esterase-5 allozyme classes based on electrophoresis in 5% acrylamide gels are therefore highly heterogeneous.

Alleles↗

Gene differences between third-chromosome inversions of Drosophila pseudobscura.

Associations of alleles of the acid phosphatase-3 locus with the different third-chromosome inversions from different populations of D. pseudoobscura are described. We observe only the allele AP-3(1.0) in the Standard and Arrowhead inversions and the allele AP-3.98 in the Santa Cruz, Treeline, Cuernavaca and the Pikes Peak arrangements. The Chiricahua gene arrangement is polymorphic.

Acid Phosphatase↗