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Molecular modeling of dipeptide and its analogous systems with water.

Intermolecular hydrogen-bond interactions in the monohydrated complexes of formamide, N-methylacetamide and glycylglycine have been studied using ab initio and DFT methods. The geometries were optimized using second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory and the B3LYP DFT functional with the 6-311++G** basis set. It is observed that hydrogen-bond interactions at the carbonyl group of the peptide moiety are stronger than those at the amino group of the formamide and N-methylacetamide molecules. Because of the presence of cyclic hydrogen-bonding interactions in glycylglycine, the interaction at the amino group is higher than at the carbonyl. The 13C and 15N NMR shielding values were calculated for the non-hydrated and monohydrated complexes. Condensed Fukui functions have also been calculated for non-hydrated formamide, N-methylacetamide and glycylglycine molecules at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level of theory, and the results are discussed.

Acetamides↗

Comparison of three methods to assess enteric neuronal apoptosis in patients with slow transit constipation.

BACKGROUND: The pathophysiological basis of slow transit constipation are scarcely understood. Some recent evidence suggests that increased apoptotic phenomena in the colonic enteric neurons may play a role. However, the best method to assess these phenomena has not been evaluated. AIMS: To compare three different methods to detect enteric neuronal apoptosis in these patients. METHODS: Serial colonic tissue sections obtained in 10 patients with intractable slow transit constipation were evaluated with immunohistochemical methods aimed at evaluating apoptotic phenomena: the formamide-MAb method, the TUNEL, and the caspase-3. RESULTS: The highest yield of apoptotic neurons was obtained by means of the formamide-MAb method, compared to the other two, whereas the lowest yield was observed with the caspase-3. CONCLUSIONS: The formamide-MAb method, which is able to distinguish apoptosis from necrosis and is not influenced by DNA breaks, may prove useful to assess neuronal apoptotic phenomena in the human enteric nervous system. This represents a relevant method to detect enteric neuronal apoptosis.

Apoptosis↗

Inactivity-induced motor nerve terminal sprouting in amphibian skeletal muscles chronically blocked by alpha-bungarotoxin.

There is a positive correlation between contractile inactivity and the initiation of motor neuron sprouting. However, the exact mechanism responsible for this neuronal growth remains obscure. In a previous study (M. M. Wines and M.S. Letinsky, 1988, J. Neurosci. 8: 3909-3919) we investigated this phenomenon by inducing chronic contractile inactivity of an amphibian muscle by exposure to formamide and found that motor neuron sprouting occurs in the presence of normal pressynaptic transmitter release and propagated muscle fiber action potentials. The present study investigates motor neuron sprouting in response to inactivity produced when neuromuscular transmission is blocked by chronic exposure to alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-BTX). The alpha-BTX-induced muscle paralysis was maintained for 1-63 days by repetitive application of the toxin to the cutaneous pectoris muscle of adult Rana pipiens. During the chronic alpha-BTX treatment end-plate potentials were reduced below threshold, which therefore removed both muscle fiber action potentials and contractile activity. Our findings showed only terminal sprouting. Also, higher sprouting frequencies (up to 100% of the observed terminals) were observed after chronic alpha-BTX treatment, compared to the sprouting response induced by formamide treatment. In view of our earlier formamide results, these observations suggest that the inhibition of the postsynaptic acetylcholine response, and consequently inhibition of muscle fiber electrical and contractile activity, produces a stronger stimulus to motor neuron sprouting than the presence of contractile inactivity alone coupled with normal synaptic transmission and muscle electrical activity.

Animals↗

Differences between rodents and humans in the metabolic toxification of N,N-dimethylformamide.

The widely used industrial solvent N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) causes liver damage in occupationally exposed persons and is suspected of involvement in the generation of certain occupational malignancies. Here the extent of the biotransformation of DMF to three urinary metabolites has been compared in humans and rodents. The metabolites, which were quantified by gas chromatography (GC) are N-(hydroxymethyl)-N-methylformamide (HMMF), which yielded N-methylformamide on GC analysis, a species which decomposed to formamide on GC analysis, and N-acetyl-S-(N-methylcarbamoyl) cysteine (AMCC), measured after derivatization with ethanol to give ethyl N-methylcarbamate. Ten volunteers who absorbed between 28 and 60 mumol/kg DMF during an 8-hr exposure to DMF in the air at 60 mg/m3 excreted in the urine within 72 hr between 16.1 and 48.7% of the dose as HMMF, between 8.3 and 23.9% as formamide, and between 9.7 and 22.8% as AMCC. AMCC, together with HMMF, was also detected in the urine of workers after occupational exposure to DMF. The portion of the dose (0.1, 0.7, or 7.0 mmol/kg given ip) which was metabolized in mice, rats, or hamsters to HMMF varied between 8.4 and 47.3% of the dose; between 7.9 and 37.5% were excreted as formamide and only between 1.1 and 5.2%, as AMCC. The results suggest that there is a quantitative difference between the metabolic pathway of DMF to AMCC in humans and rodents. It is argued that the hepatotoxic potential of DMF may be linked to the extent of its metabolic conversion to AMCC.

Adult↗

Free radical intermediates formed during the oxidation of cyanide by horseradish peroxidase/H2O2 as detected with nitroso spin traps.

Aqueous solutions of cyanide react with hydrogen peroxide/horseradish peroxidase and form the cyanyl radical, which can be trapped by 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane (t-nitrosobutane, tNB) at pH 9.8. At lower pH a variety of radical adducts are formed; at higher pH, the main product was the spin adduct of the formamide radical with tNB. The use of deuterated tNB and 15N-labeled potassium cyanide allowed the observation of the very small nitrogen coupling of this radical adduct. Experiments using 3,5-dibromo-4-nitrosobenzenesulfonic acid (DBNBS) as the spin trap yielded only the formamide radical adduct, which was identified by an independent synthesis starting from formamide. Both hydrogen splittings of its amino group could be resolved using deuterated DBNBS as the spin trap.

Benzenesulfonates↗

The use of organic solvents in mutagenicity testing.

13 organic substances (dimethylsulfoxide, methanol, ethanol, n-propyl alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol, dl-sec-amyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, 1,4-diethylene dioxide, acetone, methyl acetate and formamide) were considered from the standpoint of their use as solvents for water-insoluble chemicals to be tested for mutagenicity. First, the effect of these solvents on cell survival was studied in the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and in V79 Chinese hamster cells. 8 solvents showing relatively low toxicity on either cell system (dimethylsulfoxide, ethanol, ethylene glycol, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, 1,4-diethylene dioxide, acetone, methyl acetate and formamide) were tested for their effect on aminopyrine demethylase. 4 solvents (ethanol, 1,4-diethylene dioxide, methyl acetate and formamide) showed a more or less pronounced adverse effect on the microsomal enzymic activity. The remaining 4 and methanol (whose effect on aminopyrine demethylase was not testable) were assayed for mutagenicity in S. pombe. They all gave negative results both with and without the post-mitochondrial fraction from mouse liver.

Animals↗

Influence of solvent properties on separation and detection performance in non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry of basic analytes.

The versatility of non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) results mainly from the variety of physico-chemical properties of the different solvents. They provide solubility for a wide range of analytes, enable to control electrophoretic selectivity, but affect in some cases UV absorbance detection. The coupling of NACE to electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) allows to cope with the high UV cut-off of some CE relevant solvents (e.g., formamides). In this paper the pure organic solvents methanol, acetonitrile, dimethylsulfoxide, formamide, N-methylformamide and N,N-dimethylformamide are evaluated against water for the preparation of ammonium acetate electrolytes to separate the basic model substances 2-aminobenzimidazole, procaine, propranolol and quinine with NACE-MS. MS coupling is assisted with the sheath liquid water-isopropanol (1:4, v/v) with 0.1% formic acid. The goal of the paper is to assess the influence of the solvent on selectivity, separation speed, and peak efficiency for a given set of model compounds on a simple empirical basis. It should give the user an idea how the separation quality is changed when nothing but the running solvent is altered. The obtained efficiency results were discussed with respect to physico-chemical models described in literature (assuming longitudinal diffusion as the only source of band broadening), but no satisfying correlations with solvent properties could be traced. The feasibility of all six organic solvents for MS coupling was demonstrated and the influence of the separation solvent on the MS detection performance was compared. In the seven different solvents, the shortest run time was obtained with acetonitrile, the best peak resolution with the amphiprotic solvents (especially methanol) best peak efficiency with methanol and formamide, and the most sensitive ESI-MS detection with acetonitrile and methanol, but with only slight advantage to water.

Electrophoresis, Capillary↗

Optimization of silylation using N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide, N,O-bis-(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide and N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide for the determination of the estrogens estrone and 17alpha-ethinylestradiol by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

This paper reports an improved silylation procedure for simultaneous determination of the steroid hormones 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) and estrone (E1) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This follows a re-assessment of some of the popular silylation procedures using N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide (MSTFA), N-O-bis-(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) and N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA), which lead to the formation of trimethylsilyl (TMS) and tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBS) derivatives. Silylation of EE2 using MSTFA or BSTFA+1% TMCS in ethyl acetate, acetonitrile and dichloromethane solvents produced multiple peaks corresponding to TMS-E1, and 3-mono-TMS-EE2 and/or 3,17-di-TMS-EE2 in variable proportions depending on the solvent used. When pyridine or dimethyl formamide solvents were used in the silylation of EE2 under the same reaction conditions, only 3,17-di-TMS-EE2 derivative was formed. Derivatization using MTBSTFA reagents using ethyl acetate, acetonitrile, dichloromethane, pyridine and dimethyl formamide resulted in almost 100% conversion of mono-TBS-EE2 to the TBS-E1. Therefore, typical methods used in some previous GC-MS determinations of E1 and EE2 in environmental water and/or sediment samples are subject to speculation. However, we can confirm that any of the TMS reagents can be used with either pyridine or dimethyl formamide under suitable reaction conditions.

Acetamides↗

Preparation and preliminary characterization of purified ovalbumin messenger RNA from the hen oviduct.

Preparation of milligram amounts of purified ovalbumin mRNA was accomplished by a sequential combination of precise sizing techniques with the selective purification of the poly(A) containing RNA by either affinity chromatography or adsorption to nitrocellulose filters. Several new techniques were applied to the purification of ovalbumin mRNA including Sepharose 4B chromatography and agarose gel electrophoresis in the presence of 6 M urea at pH 3.5. All the procedures used were adapted on a preparative sacle to the fractionation of large quantities of RNA. The purity of the ovalbumin mRNA was assessed by several independent criteria. (1) Purified ovalbumin mRNA migrated as a single band during both agarose-urea and formamide-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 3.5 and 7.4, respectively. A single absorbance peak containing all of the ovalbumin mRNA activity was also found using linear formamide-sucrose gradients. (2) Determination of both total mRNA activity and ovalbumin mRNA activity in the wheat germ cell-free translation assay revealed that 92% of the total peptides synthesized were specifically immunoprecipitable with an ovalbumin antiserum. (3) Analysis of the total peptides synthesizied in the wheat germ assay by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrated the presence of a single radioactive peak that corresponded exactly to a specifically immunoprecipitable ovalbumin standard. Thus, based on these observations ovalbumin mRNA appears to be greater than 95% pure. A preliminary estimation of the molecular weight of purified ovalbumin mRNA by formamide-containing sucrose gradients yielded a value of 520,000 or approximately 1600 nucleotides. This value was considerably less than the value of 900,000 obtained by gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. Analysis of the poly(A) content by a hybridization assay with (3H)poly(U) revealed the presence of a poly(A) region containing approximately 70 adenosine residues. Thus, the size of the ovalbumin mRNA is considerably greater than that required to code for a protein of 387 amino acids. The availability of large quantities of purified ovalbumin mRNA should now permit a more thorough analysis of its physical and chemical properties.

Animals↗

Evaluation of the catalytic mechanism of AICAR transformylase by pH-dependent kinetics, mutagenesis, and quantum chemical calculations.

The catalytic mechanism of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide transformylase (AICAR Tfase) is evaluated with pH dependent kinetics, site-directed mutagenesis, and quantum chemical calculations. The chemistry step, represented by the burst rates, was not pH-dependent, which is consistent with our proposed mechanism that the 4-carboxamide of AICAR assists proton shuttling. Quantum chemical calculations on a model system of 5-amino-4-carboxamide imidazole (AICA) and formamide using the B3LYP/6-31G level of theory confirmed that the 4-carboxamide participated in the proton-shuttling mechanism. The result also indicated that the amide-assisted mechanism is concerted such that the proton transfers from the 5-amino group to the formamide are simultaneous with nucleophilic attack by the 5-amino group. Because the process does not lead to a kinetically stable intermediate, the intramolecular proton transfer from the 5-amino group through the 4-carboxamide to the formamide proceeds in the same transition state. Interestingly, the calculations predicted that protonation of the N3 of the imidazole of AICA would reduce the energy barrier significantly. However, the pK(a) of the imidazole of AICAR was determined to be 3.23 +/- 0.01 by NMR titration, and AICAR is likely to bind to the enzyme with its imidazole in the free base form. An alternative pathway was suggested by modeling Lys266 to have a hydrogen-bonding interaction with the N3 of the imidazole of AICAR. Lys266 has been implicated in catalysis based on mutagenesis studies and the recent X-ray structure of AICAR Tfase. The quantum chemical calculations on a model system that contains AICA complexed with CH3NH3+ as a mimic of the Lys residue confirmed that such an interaction lowered the activation energy of the reaction and likewise implicated the 4-carboxamide. To experimentally verify this hypothesis, we prepared the K266R mutant and found that its kcat is reduced by 150-fold from that of the wild type without changes in substrate and cofactor Km values. The kcat-pH profile indicated virtually no pH-dependence in the pH range 6-10.5. The results suggest that the ammonium moiety of Lys or Arg is important in catalysis, most likely acting as a general acid catalyst with a pK(a) value greater than 10.5. The H267A mutant was also prepared since His267 has been found in the active site and implicated in catalysis. The mutant enzyme showed no detectable activity while retaining its binding affinity for substrate, indicating that it plays a critical role in catalysis. We propose that His267 interacts with Lys266 to aid in the precise positioning of the general acid catalyst to the N3 of the imidazole of AICAR.

Binding Sites↗

Room temperature synthesis of curved ammonium copper molybdate nanoflake and its hierarchical architecture.

A new strategy has been successfully designed to synthesize curved ammonium copper molybdate [(NH(4))(2)Cu(MoO(4))(2)] nanoflakes on a copper surface by employing a novel solution-phase approach at room temperature. This method consists of a liquid-solid reaction between Na(2)MoO(4) solution and the copper substrate itself in the assistance of formamide. The lamellar ammonium copper molybdate are approximately perpendicular to the copper substrate surface and are intermeshed with each other to form nanogroove structures. Formamide molecules cannot only promote the oxidation of copper substrate and the formation of copper complex, but also act as a NH(4)(+) source in the final products. Furthermore, the selective adsorption of formamide molecules on different crystallographic planes of ammonium copper molybdate plays the major role in determining the curved morphology. In addition, using glucose as additives to control the nucleation and growth process (through a stepwise nucleation mechanism) can lead to a hierarchical sphere-like architecture.

Chemistry, Physical↗

Investigation of the mechanistic basis of N,N-dimethylformamide toxicity. Metabolism of N,N-dimethylformamide and its deuterated isotopomers by cytochrome P450 2E1.

Dimethylformamide (DMF) is an industrial solvent with hepatotoxic properties. The toxicity of DMF has been associated with its metabolism to S-(N-methylcarbamoyl)glutathione (SMG). The major urinary metabolite of DMF is N-(hydroxymethyl)-N-methylformamide (HMMF). HMMF undergoes oxidation in the formyl moiety, possibly via the intermediacy of its hydrolysis product N-methylformamide (NMF), and the reactive intermediate thus generated reacts with glutathione to yield SMG. Experiments were conducted to elucidate enzymatic details of the metabolism of DMF. Generation of HMMF from DMF in microsomes from rats which had received acetone, an inducer of cytochrome P450 2E1, was increased by 175% over that observed in control microsomes. In liver microsomes from 4 humans the metabolism of DMF to HMMF was inhibited by a monospecific antibody against rat liver P450 2E1, and the metabolic rates were correlated with those of NMF to SMG, a process known to be mediated via P450 2E1. DMF was also metabolized by purified rat liver P450 2E1. The kinetic parameters which characterize the metabolism of DMF or its deuterated isotopomers to the respective HMMF isotopomers, of HMMF to SMG and of NMF to SMG in liver microsomes, were computed from Eadie-Hofstee plots. The affinity of DMF for the metabolizing enzyme in rat liver microsomes is considerably higher (apparent Km = 0.20 mM) than that of NMF (Km = 4.28 mM) or of HMMF (Km = 2.52 mM). The respective values observed with human microsomes are very similar. The apparent Km values for the N-methyl oxidation of N,N-dimethyldeuterioformamide ([2H1]DMF) and N,N-bis(trideuteriomethyl)formamide ([2H6]DMF) in rat microsomes are 0.14 and 0.21 mM, respectively. The apparent Vmax for the oxidation of [2H1]DMF is similar to that computed for DMF, and the Vmax for [2H6]DMF is less than half of that computed for DMF. The kinetic deuterium isotope effect (KDIE) on DMF metabolism was determined in incubations with rat microsomes in three ways: (i) the noncompetitive intermolecular KDIE by the ratio of Vmax/Km for DMF to Vmax/Km for [2H6]DMF, (ii) the competitive intermolecular KDIE as the quotient of metabolic products HMMF to N-(hydroxydideuteriomethyl)-N-(trideuteriomethyl)formamide in incubations of DMF together with [2H6]DMF, and (iii) the intramolecular KDIE as the quotient of the ratio of N-(hydroxymethyl)-N-(trideuteriomethyl)formamide to N-(hydroxydideuteriomethyl)-N-methylformamide generated from N-(trideuteriomethyl)-N-methylformamide ([2H3]DMF). The respective values were found to be (i) 2.4, (ii) 5.0, and (iii) 5.2. DMF inhibited the oxidation of NMF or HMMF to SMG.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Amides↗

Microbial metabolism of the pyridine ring. Metabolic pathways of pyridine biodegradation by soil bacteria.

1. Two bacteria, a Bacillus sp. and a Nocardia sp. (strain Z1) were isolated from soil by enrichment with 0.1 percent (v/v) pyridine and grew rapidly on this compound as sole C, N and energy source. The monohydroxypyridines, tetrahydropyridine, piperidine and some other analogues were not utilized for growth or oxidized by washed suspensions of either bacterium. 2. Cell-free extracts were unable to metabolize pyridine even after supplementation with a variety of cofactors or protecting agents. Treatment of cells with toluene led to rapid loss of the ability to oxidize pyridine. 3. In the presence of 10mM-semicarbazide at pH 6.0, Nocardia Z1 accumulated a semialdehyde idenditied as its 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone by chromatography, mixed melting point, mass spectrometry and isotope trapping from [2,6(-14)C]pyridine as glutarate semialdehyde. 4. Extracts of this bacterium prepared from cells grown with pyridine or exposed to the gratuitous inducer 2-picoline, contained high activities of a specific glutarate semialdehyde dehydrogenase. 5. Cells grown with pyridine or glutarate also contained a glutaric dialdehyde dehydrogenase, an acyl-CoA synthetase and elevated amounts of isocitrate lyase but no glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. 6. Bacillus 4 accumulated in the presence of 10mM-semicarbazide several acidic carbonyl compounds from pyridine among which was succinate semialdehyde. Extracts of this bacillus after growth of the cells with pyridine contained an inducible succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase in amounts at least 50-fold over those found in succinate-grown cells. 7. Two mutants of this bacillus, selected for their inability to grow on pyridine were deficient in succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase. 8. In the presence of 0.2mM-KCN, washed suspensions of Bacillus 4 accumulated formate and possibly formamide from pyridine. The use of [14C]pyridine showed that formate was derived from C-2 of the pyridine ring. 9. The organism had a specific formamide amidohydrolase cleaving formamide quantitatively to formate and NH3. 10. Formate was further oxidized by the particle fraction. There was no soluble formate dehydrogenase in extracts.

Aldehyde Oxidoreductases↗

Studies on the chemical structure of the streptococcal cell wall. I. The identification of a mucopeptide in the cell walls of groups A and A-variant streptococci.

Lysis of trypsinized Group A streptococcal cell walls with phage-associated lysin releases into solution dialyzable and non-dialyzable mucopeptide fractions composed of N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylmuramic acid and alanine, glutamic acid, lysine, and glycine in addition to the characteristic group-specific carbohydrate. The latter substance contains appreciable amounts of N-acetylmuramic acid and the amino acids as well as N-acetylglucosamine and rhamnose. Hot formamide extraction of the cell walls results in a soluble fraction of group-specific carbohydrate and an insoluble residue. The Group A carbohydrate in this instance is composed of rhamnose and N-acetylglucosamine. The composition of the insoluble residue is similar to that of the mucopeptide fractions released from the cell wall by phage-associated lysin. This residue was shown by electron microscopy to be composed of discrete discs which appear similar in structure to the intact cell wall. The specific carbohydrate obtained by hot formamide extraction of Group A-variant cell walls was composed almost exclusively of rhamnose. The residue fraction was similar to that of Group A. The residue of cell walls extracted with hot formamide is extensively solubilized not only by phage-associated lysin and S. albus enzyme, but also by lysozyme, which has no measurable effect on the intact streptococcal cell wall.

Amino Acids↗

Precursors of globin mRNA in erythroid-enriched bone marrow cells of mouse.

RNA from erythroid-enriched bone marrow cells of mouse was analyzed under two kinds of denaturing conditions (in 99% formamide and formaldehyde treatment), and globin mRNA sequence-containing RNAs larger than 18S in addition to 16S and 10S were detected by hybridization at a comparatively high Rot with complementary DNA (cDNA) to globin mRNA (10S). The existence of precursor RNAs larger than 18S was confirmed by two different methods; (i) recentrifugation in 99% formamide of RNA collected from the corresponding regions of RNA fractions and following detection of globin mRNA sequences, (ii) the specific isolation of [3H]labeled precursor RNA with a cDNA-cellulose column and fractionation in a 99% formamide-sucrose gradient. Furthermore, pulse-chase experiments indicated that some large RNAs with globin mRNA sequences could be chased to 10S RNA during a 30 min chase in the presence of a high concentration of actinomycin D (10 microgram/ml). From the results it was assumed that 35-37S RNAs with globin mRNA sequences were possible primary transcripts of globin genes and other RNAs with globin mRNA sequences in 16S, 20S, and 26S regions were intermediate precursors of 10S globin mRNA.

Animals↗

On the calculation of the electrostatic potential, electric field and electric field gradient from the aspherical pseudoatom model.

Accurate, yet simple and efficient, formulae are presented for calculation of the electrostatic potential (ESP), electric field (EF) and electric field gradient (EFG) from the aspherical Hansen-Coppens pseudoatom model of electron density [Hansen & Coppens (1978). Acta Cryst. A34, 909-921]. They are based on the expansion of |r' - r|(-1) in spherical harmonics and the incomplete gamma function for a Slater-type function of the form R(l)(r) = r(n) exp(-alpha ). The formulae are valid for 0 < or = r < or = infinity and are easily extended to higher values of l. Special treatment of integrals is needed only for functions with n = l and n = l + 1 at r = 0. The method is tested using theoretical pseudoatom parameters of the formamide molecule obtained via reciprocal-space fitting of PBE/6-31G** densities and experimental X-ray data of Fe(CO)(5). The ESP, EF and EFG values at the nuclear positions in formamide are in very good agreement with those directly evaluated from density-functional PBE calculations with 6-31G**, aug-cc-pVDZ and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets. The small observed discrepancies are attributed to the different behavior of Gaussian- and Slater-type functions near the nuclei and to imperfections of the reciprocal-space fit. An EF map is displayed which allows useful visualization of the lattice EF effects in the crystal structure of formamide. Analysis of experimental 100 K X-ray data of Fe(CO)(5) yields the value of the nuclear quadrupole moment Q((57)Fe(m)) = 0.12 x 10(-28) m(2) after taking into account Sternheimer shielding/antishielding effects of the core. This value is in excellent agreement with that reported by Su & Coppens [Acta Cryst. (1996), A52, 748-756] but slightly smaller than the generally accepted value of 0.16 +/- 5% x 10(-28) m(2) obtained from combined theoretical/spectroscopic studies [Dufek, Blaha & Schwarz (1995). Phys. Rev. Lett. 25, 3545-3548].

Journal Article↗

Renaturation of bacteriophage lambda DNA. Determination of the optimal renaturation conditions using a single-strand-specific DNase and alkaline-sucrose-gradient assay system.

Reannealed hybrid molecules of wild-type bacteriophage lambda DNA were prepared in aqueous solutions of formamide at a variety of NaCl concentrations at both room temperature ( 22 degrees C) and 37 degrees C. Treatment of the hybrid DNA molecules with the single-strand-specific nuclease S1 from Aspergillus oryzae followed by alkaline sucrose gradient sedimentation was used to monitor the extent and fidelity of hybridization. The optimal renaturation conditions at room temperature were found to be: 50% formamide, 35-55 mM NaCl and 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.5) at 20-25 mug DNA/ml. Optimal conditions at 37 degrees C were: 32% formamide, 35-55 mM NaCl and 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.5) at 20-25 mug DNA/ml. Under these conditions approximately 85-90% of the input single-stranded DNA (molecular weight 1.5 X 10(7)) was rendered S1-nuclease-resistant within 8 h at room temperature and 5 h at 37 degrees C. Neither Mg2+ nor spermidine appeared to have an effect on either the extent or fidelity of duplex formation. Experiments performed with excess enzyme and with lambda/lambda imm 434 heteroduplex hybrids suggested that the hybrid that the hybrid DNA molecules formed under optimal conditions contained no, or only short (less than 1%), mismatched regions.

Binding Sites↗

Induction and repression of amidase enzymes in Aspergillus nidulans.

Aspergillus nidulans can grow on acetamide as both a carbon and nitrogen source and can also grow on formamide as a nitrogen source. Two distinct enzymes, an acetamidase and a formamidase, are produced. The control of the synthesis of these two enzymes in a wild-type strain was investigated. The formamidase is induced by acetamide and formamide and repressed by ammonia. The acetamidase is induced by formamide and acetamide, repressed by carbon metabolites derived from glucose and acetate, and repressed by ammonia. Repression of the acetamidase by ammonia depends on the carbon source; growth on glucose but not on acetate or acetamide allows repression to occur. The pattern of acetamidase repression is compared with that of histidine catabolic enzymes in various bacteria.

Amidohydrolases↗