Roles for arachidonic acid and GTP-binding proteins in synaptic transmission.

Using synapses which form between somata of Helisoma neurons in cell culture we have studied the presynaptic regulation of synaptic transmission. GTP-binding proteins play important roles in regulating synaptic transmission through their actions on calcium currents, potassium currents and secretory apparatus. Heterotrimeric G proteins continuously regulate the amount of transmitter released at the synapse. By interacting with the arachidonic acid second messenger system they modulate potassium channels, and could potentially control the secretory apparatus. Perturbations of the rab protein system did not affect action potential-evoked transmission, but did control the frequency of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents. This is consistent with the involvement of this type of GTP-binding protein in the control of secretory apparatus, but suggests that rab proteins are not used to regulate the amount of transmitter released at the synapse. Using the Helisoma cellular system which permits direct access to the presynaptic site of transmitter release we are going on to study further the role of arachidonic acid, Go, Gi and rab proteins on the regulation of the secretory apparatus.

Atomic force microscopy of oriented linear DNA molecules labeled with 5nm gold spheres.

The atomic force microscope (AFM;1) can image DNA and RNA in air and under solutions at resolution comparable to that obtained by electron microscopy (EM) (2-7). We have developed a method for depositing and imaging linear DNA molecules to which 5nm gold spheres have been attached. The gold spheres facilitate orientation of the DNA molecules on the mica surface to which they are absorbed and are potentially useful as internal height standards and as high resolution gene or sequence specific tags. We show that by modulating their adhesion to the mica surface, the gold spheres can be moved with some degree of control with the scanning tip.

On the nature of origins of DNA replication in eukaryotes.

Chromosomal origins of DNA replication in higher eukaryotes differ significantly from those of E. coli (oriC) and the tumor virus, SV40 (ori sequence). Initiation events appear to occur throughout broad zones rather than at specific origin sequences. Analysis of four chromosomal origin regions reveals that they share common modular sequence elements. These include DNA unwinding elements, pyrimidine tracts that may serve as strong DNA polymerase-primase start sites, scaffold associated regions, transcriptional regulatory sequences, and, possibly, initiator protein binding sites and inherently destabilized regions. Based on the novel organization of chromosomal origin regions, we propose a model for initiation of DNA replication in higher eukaryotes. Unwinding of duplex DNA during initiation may be uncoupled, both temporally and spatially, from DNA synthesis, resulting in transient single-stranded intermediates that function in lieu of conventional replication forks during chromosomal DNA replication. DNA synthesis begins subsequently at multiple sites within the unwound regions rather than at specific origin sequences.

Telomeres--what's new at the end?

Telomeres are specialized chromatin domains located at the ends of chromosomes. They are involved in chromosome replication, stability and localization in the nucleus. In addition to these functions, recent work suggests that telomeres are involved in such superficially diverse cellular phenomena as ageing, cancer, nuclear architecture and nuclear/cellular division.

The replication advantage of a free linear rRNA gene is restored by somatic recombination in Tetrahymena thermophila.

The autonomously replicating rRNA genes (rDNA) in the somatic nucleus of Tetrahymena thermophila are maintained at a copy number of approximately 10(4) per nucleus. A mutant in which the replication properties of this molecule were altered was isolated and characterized. This mutation of inbred strain C3, named rmm4, was shown to have the same effect on rDNA replication and to be associated with the same 1-base-pair (bp) deletion as the previously reported, independently derived rmm1 mutation (D. L. Larson, E. H. Blackburn, P. C. Yaeger, and E. Orias, Cell 47:229-240, 1986). The rDNA of inbred strain B, which is at a replicational disadvantage compared with wild-type C3 rDNA, has a 42-bp deletion. This deletion is separated by 25 bp from the 1-bp deletion of rmm4 or rmm1. Southern blot analysis and DNA sequencing revealed that during prolonged vegetative divisions of C3-rmm4/B-rmm heterozygotes, somatic recombination produced rDNAs lacking both the rmm4-associated deletion and the 42-bp deletion. In somatic nuclei in which this rare recombinational event had occurred, all 10(4) copies of nonrecombinant rDNA were eventually replaced by the recombinant rDNA. The results prove that each of the two deletions is the genetic determinant of the observed replication disadvantage. We propose that the analysis of somatically recombinant rDNAs can be used as a general method in locating other mutations which affect rDNA propagation in T. thermophilia.

Dynamics of telomere length variation in Tetrahymena thermophila.

We have analyzed the mechanism and dynamics of telomere length variation in the macronucleus of Tetrahymena thermophila. In a newly differentiated macronucleus, the average length of the telomeric repeated sequence, (C4A2 X T2G4)n, is closely regulated. In contrast, in vegetatively dividing cells in log phase, all macronuclear telomeric sequences lengthen coordinately by 3-10 bp per generation until up to 1000 bp are added. In both elongated and short telomeres, characteristic single-stranded breaks on both strands are distally located. Reduction of elongated telomeres to their original length involves either the appearance of a novel type of variant cell, incapable of net telomere elongation, or, under stationary phase conditions, a reversible removal of telomeric sequences. The demonstration that telomeres are dynamic structures provides evidence for a model of telomere length regulation by activities that add and remove telomeric repeats.

Control of rDNA replication in Tetrahymena involves a cis-acting upstream repeat of a promoter element.

A novel genetic scheme was used to isolate mutants altered in the formation or maintenance of amplified rDNA in the Tetrahymena macronucleus. One such mutant had a cis-acting rDNA mutation that affected the ability of mutant rDNA molecules to replicate in macronuclei in the presence of a wild-type (B strain) rDNA. The mutant rDNA was lost from these heterozygous macronuclei during vegetative cell divisions, although it was maintained normally in the homozygous or hemizygous state. In contrast, wild-type macronuclear rDNA of the C3 strain used to obtain the mutant outreplicated B strain rDNA in B/C3 heterozygote macronuclei. Sequence differences were found between wild-type B and C3 and mutant C3 rDNAs in the replication origin region, changing an upstream repeat of a highly conserved rRNA promoter element. We propose that the various rDNA alleles differentially compete for limiting amounts of trans-acting factors that bind to these enhancer-like repeats and positively regulate rDNA replication.