Altered tropical seascapes influence patterns of fish assemblage and ecological functions in the Western Indian Ocean.

The arrangement and composition of habitats within landscapes and fine-scale habitat characteristics influence community structure and ecological processes. These aspects can be altered by anthropogenic activities, thus influencing associated assemblages. Farming of macroalgae is a common practice in tropical settings and alters the natural composition of seascapes by introducing monoculture patches. The farmed macroalgae may also differ in palatability compared to naturally-occurring macroalgae, influencing herbivory. This study assessed how these farms may differ from natural macroalgal beds in terms of habitat heterogeneity, fish assemblages, and herbivory. We surveyed fish assemblages and deployed macroalgal assays within macroalgal beds, farms and at varying distances from these habitats near Mafia Island, Tanzania. Fish composition and herbivory differed between the habitats likely due to different macrophyte species richness, underlying hard substrate in natural macroalgal beds, and high abundance of browsers nearby the farms. Additionally, fish assemblage patterns and herbivory were not consistent across the seascapes and varied with distance from the focal habitats possibly due to the presence of other habitats. The results suggest alterations of seascapes by farming practices may have consequences on fish assemblages and the ecological functions performed, thus positioning of farms should be carefully considered in management and conservation plans.

Evolution of sensory complexity recorded in a myxobacterial genome.

Myxobacteria are single-celled, but social, eubacterial predators. Upon starvation they build multicellular fruiting bodies using a developmental program that progressively changes the pattern of cell movement and the repertoire of genes expressed. Development terminates with spore differentiation and is coordinated by both diffusible and cell-bound signals. The growth and development of Myxococcus xanthus is regulated by the integration of multiple signals from outside the cells with physiological signals from within. A collection of M. xanthus cells behaves, in many respects, like a multicellular organism. For these reasons M. xanthus offers unparalleled access to a regulatory network that controls development and that organizes cell movement on surfaces. The genome of M. xanthus is large (9.14 Mb), considerably larger than the other sequenced delta-proteobacteria. We suggest that gene duplication and divergence were major contributors to genomic expansion from its progenitor. More than 1,500 duplications specific to the myxobacterial lineage were identified, representing >15% of the total genes. Genes were not duplicated at random; rather, genes for cell-cell signaling, small molecule sensing, and integrative transcription control were amplified selectively. Families of genes encoding the production of secondary metabolites are overrepresented in the genome but may have been received by horizontal gene transfer and are likely to be important for predation.

Genome sequence of the plant pathogen and biotechnology agent Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a plant pathogen capable of transferring a defined segment of DNA to a host plant, generating a gall tumor. Replacing the transferred tumor-inducing genes with exogenous DNA allows the introduction of any desired gene into the plant. Thus, A. tumefaciens has been critical for the development of modern plant genetics and agricultural biotechnology. Here we describe the genome of A. tumefaciens strain C58, which has an unusual structure consisting of one circular and one linear chromosome. We discuss genome architecture and evolution and additional genes potentially involved in virulence and metabolic parasitism of host plants.

An oral health programme for schoolchildren in Kuwait 1986-97.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether it was possible to implement an oral health programme in Kuwait which followed guidelines underlying the public Danish Child Oral Health Service, and thereby improve the oral health of Kuwaiti children. DESIGN: Successive cross-sectional surveys were carried out in one governorate in Kuwait (Al-Ahmadi) during the period 1986-97 interrupted by the Gulf War. Data were collected by clinical examinations. SETTING: The programme was initiated by the Ministry of Health in Kuwait in order to improve the community services through a school-based oral health care programme. PARTICIPANTS: The study population comprised incrementally all children in the four primary school classes in the governorate. INTERVENTIONS: The children received bi-weekly tooth brushing instructions with fluoridated toothpaste and fluoride rinsing, fissure sealing, oral health education, and restorative treatment of dental caries. OUTCOME MEASURES: The children were clinically examined each year before the start of the treatment. Dental caries was scored at surface level in accordance with the Danish registration system, using the WHO criteria for dental caries. RESULTS: The average participation rate was 94%. The percentage of caries-free children, exemplified by second class, increased from 64% in 1987 to 78% in 1990, dropped to 71% in 1992 and increased again to 79% in 1997. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that it has been possible to adapt the principles from the Danish Child Oral Health Service programme to Kuwait, that parents and teachers accepted the principle of treating the children during school hours, and that the oral health of the children improved. Whether the improvement in the oral health is due to the programme or to changes in the society is discussed.

DNA sequences of the tail fiber genes of bacteriophage P2: evidence for horizontal transfer of tail fiber genes among unrelated bacteriophages.

We have determined the DNA sequence of the bacteriophage P2 tail genes G and H, which code for polypeptides of 175 and 669 residues, respectively. Gene H probably codes for the distal part of the P2 tail fiber, since the deduced sequence of its product contains regions similar to tail fiber proteins from phages Mu, P1, lambda, K3, and T2. The similarities of the carboxy-terminal portions of the P2, Mu, ann P1 tail fiber proteins may explain the observation that these phages in general have the same host range. The P2 H gene product is similar to the products of both lambda open reading frame (ORF) 401 (stf, side tail fiber) and its downstream ORF, ORF 314. If 1 bp is inserted near the end of ORF 401, this reading frame becomes fused with ORF 314, creating an ORF that may represent the complete stf gene that encodes a 774-amino-acid-long side tail fiber protein. Thus, a frameshift mutation seems to be present in the common laboratory strain of lambda. Gene G of P2 probably codes for a protein required for assembly of the tail fibers of the virion. The entire G gene product is very similar to the products of genes U and U' of phage Mu; a region of these proteins is also found in the tail fiber assembly proteins of phages TuIa, TuIb, T4, and lambda. The similarities in the tail fiber genes of phages of different families provide evidence that illegitimate recombination occurs at previously unappreciated levels and that phages are taking advantage of the gene pool available to them to alter their host ranges under selective pressures.

Mutational analysis of a bacteriophage P4 late promoter.

Transcription from the late Psid promoter of satellite bacteriophage P4 is dependent on the bacterial RNA polymerase carrying the sigma 70 subunit and is positively regulated by the product of the P4 delta gene or the ogr gene of helper bacteriophage P2. Through deletion and mutational analyses of the Psid promoter, we identified mutations in the -10 region and in a region of hyphenated dyad symmetry centered around position -55 that inactivate Psid. Most of these mutations alter base pairs that are highly conserved in the five other delta-activated P4 and P2 late promoters. We propose that the P4 delta and P2 ogr gene products bind the -55 region of the P4 and P2 late promoters.

A mutation of the transactivation gene of satellite bacteriophage P4 that suppresses the rpoA109 mutation of Escherichia coli.

Satellite bacteriophage P4 requires the products of the late genes of a helper such as P2 in order to grow lytically. The Escherichia coli rpoA109 mutation, which alters the alpha subunit of RNA polymerase, prevents transcription of the late genes of bacteriophage P2. Suppressor mutations that define the P2 ogr gene overcome this block. We found that P4 lytic growth using a P2 ogr+ prophage helper was prevented by the rpoA109 mutation but that this block was overcome when the P2 helper carried the suppressor mutation in the ogr gene. Furthermore, we isolated and characterized four independent mutations in P4, called org, that suppress the E. coli rpoA109 mutation by allowing P4 lytic growth using a P2 ogr+ helper. DNA sequence analysis revealed that the four independent org mutations are identical and that they occur in the P4 delta gene, which codes for a factor that positively regulates the transcription of the P2 and P4 late genes. delta is predicted to code for a basic 166-amino-acid residue protein. Each 83-residue half of the predicted delta gene product is similar to the predicted 72-residue proteins encoded by the ogr gene of P2 and the B gene of phage 186.

Bacteriophage P2 ogr and P4 delta genes act independently and are essential for P4 multiplication.

Satellite bacteriophage P4 requires the products of the late genes of a helper phage such as P2 for lytic growth. Expression of the P2 late genes is positively regulated by the P2 ogr gene in a process requiring P2 DNA replication. Transactivation of P2 late gene expression by P4 requires the P4 delta gene product and works even in the absence of P2 DNA replication. We have made null mutants of the P2 ogr and P4 delta genes. In the absence of the P4 delta gene product, P4 multiplication required both the P2 ogr protein and P2 DNA replication. In the absence of the P2 ogr gene product, P4 multiplication required the P4 delta protein. In complementation experiments, we found that the P2 ogr protein was made in the absence of P2 DNA replication but could not function unless P2 DNA replicated. We produced P4 delta protein from a plasmid and found that it complemented the null P4 delta and P2 ogr mutants.

Nonessential region of bacteriophage P4: DNA sequence, transcription, gene products, and functions.

We sequenced the leftmost 2,640 base pairs of bacteriophage P4 DNA, thus completing the sequence of the 11,627-base-pair P4 genome. The newly sequenced region encodes three nonessential genes, which are called gop, beta, and cII (in order, from left to right). The gop gene product kills Escherichia coli when the beta protein is absent; the gop and beta genes are transcribed rightward from the same promoter. The cII gene is transcribed leftward to a rho-independent terminator. Mutation of this terminator creates a temperature-sensitive phenotype, presumably owing to a defect in expression of the beta gene.

Deletion and insertion mutations in the rpoH gene of Escherichia coli that produce functional sigma 32.

Escherichia coli K-12 strain 285c contains a short deletion mutation in rpoD, the gene encoding the sigma 70 subunit of RNA polymerase. The sigma 70 protein encoded by this allele (rpoD285) unstable, and this instability leads to temperature-sensitive growth. Pseudorevertants of 285c that can grow at high temperature contain mutations in the rpoH gene (encoding the heat shock sigma factor sigma 32), and their mutant sigma 70 proteins have increased stability. We characterized the alterations in three of these rpoH alleles. rpoH111 was a point mutation resulting in a single amino acid substitution. rpoH107 and rpoH113, which are known to be incompatible with rpoD+, altered the restriction map of rpoH. rpoH113 was deleted for 72 base pairs of the rpoH gene yet retained some sigma 32 activity. rpoH107 had two IS1 elements that flanked an unknown DNA segment of more than 6.4 kilobases inserted in the rpoH promoter region. The insertion decreased the amount of rpoH mRNA to less than 0.5% of the wild-type level at 30 degrees C. However, the mRNA from several heat shock promoters was decreased only twofold, suggesting that the strain has a significant amount of sigma 32.

Selection of lambda Spi- transducing phages using the P2 old gene cloned onto a plasmid.

The old gene product of the P2 prophage interferes with plaque formation by lambda wild type phage but allows lambda phages whose red and gam genes have been deleted to form small, visible plaques (the lambda Spi- phenotype). The old gene product also kills Escherichia coli recB or recC mutants. We have cloned the old gene into the high-copy-number plasmid pBR322, where it prevents plaque formation by both lambda Spi+ and lambda Spi- phages. We transferred a DNA fragment that carries the old gene to the low-copy-number plasmid pSC101 and found that lambda Spi- phages can be selected on strains that carry this plasmid. The plasmid-borne old gene kills E. coli recB mutants, providing a selection for old- mutants.