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A T Matheson

Publications and source records attributed to A T Matheson.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Some properties of an unidentified halophile: growth characteristics, internal salt concentration, and morphology.

An unidentified halophile isolated from plates of a complex agar medium containing 4.25 M NaCl showed optimum growth in broths containing 0.5-1.0 M NaCl but exhibited a wide range of growth from 0.045-4.5 M. The organism can be classified as a facultative halophile with wide salt tolerance. Logarithmic phase cells grown in media containing 0.5 M NaCl were rod-shaped in long chains which changed to smaller, single, or paired cells in stationary growth. The internal Na+ and K+ concentrations were 0.05 M and 0.34 M for logarithmic phase cells and 0.29 and 0.32 M for stationary phase cells. In 4.3 M NaCl media the cells were rod-shaped throughout the growth cycle, occurring primarily in pairs. The internal Na+ K" concentrations in cells in logarithmic phase growth were 0.62 M and 0.58 M while in stationary phase growth these values were 1.01 M and 0.66 M respectively. In contrast, logarithmic phase cells of the extreme halophile Halobacterium cutirubrum had internal Na+ and K+ concentrations of 0.80 M and 5.32 M when grown in 3.3 M NaCl. The internal Na+ and K+ concentrations, therefore, in the unidentified halophile do not resemble those found in H. cutirubrum but are much closer to those present in Escherichia coli.

Bacteria↗

Ribosomal RNA: the message or matrix for ribosomal proteins.

The known nucleotide sequence of Escherichia coli 16S ribosomal RNA has been converted to amino acid sequences in all possible ways, and compared to known ribosomal protein sequences. The degree of similarity is precisely what one would expect by chance alone, providing additional evidence that ribosomal proteins cannot be coded for by ribosomal RNA.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Ion effects on protein-nucleic acid interactions: the disassembly of the 50-S ribosomal subunit from the halophilic bacterium, Halobacterium cutirubrum.

The 50-S ribosomal subunits from the extreme halophilic bacterium, Halo-bacterium cutirubrum, stable structurally and functionally in concentrated salt solutions were subjected to ionic environments depleted in either K+ or Mg2+ or both. Under these conditions specific classes of proteins are released from the subunit along with the 5 S RNA. Two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis of the resultant split protein fractions indicate some mutually exclusive effects of specific ions on the binding of specific proteins to the 23 S RNA as well as on the retention of 5 S RNA within the ribosomal macrostructure.

Bacterial Proteins↗

The conservation of amino acids in the n-terminal position of ribosomal and cytosol proteins from Escherichia coli, Bacillus stearothermophilus, and Halobacterium cutirubrum.

Alanine, methionine, and serine are the predominant N-terminal residues in the cytosol and ribosomal protein fractions from the thermophile Bacillus stear othermophilus and the extreme halophile Halobacterium cutirubrum, a similar situation to that previously found in Escherichia coli. In all three bacteria the N-terminal residues of the 30S ribosomal proteins are mainly alanine greater than methionine greater than serine whereas in the 50S ribosomal proteins from E. coli and B. stearothermophilus the predominant residues are methionine greater than alanine greater than serine suggesting conservation of specific N-terminal residues in these ribosomal proteins. However, the 50S ribosomal proteins from H. cutirubrum showed serine as the major N-terminal residue.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Halobacterium cutirubrum ribosomes. Properties of the ribosomal proteins and ribonucleic acid.

1. The 30S ribosomal subunit of the extreme halophile Halobacterium cutirubrum is unstable and loses 75% of its ribosomal protein when the 70S ribosome is dissociated into the two subunits. A stable 30S subunit is obtained if the dissociation of the 70S particle is carried out in the presence of the soluble fraction. 2. A fractionation procedure was developed for the selective removal of groups of proteins from the 30S and 50S subunits. When the ribosomes, which are stable in 4m-K(+) and 0.1m-Mg(2+), were extracted with low-ionic-strength buffer 75-80% of the 30S proteins and 60-65% of the 50S proteins as well as the 5S rRNA were released. The proteins in this fraction are the most acidic of the H. cutirubrum ribosomal proteins. Further extraction with Li(+)-EDTA releases additional protein, leaving a core particle containing either 16S rRNA or 23S rRNA and about 5% of the total ribosomal protein. The amino acid composition, mobility on polyacrylamide gels at pH4.5 and 8.7, and the molecular-weight distribution of the various protein fractions were determined. 3. The s values of the rRNA are 5S, 16S and 23S. The C+G contents of the 16S and 23S rRNA were 56.1 and 58.8% respectively and these are higher than C+G contents of the corresponding Escherichia coli rRNA (53.8 and 54.1%).

Amino Acids↗