Toward Regional Characterizations of the Oceanic Internal Wavefield

Many major oceanographic internal wave observational programs of the last 4 decades are reanalyzed in order to characterize variability of the deep ocean internal wavefield. The observations are discussed in the context of the universal spectral model proposed by Garrett and Munk. The Garrett and Munk model is a good description of wintertime conditions at Site-D on the continental rise north of the Gulf Stream. Elsewhere and at other times, significant deviations in terms of amplitude, separability of the 2-D vertical wavenumber - frequency spectrum, and departure from the model's functional form are noted. Subtle geographic patterns are apparent in deviations from the high frequency and high vertical wavenumber power laws of the Garrett and Munk spectrum. Moreover, such deviations tend to co-vary: whiter frequency spectra are partnered with redder vertical wavenumber spectra. Attempts are made to interpret the variability in terms of the interplay between generation, propagation and nonlinearity using a statistical radiative balance equation. This process frames major questions for future research with the insight that such integrative studies could constrain both observationally and theoretically based interpretations

Purification and molecular cloning of a DNA ADP-ribosylating protein, CARP-1, from the edible clam Meretrix lamarckii

The cabbage butterflies Pieris rapae and Pieris brassicae have unique enzymes, named pierisin-1 and -2, respectively, that catalyze the ADP-ribosylation of guanine residues of DNA, which has been linked with induction of apoptosis and mutation in mammalian cell lines. In the present study, we identified ADP-ribosylation activity targeting DNA in six kinds of edible clam. Similar to our observations with pierisin-1 and -2, crude extracts from the clams Meretrix lamarckii, Ruditapes philippinarum, and Corbicula japonica incubated with calf thymus DNA and β-NAD resulted in production of N(2)-(ADP-ribos-1-yl)-2′-deoxyguanosine. The DNA ADP-ribosylating protein in the hard clam M. lamarckii, designated as CARP-1, was purified by column chromatography, and its cDNA was cloned. The cDNA encodes a 182-aa protein with a calculated molecular mass of 20,332. The protein synthesized in vitro from the cDNA in a reticulocyte lysate exhibited the same ADP-ribosylating activity as that of purified CARP-1. Neither the nucleotide nor the deduced amino acid sequence of CARP-1 showed homology with pierisin-1 or -2. However, a glutamic acid residue (E128) at the putative NAD-binding site, conserved in all ADP-ribosyltransferases, was found in CARP-1, and replacement of aspartic acid for this glutamic acid resulted in loss of almost all ADP-ribosylating activity. CARP-1 in the culture medium showed no cytotoxicity against HeLa and TMK-1 cells; however, introduction of this protein by electroporation induced apoptosis in these cells. The finding of clam ADP-ribosylating protein targeting guanine residues in DNA could offer new insights into the biological significance of ADP-ribosylation of DNA

Distribution of cytotoxic and DNA ADP-ribosylating activity in crude extracts from butterflies among the family Pieridae

Cabbage butterflies, Pieris rapae and Pieris brassicae, contain strong cytotoxic proteins, designated as pierisin-1 and -2, against cancer cell lines. These proteins exhibit DNA ADP-ribosylating activity. To determine the distribution of substances with cytotoxicity and DNA ADP-ribosylating activity among other species, crude extracts from 20 species of the family Pieridae were examined for cytotoxicity in HeLa cells and DNA ADP-ribosylating activity. Both activities were detected in extracts from 13 species: subtribes Pierina (Pieris rapae, Pieris canidia, Pieris napi, Pieris melete, Pieris brassicae, Pontia daplidice, and Talbotia naganum), Aporiina (Aporia gigantea, Aporia crataegi, Aporia hippia, and Delias pasithoe), and Appiadina (Appias nero and Appias paulina). All of these extracts contained substances recognized by anti-pierisin-1 antibodies, with a molecular mass of ≈100 kDa established earlier for pierisin-1. Moreover, sequences containing NAD-binding sites, conserved in ADP-ribosyltransferases, were amplified from genomic DNA from 13 species of butterflies with cytotoxicity and DNA ADP-ribosylating activity by PCR. Extracts from seven species, Appias lyncida, Leptosia nina, Anthocharis scolymus, Eurema hecabe, Catopsilia pomona, Catopsilia scylla, and Colias erate, showed neither cytotoxicity nor DNA ADP-ribosylating activity, and did not contain substances recognized by anti-pierisin-1 antibodies. Sequences containing NAD-binding sites were not amplified from genomic DNA from these seven species. Thus, pierisin-like proteins, showing cytotoxicity and DNA ADP-ribosylating activity, are suggested to be present in the extracts from butterflies not only among the subtribe Pierina, but also among the subtribes Aporiina and Appiadina. These findings offer insight to understanding the nature of DNA ADP-ribosylating activity in the butterfly