We have isolated Dictyostelium cell type proportioning mutants in a screen for cAMP signal transduction mutants. All mutants showed reduced numbers of prespore cells as analyzed with prespore-specific antibodies and prespore- and prestalk-specific reporter gene constructs. Formation of prestalk and prespore cells in the mutant HP1 is initially almost normal; however, many prespore cells rediffe...

Lentinus edodes (Berk.), the shiitake mushroom, is worldwide one of the most widely cultivated mushrooms. Sawdust is the most popular basal ingredient used in synthetic substrate formulations for producing shiitake spawn. However, the best sawdust for this uses needs to be determined. Shiitake mushroom was cultivated on sawdust from the woody plants Babla (Acacia nilotica L.), Champa (Michelia ...

The garlic stalk is a byproduct of garlic production and normally abandoned or burned, both of which cause environmental pollution. It is therefore appropriate to determine the conditions of efficient decomposition, and equally appropriate to determine the impact of this decomposition on soil properties. In this study, the soil properties, enzyme activities and nutrient dynamics associated with...

We have studied the molecular basis of the Pax2 and Pax6 function in the establishment of visual system territories. Loss-of-function mutants have revealed crucial roles for Pax2 in the generation of the optic stalk and for Pax6 in the development of the optic cup. Ectopic expression of Pax6 in the optic stalk under control of Pax2 promoter elements resulted in a shift of the optic cup/optic st...

The ribosomal stalk complex, consisting of one molecule of L10 and four or six molecules of L12, is attached to 23S rRNA via protein L10. This complex forms the so-called 'L12 stalk' on the 50S ribosomal subunit. Ribosomal protein L11 binds to the same region of 23S rRNA and is located at the base of the 'L12 stalk'. The 'L12 stalk' plays a key role in the interaction of the ribosome with trans...

The P0 scaffold protein of the ribosomal stalk is mainly incorporated into pre-ribosomes in the cytoplasm where it replaces the assembly factor Mrt4. In analyzing the role of the P0 carboxyl terminal domain (CTD) during ribosomal stalk assembly, we found that its complete removal yields a protein that is functionally similar to Mrt4, whereas a chimeric Mrt4 containing the P0 CTD behaves more li...

The kinesin motor protein family members move along microtubules with characteristic polarity. Chimeric motors containing the stalk and neck of the minus-end-directed motor, Ncd, fused to the motor domain of plus-end-directed kinesin were analyzed. The Ncd stalk and neck reversed kinesin motor polarity, but mutation of the Ncd neck reverted the chimeric motor to plus-end movement. Thus, residue...

Visit our website at: http://pituitary.mgh.harvard.edu On magnetic resonance imaging, some patients with clinical neuroendocrine disorders have thickened pituitary stalks, the anatomical structure which connects the hypothalamus to the pituitary (Figure 1). These disorders can be classified as neoplastic, inflammatory, or infectious in origin, although there are rare forms of congenital malform...

We report the observation of a phase of phospholipid that contains a structure similar to the commonly postulated interbilayer state that is crucial to membrane fusion. The widely accepted model for membrane fusion suggests that there is an intermediate state in which the two contacting monolayers become continuous via an hourglass-shaped structure called a stalk. Many efforts have been made to...

We characterized human monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) cloned from influenza virus-infected patients and from influenza vaccine recipients by complement-dependent lysis (CDL) assay. Most MAbs active in CDL were neutralizing, but not all neutralizing MAbs can mediate CDL. Two of the three stalk-specific neutralizing MAbs tested were able to mediate CDL and were more cross-reactive to temporally dis...