The attachment of sister kinetochores to microtubules from opposite spindle poles is essential for faithful chromosome segregation. Kinetochore assembly requires centromere-specific nucleosomes containing the histone H3 variant CenH3. However, the functional roles of the canonical histones (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4) in chromosome segregation remain elusive. Using a library of histone point mutants ...

Two ladybeetles, Cycloneda sanguinea and Harmonia axyridis, were exposed in the laboratory to eight fungicide formulations commonly used in citrus production in Florida. Both benomyl and the combination of copper and petroleum oil proved toxic to larvae of C. sanguinea that were exposed to concentrations corresponding to recommended field rates, either as leaf residues or in topical spray appli...

OBJECTIVE We aimed to investigate the effects of arsenic (As), benomyl (Ben), and carbendazim (Carb) on endometrial cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS Human endometrial cells were obtained during diagnostic curettage. All cultured endometrial cells were divided into four groups: (1) 0 M (controls), (2) 10(-6) M, (3) 10(-5) M, (4) 10(-4) M for As, Ben and Carb. After 24 and 48 hours in culture, endo...

We have isolated 136 independent mutations in haploid yeast strains that exhibit decreased chromosome transmission fidelity in mitosis. Eighty-five percent of the mutations are recessive and 15% are partially dominant. Complementation analysis between MATa and MAT alpha isolates identifies 11 chromosome transmission fidelity (CTF) complementation groups, the largest of which is identical to CHL...

The Polo-like kinases (Plks) are conserved, multifunctional cell cycle regulators that are induced in many forms of cancer and play additional roles in metazoan development. We previously identified plkA in Aspergillus nidulans, the only Plk investigated in filamentous fungi to date, and partially characterized its function through overexpression. Here, we report the plkA null phenotype. Surpri...

To identify proteins that regulate microtubule assembly in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we screened for multicopy suppressors of a conditional mutation in alpha-tubulin. Cells expressing the recessive allele tub1-729 as their sole alpha-tubulin gene grow normally at permissive temperature. However, at 15 degrees C the cells lose viability and arrest primarily with large buds and quantitatively dim...

Four workers at a seed supply warehouse in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, complained of ocular irritation on the job. Pesticide-coated seeds were stored in the warehouse but no significant amount of pesticide was detected in the air inside the warehouse. To identify the cause of the ocular irritation and to determine an appropriate solution to the problem, the authors used thermal desorption gas chro...