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A Japanese national project to realize commercially feasible SMES for designated applications is promoted. Model coils for power system stabilization, load fluctuation compensation and frequency control are fabricated and tested.

Four genes, cbbO, cbbY, cbbA, and the pyruvate kinase gene (pyk), were found downstream of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) genes, cbbLS, from a thermophilic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium, Hydrogenophilus thermoluteolus (formerly Pseudomonas hydrogenothermophila). cbbO was similar to norD in the denitrification gene cluster, and cbbY was similar to cbbY from other autotrophic bacteria. cbbA encoded fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBP aldolase); however, CbbA was little similar to other CbbA proteins. When CbbA was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, overproduction of CbbA was detected by SDS-PAGE. However, the cell extract had slightly higher activity than a cell extract of E. coli without cbbA. Phylogenetic analysis showed class II FBP aldolase divided into classes IIA and IIB, and that CbbA from H. thermoluteolus was in class IIA. Activities of RubisCO and FBP aldolase were examined under autotrophic, mixotrophic, and heterotrophic conditions. The activities of the two enzymes were regulated independently.

reg was originally identified as a gene expressed during the regeneration of insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cells of the rat. We built an expression vector containing human reg cDNA to drive Saccharomyces cerevisiae to synthesize the reg protein, and purified it from the culture medium. The 144-amino acid sequence of the recombinant protein was consistent with that deduced from the cDNA and genomic DNA sequence except that the signal sequence of 22 amino acids was eliminated, and the amino-terminal residue of the protein was pyroglutamic acid. The secondary structure of the reg protein was predicted by determination of the intramolecular cystine linkage and of alpha-helix and beta-sheet contents.

cDNA clones coding for glucagon were isolated from a chicken pancreas cDNA library, and the nucleotide and amino acid sequences were determined. The amino acid sequence of chicken glucagon was HSQGTFTSDYSKYLDSRRAQDFVQWLMST, which was contained in the 151-amino acid long precursor, being preceded by a signal sequence and an amino-terminal peptide (NH2-peptide) and followed by an intervening peptide and a glucagon-like peptide I (GLP-I). Chicken preproglucagon, however, lacked GLP-II and intervening peptide II which have been shown to be contained in mammalian glucagon precursors.