Microarray Analyses of Shrimp Immune Responses

Shrimp aquaculture is one of the major food-producing industries in the world. However, it is being impacted by several problems including diseases, antibiotic use, and environmental factors. The extent of the effects of these problems in the immune system of the shrimp at the molecular level is just beginning to be understood. Here, we review the gene expression profile of shrimp in response to some of these problems using the high-throughput microarray analysis, including white spot syndrome virus, yellow head virus, Vibrio spp., peptidoglycan, oxytetracycline, oxolinic acid, salinity, and temperature.     

How do plant shoots bend up? — The initial step to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of shoot gravitropism usingArabidopsis thaliana

In higher plants, shoots show a negative gravitropic response. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of this phenomenon, mutational analyses usingArabidopsis thaliana are in progress. This minireview aims to present recent developments in the genetic analysis of shoot gravitropism in this organism. We focus mainly on our studies on the novelshootgravitropic (sgr) mutants inArabidopsis thaliana that have dramatic defects in shoot gravitropism.     

Studies of Interaction between Chloroplast Coupling Factor 1 and Nucleotides by Circular Dichroism and Ultra-Violet Spectroscopies

When ADP, CDP, GDP, IDP or UDP was mixed with chloroplast couplingfactor 1 (CF₁) in the presence of MgCl₂, changes were inducedin the ultraviolet absorption spectrum as well as the circulardichroism spectrum. These changes were about 70% complete inone minute. Also, these two changes were similar in the concentrationcurves of nucleotides, the competition between ADP with CDP,the inhibition by PP₁, and the requirement for divalent cations.A minor difference was also noted in the requirement for divalentcations by some of the nucleotides. The order of the affinitiesof these nucleotides for CF₁ was: ADP>CDP>UDP>IDP>GDP.The UV spectral changes induced by these nucleotides are interpretedas shifts of the absorption spectra of bound nucleotides bysome 10 nm to longer wavelengths accompanied by decrease inabsorbance. In difference CD spectra, negative peaks were foundat about the same wavelengths of the absorption peaks of therespective nucleotides. Ca²⁺ was as effective as Mg²⁺ to these changes induced by ADPor GDP, but less effective than Mg²⁺ for those induced by CDP,UDP or IDP. In the presence of EDTA, the changes induced byADP were somewhat lower and those induced by CDP, UDP or IDPbecame almost zero. However, the UV absorbance change inducedby GDP was larger in the presence of EDTA than in the presenceof Mg²⁺ or Ca²⁺. (Received October 27, 1980; Accepted February 27, 1981)