A morphometric study quantifying the mucus content of proliferating colonic epithelial cells.

We report a quantification of the maximum mucus accumulation in proliferating rat colonic epithelial cells. The proliferative potential was determined by radioautographic study of one-hour pulse exposures to tritiated thymidine, mucous content was determined by Periodic-acid Schiff (PAS) staining. We examined 55 labeled mucous cells in 0.5- to 1-micrometer serial sections. The maximum thecal and nuclear profiles of these cells were photographed and their surface areas were determined utilizing a coordinate sensor. The data were expressed as a theca-to-nucleus (T/N) ratio. The maximum (T/N) ratio for a labeled mucous cell was 3.0. We performed a similar analysis on 22 unlabeled mucous cells from upper crypt regions and surface epithelium to derive the range of (T/N) ratios for terminally differentiated mature mucous cells. The range of (T/N) ratios from these cells was from 4.8 to 16.4. Our study shows that proliferative potential of mucous cells is determined by the interrelationship between mucus accumulation and nuclear size.     

COMPARISON OF ISOZYMES AMONG TYPHA SPECIES IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

Biochemical phenotsypes of four taxa of Typha from the eastern United States were determined by starch gel electrophoresis. The isozyme banding patterns of T. latifolia, T. angustifolia and T. domingensis are distinct and allow unambiguous species identification when morphological characters are inadequate or unsuitable. The fourth form, T. glauca, is not an F₁ hybrid, but it does appear to be intermediate between T. latifolia and T. angustifolia. The status of T. glauca and evolutionary relationships among the four forms may now be clarified by additional sampling because of the distinct and relatively invariant isozyme banding patterns which are described.     

Electrophoretic detection of the internal parasite, Aphidius matricariae in Myzus persicae

The presence of the internal parasite (Aphidius matricariae) of the aphid Myzus persicae can be identified by electrophoresis, and staining of several enzyme systems, of which malate dehydrogenase is recommended as the most reliable. It is suggested that the technique could be extended to other small insects, and that pest populations can be screened for percentage parasitism as an adjunct to insecticide and integrated control field trials.