Variability amongThymelaea hirsuta (L.)Endl. populations in Egypt

The present study depicts the presence of a gradient in the morphological characters ofThymelaea hirsuta (L.)Endl. leaves which correlated with the environmental gradient prevailing in the Western Mediterranean region of Egypt. The less arid and more calcareous habitats harbour individuals with obtuse and gentle curved leaf apices and gentle involute leaf margins. With the increase of aridity and decrease of CaCO₃, the leaf apices become acute and strongly curved, and the leaf margins become strongly involuted. Significant variations in seed weight, seedling emergence and viability of seed embryos inT. hirsuta, in relation to habitat types, are also shown and discussed.     

Factors affecting the use of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase as a marker for Brassica genetic transformation

The CAT gene which codes for the enzyme chloramphenicol acetyltransferase was found to be ineffective as a reporter gene in cells and tissues of Brassica species. High levels of endogenous CAT activity were found to be widespread among this genus and did not appear to be distributed in a tissue- or cell-specific manner. Moreover, the presence of an inhibitor of CAT activity was discovered in Brassica napus and Brassica juncea. This inhibitor appeared to act selectively on bacterial CAT in transgenic plants. These findings provided an explanation for difficulties experienced in the detection of transgenic CAT activity in B. napus.     

Amino acid sequences of stomach and nonstomach lysozymes of ruminants

Summary Complete amino acid sequences are presented for lysozymesc from camel and goat stomachs and compared to sequences of other lysozymesc. Tree analysis suggests that the rate of amino acid replacement went up as soon as lysozyme was recruited for the stomach function in early ruminants. The two lysozymes from goat stomach are the products of a gene duplication that probably took place before the divergence of cow, goat, and deer about 25 million years ago. Partial sequences of three lysozymes from goat tears indicated that (a) the goat tear family of lysozymes may have diverged from the stomach lysozyme family by an ancient duplication and (b) later duplications are probably responsible for the multiple forms of tear and milk lysozymes in ruminants.     

Effect of Desipramine on a Glycoprotein Sialyltransferase Activity in C6 Cultured Glioma Cells

The tricyclic antidepressant desipramine, when added to culture medium, gave rise in C6 rat glioma cells to a decrease of the activity of the enzyme asialofetuin sialyltransferase. The inhibition was dose and time dependent and was observed in both multiplying cells and cells blocked with 2 mM thymidine or depletion of amino acids. This inhibition was rather specific to the sialyltransferase, as under the conditions where this enzyme was inhibited up to 70%, other enzymes such as dolichol phosphate mannose synthetase, glutamine synthetase, and glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase remained unaffected. This inhibition was not reversed after removal of desipramine from the medium and was not observed by direct addition of desipramine to the sialyltransferase incubation assay. Under the same conditions, W-7 [N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide], which is known to be a potent calmodulin antagonist and an inhibitor of calmodulin-dependent kinases, gave the same concentration-dependent inhibition profile of sialyltransferase as desipramine, whereas H-7 [1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine], which is an inhibitor of protein kinase C and cyclic nucleotide-dependent kinases, had no effect. So, it is suggested that desipramine inhibits the sialyltransferase activity in C6 glioma cells through a calmodulin-dependent system.     

Characterization of Opioid Receptors in Cultured Neurons

The appearance of mu-, delta-, and kappa-opioid receptors was examined in primary cultures of embryonic rat brain. Membranes prepared from striatal, hippocampal, and hypothalamic neurons grown in dissociated cell culture each exhibited high-affinity opioid binding sites as determined by equilibrium binding of the universal opioid ligand (-)-[3H]bremazocine. The highest density of binding sites (per mg of protein) was found in membranes prepared from cultured striatal neurons (Bmax = 210 +/- 40 fmol/mg protein); this density is approximately two-thirds that of adult striatal membranes. By contrast, membranes of cultured cerebellar neurons and cultured astrocytes were devoid of opioid binding sites. The opioid receptor types expressed in cultured striatal neurons were characterized by equilibrium binding of highly selective radioligands. Scatchard analysis of binding of the mu-specific ligand [3H]D-Ala2,N-Me-Phe4,Gly-ol5-enkephalin to embryonic striatal cell membranes revealed an apparent single class of sites with an affinity (KD) of 0.4 +/- 0.1 nM and a density (Bmax) of 160 +/- 20 fmol/mg of protein. Specific binding of (-)-[3H]bremazocine under conditions in which mu- and delta-receptor binding was suppressed (kappa-receptor labeling conditions) occurred to an apparent single class of sites (KD = 2 +/- 1 nM; Bmax = 40 +/- 15 fmol/mg of protein). There was no detectable binding of the selective delta-ligand [3H]D-Pen2,D-Pen5-enkephalin. Thus, cultured striatal neurons expressed mu- and kappa-receptor sites at densities comparable to those found in vivo for embryonic rat brain, but not delta-receptors.     

Pharmacological Characterization of Somatostatin Receptors in the Rat Cerebellum During Development

Abstract: Somatostatin (SRIF) receptors (SRIF-Rs) are transiently expressed in a germinative lamina of the rat cerebellum, the external granule cell layer. The appearance of SRIF-Rs coincides with the expression of SRIF-like immunoreactivity in the cerebellum. However, the cellular location of SRIF-Rs does not overlap with the distribution of SRIF-like immunoreactivity, with the latter being restricted to ascending fibers arising from the brainstem, to perikarya within the white matter, and to some Purkinje cells. The characterization of SRIF-Rs in the immature (13–day-old) rat cerebellum was conducted by means of binding experiments in membraneenriched preparations and autoradiography, using two radioligands, [¹²⁵I-Tyr⁰,D-Trp⁸]SRIF-14 ([¹²⁵I-Tyr⁰,d -Trp⁸]S14) and ^I25I-SMS 204–090. The pharmacological profile of cerebellar SRIF-Rs was compared with that of adult cortical SRIF-Rs. Saturation studies performed in 13–day-old rat cerebellum showed that the A'_D values for [¹²⁵I-Tyr⁰,D-Trp⁸]S14 and ¹²⁵I-SMS 204–090 binding were 0.35 ± 0.04 and 0.39 ± 0.01 nM, respectively. The corresponding B_max values were 52.7 ± 4.8 and 49.9 ± 5.3 fmol/mg of protein, a result indicating that radioligands with high specific radioactivity (2,000 Ci/mmol) bind to a single class of high-affinity sites (SSI). Competition studies showed that different D-Trp-sub-stituted analogs displaced [¹²⁵I-Tyr⁰,d -Trp⁸]S14 binding with Hill coefficients >1, a finding indicating the existence of different subtypes of binding sites. When [Tyr⁰,d -Trp⁸]S14 was used as a competitor, two sites were resolved by Scatchard analysis in both 13–day-old cerebellum and adult cerebral cortex. The higher-affinity sites correspond to the SSI subtype identified in saturation experiments, whereas the lower-affinity sites most likely correspond to the SS2 subtype. Ionic supplementation studies showed that divalent cations were required to obtain maximal specific binding on the SSI sites. In particular, Mn²⁺ was the most efficient cation for promoting binding of [¹²⁵I-Tyr⁰,d -Trp⁸]S14. Addition of GTP to the incubation buffer induced a marked reduction of specific binding. The results obtained by membrane binding assays were similar to those obtained by quantitative autoradiography, a result indicating that the microenvironment of SRIF-Rs was preserved in both types of tissue preparations. Receptors expressed in the developing rat cerebellum exhibited the same K_D and similar pharmacological profile as those observed in the adult rat cortex. These results show that SRIF-binding sites transiently expressed in the external granule cell layer of the cerebellum of young rats are indistinguishable from adult rat brain SRIF-Rs. The extremely high density of SRIF-Rs found in the external granule cell layer in 13–day-old rats suggests that SRIF may play a pivotal role in the proliferation and/or differentiation of these germinative cells.     

Evidence for the presence of diacylglycerol kinase in rat brain myelin

The previous demonstration that incubation of brain slices with [³²P]phosphate brings about rapid tabeling of phosphatidic acid in myelin suggests that the enzyme involved should be present in this specialized membrane. DAG kinase (ATP:1,2-diacyglycerol 3-phosphotransferase, E.C. 2.7.1.107) is present in rat brain homogenate at a specific activity of 2.5 nmol phosphatidic acid formed/min/mg protein, while highly purified myelin had a much lower specific activity (0.29 nmol/min/mg protein). Nevertheless, the enzyme appears to be intrinsic to this membrane since it can not be removed by washing with a variety of detergents or chelating agents, and it could not be accounted for as contamination by another subcellular fraction. Production of endogenous, membrane-associated, diacylglycerol (DAG) by PLC (phospholipase C) treatment brought about translocation from soluble to particulate fractions, including myelin. Another level of control of activity involves inactivation by phosphorylation; a 10 min incubation of brain homogenate with ATP resulted in a large decrease in DAG kinase activity in soluble, particulate and myelin fractions.     

Virulence of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains with Brassica napus and Brassica juncea

Summary Brassica napus and Brassica juncea were infected with a number of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains. Tumourigenesis was very rapid and extremely efficient on B. juncea with all but one of the strains. Tumourigenesis on B. napus varied widely. It was very efficient with the nopaline strains, was reduced with the succinamopine strain A281 and was very weak with the octopine strains. The latter observation was confirmed with six different B. napus rapeseed cultivars. The selectivity was due to differences in the virulence of Ti plasmids with B. napus, rather than the tumourigenicity of the T-DNA or virulence of the chromosomal genes associated with the strains. An exception was strain LBA4404. The virulence of the octopine strains was increased by coinfection with more virulent disarmed strains and by induction with acetosyringone.     

Cloning and sequencing the genes encoding uptake-hydrogenase subunits of Rhodocyclus gelatinosus

Summary Rhodocyclus gelatinosus grew photosynthetically in the light and consumed H₂ at a rate of about 665 nmol/min per mg protein. The uptake-hydrogenase (H₂ase) was found to be membrane bound and insensitive to inhibition by CO. The structural genes of R. gelatinosus uptake-H₂ase were isolated from a 40 kb cosmid gene library of R. gelatinosus DNA by hybridization with the structural genes of uptake-H₂ase of Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Rhodobacter capsulatus. The R. gelatinosus genes were localized on two overlapping DNA restriction fragments subcloned into pUC18. Two open reading frames (ORF1 and ORF2) were observed. ORF1 contained 1080 nucleotides and encoded a 39.4 kDa protein. ORF2 had 1854 nucleotides and encoded a 68.5 kDa protein. Amino acid sequence analysis suggested that ORF1 and ORF2 corresponded to the small (HupS) and large (HupL) subunits, respectively, of R. gelatinosus uptake-H₂ase. ORF1 was approximately 80% homologous with the small, and ORF2 was maximally 68% homologous with the large subunit of typical membrane-bound uptake-H₂ases.     

Bradykinin Stimulates Phosphoinositide Hydrolysis and Mobilization of Arachidonic Acid in Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons

Cultures of fetal rat dorsal root ganglion neurons (7 days in culture) were prelabeled with myo-[3H]inositol or [3H]arachidonic acid for 24 h and stimulated with 10 microM bradykinin for time intervals of 5-300 s. The incubation was terminated by addition of 5% perchloric acid to extract inositol phosphates or organic solvent to extract lipids. Inositol phosphates were resolved by anion-exchange HPLC; lipids were resolved by TLC. Bradykinin stimulation resulted in a 10-fold increased accumulation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and inositol bisphosphate (IP2) (fivefold) by 5 s. The increase in IP3 was transient (half maximal by 1 min), whereas stimulated IP2 levels were sustained for several minutes. Even longer term increases were observed in inositol monophosphate. Stimulation also resulted in a threefold increase in arachidonic acid which was preceded by transient increases in diacylglycerol (twofold) and arachidonoyl-monoacylglycerol (threefold). The temporal lag in the accumulation of arachidonic acid with respect to diglyceride and monoglyceride suggested the involvement of di- and monoglyceride lipases in arachidonic acid mobilization. A role for phospholipase A2 is also possible, because pretreatment of cultures with quinacrine partially blocked arachidonic acid release. Bradykinin-stimulated arachidonic acid release was decreased in the presence of calcium channel blockers nifedipine or verapamil (50 microM), or EDTA (2.5 mM). The role of calcium was verified further in that accumulation of phosphatidic acid, diacylglycerol, and arachidonic acid was maximally stimulated by treatment with the calcium ionophore A23187 (20 microM).