Distribution of metal ions in the subcellular fractions of several rat brain areas.

The levels of Cu, Fe, Zn, Mg and Ca in the synaptosomal myelin and mitochondrial fractions of the rat brain were determined quantitatively by means of the atomic absorption spectroscopic method. In the whole brain the concentrations of the metals were present in the three different fractions in the following range; Cu, 0.46-1.76; Fe, 0.24-3.51; Zn, 0.12-0.93; Mg, 1.08-1.41 and Ca, 1.28-3.56 μg/mg tissue protein. Analyses of the subcellular organelles prepared from different areas of the brain indicated that the concentrations of Cu and Zn were relatively larger in the hypothalamus and lower in cerebellum in comparison with other areas. On treatment of the rats with the metal chelating agents i.e., EDA, EDDHA and HBED intracisternally, it was found that the distribution of the subcellular metals was markedly affected.     

Caenorhabditis elegans functional genomics: omic resonance.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is widely used as a model organism for studying many fundamental aspects of development and cell biology, including processes underlying human disease. The genome of C. elegans encodes over 19,000 protein-coding genes and hundreds of non-coding RNAs. The availability of whole genome sequence has facilitated the development of high throughput techniques for elucidating the function of individual genes and gene products. Furthermore, attempts can now be made to integrate these substantial functional genomics data collections and to understand at a global level how the flow of genomic information that is at the core of the central dogma leads to the development of a multicellular organism.