女贞的一种小分子闭环RNA

女贞(Ligustrum Cornpactum)叶片的核酸提取物,经聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(PAGE),出现两条低分子量的核酸带,DNase 1及RNase A处理证实两条核酸带均为RNA,初步测得迁移率较小的RNA的分子量约为0.7×10~5道尔顿,5＇末端标记,双相及双方向PAGE分析证实,该RNA是存在于女贞叶片细胞内的一种小分子闭环RNA(简称psc RNA),不同离子强度下的RNase A处理揭示,psc RNA分子内有大量碱基互补结构,从点杂交结果推断psc RNA的一级结构中,不含绝大多数闭环类病毒RNA所共同具有的中心保守区段,在本实验的条件下pscRNA不能感染爪哇三七,女贞叶片汁液和按照提取,纯化病毒粒子的程序制备的溶液。在电镜下均没有观察到病毒颗粒,结果表明,女贞叶片细胞中存在一种无蛋白质外壳包被的、具有次量分子内碱基互辅结构的共价闭合环状RNA分子,在其它两种植物中,亦初步检测到此类闭环RNA分子,讨论了此种闭环RNA分子的意义。     

晶状体生化的研究 平阳霉素诱发大鼠白内障的研究

 本文报道间日经皮下注射平阳霉素(Pingyangmycin)(25μg/10g体重)于出生后四日之乳鼠可诱发白内障,其诱发率为84.6％。患白内障时晶状体中可溶性蛋白质含量明显降低。经Sephadex G-200柱层析可见βH,γ晶体蛋白降低,α晶体蛋白则相对升高。经10％聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳及等电聚焦电泳可见γ晶体蛋白改变明显,这些结果和我们用半乳糖及亚硒酸钠诱发白内障所得结果一致。     

Purification methods for the sequence-specific DNA-binding protein nuclear factor I (NFI) — Generation of protein sequence information

The paper describes a potent purification method, preparative gel retention, for the purification of sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins. This procedure exploits the sequence-specific DNA-binding affinity of such proteins for their enrichment, comparable to recognition site DNA affinity chromatography. The method was employed to obtain a pure preparation of nuclear factor I (NFI) from porcine liver from which sequences of partial peptides could be obtained. Oligonucleotide probes derived from these amino-acid sequences were used to identify genomic and cDNA clones of NFI.     

Historical effective size and the level of genetic diversity in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila pseudoobscura

We report the results of a sequential gel electrophoretic study of protein variation in Drosophila melanogaster and its comparison with D. pseudoobscura. The number of alleles and mean heterozygosity were lower in D. melanogaster than in D. pseudoobscura. On the other hand, geographical populations of Drosophila melanogaster have been shown to be much more differentiated than those of D. pseudoobscura. The results suggest that in D. melanogaster low-frequency alleles have been lost during the colonization process and that major alleles have become differentiated among populations. Population bottlenecks, due to various causes, appear to have played a significant role in the shaping of genetic variation in natural populations of many species. It is proposed that a comparison of genetic variation at homologous gene loci between related species can bring out effects of historical bottlenecks and provide an alternative approach for analyzing causes of genetic variation in natural populations.We thank the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada for financial support (Grant A0235 to R.S.S.).     

In situ staining procedure for the detection of ornithine transcarbamylase activity in polyacrylamide gels

Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency is a human genetic disease potentially susceptible to gene therapy. A murine model system exists for the disease in the sparse-fur (spf) mouse. Before gene therapy studies can be performed it is necessary to have practical methods which could detect successful gene transfer. Therefore we have developed an in situ staining procedure for the detection of ornithine transcarbamylase activity in polyacrylamide gels. Following electrophoretic separation under nondenaturing conditions inorganic phosphate cleaved from carbamyl phosphate in gels as a result of enzymatic activity was precipitated as phosphomolybdic acid and visualized by reduction with ascorbic acid. Results from the procedure correlated with ornithine transcarbamylase activity as measured by solution assay for citrulline, the other product of the reaction. This procedure readily distinguished mutant forms of ornithine transcarbamylase as exemplified by the murine spf mutation and resolved ornithine transcarbamylases of all animals tested into multiple forms. The procedure further distinguished ornithine transcarbamylases of animals of several different genera while yielding virtually identical patterns of the enzyme from species within the same genus. This procedure also suggested that the human enzyme was more labile than murine ornithine transcarbamylase; direct thermolability studies confirmed this finding.     

Oven-drying method for polyacrylamide gel slab packed in cellophane sandwich

Polyacrylamide gel slabs can be dried quickly without elaborate tools and the results are similar or even better than those obtained with a commercial drying apparatus. The discontinuous, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and gradient polyacrylamide gel slabs yielded similar results regardless of the staining methods, e.g., Coomassie blue, periodate-Schiff's reagent, or ammoniacal silver.     

Evaluation of isoelectric focusing running conditions during two-dimensional isoelectric focusing/sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis: variation of gel patterns with changing conditions and optimized isoelectric focusing conditions

Five major isoelectric focusing (IEF) parameters--volt-hours; concentrations of acrylamide, NaOH, and H3PO4; and equilibration time--were systematically varied to determine the effect of each on two-dimensional IEF/sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gel patterns and to optimize IEF conditions. Alterations in each parameter affected the gel pattern, frequently causing uncertainty in the identification of spots between conditions. The results emphasize the need for internal analytical consistency, and indicate that gel pattern comparisons between laboratories can be complicated if different IEF conditions are employed. The systematic evaluation indicated that optimized patterns were obtained when increased concentrations of NaOH and H3PO4 (to 50 and 25 mM, respectively) and run durations of 10,000 V-h or longer were used.     

Electrophoresis in the presence of Coomassie brilliant blue R-250 stains polyacrylamide gels during protein fractionation

A method of staining polyacrylamide gels in which the dye is electrophoresed together with the sample is proposed. The method cuts short and simplifies the conventional electrophoresis procedure by eliminating the separate poststaining step. In the gels run in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, the method produces protein staining patterns which are quantitatively identical to the ones obtained by conventional staining procedure. Additional advantages of the method are easy control over the degree of staining and homogenous staining independent of the gel thickness and concentration of the dye.     

Activation of partially purified rat liver lipid methyltransferase by phosphorylation

Incubation of partially purified rat liver lipid methyltransferase with MgATP and the catalytic subunit of the cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase results in up to 4-fold activation of the methylation reaction. When (gamma-32p) MgATP is included in the assay mixture, the analysis of the phosphoprotein products by electrophoresis shows the incorporation of 32p into a single protein band of about 50K and pI 4.75. It is concluded that rat liver lipid methyltransferase can be converted from a low activity dephosphorylated form to a high activity phosphorylated form.     

Dissociation constants for carbonic anhydrase--sulfonamide binding by high-performance liquid chromatography

Carbonic anhydrase-azosulfonamide dissociation constants (Kd) were determined by gel filtration with high-performance liquid chromatography. By measuring the area of the elution peak at two wavelengths, Kd values were derived without having to measure a shallow trough. The procedure proved to be fast and reliable and has a general application. The dissociation constants were measured for 7-acetamido-2-(4'-sulfamylphenylazo)-1-hydroxynaphthalene-3, 6-disulfonate (Neoprontosil) complexes with carbonic anhydrase isozymes CA I, CA II, and CA III from bovine and human sources, and chicken CA III from skeletal muscle.