Expression of heat shock proteins during development of barley

Barley heat shock proteins have been cloned, characterized by hybrid release translation and sequenced. Clones coding for proteins of 17, 18, 30, 32 and 70 kDa have been obtained. Out of these the 32 and 30 kDa proteins have been characterized as precursors to plastidic proteins of 26 kDa by posttranslational transport and by cDNA sequencing. The coding regions of these two transcribed genes are highly homologous. Accumulation of the plastid HSP as well as of HSP 70 as well as their corresponding mRNAs has been studied in 2- to 6-day old seedlings and in the 7-day old barley leaf. The mRNA for all investigated proteins were only found after a heat shock; the mRNA levels increase towards the tip of the leaf and with development. Furthermore, under the conditions used the mRNAs for all investigated heat shock proteins accumulate in parallel. Unexpectedly, both proteins, HSP 70 and HSP 26, are found by western blotting in the 2-day old control plants in the absence of any inducing heat shock. At later stages of development and in the leaf gradient only immunoreactivity with HSP 70 was observed. In contrast to the levels of their mRNAs the highest levels of HSP 30–26 and 70 have been observed in the basal segments indicating that translational control plays a role during HSP expression. Under severe heat shock a protein of 30 kDa is induced whose identity is not known but which reacts with the antibody to HSP 30–26 and might represent the accumulating precursors of the plastidic proteins.     

Effects of 60 Hz electric and magnetic fields on maturation of the rat neopallium

This study was undertaken to determine the effects of extremely low frequency (ELF; 60 Hz) electromagnetic (EM) fields on somatic growth and cortical development, as well as biochemical and morphological maturation, of the rat neopallium. On the fifth day of pregnancy, female rats were put in pairs into plastic cages that were housed in a specially constructed apparatus for irradiation under three separate sets of combination and intensity: 1) 1 kV/m and 10 gauss; 2) 100 kV/m and 1 gauss; and 3) 100 kV/m and 10 gauss. The dams were exposed for 23 h daily, from days 5 through 19 postconception after which they were returned to cages outside the exposure apparatus until they littered. The neonates were culled to eight pups per litter. At 0 (birth), 5, 12, and 19 days postnatally, they were killed for biochemical and morphological studies. Another group of pregnant rats was sham-exposed in an identical apparatus, which was not energized, and the pups were used as controls. The irradiated rats exhibited no physical abnormalities, nor did they show brain deformities such as swelling or herniation following exposure to ELF-EM fields. There was no difference in somatic growth between control and exposed rats, but a small reduction in cortical weight was observed in rats exposed at 1 kV/m and 10 gauss, and 100 kV/m and 1 gauss, respectively. Biochemical measurements of DNA. RNA, protein, and cerebroside concentrations indicated that among the three separate exposures, only the neopallium of rats exposed at 1 kV/m and 10 gauss showed a small reduction in DNA level, as well as small reductions in RNA and protein levels. No changes were noticed in cerebroside levels in any exposed animals, and there were no differences in protein/DNA and cerebroside/DNA ratios between control and exposed rats. Morphological observations did not reveal any detectable alterations in the irradiated rats. These results indicate that exposure to ELF-EM fields caused minimal or no changes in somatic growth and cerebral development of the rat. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Protein sequences as random fractals

The analysis of primary sequences from a protein sequence data base suggests that the sequences can be considered as examples of constrained random fractals. Fractal dimensions of the positional distributions of the 20 residues along the chain have been calculated. These fractal dimensions can be used as indices of intrinsic preferences of various residues.     

Changes in O horizon mass,thickness and carbon content following fire in northern hardwood forests

This study examines temporal changes in the thickness, mass, and organic carbon content of the O horizon (forest floor) of eight forested plots in northern Michigan, USA. Each plot had experienced a recent burn (prescribed or accidental); burn dates ranged from 1798 to 1980. The climax forest in this region is mixed Pinus-Acer-Betula-Tsuga, whereas the fire successional species are predominantly Populus spp. and Betula papyrifera. O horizon data were fit to logarithmic functions (chronofunctions) that depicted rapid accumulations of mass and thickness in the first years after the fire, followed by decreasing rates of increase after 100 years. Extension of the chronofunctions to 5000 years allowed for a theoretical examination of forest floor conditions, e.g., steady state and time to steady state, after long periods without disturbance. The models predicted greater O horizon thicknesses and slightly lower mass for steady state conditions than have been reported for old-growth stands elsewhere. Steady state accumulations of litter in these mixed, temperate forests requires at least 200 and possibly > 1000 years, which is markedly longer than most other estimates. Although frequent disturbance by fire in these forests would likely preclude such values from being attained, these data provide theoretical maximum values for forest floor conditions in these ecosystems.     

Algal crust formation in the inland dune area,Laarder Wasmeer,the Netherlands

The aim of this study is to acquire insight in the initial vegetation development on active drifting sands in relation to geomorphological processes. For this purpose the algal vegetation and surface dynamics were monitored on a sand hill with active drifting sand, and on a bare slope within a terrain covered with Polytrichum piliferum located in the Laarder Wasmeer (The Netherlands).There is a successional development from an algal community dominated by the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria spp., through the crust in which initially the green alga Klebsormidium and later the cyanobacterium Synechococcus predominates, eventually succeeded by the green alga Zygogonium ericetorum. In this phase the sand is stabilized. The areal extent of algal crusts on the active drifting sand area is greatest during the winter, contrastingly highest biomass values are found during the summer and autumn in mature Zygogonium crusts.Substrate instability due to the action of wind clearly limits algal growth and vegetational development on the sand hill. The algal crust seldom reaches the stage of maturity. Near-flat ground is more easily stabilized. Unlike the algae found in coastal dune area and the initial pioneers in the Laarder Wasmeer area, the Zygogonium crust is water repellent when dry. Consequently increasing surface stability by algal crust development is accompanied by higher surface runoff on sloping areas.     

Diverse programs of ascus development in pseudohomothallic species of Neurospora,Gelasinospora, and Podospora

Meiosis and ascospore development in the four-spored pseudohomothallic ascomycetes Neurospora tetrasperma, Gelasinospora tetrasperma, Podospora anserina, and P. fefraspora have been reexamined, highlighting differences that reflect independent origins of the four-spored condition in the different genera. In these species, as in the heterothallic eight-spored N. crassa, fusion of haploid nuclei is followed directly by meiosis and a postmeiotic mitosis. These divisions take place within a single unpartitioned giant cell, the ascus, which attains a length of >0.1 mm before nuclei are enclosed by ascospore walls. Two basically different modes underlie the delivery of opposite mating type nuclei into each of the four ascospores in the different genera. In N. tefrasperma on the one hand, the mating type locus is closely centromere-linked. Mating types therefore segregate at the first meiotic division. The second division spindles of N. tefrasperma overlap and are usually parallel to one another, in contrast to the their tandem arrangement in N. crassa. As a result, nonsister nuclei of opposite mating type are placed close together in each half-ascus and a pair is enclosed in each ascospore. In the Podospora and Gelasinospora species on the other hand, the second-division spindles are in tandem, with sister nuclei of opposite mating type associated as a pair in each half-ascus. It is established for P. anserina and inferred for P. fetraspora and G. fefrasperma that a single reciprocal crossing over almost always occurs in the mating type-centromere interval, ensuring that mating types segregate at the second meiotic division and that nuclei of opposite mating type are enclosed in each ascospore. Other differences are also seen that are less fundamental. Neurospora tetrasperma differs from the other species in the orientation of chromosomes and spindle pole body plaques at interphase (I.) Third-division spindles are oriented parallel to the ascus wall in Gelasinospora but across the ascus in Podospora and Neurospora. The two Podospora species differ from one another in nuclear behavior following mitosis in the young ascospores. In P. tefraspora, two of the four nuclei migrate into the tail cell, which degenerates, leaving one functional nucleus of each mating type. In P. anserina, by contrast, only one of the four nuclei moves into the tail cell, leaving the germinating ascospore with two functional nuclei of one mating type and one of the other. The pseudohomothallic condition with its heterokaryotic vegetative phase has significant consequences for both the individual organism and the breeding system. Genetic controls of development and recombination are complex. Inbreeding is not obligatory. © 1994 WiIey-Liss, Inc.     

小鼠卵激活过程中胞质游离Ca~(2 )的变化及孤雌发育研究

乙醇和电刺激均可使小鼠MⅡ期卵母细胞激活并在体外孤雌发育至囊胚。小鼠卵对乙醇十分敏感。用7%—8%乙醇处理5min后95%以上的卵母细胞(卵龄为HCG注射后18—19h)内形成原核。3—4次电刺激后卵的激活率为71.58%;仅刺激1次卵的激活率为63.63%。乙醇刺激可诱导卵内游离Ca~(2 )浓度出现多次升高;单一电刺激仅能诱导卵内游离Ca~(2 )浓度出现1次升高;多次电刺激可诱导卵内游离Ca~(2 )浓度多次升高,而且电刺激次数与Ca~(2 )浓度升高成一一对应关系。对于电刺激,介质中足够量的Ca~(2 )对卵激活至关重要。在无Ca~(2 )的介质中,电刺激很难使卵激活。正常受精刺激诱导卵内游离Ca~(2 )浓度出现多次有规律的升高。实验结果表明,卵母细胞激活过程中胞质游离Ca~(2 )浓度重复多次升高可促使卵母细胞恢复成熟分裂。     

Endocrine Regulation of Fetal Adipose Tissue Metabolism in the Pig: Role of Hydrocortisone

Glucocorticoids have been shown to be essential for the excessive fat deposition and development of obesity in several animal models. This study was performed to characterize the role of glucocorticoids in the developmental regulation of adipose tissue metabolism. On day 70 of gestation, pig fetuses were hypophysectomized by micro-cauterization. Hypophysectomized fetuses were implanted subcutaneously with hydrocortisone pellets or received no hormone replacement. Fetuses were removed by laparotomy on day 90 of gestation. Additional fetuses were hypophysectomized on day 70, implanted with hydrocortisone pellets on day 90 and removed on day 105 of gestation. Several intact fetuses were also implanted subcutaneously with hydrocortisone pellets during this later gestational period. Serum cortisol concentrations were reduced in hypophysectomized pigs at both fetal ages and were restored to intact levels by hydrocortisone treatment. Hydrocortisone supplementation enhanced lipolytic response to isoproterenol in intact fetuses but failed to restore lipolytic response to isoproterenol in hypophysectomized animals at either fetal age. Hydrocortisone induced a slight increase in lipogenesis in hypophysectomized fetuses when administered from 70 to 90 days of gestation and a more dramatic increase when administered from days 90 to 105 of gestation. However, hydrocortisone had no effect on basal or insulin stimulated lipogenesis in intact fetuses when administered from days 90 to 105 of gestation. These results indicate that hydrocortisone may have a primary influence on adipose tissue metabolism during late fetal development only in the absence of inhibition from counterregulatory hormones of pituitary origin.