α-Lipoic acid dependent regeneration of ascorbic acid from dehydroascorbic acid in rat liver mitochondria

Rat liver mitochondria were examined for their ability to reduce dehydroascorbic acid to ascorbic acid in an -lipoic acid dependent or independent manner. The a-lipoic acid dependent reduction was stimulated by factors that increased the NADH dependent reduction of -lipoic acid to dihydrolipoic acid in coupled reactions. Optimal conditions for dehydroascorbic acid reduction to ascorbic acid were achieved in the presence of pyruvate, -lipoic acid, and ATP. Electron transport inhibitors, rotenone and antimycin A, further enhanced the dehydroascorbic acid reduction. The reactions were strongly inhibited by 1 mM iodoacetamide or sodium arsenite. Mitoplasts were qualitatively similar to intact mitochondria in dehydroascorbate reduction activity. Pyruvate dehydrogenase and -ketoglutarate dehydrogenase reduced dehydroascorbic acid to ascorbic acid in an -lipoic acid, coenzyme A, and pyruvate or -ketoglutarate dependent fashion. Dehydroascorbic acid was also catalytically reduced to ascorbic acid by purified lipoamide dehydrogenase in an -lipoic acid (K _0.5=1.4±0.8 mM) and lipoamide (K _0.5=0.9±0.3 mM) dependent manner.     

T cells in murine lupus: propagation and regulation of disease

MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr mice develop a spontaneous lupus syndrome, including hypergammaglobulinemia, autoantibodies, glomerulonephritis, and lymphadenopathy. To investigate the role of lymphocyte subsets in the pathogenesis of disease, lupus-prone MRL mice deficient in T cells, T cells, or both were generated. Mice deficient in T cells developed a partially penetrant lupus syndrome, characterized by lymphadenopathy, elevated levels of class-switched immunoglobulins, an increased incidence of antinuclear antibodies, and immune deposits in kidneys which progressed to renal insufficiency over time. In comparison to wild type animals, T cell-deficient animals developed an accelerated and exacerbated disease phenotype, characterized by accelerated hypergammaglobulinemia and enhanced autoantibody production and mortality. Repertoire analysis of these latter animals identified polyclonal expansion (V) of CD4+B220-cells. Mice lacking both and T cells failed to generate class-switched autoantibodies and immune complex renal disease. First, these findings demonstrate that murine lupus in the setting of Fas-deficiency does not absolutely require the presence of T cells, and they also suggest that a significant basis for MRL/lpr disease, including renal disease, involves T cell-independent, T cell dependent, polyreactive B cell autoimmunity, upon which T cell-dependent mechanisms aggravate specific autoimmune responses. Second, these data indicate that T cells partake in the regulation of systemic autoimmunity, presumably via their effects on CD4+B220-T cells that provide B cell help. Finally, these results demonstrate that MRL/lpr B cells, despite their intrinsic abnormalities, cannot per se cause tissue injury without T cell help.Abbreviations snRNPs small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles     

Transformation of Orychophragmus violaceus Using Agrobacterium tumefaciens And Regeneration of Transgenic Plants

ＴｒａｎｓｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎｏｆＯｒｙｃｈｏｐｈｒａｇｍｕｓｖｉｏｌａｃｅｕｓＵｓｉｎｇＡｇｒｏｂａｃｔｅｒｉｕｍｔｕｍｅｆａｃｉｅｎｓＡｎｄＲｅｇｅｎｅｒａｔｉｏｎｏｆＴｒａｎｓｇｅｎｉｃＰｌａｎｔｓａ￥ＺＨＯＵＪｉ－ｍｉｎｇ（周冀明）;ＷＥＩＺｈ...     

酸水解蚕蛹制备复合氨基酸的研究

采用硫酸水解法,以蚕蛹制取复合氨基酸产品,得到氨基酸态氮分别为９．０５％和１３．４５％的食用复合氨基粉和精制复合氨基酸粉。食用复合氨基酸粉含有１８种氨基酸,其中必需氨基酸含量为３９．２％。食用复合氨基酸粉的制备方法经工厂小批量生产证实,其工艺简单易行,适合于中小企业采用,该产品的质量优良,生产成本低廉,具有市场竞争力。     

亚铁离子对水稻萌发后幼苗生长的促进作用

本文最新报道亚铁离子在远高于营养浓度的情况下（０．４４－７．１６ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ）能显著促进水稻萌发后的幼苗生长,其效果与已报道的促进因子Ｃ２Ｈ４相当．在试验的１９种不同化合物中,发现只有ＦｅＳＯ４对萌发后水稻幼苗生长有显著的促进作用,并证明其有效成分为Ｆｅ（２＋）．这种促进作用在淹水的厌氧条件下和通气条件均能发生,但通气条件下促进程度稍低．水稻不同基因型对Ｆｅ（２＋）的反应无明显差异,可能这种促进作用是水稻适应水田厌氧环境的方式之一．高浓度乙烯（５０—１００ｐｐｍ）的促进作用与亚铁离子的效果相近．这一发现有助于提高水稻在淹水厌氧直播时的出苗率．－－ｓｉｇｎｉｆｉｃａｎｔａｔｌ％ｌｅｖｅｌ;＊－－ｓｉｇｎｉｆｉｃａｎｔａｔ５％ｌｅｖｅｌ;ｕｓ－－ｎｏｔｓｉｇｎｉｆｉｃａｎｔ．２．３ＥｆｆｅｃｔｏｆｖａｒｉｏｕｓＦｅ＋＋ｃｏｎｃｅｎｔｒａｈｏｎｓｏｎｔｈｅｓｅｅｄｌｉｎｇｇｒｏｗｔｈｏｆｒｉｃｅＴｗｏｇｅｎｏｔｙｐｅｓ,ｍｏｄｅｒｎＩＲ５０ａｎｄｔｒａｄｉｔｉｏｎａｌＡＳＤＩ,ｗｅｒｅｕｓｅｄｆｏｒｆｕｒｔｈｅｒｓｔｕｄｙ．Ｆｅ＋＋ｗｉｔｈｃｏｎｃｅｎｔｒａｔｉｏｎｓｆｒｏｍ０．４４ｔｏ７．１６ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌｗ     

鼎湖山植被演替过程中椎栗和荷木种群的动态

 森林群落的演替过程,是以各优势种群的动态为其表现特征的。本项研究系统地研究了鼎湖山森林植被演替过程各优势种群的动态。本文研究演替顶极建群种椎栗和荷木等阳生性种群的动态,结果表明其生态位宽度在演替过程中由入侵针叶林起逐渐开始增大,至阳生性为优势常绿阔叶树阶段时为最大,此后渐渐下降,但不会下降为零。在其演变过程中,这些阳生性的种群格局由集群分布演变为趋于随机分布;其与早期先锋种马尾松树种的生态位宽度重叠值和种间联结值由高向低转变,而与中生性树种却有较高的生态位重叠值和种间联结值,但这两方面的值在后期有减弱的趋向。这些结果一方面说明该种群的先锋特性,另一方面也说明由于成熟群落的循环更新使群落结构出现不均匀与镶嵌,使这些阳生性先锋种群 在演替的后期仍以一定数量存在。     

Characterization of cis-acting elements in light regulation of the nuclear gene encoding the A subunit of chloroplast isozymes of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Arabidopsis thaliana.

We have characterized cis-acting elements involved in light regulation of the nuclear gene (GapA) encoding the A subunit of chloroplast glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our results show that a 1.1-kb promoter fragment of the GapA gene is sufficient to confer light inducibility and organ specificity in transgenic Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) plants, using the beta-glucuronidase gene of Escherichia coli as the reporter gene. Deletion analysis indicates that the -359 to -110 bp region of the GapA gene is necessary for light responsiveness. Within this region there are three copies of a decamer repeat (termed the Gap box) having the consensus sequence 5'-CAAATGAA(A/G)A-3', which has not been characterized in the promoter regions of other light-regulated genes. A deletion (to -247) producing loss of one copy of these elements from the GapA promoter reduces light induction by two- to threefold compared with a promoter deletion (to -359) with all three Gap boxes present, while deletion of all three Gap boxes (to -110) abolishes light induction completely. Gel mobility shift experiments using tobacco nuclei as the source of nuclear proteins show that GapA promoter fragments that contain these repeats bind strongly to a factor in the nuclear extract and that binding can be abolished by synthetic competitors consisting only of a monomer or dimer of the Gap box. Furthermore, a trimer, dimer, and monomer of the Gap box show binding activity and, like the authentic GapA promoter-derived probes, show binding activities that are correlated with Gap box copy number. These results strongly suggest that these repeats play important roles in light regulation of the GapA gene of A. thaliana.     

含金地质体表生带中主要微生物类群的研究

通过对16个含金矿区主要微生物类群的分布、生态结构的研究,发现不同类型的金矿具有不同的微生物类群.金矿矿石与金矿酸水中的自养硫细菌和异养菌分布具有明显差异,酸性水中含自养硫细菌较多,含异养菌极少;金矿氧化带中的异氧菌一般多于自氧硫细菌,其优势菌以芽孢杆菌属中蜡状芽孢杆菌为主.研究结果揭示了金矿中存在的主要微生物类群,对阐明表生金的形成、成岩和蚀变作用具有一定的意义,对发掘生物湿法冶金菌种资源具有重要作用.     

Stomatal sensitivity to abscisic acid following water deficit stress

Short-and medium-term stresses (1 and 24 h, respectively) wereapplied to detached leaves of Commelina communis L., resultingin both cases in a final leaf cell water potential (     

Nanometric design of extraordinary hydrophobic-induced pKa shifts for aspartic acid: Relevance to protein mechanisms

Commonly a key element enabling proteins to function is an amino acid residue or residues with functional side chains having shifted pKa values. This article reports the results on a set of protein-based polymers (model proteins) that exhibit hydrophobic folding and assembly transitions, and that have been designed for the purpose of achieving large hydrophobic-induced pKa shifts by selectively replacing Val residues by Phe residues. The high molecular weight polypentapeptides, actually poly (tricosapeptides) with six varied pentamers in fixed sequence, were designed and synthesized to have the same amino acid compositions but different proximities between a single aspartic acid residue and 5 Phe residues per 30 residues. With the 5 Phe residues distal from the Asp residue, the observed pKa shift was 2.9 when compared to the Val-containing reference. With the 5 Phe residues within 1 nm of the Asp residue, the pKa shift was 6.2. This represents a free energy of interaction of 8 kcal/moles. To our knowledge, this is the largest pKa shift documented for an Asp residue in a polypeptide– or protein–water system. Data are reviewed that do not support the usual electrostatic arguments for pKa shifts of charge–charge repulsion and/or unfavorable ion self-energies arising from displacement of water by hydrophobic moieties, but rather the data are interpreted to indicate the presence of an apolar–polar repulsive free energy of hydration, which results from a potentially highly cooperative competition between apolar and polar species for hydration. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.