水杨酸与植物抗非生物胁迫

本文综述了水杨酸在诱导植物抗（耐）非生物胁迫如重金属、自氧、紫外辐射、过冷、热激、水分亏缺和盐胁迫等方面的进展，并探讨了水杨酸作用的分子、生理机制。  

植物抗冻机理研究新进展：抗冻基因表达及其功能

综述了迄今业已分离和鉴定的低温诱导表达的抗冻基因，以及通过染色体基因制图方法褐示和证实的抗冻性基因，并着重地介绍了这些抗冻基因在提高植物抗冻能力上的功能。这些抗冻基因表达合成的新多肽具3有高度的亲水性，起着保护和稳定细胞膜结构的作用，从而防止冰冻伤害，提高植物的抗冻能力，同时还介绍了抗冻基因表达中的某些调节因子，其中尤其值得注意的是，CBF基因似乎有可能作为抗冻基因表达的“主开关”，以及Ca^2 作为植物细胞的第二信使在传递低温信号，启动和调节抗冻基因表达中可能的重要作用，这些研究结果，不仅为阐明植物的抗冻机理提供了新的证据，而且为改良农作物的抗寒性提供了新的启示。  

Effects of Erythropoietin on Neuronal Activity

Recently, erythropoietin (EPO) receptors and synthesis of EPO have been identified in the brain. To clarify the effects of EPO on neuronal cells, we investigated the effects of EPO on Ca2+ uptake, intracellular Ca2+ concentration, membrane potential, cell survival, release and biosynthesis of dopamine, and nitric oxide (NO) production in differentiated PC12 cells, which possess EPO receptors. EPO (10(-12)-10(-10) M) increased 45Ca2+ uptake and intracellular Ca2+ concentration in PC12 cells in a dose-related manner; these increases were inhibited by nicardipine (1 microM) or anti-EPO antibody (1:100 dilution). EPO induced membrane depolarization in PC12 cells. After a 5-day culture without serum and nerve growth factor (NGF), viable cell number decreased to 50% of that of the control cells cultured with serum and NGF. EPO (10(-13)-10(-10) M) increased the number of viable cells cultured without serum and NGF; this increase was blunted by nicardipine or anti-EPO antibody. Incubation with EPO (10(-13)-10(-10) M) stimulated mitogen-activated protein kinase activity in PC12 cells. EPO (10(-13)-10(-10) M) increased dopamine release from PC12 cells and tyrosine hydroxylase activity; these increases were sensitive to nicardipine or anti-EPO antibody. Following a 4-h incubation with EPO (10(-14)-10(-10) M), NO production was increased, which was blunted by nicardipine and anti-EPO antibody. In contrast, maximal NO synthase activity was not changed by EPO. These results suggest that EPO stimulates neuronal function and viability via activation of Ca2+ channels.  

Rubisco Activity: Effects of Drought Stress

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) activityis modulated in vivo either by reaction with CO₂ and Mg²⁺ tocarbamylate a lysine residue in the catalytic site, or by thebinding of inhibitors within the catalytic site. Binding ofinhibitors blocks either activity or the carbamylation of thelysine residue that is essential for activity. At night, inmany species, 2-carboxyarabinitol-1-phosphate (CA1P) is formedwhich binds tightly to Rubisco, inhibiting catalytic activity.Recent work has shown that tight-binding inhibitors can alsodecrease Rubisco activity in the light and contribute to theregulation of Rubisco activity. Here we determine the influencethat such inhibitors of Rubisco exert on catalytic activityduring drought stress. In tobacco plants, ‘total Rubiscoactivity’, i.e. the activity following pre-incubationwith CO₂ and Mg²⁺, was positively correlated with leaf relativewater content. However, ‘total Rubisco activity’in extracts from leaves with low water potential increased markedlywhen tightly bound inhibitors were removed, thus increasingthe number of catalytic sites available. This suggests thatin tobacco the decrease of Rubisco activity under drought stressis not primarily the result of changes in activation by CO₂and Mg²⁺ but due rather to the presence of tight-binding inhibitors.The amounts of inhibitor present in leaves of droughted tobaccobased on the decrease in Rubisco activity per mg soluble proteinwere usually much greater than the amounts of the known inhibitors(CA1P and ‘daytime inhibitor’) that can be recoveredin acid extracts. Alternative explanations for the differencebetween maximal and total activities are discussed.  

Matrix metalloproteinases and their endogenous inhibitors in neuronal physiology of the adult brain

More than 20 matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and four of their endogenous tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) act together to control tightly temporally restricted, focal proteolysis of extracellular matrix. In the neurons of the adult brain several components of the TIMP/MMP system are expressed and are responsive to changes in neuronal activity. Furthermore, functional studies, especially involving blocking of MMP activities, along with the identification of MMP substrates in the brain strongly suggest that this enzymatic system plays an important physiological role in adult brain neurons, possibly being pivotal for neuronal plasticity.  

Rapid isolation of CA microsatellites from the tilapia genome

We have developed (CA)n microsatellite markers for the cichlid fish, Oreochromis niloticus using a variation of the hybrid capture method. The resulting genomic library was highly enriched in repetitive DNA with 96% of clones containing CA repeats. The number of repeats ranged from four to 45 with an average of 19. Two-thirds of the sequenced clones had 12 or more repeats and sufficient flanking sequence to design primers. The resulting markers were tested in an F2 cross of O. niloticus x O. aureus. Nearly 90% of the markers amplified in this cross and 74% of these were informative. This work demonstrates the importance of minimizing the number of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification cycles before and after the enrichment steps to reduce PCR recombination and the generation of chimaeric clones.  

Opposite changes in membrane fluidity mimic cold and heat stress activation of distinct plant MAP kinase pathways

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) appear to be ubiquitously involved in signal transduction during eukaryotic responses to extracellular stimuli. In plants, no heat shock-activated MAPK has so far been reported. Also, whereas cold activates specific plant MAPKs such as alfalfa SAMK, mechanisms of such activation are unknown. Here, we report a heat shock-activated MAPK (HAMK) immunologically related to ERK (Extracellular signal-Regulated Kinase) superfamily of protein kinases. Molecular mechanisms of heat-activation of HAMK and cold-activation of SAMK were investigated. We show that cold-activation of SAMK requires membrane rigidification, whereas heat-activation of HAMK occurs through membrane fluidization. The temperature stress- and membrane structure-dependent activation of both SAMK and HAMK is mimicked at 25 degrees C by destabilizers of microfilaments and microtubules, latrunculin B and oryzalin, respectively; but is blocked by jasplakinolide, a stabilizer of actin microfilaments. Activation of SAMK or HAMK by temperature, chemically modulated membrane fluidity, or by cytoskeleton destabilizers is inhibited by blocking the influx of extracellular calcium. Activation of SAMK or HAMK is also prevented by an antagonist of calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs). In summary, our data indicate that cold and heat are sensed by structural changes in the plasma membrane that translates the signal via cytoskeleton, Ca2+ fluxes and CDPKs into the activation of distinct MAPK cascades.  

氧化钙对水稻幼苗的生理作用研究

利用几种含钙化合物处理土壤后播种水稻，发现氧化钙具有显著的生理活性，土壤中含量在1．0％时明显增加旱育身水稻幼苗高度，增加根数和加快叶片发育速度，进一步研究发现0．5－1．5％CaO能够降低稻苗细胞电解质渗透率和脂质过氧化过程，增加叶绿素含量和体内可溶性蛋白含量，并能提高POD活性，增强稻苗抗低温能力。  

高等植物雄性不育的细胞生物学研究进展

高等植物的雄性不育有多种类型，发生的原因复杂。对高等植物雄性不育机理的探索一直是一个活跃的研究领域。近年来采用多种细胞生物学方法对植物雄性不育的研究取得了一些新的成果，从绒毡层细胞结构与功能的分析以及Ca^2＋、ATP酶的分布特征、细胞骨架的排列方式、细胞程序性死亡等不同的细胞生物学研究角度探索了雄性不育花药的败育过程。雄性不育的细胞生物学研究结果起到了将分子水平研究与个体水平研究结果相联系的纽带作用，有助于全面地了解高等植物中各种雄性不育的发生机理。