Incorporation of 32P into membrane phospholipids during chloroplast biogenesis

The composition of membrane phospholipids during chloroplast biogenesis was studied. The maximal level of phosphatidic acid was observed in the membrane fraction of proplastids. Phosphatidylglycerol was found to be the most abundant phospholipid component of grana thylakoids. The evidence from the in vivo experiments indicates that phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylglycerol incorporate the 32P label at a high rate at all stages of the chloroplast biogenesis. It is concluded that plastids are the site of the phosphatidylglycerol biosynthesis in the plant cell.     

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in hsp65 and MACPPE12 Genes of Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis

Russian Journal of Genetics - Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH) are typical inhabitants of the environment, which are known as opportunistic pathogens of animals and humans. The aim of...     

Unusual presentation of choriocarcinoma

Background  

Choriocarcinoma is an aggressive neoplasm arising in the body of the uterus. The disease normally spreads to lung and brain.     

Differential expression level of cytokeratin 8 in cells of the bovine nucleus pulposus complicates the search for specific intervertebral disc cell markers

Introduction  

Development of cell therapies for repairing the intervertebral disc is limited by the lack of a source of healthy human disc cells. Stem cells, particularly mesenchymal stem cells, are seen as a potential source but differentiation strategies are limited by the lack of specific markers that can distinguish disc cells from articular chondrocytes.     

Water regime of upland oak forests of the south Russian forest steppe

In the southern forest steppe, the upland oak forests on loamy dark grey soils, which have the automorphic mode of water supply, usually endure droughts during the second half of the vegetative season due to the creation and use by biogeocenoses of some moisture reserves into soil and groundwater (GW), which are accessible to deep layers of root systems of trees. Two shallow sandy horizons interlaying moraine loams of the Dnieper glaciation at altitudes of 120 and 143 m above sea level serve as collectors and transporters of GW, the table of which is 10-15 m lower than the surface of the watershed plateaus and terraces. By autumn, trees desiccate subsoil horizons to the capillary fringe of GW. In early spring, the moisture of dried horizons is restored. The reserves of GW permit the upland oak forests to preserve rather high values of predawn leaf water potential such as Ψ _PD ≥ ?0.8 MPa despite the decrease in water potential of soil at a depth of 0-2 m of the soil layer to a value of Ψ _S ≈ ?2.4 MPa.     

Effect of clear-cutting on soil CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> emission

An experimental study to estimate the effect of clear-cutting on CO₂ emission from the soil surface was performed using the chamber method. For field measurements, several experimental plots within the clear-cut with different degrees of damage of the upper organic soil layer and different amounts of litter and logging residue on the surface were selected. Soil CO₂ fluxes were simultaneously measured both on the clear-cutting plots and on two plots within the spruce forest stand located close to the clear-cut area. The results show a significant seasonal and diurnal variability of soil CO₂ emission. It was found that the soil respiration rate varies significantly among plots and depends on the damage to the upper soil layer and the availability of litter and logging residue on the soil surface. It was found that the rate of CO₂ emission from soil surface is strongly dependent on the air and soil temperature and moisture of the upper soil layer. Different rates of soil respiration are also revealed on the plots located at different distances from tree trunks within the control forest stand.