Use of tissue culture to bypass wheat hybrid necrosis

Summary Hybrid necrosis in wheat is a barrier to gene transfer in wheat breeding practice. It is based on two complementary genes, Ne1 and Ne2. Recovery mutants (Re1, Re2 and Re3) which can grow to maturity were recovered from immature embryo cultures of necrotic hybrids between T. aestivum and T. durum. Cytological observation demonstrated that Re1 had 34 chromosomes instead of 35. This indicated that one of the chromosomes carrying the Ne genes was lost. Genetic study suggested that for Re1, the lost chromosome was chromosome 5B of the durum parental line. Re mutants are male sterile but can be maintained through a young ear culture method. Re mutants could be successfully pollinated by either parental line and the BC1 progeny is partially fertile. Re mutants were repeatedly induced in about 1% of the regenerated plants from immature embryo culture. This technique provides a practical way to bypass hybrid necrosis.     

Metabolism of a subtropical Brazilian lagoon

Total community, planktonic and benthic metabolisms were measured by using the carbon dioxide production and consumption, the diurnal curve' method and the in situ bottle incubation technique over an annual cycle in two sublagoons of the Saquarema Lagoon, Brazil. Metabolic rates of the phytoplankton-based lagoon were characterized by considerable daytime and daily variability in production and respiration, by a seasonal shift between net autotrophy and heterotrophy and by an annual balance of production (P = 105 ± 65 mmoles/m²/dayn = 25) and respiration (R = 102 ± 50 mmoles/m²/dayn = 25). Total community metabolism was similar throughout the lagoon, but phytoplankton assimilation rates and benthic respiration showed spatial differences. Bottle incubations compared to total community free water respiration suggested that the pelagic community was 2–5 times more active than the benthos     

Differential response of cycling and noncycling cells to inducers of DNA synthesis and mitosis

The objective of this study was to determine whether cells in G(0) phase are functionally distinct from those in G(1) with regard to their ability to respond to the inducers of DNA synthesis and to retard the cell cycle traverse of the G(2) component after fusion. Synchronized populations of HeLa cells in G(1) and human diploid fibroblasts in G(1) and G(0) phases were separately fused using UV-inactivated Sendai virus with HeLa cells prelabeled with [(3)H]ThdR and synchronized in S or G(2) phases. The kinetics of initiation of DNA synthesis in the nuclei of G(0) and G(1) cells residing in G(0)/S and G(1)/S dikaryons, respectively, were studied as a function of time after fusion. In the G(0)/G(2) and G(1)/G(2) fusions, the rate of entry into mitosis of the heterophasic binucleate cells was monitored in the presence of Colcemid. The effects of protein synthesis inhibition in the G(1) cells, and the UV irradiation of G(0) cells before fusion, on the rate of entry of the G(2) component into mitosis were also studied. The results of this study indicate that DNA synthesis can be induced in G(0)nuclei after fusion between G(0)- and S-phase cells, but G(0) nuclei are much slower than G(1) nuclei in responding to the inducers of DNA synthesis because the chromatin of G(0) cells is more condensed than it is in G(1) cells. A more interesting observation resulting from this study is that G(0) cells is more condensed than it is in G(1) cells. A more interesting observation resulting from this study is that G(0) cells differ from G(1) cells with regard to their effects on the cell cycle progression of the G(2) nucleus into mitosis. This difference between G(0) and G(1) cells appears to depend on certain factors, probably nonhistone proteins, present in G(1) cells but absent in G(0) cells. These factors can be induced in G(0) cells by UV irradiation and inhibited in G(1) cells by cycloheximide treatment.     

Euploidy in Ricinus: EUPLOIDY EFFECTS ON PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVITY AND CONTENT OF CHLOROPHYLL-PROTEINS

The effects of nuclear genome duplication on the chlorophyll-protein content and photochemical activity of chloroplasts, and photosynthetic rates in leaf tissue, have been evaluated in haploid, diploid, and tetraploid individuals of the castor bean, Ricinus communis L. Analysis of this euploid series revealed that both photosystem II (2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol reduction) and photosystem I oxygen uptake (N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine to methyl viologen) decrease in plastids isolated from cells with increasingly larger nuclear complement sizes. Photosynthetic O₂-evolution and ¹⁴CO₂-fixation rates in leaf tissue from haploid, diploid, and tetraploid individuals were also found to decrease with the increase in size of the nuclear genome. Six chlorophyll-protein complexes, in addition to a zone of detergent complexed free pigment, were resolved from sodium dodecyl sulfate-solubilized thylakoid membranes from cells of all three ploidy levels. In addition to the P700-chlorophyll a-protein complex and the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complex, four minor complexes were revealed, two containing only chlorophyll a and two containing both chlorophyll a and b. The relative distribution of chlorophyll among the resolved chlorophyll-protein complexes and free pigment was found to be similar for all three ploidy levels.     

Fractionation and Analysis of Polypeptides of Euglena gracilis Chloroplasts

Intact Euglena gracilis chloroplasts, purified on gradients of silica sol, were lysed osmotically and fractionated by centrifugation on discontinuous gradients of sucrose into their soluble, envelope membrane, and thylakoid membrane components. The proteins of the different subchloroplast fractions, as well as those of whole chloroplasts, were analyzed by electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels. The polypeptide profile of each fraction was distinctive and was in general similar to the profile obtained for analogous fractions of the chloroplasts of higher plants.     

Amazonia trees have limited capacity to acclimate plant hydraulic properties in response to long‐term drought

The fate of tropical forests under future climate change is dependent on the capacity of their trees to adjust to drier conditions. The capacity of trees to withstand drought is likely to be determined by traits associated with their hydraulic systems. However, data on whether tropical trees can adjust hydraulic traits when experiencing drought remain rare. We measured plant hydraulic traits (e.g. hydraulic conductivity and embolism resistance) and plant hydraulic system status (e.g. leaf water potential, native embolism and safety margin) on >150 trees from 12 genera (36 species) and spanning a stem size range from 14 to 68 cm diameter at breast height at the world's only long‐running tropical forest drought experiment. Hydraulic traits showed no adjustment following 15 years of experimentally imposed moisture deficit. This failure to adjust resulted in these drought‐stressed trees experiencing significantly lower leaf water potentials, and higher, but variable, levels of native embolism in the branches. This result suggests that hydraulic damage caused by elevated levels of embolism is likely to be one of the key drivers of drought‐induced mortality following long‐term soil moisture deficit. We demonstrate that some hydraulic traits changed with tree size, however, the direction and magnitude of the change was controlled by taxonomic identity. Our results suggest that Amazonian trees, both small and large, have limited capacity to acclimate their hydraulic systems to future droughts, potentially making them more at risk of drought‐induced mortality.     

Synthetic Aurones: New Features for Schistosoma mansoni Therapy

In this work, two synthetic aurones revealed moderate schistosomicidal potential in in vitro and in vivo assays. Aurones ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) promoted changes in tegument integrity and motor activity, leading to death of adult Schistosoma mansoni worms in in vitro assays. When administered orally (two doses of 50 mg/kg) in experimentally infected animals, synthetic aurones ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) promoted reductions of 56.20 % and 57.61 % of the parasite load and stimulated the displacement towards the liver of the remaining adult worms. The oogram analysis revealed that the treatment with both aurones interferes with the egg development kinetics in the intestinal tissue. Seeking an action target for compounds ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), the connection with NTPDases enzymes, recognized as important therapeutic targets for S. mansoni, was evaluated. Molecular docking studies have shown promising results. The dataset reveals the anthelmintic character of these compounds, which can be used in the development of new therapies for schistosomiasis.