水稻胚囊超微结构的研究

水稻(Oryza sativa L.)胚囊成熟时,卵细胞的合点端无细胞壁,核居细胞中部,细胞器集中在核周围,液泡分散于细胞周边区域。助细胞珠孔端有丝状器,合点端无壁,核位于细胞中部贴壁处,细胞器主要分布在珠孔端,液泡主要分布在合点端。开花前不久,一个助细胞退化。中央细胞为大液泡所占,两个极核靠近卵器而部分融合,细胞器集中在极核周围和靠近卵器处,与珠心相接的胚囊壁上有发达的内突。反足细胞多个形成群体,其增殖主要依靠无丝分裂与壁的自由生长,反足细胞含丰富活跃的细胞器,与珠心相接的壁上有发达的内突。开花后6小时双受精已完成,合子和两个助细胞合点端均形成完整壁。合子中开始形成多聚核糖体、液泡减小。退化助细胞含花粉管释放的物质,其合点端迴抱合子。极核已分裂成数个胚乳游离核,中央细胞中细胞器呈活化状态。反足细胞仍在继续增殖。讨论了卵细胞的极性、助细胞的退化、卵器与中央细胞间界壁的变化、反足细胞的分裂特点等问题。     

酵母菌细胞的超微结构及其功能

近年来,由于细胞分离技术的进步,可以从细胞中分离出各种细胞器;由于电子显微镜技术的发展,逐步查明了各种细胞器的超微结构。同时,细胞化学,放射自显影术,元素分析等方法与电子显微镜技术的结合,使我们得以探索各类物质在细胞内的分布状况。     

杜鹃雌雄配子体的超微结构及受精过程中精细胞质的传递

杜鹃雌雄配子体的超微结构及受精过程中精细胞质的传递国凤利,胡适宜（北京大学生命科学学院、北京１００８７１）应用透射电镜及ＤＮＡ特异性荧光技术对杜鹃的雌雄配子体进行了研究。在比较了受精前两性配子中细胞器特征的基础上,进一步鉴定了受精以后合子及胚乳细胞中...     

牵牛属生殖细胞和精细胞中细胞器DNA的研究

用ＤＡＰＩ荧光技术观察了大花牵牛（ Ｐｈａｒｂｉｔｉｓ ｌｉｍ ｂａｔａ Ｌｉｎｄｌ．）和圆叶牵牛（Ｐ． ｐｕｒｐｕｒｅａ（Ｌ．） Ｖｏｉｇｈｔ）生殖细胞的细胞质ＤＮＡ及其在精细胞形成过程中的动态。牵牛属这两个种的生殖细胞均为细长形,具有大量细胞器ＤＮＡ。刚形成的一对精细胞大多数一端钝,另一端呈尾状。较后期的精细胞多呈凸透镜状。生殖细胞分裂形成的一对精细胞多是同型的,也有的表现为异型。精细胞的核多偏于细胞的一端。在细胞质中有大量细胞器ＤＮＡ分布。精细胞中的细胞器ＤＮＡ 荧光点在大小及荧光强度上有所不同,可能代表线粒体和质体这两种不同的细胞器ＤＮＡ。大花牵牛与圆叶牵牛之间,无论是生殖细胞或精细胞在细胞形状和细胞质ＤＮＡ 分布状况上基本相似。一个明显的差异是,后者的细胞质ＤＮＡ 荧光点体积较小和荧光弱。研究表明,精细胞存在具有ＤＮＡ 的细胞器,为牵牛花细胞质具有双亲遗传或父系遗传的潜能提供了细胞学证据。本文还对研究的两个种的精细胞存在同型和异型的现象,以及精细胞在核质比率上的特点与质体双亲遗传的关系进行了讨论     

慈姑根尖细胞染色体的激光共聚焦扫描显微镜观察结果

利用荧光标记和激光共聚焦扫描显微技术,观察了慈姑根尖细胞有丝分裂各个时期染色体的主要特征,获得十分理想的效果.与传统压片观察法比较,本实验方法成像更清晰,能方便地从不同角度观察整个细胞核中染色体的分布形态,更好地揭示细胞分裂中的染色体行为.     

一种改进的果蝇唾液腺染色体装片制作方法

提出一种改进的果蝇唾液腺染色体装片制作方法,整个实验流程为:50℃水浴处理果蝇幼虫—剥离唾液腺—压片—冰冻—脱片—浸染—脱水—封片。与传统方法相比较,改进的地方主要有3点:1)热水处理果蝇幼虫;2)玻片冰冻;3)先压片后染色。该方法显著改善了实验效果,提高了实验成功率。改进后的果蝇唾液腺染色体装片制作技术简单实用、可操作性强,同样适用于蝗虫精巢减数分裂装片的制作。     

人二倍体化合子的DNA 甲基化变化模式

目的:探讨人类三原核合子及二倍体化合子中DNA甲基化模式的变化情况。方法:我们采用显微操作技术去除三原核合子中两个雄原核中的一个,观察恢复了二倍体状态的胚胎的发育情况,并检测了三原核和二倍体化的合子及早期胚胎中DNA甲基化模式的动态变化。结果:二倍体化的合子的囊胚形成率与三原核合子的囊胚形成率无显著性差异;在人三原核合子中两个雄原核发生主动地DNA去甲基化而雌原核在受精后的20h后仍保持甲基化。三原核与二倍体化合子中,DNA甲基化模式没有差别。结论:去除一个雄原核不会影响合子和胚胎的DNA甲基化模式。去除多余雄原核并不能改善胚胎的发育。     

同位素标记相对和绝对定量技术研究进展

定量蛋白质组学是蛋白质研究的前沿学科。目前常用的定量蛋白质组学研究技术有荧光差异凝胶电泳（DIGE）、同位素亲和标记（ICAT）等。同位素标记相对和绝对定量（iTRAQ）技术是近年来最新开发的一种新的蛋白质组学定量研究技术。结合非凝胶串联质谱技术,该技术可对复杂样本、细胞器、细胞裂解液等样本进行相对和绝对定量研究,具有较好的定量效果、较高的重复性,并可对多达四种不同样本同时进行定量分析。本文对 iTRAQ 技术的原理、实验方法及应用进展进行了综述。     

“酸解低渗敲打压片法”制备果蝇唾液腺染色体标本

对已报道的果蝇唾液腺染色体压片方法进行比较和综合,提出了一种可制备出效果良好染色体标本片的改进方法,技术要点包括酸解除脂肪组织,低渗使细胞胀大、染色体分散,敲打组织使其更易分散等。详细阐述实验流程及注意事项,旨在为教师和学生在相关课程教学中更好地开展本实验提供参考。     

北疆地区同域分布的沙拐枣属植物是否存在杂交初探

杂交问题一直是沙拐枣属植物分类的核心问题。本文通过对自然生境和植物园的开花物候观测,人工授粉杂交实验以及花粉管荧光显色实验来探讨同域分布的沙拐枣属植物是否存在杂交,结果显示:同域分布种间均存在花期重叠;人工杂交授粉坐果率极低,且无法正常萌发,花粉管荧光显微观察实验表明杂交花粉能在柱头上萌发,但是花粉管不能伸长到子房。综上实验结果表明,种间配子亲和性很低,既存在合子前隔离,又存在合子后生殖隔离,认为该属不存在杂交。开展此项研究对于了解同域分布沙拐枣属植物间的隔离分化具有重要意义;为该属不存在杂交提供有力证据,也为该属的分类研究开拓了新的思路。     

A Method for Isolation of Chloroplast DNA and Mitochondrial DNA from Sunflower

We present a method for isolation of chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA from sunflower seedlings. The protocol includes: organelle isolation, deoxyribonuclease treatment, lysis, deproteinisation and a final DNA purification with sodium dodecyl sulphate and potassium acetate. The organelle DNA yield is 5–10 micrograms per gram of tissue and the DNA is fully restrictable. The technique is inexpensive and appropriate for the isolation of multiple samples of organelle DNA from a small amount of tissue.     

Inheritance of chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes in pedunculate oak investigated with an efficient PCR method

The restriction patterns of two chloroplast fragments and one mitochondrial DNA fragment, amplified by PCR with universal primers, were studied to determine the mode of inheritance of these organelles in 143 progeny of five intraspecific crosses in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.). The results indicate that both genomes are maternally inherited, an observation which agrees with the commonly observed pattern of inheritance in angiosperms. They confirm that both chloroplast DNA and mitochondrial DNA can be used as a source of seed-specific markers for the study of the geographic structure of oaks. This is the first report of organelle inheritance within the Fagaceae, an important and widespread tree family.     

The inheritance of organelle genes and genomes: patterns and mechanisms.

Unlike nuclear genes and genomes, the inheritance of organelle genes and genomes does not follow Mendel's laws. In this mini-review, I summarize recent research progress on the patterns and mechanisms of the inheritance of organelle genes and genomes. While most sexual eukaryotes show uniparental inheritance of organelle genes and genomes in some progeny at least part of the time, increasing evidence indicates that strictly uniparental inheritance is rare and that organelle inheritance patterns are very diverse and complex. In contrast with the predominance of uniparental inheritance in multicellular organisms, organelle genes in eukaryotic microorganisms, such as protists, algae, and fungi, typically show a greater diversity of inheritance patterns, with sex-determining loci playing significant roles. The diverse patterns of inheritance are matched by the rich variety of potential mechanisms. Indeed, many factors, both deterministic and stochastic, can influence observed patterns of organelle inheritance. Interestingly, in multicellular organisms, progeny from interspecific crosses seem to exhibit more frequent paternal leakage and biparental organelle genome inheritance than those from intraspecific crosses. The recent observation of a sex-determining gene in the basidiomycete yeast Cryptococcus neoformans, which controls mitochondrial DNA inheritance, has opened up potentially exciting research opportunities for identifying specific molecular genetic pathways that control organelle inheritance, as well as for testing evolutionary hypotheses regarding the prevalence of uniparental inheritance of organelle genes and genomes.     

Organelle DNA Synthesis in the Quiescent centre of Arabidopsis thaliana (Col.)

The behaviour of cell nuclei and organelle nucleoids (organellenuclei) was studied in the root apical meristem of 3-d-old seedlingsof Arabidopsis thaliana (Col.). Samples were embedded in Technovit7100 resin, cut into thin sections and stained with 4'-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole(DAPI) for observation of DNA. DNA synthesis in cell nucleiand organelle nucleoids was investigated using the incorporationof [³H] thymidine or 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU). Incorporated[³H] thymidine and BrdU were detected by microautoradiographyor immunofiuorescence microscopy, respectively. Central cellsand cells just above the central cells of the quiescent centre(QC) showed an extremely low activity of DNA synthesis. However,DNA synthesis occurred in at least one organelle nucleoid ofall cells in the QC within 24 h. This suggests the cells inthe QC are quiescent with regard to nuclear DNA synthesis, butnot with regard to the organelle nucleoids. Key words: Arabidopsis thaliana, quiescent centre, root apical meristem, mitochondrial nucleoid (nuclei), plastid nucleoid (nuclei)     

Viral proteins functioning in organelles: a cryptic origin?

Although mitochondria derive from alpha-proteobacteria, many proteins acting in this organelle did not originate from bacteria. In particular, phylogenetic evidence indicates that RNA polymerase, DNA polymerase and DNA primase--with homologues encoded by T3/T7-like bacteriophages--have replaced the ancestral proteins of bacterial origin. To date, there was no clear explanation for this puzzling observation. Bacterial genomics has now revealed the presence of cryptic prophages that are related to T3/T7 in several genomes of proteobacteria. We propose that such a prophage was present in the ancestral alpha-proteobacterium at the origin of mitochondria and that RNA polymerase, DNA polymerase and DNA primase encoded by this prophage replaced the original bacterial enzymes to function in mitochondria. Another T3/T7 viral-like RNA polymerase is functional in the chloroplast, indicating that a strong selection pressure has favored replacement of some cellular proteins by viral proteins in organelle evolution.     

Monitoring by epifluorescence microscopy of organelle DNA fate during pollen development in five angiosperm species

The fates of mitochondrial and plastid nucleoids during pollen development in six angiosperm species (Antirrhinum majus, Glycine max, Medicago sativa, Nicotiana tabacum, Pisum sativum, and Trifolium pratense) were examined using epifluorescence microscopy after double staining with 4',6-diamidino-2- phenylindole (DAPI) to stain DNA and with a potentiometric dye (either DiOC7 or rhodamine 123) for visualization of metabolically active mitochondria. From the pollen mother cell stage to the microspore stage of pollen development, mitochondria and plastids both contained DNA detectable by DAPI staining. However, during the further maturation preceding anthesis, mitochondrial DNA became undetectable cytologically in either the generative or the vegetative cell of mature pollen; even in germinated pollen tubes containing hundreds of metabolically active mitochondria undergoing cytoplasmic streaming, vital staining with DAPI failed to reveal mitochondrial DNA. By the mature pollen stage, plastid DNA also became undetectable by DAPI staining in the vegetative cell. However, in the generative cell of mature pollen the timing of plastid DNA disappearance as detected by DAPI varied with the species. Plastid DNA remained detectable only in the generative cells of pollen grains from species known or suspected to have biparental transmission of plastids. The apparent absence of cytologically detectable organelle genomes in living pollen was further examined using molecular methods by hybridizing organelle DNA-specific probes to digests of total DNA from mature pollen and from other organs of A. majus and N. tabacum, both known to be maternal for organelle inheritance. Mitochondrial DNA was detected in pollen of both species; thus the cytological alteration of mitochondrial genomes during pollen development does not correspond with total mtDNA loss from the pollen. Plastid DNA was detectable with molecular probes in N. tabacum pollen but not in A. majus pollen. Since the organelle DNA detected by molecular methods in mature pollen may lie solely in the vegetative cell, further study of the basis of maternal inheritance of mitochondria and plastids will require molecular methods which distinguish vegetative cell from reproductive cell organelle genomes. The biological effect of the striking morphological alteration of organelle genomes during later stages of pollen development, which leaves them detectable by molecular methods but not by DAPI staining, is as yet unknown.     

Paternal inheritance of chloroplast DNA and maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA in loblolly pine

Summary The inheritance of organelle DNAs in loblolly pine was studied by using restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Chloroplast DNA from loblolly pine is paternally inherited in pitch pine x loblolly pine hybrids. Mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited in loblolly pine crosses. The uniparental inheritance of organelle genomes from opposite sexes within the same plant appears to be unique among those higher plants that have been tested and indicates that loblolly pine, and possibly other conifers, must have special mechanisms for organelle exclusion or degradation or both. This genetic system creates an exceptional opportunity for the study of maternal and paternal genetic lineages within a single species.     

Divergent roles for the two PolI-like organelle DNA polymerases of Arabidopsis

DNA polymerases play a central role in the process of DNA replication. Yet, the proteins in charge of the replication of plant organelle DNA have not been unambiguously identified. There are however many indications that a family of proteins homologous to bacterial DNA polymerase I (PolI) is implicated in organelle DNA replication. Here, we have isolated mutant lines of the PolIA and PolIB genes of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) to test this hypothesis. We find that mutation of both genes is lethal, thus confirming an essential and redundant role for these two proteins. However, the mutation of a single gene is sufficient to cause a reduction in the levels of DNA in both mitochondria and plastids. We also demonstrate that polIb, but not polIa mutant lines, are hypersensitive to ciprofloxacin, a small molecule that specifically induces DNA double-strand breaks in plant organelles, suggesting a function for PolIB in DNA repair. In agreement with this result, a cross between polIb and a plastid Whirly mutant line yielded plants with high levels of DNA rearrangements and severe growth defects, indicating impairments in plastid DNA repair pathways. Taken together, this work provides further evidences for the involvement of the plant PolI-like genes in organelle DNA replication and suggests an additional role for PolIB in DNA repair.     

Cell reproduction cycle of mycoplasma

The cell reproduction cycle of parasitic wall-free bacteria, mycoplasma, is reviewed. DNA replication of Mycoplasma capricolum starts at a fixed site neighboring the dnaA gene and proceeds to both directions after a short arrest in one direction. The initiation frequency fits to the slow speed of replication fork and DNA content is set constant. The replicated chromosomes migrate to one and three quarters of cell length before cell division to ensure delivery of the replicated DNA to daughter cells. The cell reproduction is based on binary fission but a branch is formed when DNA replication is inhibited. Mycoplasma pneumoniae has a terminal structure, designated as an attachment organelle, responsible for both host cell adhesion and gliding motility. Behavior of the organelle in a cell implies coupling of organelle formation to the cell reproduction cycle. Several proteins coded in three operons are delivered sequentially to a position neighboring the previous organelle and a nascent one is formed. One of the duplicated attachment organelles migrates to the opposite pole of the cell before cell division. It is becoming clear that mycoplasmas have specialized cell reproduction cycles adapted to the limited genome information and parasitic life.     

A conserved, Mg²+-dependent exonuclease degrades organelle DNA during Arabidopsis pollen development

In plant cells, mitochondria and plastids contain their own genomes derived from the ancestral bacteria endosymbiont. Despite their limited genetic capacity, these multicopy organelle genomes account for a substantial fraction of total cellular DNA, raising the question of whether organelle DNA quantity is controlled spatially or temporally. In this study, we genetically dissected the organelle DNA decrease in pollen, a phenomenon that appears to be common in most angiosperm species. By staining mature pollen grains with fluorescent DNA dye, we screened Arabidopsis thaliana for mutants in which extrachromosomal DNAs had accumulated. Such a recessive mutant, termed defective in pollen organelle DNA degradation1 (dpd1), showing elevated levels of DNAs in both plastids and mitochondria, was isolated and characterized. DPD1 encodes a protein belonging to the exonuclease family, whose homologs appear to be found in angiosperms. Indeed, DPD1 has Mg²⁺-dependent exonuclease activity when expressed as a fusion protein and when assayed in vitro and is highly active in developing pollen. Consistent with the dpd phenotype, DPD1 is dual-targeted to plastids and mitochondria. Therefore, we provide evidence of active organelle DNA degradation in the angiosperm male gametophyte, primarily independent of maternal inheritance; the biological function of organellar DNA degradation in pollen is currently unclear.