高压冷冻及低温替代技术制备的拟南芥花蜜腺超微结构的研究

采用高压冷冻和低温替代技术对不同时期泌蜜前、泌蜜早期和泌蜜晚期的拟南齐(Arabidopsisthaliana L.)成熟花蜜腺的超微结构进行了研究。着重对小泡运输过程中是否与细胞质膜发生融合以及蜜腺组织中深色细胞与伴胞的区别等问题进行了讨论。拟南芥花中有一对较大的侧蜜腺以及2～4枚中蜜腺。中蜜腺位于2枚长雄蕊基部或它们之间,而侧蜜腺则位于两花瓣之间的短雄蕊附近。泌蜜前和泌蜜期,液泡的大小、高尔基体及内质网的数量、线粒体的分布以及质体内淀粉粒的大小都会发生一定的变化。当高尔基小泡从细胞内运输至细胞外时,并没有发生与细胞质膜融合的过程,与经典的“胞吐”假说不同。深色细胞在泌蜜期大量出现与筛分子旁的伴胞明显不同,前者与蜜腺顶端的气孔器相连,形成“通道”从而使蜜汁从蜜腺排出。     

高压冷冻和低温替代技术制备的发菜营养细胞的超微结构

应用高压冷冻和低温替代技术系统研究了发菜（ＮｏｓｔｏｃｆｌａｇｅｌｉｆｏｒｍｅＢｏｒｎ．ｅｔＦｌａｈ．）营养细胞的超微结构并与常规方法进行了比较。结果显示：在化学固定、脱水和包埋后,细胞结构出现一些人为的改变。而应用高压冷冻和低温替代技术,细胞和胶质鞘之间不会出现大的间隙并且细胞质也很少收缩。细胞内各种膜结构清晰可见。有关大量细菌位于发菜的胶质鞘中以及细胞中具有大的液泡是首次报道。     

Microfilaments in the preprophase band of freeze substituted tobacco root cells

Summary The organization and distribution of microfilaments (MFs) in the preprophase bands (PPBs) of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. var. Maryland Mammoth) root tip cells were studied with high pressure freezing and freeze-substitution methods. MFs were present predominantly as single filaments interspersed among microtubules (MTs) throughout the PPB. Some MFs appeared to be associated with MTs, whereas others were not. This is the first time that MFs have been demonstrated in the PPB at the electron microscope level.     

Sporangial structure inPhytophthora is disrupted after high pressure freezing

Summary The effects of high pressure on the ultrastructure of sporangia ofPhytophthora cinnamomi andP. palmivora have been examined by comparing sporangia frozen in a Balzers hyperbaric freezer or pressurized in a French pressure cell with sporangia plunge frozen at ambient pressure. Both freeze fixation methods provided excellent preservation of most cell structures, but one organelle type seen in plunge frozen material, the large peripheral vesicle (LPV), was not observed in high pressure frozen sporangia. Instead, these sporangia contained large irregularly shaped structures which exhibit the patterns of spatial distribution and, forP. cinnamomi, the monoclonal antibody binding characteristic of LPVs. These findings suggest that some factor of the hyperbaric freezing process causes LPVs to be degraded. Sporangia ofP. cinnamomi that had been pressurized in a French pressure cell also exhibited large structures with the spatial distribution and monoclonal antibody binding characteristic of LPVs. The apparent expansion of LPVs that follows from both pressurizing treatments causes considerable passive disruption of sporangial structure. This is the first report of a major disturbance of cell structure from use of the Balzers hyperbaric freezer, and reflects the lability, noted in previous work, of LPVs inPhytophthora.     

Freezing and cryoprotective dehydration in an Antarctic nematode (Panagrolaimus davidi) visualised using a freeze substitution technique

The pattern of ice formation during the freezing of Panagrolaimus davidi, an Antarctic nematode that can survive intracellular ice formation, was visualised using a freeze substitution technique and transmission electron microscopy. Nematodes plunged directly into liquid nitrogen had small ice crystals throughout their tissues, including nuclei and organelles, but did not survive. Those frozen at high subzero temperatures showed three patterns of ice formation: no ice, extracellular ice, and intracellular ice. Nematodes subjected to a slow-freezing regime (at -1 degrees C) had mainly extracellular ice (70.4%), with the bulk of the ice in the pseudocoel. Some (24.8%) had no ice within their bodies, due to cryoprotective dehydration. Nematodes subjected to a fast-freezing regime (at -4 degrees C) had intracellular (54%) and extracellular (42%) ice. Intracellular ice was confined to the cytoplasm of cells, with organelles in the spaces in between ice crystals. The survival of nematodes subjected to the fast-freezing regime (53%) was less than those subjected to the slow-freezing regime (92%).     

Electron microscopy of high pressure frozen samples: bridging the gap between cellular ultrastructure and atomic resolution

Transmission electron microscopy has provided most of what is known about the ultrastructural organization of tissues, cells, and organelles. Due to tremendous advances in crystallography and magnetic resonance imaging, almost any protein can now be modeled at atomic resolution. To fully understand the workings of biological “nanomachines” it is necessary to obtain images of intact macromolecular assemblies in situ. Although the resolution power of electron microscopes is on the atomic scale, in biological samples artifacts introduced by aldehyde fixation, dehydration and staining, but also section thickness reduces it to some nanometers. Cryofixation by high pressure freezing circumvents many of the artifacts since it allows vitrifying biological samples of about 200 μm in thickness and immobilizes complex macromolecular assemblies in their native state in situ. To exploit the perfect structural preservation of frozen hydrated sections, sophisticated instruments are needed, e.g., high voltage electron microscopes equipped with precise goniometers that work at low temperature and digital cameras of high sensitivity and pixel number. With them, it is possible to generate high resolution tomograms, i.e., 3D views of subcellular structures. This review describes theory and applications of the high pressure cryofixation methodology and compares its results with those of conventional procedures. Moreover, recent findings will be discussed showing that molecular models of proteins can be fitted into depicted organellar ultrastructure of images of frozen hydrated sections. High pressure freezing of tissue is the base which may lead to precise models of macromolecular assemblies in situ, and thus to a better understanding of the function of complex cellular structures.     

拟南芥根原生韧皮部筛管分子的超微结构

运用高压冷冻替代方法固定处理材料,在透射电镜下观察了拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana L.)根原生韧皮部筛管分子在发育过程中的超微结构变化.结果表明:在筛管分子发育过程中,细胞核具有细胞程序化死亡的典型特征,出现核膜内陷、核质聚集并边缘化、核膜破毁以及最后核消失.核膜在破毁前一直呈饱满状态,未出现核膜皱缩、核裂瓣和核周腔明显膨大等现象.在成熟筛管分子的细胞质内,具单层膜的淀粉状颗粒.这些淀粉状颗粒常与线粒体在一起,可能为线粒体的产能活动提供基质.小液泡发生于内质网,未见大液泡的形成.     

The hyphae ofUromyces appendiculatus within the leaf tissue after high pressure freezing and freeze substitution

Summary The fine structure of the intercellular dikaryotic hyphae of the biotrophic fungusUromyces appendiculatus was studied. High pressure freezing and freeze substitution were used to achieve a closer approximation of the native state than with conventional fixation and dehydration techniques. In addition to organelles previously described in rust fungi, heavily decorated multivesicular bodies (star bodies) were found close to the nuclei. Two types of tubular-vesicular complexes were distributed randomly within the cytoplasm of the hyphae. Furthermore, a more or less pronounced brush-like fibrillar layer on the hyphal walls was detected. The possibility that the latter two structures are correlated with the biotrophic phase of this fungus is discussed.Abbreviations TVC tubular-vesicular complex - MVB multivesicular body - M mitochondrion - N nucleus - NP nuclear pore - S septum - MT microtubule     

拟南芥根原生韧皮部筛管分子的超微结构

运用高压冷冻替代方法固定处理材料,在透射电镜下观察了拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana L.)根原生韧皮部筛管分子在发育过程中的超微结构变化。结果表明：在筛管分子发育过程中,细胞核具有细胞程序死亡的典型特征,出现核膜内陷、核质聚集并边缘化,核膜破毁以及最后核消失,核膜在破毁前一直呈饱满状态,未出现核膜皱缩,核裂瓣和核周腔明显膨大等现象。在成熟筛管分子的细胞质内,具单层膜的淀粉状颗粒,这些淀粉状态颗粒常与线粒体在一起,可能为线粒体的产能活动提供基质,小液泡发生于内质网,未见大液泡的形成。     

Actin-endoplasmic reticulum complexes inDrosera

In epidermal cells ofDrosera tentacles that have been preserved for ultrastructural analysis through high pressure freeze fixation and freeze substitution we describe the frequent occurrence of microfilament (MF)-endoplasmic reticulum (ER) complexes. These are found throughout the cytoplasm where they are observed in close association with the plasmalemma (PL), the tonoplast, nuclei, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and microbodies. The MF component of the complexes is identified as actin based on immunogold labelling with actin antibodies. The actin-ER complexes are prominent in the cortical cytoplasm. In this region a network of predominantly tubular ER occupies an intermediary position in which it associates closely with both the PL and the actin MFs. We suggest that the ER, especially those elements adjacent to the PL in the cortical cytoplasm, stabilizes the actin MFs and provides the necessary anchor against which the forces for cytoplasmic streaming are generated.Abbreviations CF chemical fixation - ER endoplasmic reticulum - FS freeze substitution - HPF high pressure freezing - MF microfilaments - MT microtubules - PL plasmalemma     

Membrane associated qualitative differences in cell ultrastructure of chemically and high pressure cryofixed plant cells

Membrane contrast can sometimes be poor in biological samples after high pressure freezing (HPF) and freeze substitution (FS). The addition of water to the FS-medium has been shown to improve membrane contrast in animal tissue and yeast. In the present study we tested the effects of 1% and 5% water added to the FS-medium (2% osmium with 0.2% uranyl acetate in anhydrous acetone) on the quality and visibility of membranes in high pressure frozen leaf samples of Cucurbita pepo L. plants and compared them to chemically fixed cells (3% glutaraldehyde post-fixed with 1% osmium tetroxide). The addition of water to the FS-medium drastically decreased the amounts of well preserved cells and did not significantly improve the quality nor visibility of membranes. In samples that were freeze substituted in FS-media containing 1% and 5% water the width of thylakoid membranes was found to be significantly increased of about 20% and the perinuclear space was up to 76% wider in comparison to what was found in samples which were freeze substituted without water. No differences were found in the thickness of membranes between chemically and cryofixed cells that were freeze substituted in the FS-medium without water. Nevertheless, in chemically fixed cells the intrathylakoidal space was about 120% wider than in cryofixed cells that were freeze substituted with or without water. The present results demonstrate that the addition of water to the FS-medium does not improve membrane contrast but changes the width of thylakoid membranes and the perinuclear space in the present plant material. The addition of water to the FS-medium is therefore not as essential for improved membrane contrast in the investigated plant samples as it was observed in cells of animal tissues and yeast cells.     

High pressure freezing and freeze substitution improve immunolabeling of S-locus specific glycoproteins in the stigma papillae ofBrassica

Summary High pressure freezing and freeze substitution methods significantly improve the antigenic preservation of S-locus specific glycoproteins (SLSG). The SLSG, which are implicated in the incompatibility response, are localized over the cell wall and cytoplasm. Labeling in the cytoplasm is mainly associated with dictyosomes and rough endoplasmic reticulum. Quantitative analysis show that in cryofixed papillae the labeling was enhanced by approximately 45% over the cell wall and approximately 90% over the dictyosomes compared to chemically fixed papillae.     

Ultrastructural and nuclear antigen preservation after high-pressure freezing/freeze-substitution and low-temperature LR White embedding of HeLa cells

A protocol for high-pressure freezing and LR White embedding of mammalian cells suitable for fine ultrastructural studies in combination with immunogold labelling is presented. HeLa S3 cells enclosed in low-temperature gelling agarose were high-pressure frozen, freeze-substituted in acetone, and embedded in LR White at 0°C. The morphology of such cells and the preservation of nuclear antigens were excellent in comparison with chemically fixed cells embedded in the same resin. The immunolabelling signal for different nuclear antigens was 4-to-13 times higher in high-pressure frozen than in chemically fixed cells. We conclude that one can successfully use high-pressure freezing/freeze-substitution and LR White embedding as an alternative of Lowicryl resins.     

转拟南芥ICE1基因增强烟草抗寒性的研究

ICE1是CBF冷响应通道的上游转录调控因子,通过与CBF启动子中MYC顺式作用元件的结合激活CBF3基因表达.采用RT-PCR方法,从拟南芥获得AtICE1基因,将AtICE1导入pCAMBIA1301构建35S:AtICE1植物表达载体.通过根癌农杆菌GV3101,将AtICE1基因导人烟草,T1代植株经潮霉素抗性筛选,PCR、RT-PCR检测,结果表明AtICE1基因已经整合到烟草基因组中,并在转录水平表达;在正常生长条件下,转基因烟草与对照烟草的生长未见明显区别,而在瞬时低温冻害下,转基因烟草存活率明显高于对照烟草植株,说明Atl-CEI基因可以提高低温敏感作物的耐寒性.     

A monoclonal anticarbohydrate antibody detecting superfast myosin in the masseter muscle

Adrenal medullary chromaffin cells secrete catecholamines through exocytosis of their intracellular chromaffin granules. Osmotic granule swelling has been implicated to play a role in the generation of membrane stress associated with the fusion of the granule membrane. However, controversy exists as to whether swelling occurs before or after the actual fusion event. Using morphometric methods we have determined the granule diameter distributions in rapidly frozen, freeze-substituted chromaffin cells. Our measurements show that intracellular chromaffin granules increase in size from an average of 234 nm to 274 nm or 277 nm in cells stimulated to secrete with nicotine or high external K⁺, respectively. Granule swelling occurs before the formation of membrane contact. Ammonium chloride, an agent which inhibits stimulated catecholamine secretion by approximately 50% by altering the intragranular pH, also inhibits granule swelling. In addition, ammonium chloridetreated secreting cells show more granule-plasma membrane contacts than untreated secreting cells. Sodium propionate induces granule swelling in the absence of secretagogue and has been shown to enhance nicotine- and high K⁺- induced catecholamine release. These results indicate that in adrenal chromaffin cells granule swelling is an essential step in exocytosis before fusion pore formation, and is related to the pH of the granule environment.