Biological activities of gibberellins and their glucosides in Pharbitis nil

Growth-promoting effects of gibberellins and their glucosides isolated from immature seeds of Japanese morning glory (Pharbitis nil) were compared in six bioassay systems. GA₃ glucoside exhibited much less activity than GA₃ in the dwarf rice (under aseptic conditions), dwarf maize (d₁, d₂ and d₅), cucumber and dwarf pea assays. GA₈, GA₂₆, GA₂₇ and GA₂₉ showed low activities in all the bioassay systems, while their glucosides were even less active. Thus gibberellin glucosides do not appear to be active in growth regulation.     

Polypeptide profiles from cotyledons of developing and photoperiodically induced seedlings of the Japanese morning glory (Pharbitis [ipomoea] nil)

An unknown substance(s) produced in the cotyledons of seedlings of the Japanese morning glory (Pharbitis nil) during a defined period of darkness triggers the subsequent initiation of floral buds at apical and axillary meristems. Recent studies have concentrated on characterizing molecular changes as a possible mechanism associated with its synthesis, but these have failed to eliminate interference due to lack of development unity in the sampled population and to consider different kinetic alternatives of those potential changes. The current study demonstrates that numerous age-related changes occur in polypeptides from cotyledons during growth under noninductive conditions, but that these are minimal in older seedlings selected for improved synchrony of the floral response. Polypeptides from older seedlings sampled at various times during and after a dark inductive period were examined by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE). No differences associated with floral induction could be detected. The results indicate that changes in gene expression correlated with floral-induction do not occur in the abundant polypeptide fraction within the limitations of the techniques employed.     

圆叶牵牛化学成分研究

圆叶牵牛植物资源丰富但全草少有研究,对其进行系统的化学成分与生物活性认识很有必要。该文对采自云南大理的圆叶牵牛干燥全草化学成分进行了系统地研究,通过75%乙醇冷浸提取,浸膏以水分散,依次以乙酸乙酯和正丁醇萃取。结果表明:采用硅胶、Sephadex LH-20、RP-18等多种材料柱层析结合重结晶等方法,从圆叶牵牛醇提物乙酸乙酯部分分离得到12个单体化合物,运用现代波谱学技术分别鉴定为木栓酮(1),β-木栓烷醇(2),β-香树脂醇(3),α-香树脂醇(4),6β-羟基豆甾-4-烯-3-酮(5),胡萝卜苷(6),β-谷甾醇(7),豆甾醇(8),7-羟基香豆素(9),对香豆酸-对羟基苯乙醇酯(10),山奈酚香豆酰基葡萄吡喃糖苷(11),单棕榈酸甘油酯(12)。化合物2-5、10-12为首次从该属植物中分离得到。     

Cross talk between signaling pathways in pathogen defense

Plant defense in response to microbial attack is regulated through a complex network of signaling pathways that involve three signaling molecules: salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene. The SA and JA signaling pathways are mutually antagonistic. This regulatory cross talk may have evolved to allow plants to fine-tune the induction of their defenses in response to different plant pathogens.     

Cross talk between mitochondria and NADPH oxidases

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in physiological and pathological processes. In recent years, a feed-forward regulation of the ROS sources has been reported. The interactions between the main cellular sources of ROS, such as mitochondria and NADPH oxidases, however, remain obscure. This work summarizes the latest findings on the role of cross talk between mitochondria and NADPH oxidases in pathophysiological processes. Mitochondria have the highest levels of antioxidants in the cell and play an important role in the maintenance of cellular redox status, thereby acting as an ROS and redox sink and limiting NADPH oxidase activity. Mitochondria, however, are not only a target for ROS produced by NADPH oxidase but also a significant source of ROS, which under certain conditions may stimulate NADPH oxidases. This cross talk between mitochondria and NADPH oxidases, therefore, may represent a feed-forward vicious cycle of ROS production, which can be pharmacologically targeted under conditions of oxidative stress. It has been demonstrated that mitochondria-targeted antioxidants break this vicious cycle, inhibiting ROS production by mitochondria and reducing NADPH oxidase activity. This may provide a novel strategy for treatment of many pathological conditions including aging, atherosclerosis, diabetes, hypertension, and degenerative neurological disorders in which mitochondrial oxidative stress seems to play a role. It is conceivable that the use of mitochondria-targeted treatments would be effective in these conditions.     

牵牛胁迫应答基因PnLOG2的克隆及功能验证

RING型E3泛素连接酶在植物应答非生物胁迫过程中发挥着重要功能。该研究从圆叶牵牛中克隆出RING型E3泛素连接酶基因PnLOG2,该基因序列号为XM_019321049.1。利用ORF Finder预测PnLOG2基因编码开放阅读框长度为912 bp (51~992 bp),编码313个氨基酸,蛋白分子质量34.38 kD,理论等电点为5.14。系统发育分析表明,PnLOG2基因与番茄亲缘关系最近。组织特异性分析表明,PnLOG2基因在牵牛不同组织均有表达,在老茎和新叶中表达量较高。qRT PCR分析结果表明,PnLOG2基因在圆叶牵牛根和叶中受干旱、盐碱胁迫诱导显著上调表达。通过异源表达PnLOG2基因于酵母细胞中,发现干旱、盐碱胁迫下PnLOG2基因提高了重组酵母的耐盐和耐旱能力,但降低了对碱的耐受性。该研究初步阐明了PnLOG2基因在干旱、盐碱胁迫下的功能,为进一步研究RING型E3泛素连接酶在非生物胁迫中的机理提供了理论依据。     

不同激素对锦绣杜鹃的催花作用

在加温、补光条件下,研究赤霉素(GA3)、萘乙酸(NAA)和吲哚乙酸(IAA)处理对锦绣杜鹃花蕾发育、开花期及开花质量等的影响。结果表明:锦绣杜鹃花蕾经0～3000mg.L-1GA3涂抹后,其催花效果随处理浓度增大呈先升后降趋势,并于2000mg.L-1浓度下达到最佳,表现在花蕾发育快、开花期提前及开花质量高等;而0～3000mg.L-1NAA和IAA对锦绣杜鹃催花效果均不明显。锦绣杜鹃花蕾大小(包括长度和宽度)与开花期提前时间和花径之间均呈极显著正相关,与花蕾期则呈极显著负相关;花蕾期与开花期提前时间之间呈极显著负相关(P<0.01)。     

Cross talk in hormonally regulated gene transcription through induction of estrogen receptor ubiquitylation

Estrogen tightly regulates the levels of circulating gonadotropins, but a direct effect of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) on the mammalian LHbeta gene has remained poorly defined. We demonstrate here that ERalpha can associate with the LHbeta promoter through interactions with Sf-1 and Pitx1 without requiring an estrogen response element (ERE). We show that gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) promotes ERalpha ubiquitylation and also degradation while stimulating expression of ubc4. GnRH also increases the association and lengthens the cycling time of ERalpha on the LHbeta promoter. The ERalpha association and transactivation of the LHbeta gene, as well as ERalpha degradation, are increased following ubc4 overexpression, while the effects of GnRH are abated following ubc4 knockdown. Our results indicate that ERalpha ubiquitylation and subsequent transactivation of the LHbeta gene can be induced by increasing the levels of the E2 enzyme as a result of signaling by an extracellular hormone, thus providing a new form of cross talk in hormonally stimulated regulation of gene expression.     

Ethylene and ABA interactions in the regulation of flower induction in Pharbitis nil

Hormones are included in the essential elements that control the induction of flowering. Ethylene is thought to be a strong inhibitor of flowering in short day plants (SDPs), whereas the involvement of abscisic acid (ABA) in the regulation of flowering of plants is not well understood. The dual role of ABA in the photoperiodic flower induction of the SDP Pharbitis nil and the interaction between ABA and ethylene were examined in the present experiments. Application of ABA on the cotyledons during the inductive 16-h-long night inhibited flowering. However, ABA application on the cotyledons or the shoot apices during the subinductive 12-h-long night resulted in slight stimulation of flowering. Application of ABA also resulted in enhanced ethylene production. Whereas nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) - an ABA biosynthesis inhibitor - applied on the cotyledons of 5-d-old seedlings during the inductive night inhibited both the formation of axillary and of terminal flower buds, application of 2-aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) and 2,5-norbornadiene (NBD) - inhibitors of ethylene action - reversed the inhibitory effect of ABA on flowering. ABA levels in the cotyledons of seedlings exposed to a 16-h-long inductive night markedly increased. Such an effect was not observed when the inductive night was interrupted with a 15-min-long red light pulse or when seedlings were treated at the same time with gaseous ethylene during the dark period. Lower levels of ABA were observed in seedlings treated with NDGA during the inductive night. These results may suggest that ABA plays an important role in the photoperiodic induction of flowering in P. nil seedlings, and that the inhibitory effect of ethylene on P. nil flowering inhibition may depend on its influence on the ABA level. A reversal of the inhibitory effect of ethylene on flower induction through a simultaneous treatment of induced seedlings with both ethylene and ABA strongly supports this hypothesis.     

Biphasic regulation of type II phosphatidylinositol-4 kinase by sphingosine: Cross talk between glycero- and sphingolipids in the kidney

Phosphatidylinositol-4 kinase (PI-4K) is responsible for the generation of phosphatidylinositol-4 phosphate (PtdIns(4)P), a bioactive signaling molecule involved in several biological functions. In this study, we show that sphingosine modulates the activity of the PI-4K isoform associated with the basolateral membranes (BLM) from kidney proximal tubules. Immunoblotting with an anti-α subunit PI-4K polyclonal antibody revealed the presence of two bands of 57 and 62 kDa in the BLM. BLM-PI-4K activity retains noteworthy biochemical properties; it is adenosine-sensitive, not altered by wortmanin, and significantly inhibited by Ca^2 + at the μM range. Together, these observations indicate the presence of a type II PI-4K. Endogenous phosphatidylinositol (PI) alone reaches PI-4K half-maximal activity, revealing that even slight modifications in PI levels at the membrane environment promote significant variations in BLM-associated-PI-4K activity. ATP-dependence assays suggested that the Mg.ATP^2 − complex is the true substrate of the enzyme and that free Mg^2 + is an essential cofactor. Another observation indicated that higher concentrations of free ATP are inhibitory. BLM-associated-PI-4K activity was ~ 3-fold stimulated in the presence of increasing concentration of sphingosine, while in concentrations higher than 0.4 mM, in which S1P is pronouncedly formed, there was an inhibitory effect on PtdIns(4)P formation. We propose that a tightly coupled regulatory network involving phosphoinositides and sphingolipids participate in the regulation of key physiological processes in renal BLM carried out by PI-4K.     

Cross talk between the sporophyte and the megagametophyte during ovule development

In seed plant ovules, the diploid maternal sporophytic generation embeds and sustains the haploid generation (the female gametophyte); thus, two independent generations coexist in a single organ. Many independent studies on Arabidopsis ovule mutants suggest that embryo sac development requires highly synchronized morphogenesis of the maternal sporophyte surrounding the gametophyte, since megagametogenesis is severely perturbed in most of the known sporophytic ovule development mutants. Which are the messenger molecules involved in the haploid–diploid dialogue? And furthermore, is this one way communication or is a feedback cross talk? In this review, we discuss genetic and molecular evidences supporting the presence of a cross talk between the two generations, starting from the first studies regarding ovule development and ending to the recently sporophytic identified genes whose expression is strictly controlled by the haploid gametophytic generation. We will mainly focus on Arabidopsis studies since it is the species more widely studied for this aspect. Furthermore, possible candidate molecules involved in the diploid–haploid generations dialogue will be presented and discussed.