Expression of the apomictic potential and selection for apomixis in sorghum line AS-1a

Expression of elements of apomixis was studied for ten seasons in sorghum line AS-la and its backcross hybrids on the 9E and A3 sterile cytoplasms. Cytoembryological analysis revealed aposporous embryo sacks (apo-ESs), their initial cells, and, rare, parthenogeneic proembryos in ovules of line AS-la and its BC2 and BC3 hybrids on the 9E cytoplasm. The A3 sterile cytoplasm suppressed the development of parthenogenetic proembryos, but did not affect the apo-ES formation. The frequency of apomictic elements increased in seasons with high daily temperatures and total precipitation deficiency in the period when the ovule and megagametophyte developed (r = -0.805, P < 0.01). Selection was used to isolate the families where the frequency of ovules with apo-ESs was 28% and the frequency of parthenogenetic proembryos was 14%. Emasculated panicles of line AS-la were pollinated with pollen of line Volzhskoe-4v, which carried the Rs marker dominant gene, responsible for the anthocyan color of coleoptyles and leaves in seedlings. Plants of the maternal type were found in the progenies of these crosses at a frequency of 1.4-28.1%. The genetic structure of the endosperm in grains with maternal-type seedlings was inferred from the electrophoretic patterns of storage proteins (kafirins). The kafirin spectra of grains producing maternal-type seedlings was similar to the spectrum of line AS-la and differed from the spectra of grains producing hybrid seedlings, indicating that the endosperm developed independently when apomictic grains formed in line AS-1a. The results showed that lines with facultative apomixis can be constructed in functionally diploid plants.     

Effect of polyamine synthesis inhibitors separately and in combination with epidermal growth factor on fusion of lysosomes with phagosomes and F-actin level in mouse peritoneal macrophages

Effects of polyamine (PA) synthesis inhibitors--alpha-difluoromethylornithinchloride (DFMO) and alpha-methylornithinchloride (MO)--separately or in combination with the epidermal growth factor (EGF)--on lysosome-phagosome fusion (P-LF) and F-actin content in murine peritoneal macrophages were studied using fluorescent dye Acridine orange for lysosome labelling, FITC-phalloidin for F-actin, and yeast cells as a target. DFMO and MO significantly inhibited P-LF and decreased F-actin content in murine peritoneal macrophages. A combination of DFMO and MO with EGF failed to inhibit P-LF or to decrease F-actin content in these cells. The results obtained with DFMO and MO suggested new cellular targets of their effects. These results may be extended to cancer research to provide a rationale for clinical trials using combinations of EGF with DFMO or MO.     

Localization of acid organelles in frog skeletal muscle fibers

By means of fluorescent and phase-contrast microscopy the distribution of acid membrane organelles in normal and vacuolated frog skeletal muscle fibers has been studied. The vacuolation of the T-system was produced by loading and subsequent removal of glycerol (80-110 mM), or it appeared as a result of Zenker's necrosis. Acridine orange (AO) was used as a marker for acid intracellular compartments. AO accumulated in granules localized near the nuclear poles (more seldom around the nucleus)' and in the intermyofibrillar spaces. Typically the AO granules make up short longitudinal chains or regular pairs, where the distances between neighboring granules are short-dated to sarcomere lengths. Almost all granules emit in red, but about one third of them simultaneously emit in green, which is characteristic of AO monomers. In the vicinity of necrotic boundary or under the influence of brefeldin A, a green component of fluorescence appears in most granules. Treatment with monensin leads to granule disappearance. Vacuoles accompanying the glycerol treatment or developing of necrosis do not accumulate AO and exert no effect on the localization of AO-granules. The nature of cellular organelles accumulating AO in skeletal muscle fibers is discussed.     

Peptide synthesis in organic media with the use of subtilisin 72 immobilized on a poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel

Subtilisin 72 serine protease (EC 3.4.21.14) immobilized on a poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel was used as a catalyst in the syntheses of N-protected peptide p-nitroanilides of the general formulas Z(or Boc)-Xaa-Phe-pNA (Xaa = Leu or Ala), Z-Ala-Xaa-Yaa-pNA (Xaa = Leu or Ala; Yaa = Leu or Phe), and Z-Ala-Ala-Xaa-Yaa-pNA (Xaa = Leu, Arg, or Gly; Yaa = Phe, Leu, Gly, Asp, or Glu). The syntheses were carried out in DMF-acetonitrile mixtures. A number of protected di-, tri-, and tetrapeptides were prepared in yields up to 99%. The syntheses were found to retain stereoselectivity under the conditions studied. The activation of carboxyl group of the acylating component was shown to have a positive effect upon the coupling rate. The English version of the paper: Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry, 2005, vol. 31, no. 6; see also http://www.maik.ru.     

Rod-shaped inclusions in the heart and brain in the experimental alcoholization of rats

Experiments were made on rat alcoholized by inhalation. Electron microscopy of the myocardium and brain cortex showed the dystrophically altered cells of these organs to contain unusual rod-shaped and sagittal cytoplasmic inclusions unrelated to organelles and having a certain structural similarity to alcoholic hyaline detected in men. The necessity of further studies to identify the inclusions in question is discussed.     

Complex type of kinetics of fructose-1,6-diphosphate from the rat and rabbit liver

Studies on rat and rabbit liver fructose 1.6-bisphosphatase inhibition by AMP showed that with an increase in EDTA concentration the hyperbolic AMP inhibition curve is transformed into a sigmoidal one. At intermediate EDTA concentrations, the kinetic curves have a plateau. The appearance of the intermediate plateau may be due to the superposition of kinetic curves corresponding to two enzyme forms simultaneously present in the assay mixture. One of these forms deprived of endogenous Me2+ (presumably Zn2+) is inhibited by AMP in a cooperative manner, while the other one retains Me2+ which prevents the cooperative response of the enzyme to AMP.     

Lysosomal glycosidase activity in cultured human fibroblasts

A study was made of the activity of 3 lysosomal glycosidases -beta-D-galactosidase (K. P. 3.2.1.23), alpha-L-fucosidase (K. P. 3.2.1.51), N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosoaminidase (K. P. 3.2.1.52) depending on the time after subcultivation and duration of the passage of human skin embryonal and postembryonal fibroblasts. It was established that changes in the specific activity of the enzymes should be calculated with reference to the cell rather than to protein whose amount might vary considerably. It was also found that for measuring the specific activity of enzymes, of great importance are the procedures of cell removal from the base layer (by mechanical scraping off or by trypsin solution) and the regimen of the homogenization of cell preparations.     

Inhibition of the reactions of DNA hydrolysis and RNA synthesis by the alkaloid sanguinarine

The increase of the contour length of the low molecular linear duplex DNA in the complex with an alkaloid sanguinarine has been evidenced by the viscometric method. The enzymatic hydrolysis of modified DNA by pancreatic deoxyribonuclease I and RNA synthesis of DNA by rat liver nuclear RNA polymerase were studied. Sanguinarine has been shown to inhibit the first stages of DNA hydrolysis. This alkaloid is a weaker inhibitor than ethidium bromide, a more potent inhibitor than actinomycin D and exerts an inhibiting effect similar to that of distamycin A. Sanguinarine also decreases the rate of the labelled precursor incorporation into the acid-insoluble fractions by nuclear RNA polymerase from rat liver. A 50% inhibition by sanguinarine was observed at the same alkaloid concentration as that of ethidium bromide.