Genetic analysis of two tomato mutants affected in the regulation of iron metabolism

Iron is one of the most important micronutrients for plants. Like other organisms, plants have developed active mechanisms for the acquisition of sufficient iron from the soil. Nevertheless, very little is known about the genetic mechanisms that control the active uptake. In tomato, two spontaneously derived mutants are available, which are defective in key steps that control this process. The recessive mutationchloronerva (chln) affects a gene which controls the synthesis of the non-protein amino acid nicotianamine (NA), a key component in the iron physiology of plants. The root system of the recessive mutantfer is unable to induce any of the characteristic responses to iron deficiency and iron uptake is thus completely blocked. We present a characterization of the double mutant, showing that thefer gene is epistatic over thechln gene and thus very likely to be one of the major genetic elements controlling iron physiology in tomato. In order to gain access to these two genes at the molecular level, both mutants were precisely mapped onto the high density RFLP map of tomato. Thechln gene is located on chromosome 1 and thefer gene is on chromosome 6 of tomato. Using this high-resolution map, a chromosome walk has been started to isolate thefer gene by map-based cloning. The isolation of thefer gene will provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of iron uptake control in plants.     

Inhibition of proteolysis and cell cycle progression in a multiubiquitination-deficient yeast mutant.

The degradation of many proteins requires their prior attachment to ubiquitin. Proteolytic substrates are characteristically multiubiquitinated through the formation of ubiquitin-ubiquitin linkages. Lys-48 of ubiquitin can serve as a linkage site in the formation of such chains and is required for the degradation of some substrates of this pathway in vitro. We have characterized the recessive and dominant effects of a Lys-48-to-Arg mutant of ubiquitin (UbK48R) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although UbK48R is expected to terminate the growth of Lys-48 multiubiquitin chains and thus to exert a dominant negative effect on protein turnover, overproduction of UbK48R in wild-type cells results in only a weak inhibition of protein turnover, apparently because the mutant ubiquitin can be removed from multiubiquitin chains. Surprisingly, expression of UbK48R complements several phenotypes of polyubiquitin gene (UB14) deletion mutants. However, UbK48R cannot serve as a sole source of ubiquitin in S. cerevisiae, as evidenced by its inability to rescue the growth of ubi1 ubi2 ubi3 ubi4 quadruple mutants. When provided solely with UbK48R, cells undergo cell cycle arrest with a terminal phenotype characterized by replicated DNA, mitotic spindles, and two-lobed nuclei. Under these conditions, degradation of amino acid analog-containing proteins is severely inhibited. Thus, multiubiquitin chains containing Lys-48 linkages play a critical role in protein degradation in vivo.     

中国羽枝藻属新资料

1.山西羽枝藻 新种 图1:1—4 Cloniophora shanxiensis Y. J. Ling et S. L. Xie, sp. nov. Species affnis C. spicatae (Schmid.) Islam, sed primariis ramulis irregularibus alternatisvel oppositis, pyrenoidibus solitariis, ramuli cellulis apprime irregularibus differt. Thallo caespitoso, usque ad 5 cm longo; rhizoideis e filamenti cellulis basalibus angustis     

Somatic hybridization between Citrus reticulata and Citropsis gabunensis through electrofusion

Protoplasts from embryogenic calli of Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Ponkan and Citropsis gabunensis (Engl.) Swing. & M. Kell (Cabon Cherry Orange), were isolated and fused using electric current. Maximum fusion frequency was obtained with AC at 75 kV/cm (1.0 MHz) for 15 s, followed by DC square-wave pulses at 1.25 kV/cm for 40 s. Fusion-treated protoplasts were cultured on MT medium containing no growth regulators, solidified with 0.6% Bacto Difco agar. Protoplast-derived calli were proliferated on MT medium containing 1 mg/l zeatin and 0.9% agar. A total of 31 lines of somatic hybrid calli were obtained by screening on the basis of chromosome count and isozyme analysis. The somatic hybrids were tetraploid (2n=36). Plants were regenerated from the calli via somatic embryogenesis. The somatic hybrid plants exhibited morphological characteristics intermediate to the parental plants.Abbreviations 2,4-D 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - BA 6-benzylaminopurine - MT Murashige and Tucker (1969) - PEG polyethylene glycol - AC alternating current - DC direct current     

RGDS肽对大鼠主动脉球囊内膜剥脱后血管壁增殖的影响

在大鼠主动脉球囊内膜剥脱术后血管壁细胞过度增殖模型上,用合成的血小板膜纤维蛋白原受体（ｇｌｙｃｏｐｒｏｔｅｉｎⅡｂ／Ⅲａｃｏｍｐｌｅｘ,ＧＰⅡｂ／Ⅲａ）拮抗剂ＲＧＤＳ（Ａｒｇ－Ｇｌｙ－Ａｓｐ－Ｓｅｒ,５０μｍｏｌ·ｋｇ－１·ｄ－１）治疗可有效地抑制损伤血管壁的细胞计数增加和内膜增厚以及血管平滑肌细胞增殖,显著降低其血管组织３Ｈ－ＴｄＲ和３Ｈ－Ｌｅｕ的参入增加程度。实验结果提示ＲＧＤＳ肽作为血管成型术的辅佐剂,对于防治血管再狭窄可能具有潜在的临床应用前景。     

麻疹疫苗生产连续培养多次收获工艺研究

本研究对连续培养多次收获工艺用于麻疹疫苗生产的可行性、疫苗维持液保护剂、冻干保护剂及冻干过程等进行了大量反复试验,结果表明在现行条件下,本生产工艺具有重复性好、成本低、投入产出率高、易于质量控制等优势。对本工艺生产疫苗进行全面检定,表明成品滴度和稳定性试验指标等均高于９０版《生物制品规程》要求,并在试验基础上制定出了生产工艺流程。     

钙／钙调素依赖性蛋白激酶对17．7kD和6kD胰腺蛋白的磷酸化

本文报导了胰腺提取物中两种可被钙／钙调素依赖性蛋白激酶磷酸化的热稳定蛋白。ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ测定其表观分子量分别为１７．７ｋＤ和６ｋＤ。经钙／钙调素依赖性蛋白激酶磷酸化后,其最大磷酸参入量为８．８μｍｏｌ／ｇ蛋白。同时磷酸化作用导致１７．７ｋＤ蛋白在ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ中迁移率发生变化。本文还进一步分析了各种阳离子对磷酸化的影响,并对此两种蛋白可能具有的生理功能进行了初步探讨。