Température fluctuante et hétérosis chez Drosophila melanogaster

Under the hypothesis that heterosis may be due to a greater flexibility of heterozygotes, we have measured in a Drosophila melanogaster strain, polymorphic at the sepia locus, female productivity of the homozygotes and heterozygotes for this locus, in constant as well as in fluctuating temperature conditions. It was expected that the heterozygotes, being more flexible, would be better adapted to a fluctuating temperature than to a constant one. At none of the three temperature regimes (18°C; 28°C; 18–28°C) heterosis or rather overdominance was evident. However, fluctuating temperature results reveal a greater performance of all genotypes than constant-temperature ones do.     

Plant phosphoglucose isomerase genes lack introns and are expressed in Escherichia coli

Nuclear genes that appear to encode both cytosolic and plastid isozymes of phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), an essential glycolytic enzyme, have been isolated from three diploid species of the annual wild flower genus Clarkia (Onagraceae). The genes do not contain introns and are expressed to varying degrees in Escherichia coli when cloned in either Charon 35 phage or pUC plasmid vectors. The PGI proteins synthesized in E. coli form dimers, are catalytically active, and their electrophoretic mobilities are similar to those of appropriate Clarkia PGIs. The nucleotide sequence of a gene encoding a plastid isozyme of C. unguiculata is described.     

Some Observations on Factors Controlling Apical Dominance in the 'Rogue' Tomato

The rogue tomato differs from the normal plant in that it exhibitsa lesser degree of apical dominance. Grafting techniques andmeasurements of the endogenous levels of growth substances inthe two types have been used in order to establish whether thisdifference is due to an altered hormonal balance in the roguetype. The results suggest that root-produced cytokinins play no rolein the control of apical dominance in the tomato plant, andthat lateral bud out-growth is influenced by a balance betweenapically-produced auxin, abscisic acid produced at the sitesof bud development and cytokinins synthesized within the budsthemselves. Lycopersicon esculentum L., tomato, apical dominance, abscisic acid, auxins, cytokinins, growth regulation     

Spectrophotometric assay of phenolpthalein in biological fluids.

An assay for phenolphthalein in biological fluids has been developed utilizing methods previously applied to the assay of bromosulphalein and to the deconjugation of steroidal compounds in urine. Intestinal perfusate, serum, and urine samples containing phenolphthalein are deproteinized with acidified acetone, the samples dried, and the phenolphthalein redissolved in ethanol. Color is developed with 0.5 m glycine buffer, pH 12, and the samples read at 550 nm after blanking the spectrophotometer with one of the replicates to which acidic glycine buffer is added. To measure conjugated phenolphthalein in urine, the sample is incubated overnight with β-glucuronidase/arylsulphatase prior to phenolphthalein determination as noted above. This method gives an accurate assay of phenolphthalein to 10^?5m concentrations with coefficients of variation between 2 and 8% and with no resulting interference from hemoglobin or bilirubin.     

Pharmacological and Physicochemical Properties of Pre-Versus Postsynaptic 5-Hydroxytryptamine1A Receptor Binding Sites in the Rat Brain: A Quantitative Autoradiographic Study

Numerous data suggested that the pharmacological and biochemical properties of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) receptors exhibit some regional differences in the CNS, notably within the raphe nuclei compared with various forebrain areas (such as the hippocampus). This possibility has been further investigated in the dorsal raphe nucleus and two areas within the hippocampus, the dentate gyrus and the CA1 area, using the quantitative autoradiographic technique. The potencies of 5'-guanylylimidodiphosphate to inhibit the specific binding of 125I-Bolton-Hunter-8-methoxy-2-(N-propyl-N-propylamino)tetralin (125I-BH-8-MeO-N-PAT) to 5-HT1A sites and of N-ethylmaleimide to block these sites irreversibly were identical in the dorsal raphe nucleus and the hippocampal areas in rat brain sections. In contrast, slight but significant differences were noted in the pH dependence and pharmacological properties of 5-HT1A sites labeled by 125I-BH-8-MeO-N-PAT in these three regions. Similarly, heat denaturation experiments and tissue exposure to either phospholipase A2 or the alkylating agent 8-methoxy-2-(N-2'-chloropropyl,N-propyl)aminotetraline revealed regional differences in the properties of 5-HT1A sites. However, in most cases, the observed variations were of greater amplitude between the CA1 area and the dentate gyrus, where 5-HT1A sites are located postsynaptically, than between any one of these areas and the dorsal raphe nucleus where they act as (presynaptic) somatodendritic autoreceptors. These data further support that subtypes of 5-HT1A receptors probably exist in the rat brain, but this heterogeneity seems unrelated to the pre- or post-synaptic location of these receptors.     

Effect of tween 80 on exploratory behavior and locomotor activity in rats

Exploratory behavior and locomotor activity is enhanced in male rat pups (aged 10 to 20 days) whose dams received a chronic dose (1.25 ml/l) of Tween 80 via their drinking water. This enhancement manifests itself during the diurnal period of the day. These data suggest that Tween 80 has an effect on the CNS which could lead to misinterpretation of results in toxicology studies that use this compound as a dosage vehicle.     

The inhibition of phospholipase A2 by manoalide and manoalide analogues

Manoalide, a natural product from sponge, displays anti-inflammatory activity in vivo. Previous work has shown that manoalide is also a potent covalent inhibitor of the extracellular phospholipase A2 from cobra venom and that the inhibition correlated with a pH-dependent change in manoalide (Lombardo and Dennis (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 7234-7240). Manoalide contains two rings and the opening of either would produce an alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde. The cobra venom phospholipase A2 may be able to catalyze the opening or isomerization of one of these rings, raising the possibility that manoalide is acting as a suicide substrate. To ascertain the role of the gamma-lactone ring in the inhibition, we have now investigated a synthetic manoalide analogue, 3(cis,cis-7,10)-hexadecadienyl-4-hydroxy-2-butenolide (HDHB) which contains only the alpha,beta-unsaturated gamma-lactone ring. We have found that the closed and open forms are in rapid equilibrium between pH 4 and 9 with the cyclic form being preferred at acidic pH values and the open cis form preferred at pH 9.5. When the pH is raised above 12, the alpha,beta double bond isomerizes to form trans-HDHB. Once the trans compound is formed, it is stable at all pH values and does not recyclize to the gamma-lactone ring. The observed pKa of 7.7 found for the inhibition of manoalide agrees well with the transition of the closed to the cis form of the gamma-lactone ring. Kinetic experiments with the HDHB compound show that under conditions in which the cis and closed form of the inhibitor are present in equal molar ratios, HDHB is not an irreversible inhibitor, but reversibly competes with substrate. However, the kinetics of this inhibition are complex and do not follow either pure competitive or non-competitive inhibition. The trans-HDHB exhibits similar complex kinetic but is several times more potent. The distinct differences between the behavior of manoalide and HDHB clearly indicate that while the gamma-lactone ring may play an important role in manoalide inhibition, it alone does not produce irreversible inhibition.