Glucofructosan metabolism in Cichorium intybus roots

A 10-fold purification of sucrose sucrose fructosyl transferase from Cichorium intybus roots was achieved by ammonium sulphate fractionation and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The energy of activation for this enzyme was ca 48 kJ/mol sucrose. Sucrose sucrose fructosyl transferase and invertase were prominent during early months of growth. Evidence obtained from: (1) the changes in carbohydrate composition at monthly intervals; (2) comparative studies on fructosyl transferase and invertase at different stages of root growth; and (3) incubation studies with [¹⁴C]glucose, [¹⁴C]fructose and [¹⁴C]sucrose revealed that, during the later stages of root growth, fructosan hydrolase is responsible for fructosan hydrolysis. No evidence for the direct transfer of fructose from sucrose to high M_r glucofructosans was obtained.     

ELEGTROPHORETIC VARIATION IN PROTEINS AND ENZYMES OF THE TUMOR-FORMING HYBRID NICOTIANA GLAUCA X N. LANGSDORFFII AND ITS PARENT SPECIES

Leaf and tumor extracts of the genetically tumor-conditioned amphiploid Nicotiana glauca X N. langsdorffii, as well as leaf extracts from the parent species and a nontumorous mutant of the amphiploid, were separated on acrylamide gel columns by the method of disc electrophoresis. Gels were stained for general proteins with amido black and specifically for esterases, peroxidases and leucine amino peptidase. The results show characteristic protein and enzyme patterns for leaves of each of the parental species and the amphiploid hybrids. The amphiploids show some bands which are comparable to bands of either one or both of the parental species, while other bands do not have their equivalents in the parental species. Leaf tissue of the tumorous and nontumorous amphiploids were found to differ by a few protein bands, at least two for esterases and at least one for peroxidases. Extracts from tumor tissue show very different patterns from those of the leaves of the same genotype.     

Seasonal variations in the survival index of rats at simulated high altitudes

Albino rats were maintained in an animal house, the air temperature of which fluctuated with the variations in the ambient air temperature Survival index, which is defined as the percentage of rats surviving for 100 min at a given simulated altitude, was determined for several groups of rats in different months covering a period of about one year. The simulated altitudes used were 25,000,27,500, 30,000 and 32,500 ft, with an air temperature of 33°C and RH of over 80%,within the decompression chamber. The survival index showed a progressive decline with the fall in mean air temperature of 32°C in summer to 13°C in winter, and a rise with increase in air temperature during the summer of the succeeding year. In a group of rats removed from an environment at 28°C to one at 19°C a significant fall in survival index was observed at the end of 4 weeks, but not at the end of 12 weeks. It is concluded that exposure to a mild degree of cold reduces the ability of rats to survive hypoxia between 10 and 30 days of cold exposure,,which tends to revert to normal between 30 and 90 days.

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Zusammenfassung Ratten wurden in einem Tierhaus gehalten, dessen Innentemperatur mit der Aussentemperatur schwankte.Der Überlebens-Index das ist der Prozentsatz Ratten, die 100 min bei einer gegebenen simulierten Höhe überleben, wurde für mehrere Gruppen Ratten in verschiedenen Perioden während eines Jahres bestimmt. Die Höhen betrugen 7,600 m, 8,300 m, 9,100 m und 9,850 m bei 33°C und 80% RF.Der Überlebens-Index zeigte eine progressive Senkung beim Fall der Temperatur von 32°C im Sommer auf 13°C im Winter und eine Zunahme beim Wiederanstieg der Temperatur im Sommer des folgenden Jahres. Ratten, die von 28°C in einen Raum von 19°C überführt wurden,wiesen nach 4 Wochen eine siknifikante Verminderung des Überlebens-Index auf, dagegen nicht mehr nach 12 Wochen. Danach ist bereits bei milder Kälteexponierung die Hypoxie-resistenz der Ratte näch 10–30 Tagen in der Kälte reduziert und normalisiert sich wieder zwischen 30 und 90 Tagen.

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Resume Des rats ont été placés dans des cages dont la température variait avec celle de l'air ambiant. On détermina alors l'indice de survie pour plusieurs groupes de ces animaux et pour différentes périodes couvrant presque une année entière. Cet indice est défini par le taux de rats qui restent en vie après avoir été exposés durant 100 min à des altitudes simulées déterminées et cela par 33°C et 80% d'humidité relative à l'intérieur de la chambre de décompression.Ces altitudes étaient de 7.600m, 8.300 m, 9.100 m et 9.850 m. L'indice de survie diminua progressivement lors d'un abaissement de la température ambiante aux cages de 32°C en été à 13°C enhiver pour remonter à nouveau avec la température l'été de l'année suivante.Des rats qui furent transférés d'un milieu de 28°C dans un autre de 19°C présentèrent un abaissement significatif de leur indice de survie après 4 semaines.Cet abaissement avait cependant disparu après 12 semaines. On en conclut qu'une exposition de 10 à 30 jours à un refroidissement modére réduit de façon évidente la capacité de résistance à l'hypoxie des rats, mais que la dite capacité de résistance se normalise de nouveau entre 30 et 90 jours après.

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Family resemblance for glucose tolerance in a Melanesian population, the Tolai

Path analysis of family resemblance for plasma glucose concentration, 2 h after an oral glucose challenge, failed to detect significant genetic heritability. There were no intergenerational differences and marital resemblance was moderate. Over one-third of sibling environmental similarity was due to non-inherited factors. Cultural inheritance was very strong, tending to mimic genetic inheritance, and cultural heritability was considerable. Measures of obesity were included in the environmental index, an estimate of familial environment, in this analysis, for comparability with previous studies. Since obesity appears, in part, to be a heritable trait, in future studies a bivariate approach to family resemblance for both glucose tolerance and obesity could yield important additional insight.     

In Vitro Alterations Do Not Reflect a Requirement for Host Cell Cycle Progression during Plasmodium Liver Stage Infection

Prior to invading nonreplicative erythrocytes, Plasmodium parasites undergo their first obligate step in the mammalian host inside hepatocytes, where each sporozoite replicates to generate thousands of merozoites. While normally quiescent, hepatocytes retain proliferative capacity and can readily reenter the cell cycle in response to diverse stimuli. Many intracellular pathogens, including protozoan parasites, manipulate the cell cycle progression of their host cells for their own benefit, but it is not known whether the hepatocyte cell cycle plays a role during Plasmodium liver stage infection. Here, we show that Plasmodium parasites can be observed in mitotic hepatoma cells throughout liver stage development, where they initially reduce the likelihood of mitosis and ultimately lead to significant acquisition of a binucleate phenotype. However, hepatoma cells pharmacologically arrested in S phase still support robust and complete Plasmodium liver stage development, which thus does not require cell cycle progression in the infected cell in vitro. Furthermore, murine hepatocytes remain quiescent throughout in vivo infection with either Plasmodium berghei or Plasmodium yoelii, as do Plasmodium falciparum-infected primary human hepatocytes, demonstrating that the rapid and prodigious growth of liver stage parasites is accomplished independent of host hepatocyte cell cycle progression during natural infection.     

Exploring genetic variability within lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) and across related legumes using a newly developed set of microsatellite markers

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is an economically important grain legume, yet the genetic and genomic resources remain largely uncharacterized and unexploited in this crop. Microsatellites have become markers of choice for crop improvement applications. Hence, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed for lentil through the construction of genomic library enriched for GA/CT motifs. As a result 122 functional SSR primer pairs were developed from 151 microsatellite loci and validated in L. culinaris cv. Precoz. Thirty three SSR markers were utilized for the analysis of genetic relationships between cultivated and wild species of Lens and related legumes. A total of 123 alleles were amplified at 33 loci ranging from 2–5 alleles with an average of 3.73 alleles per locus. Polymorphic information content (PIC) for all the loci ranged from 0.13 to 0.99 with an average of 0.66 per locus. Varied levels of cross genera transferability were obtained ranging from 69.70 % across Pisum sativum to 12.12 % across Vigna radiata. The UPGMA based dendrogram was able to establish the uniqueness of each genotype and grouped them into two major clusters clearly resolving the genetic relationships within lentil and related species. The new set of SSR markers reported here were efficient and highly polymorphic and would add to the existing repertoire of lentil SSR markers to be utilized in molecular breeding. Moreover, the improved knowledge about intra- and inter-specific genetic relationships would facilitate germplasm utilization for lentil improvement.     

Development of microsatellite markers and analysis of intraspecific genetic variability in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Paucity of polymorphic molecular markers in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) has been a major limitation in the improvement of this important legume. Hence, in an attempt to develop sequence-tagged microsatellite sites (STMS) markers from chickpea, a microsatellite enriched library from the C. arietinum cv. Pusa362 nuclear genome was constructed for the identification of (CA/GT) _n and (CT/GA) _n microsatellite motifs. A total of 92 new microsatellites were identified, of which 74 functional STMS primer pairs were developed. These markers were validated using 9 chickpea and one C. reticulatum accession. Of the STMS markers developed, 25 polymorphic markers were used to analyze the intraspecific genetic diversity within 36 geographically diverse chickpea accessions. The 25 primer pairs amplified single loci producing a minimum of 2 and maximum of 11 alleles. A total of 159 alleles were detected with an average of 6.4 alleles per locus. The observed and expected heterozygosity values averaged 0.32 (0.08–0.91) and 0.74 (0.23–0.89) respectively. The UPGMA based dendrogram was able to distinguish all the accessions except two accessions from Afghanistan establishing that microsatellites could successfully detect intraspecific genetic diversity in chickpea. Further, cloning and sequencing of size variant alleles at two microsatellite loci revealed that the variable numbers of AG repeats in different alleles were the major source of polymorphism. Point mutations were found to occur both within and immediately upstream of the long tracts of perfect repeats, thereby bringing about a conversion of perfect motifs into imperfect or compound motifs. Such events possibly occurred in order to limit the expansion of microsatellites and also lead to the birth of new microsatellites. The microsatellite markers developed in this study will be useful for genetic diversity analysis, linkage map construction as well as for depicting intraspecific microsatellite evolution.