Cytological and molecular observations on Solanum phureja-induced dihaploid potatoes

Summary Seventeen potato dihaploids, produced by pollinating the tetraploid (2n = 48) cv Pentland Crown with pollen from Solanum phureja (2n = 24) dihaploid inducer clones, were studied. Since dihaploids are thought to develop parthenogenetically from unfertilized ovules they were expected to be euploid (2n = 24), but somatic chromosome counts showed that 15 of the 17 dihaploids were aneusomatic. Ten of the clones were predominantly diploid (2n = 24) with a proportion of hyperploid cells that contained 25 or 26 chromosomes. Five of the dihaploids contained variable numbers of triploid cells (2n = 36). RFLP analysis was used to determine whether the additional chromosomes were from S. phureja or S. tuberosum. Unique hybridizing fragments present in S. phureja but not in Pentland Crown were identified. These S. phureja-specific restriction fragments were present in some of the dihaploid offspring of Pentland Crown. Of the 5 clones that contained triploid cells 4 had S. phureja type banding. Four of the 10 aneusomatic clones that contained hyperploid cells had the unique S. phureja hybridizing fragments. We propose that ovules of Pentland Crown were fertilized by pollen from S. phureja and that the aneusomatic clones were derived from triploid zygotes from which some of the S. phureja chromosomes were eliminated. We consider that this is an additional mechanism of dihaploid formation in potato.     

The dielectric permittivity at radio frequencies and the bruggeman probe: novel techniques for the on-line determination of biomass concentrations in plant cell cultures

A novel technique is described for the measurement of the volume fraction of biomass in a suspension by the simultaneous measurement of the conductivity of a suspension containing cells and of the medium in which the cells are suspended. The presence of non-conducting particulate matter in a suspension will cause the conductivity of a suspension to be decreased relative to that of the medium in which the particles are suspended. A simple equation (the Bruggeman equation) describes the relationship between the volume fraction of non-conducting particulate matter and the decrease in conductivity. The accuracy of this method for the determination of the biomass concentration of plant cells (Festuca arundinacea) in culture was shown. The method was successfully applied to the on-line determination of biomass concentrations during the growth of F. arundinacea cultures, and gave good agreement with biomass levels as determined from measurements of the radio-frequency dielectric permittivity of such cultures.     

Risk of second primary cancers after Hodgkin's disease by type of treatment: analysis of 2846 patients in the British National Lymphoma Investigation.

OBJECTIVE--To analyse the risk of second primary cancers during long term follow up of patients with Hodgkin''s disease. DESIGN--Cohort study. SETTING--The British National Lymphoma Investigation (a collaborative group of over 60 participating centres in Britain treating lymphomas). PATIENTS--2846 patients first treated for Hodgkin''s disease during 1970-87, for whom follow up was complete in 99.8%. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Second primary cancers; uniform pathology reviews confirmed the diagnosis of Hodgkin''s disease and of second primary non-Hodgkin''s lymphomas. RESULTS--113 second primary cancers occurred. Relative risk of cancer other than Hodgkin''s disease was 2.7 (95% confidence interval 2.3 to 3.3) compared with the general population, with significant risk of leukaemia (16.0(9.1 to 26.0)); non-Hodgkin''s lymphoma (16.8(9.8 to 26.9)); and cancers of the colon (3.2 (1.4 to 6.2)), lung (3.8 (2.6 to 5.4)), bone (15.1 (1.8 to 54.7)), and thyroid (9.4 (1.1 to 33.9)). Absolute excess risk associated with treatment was greater for solid tumours than for leukaemia and lymphomas. Relative risk of leukaemia increased soon after treatment, reaching a peak after five to nine years. It was increased substantially after chemotherapy (27.9 (12.7 to 52.9)), combined treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy (21.5 (7.9 to 46.8)), and relative to number of courses of chemotherapy but was not significantly increased after radiotherapy (2.5 (0.1 to 14.1)). Relative risk of non-Hodgkin''s lymphoma increased in the first five years after treatment and remained high but showed no clear relation with type or extent of treatment. Relative risk of solid tumours was less raised initially but increased throughout follow up and for lung cancer 10 years or more after entry was 8.3 (4.0 to 15.3). The risk of solid tumours increased after treatments including radiotherapy and after chemotherapy alone. The risk after chemotherapy increased significantly with time since first treatment. CONCLUSION--The risk of solid cancer, not of leukaemia, is the major long term hazard of treatment for Hodgkin''s disease, and this seemed to apply after chemotherapy as well as after radiotherapy. These risks of second cancers are important in choice of treatment and in follow up of patients, but they are small compared with the great improvements in survival which have been brought about by modern therapeutic methods for Hodgkin''s disease.     

Evolutionary conservation of the spliceosomal protein, U2B''''.

U1 and U2snRNPs play key roles in pre-mRNA splicing. The interactions between the U1 and U2snRNP-specific proteins, U1A, U2A' and U2B' and their respective UsnRNAs are of interest both to elucidate their roles in splicing, and as models to study RNA-protein interactions. We have cloned a full-length cDNA, encoding U2B', from potato. This is the first report of a sequence for a plant UsnRNP protein. The plant U2B' sequence exhibits extensive similarity with the human U2B' protein at both the DNA and amino acid levels. The evolutionary conservation at the protein level, particularly in sequences implicated in determining specific binding to U2snRNA, suggests conservation of U2B' function from plants to man. The significance of amino acid substitutions in the RNP-80 motif with respect to U2snRNA binding in plants is discussed.     

Effect of Plant Species and Environmental Conditions on Ice Nucleation Activity of Pseudomonas syringae on Leaves

Selected plant species and environmental conditions were investigated for their influences on expression of ice nucleation activity by 15 Pseudomonas syringae strains grown on plants in constant-temperature growth chamber studies. Ice nucleation frequencies (INFs), the fraction of cells that expressed ice nucleation at −5 or −9°C, of individual strains varied greatly, both on plants and in culture. This suggests that the probability of frost injury, which is proportional to the number of ice nuclei on leaf surfaces, is strongly determined by the particular bacterial strains that are present on a leaf surface. The INFs of strains were generally higher when they were grown on plants than when they were grown in culture. In addition, INFs in culture did not correlate closely with INFs on plants, suggesting that frost injury prediction should be based on INF measurements of cells grown on plants rather than in culture. The relative INFs of individual strains varied with plant host and environment. However, none of seven plant species tested optimized the INFs of all 15 strains. Similarly, incubation for 48 h at near 100% relative humidity with short photoperiods did not always decrease the INF when compared with a 72 h, 40% relative humidity, long-photoperiod incubation. Pathogenic strains on susceptible hosts were not associated with higher or lower INFs relative to their INFs on nonsusceptible plant species. The ice nucleation activity of individual bacterial strains on plants therefore appears to be controlled by complex and interacting factors such as strain genotype, environment, and host plant species.     

Examination of Genetic Relatedness of Marine Synechococcus spp. by Using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms

The relatedness of several marine Synechococcus spp. was estimated by DNA hybridization. Strains isolated from various geographical locations and representing a diversity of DNA base compositions and phycobiliprotein profiles were compared by restriction fragment length polymorphisms for a number of genes. DNAs from two marine red algae and a cryptomonad alga (which exhibit a phycobiliprotein composition similar to that of the marine Synechococcus spp.) and Synechococcus strain PCC6301 (Anacystis nidulans) were also included in the comparison. Strains WH8008, WH8018, and WH7805 were shown to be very similar to one another, as were strains WH7802 and WH7803. Strains WH8110 and WH5701 were clearly unrelated to any of the other strains, and no marine Synechococcus isolate showed any similarity to the freshwater Synechococcus strain PCC6301 or the eucaryotic algae. The method is relatively straightforward and sensitive and uses a variety of basic molecular biology techniques. Its utility in ascertaining the genetic relatedness and diversity of marine Synechococcus spp. and possible extension to field studies are discussed.     

The genetics and expression of an esterase locus inAnopheles gambiae

The main polymorphic system of esterase isoenzymes in adults of the G3 laboratory strain ofAnopheles gambiae consists of two to five major bands of activity per individual. The bands are designated 5S, 5F, 13, 14, and 15. In genetic crosses, the genes which coded for the bands assorted as three codominant alleles, Est A, Est B, and Est C, at a single autosomal locus. Homozygotes for the Est C allele were significantly underrepresented among backcross progeny. The developmental pattern of esterase expression was examined. Esterase gene expression in embryos was first detectable between 2 and 12 hr after oviposition. The initiation or termination of expression of some of the bands corresponded to boundaries between developmental stages. Most of the esterase fractions were not specifically localized within the tissues tested, with the exception of a series of bands which were restricted largely to adult male testes.