Ultrastructure and lipid composition of etioplasts in developing dark-grown wheat leaves

Changes in the ultrastructure and lipid composition of etioplasts have been evaluated in three regions from the base to the tip of 8-day-old darkgrown wheat leaves and in the upper-2/3 region of etiolated leaves of different ages. In developing darkgrown tissues, the main morphological changes that etioplasts undergo consist of an increase in the amount of thylakoïds which, in the most mature etioplasts, align in parallel arrays. Concomitantly, galactolipids and sulfolipid form an increasing proportion of the total lipids. Trans-3-hexadecenoic acid was not detectable in phosphatidylglycerol (PG) of etioplasts showing appressed thylakoïds isolated from 5-day-old leaves, but was present in significant amounts in etioplasts in the basal part of 8-day-ols leaves in which membrane appression was barely visible. The proportions of this acid increase as etioplasts develop, reaching 25% of the PG fatty acids (1.2% of the total fatty acids) in the most differentiated etioplasts. In wheat etioplasts, it appears that trans-3-hexadecenoic acid may accumulate in considerable amounts in darkgrown tissues and that its accumulation is not directly involved in membrane appression.Abbreviations AP phosphatidic acid - DGDG digalactosyldiacylglycerol - MGDG monogalactosyldiacylglycerol - PC phosphatidylcholine - PE phosphatidylethanolamine - PG phosphatidylglycerol - PI phosphatidylinositol - PS phosphatidylserine - SL sulfolipid     

Influence of mitochondrial inhibitors on the respiration and energy-dependent uptake of iodide by thyroid slices

The influence of mitochondrial inhibitors, including oligomycin, antimycin and rotenone, on the iodide and oxygen uptake and the nucleotide content of incubated sheep thyroid slices was investigated. Each inhibitor strongly suppressed both iodide and oxygen uptake, and decreased the nucleoside triphosphate content of the slices. In most cases the addition of glucose or mitochondrial substrates restored iodide uptake in inhibitor-treated slices. Inhibitor concentrations sufficient to inhibit iodide uptake strongly had only slight effects on the thyroidal Na(+)+K(+)-activated adenosine triphosphatase. It is concluded that the inhibitors produce their effects by the inhibition in vivo of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. ATP synthesis appears to be essential for iodide uptake to occur, and the high-energy intermediates (or energized state) of oxidative phosphorylation cannot be used to energize the uptake process. To a limited extent glycolytic ATP synthesis can support iodide uptake, which is therefore not exclusively dependent on aerobic metabolism. The mechanism of energy-linked iodide uptake is discussed.     

Single acetylcholine-activated channel currents in developing muscle cells

The properties of single acetylcholine-activated ion channels in developing rat myoblasts and myotubes in tissue culture have been investigated using the gigaohm seal patch clamp technique. Two classes of ACh-activated channels were identified. The major class of channels (accounting for >95% of all channel openings) has a conductance of 35 pS and a mean open time of 15 msec (at room temperature and ?80 mV). The minor class of channels has a larger conductance (55 pS) and a briefer mean open time (2–3 msec). Functional ACh-activated channels are present in undifferentiated mononucleated myoblasts 1–2 days in culture, although the channel density on such cells is low. Over the next week in culture, as the myoblasts fuse to form multinucleate myotubes, there is a marked increase in channel density and an increase in the proportion of large conductance channels. No significant change, however, occurs in channel conductance or open time (within a given class of channels) during this period. At high concentrations of ACh, channels desensitize and channel openings occur in groups, similar to what has been previously described in adult muscle. The rate of channel opening within a group of openings increases with increasing agonist concentration while mean open time is independent of agonist concentration, as expected from simple models of drug action. During a group of openings, the channel is open for half the time (i.e., channel opening rate is equal to channel closing rate) at a concentration of approximately 6 μm ACh.     

Autoregulation of the nar operon encoding nitrate reductase in Escherichia coli

Summary Nitrate reductase is demonstrated to exert an autogenous control on its own synthesis. This effect requires the participation of the molybdenum cofactor. Use of strains in which the control region of the nar operon is mutated reveals two loci in this region: one, affected in strain LCB94, is common to both autoregulation and induction by nitrate while the other, mutated in strain LCB188, is specific for the induction by nitrate. It is proposed that the autogenous control prevents the unnecessary accumulation of the nitrate reductase subunits in the cytoplasm.     

Yif1B Is Involved in the Anterograde Traffic Pathway and the Golgi Architecture

Yif1B is an intracellular membrane‐bound protein belonging to the Yip family, shown previously to control serotonin 5‐HT_1A receptor targeting to dendrites. Because some Yip proteins are involved in the intracellular traffic between the ER and the Golgi, here we investigated the precise localization of Yif1B in HeLa cells. We found that Yif1B is not resident into the Golgi, but rather belongs to the IC compartment. After analyzing the role of Yif1B in protein transport, we showed that the traffic of the VSVG protein marker was accelerated in Yif1B depleted HeLa cells, as well as in hippocampal neurons from Yif1B KO mice. Conversely, Yif1B depletion in HeLa cells did not change the retrograde traffic of ShTx. Interestingly, in long term depletion of Yif1B as in Yif1B KO mice, we observed a disorganized Golgi architecture in CA1 pyramidal hippocampal neurons, which was confirmed by electron microscopy. However, because short term depletion of Yif1B did not change Golgi structure, it is likely that the implication of Yif1B in anterograde traffic does not rely on its role in structural organization of the Golgi apparatus, but rather on its shuttling between the ER, the IC and the Golgi compartments.      

Edible Myrciaria vexator fruits: bioactive phenolics for potential COPD therapy

The edible fruits of Myrciaria vexator McVaugh (Myrtaceae), from northern South America, are eaten in certain locales, either fresh or processed into jellies and drinks. Activity-guided fractionation of M. vexator resulted in identification of ellagic acid (1), cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (2), delphinidin-3-O-glucoside (3), 2-O-(3,4-dihydroxybenzoyl)-2,4,6-trihydroxyphenylacetic acid (4), and jaboticabin (5), and latter two compounds are being reported for the first time in this species. Ellagic acid was further examined, and found to inhibit cigarette smoke extract induced MMP-1 expression in vitro, and may be of significance in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary (COPD). Other compounds identified for the first time from M. vexator include cyanidin-3-O-galactoside (6), cyanidin-3-O-arabinoside (7), cyanidin-3-O-rutionoside (8), petunidin (9), peonidin-3-O-galactoside (10) malvidin (11), hyperoside (12), querecetin-3-O-glucoside (13), and guajaverin (14), methyl protocatechuate (15), and protocatechuic acid (16).     

Activation of the TLR4 signaling pathway and abnormal cholesterol efflux lead to emphysema in ApoE-deficient mice

Smokers with airflow obstruction have an increased risk of atherosclerosis, but the relationship between the pathogenesis of these diseases is not well understood. To determine whether hypercholesterolemia alters lung inflammation and emphysema formation, we examined the lung phenotype of two hypercholesterolemic murine models of atherosclerosis at baseline and on a high-fat diet. Airspace enlargement developed in the lungs of apolipoprotein E-deficient (Apoe(-/-)) mice exposed to a Western-type diet for 10 wk. An elevated number of macrophages and lymphocytes accompanied by an increase in matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity and MMP-12 expression was observed in the lungs of Apoe(-/-) mice on a Western-type diet. In contrast, low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient (Ldlr(-/-)) mice did not exhibit lung destruction or inflammatory changes. Most importantly, we revealed augmented expression of the downstream targets of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathway, interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, in the lungs of Apoe(-/-) mice fed with a Western-type diet. In addition, we demonstrated overexpression of MMP-9 in Apoe(-/-) macrophages treated with TLR4 ligand, augmented with the addition of oxidized LDL, suggesting that emphysema in these mice results from the activation of the TLR pathway secondary to known abnormal cholesterol efflux. Our findings indicate that, in Apoe(-/-) mice fed with an atherogenic diet, abnormal cholesterol efflux leads to increased systemic inflammation with subsequent lung damage and emphysema formation.     

Geographic variation and positive selection on M7 lysin, an acrosomal sperm protein in mussels (Mytilus spp.)

Successful fertilization in free-spawning marine organisms depends on the interactions between genes expressed on the surfaces of eggs and sperm. Positive selection frequently characterizes the molecular evolution of such genes, raising the possibility that some common deterministic process drives the evolution of gamete recognition genes and may even be important for understanding the evolution of prezygotic isolation and speciation in the marine realm. One hypothesis is that gamete recognition genes are subject to selection for prezygotic isolation, namely, reinforcement. In a previous study, positive selection on the gene coding for the acrosomal sperm protein M7 lysin was demonstrated among allopatric populations of mussels in the Mytilus edulis species group (M. edulis, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and Mytilus trossulus). Here, we expand sampling to include M7 lysin haplotypes from populations where mussel species are sympatric and hybridize to determine whether there is a pattern of reproductive character displacement (RCD), which would be consistent with reinforcement driving selection on this gene. We do not detect a strong pattern of RCD; neither are there unique haplotypes in sympatry nor is there consistently greater population structure in comparisons involving sympatric populations. One distinct group of haplotypes, however, is strongly affected by natural selection, and this group of haplotypes is found within M. galloprovincialis populations throughout the Northern Hemisphere concurrent with haplotypes common to M. galloprovincialis and M. edulis. We suggest that balancing selection, perhaps resulting from sexual conflicts between sperm and eggs, maintains old allelic diversity within M. galloprovincialis.     

Genetic diversity in the blackberry rust pathogen, Phragmidium violaceum, in Europe and Australasia as revealed by analysis of SAMPL

Indigenous to Europe, the blackberry rust fungus Phragmidium violaceum was introduced to Australia and subsequently appeared in New Zealand, with the most recent authorised introductions to Australia specifically for the biological control of European blackberry. Markers for ‘selective amplification of microsatellite polymorphic loci’ (SAMPL) were developed for studying the population genetics of P. violaceum. Modification of one of the two SAMPL primers with a HaeIII adapter (H) revealed significantly greater levels of genetic variation than primers used to generate AFLPs, the latter revealing little or no variation among 25 Australasian and 19 European isolates of P. violaceum. SAMPL was used to describe genetic variation among these 44 isolates of P. violaceum from 51 loci generated using primer pairs (GACA)₄ + H–G and R1 + H–G. The European isolates were more diverse than Australasian isolates, with 37 and 22 % polymorphic loci, respectively. Cluster analysis revealed geographic clades, with Australasian isolates forming one cluster separated from two clusters comprising the European isolates. However, low bootstrap support at these clades suggested that Australian isolates had not differentiated significantly from European isolates since the first record of P. violaceum in Australia in 1984. In general, the results support two hypotheses. First, that the population of P. violaceum in Australia was founded from a subset of individuals originating from Europe. Second, that P. violaceum in New Zealand originated from the Australian population of P. violaceum, probably by wind dispersal of urediniospores across the Tasman Sea. The application of SAMPL markers to the current biological control programme for European blackberry is discussed.