Paternal inheritance of chloroplast DNA in Larix

Restriction enzyme analysis was used to determine the inheritance of chloroplast DNA in conifers. The plant material studied included five individual trees of European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) and Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis Sieb. & Zucc.) and six hybrids from controlled crosses between these species. The chloroplast DNA fragment patterns generated by Bam-HI and Bcl-I were species-specific. Paternal inheritance of chloroplast DNA patterns was found in most Larix crosses. One hybrid showed maternal chloroplast DNA patterns. In addition, two other hybrids had mixed Bam-HI patterns suggesting recombination between maternal and paternal chloroplast DNA. The mechanisms favoring paternal inheritance in conifers are not known. Paternal inheritance of chloroplast DNA is suggested it to be a general phenomenon in conifers.     

DNase I hypersensitivity and expression of the Shrunken-1 gene of maize

The local chromatin structure of the Shrunken-1 (Sh) gene of maize was probed by analyzing DNase I hypersensitivity. Sh encodes the gene for sucrose synthetase, a major starch biosynthetic enzyme, which is maximally expressed in the endosperm during seed maturation. In addition to general DNase I sensitivity, specific DNase I hypersensitive sites were identified in endosperm chromatin that mapped near the 5 end of the Sh gene. The pattern of hypersensitive sites and their relative sensitivity were altered in other non-dormant tissues that produce little or no enzyme. However, some changes in chromatin structure appear to be independent of Sh gene expression and may reflect general alterations associated with plant development. The chromatin structure of several sh mutations, induced by Ds controlling element insertions, was also analyzed. Although the insertions perturbed expression of the gene, there were no notable effects on local chromatin structure.     

Effects of cultural conditions on the production of phenylalanine from a plasmid-harboring E. coli strain

Summary Phenylalanine production from E. coli KA 197/pJN6 (plasmid harboring genes for aro F, phe A^FBR, Amp^R and Tc^R) was studied under varying nutritional conditions in batch and continuous cultures. In batch culture experiments where growth was deliberately interrupted by limiting concentrations of sulphate and phosphate the phenylalanine production continued from the non-growing cells. However, the depletion of phosphate resulted in an immediate cessation of phenylalanine production but thereafter a low specific rate of phenylalanine formation resumed, while the decrease in specific rate of product formation was less after sulphate depletion. In the chemostat experiments, however, phosphate limitation was the only case where the specific rate of phenylalanine formation remained constant, while at the corresponding time in sulphate and glucose limited chemostats it was declining respectively had ceased.     

Microcalorimetric investigation into the metabolic activity of rat caecal flora in the presence of different sugars and sugar substitutes

When adapting young rats to different sugar substitutes (sorbitol, PolydextroseR and PalatinitR), effects were seen in the caecal morphology and caecal content e.g. bacterial concentration, which did not occur when adapting rats to sugars (glucose, sucrose). For in vitro studies, anaerobic growth of caecal flora in thioglycollate medium with and without the respective substances was monitored by continuous measurement of heat production, optical density and pH. Additionally, biochemical analyses and light microscopic observations were performed in order to detect differences between adapted and non-adapted flora. In particular the microcalorimetric data furnished valuable information about alterations in bacterial metabolic activity after adaptation to sugars and sugar substitutes, and clearly indicated that all the substances tested influenced the metabolism of caecal flora.     

Dietary shifts,niche relationships and reproductive output of coexisting Kestrels and Long-eared Owls

Summary Food samples of breeding Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and Long-eared Owls (Asio otus) were collected in the peak and low phase of their preferred prey (Microtus voles) in western Finland. Diets of pairs that bred as neighbours (1 km) with interspecifics were compared with those of non-neighbours. In both species, neighbouring pairs fed less on Microtus voles and more on alternative prey than did non-neighbours. Competition theory predicts that diet overlap should be lower during prey shortage and that diet similarity should be especially reduced in neighbouring pairs. Observations were consistent with expectations: diet similarity was lower in the low vole years and neighbouring pairs showed less diet overlap that non-neighbours. Differences in habitat composition and prey availability at the sample sites should not confuse the results. In addition to the high diet similarity, hunting habitats and nest sites of the species overlapped almost completely; they only showed clear temporal segregation in hunting. Probably because of food competition, the neighbouring pairs of both species produced significantly fewer young than the non-neighbours. These results contrast with the view that the diet composition and dietary shift of rodent-feeding predatory birds can be interpreted in terms of simple opportunistic foraging. In the breeding season, interspecific competition for food seems to be an important factor that affects the niches of these species, especially in northern areas, where the seasonal low phase of voles in spring and the number of alternative prey are lower than in more southern areas.     

Intracellular localisation of phytochrome and ubiquitin in red-light-irradiated oat coleoptiles by electron microscopy

The intracellular localisation of phytochrome and ubiquitin in irradiated oat coleoptiles was analysed by electron microscopy. We applied indirect immunolabeling with polyclonal antibodies against phytochrome from etiolated oat seedlings or polyclonal antibodies against ubiquitin from rabbit reticulocytes, together with a goldcoupled second antibody, on serial ultrathin sections of resin-embedded material. Immediately after a 5-min pulse of red light-converting phytochrome from the red-absorbing (Pr) to the far-redabsorbing (Pfr) form-the label for phytochrome was found to be sequestered in electron-dense areas. For up to 2 h after irradiation, the size of these areas increased with increasing dark periods. The ubiquitin label was found in the same electrondense areas only after a dark period of 30 min. A 5 min pulse of far-red light, which reverts Pfr to Pr, given immediately after the red light did not cause the electron-dense structures to disappear; moreover, they contained the phytochrome label immediately after the far-red pulse. In contrast, after the reverting far-red light pulse, ubiquitin could only be visualised in the electron-dense areas after prolonged dark periods (i.e. 60 min). The relevance of these data to light-induced phytochrome pelletability and to the destruction of both Pr and Pfr is discussed.Abbreviations FR far-red light; Pfr - Pr far-red-absorbing and red-absorbing forms of phytochrome, respectively - R red light     

Light-induced changes in the amounts of the 36000-Mr polypeptide of NADPH-protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase and its mRNA in barley plants grown under a diurnal light/dark cycle

Seedlings of barley were grown either in continuous darkness or under a diurnal 12 h light/12 h dark cycle and the effects on NADPH-protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase were followed at two different levels. Firstly, the relative content of the mRNA encoding the NADPH-protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase was measured by dot-blot hybridization. Secondly, changes in the enzyme polypeptide were monitored either by the method of immunoblotting or by immunogold labelling of ultrathin sections of Lowicryl-embedded leaf tissue. Our results demonstrate that drastic diurnal changes in the level of mRNA sequences and the enzyme protein are unlikely to occur in plants which have been grown under natural light/dark conditions. In the dark, protein and mRNA accumulation occurs at an early developmental stage. These results are difficult to reconcile with the suggestion that the massive accumulation of mRNA and enzyme protein in dark-grown seedlings is primarily the consequence of an artificially extended darkperiod. In addition to the plastid-specific NADPH-protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase a closely related polypeptide has been detected outside the plastid in the surrounding cytoplasm (Dehseh et al. 1986b, Planta 169, 172–183). During the diurnal light/dark treatment of seedlings the concentrations of the two protein populations did not show any variation indicative of an exchange between the two protein populations across the plastid envelope.Abbreviation poly(A)⁺RNA polyadenylated RNA     

Influx of na, k, and ca into roots of salt-stressed cotton seedlings : effects of supplemental ca

High Na⁺ concentrations may disrupt K⁺ and Ca²⁺ transport and interfere with growth of many plant species, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) included. Elevated Ca²⁺ levels often counteract these consequences of salinity. The effect of supplemental Ca²⁺ on influx of Ca²⁺, K⁺, and Na⁺ in roots of intact, salt-stressed cotton seedlings was therefore investigated. Eight-day-old seedlings were exposed to treatments ranging from 0 to 250 millimolar NaCl in the presence of nutrient solutions containing 0.4 or 10 millimolar Ca²⁺. Sodium influx increased proportionally to increasing salinity. At high external Ca²⁺, Na⁺ influx was less than at low Ca²⁺. Calcium influx was complex and exhibited two different responses to salinity. At low salt concentrations, influx decreased curvilinearly with increasing salt concentration. At 150 to 250 millimolar NaCl, ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ influx increased in proportion to salt concentrations, especially with high Ca²⁺. Potassium influx declined significantly with increasing salinity, but was unaffected by external Ca²⁺. The rate of K⁺ uptake was dependent upon root weight, although influx was normalized for root weight. We conclude that the protection of root growth from salt stress by supplemental Ca²⁺ is related to improved Ca-status and maintenance of K⁺/Na⁺ selectivity.     

Basic peroxidases in isolated vacuoles of nicotiana tabacum L.

Vacuoles of tobacco mesophyll and of suspension-cultured cells were isolated in order to study the localization of peroxidase isoenzymes. Only basic peroxidases were detectable by electrophoretic separation of the vacuolar sap. Some of the basic peroxidases have formerly been described as an ionically bound cell-wall fraction. This fraction, however, was found to be an artifact produced by incomplete cell breakage. Reinvestigation of isolated cell walls confirmed that mainly acidic peroxidases are localized in the cell walls where they move freely or are bound. As a consequence of former and present results we think it probable that all of the peroxidase isoenzymes are secretory proteins because they have to be transported from the sites of synthesis in the cytoplasm to the sites of function, the extracytoplasmic spaces, cell wall (acidic peroxidases), and vacuole (basic peroxidases).Abbreviation ER endoplasmic reticulum - PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis