玉米花粉单倍体植株染色体上异染色质的变异

我们用Giemsa BSG C-带技术检查了玉米花药培养获得的花粉单倍体植株根尖细胞染色体上异染色质的变异,观察结果表明,有的植株所显示的C-带数目是与供体植株的相一致,有的植株所显示的C-带数目则发生了显著变化,其中有的增加,有的减少。并讨论了异染色质发生变异的可能原因。还相应地观察到间期核中染色中心的变化是与中期染色体上C-带数目的变化相一致。     

Pulmonary surfactant will secure free airflow through a narrow tube

Well functioning pulmonary surfactant is necessary to ensure alveolar stability. It is proposed that surfactant is also required to keep the finest cylindrical airways open, thereby securing an unrestricted flow of air to and from the alveoli. If the surfactant is inadequate in quality or quality there is a risk that liquid will accumulate in the most marrow section of the airway and form a blocking column. To study that possibility special glass capillaries were used. The glass capillaries were heated and extended to make a short section very narrow. In the lumen of that section a minute volume (1 microliter) of liquid was deposited, which formed a blocking column. When pressure was raised on one side of the column, it forced the liquid to move away from the narrow section. Pressure dropped to zero as air could pass, and if the liquid column consisted of calf lung surfactant extract (CLSE), pressure remained at zero because a new liquid column did not form. If, on the other hand, the liquid column consisted of saline solution it would repeatedly reform as soon as it had been pressed out of the capillary's narrow section. The same occurred if the CLSE suspension forming the liquid column was very dilute or contained inhibiting proteins. These observations did not require that the capillary consisted of the material glass; they were also noted when the narrow tube was outlined by epithelium.     

点叶绵枣叶片培养及器官分化的研究

点叶绵枣叶外植体培养于MS 6-BA 1 PPm IBA 0.5 ppm培养基中,一月后不定芽仅从近轴面的叶表面产生。组织学的观察表明,不定芽起源于表皮细胞。     

A novel sialidase which releases 2,7-anhydro-alpha-N-acetylneuraminic acid from sialoglycoconjugates

The leech (Macrobdella decora) was found to contain two sialic acid-cleaving enzymes: an ordinary sialidase and a novel sialic acid-cleaving enzyme. This novel enzyme released 2,7-anhydro-alpha-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu2,7-anhydro5Ac) instead of alpha-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) from 4-methylumbelliferyl-Neu5Ac, glycoproteins, and gangliosides. We have partially purified this novel sialidase from M. decora. We have also isolated Neu2,7-anhydro5Ac released from 4-methylumelliferyl-Neu5Ac and whale nasal keratan sulfate in pure form. The novel sialidase produced Neu2,7-anhydro5Ac only from sialoglycoconjugates, but not from free Neu5Ac. The structure of Neu2,7-anhydro5Ac produced by the novel sialidase was established by chemical analysis, mass spectrometry, and NMR spectroscopy. NMR analysis showed that instead of the original 2C5 conformation, the pyranose ring of Neu2,7-anhydro5Ac was in the 5C2 conformation, which makes the formation of the 2,7-anhydro bridge possible.     

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha synergizes with IFN-gamma in mediating killing of Leishmania major through the induction of nitric oxide

CBA mice develop cutaneous lesions when infected with Leishmania major. The disease development was significantly reduced by injecting into the lesion a combination of rIFN-gamma and rTNF-alpha. The doses of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha used were suboptimal in that either cytokine alone did not have any effect. The therapeutic effect of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in vivo is reflected in their ability to activate macrophages to kill the intracellular parasites in vitro. The macrophage leishmanicidal activity induced by TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma can be completely inhibited by a specific inhibitor (L-NG monomethyl arginine) of nitric oxide synthesis. There was a direct correlation between the intracellular killing of the parasites and the production of nitric oxide by the macrophages. In contrast, there was no correlation between leishmanicidal activity and superoxide production by macrophages.     

Rates of synonymous substitution in plant nuclear genes

Summary The rate of synonymous nucleotide substitution in nuclear genes of higher plants has been estimated. The rate varies among genes by a factor of up to two, in a manner that is not immediately explicable in terms of base composition or codon usage bias. The average rate, in both monocots and dicots, is about four times higher than that in chloroplast genes. This leads to an estimated absolute silent substitution rate of 6 × 10^–9 substitutions per site per year that falls within the range of average rates (2–8 × 10^–9) seen in different mammalian nuclear genomes.     

The influence of ovarian hormones on the rat oviductal and uterine concentration of noradrenaline and 5-hydroxytryptamine

This paper describes the effects of estradiol and progesterone on the concenirations of noradrenaline and 5-hydroxytryptamine in the Wistar rat oviduct and uterus. The levels of noradrenaline and 5-hydroxytryptamine are higher in the oviduct than in the uterus whereas p-tyrosine and tryptophan are similar in both tissues. Estradiol treatment reduced the oviductal concentration of noradrenaline but not 5-hydroxytryptamine in oviduct, while the concentrations of both noradrenaline and 5-hydroxytryptamine were reduced in uterine horn. The levels of noradrenaline in the oviduct and uterus in rats in estrus were lower than those of diestrous rats. Bilateral ovariectomy produced an increase in uterine noradrenaline and 5-hydroxytryptamine levels. These changes were reversed in the presence of ovarian hormones as indicated by experiments where unilateral ovariectomy was performed. Reserpine administration reduced noradrenaline concentration in both the oviduct and the uterus but did not change oviductal or uterine 5-hydroxytryptamine.These results indicate the existence of noradrenaline within postganglionic sympathetic nerve terminals and suggest that estrogens increase the utilization and the synthesis of noradrenaline in both the oviducts and the uterine horns. With respect to 5-hydroxytryptamine the data support the concept that it is mainly associated with mast cells.