The systematic relationships ofAegialitis (Plumbaginaceae) as revealed by pollen morphology

Light and first SEM observations on the pollen ofAegialitis indicate that the two species of the genus are clearly distinguishable from all other genera of the tribeStaticeae to whichAegialitis presently is relegated. Intraspecific exine or aperture dimorphism which appears frequently in this tribe, is not recorded in this genus.A. annulata andA. rotundifolia have distinct monomorphic pollen and show a great resemblance in exine features with the tribePlumbagineae, particularly species ofPlumbago. Considering these and other features, separate subtribal status forAegialitis within thePlumbagineae is proposed.     

Architecture of the T-system in helical paramyosin muscles of an annelid (Branchiobdella)

Tannic acid impregnation has revealed the existence of a T-system in the helical fibers of Branchiobdella pentodonta (Annelida, Clitellata). T-tubules are L-shaped inside the fiber, within the plane of the I-band: after a short horizontal tract they run longitudinally for a long tract keeping contact with many sarcoplasmic reticulum cisternae and forming dyads. The presence of a T-system in this annelid, the only one demonstrated up to now in annelids, is to be ascribed to the thickness of the contractile layer of those fibers.     

Establishment of a gene tagging system in Arabidopsis thaliana based on the maize transposable element Ac

Summary An Ac-derived, two-component transposable element system has been developed and analyzed with respect to its use in Arabidopsis thaliana. This system consists of an immobilized Ac element (Ac clipped wing, Ac_cl) as the source of transactivating transposase and a nonautonomous Ds element, Ds_A, which is inserted into a chimaeric neomycinphosphotransferase gene used as excision marker. After separate introduction of Ac_c1 and Ds_A into Arabidopsis thaliana, progeny analysis of crosses between five different Ac_cl lines and seven different Ds_A lines shows that: (1) different Ac_cl lines differ greatly in their capacity to transactivate Ds_A; (2) different Ds_A lines do not differ significantly with respect to Ds_A transactivation by one Ac_cl line; (3) reintegration of excised Ds_A elements, both at (genetically) linked and unlinked sites, occurs in about 50% of the excision events; and (4) plants with a high rate of somatic excisions can be used as source of new Ds_A transpositions, allowing the creation of a large number of independent Ds_A insertions.     

Translation initiation factor-dependent extracts from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Translation initiation factor 4A- and 4E-dependent extracts were developed from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and used to study factor requirements for translation of individual mRNAs in vitro. Whereas all mRNAs tested required eIF-4A, mRNAs devoid of secondary structure in their 5' untranslated region did not require exogenous eIF-4E for translation. The latter included alfalfa mosaic virus RNA4, mRNA containing the untranslated region of tobacco mosaic virus RNA and mRNA containing part of the untranslated region of poliovirus RNA. Furthermore, initiation of translation on mRNAs containing part of the untranslated region of poliovirus RNA is most likely internal.     

Helix-coil stability constants for the naturally occurring amino acids in water. XXIII. Proline parameters from random poly (hydroxybutylglutamine-co-L-proline)

Water-soluble random copolymers containing L-proline and N5-(4-hydroxybutyl)-L-glutamine were synthesized by copolymerization of the tripeptides H-L-Glu(OBzl)-L-Glu(OBzl)-L-Glu(OBzl)-OH and H-L-Glu(OBzl)-L-Pro-L-Glu(OBzl)-OH, using benzotriazolyl-N-oxy-tris(dimethylamino)-phosphonium hexafluorophosphate as condensing reagent, and subsequent aminolysis of the Bzl ester groups with 4-amino-1-butanol. These copolymers were found to contain significant amounts of N5-(4-hydroxybutyl)-D-glutamine, thus requiring the synthesis of a binary copolymer containing only D- and L-N5-(4-hydroxybutyl)glutamine residues in order to evaluate the possible effects of the D-residues on the conformational properties of poly(hydroxybutylglutamine-co-L-proline). The different copolymers were fractionated, and their thermally induced helix-coil transition curves were obtained in water at neutral pH. When proper corrections were applied for the helix-destabilizing properties of N5-(4-hydroxybutyl)-D-glutamine, the Zimm-Bragg parameters sigma and s for L-proline could be deduced from the melting curves of poly(hydroxybutylglutamine-co-L-proline). The results indicate that L-proline acts as a very strong helix breaker over the entire temperature range from 0 to 60 degrees C.     

Nucleotide sequences of the trpG regions of Escherichia coli,Shigella dysenteriae,Salmonella typhimurium and Serratia marcescens

The nucleotide sequences of Serratia marcescens trpG and the corresponding regions of Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae and Salmonella typhimurium trpD have been determined. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence divergence suggests the following evolutionary relationships: Serratia-[Salmonella, (Escherichia, Shigella)]. Partial reconstruction of ancestral nucleotide sequences and subsequent analysis of nucleotide substitutions show that the majority of nucleotide substitutions in the evolution of trp(G)D are transitions that result in a reduction of G + C content. Since most of the nucleotide substitutions are in the third position of codons, bias in synonymous codon usage also reflects G + C content. The trpE-trp(G)D junction in the four organisms is characterized by overlapping translation termination and initiation codons. The relative positions of trpE and trp(G)D thus became fixed in evolution before the fusion of trpG and trpD. Nucleotide sequences representing the fusion of trpG and trpD in Escherichia, Shigella and Salmonella are not more nor less divergent than other portions of the trp(G)D coding sequences.     

A combined CaMKII inhibition and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism via eplerenone inhibits functional deterioration in chronic pressure overloaded mice

In the diseased and remodelled heart, increased activity and expression of Ca^2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), an excess of fibrosis, and a decreased electrical coupling and cellular excitability leads to disturbed calcium homeostasis and tissue integrity. This subsequently leads to increased arrhythmia vulnerability and contractile dysfunction. Here, we investigated the combination of CaMKII inhibition (using genetically modified mice expressing the autocamtide‐3‐related‐peptide (AC3I)) together with eplerenone treatment (AC3I‐Epler) to prevent electrophysiological remodelling, fibrosis and subsequent functional deterioration in a mouse model of chronic pressure overload. We compared AC3I‐Epler mice with mice only subjected to mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonism (WT‐Epler) and mice with only CaMKII inhibition (AC3I‐No). Our data show that a combined CaMKII inhibition together with MR antagonism mitigates contractile deterioration as was manifested by a preservation of ejection fraction, fractional shortening, global longitudinal strain, peak strain and contractile synchronicity. Furthermore, patchy fibrosis formation was reduced, potentially via inhibition of pro‐fibrotic TGF‐β/SMAD3 signalling, which related to a better global contractile performance and a slightly depressed incidence of arrhythmias. Furthermore, the level of patchy fibrosis appeared significantly correlated to eplerenone dose. The addition of eplerenone to CaMKII inhibition potentiates the effects of CaMKII inhibition on pro‐fibrotic pathways. As a result of the applied strategy, limiting patchy fibrosis adheres to a higher synchronicity of contraction and an overall better contractile performance which fits with a tempered arrhythmogenesis.