Lipoxygenase from the leaves of wheat grown under different water supply conditions

Lipoxygenase (LOG) in protein fractions isolated from the leaves of substituted wheat lines was investigated. Three molecular forms of the enzyme were detected. A water deficiency caused the induction of a membrane-bound form (mLOG) and resulted in a decrease in the activity of “soluble” enzymes (s1LOG) and (s2LOG) in most genotypes. A correlation analysis demonstrated the dependence between the level of enzymatic activity and indices of resistance to drought. A genetic control of the s1LOG and s2LOG activity at an optimal water supply level was associated with chromosomes 1A, 1D, 3A, 5A, 5B, and 5D, while under the conditions of the modeled soil drought, it was associated with chromosomes 1B and 1D.     

Structural transformations of oligonucleosomes from pigeon erythrocyte chromatin

The methods of velocity sedimentation and circular dichroism have been used to investigate structural rearrangements of pigeon erythrocyte oligonucleosomes isolated after digestion with micrococcal nuclease (oligonucleosomes-M) or pancreatic DNase I (oligonucleosomes-D), in the wide range of ionic strength (mu from 0.005 to 0.5). The electrophoretic analysis of DNA isolated from the oligonucleosomes has revealed internal cuts in the DNA chain of oligonucleosomes-D. In spite of this fact the conformational parameters of DNA in both types of oligonucleosomes are practically indistinguishable, and their optical and hydrodynamic properties vary in a similar way with increasing ionic strength of the solution. The specificity of DNase I action results in the ability of oligonucleosomes-D to form homogeneous associates at mu = 0.065, which seems to be due to the existence of elongated intact ends of linker DNA in oligonucleosomes-D. It has been shown that the integrity of oligonucleosomes-D in a wide range of ionic strength is maintained by histones H1 and H5, because after their dissociation the sedimentation coefficient sharply decreases. The results obtained reveal the multifunctional role of lysine-rich histones and intact linker in the processes of compaction and association of oligonucleosomes.     

Method for estimating a compound’s opiate activity based on a versatile three-dimensional model of nonselective opiate pharmacophore

A versatile three-dimensional (3D) model for a nonselective opiate pharmacophore was constructed using an alternative strategy for searching the structural similarity of molecules. The method for calculating the qualitative evaluation of agonistic and antagonistic properties of opiate receptor ligands was developed on this basis. Examples of using this method for evaluating the opiate activity of compounds which essentially differ in their structure from opiates and the traditional opioids are given.