Wachstum und Zellteilung beiUrospora

Zusammenfassung 1. Alle Zellen einesUrospora-Fadens sind teilungs- und streckungsfähig.2. Mit zunehmendem Alter der Pflanze verschiebt sich die Zone des stärksten Wachstums von der Spitze zur Basis.3. Längs eines Fadens bilden sich von Tag zu Tag wechselnde Teilungszonen aus.4. Im allgemeinen erreicht eine junge Zelle nach vier Tagen wieder die teilungsfähige Länge.5. Bei täglich 14stündiger Lichteinwirkung beginnen die Zellteilungen etwa eine Stunde vor dem Dunkelwerden und erstrecken sich — nicht gleichzeitig in allen Zellen — über fünf Stunden.6. Vor der Zellteilung ordnet sich ein Teil der Kerne in einer äquatorialen Gürtellinie an.7. Sämtliche Kerne einer Zelle teilen sich gleichzeitig. Ihre Anzahl wird durch die Zellteilung nicht verändert.8. Die Vermehrung der Kerne erfolgt durch freie, das heißt von der Zellteilung unabhängige Mitosen in Zellen, die noch nicht die teilungsfähige Länge erreicht haben.

---

Growth and cell-division inUrospora

Cultures ofUrospora wormskioldii were used for studying growth and details of cell-division in this alga. In general, all cells of a filament are able to divide in a four-day-rhythm. During this period, the length of the filament nearly doubles. The zone of most active cell-division changes with the age of the plant, moving downward from the top to the base of the filament. The uppermost cells may become fertile while the basic ones continue to divide. Cell-division does not occur simultaneously in all cells of a filament. In a 14:10 hour rhythm of light and dark, divisions begin about one hour before the onset of the dark period and continue over the following five hours. In the growing cell, nuclei are distributed irregularly; before dividing, some of them arrange themselves in an equatorial line. All nuclei of a cell divide synchronously, the new wall differentiating from the uniting phragmoplasts of the neighbouring spindles. The number of nuclei does not vary because of cell-division; multiplication of nuclei in growing cells is brought about by mitosis without cell-division.

     

The efficacy of biobehavioral and compliance interventions in the adjunctive treatment of mild pregnancy-induced hypertension

This investigation assessed the efficacy of a biobehavioral intervention in the adjunctive treatment of mild pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), a potentially serious complication of pregnancy in which normotensive women develop hypertension, proteinuria, and edema of unknown etiology late in gestation. Forty-five women with symptoms of PIH were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: bed rest alone (the most common obstetrical treatment), bed rest with individualized compliance enhancement training, or a four-session biobehavioral treatment consisting of bed rest, compliance enhancement training, and individualized thermal biofeedback-assisted relaxation training. Results indicated that while blood pressure for the bed rest and compliance enhancement groups continued to rise and pose an increasing health risk to maternal and fetal well-being, subjects in the biobehavioral group maintained their blood pressure at a significantly lower, and presumably safer, level. The biobehavioral treatment is hypothesized to affect blood pressure levels in subjects with mild PIH through the mediation of the sympathetic nervous system, decreasing peripheral vascular resistance and cardiac output. The results of this investigation suggest that the biobehavioral intervention may be an effective adjunct to bed rest in the treatment of mild PIH remote from term.     

Classical plant taxonomic ambiguities extend to the molecular level

Summary The molecular evolution of cytochrome c from angiosperms is compared to that from vertebrates. On the basis of a cladistic analysis from 26 plant species, compared to that from 27 vertebrate species, we find that although the vertebrate sequences yield reasonably well-defined minimal trees that are congruent with the biological tree, the plant sequences yield multiple minimal trees that are not only highly incongruent with each other, but none of which is congruent with any reasonably biological tree. That is, the plant sequence set is much more homoplastic than that of the animal. However, as judged by the relative rate test, the extent of divergence, and degree of functional constraint, cytochrome c evolution in plants does not appear to differ from that of vertebrates.     

Carbon metabolism in Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteroids

Abstract Carbon metabolism in Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteroids is reviewed. Additionally, the bacteroid tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and its regulation under oxygen-limited conditions is considered, with emphasis on possible sites of TCA cycle rate-limiting reactions. Furthermore, we consider other adaptive pathways that may be employed by these organisms while in symbiosis. These pathways include: (1) a poly-β-hydroxy-butyrate shunt, (2) a malate-aspartate shuttle, (3) an α-ketoglutarate-glutamate shunt, (4) a modified dicarboxylic acid cycle, and (5) fermentation pathways leading to lactate, acetaldehyde and ethanol. The effects of oxygen limitation on host carbon metabolism are also considered briefly.