Isolation, identification and properties of a new thyroxine-binding protein--apolipoprotein A-1 from human blood serum]

A protein having a molecular mass of about 25 kWa was isolated by thyroxin (T4)-Sepharose affinity chromatography from human blood serum; its properties were found to be distinct from those of known T4-binding proteins. Using immunodiffusion, radioimmunoassay, lipid analysis, differential precipitation and electrophoresis, it was shown that the isolated protein is a component of high density lipoprotein (HDL) particles and represents an apolipoprotein A-1 (apoA-1). Using cholate-Sepharose chromatography apoA-1 was separated from the lipid moiety and contaminant proteins, and apoA-1 was effectively isolated directly from the blood serum. Apo-A-1-HDL and apoA-1 obtained by affinity chromatography as well as the HDL3 fraction isolated by a standard ultracentrifugation technique, all displayed a T4-binding activity, the affinities for the hormones being of the same order of magnitude. The T4 interaction with these preparations induced difference UV-absorption signals, altered the characteristics of apoA-1 intrinsic fluorescence without affecting the circular dichroism of the protein-hormone system. The binding of spin-labelled T4 to apo-1, apoA-1-HDL or HDI3 caused substantial changes in the shape of the ESR spectrum and an increase in the apparent rotational correlation time. The mobility of the radical fragment of spin-labelled T4 depended on the composition and properties of the protein preparation. The electron spectroscopy data suggest that the T4-HDL interaction occurs via specific mechanisms and that the molecular structures of the complexes formed thereby are not characteristic of other known T4-binding proteins.     

Cell kinetics in the mouse esophageal epithelium in relation to the time of day

The kinetics of mouse esophageal epithelial cells was investigated throughout 90 h after a single injection of 3H-thymidine at 01 or at 13 h--the times of the peak and minimal magnitudes of the radioisotope index in the circadian rhythm of proliferation. The mitotic cycle parameters in the cells varied but insignificantly. For cells treated with 3H-thymidine at 01 h, T = 24.3 h, ts = 6 h, tG2 min = 1.5 h, tG2+ 1/2 M = 2.9 h and tG1+/2 M = 15.4 h; for those treated with 3H-thymidine at 13 h, T = 25.6 h, ts = 8.4 h, tG2 min = 1 h, tG2+ 1/2 M = 2.2 h, tG1+ 1/2 M = 15 h. Cells labeled at 01 h proliferated more actively for a long period of time as compared to those labeled at 13 h. The synchronism in undergoing several successive mitotic cycles was greater for cells labeled at the peak radioisotope index. The data obtained also suggest that the majority of cells enter the G0 phase after the completion of the first cycle. The duration of the G0 phase varies in different cell populations.     

Hormonal regulation of tuber formation in potato plants

Tuber formation is a complex process comprising several stages: stolon formation and growth, induction of tuberization, tuber initiation, and tuber growth. This review considers successive stages of tuber formation and their hormonal regulation. Special attention is paid to the effects on tuber formation of such phytohormones as gibberellins, cytokinins, jasmonic acid, and auxins. Physiological and some molecular-genetic aspects of their action on tuber photoperiodic induction and initiation are discussed.     

Marital Structure,Genetic Fitness,and the <Emphasis Type="Italic">GJB2</Emphasis> Gene Mutations among Deaf People in Yakutia (Eastern Siberia,Russia)

Autosomal recessive deafness type 1A (DFNB1A) caused by mutations in the GJB2 gene (Cx26) is the main cause of nonsyndromic hearing impairment in many populations worldwide. It is considered that widespread prevalence of DFNB1A can be due to the long tradition of intermarriages between deaf people (assortative marriages) combined with their increased social adaptation and genetic fitness after widespread introduction of sign language. For the first time, the data on mating structure and reproduction of deaf people living in Yakutia (Eastern Siberia, Russia) are presented in comparison with contribution of the GJB2 gene mutations to the etiology of hearing impairment. The relative fertility of deaf people compared to their hearing siblings is 0.78 (mean number of children 1.76 ± 0.10 and 2.24 ± 0.09 to deaf and their hearing siblings, respectively, p = 0.0018). The rate of assortative marriages among deaf people is 77.1% (81 of 105 marriages). Biallelic mutations in the GJB2 gene were found in 42.2% (43 of 102) of examined deaf people, which corresponded to diagnosis DFNB1A for these patients. A comparison of deaf marital partners by GJB2 status revealed a proportion of noncomplementary marriages (24%) in which hearing loss in both partners was caused by the presence of biallelic GJB2 gene mutations resulting in the birth of only deaf children in such couples. Thus, the set of obtained data including a relatively high genetic fitness (expressed as relative fertility) of deaf people in Yakutia in combination with a high rate of assortative marriages among them and high incidence of DFNB1A indicates a possible weakening of selection against such trait as “deafness” and a possible increase in the frequency of GJB2 mutant alleles in subsequent generations.     

Geographical Ecocline Polymorphism of the Distribution of Mitochondrial Haplotypes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Adalia bipunctata</Emphasis> Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of Norway

Adalia bipunctata Linnaeus, 1758 is a classical object for studying polymorphism of natural populations. Application of genetic markers significantly increased the possibilities of analysis of natural populations of ladybirds and opened the possibility of studying ecological adaptations at the genetic level. We analyze the geographical distribution of the mitochondrial haplotypes of A. bipunctata, determined on the basis of the variability of the mitochondrial cox1 gene in the natural populations of Norway. Two new mitochondrial haplotypes of A. bipunctata are described. We observe a geographical cline in the haplotypes frequencies from south to north. The main haplotype H1 of the central Europe is gradually replaced in the north by the haplotype H7. A possible reason for the observed geographical cline is a selective advantage of beetles with haplotype H7 in areas with a northern coastal climate.