ALLOZYME VARIATION WITHIN SOLANUM SECT. PETOTA,SER. ETUBEROSA (SOLANACEAE)

Enzyme electrophoresis was employed to measure genetic variation within and divergence among 32 populations of three species in Solanum sect. Petota (S. brevidens, S. etuberosum, and S. fernandezianum). These species are self-compatible, diploid (2n = 2x = 24), and members of the monophyletic series Etuberosa. Solanum etuberosum is distributed in southern Chile, S. brevidens occurs in southern Chile and adjacent southern Argentina, and S. fernandezianum is endemic to Masatierra Island in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, 650 km west of continental Chile. Very low levels of observed heterozygosity (0.00–0.04) are found within populations of all three species. Interspecific mean genetic identities between S. brevidens and S. etuberosum (0.854) were similar to their intraspecific values (0.923, 0.865, respectively), with both species monomorphic for alleles at nine of the 12 loci examined. Solanum fernandezianum shows no heterozygosity and is more divergent to both S. brevidens (0.780) and S. etuberosum (0.698) than either is to each other. The divergence of S. fernandezianum to S. brevidens and S. etuberosum results from novel alleles at two of the 12 isozyme loci; in addition, it possesses only a subset of the variability found in S. brevidens and S. etuberosum at three other loci.     

Reconstitution of cardiac gap junction channeling activity into liposomes: a functional assay for gap junctions

Cardiac gap junctions were reconstituted into liposomes. To determine if reconstitution resulted in membrane channel formation, we developed an assay for channel function that used a liposome-entrapped peroxidase to detect entry of a substrate into the liposome. The data demonstrate, for the first time, that reconstituted gap junctions from heart are capable of channel-forming activity in artificial membranes.     

Zinnia marylandica (Asteraceae: Heliantheae), a new disease-resistant ornamental hybrid

Zinnia marylandica, an artificial hybrid betweenZ. angustifolia var.angustifolia (2n=22 female) andZ. violacea (2n=24, male), is described and illustrated.Zinnia marylandica is a stabilized amphiploid (2n=46) produced by colchicine-induced doubling of the sterile interspecific hybrids. It exhibits disease resistance to powdery mildew (Erysiphe cichoracearum), alternaria blight (Alternaria zinniae), and bacterial leaf and flower spot (Xanthomonas campestris pv.zinniae).     

Regulation of chlorophyll synthesis in the green alga golenkinia

Chlorophyll synthesis in Golenkinia is inhibited 10-fold by growth in darkness on acetate or by growth on elevated concentrations of acetate in the light, particularly if the growth medium contains low levels of nitrogen. Glucose has no such inhibitory effect. delta-Aminolevulinic acid, with a maximal effect at 0.01 m, but not its precursors, overrides the inhibitory effect of acetate and darkness, restoring chlorophyll synthesis. Glycine, succinate, and alpha-ketoglutarate, the precursors tested, all enter the cell. Cells forming chlorophyll produce significantly more aminolevulinic acid than do cells becoming bleached, further indicating the important regulatory role of this compound. Cyclic AMP has no effect on chlorophyll synthesis. These results are compared with those obtained studying other algae, and a mechanism relating light and acetate to chlorophyll formation is proposed.     

The expression of differentiation by chick embryo thyroid in cell culture. I. Functional and fine structural stability in mass and clonal culture

The stability of glandular epithelial cells has been investigated utilizing the techniques of cell culture. Embryonic chick thyroid was chosen as a representative cell type and methods were developed for the successful clonal culture of thyroid follicular cells. Thyroid cells were found to be morphologically and functionally stable while undergoing rapid division in both dense (monolayer) and dilute (clonal) cell culture. Differentiated features were retained for a minimum of 32 days of primary clonal culture (approximately 17 generations under clonal conditions). During the culture period, the cells retained their epithelial morphology, retained their cytoplasmic rough endoplasmic reticulum, and continued to produce chromatographically detectable thyroid hormones. Hormone production in culture was a specific thyroid characteristic since control cultures of embryonic heart and liver did not contain the hormones.     

A genetic study of bovine lymphocyte antigens (BoLA) and their frequency in several breeds

Using sera which defined the BoLA specificities at the two International BoLA workshops (Edinburgh, 1978 and Wageningen, 1980) and the European Regional workshop (Paris, 1979),142 informative matings from 15 bulls have been studied. On the basis of this data, 11 of the 15 internationally agreed specificities and one of the regionally defined specificities behave as if controlled by alleles at a single autosomal locus. Data has not as yet been obtained for the other four internationally agreed specificities which are also believed to be at this locus. — The frequencies of 13 of the internationally agreed specificities and one of the regionally defined specificities have been studied for both sexes in one breed and for a single sex in another five breeds. The other two internationally agreed specificities are very recent and the populations have not been tested for them. The frequencies between sexes within a breed and within sexes between breeds differ significantly.     

Effect of free cholesterol on incorporation of triolein in phospholipid bilayers

Triacylglycerols are the major substrates for lipolytic enzymes that act at the surface of emulsion-like particles such as triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, chylomicrons, and intracellular lipid droplets. This study examines the effect of cholesterol on the solubility of a triacylglycerol, triolein, in phospholipid surfaces. Solubilities of [carbonyl-13C]triolein in phospholipid bilayer vesicles containing between 0 and 50 mol % free cholesterol, prepared by cosonication, were measured by 13C NMR. The carbonyl resonances from bilayer-incorporated triglyceride were shifted downfield in the 13C NMR spectra from those corresponding to excess, nonincorporated material. This enabled solubilities to be determined directly from carbonyl peak intensities at most cholesterol concentrations. The bilayer solubility of triolein was inversely proportional to the cholesterol/phospholipid mole ratio. In pure phospholipid vesicles the triolein solubility was 2.2 mol %. The triglyceride incorporation decreased to 1.1 mol % at a cholesterol/phospholipid mole ratio of 0.5, and at a mole ratio of 1.0 for the bilayer lipids, the triolein solubility was reduced to just 0.15 mol %. The effects of free cholesterol were more pronounced and progressive than observed previously on the bilayer solubility of cholesteryl oleate (Spooner, P. J. R., Hamilton, J. A., Gantz, D. L., & Small, D. M. (1986) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 860, 345-353]. As with cholesteryl oleate, we suggest that cholesterol also displaces solubilized triglyceride to deeper regions of the bilayer.     

Sortagging: a versatile method for protein labeling

Genetically encoded reporter constructs that yield fluorescently labeled fusion proteins are a powerful tool for observing cell biological phenomena, but they have limitations. Sortagging (sortase-mediated transpeptidation) is a versatile chemoenzymatic system for site-specific labeling of proteins with small (<2 kDa) probes. Sortagging combines the precision of a genetically encoded tag with the specificity of an enzymatic reaction and the ease and chemical versatility of peptide synthesis. Here we apply this technique to proteins in vitro and on the surface of living cells.