Calcium and EGTA Alleviate Cadmium Toxicity in Germinating Chickpea Seeds

Impact of exogenous calcium and ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA) supplement on chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) germinating seeds exposed to cadmium stress for 6 days was studied. Ca and EGTA late treatment (3 days) alleviated growth inhibition and decreased Cd accumulation as well as lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation in both root and shoot cells. Exogenous effector application relieved Cd-induced cell death which was associated with a constant level of ATP, which was considered as an apoptotic-like process. Redox balance was examined through the study of the redox state of pyridine nucleotide couples NAD⁺/NADH and NADP⁺/NADPH as well as their related oxidative [NAD(P)H-oxidase] and dehydrogenase (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase) enzyme activities. The present research illustrated an ameliorative effect of Ca and EGTA on growth of Cd-exposed chickpea seedlings that occurs through the protection of sensitive cell sites from Cd-induced oxidation, namely membrane lipids and proteins, rather than the improvement of recycling capabilities of the cellular reducing power.     

Huntington disease: no evidence for locus heterogeneity

A total of 63 families with Huntington disease (HD) were examined for linkage between HD and G8 (D4S10). The families included 57 Caucasian, four Black American, and two Japanese. The combined maximum lod score was 87.69 at theta = 0.04 (99% confidence interval 0.018-0.071). The maximum frequency of recombination was 0.03 in males and 0.05 in females. Fifty-seven families gave positive lod scores; five small families gave mildly negative lod scores. The maximum likelihood estimate of alpha, the proportion of linked loci, was 1.0 with a lower 99% confidence interval of 0.88. These data suggest that there is only one HD locus, although a second rare locus cannot be ruled out.     

Promotion of crown-gall tumor initiation on primary pinto bean leaves by certain inorganic salts

Crown-gall tumor initiation by Agrobacterium tumefaciens (SMITHand TOWN.) CONN, strain B6, on Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. "Pinto"was found to be sensitive to the addition of various salts tothe freshly inoculated primary leaves. Calcium, magnesium, zincand ammonium sulfates, cobalt and nickel chlorides and potassiumnitrate increased the number of tumors on inoculated leavesby 100 to 200 percent. Maximal promotions were obtained at concentrationsof 10^–7 to 10^–5 M with all of these salts exceptpotassium nitrate which was most active at 10^–2M. Sodium,potassium, calcium, magnesium and aluminum chlorides, and sodium,potassium and nickel sulfates had little or no effect on tumorinitiation. The combination of sodium sulfate with magnesiumchloride gave promotions comparable to those obtained with magnesiumsulfate, indicating that both the magnesium and sulfate ionswere necessary for the promotion obtained with this latter salt.Combining any two of the active salts at their optimum concentrationsfor promotion resulted in a reciprocal inhibition of the promotionobtained with either salt alone, suggesting these salts to beactive by different and potentially antagonistic mechanisms.The possible nature of these promotions is discussed, but theyremain too obscure to warrant a specific proposal for theirmode of action. ¹Present adress: Department of Botany, University of Khartoum,Khartoum, Sudan.     

Genetic linkage studies of human neurodegenerative disorders.

Recombinant DNA technology has the ability to delineate the causes of several neurodegenerative disorders. Genetic linkage studies have been used successfully to localize gene defects and it is likely that in the near future the exact loci will be determined.     

Ultrastructural Study of the Development of Pleistophora schubergi Zwölfer, 1927 (Protozoa,Microsporida) in Larvae of the Spruce Budworm,Choristoneura fumiferana and Its Subsequent Taxonomic Change to the Genus Endoreticulatus

This study demonstrates that Pleistophora schubergi Zwölfer, 1927, a microsporidium originally isolated from the midgut epithelium of Nygmia phaeorrhoea Don (Euproctis chrysorrhoea L.) and Porthetria dispar L., and subsequently reported in several other insects including the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (the host used in this investigation), does not belong in the genus Pleistophora Gurley, 1893. Pleistophora schubergi lacks the major features that are characteristic of Pleistophora typicalis, the type species of this genus. A comparison of ultrastructural observations reported for the type species of the genus Pleistophora, P. typicalis, and our observations of P. schubergi revealed significant differences. A thick (0.5 μm) amorphous coat, derived from parasite secretions and deposited external to the parasite plasmalemma, surrounds all developmental stages in P. typicalis. Double membranes, derived from host rough endoplasmic reticulum cisternae encircle the parasite plasmalemma of all developmental stages in P. schubergi. The sporophorous vesicle encases the spores in P. typicalis, and originates from the parasite-secreted coat that is present around meronts. In P. schubergi, the host endoplasmic reticulum cisternae form the envelope that surrounds the meronts. Moreover, the sporophorous vesicle envelope in P. typicalis persists around groups of spores, while in P. schubergi this envelope breaks easily to release the spores in the host cytoplasm. By comparing the characteristics of the microsporidium found in the spruce budworm with those of the recently created polysporous genera that sporulate within a vesicle, we found that P. schubergi does belong in the new genus Endoreticulatus Brooks et al. 1988, and consequently rename it Endoreticulatus schubergi (Zwölfer, 1927) n. comb.     

Genetic linkage map of human chromosome 21

Two of the most common disorders affecting the human nervous system, Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease, involve genes residing on human chromosome 21. A genetic linkage map of human chromosome 21 has been constructed using 13 anonymous DNA markers and cDNAs encoding the genes for superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and the precursor of Alzheimer's amyloid beta peptide (APP). Segregation of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) for these genes and DNA markers was traced in a large Venezuelan kindred established as a "reference" pedigree for human linkage analysis. The 15 loci form a single linkage group spanning 81 cM on the long arm of chromosome 21, with a markedly increased frequency of recombination occurring toward the telomere. Consequently, 40% of the genetic length of the long arm corresponds to less than 10% of its cytogenetic length, represented by the terminal half of 21q22.3. Females displayed greater recombination than males throughout the linkage group, with the difference being most striking for markers just below the centromere. Definition of the linkage relationships for these chromosome 21 markers will help refine the map position of the familial Alzheimer's disease gene and facilitate investigation of the role of recombination in nondisjunction associated with Down syndrome.     

Reduced amyloidogenic processing of the amyloid β-protein precursor by the small-molecule Differentiation Inducing Factor-1

The detection of cell cycle proteins in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains may represent an early event leading to neurodegeneration. To identify cell cycle modifiers with anti-Aβ properties, we assessed the effect of Differentiation-Inducing Factor-1 (DIF-1), a unique, small-molecule from Dictyostelium discoideum, on the proteolysis of the amyloid β-protein precursor (APP) in a variety of different cell types. We show that DIF-1 slows cell cycle progression through G0/G1 that correlates with a reduction in cyclin D1 protein levels. Western blot analysis of DIF-treated cells and conditioned medium revealed decreases in the levels of secreted APP, mature APP, and C-terminal fragments. Assessment of conditioned media by sandwich ELISA showed reduced levels of Aβ40 and Aβ42, also demonstrating that treatment with DIF-1 effectively decreases the ratio of Aβ42 to Aβ40. In addition, DIF-1 significantly diminished APP phosphorylation at residue T668. Interestingly, site-directed mutagenesis of APP residue Thr668 to alanine or glutamic acid abolished the effect of DIF-1 on APP proteolysis and restored secreted levels of Aβ. Finally, DIF-1 prevented the accumulation of APP C-terminal fragments induced by the proteasome inhibitor lactacystin, and calpain inhibitor N-acetyl-leucyl-leucyl-norleucinal (ALLN). Our findings suggest that DIF-1 affects G0/G1-associated amyloidogenic processing of APP by a γ-secretase-, proteasome- and calpain-insensitive pathway, and that this effect requires the presence of residue Thr668.     

On the Composition, Deposition and Mobilization of Proteins in the Cotyledons of Castor Bean (Ricinus communis L. cv. Hale) Seeds: Their Role as Storage Proteins

Proteins in the soluble and insoluble fractions, extracted frommature castor bean cv. Hale seed cotyledons, differ quantitativelyand qualitatively from their counterparts extracted from theendosperm. The soluble fraction contains no glycoproteins, andthe lectins RCA₁ and ricin D are absent. While the insolubleproteins are electrophoretically and immunologically similarto those in the endosperm, they do not form the 100 kD subunitdimers which characterize some of the endosperm insoluble crystalloidproteins. Rapid rates of deposition of all of the soluble andinsoluble proteins present in the mature seed cotyledons commences30–35 d after pollination (DAP) and continues until 45DAP. These proteins are mobilized rapidly beginning 1–2d after seed imbibition and this coincides with an increasein specific activity, in the cotyledons, of two aminopeptidasesand a carboxypeptidase. The soluble and insoluble proteins inthe cotyledons of the mature seed probably function as storageproteins and support the growth of the germinated seed priorto the mobilization of the major protein storage reserves ofthe endosperm. Key words: Ricinus communis, Castor bean, Hale cultivar, Cotyledon, Storage protein, Seed development, Seed germination