Fusion between vesicles from the pathway of receptor-mediated endocytosis in a cell-free system

Fusion between endocytic vesicles containing 125I-transferrin and ones containing anti-transferrin antibody was monitored by the formation of an immune complex. Fusion required ATP and only occurred between specific populations of vesicles. Cytosol was also required. Trypsinisation of the preparations or pre-treatment with N-ethylmaleimide abolished the fusion reaction.     

Strategies for targeted transposon tagging of ABA biosynthetic mutants in tomato

The ABA biosynthetic pathway has been studied in detail and the steps impaired in some ABA-deficient mutants are known. However, little is known of the molecular control mechanisms regulating ABA production in planta. A direct route for improving our understanding of these mechanisms is to transposon tag and clone the wild-type counterparts of the ABA mutant alleles. On the basis of the observation that maize transposons move preferentially to linked sites in both homologous and heterologous systems and in doing so disrupt gene function, a targeted transposon mutagenesis strategy is being developed towards cloning ABA biosynthetic genes from tomato. The possibility of using marker genes to identify T-DNA insertion sites in selected parts of the genome has been examined and compared with an inverse PCR/RFLP approach to mapping T-DNAs.     

The nutrition of vegetables in sand

The yield data available from the author's series of investigations on vegetable nutrition in sand have been plotted against the concentrations of the elements concerned (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), and the curves so obtained have been discussed. Within the ranges of concentrations employed, it is observed that too much available nitrogen or, especially, available phosphorus, causes depressions in yields with the tops and/or roots of certain vegetables, turnip roots being particularly susceptible to too much available phosphorus; no case of over-employment of available potassium, however, is noted. The turnip is recommended as a type plant for indicating the state of soil fertility as regards available (nitric) nitrogen.