Isolation and characterization of microsatellites in Pacific white shrimp Penaeus (Litopenaeus) vannamei

Five polymorphic microsatellite loci were characterized for Penaeus (Litopenaeus) vannamei. Loci were isolated using a partial Sau3A1 genomic library by the sequencing of randomly selected clones and by a biotinylated (CT)₁₀ and (GT)₁₀ probes screening procedure. The last strategy resulted in the most useful data. About 40% of the clones showed a previously reported satellite/microsatellite (PVS1), reducing the chance of finding new microsatellite regions. Whereas two of the microsatellite loci with more than 10 alleles will be useful for mating analysis in a breeding program, the others might prove useful for population genetic studies.     

Insulin-Like Peptides of the Cerebropleural Ganglion of the Mollusc Anodonta cygnea: Isolation, Purification, and Radioligand Analysis

Cerebropleural ganglia from 4000 individuals of the mollusc Anodonta cygnea were submitted to procedures developed for isolation of vertebrate pancreatic insulins: homogenization and extraction, stage-like isoelectrical sedimentation, and ion-exchange chromatography. As a result of purification of the obtained preparation, using high-effective liquid chromatography, there were identified 7 protein peaks differing by time of retention on the reverse-phase sorbent in acetonitryl gradient and designated as insulin-related peptides (IRP), IRP1-IRP7. The material was characterized by the peptide ability to inhibit specific binding of ¹²⁵I-insulin and of insulin-related factor-1 (¹²⁵I-IGF-1) by plasma membranes of the rat liver and brain. The IC₅₀ value of peptide concentration (nM) able to replace 50% of the labeled hormone bound with the receptor amounted in the insulin radioreceptor system for IRP1 to 330, for IRP3 to 130, for IRP4 to 17, for IRP5 to130, for IRP6 to 420 nM. Peptide IRP7 at a maximal concentration (10⁴ ng/ml) replaced less than 50% of labeled hormone, whereas in IRP2 no inhibitory ability was detected under these experimental conditions. The IC₅₀ value in the case of ¹²⁵I-IGF-1 amounted for IRP1, IRP4, and IRP5 to17, for IRP2 to 50, for IRP3 to 83, for IRP6 to 133 nM. IRP7 at a concentration of 10⁴ ng/ml replaced less than 50% of labeled hormone. The same high relative affinity of the peptide IRP4 (12% of activity of standard insulin and IGF-1) to both receptor types is revealed. The results of analysis in two types of hormonal test systems indicate the ability of the insulin-related peptides of the anodonta cerebropleural ganglion to interact with the vertebrate receptor of insulin and IGF-1. This gives grounds to suggest the presence of the metabolic and growth-stimulating properties in these peptides. For the first time, the IGF-1 activity is revealed in insulin-like molecules in invertebrates. Taking into account the chromatographically revealed differences of physicochemical characteristics of individual IRP as well as predominance of their IGF-1-binding properties, there is suggested another organization of the IRP receptor-binding domains in IPR of this mollusc species, as compared with mammalian insulins.     

The Role of the Vascular Factor in the Reorganization of Water Metabolism in Denervated Liver after Bacterial Endotoxin Poisoning

Intoxication with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) is accompanied by considerable rearrangements in the systems of blood microcirculation and water metabolism of the liver. These rearrangements are manifested as increased sinusoid area, changed total area of the cytoplasm and nuclei as well as the nucleocytoplasmic ratio in hepatocytes, increased content of total water in the organ, and changed magnetic relaxation properties (spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times). Preliminary parasympathetic denervation of the liver (vagotomy) changes the pattern of the organ response to bacterial endotoxin poisoning as indicated by the kinetics of studied morphological and biophysical parameters.     

Origin and phylogeny of Oryza species with the CD genome based on multiple-gene sequence data

The CD genome species in the genus Oryza are endemic to Latin America, including O. alta, O. grandiglumis and O. latifolia. Origins and phylogenetic relationship of these species have long been in dispute and are still ambiguous due to their homogeneous genome type, similar morphological characteristics and overlapping distribution. In the present study, we sequenced two chloroplast fragments (matK and trnL-trnF) and portions of three nuclear genes (Adh1, Adh2 and GPA1) from sixteen accessions representing seven species with the C, CD, and E genomes, as well as one G genome species as the outgroup. Phylogenetic analyses using parsimony and distance methods strongly supported that the CD genome originated from a single hybridization event, and that the C genome species (O. officinalis or O. rhizomatis instead of O. eichingeri) served as the maternal parent while the E genome species (O. australiensis) was the paternal donor during the formation of CD genome. In addition, the consistent phylogenetic relationships among the CCDD species indicated that significant divergence existed between O. latifolia and the other two (O. alta and O. grandiglumis), which corroborated the suggestion of treating the latter two as a single species or as taxa within species.We thank Tao Sang of Michigan State University (East Lansing, USA) and Bao-rong Lu of Fudan University (Shanghai, China) for their encouragement and assistance. We are also grateful to the International Rice Research Institute (Manila, Philippines) for providing plant material for this study. This research was supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (kscxz-sw-101A), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30025005) and the Program for Key International S & T Cooperation Project of P. R. China (2001CB711103).     

Characteristics of interhemispheric relationships in the absence or presence of a skill

A comparative analysis of the time and amplitude characteristics of the negative N200 and positive P300 components of visual evoked potentials recorded at symmetric points of the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital areas of the right and left hemispheres of the cerebral cortex has been performed in subjects with or without the skill of operating a computer. Subjects inexperienced in an operator’s work exhibited an interhemispheric difference in the time and amplitude characteristics of the studied components. In subjects that had the skill of operating a computer, the interhemispheric difference was little, which suggests that the cortex plays only a small role in the cerebral control of this activity.     

Effects of two-vessel forebrain ischemia and of administration of indomethacin and quinacrine on Na<Superscript>+</Superscript>, K<Superscript>+</Superscript>-ATPase activity in various rat brain areas

The effect of a two-vessel forebrain ischemia (induced by occlusion of carotid arteries and hypotension), subsequent reperfusion, and administration of indomethacin and quinacrine on the Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase activity and diene conjugate content was studied in various rat forebrain fields. The most pronounced metabolic alterations were observed during ischemia and reperfusion. Under these effects, there was a statistically significant reduction of the Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase activity in the brain cortex and striatum and an increase of the diene conjugate content in the rat brain cortex in comparison with sham-operated animals. Injection of indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, to rats subjected to ischemia and reperfusion, resulted to a statistically significant increase of the Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase activity in the brain cortex, hippocampus, and striatum (p < 0.02) as compared with control animals. The diene conjugate content in the rat brain cortex during brain ischemia and reperfusion was statistically significantly lower in the rats injected with indomethacin. The effect of quinacrine (a blocker of phospholipase A₂) was similar to that of indomethacin in the rat cortex, whereas in the rat striatum and hippocampus, the quinacrine effect during ischemia and reperfusion was less marked than that of indomethacin. The obtained data indicate the ability of inhibitors of the arachidonic pathway of free radical formation to normalize the Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase activity during brain ischemia. There also revealed local peculiarities of metabolic disturbances in different regions of the rat forebrain during ischemia and reperfusion.Translated from Zhurnal Evolyutsionnoi Biokhimii i Fiziologii, Vol. 41, No. 1, 2005, pp. 33–38.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Molchanova, Moskvin, Zakharova, Yurlova, Nosova, Avrova.