Sand burial effects on seed germination, seedling emergence and establishment of Panicum virgatum

Studies in the field and in a greenhouse were conducted to examine the effects of sand burial on seed germination, seedling emergence and establishment of Panicum virgatum L. on the foredunes of Lake Erie. Under natural conditions, the seedlings emerged from sand burial depths ranging from 0 to 11 cm, with a mean ± SD of 4.73 ± 1.82 cm. The frequency distribution of the depth of emergence of seedlings in the field was significantly skewed to the right and platykurtic. In the greenhouse, some seedlings emerged from a burial depth of as much as 16 cm. Although percent germination of seeds was not affected by sand burial, the percent emergence and the rate of emergence of seedlings were significantly reduced by excessive sand burial. Seedling mortality was found only among seedlings that emerged from sand burial depths of 10 cm or more. In the field, all the seedlings established in one growing season had originally emerged from sand burial depths of less than 12 cm. Within this burial range, seedlings from shallower burial depths had lower chances of establishment than expected, whereas those from deeper burial depths had higher probabilities of establishment than expected.     

Role of oxidatively modified LDL in atherosclerosis

Oxidative modification of LDL is accompanied by a number of compositional and structural changes, including increased electrophoretic mobility, increased density, fragmentation of apolipoprotein B, hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine, derivatization of lysine amino groups, and generation of fluorescent adducts due to covalent binding of lipid oxidation products to apo B. In addition, oxidation of LDL has been shown to result in numerous changes in its biologic properties that could have pathogenetic importance, including accelerated uptake in macrophages, cytotoxicity, and chemotactic activity for monocytes. The present article summarizes very recent developments related to the mechanism of oxidation of LDL by cells, receptor-mediated uptake of oxidized LDL in macrophages, the mechanism of phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis during LDL oxidation, and other biologic actions of oxidized LDL including cytotoxicity, altered eicosanoid metabolism, and effects on the secretion of growth factors and chemotactic factors. In addition, this review will examine the evidence for the presence of oxidized LDL in vivo and the evidence that oxidized LDL plays a pathogenetic role in atherosclerosis.     

β-lactamase as a probe of membrane protein assembly and protein export

The enzyme TEM beta-lactamase constitutes a versatile gene-fusion marker for studies on membrane proteins and protein export in bacteria. The mature form of this normally periplasmic enzyme displays readily detectable and distinctly different phenotypes when localized to the bacterial cytoplasm versus the periplasm, and thus provides a useful alternative to alkaline phosphatase for probing the topology of cytoplasmic membrane proteins. Cells producing translocated forms of beta-lactamase can be directly selected as ampicillin-resistant colonies, and consequently a beta-lactamase fusion approach can be used for positive selection for export signals, and for rapid assessment of whether any protein expressed in Escherichia coli inserts into the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. The level of ampicillin resistance conferred on a cell by an extracytoplasmic beta-lactamase derivative depends on its level of expression, and therefore a beta-lactamase fusion approach can be used to directly select for increased yields of any periplasmic or membrane-bound gene products expressed in E. coli.     

Specific binding and uptake of apolipoprotein E-free high density lipoproteins by cultured liver parenchymal cells of copper-deficient rats

The influence of copper deficiency on the binding and uptake of apolipoprotein E-free high density lipoprotein (apo E-free HDL) in cultured rat hepatic parenchymal cells was examined in this study. Male weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two treatments, a Cu-adequate (7.33 mg Cu/kg diet) or a Cu-deficient (1.04 mg Cu/kg diet) group. After 7 weeks, plasma apo E-free HDL were isolated by a combination of ultracentrifugation, gel filtration, and heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Parenchymal cells were isolated from collagenase perfused liver of Cu-deficient and adequate rats and cultured for 16 hours at 37 degrees C prior to incubation with iodinated apo E-free HDL from the same treatment group. Cells were incubated with 5 microg/ml(125) I-apo E-free HDL for 2, 6, or 12 hours in the presence or absence of 200 microg/ml (40-fold) excess unlabeled apo E-free HDL. Increases in specific binding at 4 degrees C and specific cell-associated uptake at 37 degrees C as a function of time were observed with cells and HDL from Cu-deficient rats. Cells were also incubated for 6 hours with 8 concentrations of (125)I-apo E-free HDL in the presence or absence of excess unlabeled HDL. Although no significant increase in specific binding was detected at 4 degrees C as a function of ligand concentration, the response tended to be higher at 5 to 15 microg HDL/ml for the Cu-deficient treatment. However, at 37 degrees C the specific cell-associated uptake was increased markedly with cells and HDL from Cu-deficient rats. The observed increases in HDL binding and uptake indicate that these processes may be enhanced in Cu-deficient rats. These data are also consistent with recent in vivo results which indicate that plasma clearance and tissue uptake of HDL are increased in Cu-deficient rats.     

昆都仑鱼(Kuntulunia)的新材料及其系统位置的讨论

本文根据对宁夏六盘山群马东山组的长鳍昆都仑鱼(Kuntulunia longipterus, Liu, Ma et Liu 1982)的新材料的研究,对其形态特征做了一些补充和订正。在此基础上,笔者支持刘宪亭等人将昆都仑鱼归入华夏鱼科(Huashiidae)及华夏鱼科归入骨舌鱼类的观点。并且认为华夏鱼类代表了一新的亚目——华夏鱼亚目(Huashioidei subordo. nov.)。     

大麦染色体银带的研究

本文以六棱、四棱和二棱大麦为材料,用去壁低渗火焰干燥法制备染色体标本,标本在60℃恒温下经70—80％AgNO_3水溶液处理12—14小时,可在核仁组成区、着丝粒和端粒出现黑色银染区。细胞化学反应说明这些不同区域的银染物质具有相同的性质。银染带型与C带型和N带型迥然不同,3种大麦的银染带型也有差别。试验还证明染色体标本制备技术对银染效果影响极大,只有合适的酶解和火焰干燥处理才能促使着丝粒和端粒显示出银染正反应。     

Molecular characterization of ataxia telangiectasia T cell clones

Summary To delimit the 14q32.1 recurrent breakpoint of ataxia telangiectasia clones, we performed an in situ hybridization study with various probes located on the 14q32 band. We thus mapped this breakpoint between the D14S1 and Pi loci. Furthermore, an interstitial duplication including D14S1 and a part of the IgH locus was demonstrated on a t(14;14) clone.     

Complexity and tissue specificity of the mitochondrial respiratory chain

There is a renewed interest in the structure and functioning of the mitochondrial respiratory chain with the realization that a number of genetic disorders result from defects in mitochondrial electron transfer. These so-called mitochondrial myopathies include diseases of muscle, heart, and brain. The respiratory chain can be fractionated into four large multipeptide complexes, an NADH ubiquinone reductase (complex I), succinate ubiquinone reductase (complex II), ubiquinol oxidoreductase (complex III), and cytochromec oxidase (complex IV). Mitochondrial myopathies involving each of these complexes have been described. This review summarizes compositional and structural data on the respiratory chain proteins and describes the arrangement of these complexes in the mitochondrial inner membrane. This biochemical information is provided as a framework for the diagnosis and molecular characterization of mitochondrial diseases.