Ataxia-telangiectasia: a variant with altered in vitro phenotype of fibroblast cells

The clinical and cellular phenotype of ataxia telangiectasia (AT) has been extensively documented in numerous patients of different ethnic groups and is characterized by several specific laboratory hallmarks, such as chromosomal instability, profound radiosensitivity and radioresistant DNA synthesis. Several recent reports have, however, shown variations on this theme. This article describes 2 Turkish siblings with AT, who showed a typical but somewhat more prolonged clinical course of the disease and altered characteristics of fibroblasts cells, compared to the ‘classical’ AT cellular phenotype. Fibroblasts strains derived from these patients showed a normal cellular life span, moderate degrees of chromosomal instability and sensitivity to the lethal effects of X-rays and neocarzinostatin, and lack of radioresistant DNA synthesis.

A compilation of the literature on ‘AT variants’ and ‘AT-like’ syndromes shows that in addition to the internal variability of AT, this disease occupies a limited segment within a large spectrum of clinical and cellular features, which are common to a variety of syndromes. Each of these syndromes covers a different segment in this spectrum. The genetic basis of this family of disorders might be complex.     

Reducing data acquisition for light‐sheet microscopy by extrapolation between imaged planes

Light‐sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) is a powerful technique that can provide high‐resolution images of biological samples. Therefore, this technique offers significant improvement for three‐dimensional (3D) imaging of living cells. However, producing high‐resolution 3D images of a single cell or biological tissues, normally requires high acquisition rate of focal planes, which means a large amount of sample sections. Consequently, it consumes a vast amount of processing time and memory, especially when studying real‐time processes inside living cells. We describe an approach to minimize data acquisition by interpolation between planes using a phase retrieval algorithm. We demonstrate this approach on LSFM data sets and show reconstruction of intermediate sections of the sparse samples. Since this method diminishes the required amount of acquisition focal planes, it also reduces acquisition time of samples as well. Our suggested method has proven to reconstruct unacquired intermediate planes from diluted data sets up to 10× fold. The reconstructed planes were found correlated to the original preacquired samples (control group) with correlation coefficient of up to 90%. Given the findings, this procedure appears to be a powerful method for inquiring and analyzing biological samples.     

Global malnutrition overlaps with pollinator-dependent micronutrient production

Pollinators contribute around 10% of the economic value of crop production globally, but the contribution of these pollinators to human nutrition is potentially much higher. Crops vary in the degree to which they benefit from pollinators, and many of the most pollinator-dependent crops are also among the richest in micronutrients essential to human health. This study examines regional differences in the pollinator dependence of crop micronutrient content and reveals overlaps between this dependency and the severity of micronutrient deficiency in people around the world. As much as 50% of the production of plant-derived sources of vitamin A requires pollination throughout much of Southeast Asia, whereas other essential micronutrients such as iron and folate have lower dependencies, scattered throughout Africa, Asia and Central America. Micronutrient deficiencies are three times as likely to occur in areas of highest pollination dependence for vitamin A and iron, suggesting that disruptions in pollination could have serious implications for the accessibility of micronutrients for public health. These regions of high nutritional vulnerability are understudied in the pollination literature, and should be priority areas for research related to ecosystem services and human well-being.     

Variation in Endogenous Gibberellins,Abscisic Acid,and Carbohydrate Content During the Growth Cycle of Colored <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zantedeschia</Emphasis> spp., a Tuberous Geophyte

Phenologic changes and variation in the level of endogenous gibberellins (GAs), abscisic acid (ABA), carbohydrate content, and α-amylase activity were examined in colored Zantedeschia spp. cv. Cala Gold. These changes were examined in the primary bud tissues and in the attached tuber tissue during the growth cycle. Dormant tubers were dry-stored at 20°C for 3 months, planted in a phytotron, and grown under 22/16 ± 1°C. Plant development was monitored under continued irrigation until leaf senescence and tuber dormancy. GAs and ABA were extracted from the primary bud tissues, fractionated by HPLC, and analyzed using GC-SIM. Starch, glucose, soluble protein, and α-amylase activity were monitored in the tuber tissue attached to the primary bud. Endogenous changes in GAs and ABA in the primary bud were correlated with endogenous changes in carbohydrate content and α-amylase activity in the attached tuber tissue. These correlations were observed during the rest and the growth periods and were associated with developmental changes in the plant, that is, bud dormancy relaxation, bud growth, and inflorescence differentiation. ABA content decreased and a transient pulse of GA was measured in the primary bud concomitantly with the onset of shoot elongation in dry tubers during storage, before planting. The sharp increase of GAs in the bud preceded inflorescence differentiation as observed in dissected apices by about 15 days, as well as the increase in α-amylase activity in the attached tuber tissue. A steep decrease in starch level was measured in the tuber after planting, concomitantly with massive plant growth. These findings suggest a possible involvement of gibberellin in the initiation of α-amylase activity during dormancy relaxation in colored Zantedeschia and in the autonomous induction of flowering.     

Enhanced shoot and cormlet proliferation in liquid cultured gladiolus buds by growth retardants

Gladiolus bud explants propagated in agitated liquid medium, in the presence of the growth retardants daminozide, ancymidol, paclobutrazol or Majic, proliferated into massive bud aggregates without leaves. The buds developed into protocorms and after subculture to agar-solidified medium formed cormlets 8–10 mm in diameter. The corms were not dormant and, after transplanting to pots in the greenhouse, developed into plantlets, 5–6 months after explant isolation.     

Ethylene and the geotropic response of lateral branches in peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.)

The prostrate growth habit of runner-type peanut plants changedwhen treated with the ethylene-releasing compound CEPA: thehorizontal branches became plagiotropically oriented and theplant assumed a bushy form. Treatment with CEPA caused a markedincrease in ethylene evolution for about a week, which thendecreased to the level of the control. Nevertheless, the branchesmaintained their newly assumed plagiotropic orientation. Ethylene evolution from isolated branch tips correlated withtheir age and orientation, being highest in old plagiotropicand lowest in old diatropic branches. Light intensity and qualitywhich caused plagiotropic orientation of branches also causedan increase in ethylene evolution, while ethylene evolutionwas lowest under light conditions favouring diatropic orientation.Along with the changes to plagiotropic orientation by CEPA,an increase in GA-like substances and a decrease in growth inhibitorswas observed in extracts from treated plants. (Received October 7, 1975; )     

Rescue of interspecific lens hybrids by means of embryo culture

A two-stage in vitro technique was established for the development of interspecific hybrid embryos in the genus Lens. The culture of 14-day-old fertilized ovules on MS medium supplemented with zeatin, followed by the release of the embryos from the ovular integuments, allowed the development of viable and vigorous plants.