A phenotypic study of TFS1 mutants differentially altered in the inhibition of Ira2p or CPY

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein Tfs1p is known as a dual protein. On the one hand, it inhibits the carboxypeptidase Y protease, and on the other, it inhibits Ira2p, a GTPase-activating protein of Ras. We managed to dissect precise areas of Tfs1p specifically involved in only one of those functions. Based on these data, specific Tfs1p point mutants affected in only one of these two functions were constructed. In order to obtain insights on the physiological role of these functions, systematic phenotypic tests were performed on strains expressing these specific Tfs1p mutants. The results obtained demonstrate that the inhibition of Ira2p by Tfs1p is the predominant function under the conditions tested.     

The relationship between Rb+ influx and K+-stimulated Mg2+-ATPase activity in oat roots of different K+ status flexible coupling?

The relationship between Rb⁺ influx and microsomal ATPase activity stimulated by K⁺ and Mg²⁺+ K⁺ was investigated for roots of 7-day-old seedlings of oat (Avena sativa L., cv. Brighton). Different concentrations of K⁺ in the roots, K⁺_root were produced by cultivating plants in complete nutrient solutions of different dilutions and dFifferent K⁺ concentrations at various temperatures. Experiments were performed in both light and darkness. The range of the influx/ATPase ratios was large with a factor of 5 or more between the highest and lowest values. In most cases, the highest ratios were obtained at low K⁺_root and at high temperatures, and the lowest at high K⁺_root and at low temperatures. At high temperatures (20 and 25°C) in the light, the influx/ATPase ratio was constant, independently of K⁺_root, if K⁺ in the medium was kept constant but the bulk of the nutrient solution diluted. If K⁺ was varied and the other components of the medium kept constant, the normal relation of decreasing influx/ATPase ratio at increasing K⁺_root was found; thus, Rb⁺ influx appears regulated by both the internal and external potassium conditions. Also in darkness, at 15°C and with K ⁺ in the medium varied, the influx/ATPase ratio was independent of K⁺_root but in the corresponding light experiments, ratio and K⁺_root had the normal, inverse relationship. The difference between light and dark conditions appears to indicate that growth rate is of importance for the relationship between energy input and transport. Our data lead to the concept of “flexible coupling” between transducers) of energy and ion carrier. Without excluding other possibilities, this may be one of the mechanisms for ecological adaptation to variations in the root medium.     

Strain distribution pattern for SSLP markers in the SWXJ recombinant inbred strain set: Chromosomes 7 to X

The SWXJ recombinant inbred (RI) set was developed for genetic analysis of heritable ovarian tumors. In this report we present data for 223 simple sequence length polymorphisms spanning Chromosomes (Chrs) 7–X to complete the genetic marking of this RI set. The strain distribution patterns (SDP) for these loci were combined with data from 19 other polymorphic genes, resulting in densely marked maps for Chrs 7–X. Combined with the 165 loci for Chr 1–6 reported previously (Svenson et al., Mamm. Genome 6, 867, 1995), the SWXJ RI set represents a powerful tool for mapping genes in neoplastic as well as other heritable disorders. Received: 12 February 1996 / Accepted: 2 April 1996     

Species delimitation and evolution of metal bioaccumulation in the lichenized Acarospora smaragdula (Ascomycota, Fungi) complex

The crustose lichenized fungi in the Acarosporaceae are splendid examples of organisms managing to survive in extremely harsh environments, such as highly mineralized rocks and low-pH habitats. Some representatives of the Acarospora smaragdula complex are known to accumulate substantial amounts of potentially toxic metals including iron and copper, resulting in populations with highly divergent coloration and morphology. These populations have often been treated as distinct species by lichen taxonomists. Parsimony and parsimony jackknifing analyses of β-tubulin, nuclear ITS rDNA, and mtSSU rDNA sequence data sets was used to investigate the evolution of iron and copper accumulation and the production of the secondary compound norstictic acid in populations within the A. smaragdula species complex in Sweden, with additional samples mainly from Norway and the UK. Phylogenetic species recognition (concordance of single-gene phylogenies) was used to investigate species delimitations. Seven species are recognized in the complex. Atypically green, copper-accumulating samples, often given species rank, do not form a distinct group but are nested within A. smaragdula s. str., indicating that this ability is widespread in this species. Rust-coloured, iron-accumulating samples form two well supported separate groups, indicating that two morphologically distinct, obligate, iron-accumulating species are present, but facultatively iron-accumulating populations occur in at least one additional species. Norstictic acid, sometimes claimed to characterize the whole A. smaragdula complex, is only present in A. smaragdula s. str. The evolutionary significance of metal accumulation in Acarospora is discussed, as is the significance of our results for the application of phylogenetic species recognition/gene tree concordance-based species recognition, and DNA barcoding.
© The Willi Hennig Society 2009.     

MADS-box genes active in developing pollen cones of Norway spruce (Picea abies) are homologous to the B-class floral homeotic genes in angiosperms.

The reproductive organs of conifers, the pollen cones and seed cones, differ in morphology from the angiosperm flower in several fundamental respects. In this report we present evidence to suggest that the two plant groups, in spite of these morphological differences and the long evolutionary distance between them, share important features in regulating the development of the reproductive organs. We present the cloning of three genes, DAL11, DAL12, and DAL13, from Norway spruce, all of which are related to the angiosperm B-class of homeotic genes. The B-class genes determine the identities of petals and stamens. They are members of a family of MADS-box genes, which also includes C-class genes that act to determine the identity of carpels and, in concert with B genes specify stamens in the angiosperm flower. Phylogenetic analyses and the presence of B-class specific C-terminal motifs in the DAL protein sequences imply homology to the B-class genes. Specific expression of all three genes in developing pollen cones suggests that the genes are involved in one aspect of B function, the regulation of development of the pollen-bearing organs. The different temporal and spatial expression patterns of the three DAL genes in the developing pollen cones indicate that the genes have attained at least in part distinct functions. The DAL11, DAL12, and 13 expression patterns in the pollen cone partly overlap with that of the previously identified DAL2 gene, which is structurally and functionally related to the angiosperm C-class genes. This result supports the hypothesis that an interaction between B- and C-type genes is required for male organ development in conifers like in the angiosperms. Taken together, our data suggests that central components in the regulatory mechanisms for reproductive organ development are conserved between conifers and angiosperms and, thus, among all seed plants.