A model for cell type-specific differential gene expression during heterocyst development and the constitution of aerobic nitrogen fixation ability inAnabaena sp. strain PCC 7120

When deprived of combined nitrogen, aerobically-grown filaments ofAnabaena sp. strain PCC7120 differentiate specialized cells called the heterocysts. The differentiation process is an elaborate and well orchestrated programme involving sensing of environmental and developmental signals, commitment of cells to development, gene rearrangements, intricate DNA-protein interactions, and differential expression of several genes. It culminates in a physiological division of labour between heterocysts, which become the sole sites of aerobic nitrogen fixation, and vegetative cells, that provide photosynthate to the heterocysts in return for nitrogen supplies. We propose a model, to describe the chronology of the important events and to explain how cell type-specific differential gene expression is facilitated by DNA-protein interactions leading to the development of heterocysts and constitution of nitrogen-fixing apparatus inAnabaena.     

The extended replicator

This paper evaluates and criticises the developmental systems conception of evolution and develops instead an extension of the gene's eye conception of evolution. We argue (i) Dawkin's attempt to segregate developmental and evolutionary issues about genes is unsatisfactory. On plausible views of development it is arbitrary to single out genes as the units of selection. (ii) The genotype does not carry information about the phenotype in any way that distinguishes the role of the genes in development from that other factors. (iii) There is no simple and general causal criterion which distinguishes the role of genes in development and evolution. (iv) There is, however, an important sense in which genes but not every other developmental factor represent the phenotype. (v) The idea that genes represent features of the phenotype forces us to recognise that genes are not the only, or almost the only, replicators. Many mechanisms of replication are involved in both development and evolution. (vi) A conception of evolutionary history which recognises both genetic and non-genetic replicators, lineages of replicators and interactors has advantages over both the radical rejection of the replicator/interactor distinction and the conservative restriction of replication to genetic replication.     

Cytokinins and fruit development in the kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa). I. Changes during fruit development

The cytokinin content in fruit tissue of the kiwifruit ( Actinidia deliciosa [A. Chev.] C. F. Liang et A. R. Ferguson var. deliciosa cv. Hayward) was monitored during fruit development to identify which cytokinins were present and if they were linked with specific stages of fruit growth. Cytokinins were isolated and purified by column chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography and quantified by radioimmunoassay. A novel HPLC step utilising an amine column was successfully introduced as a preparative step in the separation of the O - and 9-glucosides from the free bases and ribosides. The radioimmunoassay results were validated, and the different cytokinins identified, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Cytokinins detected in fruit included the cytokinin free bases, zeatin and isopentenyladenine, their ribosides, nucleotides and both O - and 9-glucosides. Both qualitative and quantitative changes of the cytokinins occurred during fruit development. A decrease in cytokinin concentration occurred after anthesis (from 342 pmol g⁻¹ fresh weight at anthesis to 41 pmol g⁻¹ fresh weight 27 days after anthesis). A large increase in cytokinin concentration and content per fruit occurred as the fruit reached commercial maturity (to 1900 pmol g⁻¹ fresh weight). Individual cytokinins showed quite different patterns. Zeatin, in particular, showed a peak in concentration (13 pmol g⁻¹ fresh weight) 11 days after anthesis that correlated with the beginning of the cell division phase of fruit growth. The accumulation of cytokinin (mostly zeatin riboside or zeatin nucleotide) in mature fruit may be of significance for the postharvest storage of kiwifruit fruit.     

Turnover of organic nitrogen in soils and its availability to crops

The root development of barley seedlings grown for one week in an aerated nutrient solution was studied in the presence of dissolved organic matter from an aqueous chestnut leaf litter extract. In particular, the different effects of low and high molecular weight fractions (small molecules: molecular weight <1000; large molecules: >10,000) of the leaf litter extract were examined. In the presence of large molecules root growth was inhibited, an irregular root tip morphology was observed, and Ca and Mg concentrations in the shoots were lower than in control plants. These phytotoxic effects were not caused by the formation of an impermeable layer of large molecules on the root surfaces that lower accessibility for nutrient cations as inferred from voltammetric experiments. A germination assay using spruce seeds, however, indicated allelochemical effects of large molecules, which exhibit a higher aromaticity than the small molecules as indicated by spectroscopic characterisation. In the growth experiments with small molecules, no influence on the root development of barley was evident, but an increase of Ca and Mg in the shoots was detected. During these growth experiments, a large amount of the small molecules, mainly simple phenols and amino acids, disappeared from the nutrient solution. The loss of small molecules was most likely the effect of mineralisation.Abbreviations DOC dissolved organic carbon - DOM dissolved organic matter - LLE leaf litter extract - MW molecular weight - HMDE hanging mercury drop electrode     

The development of phloem anastomoses between vascular bundles and their role in xylem regeneration after wounding in Cucurbita and Dahlia

The differentiation of phloem anastomoses linking the longitudinal vascular bundles has been studied in stem internodes of Cucurbita maxima Duchesne, C. pepo L. and Dahlia pinnata Cav. These anastomoses comprise naturally occurring regenerative sieve tubes which redifferentiate from interfascicular parenchyma cells in the young internodes. In all three species, severing a vascular bundle in a young internode resulted in regeneration of xylem to form a curved by-pass immediately around the wound. The numerous phloem anastomoses in these young internodes were not involved in this process, the regenerated vessels originating from interfascicular parenchyma alone. Conversely, in mature internodes of Dahlia, the regenerated vessels originated from initials of the interfascicular cambia, and their phloem anastomoses did not influence the pattern of xylogenesis. On the other hand, in old internodes of Cucurbita, in which an interfascicular cambium was not yet developed, the parenchyma cells between the bundles had lost the ability to redifferentiate into vessel elements, and instead, regenerated vessels were produced in the phloem anastomoses. Thus, the wounded region of the vascular bundle was not bypassed via the shortest, curved pathway, but by more circuitous routes further away from the wound. Some of the regenerated vessels produced in the phloem anastomoses were extremely wide, and presumably efficient conductors of water. It is proposed that the dense network of phloem anastomoses developed during evolution as a mechanism of adaptation to possible damage in mature internodes by providing flexible alternative pathways for efficient xylem regeneration in plants with limited or no interfascicular cambium.This paper is dedicated to the memory of the late Isaac Blachmann (deceased 19 November 1995), father-in-law of the senior author, for encouragement and advice throughout the yearsThis research was supported by an International Scientific Exchange Award to R.A. from the Israel Academy of Sciences and The Royal Society.     

Water and solute transport along developing maize roots

Hydraulic and osmotic properties were measured along developing maize (Zea mays L.) roots at distances between 15 and 465 mm from the root tip to quantify the effects of changes in root structure on the radial and longitudinal movement of water and solutes (ions). Root development generated regions of different hydraulic and osmotic properties. Close to the root tip, passive solute permeability (root permeability coefficient, P_sr) was high and selectivity (root reflection coefficient, _sr) low, indicative of an imperfect semipermeable root structure. Within the apical 100–150 mm, P_sr decreased by an order of magnitude and _sr increased significantly. Root hydraulic conductivity (Lp_r) depended on the nature of the force (hydrostatic and osmotic). Osmotic Lp_r was smaller by an order of magnitude than hydrostatic Lp_r and decreased with increasing distance from the root tip. Throughout the root, responses in turgor of cortical cells and late metaxylem to step changes in xylem pressure applied to the base of excised roots were measured at high spatial resolution. The resulting profiles of radial and longitudinal propagation of pressure showed that the endodermis had become the major hydraulic barrier in older parts of the root, i.e. at distances from the apex ä 150 mm. Other than at the endodermis, no significant radial hydraulic resistance could be detected. The results permit a detailed analysis of the root's composite structure which is important for its function in collecting and translocating water and nutrients.Abbreviations and Symbols CPP cell pressure probe - IT root segments with intact tips; - Lp_r root hydraulic conductivity - Lp_rh hydrostatic hydraulic conductivity of root - Lp_ro osmotic hydraulic conductivity of root - P_app hydrostatic pressure applied to cut end of root - P_c cell turgor - P_{c, cor} turgor of cortical cell - P_c,xyl turgor of late metaxylem vessel - P_ro stationary root pressure - P_r0,seal stationary root pressure of sealed root segment - P_sr solute permeability coefficient of root - RPP root pressure probe - TR root segments with tip removed - _sr reflection coefficient of root Dedicated to Professor Andreas Sievers on the occasion of his retirement     

Regulation of gap junction coupling in the developing neocortex

In the developing mammalian, neocortex gap junctions represent a transient, metabolic, and electrical communication system. These gap junctions may play a crucial role during the formation and refinement of neocortical synaptic circuitries. This article focuses on two major points. First, the influence of gap junctions on electrotonic cell properties will be considered. Both the time-course and the amplitude of synaptic potentials depend,inter alia, on the integration capabilities of the postsynaptic neurons. These capabilities are, to a considerable extent, determined by the electrotonic characteristics of the postsynaptic cell. As a consequence, the efficacy of chemical synaptic inputs may be crucially affected by the presence of gap junctions. The second major topic is the regulation of gap junctional communication by neurotransmitters via second messenger pathways. The monoaminergic neuromodulators dopamine, nordrenaline, and serotonin reduce gap junction coupling via activation of two different intracellular signaling cascades—the cAMP/protein kinase A pathway and the IP₃/Ca²⁺/protein kinase C pathway, 013 respectively. In addition, gap junctional communication seems to be modulated by the nitric oxide (NO)/cGMP system. Since NO production can be stimulated by glutamate-induced calcium influx, the NO/cGMP-dependent modulation of gap junctions might represent a functional link between developing glutamatergic synaptic transmission and the gap junctional network. Thus, it might be of particular importance in view of a role of gap junctions during the process of circuit formation.     

Developmental progression of Gpd expression from the inactive X chromosome of the virginia opossum

Metatherian (marsupial) mammals possess a non-random form of X-chromosome inactivation in which the paternally-derived X is always the one inactivated. To examine the progression of X-linked gene expression during metatherian development, we compared relative levels of the maternally and paternally encoded Gpd gene products in heterozygous female Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) across a moior portion of the developmental period. Panels of tissues obtained from fetuses, newborns, and pouch young were examined via polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the G6PD protein. As in adults, G6PD phenotypes in these developmental stages were highly skewed in favor of the maternal allele product, but in some tissues there was a marked increase in paternal allele expression with advancing developmental age. However, even by 42 days of post-partum development, expression of the paternal Gpd allele had not attained the adult, tissue-specific activity pattern. Our findings indicate remarkable developmental changes in the activity of the paternal allele in several tissues/organs continuing well into mid pouch-life stages and beyond. Specifically we found that 1) a substantially repressed paternal Gpdgene is present in the cells of female stage 29 fetuses and later developmental stages, 2) the activity state of the paternal Gpd gene is not fixed during early embryonic development in this species, 3) maior changes in paternal Gpd expression occur in advanced developmental stages and comprise a maturation of the gene expression pattern during ontogeny, and 4) alterations of paternal Gpd allele activity during development occur in a tissue-specific manner. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.