不同基底对培养鸡胚视网膜神经纤维生长作用的计算机辅助定量研究~*

以天然的细胞外基质——鸡胚视网膜基膜作为培养基底,用层粘连蛋白、纤维粘连蛋白、多聚赖氨酸和鼠尾胶等物质包被的表面为人工培养基底,比较了孵育10天的鸡胚视网膜条在这些不同培养基底上神经纤维生长的图像。第一次尝试用计算机对多根神经纤维的生长图像进行辅助定量分析。选择的四个参数是每根神经纤维平均总长度(L)、平均偏转角度(Q)、平均弯曲度(R)和平均分支点数(B)。结果表明,纤维生长图像的各个参数值和培养基底密切相关。     

视网膜基膜对培养鸡胚视网膜神经纤维生长的作用

我们取视网膜基膜作为培养基底,证明了基膜能诱导和调节鸡胚视网膜神经纤维的生长,也可能影响纤维的生长方向。用抗层粘连蛋白的抗血清预先处理基膜,不能改变基膜上视网膜纤维生长的长度和图谱。PNA和抗PNA抗血清预先处理的基膜也不能改变纤维生长的长度,但却能改变生长图谱。神经氨酸酶预处理基膜能减少纤维生长长度。而轻度胰酶处理对纤维生长长度各有不同程度的降低。培养液中加入PNA(100微克/1毫升)24小时内能将视网膜纤维的生长图谱由直束式改变为网格式,其他凝集素(WGA,ConA)均未见这种作用。因此,基膜对纤维生长的作用很可能是多种分子综合作用的结果,其中PNA-受体也许起了重要作用。     

Inhibition of muscarinic receptor-mediated Ca27#x002B; mobilization by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate in chick embryo cells

Summary A muscarinic cholinergic receptor is present on undifferentiated cells of the chick embryo. Stimulation of the muscarinic receptor with muscarinic agonists triggers intracellular Ca^2#x002B; mobilization. Here, we investigate the effect of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on the muscarinic receptor-mediated Ca^2#x002B; mobilization, which is monitored in cell suspensions of chick embryos of stage 24 by chlorotetracycline fluorescence. PMA inhibits the Ca^2#x002B; mobilization in a time-dependent and concentration-dependent manner without changing the ED₅₀ of acetylcholine. The concentration of PMA that gives halfmaximal inhibition is 3.1×10^–9 M PMA.     

Terminal versus segmental development in the Drosophila embryo: the role of the homeotic gene fork head

Summary Mutations of the homeotic gene fork head (fkh) of Drosophila transform the non-segmented terminal regions of the embryonic ectoderm into segmental derivatives: Pre-oral head structures and the foregut are replaced by post-oral head structures which are occasionally associated with thoracic structures. Posterior tail structures including the hindgut and the Malpighian tubules are replaced by post-oral head structures associated with anterior tail structures. The fkh gene shows no maternal effect and is required only during embryogenesis. The phenotypes of double mutants indicate that fkh acts independently of other homeotic genes (ANT-C, BX-C, spalt) and caudal. In addition, the fkh domains are not expanded in Polycomb (Pc) group mutant embryos. Ectopic expression of the homeotic selector genes of the ANT-C and BX-C in Pc group mutant embryos causes segmental transformations in terminal regions of the embryo only in the absence of fkh gene activity. Thus, fkh is a region-specific homeotic rather than a selector gene, which promotes terminal as opposed to segmental development. Offprint requests to: Institut für Biologie II (Genetik), Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, D-7400 Tübingen, Federal Republic of Germany     

Ionic basis of currents in somatic embryos of Daucus carota

A vibrating probe was used to measure extracellular electrical currents around developing somatic embryos in two lines (RCC27, RCC48) of cultured cells of Daucus carota L. at the heart and torpedo stages. At pH 5.5, an inward current of 1.2±0.1 A·cm^-2 (n=23) was detected at the cotyledon, and an outward current of 1.0±0.1 A·cm^-2 (n=22) was found at the radicle in torpedostage embryos from the RCC27 line. At a pH of 5.75 the currents increased by 0.2–0.3 A·cm^-2 (n=60–62). In a few cases an additional small inward current was detected at the tip of the radicle in toepedo-stage embryos from RCC27 line. Such an inward current at the radicle seemed to appear earlier, some time after the heart stage, in embryos from the RCC48 line.Both extracellular pH measurements (using microelectrodes filled with ion-sensitive resin) and ion-substitution studies were carried out in order to ascertain the ionic composition of the currents in torpedo-stage embryos from the RCC27 line. Regions adjacent to the cotyledon and radicle, at the points of current entry and exit, were found to be more acidic by 0.02±0.01 (n=14) and 0.07±0.01 (n=12) pH units, respectively, than the bulk medium. Removal of K⁺ from the medium reversibly reduced the currents to about 25% of their original value at both cotyledon and radicle. Deletion of Cl^- decreased the currents slightly. Removal of Ca²⁺ resulted in a rapid doubling of currents. Addition of either N,N-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide or tetraethyl ammonium chloride substantially reduced overall currents, and their removal resulted in partial recovery of the currents. It is suggested that the inward current at the cotyledon is comprised largely of K⁺ influx and the outward current at the radicle is mainly the result of active H⁺ efflux.Abbreviations 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - MS Murashige and Skoog     

Effects of oxygen toxicity on early development of mouse embryos.

To examine the effects of oxygen toxicity on embryonic development, mouse pronuclear embryos were cultured under low oxygen conditions with or without superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the blastulation rate was compared with that of embryos cultured under standard conditions. The blastulation rate of mouse pronuclear embryos cultured under standard conditions was only 1.5% (2/131). This rate was increased significantly, to 28.5% (43/151), when the embryos were cultured under low oxygen conditions; and to 31.0% (35/113) when SOD (500 micrograms/ml) was added to the medium under standard conditions; the rate was increased to 75.2% (115/153) when the embryos were cultured under low oxygen conditions in the presence of SOD. The minimum effective concentration of SOD in the culture medium was 50 micrograms/ml under conditions of 5% O2. The blastulation rate was significantly decreased after 1-hr exposure of pronuclear embryos to room atmospheric oxygen concentration (20% O2), and subsequent culture under 5% O2 with SOD did not result in an improved blastulation rate. Culture with SOD under 5% O2 promoted the development of two-cell stage embryos to the blastocyst stage. When two-cell stage embryos were collected 48 hr after hCG and cultured for 66 hr, their blastulation rate was similar to that of embryos collected from mice 114 hr after hCG. These results suggested that embryonic development in vitro is greatly affected by atmospheric oxygen throughout the early embryonic stages and that this harmful effect can be prevented by culturing embryos under low oxygen conditions and in the presence of SOD.     

Ultrastructural characterization of somatic embryos regenerated from NaCl selected and nonselected calli ofDactylis glomerata

Summary Calli were induced from leaf expiants of aDactylis glomerata L. (orchardgrass) genotype which has a high capacity for somatic embryogenesis. After 7 months culture on SH medium containing NaCl, a line was selected which was tolerant to 200 mM NaCl. When both selected and nonselected calli were maintained for 56 days on media containing 0 to 300 mM NaCl, the selected line showed significantly higher regeneration capacity than nonselected calli when placed on media containing more than 50 mM NaCl. Ultrastructural features of control somatic embryos not exposed to the salt were compared to those from nonselected and selected embryos cultured on 200 mM NaCl medium. In the presence of NaCl there were changes in the appearance of cell walls and mitochondria, accumulation of lipids and a higher degree of vacuolation in cells of nonselected embryos compared to control and selected embryos.     

The hybridisation of somatically chromosome-doubled dihaploid potatoes with tetraploid cultivars and the use of doubled dihaploids in genetic analysis of Solatium tuberosum

Three doubled dihaploid potatoes were hybridised with six tetraploid cultivars and the offspring examined for commercially important characters. Doubled dihaploids used as parents did not reduce the within progeny phenotypic variation for most characters below that found in material produced by intercrossing heterozygous tetraploids. They could however prove useful for improving some characters in a breeding programme. The products of the hybridisations were used to examine the genetic control of discrete variables such as tuber skin pigmentation, tuber flesh colour, and skin russetting. Doubled dihaploids were found to be useful for such studies because they have only three out of the five possible tetraploid genotypes. Presence or absence of red tuber skin in the progenies of cv. Désirée was concluded to be due to the segregation of a dominant major gene which was simplex in the parental cultivar. The yellow flesh of Desiree was found to be recessive. On the hypothesis that russet skin was due to three complementary dominant genes, possible genotypes of the doubled dihaploids and cultivars could also be deduced.