Two Components of Glutamate Exocytosis Differentially Affected by Presynaptic Modulation

Abstract: The total Ca²⁺-dependent release of glutamate induced by depolarization of cerebrocortical nerve terminals with KCl was analyzed into a fast and a slow component. The fast component exhibited a decay time of <1 s and accounted for 0.95 ± 0.10 nmol of glutamate, whereas the slow component, which exhibited a decay time of 52 ± 7 s, accounted for the release of 2.48 ± 0.19 nmol of glutamate. These two components were differentially affected by the Ca²⁺ chelator BAPTA, the divalent cation Sr²⁺, or the botulinum neurotoxin A. The adenosine A₁ receptor agonist N ⁶-cyclohexyladenosine strongly reduced the fast component without altering the slow component. In contrast, the inhibitory effect of arachidonic acid and the facilitatory action of the metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist (1 S ,3 R )-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid were observed as a decrease and an increase, respectively, in the two components. It is concluded, first, that the fast and slow components correspond to the release of docked and mobilized vesicles, respectively, and second, that presynaptic modulation more significantly alters the fast component of release.     

Diallel analysis for sex-linked and maternal effects

Genetic models including sex-linked and maternal effects as well as autosomal gene effects are described. Monte Carlo simulations were conducted to compare efficiencies of estimation by minimum norm quadratic unbiased estimation (MINQUE) and restricted maximum likelihood (REML) methods. MINQUE(1), which has 1 for all prior values, has a similar efficiency to MINQUE(), which requires prior estimates of parameter values. MINQUE(1) has the advantage over REML of unbiased estimation and convenient computation. An adjusted unbiased prediction (AUP) method is developed for predicting random genetic effects. AUP is desirable for its easy computation and unbiasedness of both mean and variance of predictors. The jackknife procedure is appropriate for estimating the sampling variances of estimated variances (or covariances) and of predicted genetic effects. A t-test based on jackknife variances is applicable for detecting significance of variation. Worked examples from mice and silkworm data are given in order to demonstrate variance and covariance estimation and genetic effect prediction.     

方差组分估计方法MIVQUE和REML的模拟比较

利用ＭｏｎｔｅＣａｒｌｏ方法,对４种数据结构进行了ＭＩＶＱＵＥ和ＲＥＭＬ两种方差组分估计方法的模拟比较。方差组分估计所用的模型为奶牛育种中常用的公畜模型,它包括场年季固定效应、公牛组固定效应和公牛随机效应。４种数据结构中最大的有１２８４７个观察值,场年季效应和公牛效应水平数分别为７７８和４７,它与北京市目前可利用的奶牛头胎产奶量记录资料相当。最小的数据结构只有２００个观察值,１４８个场年季和２０头公牛。比较指标为估计值的偏差和方差（理论的或根据１０００次重复模拟所得的经验值）。结果表明,对于较大样本的数据结构,两种方法差异很小,它们间的估计值的相关接近于１,偏差小于真值的１％,方差近似相等。对于较小样本的数据结构,ＭＩＶＱＵＥ则明显优于ＲＥＭＬ。本研究还表明,对于ＲＥＭＬ来说,类似数据结构１的样本已能满足其渐近无偏性和有效性的大样本特性。     

银杏叶的研究开发概况

本文对银杏叶的化学、药理、临床和制剂等进行了综述。     

The differential genetic and environmental canalization of fitness components in Drosophila melanogaster

Canalization describes the process by which phenotypic variation is reduced by developmental mechanisms. A trait can be canalized against environmental or genetic perturbations. Stabilizing selelction should favor improved canalization, and the degree of a trait's canalization should be positively correlated with its impact on fitness. Here we report, for Drosophila melanogaster, measurements of environmental canalization for five fitness components. We compare them with measurements of genetic canalization, and we discuss the impact of inbreeding on both. In three experiments we measured the variation of fitness components within lines nested within temperature, treatment, and experiment. Lines differed in the position of a P element insert or in genetic background. Within lines flies were genetically nearly identical. We designated trait variation within lines as environmental canalization. The canalization of the traits increased with their impact on fitness, and the pattern was similar to that found for the canalization of fitness components against genetic differences, measured as the variation among lines nested within temperature, treatment, and experiment. This suggests that developmental mechanisms buffer the phenotype against both genetic and environmental disturbance. The results also suggest, less strongly, that inbreeding weakens canalization.     

Predicting mean and variance of all possible lines and hybrids from designs with partially inbred progenies

Two-factor mating designs at consecutive S_n and S_(n+1) levels (S₀ and S₁ S₁ and S₂, or F₂ and F₃) allow estimation of all components of the variation among homozygous lines and F₁ hybrids that can be derived from a given population. They also allow for the prediction of the mean of these lines and single-cross hybrids. Some tests for the presence of epistasis are possible at the levels of means and of variances. Such mating designs can be very useful for predicting the value of the best possible lines or the best possible F₁ hybrids when it is difficult to produce, at an experimental level for exploratory purposes, either lines or hybrids.     

The effects of selection for gain in mice on the direct-maternal genetic correlation

Components of genetic variation for postweaning growth traits were estimated for both control and growth stocks of mice. The effect of phenotypic selection for gain, which genetically combines selection for additive direct and maternal effects, on additive genetic variance components, heritability, and additive genetic correlationsis discussed. Quantitative genetic theory predicts that simultaneous selection for two metric traits in the same direction will cause the genetic correlation between the two traits to become more negative. The results presented in this paper conflict with this theory. The direct-maternal additive genetic correlation was more negative in the control line (with 356 mice) than in the growth-selected line (with 320 mice) for the three traits analyzed (0.310 vs 0.999 for 21-day weight, 0.316 vs 1.000 for 42-day weight, and 0.506 vs 1.000 for gain from 21–42 days). Estimates were obtained by restricted maximum likelihood (REML) computed under a derivative free algorithm (DFREML).     

The effect of root damage caused by simulated white grub attack on the growth,yield and water-use of groundnut plants

White grubs (larval scarabaeids) are now recognized as being important pests of groundnut (peanut) in many parts of the world because of their ability to damage roots. A method of simulating white grub damage to groundnut plants was developed to obtain an indication of how the feeding activity of these insects influences plant growth. The effect of root cutting and drought stress on water uptake and biomass production was evaluated, with roots being cut at three depths in the late vegetative and early podfilling stages. As groundnut plants are often grown under conditions of drought stress, the effects of which would be accentuated by root damage, this factor was introduced into the experiment. Plant water-use measurements indicated that the root systems of plants cut 30 days after emergence (DAE) and watered twice a week became fully functional again after 40 days. Pod and total biomass production were however significantly less than those of the uncut control plants, with drought stress reducing yields below the well-watered controls, particularly when cut at 10 cm below the soil surface. The root systems of plants cut 51 DAE did not regrow to any appreciable extent, and rates of plant water-use remained less than half of the uncut control plants. Over all treatments, there was a strong positive correlation between total (and pod) biomass and plant water-use. It was concluded that the phenological stage of the plant at which root damage occurred had a profound influence on the subsequent recovery in root growth and function, and ultimately on pod yield.     

不同产地苍术药材化学成分的比较

江苏、安徽及湖北５个产地苍术（Ａｔｒａｃｔｙｌｏｄｅｓｌａｎｃｅａ（Ｔｈｕｎｂ．）ＤＣ．）商品药材的化学分析结果表明：它们在某些药材性状、一些常规化学成分、挥发油成分和含量上存在显著差异。江苏茅苍术根茎挥发油的化学成分复杂,由此探讨了它作为地道药材的特殊性。同时对苍术的“断面暴露稍久可析出结晶”的性状和《药典》（１９９０年版）规定的“层析谱上应显有苍术素斑点”的鉴别实验进行讨论。     

Study of multiplication of cucumber mosaic virus in susceptible and resistant Capsicum annuuum lines

A previous survey on pepper lines (Capsicum annuum L.) indicated that a susceptible cultivar, Yolo Wonder, reacted to cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) by producing a systemic yellow mosaic. By contrast, CMV caused no symptoms on lines Perennial and Vania. The virus is recoverable from the uninoculated leaves of Perennial, while in Vania CMV is restricted to the inoculated leaves. To interpret these phenomena, a comparative study on CMV multiplication rates, yield, specific infectivity and relative proportion of RNAs was made in the inoculated leaves of the three pepper varieties. The rate of CMV multiplication, as estimated by the double antibody sandwich form of enzyme-linked immu-nosorbent assay, was lower in Perennial than in Vania or Yolo Wonder. The yield of virus purified from Perennial was very low when compared with Vania or Yolo Wonder. The specific infectivity of the virus extracted from Perennial was less than that from Vania or Yolo Wonder. These results suggest that Perennial is resistant to CMV multiplication, while restriction of the virus in inoculated leaves of Vania is not due to the inhibition of the virus replication. However, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that the RNA profiles of CMV purified from the three pepper lines were similar.