Neuropeptide gene expression and neural activity: Assessing a working hypothesis in nucleus caudalis and dorsal horn neurons expressing preproenkephalin and preprodynorphin

1. The working hypothesis that neuropeptide gene expression in a neuron is an indicator of that neuron's physiological activity is discussed. 2. Representative examples from the literature are presented to support the hypothesis. 3. Further, we discuss the regulation of expression of two opioid peptides, preproenkephalin and preprodynorphin, in laminae I and II of the spinal cord and in nucleus caudalis of the trigeminal nuclear complex, where they may play a role in pain modulation. 4. The expression of the opioid peptide genes can be induced by both painful and nonnoxious stimuli in neurons in time-dependent and sensory-specific fashions.     

A role for haemoglobin in all plant roots?

Abstract. We have found haemoglobin in plant roots whereas previously it has been recorded only in nitrogen fixing nodules of plants. Haemoglobin occurs not only in the roots of those plants that are capable of nodulation but also in the roots of species that are not known to nodulate. We suggest that a haemoglobin gene may be a component of the genome of all plants. The gene structure and sequence in two unrelated families of plants suggests that the plant haemoglobins have had a single origin and that this origin relates to the haemoglobin gene of the animal kingdom. At present we cannot completely rule out the possibility of a horizontal transfer of the gene from the animal kingdom to a progenitor of the dicotyledonous angiosperms but we favour a single origin of the gene from a progenitor organism to both the plant and animal kingdoms. We speculate about the possible functions of haemoglobin in plant roots and put the case that it is unlikely to have a function in facilitating oxygen diffusion. We suggest that haemoglobin may act as a signal molecule indicating oxygen deficit and the consequent need to shift plant metabolism from an oxidative to a fermentative pathway of energy generation.     

The Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA gene 6b is an onc gene

In this article it is shown that the T-DNA of Agrobacterium tumefaciens contains besides the well-known cyt and aux genes another gene with an oncogenic effect in plants. The gene in question is called 6^b and causes the formation of small tumors in plant species such as Nicotiana glauca and Kalanchoe tubiflora.     

Nematode Mitochondrial DNA: Anomalies and Applications

The mitochondrial genome of animal cells is currently under intense investigation by molecular, evolutionary, and population biologists. This review summarizes the available information on the molecular biology of nematode mitochondrial DNA and explains how the fundamental knowledge obtained from these basic studies may be applied to nematode systematics, evolution, and diagnostics.     

Altered tissue specificity of the revertant shrunken allele upon Dissociation (Ds) excision is associated with loss of expression and molecular rearrangement at the corresponding non-allelic isozyme locus in maize

Summary Transposable element Activator (Ac) induced wild-type stable revertants, derived from McClintock's Dissociation (Ds) insertion shrunken (sh) mutant sh-m5933, have been examined for sucrose synthases, SS1 and SS2, encoded by the revertant (Sh) locus and the non-allelic gene Sus (previously designated as Ss2), respectively. A structurally normal Sh locus has been previously described in these revertants. Immuno-blot (Western) and Southern hybridization analyses reported here identify one of the nine alleles, Sh-r5, as unique for several features. It showed altered tissue specificity, as the SS1 protein encoded by the Sh-r5 allele was readily detectable in the immature embryo which is otherwise characterized by the Sus expression only. The level of Sh-r5 expression at the protein and enzyme level was marked by endosperm specific SS1 abundance and a significant down-regulation in the embryo similar to the standard Sh and Sus loci in endosperm and embryo, respectively. We infer that tissue specific levels of gene expression among maize Ss genes is significantly determined by trans-regulatory factors present in these two tissues. The Sh-r5 strain also exhibited a complete loss of the Sus expression in all tissues tested in the plant. Lack of any detectable phenotypic abnormality in the Sh-r5 strain due to the loss of SS2 protein indicated that either the SS2 protein is nonessential or that the two SS isozymes are functionally compensatory. Genomic filter hybridizations with the Sus cDNA clone indicated that the Sus locus in the Sh-r5 strain was not deleted and was, in fact, unique among these revertants. Together, these data provide an unusual insight into the regulation and function of the two SS isozymes in the maize plant.     

Lectin-gene expression in pea (Pisum sativum L.) roots

The expression of a lectin gene in pea (Pisum sativum L.) roots has been investigated using the copy DNA of a pea seed lectin as a probe. An mRNA which has the same size as the seed mRNA but which is about 4000 times less abundant has been detected in 21-d-old roots. The probe detected lectin expression as early as 4 d after sowing, with the highest level being reached at 10 d, i.e. just before nodulation. In later stages (16-d- and 21-d-old roots), expression was substantially decreased. The correlation between infection by Rhizobium leguminosarum and lectin expression in pea roots has been investigated by comparing root lectin mRNA levels in inoculated plants and in plants grown under conditions preventing nodulation. Neither growth in a nitrate concentration which inhibited nodulation nor growth in the absence of Rhizobium appreciably affected lectin expression in roots.Abbreviation cDNA copy DNA - poly(A)⁺RNA polyadenylated RNA