Characterisation of the polysaccharide produced by Acetobacter xylinum strain CR1/4 by light scattering and atomic force microscopy

The molecular weight of the extracellular polysaccharide (CR1/4) produced by Acetobacter xylinum strain CR1/4 has been shown to be dependent upon growth conditions. Under normal growth conditions a high molecular weight polysaccharide (>1×10⁶ Da) is produced. Maintaining the pH at 5 results in an order of magnitude increase in the total yield of polysaccharide, but also an order of magnitude decrease in molecular weight. Analysis of the CR1/4 polysaccharides by the techniques of atomic force microscopy and static light scattering suggests that they are double helices. In solution the molecules behave as stiff coils with a Kuhn statistical segment length of 325 nm.     

水稻小孢子发育过程中微管骨架的变化

对水稻（ＯｒｙｚａｓａｔｉｖａＬ．）小孢子发育过程中微管变化的研究表明,微管在小孢子不同发育阶段呈现多样性。在花粉母细胞内,微管形成许多粗束和分支,围绕着核分布形成一个网络。花粉母细胞经第一次减数分裂形成二分体。在每一个二分体细胞内,有许多微管束,从核周辐射至细胞质各部位;在细胞质存在一个疏松的微管束网络。二分体经第二次减数分裂形成四分体,在每一个四分体细胞内,微管束呈辐射状,从核膜辐射入细胞质内。四分体形成后不久,四分体的四个细胞便分开,每一个细胞变成一个独立的小孢子。在早期的小孢子细胞内,微管束呈疏松网状分布。其中有些微管束朝向胞质一个小突起聚集。当小孢子进入中期发育阶段,在胞质的小突起部位微管束密度增大。小突起最终形成为萌发孔。当小孢子发育至成熟期,细胞内的微管束变得纤细,而网络则变得紧密。之后的发育阶段（即花粉发育不同阶段）因荧光标记难以进入细胞,无法获得清晰的图像。     

Cell wall polysaccharides from Gelidium species: physico-chemical studies using MRI techniques

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has already been successively used to investigate polysaccharide matrices. In particular, MRI at microscopic resolution (MR microscopy) is now one of the most powerful techniques for studying the physical properties of natural hydrogels. To contribute to a better understanding of the correlation between chemical and physical properties of agar gels, we report here the measurement of the water magnetic parameters for agar gels extracted from different species of Gelidium: T1 and T2 relaxation times, magnetisation transfer (Ms /M0) and diffusion (D) were measured to evaluate their use for studying the gel characteristics. MR microscopic images were acquired at 7.05 Tesla using various pulse sequences. The results obtained confirmed the possibility to use quantitative MRI for the characterisation of physical parameters correlated with the type of agar chemical structure. In particular, T2 data obtained for gels at different concentrations indicate that this magnetic parameter is very sensitive to the agar concentration and hence particularly useful for the gel strength determination. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Double fertilization: a personal view

 This year marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of double fertilization by Nawaschin in St. Petersburg, Russia and, independently, Guignard in France. This discovery came at the end of a period of controversy about fertilization in angiosperms and ushered in a new period of intense research. Still, by 1950, there were many unanswered questions about double fertilization because of limitations of the light microscope. The introduction of the electron microscope stimulated new research and helped resolve some of the questions. My own research with the electron microscope and that of people who worked in my laboratory is recounted and some of the still unanswered questions raised. Received: 30 October 1997 / Accepted: 5 December 1997     

A differential scanning calorimetric study of the thermal unfolding of apo- and holo-cytochrome b562.

Cytochrome b562 is a four-helix-bundle protein containing a non-covalently bound b-type heme prosthetic group. In the absence of heme, cytochrome b562 remains highly structured under native conditions. Here we report thermodynamic data for the thermal denaturation of the holo- and apoproteins as determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Thermal denaturation of holocytochrome b562 is a highly reversible process, and unexpectedly does not involve dissociation of the heme prosthetic group. Thermal denaturation of the corresponding apoprotein, with the heme group chemically removed, remains a cooperative, reversible process. Apocytochrome b562 is substantially destabilized relative to the holoprotein: the t1/2 is more than ten degrees lower, and enthalpy and heat capacity changes are about one-half of the holoprotein values. However, the energetic parameters of apocytochrome b562 denaturation are within the range of observed values for small proteins.     

CO2激光治疗子宫内膜异位症的临床分析

采用ＣＯ２激光对１２例分布于宫颈、阴道及外阴的子宫内膜异位症病人进行病灶切除碳化治疗,并对其随访了３￣７年、无１例复发、局部留下瘢痕。认为外阴子宫内膜异位症采用激光治疗可靠、简便、更优于传统手术治疗。     

农用低功率He—Ne激光的诱变效应和育种

什么是低功率Ｈｅ－Ｎｅ激光;低功率Ｈｅ－Ｎｅ激光的诱变效应及其在育种上的应用;低功率Ｈｅ－Ｎｅ激光的诱变机制。     

The measurement of exonuclease activities by atomic force microscopy

We have applied atomic force microscopy (AFM) to the measurement of BAL 31 nuclease activities. BAL 31 nuclease, a species of exonuclease, is used to remove unwanted sequences from the termini of DNA before cloning. For cutting out only the appropriate sequences, it is important to know the nuclease properties, such as digestion speed and the distribution of the lengths of the digested DNA. AFM was used to obtain accurate measurements on the lengths of DNA fragments before and after BAL 31 nuclease digestion. We analyzed 4 DNAs with known number of base pairs (288, 778, 1818, and 3162 base pairs) for correlating the contour length measured by AFM with the number of base pairs under the deposition conditions used. We used this calibration for analyzing DNA degradation by BAL 31 nuclease from the AFM measurement of contour lengths of digested DNAs. In addition, the distribution of digested DNA could be analyzed in more detail by AFM than by electrophoresis, because digested DNA were measured as a population by electrophoresis, but were measured individually by AFM. These results show that AFM will be a useful new technique for measuring nuclease activities. Received: 8 August 1997 / Accepted: 10 September 1997     

丹顶鹤胆囊的显微观察

应用光镜及透射电镜观察一例成体雄性丹顶鹤胆囊。结果表明,丹顶鹤胆囊粘粘膜、肌层和外膜三部分组成。粘膜上皮高柱状、游离端有密集排列的微绒毛,胞质面端有许多粘液颗粒,说明上皮细胞具有吸收功能并可分泌粘液。     

Atomic force microscopy and modeling of natural elastic fibrillin polymers

A central issue in the understanding of Marfan syndrome deals with the functional architecture of fibrillin-containing microfibrils. Fibrillin-rich microfibrils are long extracellular matrix fibrillar components exhibiting a 50 nm periodic beaded-structure with a width of around 20–25 nm after rotary shadowing and a 10–12 nm diameter when observed in ultra-thin sections. They are composed of fibrillin monomers more or less associated with many other components which are, for the most part, poorly characterized up to date. They are known to be elastic but few data have been accumulated to understand their properties. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) allowed us to morphologically differentiate fibrillin-rich microfibrils from other fibrillar components and to investigate the thin structure of these beaded filaments in their native state. They showed, in AFM, a periodic beaded structure ranging from 50 to 60 nm and a width of about 40 nm. The different sizes of fibrillin-containing microfibrils previously observed after rotary shadowing and in ultra-thin sections was resolved with our technique and is revealed to be 10 nm in diameter. Each beaded microfibril appears to be composed of heterogeneous beads connected by 2–3 arms. An orientation of the microfibrils has been shown, and allows us to propose a complementary model of microfibrillar monomer association.