Cryopreservation of immature spring wheat zygotic embryos using an abscisic acid pretreatment

Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) zygotic embryos were successfully cryopreserved, without the addition of exogenous cryoprotectants, using only an abscisic acid (ABA) pretreatment. Optimum survival was obtained when embryos were cultured in vitro for 10 days on semisolid Murashige and Skoog (MS) nutrient medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L (±) ABA prior to cryopreservation. The embryos resumed growth within three days when returned to MS medium devoid of ABA but containing 2mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. The embryogenic calli produced from these embryos exhibited normal plant regeneration on auxin-free media. Changes in dw/fw ratio, as well as the esterified fatty acid and sucrose concentrations correlated positively with the development of tolerance to cryopreservation.NRCC Publication No. 33519     

Degradation of (+/-)-synephrine by Arthrobacter synephrinum. Oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate to 2-hydroxy-5-carboxymethyl-muconate semialdehyde.

1. Cell-free extracts of Arthrobacter synephrinum catalyse the oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylacetate. 2. The product of oxidation was characterized as 2-hydroxy-5-carboxymethylmuconate semialdehyde from its chemical behaviour as well as from nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectra. 3. A 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenase (EC 1.13.11.15) was partially purified from A. synephrinum. 4. The enzyme had a Km of 25 micrometer towards its substrate and exhibited typical Michaelis-Menten kinetics. 5. The enzyme also catalysed the oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxymandelate and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionate, at reaction rates of 0.5 and 0.04 respectively of that for 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate. 6. The enzyme was sensitive to treatment with thiol-specific reagents. 7. The molecular weight of the enzyme as determined by Sephadex G-200 chromatography was approx. 282000.     

Mapping RNA-protein interactions in ribonuclease P from Escherichia coli using disulfide-linked EDTA-Fe

The protein subunit of Escherichia coli ribonuclease P (which has a cysteine residue at position 113) and its single cysteine-substituted mutant derivatives (S16C/C113S, K54C/C113S and K66C/C113S) have been modified using a sulfhydryl-specific iron complex of EDTA-2- aminoethyl 2-pyridyl disulfide (EPD-Fe). This reaction converts C5 protein, or its single cysteine-substituted mutant derivatives, into chemical nucleases which are capable of cleaving the cognate RNA ligand, M1 RNA, the catalytic RNA subunit of E. coli RNase P, in the presence of ascorbate and hydrogen peroxide. Cleavages in M1 RNA are expected to occur at positions proximal to the site of contact between the modified residue (in C5 protein) and the ribose units in M1 RNA. When EPD-Fe was used to modify residue Cys16 in C5 protein, hydroxyl radical-mediated cleavages occurred predominantly in the P3 helix of M1 RNA present in the reconstituted holoenzyme. C5 Cys54-EDTA-Fe produced cleavages on the 5' strand of the P4 pseudoknot of M1 RNA, while the cleavages promoted by C5 Cys66-EDTA-Fe were in the loop connecting helices P18 and P2 (J18/2) and the loop (J2/4) preceding the 3' strand of the P4 pseudoknot. However, hydroxyl radical-mediated cleavages in M1 RNA were not evident with Cys113-EDTA-Fe, perhaps indicative of Cys113 being distal from the RNA-protein interface in the RNase P holoenzyme. Our directed hydroxyl radical-mediated footprinting experiments indicate that conserved residues in the RNA and protein subunit of the RNase-P holoenzyme are adjacent to each other and provide structural information essential for understanding the assembly of RNase P.     

Role of exogenous hemin in the synthesis of hemoproteins and nonheme proteins during glucose repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Exogenous addition of hemin to glucose-repressed cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae stimulates the incorporation of amino acid into cytoplasmic proteins twofold. There was no significant change in the synthesis of total cytoplasmic RNA whereas a 40% increase in the synthesis of poly(A)-containing RNA was observed upon hemin treatment. Cell-free translation of cytoplasmic mRNAs and immunoprecipitation analysis of the translated products with antibodies against subunit V of cytochrome oxidase and the alpha and beta subunits of F1-ATPase reveals that there is an eightfold enrichment of the mRNA for subunit V of cytochrome oxidase upon hemin treatment. The effect of hemin on the alpha and beta subunits of F1-ATPase is only marginal, suggesting a differential role for heme in the synthesis of hemoproteins and nonheme proteins during glucose repression.     

Oxylipin Pathway in Rice and Arabidopsis

Plants have evolved complex signaling pathways to coordinate responses to developmental and environmental Information. The oxylipin pathway Is one pivotal lipid-based signaling network, composed of several competing branch pathways, that determines the plant＇s ability to adapt to various stimuli. Activation of the oxyllpln pathway Induces the de novo synthesis of biologically active metabolltes called ＂oxyllplns＂. The relative levels of these metabolltes are a distinct indicator of each plant species and determine the ability of plants to adapt to different stimuli. The two major branches of the oxyllpln pathway, allene oxide synthase （AOS） and hydroperoxlde lyase （HPL） are responsible for production of the signaling compounds, jasmonates and aldehydes respectively. Here, we compare and contrast the regulation of AOS and HPL branch pathways In rice and Arabidopsis as model monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous systems. These analyses provide new Insights Into the evolution of JAs and aldehydes signaling pathways, and the complex network of processes responsible for stress adaptations In monocots and dicots.