New Gene Crt(Curly Roots) Controlling Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Root Development

Using ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) treatment of the seeds ofline SGE, a new mutant of pea (Pisum sativum L.) with alterationsin root development was obtained. The mutant phenotype dependson the density of the growth substrate: on sand (a high densitysubstrate) the mutant forms a small compact curly root systemwhereas on vermiculite (a low density substrate) differencesbetween the root systems of the mutant and wild type plantsare less pronounced. Genetic analysis revealed that the mutantcarries a mutation in a new pea gene designedcrt (curly roots).Gene crt has been localized in pea linkage group V. The mutantline named SGEcrt showed increased sensitivity to exogenousauxin and an increased concentration of endogenous indole-3-aceticacid (IAA) in comparison with the wild type line SGE. Copyright2000 Annals of Botany Company Pisum sativum L., root development, garden pea mutant, curly roots, auxin, environmental stimulus response     

A Search for Discrete Cholinergic Nuclei in the Human Ventral Forebrain

Abstract: Slices cut from five frozen human brains were dissected into 2-mm cubes and assayed for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity and protein content. A pattern of enrichment of ChAT activity was found ventral to the anterior commissure; this finding is consistent with the location of the enzyme in the cells of the nucleus basalis of Meynert. The region beneath the anterior commissure was the only place a discrete enrichment of activity could be found, and the precise topography of the enrichment was somewhat variable from brain to brain. The results are discussed in the light of recent knowledge concerning the source of the cortical cholinergic innervation.     

Reactogenicity of a group A and C meningococcal polysaccharide bivalent vaccine

A total of 1 968 persons aged 18-20 years belonging to organized groups were immunized with different doses of polysaccharide meningococcal divaccine, groups A and C, by means of syringes and jet injectors under the conditions of a controlled epidemiological trial. Systemic reactions to the injection of the preparation were found to be absent. Local reactions manifested by inflammation, swelling and tenderness at the site of injection were faintly pronounced and disappeared in 48 hours, which is indicative of low reactogenicity of the preparation under study.     

Mutagenic effect of mitomycin C on different strains of oleandomycin producer Streptomyces antibioticus

Mitomycin C, a DNA-tropic antibiotic, was shown to have a lethal effect on spore sprouts of two strains of Streptomyces antibioticus, an organism producing oleandomycin. When the time of exposure to the antibiotic increased there was an almost equal decrease in the survival rate. The mutagen action on the morphological variation and antibiotic production of the two closely related strains were diverse due to their genetic differences. The strain isolated after the culture treatment with a chemical mutagen and subjected to a more prolonged maintaining selection showed lower variation with respect to its colony morphology. The other strain isolated after treatment of the culture with high concentrations of its own antibiotic showed lower variation with respect to its antibiotic production property. The shift in the antibiotic production in the direction of the low active variants was characteristic of the both highly productive strains.     

Phenotypic and genetic differentiation of human populations with respect to morphologic and psychophysiological traits

Four groups of human characters (mendelian markers, anthropometry, neurodynamics and psychodynamics) were studied in eight human populations characterized by different degrees of isolation and different ethnic backgrounds, and located in different ecological conditions. The populations examined were proved to display phenotypic and genetic differentiation for the studied groups of characters which were compared with linguistic and geographical distances. The role of genetic factors and that of environmental factors was shown to diminish and to increase, respectively, as the degree of complexity of expression of the group of characters under study (from anthropometry to psychodynamics) goes up.     

Muscarinic Agonists Evoke Neurotransmitter Release: Possible Roles for Phosphatidyl Inositol Bisphosphate Breakdown Products in Neuromodulation

Carbachol (CCh), a muscarinic agonist that elicits the formation of inositol trisphosphate (IP3) and diacylglycerol (DG), induces a calcium-dependent [3H]norepinephrine ([3H]NE) release [IC50 = (2.7 +/- 0.5) X 10(-4) M] in rat brain slices. Similarly, other muscarinic agonists evoke [3H]NE release which is specifically inhibited by muscarinic antagonists such as 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, atropine, and N-methyl-4-piperidyl benzilate. The atropine-sensitive evoked release is effectively inhibited by neomycin (IC50 = 50 microM), a phospholipase C inhibitor that interferes with IP3-dependent cellular processes. In addition, polymyxin B, a rather selective inhibitor of protein kinase C (PK-C), abolishes the agonist-mediated release with a half-maximal effective concentration of 0.53 microM (750 ng/ml). These results have a significant implication for the mechanism by which agonists generating IP3 and DG act as inducers of neurotransmitter release in the CNS. However, since both neomycin and polymyxin B act also as N-calcium-channel blockers, other possible mechanisms are discussed. The CCh-induced release suggests that in the CNS an agonist-receptor interaction leads to a calcium-dependent neurotransmitter release, most likely via promoting the IP3/DG as second messengers followed by activation of PK-C.     

Biological properties of the alpha-mannanase of Rhodococcus erythropolis

When Rhodococcus erythropolis is cultivated under the submerged conditions in a medium containing yeast mannan as a sole carbon source, it synthesizes exocellular alpha-mannanase which hydrolyzes alpha-1,2 and alpha-1,3 bonds in a mannan molecule. The alpha-mannanase of R. erythropolis exerts distinct lectin properties under the conditions which entirely exclude its enzyme activity.     

Effect of carbon disulphide on the cardiovascular system

Biochemical, histological and electron-microscopic examinations of the heart and the aorta of albino rats exposed to carbon disulphide in concentrations of 10, 50, 100 and 200 mg . m-3 were carried out. Changes in the metabolic and energetic processes in the myocardium and in the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the connective tissue of the aortal vessel wall were observed. The established disorders follow the dose-effect dependence. The authors studied the effect of carbon disulphide in concentrations of 10 and 50 mg . m-3 on the electrophoretic spectrum of serum proteins, the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of fibrous structures in the myocardium and the aorta of albino rats fed on atherogenic diet (cholesterol, cholic acid and vitamin D2). The combination of carbon disulphide with the atherogenic factor leads to intensification of changes in the cardiovascular system and in serum proteins, observed after independent exposure to either of the factors. The combination of atherogenic diet and 10 mg . m-3 carbon disulphide induced symptoms of intoxication, decreased survival of the animals, and the developing sclerotic process was found to be more severe and to progress more rapidly than in animals subject to atherogenic diet alone. The obtained results testify to cardiovascular effect of carbon disulphide. The observed atherogenic effect of carbon disulphide in low concentrations is most probably connected with its direct effect on the myocardium and the vessels.