Centromere inactivation in a dicentric rice chromosome during sexual reproduction

T0135 is a variant selected from the progeny of a rice line telotrisomic for the short arm of chromosome 11 （2n＋IIS＇）. Fluores- cent in situ hybridization （FISH） results indicated that T0135 contained two telocentric chromosomes, which have two centro- mere-specific molecular markers （5S rDNA） for chromosome 11; thus T0135 is a newly-described rice chromosome variant with two dicentric chromosomes, named 22＋11L-＋11L＇＋I IS.11S-＋I 1S-11S. （22 represents the 22 chromosomes excluding chromo- some 11 in the rice genome, ＂-＂ represents the centromere）. To investigate the genetic stability of the rice dicentric chromosomes during sexual reproduction, we observed the chromosome types in the progeny. Ninety-four percent of the progeny had the same chromosome type as the parental line. This result indicates that the dicentric chromosomes are mostly stable during mitosis and meiosis. Immunofluorescence analysis for centromere specific histone H3 （CENH3） revealed that only one centromere is active and the other centromere is inactivated in the rice dicentric chromosomes.     

In vivo inactivation of transglutaminase during the acute acrylamide toxic syndrome in the rat

Summary The activity of liver and brain transglutaminase is rapidly lost following i.p. injection of acrylamide (50–200 mg/kg). Other enzymes investigated were not modified by the treatment, with the exception of brain enolase.     

Gene inactivation triggered by recognition between DNA repeats

This chapter focuses on phenomena of gene inactivation resulting from the presence of repeated gene copies within the genome of plants and fungi, and on their possible relationships to homologous DNA-DNA interactions. Emphasis is given to two related premeiotic processes: Methylation Induced Premeiotically (MIP) and Repeat-Induced Point mutation (RIP) which take place in the fungiAscobolus immersus andNeurospora crassa, respectively. The relationships between these processes and genetic recombination are discussed.     

Conotoxins of the O-superfamily affecting voltage-gated sodium channels

The venoms of predatory cone snails harbor a rich repertoire of peptide toxins that are valuable research tools, but recently have also proven to be useful drugs. Among the conotoxins with several disulfide bridges, the O-superfamily toxins are characterized by a conserved cysteine knot pattern: C-C-CC-C-C. While ω-conotoxins and κ-conotoxins block Ca²⁺ and K⁺ channels, respectively, the closely related δ- and μO-conotoxins affect voltage-gated Na⁺ channels (Na_v channels). δ-conotoxins mainly remove the fast inactivation of Na_v channels and, thus, functionally resemble long-chain scorpion α-toxins. μO-conotoxins are functionally similar to μ-conotoxins, since they inhibit the ion flow through Na_v channels. Recent results from functional and structural assays have gained insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms. Both types of toxins are voltage-sensor toxins interfering with the voltage-sensor elements of Na_v channels. Received 27 December 2006; received after revision 30 January 2007; accepted 19 February 2007     

低频超声波对大豆胰蛋白酶抑制素的处理效果

采用２０ｋＨｚ的低频超声波对大豆胰蛋白酶抑制素（ＳＴＩ）进行了处理。结果表明,超声波对经纯化了的鲍曼－贝尔克抑制素（ＢＢＩ）几乎不起钝化作用,对生豆奶中天然存在的ＳＴＩ的钝化效果要比对从大豆中提取纯化的ＳＴＩ好得多,说明纯化了的ＳＴＩ似对超声处理较稳定;豆奶中大分子蛋白组分１１Ｓ和７Ｓ的存在有助地ＳＴＩ的纯化;低频超声波对生豆奶中的ＢＢＩ似乎有轻微的激活作用;在生豆奶中添加半胱氨酸、亚硫酸钠的胃液     

天门冬氨酸对精氨酸激酶的作用研究

应用酶活测定、荧光发射光谱等方法分析了精氨酸激酶在不同浓度天门冬氨酸中活性变化和去折叠动力学。实验结果表明：天门冬氨酸引起精氨酸激酶失活与去折叠,并且过程中没有蛋白质的聚沉;精氨酸激酶的去折叠遵循一级反应动力学的二相过程,包括快相和慢相;失活与天门冬氨酸浓度呈正相关;当去除天门冬氨酸的影响,精氨酸激酶的活力能得到恢复。通过对比实验结果暗示,天门冬氨酸是通过其解离状态的H＋改变了机体pH值而影响精氨酸激酶活性的,并且就天门冬氨酸对精氨酸激酶影响及其意义进行探讨。     

Comparison of Inactivation and Unfolding of Calf Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase in Guanidinium Chloride Solution

IntroductionCalf intestinal alkaline phosphatase(CIP,EC3 .1 .3 .1 ) is a metalloenzyme which catalyzes thenonspecific hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters[1 ] .The X-ray crystal structure of bacterial alkalinephosphatase has been reported to0 .2 nm resolutionin the presence of inorganic phosphate[2 ] . Theactive site is a pocket containing a tight cluster oftwo zinc ions (0 .3 9nm separation) and onemagnesium ion (0 . 5 and 0 .7nm from two zincions) .CIP also contains zinc and magnesium ions…