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Biomedical subjects

A Gibor

Publications and source records attributed to A Gibor.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Induction of cytosine-rich poly(A)+ RNAs in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by cell wall removal.

RNA accumulation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii during the course of wall regeneration in protoplasts prepared by treatment of vegetative cells with autolysin was studied. In vitro translation of poly(A)+ RNA isolated from wall-regenerating cells indicated that cell wall removal induced the accumulation of several large RNA transcripts. Some of these induced RNAs were enriched following oligo(dG)-cellulose chromatography (referred to as cytosine-rich). The induced and cytosine-rich poly(A)+ RNAs potentially code for hydroxyproline-rich cell wall glycoproteins (HRGPs). Immunoprecipitation of in vitro translated products with an antiserum against a deglycosylated wall fraction (2BII) confirmed that these RNAs contained species involved in cell wall biosynthesis.

Blotting, Northern

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase from Volvox carteri. A low-Mr enzyme antigenically related to the alpha subunit of the vertebrate enzyme.

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase was isolated in a highly purified form from a multi-cellular green alga, Volvox carteri, by a procedure consisting of ion-exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography on poly(L-hydroxyproline) coupled to Sepharose. Two other affinity-column procedures were also developed, one involving 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate and the other 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionate linked to Sepharose. The Km values of the Volvox enzyme for the co-substrates and the peptide substrate, as well as the inhibition constants for selected 2-oxoglutarate analogues, were similar to those of the enzyme from Chlamydomonas reinhardii, except that the Km for 2-oxoglutarate with the Volvox enzyme was 6-fold greater. The temperature optimum of the Volvox enzyme was also 10 degrees C higher. The apparent Mr of the Volvox enzyme by gel filtration was about 40,000, being similar to that reported for the Chlamydomonas enzyme but markedly lower than that of the vertebrate enzymes. A similar apparent Mr of about 40,000 was also found for prolyl 4-hydroxylase from the green alga Enteromorpha intestinalis, whereas the enzyme from various vascular plants gave an apparent Mr greater than 300,000. SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis demonstrated in the highly purified Volvox enzyme the presence of a major protein band doublet with a Mr of about 65,000 and a minor doublet of Mr about 55,000-57,000. A polyclonal antiserum, prepared against the Mr-65,000 doublet, stained in immunoblotting the Mr-65,000 doublet as well as the alpha subunit, but not the beta subunit, of the vertebrate prolyl 4-hydroxylase. An antiserum against the beta subunit of the vertebrate enzyme stained in immunoblotting a Mr-50,000 polypeptide in a partially purified Volvox enzyme preparation, but did not stain either the Mr-65,000 or the Mr-55,000-57,000 doublet of the highly purified enzyme. The data thus suggest that the active Volvox carteri prolyl 4-hydroxylase is an enzyme monomer antigenically related to the alpha subunit of the vertebrate enzyme.

Chlorophyta

A method for RNA isolation from marine macro-algae.

Sulfated, carboxylic polysaccharides and polyphenols found in marine macro-algae interfere with RNA isolation from these plants and inhibit RNA activities in vitro. Methods based on differential precipitation of RNA or carbohydrates in high salts were used to eliminate the acidic carbohydrates. To protect RNA from inactivation by oxidized polyphenols, strong reducing reagents were used to prevent polyphenol oxidation. RNA was successfully isolated from Macro-cystis pyrifera (brown alga), Porphyra schizophylla (red alga), and Enteromorpha intestinalis (green alga). mRNA isolated from the total RNA was shown to be translationally active.

Carbohydrates

Intracellular calcium redistribution during mating in Chlamydomonas reinhardii.

Gametes of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardii recognize and adhere to cells of the opposite mating type by flagellar contact. Adhesion between these specialized organelles signals a rapid series of mating events which result in gamete fusion. The sequence of morphological changes (flagellar tip activation, cell wall loss, and mating structure elongation), which occur as a consequence of the sexual signalling, have been characterized. The signalling mechanisms have, however, not been defined. Calcium is known to be involved during fertilization of animal species. Increased intracellular free calcium, which can be achieved either by calcium influx or by mobilization of ions from intracellular stores, has been observed during activation of both eggs and sperm. A recent report by Bloodgood & Levin that gametes of C. reinhardii preloaded with 45Ca showed a transient increase in Ca efflux following mating, suggests that intracellular Ca redistribution may also accompany mating in this algal species. We have used X-ray microanalysis to analyze the subcellular distribution of bound calcium during mating in Chlamydomonas reinhardii. X-ray maps reveal that calcium is sequestered in discrete granules within the gamete cell body prior to mating and that during activation and cell fusion, calcium is diffuse throughout the cell. This suggests the possibility that calcium serves as a second messenger in this species.

Calcium

A direct light effect on maintaining photosynthetic activity of Nitella chloroplasts.

The chloroplasts of internodal cells of Nitella are fixed to a stationary layer of cytoplasm whereas the nuclei and most of the cytoplasm stream along the longitudinal axis. Isolated internodal cells were maintained for several days with half the cell kept in the dark, the other half kept under continuous light. Photosynthetic activity of the cells was checked by placing the cell evenly illuminated in a (14)CO(2) atmosphere. Chloroplasts of the previously dark half of the cell were found to fix only half as much CO(2) as the chloroplasts which were continuously illuminated. These results are discussed in relation to the possible direct effect of light on biosynthetic reactions of mature chloroplasts.

Carbon Isotopes