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Cytotoxic Alangium alkaloids from Alangium longiflorum.

Seven alkaloids (1-7) were isolated from the stem bark of Alangium longiflorum. Compound 1, (-)-10-O-demethylisocephaeline, was isolated for the first time as a naturally occurring product from a plant source. All structures were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic analysis. Biological evaluation showed that 2, 10-O-demethylcephaeline, exhibited potent cytotoxic activity against human lung carcinoma (A549) and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) with ED(50) values of 0.013 and 0.062 microM, respectively. The stereoisomer 1 was less potent than 2, and related compounds with different hydroxy/methoxy substitution patterns were also less potent or inactive. Thus, compound 2 merits attention as a cytotoxic lead for further study.

Alangiaceae↗

Bruchins, plant mitogens from weevils: structural requirements for activity.

Bruchins are 3-hydroxypropanoate esters of long-chain alpha,omega-diols from pea weevils and cowpea weevils that have been shown to initiate callus formation on pea pods at extremely low application rates. Synthetic analogs have been prepared and examined to evaluate structural requirements for inducing this unusual neoplastic response. Chain length (optimum length C22-C24) is important, whereas unsaturation within the chain is relatively unimportant. Difunctionality is required for maximum activity, but the alpha,omega-diols themselves are inactive. Most critical is the ester portion(s) of the molecules; 3-hydroxypropanoate esters are far more active than any analogs examined.

Animals↗

The primary structure of a plant storage protein: zein.

The protein sequence of a representative of the zeins, the major storage proteins of maize, has been derived from the nucleotide sequence of a zein cDNA clone. This cDNA was sequence both by the Maxam and Gilbert and the M13-dideoxy techniques. The nucleotide sequence encompasses the non-translated 3' terminus of the mRNA, the entire coding sequence specifying both the mature zein protein and a small signal peptide, and a portion of the non-translated 5' region. The deduced amino acid composition and the amino-terminal amino acid sequence closely resemble those derived from chemical analysis of the zein protein fraction. The data presented represent the first complete amino acid sequence of a plant storage protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Absence of phylogenetic signal in the niche structure of meadow plant communities.

A significant proportion of the global diversity of flowering plants has evolved in recent geological time, probably through adaptive radiation into new niches. However, rapid evolution is at odds with recent research which has suggested that plant ecological traits, including the beta- (or habitat) niche, evolve only slowly. We have quantified traits that determine within-habitat alpha diversity (alpha niches) in two communities in which species segregate on hydrological gradients. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of these data shows practically no evidence of a correlation between the ecological and evolutionary distances separating species, indicating that hydrological alpha niches are evolutionarily labile. We propose that contrasting patterns of evolutionary conservatism for alpha- and beta-niches is a general phenomenon necessitated by the hierarchical filtering of species during community assembly. This determines that species must have similar beta niches in order to occupy the same habitat, but different alpha niches in order to coexist.

Base Sequence↗

Direct observation of cell wall structure in living plant tissues by solid-state C NMR spectroscopy.

Solid-state (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of the following intact plant tissues were recorded by the crosspolarization magic-angle spinning technique: celery (Apium graveolens L.) collenchyma; carob bean (Ceratonia siliqua L.), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.), and nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.) endosperm; and lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl.) seed cotyledons. All these tissues had thickened cell walls which allowed them to withstand the centrifugal forces of magic angle spinning and which, except in the case of lupin seeds, dominated the NMR spectra. The celery collenchyma cell walls gave spectra typical of dicot primary cell walls. The carob bean and fenugreek seed spectra were dominated by resonances from galactomannans, which showed little sign of crystalline order. Resonances from beta(1,4')-d galactan were visible in the lupin seed spectrum, but there was much interference from protein. The nasturtium seed spectrum was largely derived from a xyloglucan, in which the conformation of the glucan core chain appeared to be intermediate between the solution form and solid forms of cellulose.

Journal Article↗

A plant serpin gene. Structure, organization and expression of the gene encoding barley protein Z4.

A 3133-bp nucleotide sequence of the gene Paz1 on chromosome 4 of barley, encoding endosperm protein Z4, has been determined. The sequence includes 1079 bp 5' upstream and 523 bp 3' downstream of the coding region. The 1079-bp 5' upstream region of the gene shows little similarity to 5' regions of other sequences genes expressed in the developing cereal endosperm. The coding sequence is interrupted by one 334-bp-long intron (bases 1497-1830). The deduced amino acid sequence, which was corroborated by peptide sequences, consists of 399 amino acids and has a molecular mass of 43,128 Da. This sequence confirms protein Z4 to be a member of the serpin superfamily of proteins. The similarity with other members of the family expressed as amino acids in identical positions is in the order of 25-30% and pronounced in the carboxy-terminal half of the molecule. Sequence residues assumed to form clusters stabilizing the tertiary structure are highly conserved. Protein Z4 is synthesized in the developing endosperm without a signal peptide and protein Z4 mRNA was evenly distributed among the free and membrane-bound polyribosomes of the endosperm cell. An internal hydrophobic region of 21 amino acids (residues 36-56) may serve as a signal for targeting the polypeptide into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. The gene for protein Z4 could not be detected in the barley variety Maskin and some of its descendants. The 'high-lysine' allees, lys1 (Hiproly barley) and lys3a (Bomi mutant 1508) on chromosome 7, enhance and repress, respectively, the expression of the protein Z4 gene. Also, 1554 bp of another 8-kbp fragment of the barley genome Paz psi, similar to the protein-Z4-coding region, have been determined. Small insertions and deletions and the presence of an internal stop codon identify this fragment as part of a pseudogene related to the protein Z4 gene.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Organization of the 5S rRNA genes in the soybean Glycine max (L.) Merrill and conservation of the 5S rDNA repeat structure in higher plants.

The 5S rRNA gene of the soybean Glycine max (L.) Merr. has been cloned on a 556-bp fragment of DNA and sequenced. This fragment contains two copies of the soybean 5S rDNA sequence, one intact and one truncated, separated by noncoding DNA. We have used this clone to investigate the organization of the 5S genes within the soybean genome and the extent of their methylation. Our results demonstrate that soybean 5S genes are clustered, organized into tandem repeats of 330 bp, and extensively methylated. Hybridization of the 5S sequence to Southern transfers of soybean DNA digested with BamHI reveals a striking ladderlike pattern. Hybridization of the soybean 5S sequence to a wide variety of plant DNAs results in similar patterns, suggesting that the 5S rDNA sequence, gene organization, and methylation pattern are conserved in many higher plants.

Base Sequence↗

Subunit structure of higher plant glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases (EC 1.2.1.12 and EC 1.2.1.13).

In a previous publication (Cerff, R. (1979) Eur. J. Biochem., 94, 243--247) we demonstrated that chloroplast NADP-linked glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.13) from higher plants consists of two separate isoenzymes with apparent subunit compositions A2B2 (isoenzyme 1) and A4 (isoenzyme 2), where Subunits A and B are distinguished by slightly different molecular weights (A smaller than or approximately to B). In the present study we compare isoenzymes 1 and 2 from Sinapis alba and Hordeum vulgare on the basis of antigenic cross-reactivity, tryptic peptides, and amino acid composition. Isoenzymes 1 and 2 show immunochemical identity. They also have very similar tryptic peptide maps and amino acid compositions. This strongly suggests that Subunits A and B of the NADP-linked enzyme are very similar in primary sequence. As opposed to this, cytoplasmic NAD-specific glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12) does not cross-react with antisera raised against the NADP-linked enzyme. Furthermore, tryptic peptide maps of the NAD-specific enzyme show little or no similarity with those of the NADP-linked enzyme. This indicates that the subunits of the NADP-linked enzyme and the subunit of the NAD-specific enzyme are different proteins coded by separate genes. The differences in the amino acid compositions between the two species corresponds to a SdeltaQ value of 21, suggesting some sequence resemblance and a common phylogenetic origin.

Amino Acids↗

The effect of exposure to microgravity on the development and structural organisation of plant protoplasts flown on Biokosmos 9.

Preparatory experiments for the IML-1 (International Microgravity Laboratory) mission to be flown on the Space Shuttle in January, 1992, were performed on a 14 day flight on Biokosmos 9 (Kosmos 2044) in September 1989. The purpose of the experiment was to study the effect of weightlessness on protoplast regeneration. Problems with late access to the space vehicle meant that the newly isolated protoplasts from hypocotyl cells of rapeseed (Brassica napus L. cv Niklas) and suspension cultures of carrot (Daucus carota L, cv Nobo) had to be stored at 4 degrees C for 36 h prior to the launch of the biosatellite, in order to delay cell wall regeneration until the samples were in orbit. In the flight samples and the ground controls, a portion of the total number of protoplasts regenerated cell walls. The growth of flight rapeseed cells was only 56% compared to the ground control; the respective growth of carrot cells in orbit was 82% of the ground control. Analysis demonstrated that the peroxidase activity and the amount of protein was lower in the flight samples than in the ground controls. The number of different isoenzymes was also decreased in the flight samples. A 54% decrease in the production of cellulose was found in rapeseed, and a 71% decrease in carrot. Hemicellulose production was also decreased in the flight samples compared to the ground controls. Ultrastructural analysis of the cell aggregates from the protoplasts cultured in orbit, demonstrated that hydrolysis and disappearance of reserve starch occurred in the flight cell plastids. The mitochondria were more varied in appearance in the flight samples than in the ground control cells. An increased frequency of the occurrence of folds formed by the plasmalemma together with an increase in the degree of complexity of these folds was also observed. Fluorescence analysis showed a decrease of the calcium content in cell cultures under space flight compared to the ground controls. One general effect of the stay onboard the space vehicle was a retardation of the regeneration processes. Callus cultures obtained from the flight samples grew very slowly compared to callus regenerated from the ground controls, and two years after the Biokosmos 9 flight there appears to be no further growth in the samples exposed to microgravity. Callus cultures from the ground controls, however, continue to grow well. A simulation experiment for IML-l performed in January 1990 at ESTEC (European Space Technology Center), The Netherlands, has resulted in regenerated plants. These observations are discussed and compared to the results obtained on Biokosmos 9.

Bioreactors↗

[Structure of higher plant chloroplast membranes as studied by paramagnetic probes].

A study of interaction between ten different spin labels and bean chloroplast membranes was carried out. It was found that spin labels were localized in three characteristic regions of the membrane. These regions differ in density and mode of the lipids package. The processes of light--induced reduction (with loss of paramagnetism) and reoxidation of spin labels are due to the interaction with the components of electron-transport chain between photosystems I and II. The kinetics of redox-changes of spin labels depends on the site of the paramagnetic fragment location in membrane.

Cell Membrane↗

[Genome structure in higher plants. Reassociation kinetics of DNA from Vicia faba and Vicia sativa].

The work been concerned with a study of the kinetics of reassociation of total DNA and that of the fraction of unique sequences in plants from the Vicia family, i. e. Vicia faba and Vicia sativa. The size of the genome was determined by the kinetics of reassociation of the DNA of the fraction of unique sequences and the amount of DNA per nucleus was determined cytophotometrically. It has been shown that the size of the genome expressed in C(0)t units and the size expressed in gramms are not the same which testifies to the absence of true unique genes in the genome of the species studied. The analysis of the possible methodical errors was carried out. On the basis of the data obtained a suggestion was made of a model of chromosomes organization including 12 units of polynemization for Vicia faba and 4 units for Vicia sativa.

Base Sequence↗