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Rice (Oryza sativa L. var. Nipponbare) suspension callus was exposed to gravity stress at 450,000 g for 2 hours, after which poly(A)+RNA was isolated and a cDNA library was constructed. Three different gravity specific cDNAs, namely, GSC 128, GSC 233 and GSC 381 of 0.67, 0.60 and 0.68 kilobase pairs and transcripts of 1.9, 1.6 and 2.0 kb, respectively, were isolated by differential screening and Northern hybridization. The maximum level of transcript was achieved after 4 hours of exposure to gravity at 450,000 g for GSC 128, 2 hours for GSC 233 and 8 hours for GSC 381 followed by a gradual decrease to undetectable levels with the extension of gravitation time. Callus (GSC 128), shoot and callus (GSC 381) and root and callus (GSC 233) specific expression of transcripts was identified. Although the protection of callus by treatment with ABA, kinetin and sucrose extended the period of expression of mRNA in suspension callus after gravity exposure, the expression of gravity-inducible mRNA was exclusively regulated by the degree of callus viability or survival after the stress. In addition, we demonstrated that the level of GSC 381 transcript was markedly increased by exposing the cell to periodical gravity stress, suggesting that this mRNA is expressed and translated into special proteins which are closely related to the survival of the cell against gravity stress. The sequence of GSC 233 and GSC 381, consisting of 417 and 531 base pairs of the longest open reading frames, encode polypeptides with calculated molecular weights of 15.29 and 19.47 kDa, respectively. A sequence homology search against a data bank revealed that GSC 233 and GSC 381 differed from other stress inducible genes in terms of the coding sequence and expression characteristics.

Drosophila yakuba, a member of melanogaster subgroup being free of P element, acquired resistance to an antibiotic neomycin by the transformation utilizing P element. In this species, the transformation frequency was comparable to that of D. melanogaster. Further, the occurrence of 8 base pairs duplication upon the insertion of the element was confirmed. These facts suggest that the P element could be inserted into the genome in the same manner, even in D. yakuba. Any consensus for preferential insertion could not be found on the nucleotide sequence as in D. melanogaster. However, it is noticeable that a series of the short palindromic stretches was common around the insertion sites in both species. It suggests that a structural feature of DNA plays a role as a landmark for P element insertion.

Silver-stainability of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) that contain genes for ribosomal RNA (rDNA) was investigated using two mouse strains, BALB/cCrSlc and MOA, and their hybrid progeny. The patterns of segregation of the rDNA clusters were analyzed in terms of chromosomal C-banding and by use of a polymorphic probe for the variable region in backcrossed N2 and N3 individuals. The results indicate that the intensity of Ag-NOR staining is stably inherited in most of the rDNA clusters, irrespective of different genetic backgrounds. In some clusters, such as those on chromosome 12 of BALB/cCrSlc, a modulation of the intensity is observed. This modulation seems to be due to compensatory activation via a change in the number of actively transcribed genes. The change from silver-negative to silver-positive staining of the NOR of chromosome 12 of BALB/cCrSlc was correlated with demethylation of the genes.

Three Markov models (Dayhoff, Proportional and Poisson models; Hasegawa et al., 1992a) for amino acid substitution during evolution were used for maximum likelihood analyses of proteins coded for in mitochondrial DNA in estimating a phylogenetic tree among human, bovine and murids (mouse and rat) with chicken as an outgroup. It turned out that Dayhoff model is the most appropriate model among the alternatives in approximating the amino acid substitutions of proteins coded for in mitochondrial DNA. In spite of the presence of the complete sequence data of mitochondrial genomes, we could not resolve the trichotomy among human, bovine and murids, probably because the time length separating two branching events among these three lines was short and because chicken is too distant from mammals to be used as an outgroup. It was suggested that the average substitution rate of amino acids coded for in mitochondrial DNA is lower along the bovine line than those along the human or murid lines. Advantages of amino acid sequence analysis over nucleotide sequence analysis in phylogenetic study were discussed.

Semidominant, optic morphology (Om) mutants in Drosophila ananassae have been genetically mapped to at least 25 loci throughout the genome (Hinton, 1984; 1988). Among them, four X-linked Om mutants were proved to be associated with the insertion of a transposable element, tom (Shrimpton et al., 1986; Tanda et al., 1988). In the present study, cytological mapping of autosomal Om mutants was carried out by in situ hybridization to polytene chromosomes using a cloned tom element as a probe. The cytological site for each autosomal Om mutant has been determined to a single band of the salivary gland chromosomes.

Two alloplasmic wheat lines having the same common wheat nucleus but the cytoplasms of Aegilops crassa and Ae. columnaris together with the corresponding normal line (control) were used in the two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of soluble and thylakoid membrane proteins of the chloroplast. Three chloroplast polypeptides: the Rubisco large subunit, the beta subunit of ATP synthase, and an unidentified 31 kDa protein, differed in the common wheat and two Aegilops cytoplasms. Three chloroplast genes, atpB, atpE and trnM, that respectively encode the beta and epsilon subunits of ATP synthase and tRNA(met), were sequenced. The atpB gene differed by two synonymous base substitutions, whereas the other two genes were identical in the two Aegilops cytoplasms. From the predicted amino acid sequences, the beta subunits of the ATP synthase in the Aegilops cytoplasms were assumed to have three amino acid substitutions: Ala by Val, Asp- by Ala, and Gln by Lys+, in contrast to the cytoplasm of common wheat. This accounts for the difference in pI values found for the common wheat and Aegilops cytoplasms. The two base substitutions for the atpE genes of common wheat and the Aegilops cytoplasms were synonymous. The differences detected in the genes encoding the two subunits of ATP synthase do not appear to be ascribable to the differences in phenotypic effects for the common wheat and Aegilops cytoplasms. The base substitution rate of the atpB-atpE-trnM gene cluster was similar to that of the rbcL gene. From the rate for the atpB gene alone, evolutionary divergence of the wheat-Aegilops complex is assumed to have begun ca. 3.0 x 10(6) years ago, as compared to ca. 8.0 x 10(6) years ago for the divergence of the wheat-Aegilops complex and barley.

Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) have been applied to regulate gene expression using cell-free media or animal cells. Here we demonstrate the specific inhibition of barley alpha-amylase gene expression by synthetic antisense ODNs. In a cell free system using wheat-germ extracts, 5 microM of a 20-mer antisense ODN prevented the synthesis of the polypeptide corresponding to the predetermined length of alpha-amylase translated in vitro, whereas there was no effect on other protein synthesis. Furthermore, in cultured aleurone cells, alpha-amylase activity was efficiently decreased by addition of ODNs. At the concentrations higher than 5 microM, antisense ODN inhibited alpha-amylase gene expression almost completely. These results imply that ODN could transport into the cultured aleurone cells crossing the cell membrane, and regulate specific gene expression. This simple model system could be applicable not only for the analysis of the alpha-amylase multigene family in barley but also for studying functions of cryptic genes in higher plant.

Significant genetic variance in glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity was observed between chromosome lines of Drosophila melanogaster that had each accumulated spontaneous mutations for approximately 300 generations. No restriction map variation was found in a 26-kb region surrounding the entire Gpdh gene. The restriction analysis used is capable of detecting insertions/deletions larger than 0.05 kb. The survey would also detect chromosomal recombinations that include the entire Gpdh coding region. Therefore, if the spontaneous mutations that affected the enzyme activity are located inside the Gpdh gene region, then they are base pair substitutions or structural changes that are smaller than the limit in resolution described above.

The structure and nucleotide sequence of an ADH3(1) allele, which encodes the ADH gamma 1 subunit, have been determined. The intron positions of the ADH3 gene are identical to those of the other class I and class II ADH genes. The level of nucleotide variation at the ADH3 locus is somewhat higher than those at the ADH1 and ADH2 loci.