Effect of different colchicine concentrations on microtubules and membranes in tomato root tip cells

Author(s):  
T.E. Jensen

The effect of colchicine on microtubules has been investigated in numerous cell types. In this present study we have used different concentrations of colchicine to determine if the two major groups of microtubules in plant cells, plasma membrane associated and mitotic, are differentially sensitive to this drug.Tomato seeds “Michigan forcing” were germinated on filter paper saturated with distilled water. Radicles 1.5 to 2.0cm were selected and placed into either distilled water or colchicine, 0.001, 0.01, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.1%, for 20 hrs. During this time they were kept at 20°C in dim light. Root tips were fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde in phosphate buffer at pH7.2 for lh at 4°C. After 5 rinses in buffer they were placed in 1% OsO4 in phosphate buffer at pH7.2 for 1h at 4°C. Root tips were then dehydrated in ethanol, treated with propylene and embedded in Epon.No growth occurred in any of the colchicine treated radicles. Observation of thin sections of control cells revealed many plasma membrane associated microtubules, many cells in division stages and the usual arrangement of cell organelles.

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1177-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda C. Dekkers ◽  
Ine H. M. Mulders ◽  
Claartje C. Phoelich ◽  
Thomas F. C. Chin-A-Woeng ◽  
André H. M. Wijfjes ◽  
...  

We show that the disease tomato foot and root rot caused by the pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici can be controlled by inoculation of seeds with cells of the efficient root colonizer Pseudomonas fluorescens WCS365, indicating that strain WCS365 is a bio-control strain. The mechanism for disease suppression most likely is induced systemic resistance. P. fluorescens strain WCS365 and P. chlororaphis strain PCL1391, which acts through the production of the antibiotic phenazine-1-carboxamide, were differentially labeled using genes encoding autofluorescent proteins. Inoculation of seeds with a 1:1 mixture of these strains showed that, at the upper part of the root, the two cell types were present as microcolonies of either one or both cell types. Microcolonies at the lower root part were predominantly of one cell type. Mixed inoculation tended to improve biocontrol in comparison with single inoculations. In contrast to what was observed previously for strain PCL1391, mutations in various colonization genes, including sss, did not consistently decrease the biocontrol ability of strain WCS365. Multiple copies of the sss colonization gene in WCS365 improved neither colonization nor biocontrol by this strain. However, introduction of the sss-containing DNA fragment into the poor colonizer P. fluorescens WCS307 and into the good colonizer P. fluorescens F113 increased the competitive tomato root tip colonization ability of the latter strains 16- to 40-fold and 8- to 16-fold, respectively. These results show that improvement of the colonization ability of wild-type Pseudomonas strains by genetic engineering is a realistic goal.


1983 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 857-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Yumura ◽  
Y Fukui

When 5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was applied to Dictyostelium cells, the cells rounded up in shape and cytoplasmic streaming ceased. The cells resumed both cytoplasmic streaming and locomotion in 20 min. SDS PAGE of isolated plasma membrane fractions showed that actin and myosin apparently became dissociated from the plasma membrane by the action of DMSO. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that many filopodelike projections formed on the surface of cells treated with 5% DMSO for 5 min. Interestingly, the projections were formed on a restricted portion of the cell surface. The phagokinetic track technique of Albrecht-Buehler (1977, Cell, 11: 395-404) showed that the projection region corresponded to the anterior part of a migrating cell. The possible relationship between the DMSO-induced projection region on the cell surface and intracellular organization of cell organelles was investigated using serial thin sections. The DMSO-induced projections contained arrays of microfilaments; and the microtubule organizing center (MTOC), nucleus, and vesicular structure were usually located in this order from the anterior end of the cell. The indirect immunofluorescent study using monoclonal anti-alpha-tubulin antibody was performed with a new fixation technique, which greatly improved the phase as well as immunofluorescent microscopy. It was verified that the intracellular positioning of the MTOC and nucleus had significant correlation with the cell polarity. The results show that DMSO is a powerful tool with which to manipulate the cellular microfilaments and to make visible the differentiation in the cortex layer, which apparently is relevant to the intracellular positioning of cell organelles and cell polarity.


1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 1077-1088 ◽  
Author(s):  
R D Broadwell ◽  
A M Cataldo

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and its contribution to the endomembrane system (i.e., membranes of cell organelles) in the neuron have been investigated in brains of mice by applying electron microscopic enzyme cytochemistry for demonstration of glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) activity. The phosphohydrolytic activity of G6Pase is a well-known cytochemical marker for the ER in numerous cell types. Of the different substrates employed, glucose-6-phosphate and mannose-6-phosphate were the only two with which G6Pase reaction product was seen in the neuronal ER and organelles related morphologically to the ER. G6Pase activity in cell bodies and dendrites was localized consistently within the lumen of the nuclear envelope, rough and smooth ER, lamellar bodies, hypolemmal and subsurface cisternae, and frequently in the cis saccules of the Golgi apparatus. The G6Pase reactive ER appeared as a network of saccules and tubules pervading the cell body and its dendrites. Possible membrane continuities were identified between the ER and the other reactive structures, including the cis half of the Golgi apparatus. Neither G6Pase activity nor reactive ER was associated with the trans Golgi saccules or GERL. G6Pase activity thus serves as a reliable marker for the perikaryal and dendritic ER and related structures. These observations support the theory that the ER is an integral component of the neuronal endomembrane system associated with the transfer of membrane or membrane molecules among intracellular compartments, the packaging and transport of exportable protein, and energy metabolism. G6Pase activity in the ER of axons and terminals is considered in detail in part two of this study.


1955 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 583-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert W. Sedar ◽  
Keith R. Porter

The electron microscope was used to study the structure and three dimensional relationships of the components of the body cortex in thin sections of Paramecium multimicronucleatum. Micrographs of sections show that the cortex is covered externally by two closely apposed membranes (together ∼250 A thick) constituting the pellicle. Beneath the pellicle the surface of the animal is molded into ridges that form a polygonal ridgework with depressed centers. It is these ridges that give the surface of the organism its characteristic configuration and correspond to the outer fibrillar system of the light microscope image. The outer ends of the trichocysts with their hood-shaped caps are located in the centers of the anterior and posterior ridges of each polygon. The cilia extend singly from the depressed centers of the surface polygons. Each cilium shows two axial filaments with 9 peripheral and parallel filaments embedded in a matrix and the whole surrouned by a thin ciliary membrane. The 9 peripheral filaments are double and these are evenly spaced in a circle around the central pair. The ciliary membrane is continuous with the outer member of the pellicular membrane, whereas the plasma membrane is continuous with the inner member of the pellicular membrane. At the level of the plasma membrane the proximal end of the cilium is continuous with its tube-shaped basal body or kinetosome. The peripheral filaments of the cilium, together with the material of cortical matrix which tends to condense around them, form the sheath of the basal body. The kinetodesma connecting the ciliary kinetosomes (inner fibrillar system of the light microscopist) is composed of a number of discrete fibrils which overlap in a shingle-like fashion. Each striated kinetosomal fibril originates from a ciliary kinetosome and runs parallel to other kinetosomal fibrils arising from posterior kinetosomes of a particular meridional array. Sections at the level of the ciliary kinetosomes reveal an additional fiber system, the infraciliary lattice system, which is separate and distinct from the kinetodesmal system. This system consists of a fibrous network of irregular polygons and runs roughly parallel to the surface of the animal. Mitochondria have a fine structure similar in general features to that described for a number of mammalian cell types, but different in certain details. The structures corresponding to cristae mitochondriales appear as finger-like projections or microvilli extending into the matrix of the organelle from the inner membrane of the paired mitochondrial membrane. The cortical cytoplasm contains also a particulate component and a system of vesicles respectively comparable to the nucleoprotein particles and to the endoplasmic reticulum described in various metazoan cell types. An accessory kinetosome has been observed in oblique sections of a number of non-dividing specimens slightly removed from the ciliary kinetosome and on the same meridional line as the cilia and trichocysts. Its position corresponds to the location of the kinetosome of the newly formed cilium in animals selected as being in the approaching fission stage of the life cycle.


1979 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1095-1102 ◽  
Author(s):  
E L Parr

Nonspecific binding of ferritin to chromatin and the cytoplasmic aspect of the nuclear envelope was observed when nonantigenic, serum-washed hepatocyte nuclei were incubated in ferritin-antibody conjugates. This labeling was duplicated when nuclei from a wide range of species and cell types were exposed to unconjugated ferritin. Unconjugated ferritin binding to nuclei did not depend on a subpopulation of denatured molecules or on the ferritin purification procedure. Binding occurred equally on unfixed and formaldehyde-fixed nuclei, but no ferritin bound to glutaraldehyde-fixed nuclei. Inconjugated ferritin also bound to the cytoplasmic aspects of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the plasma membrane. The tracer did not bind to lysosomes, mitochondria, Golgi vesicles, the extracellular surface of plasma membranes, or the intracisternal surfaces of ruptured nuclear envelopes. The addition of 0.4 M KCl or 0.7 M NaCl to ferritin solutions and washing media at neutral pH reduced the binding of conjugated and unconjugated ferritin to nuclei to about 3% of that seen in 0.10 M phosphate buffer alone. The added salts caused little extraction of nuclear contents from formaldehyde-fixed nuclei. The use of one of these salts in ferritin conjugates should considerably improve the specificity of intracellular labeling.


1982 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
BL Granger ◽  
EA Repasky ◽  
E Lazarides

Synemin, a high-molecular-weight protein associated with intermediate filaments in muscle, and vimentin, an intermediate-filament subunit found in many different cell types, have been identified by immunologic and electrophoretic criteria as components of intermediate filaments in mature avian erythrocytes. Desmin, the predominant subunit of intermediate filaments in muscle, has not been detected in these cells. Two dimensional immunoautoradiography of proteolytic fragments of synemin and vimentin demonstates that the erythrocyte proteins are highly homologous, if not identical, to their muscle counterparts. Double immunoflurorescence reaveals that erythrocyte synemin and vimentin co-localize in a cytoplasmic network of sinuous filaments that extends from the nucleus to the plasma membrane and resists aggregation by colcemid. Erythrocytes that are attached to glass cover slips can be sonicated to remove nuclei and nonadherent regions of the plasma membrane; this leaves elliptical patches of adherent membrane that retain mats of vimentin- and synemin-containing intermediate filaments, as seen by immunofluorescence and rotary shadowing. Similarly, mechanical enucleation of erythrocyte ghosts in suspension allows isolation of plasma membranes that retain a significant fraction of the synemin and vimentin, as assayed by electrophoresis, and intermediate filaments, as seen in thin sections. Both synemin and vimentin remain insoluble along with spectrin and actin, in solutions containing nonionic detergent and high salt. However, brief exposure of isolated membrane to distilled water releases the synemin and vimentin together in nearly pure form, before the release of significant amounts of spectrin and actin. These data suggest that avian erythrocyte intermeditate filaments are somehow anchored to the plasma membrane; erythrocytes may thus provide a simple system for the study of intermediate filaments and their mode of interaction with membranes. In addition, these data, in conjunction with previous data from muscle, indicate that synemin is capable of associating with either desmin or vimentin and may thus perform a special role in the structure or function of intermediate filaments in erythrocytes as well as muscle.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (19) ◽  
pp. 5047-5052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuqi Wang ◽  
Ruihong Li ◽  
Demou Li ◽  
Xiaomin Jia ◽  
Dangwei Zhou ◽  
...  

Members of the aquaporin (AQP) family have been suggested to transport aluminum (Al) in plants; however, the Al form transported by AQPs and the roles of AQPs in Al tolerance remain elusive. Here we report that NIP1;2, a plasma membrane-localized member of the Arabidopsis nodulin 26-like intrinsic protein (NIP) subfamily of the AQP family, facilitates Al-malate transport from the root cell wall into the root symplasm, with subsequent Al xylem loading and root-to-shoot translocation, which are critical steps in an internal Al tolerance mechanism in Arabidopsis. We found that NIP1;2 transcripts are expressed mainly in the root tips, and that this expression is enhanced by Al but not by other metal stresses. Mutations in NIP1;2 lead to hyperaccumulation of toxic Al3+ in the root cell wall, inhibition of root-to-shoot Al translocation, and a significant reduction in Al tolerance. NIP1;2 facilitates the transport of Al-malate, but not Al3+ ions, in both yeast and Arabidopsis. We demonstrate that the formation of the Al-malate complex in the root tip apoplast is a prerequisite for NIP1;2-mediated Al removal from the root cell wall, and that this requires a functional root malate exudation system mediated by the Al-activated malate transporter, ALMT1. Taken together, these findings reveal a critical linkage between the previously identified Al exclusion mechanism based on root malate release and an internal Al tolerance mechanism identified here through the coordinated function of NIP1;2 and ALMT1, which is required for Al removal from the root cell wall, root-to-shoot Al translocation, and overall Al tolerance in Arabidopsis.


Author(s):  
Russell L. Steere ◽  
Eric F. Erbe

It has been assumed by many involved in freeze-etch or freeze-fracture studies that it would be useless to etch specimens which were cryoprotected by more than 15% glycerol. We presumed that the amount of cryoprotective material exposed at the surface would serve as a contaminating layer and prevent the visualization of fine details. Recent unexpected freeze-etch results indicated that it would be useful to compare complementary replicas in which one-half of the frozen-fractured specimen would be shadowed and replicated immediately after fracturing whereas the complement would be etched at -98°C for 1 to 10 minutes before being shadowed and replicated.Standard complementary replica holders (Steere, 1973) with hinges removed were used for this study. Specimens consisting of unfixed virus-infected plant tissue infiltrated with 0.05 M phosphate buffer or distilled water were used without cryoprotectant. Some were permitted to settle through gradients to the desired concentrations of different cryoprotectants.


Author(s):  
E. Keyhani

The matrix of biological membranes consists of a lipid bilayer into which proteins or protein aggregates are intercalated. Freeze-fracture techni- ques permit these proteins, perhaps in association with lipids, to be visualized in the hydrophobic regions of the membrane. Thus, numerous intramembrane particles (IMP) have been found on the fracture faces of membranes from a wide variety of cells (1-3). A recognized property of IMP is their tendency to form aggregates in response to changes in experi- mental conditions (4,5), perhaps as a result of translational diffusion through the viscous plane of the membrane. The purpose of this communica- tion is to describe the distribution and size of IMP in the plasma membrane of yeast (Candida utilis).Yeast cells (ATCC 8205) were grown in synthetic medium (6), and then harvested after 16 hours of culture, and washed twice in distilled water. Cell pellets were suspended in growth medium supplemented with 30% glycerol and incubated for 30 minutes at 0°C, centrifuged, and prepared for freeze-fracture, as described earlier (2,3).


Author(s):  
William P. Jollie

A technique has been developed for visualizing antibody against horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in rat visceral yolk sac, the placental membrane across which passive immunity previously has been shown to be transferred from mother to young just prior to birth. Female rats were immunized by injecting both hind foot pads with 1 mg HRP emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant. They were given a booster of 0.5mg HRP in 0.1 ml normal saline i.v. after one week, then bred and autopsied at selected stages of pregnancy, viz., 12, 1 7 and 22 days post coitum, receiving a second booster, injected as above, five days before autopsy. Yolk sacs were removed surgically and fixed immediately in 2% paraformaldehye, 1% glutaraldehye in 0.1 M phosphate buffer with 0.01% CaCl2 at pH 7.4, room temperature, for 3 hr, rinsed 3X in 0.1 M phosphate buffer plus 5% sucrose, then exposed to 1 mg HRP in 1 ml 0.1 M phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 for 1 hr. They were refixed in aldehydes, as above, for 1 5 min (to assure binding of antigen-antibody complex). Following buffer washes, the tissues were incubated in 3 mg diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride and 0.01% H2O2 in 0.05 M Tris-HCl buffer for 30 min. After brief buffer washes, they were postfixed in 2% OsO4. in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4, 4°C for 2 hr, dehydrated through a graded series of ethanols, and embedded in Durcupan. Thin sections were observed and photographed without contrast-enhancement with heavy metals. Cytochemical reaction product marked the site of HRP (i.e., antigen) which, in turn, was present only where it was bound with anti-HRP antibody.


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