Two forms of cytochrome P450 cDNA from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated European eel Anguilla anguilla

ABSTRACT:     The cytochrome P450 (CYP) represents a large group of microsomal monooxygenases that catalyze drugs as well as a host of lethal environmental contaminants such as dioxins, leading to either detoxification and excretion from the animal or generation of carcinogenic intermediates. In the present study two forms of cDNA were cloned (Eu MC1 and Eu MC2) for European eel CYP1A genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques. The cDNA of Eu MC1 was 3368 bp long coding 521 amino acid residues, and that of Eu MC2 was 2464 bp long coding 517 amino acid residues. Identities of deduced amino acid sequences between Eu MC1 and Japanese eel CYP1A1 and that between Eu MC2 and the second form of Japanese eel CYP1A were 98% and 97%, respectively, showing decisively that Eu MC1 and Eu MC2 are orthologous to Japanese eel CYP1A1 and the second form of CYP1A, respectively. A striking difference between the two eel species was that the Eu MC1 peptide was two amino acid residues longer than that of the Japanese eel CYP1A1. Existence of two loci of CYP1A in Japanese and European eels may suggest that the two forms of CYP1A exist widely among the eel species, because the divergence between the two eel species has been shown to be close to the basal divergence among eels. The identities in CYP1A may help to estimate genetic distance between European and Japanese eels.     

Pacific Ocean and Japan Sea ecotypes of Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) differ in photosystem responses to continuous high light

Two ecotypes of Japanese beech (Fagus crenata Blume), the Pacific Ocean type (PAO) and the Japan Sea type (JAS), show different responses to high solar irradiance. When PAO and JAS saplings were grown in continuous high-light (H), leaves of JAS became pale green. To elucidate this phenomenon, we investigated in vivo photochemistry based on pigment concentrations of Photosystem (PS) I and PS II and Western blot analysis. In JAS-H leaves, the amount of D1-protein decreased, resulting in decreases in the maximal quantum yield of PS II (F(v)/F(m)) and electron transport rate, whereas PAO-H leaves maintained high activities. The PS I photochemistry determined by measurement of P-700 photo-oxidation showed that the intersystem electron pool size was 1.4 times greater in JAS-H leaves than in PAO-H leaves. Furthermore, the re-reduction kinetics of P-700(+) showed that cyclic electron transport around PS I was 1.2 times faster in PAO-H leaves than in JAS-H leaves. Analysis of the area over the fluorescence induction kinetics indicated that the relative abundance of the PS IIalpha center increased in PAO-H leaves, whereas JAS leaves were observed to have low acclimation capacity to high light. These results demonstrate that PAO leaves possess acclimation mechanisms to continuous high light, whereas JAS leaves are more vulnerable to continuous high light, resulting in reduced leaf longevity owing to photoinhibition caused by increases in the intersystem electron pool size and suppression of photochemistry at the level of PS I and PS II.     

Assessment of genetic diversity in cultivars and wild accessions of Luohanguo (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Siraitia grosvenorii</Emphasis> [Swingle] A. M. Lu et Z. Y. Zhang), a species with edible and medicinal sweet fruits endemic to southern China,using RAPD and AFLP markers

Genetic variation of wild populations and cultivars of Luohanguo (Siraitia grosvenorii), a plant species endemic to southern China, was assessed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Based on the results for 130 individuals from seven populations, a high level of genetic diversity of Luohanguo was observed at the species level. The percentage of polymorphic loci (P) was 89.4%, Nei’s gene diversity (H _e) was 0.239, and Shannon’s information index (H _o) was 0.373 based on the combined AFLP and RAPD data. There was a high degree of genetic differentiation, with 45.1% of the genetic variation attributed to differences between the populations. The genetic diversity of the Luohanguo cultivars is much lower than that of wild populations (P = 41.8%, H _e = 0.141, H _o = 0.211), and a distinct genetic differentiation is observed between the cultivars and wild accessions. The pool of genetic variation in the wild populations provides an excellent gene resource for Luohanguo breeding.