A generalized deficiency in the mitochondrial enzyme, ornithine aminotransferase (OAT), is present in the hereditary blinding disease, gyrate atrophy (GA). Because the OAT gene is a multi-gene family, and the native OAT enzyme is an oligomer, it would be important to identify the gene locus actually responsible for the OAT activity and affected in GA. A mammalian expression clone containing a p...

Centromeric DNA sequences in multicellular eukaryotes are often highly repetitive and are not unique to a specific centromere or to centromeres at all. Thus, it is a major challenge to study the fine structure of individual plant centromeres. We used a DNA fiber-fluorescence in situ hybridization approach to study individual maize (Zea mays) centromeres using oat (Avena sativa)-maize chromosome...

Cereal Chem. 87(5):467–474 Oat (Avena sativa L.) kernels appear to contain much higher polar lipid concentrations than other plant tissues. We have extracted, identified, and quantified polar lipids from 18 oat genotypes grown in replicated plots in three environments to determine genotypic or environmental variation in these lipids. Validation experiments indicated a solid phase silica gel ext...

To develop a model plant system for efficient functional analysis of mutagenized phytochrome polypeptides, we have overexpressed oat phytochrome A in Arabidopsis thaliana. R1 seedlings from selfed primary transformants segregated for hypocotyl length, when grown in the light, with a ratio of 3 short to 1 of normal length. When homozygous lines were established from these two size classes, accum...

We identified a novel prostaglandin (PG)-specific organic anion transporter (OAT) in the OAT group of the SLC22 family. The transporter designated OAT-PG from mouse kidney exhibited Na(+)-independent and saturable transport of PGE(2) when expressed in a proximal tubule cell line (S(2)). Unusual for OAT members, OAT-PG showed narrow substrate selectivity and high affinity for a specific subset o...

management of a companion crop is critical to successful establishment of perennial forages (Albrecht and Hall, Weed control during alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) establishment is 1995). a primary concern of forage producers. Companion crops and clearWeed management is important for decreasing comseeding with an herbicide are commonly used methods for establishing alfalfa. This study evaluated an...

Acidification of endomembrane compartments by the vacuolar-type H+-translocating ATPase (V-ATPase) is vital to the growth and development of plants. The V-ATPase purified from oat roots is a large complex of 650x10(3 )Mr that contains 10 different subunits of 70, 60, 44, 42, 36, 32, 29, 16, 13 and 12x10(3 )Mr. This set of ten polypeptides is sufficient to couple ATP hydrolysis to proton pumping...

Phytochromes are a family of related chromoproteins that regulate photomorphogenesis in plants. Ectopic overexpression of the phytochrome A in several plant species has pleiotropic effects, including substantial dwarfing, increased pigmentation, and delayed leaf senescence. We show here that the dwarf response is related to a reduction in active gibberellins (GAs) in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)...

We characterized the interactions of various compounds with OAT-K1 and OAT-K2, kidney-specific organic anion transporters. By using Madin-Darby canine kidney cells stably transfected with OAT-K1 or OAT-K2 cDNA, the antitumor drug methotrexate, the mycotoxin ochratoxin A, endogenous organic anions (thyroid hormones, taurocholic acid, and conjugated steroids), and the antiretroviral drug zidovudi...