ULTRASTRUCTURE OF THE VEGETATIVE CELLS OF NOSTOC FLAGELLIFORME PREPARED WITH HIGH PRESSURE FREEZING AND FREEZE SUBSTITUTION TECHNIQUE

The ultrastructure of the vegetative cells of Nostoc flagelliforme Born. et Flah. was investigated with high pressure freezing and freeze substitution technique and compared with the results obtained by using conventional preparation methods. During the processes of chemical fixation, dehydration and embedding, the cell structures might be more artificially modified than that obtained from high pressure freezing and freeze substitution. With the present method, the sheath of N. flagelliforme could be well penetrated and no extra big space could exist between the cell and the sheath. The cell protoplasm rarely shrinked. Some fine structures of cell inclusions and unit membranes became visualized. Many bacteria were harbored in the sheath. In addition, the presence of big vacuoles in the cell of N. flagelliforme as well as the presence of bacteria in the sheath shown in the present preparation for cyanobacteria has not been described so far in the literature.

Ultrastructural Changes of Vegetative Cells in Amaryllis Pollen during Its Germination

Structural and organizational changes of the vegetative cell in Amaryllis vittata Ait. during such dynamic processes of pollen as hydration, activation and germination have been examined with electron microscopy. The mature pollen grain is composed of such organelles as plastids, mitochondria,endoplasmic reticulum, dictyosomes and lipid bodies which are in their resting state. Microfilaments appear as aggregates. After pollen activation, however,the organelles undergo great changes in number and shape: the lamellae of plastids and the cristae of mitochondria increase conspicuously in number, the cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum become narrower; the dictyosomes produce vesicles actively the lipid bodies become degraded and the microfilament aggregates disperse. Cortical microtubules and spiny vesicles appear in the cytoplasm after germination of the pollen tube. No apparent structural changes of the organelles were noticed any longer during this period and microfilaments are distributed throughout the entire pollen tube as a three-dimensional network.

Synthesis and Anti-VSMC Vegetation Activities of New Aurone Derivatives

A series of new aurone derivatives was prepared by means of a practical route and their anti-vascular smooth muscle cells（VSMC） vegetation activities were evaluated by the 3-（4,5-dimethylthlazol-2-yl）-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide（MTT） method with tetrandrine as a positive contrast drug. The structures of the com- pounds were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry（ESI-MS）. Several new compounds exhibited promising activity against VSMC proliferation and the preliminary structure-activity relation- ships（SAR） were discussed in order to investigate the essential structures required for their bioactivities.

Small RNAs in pollen

In plants, each pollen mother cell undergoes two rounds of cell divisions to form a mature pollen grain, which contains a vegetative cell(VC) and two sperm cells(SC). As a companion cell, the VC carries the SCs to an ovule by germinating a pollen tube. In-depth sequencing analyses of mature pollen showed that micro RNAs(mi RNAs) and short interfering RNAs(si RNAs) are present in both the VC and SCs. Additionally, epigenetically-regulated transposable elements(TEs) are reactivated in the VC and these TE m RNAs are further processed into 21-nt epigenetically reactivated si RNA(easiR NA) in SCs, which prevent 24-nt si RNA accumulation and sequester mi RNA loading. Small RNAs are thought to move from the VC to SCs, where they regulate gene expression and reinforce TE silencing. Here, we summarize current knowledge of the biogenesis and function of mi RNAs, si RNAs, and easi RNAs in pollen, emphasizing how these different small RNAs coordinately contribute to sperm cell formation and TE silencing.