PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Zuker

Publications and source records attributed to A Zuker.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

The spectra of mixed 3He-4He droplets.

The diffusion Monte Carlo technique is used to calculate and analyze the excitation spectrum of 3He atoms bound to a cluster of 4He atoms by using a previously determined optimum filling of single-fermion orbits with well-defined orbital angular momentum L, spin S, and parity quantum numbers. The study concentrates on the energies and shapes of the three kinds of states for which the fermionic part of the wave function is a single Slater determinant: maximum L or maximum S states within a given orbit, and fully polarized clusters. The picture that emerges is that of systems with strong shell effects, whose binding and excitation energies are essentially determined by averages over configuration at fixed number of particles and spin, i.e., by the monopole properties of an effective Hamiltonian.

Journal Article↗

Molecular mechanisms underlying carotenogenesis in the chromoplast: multilevel regulation of carotenoid-associated genes

In nature, carotenoid function and mode of action are highly determined by the neighboring protein and lipid molecules. Therefore an understanding of the proteins' involvement in carotenoid sequestration would be of great help in elucidating carotenoid function in vivo. Based on a study of the expression of chromoplast-specific carotenoid-associated genes from cucumber corolla (CHRC and CHRD), a working model is presented wherein two major regulatory factors control carotenoid sequestration within the chromoplasts: (i) floral tissue-specific transcriptional regulators of chromoplasto- genesis; and (ii) post-transcriptional regulators related to the amount/type of sequestered carotenoids. This model is supported by the major role transcriptional regulation was found to play in the temporal and spatial expression of the CHRC gene, and by the fact that phytohormones such as gibberellic acid (GA3), abscisic acid and ethylene also acted as transcriptional regulators of CHRC expression. The primary response to GA3 was localized within the CHRC promoter to a 290 bp fragment. Furthermore, we demonstrated strong down-regulation of CHRC expression at post-transcriptional and translational/post-translational levels resulting from inhibition of carotenoid biosynthesis, thus revealing a close link between carotenoid biosynthetic and sequestration machineries.

Journal Article↗

Genetic engineering for cut-flower improvement.

The application of modern biotechnological approaches to cut flowers has clearly become instrumental and rewarding for the floriculture industry. In recent years, several gene-transfer procedures have been developed for some of the major commercial cut flowers. Using Agrobactrium or microprojectile bombardment, several basic protocols are now available. However, despite the great progress and interest in gene transfer to these crops, their transformation is routine in only a limited number of laboratories, and its application is still considered to be an "art form". This review summarizes the reported gene-transfer procedures for the main cut-flower crops, with an emphasis on the unique factors of each method and the recent progress in introducing new traits of horticultural interest into these species.

Journal Article↗