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M M Johri

Publications and source records attributed to M M Johri.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Enhanced expression of a calcium-dependent protein kinase from the moss Funaria hygrometrica under nutritional starvation.

Among the downstream targets of calcium in plants, calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) form an interesting class of kinases which are activated by calcium binding. They have been implicated in a diverse array of responses to hormonal and environmental stimuli. In order to dissect the role of CDPKs in the moss Funaria hygrometrica, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based approach was adopted to clone the gene. Using degenerate PCR primers against conserved regions of CDPKs, a 900 bp amplicon was obtained from the genomic DNA of Funaria. Southern hybridization under low stringency conditions indicated the presence of several CDPK related sequences in the Funaria genome. This observation is consistent with reports of multigene families of CDPKs in other plants. The 900 bp fragment was subsequently used to isolate a 2.2 kb partial genomic clone of the CDPK gene from Funaria. The genomic clone encodes an open reading frame (ORF) of 518 amino acids. Interestingly, unlike other CDPK genes from plants, the entire 1.5 kb ORF is not interrupted by introns. The deduced amino acid sequence of the Funaria gene shows extensive homology with CDPKs from higher plants, 73% identity with the Fragaria CDPK and 71% identity with CDPK isoform 7 of Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Funaria CDPK is closer to the CDPKs from higher plants like strawberry and Arabidopsis as compared to those from lower plants such as the liverwort Marchantia, the green alga Chlamydomonas or another moss Tortula. Northern analysis shows enhanced expression of the CDPK transcript within 24-48 h of starvation for nitrogen, phosphorus or sulphur. So far the only other kinase which is known to be induced by nutrient starvation in plants is the wpk 4 which is a snf-1 related kinase (SnRKs). To our knowledge this is the first report that implicates a CDPK in the starvation response.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Development and differentiation in plants.

An overview of plant development has been presented. In lower plants like mosses, auxin and cytokinin regulate the creation and the stability of the differentiated state of various cell types. The differentiated state is plastic and all cell types dedifferentiate to ground state, the chloronema. Even in higher plants, embryonic cells become only roughly committed during shoot meristem formation. Their terminal destiny becomes specified during the post-germination phase when the rough outline gets refined. The lack of a firm determined state, clonally heritable through mitosis, indicates that the development in plants is unlikely to be specified by a rigid programme.

Cell Differentiation↗
PubMed1983

Clonal analysis of corn plant development. I. The development of the tassel and the ear shoot.

The development of the tassel and the ear shoot has been investigated in corn (Zea mays L.). X irradiation of dry kernels and seedlings heterozygous for anthocyanin markers or for factors altering tassel and ear morphology results in the formation of clones (sectors) from cells of the apical meristem. Most tassels develop from 4 +/- 1 cells of the mature embryo. The expression of ramosa-1, tunicate, tassel seed-6, and vestigial is cell autonomous in the tassel. These genes act late in development and modify the developmental fate or decision of an individual clone and not of the whole group of cells producing a tassel. The ear shoot develops from lineages of one to three cells derived each from the L-I (outmost cell layer) and L-II (second cell layer) of the apical meristem. Typically the clones start in the ear shoot (in the husks and possibly in the cob), extend upward in an internode, continue along the margin of the leaf sheath or leaf blade at the node above, and terminate in this or the next higher leaf. The separation of lineages for ear shoot and internode occurs in the period around 13 days after sowing. The analysis of clonal boundaries shows that a small number of embryonic cells become isolated in their developmental capacity. This commitment process appears to be analogous to the process of compartmentation in the imaginal disks of fruit flies. The extent of proliferation of individual cells within a group of highly flexible and any particular clone does not generate a specific part of a tassel or an ear shoot. There must be cellular communication between various clones so that the overall size and morphology of an organ remain normal and more or less fixed. Thus the process of development in plants is also highly regulative in nature and shares many features in common with development in fruit flies.

Anthocyanins↗
PubMed1982

Uptake and Degradation of Cyclic AMP by Chloronema Cells.

Suspension cultures of intact chloronema cells of the moss Funaria hygrometrica take up [(3)H]cAMP and degrade it rapidly. The increase in total radioactivity accumulated by the cells was linear up to 30 minutes. Initially, the major degradation products were 5'-AMP and adenosine, but later predominantly ADP and ATP. In spite of rapid degradation, the amount of extracellularly applied cAMP retained by the cells is about 4-fold higher than the maximum endogenous level of cAMP reported previously (Handa, Johri 1977 Plant Physiol 59: 490-496). The uptake showed a distinct dependence on the density of the culture. Cells at a lower cell density (1-2 milligrams per milliliter) accumulated 4 to 6 times more radioactivity than the cells at high density (>10 milligrams per milliliter). The cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (cNPDE) activity of whole cells (18 milliunits per milligram protein) was comparable to that of protoplasts (23 milliunits per milligram protein), but about 4-fold lower than that of lysed protoplasts (80 milliunits per milligram protein), indicating an intracellular degradation of cAMP by chloronema cells.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1979

Cell-density-dependent Changes in the Metabolism of Chloronema Cell Cultures: I. Relationship between Cell Density and Enzymic Activities.

In the growing chloronema cell suspension cultures of the moss Funaria hygrometrica Hedw., activities of several enzymes have been found to be cell-density-dependent. Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (cNPDE), nitrate reductase (NR), and protein kinase showed highest activity at a low cell density (1 to 2 milligrams per milliliter) while indoleacetic acid (IAA) oxidase and peroxidase were highest at a high cell density (>10 milligrams per milliliter). 3'-Nucleotidase and the glycolytic enzymes (aldolase, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, phosphoglucoisomerase, pyruvate kinase, and triose phosphate isomerase) showed no significant dependence on the cell density. Alternatively, if the NR and peroxidase activities were determined as a function of time in batch cultures, their levels were maximal 60 to 70 and 320 hours after subculture, respectively, the corresponding cell densities being 1 to 2 and 23 milligrams per milliliter. The relationship between cell density and NR and peroxidase activities is the same, whether these enzymes are measured in batch cultures during a growth cycle or in the cells cultured at different initial inoculum densities for a constant time. Conventionally enzymic changes have been correlated with growth phases; however, it is felt that the pattern of enzymic activities can also be interpreted as cell-density-dependent.In moss protonema, the dependence of cNPDE, IAA oxidase, and peroxidase on cell density may play an important role in modulating the endogenous levels of IAA and cAMP, both of which regulate the differentiation of specific cell types (Johri and Desai 1973 Nature New Biol 245: 223-224; and Handa and Johri 1976 Nature 259: 480-482).

Journal Article↗
PubMed1977

Cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate in moss protonema: a comparison of its levels by protein kinase and gilman assays.

From the protonema of the moss Funaria hygrometrica (L.) Sibth, a factor indistinguishable from cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cAMP) has been isolated. The factor stimulated the activity of protein kinase from rabbit skeletal muscle and co-chromatographed with authentic cAMP in two solvent systems. Its ability to stimulate protein kinase activity was completely abolished by 3':5'-cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase, the rate of inactivation being similar to that of authentic cAMP. Based on these properties, this factor is identified as 3',5'-cAMP. Cyclic AMP could be readily removed from the cells and washing the cells with water reduced the endogenous level of cAMP by 2- to 3-fold. A comparison of cAMP levels by protein kinase and Gilman assays was made. The intracellular levels determined by protein kinase assay were about 7-fold lower than the values obtained by Gilman assay. This discrepancy was due to the presence of unidentified compounds which were completely degraded by 3':5'-cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase. Although these displaced labeled cAMP in the Gilman assay, they did not stimulate the protein kinase activity. The protonema may contain cyclic nucleotides other than cAMP; these will not be detected in the protein kinase assay due to the specificity of this reaction. The crude extracts were found to be unsuitable for assaying cAMP by either method.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1970

Characterization of rapidly labeled ribonucleic acid from dwarf peas.

The ribonucleic acid synthesized by excised shoots of dwarf pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Progress No. 9) during short labeling periods has been characterized. Thirty percent of the total (32)P(i) incorporated in 1 hour is found in the ribosomal fraction. This labeled RNA was polydisperse (6-18 Svedberg units) and after chromatography on a methylated albumin-kieselguhr column about 80% of the radioactivity appeared in two peaks. One of these appeared on the shoulder of heavy ribosomal RNA ("mRNA") while the other was tenaciously bound to the column (TB-RNA). In the presence of high NaCl concentration, about half of the polydisperse RNA interacted with ribosomal RNA and eluted as "mRNA" while the remainder eluted as TB-RNA. This interaction in the presence of salt seems to result in the alteration of secondary structure because the "mRNA" fraction had a high sedimentation coefficient (45-50 Svedberg units). The polydisperse RNA approaches DNA in low cytidylate and guanylate content. After short periods of labeling TB-RNA showed higher adenylate content than "mRNA." The radioactivity from the "mRNA" peak can be chased, and these counts may represent a class of shortlived messenger RNA molecules with an average half-life of 10 to 15 minutes. The other component, TB-RNA, could not be chased and accumulated radioactivity during the chase period.

Centrifugation, Density Gradient↗