PubMed HealthSearch

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Nodule”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Alfalfa root nodule phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase: characterization of the cDNA and expression in effective and plant-controlled ineffective nodules.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) plays a key role in N2 fixation and ammonia assimilation in legume root nodules. The enzyme can comprise up to 2% of the soluble protein in root nodules. We report here the isolation and characterization of a cDNA encoding the nodule-enhanced form of PEPC. Initially, a 2945 bp partial-length cDNA was selected by screening an effective alfalfa nodule cDNA library with antibodies prepared against root nodule PEPC. The nucleotide sequence encoding the N-terminal region of the protein was obtained by primer-extension cDNA synthesis and PCR amplification. The complete amino acid sequence of alfalfa PEPC was deduced from these cDNA sequences and shown to bear striking similarity to other plant PEPCs. Southern blots of alfalfa genomic DNA indicate that nodule PEPC is a member of a small gene family. During the development of effective root nodules, nodule PEPC activity increases to a level that is 10- to 15-fold greater than that in root and leaf tissue. This increase appears to be the result of increases in amount of enzyme protein and PEPC mRNA. Ineffective nodules have substantially less PEPC mRNA, enzyme protein and activity than do effective nodules. Maximum expression of root nodule PEPC appears to be related to two signals. The first signal is associated with nodule initiation while the second signal is associated with nodule effectiveness. Regulation of root nodule PEPC activity may also involve post-translational processes affecting enzyme activity and/or degradation.

Amino Acid Sequence

Ultrastructural and immunological demonstration of the nodulation of the European Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. host plant by the North-American Alnus crispa var. mollis Fern. root nodule endophyte.

The inoculation of the European Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. host plant by a crushed-nodule inoculum, prepared with the North-American Alnus crispa var. mollis Fern. root nodule, was successful. Fluorescein- and ferritin-labelled antibodies, specific against the A. crispa var. mollis root nodule endophyte (Lalonde et al. 1975), demonstrated the idenity of this endophyte in the resulting nodules. The nodulation process of this abnormal host-endophyte system was studied by light and electron microscopy. An excretion of host blebs containing electron-dense polysaccharide material, resulting in the formation of exo-encapsulation threads containing presumptive endophytic bacterial cells, was associated with deformed root hairs. Originating from an exoencapsulation thread, the endophyte penetrates the root hair cell and then migrates as a hypha toward the cortical cells of the root. Its migration in the cortical cells of the primary nodule results in the induction of a lateral root which develops as the true nodule. The ultrastructure of the A. crispa var. mollis endophyte developing in the primary and true nodule of the abnormal A. glutinosa host was similar to the one induced inside its normal A. crispa var. mollis host. The actinomycetal intruder was a branched and septate hypha able to produce septate vesicles. The endophyte was always encapsulated in an electron-dense polysaccharide material surrounded by a host plasma membrane envelope. However, in this abnormal host-endophyte system, the number of primary nodules formed per root system was drastically reduced, and their appearance was delayed by 1 to 2 weeks. The delayed nodules were effective in fixing nitrogen and able to support satisfactory plant growth in a nitrogen-free medium.

Antigens, Bacterial

Effect of rj1rj1 (non-nodulating) soybeans on nodulation of near isogenic Rj1Rj1 plants in nutrient culture.

An earlier proposal (Can. J. Microbiol. 7: 851; 1961) that rj1rj1 (non-nodulating) soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) excrete a substance that inhibits nodulation of Rj1 Rj1 (nodulating) plants was tested. Using near isogenic lines (isolines) of "Clark" and "Harosoy" soybeans, we consistently found nonsignificant reduction in nodule number and acetylene reduction per Rj1Rj1 plant grown in association with their rj1rj1 counterparts: these results suggest that a nodulation inhibitor is not associated with the rj1 gene. Reducing the number of plants grown in each pot produced significant (P = 0.05) reductions in nodule number per Rj1Rj1 plant, and resembled the observations of the earlier report. On this basis, we suggest that the reported inhibition of nodulation was due to a failure to detoxify or remove an inhibitor (possibly nitrate) already present in the nutrient solution. Both Clark isolines removed nitrate from their nutrient solutions at similar rates. Harosoy rj1rj1 plants removed nitrate at a significantly (P - 0.05) slower rate than Harosoy Rj1Rj1 plants, but the differences were not correlated (P = 0.05) with the small observed decreases in nodulation. These differences in nitrate uptake were highly correlated (P = 0.01) with reduced dry weight per Harosoy rj1rj1 plant.

Acetylene

Membranes in lupin root nodules. II. Preparation and properties of peribacteroid membranes and bacteroid envelope inner membranes from developing lupin nodules.

Peribacteroid membranes and bacteroid envelope inner membranes have been isolated from developing lupin nodules. Isolation of the peribacteroid membranes was achieved by first preparing membrane-enclosed bacteroids free from other plant organelles or membranes. The peribacteroid membranes were then released by osmotic shock and purified by centrifugation to equilibrium on sucrose gradients. The bacteroids were broken in a pressure cell and the bacteroid envelope inner membranes were isolated using sucrose gradient fractionation of the bacteroid total envelope preparation. The density of the peribacteroid membranes decreased during the period of development of N2-fixation in lupin nodules from 1.148 g/ml for nodules from 12-day plants to 1.137 g/ml for nodules from 18-day plants. The density of the bacteroid envelope inner membranes from nodules from 18-day plants was 1-153 g/ml. The identity and homogeneity of the isolated membranes was established, by comparison with membranes in intact nodules, using phosphotungstic acid and silver staining of thin sections and particle densitites on faces of freeze-fracture replicas of the membranes. Analyses for NADH oxidase and succinate dehydrogenase, spectral analyses and gel-electrophoretic analysis of proteins were also used to characterize the membrane and soluble protein fractions from the nodules. The ratio of lipid to protein was 6.1 for the peribacteroid membranes and 2.5 for the bacteroid envelope inner membranes. Leghaemoglobin was localized in the plant cytoplasm in lupin nodules and not in the peribacteroid space.

Cell Fractionation

The early nodulin transcript ENOD2 is located in the nodule parenchyma (inner cortex) of pea and soybean root nodules.

A pea cDNA clone homologous to the soybean early nodulin clone pGmENOD2 that most probably encodes a cell wall protein was isolated. The derived amino acid sequence of the pea ENOD2 protein shows that it contains the same repeating pentapeptides, ProProHisGluLys and ProProGluTyrGln, as the soybean ENOD2 protein. By in situ hybridization the expression of the ENOD2 gene was shown to occur only in the inner cortex of the indeterminate pea nodule. The transcription of the pea ENOD2 gene starts when the inner cortical cells develop from the nodule meristem. In the determinate soybean nodule the ENOD2 gene is expressed in the inner cortex as well as in cells surrounding the vascular bundle that connects the nodule with the root central cylinder. The term 'nodule inner cortex' is misleading, as there is no direct homology with the root inner cortex. Therefore, we propose to consider this tissue as nodule parenchyma. A possible role of ENOD2 in a major function of the nodule parenchyma, namely creating an oxygen barrier for the central tissue with the Rhizobium containing cells, is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence

Radiologic-pathologic correlations of small lung nodules with special reference to peribronchiolar nodules.

A radiologic and pathologic correlation has been made of small lung nodules. At necropsy 100 excised lungs were fixed and slices from them radiographed. The radiographs were used to select individual nodules for histologic study. Nodules in bronchopneumonia, acinonodose tuberculosis, chronic bronchiolitis, and simple pneumoconiosis due to ferric dust were shown to be located around inflamed terminal or respiratory bronchioles. Intraacinar infiltration was usually diffuse, but when nodules were seen, they occurred in peripheral airspaces with no relation to bronchioles. Hematogenous metastases showed distinctly marginated nodules, some truly intraacinar. Although each type of nodule can appear as an "acinar" or "subacinar" image on chest radiographs, this radiologic-pathologic study shows that they differ significantly in their relation to the airway structures.

Adult

The autonomous nodule of the thyroid: correlation of patient age, nodule size and functional status.

In light of new techniques for measuring circulating thyroid hormones and for studying the thyroid gland, we present our experience with 35 patients with solitary autonomous nodules of the thyroid to define more precisely the clinical course of patients with this disorder. The patients ranged in age from 19 to 80 years and 31 of the 35 were female. Younger patients were generally euthyroid and sought attention because of a thyroid mass; virtually all older patients were hyperthyroid. Eighteen had obvious clinical features of hyperthyroidism and 5 over age 70 had apathetic hyperthyroidism; all 5 of the elderly and 13 of the 18 under age 70 had elevated thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) levels. Isolated elevation of T3 and elevated basal metabolic rate were observed in 5 previously untreated clinically hyperthyroid young patients. In each of these, thyroid uptake of 131-I was not suppressible with exogenous T3 and BMR was elevated in those tested. Two elderly patients, who had previously been treated for conventional hyperthyroidism with radioactive iodine, had T3 toxicosis when hypoethyroidism recurred. There was a strong positive correlation between the age of the patient, the size of the nodule and the thyroid functional state. The mean area of the nodules projected on 131-I rectilinear scan for euthyroid patients was 5.1 cm2. The mean area of the nodules in hyperthryoid subjects was significantly higher, 13.4 cm-2 in patients with T3 toxicosis and 19.3 cm-2 in subjects with conventional hyperthyroidism. Progression from a euthyroid state to hyperthyroidism was observed four patients. One of these became thyrotoxic within days after an injection of iodinated contrast medium. Spontaneous resolution of nodules occurred in two patients.

Adenoma

Rhizobium leguminosarum has two glucosamine synthases, GlmS and NodM, required for nodulation and development of nitrogen-fixing nodules.

The Rhizobium leguminosarum nodM gene product shows strong homology to the Escherichia coli glmS gene product that catalyses the formation of glucosamine 6-P from fructose 6-P and glutamine. DNA hybridization with nodM indicated that, in addition to nodM on the symbiotic plasmid, another homologous gene was present elsewhere in the R. leguminosarum genome. A glucosamine-requiring mutant was isolated and its auxotrophy could be corrected by two different genetic loci. It could grow without glucosamine when the nodM gene on the symbiotic plasmid was induced or if the cloned nodM gene was expressed from a vector promoter. Alternatively, it could be complemented by a second fragment of R. leguminosarum DNA that carries a region homologous to E. coli glmS. Biochemical assays of glucosamine 6-P formation confirmed that the two R. leguminosarum genes nodM and glmS have interchangeable functions. No nodulation of peas or vetch was observed with a double nodM glmS mutant, and this block occurred at a very early stage since no root-hair deformation or infection threads were seen. Nodulation and root-hair deformation did occur with either the nodM or the glmS mutant, showing that the gene products of either of these genes can be involved in the formation of the lipo-oligosaccharide nodulation signal. However, the glmS mutant formed nodules that had greatly reduced nitrogen fixation. Constitutive expression of nodM restored nitrogen fixation to the glmS mutant. Therefore the reduced nitrogen fixation probably occurs because glmS is absent and nodM is not normally expressed in nodules and, in the absence of glucosamine precursors, normal bacteroid maturation is blocked.

Cloning, Molecular

Mucosal calcified nodule. The oral counterpart of the subepidermal calcified nodule.

The subepidermal calcified nodule, also known as cutaneous calculi, is a form of idiopathic calcinosis that affects children and is occasionally present at birth. It occurs usually in the facial skin and has no relationship to connective tissue disease or to any abnormality in calcium or phosphorus metabolism. The oral cavity is very rarely affected by calcinosis cutis of any type, and idiopathic calcinosis has not been previously reported in the oral mucosa. This is a report of two cases of calcified nodules that occurred in the gingiva of a 1-year-old girl and the tongue of a 5-year-old boy. The lesions showed clinical, histologic, and histochemical similarities to the subepidermal calcified nodule. The name oral mucosal calcified nodule is proposed for this form of calcinosis.

Calcinosis

The forgotten nodule: complications of sacral nodules in rheumatoid arthritis.

Nodules commonly occur in rheumatoid arthritis and occasionally give rise to complications. The sacral nodule is easily missed and may ulcerate to produce extensive sacral sores which may lead to serious and even fatal complications in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Seven cases are reported which illustrate some of these features.

Aged

Enzymes of nitrogen metabolism in legume nodules. Purification and properties of NADH-dependent glutamate synthase from lupin nodules.

An NADH-dependent glutamate synthase has been purified 500-fold from the plant cytoplasm fraction of Lupinus angustifolius nodules. It consists of a single polypeptide chain, Mr 235000. The optimum pH is 8.5, at which Km values for 2-oxoglutarate, glutamine and NADH are 39 micrometer, 400 micrometer and 1.3 micrometer respectively. The catalytic centre activity is of the order of 70 s-1 and is independent of pH between 6.5 and 9.5. Glutamate synthase is inhibited by glutamic acid, oxaloacetic acid, aspartic acid and asparagine, all competitive with 2-oxoglutarate; and by NAD+, which is competitive with NADH. There is evidence of two flavine prosthetic groups per enzyme molecule.

Glutamate Synthase

Associated effects of bromocriptine on neoplastic progression of mouse mammary preneoplastic hyperplastic alveolar nodule line C4 and on hyperplastic alveolar nodule-infiltrating and splenic lymphocyte function.

Progression of the mouse mammary preneoplastic hyperplastic alveolar nodule (HAN) line C4 to carcinoma can be enhanced by stimulators and depressed by inhibitors of host lymphocyte function (W.Z. Wei et al., Cancer Res., 49: 2709-2715, 1989). The purpose of the present study was to ask whether prolactin (PRL), a regulator of both mammary epithelial and lymphoid cells, might be a factor in the association between lymphocytic function and HAN progression. Daily administration of bromocriptine, a suppressor of pituitary PRL secretion, increased the latency period and decreased the incidence of tumor development in HAN bearing mice. Bromocriptine treatment suppressed in vitro responsiveness of HAN-infiltrating lymphocytes and, to some extent, spleen cells, to T- and B-cell mitogens, without altering the relative proportion of lymphocytic subsets. Suppression could be partially reversed by PRL treatment. Natural killer cell activity of HAN-infiltrating lymphocytes was also reduced by bromocriptine. In vitro incubation with anti-PRL antisera inhibited both lymphocyte mitogen responsiveness and natural killer activity in a concentration-dependent manner. PRL reversed this inhibition also. Altogether, these results demonstrate a correlation among tumor development, PRL levels, and lymphocyte function and suggest that an immune-endocrine network involving PRL may play a role in C4 HAN progression.

Animals