0000000000422131
AUTHOR
M. Relle
A method to isolate cDNA-quality RNA from adult conifer needles and a psbA cDNA from Norway spruce
Summary In order to investigate the expression of the psbA gene in damaged and undamaged Norway spruce trees ( Picea abies ) a cDNA clone encoding the D1 protein was isolated via RT-PCR. Applying a method developed by Schneiderbauer et al. (1991) with some modifications, we were able to obtain the required RNA from mature needles and successfully reverse transcribe it into cDNA. Sequence analysis of the cDNA clone revealed an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 353 amino acid polypeptide that is highly homologous to the D1 protein sequences deduced from higher plant psbA genes. A 4 bp insertion, directly following the stop codon ochre (TAA), was found by comparison with two Pinus species, t…
Dynamic in vivo Imaging of Microvasculature and Perfusion by Miniaturized Confocal Laser Microscopy
<i>Introduction:</i> Microvasculature and associated pathologies mandate dynamic imaging. We evaluated a novel miniaturized confocal laser scanning probe for in vivo visualization of blood vessels, blood flow, cell tracking and perfusion in both healthy rodents and disease models.<i> Methods:</i> The hand-held confocal microscopy system allowed a 500- to 2,400-fold magnification at a dynamically variable imaging depth. Different intravital stains were used alone or in combination for tissue, nuclear, plasma and vascular endothelial cell staining and for blood flow visualization, and targeted staining for individual cell populations. <i>Results:</i> Precis…