• 식물조직배양학회지
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• 제27권6호
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• pp.423-428
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• 2000

In 1997 when cloned sheep Dolly and soon after Polly were born, it had become head-line news because in the former the nucleus that gave rise to the lamb came from cells of six-year-old adult sheep and in the latter case a foreign gene was inserted into the donor nucleus to make the cloned sheep produce human protein, factor IX, in e milk. In the last few years, once the realm of science fiction, cloned mammals especially in livestock have become almost commonplace. What the press accounts often fail to convey, however, is that behind every success lie hundreds of failures. Many of the nuclear-transferred egg cells fail to undergo normal cell divisions. Even when an embryo does successfully implant in the womb, pregnancy often ends in miscarriage. A significant fraction of the animals that are born die shortly after birth and some of those that survived have serious developmental abnormalities. Efficiency remains at less than one % out of some hundred attempts to clone an animal. These facts show that something is fundamentally wrong and enormous hurdles must be overcome before cloning becomes practical. Cloning researchers now tent to put aside their effort to create live animals in order to probe the fundamental questions on cell biology including stem cells, the questions of whether the hereditary material in the nucleus of each cell remains intact throughout development, and how transferred nucleus is reprogrammed exactly like the zygotic nucleus. Stem cells are defined as those cells which can divide to produce a daughter cell like themselves (self-renewal) as well as a daughter cell that will give rise to specific differentiated cells (cell-differentiation). Multicellular organisms are formed from a single totipotent stem cell commonly called fertilized egg or zygote. As this cell and its progeny undergo cell divisions the potency of the stem cells in each tissue and organ become gradually restricted in the order of totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent. The differentiation potential of multipotent stem cells in each tissue has been thought to be limited to cell lineages present in the organ from which they were derived. Recent studies, however, revealed that multipotent stem cells derived from adult tissues have much wider differentiation potential than was previously thought. These cells can differentiate into developmentally unrelated cell types, such as nerve stem cell into blood cells or muscle stem cell into brain cells. Neural stem cells isolated from the adult forebrain were recently shown to be capable of repopulating the hematopoietic system and produce blood cells in irradiated condition. In plants although the term$\boxDr$ stem cell$\boxUl$is not used, some cells in the second layer of tunica at the apical meristem of shoot, some nucellar cells surrounding the embryo sac, and initial cells of adventive buds are considered to be equivalent to the totipotent stem cells of mammals. The telomere ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes cannot be replicated because the RNA primer at the end of a completed lagging strand cannot be replaced with DNA, causing 5' end gap. A chromosome would be shortened by the length of RNA primer with every cycle of DNA replication and cell division. Essential genes located near the ends of chromosomes would inevitably be deleted by end-shortening, thereby killing the descendants of the original cells. Telomeric DNA has an unusual sequence consisting of up to 1,000 or more tandem repeat of a simple sequence. For example, chromosome of mammal including human has the repeating telomeric sequence of TTAGGG and that of higher plant is TTTAGGG. This non-genic tandem repeat prevents the death of cell despite the continued shortening of chromosome length. In contrast with the somatic cells germ line cells have the mechanism to fill-up the 5' end gap of telomere, thus maintaining the original length of chromosome. Cem line cells exhibit active enzyme telomerase which functions to maintain the stable length of telomere. Some of the cloned animals are reported prematurely getting old. It has to be ascertained whether the multipotent stem cells in the tissues of adult mammals have the original telomeres or shortened telomeres.

• Applied Microscopy
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.35-45
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• 2006

방향성 식물은 식물체 특정부위에 분비구조를 발달시켜 활성물질을 세포의 외부 또는 세포간극으로 방출한다. 민간에서 약용으로 활용되는 좀목형 (Vitex negundo var. incisa)은 독특한 향기를 강하게 발산하는 식물로 향의 근원은 표피조직에 발달하는 분비모 등에 의한 것으로 추정되고 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 좀목형의 잎 및 줄기 표피조직에 발달하는 모용에 대하여 생장단계별로 형태 및 세포수준에서의 구조분화 양상을 연구하였다. 좀목형에 발달하는 분비모는 4개의 분비세포(ca. $50{\mu}m$ 직경)와 병세포(ca. $5{\mu}m$ 길이)로 분화하는 peltate 유형 (Type 1), 2개의 분비세포$(ca.\;15{\mu}m)$), 병세포$(5{\sim}10{\mu}m)$), 기저세포로 이루어진 capitate유형 (Type 2), 정단의 분비세포가 초기단계에서부터 퇴화되는 degraded capitate 유형 (Type 3)으로 분화하였다. 비분비모는 특히 하피 전체에 더 발달하는 장상의 다세포성 모용($110{\sim}190{\mu}m$, Type4)과 상 하피 전체에 밀생하는 단세포성 모용($20{\sim}30{\mu}m$, Type 5)으로 대별되었다. 분화초기 분비모 정단의 분비세포에서는 큐티클층이 세포벽으로부터 서서히 분리되어 팽창되면서 분비강이 형성되었다. 분비세포 세포질에서 생성된 물질은 세포벽을 통해 운반되어 분비강에 형성된 많은 분비소포에 저장되고, 이들 소포가 팽창된 분비강을 가득 채우며 생성되는 물질들을 축적한 후 방향성분 및 관련 물질을 누출상 분비방식으로 세포간극 또는 외부로 방출하는 것으로 추정된다. 이와 같이 좀목형에서는 peltate및 capitate유형 (Type 1, 2)이 분비기작에서 매우 중요한 역할을 하는 것으로 사료된다. 본 연구에서 밝혀진 좀목형의 분비구조에 대한 정보는 방향성 약용식물이 함유하는 특정물질의 기능성 성분 추적 연구 등에서 매우 유용하게 활용될 수 있는 자료가 될 것이다.