title: Cellular and subcellular localization of kainic acid in the marine red alga Digenea simplex.
abstract: Polyclonal antibodies specific for the excitatory amino acid, kainic acid (KA), were raised in rabbits. The antibody recognized KA but did not cross-react with other structurally related amino acids, including glutamate. We used this anti-KA antibody to localize KA immunohistochemically in the KA-producing red alga Digenea simplex. KA immunoreactivity was most dense in the fine cylindrical thallus, which covers the middle to upper part of the alga. The cortical cells, but not the inner layers of the main axis, and cells of the rhizoid were also stained with this antibody. The presence of KA in cells that cover the surface of the alga might reflect its role in chemical defense. At the subcellular level, KA immunoreactivity was most intense in the nucleus, pit plugs, and the electron-dense areas denoted as "granule bodies", which were found only in the pericentral cells of the thallus.
authors.affiliation: Kitasato University School of Fisheries Sciences, Sanriku-cho, Ofunato, 022-0101, Japan. r.sakai@kitasato-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Ryuichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Sakiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minato
authors.forename: Kanae
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jimbo
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kamiya
mesh_terms: D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000378:metabolism*; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007608:Kainic Acid