Absorption of Copper by Lemna as Influenced by Some Factors Which Nullify the Copper Effect on Flowering and Growth

The effect of copper on flowering and growth of Lemna paucicostata6746 and Lemna gibba G3 in a copper-containing medium is nullifiedby the addition of EDTA, ammonium ions or salicylic acid tothe medium or a decrease in its nitrate concentration. Thesefactors were examined for their effects on the absorption ofcopper by the plants. The addition of EDTA to the medium completelyinhibited the absorption of copper in both species, thus eliminatingthe copper effect. Ammonium ions also inhibited copper absorption,their effectiveness rising with their concentration. Loweringthe nitrate concentration in the medium nullified the coppereffect on flowering in L. paucicostata 6746, and the additionof salicylic acid to the medium also nullified the copper effectin L. gibba G3, both without affecting the absorption of copper. (Received June 7, 1982; Accepted August 27, 1982)     

Simple procedures for the rapid cleavage of ester lipids and for the large-scale isolation from brain of cerebroside sulfate

The ester groups of glycerophospholipids in tissue extracts can be cleaved in less than 10 min at room temperature if the lipids are extracted with hexane-isopropanol and the filtrate is treated with methanolic NaOH. The resulting mixture can be treated with aqueous Na-sulfate containing sulfuric acid and partitioned to remove the inorganic reagents and hydrophilic ester degradation products. When the procedure is applied to brain lipid extracts, the addition of alkali produces a second, lower phase that contains much of the hydroxycerebroside, virtually all of the sulfatide in the extract, and small amounts of other lipids. The sulfatide can be isolated from the lower phase by neutralizing it with HCl in aqueous methanol, and partitioning with chloroform to remove nonlipid components. The lower phase is evaporated to dryness and treated with periodic acid to convert the cerebroside to a less polar product. The lipids recovered from the reaction mixture are then fractionated with a Florisil column, which yields highly purified sulfatide. Starting with 300 g of pig brain one can obtain about 1.1 g of sulfatide in 4 working days, using conventional, compact equipment. Since the precipitation step is almost complete, and the procedure can be scaled down to very low levels, the method has promise for quantitation methods and isotopic studies of sulfatide metabolism.     

The terminal oxidase of Photobacterium phosphoreum. A novel cytochrome

The terminal oxidase of Photobacterium phosphoreum has been purified to the electrophoretically homogeneous state and some of its properties have been studied.The enzyme catalyses oxidation of ascorbate in the presence of phenazine methosulphate or N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine. The reaction is inhibited by cyanide. Nitrite at comparatively high concentrations inhibits the enzyme, but the enzyme does not catalyse nitrite reduction with ascorbate plus the electron mediator as the electron donor.The enzyme shows the absorption peaks at 632, 565, 534 and 436 nm in the reduced form. It has two kinds of haems: protohaem and haem d. Namely, the enzyme is a ‘cytochrome bd’-type oxidase; a novel cytochrome.     

Comparative potencies of botulinum toxin for infant and adult mice

Culture fluids of 4 type A, 6 type B, and 1 type EClostridium botulinum strains were compared for their toxicities in 9–11-day-old (infant) and adult mice. In intraperitoneal challenges, most toxins were about equally potent for infants and adults; the exceptions were 4 type B preparations, which were 500 to 5,000 times more lethal for infants. In orogastric challenges, samples were 10 to >15,000 times more toxic for infants, and the previously mentioned type B toxins constituted a group having the highest relative toxicity for infants.     

Isolation and identification of substances inducing formation of tracheary elements in cultured carrot-root slices

Data are presented on the cytokinin status of seeds and seed components, at different stages of development in Phaseolus coccineus L., as determined with the soybean callus growth bioassay: A change in cytokinin types according to developmental stage occurred: from biologically very active less polar types (zeatin=Z) at early stages to more polar types (zeatin glucoside=Z₉G and zeatin riboside=Zr), with relatively low biological activity, at intermediate and late stages of seed development: When cytokinins were analyzed separately in embryos (embryo proper) and suspensors at two embryonic stages: heart-shaped (A) and middle cotyledonary embryos (stage B) respectively, it was found that: i) at stage A, the suspensor showed cytokinin activity at the level of Z, 2iPA (2-isopentenyladenosine) and Zr, whereas more polar cytokinins (Z₉G, Zr) were present in the embryo; ii) at stage B, when the embryo seems to become autonomous for cytokinin supply, there was a relative abundance of active cytokinins (Z, 2iPA) in the embryo to which Z₉G activity in the suspensor corresponded. It is concluded that the suspensor plays an essential role in embryogenesis by acting as a hormone source to the early embryo.Abbreviations GA gibberellic acid - 2iPA 2-isopentenyladenosine - Stage A heart-shaped embryo - siage B middle cotyledonary embryo - Z zeatin - Z₉G zeatin glucoside - Zr Zeatin riboside     

Metronidazole-induced susceptibility of adult mice to intestinalClostridium botulinum colonization

Clostridium botulinum type A spore challenges were given orogastrically to adult mice that had been treated with metronidazole. The organism multiplied in the intestinal tract for up to five days if it was administered 9–48 h after the last dose of metronidazole. The known antibacterial spectrum of metronidazole indicated that obligate anaerobic bacteria are important in the natural resistance of adult mice to colonization byC. botulinum, but treatment with the antimicrobial agent did not reduce the number of these bacteria in the cecum and colon.     

Effect of 7-fluoro prostacyclin,a stable prostacyclin analogue,on cAMP accumulation and prostaglandin binding in mastocytoma P-815 cells

The effect of 7-fluoro proscyclilin (PGI₂-F), a chemically stable analogue of prostacyclin, on cAMP accumulation in and [³H]PGE binding to mastocytoma P-815 cells was compared with those of the Na salt and methyl ester of prostacyclin (PGI₂Na or PGI₂Me), which are rapidly inactivated in aqueous solution or metabolized in the tissue.PGIF was as effective as PGI₂Me, and slightly less effective than PGI₂Na in stimulating cAMP accumulation in mastocytoma cells and rabbit platelets. PGI₂F was also more stable than PGI₂Me or PGI₂Na, and retained its original cAMP elevating activity even after incubation with or without cells for 4 h at 37°C. Cells which had been exposed to PGI₂F and then washed free of unbound reagent continued to produced cAMP for more than 3 h. PGI₂F was also as effective as PGE₁ or PGE₂ in displacing [³H]PGE₂ bound to the cells. Non-competitive inhibition by PGI₂F or PGI₂Me of [³H]PGE₂ binding to the cells, with apparent K_is of 1.29 μM and 1.13 μM, respectively, indicates the presence of different receptors for PGE₂ and for PGI₂F or PGI₂Me in mastocytoma P-815 cells.