Growth and turnover of microbial biomass during the decomposition of organic matter(Polygonum cuspidatum) in vitro

Air-dried fresh and dead specimens ofPolygonum cuspidatum were incubated for 250 days in the laboratory, and the growth and turnover of microbial biomass-C in the organic matter were studied. The biomass-C in the fresh leaf and fresh stem attained maximum levels on day 14 and day 7, respectively, and then settled down to stable levels. In the dead leaf and dead stem, increase in biomass-C ceased by day 4 and the biomass-C levels did not change thereafter. The turnover time of the biomass-C was estimated from the amount of biomass-C and the release rate of CO₂-C. The turnover was rapid in the early period of incubation. Then the turnover time became longer and after incubation for 70 days the values approached those in natural soils (longer than 16 days). During the incubation period, nitrogen was not mineralized in any organic matter. In the dead leaf and dead stem, asymbiotic nitrogen fixation activity increased after incubation for about 40 days and disappeared by the end of the incubation period, whereas nitrogen fixation was hardly detected in the fresh leaf and fresh stem.     

Secondary release of thromboxane A2 in aerosol leukotriene C4-induced bronchoconstriction in guinea pigs

Effect of a thromboxane synthetase inhibitor (OKY-046) on bronchoconstriction induced by aerosol leukotriene C4 and histamine was studied in anesthetized, artificially ventilated guinea pigs in order to examine whether secondary release of thromboxane A2 is produced by aerosol leukotriene C4 or not. 0.01–1.0μg/ml of leukotriene C4 and 12.5–400μg/ml of histamine inhaled from ultrasonic nebulizer developed for small animals caused dose-dependent increase of pressure at airway opening (Pao) which is considered to be an index representing bronchial response. Pretreatment of the animals with intravenous OKY-046 (100mg/kg) significantly reduced the airway responses produced by inhalation of 0.1, 0.33 and 1.0μg/ml of leukotriene C4, while the pretreatment did not affect the histamine dose-response curve. Based on these findings and previous reports (6, 7), it is suggested that aerosol leukotriene C4 activates arachidonate cyclooxygenase pathway including thromboxane A2 synthesis and the released cyclooxygenase products have bronchodilating effect as a whole     

Energy saving effect of pervaporation using oleyl alcohol liquid membrane in butanol purification

The liquid membrane prepared with oleyl alcohol was used in pervaporation of dilute aqueous butanol solutions. The selectivity of this liquid membrane was found to be superior than that of silicone rubber membrane, and the separation factor for butanol was 180. Energy saving effect of pervaporation in butanol purification was investigated by comparing the energies required to purify a butanol solution of 0.5 wt.% in the following three separation systems; a conventional distillation system, a separation system combining pervaporation with distillation, and a pervaporation system using a hydrophobic membrane and a hydrohylic membrane in series. When the pervaporation using oleyl alcohol liquid membrane was employed as a pretreatment process of butanol purification, the energy requirement was found to be around one-tenth of that of conventional distillation.List of Symbols E _D MJ/kg Specific energy requirement of butanol purification by distillation - J kg/(m² · h) Total permeation flux - J _B kg/(m² · h) Permeation flux of butanol - P ₁, P ₂ MPa Pressure at inlet and outlet of vacuum pump - Q kJ/h Energy transfer rate - Q _C Q _W kJ/h Energy consumption rate of condenser and vacuum pump - R J/K · mol Gas constant - t, T °C, K Temperature - W-g/h Mass flow rate of butanol/water binary mixture - (W) _F1 ,-kg/h Mass flow rate of aqueous butanol solution - (W) _F2 at inlet and outlet of permeation cell - W* kJ/mol Energy requirement of adiavatic expansion - X _B Butanol mass fraction of aqueous butanol solution - (X _B ) _F Butanol mass fraction of aqueous butanol solution supplied into distillation column - (X _B ) _F1 Butanol mass fraction of aqueous butanol - (X _B ) _F2 solution at inlet and outlet of permeation cell - Y _B Butanol mass fraction in permeate - Separation factor of butanol - Adiavatic constant     

Inhibition of Achromobacter protease I by lysinal derivatives.

Z-Val-, Z-Pro-, Z-Leu-Leu-, and Z-Leu-Pro-lysinals and BZ-DL-lysinal were chemically synthesized and tested as novel inhibitors for Achromobacter protease I (API), a lysine-specific serine protease. Among the lysinal derivatives tested, Z-Val-lysinal was the most potent competitive inhibitor, its Ki being estimated as 6.5 nM in an esterolytic assay with Tos-Lys-OMe. In an amidolytic assay, Z-Leu-Leu-lysinal was the most potent inhibitor and the apparent mode of inhibition was non-competitive. The Kis of the other lysinal derivatives in both esterolytic and amidolytic assays were more than 10(3) times lower than that of leupeptin. Z-Val-lysinol, lacking the aldehyde group, was a poor competitive inhibitor. These results suggest that acyl-, acylaminoacyl-, and acylpeptidyllysinals function as a transition-state inhibitor for Achromobacter protease I.     

Characterization and Intracellular Distribution of Pea Phytochrome I Polypeptides Expressed in E. coli

The pea phytochrome I (PI) cDNA clone, pPP1001, was expressedin E. coli. The plasmid pPP1001 contains pea PI cDNA which coversthe entire coding region with the Shine-Dalgarno consensus sequencejoined upstream of the cDNA in an expression vector pNUT6. ThepPP1001 transformants formed typical inclusion bodies when culturedat 32?C. However, when cultured at 37?C or in the presence ofisopropyl-ß-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) at 32?C,the bacteria lysed before inclusion body formation. Immuno-stainingwith anti-PI monoclonal antibody, mAP5, of transformants fixedby cold methanol showed that stainable materials were distributedin whole cytoplasmic region. When the inclusion bodies wereobserved clearly, the regions corresponding to the inclusionbodies became difficult to stain. Western blot analysis, however,showed that a ca. 100 kDa PI polypeptide was detected in thefraction from inclusion bodies and a ca. 90 kDa PI polypeptidefrom the soluble fraction. The amino acid sequence analysisof purified 100 kDa PI sample indicated that its amino terminusis blocked. However, minor signals in one experiment yieldeda sequence corresponding to the expected amino terminus of peaPI except for the initiation methionine. One of the anti-peaPI monoclonal antibodies, mAP9, that recognizes the near N-terminusof pea phytochrome was reactive to the 100 kDa polypeptide. (Received June 22, 1990; Accepted November 18, 1990)     

Photomovement in Dunaliella salina: Fluence rate-response curves and action spectra

We determined the action spectra of the photophobic responses as well as the phototactic response in Dunaliella salina (Volvocales) using both single cells and populations. The action spectra of the photophobic responses have maxima at 510 nm, the spectrum for phototaxis has a maximum at 450–460 nm. These action spectra are not compatible with the hypothesis that flavoproteins are the photoreceptor pigments, and we suggest that carotenoproteins or rhodopsins act as the photoreceptor pigments. We also conclude that the phototactic response in Dunaliella is an elementary response, quite independent of the step-up and step-down photophobic responses. We also determined the action spectra of the photoaccumulation response in populations of cells adapted to two different salt conditions. Both action spectra have a peak a 490 nm. The photoaccumulation response may be a complex response composed of the phototactic and photophobic responses. Blue or blue-green light does not elicit a photokinetic response in Dunaliella.Diagrams of the optical set-ups used for measuring the responses at the single-cell level and of the plans for building the phototaxometer described in this paper are available to the interested readerWe thank Mr. M. Kubota for a tremendous amount of technical assistance and Mr. R. Nagy for building the phototaxometer. We thank T. Kondo, Professor H. Imaseki and the members of the Laboratory of Biological Regulation, NIBB, for their help and support in various aspects of this research. This research was supported, in part, from grants from the Okazaki Large Spectrograph (Project Nos. 86-535, 87-518, 88-523), the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University to R. W.     

Distribution and possible intergradation betweenMacaca tonkeana andM. ochreata at the borderland of the species in Sulawesi

Morphological observations of pet and wild monkeys were made in the area that was inferred to be the borderland betweenMacaca tonkeana andM. ochreata in Sulawesi. Almost all individual monkeys could be classified into one of two species by their external characteristics. The possible borderland was estimated to extend from the La River in the east and to around Karaena River in the west. These two species may make contact in the forest in the western area of the borderland. Some external characteristics exhibited wide individual variations in the two species. Some monkeys originating from the borderland showed external characteristics that were intermediate between those of the two species. The possible intergradation between these two species is discussed in terms of the morphological variations found in the two species.     

Clostridium absonum from gas gangrene

A Clostridium perfringens-like strain was isolated from a case of gas gangrene. The morphological properties and the lecithinase reaction of the isolate were very similar to those of C. perfringens; however, the lecithinase reaction was only slightly suppressed by C. perfringens alpha-antitoxin serum and the organism was identified as Clostridium absonum from its biochemical properties.     

The effects of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of brain myosin on its actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase and contractile activities

Purified bovine brain myosin contained approximately 1 and 3 mol of protein-bound phosphate/mol myosin in the light chains and heavy chains, respectively. Large portions of this light chain- and heavy chain-bound phosphate (about 0.8 and 2.4 mol, respectively) were removed by incubation with a brain phosphoprotein phosphatase and potato acid phosphatase, respectively. Upon phosphorylation of the dephosphorylated brain myosin with myosin light chain kinase and casein kinase II, about 1.6 and 3.0 mol of phosphate was incorporated into the light chains and heavy chains, respectively, while much lower levels of phosphate were incorporated into the non-dephosphorylated brain myosin under the same conditions. The actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase activity of brain myosin rephosphorylated with myosin light chain kinase was about twice as high as that of dephosphorylated brain myosin (about 30 and 15 nmol phosphate/mg/min, respectively). On the other hand, whereas the rephosphorylated brain myosin superprecipitated rapidly with F-actin, the rate of superprecipitation of the dephosphorylated brain myosin was extremely low. Under appropriate conditions, a loose network of tiny superprecipitates, which formed initially throughout the solution, contracted to form eventually a large and dense particle. These results indicate that phosphorylation of the light chains of brain myosin is a prerequisite for the contraction of brain actomyosin. The role of phosphorylation of the heavy chains by casein kinase II remains to be elucidated.