An evaluation of plant-borne factors promoting the solubilization of alkaline rock phosphates

Summary Four experiments are described in which the uptake patterns of various crop species were shown to enhance the solubilization of alkaline rock phosphates. In most cases, such enhancements resulted from soil acidification brought about by the alkaline uptake patterns. In one case, the enhancement may have stemmed primarily from a high Ca-uptake rate, which might be responsible for a shift in mass-action equilibria favoring the solubilization of rock phosphates. High uptake of Ca is expected to serve two purposes: 1. it acts in creating alkaline uptake patterns causing a decline in soil pH, and 2. it promotes a shift in mass-action equilibria.     

Developmental Changes in Distribution of Acidic Fibroblast Growth Factor in Rat Brain Evaluated by a Sensitive Two-Site Enzyme Immunoassay

We developed a sensitive two-site enzyme immunoassay (EIA) system for acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF), using a polyclonal antibody raised in rats. This assay is based on the sandwiching of the antigen between anti-aFGF antibody immunoglobulin G (IgG) coated on plates and biotinylated anti-aFGF antibody IgG; the detection of biotinylated IgG was performed by enzyme reaction of streptavidin-conjugated beta-D-galactosidase (beta-D-galactoside hydrolase; EC 3.2.1.23). Our system was specific for aFGF, because basic fibroblast growth factor, which shares a 55% homology of amino acid sequence with aFGF, hardly cross-reacted at all. The sensitivity of this system (0.2 ng/ml) enabled us to quantify endogenous immunoreactive aFGF in the CNS. Using this two-site EIA system, we examined the levels of aFGF in various regions of rat brain and their developmental changes. At the early stage of neonatal development, i.e., 2 days after birth, all brain regions registered low aFGF levels (less than 10 ng/g tissue). However, at the young adult stage (21- to 49-day-old animals), an extremely high level of aFGF (75-90 ng/g tissue) was found in the ponsmedulla; relatively high levels (30-40 ng/g tissue) were found in the diencephalon and mesencephalon; and comparatively low aFGF levels (5-15 ng/g tissue) were found in various other brain regions such as the frontal cortex, piriform cortex, hippocampus, olfactory bulb, cerebellum, and striatum. This marked change in the regional distribution of aFGF in the rat brain during postnatal development from 2 to 21 days after birth suggests that this factor plays a significant role in the brain during this period.     

Emergence chronology of brook charr,Salvenus fontinalis,alevins in an acidic stream

Synopsis The emergence chronology of brook charr alevins in the Chikanishing River, Ontario, Canada and the concurrent changes in stream chemistry resulting from acidic snowmelt runoff were examined during the spring, 1986–1988. Emergence patterns were similar among years with the most intense emergence (> 70%) occurring during the declining stream discharge following the spring flood. This period coincided with stream pH depressions (minimum pH 5.2) in 2 of 3 years, suggesting emergence behaviour frequently subjects the earliest free-swimming life interval of brook charr to episodic acidification events.     

Myelin Proteins in Reverse Micelles: Tight Lipid Association Required for Insertion of the Folch-Pi Proteolipid into a Membrane-Mimetic System

The solubility and reactivity of the Folch-Pi proteolipid from bovine CNS have been studied in reverse micelles of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate, isooctane, and water. Such a membrane-mimetic system resembles the aqueous spaces of the native myelin sheath in terms of its physicochemical properties. Although the proteolipid is completely insoluble in water, it can be inserted into the water-containing micellar system. In contrast, the lipid-depleted protein failed to be incorporated into these organized assemblies. The lipid requirements for insertion of the proteolipid were studied, therefore, after delipidation by several precipitations with isooctane, a nondenaturing solvent. Novel extraction procedures and quantitative analyses by HPLC of the protein-bound lipids revealed the persistence of a lipid-protein complex (6 +/- 1 mol of lipid/mol of protein) displaying optimal micellar solubilization. Competition experiments carried out with brain lipids provide evidence for a preference of the myelin protein for sulfatide, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidylserine, in that order. The resulting proteolipid, although differing in relative composition, showed good solubility in the membrane-mimetic system. In contrast, reconstitution experiments carried out with the lipid-depleted protein resulted in weak lipid binding and poor micellar incorporation. These results suggest that the tightly bound acidic lipids may stabilize a protein conformation required for insertion into the micellar system.     

Analysis of acidic compounds using capillary electrochromatography

Capillary electrochromatography, CEC, is a hybrid of CE and HPLC and is rapidly gaining interest as a potential complementary technique. This paper provides an overview of literature concerning the separation of acidic compounds by CEC which fall into three distinct groups. These groups are those performed using capillaries packed with novel or unique stationary phases designed for CEC, and a smaller group where standard HPLC stationary phases packings such as ODS has been used. The third group involves the use of surface coated capillaries. This paper reviews the separation of acidic compounds by CEC and also includes a number of novel applications to illustrate the separation approaches and the analytical performance possible.     

粗糙脉孢霉酸性蛋白酶基因的克隆与鉴定

以粗糙脉胞霉CICIM F00021染色体DNA为模板,通过PCR扩增得到粗糙脉胞霉酸性蛋白酶结构基因。对其序列进行了测定和分析,表明扩增得到的片段为酸性蛋白酶基因。将扩增出的酸性蛋白酶基因克隆入酵母表达载体中获得重组质粒pPIC9K-ap。将其转化入毕赤氏酵母获得重组菌NA3。重组酸性蛋白酶在pH4．0和45℃下表现出最高活性。     

Nucleic acid-binding properties of the RRM-containing protein RDM1

RDM1 (RAD52 Motif 1) is a vertebrate protein involved in the cellular response to the anti-cancer drug cisplatin. In addition to an RNA recognition motif, RDM1 contains a small amino acid motif, named RD motif, which it shares with the recombination and repair protein, RAD52. RDM1 binds to single- and double-stranded DNA, and recognizes DNA distortions induced by cisplatin adducts in vitro. Here, we have performed an in-depth analysis of the nucleic acid-binding properties of RDM1 using gel-shift assays and electron microscopy. We show that RDM1 possesses acidic pH-dependent DNA-binding activity and that it binds RNA as well as DNA, and we present evidence from competition gel-shift experiments that RDM1 may be capable of discrimination between the two nucleic acids. Based on reported studies of RAD52, we have generated an RDM1 variant mutated in its RD motif. We find that the L119GF --> AAA mutation affects the mode of RDM1 binding to single-stranded DNA.     

Limestone Dissolution Induced by Fungal Mycelia,Acidic Materials,and Carbonic Anhydrase from Fungi

Microorganisms influence the dissolution of a number of minerals. Limestone is one of the most abundant rock types in karst areas, and is predominantly calcium carbonate. Two types of experimental systems were designed in this paper, to make comparisons of limestone dissolution rate among the acidic materials and extracellular carbonic anhydrase (CA) excreted by fungi and the enwrapping effect of fungal mycelia. One was the simulated experimental system containing microorganisms. Another was the simulated experimental system without microorganisms. Results of previous experiment indicated that the acidic materials and CA like enzymatic materials excreted by fungi and the enwrapping effect of fungal mycelia were important factors influencing limestone dissolution. In the three factors mentioned above, the dissolution effect was mycelia enwraping effect>acidic dissolution effect>CA enzymatic effect. The results of the second experiment demonstrated further that the limestone dissolution effect of the acidic materials excreted by fungi was stronger than that of CA excreted by fungi. Nevertheless, CA still played an important role in promoting the dissolution of limestone. Wei Li and Peng-Peng Zhou have contributed to the article equally.     

Insights into succession processes using temporally repeated habitat models: results from a long‐term study in a post‐mining landscape

Questions: The early phases of primary succession are governed by chance events and dispersal‐related processes in an environment that is largely free of competition. Thus, the predictability of vegetation patterns using environmental site factors can be expected to be low and spatial autocorrelation to be high. We asked whether the match between vegetation and environment becomes better in the course of succession, and whether vegetation types shift their realized niche with time. Location: Lignite mining region in Central Germany, the post‐mining landscape “Goitzsche” (Saxony‐Anhalt). Methods: Vegetation types were mapped in a 10‐m grid (total area 4.8 ha), starting in 1995, at 3‐year intervals until 2007. We used a temporal comparison of habitat models. We applied: GLS regression to partition the variation in coverage of vegetation types into environmental (soil pH) and spatial components; logistic regression to model the presence/absence of vegetation types along a soil acidity gradient; and autologistic regression allowing for soil acidity and neighbourhood effects. Results: For most vegetation types, the proportion of variation explained by space was high but declined during succession. The outcome of autologistic models suggests that soil acidity often plays a minor role compared to neighbourhood effects in the earlier phase of succession than 12 years later. For four vegetation types, the pH range in which the type was expected to be dominant clearly became smaller with time. These trends support the view that the role of processes related to chance and dispersal decrease with time, while those related to environmental filtering mediated by biotic interactions increase. Conclusions: We conclude that temporal comparisons of spatially explicit habitat models provide insights into changing biotic community processes and their effects on habitat specificity of species or their communities. Thus, this approach may be particularly important for analysis of ecological systems that are not in equilibrium with their environmental drivers.