Induction of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in the Facultative Halophyte Mesembryanthemum crystallinum by Abscisic Acid

The facultative halophyte, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, shifts its mode of carbon assimilation from the C₃ pathway to Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in response to water stress. In this study, exogenously applied abscisic acid (ABA), at micromolar concentrations, could partially substitute for water stress in induction of CAM in this species. ABA at concentrations of 5 to 10 micromolar, when applied to leaves or to the roots in hydroponic culture or in soil, induced the expression of CAM within days (as indicated by the nocturnal accumulation of total titratable acidity and malate). After applying ABA there was also an increase in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and NADP-malic enzyme activities. The degree and time course of induction by ABA were comparable to those induced by salt and water stress. Electrophoretic analyses of leaf soluble protein indicate that the increases in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity during the induction by ABA, salt, and water stress are due to an increase in the quantity of the enzyme protein. ABA may be a factor in the stress-induced expression of CAM in M. crystallinum, serving as a functional link between stress and biochemical adaptation.     

Vanadium levels in urine and cystine levels in fingernails and hair of exposed and normal persons

Vanadium was determined by radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) with proven accuracy in urine of workers occupationally exposed to vanadium-rich dust in a vanadium pentoxide production plant, and values in the range of 3.02–762 ng/mL (median 33.0 ng/mL) were found. In a control group consisting of administrative workers of the plant, urinary vanadium levels were found in the range of 1.05–53.4 ng/mL (median 2.53 ng/mL), whereas in an another control group of occupationally nonexposed persons, these values amounted to 0.066–0.489 ng/mL (median 0.212 ng/mL). Accuracy of the results was tested by analysis of reference material IAEA A-13 Animal Blood and NIST SRM-1515 Apple Leaves, and very good agreement was found with literature and the NIST certified values, respectively. Unlike urine, no significant differences were found for cystine levels in fingernails and hair of exposed and control persons.     

Effect of oxygen on ubiquinone-10 production by Paracoccus denitrificans

Summary Ubiquinone-10 (Q₁₀) production was measured in batch cultures of Paracoccus denitrificans grown for 8 h at increasing oxygen concentrations (0–21 % O₂ in the sparging gas). Whereas the cellular level of Q₁₀ decreased monotonically from 1.2 to 0.5 mol/g d.w., the total yield of Q₁₀ was maximal at 2.5 % O₂ and amounted to 350 nmol (0.3 mg) per L of culture.     

Effect of Axial Ligand Length on Biological and Anticancer Properties of Axially Disubstituted Silicon Phthalocyanines

In this study, three new axially disubstituted silicon phthalocyanines ( SiPc1–3 ) and their quaternized phthalocyanine derivatives ( QSiPc1–3 ) were prepared and characterized. The biological properties (antioxidant, antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and microbial cell viability activities) of the water-soluble silicon phthalocyanines were examined, as well. A 1 % DMSO diluted with pure water was used as a solvent in biological activity studies. All the compounds exhibited high antioxidant activity. They displayed efficient antimicrobial and antimicrobial photodynamic therapeutic properties against various microorganisms, especially Gram (+) bacteria. Additionally, they demonstrated high antibiofilm activities against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. In addition, 100 % bacterial reduction was obtained for all the studied phthalocyanines against E. coli viable cells. Besides, the DNA cleavage and binding features of compounds ( QSiPc1–3 ) were studied using pBR322 DNA and CT-DNA, respectively. Furthermore, the human topoisomerase I enzyme inhibition activities of compounds QSiPc1 – 3 were studied. Anticancer properties of the water-soluble compounds were investigated using cell proliferation MTT assay. They exhibited anticarcinogenic activity against the human colon cancer cell line (DLD-1). Compounds QSiPc1 and QSiPc3 displayed a high anticarcinogenic effect on the DLD-1 cell line. The obtained results indicated that all the studied compounds may be effective biological agents and anticancer drugs after further investigations.     

林蛙受精卵的表面收缩波和卵裂起动收缩

林蛙受精卵表面的大豆凝集素结合位点没有侧向运动,联在结合位点上的标记物在卵表面位置的改变应该可以反映卵表面运动。本文利用近景摄影测量术和侧向摄影法观测卵表面标记点位置的变化,得到下面的结果:1.卵裂前30—40min,整个卵表面都向预定分裂沟中心移动,表示卵表面在收缩。卵裂前15min左右,沟中心附近的卵表面开始松弛,随之是离沟较远处的卵表面松弛,显示卵表面有一个从预定分裂沟中心向四周传播的收缩波(图2—5)。如果以相邻标记点之间的距离变化作图(图6),则出现两个波,一个是松弛波,一个是收缩波。本文对卵表面究竟出现一个波还是两个波的问题进行了讨论。2.分裂沟中心附近收缩时,高程逐渐下降,基部两侧逐渐加宽(图7和图8);卵松弛时,高程增加,基部收缩。所以卵高程的变化也是从预定分裂沟中心波浪形地向四周传播的。3.卵裂沟出现前3—5 min,预定分裂沟两端开始向沟中心收缩,这是卵裂起动收缩。以后收缩范围逐渐扩大,强度亦增加,但预定分裂沟两侧的卵表面没有向预定分裂沟两端移动。这一结果支持了赤道区收缩的假说。     

C4 Photosynthesis (The Effects of Leaf Development on the CO2-Concentrating Mechanism and Photorespiration in Maize)

The effect of O2 on photosynthesis was determined in maize (Zea mays) leaves at different developmental stages. The optimum level of O2 for maximum photosynthetic rates was lower in young and senescing tissues (2-5 kPa) than in mature tissue (9 kPa). Inhibition of photosynthesis by suboptimal levels of O2 may be due to a requirement for functional mitochondria or to cyclic/pseudocyclic photophosphorylation in chloroplasts; inhibition by supraoptimal levels of O2 is considered to be due to photorespiration. Analysis of a range of developmental stages (along the leaf blade and at different leaf ages and positions) showed that the degree of inhibition of photosynthesis by supraoptimal levels of O2 increased rapidly once the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and chlorophyll contents were below a critical level and was similar to that of C3 plants. Tissue having a high sensitivity of photosynthesis to O2 may be less effective in concentrating CO2 in the bundle sheath cells due either to limited function of the C4 cycle or to higher bundle sheath conductance to CO2. An analysis based on the kinetic properties of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase was used to predict the maximum CO2 level concentrated in bundle sheath cells at a given degree of inhibition of photosynthesis by supraoptimal levels of O2.     

The stability of L-ATC hydrolase participating in L-cysteine production

Summary In the production of L-cysteine from D,L-ATC stability of the relevant enzymes produced byPseudomonas sp. was tested, and strategies to improve the stability of L-ATC hydrolase were investigated in view of water activity and ionic strength. Among the three enzymes which participate in L-cysteine production, i.e., ATC racemase, L-ATC hydrolase, and S-carbamyl-L-cysteine hydrolase, L-ATC hydrolase is the least stable. Various mixtures of salts and sorbitol were added to adjust the water activities of the tested solutions. As water activity decreased from 0.93 to 0.80, the stability of L-ATC hydrolase was sharply enhanced. In the absence of sorbitol the stability of L-ATC hydrolase increased in proportion to ionic strength. Even though enzyme stability was not good at a low ionic strength, it was enhanced by lowering water activity with addition of sorbitol. The half life of L-ATC hydrolase in sorbitol-salt mixtures increased by tenfold to twentyfold compared to that of a control.     

Intracellular serine proteinase behaves as a heat-stress protein in nongrowing but as a cold-stress protein in growing populations of Bacillus megaterium

A temperature increase from 35° to 40–42°C enhances the rise of cytoplasmic serine proteinase (ISP1) activity in Bacillus megaterium incubated in a sporulation medium. A temperature shift from 27°C in the growth medium to 35°C in the sporulation medium has the same effect. Elevated temperature stimulates the increase of ISP1 level when applied immediately after the transfer of cells from the growth to the sporulation medium (at T₀) or at T₃, when sporulation becomes irreversible. The cytoplasmic PMSF-resistant activity or the proteolytic activity associated with the membrane fraction is stimulated only slightly or not at all. A temperature increase to 45–47°C suppresses the rise of proteolytic activities in all cell fractions. In addition to the elevation of the ISP1 activity by an upward temperature shift, the rise of this enzyme in nongrowing cells is also stimulated by osmotic stress. In growing populations, in contrast to the rise of the ISP1 activity caused by elevated temperature in nongrowing cells, this proteinase is induced by low temperatures (24–27°C). The ISP1 activity roughly correlates with the enzyme protein concentration determined by immunoblotting.     

Effects of chronic reserpine pretreatment on myocardial sodium pump and inotropic sensitivity to ouabain in guinea pig heart

The effects of chronic reserpine pretreatment (0.1 mg/kg/day, 7–9 days) on myocardial sodium pump activity, the binding of ³H-ouabain to Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase, and the positive inotropic effect of ouabain were studied in guinea pig hearts. Ouabain-sensitive ⁸⁶Rb uptake, an estimate of sodium pump activity, was significantly decreased (33.0%) in papillary muscles of chronic reserpine-pretreated guinea pigs as compared to the saline-treated controls. Kinetic analyses of the interaction of ³H-ouabain with Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase indicated that chronic reserpine pretreatment resulted in a significant decrease (24.3%) in the maximum ³H-ouabain binding site concentration when the results were expressed as pmoles per mg protein. The maximum ³H-ouabain binding sites or the number of Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase units, however, were not significantly different between the two groups when they were expressed as pmoles per mg DNA. The affinity or the dissociation rate constant (Kd) of ³H-ouabain binding was not altered after chronic reserpine pretreatment. In isolated, electrically-driven left atrial preparations, the basal contractile force was slightly higher in the reserpine-pretreated animals; the subsequent development of the positive inotropic effect and the concentration of ouabain needed to produce half-maximal inotropic response, however, were not different from the controls. Thus, it is concluded that chronic reserpine pretreatment is accompanied by a significant reduction in myocardial sodium pump activity; however, the number of sodium pump sites per cell was unchanged. The sensitivity of the reserpine-pretreated myocardium to the inotropic action of ouabain as well as its affinity for ³H-ouabain binding $\text{in vitro}$ are also unchanged.     

Oxygen inhibition of photosynthesis in the C4 species Amaranthus graecizans L.

In the C₄ plant, Amaranthus graecizans, increasing [O₂] from 2% up to 100% inhibited photosynthesis, quantum yield, and the carboxylation efficiency, and increased the CO₂ compensation point () from 2 to about 12 l/l. The O₂ inhibition of photosynthesis was fully reversible. When changing from 2.5 to 40% O₂ and vice versa, about 1 h was required for full equilibration with an O₂ inhibition of 18%; whereas in wheat, a C₃ species, inhibition of photosynthesis and its reversal occurs within minutes after changing [O₂], resulting in 63% inhibition of photosynthesis by 45% O₂. These differences in O₂ inhibition between a C₄ and C₃ species can be explained by high diffusive resistance across bundle-sheath cells of C₄ plants and the increased CO₂/O₂ ratio in bundle-sheath cells which is the consequence of the C₄ cycle. In A. graecizans, increased with increasing [O₂] but tended to reach a maximum at relatively high O₂ levels. The lack of a linear increase in as previously observed for C₃ species indicates that a considerable amount of photorespired CO₂ may be re-fixed with increasing levels of O₂. In comparison to previous reports with other C₄ species, photosynthesis of A. graecizans shows greater sensitivity to O₂, with a noticeable inhibition occurring with shifts from 2 to 21% O₂. A. graecizans has characteristics of other C₄ species with respect to Kranz anatomy, localization of PEP carboxylase in mesophyll cells and RuBP carboxylase in bundle-sheath cells, and little fractionation among carbon isotopes during CO₂ fixation. The basis for the higher sensitivity of photosynthesis of A. graecizans to O₂ may be based upon a lower diffusive resistance of gases across bundle-sheath cells than in some other C₄ species.Abbreviations CE carboxylation efficiency - RuBP ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate - CO₂ compensation point