Isozyme Variation among Biological Species in the Gibberella fujikuroi Species Complex (Fusarium Section Liseola)

Isozyme phenotypes were determined for 101 strains of Gibberella fujikuroi and 2 strains of Gibberella nygamai that represent seven biological species (mating populations) isolated from a variety of plant hosts in dispersed geographic locations. Fourteen enzymes were resolved in one or more of three buffer systems. Two of the enzymes, arylesterase and acid phosphatase, were polymorphic within two or more biological species and are suitable for intraspecific studies of population variation. Six enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, mannitol dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase, and phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, were monomorphic in all of the isolates examined. The remaining six enzymes, fumarase, glucose phosphate isomerase, glutamate dehydrogenase (NADP), isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP), malate dehydrogenase, and triose-phosphate isomerase, could potentially be used to distinguish the different biological species. Mating populations C and D are the most similar, since the mating population C isolates examined had the same isozyme phenotype as did a subset of the isolates in mating population D. Mating population E is the least similar to the other taxa examined. Unique isozyme phenotypes are present but are composed of banding patterns shared among the biological species. This finding supports the hypothesis that these biological species, with the possible exception of mating populations C and D, are reproductively isolated from one another and that no significant gene flow is occurring between them. Isozyme analysis is a useful method to distinguish these closely related biological species. Examination of isozyme phenotypes is more rapid than the present technique, which is based on sexual crosses; can be applied to strains that are not sexually fertile; and is more sensitive than traditional morphological characters, which cannot distinguish more than three or four morphological groups among the seven biological species. While emphasizing the discreteness of the mating populations as biological entities, our isozyme data also reaffirm the close genetic relationship among these groups.     

Use of electrophoretic enzyme patterns for streptomycete systematics

Abstract The relative electrophoretic mobilities of various enzymes from 24 different streptomycetes were determined on polyacrylamide gels in order to examine the relatedness of species and strains of the genus Streptomyces . Of 11 different enzymes tested in this study, hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase and isocitrate dehydrogenase showed a limited number of constant and reproducible polymorphic enzyme patterns, by comparing which the inter-specific relationships could be examined. In contrast, glucose dehydrogenase, alcohol dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucose isomerase, peroxidase and esterase exhibited either weak non-reproducible or highly heterogeneous band patterns which were suitable for dissecting the strains within a species and a cluster group.     

The quantitative histochemistry of enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway in the central nervous system of the rat

Abstract— Methods are presented for the measurement of the non-oxidative enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway in freeze-dried samples of tissue weighing 2 μg or less. The activities of transketolase (EC 2.2.1.1), transaldolase (EC 2.2.1.2), ribosephosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.6), and ribulosephosphate epimerase (EC 5.1.3.1), together with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.44) have been measured in seven specific regions in the central nervous system of the rat. Michaelis constants and temperature coefficients of these enzymes were obtained on homogenates of whole rat brain. The entire enzymic complement of the pentose phosphate pathway was detected in each of the regions examined. The activities of the non-oxidative enzymes and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase did not vary greatly among the different regions examined, whereas the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase varied in close correspondence with the lipid content of the various structures. The cellular, granular layer of the cerebellum was exceptional, since it exhibited at least three times more transaldolase activity than that observed in other structures, an observation suggesting an association of transaldolase with nerve cell bodies.     

Proline dehydrogenase and pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase from pumpkin cotyledons

Activity of proline dehydrogenase and pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase was greatest after 5 and 7 days germination in green and etiolated cotyledons respectively of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Poir. cv. Dickinson Field). The ratio of pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase to proline dehydrogenase activity was constant throughout germination. Both enzymes were purified 30-fold but the ratio pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase—proline dehydrogenase activity was constant throughout purification. However, this ratio decreased with storage, especially in purified preparations. Both enzymes were stable at high temperature and the ratio pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase—proline dehydrogenase remained unchanged on heating. Proline dehydrogenase and pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase were inhibited by sodium bisulfite and cysteine. ATP, ADP and NADP caused inhibition of both enzymes. Proline dehydrogenase utilized NAD but not NADP. Pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase had a 2.5-fold greater activity with NADH than NADPH. Most of the data presented suggest that proline dehydrogenase and pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase activities occur on the same protein molecule.     

Xylose metabolism in a thermophilic mouldMalbranchea pulchella var.sulfurea TMD-8

The thermophilic mouldMalbranchea pulchella var.sulfurea TMD-8 produced extracellular xylanases in wheat straw hemicellulose as well as wheat straw. This mould utilized xylose less efficiently than glucose. Mycelial extracts contained xylose isomerase, xylose reductase, and xylitol dehydrogenase. Xylose isomerase was less thermostable than that from other microorganisms. However, xylitol dehydrogenase and xylose reductase were relatively more thermostable in comparison with these enzymes from other microorganisms. The affinity of xylose isomerase for xylose was very high (Km 10mM), while that of xylose reductase was low (Km 23.5mM). The xylitol dehydrogenase exhibited relatively high affinity for xylitol (Km 0.02mM). The activity of this enzyme, however, declined steeply, in the alkaline range. This is the first report on the occurrence of three intracellular enzymes, xylose isomerase, xylose reductase, and xylitol dehydrogenase in a thermophilic mould, which play an important role in xylose metabolism.     

Isoenzyme patterns of pathogenic and nonpathogenic thermophilic Naegleria strains by isoelectric focusing

Pernin P. 1984. Isoenzyme patterns of pathogenic and nonpathogenic thermophilic Naegleria strains by isoelectric focusing. International Journal for Parasitology14: 459–465. The isoenzymatic patterns of different strains of Naegleria were studied by isoelectric focusing (I.E.F.) on polyacrylamide gels for seven enzymatic activities (leucine amino peptidase; lactate dehydrogenase; glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase; propionyl esterase; glucose phosphate isomerase; malate dehydrogenase; acid phosphatase), two of which (lactate dehydrogenase and glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase) were being investigated for the first time. The three pathogenic N. fowleri strains share a common pattern for most of the enzymes tested except for glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase, and thus form a very homogeneous species, while thermophilic nonpathogenic strains show more heterogeneity particularly for leucine amino peptidase and glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase.I.E.F. must be considered as a supplementary and rapid method for the identification of N. fowleri and as a powerful tool to demonstrate the complexity of different genera of free-living amoebas.     

Isozyme Variation among 40 Frankia Strains

Forty Frankia strains belonging to the Alnus and Elaeagnus host specificity groups and isolated from various plant species from different geographical areas were characterized by the electrophoretic separation of isozymes of eight enzymes. All the enzyme systems that were investigated showed large variation. Diaphorases and esterases gave multiple band patterns and confirmed the identification of specific Frankia strains. Less variability was observed with enzymes such as phosphoglucose isomerase, leucine aminopeptidase, and malate dehydrogenase, which allowed for the delineation of larger groups of Frankia strains. Cluster analysis, based on the pair-wise similarity coefficients calculated between strains, delineated three large, dissimilar groups of Frankia strains, although each of these groups contained a large amount of heterogeneity. However, numerous Frankia strains, mainly from the Alnus host specificity group, demonstrated a perfect homology for all the enzymes tested.     

Diversity of Enzyme Electrophoretic Patterns in the Eggplant Complex

Studies on electrophoretic patterns of five enzymes, aspartate aminotransferase (AAT), glucose-phosphate isomerase (GPI), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), shikimate dehydrogenase (SKDH) and triose-phosphate isomerase (TPI) resulted in the identification of 17 phenotypes in 21 accessions of Solanum melongena L, S. insanum L and S. incanum L. The results provided evidence of 10 isozyme loci represented by 20 alleles involved in the control of the above enzymes. GPI and AAT showed high number of phenotypes, while GDHpresented a single morpho The most frequent phenotypes were identical in S. melongena, S. insanum and S. incanum indicating close genetic proximity of the three taxa. S. melongena accessions showed high degree of zymogram homogeneity, while the other two species were more diverse.     

Developmental Effects of Sandoz 6706 on Activities of Enzymes of Phenolic and General Metabolism in Barley Shoots Grown in the Dark or under Low or High Intensity Light

The activities of three enzymes of phenolic biosynthesis and six of general metabolism were studied at 24-hour intervals between the 3rd and 8th day after planting in barley shoots treated with the chlorosis-inducing herbicide Sandoz 6706 and grown in the dark or under high or low intensity light. The herbicide had no effect on fresh weight or soluble protein (per shoot) in plants grown in the dark or under low intensity light, but slightly decreased these parameters in plants grown for more than 5 days under high intensity light. In dark-grown seedlings the herbicide had no detectable effects on plastid ultrastructure or on the activity of malate dehydrogenase, cytochrome c oxidase, NADP-cytochrome c reductase, triose phosphate isomerase, peroxidase, catalase, shikimate dehydrogenase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, or chalcone-flavanone isomerase. Under low intensity light, Sandoz 6706-treated plants developed plastids with single thylakoids extending across the organelle, and the activity of all enzymes examined was increased to varying degrees. When the herbicide-treated plants were grown under high intensity light, plastid lamellar organization was severely disrupted. Activities of shikimate dehydrogenase and chalcone-flavanone isomerase were markedly enhanced, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity slightly promoted, and catalase activity severely inhibited. The other enzymes were not appreciably affected by Sandoz 6706 under high intensity light. It is concluded that the changes in plastid ultrastructure and enzyme activities of the herbicide-treated plants are largely secondary photomorphogenetic or photooxidative responses in the carotenoid-free plants in which chlorophylls accumulate in reduced amounts (low intensity light) or are completely absent (high intensity light).     

EXTENSIVE GENE DUPLICATIONS IN DIPLOID EUPATORIUM (ASTERACEAE)

An electrophoretic study of isozyme number for seven soluble enzymes revealed extensive gene duplications in eight diploid species of American Eupatorium belonging to three morphological groups. The enzymes isocitrate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase, phosphoglucose isomerase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and shikimate dehydrogenase occur as three to six isozymes in all species, whereas the minimal conserved number typical of diploid plants is two isozymes for each. Fructose 1, 6-biphosphate aldolase is expressed as multibanded pattern suggesting fixed heterozygosity in all examined species. It was not possible to document gene duplication for triosephosphate isomerase from the electrophoretic patterns. All species examined have a chromosome number of 2n = 20, which has been regarded as the basic diploid number for Eupatorium. However, the detection of extensive duplications suggests that 2n = 10 may be the original diploid chromosome number in Eupatorium and that plants with 2n = 20 are of polyploid origin. This hypothesis would mean that extensive duplications at isozyme gene loci have been maintained since the origin of the genus, despite chromosomal diploidization having occurred.     

Studies on the pathophysiology of acute renal failure. II. A histochemical study of the proximal tubule of the rat following administration of mercuric chloride.

Acute renal failure was induced in male rats by the subcutaneous injectioon of 4 mg HgC12 per kg body weight. Enzyme activities of the proximal tubule were studied histochemically at six time intervals from 15 min to 24 h. The enzyme studied were alkaline phosphatase, 5'-nucleotidase, acid phosphatase, alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (NAD-independent), malic dehydrogenase, succinic dehydrogenase, latic dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphatase. Decreases in activity were observed for alkaline phosphatase and 5'-nucleotidase after 15 min. Acid phosphatase was decreased after 30 min. These three enzymes returned to control levels after 3 h, but malic dehydrogenase and alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase were decreased at this time interval. Succinic dehydrogenase was first decreased after 6 h. The earliest morphological changes detectable by light microscopy were observed in pars recta tubules in the medullary rays after 6 h, a time when all enzymes studied showed widespread decreased activity throughout the proximal tubule. After 24 h, the pars convoluta appeared morphologically normal but the pars recta was necrotic and exhibited calcification, whereas enzyme activity was decreased (absent in some cases) in both pars convoluta and pars recta. These results support the hypothesis that Hg++, when given in a sublethal dose, is associated with early histochemical changes in the brush border of the proximal tubule, which may be related to early changes in sodium reabsorption and to the subsequent development of acute renal failure. The observation that changes in plasma membrane-associated enzymes occur early and prior to alterations in enzymes of mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum suggests that Hg++ interacts initially with the plasma membrane.     

Stability of Some Serum Enzymes in Sheep,Cattle, and Swine During Storage at Different Temperatures

Owing to the increased use of serum enzyme determinations in veterinary diagnostic work, greater knowledge about the keeping qualities of different animal sera under various storing conditions seems desirable. The present paper deals with the stability of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT = GOT), alanine aminotransferase (A1AT = GPT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and a-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBD) in cattle, sheep, and swine. Sera from 14—16 animals of each species were analysed daily for 5 days after storage at room temperature (22°C) and in the refrigerator (4°C). Samples kept in the deep-freezer (—20°C) were reanalysed once after 32—38 days. Significant differences of serum activity were found between individuals for all enzymes in the three species. Great variations were found in the stability of enzyme activities of different species. To summarize, it may be said that the changes of transferase activities were less pronounced under the different storing conditions than those of the dehydrogenases investigated. Pig serum in particular showed heavy losses of the latter enzymes already after 1 day, more pronounced at refrigerator than at room temperature. As a consequence of the results obtained, practical recommendations for analytical work on these enzymes are suggested.     

Cellobiose catabolism in the haloalkaliphilic hydrolytic bacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alkaliflexus imshenetskii</Emphasis>

Cellobiose metabolism was studied in Alkaliflexus imshenetskii, a haloalkaliphilic hydrolytic bacterium capable of utilizing certain polymers of plant origin, as well as mono- and disaccharides. The major products of cellobiose fermentation by the bacterium were succinate and acetate, and formate was a minor product. Cellobiose could be split into glucose molecules by both β-glucosidase (hydrolytic pathway) and phosphorylase (phosphorolytic pathway); the activity of the former enzyme was two orders of magnitude higher (3600 nmol/(min mg) versus 36 nmol/(min mg)). In cell extracts of the bacterium, high activities of the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway enzymes—hexokinase, glucose-phosphate isomerase, and phosphofructokinase—were revealed, as well as the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and key enzymes of the Entner-Doudoroff pathway—6-phospho-gluconate dehydratase and 2-keto-3-deoxy-6-phospho-gluconate aldolase. Neither the activity of the key enzyme of the hexose-mono-phosphate pathway, 6-phospho-gluconate dehydrogenase, nor the activities of the key enzymes of the modified Entner-Doudoroff pathway, glucose dehydrogenase and 2-keto-3-deoxy-gluconate kinase, were revealed.     

Experimental investigations on hypokinesis of skeletal muscles with different function. IV. Changes in the sarcoplasmic proteins

The changes in the sarcoplasmic proteins of the m. gastrocnemius and m. soleus were examined by biochemical methods on the 5th, 7th, 14th and 28th days after plaster cast immobilization of the right hind limbs of adult rabbits. During 4 weeks the soluble/myofibrillar protein ratio increased from 0.47 to 0.75 in the m. gastrocnemius, and to 0.85 in the m. soleus. Evaluation of the relative quantities of the components identified after gel-electrophoresis separation led to the following results: (1) There was no, or no appreciable change in the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase and enolase activities. (2) The enzymes lactate dehydrogenase, aldolase and the glycogenolytic enzymes showed a relative decrease in both muscles. (3) Phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglucose isomerase and pyruvate kinase increased in both muscles. (4) Changes of opposite directions were exhibited by myoglobin, myokinase and F-protein. These results provide new data on the biochemical characterization of these functionally different muscles, and on the mechanism of disuse atrophy.     

Isoenzymes of sugar phosphate metabolism in endosperm of germinating castor beans

Two isoenzymes each of phosphoglucomutase, hexose phosphate isomerase, aldolase, fructose diphosphatase, phosphofructokinase, and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase have been separated by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography of extracts from endosperm of germinating castor beans (Ricinus communis cv. Hale). One of each of the enzymes is localized in the cytosol and the other is confined to plastids. Developmental studies of these isoenzymes were carried out to clarify their roles in the endosperm. In extracts from ungerminated seeds the activities of marker enzymes of mitochondria (fumarase), plastids (ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase), and glyoxysomes (catalase) were low, but phosphoglucomutase, hexose phosphate isomerase, aldolase, and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase were present in relatively high activity. The total amounts of these enzymes increased 3- to 4-fold during the first 5 days of growth. The activities of isoenzymes in the plastids rose in parallel with that of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase to reach a maximum at day 4, and like the carboxylase they declined sharply thereafter. The activities of the cytosolic isoenzymes peaked at day 5. These changes are consistent with the roles previously proposed for the sequences present in plastid and cytosol.     

Enzymes of glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway during development of the rabbit stomach worm Obeliscoides cuniculi

The activities of glycolytic and other enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism were measured in free-living and parasitic stages of the rabbit stomach worm Obeliscoides cuniculi. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase, hexokinase, glucosephosphate isomerase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, triosephosphate isomerase, α-glycerophosphatase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, pyruvate kinase, phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase, lactate dehydrogenase, alcohol dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase activities were present in worms recovered 14, 20 and 190 days postinfection.The presence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase indicates the possible function of a pentose phosphate pathway and a capacity for gluconeogenesis, respectively, in these worms.The ratio of pyruvate kinase (PK) to phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) less than I in parasitic stages suggests that their most active pathway is that fixing CO₂ into phosphoenol pyruvate to produce oxaloacetate.Low levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, triosephosphate isomerase, PEPCK and PK were recorded in infective third-stage larvae stored at 5°C for 5 and 12 mos. The ratio of PK to PEPCK greater than 1 indicates that infective larvae preferentially utilize a different terminal pathway than the parasitic stages.     

The pentose phosphate pathway of glucose metabolism. Hormonal and dietary control of the oxidative and non-oxidative reactions of the cycle in liver

1. Measurements were made of the non-oxidative reactions of the pentose phosphate cycle in liver (transketolase, transaldolase, ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase and ribose 5-phosphate isomerase activities) in a variety of hormonal and nutritional conditions. In addition, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activities were measured for comparison with the oxidative reactions of the cycle; hexokinase, glucokinase and phosphoglucose isomerase activities were also included. Starvation for 2 days caused significant lowering of activity of all the enzymes of the pentose phosphate cycle based on activity in the whole liver. Re-feeding with a high-carbohydrate diet restored all the enzyme activities to the range of the control values with the exception of that of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, which showed the well-known ;overshoot' effect. Re-feeding with a high-fat diet also restored the activities of all the enzymes of the pentose phosphate cycle and of hexokinase; glucokinase activity alone remained unchanged. Expressed as units/g. of liver or units/mg. of protein hexokinase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, transketolase and pentose phosphate isomerase activities were unchanged by starvation; both 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase activities decreased faster than the liver weight or protein content. 2. Alloxan-diabetes resulted in a decrease of approx. 30-40% in the activities of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, ribose 5-phosphate isomerase, ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase and transketolase; in contrast with this glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, transaldolase and phosphoglucose isomerase activities were unchanged. Treatment of alloxan-diabetic rats with protamine-zinc-insulin for 3 days caused a very marked increase to above normal levels of activity in all the enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway except ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase, which was restored to the control value. Hexokinase activity was also raised by this treatment. After 7 days treatment of alloxan-diabetic rats with protamine-zinc-insulin the enzyme activities returned towards the control values. 3. In adrenalectomized rats the two most important changes were the rise in hexokinase activity and the fall in transketolase activity; in addition, ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase activity was also decreased. These effects were reversed by cortisone treatment. In addition, in cortisone-treated adrenalectomized rats glucokinase activity was significantly lower than the control value. 4. In thyroidectomized rats both ribose 5-phosphate isomerase and transketolase activities were decreased; in contrast with this transaldolase activity did not change significantly. Hypophysectomy caused a 50% fall in transketolase activity that was partially reversed by treatment with thyroxine and almost fully reversed by treatment with growth hormone for 8 days. 5. The results are discussed in relation to the hormonal control of the non-oxidative reactions of the pentose phosphate cycle, the marked changes in transketolase activity being particularly outstanding.     

A method for simultaneous electrophoresis of four horse red cell enzyme systems

A method was developed for simultaneous electrophoresis of the enzymes 6-phos-phogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGD), phosphoglucomutase (PGM), phospho-hexose isomerase (PHI) and acid phosphatase (AP) from horse red cells. Genetically controlled variants of PHI were discovered by this technique. The patterns obtained for 6-PGD and PGM were similar to those obtained by the original methods described for these enzymes. The AP patterns differed somewhat from those previously described in horse.     

Trypanosoma brucei: activities and subcellular distribution of glycolytic enzymes from differently disrupted cells

The effect of disruption procedure on the subcellular distribution and the activities of 11 enzymes catalyzing the glycolytic pathway in Trypanosoma brucei has been studied. The activities of the enzymes varied with the lytic procedure used. Maximum specific enzyme activity values were obtained after treatment with saponin whereas digitonin treatment gave the lowest results. The intracellular location of the enzymes was examined by means of differential centrifugation following cell lysis with saponin, Triton X-100, digitonin, or by freezing and thawing. Irrespective of the method of cell lysis employed, the six enzymes, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, phosphoglycerate kinase, glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase, and glycerokinase, were particulate. Of the remaining 5 enzymes, digitonin liberates only phosphoglycerate mutase (partially); saponin or Triton X-100 liberates phosphoglucose isomerase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, and pyruvate kinase but not glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; freezing and thawing acts like saponin or Triton X-100 except that it fails to liberate phosphoglucose isomerase, while cell grinding with silicon carbide liberates only glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (partially), phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, and pyruvate kinase. The relative maximal activities of the enzymes suggest that the rate-limiting steps in glycolysis in T. brucei are the reactions catalyzed by aldolase and phosphoglycerate mutase.