Allyl Alcohol Selection for Lower Alcohol Dehydrogenase Activity in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia Cultured Cells

One cell strain with stable tolerance to allyl alcohol (AA^r) was selected from 6 × 10⁸ suspension cultured Nicotiana plumbaginifolia Viviani cells. The selected strain contained one-half the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity of the wild type (NP) due to the loss of two of three bands of ADH activity seen on starch gels following electrophoresis of wild-type cell extracts. Anaerobic conditions, simulated by not shaking the suspension cultures, increased the ADH specific activity to more than 3-fold the initial level in both strains but did not change the number of activity bands or the relative levels of activity. The cell strain with decreased ADH activity lost viability more rapidly than the wild type under the anaerobic conditions. The AA^r cells were 10 times more tolerant to ethanol than the NP cells and were also somewhat more tolerant to acetaldehyde and antimycin A. The substrate specificities of the ADH enzymes from both strains were very similar. Further selection of AA^r cells with allyl alcohol produced strains with even lower ADH activity and selection under anaerobic conditions produced strains with increased ADH activity. Genetic studies indicate that the N. plumbaginifolia ADH activity bands arise from subunits produced by two nonallelic genes. This is the first example of the use of allyl alcohol to select for decreased ADH using cultured plant cells.     

Variability of Alcohol Dehydrogenase Activity in a Natural Population of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>

MANY natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster are polymorphic for genetically determined electrophoretic variants of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). Two alleles have been found, ADH-S (the slow variant) and ADH-F (the fast variant)¹ and crude extracts of ADH-F homozygotes typically have a higher enzyme activity than extracts from ADH-S homozygotes^{2, 3}.     

Variation in amount of enzyme protein in natural populations

Among strains of Drosophila melanogaster each derived from a single fertilized female taken from natural populations, there is variation in both alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity and the amount of ADH protein. The correlation between ADH activity and number of molecules over all strains examined is 0.87 or 0.96 in late third instar larvae depending on whether the substrate is 2-propanol or ethanol. With respect to the two common electrophoretic allozymic forms, F and S, segregating in these populations, the FF strains on the whole have higher ADH activities and numbers of ADH molecules than the SS strains. Over all strains examined, enzyme extracts from FF strains have a mean catalytic efficiency per enzyme molecule higher than that of enzyme extracts from SS strains when ethanol is the substrate, and much higher when 2-propanol is the substrate. One FF strain had an ADH activity/ADH protein ratio characteristic of SS strains.     

Biochemical genetics of alcohol dehydrogenase isozymes in the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica)

Polyacrylamide gel-isoelectric focusing (PAGE-IEF) methods were used to examine the multiplicity, tissue distribution, and biochemical genetics of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) isozymes among gray short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica). Seven ADH isozymes were resolved and distinguished on the basis of their isoelectric points, tissue distributions, and substrate and inhibitor specificities. ADH1 and ADH2 exhibited Class I properties and were observed in liver (and intestine) extracts. ADH3, ADH4, and ADH5 showed “high-K _m ” (possibly Class IV) properties, with ADH3 and ADH4 exhibiting high activity in cornea, ear, stomach, and esophagus extracts. ADH6 and ADH7 exhibited Class III properties, including activities as formaldehyde dehydrogenases, with each showing different tissue distribution characteristics; ADH6 was widely distributed, and ADH7 was restricted to prostate extracts. An additional form of formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FDH) was observed, which was inactive with hexenol and ethanol as substrates. Isoelectric point variants were observed for ADH3 (three forms) and for ADH4 (two forms), and the inheritance of ADH3 was studied in 15 families ofM. domestica. The data were consistent with codominant inheritance of two alleles (ADH3*A andADH3*B) at a single autosomal locus (designatedADH3) and with a model involving a dimeric ADH isozyme: ADH3 (γ₂ isozyme, forming three dimers designated γ ₂ ¹ , γ¹ γ², and γ ₂ ² in heterozygous individuals).     

Ethanol-induced Adaptation of Alcohol Dehydrogenase Activity in Rat Brain

ALTHOUGH the presence of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in cerebral tissue has been established¹, a physiological role for such a brain ethanol-oxidizing system has been unclear. The brain may be more biochemically adaptive than was once thought²; thus, it seemed possible that brain ADH may be substrate-induced. We now report that significant elevations of brain ADH activity occur in alcohol-imbibing rats; no changes from control values were found in liver ADH, liver aldehyde dehydrogenase (AldDH), or brain AldDH activities.     

外源钙对根际低氧胁迫下黄瓜幼苗ADH、LDH活性和同工酶的影响

以‘新泰密刺’黄瓜为材料,采用营养液栽培,外源使用Ca2+、钙离子通道抑制剂La3+与钙调素拮抗剂三氟拉嗪(TFP),研究了钙对根际低氧胁迫下黄瓜幼苗根系ADH、LDH活性和同工酶的影响。结果表明,低氧胁迫诱导产生了新的ADH和LDH同工酶条带。低氧胁迫下,ADH、LDH同工酶丰度和活性显著高于对照;外源增施Ca2+有利于Ca2+信号的形成和逆境信号的传递,营养液添加CaCl2缓解了低氧胁迫对黄瓜植株的伤害,ADH、LDH同工酶丰度和活性接近对照水平;La3+抑制Ca2+的吸收和体内运输,营养液添加LaCl3显著抑制了ADH和LDH同工酶丰度和酶活性,黄瓜幼苗植株生长受到抑制,生物量显著低于低氧处理,表明La3+加重了低氧胁迫对黄瓜幼苗植株的伤害;TFP抑制了低氧逆境胁迫信号的传递,营养液添加TFP抑制了ADH和LDH同工酶丰度和酶活性,ADH和LDH同工酶丰度和酶活性显著低于低氧处理,黄瓜幼苗植株生长受到抑制,黄瓜植株的低氧耐性降低。暗示外源Ca2+参与了低氧胁迫下黄瓜根系无氧呼吸代谢的调节,增强了Ca2+向植物体内的运输,缓解了低氧胁迫对黄瓜幼苗植株的伤害,增强了植物对低氧的耐性。     

Effect of anaerobiosis on alcohol dehydrogenase in oat seedlings

In order to clarify the induction of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) by anaerobiosis in oat (Avena sativa L.), the seedlings were exposed to anaerobiosis and activity of ADH and ADH isozyme profiles were determined. The anaerobiosis increased ADH activities in shoots and roots of the seedlings. By day 2, the activity increased 5 and 4 times in the roots and the shoots, respectively, compared with those under aerobic condition. Based on nondenaturing electrophoresis, ADH isozyme composition analysis revealed six bands consisting of a dimmer enzyme with submits encoded by three different Adh genes. Changes in staining intensity of the isozymes indicated that the increase in ADH activity in oat under anaerobiosis resulted from increased enzyme synthesis.     

Flooding induction of alcohol dehydrogenase in shoots and roots of barley seedlings

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) seedlings were exposed to flooding and activities of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and their isoform profiles were determined. The flooding increased ADH activities in shoots and roots of the seedlings. By day 3, the activity increased to 4 and 3 times that of the initial level for the shoots and the roots, respectively. Only two bands of ADH isoform were found in the shoots and the roots of non-induced seedling, whereas five bands were identified in those of induced seedlings.     

Effect of fermented sea tangle on the alcohol dehydrogenase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Sea tangle, a kind of brown seaweed, was fermented with Lactobacillus brevis BJ-20. The gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content in fermented sea tangle (FST) was 5.56% (w/w) and GABA in total free amino acid of FST was 49.5%. The effect of FST on the enzyme activities and mRNA protein expression of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) involved in alcohol metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. Yeast was cultured in YPD medium supplemented with different concentrations of FST powder [0, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.0% (w/v)] for 18 h. FST had no cytotoxic effect on the yeast growth. The highest activities and protein expressions of ADH and ALDH from the cell-free extracts of S. cerevisiae were evident with the 0.4% and 0.8% (w/v) FST-supplemented concentrations, respectively. The highest concentrations of GABA as well as minerals (Zn, Ca, and Mg) were found in the cell-free extracts of S. cerevisiae cultured in medium supplemented with 0.4% (w/v) FST. The levels of GABA, Zn, Ca, and Mg in S. cerevisiae were strongly correlated with the enzyme activities of ADH and ALDH in yeast. These results indicate that FST can enhance the enzyme activities and protein expression of ADH and ALDH in S. cerevisiae.     

Identification of human alcohol dehydrogenase isozymes by disc polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in 7 M urea

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of 7 M urea provides a simple, reproducible method for the identification of cathodic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) isozymes. Treatment of native ADH dimers with 7 M urea and 1 mM dithiothreitol results in a complete dissociation of the 40,000 Mr subunits. Electrophoresis of urea-dissociated ADH isozymes yields a single protein band for homodimers and two bands of equal intensity for heterodimers. The ADH subunits pi, alpha, gamma 2, gamma 1, and beta exhibit electrophoretic mobilities of 0.71, 0.79, 0.88, 0.95, and 1.0, respectively. Thus, the identity of any cathodic ADH isozyme can be determined from the electrophoretic mobilities of its component subunits.     

Loss of growth hormone-dependent characteristics of rat hepatocytes in culture

Summary The liver of rodents is sexually differentiated, i.e. the female liver differs from the male liver. This differentiation is largely controlled by the pattern of growth hormone (GH) secretion. We have attempted to maintain GH-dependent differentiation of cultured rat hepatocytes. We examined the level of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity, which responds to GH and is higher in female than in male liver, and the estrogen receptor, which is dependent on GH but is present in equal amounts in males and females. ADH activity was maintained in cells from male rats, but fell by 40% in cells from females in medium supplemented with insulin and dexamethasone. The estrogen receptor content of female cells fell dramatically to undetectable levels within 2 d of culture. Extensive supplementation of the medium failed to prevent the decrease in ADH activity in female cells; similarly, the addition of female sex steroids; rat serum; pituitary extracts; rat, human, or bovine GH; or ovine prolactin failed to maintain the enzyme activity. Insulin, dexamethasone, thyroid hormone plus GH or prolactin, or the combination of all five hormones also failed to prevent the loss of estrogen receptors. Short-term cultures of rat hepatocytes, although retaining the liver-specific expression of ADH at the male level, lose GH-dependent expression of the estrogen receptor and stimulation of ADH activity. Supported by grants AA 00081 and AA 06434 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD.     

Cloning and sequence analysis of the gene encoding an NADP-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase in Mycobacterium bovis BCG.

The nucleotide sequence of a 1619-bp fragment of Mycobacterium bovis BCG containing the gene that encodes an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) has been determined. The M(r) calculated from the deduced amino acid (aa) sequence, as well as the N terminus, are in good accordance with those determined for the ADH purified from M. bovis BCG extracts. The M. bovis BCG cloned adh gene was expressed in Escherichia coli by its own promoter and the synthesized product shows ADH activity in the butane-1-ol-NADP system. Based on comparison of the aa sequence, this enzyme belongs to the zinc-containing, long-chain alcohol/polyol dehydrogenase family, which has been primarily described in eukaryotes. Of the 22 strictly conserved residues in this group, 19 are also conserved in M. bovis BCG ADH (BCGADH).     

Genetic control of alcohol dehydrogenase isozymes in Triticum dicoccum

By means of the zymogram technique, two types of electrophoretic patterns were found for the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in Triticum dicoccum, a tetraploid species of wheat. Each strain examined showed three bands of ADH activity. The two types of patterns found differed with respect to the relative electrophoretic mobilities and staining intensities of the bands. Evidence that the variation between the patterns is controlled at a single gene locus by two codominant alleles was obtained from appropriate genetic crosses. Heterozygotes for the allelic difference have five bands of ADH activity. These probably represent six different forms of the enzyme, two of which have coincident electrophoretic mobilities. These observations support the hypothesis that ADH exists as a dimer in T. dicoccum. It is probable that the enzyme subunits are coded for by duplicated ADH gene loci, each of which was contributed to the original tetraploid wheats by one of the two diploid progenitors of that group.This paper is Technical Article No. 7983, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.     

The role of alcohol dehydrogenase in the fermentation of D-xylose byCandida shehatae ATCC 22984

Summary When the oxygen supply to an aerobic chemostat culture ofCandida shehatae growing on D-xylose was reduced to oxygen-limited and anoxic conditions, accumulation of ethanol occurred, the specific activity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) increased up to four-fold and the number of ADH isozymes detected increased from one to three. ADH in crude extracts prepared from anoxically-grown cells had a lower affinity for but was more tolerant to ethanol than in extracts prepared from aerobically grown cells. ADH activity appeared to be sufficient for ethanol production byC. shehatae under anoxic conditions.Maintained in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The use of trade, firm or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the US Department of any product or service to the exclusion of others which may be suitable.     

Isolation ofCaenorhabditis elegans mutants lacking alcohol dehydrogenase activity

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and the genes encoding this enzyme have been studied intensively in a broad range of organisms. Little, however, has been reported on ADH in the free-living nematodeCaenorhabiditis elegans. Extracts of wild-typeC. elegans contain ADH activity and display a single band of activity on a native polyacrylamide gel. Reaction rate for alcohol oxidation is more rapid with higher molecular weight alcohols as substrate than with ethanol. Primary alcohols are preferred to secondary alcohols.C. elegans is sensitive to allyl alcohol, a compound that has been used to select for ADH-null mutants of several organisms. Allyl alcohol-resistant mutant strains were selected from ethylmethanesulfonate (EMS)-mutagenized nematode populations. ADH activity was measured in extracts from eight of these strains and was found to be low or nondetectable. These results form a basis for molecular and genetic characterization of ADH expression inC. elegans.     

Enhancer-site downstream binding protein activity is enriched in rat tissues that express the class I alcohol dehydrogenase gene.

The activity of the rat class I alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is enriched in certain tissues including the liver, intestine and testis. The tissue-specific expression of the gene encoding ADH in the rat was studied and found to closely correlate with tissue isozymic activity. A factor designated enhancer-site downstream binding protein (EDBP) was recently identified in the rat liver and found to interact with the proximal promoter of the class I ADH gene. The distribution of EDBP in nuclear extracts obtained from various tissues was examined based on its sequence-specific DNA binding property and found to correlate with tissue ADH expression. These findings suggest that EDBP is potentially a positive regulatory factor which is involved in controlling the tissue-specific expression of the ADH gene.     

Gene activation of alcohol dehydrogenase in Japanese quail and chicken-quail hybrid embryos

No preferential activation of the maternally derived alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) allele was found in any of the chicken male x Japanese quail female hybrids examined. ADH activity in the liver was, in fact, found to exist in two different cathodal zonal regions on starch gel electropherograms; the zone II bands appeared at day 5 of incubation in the quail embryo (day 6 in the hybrid embryo) and the zone I bands appeared in 9-day quail embryos (10-day hybrid embryos). By day 13 of incubation, only the faster-migrating zone I bands could be detected in both quail and hybrid embryos.     

Alcohol dehydrogenase thermostability variants in Drosophila melanogaster: Comparison of activity ratios and enzyme levels

Representatives of five allozymic classes of Drosophila alcohol dehydrogenase have been compared with respect to their activity levels on two alcohol substrates, quantities of ADH protein, and stability in crude extracts. Within each allozymic class, strains from widely diverse geographic locations differ in their enzyme activity levels but are identical for a measure known as "activity ratio," which is obtained by dividing the average activity reading on isopropanol by that obtained with ethanol. They are also similar in the rate at which ADH activity declines in crude extracts held at 25 degrees C. For several of the fast-resistant and fast-moderate strains, differences in ADH activity are associated with differences in the amount of enzyme present. The catalytic efficiencies of the fast-resistant forms are considerably lower than those of the fast-moderate allozymes. The origin and persistence of the rare but ubiquitous fast-resistant allozyme is discussed.     

Genesis of Drosophila ADH: the shaping of the enzymatic activity from a SDR ancestor

Drosophila alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is an NAD(H)-dependent oxidoreductase that catalyzes the oxidation of alcohols and aldehydes. Structurally and biochemically distinct from all the reported ADHs (typically, the mammalian medium-chain dehydrogenase/reductase–ethanol-metabolizing enzyme), it stands as the only small-alcohol transforming system that has originated from a short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) ancestor. The crystal structures of the apo, binary (E·NAD⁺) and three ternary (E·NAD⁺·acetone, E·NAD⁺·3-pentanone and E·NAD⁺·cyclohexanone) forms of Drosophila lebanonensis ADH have allowed us to infer the structural and kinetic features accounting for the generation of the ADH activity within the SDR lineage.     

Regulation of alanine dehydrogenase in Bacillus (licheniformis)

Cell extracts of Bacillus licheniformis were found to contain nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent l-alanine dehydrogenase (ADH) (l-alanine: NAD oxidoreductase, EC 1.4.1.1). High specific activities (3.5 to 6.0 IU/mg of protein) were found in extracts of cells throughout growth cycles only when l-alanine served as the primary source of carbon or carbon and nitrogen. Specific activities were minimal (0.02 to 0.04 IU/mg of protein) during growth on glucose, but increased at least sevenfold during the first 5 h of postlogarithmic-phase metabolism. Addition of 10 mM glucose to cultures during logarithmic-phase growth on l-alanine resulted in a rapid decrease in enzyme activity. Addition of 20 mM l-alanine to cells near the completion of log-phase growth on glucose resulted in a 20-fold increase in ADH specific activity during less than one cell generation. Extracts of postlogarithmic-phase cells cultured on glucose, malate, l-glutamate, or Casamino Acids contained intermediate levels of ADH activity. The enzyme was partially purified from crude extracts of B. licheniformis, and apparent kinetic constants were estimated. A role for ADH in the catabolism of l-alanine to pyruvate during vegetative growth on l-alanine and during sporulation of cells cultured on glucose is proposed on the basis of these experimental results.