Incorporation of Label from Acetate and Laurate into the Mannan of Leishmania donovani via the Glyoxylate Cycle

Leishmania donovani promastigotes in late-stationary phase incorporated label from [2-¹⁴C]acetate and [1-¹⁴C]laurate into the mannose residues of mannan, thus confirming the presence of a functional glyoxylate bypass in these parasitic protozoa. Isolated, washed calls also incorporated label from [2-¹⁴C]acetate and [1-¹⁴C]laurate into mannan during a 1-hr incubation in buffer. Glucose had no effect on label incorporation into mannan, but glutamate caused over a four-fold increase in incorporation from [2-¹⁴C]acetate and a 2.4-fold increase from [1-¹⁴C]laurate. Staurosporine, a protein kinase inhibitor that inhibits glutamate and alanine oxidation, did not inhibit label incorporation from [2-¹⁴C]acetate into mannan. Hyperosmolality caused about a 33% inhibition of label incorporation into mannan. These results show the glyoxylate cycle and/or the subsequent biosynthetic pathway from fructose-6-phosphate to mannan are subject to regulation.     

Nitrogen limitation and amino-acid metabolism of Chlorella symbiotic with green hydra

Chlorella algae symbiotic in the digestive cells of Hydra viridissima Pallas (green hydra) were found to contain less amino-N and smaller pools of free amino acids than their cultured counterparts, indicating that growth in symbiosis was nitrogen-limiting. This difference was reflected in uptake of amino acids and subsequent incorporation into protein; symbiotic algae incorporated a greater proportion of sequestered radioactivity, supplied as ¹⁴C-labelled alanine, glycine or arginine, than algae from nitrogen-sufficient culture, presumably because smaller internal pools diluted sequestered amino acids to a lesser extent. Further experiments with symbiotic algae showed that metabolism of the neutral amino acid alanine differed from that of the basic amino acid arginine. Alanine but not arginine continued to be incorporated into protein after uptake ceased, and while internal pools of alanine were exchangeable with alanine in the medium, those of arginine were not exchangeable with external arginine. Thin-layer chromatography of ethanol-soluble extracts of algae incubated with [¹⁴C]alanine or [¹⁴C]arginine showed that both were precursors of other amino acids. The significance of nitrogen-limiting growth of symbiotic algae is discussed in terms of host-cell regulation of algal cell growth and division.     

Metabolic Interactions Between Glucose, Glycerol, Alanine and Acetate in Leishmania braziliensis panamensis Promastigotes

¹³C-nuciear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to investigate the products of glycerol and acetate metabolism released by Leishmania braziliensis panamensis promastigotes and also to examine the interaction of each of these substrates with glucose or alanine. The NMR data were supplemented by measurements of the rates of oxygen consumption and substrate utilization, and of ¹⁴CO₂ production from ¹⁴C-labeIed substrate. Cells incubated with [2-¹³C]glycerol released acetate, succinate and D-lactate in addition to CO₂. Cells incubated with acetate released only CO₂. More succinate C-2/C-3 than C-l/C-4 was released from both [2-¹³C]glycerol and [2-¹³C]glucose, indicating that succinate was formed predominantly by CO₂ fixation followed by reverse flux through part of the Krebs cycle. Some redistribution of the position of labeling was also seen in alanine and pyruvate, suggesting cycling through pyruvate/oxaloacetate/phosphoenolpyruvate. Cells incubated with combinations of 2 substrates consumed oxygen at the same rate as cells incubated with 1 or no substrate, even though the total substrate utilization had increased. When promastigotes were incubated with both glycerol and glucose, the rate of glucose consumption was unchanged but glycerol consumption decreased about 50%, and the rate of ¹⁴CO₂ production from [l,(3)-¹⁴C]glycerol decreased about 60%. Alanine did not affect the rates of consumption of glucose or glycerol, but decreased ¹⁴CO₂ production from these substrates by increasing flow of label into alanine. Although glucose decreased alanine consumption by 70%, it increased the rate of ¹⁴CO₂ production from [U-¹⁴C]- and [l-¹⁴C]alanine by about 20%. This is consistent with rapid equilibration of alanine with pyruvate derived from glucose and yet little decrease in the specific activity of the large alanine pool.     

Oxidation of Glucose,Ribose, Alanine,and Glutamate by Leishmania braziliensis panamensis1

The metabolism of [1-¹⁴C]- and [6-¹⁴C]glucose, [1-¹⁴]ribose, [1-¹⁴C]- and [U-¹⁴C]alanine, and [1-¹⁴C]- and [5-¹⁴C]glutamate by the promastigotes of Leishmania braziliensis panamensis was investigated in cells resuspended in Hanks' balanced salt solution supplemented with ribose, alanine, or glutamate. The ratio of ¹⁴CO₂ produced from [1-¹⁴C]glucose to that from [6-¹⁴C]glucose ranged from about two to six, indicating appreciable carbon flow through the pentose phosphate pathway. A functional pentose phosphate pathway was further demonstrated by the production of ¹⁴CO₂ from [1-¹⁴C]ribose although the rate of ribose oxidation was much lower than the rate of glucose oxidation. The rate of ¹⁴CO₂ production from [1-¹⁴C]glucose was almost linear with time of incubation, whereas that of [6-¹⁴C]glucose accelerated, consistent with an increasing rate of flux through the Embden-Meyerhof pathway during incubation. Increasing the assay temperature from 26°C to 34°C had no appreciable effect on the rates or time courses of oxidation of either [1-¹⁴C]- or [6-¹⁴C]glucose or of [1-¹⁴C]ribose. Both alanine and glutamate were oxidized by L. b. panamensis, and at rates comparable to or appreciably greater than the rate of oxidation of glucose. The ratios of ¹⁴CO₂ produced from [1-¹⁴C]- to [U-¹⁴C]alanine and from [1-¹⁴C]- to [5^-14C]glutamate indicated that these compounds were metabolized via a functioning tricarboxylic acid cycle and that most of the label that entered the tricarboxylic acid cycle was oxidized to carbon dioxide. Heating the cultures for 6 or 12 h at 34°C, which converts the promastigotes into an ellipsoidally shaped intermediate form, decreased the rates of oxidation of glucose, alanine, and glutamate. The oxidation of glutamate decreased by about 50% and 70% after a 6-h or 12-h heat treatment, respectively. Returning the heated cultures to 26°C initiated a reversion to the promastigote form and recovery of the rate of glucose oxidation, but glutamate oxidation did not return to control levels by 19 h at 26°C.     

Arginine uptake by isolated rat liver mitochondria

The question of arginine uptake by mitochondria is important in that arginine is an allosteric effector of N-acetylglutamate synthetase. Thus, changes in mitochondrial arginine concentration have the potential for acutely modifying levels of N-acetylglutamate, a compound necessary for maximal activity of carbamyl phosphate synthesis. Mitochondria were isolated from chow-fed rats, incubated with [guanido-¹⁴C]arginine and were centrifuged through silicon oil into perchloric acid for determination of intramitochondrial metabolites. Arginine was separated from urea by cation-exchange resin. Mitochondrial water space was determined by [¹⁴C]urea arising from arginase activity associated with the mitochondrial preparations. Extramatrix space was determined by parallel incubations with [inulin-¹⁴C]carboxylic acid or [¹⁴C]sucrose There was considerable degradation of arginine by arginase associated with the mitochondrial preparation. This was inhibited by 7 mM ornithine and 7 mM lysine. Arginine was concentrated intramitochondrially to 4-times the extramitochondrial levels. The concentration ratio was decreased in the presence of ornithine and lysine but not with citrulline, NH₄Cl, glutamate, glutamate or leucine. No uptake was observed when mitochondria were incubated at 0°C. Mitochondria did not concentrate citrulline.     

Comparison of the Protein Kinase and Acid Phosphatase Activities of Five Species of Leishmania1

Promastigotes from log phase and stationary phase cultures of Leishmania donovani, L. braziliensis panamensis, L. tropica, L. major, and L. mexicana amazonensis were analyzed for their content of protein kinase and acid phosphatase activities. Cell surface, historic-specific protein kinase activity was 1.3- to 2.8-fold higher in stationary phase cells of all species except for L. tropica in which the activities of stationary and log phase cells were equal; L. mexicana amazonensis had the highest histone-specific protein kinase activity and L. donovani the lowest. When viable, motile promastigotes of all five species were incubated for 10 min with [γ-³²P]ATP and Mg²⁺ (10 mM) in the absence of exogenous histone acceptor; about one dozen proteins were phosphorylated in each case. Both log phase and stationary phase promastigotes of all five species extensively phosphorylated a 50-kDa protein that had the mobility of tubulin. Incubation of pure calf brain tubulin with [γ-³²P]ATP and purified L. donovani protein kinase resulted in extensive phosphorylation of the former. Highly infective metacyclic forms (PNA^-) of L. major, isolated from a stationary culture using the peanut agglutinin (PNA), contained eight times more histone-specific protein kinase activity than noninfective log phase cells (PNA⁺). The PNA^- and PNA⁺ forms of L. major both phosphorylated a 50-kDa protein when incubated with [γ-³²P]ATP and magnesium or manganese ions (10 mM); the 50-kDa protein was precipitated by anti-tubulin rabbit antibodies. Extracts of all five species contained large amounts of acid phosphatase activity. With the exception of L. braziliensis panamensis for which late log phase organisms contained 12-fold more tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity than did early log phase cells, stationary and log phase parasites contained approximately the same amount of acid phosphatase activity.     

Application of 13C-[2] - and 13C-[1,2] acetate in metabolic labelling studies of yeast and insect cells

The advantage of using ¹³C-labelled glucose in metabolic studies is that it is an important carbon and energy source for almost all biotechnologically and medically important organisms. On the other hand, the disadvantage is its relatively high cost in the labelling experiments. Looking for cheaper alternatives we found that ¹³C-[2] acetate or ¹³C-[1,2] acetate is a prospective compound for such experiments. Acetate is well incorporated by many organisms, including mammalian and insect cell cultures as preferred source of acetyl-CoA. Our experimental results using ¹³C NMR demonstrated that acetate was efficiently incorporated into glutamate and alanine secreted by the insect cell culture. Using D-stat culture of Saccharomyces uvarum on glucose/¹³C-acetate mineral media we demonstrated that the labelling patterns of proteinogenic amino acids can be well predicted on the basis of specific substrate consumption rates using the modified scheme of yeast metabolism and stoichiometric modelling. According to this scheme aspartate and alanine in S. uvarum under the experimental conditions used is synthesised in the mitochondria. Synthesis of alanine in the mitochondria was also demonstrated for Spodoptera frugiperda. For both organisms malic enzyme was also operative. For S. uvarum it was shown that the activity of malic enzyme is sufficient for supporting the mitochondrial biosynthetic reactions with NADPH.     

Oxidation of Alanine, Acetate, Glutamate, and Succinate by Digitonin-Permeabilized Leishmania major Promastigotes

Leishmania major promastigotes were treated with digitonin and the rates at which [1 -¹⁴C]acetate, [1,4-¹⁴C]succinate, [1-¹⁴C]glutamate, and [U-¹⁴C]alanine are oxidized were measured in the presence of suitable cofactors. Acetate was oxidized at the lowest rate of the four substrates examined, even in the presence of added NAD, CoA, ADP and acetyl-CoA synthase. Its rate of oxidation was negligible if the permeabilized cells were washed before the cofactors were added, indicating the requirement for an as yet unknown factor. Succinate was oxidized at a rate much higher than the very slow rate at which it is oxidized by intact cells. Its rate of oxidation was strongly inhibited by antimycin A, but that of glutamate was scarcely affected. Fumarate inhibited the rate of oxidation of acetate, glutamate, and succinate, but increased that of alanine, Ca⁺⁺ inhibited the rates of oxidation of alanine and succinate, but not of acetate or glutamate. Increasing the osmolality by addition of mannitol partially inhibited the rate of oxidation of alanine but had little effect on that of glutamate. These results show that appreciable transaminase activity remains in the permeabilized cells and support earlier data indicating the presence of a branched NAD-to-cytochrome oxidase system. These results also provide preliminary information on the sensitivity of the two branches to Ca⁺⁺, hyperosmolality, and Krebs cycle intermediates     

Changes in Amino Acid Content and the Metabolism of γ-Aminobutyrate in Cucurbita moschata Seedlings

Ungerminated pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Poir.) cotyledons contained 30 % of their dry weight as lipid and 26 % as protein, of which 93 % was globulin. There was a rapid degradation of these reserves 4 to 8 days after planting when the cotyledons had their maximum metabolic activity. About half of the mole percent of amino acids found in the globulin reserve was in arginine, glutamate, aspartate, and their amides. The cotyledons had a large soluble pool of arginine, glutamine, glutamate, and leucine. Most amino acids increased steadily in amount in the cotyledons during germination, except glutamine, ornithine, alanine, serine, glycine, and γ-aminobutyrate and these appeared in large amounts in the translocation stream to the axis tissue. Little arginine or proline was translocated. By 10 days, when translocation had decreased, amino acids accumulated. Ornithine, γ-aminobutyrate, and aspartate were rapidly utilized in the hypocotyl, while glutamine, glycine, and alanine accumulated there. Cysteine and methionine levels were low in the reserve, trans-location stream and soluble fractions. γ-Aminobutyrate-U^?14C injected into cotyledons or incubated with hypocotyls was utilized in a similar fashion. The label appeared in citric acid cycle acids and in the amino acids closely related to this cycle, but the bulk of the label appeared in CO₂. The labeling pattern suggests that γ-aminobutyrate was utilized via succinate, and thus entered the citric acid cycle. A close relationship between arginine, ornithine, glutamate, and γ-aminobutyrate exists in the cotyledon with all but arginine being translocated rapidly to the axis tissue where these amino acids are rapidly metabolized.     

Trypanosoma gambiense: membrane transport of amino acids.

Trypanosoma gambiense absorbed ¹⁴C-labeled lysine, arginine, glutamate, phenylalanine, methionine, threonine, glycine, and alanine by mediated transport systems. The interactions of these compounds as inhibitors or stimulators formed complex patterns of uptake which suggested the presence of five binding and/or transport loci: Locus A bound glutamate, arginine, and lysine, and the binding of glutamate or arginine stimulated the transport of lysine. Locus B transported threonine, glycine, and alanine and appeared to be partially sensitive to ouabain and Na⁺. Locus C transported glutamate, locus D transported phenylalanine and methionine, and locus E transported lysine and arginine.     

Leishmania donovani: Metabolite mapping of promastigotes using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used for studying the intracellular metabolite profile of promastigotes of Leishmania donovani. The major intracellular metabolites observed in the promastigotes were acetate, alanine, succinate, glycine, -glycerophosphorylcholine, acetoacetate, arginine and ethanol. A comparative study of the intracellular metabolite profile of promastigotes of different strains of L. donovani showed that, all the major intracellular metabolites were present in promastigotes of different strains. A quantitative estimation of metabolites showed a strain specific (Finger print) metabolite profile which can be used for strain/species identification/differentiation.     

Correlation between inhibition of growth and arginine transport of Leishmania donovani promastigotes in vitro by diamidines

Diamidines are known to possess potent antiprotozoal activity due to their property of binding with DNA minor groove. Pentamidine or 1, 5-bis-(4′-amidinophenoxy)pentane, is the most known aromatic diamidine and is used to treat cases of antimony resistant leishmaniasis. Yet, it suffers from limited clinical application due to its adverse and toxic side effects. A set of four structural analogs of pentamidine along with the known antileishmanial diamidines viz., pentamidine, berenil and dibromopropamidine, were tested for their effect on growth of Leishmania donovani promastigotes in vitro using ³H-thymidine incorporation as the growth parameter. In view of structural similarity between amidino moiety of diamidines and guanidino group of l-arginine and also the previous report from this laboratory regarding presence of a novel arginine transporter in Leishmania donovani promastigotes, a parallel study was also conducted with the analogs and standard diamidines for their inhibitory effect on leishmanial arginine transport function. Bisbenzyl pentamidine and biscyclopropyl pentamidine were identified as considerably more potent inhibitors of growth and arginine transport function of leishmania promastigotes in vitro than the parent drug, pentamidine. A linear correlation was established between inhibition of parasite growth and arginine transport with regard to standard diamidines as well as novel analogs. Inhibition of arginine transport by dibromopropamidine and Pentamidine was competitive. The diamidines possibly gain entry into leishmania cells through arginine transporter.     

The incorporation of acetate by the chemoautotroph Thiobacillus neapolitanus strain C

Summary Cultures of Thiobacillus neapolitanus strain C assimilate ¹⁴C-labelled acetate and aspartate. Both carbon atoms of acetate are incorporated, and 25% of the cell carbon can arise from acetate. Aspartate-¹⁴C contributes 4–5% of the cell carbon, and is found in pyrimidines and in protein as aspartate and its related amino acids. Acetate-¹⁴C contributes to lipid, glutamate, arginine, proline and leucine, but not to aspartate. Acetate assimilation by washed organisms requires carbon dioxide and energy from thiosulphate oxidation. Degradation of ¹⁴C-glutamic acid from acetate-¹⁴C-labelled bacteria; the accumulation of ¹⁴C-citrate in the presence of fluoroacetate and [¹⁴C] acetate; short-term kinetic experiments on acetate-¹⁴C turnover; and the demonstration of citrate synthesis by cell-free extracts all indicate glutamate synthesis from -ketoglutarate formed by reactions of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The cycle is believed to be incomplete, probably not proceeding further than -ketoglutarate, and functions as a glutamate-synthesising system, using oxaloacetate derived solely from carbon dioxide fixation. Malate synthase (and the glyoxylate cycle) appear to be insignificant in the metabolism, but extracts did form citramalate from acetate and pyruvate.     

Photosynthetic CO(2) Fixation Products and Activities of Enzymes Related to Photosynthesis in Bermudagrass and Other Plants

After a 5-second exposure of illuminated bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L. var. `Coastal') leaves to ¹⁴CO₂, 84% of the incorporated ¹⁴C was recovered as aspartate and malate. After transfer from ¹⁴CO₂-air to ¹²CO₂-air under continuous illumination, total radioactivity decreased in aspartate, increased in 3-phosphoglyceric acid and alanine, and remained relatively constant in malate. Carbon atom 1 of alanine was labeled predominantly, which was interpreted to indicate that alanine was derived from 3-phosphoglyceric acid. The activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, alkaline pyrophosphatase, adenylate kinase, pyruvate-phosphate dikinase, and malic enzyme in bermudagrass leaf extracts was distinctly higher than those in fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), a reductive pentose phosphate cycle plant. Assays of malic enzyme activity indicated that the decarboxylation of malate was favored. Both malic enzyme and NADP⁺-specific malic dehydrogenase activity were low in bermudagrass compared to sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.). The activities of NAD⁺-specific malic dehydrogenase and acidic pyrophosphatase in leaf extracts were similar among the plant species examined, irrespective of the predominant cycle of photosynthesis. Ribulose-1, 5-diphosphate carboxylase in C₄-dicarboxylic acid cycle plant leaf extracts was about 60%, on a chlorophyll basis, of that in reductive pentose phosphate cycle plants.     

Leishmania in the chick embryo: IV. Effects of embryo age and hatching,and behavior of L. donovani in cultures of chick fibroblasts

On incubation Days 9, 11, 12, 14, or 15, chick embryos were injected intravenously with 4.0 × 10⁶L. donovani amastigotes. Embryos were incubated at 33 C immediately after infection. Numbers of amastigotes found in the liver 1 hr after injection increased as the age of embryo recipients increased. Most 14- or 15-day infected embryos hatched when allowed to do so, but many younger embryos were unable to survive at 33 C. Numbers of amastigotes in the liver of chicks, hatched after infection as embryos, decreased as the cloacal temperature of the chicks increased. Despite a 31 C incubation temperature, chicks exhibited a mean 38.3 C cloacal temperature 1 day after hatching.Chick fibroblast cultures were initiated as explants of embryo brain and infected with amastigotes from hamster spleen. Only amastigotes were seen in cultures kept at 37 C, but extracellular promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes were present in cultures at 33 C. Although promastigotes increased in number in the medium overlay at 33 C, amastigotes decreased in number at 33 C and 37 C. One intracellular amastigote was seen in a culture which had been incubated at 25 C after inoculation with promastigotes.     

Role of Pyruvate Carboxylase in Facilitation of Synthesis of Glutamate and Glutamine in Cultured Astrocytes

Abstract: CO₂ fixation was measured in cultured astrocytes isolated from neonatal rat brain to test the hypothesis that the activity of pyruvate carboxylase influences the rate of de novo glutamate and glutamine synthesis in astrocytes. Astrocytes were incubated with ¹⁴CO₂ and the incorporation of ¹⁴C into medium or cell extract products was determined. After chromatographic separation of ¹⁴C-labelled products, the fractions of ¹⁴C cycled back to pyruvate, incorporated into citric acid cycle intermediates, and converted to the amino acids glutamate and glutamine were determined as a function of increasing pyruvate carboxylase flux. The consequences of increasing pyruvate, bicarbonate, and ammonia were investigated. Increasing extracellular pyruvate from 0 to 5 mM increased pyruvate carboxylase flux as observed by increases in the ¹⁴C incorporated into pyruvate and citric acid cycle intermediates, but incorporation into glutamate and glutamine, although relatively high at low pyruvate levels, did not increase as pyruvate carboxylase flux increased. Increasing added bicarbonate from 15 to 25 mM almost doubled CO₂ fixation. When 25 mM bicarbonate plus 0.5 mM pyruvate increased pyruvate carboxylase flux to approximately the same extent as 15 mM bicarbonate plus 5 mM pyruvate, the rate of appearance of [¹⁴C]glutamate and glutamine was higher with the lower level of pyruvate. The conclusion was drawn that, in addition to stimulating pyruvate carboxylase, added pyruvate (but not added bicarbonate) increases alanine aminotransferase flux in the direction of glutamate utilization, thereby decreasing glutamate as pyruvate + glutamate →α-ketoglutarate + alanine. In contrast to previous in vivo studies, the addition of ammonia (0.1 and 5 mM) had no effect on net ¹⁴CO₂ fixation, but did alter the distribution of ¹⁴C-labelled products by decreasing glutamate and increasing glutamine. Rather unexpectedly, ammonia did not increase the sum of glutamate plus glutamine (mass amounts or ¹⁴C incorporation). Low rates of conversion of α-[¹⁴C]ketoglutarate to [¹⁴C]glutamate, even in the presence of excess added ammonia, suggested that reductive amination of α-ketoglutarate is inactive under conditions studied in these cultured astrocytes. We conclude that pyruvate carboxylase is required for de novo synthesis of glutamate plus glutamine, but that conversion of α-ketoglutarate to glutamate may frequently be the rate-limiting step in this process of glutamate synthesis.     

Evidence for Phosphorylation of the Extracellular Acid Phosphatase of Leishmania donovani1

The presence of two phosphorylated molecular species in the culture supernatants of axenically cultivated Leishmania donovani promastigotes was demonstrated by biosynthetically labeling cultures with [³²P]phosphate. One of these species was resolved into two bands with M_r's of 149,000 and 97,000 by dissociating polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and copurified with the extracellular acid phosphatase activity produced by the promastigotes. The site of phosphorylation of the extracellular acid phosphatase is not yet known.     

Enzymes of Carbohydrate Metabolism in Leishmania donovani Amastigotes1

A method for the isolation of Leishmania donovani amastigotes from infected hamster spleen and liver tissues is described. Over 85% of the isolated amastigotes were viable as judged by acridine orange-ethidium bromide staining and in vitro transformation to the promastigote form. A comprehensive survey of the enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in L. donovani amastigotes and promastigotes was conducted. Amastigotes and promastigotes possess all of the enzymes of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway, hexose monophosphate shunt, and tricarboxylic acid cycle. Cell-free extracts of both forms show pyruvate dehydrogenase activity which permits entry of pyruvate into the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Both forms demonstrate an active glutamate dehydrogenase, thus linking amino acid metabolism with carbohydrate metabolism. Pyruvate carboxylase, the enzyme responsible for replenishment of C₄ acids by heterotrophic CO₂ fixation into pyruvate, was also demonstrable in the tissue and insect forms. In general, activities of promastigote enzymes are higher than the amastigote enzymes. Differences between the vertebrate (amastigote) and invertebrate (promastigote) forms in their potential to utilize carbohydrates as substrates would appear to be quantitative rather than qualitative.     

Carbohydrate Effects on Amino Acid Transport by Trypanosoma equiperdum*

SYNOPSIS. Uptake of ¹⁴C-labeled alanine, glutamate, lysine, methionine, proline, and phenylalanine by Trypanosoma equiperdum during 2-minute incubations occurred by diffusion and membrane-mediated processes. Amino acid metabolism was not detected by paper chromatography of trypanosome extracts. Most of 18 carbohydrates tested for ability to alter amino acid transport neither changed nor significantly inhibited transport. Glucose, however, stimulated glutamate, lysine and proline transport; fructose stimulated lysine uptake and 2-deoxy-D-glucose increased phenylalanine and methionine absorption. No evidence was found that the carbohydrates acted by binding to amino acid transport “sites.” Glucose inhibition of alanine, phenylalanine, and methionine uptake was linked to glycolysis. The rapid formation of alanine from glucose stimulated alanine release and, when glycolysis was blocked, glucose no longer inhibited alanine transport. Methionine and phenylalanine release was also stimulated by glucose. Glucose changed the ability of lysine, glutamate, and proline to inhibit each others’uptake, indicating that certain amino acids are preferentially absorbed by respiring cells. Analysis of free pool amino acid levels suggested that some amino acid transport systems in T. equiperdum are linked in such a way to glycolysis as to control the cell concentrations of these amino acids.     

Application of NMR-based metabolomics to the investigation of salt stress in maize (Zea mays)

Introduction – High salinity, caused by either natural (e.g. climatic changes) or anthropic factors (e.g. agriculture), is a widespread environmental stressor that can affect development and growth of salt‐sensitive plants, leading to water deficit, the inhibition of intake of essential ions and metabolic disorders. Objective – The application of an NMR‐based metabolic profiling approach to the investigation of saline‐induced stress in Maize plants is presented. Methodology – Zea Maize seedlings were grown in either 0, 50 or 150 mM saline solution. Plants were harvested after 2, 4 and 6 days (n = 5 per class and time point) and ¹H NMR spectroscopy was performed separately on shoot and root extracts. Spectral data were analysed and interpreted using multivariate statistical analyses. Results – A distinct effect of time/growth was observed for the control group with relatively higher concentrations of acetoacetate at day 2 and increased levels of alanine at days 4 and 6 in root extracts, whereas concentration of alanine was positively correlated with the shoot extracts harvested at day 2 and trans‐aconitic acid increased at days 4 and 6. A clear dose‐dependent effect, superimposed on the growth effect, was observed for saline treated shoot and root extracts. This was correlated with increased levels of alanine, glutamate, asparagine, glycine‐betaine and sucrose and decreased levels of malic acid, trans‐aconitic acid and glucose in shoots. Correlation with salt‐load shown in roots included elevated levels of alanine, γ‐amino‐N‐butyric acid, malic acid, succinate and sucrose and depleted levels of acetoacetate and glucose. Conclusions – The metabolic effect of high salinity was predominantly consistent with osmotic stress as reported for other plant species and was found to be stronger in the shoots than the roots. Using multivariate data analysis it is possible to investigate the effects of more than one environmental stressor simultaneously. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.