Distribution of opine dehydrogenases and lactate dehydrogenase activities in marine animals

• 1.1. Opine dehydrogenases (OpDHs) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities were determined in various marine animals. OpDHs were detected in six marine invertebrate phyla; Porifera, Coelenterata, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda and Echinodermata in phylogenic sequence.
• 2.2. Among several OpDHs, tauropine dehydrogenase (TaDH) occurred widely in marine invertebrates, from Porifera to Echinodermata.
• 3.3. With a few exceptions, total OpDHs activities exceeded that of LDH activity in the marine invertebrates investigated.
• 4.4. With respect to anaerobic glycolysis, OpDHs are indicated to play an important role in phylogenically lower invertebrates, whereas LDH is more important in higher animals.

     

Opine oxidoreductases in marine worms of five phyla

• 1.1. Activities of enzymes catalyzing reductive condensation of pyruvate with various amino acids were measured in tissue extracts of 14 species of marine worms in five phyla.
• 2.2. The lactate oxidoreductase in four polychaetes was specific for l-lactate, and all produced alanopine; in another group of three species, no opine enzymes were found and only d-lactate was oxidized; sipunculids resembled the first group; and an echiurid resembled the latter.
• 3.3. Activities were coded and entered into a phylogeny program, which yielded a tree with a sipunculid at the base, Glycera near it, Nereis far removed, and the priapulid in an intermediate position.

     

Metabolism of secondary alcohols in Drosophila melanogaster: Effects on alcohol dehydrogenase

• 1.1. In vivo metabolism of a secondary alcohol in Drosophila melanogaster and its effects on alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) have been studied.
• 2.2. ADH-mediated breakdown of the secondary alcohol, propan-2-ol, was the main source of the acetone produced.
• 3.3. Acetone formation declined and stopped ultimately, suggesting inhibition of ADH activity in vivo which has been confirmed in in vitro studies.
• 4.4. A powerful ketone-trapping agent, semicarbazide, did not restore the ADH activity in vitro, whereas aldehyde substrates of ADH did restore activity.
• 5.5. The final formation of a dead-end ADH:NAD-acetone ternary complex has been proposed and its consequences discussed.

     

Temperature acclimation in the teleost,Blennius pholis: Changes in enzyme activity and cell structure

• 1.1. The effect of thermal acclimation on the activity of liver enzymes of B. pholis and on the ultrastructure of the liver was studied.
• 2.2. Significant increases in the activities of SDH and G6PDH, but not of LDH were found after cold-acclimation.
• 3.3. E.M. measurements suggested that cold-acclimation resulted in an increase in the size of liver cells and their nuclei, and in the number, but not the size of liver mitochondria.

     

Activity of NAD-sorbitol dehydrogenase is caused by biosynthesis of enzyme protein in diapause and non-diapause eggs of the silkworm,Bombyx mori

• 1.1. Using SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting analyses with anti-sorbitol dehydeogenase (EC 1.1.1.14, SDH) serum, changes in amount of SDH protein were examined in diapause and non-diapause eggs of the silkworm, Bombyx mori.
• 2.2. When diapause eggs were exposed to 5°C from 2 days after oviposition to break the diapause gradually, SDH protein appeared after 50-day chilling, and then the amount increased along with chilling period. This changing pattern paralleled that in SDH activity.
• 3.3. In diapause eggs treated with HCl after chilling at 5°C for 30 days to break the diapause quickly, and non-diapause eggs, changing patterns in amount of SDH protein also paralleled those in SDH activity.
• 4.4. These results showed that SDH activity was caused by biosynthesis of SDH protein, independent of diapause or non-diapause eggs.
• 5.5. Occurrence of SDH correlates with the three developmental phases: diapause termination, embryonic growth, and larval differentiation. In larva, SDH was mainly localized in the fat-body.

     

Lactate dehydrogenase in amoeba,Acanthamoeba sp. in different phases and conditions of culture

• 1.1. The activity and kinetic changes of amoeba LDH in different phases and conditions of culture were investigated.
• 2.2. LDH of the amoeba is specific against d(−)LDH irrespective of the hypoxic conditions created.
• 3.3. In hypoxic conditions it was not possible to visualize the presence of another LDH isozyme of muscle type by kinetic or electrophoretic analysis.
• 4.4. However, the changes in the K_m value and the L:H ratio as well as the decrease of electrophoretic mobility of LDH band indicate the change in kinetic properties of the enzyme from an obviously heart type in oxygenated culture in the direction of a muscle type LDH in strongly hypoxic culture conditions.
• 5.5. The influence of factors producing either environmental or metabolic hypoxia on possible repression or induction of LDH in amoeba is discussed.

     

Alcohol dehydrogenase ontogeny and liver maturation in the leopard danio,brachydanio nigrofasciatus

• 1.1. The tissue specificity and ontogeny of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) are reported for the leopard danio, Brachydanio nigrofasciatus.
• 2.2. Of the seven adult tissues assayed (eye, brain, kidney, liver, ovary, skeletal muscle and stomach), only liver extracts showed ADH activity.
• 3.3. The activation of the Adh locus is correlated with the first functioning of liver. It is suggested that the state of liver cell differentiation may be the stimulus necessary for Adh locus expression.

     

Digestion of protein in different marine species

• 1.1. The digestion proteases in five marine species (Atlantic halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus (L); Dover sole, Solea solea (L); turbot, Scophthalmus maximus, (L); European lobster, Hommarus gammaarus (L); and the giant prawn, Penaeus monodon) have been compared by biochemical methods.
• 2.2. The pH profiles for the hydrolysis of casein by extracts from the digestive systems of each species showed different characteristics; extracts from adult halibut, turbot and sole exhibited strong pepsin-like activity; whereas this enzyme was absent in P. monodon and in sole larvae.
• 3.3. Although lobster extracts, from either the hepatopancreas or the stomach, showed peaks at pH values of 5.8 and 2.5, this latter activity did not hydrolyse a specific substrate for pepsin.
• 4.4. Halibut and turbot digestive extracts contained an activity optimal at pH values in the region of 5.0 resembling a cathepsin-like enzyme; an activity which was not evident in the other species under similar experimental conditions.
• 5.5. Although all species possessed trypsin-like activity, the pH profiles of activity in the neutral to alkaline region were unique to each species.
• 6.6. The significance of these results is considered with respect to the anatomical differences in the alimentary systems of these species.

     

The secretion of anti-diuretic hormone during a rise of body temperature in the pig (Sus scrofa)

• 1.1. In pigs (Sus scrofa) exposed to hyperthermic conditions, when the rectal temperature rose from 38.9–42.3°C. plasma antidiuretic hormone (ADH) increased from 0.8 μU/ml to 11.4 μU/ml; arterial pressure, blood oxygen saturation and haematocrit increased and Pco, fell.
• 2.2. On three occasions out of six attempts, a large infusion of saline or dextran into the superior vena Cava during the rise of body temperature suppressed the expected rise of plasma ADH.
• 3.3. Forced ventilation of anaesthetized normothermic pigs elicited a similar rise in circulating ADH.

     

Patterns in the evolution of marine helminths

A brief survey of a few ideas related to marine helminths from a taxonomist's point of view shows that, while we know rather a small amount about the topics mentioned, there are likely to be numerous areas where further work will turn up interesting results. It is worth summarising here some of the areas where marine helminthologists can materially increase our understanding of the evolution of helminths in the sea. These include:

• 1.1) Study of the development of associations and parasitism in mainly free-living groups (e.g. turbellarians);
• 2.2) Study of “intermediate” or unusual forms by much further and wider collecting (e.g. the Southern Hemisphere fauna is poorly known);
• 3.3) Study by modern phylogenetic techniques of various marine helminth groups at all levels, including careful and critical taxonomic revisions;
• 4.4) Application of biochemical and karyological techniques to closely related marine forms whose status is not yet clear;
• 5.5) Careful study of sympatric congeneric species pairs;
• 6.6) Introduction of developmental ideas into evolutionary studies;
• 7.7) Application of new phylogenetic insights relating to host-groups in further tests of Farenholz' Rule.

     

Selective activation of carcinogenic aromatic amines to bacterial mutagens in the marine musselMytilus gallopro vincialis

• 1.1. The postmitochondrial fraction of the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis digestive gland activates selectively precarcinogenic aromatic amines, but not precarcinogenic benzo(a]pyrene, to Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 mutagens.
• 2.2. This activation potential is NADPH-dependent, is not inducible by exposure to Diesel 2 oil and a polluted environment, and is inhibited by methimazole.
• 3.3. The characteristics of this activation potential are consistent with the recent finding of the presence of FAD-containing-, and lack ofcytochrome P-450 dependent-, monooxygenase activity in Mytilus edulis.
• 4.4. The presence of such selective potential in marine invertebrate(s) may bring new insight into our understanding of the fate and the effects of carcinogens in the marine environment.

     

Calcutta-1 LDH: Kinetic and thermodynamic properties of an electrophoretic variant of human LDH

• 1.1. Kinetic constants determined for the purified heterozygous variant LD₁ were closely similar to those of normal human LD₁.
• 2.2. Calcutta-1 homozygote LDH differed from normal LDH in K_m NADH and in Arrhenius activation energy.
• 3.3. The normal B subunits confer stability on the mutant subunits in the heterotetramers of Calcutta-1 LD₁.

     

Subunit homologies of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzymes between amphibians (Xenopus laevis) and mammals (Wistar rat)

• 1.1. The subunit distribution and subunit homologies of LDH isoenzymes were studied in the amphibian Xenopus laevis and in Wistar rats.
• 2.2. Several of the 11–15 isoenzymes of the pattern in Xenopus, separable by vertical starch gel electrophoresis, were purified, hybridized, and the cross-reaction of antibodies against the most positively charged isoenzyme with the isoenzymes present in tissue extracts of both species was tested.
• 3.3. The isoenzyme with the highest positive charge in Xenopus is a M-homotetramer homologous to mammalian LDH₅.
• 4.4. The multibanded pattern of Xenopus LDH isoenzymes is very probably due to heterozygoty of the gene locus controlling the synthesis of M-subunits rather than to an epigenetic subbanding phenomenon.

     

Evolution of LDH isozymes during programmed cell death

• 1.1. Lactic dehydrogenase dehydrogenase isozymes and other respiratory enzymes were studied in degenerating intersegmental muscles of Manduca sexta and Antheraea polyphemus.
• 2.2. Total activities of the different enzymes (isocitric dehydrogenase, malic dehydrogenase, catalase, lactic dehydrogenase) decline at varying rates, starting before the rapid phase of involution.
• 3.3. One isozyme of LDH, an M-type isozyme, increases several-fold during the final three days prior to the emergence of the insect.
• 4.4. The same isozyme appears very transiently or not at all in muscles which do not break down, and is present in degenerating silk glands at the time of their most rapid involution.
• 5.5. The data suggest that limitation of oxidative metabolism plays a role in the involution of the muscles.

     

Sterol composition of three marine sponge species from the genus Cinachyrella

• 1.1. The hitherto undescribed sterol compositions of three marine sponge species belonging to the genus Cinachyrella are reported: C. alloclada and C. kükenthali from the Senegalese coast, at two different depths, and C. aff. schulzei from the lagoon of Nouméa, New Caledonia.
• 2.2. Fourteen free sterols have been identified by GC and GC/MS studies, including the 23,24ξ-dimethylcholesta-5,22-dien-3β-ol (10) and the rare 24-norcholesta-5,22-dien-3β-ol (1).
• 3.3. The first compound (10) is reported for the second time in a marine sponge and it was found only in Senegalese sponges collected in shallow waters.
• 4.4. Sterol (10) has been isolated by HPLC and identified by NMR techniques.
• 5.5. Significant amounts of cholest-7-en-3β-ol (7) were also found in the Senegalese sponge species.
• 6.6. Apart from these two compounds, the three sponge sterol compositions are found to be very similar.

     

The effects of environmental variables on the heart rates of invertebrates

• 1.1. The effects of temperature, salinity and declining O₂ on the heart rates of nine species representing four animal phyla have been investigated in relation to other respiratory paramters.
• 2.2. The effect of temperature on heart rate is at least the same as, and often greater than, the effect of temperature on O₂ consumption, thus providing no evidence that adaptations of the cardiovascular system facilitate metabolic compensations for a temperature change.
• 3.3. Responses to reduced acclimation salinity are very diverse among the various species, permitting no general conclusions about the role of the cardiovascular system in adaptations to estuarine habitats.
• 4.4. At low PO₂ the typical response is bradycardia, which is especially notable in species with a high capacity for anaerobic metabolism. Compensatory tachycardia, the expected response in vertebrates, is very rare in other animal groups.
• 5.5. Estimates of cardiac output from these data generally agree with those obtained according to the Fick principle from blood gas tensions.
• 6.6. The estimates of cardiac output are evaluated in terms of body size, temperature and the design of cardiac muscle, which is fundamentally different in various animal phyla.

     

The influence of ehrlich ascites tumour growth on the turnover of lactate dehydrogenase in tissues of the mouse

• 1.1. The influence of Ehrlich ascites tumour growth on the turnover of total soluble protein and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in mouse tissues has been studied.
• 2.2. Turnover parameters were determined by means of double-labelling technique, with the enzyme (LDH) being isolated by affinity chromatography.
• 3.3. Tumour growth was accompanied by a decreased rate of synthesis of total protein in all tissues.
• 4.4. Lactate dehydrogenase by contrast snowed an increased rate of synthesis in all tissues but kidney.
• 5.5. These directions of change, in combination with the lesser response of degradation constants, resulted in a consequent conservation of enzyme activity in all tissues except kidney.
• 6.6. A generalized shift in the LDH isozyme pattern of these tissues was also observed during tumour growth with an increased contribution of A-type subunit.
• 7.7. These results have been discussed in relation to the redirection of protein synthesis and degradation, the occurrence of foetal isozymes, and possible mechanisms involved in the redistribution of protein resources in the animal during tumour development.

     

Variations in the lactate dehydrogenase activity during the development of the shrimp Palaemon serratus

• 1.1. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from Palaemon serratus muscle has been studied throughout the development of the animal.
• 2.2. Enzymatic activities have been traced by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and kinetic studies.
• 3.3. The existence of two enzymes (L₁ and L₂) has been demonstrated.
• 4.4. During the larval development, both L₁ and L₂ remain at a low level.
• 5.5. After the larvae hatch L₁ and L₂ gradually rise although L₁ is predominant.
• 6.6. Measurement of kinetic parameters shows that the general behaviour of the enzymes of the embryo resembles that of the adult enzymes.
• 7.7. However, one can observe during the development a constant increase in the affinity of the enzyme towards its substrate, lactate.

     

Mitochondria from the ventricle of the marine clam,Mercenaria mercenaria: Substrate preferences and effects of pH and salt concentration on proline oxidation

• 1.1. Mitochondria with high respiratory control ratios (RCR) have been isolated from the ventricle of the marine clam Mercenaria mercenaria.
• 2.2. Proline is the preferred substrate of the mitochondria of the ventricle based on state 3 rates.
• 3.3. Pyruvate, ornithine and succinate are oxidized at rates 3/4 that of proline.
• 4.4. α-Glycerophosphate was oxidized at rates 1/2 that of proline.
• 5.5. The pH optimum for proline oxidation lies between 6.5 and 7.5 based on RCR and ADP/O and between 7.0 and 7.4 based on state 3 rates.
• 6.6. KCl concentrations between 250 and 450 mM gave optimal values for the oxidation of proline based on RCR and state 3 rates.
• 7.7. KCl concentration had little effect on ADP/O between 100 and 850 mM.

     

Pyrimidine degradation in tomato cell suspension cultures and in Euglena gracilis—localization of enzymes

• 1.1. Subcellular location of dihydropyrimidinase and NCβA-amidohydrolase2 was studied in a cell suspension culture of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Lukullus) and in Euglena gracilis.
• 2.2. By differential centrifugation, crude extracts were separated into ten fractions. Activities of both enzymes were found mainly in cytosolic fractions marked by EDH (tomato) and glu-6-P-DH (E. gracilis).
• 3.3. A cytosolic location was also found by a 20–60% and a 17.5–30% sucrose density gradients.
• 4.4. Using mitochondrial marker enzymes such as fumarase, SDH, CS and MDH, a mitochondrial occurrence of both enzymes or their release from mitochondria can be excluded by sucrose gradient centrifugations. This can also be achieved using purified mitochondria prepared from tomato cells by two subsequent sucrose gradients.
• 5.5. A possible vacuolar location of dihydropyrimidinase and NCβA-amidohydrolase was excluded by comparing their activities in isolated protoplasts and purified vacuoles which were characterized by their marker enzyme α-mannosidase.
• 6.6. A nuclear location of both enzymes and/or their release from the nucleus during procedures used cannot be excluded.
• 7.7. The results are discussed in relation to subcellular location to other pyrimidine-metabolizing enzymes in plant cells.