Phosphomannoisomerase and phosphoglucoisomerase in seeds of cassia coluteoides and some other legumes that synthesize galactomannan

One phosphomannoisomerase and two phosphoglucoisomerases have been obtained from developing and germinating Cassia coluteoides seeds. The MW of phosphomannoisomerase and those from other legumes were about half those of phosphoglucoisomerases. Kinetic properties, including inhibition by 6-phosphogluconate and erythrose 4-phosphate have been studied.     

Anthraquinones from Cassia sophera heartwood

From the heartwood of Cassia sophera two new isomeric anthraquinones, 1,2,7-trihydroxy-6,8-dimethoxy-3-methyl- and 1,2,6-trihydroxy-7,8-dimethoxy-3     

Electrophoretic studies on glucosephosphate isomerase and phosphoglucomutase in two types of Anisakis larvae

Agatsuma T. 1982. Electrophoretie studies on glucosephosphate isornerase and phosphoglucomutase in two types of Anisakis larvae. International Journal for Parasitology12: 35–39. Enzyme electrophoresis was carried out between the larval forms. Type I and II, of Anisakis using starch gel. In glucose-phosphate isomerase, considerable polymorphisms were found in each type. At least 5 alleles appear to occur at this enzyme locus in natural populations of both types. Out of 5 alleles, 3 were common to both types. No significant difference was found in their frequencies. However, each larval form can be easily distinguished by the electrophoretic mobility of phosphoglucomutase. It was concluded that enzyme electrophoresis is an alternative useful tool for the identification of larval forms of Anisakis.     

2-Aminoimidazole in seeds of Mundulea sericea

An amine present as ca 0.9 % of the fr. wt of the seeds of the legume Mundulea sericea has been isolated and characterised as 2-aminoimidazole     

Lysyl tRNAs of lupinus luteus seeds

Lysine accepting transfer RNA of lupin seeds and lupin embryo axes can be fractionated into at least 5 species by reversed-phase chromatography (RPC-5). One main and two minor isoacceptors were observed in wheat and barley embryos. Changes in isoaccepting species of tRNA^1ys were followed in cotyledons of germinating lupin seedlings. Ribosome binding studies revealed that one of the main lupin tRNA^1ys species recognizes the AAG codon, the second AAA and the third one AAA and AAG.     

Proteinase inhibitors from Erythrina corallodendron and Erythrina cristagalli seeds

Eight and five proteinase inhibitors were purified from Erythrina corallodendron and E. cristagalli seeds, respectively, by gel filtration followed by ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and DEAE-sepharose. Each inhibitor consists of 161–163 amino acids (M_r 18 000) including four half-cystine residues and resembles the Kunitz-type proteinase inhibitors. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of trypsin inhibitor DE-7 from E. corallodendron seed resembles those of other Erythrina species. For the other inhibitors no free N-terminal amino acid was found. DE-1,-2,-3,-4 and -5 from the seed of E. corallodendron contain potent inhibitors for α-chymotrypsin and they have practically no action on trypsin. From the same seed, inhibitors DE-6, -7 and -8 strongly inhibit trypsin and also inhibit α-chymotrypsin to varying degrees. From the seeds of E. cristagalli, inhibitors DE-1 and -8 inhibit trypsin strongly and DE-2, -3 and -4 are strongly inhibitory for α-chymotrypsin. On summarizing the inhibitor characteristics of the Kunitz-type proteinase inhibitors from the seeds of eight different species of Erythrina, it was obvious that there is a relationship between the alanine content of the inhibitors and their activities. A high alanine content is associated with potent α-chymotrypsin activities and low alanine content with strong trypsin activities.     

Vicilin from cajanus cajan seeds

Vicilin from pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) seeds was purified and characterised. It has a M, of ca 180 000 and consists of two types of subunits having M,s of ca 72 000 and 57 000. The subunits are not linked by disulphide bonds. The vicilin of pigeon pea differs from that of Pisum or Vicia in the absence of small M, subunits.     

De novo synthesis of d-alanine in germinating Pisum sativum seedlings

The amounts of d-alanine derivatives, γ-l-glutamyl-d-alanine and N-malonyl-d-alanine, increase rapidly during the early growth of pea seeds. Pyruvate-[1?¹⁴C], l-alanine-[U?¹⁴C], d-alanine-[U?¹⁴C], l-alanine-[¹⁵N] and ¹⁵NH₄Cl were therefore fed to the seedlings and the incorporation investigated. Labelling results revealed that pea seedlings can utilize these erogenous compounds to form d-alanine and that labelled l-alanine is effectively converted to the d-enantiomer with retention of ¹⁴C and, largely, ¹⁵N label. Enzyme analyses in vitro provided additional evidence that the extract of pea seedlings catalyzes the direct conversion of l-alanine to d-alanine. The data suggest that the de novo synthesis of d-alanine in pea seedlings occurs by a racemase reaction.     

Interconversion of gibberellin A5 to gibberellin 3 in seedlings of dwarf Pisum sativum

[³H]-Gibberellin A₅ ([³H]-GA₅) applied to seedlings of dark-grown dwarf pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Meteor), was converted to two acidic compounds, GA₃ and a chromatographically similar unknown. Identification of GA₃ was made by gas-liquid radiochromatography using three stationary phases.     

Cyanoglucoside biosynthesis in white clover (Trifolium repens)

l-valine-(U-¹⁴C), isobutyraldoxime-(U-¹⁴C) and 2-hydroxyisobutyraldoxime-(1,3-¹⁴C) were fed to white clover shoots which contained or lacked cyanoglucoside. Labelling results indicated that plants which were unable to synthesize linamarin from these precursors lacked the ability to glucosylate 2-hydroxyisobutyronitrile. When l-valine-(U-¹⁴C) was fed to cyanoglucoside-producing plants in the presence of cold isobutyraldoxime, radioactivity could be trapped in this compound. No radioactivity was trapped in isobutyraldoxime fed to non-cyanoglucoside-producing shoots demonstrating that this phenotype also lacks the ability to convert valine into the aldoxime. This suggests that the non-cyanoglucoside-producing plants have at least two steps in the biosynthesis of linamarin missing. Differences between the linamarin biosynthetic enzymes of white clover and flax were demonstrated using the inhibitor O-methylthreonine and by the failure of cyanoglucoside-producing white clover shoots to synthesize linamarin from fed 2-hydroxyisobutyraldoxime.     

Free amino acids in Crotalaria seeds

The free amino acids of seeds of 163 species of Crotalaria have been identified. Their pattern of distribution is compared with recent classifications of the genus and the possible ecological significance of their presence is discussed. Attention is drawn to the occurrence of toxic amino acids.     

Biosynthesis of bakuchiol,a meroterpene from Psoralea corylifolia

Biosynthesis of bakuchiol was examined using phenylalanine and mevalonic acid as substrates. It has been demonstrated that bakuchiol is derived from one phenylpropane (with the loss of one carbon atom) and two isoprenoid (C₅) units.     

Roxburghinol,A 1,2-dihydroanthraquinone from the leaves of Cassia roxburghii

A new 1,2-dihydroanthraquinone, roxburghinol was isolated from the leaves of Cassia roxburghii. its structure was established as 1,2-dihydro-1,3,8-trihydroxy-2-methyl anthraquinone on the basis of physical and chemical evidence.     

Cytokinins in immature seeds of Dolichos lablab

Five cytokinins, trans-zeatin, 9-β-d-ribofuranosyl-trans-zeatin, 9-β-d-ribofuranosyl-cis-zeatin, 6-(trans-4-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-3-methyl-2-butenylamino)purine and 6-(trans-4-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-3-methyl-2-butenylamino)-9-β-d-ribofuranosylpurine were identified from immature seeds of Dolichos lablab.     

Kaurene and kaurenol biosynthesis in cell-free system of Phaseolus coccineus suspensor

It is shown that suspensor tissue of Phaseolus coccineus can biosynthesize ent-kaur-16-ene and ent-kaur-16-en-19β-ol, two key precursors in the biosynthesis of gibberellins.     

Ornithine carbamyltransferase activity from the cotyledons of developing and germinating seeds of Vicia faba

During maturation the ornithine carbamyltransferase activity from cotyledons of Vicia faba sharply decreased. It declined further during subsequent germination. On the other hand, arginase activity was low in mature, air-dry seeds but increased considerably during germination. After centrifugation at 40 000 g, more than 90% of the ornithine carbamyltransferase activity remained in the supernatant. The fractions containing tightly coupled mitochondria, showed hardly any omithine carbamyltransferase activity.     

Furostanol glycosides from Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds

Two new furostanol glycosides trigofoenosides A and D have been isolated from the Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds as their methyl ethers, A-1 and D-1. Their structures have been determined as (25S)-22-O-methyl-furost-5-ene-3β,26-diol, 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1 → 2)-β-D-glucopyranoside; 26-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (A-1) and (25S)-22-O-methyl-furost-5-ene-3β,26-diol, 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1 → 2)-[β-D-glucopyranosyl (1 → 3)]-β-D-glucopyranoside; 26-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (D-1).     

Biosynthesis of the 6-oxygenated isoflavone afrormosin in Onobrychis viciifolia

dl-Phenylalanine-[2-¹⁴C], 2′,4′,4-trihydroxychalcone-[carbonyl-¹⁴C] and formononetin-[Me-¹⁴C] were all good precursors of afrormosin (7-hydroxy-6,4′-dimethoxyisoflavone) in Onobrychis viciifolia seedlings. This demonstrates that 6-oxygenation may be a late process in the biosynthesis of isoflavones.     

t-RNA-nucleotidyltransferase activity in Lupinus luteus seeds

t-RNA-nucleotidyltransferase activity was detected in Lupinus luteus seed.The enzyme was partly purified, and some of its properties are described.     

Keto and imino acids in Delonix regia flowers

Floral parts and buds of Delonix regia contain α-ketoglutaric acid, oxaloacetic acid, pyruvic acid and glyoxylic acid. Proline and hydroxyproline biosynthesis has been demonstrated. The calyx and androecium accumulate glyoxylic acid, in amounts greater than those reported for other plants.