Effects of Manganese Deficiency and Added Cerium on Photochemical Efficiency of Maize Chloroplasts

The mechanism of the fact that manganese deprivation and cerium addition affect the photochemical efficiency of plants is unclear. In this study, we investigated the improvement by cerium of the damage of the photochemical function of maize chloroplasts under manganese-deprived stress. Chlorophyll fluorescence induction measurements showed that the ratio of variable to maximum fluorescence (Fv/Fm) underwent great decreases under manganese deficiency, which was attributed to the reduction of intrinsic quantum efficiency of the photosystem II units. The electron flow between the two photosystems, activities of Mg²⁺–ATPase and Ca²⁺–ATPase, and rate of photophosphorylation on the thylakoid membrane of maize chloroplasts were reduced significantly by exposure to manganese deprivation. Furthermore, the inhibition of cyclic photophosphorylation was more severe than non-cyclic photophosphorylation under manganese deficiency. However, added cerium could relieve the inhibition of the photochemical reaction caused by manganese deprivation in maize chloroplasts. It implied that manganese deprivation could disturb photochemical reaction of chloroplasts strongly, which could be improved by cerium addition.     

Effects of Manganese Deficiency on Spectral Characteristics and Oxygen Evolution in Maize Chloroplasts

The effects of Mn²⁺ deficiency on light absorption, transmission, and oxygen evolution of maize chloroplasts were investigated by spectral methods. Several effects of Mn²⁺ deficiency were observed: (1) the skeleton of pigment protein complexes and oxygen-evolving center and the combination between pigment and protein were damaged; (2) the light absorption of chloroplasts was obviously decreased; (3) the energy transfer among amino acids within PS II protein–pigment complex and decreased energy transport from tyrosine residue to chlorophyll a and from chlorophyll b and carotenoid to chlorophyll a were inhibited; (4) the oxygen-evolving of chloroplast was significantly inhibited. However, Mn²⁺ addition decreased the damage of light absorption, transmission, and oxygen evolution of maize chloroplasts caused by Mn²⁺ deficiency.     

Improvement of Cerium of Photosynthesis Functions of Maize Under Magnesium Deficiency

Rare earth elements can promote photosynthesis, but their mechanisms are still poorly understood under magnesium deficiency. The present study was designed to determine the role of cerium in magnesium-deficient maize plants. Maize was cultivated in Hoagland’s solution added with cerium with and without adequate quantities of magnesium. Under magnesium-deficient conditions, cerium can prevents inhibition of synthesis of photosynthetic pigment, improves light energy absorption and conversion, oxygen evolution, and the activity of photo-phosphorelation and its coupling factor Ca²⁺-ATPase. These results suggest that cerium could partly substitute magnesium, improving photosynthesis and plant growth.     

Cerium Relieves the Inhibition of Chlorophyll Biosynthesis of Maize Caused by Magnesium Deficiency

Lanthanoids (Ln) were demonstrated to improve chlorophyll formation and the growth of plants. But the mechanism of the fact that Ln promotes chlorophyll biosynthesis of plants is poorly understood. The main aim of the study was to determine Ln effects in chlorophyll formation of maize under magnesium (Mg) deficiency. Maize plants were cultivated in Hoagland’s solution. They were subjected to Mg deficiency and to cerium administered in Mg-deficient Hoagland’s media, and then the contents of various chlorophyll precursors and gen expressions of the key enzymes of chlorophyll biosynthesis were examined. The decrease of chlorophyll contents in maize leaves caused by Mg deficiency suggested an inhibition of chlorophyll synthesis that was inhibited by a reduction of the precursors as measured by analyzing the contents of δ-aminolevulinic acid, porphobilinogen, uroporphyrinogen III, Mg–protoporphyrin IX, and protochlorophyll, as well as the expression levels of magnesium chelatase, magnesium-protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase, and chlorophyll synthase; Mg deficiency significantly inhibited the transformation from coproporphyrinogen III or protoporphyrin IX to chlorophyll. However, cerium addition significantly relieved the inhibition of chlorophyll biosynthesis in maize caused by Mg deficiency and increased chlorophyll content and promoted a series of transformations from δ-aminolevulinic acid to chlorophyll and maize growth under Mg deficiency. It implied that cerium might partly substitute for the role of Mg.     

Effects of Irradiance-Sulphur Interactions on Enzymes of Carbon,Nitrogen, and Sulphur Metabolism in Maize Plants

The effect of sulphur deprivation and irradiance (180 and 750 µmol m^–2 s^–1) on plant growth and enzyme activities of carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur metabolism were studied in maize (Zea mays L. Pioneer cv. Latina) plants over a 15-d-period of growth. Increase in irradiance resulted in an enhancement of several enzyme activities and generally accelerated the development of S deficiency. ATP sulphurylase (ATPs; EC 2.7.7.4) and o-acetylserine sulphydrylase (OASs; EC 4.2.99.8) showed a particular and different pattern as both enzymes exhibited maximum activity after 10 d from the beginning of deprivation period. Hence in maize leaves the enzymes of C, N, and S metabolism were differently regulated during the leaf development by irradiance and sulphur starvation.     

Improvement of Cerium on Photosynthesis of Maize Seedlings Under a Combination of Potassium Deficiency and Salt Stress

Added Ce³⁺ can partly substitute for Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺ and improve photosynthesis under the deficiency of these elements, but very few studies focused on photosynthetic improvement in maize seedlings caused by K⁺ deficiency, salt stress, especially a combination of K⁺ deficiency and salt stress. In the present study, the effects of Ce³⁺ on the photosynthesis of maize seedlings under the three different stresses were investigated. The results showed that added Ce³⁺ under various stresses increased the ratios of free water/bound water and of K⁺/Na⁺, the pigment contents, the values of Fv/Fm, Y(II), ETR(II), Y(NPQ), Qp, qL, NPQ, and qN of photosystem II (PSII), the values of Y(I) and ETR(I) of photosystem I (PSI) and the expression levels of LhcII cab1 and rbcL, and decreased the values of Y(NO) and Y(NA). This implied that added Ce³⁺ depressed ion toxicity, photodamage of PSII, and acceptor side constraints of PSI, and enhanced adjustable energy dissipation, the responses of photochemistry, and carbon assimilation caused by K⁺ deficiency, salt stress, and the combination of K⁺ deficiency and salt stress. However, Ce³⁺ mitigation of photosynthetic inhibition in maize seedlings caused by the combined stresses was greater than that of salt stress, and Ce³⁺ mitigation under salt stress was greater than that under K⁺ deficiency. In addition, the results also showed that Ce³⁺ cannot improve photosynthesis and growth of maize seedlings under K⁺ deficiency by substituting for K⁺.     

Effects of Nitrate and Ammonium on Gene Expression of Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase and Nitrogen Metabolism in Maize Leaf Tissue during Recovery from Nitrogen Stress

We previously showed that the selective accumulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) in photosynthetically maturing maize (Zea mays L.) leaf cells induced by nitrate supply to nitrogen-starved plants was primarily a consequence of the level of its mRNA (B Sugiharto, K Miyata, H Nakamoto, H Sasakawa, T Sugiyama [1990] Plant Physiol 92: 963-969). To determine the specificity of inorganic nitrogen sources for the regulation of PEPC gene expression, nitrate (16 millimolar) or ammonium (6 millimolar) was supplied to plants grown previously in low nitrate (0.8 millimolar), and changes in the level of PEPC and its mRNA were measured in the basal region of the youngest, fully developed leaves of plants during recovery from nitrogen stress. The exogenous supply of nitrogen selectively increased the levels of protein and mRNA for PEPC. This increase was more pronounced in plants supplemented with ammonium than with nitrate. The accumulation of PEPC during nitrogen recovery increased in parallel with the increase in the activity of glutamine synthetase and/or ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase. Among the major amino acids, glutamine was the most influenced during recovery, and its level increased in parallel with the steady-state level of PEPC mRNA for 7 hours after nitrogen supply. The administration of glutamine (12 millimolar) to nitrogen-starved plants increased the steady-state level of PEPC mRNA 7 hours after administration, whereas 12 millimolar glutamate decreased the level of PEPC mRNA. The results indicate that glutamine and/or its metabolite(s) can be a positive control on the nitrogen-dependent regulation of PEPC gene expression in maize leaf cells.     

Pleiotropic Effects of Cavin-1 Deficiency on Lipid Metabolism

Mice and humans lacking caveolae due to gene knock-out or inactivating mutations of cavin-1/PTRF have numerous pathologies including markedly aberrant fuel metabolism, lipodystrophy, and muscular dystrophy. We characterized the physiologic/metabolic profile of cavin-1 knock-out mice and determined that they were lean because of reduced white adipose depots. The knock-out mice were resistant to diet-induced obesity and had abnormal lipid metabolism in the major metabolic organs of white and brown fat and liver. Epididymal white fat cells from cavin-1-null mice were small and insensitive to insulin and β-adrenergic agonists resulting in reduced adipocyte lipid storage and impaired lipid tolerance. At the molecular level, the lipolytic defects in white fat were caused by impaired perilipin phosphorylation, and the reduced triglyceride accumulation was caused by decreased fatty acid uptake and incorporation as well as the virtual absence of insulin-stimulated glucose transport. The livers of cavin-1-null mice were mildly steatotic and did not accumulate more lipid after high-fat feeding. The brown adipose tissues of cavin-1-null mice exhibited decreased mitochondria protein expression, which was restored upon high fat feeding. Taken together, these data suggest that dysfunction in fat, muscle, and liver metabolism in cavin-1-null mice causes a pleiotropic phenotype, one apparently identical to that of humans lacking caveolae in all tissues.     

Effects of Cerium on Key Enzymes of Carbon Assimilation of Spinach Under Magnesium Deficiency

The mechanism of the fact that cerium improves the photosynthesis of plants under magnesium deficiency is poorly understood. The main aim of the study was to determine the role of cerium in the amelioration of magnesium deficiency effects in CO₂ assimilation of spinach. Spinach plants were cultivated in Hoagland’s solution. They were subjected to magnesium deficiency and to cerium chloride administered in the magnesium-present Hoagland’s media and magnesium-deficient Hoagland’s media. The results showed that the chlorophyll synthesis and oxygen evolution was destroyed, and the activities of Rubisco carboxylasae and Rubisco activase and the expression of Rubisco large subunit (rbcL), Rubisco small subunit (rbcS), and Rubisco activase subunit (rca) were significantly inhibited, then plant growth was inhibited by magnesium deficiency. However, cerium promotes the chlorophyll synthesis, the activities of two key enzymes in CO₂ assimilation, and the expression of rbcL, rbcS, and rca, thus leading to the enhancement of spinach growth under magnesium-deficient conditions.     

The Effects of Magnesium Deficiency on Molybdenum Metabolism in Rats

Our previous report indicated that magnesium (Mg) deficiency increased molybdenum (Mo) concentration in the rat liver, suggesting the possibility that Mg deficiency affects Mo metabolism. Growing male rats were given a control diet or a Mg-deficient diet for 4 weeks. Urine and feces were collected during the second and fourth weeks of the feeding trial. The liver, kidney, spleen, skeletal muscle, and blood were collected at the end of the feeding trial. Mg deficiency did not affect the apparent absorption of Mo, but it reduced urinary excretion of Mo. The retention of Mo tended to be higher in the Mg-deficient group than in the control group. Hepatic Mo concentration was higher in the Mg-deficient group than in the control group, but Mg deficiency did not affect Mo concentration in other tissues and plasma. Mg deficiency downregulated the mRNA expression of Mo transporter 2 (MOT2) in the liver, but not in the kidney. These results suggest that Mg deficiency decreases urinary Mo excretion, which is too slight to affect plasma Mo concentration, and that Mg deficiency selectively disturbs the homeostatic mechanism of Mo in the liver, which is not related to the mRNA expression of MOT2 in the liver.     

Relative and Combined Effects of Ethanol and Protein Deficiency on Bone Manganese and Copper

Both manganese and copper may affect bone synthesis. Bone content of both metals can be altered in alcoholics, although controversy exists regarding this matter. To analyse the relative and combined effects of ethanol and a low protein diet on bone copper and manganese, and their relationships with bone structure and metabolism, including trabecular bone mass (TBM), osteoid area (OA), osteocalcin (OCN), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), parathyroid hormone (PTH), urinary hydroxyproline (uHP) and vitamin D. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups. The control rats received a 18% protein-containing diet; a second group, an isocaloric, 2% protein-containing diet; a third one, an isocaloric, 36% ethanol-containing diet and a fourth, an isocaloric diet containing 2% protein and 36% ethanol. After sacrifice, TBM and OA were histomorphometrically assessed; bone and serum manganese and copper were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and serum OCN, IGF-1, PTH, uHP and vitamin D by radioimmunoassay. Ethanol-fed rats showed decreased TBM and bone manganese. Significant relationships existed between bone manganese and TBM, serum IGF-1 and OCN. Ethanol leads to a decrease in bone manganese, related to decreased bone mass and bone synthesis. No alterations were found in bone copper.     

Effects of Nitrate Nutrition on Nitrogen Metabolism in Cassava

Two experiments were conducted independently with plants of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) growing in sand with nutrient solutions with four nitrate concentrations (0.5, 3, 6 or 12 mM). In leaves, nitrate-N was undetectable at the low nitrate applications; total-N, ammonium-N, amino acid-N, reduced-N and insoluble-N all increased linearly, while soluble proteins did it curvilinearly, with increasing nitrate supply. In contrast, soluble-N did not respond to N treatments. Total-N and soluble proteins, but not nitrate-N or ammonium-N, were much higher in leaves than in roots. Plants grown under severe N deficiency accumulated ammonium-N and amino acid-N in their roots. Further, plants were exposed to either 3 or 12 mM nitrate-N, and leaf activities of key N-assimilating enzymes were evaluated. Activities of nitrate reductase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate synthase and glutamate dehydrogenase were considerably lower in low nitrate supply than in high one. Despite the low nitrate reductase activity, cassava leaves showed an ability to maintain a large proportion of N in soluble proteins.     

Nitrogen and Carbohydrate Metabolism of Japanese Mint as Affected by Phosphorus Deficiency and Seasonal Variations

The paper presents effects of phosphorus deficiency and seasonal variations on nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism of Japanese mint (Mentha arvensis L. var. piperascens, Holmes). Mint plants were grown in sand cultures under full nutrition and under phosphorus deficiency conditions during winter and summer. Various nitrogen and sugar fractions were determined in the component parts at specified periods of growth stages. Phosphorus deficiency disturbed the nitrogen metabolism at the stages for amide and amino acid formation, which resulted in an accumulation of carbohydrates. The content of total soluble and total nitrogen was higher and that of insoluble nitrogen was lower in summer as compared with winter plants. Of the soluble fractions, the ammonia, amide and nitrate nitrogen were higher and the ‘rest’ nitrogen lower in winter plants. Nitrate formed the highest bulk of the pool of soluble nitrogen in winter, whereas in summer ‘rest’ nitrogen was most abundant. The content of total sugar in winter plants far exceeded that of summer plants, which was wholly due to increase in sucrose content. Glucose was the predominant reducing sugar in both seasons. However, the summer plants were richer in glucose than those from the winter.     

缺氮和复氮对菘蓝幼苗生长及氮代谢的影响

对基质育苗后水培的菘蓝进行缺氮与复氮处理,分析其生长情况及氮代谢产物含量的变化,探讨缺氮和复氮对菘蓝幼苗生长及氮代谢的影响,以提高菘蓝产量和品质以及栽培过程中的氮素利用效率。结果显示:(1)正常供氮条件下,菘蓝幼苗的叶绿素含量、谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS)活性、硝态氮含量、靛玉红含量为最高,而其株高、主根直径、根的鲜重与干重、叶的鲜重与干重、根系活力均最小。(2)缺氮处理增加了菘蓝幼苗的主根直径和根干重,提高其根系活力和硝酸还原酶(NR)活性,促进游离氨基酸在叶中的积累;但降低了GS的活性,也降低了叶中硝态氮、可溶性蛋白、靛玉红及根中游离氨基酸的含量;缺氮对叶中靛蓝的含量无明显影响。(3)复氮处理增加了菘蓝幼苗的株高、主根长、根鲜重、叶鲜重、叶干重,提高了其根系活力,降低了NR和GS的活性;与对照相比,复氮降低了叶中硝态氮含量,提高了叶中可溶性蛋白、靛蓝及根中游离氨基酸的含量,但对叶中游离氨基酸和靛玉红含量影响较小。研究表明,缺氮后再复氮有利于菘蓝幼苗叶的生长,同时有利于增加其叶内靛蓝含量,从而提高其产量和品质。     

Effects of Nitrogen Fertilizer on the Bt Protein Content in Transgenic Rice and Nitrogen Metabolism Mechanism

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Transgenic rice with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) genes has been successfully cultivated in recent years. The stable and sustainable expression of Bt protein is...