The phenol oxidases of the ascomycete Podospora anserina

For the low molecular weight laccases II and III of Podospora anserina the kinetic parameters Michaelis constant (K _M) and maximum reaction velocity (V) were determined polarographically under pH optimum conditions for representative substrates of different substitution patterns.Laccase II showed two peaks in its pH optimum curve, each with a different substrate specificity, indicating structural differences to laccase III which exhibits only one broad peak.Under optimum conditions the affinities of various substrates are determined by their substitution patterns: high affinity for simple o-and p-diphenols, low affinity for m-phenols. The maximal velocity remains largely uninfluenced.This study of the effect of substitution on substrate utilization leads to the assumption that there is no specific reactive site for m-phenols in either laccase. Oxidation of m-phenols, however, takes only place at high pH values.     

Decolorization of phenolic effluents by soluble and immobilized phenol oxidases

Summary Colour removal from phenplic industrial effluents by phenol oxidase enzymes and white-rot fungi was compared. Soluble laccase and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) removed colour from pulp mill (E), cotton mill hydroxide (OH) and cotton mill sulphide (S) effluents, but rapid and irreversible enzyme inactivation took place. Entrapment of laccase in alginate beads improved decolorization by factors of 3.5 (OH) and 2 (E); entrapment of HRP improved decolorization by 36 (OH), 20 (E) and 9 (S). Beads were unsuitable for continuous use because the enzymes were rapidly released into solution. Co-polymerization of laccase or HRP with L-tyrosine gave insoluble polymers with enzyme activity. Entrapment of the co-polymers in gel beads further increased the efficiency of decolorization of E by 28 (laccase) and by 132 (HRP) compared with soluble enzymes. Maximum decolorization of all three effluents by batch cultures of Coriolus versicolor (70%–80% in 8 days) was greater than the maximum enzymic decolorization (48% of OH in 3 days by entrapped laccase). Soluble laccase (222 units ml^–1) precipitated 1.2 g l^–1 phenol from artificial coal conversion effluent at pH 6.0 and the rate of precipitation and enzyme inactivation was faster at pH 6.0 than at pH 8.5.Offprint requests to: R. G. Burns     

Studies on abscisic acid in apple seeds

Summary Abscisic acid (AbA) was found to be present in non-stratified apple seeds. The evidence is based on chromatographic behaviour, fluorescence, UV-spectrum and growth inhibition in a wheat-coleoptile straight-growth test.The AbA level, as measured by this bioassay, falls considerably with progressing stratification; after 3 weeks of after-ripening no AbA could be detected in the seeds.The longer the period of stratification, the higher was the concentration of synthetic AbA necessary to inhibit germination.     

Activation of intracellular and extracellular phenol oxidases in photoinduced fruit-body formation ofFavolus arcularius

The activation of intracellular phenol oxidase (PO) was associated with the photoinduced fruit-body initiation inFavolus arcularius. The second activation of PO activity was also photoinduced in the rapidly developing stipe after the formation of pileus primordium under light exposure. However, the activity levels in the pileus and the mycelium remained low even in the cultures exposed to light. The extracellular PO activity in the culture filtrate also appears to be developmentally regulated: it rose sharply after primordium formation in the light, then decreased rapidly during further development of the fruit-body.     

Gibberellins in mature apple seeds — contaminants?

Evidence is presented that gibberellins A₄ and A₇, previously identified (Sinska, I., Lewak, St., Gaskin, P., MacMillan, J., Planta 114, 359–364, 1973) in extracts of mature apple (Pyrus malus L.) seeds, were present primarily as contaminants. The facts supporting this conclusion are: a) the ratio of GA₄ to GA₇ was similar to that of a standard mixture; b) the concentrations were extremely high; and c) the ratio of GA₄ to GA₇ did not change during stratification, as had been reported when extracts were bioassayed (Sinska, I., and Lewak, St., Physiol. Vég. 8, 661–667, 1970).Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Article No. 9036     

Hydrogen cyanide and embryonal dormancy in apple seeds

Embryos of apple ( Malus domestica Borh. cv. Antonówka) were treated with 1 m M gaseous HCN for 6 h and cultured under a 12 h photoperiod. HCN pretreatment stimulated germination, increased the length of hypocotyls, shortened the main root and decreased the percentages of seedlings with asymmetrically grown as well as with asymmetrically greened cotyledons. High activity of β-cyanoalanine synthase (EC 4.4.1.9) and a sharp increase in cyanogen content during embryo culture suggested very low levels of endogenous HCN. despite the activity of HCN releasing enzymes. The obtained data allow us to postulate an important role for cyanide in the regulatory complex controlling dormancy in apple seeds. Experiments with respiratory inhibitors indicated, however, that HCN pretreatment affected neither the alternative electron transport pathway nor residual respiration.     

Hemolymph phenol oxidases in Drosophila melanogaster, Locusta migratoria, and Austropotamobius pallipes

The early enzyme-mediated reaction sequence in the biosynthesis of melanin from L-tyrosine involves an initial hydroxylation (monophenol oxidase activity, MPO) of the aromatic amino acid precursor to form L-dopa (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), and the ensuing oxidation (diphenol oxidase activity, DPO) of the resultant diphenol to form dopaquinone. By means of high pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ED) both phenol oxidase activities were observed in the blood (hemolymph) of two species of insect, third-stage larvae of Drosophila melanogaster and adult Locusta migratoria, and in an adult fresh-water crayfish, Austropotamobius pallipes. These results establish that in each species MPO and DPO can be detected readily without the use of exogenous activators.     

Electrophoretic investigation of gamma-glutamyl-cyclotransferase from human erythrocytes

A new method is described for the localization of gamma-glutamyl-cyclotransferase (gamma GCT) after electrophoresis on starch gel. Electrophoresis of gamma GCT from human erythrocytes revealed a multiple banded pattern. A survey of 200 Australian blood donors failed to reveal any genetic variation.     

Non-Decarboxylating transformation of indol-3-ylacetic acid in apple seeds

An enzyme extract from apple(Pyrus malus Borb.) seeds which causes the disappearance of free indol-3-ylacetic acid (IAA) requires the presence of oxygen, but is not inhibited by cyanide. Using 1-¹⁴C-IAA it has been demonstrated that the IAA transformation is not accompanied by its decarboxylation. Decarboxylating IAA oxidase is absent during the whole period of apple seed cold stratification. Free IAA has not been detected in dormant apple seeds and in seeds stratified at low temperature. It appears during stratification at 25 °C. Ethyl ester of IAA and indol-3-ylacetyl aspartate have been identified in dormant and after-ripened seeds. Exogenous 1-¹⁴C IAA taken up by apple embryos is converted into conjugates with aspartate and short peptides containing an aspartate moiety.     

Changes in phenol oxidases and superoxide dismutase during fruit-body formation of Pleurotus on sawdust culture

Peroxidase and laccase activities increased rapidly up to the formation of primordia and then declined throughout the entire stage of fruiting. In the case of Pleurotus ostreatus, the level of Mn-dependent peroxidase was very low in primordia and fruiting stages but gradually increased with the growth of the fruit-body, whereas no activity was detected in Pleurotus sajor-caju during all growth stages. Superoxide dismutase activity was observed mainly at the fruiting stages. These results show that changes in concentration of lignin-related enzymes are associated with the fruiting process.     

The role of lipases in the removal of dormancy in apple seeds

Summary It was found that the temperature optimum for apple (Malus domestica Borb.) seed acid lipase is the same as that for seed after-ripening process. The activity of the enzyme occurs between the 40th and 70th days of stratification, whereas the activity of alkaline lipase very low at that time appears about 20 days later. The changes of both enzyme activities were also studied during dark and light culture of embryos isolated from seeds after different times of stratification. Only the alkaline enzyme activity is under the control of light. It was concluded that essentially the same process, i.e. the hydrolysis of reserve fats is catalysed by two different enzymes: acid lipase acting during the cold-mediated breaking of embryo dormancy and alkaline lipase acting during the germination of dormant embryos, thus being under light control.     

Abscisic acid relationships in the chill-related dormancy mechanism in apple seeds

Abscisic acid (ABA) levels in seeds from three cultivars of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) which have substantially different chilling requirements were investigated by gas chromatography mass-spectrometry selected ion monitoring (GCMS-SIM) during stratification. The ABA content of dormant unchilled seeds was similar in the three cultivars, suggesting no relationship between the chilling requirement of those seeds and their ABA status. That chilling is not related to ABA changes during stratification was confirmed by warm (20°C) and cold (5°C) stratification experiments. ABA content dropped rapidly and nearly identically under both temperature regimes, but only cold stratification promoted germination. The decline in ABA during stratification was due in large part to leaching from the seed coat and nucellar membrane; the ABA content of the embryo remained nearly constant. The radicle in intact seeds stratified at 5°C began growing 20–30 days after the ABA in the seed coat and nucellar membrane had nearly disappeared. Radicle growth did not occur in unchilled seeds, even though ABA had leached from them as well. It is possible that the leaching of ABA from the seed allows certain promotive forces to develop, but if so, these can develop only at chilling temperatures. Studies were also conducted on 2-trans ABA relationships to apple seed dormancy, but no association was evident.Report No. 12, Department of Fruit and Vegetable Science, Cornell University.     

Free and conjugated gibberellins in dormancy and germination of apple seeds

Halińska, A. and Lewak, St. 1987. Free and conjugated gibberellins in dormancy and germination of apple seeds.
The presence of gibberellin A₄ (GA₄) was confirmed in partly stratified seeds of apple ( Malus domestica Borb., cv. Antonówka) by mass spectrometry of the methyl ester. Levels of free and conjugated gibberellins A₄₊₇ and A₉ changed during drying of mature seeds, during cold and warm stratification, as well as during germination of dormant and non-dormant embryos. The temporary rise in GA₄₊₇ during cold stratification and during the culture of dormant embryos as well as the lack of it under conditions of warm stratification, allowed us to postulate a role for GA₄₊₇ in the removal of dormancy. In addition, GA₉ was absent in dormant embryos and increased during cold stratification and during the culture of non-dormant embryos. This suggests the involvement of GA₉, in induction of normal development of the seedling. The equivalence between changes in free and conjugated GAs suggests that formation and hydrolysis of conjugates are involved in the control of the physiologically active levels of free GA₄₊₇ and GA₉.