Chemical and physiological changes in fungi during autolysis

A comparative study was done on some of the chemical changes occurring during autolysis of cultures ofAspergillus flavus in both physiologically acid and alkaline media. The mycelium ofA. flavus lost during autolysis 44 % of its maximum dry weight in the physiologically alkaline medium, whereas this loss was apparently nil in the physiologically acid medium. Nitrogen containing compounds seemed not to be affected by autolysis either in the physiologically acid or alkaline media. The disappearance of P-containing compounds in mycelium ofA. flavus autolysed in both conditions (NO ₃ ^– and NH ₄ ⁺ as N source) amounted to 64 % in the alkaline autolysis and to nearly 77 % in the acid autolysis. The results we have obtained for the acid autolysis strongly suggest that very little activity is shown by autolytic enzymes in the interval 10–133 days of incubation, when measuring autolysis by the loss in mycelial dry weight.

---

Zusammenfassung Eine vergleichende Untersuchung war unternommen an einigen der chemischen Veränderungen, die während der Autolyse der Kulturen vonAspergillus flavus in physiologischen sauren und alkalischen Medien vorkommen. Die Myzelien vonA. flavus haben während der Autolyse 44 % ihres größten Trockengewichtes in physiologisch alkalischem Medium verloren, während dieser Verlust in physiologisch saurem Medium anscheinend Null gewesen ist. Stickstoff enthaltende Substanzen erschienen während der Autolyse weder in physiologisch saueren noch in alkalischen Medien beeinflußt zu sein. Das Verschwinden von P-enthaltenden Substanzen in Myzelien vonA. flavus in Autolyse unter beiden Bedingungen (NO ₃ ^– und NH ₄ ⁺ als Stickstoffquelle) erreichte 64 % in alkalischer Autolyse und beinahe 77 % in der saueren Autolyse. Die Ergebnisse, die wir in der saueren Autolyse erhalten haben legen es sehr nahe, daß autolytische Enzyme eine sehr geringe Aktivität in der Zeitspanne von 10–133 Tagen der Inkubazion zeigen, wenn die Autolyse an dem Verlust des mycelialen Trockengewichtes gemessen wird.

     

BIOCHEMISTRY OF CEREBRAL TUMOURS: SODIUM, POTASSIUM, CALCIUM, PHOSPHORUS, MAGNESIUM, COPPER AND SULPHUR CONTENTS OF ASTROCYTOMATA, MEDULLOBLASTOMATA AND GLIOBLASTOMATA MULTIFORME

Abstract— Twenty-nine autopsy specimens of intracerebral tumours (nine astrocytomata, ten medulloblastomata and ten glioblastomata multiforme), as well as samples of peritumoral and apparently normal brain tissue, have been studied for Na, K, P, Ca, Mg, Cu, and S contents.
The tumour tissue, irrespective of the histological characteristics, as compared to the 'normal' and perineoplastic tissues, showed higher concentration of Ca, Mg, Cu and S. The peritumoral tissue, regardless of the tumour type, showed a higher concentration of Cu than the 'normal' control brain.
The more malignant glioblatomata and medulloblastomata. The Cu levels did not show a significant diference.     

Sex expression in floral buds of Acorn squash

Summary Staminate flowers of the Acorn squash (Cucurbita pepo, cv. Table Queen) are initiated monosexually, pistillate flowers are initiated bisexually. Pistillate flower primordia are physiologically bisexual from a stage below 0.3 mm until they are 0.8 mm in width.Male and female floral buds were cultivated on White's medium, modified according to Galun et al. (1963). In excised female floral buds the relative development of stamens is better than in in-situ floral buds; the opposite relationship holds for ovary development. The smaller the bud at excision, the greater the stamen growth and the lesser the ovary growth, both in absolute and relative terms. Although smaller pistillate floral buds cultured in vitro showed a greater increase in maleness than larger ones, there was no difference in the percentage of female buds between explants of the two sizes when originating from the mixed stem region (that is, the stem region carrying male and female flowers). Addition of 3-indoleacetic acid and the anti-auxin p-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid to standard medium in equal amounts resulted in somewhat better development of excised floral buds than addition of each of these compounds alone.The percentage of female buds among explants originating from identical nodes was not significantly influenced by 3-indoleacetic acid or p-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid.Weizmann Memorial Fellow. The studies reported in this publication were mainly undertaken at the Weizmann Institute of Science     

Studies on the Endoplasmic Reticulum : IV. Its Form and Distribution during Mitosis in Cells of Onion Root Tip

Cells of onion and garlic root tips were examined under the electron and phase contrast microscopes after fixation in KMnO₄. Special attention was focused on the distribution and behavior of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during the several phases of mitosis. Slender profiles, recognized as sections through thin lamellar units of the ER (most prominent in KMnO₄-fixed material), are distributed more or less uniformly in the cytoplasm of interphase cells and show occasional continuity with the nuclear envelope. In late prophase the nuclear envelope breaks down and its remnants plus cytoplasmic elements of the ER, which are morphologically identical, surround the spindle in a zone from which mitochondria, etc., are excluded. During metaphase these ER elements persist and concentrate as two separate systems in the polar caps or zones of the spindle. At about this same time they begin to proliferate and to invade the ends of the spindle. The invading lamellar units form drape-like partitions between the anaphase chromosomes. In late anaphase, their advancing margins reach the middle zone of the spindle and begin to fray out. Finally, in telophase, while elements of the ER in the poles of the spindle coalesce around the chromosomes to form the new envelope, the advancing edges of those in the middle zone reticulate at the level of the equator to form a close lattice of tubular elements. Within this, which is identified as the phragmoplast, the earliest signs of the cell plate appear in the form of small vesicles. These subsequently grow and fuse to complete the separation of the two protoplasts. Other morphological units apparently participating in mitosis are described. Speculation is provided on the equal division or not of the nuclear envelope and the contribution the envelope fragments make to the ER of the new cell.     

Nonvitellogenic female protein in Musca domestica

During vitellogenesis in Musca domestica, a major hemolymph protein, in addition to vitellogenin, appears preferentially in females. This protein is synthesized by the adult fat bodies, secreted into the hemolymph, and is not taken up by the ovaries during vitellogenesis. We have designated this protein nonvitellogenic female protein (NVFP). It is composed of only one type of polypeptide (M_r=70,000) and occurs in two different forms. Synthesis of NVFP is induced by a protein diet, attaining maximum concentrations in females at the middle of the gonotrophic cycle. In males its maximum concentration never surpasses 10% of the concentration in females. The quantitative variation of the NVFP is cyclic and coincident with the gonotrophic cycles of Musca domestica.