Significance of hydrogen evolution in the carbon and nitrogen economy of nodulated cowpea

The carbon and nitrogen economies of a single cultivar of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.cv Caloona) nodulated with either a high H₂-evolving strain (176A27) or a low H₂-evolving strain (CB756) of Rhizobium were compared. The two symbioses did not differ in total dry matter production, seed yield, nitrogen fixed, the spectrum of nitrogenous solutes produced by nodules for export, or the partitioning of net photosynthate within the plant throughout the growth cycle. Detailed examination of the carbon and nitrogen economy of the nodules, however, showed a significant difference between the symbioses. Nodules formed with CB756 lost less CO₂ in respiration compared to the higher H₂-evolving symbioses and this could have been largely responsible for a 36% better economy of carbon use in CB756 nodules during the period of maximum H₂ evolution (48-76 days) and over the whole growth period (20-90 days), a 16% economy. In terms of overall net photosynthate generated by the plant, these economies were equivalent to 5% and 2% of the carbon utilized in the two periods, respectively. From the differences in H₂ evolution and CO₂ production by nodules of the two symbioses, the cost of H₂ evolution was found to be 3.83±0.6 millimoles CO₂/millimoles H₂ for plants grown in sand culture and 1.69 ± 0.48 millimoles CO₂/millimoles H₂ for those in water culture. In both symbioses, the ratio of H₂ evolution to N₂ fixed varied markedly during ontogeny, indicating a significant variation in the relative efficiency and thus metabolic cost of N₂ fixation at different stages during development.     

Physiological Studies of Methane and Methanol-Oxidizing Bacteria: Oxidation of C-1 Compounds by Methylococcus capsulatus

Methylococcus capsulatus grows only on methane or methanol as its sole source of carbon and energy. Some amino acids serve as nitrogen sources and are converted to keto acids which accumulate in the culture medium. Cell suspensions oxidize methane, methanol, formaldehyde, and formate to carbon dioxide. Other primary alcohols are oxidized only to the corresponding aldehydes. Oxidation of formate by cell suspensions is more sensitive to inhibition by cyanide than is the oxidation of other one carbon compounds. This is due to the cyanide sensitivity of a soluble nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-specific formate dehydrogenase. Oxidation of formaldehyde and methanol is catalyzed by a nonspecific primary alcohol dehydrogenase which is activated by ammonium ions and is independent of pyridine nucleotides. Some comparisons are made with a strain of Pseudomonas methanica.     

A comparison of two methods for fitting the integrated Michaelis–Menten equation (Short Communication)

The methods of Atkins & Nimmo (1973) and Fernley (1974) for fitting the integrated Michaelis-Menten equation were compared by using the same sets of simulated experimental data. The method of Fernley (1974) is to be preferred because it gives precise and unbiased estimates of the Michaelis-Menten parameters over a wide range of substrate concentrations. However, the estimates may not be symmetrically distributed, especially at low substrate concentrations.     

Structural components of alginic acid. I. The crystalline structure of poly-beta-D-mannuronic acid. Results of x-ray diffraction and polarized infrared studies

A Structure determination of the naturally occuring marine algal polysaccharide poly-β-D -mannuronic acid is described. The structure consists of 1e → 4e linked D -mannuronic acid chains with the monosaccharide units in the C1 chair conformation. The X-ray fiber diffraction photograph obtained from bundles of fibers prepared from Fucus vesiculosus has been indexed to an orthorhombic unit cell in which a =7.6 Å, b (fiber axis) = 10.4 Å, c = 8.6 Å, the unit cell containing two disaccharide chain segments with space group P2₁2₁2₁. A sheet-like structure involving one intra-chain, one intra-sheet, and one inter-sheet hydrogen bond per monosaccharide is proposed. Features of the chain-packing arrangement are compared with mannan.     

Reductive Pentose Cycle and Formate Assimilation in Rhodopseudomonas palustris

Rhodopseudomonas palustris assimilated formate autotrophically as carbon dioxide and hydrogen arising from the activity of the formic hydrogenlyase system. Kinetic analyses of cell suspensions pulse-labeled with (14)C-formate or (14)C-bicarbonate showed similar distributions of incorporated radioactivity. In both cases phosphate esters were the first assimilation products. Ribulose diphosphate carboxylase, phosphoribose isomerase, and phosphoribulokinase, characteristic enzymes of the reductive pentose cycle, were present in extracts of cells grown on formate.     

Studies on the Bohr Effect of Sheep Hemoglobin

A simple method is described for the measurement of pH changes in hemoglobin solutions on oxygenation and reduction. Data are presented establishing the absence of a Bohr effect in p-chloromercuribenzoate [PCMB] treated hemoglobin. The influence of a number of sulfhydryl inhibitors on the Bohr effect of a hemoglobin solution is reported and an interpretation based on steric factors in the protein is proposed.     

Genetic transformation of apple (Malus pumila Mill.) using a disarmed Ti-binary vector

The disamed Ti-binary vector pBIN 6 in Agrobacterium tumefaciens has been used in leaf disc transfomations to produce transgenic apple (Malus pumila Mill.) plants with a nomal phenotype except for a somewhat reduced capacity to root. The presence of the genes for nopaline synthase and neomycin phosphotrans ferase (conferring kanamycin resistance), inserted into the host genome by the vector, was confirmed by Southern blot analysis, the detection of nopaline synthase activity and rooting in the presence of the antibiotic.The nopaline synthase gene continued to be expressed in glasshouse-grown plants several months after removal from in vitro growth conditions.