Ultrastructure and distribution of microbodies in leaves of grasses with and without CO2-photorespiration

Summary A comparative study was made of the ultrastructure, distribution and abundance of leaf microbodies in four species of temperate grasses with high and four tropical grasses with low CO₂-photorespiration. The temperate grasses were all festucoid; the tropical grasses included two panicoid species and two chloridoid. Comparisons of relative abundance were made by computing the average numbers of microbody profiles per cell section.Although microbodies were present in the green parenchymatous leaf cells in all grasses examined, their average number per cell was in general severalfold greater in the grasses with high CO₂-photorespiration than in those with low. Furthermore, whereas in the grasses with high CO₂-photorespiration the microbodies were distributed through the mesophyll, in those with low CO₂-photorespiration they were concentrated in the vascular-bundle-sheath cells and were smaller and relatively scarce in the mesophyll cells. The leaf microbodies of the eight grass species resembled one another in general morphology, but differed to some extent in regard to size and type of inclusion. Microbodies of all four festucoid species contained numerous fibrils with a discernible substructure. Those of the two panicoid species contained clusters of round bodies with transparent cores. The equivalence of the microbodies to peroxisomes as biochemically defined was shown cytochemically by employing 3,3-diaminobenzidine for the localization of catalase, a marker enzyme for the peroxisome. This reaction was blocked by the catalase inhibitor, aminotriazole.The observations on the relative abundance and distribution of peroxisomes in leaves of grasses with high CO₂-photorespiration versus those with low are consistent with the published biochemical data on the levels and distribution of peroxisomal enzymes in representatives of plants with high and low CO₂-photorespiration, and may help explain the differences in apparent photorespiratory levels between these two groups of plants.     

Culture Medium for Enterobacteria

A new minimal medium for enterobacteria has been developed. It supports growth of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium at rates comparable to those of any of the traditional media that have high phosphate concentrations, but each of the macronutrients (phosphate, sulfate, and nitrogen) is present at a sufficiently low level to permit isotopic labeling. Buffering capacity is provided by an organic dipolar ion, morpholinopropane sulfonate, which has a desirable pK (7.2) and no apparent inhibitory effect on growth. The medium has been developed with the objectives of (i) providing reproducibility of chemical composition, (ii) meeting the experimentally determined nutritional needs of the cell, (iii) avoiding an unnecessary excess of the major ionic species, (iv) facilitating the adjustment of the levels of individual ionic species, both for isotopic labeling and for nutritional studies, (v) supplying a complete array of micronutrients, (vi) setting a particular ion as the crop-limiting factor when the carbon and energy source is in excess, and (vii) providing maximal convenience in the manufacture and storage of the medium.     

Inactivation of Poliovirus Type 1 by the Kelly-Purdy Ultraviolet Seawater Treatment Unit

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on poliovirus-contaminated seawater. In two of the experiments, the effectiveness of the Kelly-Purdy UV Seawater Treatment Unit to inactivate poliovirus type 1 (T(1)) suspended in continuously flowing seawater was determined. In experiment 1, the observed survival ratio of poliovirus T(1) was 2.3 x 10(-4) (99.98% reduction) in 15.7 sec. No virus was detected (<0.2 plaque-forming unit/ml) in 20.6 seconds. The calculated half-life value was 1.29 sec. In experiment 2, the observed survival ratio of poliovirus T(1) was 5.9 x 10(-4) (99.94% reduction) in 11.7 sec. No virus was detected in 15.7 sec. The calculated half-life value was 1.37 sec. In experiment 3, a laboratory-controlled UV experiment designed to closely simulate the geometry of the continuously flowing seawater system, the observed survival ratios of poliovirus T(1) were 9.7 x 10(-3) (99.03% reduction) and 3.6 x 10(-4) (99.96% reduction) in 15 and 30 sec, respectively; the calculated half-life value was 2.38 sec. A statistically significant difference was found between the inactivation rates of poliovirus T(1) in the two test systems. This rate difference was attributed primarily to UV dosage and stirring effects. The data indicated that UV radiation effectively inactivated poliovirus T(1) in flowing seawater. These results validate the efficacy of the Kelly-Purdy UV Seawater Treatment Unit for use in commercial depuration systems.     

Evaluation of Factors Related to Growth of Rift Valley Fever Virus in Suspended Cell Cultures

The effect of several controlled variables on the peak titer and fold increase of Rift Valley fever virus grown in suspension culture on two variants of Earle's L cell, L-DR and L-MA clone 1-1, was studied. No significant amount of cell-associated virus was found at 24 hr, indicating a release of virus soon after its formation. Mild sonic treatment of the virus produced in serum-free medium increased the infective titer about 10x. This difference was not observed with virus produced in medium supplemented with serum. Peak titer was not affected by medium used during the infection period, by multiplicity of inoculum (MOI), or by initial cell concentration within the test range of 10(4) to 2 x 10(6) cell/ml. Cell strain employed influenced titer, because the L-DR cell did not produce virus efficiently at low MOI and low initial cell concentration. The time of peak titer and fold replication was dependent on MOI and initial cell concentration. Differences in virus propagation in monolayer and suspension systems are discussed.     

Microbiological studies of Indonesian fermented foodstuffs

Microbiological studies were made of certain Indonesian foodstuffs obtained from Malang, Surakarta, and Djakarta.Saccharomyces cerevisiae andCandida solani were isolated from ragi-roti (a baker's yeast preparation). From ragi-tempe and tempe were isolatedRhizopus oryzae, R. arrhizus, R. oligosporus, R. stolonifer, Mucor Rouxii, M. javanicus andTrichosporon pullulans. The microbiological flora of ragi-tape was found to includeCandida parapsilosis, C. melinii, C. lactosa sp. nov.,Hansenula subpelliculosa, H. anomala, H. malanga sp. nov.,Chlamydomucor oryzae andAspergillus oryzae. From ragi-ketjap, used to prepare soysauce, were isolatedRhizopus oligosporus, R. arrhizus, Aspergillus oryzae, andA. flavus, the latter species probably being an accidental contaminant. Two new species are described:Candida lactosa andHansenula malanga, from ragi-tape from Surakarta and Malang, respectively.From a thesis presented to the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree, August, 1969.Financial support of Dakimah Dwidjoseputro by the Ford Foundation is grate-fully acknowledged.     

Temperature Response in Animals Infected with Bacillus anthracis

Rats, rabbits, swine, guinea pigs, and monkeys were infected with anthrax spores, and their temperature responses were recorded. These were characteristic for a species and appeared independent of resistance or susceptibility of the species toward establishment of the disease. The rabbit appeared unique in that it not only failed to demonstrate a dose-response relationship over an 8-log dose range, but acted independently producing erratic body temperatures depending on spore dose. This limits the usefulness of the rabbit in studying anthrax pathogenesis, and poses questions regarding published data with the rabbit as the test animal.