Ammonia exchange and photorespiration in chlamydomonas

Two hours after the addition of l-methionine-dl-sulfoximine to the cell suspension, glutamine synthetase activity was inhibited by more than 90% in air-grown Chlamydomonas reinhardii. Cells continued to take up NH₃ from the medium provided that the concentration of dissolved CO₂ was high (equilibrated with 4% CO₂ in air). This NH₃ uptake, about 30% of the control, is discussed in terms of glutamate dehydrogenase activity. Without CO₂, or with a low CO₂ level, a NH₃ excretion was observed, the rate of which depended on the actual concentration of the dissolved CO₂. Experiments with ¹⁵NH₃ demonstrated that no NH₃ uptake was masked by this excretion and inversely that no excretion occurred during the uptake in the conditions where it took place. Furthermore, the NH₃ excretion observed in the absence of CO₂ increased when O₂ concentration rose to 15% and was inhibited when 10 millimolar isonicotinic acid hydrazide was supplied to the algal suspension. Thus, NH₃ excretion in the presence of l-methionine-dl-sulfoximine seems to be related to a photorespiratory process inasmuch as it presents the same properties with regard to the O₂ and the isonicotinic acid hydrazide effects. These results favor the hypothesis that NH₃ produced in the medium originates from the glycine to serine reaction. On the other hand, partial inhibition (50%) of photosynthesis by l-methionine-dl-sulfoximine was attributed to uncoupling between electron transfer and photophosphorylation due to NH₃ accumulation into the cell.     

Effects of Light and Elevated Atmospheric CO(2) on the Ribulose Bisphosphate Carboxylase Activity and Ribulose Bisphosphate Level of Soybean Leaves

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr. cv Bragg) was grown throughout its life cycle at 330, 450, and 800 microliters CO₂ per liter in outdoor controlled-environment chambers under solar irradiance. Leaf ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase) activities and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) levels were measured at selected times after planting. Growth under the high CO₂ levels reduced the extractable RuBPCase activity by up to 22%, but increased the daytime RuBP levels by up to 20%.

Diurnal measurements of RuBPCase (expressed in micromoles CO₂ per milligram chlorophyll per hour) showed that the enzyme values were low (230) when sampled before sunrise, even when activated in vitro with saturating HCO₃⁻ and Mg²⁺, but increased to 590 during the day as the solar quantum irradiance (photosynthetically active radiation or PAR, in micromoles per square meter per second) rose to 600. The nonactivated RuBPCase values, which averaged 20% lower than the corresponding HCO₃⁻ and Mg²⁺-activated values, increased in a similar manner with increasing solar PAR. The per cent RuBPCase activation (the ratio of nonactivated to maximum-activated values) increased from 40% before dawn to 80% during the day. Leaf RuBP levels (expressed in nanomoles per milligram chlorophyll) were close to zero before sunrise but increased to a maximum of 220 as the solar PAR rose beyond 1200. In a chamber kept dark throughout the morning, leaf RuBPCase activities and RuBP levels remained at the predawn values. Upon removal of the cover at noon, the HCO₃⁻ and Mg²⁺-activated RuBPCase values and the RuBP levels rose to 465 and 122, respectively, after only 5 minutes of leaf exposure to solar PAR at 1500.

These results indicate that, in soybean leaves, light may exert a regulatory effect on extractable RuBPCase in addition to the well-established activation by CO₂ and Mg²⁺.

     

Observations on some environmental factors connected with fertility in heat stressed cows

A field study was performed using 15 Kibutz dairy herds, in which 4195 cows situated in northern Israel were milked to determine the influence of climatological factors and nutritional regimes on the conception rate during the summer period (July-September). The Overall Conception Rate (OCR) during summer was 28.2% (17.3-41.9%) compared to 40% in the spring (May-June). The conception rate from first inseminations (CRl) was 31.3% during summer and 45.3% during spring. The OCR of the nullipara heifers in the same herds was 59.2% in summer and 60.4% in spring. The OCR in summer was negatively correlated with the minimum temperature (r=-0.53), the relative humidity at 0800 hrs. (r=-0.47), and the relative humidity at 1400 hrs (r=-0.49), whereas the CRl during summer was negatively correlated only with the minimum temperature (r=-0.51). In 12 (13) feeding groups of cows examined in 6 herds, no correlation was found between rectal temperatures and the actual milk productions of the cows. In 14 (15) herds, the milk production in summer was lower than in spring; the decrease varied from 0.9%-18.2% (average 7.8%). A highly significant negative correlation was found between the OCR and the various parameters of protein intake: grams of crude protein/cow/day, grams of crude protein/kg FCM/day, and percentage of protein from total dry matter. Particularly high correlations were found between the OCR and the average amounts of protein/kg FCM/day in milk of all cows (r=-0.84).     

On the mechanism and stoichiometry of the oxidation of hydrazine by illuminated chloroplasts

Hydrazine can support a rapid oxygen uptake in illuminated chloroplasts. The oxygen uptake rate is inhibited by 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1, 1-dimethylurea but is only slightly increased by added methyl viologen, and little H₂O₂ is produced. The pH optimum for hydrazine-dependent oxygen uptake is much higher than that of the Hill reaction. Addition of Mn (II) increases the rate of oxygen uptake in the light and causes the reaction to continue in the dark, the dark rate being dependent on the duration of the preceding light period. Flash yield experiments show that at least six electrons are transferred from hydrazine per flash compared to one electron per flash when water is the electron donor.     

A nuclease from Neurospora crassa specific for d(A-T) rich regions in double stranded DNA

A nuclease from N. crassa has been prepared to the hydroxylapatite stage of purification described by Rabin and Fraser (1). It degrades single stranded DNA in an essentially exonucleolytic process. It does not give any appreciable acid soluble material with double stranded DNA as substrate. This shows its high degree of specificity towards single stranded DNA.