NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF ACETOBACTER SPECIES: INORGANIC AMMONIUM SALTS AS SOURCES OF NITROGEN

SUMMARY: Forty-six strains of Acetobacter , representing twenty species, have been compared on the basis of their respective abilities to proliferate in two defined inorganic media, in which either glucose or ethanol was the sole source of carbon and energy. Twenty-three strains, representing eleven species, grew in either inorganic medium when glucose was present and nine of these strains, representing five species, could grow also in either inorganic medium when ethanol was present. The remaining twenty-three strains, representing eleven species, failed to grow in either medium with either glucose or ethanol. Three organisms grew better with ethanol than with glucose and three were inhibited by ethanol in the presence of glucose.     

Solute transport into healthy and powdery mildew-infected leaves of pea and uptake by powdery mildew mycelium

The transport of sugars and amino acids into the mycelium of Erysiphe pisi DC. was investigated using two different systems, intact leaf discs and mycelial suspensions. Of the sugars tested, glucose was preferentially taken up by both uninfected and mildew-infected leaf discs, whereas glutamine was taken up by both tissues at a higher rate than lysine or aspartic acid. Leaf discs from infected tissue had a greater uptake capacity than those from healthy tissue for both sugars and amino acids. The uptake of glucose was inhibited more markedly than that of sucrose and fructose by 10 μ m carbonyl cyanide m -chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), 1 m m N -ethylmaleimide (NEM), 1 m m diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC) and 1 m m phenylglyoxal, whereas 1 m m PCMBS ( p -chloro-mercuribenzenesulphonic acid) inhibited sucrose uptake to the greatest extent. Uptake of glutamine, lysine and aspartic acid was inhibited similarly by CCCP (80%), NEM (20%), DEPC (70%) and PCMBS (60%). Additionally, leaf discs were used to determine which solutes could be taken up from leaf tissue by the fungus. The uptake of sugars into the mycelium was greater than that of amino acids.
Suspensions of powdery mildew mycelium accumulated glucose at about three times the rate of sucrose or fructose, and the amino acid glutamine was taken up at three times the rate of lysine or aspartic acid. Spores separated from the suspension had a low uptake capacity.
When the reducing sugar concentration of leaf apoplastic fluid was estimated, leaves infected by powdery mildew had much higher amounts in the apoplast, whereas the activity of acid invertase also appeared to be higher in apoplastic fluids from infected leaves. When apoplastic fluid samples were run on SDS gels, an invertase antibody detected two bands in samples from infected tissues that were not found in the uninfected samples.     

STUDIES ON PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN TOMATO COTYLEDONS AND LEAVES. I. PROTEIN SYNTHESIS AND TURNOVER IN INTACT COTYLEDONS AND LEAVES

1. Details of aseptic culture of virus-free tomato seedlings usedin comparative in vivo and in vitro studies on protein synthesisare described.
2. Developmental changes in the levels of DNA,RNA, protein andchlorophyll content of seedling cotyledonsand leaves were recorded,and are related to protein synthesis.
3. Incorporation of isotopically labeled carbon into proteinwasfollowed both by photosynthetic uptake of ¹⁴CO₂ and by theuptakeof ¹⁴C-amino acids through the roots.
4. A marked stimulationby light of ¹⁴C uptake was observed, andthe higher rate of¹⁴C incorporation from ¹⁴CO₂ than from ¹⁴C-aminoacids intothe protein fraction is discussed in relation tothe pathwaysof protein synthesis in tomato leaves, and alsowith regardto protein turnover.

¹Present address: Dept. of Horticultural Science, Universityof Wisconsin, U.S.A.     

STUDIES ON PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN TOMATO COTYLEDONS AND LEAVES. II. INTERMEDIATE STAGES OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

1. The activities of RNase, ATPase and proteolytic enzymes inextractsof tomato leaves have been investigated with regardto detrimentaleffects on protein synthesis. The use of coppersulphate asan inhibitor of RNase is described.
2. The effectof microbial contamination on amino acid uptake hasbeen studiedin relationship with cell-free systems, and thehigh activitynoted underlines the necessity for aseptic procedures.
3. Methodsfor the preparation of cell-free systems capable ofamino acidactivation and incorporation into protein in an asepticenvironmentare discussed.

¹Present address: Dept. of Horticultural Science, Universityof Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.     

Genetic diversity of populations of Old World screwworm fly, Chrysomya bezziana, causing traumatic myiasis of livestock in the Gulf region and implications for control by sterile insect technique

Abstract.  Fly larvae were collected from 181 cases of traumatic myiasis in livestock in 10 regions of four countries in the Middle East Gulf region: Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Oman. The predominant fly species responsible for cases was the Old World screwworm (OWS) fly, Chrysomya bezziana Villeneuve (Diptera: Calliphoridae). In cases from Iran and Oman, which included non-OWS fly species, OWS fly was found solely responsible for 67.6% of cases and jointly with other fly species for a further 12.7% of cases. The major hosts were sheep and goats, together comprising 84.6% of the total, which reflects their predominance among the livestock of these Gulf countries. The major site of wounding on sheep and goats was the tail (40.3%), followed by female genitalia (14.0%). The 3' terminal 715 nucleotides of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were sequenced for 178 larvae of OWS. Five haplotypes were identified: three had been recorded previously in the region (two were common throughout and one was unique to Oman), and two were newly identified, one from southern Iraq and the other from Saudi Arabia, both in regions sampled for the first time. The haplotypes varied from one another only at one or two nucleotide sites, equivalent to an intraspecific difference of 0.14–0.28% across the entire 715-bp fragment. There was a single statistically significant association between host species and haplotype in Saudi Arabia, a first such record for OWS fly. The small degree of genetic diversity between geographical populations of OWS fly within the Gulf region suggests that a single Gulf colony could be used to implement the sterile insect technique within an integrated control programme.     

Systematic palynology of the Bruniaceae

A review is given of the systematic palynology of the species in the small family Bruniaceae which is endemic to the coastal regions of southern Africa. Ranges of pollen ornamentation from psilate to granular, verrucose or coarsely reticulate, aperture numbers from 3 to 10, and sizes (polar lengths) from 11–50μm are demonstrated. A quarter of the species have 20% or more of their pollen grains with irregular appendages, distorted in shape or reduced in size. The pollen data suggest a transfer of three species from Brunia to Berzelia . The results of the study are assessed in the light of recent findings on the systematic relationships, diversity and putative evolutionary history of the family.     

The rumen microbiology of seaweed digestion in Orkney sheep

The microbial populations of the rumens of seaweed-fed and pasture-fed Orkney sheep were examined. The populations in the pasture-fed sheep were similar to those of other domestic ruminants fed on land plants, but those of the seaweed-fed animals showed major differences in the dominant species. Total ciliate populations were quantitatively similar, but in the seaweed-fed animals Dasytricha ruminantium was one of the most dominant species. No phycomycete fungi or cellulolytic bacteria were found in the seaweed-fed animals, and the bacterial population was dominated by Streptococcus bovis, Selenomonas ruminantium, But yrivibrio fibrisol-vens and lactate-utilizing species. Electron microscopy revealed that spirochaetes and an unidentified filamentous bacterium were probably of major significance in seaweed digestion. The ability of bacterial strains from both groups of animals to metabolize plant and algal constituents was examined.