Plant growth regulation with triazoles of the dioxanyl type

The plant growth retarding activities of several dioxanylalkyl and dioxanylalkenyl triazoles were determined in seedlings of barley, rice, and oilseed rape. Out of these groups some substances proved to be among the most efficient growth retardants known. The compound 1-(4-trifluormethyl)-2-(1,2,4-triazolyl-(1))-3-(5-methyl-1,3-dioxan-5-yl)-propen-3-ol was investigated more closely. Shoot growth is reduced more intensively than root growth by this compound. At lower dosages root growth may even be stimulated. The action of this retardant can be antagonized by gibberellin A₃ and byent-kaurenoic acid. It is suggested that its main biochemical action is to block the reactions that lead froment-kaurene toent-kaurenoic acid in the course of gibberellin biosynthesis.     

Sodium-alanine cotransport in oocytes ofXenopus laevis: Correlation of alanine and sodium fluxes with potential and current changes

Summary The sodium-dependentl-alanine transport across the plasma membrane of oocytes ofXenopus laevis was studied by means of [¹⁴C]-l-alanine,²²Na⁺ and electrophysiological measurements. At fixed sodium concentrations, the dependence of alanine transport on alanine concentration follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics; at fixed alanine concentrations, the transport varies with sodium concentration with a Hill coefficient of 2. In the presence of sodium the uptake of alanine is accompanied by a depolarization of the membrane. Under voltage-clamp conditions this depolarization can be compensated by an inward-directed current. Assuming that this current is carried by sodium we arrive at a 21 stoichiometry for the sodium-alanine cotransport. The assumption was confirmed by direct measurements of both sodium and alanine fluxes at saturating concentrations of the two substrates, which also yielded a stoichiometry close to 21. The sodium-l-alanine cotransport is neither inhibited by furosemide (0.5 mmol/liter) nor by N-methyl amino isobutyric acid (5 mmol/liter). A 20-fold excess ofd-alanine overl-alanine caused about 60% inhibition.     

A species difference between hamster and rat in the effect of oestrogens on growth of large preantral follicles

Intact or hypophysectomized 23-day-old hamsters and rats were injected s.c. with 2 mg diethylstilboestrol (DES) or 1 mg oestradiol cyclopentylpropionate (OECP) on Days 23-25 and killed on Day 26. Although serum oestradiol was elevated to the same high levels by OECP, ovarian and uterine weights were increased in the rat by OECP or DES whereas only the uterus responded in the hamster. This correlated with the ability of the oestrogens to increase significantly the number of large preantral and antral follicles in the intact rat but only the number of follicles with 2-3 layers of granulosa cells in the immature hamster. Qualitative study revealed that DES and OECP increased the number of large preantral follicles in the adult hypophysectomized rat but were ineffective in the adult hamster. It is concluded that for the immature and adult hamster oestrogens do not play a major role in the recruitment of large preantral follicles.     

Partial purification of a nuclear protein that binds to the CCAAT box of the mouse alpha 1-globin gene.

We enriched a fraction from nuclear extracts of murine erythroleukemia cells which contains a protein able to form stable complexes with the promoter region of the alpha 1-globin gene. Binding activity, which is present in mouse brain and a variety of cultured mouse and human cell lines, is not erythroid cell specific. Binding studies with alpha-globin gene promoter deletion mutants as well as DNase I footprinting and dimethyl sulfate protection studies showed that the factor bound specifically to the CCAAT box of the alpha 1 promoter. Enriched factor preparations exhibited weak binding to the promoter region of the beta maj-globin gene. This suggests that this protein could bind differentially to these two promoters in vivo. The enriched factor may be a ubiquitous nuclear protein involved in the differential regulation of the alpha 1- and beta maj-globin genes.     

Do protozoa conceal a high potency of nucleoside triphosphate hydrolysis present in Toxoplasma gondii?

ATP hydrolytic activity in whole cell homogenates of some protozoa was assayed in the presence or absence of dithiothreitol. The activities in all protozoan cell homogenates, except Toxoplasma gondii, ranged from 0.6 to 32 mumol/mg protein/hr, irrespective of the presence or absence of dithiothreitol. A remarkably higher activity, 11,690 mumol/mg protein/hr, was observed for T. gondii in the presence of dithiothreitol. These results indicate that the higher ATP hydrolytic potency observed for T. gondii is not universal to protozoa, rather it is unique to T. gondii.     

A novel multistep method for generating precise unidirectional deletions using BspMI, a class-IIS restriction enzyme

A novel approach is described that permits the introduction of unidirectional deletions into a cloned DNA fragment, in a precisely controlled manner. The method is based on the use of a special vector and a class-IIS restriction endonuclease, BspMI, which produces staggered cuts 4 and 8 nucleotides (nt) to the 3' from its recognition site 5'-ACCTGC-3'. The DNA fragment is inserted into the pUC19-based plasmid, which contains a unique BspMI recognition site, and the appropriate number of cleavage-and-deletion cycles is performed, each cycle removing 4 bp. Since the recognition site is not affected by the BspMI cleavage, no recloning of the DNA fragment is necessary. Each cycle consists of BspMI cleavage, removal of the 4-nt single-stranded cohesive ends with mung bean nuclease (MB), and blunt-end ligation to recircularize the plasmid. The shortened plasmid is reintroduced into the host, after one or after several such 4-bp deletion cycles. When DNA is inserted into the multiple cloning site in the lacZ alpha gene, the progress of 4-bp removal can be followed by determining the Lac phenotype, since removal of multiples of 3 bp retains the reading frame while other kinds of deletions distort (or restore) the reading frame. Loss of pre-existing restriction sites or creation of new ones also permits monitoring the progress of the deletion process.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Requirement of acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase kinase for coenzyme A

Phosphorylation and inactivation of acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) carboxylase by acetyl-CoA carboxylase kinase in the presence of ATP and Mg2+ requires coenzyme A. Coenzyme A did not enhance the phosphorylation of alternative substrates of the carboxylase kinase such as protamine or histones. Analogs of coenzyme A were also effective in stimulating the inactivation of carboxylase. The KA of CoA for stimulated carboxylase inactivation was 25 microM. The presence of coenzyme A did not alter the Km of the carboxylase kinase for its substrates, ATP and acetyl-CoA carboxylase. Fluorescence binding studies showed that CoA binds to carboxylase but not to the kinase. The KD of CoA binding to carboxylase is 27 microM. These results indicate that coenzyme A, acting on acetyl-CoA carboxylase, may play an important role in the regulation of the covalent modification mechanism for acetyl-CoA carboxylase.     

Phosphorylation pattern of a 25 Kdalton stress protein from rat myoblasts

Phosphorylation of a 25 Kdalton nuclear stress protein from rat muscle was examined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and one-dimensional peptide mapping. These studies show that three 25 Kdalton stress proteins found in stressed rat myoblasts are actually the same protein with charge variation brought about by multiple phosphorylations. Furthermore, the predominant charge variant of 25 Kdalton protein found in cells is dependent on the intensity of the stress applied to cells.