Phosphate Absorption, Fluxes, and Symplasmic Transport in Osmotically-Shocked Zea mays Roots

Osmotic shock with sequential 30 min treatments in ice-coldsaline solutions and distilled water inhibited both the subsequentuptake of orthophosphate (Pi) and its transport into the xylemof excised corn (Zea mays L.) roots. Measurements of Pi fluxeswith ³²P indicated that the decrease in net Pi uptake over a24 h period caused by osmotic shock was due primarily to delayedrecovery of Pi influx rather than to increasing efflux. Despitecomplete recovery of Pi absorption within 2–6 h aftershocking with 150–200 mM NaCl, transport to the xylemduring the subsequent 24 h only partially recovered. Leucineuptake and incorporation into protein was also markedly inhibitedby osmotic shock but both almost completely resumed controlrates within 24 h after shocking with up to 150 mM NaCl. Tetracyclineinhibited recovery of Pi uptake after NaCl treatment whereaspuromycin did not. These results with corn roots are consistentwith the hypothesis that recovery of Pi uptake activity aftermoderate osmotic shock requires de novo synthesis of membraneproteins. Incomplete recovery of Pi transport to the xylem suggeststhat osmotic shock may damage plasmodesmata. Key words: Corn, Ion uptake, Leucine uptake, NaCl, Puromycin, Tetracycline     

Analysis of Rice Mutants by Low Temperature-Derivative Spectrophotometry in Relation to Pigment Compositions and Photochemical Activities

The chloroplasts of five rice (Oryza sativa) mutants examined in the present study possessed the following pigment and activity characteristics as compared with those of normal strain (Nohrin No. 8); a) less chlorophylls (especially, chlorophyll b, the molar ratio of a to b= 6 ～ 41) and less carotenoids but higher ratios of β-carotene to chlorophylls; b) only photosystem 1 particles were obtained by density gradient centrifugation of digitonin-treated mutant chloroplasts while both photosystem 1 and 2 particles were obtained from normal strain chloroplasts; c) the photosystem 2 activities of mutant chloroplasts were lower (48 ～ 81 %) than that of normal chloroplasts while their photosystem 1 activities were 1.9 ～ 2.4 times higher. The derivative absorption spectrum of the normal chloroplasts (a/b= 4) measured at liquid nitrogen temperature showed many small but distinct maxima and minima in the red region in addition to those observable for chlorophylls in solution. These band structures including the French inflection were lost partially in the derivative spectra of three mutants with a/b= 6, 8 and 11 and almost completely in those of the remaining two mutants with a/b= 18 and 41. The lack of such band structures reflecting specific states of chlorophylls in vivo was attributed to the absence of some conformational structures such as those expected in photosystem-2 particles, which are formed by the presence of chlorophyll b and are resistant to the digitonin treatment. Chlorophylls in specific states in such structures were thought to exhibit a higher photosystem 2 activity.     

The ant genus Leptanilla: discovery of the worker-associated male of L.japonica, and a description of a new species from Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Leptanillinae)

The male and female of Leptanilla japonica Baroni Urbani are described. This is the first worker-associated male to be discovered in subfamily Leptanillinae. Leptanilla taiwanensis is described as new based on the worker and female from Taiwan, the first record of Leptanillinae from the island. An ecological note on the food of the ants is given. Implications of the male morphology and taxonomic positions of the other leptanilline genera based on males are discussed.