Characterization of Odorous Compounds in Rotten Blue-green Algae

An ice-nucleating bacterium, strain KUIN-1, was isolated from the leaves of field beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Strain KUIN-1 was identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens from its taxonomical characteristics. Ice-nucleating activity was obtained when strain KUIN-1 was cultured aerobically in a medium containing Koser citrate broth (pH 7.0) for 24 hr at 18°C. The ice- nucleating activity did not appear until the bacterial cell concentration reached 10⁷ to 10⁸/ml. Nucleation at — 3.0°C was detected in suspensions (1.8 × 10⁹ cells/ml) of cells that had been grown on the medium containing Koser citrate broth. Strain KUIN-1 produced a lower nucleation frequency (i.e. the number of ice nuclei/cell) than did ice-nucleating Pseudomonas syringae No. 31 suspensions, particularly at temperatures above — 5°C. The nucleation frequency of strain KUIN- 1-suspensions was similar to that obtained for an ice-nucleating Erwinia herbicola No. 26 at — 5°C.     

Changes in Creatine and Urea Formation in Rats Fasted and Fed Low Protein Diets

Changes in the time course of the urinary excretion of creatinine, creatine and urea, and the activities of kidney transamidinase and liver urea-cycle enzymes were investigated in rats fasted and fed on a 10% casein diet and 10% casein diets supplemented with 10% glycine and/or 1.4% arginine.

The urinary total-creatinine of the fasted rats increased extremely during fasting for 7 days, while that of the animals given the 10% casein diet supplemented with glycine and arginine rose exceedingly on the 3rd day and thereafter no significant change was observed. Most of the increase of total-creatinine could be accounted for by the increase of creatine. The activity of kidney transamidinase in the fasted rats decreased in the 3rd day and thereafter kept nearly constant. The transamidinase activity of rats fed on the 10% casein diet after giving a protein-free diet for 5 days increased in the 3rd day. An inverse relation was observed between the urinary creatine and the transamidinase activity. The urinary urea increased in the rats fasted or fed on the 10% casein diets with the supplement of glycine and/or arginine. In fasting, the activities of liver urea-cycle enzymes, except arginase, had a tendency of increasing with the lapse of time. The arginase activity remained more or less constant. The reason of the extreme increase of urinary creatine during starvation was discussed.     

Studies on the Decomposition of Sinalbin

In the mustard paste, sinalbin is hydrolyzed by myrosinase to p-hydroxybenzyl isothiocyanate (I), sinapine acid sulfate and glucose. It was found that the three decomposition products were formed from sinalbin, and two of them were isolated from the mustard paste and identified as p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (II) and di-(p-hydroxybenzyl)-disulfide (IV), respectively. II was a major product and IV was a minor product.     

Effect of Oxidized Polyamines on the Infectivity of φX174 DNA

Oxidized spermine and oxidized spermidine inhibited markedly the infectivity of the 6 m-urea treated φX174 particle, whereas they did not inactivate the infectivity of the untreated phage particle. They also markedly inhibited the infectivity of φX174 DNA, while φX174 RF I DNA was less sensitive to these reagents. These facts suggested that oxidized polyamines could react with phage DNA.

The possible reasons of the insensitivity of phage φX174 particle and less sensitivity of φX174 RF I DNA to these reagents were discussed.     

Absorption and Translocation of O-Ethyl S,S-Diphenyl Phosphorodithiolate (Hinosan®) in Rice Plants

Absorption and translocation of (O-ethyl S,S-diphenyl phosphorodithiolate (Hinosan) in rice plants were studied by means of techniques of gas-liquid chromatography, radioautograph and ³²P-radioactivity determination. ³²P-labeled Hinosan was used in the present study. Hinosan on the surface of a leaf and on a glass plate was dissipated in a much slower rate than the other phosphorus pesticides tested. Hinosan was chemically transformed to a small extent after taken up into the plant tissues and largely remained in the local region. Up- and downward translocation of Hinosan occurred slightly in the ride seedlings. Translocation and accumulation of Hinosan were also studied concerning with growth stage of rice plants, such as the seedling, the milk-ripening, and the ripening stage. Accumulation in grains was in most cases found to be less than the limit of determination. Translocation of Hinosan was discussed in relation to physiological conditions of rice plants.     

Metabolic Transformation and Accumulation of O-Ethyl S,S-Diphenyl Phosphorodithiolate (Hinosan®) in Rice Plants

³²P-labeled organophosphorus fungicide Hinosan was sprayed on rice plants at various growth stages, and metabolic fate of the pesticide in the rice plants was studied. Identification of Hinosan and its metabolites in the n-hexane and water extracts was conducted by TLC and GLC (FPD).

The rate of hydrolysis of Hinosan in rice plants seemed to be slower than that of other organophosphorus pesticides. Hexane-soluble components, which were detected throughout the experimental period, consisted mainly of Hinosan. Among the water-soluble metabolites identified were O-ethyl S-phenyl phosphorothioic acid and S,S-diphenyl phosphoro- dithioic acid, which were detected one to four days after the application, and ethyl phosphate and phosphoric acid which increased with the lapse of time.

Upon examination of the radioactivity of Hinosan and its metabolites in rice grains, a certain level was detected in husk, but very little in hulled rice and polished rice.     

Changes in Liver Enzyme Activities of Glycine Metabolism of Rats Fed Excess Glycine Diets

A gram negative bacterium isolated from soil was found to produce a high level of endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase in the culture medium. The organism was identified as a Flavobacterium sp. from various bacteriological characteristics. The enzyme from the Flavobacterium sp. was purified to homogeneity from culture broth by fractionation with ammonium sulfate and column chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose, hydroxylapatite, and Sephadex G-150 and G-100. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be 27,000 and 30,000 by gel filtration and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively, and it appeared to consist of a single polypeptide chain. The optimal pH for activity was 5.0 to 6.0 and the stable pH range was 5~7. The Michaelis constant was 0.30 mm with dansyl-Asn-(GlcNAc)₂(Man)₆ as the substrate. The enzyme hydrolyzed oligosaccharides of native ovalbumin, bovine pancreatic ribonuclease B and a yeast invertase.     

Further Studies on the Effect of Amino Acid Supplementation on the Urinary Nitrogen Compounds in Rats Fed a Low-casein Diet

When 8% casein basal diet was supplemented with 0.3% dl-methionine or 0.3% dl-methionine plus 0.36% dl- or 0.18% l-threonine, the changes in urinary excretions of urea and allantoin were examined in weanling male rats of Wistar strain with the observations on the body weight gain and % nitrogen retention. Carbohydrate sources used were sucrose or an equimolar mixture of glucose and fructose (G-F) in place of pregelatinized starch used in the previous experiments.

In contrast to the previous results, differences in nitrogen utilization, expressed in term of growth rate or % nitrogen retention, became significant by the addition of 0.3% methionine to the basal diet and it was further increased by the simultaneous supplementation with 0.36% dl- or 0.18% l-threonine.

Urea excretion was the main variable in total urinary nitrogen output to cause the significant difference in % nitrogen retention between the groups. As postulated in the previous paper, thus, the use of sucrose or G-F mixture considerably exaggerated these group-differences in such various indices as body weight gain and % nitrogen retention, and this trend became more distinct in the urea and allantoin excretions.

Liver arginase activity inversely changed with urea excretion, but proportionately to the qualitative improvement of dietary protein by the addition of methionine or methionine plus threonine. Changes in liver glutamic dehydrogenase activity were also parallel with the improvement of dietary protein quality.     

Conformational Change of Chymotryptic Myosin Rod

Myosin rod was prepared from hen myosin by chymotryptic digestion. The indigested myosin was successfully removed by ultracentrifugation following alcohol treatment. No significant difference in UV absorption and CD spectra was observed between pH 7.0 and pH 10.5 for both myosin rod and myosin. When pH was raised to 11.7, the phenolic groups of the tyrosyl residues were ionized, and the helical configuration of the myosin rod and myosin could not withstand the electrostatic repulsion. When pH was further raised to 13.6, “abnormal” tyrosyl residues were ionized, resulting in decreased helix content. However, the myosin rod was stabler and less flexible against pH change than myosin, because of the lower content of tyrosyl residues in myosin rod.