Injury of mitochondrial respiration and membrane potential during iron/ascorbate-induced peroxidation

First functional events during peroxidation in mitochondria consisted in a progressive inhibition of the phosphorylating and uncoupled respiration with succinate and glutamate/malate as substrates, whereas the resting state respiration during the same period was virtually not influenced. The membrane potential registered at a time with the respiration rates was capable of being built up for a relatively long time interval with only minor decreases, and broke down rather promptly when the active respiration was highly diminished. Inhibition of respiration proceeded mainly during the initiation phase of peroxidation. Lag phases of varied length, of malondialdehyde formation which were predominantly attributed to the iron/protein ratios correlated closely with different time intervals needed to attain maximal inhibition of respiration and decrease in glutathione. Hence, the lessening of respiration, drop of membrane potential and loss of the antioxidant, glutathione, represent early stages in the causal chain of events which precede the onset of intensive lipid peroxidation.     

The effectiveness of constructed wetland for treatment of woodwaste leachate

Percolation of rainfall through woodwaste piles leaches natural chemicals from the wood residuals that can have adverse impacts on the environment. A study was conducted on a woodwaste storage site, adjacent to the Lower Fraser River, near Mission, BC, Canada. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of constructed wetland for treatment of this woodwaste leachate. The leachate was characterized by high oxygen demand, tannin and lignin, and volatile fatty acids (VFAs), but low pH and nutrients. Diluted leachate passed through six pilot-scale wetland cells, four planted with cattail (Typha latifolia) and two unplanted controls, with a hydraulic retention time of 7 days and an average depth of 40 cm. Nutrient addition and pH adjustments were made to improve contaminant removal. Reductions in contaminants were consistently achieved, with average removals for BOD, COD, VFAs and tannin and lignin of 60, 50, 69 and 42%, respectively. Climatic conditions had an impact on the performance of the constructed wetland. Further operation of the system will help to elucidate the seasonal fluctuations. Aging of the constructed wetland system increased the treatment performance.     

CHARACTER DISCRIMINATORY POWER,CHARACTER-SET CONGRUENCE,AND THE CLASSIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS FROM HYBRID ZONES: AN EXAMPLE USING STONE CRABS (MENIPPE)

Many investigators categorize individuals from hybrid zones to facilitate comparisons among genotypic classes (e.g., parental, F₁, backcross) for comparative studies in which components of fitness or geographic variation are being analyzed. Frequently, multiple character sets representing genetically independent traits are used to classify these individuals and various methodologies are employed to combine the classifications obtained from the different character sets. We adapted the principles of total evidence and taxonomic congruence (two formalized approaches used by systematists in formulating phylogenetic hypotheses) to address the problem of discriminating hybridizing species and classifying individuals from hybrid zones. As our model, we used two morphological (coloration and morphometric) and two molecular (allozyme and mitochondrial DNA restriction-fragment-length polymorphism) character sets that differentiate two stone crab species (Menippe adina and M. mercenaria). Using principal-components analysis, we determined that combining character sets and eliminating characters or character sets that did not have large eigenvector coefficients for the principal component that best separated the two species yielded the highest level of discrimination between species and allowed us to classify a broad range of morpho-genotypes as hybrids. For the stone crabs, three diagnostic allozyme loci and five diagnostic coloration characters best separated the species. The two character sets were not completely congruent, but they agreed in their classification of 50% of the individuals from the hybrid zone and rarely strongly disagreed in their classifications. Classification discrepancies between the two character sets probably represent variation between traits in interspecific gene flow rather than intraspecific, ecologically mediated variation. Our results support the assertions of previous investigators who espoused the benefits associated with using multiple character sets to classify individuals from hybrid zones and demonstrate that, if character sets are reasonably congruent and numerically balanced, combining diagnostic characters from multiple character sets (a total-evidence approach) can enhance discriminatory power between species and facilitate the assignment of hybrid-zone individuals to genotypic classes. On the contrary, classifying hybrid-zone individuals using character sets separately (a taxonomic-congruence approach) provides the opportunity to compare levels of introgression between species and to assess reasons for discordance among the data sets.     

The chemical-transformation products of 1,6-dibromo-1,6-dideoxygalactitol and 1,2:5,6-dianhydrogalactitol in aqueous solution

After hydrolysis of 1,6-dibromo-1,6-dideoxygalactitol (1) and 1,2:5,6-dianhydrogalactitol (2), 11 compounds were isolated, three of them as tritylated derivatives. Their structures were established on the basis of chemical evidence and, for four compounds, by X-ray diffraction. The main product of the hydrolysis of 1 was 3,6-anhydro-1-bromo-1-deoxy-dl-galactitol; the end-products of the hydrolysis of 2 were 1,5-anhydro-dl-galactitol, 2,5-anhydro-dl-altritol, and galactitol.     

Statistical evidence for remnants of the primordial code in the acceptor stem of prokaryotic transfer RNA

Summary The specificity of interaction of amino acids with triplets in the acceptor helix stem of tRNA was investigated by means of a statistical analysis of 1400 tRNA sequences. The imprint of a prototypic genetic code at position 3–5 of the acceptor helix was detected, but only for those major amino acids, glycine, alanine, aspartic acid, and valine, that are formed by spark discharges of simple gases in the laboratory. Although remnants of the code at position 3–5 are typical for tRNAs of archaebacteria, eubacteria, and chloroplasts, eukaryotes do not seem to contain this code, and mitochondria take up an intermediary position. A duplication mechanism for the transposition of the original 3–5 code toward its present position in the anticodon stern of tRNA is proposed. From this viewpoint, the mode of evolution of mRNA and functional ribosomes becomes more understandable.Offprint requests to: W. Moller     

Regulation of enzymes and isoenzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

An electrophoretic method has been devised to investigate the changes in the enzymes and isoenzymes of carbohydrate metabolism, upon adding glucose to derepressed yeast cell. (i) Of the glycolytic enzymes tested, enolase II, pyruvate kinase and pyruvate decarboxylase were markedly increased. This increase was accompanied by an overall increase in glycolytic activity and was prevented by cycloheximide, an inhibitor of protein synthesis. (ii) In contrast, respiratory activity decreased after adding glucose. This decrease was clearly shown to be the result of repression of respiratory enzymes. A rapid decrease within a few minutes of adding glucose, by analogy with the so-called ‘Crabtree effect’, was not observed in yeast. (iii) The gluconeogenic enzymes, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and malate dehydrogenase, which are inactivated after adding glucose, showed no significant changes in electrophoretic mobilities. Hence, there was no evidence of enzyme modifications, which were postulated as initiating degradation. However, it was possible to investigate cytoplasmic and mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase isoenzymes separately. Synthesis of the mitochondrial isoenzyme was repressed, whereas only cytoplasmic malate hydrogenase was subject to glucose inactivation.     

Untersuchungen über den osmotischen Wert polyploider Pflanzen

Zusammenfassung In der Mehrzahl der untersuchten Fälle (insgesamt über 1000 Einzelmessungen) wurden die osmotischen Werte der Tetraploiden niedriger gefunden als die der Diploiden, doch sind die Unterschiede im allgemeinen gering. Junge Pflanzen hatten immer niedrigere 4n-Werte; bei alten Pflanzen und bei Pflanzen unter extremen Kulturbedingungen waren aber vielfach die Werte der 4n höher. Es wird die Hypothese aufgestellt, daß niedrigere osmotische Werte der Tetraploiden den Normalzustand darstellen, daß aber die Polyploiden wie in anderen Eigenschaften, so auch in ihrer Osmotik variabler sind und unter dem Einfluß von Außen-bedingungen ihre osmotischen Werte stärker modifizieren.Unter physiologischen Zwangsbedingungen (Trockenkultur, Pfropfungen) wurde an den Tetraploiden eine unter den gegebenen Verhältnissen zweckmäßige Erhöhung ihrer osmotischen Werte über das Niveau der 2n beobachtet. Gegen Trockenklima erwiesen sich die untersuchten Tetraploiden im Vergleich mit den Diploiden resistenter.Irgendwelche artspezifischen Eigentümlichkeiten konnten im Rahmen der untersuchten Pflanzen nicht festgestellt werden.Mit 6 Textabbildungen.