A Study of Nitrate Reduction in Mould Fungi

1. The activity of the nitrate-reducing (nitratase) system infungal mycelium was measured by incubation of the mycelium (eitherintact or ground) with nitrate in the presence of sodium fluoridewhich blocks nitrite reduction and causes nitrite accumulation. 2. The nitrate-reducing system in the fungi examined shows rapidchanges in activity in response to some environmental factors.Nitratase activity of mycelium in glucose-nitrate medium fallsto a low value within 1 hour after addition of ammonia and remainsat this value until all added ammonia has been assimilated.The fall in activity appears to depend on the assimilation ofammonia by the mycelium, since it did not occur in conditionswhen assimilation was prevented. 3. Nitrate-reducing activity declines rapidly in the absenceof assimilable carbohydrate, and recovers equally rapidly whencarbohydrate is restored. Recovery is accelerated by nitratebut almost completely prevented by ammonia. 4. Evidence is given that these variations in nitrate reductionare primarily changes in the nitrate reductase link in the enzymesystem. Nutritional behaviour of the fungi investigated is closelycorrelated with the observed changes in activity of their nitratereductase. 5. Nitrate reductase may be formed by these fungi when grownin complete absence of nitrate.     

Agro-ecology of onion couch (Arrhenathemm elatius var. bulbosum (Willd.)).

This study investigates the performance of vegetative propagules of onion couch (Arrhenatherum elatius var. bulbosum) of varying sizes during the crop growth cycle; especially trends in tiller and bulb production and crop yield loss. The results suggest that the earlier the crop canopy closes the more suppression it will exert on the bulb formation stage of onion couch and hence its future reproductive potential. The closed canopy provided by a dense crop cut short the bulb formation phase and forced onion couch to invest more in aerial tillers in order to compete and coexist with the taller tillers of the crop. An additive experimental design used here to predict the crop losses indicated that natural infestation of onion couch caused greater crop yield loss compared to artificially planted plots. It was found that, although the regrowth from large aggregates with densely packed bulb chains is reduced by correlative dominance and density dependent mortality, presence of such large aggregates can affect crop yield by interfering with the establishment of crop. The competitiveness and development pattern of onion couch suggests that the recent spread of the weed and the reported variable results of control measures is due to the recent shift in agricultural practices.     

Some effects of hop latent viroid on two cultivars of hop (Humulus lupulus) in the UK

Some effects of infection by hop latent viroid (HLVd) on two commercial plantings of hop, one each of two high alpha-acid cultivars, are described. The cultivar Omega was severely affected: yield of cones and individual cone weights from infected plants were both lower than from uninfected plants by c. 35% and the alpha-acids content (as assessed by HPLC) of the cones c. 30% lower. Wye Northdown was less severely affected: cone weight was 8% less (though this was not statistically significant) and alpha-acids content lower by c. 15%. In both cultivars beta-acids were higher in infected plants which, together with differences in other chemical components, suggested that cones on infected plants had matured, or were maturing, earlier than those on uninfected plants. These effects, together with the previous finding that HLVd occurs frequently in some cultivars (Barbara, Morton & Adams, 1990), suggest that HLVd is a potentially important constraint on hop production in the UK and should be eliminated if possible.     

THE DIET, PREY SIZE AND CONSUMPTION OF PHILINE ORIENTALIS (OPISTHOBRANCHIA: PHILINIDAE) IN HONG KONG

Philine orientalis occurs on Hong Kong's beaches for {smalltilde}2 months each year, in May and June when it breeds, laysegg capsules and dies. It is believed to have a life span ofone year. Hoi Sing Wan, a sandy beach in the New Territoriesof Hong Kong is dominated at lower levels by the venerid bivalveTapes philippinarum, the population of which in May and June,following spring recruitment, mostly comprises juveniles. P.orientalis, occurring at a density of {small tilde} 1.m^–2,feeds voraciously upon these juveniles consuming, in laboratoryexperiments, a mean of 25.day^–1. At Hoi Sing Wan, P. orientalisappears to be highly prey specific. It is, however, known tofeed on other prey items and probably has a catholic diet, duringits annual migration from deeper to shallower sediments, accordingto the prevailing fauna. In terms of wet weight, P. orientalis consumes a mean of {smalltilde}4.4% (2.2–6.7%) of its body weight day^–1.In terms of dry weight, however, this figure increases to amean of 35.5% and one figure of 208% has been recorded. Althoughthis is because of the large body fluid content of this, essentiallyshell-less, gastropod, using a hydrostatic skeleton to achieveburrowing, such figures further attest to the voracity of thebreeding adults. This study joins others in questioning ourpresent understanding of the scale of energy budgets on suchshores, i.e., are our estimates of loss to predation grosslyunderestimated? ^*Present address: Department of Biology, Baptist College, WaterlooRoad, Kowloon, Hong Kong. (Received 20 May 1989; accepted 3 July 1989)