Late enzymes of vindoline biosynthesis

From differentiated plants of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don we have isolated a specific enzyme of the vindoline biosynthetic pathway catalysing the S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methylation of 11-O-demethyl-17-O-deacetyl-vindoline. The enzyme we named S-adenosyl-L-methionine : 11-O-demethyl-17-O-deacetylvindoline 11-O-methyltransferase. This transferase exhibits a high substrate specificity. Obviously the O-methylation at C-11 precedes the O-acetylation at the C-17 position during the biosynthesis of vindoline.A second enzyme was detected which hydrolyses the acetyl function of vindoline. The distribution of this acetylesterase in C. roseus plants demonstrates that the enzyme is not specifically associated with the vindoline distribution in the plant material. Most probably this enzyme plays no essential role in the biosynthesis of vindoline.     

Late enzymes of vindoline biosynthesis. Acetyl-CoA: 17-O-deacetylvindoline 17-O-acetyl-transferase

From differentiated plants of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, a specific enzyme was isolated and named acetyl-CoA : 17-O-deacetylvindoline 17-O-acetyltransferase, acting on the biosynthetic formation of the Aspidosperma type alkaloid vindoline.The enzyme shows a high selectivity towards different substrates. The acetyl-CoA-dependent transferase also catalyses the reverse reaction by hydrolysis of the 17-O-acetyl group of vindoline in the presence of free CoA. This enzyme is localized only in vindoline-containing plant parts, but was so far not detectable in cell suspension cultures of C. roseus. The enzyme allows the synthesis of labelled vindoline with high specific activity, applicable for instance as tracer for radioimmunoassays of vindoline.     

Conductimetric assessment of the biomass content in suspensions of immobilised (gel-entrapped) microorganisms

Summary The problem of obtaining a rapid estimate of the microbial content of an immobilised cell suspension is addressed. The low-frequency conductivity of free-living cell suspensions of Clostridium pasteurianum is lower than that of the medium in which they are suspended, by an amount conforming to the Bruggeman relation. The conductivity of the cell wall makes a negligible contribution to the measured conductivity under the conditions used. Calcium alginate beads (lacking microbial cells) lower the conductivity of a solution with which they have been equilibrated by an extent which is a function of the concentration of alginate gel used in forming the beads. When this is taken into account, the ratio of the conductivity of a suspension of gel-immobilised cells to that of the suspending medium can be used to give a rapid and convenient assessment of the amount of microbial biomass present.     

Effect of ethylenediamine di (o-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) application to soil columns on the distribution of certain nutrient elements in the water-soluble,acid-soluble and exchangeable forms

Summary The chemical behaviour of the sodium form of ethylenediamine di(o-hydroxyphenylacetic acid), Na₂EDDHA, in a calcareous soil column was studied. The results show loss about 2/3 of the synthetic chelate in the soil, possibly due to microbial decomposition and/or fixation of EDDHA. The application of Na₂EDDHA caused an increase in the amount of water-soluble forms of certain elements in the following decreasing order: Fe, Cu, Mn, Ni, Zn and Ca. The increase in the water-soluble forms of such elements is due possibly to the chelation of their insoluble compounds in the soil. The solubilization effect of Na₂EDDHA and the subsequent movement of the elements in the soil solution resulted in a significant decrease in their amounts in the exchangeable and acid-soluble forms in the soil. In conclusion, the synthetic chelate of EDDHA underwent chemical reactions in the soil and caused changes in the ratio of certain elements in the various chemical forms. Sen. author, formerly graduate student at the University of Arizona, now Assistant Professor, University of Ain-Shams, Cairo, Egypt. Jr. author, Vice Chancellor, University of Wisc.-Green Bay.     

Zur Frage der Verteilung des Rh(D)-Faktors bei erstgeborenen und nachgeborenen Kindern

Summary The frequency of the occurrence of the Rh(D)-factor was compared in 1185 first-born babies with that among 2246 children from 2nd and later pregnancies. Among the first-born children 14,2% were Rh(D)-negative, and among the later-born 14,7% were Rh(D)-negative. In children with the Blood group O the distribution of the Rh(D) bloodgroup was the same in both first-born and later-born children. Among the Rh(D)-positive children there seem to be less boys.     

Beitrag zur Kenntnis der österreichischen Sippen desValeriana officinalis-Aggregats und ihrer Chromosomenzahlen

Zusammenfassung Die vonWalther im wesentlichen für Deutschland ausgearbeitete Gliederung vonValeriana officinalis agg. ist in ihren Grundzügen auch in Österreich anwendbar. Die Chromosomenzahlen der Sippen sind in diesem Land die gleichen wie auch in anderen Teilen Europas.Valeriana officinalis L. s. str. — die in Österreich häufigste Art — ist mit 2n=14 diploid,V. collina Wallr. mit 2n=28 tetraploid. Ob die beiden in Österreich weniger häufigen, einander sehr ähnlichen oktoploiden Sippen mit 2n=56 —V. sambucifolia Mikan fil. undV. procurrens Wallr. — wirklich Artrang verdienen, ist zu diskutieren.V. procurrens wächst in Österreich unter anderem in den Nordtiroler Alpen.

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Summary The subdivision ofValeriana officinalis agg. established byWalther especially for Germany is found to be practicable in its main features in Austria too. The chromosome numbers of the taxa are the same in Austria as in other parts of Europe.Valeriana officinalis L. s. str. is a diploid (2n=14),V. collina Wallr. is a tetraploid species (2n=28). As to the nearly related octoploid taxaV. sambucifolia Mikan fil. andV. procurrens Wallr. (2n=56) it is still to be discussed, if they should be recognized as species or not.

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Herrn Professor Dr. L.Geitler zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Cytocatalytic evolution in plants

Low fertility and vigor, and requirements of ecological niches distinct from diploids are not universal characteristics of autoploids. InClaytonia, Hedyotis, Oldenlandia, and other genera, occurrence and frequency of both polyploids and aneuploids within species populations suggest a greater role of such mutations in the evolution of vascular plants than heretofore presumed.     

The flow of a viscous liquid in a converging tube

The problem of the viscous flow of an incompressible Newtonian liquid in a converging tapered tube has been solved in spherical polar coordinates. The method of the solution involves the Stokes' stream function and a technique introduced by Stokes in the study of a sphere oscillating in a fluid. The theory for the flow in a rigid tube includes: (1) the pulsatile flow with both radial and angular velocity components; (2) the steady state flow with both radial and angular velocity components and (3) the very slow steady state flow with only a radial velocity component present. For a tapered elastic tube, the velocity of the propagated pulse wave is determined. The solution given is in terms of the elastic constants of the system and the coordinates for this type of geometry. The pulse velocity is then related to the velocity in an elastic cylindrical tube with the necessary correction terms to account for the tapered tube. Supported in part by the American Heart Association (No. 62F4EG). This work was done during the tenure of an Established Investigatorship of the American Heart Association.