Biosynthesis of trichothecene mycotoxins: cell-free epoxidation of a trichodiene derivative

A cell-free enzyme system from cultures of Fusarium culmorum catalyses the 12,13-epoxidation of semi-synthetic 9 beta,10 beta-epoxytrichodiene to 9 beta,10 beta;12,13-diepoxytrichodiene. This enzyme activity may be involved in the biosynthesis of trichothecene mycotoxins and since the 12,13-epoxide is known to be essential for toxicity, the enzyme activity probably confers the toxic properties associated with this group of mycotoxins. The epoxidase requires NADPH and molecular oxygen, is inhibited by carbon monoxide, and thus appears to be a cytochrome P-450-dependent mono-oxygenase. Whole cell cultures of the fungus carry out the same biotransformation, and in addition hydroxylate the diepoxide product at position 3, yielding 3 alpha-hydroxy-9 beta,10 beta;12,13-diepoxytrichodiene.     

Isolation from sugarcane cultures of variants resistant to antimetabolites

Variants resistant to antimetabolites are useful for investigating metabolic regulation and biochemical genetics in organisms. In this study, suspensions of mutagenized sugarcane ( Saccharum sp.) cells, originating from a stalk parenchyma explain of the Hawaiian variety 50–7209, were used to investigate the feasibility of isolating variants resistant to l -canavanine, glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine], ophiobolin A and orthovanadate. Rigorous retesting of clones which grew on selection media led to the identification of three cell lines, two of which were resistant to glyphosate and one to orthovanadate. No variants were isolated which showed a persistent resistance either to l -canavanine or ophiobolin A.
The results demonstrate that resistant variants do occur, or can be induced, in sugarcane cell suspensions and that they can be rescued and cultivated.     

Allometric scaling of maximum population density: a common rule for marine phytoplankton and terrestrial plants

A primary goal of macroecology is to identify principles that apply across varied ecosystems and taxonomic groups. Here we show that the allometric relationship observed between maximum abundance and body size for terrestrial plants can be extended to predict maximum population densities of marine phytoplankton. These results imply that the abundance of primary producers is similarly constrained in terrestrial and marine systems by rates of energy supply as dictated by a common allometric scaling law. They also highlight the existence of general mechanisms linking rates of individual metabolism to emergent properties of ecosystems.