Protein a of quinolinate synthetase is the site of oxygen poisoning of pyridine nucleotide coenzyme synthesis in Escherichia coli

De novo biosynthesis of pyridine nucleotide coenzymes in Escherichia coli is initiated by an enzyme complex (quinolinate synthetase) containing protein B which converts l-aspartate into iminoaspartate protein A, which then generates quinolinate on the pathway to the coenzymes. This complex has been shown to be poisoned by hyperbaric oxygen. ^7,8 We performed assays made dependent on both proteins B and A versus only protein A, using cell-free extracts of hyperbaric-oxygen poisoned and aerobically grown cells. The specific activities were produced by a similar amounts of 68% and 60%, respectively, when measured in assays made dependent on enzymes B and A versus only protein A that was derived from oxygen-poisoned extract. Thus, protein A is the oxygen-sensitive component.     

Zinc-phosphorus interactions in two cultivars of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) grown in chelator-buffered nutrient solutions

Zinc-phosphorus interactions have been frequently studied using a diverse number of crop species, but attainment of reproducible Zn deficiencies, especially severe ones, has been hampered by the use of conventional hydroponic solutions wherein contaminating levels of Zn are often near-adequate for normal growth. We utilized novel, chelator-buffered nutrient solutions for precise imposition of Zn deficiencies. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L. cv. Jackpot or Celebrity) seedlings were grown for 15 to 18 d in nutrient solutions containing 200, 600, or 1200 M P, and 0 to 91 M total Zn. Computed free Zn²⁺ activities were buffered at 10^-10.3 M by inclusion of a 100-M excess (above the sum of the micronutrient metal concentrations) of the chelator DTPA. At total added Zn=0, acute Zn deficiency resulted in zero growth after seedling transfer, and plant death prior to termination. Free Zn²⁺ activities 10^-10.6 M resulted in Zn deficiencies ranging from mild to severe, but activities 10^-11.2 were required to cause hyperaccumulation of shoot P to potentially toxic levels. Despite severe Zn deficiency (i.e. ca. 20% of control growth), tissue Zn levels were usually much higher than the widely reported critical value of 20 mg kg^-1, which may be an artifact of the selection of DTPA for buffering free Zn²⁺. Across Zn treatments, increasing solution P depressed growth slightly, especially in Celebrity, but corresponding increases in tissue P (indicative of enhanced P toxicity) or decreases in tissue Zn (P-induced Zn deficiency) were not observed. The depressive effect of P was also not explained by reductions in the water-soluble Zn fraction. Within 40 h, restoration of Zn supply did not ameliorate high leakage rates (as measured by K⁺ efflux) of Zn-deficient roots. Similarly, transfer of Zn-sufficient plants to deficient solutions did not induce leakiness within 40 h. Foliar sprays of ZnSO₄ almost completely corrected both Zn deficiency and membrane leakiness of plants grown in low-Zn solutions. Hence, maintenance of root membrane integrity appears to depend on the overall Zn nutritional status of the plant, and not on the presence of certain free Zn²⁺ levels in the root apoplasm.     

Acid soil damage in sorghum genotypes: Role of magnesium deficiency and root impairment

The effects of liming and Mg fertilization on growth, specific root length (root length per unit of root dry weight; SRL) and nutrient uptake of twelve sorghum genotypes (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) were studied in two pot experiments. Liming increased the pH of the sandy loam from pH 4.3 (unlimed) to 4.7 (with 0.5 g Ca(OH)₂ kg^-1 soil) and to 6.1 (with 2.5 g Ca(OH)₂ kg^-1 soil). Liming increased the dry matter yield of the genotypes by factors of 1.2 to 6.0 (between pH 4.3 and 4.7) and by 1.1 to 2.4 (between pH 4.7 and 6.1). In absence of Mg at soil pH of 4.3 and 4.7, all genotypes suffered from Mg deficiency, as indicated by low Mg concentrations in the shoots (26–94 mmol Mg kg^-1 DM) and visible Mg deficiency symptoms. At pH 4.7 several of the genotypes responded to Mg application and produced significantly more dry matter. At pH 4.3, however, none of the genotypes responded to Mg, even though the internal Mg concentrations were increased by applied Mg. The relative increase in dry matter yield between pH 4.3 and 4.7 was closely correlated to the relative change in specific root length in the same soil pH interval, especially when the soil was fertilized with Mg (r²=0.91^**). The group of genotypes where SRL and dry matter yield were reduced by soil acidity was not the same as the group that responded positively to Mg application at pH 4.7.It is concluded that the growth of sorghum genotypes on acid soils is determined by two independent characteristics: the sensitivity of root development to soil acidity and the efficiency of the uptake and utilization of Mg. The first characteristic is predminant at high soil acidity whilst the latter is dominant at moderate soil acidity.     

Callose formation as parameter for assessing genotypical plant tolerance of aluminium and manganese

Callose ((1,3)--glucan) formation in plant tissues is induced by excess Al and Mn. In the present study callose was spectrophotometrically quantified in order to evaluate whether it could be used as a parameter to identify genotypical differences in Al and Mn tolerance. Mn leaf-tissue tolerance of cowpea and linseed genotypes was assessed using the technique of isolated leaf tissue floating on Mn solution. Genotypical differences in the density of brown speckles on the leaf tissue (Mn toxicity symptoms) correlated closely with the concentrations of callose for both plant species. In cell suspension cultures Mn excess also induced callose formation. However, differences in tolerance of cowpea genotypes using callose formation as a parameter could only be found in cultured cowpea cells if controls cultured at optimum Mn supply showed low background callose. As soon as after 1 h, Al supply (50 M) induced callose formation predominantly in the 5-mm root tip of soybean seedlings. Callose concentration in the 0–30 mm root tips was inversely related to the root elongation rate when roots were subjected to an increasing Al supply above 10 M. Three soybean genotypes differed in inhibition of root-elongation rate and induction of callose formation when treated with 50 M Al for 8 h. Relative callose concentrations and relative root-elongation rates for these genotypes were significantly negatively correlated.     

Tolerance to manganese toxicity among cultivars of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.)

Two sand culture experiments were carried out to identify commercial cultivars of lucerne or alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) which contain elite, Mn-tolerant plants for use in a selection programme to increase the acid-soil tolerance of this perennial legume. Differences in Mn tolerance, both within and between cultivars, were observed when a range of cultivars were exposed to regular waterings with dilute nutrient solution containing 20 or 25 mg Mn L^–1. Under these moderately toxic regimes, the winter dormant cultivars Cimmaron and WL 318 were found to contain elite plants that had greater dry matter yields than their mean cultivar yield under non-toxic Mn conditions.Cultivars which contained elite, Mn-tolerant plants could not be identified by phenotypic characteristics such as their height or their toxicity symptom score, nor by their winter dormancy class. Possible reasons for the occurrence of elite plants in these cultivars are discussed. The elite, high yielding Mn-tolerant plants could not be identified from the other plants within their cultivar population by their Mn toxicity symptoms nor by their height.     

Individual and combined toxicity of three heavy metals,Cu, Cd and Cr for the marine copepod Tisbe holothuriae

The acute toxicity of Cu, Cd and Cr to the marine copepod Tisbe holothuriae, Humes, was estimated by static bioassays and the LC _inf50 ^su48h (in mg/l) was calculated. Copper proved to be the most toxic (LC _inf50 ^su48h = 0,08 ± 0,01 mg/l) and chromium the least toxic (LC _inf50 ^su48h = 8,14 ± 0,05 mg/l), while cadmium showed an intermediate toxicity (LC _inf50 ^su48h = 0,97 ± 0,04 mg/l).In mixtures of the two metals an obvious synergism of the effects was observed in all cases. In all three combinations with two metals (Cu + Cd, Cu + Cr, and Cd + Cr) the mortality was higher than that expected on a purely additive basis. The mixture of the three metals presented a higher toxicity than that of the individual metals acting separately, but lower than that of all two metals mixture.     

Chronic Manganese Treatment of Rats Alters Synaptosomal Uptake of Dopamine and the Behavioural Response to Amphetamine Administration

Abstract: Chronic manganese treatment from conception onward resulted in increased striatal synaptosomal uptake of dopamine, but not of a variety of other neurotransmitters/precursors in 80-day-old rats. The open-field behaviour of these manganese-treated 80-day-old rats was no different from that of untreated age-matched rats. However, amphetamine administration (1 mg/kg body weight) increased activity to a significantly lower extent in manganese-treated rats. These observations indicate that chronic manganese treatment results in marked alterations of activities associated with the dopaminergic system.     

The stability of electron transport in in vitro chloroplast membranes

The stability and stabilization of the electron transport system of chloroplast membranes under physiological conditions of temperature and illumination were studied in relation to two separate and often competing mechanisms of decay. Photochemical inactivation (photoinhibition) of the electron transport system of ageing spinach chloroplasts was not normally found to limit stability even at saturating light intensities. Only when the membranes were protected from dark (fatty acid) inhibition did photoinhibition limit stability.Electron transport could be partially protected from dark inhibition by the addition of high concentrations of recrystallized (i.e. fatty acid free) bovine serum albumin, ovalbumin, polyethyleneimine cellulose, Biomesh SM2 beads or with Ficoll 400. Some improvement in stability was achieved with N,N, dimethylphenethylamine but other esterase and phospholipase inhibitors were ineffective in preventing thermal inactivation.Photoinhibition was apparently delayed by phenazine methosulphate under certain conditions but was unaffected either by artificial scavengers of reactive oxygen species (butylated hydroxytoluene), and 1,4-diazobycyclo (2, 2, 2 octane) or by natural scavengers which constitute part of the in vivo protective mechanism (-tocopherol, -carotene, SOD, catalase and glutathione) or by anaerobic incubation. Photoinhibition may therefore be by a separate mechanism which does not initially involve free radical damage.Abbreviations BHA butylated hydroxyanisole - SOD superoxide dismutase - 0₃ ⁷ superoxide anion - 0₁ ² singlet molecular oxygen - MDA malondialdehyde - BHT butylated hydroxytoluene - DABCO 1,4-diazobicyclo (2, 2, 2) octane - PMS phenazine methosulphate - BSA bovine serum albumin - photosystem I, (II) PSI (PSII) - DMSO Dimethyl Sulphoxide - DCPIP 2,6, dichlorophenol indophenol - DBM1B 2,5, dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone     

Influence of aluminum in nutrient solutions on chemical composition in upland rice cultivars

Summary Aluminum toxicity is an important growth limiting factor for upland rice production on oxisols of cerrado region in Brazil. Data related to the effect of Al on uptake of nutrients for rice crop are limited. The effect of five Al concentrations (0, 10, 20, 40 and 60 ppm) in culture solution on the chemical composition of 30 upland rice cultivars was studied.Aluminum concentration and content in plant tissues were increased with higher levels of Al in all cultivar. In the roots Al content was higher as compared with the tops. Critical toxic level of Al in the tops of 21 days old plants varied from 100 to 417 ppm depending on the cultivars. Rice cultivars responded differently to Al treatments with respect to nutrients uptake. Increased Al concentrations in the solution exerted an inhibiting effect on the concentrations and contents of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Na, Zn, Fe, Mn, B and Cu. Thus the inhibition was more effective for macronutrients in the plant tops in following order: Mg>Ca>P>K>N>S>Na. Whereas for micronutrients it was in the order of Mn>Zn>Fe>Cu>B. Morphological, physiological and biochemical effects of Al, toxicity responsible for the reduction in plant nutrient uptake, are discussed.