Photomodulation of growth and specific changes in fatty acid amounts in internodes of green Vigna sinensis L.

First internode growth of green Vigna sinensis L. can be widely modified by light or dark treatments. In all the treatments used there is a good correlation between the internode growth and the rate of C_18-1 accumulation. None of the other fatty acids show such a correlation.Abbreviations C_16-0 palmitoic acid - C₁₇ heptadecanoic acid - C_18-0 stearic acid - C_18-1 octadecenoic acid - C_18-2 linoleic acid - C_18-3 linolenic acid - D darkness - DW dry weight - FR far-red light - FW fresh weight - P_FR phytochrome in the FR absorbing form - R red light - W white light     

Effects of gibberellin and colchicine on microfibril arrangement in epidermal cell walls of Vigna angularis Ohwi et Ohashi epicotyls

Gibberellic-acid (GA₃) treatment of azukibean epicotyls resulted in alterations of the direction of newly deposited microfibrils, on the cell walls. Cells having transverse microfibrils on the inner surface of the wall were observed more frequently in GA₃-treated epicotyls than in untreated or water-treated ones. This effect of GA₃ was negated by simultaneously supplied colchicine. A crossed polylamellate structure was observed in the inner portion of the walls of GA₃-treated cells, but not in the inner portion of the walls of colchicine-treated cells. The wall formed under the influence of colchicine consisted of microfibrils running in the same direction.Abbreviations GA gibberellin - GA₃ gibberellic acid (gibberellin A₃)     

Criteria for the identification of potential colonizers*

Man's interference with the environment encourages colonization by species that are often undesirable, hence a technique by which potential colonizers can be identified is urgently required. It can be developed when general prerequisites for successful colonization are identified. These prerequisites can then serve as criteria to distinguish potential colonizers from non-colonizers. The proposed relevant prerequisites are associated with two problems encountered by all colonists: small founding populations and a difference in the environmental conditions between the source area and the target, making the target rather unpredictable. Both these features increase the risk of random extinction, which can be overcome by possessing a potential for rapid population growth (high r) and for rapid adaptation to environmental conditions (high genetic variability). The parameters associated with meeting these prerequisites can serve for the identification of potential colonizers and for ranking species as to their colonization ability. The proposed technique may best be tested by comparing the intrinsic growth rate and the electrophoretic variability of species that have recently colonized with closely related species that have not done so under similar circumstances. The colonization of the eastern Mediterranean by Red Sea species immigrating via the Suez Canal created an appropriate system for such a test.     

Growth and curvature in seedlings of Pisum sativum and an ageotropic mutant

In an attempt to explain the influence of gravity on the behaviour of ageotropic plant organs, a pea mutant (Pisum sativum ageotropum) and normal pea (Pisum sativum cv. Sabel) were examined. The mutant has a significantly lower germination rate (large seeds: 25%, small seeds: 10%) than normal pea seeds (55%). Removal of testa increased germination dramatically, the values obtained were 63 and 89%, respectively. Immediately after imbibition the mutant from which the testa had been removed, developed more slowly than normal pea seeds; after 28 h the difference in elongation rate between the two types was reversed. When continuously stimulated geotropically in the horizontal position the elongation in the mutant is larger than in the normal pea roots kept in the same position. During a 24 h period starting 48 h after imbibition the mutant root elongated 45.0 mm while the value for the normal pea root was 11.5 mm. The course of the geotropic curvature in roots of the two types has been followed during a period of 24 h. Normal pea roots develop an asymmetry in the extreme root tip region after 30 min of horizontal stimulation. After prolonged stimulation (exceeding 2 h) the asymmetry has disappeared and the curvature distributed over the entire growth region. When roots of normal pea are stimulated continuously at various angles, the optimum angle of geotropic response is 90° with decreasing responses in the order 135° (i.e. the root tip is pointing obliquely upward) and 45°. The presumed ageotropic behaviour of the mutant has only to a certain extent been confirmed in the present study. When stimulated at 135° a slight positive curvature developed; stimulation at 90° and 45° gave a slight negative curvature.     

Parameters of unbalanced growth and reversible inhibition of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in Brevibacterium ammoniagenes ATCC 6872 induced by depletion of Mn2+. Inhibitor studies on the reversibility of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis

Unbalanced growth induced by depletion of manganese ions was a prerequisite for production of ribonucleotides in a high salt mineral medium with the wildtype strain Brevibacterium ammoniagenes ATCC 6872. The concentration of manganese strictly controlled the overall deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis, whereas ribonucleic acid (RNA), protein and cell wall synthesis remained essentially unimpaired in the manganese-lacking cells.The reversibility of inhibition of overall DNA synthesis was shown by enhanced incorporation (up to threefold compared to the cultures supplied with sufficient manganese) of [8-¹⁴C] adenine into alkali-stable, trichloroacetic acid-insoluble material after subsequent addition of 10 M MnCl₂ to 15 h-old depleted cultures.The results of inhibitor studies on the restoration of overall DNA synthesis due to subsequent addition of manganese ions to depleted cultures suggest that ribonucleotide reduction is the primary target of the manganese starvation during nucleotide fermentation with Brevibacterium ammoniagenes ATCC 6872.     

Biochemical changes in tissue composition of Periplaneta americana (Linn.) acclimated to high and low temperatures

1. 1.|Cold acclimation apparently favours an increase of water content in fat body, but not in coxal muscle, of cockroaches.

2. 2.|A remarkable enhancement in the accumulation of total protein in fat body characterizes the cold acclimation of cockroaches, particularly adult males (175% increase in protein/DNA ratio). The increase in protein content of coxal muscle during acclimination to 15°C, observed in nymphs (16%) and males (16%) but not in females, is less pronounced than that of fat body.

3. 3.|A diminution (28–32%) in the free amino acid/DNA ratio due to cold acclimation has been recorded in both coxal muscle and fat body of nymphs and females, but not in males.

4. 4.|No qualitative change occurs in the free amino acid spectrum of haemolymph and tissues of this insect during acclimation to 15 and 35°C.

5. 5.|An augmentation (15–30%) of the RNA/DNA ratio occurs in fat body and coxal muscle of nymphs and males but in fat body alone of females following cold acclimation.

6. 6.|The glycogen reserve has been shown to increase by up to 30% in fat body and coxal muscle of cold acclimated cockroaches compared to warm acclimated ones.

Cell-cell contact and growth regulation of pinocytosis in 3T3 cells

In sub-confluent cultures of Balb/c-3T3 cells, pinocytosis rates were increased after exposure to specific growth factors (serum; platelet-derived growth factor, PDGF; epidermal growth factor, EGF). Conversely, as cells became growth-inhibited with increasing culture density, there was a corresponding decline in pinocytosis rate per cell. In order to test whether density-inhibition of pinocytosis was influenced either by the growth cycle or by cell contact independently of growth, cells were induced into a quiescent state at a range of subconfluent and confluent densities. Under such conditions, cell density did not significantly inhibit pinocytosis rate. When confluent quiescent cultures in 2.5% serum were exposed to 10% serum, the resulting round of DNA synthesis was accompanied by enhanced pinocytosis per cell, even though the cells were incontact with one another. Furthermore, in a SV40-viral transformed 3T3 cell line, both the growth fraction and the pinocytosis rate per cell remained unchanged over a wide range of culture densities. These studies indicate that density-dependent inhibition of pinocytosis in 3T3 cells appears to be secondary to growth-inhibition rather than to any direct physical effects of cell–cell contact.     

The serum growth and survival requirements of SV40-transformed 3T3 cells

Summary Simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells are dependent on serum for survival and growth. This growth activity can be separated on a pH 2 Sephadex G100 column into two fractions: a high molecular weight activity and a low molecular weight substance that has recently been characterized as containing as its major agent, biotin. To replace the remainder of the serum requirement, hormones and other growth factors were tested. Both insulin at high, nonphysiological concentrations (200 to 500 ng/ml) and transferrin (5×10⁻⁸ M) stimulate the growth rate in low serum medium (0.3% v/v bovine calf serum DME) individually and, when added together, are nearly as growth enhancing as 10% serum. The need for the residual serum in this medium can be eliminated by the use of crystalline trypsin during trypsinization. Under these serum-free conditions, biotin and transferrin supplementation provide for moderately good growth (20 to 30 hr population doubling time, 1×10⁶ cells/3.2-cm dish final cell density). Insulin addition further stimulates the growth rate (16 to 20 hr) and the final density (1.5×10⁶ cells). Although the protein growth factors, EGF (0.5 to 1.0 ng/ml) and FGF (4 to 10 ng/ml), also appear to enhance growth individually and additively, their effects are slight and very variable. Nevertheless, the complete serum-free medium (DME supplemented with biotin, transferrin, insulin, EGF and FGF) yields growth comparable but still inferior to 10% serum supplementation (14-versus 12-hr population doubling time, 1 to 2×10⁶ versus 2 to 3×10⁶ cells final cell density). This work was supported by NIH Grant CA 20040.     

Continuous culture of reuber hepatoma cells in serum-free,arginine-, glutamine-and tyrosine-deprived chemically defined medium

Summary The rat hepatoma cell line, H4-II-E, was grown serially over a I-year period and about 30 passages in arginine-, glutamine-, and tyrosine-deprived and ornithine-supplemented Eagle's mininum essential medium with no supplements other than biotin. The adapted cel line, R-Y121B, proliferates in the above mentioned medium with a doubling time of about 4 days and maintains hepatic “marker” enzymes such as tyrosine aminotransferase, phenylalanine hydroxylase, and all the enzymes of the urea cycle. This work was supported in part by Grant-in-Aid for Cancer Research 301050 and Science Research Grant 337013 from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan.