The presence of glutathione and glutathione reductase in chloroplasts: A proposed role in ascorbic acid metabolism

Both glutathione and an NADPH-dependent glutathione reductase are present in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts. It is proposed that glutathione functions to stabilise enzymes of the Calvin cycle, and it may also act to keep ascorbic acid in chloroplasts in the reduced form.Abbreviations GSH tripeptide glutathione - GSH reduced form of glutathione - GSSG oxidised form of glutathione     

INHIBITION OF CHLORELLA (CHLOROPHYCEAE) GROWTH BY FATTY ACIDS, USING THE PAPER DISC METHOD1,2

Using the paper disc-agar plate method, a number of fatty and related acids have been tested for tested activity for inhibiting the growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa Chick. Of the saturated acids, a peak in growth inhibiting activity wax observed in the C₇–C₁₂ range, where inhibition wax observed when solutions down to 0.02 M were applied to the discs. Most of the unsaturated acids tested showed greater inhibition than did the corresponding saturated acids. Acrylic acid showed detectable inhibition at 0.001 M concentration.     

Mitochondrials complex I activity is reduced in latent adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy of rat

We previously reported on the use of enzymatic analysis to impair fatty acid metabolism followed by reduced myocardial energy content, leading to severe heart failure in adriamycin (ADR)-treated rats. The aim of this study is to investigate whether impaired myocardial energy metabolism can also be detected by other methods; i.e. measuring mitochondrial complex I activity and myocardial ¹²⁵I-15-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(R,S)- methylpentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) accumulation in ADR-treated rats. Eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats received 6 intraperitoneal injections of ADR (total 15 mg/kg: group ADR) or saline (control group) over 2 weeks. Left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction was assessed using echocardiography at 3- and 6-weeks after ADR injection (3 weeks and 6 weeks, respectively). Myocardial fatty acid utilization was assessed at 3 weeks and 6 weeks. The myocardial counts of BMIPP were measured after intravenous BMIPP (370 kBq) injection, and ¹²⁵I counts were measured to calculate the uptake ratio. The enzymatic activity of complex I was assessed by monitoring the oxidation of nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide-disodium-salt (NADH). In rats treated with ADR, significant decrease in LV ejection fraction was observed only at 6 weeks compared to control (72.5 vs. 84.5%, p < 0.01rpar;. LV ejection fraction at 3 weeks was identical between group ADR and control (81.8 vs. 84.4%). However, at 3 weeks, complex I activity was already reduced significantly in group ADR as compared to control group (p = 0.03), but the reduction in BMIPP accumulation was not (p = 0.15). Our data indicated that reduced complex I activity in a phenomenon occurred in early phase of ADR-induced cardiomyopathy, and it might play an important role in the progression of ADR-induced heart failure.     

Description of durancin TW-49M, a novel enterocin B-homologous bacteriocin in carrot-isolated Enterococcus durans QU 49

Aims:  To characterize the novel bacteriocin produced by Enterococcus durans .
Methods and Results:  Enterococcus durans QU 49 was isolated from carrot and expressed bactericidal activity over 20–43°C. Bacteriocins were purified to homogeneity using the three-step purification method, one of which, termed durancin TW-49M, was an enterocin B-homologous peptide with most identical residues occurring in the N-terminus. Durancin TW-49M was more tolerant in acidic than in alkali. DNA sequencing analysis revealed durancin TW-49M was translated as a prepeptide of the double-glycine type. Durancin TW-49M and enterocin B expressed similar antimicrobial spectra, in which no significant variation due to the diversity in their C-termini was observed.
Conclusions:  Durancin TW-49M, a novel nonpediocin-like class II bacteriocin, was characterized to the amino acid and genetic levels. The diverse C-terminal parts of durancin TW-49M and enterocin B were hardly to be suggested as the place determining the target cell specificity.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  This is the first and comprehensive study of a novel bacteriocin produced by Ent. durans . The high homology at the N-terminal halves between durancin TW-49M and enterocin B makes them suitable to study the structure-function relationship of bacteriocins and their immunity proteins.     

Variation in nuclear DNA content of isonicotinic acid hydrazide-resistant cell lines and mutant plants of Nicotiana tabacum

Summary Isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH)-resistant lines of Nicotiana tabacum have been maintained in callus culture for six years and mutant plants have been regenerated from a number of these lines. This study examines variations in DNA content in nuclei of several of these callus cultures, regenerated plants, and secondary callus from the regenerated plants. The lines selected for study include three easily regenerated lines (I 21, I 24, and I 9) and two lines of poor regenerating capacity (I 1 and I 18). Two of the regenerating lines eventually led to fertile plants and the third produced only sterile plants. In general, the range of total nuclear variability was not as high as anticipated from other studies of long-term tobacco callus cultures. The majority of nuclei in all the distributions were between 3 and 20 pg, and the most frequently encountered distributions concentrated in the 7–18 pg region corresponding to 2–5C by our estimate of the C value for tobacco. Distributions were not identical for plants regenerated from the same culture simultaneously, and the nuclear DNA content of secondary callus cultures from one of the plants examined did not reflect the quantitative DNA pattern of the plant from which it was derived. The greatest degree of variability and highest DNA content for individual nuclei were observed in the primary callus of the poorly- and non-regenerating lines. The variability in DNA content was not associated with the INH-resistant trait.