Factors affecting cation-anion uptake balance and iron acquisition in peanut plants grown on calcareous soils

Dicotyledonous plants subjected to Fe-deficiency stress can decrease pH in the rhizosphere by proton excretion and reduce ferric iron by an activated reduction system in the plasma membranes of the root or by reductants released from the roots. The efficiency by which these plants take up Fe may strongly depend on their cation-anion balance. This study presents results of two experiments conducted to evaluate the effect of K, growth stage and cultivar on ionic balance and Fe acquisition of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) plants.Potassium applications to the high calcareous soil (30.3% CaCO₃) favoured proton release, but did not ameliorate plant Fe acquisition. At the earliest stages of plant growth, anion uptake exceeded cation uptake due to intensive N uptake. With time, a shift in the ionic balance was observed as a result of predominant cation uptake. It appears that the relationship between H/OH-ion release and Fe nutrition of peanut plants is actually a complex phenomenon under soil conditions and depends on some soil parameters, such as CaCO₃ content. Even by enhanced H-ion release Fe nutrition of plants can be impaired if soil CaCO₃ is too high.     

Contribution of organic acids to the acidification of the rhizosphere of maize seedlings

The participation of organic acids in the process of soil acidification was related to other H⁺ pumping processes. The ratio between efflux of organic acids and proton secretion of maize roots was determined with the use of a pH-stat combined with a collecting system for organic acids. Changes in the composition of carboxylic acids influenced by nitrogen supply were monitored by HPLC and via enzymatic conversion. The following substances were found to be secreted by maize roots: glycolate, glyoxylate, fumarate, 2-oxoglutarate and oxalate. Malate, however, could not be detected. There is no organic acid dominantly secreted by the roots, but changes are observed during aging which might result from deficiencies of nutrients e.g. P. Fertilization of N-deficient plants with urea leads to a significant change in the composition of acids secreted. In this case, oxalate was additionally detected with a concomitant increase in glyoxylate, indicating important changes in metabolism. Acidification of the rhizosphere is predominantly maintained by secretion of protons, not by efflux of organic acids, which contributed 0.2 to 0.3% to this process only. The role of organic acids in nutrient uptake is discussed.     

Inhibition of the transthylakoid gradient of electrochemical proton potential by the local anesthetic dibucaine

The effects of the local anesthetic dibucaine on coupling between electron transport and ATP synthesis-hydrolysis by the coupling-factor complex (CF₀CF₁ ATPase) were investigated in thylakoid membranes from Spinacia oleracea L. cv. Monatol. Evidence is presented that inhibition of ATP synthesis was produced by a specific uncoupling mechanism which was based on dibucaine-membrane surface interactions rather than on the interaction of dibucaine with the ATPase complex. Dibucaine reduced the osmotic space of thylakoid vesicles. At low pH of the medium it stimulated ATP hydrolysis beyond the rates obtained with optimum concentrations of ‘classical’ uncouplers. After addition of dibucaine, there was displacement of membrane-bound Mg²⁺ and strong thylakoid stacking in the presence of only low Mg²⁺ concentrations. Inhibition of ATP synthesis and transmembrane pH gradient increased with medium pH. Hydrolysis of ATP by isolated CF₁ and the CF₀CF₁ complex was only slightly affected by dibucaine. The data are discussed assuming the involvement of localized proton channels on the membrane surface in protonic coupling of electron transport and ATP synthesis. A hypothesis for the mechanisms of action of local anesthetics at the thylakoid membrane is presented.     

Cytochrome oxidase as a proton pump

The general structure of cytochrome oxidase is reviewed and evidence that the enzyme acts as a redox-linked proton pump outlined. The overall H⁺/e ^– stoichiometry of the pump is discussed and results [Wikström (1989),Nature 338, 293] which suggest that only the final two electrons which reduce the peroxide adduct to water are coupled to protein translocated are considered in terms of the restrictions they place on pump mechanisms. Direct and indirect mechanisms for proton translocation are discussed in the context of evidence for redox-linked conformational changes in the enzyme, the role of subunit III, and the nature of the Cu_A site.     

1H NMR studies of deuterated ribonuclease HI selectively labeled with protonated amino acids

Summary Two-dimensional (2D)¹H NMR experiments using deuterium labeling have been carried out to investigate the solution structure of ribonuclease HI (RNase HI) fromEscherichia coli (E. coli), which consists of 155 amino acids. To simplify the¹H NMR spectra, two fully deuterated enzymes bearing several prototed amino acids were prepared from an RNase HI overproducing strain ofE. coli grown in an almost fully deuterated medium. One enzyme was selectively labeled by protonated His, He. Val. and Leu. The other was labeled by only protonated His and Ile. The 2D¹H NMR spectra of these deuterated R Nase H1 proteins, selectively labeled with protonated amino acids, were much more simple than those of the normally protonated enzyme. The simplified spectra allowed unambiguous assignments of the resonance peaks and connectivities in COSY and NOESY for the side-chain protons. The spin-lattice relaxation times of the side-chain protons of the buried His residue of the deuterated enzyme became remarkably longer than that of the protonated enzyme. In contrast, the relaxation times of the side-chain protons of exposed His residues remained essentially unchanged.     

A unique anther-mucilage in the pollination biology of Tylosema esculentum

Summary Tylosema esculentum, a perennial geophyte bearing yellow distylous flowers in racemes, maintains a high degree of outbreeding through reciprocal herkogamy. In addition, a viscous liquid, the anther-mucilage, is produced by the anther connective tissue and released concurrently with the pollen. The polysaccharide- and lipid-rich mucilage, which is functional in the shedding and transfer of pollen, is available for more than 1 day due to the gradual solidification of the mucilage. The assimilation of the pollen with the liquid substance significantly affects the pollination biology of T. esculentum. This is the first report on the unique phenomenon of wet pollen in the Caesalpiniaceae.     

X-ray structure of Glu 53 human lysozyme.

The three-dimensional structure of a modified human lysozyme (HL), Glu 53 HL, in which Asp 53 was replaced by Glu, has been determined at 1.77 A resolution by X-ray analysis. The backbone structure of Glu 53 HL is essentially the same as the structure of wild-type HL. The root mean square difference for the superposition of equivalent C alpha atoms is 0.141 A. Except for the Glu 53 residue, the structure of the active site region is largely conserved between Glu 53 HL and wild-type HL. However, the hydrogen bond network differs because of the small shift or rotation of side chain groups. The carboxyl group of Glu 53 points to the carboxyl group of Glu 35 with a distance of 4.7 A between the nearest carboxyl oxygen atoms. A water molecule links these carboxyl groups by a hydrogen bond bridge. The active site structure explains well the fact that the binding ability for substrates does not significantly differ between Glu 53 HL and wild-type HL. On the other hand, the positional and orientational change of the carboxyl group of the residue 53 caused by the mutation is considered to be responsible for the low catalytic activity (ca. 1%) of Glu 53 HL. The requirement of precise positioning for the carboxyl group suggests the possibility that the Glu 53 residue contributes more than a simple electrostatic stabilization of the intermediate in the catalysis reaction.     

Direct observation by X-ray analysis of the tetrahedral "intermediate" of aspartic proteinases.

We report the X-ray analysis at 2.0 A resolution for crystals of the aspartic proteinase endothiapepsin (EC 3.4.23.6) complexed with a potent difluorostatone-containing tripeptide renin inhibitor (CP-81,282). The scissile bond surrogate, an electrophilic ketone, is hydrated in the complex. The pro-(R) (statine-like) hydroxyl of the tetrahedral carbonyl hydrate is hydrogen-bonded to both active-site aspartates 32 and 215 in the position occupied by a water in the native enzyme. The second hydroxyl oxygen of the hydrate is hydrogen-bonded only to the outer oxygen of Asp 32. These experimental data provide a basis for a model of the tetrahedral intermediate in aspartic proteinase-mediated cleavage of the amide bond. This indicates a mechanism in which Asp 32 is the proton donor and Asp 215 carboxylate polarizes a bound water for nucleophilic attack. The mechanism involves a carboxylate (Asp 32) that is stabilized by extensive hydrogen bonding, rather than an oxyanion derivative of the peptide as in serine proteinase catalysis.     

X-ray crystal structures of the oxidized and reduced forms of the rubredoxin from the marine hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus.

The structures of the oxidized and reduced forms of the rubredoxin from the archaebacterium, Pyrococcus furiosus, an organism that grows optimally at 100 degrees C, have been determined by X-ray crystallography to a resolution of 1.8 A. Crystals of this rubredoxin grow in space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with room temperature cell dimensions a = 34.6 A, b = 35.5 A, and c = 44.4 A. Initial phases were determined by the method of molecular replacement using the oxidized form of the rubredoxin from the mesophilic eubacterium, Clostridium pasteurianum, as a starting model. The oxidized and reduced models of P. furiosus rubredoxin each contain 414 nonhydrogen protein atoms comprising 53 residues. The model of the oxidized form contains 61 solvent H2O oxygen atoms and has been refined with X-PLOR and TNT to a final R = 0.178 with root mean square (rms) deviations from ideality in bond distances and bond angles of 0.014 A and 2.06 degrees, respectively. The model of the reduced form contains 37 solvent H2O oxygen atoms and has been refined to R = 0.193 with rms deviations from ideality in bond lengths of 0.012 A and in bond angles of 1.95 degrees. The overall structure of P. furiosus rubredoxin is similar to the structures of mesophilic rubredoxins, with the exception of a more extensive hydrogen-bonding network in the beta-sheet region and multiple electrostatic interactions (salt bridge, hydrogen bonds) of the Glu 14 side chain with groups on three other residues (the amino-terminal nitrogen of Ala 1; the indole nitrogen of Trp 3; and the amide nitrogen group of Phe 29). The influence of these and other features upon the thermostability of the P. furiosus protein is discussed.     

Expedient syntheses of neoglycoproteins using phase transfer catalysis and reductive amination as key reactions

Starting from peracetylated chloro- or bromo-glycosyl donors ofN-acetylneurmainic acid,N-acetylglucosamine, glucose and lactose, the correspondingp-formylphenyl glycosides were synthesized stereospecifically under phase transfer catalysed conditions at room temperature in yields of 38–67%. After Zemplén de-O-acetylation, the formyl groups were directly and chemoselectively coupled to the lysine residues of bovine serum albumin by reductive amination using sodium cyanoborohydride. The conjugation reactions were followed as a function of time and under a series of different molar ratios of the reactants to provide glycoconjugates of varying degree of antigenicities. Thus, carbohydrate protein conjugates were made readily available using essentially two key reactions.Presented in part at the 15th International Carbohydrate Symposium, Yokohama, Japan, August 12–17, 1990.