Characteristics of Pustula tragopogonis (syn. Albugo tragopogonis) Newly Occurring on Cultivated Sunflower in Germany

In temperate climates, Pustula tragopogonis is rarely found on cultivated sunflower. In Europe, it was so far of little economic impact on other Asteraceae, except for some regions in the Mediterranean. In 2003, P. tragopogonis was found for the first time in sunflower fields in southern Germany. The pathogen has a widespread occurrence there, especially in the region around Stuttgart, BW. Fatty acid profiling, ultrastructural investigation and ITS sequencing revealed a high similarity to an 2002 isolate from southern Africa and an 2005 isolate from Australia, but revealed significant differences to P. tragopogonis s.l. on Cirsium arvense, a common weed, growing on or in the vicinity of sunflower fields in Germany. P. tragopogonis from this host can therefore be excluded from being the source of the reported infection.     

Amino Acid Sequences of Neuropeptides in the Sinus Gland of the Land Crab Cardisoma carnifex: A Novel Neuropeptide Proteolysis Site

The sinus gland is a major neurosecretory structure in Crustacea. Five peptides, labeled C, D, E, F, and I, isolated from the sinus gland of the land crab have been hypothesized to arise from the incomplete proteolysis at two internal sites on a single biosynthetic intermediate peptide "H", based on amino acid composition additivities and pulse-chase radiolabeling studies. The presence of only a single major precursor for the sinus gland peptides implies that peptide H may be synthesized on a common precursor with crustacean hyperglycemic hormone forms, "J" and "L," and a peptide, "K," similar to peptides with molt inhibiting activity. Here I report amino acid sequences of these peptides. The amino terminal sequence of the parent peptide, H, (and the homologous fragments) proved refractory to Edman degradation. Data from amino acid analysis and carboxypeptidase digestion of the naturally occurring fragments and of fragments produced by endopeptidase digestion were used together with Edman degradation to obtain the sequences. Amino acid analysis of fragments of the naturally occurring "overlap" peptides (those produced by internal cleavage at one site on H) was used to obtain the sequences across the cleavage sites. The amino acid sequence of the land crab peptide H is Arg-Ser-Ala-Asp-Gly-Phe-Gly-Arg-Met-Glu-Ser-Leu-Leu-Thr-Ser-Leu-Arg-Gly- Ser-Ala-Glu- Ser-Pro-Ala-Ala-Leu-Gly-Glu-Ala-Ser-Ala-Ala-His-Pro-Leu-Glu. In vivo cleavage at one site involves excision of arginine from the sequence Leu-Arg-Gly, whereas cleavage at the other site involves excision of serine from the sequence Glu-Ser-Leu. Proteolysis at the latter sequence has not been previously reported in intact secretory granules. The aspartate at position 4 is possibly covalently modified.     

Large Alterations in Ganglioside and Neutral Glycosphingolipid Patterns in Brains from Cases with Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis/Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Lipidosis

Lipid composition was studied on cerebral tissue from nine children who had died of a progressive encephalopathy called the infantile form of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL) or polyunsaturated fatty acid lipidosis (PFAL). In the terminal stage of the disease, the concentrations of all lipid classes were found to be significantly reduced in the cerebral and cerebellar cortex and white matter. The concentration of gangliosides of the cerebral cortex was 15% and that of cerebrosides (galactosylceramide) in white matter 0.2-5% of the normal values for the children's ages. The reduction of gangliosides mainly affected those of the gangliotetraose series, particularly GD1a. The fatty acids of the linolenic acid series were strongly reduced in ethanolamine and serine phosphoglycerides. A very large increase up to 100-fold of oligoglycosphingolipids of the globo series and two fucose-containing lipids of the neolacto series was found in the forebrain of the three advanced cases examined. The brain tissue also contained very high concentrations of mono-, di-, and trisialogangliosides of the lacto and neolacto series, gangliosides with type 1 chain dominating. The structures of the gangliosides were tentatively identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and monoclonal antibodies with carefully determined epitope specificity. The gangliosides and neutral glycosphingolipids had very similar fatty acid composition, consisting of about 40% stearic acid and 40% C24-acids.     

Molecular genetics of met 17 and met 25 mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: intragenic complementation between mutations of a single structural gene

Summary A method for transposon mutagenesis in Azospirillum lipoferum 29708 is reported with transposon Tn5. The suicide plasmid pSUP2021 was used to deliver Tn5 in A. lipoferum using Escherichia coli SM10 as the donor. Neomycin-resistant transconjugants were detected at a frequency of 6x10^-6 per recipient. Different types of mutants were isolated, e.g. auxotrophic, coloured, IAA-negative, and IAA-overproducers. Among the auxotrophic mutants, cysteine and methionine requirers prevailed. Random Tn5-insertion with only one copy per mutant was demonstrated by Southern blotting and hybridization. Tn5-induced mutants are relatively stable, with reversion rates of 2–20×10^-8. A gene which is a part of the carotenoid pathway is closely linked to the histidine genes. The existence of two pathways for IAA production in A. lipoferum is discussed.     

Regulation of auxin transport in pea (Pisum sativum L.) by phenylacetic acid: effects on the components of transmembrane transport of indol-3yl-acetic acid

Phenylacetic acid (PAA), a naturally-occurring acidic plant growth substance, was readily taken up by pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Alderman) stem segments from buffered external solutions by a pH-dependent, non-mediated diffusion. Net uptake from a 0.2 M solution at pH 4.5 proceeded at a constant rate for at least 60 min and, up to approx. 100 M, the rate of uptake was directly proportional to the external concentration of the compound. The net rate of uptake of PAA was not affected by the inclusion of indol-3yl-acetic acid (IAA) in the uptake medium (up to approx. 30 M) and, unlike the net uptake of IAA, was not stimulated by N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) or 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid. At an external concentration of 0.2 M and pH 4.5, the net rate of uptake of PAA was about twice that of IAA. It was concluded that the uptake of PAA did not involve the participation of carriers and that PAA was not a transported substrate for the carriers involved in the uptake and polar transport of IAA. Nevertheless, the inclusion of 3–100 M unlabelled PAA in the external medium greatly stimulated the uptake by pea stem segments of [1-¹⁴C]IAA (external concentration 0.2 M). It was concluded that whilst PAA was not a transported substrate for the NPA-sensitive IAA efflux carrier, it interacted with this carrier to inhibit IAA efflux from cells. Over the concentration range 3–100 M, PAA progressively reduced the stimulatory effect of NPA on IAA uptake, indicating that PAA also inhibited carrier-mediated uptake of IAA. The consequences of these observations for the regulation of polar auxin transport are discussed.Abbreviations IAA indol-3yl-acetic acid - DMO 5,5-dimethyloxazolidine-2,4-dione - NPA N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid - PAA phenylacetic acid - TIBA 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid     

Effects of growth regulators on light-dependent anthocyanin production in Zea mays seedlings

Rengel, Z. and Kordan, H. A. 1987. Effects of growth regulators on light-dependent anthocyanin production in Zea mays seedlings.
The effects of ethylene, indolyl- and naphthylacetic acids, zeatin, benzyladenine, gib-berellic acid and triiodobenzoic acid on anthocyanin production in seedlings of Zea mays L. cv. Golden Bantam were investigated. Endogenously produced and exogen-ously supplied ethylene, as well as the other growth regulators tested markedly suppressed anthocyanin formation. Except for triiodobenzoic acid, the other growth regulators stimulated ethylene production, the amounts produced in the light being larger than those in the dark. Absorption of ethylene by permanganate as well as inhibition of ethylene production or action by Co²⁺ or Ag⁺ increased anthocyanin formation in maize seedlings above the level found in the control plants. The inhibiting effect of auxins and cytokinins on anthocyanin production was reversed by Co²⁺ or Ag⁺. In contrast, decreased anthocyanin formation caused by gibberellic acid or triiodobenzoic acid seemed unrelated to ethylene and could not be alleviated by Co²⁺ or Ag+.     

Auxin-stimulated ethylene production in fern gametophytes and sporophytes

The auxins indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) stimulated ethylene production from gametophytes of the fern Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn. var. latiusculum (Desv) underw. ex Heller and sporophytes of the ferns Matteuccia struthiopteris (L.)Todaro and Polystichum munitum (Kaulf.) Presl. Treatment with Co²⁺ or l -α -(2-aminoethoxyvinyl)-glycine (AVG) eleminated or significantly reduced the stimulatory effects of IAA. Treatment with 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) resulted in significantly greater rates of ethylene production from all tissues tested. Based on their response to auxin, ACC, AVG and Co²⁺, the ethylene biosynthetic pathway in these three lower vascular plants appears similar to that existing in angiosperms.     

NAD(P)H oxidase and peroxidase activities in purified plasma membranes from cauliflower inflorescences

An NAD(P)H oxidase activity stimulated by phenolic compounds has been investigated in purified plasma membranes (pm) and in an intracellular membrane (icm) fraction depleted in plasma membranes, both obtained from a microsomal fraction from cauliflower inflorescences ( Brassica oleracea L.). The phenolic compounds salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM), ferulic acid, coniferyl alcohol, n -propyl gallate, naringenin, kaempferol and caffeic acid all strongly stimulated the activity. Peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7), or a peroxidase-like enzyme, was responsible for the NAD(P)H oxidase activity, which proceeded through a free-radical chain reaction and was inhibited by catalase (EC 1.11.1.6), superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1) and KCN. Most of the total activity was soluble; however, the membrane-bound activity was highly enriched in the pm compared to the icm. The catalase activity was 6 times higher in the icm-fraction than in the pm-fraction, but this was not the reason for the much lower phenol-stimulated NADH oxidase activity in the icm. Peroxidase activity measured with o -dianisidine and H₂O₂ had about the same specific activities in the pm-and icm-fractions.
Neither the phenol-stimulated NADH oxidase nor the peroxidase activity could be washed away from the pm even by 0.7 M NaCl, indicating that these activities are truly membrane-bound. SHAM as well as the other phenolic compounds capable of stimulating the NADH oxidase reaction were potent inhibitors of blue light-induced cytochrome b -reduction in the pm fraction.