IAN-bildung aus glucobrassicin: pH-Abhängigkeit und wachstumsphysiologische Bedeutung

Summary Indole auxin synthesis during enzymatic hydrolysis of glucobrassicin by myrosinase proved to be strictly dependent on pH. Neither IAN nor other indole compounds with auxin activity are synthesized at pH values higher than 5.2. An in vivo function of the indole glucosinolates as auxin precursors in Cruciferae is therefore of low probability.     

Elektronenmikroskopische Analyse der Musterbildung im Antheridium derPolypodiaceae

An electron microscopical investigation of the cell walls in young antheridia ofPolypodium crassifolium andPlatycerium alcicorne confirms the classical developmental model as postulated byStrasburger and byKny. The structure of the basal cell walls, both of the funnel cell and of the operculum, and especially the evidence of plasmodesmata in those walls, disprove the widely accepted interpretation presented 1951 byDavie.

     

Effects of concanavalin a on pattern formation inHydrodictyaceae

Summary The effect of concanavalin A upon colony formation inPediastrum boryanum andHydrodictyon reticulatum was tested. Cell aggregation and the development of the pattern specific cell shape are influenced in both species; moreover, inPediastrum the lectin causes preservation of the swarming vesicle which normally persists only a short time after the zoospores have settled. With addition of horseradish peroxidase or application of fluoresceinconjugated concanavalin A binding of the lectin to the cell surface can be demonstrated. The existence of discrete adhesive sites on the zoospore surface which might be responsible for cell-cell recognition is being discussed.     

Effects of 5-bromo-deoxyuridine on chloroplast structure in gametophytes of Anemia phyllitidis L. Sw.

Application of 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine causes servere changes in the ultrastructure of chloroplasts. These modifications include an increase of thylakoid layers ("giant"-grana), coiling of thylakoids, and lastly vacuolization of the entire membrane system of the chloroplast. Such observations can be correlated with types of membrane aberrations reported for natural mutants.     

Identification of Antheridiogens in Lygodium circinnatum and Lygodium flexuosum

Antheridiogens in two species of Schizaeaceous ferns, Lygodium circinnatum and Lygodium flexuosum, were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In L. circinnatum, gibberellin A73 (GA73) methyl ester (GA73-Me), which had originally been identified in L. japonicum, was identified as a principal antheridiogen, and the methyl esters of five known GAs (GA9, GA20, GA70, GA88, and 3-epi-GA88) were also identified as minor antheridiogens. In addition, four compounds corresponding to isomers of monohydroxy-GA73-Me were detected. One of these was shown to be 12[beta]-hydroxy-GA73-Me, the parent acid of which has been allocated the GA assignment GA96. The other three compounds, tentatively named X1, X2, and X3, have not been fully characterized. In L. flexuosum, GA73-Me was also identified as a major antheridiogen, with X2 being detected as a minor one. The total antheridium-formation activity in the culture medium of 7-week-old prothallia of L. circinnatum and L. flexuosum was more than 1000 times higher than that of L. japonicum. On the other hand, the response of gametophytes of the former two Lygodium ferns to GA73-Me was more than 100 times lower than that of L. japonicum.     

Biosynthesis of GA73 Methyl Ester in Lygodium Ferns

Biosynthesis of GA73 methyl ester (GA73-Me), the principal antheridiogen in Lygodium ferns, was investigated. From the methanol extract of prothallia of Lygodium circinnatum, GA25, GA73, GA73-Me, GA88-Me, and a few unknown GA73 derivatives were detected by GC-MS. Because the presence of GA25 suggests that GA24, a direct precursor of GA25, could also be present in L. circinnatum prothallia, we used feeding experiments to investigate the possibility that GA24 is a precursor of GA73-Me. In L. circinnatum prothallia, [2H2]GA24 was converted into [2H2]GA73-Me and a trace amount of [2H2]GA9-Me, whereas [2H3]GA9 was converted into [2H3]GA9-Me and [2H3]monohydroxy-GA9-Me. Because GA73-Me, GA9-Me, and their monohydroxy derivatives had been identified by GC-MS from the culture medium of L. circinnatum prothallia, our results suggest that GA73-Me is biosynthesized from GA24 via GA73, and that neither GA9 nor GA9-Me is a precursor of GA73-Me. Though the possibility had been suggested that GA73-Me is biosynthesized from 9,15-cyclo-GA9 (GA103), [2H2]GA103 was not converted into [2H2]GA73-Me.     

Identification of Antheridic Acid as an Antheridiogen in Anemia rotundifolia and Anemia flexuosa

Antheridic acid was identified by retention time and full massspectra from GCMS analysis as an antheridiogen in Anemia rotundifoliaand A. flexuosa. In the dark spore germination assay, antheridicacid was active down to 10^–10 and 5 ? 10^–12g.ml^–1in A. rotundifolia and A.flexuosa, respectively. In the antheridiumformation assay, antheridic acid was active down to 10^–10g.ml^–1 in both A. rotundifolia and A.flexuosa (Received April 14, 1987; Accepted July 8, 1987)     

Calmodulin-like protein from the fern Anemia phyllitidis L. Sw.

Spores and prothallia of the fern Anemia phyllitidis L. Sw. contain a protein which in its physicochemical properties corresponds largely to calmodulin. It shows immunoreactivity with a calmodulin antiserum and activates bovine brain phosphodiesterase. Its content increases during the early processes of light-induced spore germination, indicating that the Ca²⁺-dependence of these processes may be mediated by this protein.Abbreviations EGTA ethylene, glycol-bis(-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N,N-tetraacetic acid - RIA radioimmunoassay     

Aphidicolin Inhibition of DNA Synthesis and Germination in Spores of Anemia phyllitidis L. Sw

Aphidicolin inhibits DNA synthesis and nuclear division in spores of Anemia phyllitidis. In spite of blocked DNA replication, spores germinate under continuous dark conditions, if induced by addition of 5 × 10⁻⁵ grams per milliliter gibberellic acid. Differentiation of aphidicolin-treated prothallia indicate the existence of a prepattern in the dry spore which is realized independent of cell division during early events of spore germination.     

Fatty acid composition of lipids from differentiated tissues and cell cultures of Euonymus europaeus

The fatty acid patterns of Euonymus europaeus callus cultures and cell suspension cultures were analysed at the beginning of stationary growth phase and compared with those from the respective differentiated tissues. The lipid and fatty acid patterns in cell cultures differed remarkably from those in the tissues of the mother plant. No glycerol triacetate was detected in the callus cultures derived from differentiated tissues whereas in seeds this lipid compound amounts to 29%. In addition to fatty acids normally occurring in differentiated tissues, lipids in cultured cells also contained short-chain (C₁₂–C₁₄) as well as very long-chain fatty acids (C₂₀–C₂₄). In tissue culture cells the major fatty acids were found to be saturated, whereas in the mother cells unsaturated fatty acids were predominant. Palmitic acid is the most abundant fatty acid in most of the cultures. Lauric, myristic and palmitic acid amount to 50% in lipids of cell suspension cultures.