Taxonomic Review of the Genus Eudorylas Aczél (Diptera: Pipunculidae) in Korea

The Korean species of the genus Eudorylas Aczél have been studied. A total of 16 species are arranged herein. Among them, E. paraappendiculatus sp. nov. is new to science, and E. nomurai Morakote et Yano, 1990 is newly recorded in the Korean fauna.     

Analysis of the H+/sugar symport in yeast under conditions of depolarized plasma membrane

H⁺/sugar symport in the obligatory aerobic yeastRhodotorula glutinis was analyzed under conditions where the plasma membrane was selectively depolarized by the lipophilic cation tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP⁺). Control experiments showed that this treatment did not impair the transmembrane pH, the cell energy charge, and the function of plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase. The kinetic data were fitted to elementary functions derived from a model constructed on the basis of some simplifying premises for ordered (either C + H⁺ + S or C + S + H⁺) and random reaction mechanisms. In addition, the comparison of the kinetic parameters in fully energized and depolarized cells provided information about the free carrier charge. It was concluded that the binding sequence of formation of the ternary carrier/H⁺/substrate complex follows a random mechanism and that the carrier bears a negative charge.     

Einfluß der Behandlung von Rübensaatgut mit Rhizosphärebakterien auf den Befall durch Pilze der Gattung Pythium I. Antagonistische Wirkung verschiedener Bakterienisolate gegenüber Pythium spp.

Abstract The influence of a seed-dressing with rhizosphere bacteria on the infection of sugarbeet by fungi of the genus Pythium I. Antagonistic effect of different bacterial isolates towards Pythium spp.
Seed treatment with selectively isolated rhizosphere bacteria from the fluorescent pseudomonad group can protect sugar beet seedlings from damping-off caused by species of Pythium. The antagonistic rhizobacteria were equally effective in different soil substrates, both unsterilized and steam-sterilized. Antagonistic activity of an isolate was similar within seeds of a sugarbeet cultivar but different when different cultivars were compared. The number of bacteria adhering to the seed of eachcultivar which influenced the level of antagonism to Pythium infection, varied with seed morphology. A mixture of the three different isolates did not increase antagonistic activity when compared to the activity of the isolates individually.     

Development of a detection system for ferric pseudobactin using monoclonal antibodies

Certain root-colonizing fluorescent pseudomonads have been shown to promote plant growth and prevent plant disease in part through the production of siderophores. However, these favorable results have not been reproduced consistently from the laboratory to the greenhouse or from the greenhouse to the field. In some circumstances siderophores appear to play no role in disease prevention. In order to understand the dynamics of competition for iron in the rhizosphere it is essential that the localization and concentration of siderophores produced by both biocontrol agents and plant pathogens be determined. We have produced monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to ferric pseudobactin, the siderophore of plant growth-promoting Pseudomonas B10. Three IgG1 MAbs cross-react with certain ferric pseudobactins but not with others. A competitive ELISA has been developed to detect and quantify ferric pseudobactin.     

The electrochemical H+ gradient in the yeastRhodotorula glutinis

The electrochemical gradient of protons, , was estimated in the obligatory aerobic yeastRhodotorula glutinis in the pH₀ range from 3 to 8.5. The membrane potential, , was measured by steady-state distribution of the hydrophobic ions, tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP⁺) for negative above pH₀ 4.5, and thiocyanate (SCN^–) for positive below pH₀ 4.5. The chemical gradient of H⁺ was determined by measuring the chemical shift of intracellular P_i by³¹P-NMR at given pH₀ values. The values of pH_i increased almost linearly from 7.3 at pH₀ 3 to 7.8 at pH₀ 8.5. In the physiological pH₀ range from 3.5 to 6, was fairly constant at values between 17–18 KJ mol^–1, gradually decreasing at pH₀ above 6. In deenergized cells, the intracellular pH_i decreased to values as low as 6, regardless of whether the cell suspension was buffered at pH₀ 4.5 or 7.5. There was no membrane potential detectable in deenergized cells.     

Immune response to ferredoxin; nonresponder status is not due to suppression

Ferredoxin (Fd), a small protein from Clostridium pasteurianum, has been selected for immunologic studies because of its limited number (two) of antigenic determinants. Functionally (as determined by antibody binding), monodeterminant fragments of Fd can be generated enzymatically, leaving molecules only a few amino acids smaller than the native protein, with unaltered solid phase binding properties. These fragments were used to assess the immune response to each of the two determinants. Clear differences in immunologic properties can be assigned to sequences within Fd: the amino terminal tripeptide is responsible for inducing a proliferative response and limited antibody production, whereas the carboxy terminal dipeptide accounts for most of the antibody activity, yet little, if any, T-proliferative activity. Studies with the enzyme-generated fragments of Fd have unmasked a sequence proximal to the amino terminal that represents a second determinant for T cell proliferation but does not have any demonstrable antibody-inducing activity. This third determinant is shown to induce responsiveness to Fd in nonresponder animals after the removal of the amino terminal tripeptide. The results indicate that nonresponsiveness to this molecule in H-2d mice is not a direct effect of suppression.     

Properties of narrow-range ampholytes isolated from wide-range ampholyte preparations

A simple procedure for obtaining useful narrow-pH-range ampholytes from inexpensive laboratory-synthesized ampholytes by preparative isoelectric focusing in Pevikon is described. The narrow range ampholytes prepared in this way are comparable to commercial ampholyte preparation as judged by conductivity, buffer capacity, pH gradient formation, and resolving power. These inexpensive narrow-range ampholytes are particularly well suited to preparative isoelectric focusing applications requiring large quantities of ampholytes.