The stimulating effect of a cold, dark pretreatment on the etioplast/chloroplast transformation of angiosperms. I. The stimulating effect of cold predarkening on different stages of greening under white light

Schönbohm, E., Stute, U., Thienhaus, P. and Werner, U. 1988. The stimulating effect of a cold, dark pretreatment on the etioplast/chloroplast transformation of angiosperms I. The stimulating effect of cold predarkening on different stages of greening under white light. - Physiol. Plant. 72: 541–546.
The etioplast/chloroplast transformation in angiosperms is controlled by light; most of the processes are mediated by phytochrome. We have shown that in the primary leaves of etiolated seedlings of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. cv. Kolibri), fire-bean ( Phaseolus multiflorus L. cv. Preisgewinner) and in the cotyledons of etiolated sun flower seedlings ( Helianthus annuus L. cv. macrocarpa) the chlorophyll accumulation in the phase after the end of the lag phase can be greatly stimulated by a cold predarkening period. This effect is not necessarily coupled with a red preirradiation. Furthermore the lag phase can be dramatically shortened by the cold, dark pretreatment, whereas the amount of photoconvertible protochlorophyll(ide) in the darkness remains unaffected by the cold, dark pretreatment. The stimulating effect of a cold, predarkening period on greening is fully reversible by a warm, dark phase that is placed between the cold period and the onset of the continuous white light phase. These findings cannot be generalized: We could demonstrate that in the tropical plant Momordica charantia greening under white light was not affected by different temperature pretreatments during predarkening. The stimulating effect of a cold, predarkening period on greening is assumed to have ecological relevance.     

MPEG－SOD对急性低氧下鼠左心功能的保护作用

单甲氧基聚乙二醇（ＭＰＥＧ）活化后与超氧化物歧化酶（ＳＯＤ）偶联,经纯化后得到ＭＰＥＧ－ＳＯＤ,鉴定其分子量约为７．０×１０５Ｄａｔｉｏｎ。其在血液循环中酶活性半衰期超过３０ｈ,远大于天然ＳＯＤ（６－１０ｍｉｎ）。ＳＤ雄性大鼠分三组．对照组（ｎ＝８．由股静脉注入０．２ｍｌ生理盐水）、ＮａｔｉｖｅＳＯＤ组（ｎ＝８,注以０．２ｍｌ生理盐水配的８００ＵＳＯＤ）和ＭＰＥＧ－ＳＯＤ组（ｎ＝９,注以８００ＵＭＰＥＧ－ＳＯＤ）。低氧前三组鼠的心率（ＨＲ）、左室内峰压（ＬＶＰ）、左室压微分（ＬＶ±ｄｐ／ｄｔｍａｘ）和股动脉压（ＡＰ）均无统计学差别。在模拟６０００—６５００ｍ高度急性低氧１．８．１４ｍｉｎ记录上述各项指标,结果如下：除ＨＲ外,ＮａｔｉｖｅＳＯＤ组与对照组各指标均无统计学差别,ＭＰＥＧ－ＳＯＤ组的各项指标均明显高于对照组。表明ＭＰＥＧ－ＳＯＤ对急性低氧导致的左心室力学指标的减弱有明显保护作用,提示超氧自由基（Ｏ２－）在急性低氧导致左心室功能损伤中起重要作用,即可能是由Ｏ２－及其衍生的其它自由基损害心肌细胞生物膜系统所致。     

静电作用与修饰铜锌超氧化物歧化酶的稳定性

铜锌超氧化物歧化酶(Cu, Zn-SOD)表面的赖氨酸经化学修饰后, 酶的稳定性显著提高. 赖氨酸被修饰后, 酶的电荷结构遂发生变化, 从而影响到酶分子电场. 使用FDPB方法(有限差分法求解Poission-Boltzman方程)计算了酶修饰前后的静电场变化, 以及对维持酶的结构稳定起重要作用的Cu, Zn配位结构的影响.结果表明, Cu, Zn配位体的两级离解常数在酶修饰后分别约下降10³, 10⁶.     

The role of a long-wavelength pigment form in the chlorophyll biosynthesis

Photoconversion of protochlorophyllide₆₅₀ form was observed in etiolated leaves illuminated with long-wavelength—690 nm—light. This process showed Shibata shift and was found to have a strong temperature dependence between 20 and –40°C. The low rate of reaction, the strong temperature dependence and calculations on the spectral overlap integral of absorption and fluorescence bands in this spectral region indicate that the phototransformation of the 650 nm form of protochlorophyllide may be caused by a back energy migration from a long-wavelength pigment form absorbing around 690 nm; this pigment form is probably a long-wavelength form of protochlorophyll/ide.     

Characteristics of androgen binding in rat adrenal tissue using [3H]methyltrienolone (R1881) as tracer

A high level of binding of [3H]methyltrienolone (R1881 = 17beta-hydroxy-17alpha-methyl-estra-4, 9, 11-trien-3-one) was found in cytosol prepared from adrenals of castrated male rats. Binding of [3H]R1881 was of high affinity (DK = 6.2 nM) and highly specific for androgens. The [3H]R1881 complex migrates at 7-9S on sucrose gradients in low ionic strength buffer and at 4-5S in buffer containing 0.4M KC1. All binding studies have been performed in parallel with rat ventral prostate and adrenal cytosol. The present data suggest the presence of an androgen binding component in rat adrenal tissue.     

Dependence of the early steps of chlorophyll(ide) synthesis on respiration in dark-grown Euglena gracilis

Protochlorophyll(ide) disappearance and chlorophyll(ide) accumulation, in dark-grown Euglena, promoted by series of actinic light flashes, have been followed by in vivo fluorescence measurements. The data show that chlorophyll(ide) accumulation is biphasic, i.e., there is an initial rapid phase followed by a slower linear phase. The linear phase is highly dependent on flash frequency and on cell respiration whereas the initial phase is much less affected by these factors. It is concluded that dark-grown cells contain a limited pool of phototransformable protochlorophyll(ide); once this pool is exhausted, its reformation and/or the synthesis of some unknown metabolite necessary for the photoreduction appears to be dependent on respiration.     

The dimerization of protochlorophyll pigments in non-polar solvents

The infrared, visible and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of protochlorophyll a and vinylprotochlorophyll a in dry non-polar solvents (carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, cyclohexane) are presented and interpreted in terms of dimer interaction.

The infrared spectra in the 1600–1800 cm⁻¹ region clearly show the existence of a coordination interaction between the C-9 ketone oxygen function of one molecule and the central magnesium atom of another molecule. Infrared spectra in the OH stretching region (3200–3800 cm⁻¹) provide a valuable test of the water content in the samples.

The analysis of the absorption and circular dichroism spectra of protochlorophyll a and vinylprotochlorophyll a in carbon tetrachloride demonstrates the existence of a monomer-dimer equilibrium in the concentration range from 10⁻⁶ to 5 · 10⁻⁴ M. The dimerization constants are (6±2) · 10⁵ 1 · M⁻¹ for protochlorophyll a and (4.5±2) · 10⁵ 1 · M⁻¹ for vinylprotochlorophyll a at 20 °C. The deconvolution of visible spectra in the red region has been performed in order to obtain quantitative information on the dimer structure. Two models involving a parallel or a perpendicular arrangement of the associated molecules are considered.

From ¹H NMR spectra, it appears that the region of overlap occurs near ring V, in agreement with the interpretation of the infrared spectra.     

The stimulating effect of a cold dark-pretreatment on the etioplast/chloroplast transformation of angiosperms. III. Involvement of the excision factor and of cold-retarded aging processes?

Our question is whether the stimulating effect of a cold dark-pretreatment on the process of de-etiolation in primary leaves of wheat seedlings under subsequent continuous white light is essentially mediated by the retarding effect of highly lowered temperatures on the following processes: aging and/or senescence, realization of the so-called excision factor in detached leaves, decrease of the cytokinin level in detached leaves. The strong stimulating effect of a cold dark-preatreatment remains inspite of progressive aging in parts of the leaves and a strong decrease of the capability of chlorophyll accumulation in detached in contrast to attached leaves. The strong stimulatory effect of a cold dark-pretreatment is not diminished by application of cytokinin or gibberellic acid. The stimulating effect of a cold dark-pretreatment is detectable over several days under continuous light, but it is lost during a warm dark-phase of a few hours duration between the cold dark-pretreatment and the white light phase.     

Herbicides which inhibit photosystem II or produce chlorosis and their effect on production and transformation of pigments in etiolated radish seedlings (Raphanus sativus)

Abstract The herbicides DCMU, bentazon, amitrole, and SAN 6706 were tested for their ability to influence the carotenoid and pro-tochlorophyll(ide) composition as well as the protochloro-phyll(ide) phototransformation and the Shibata shift in dark-grown radish seedlings (Raphanus sativus L. cv. Saxa Treib). Bentazon enhanced the formation of lutein and carotenes, while SAN 6706 suppressed the biosynthesis of carotenoids. Amitrole led to a reduced accumulation of phototransformable pro-tochlorophyll(ide). The phototransformation of pro-tochlorophyll(ide) and the Shibata shift were not affected by any of the tested herbicides, irrespective of the presence or absence of activated phytochrome. From this we conclude that herbicides inhibiting photosystem II or producing chlorosis partly affect, but do not block, carotenoid and chlorophyll biosynthesis in dark-grown plants. The main herbicide effect becomes visible only after prolonged illumination.     

Negative HBcAg in immunohistochemistry assay of liver biopsy is a predictive factor for the treatment of patients with nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy

The hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) is an important target for antiviral response in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. However, the correlation between HBcAg in the hepatocyte nucleus and nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapeutic response is unclear. We sought to evaluate the role of HBcAg by analysing liver biopsies for viral response in NA‐naïve hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive (+) CHB patients via immunohistochemistry (IHC). A total of 48 HBcAg‐negative (?) patients and 48 HBcAg (+) patients with matching baseline characteristics were retrospectively analysed for up to 288 weeks. Virological response (VR) rates of patients in the HBcAg (?) group were significantly higher at week 48 and 96 than the HBcAg (+) group (77.1% versus 45.8% at week 48, respectively, P = 0.002 and 95.3% versus 83.3% at week 96, respectively, P = 0.045). The serological negative conversion rate of HBeAg was significantly higher in the HBcAg (?) than in the HBcAg (+) group from week 96 to 288 (35.4 % versus 14.6% at week 96, respectively, P = 0.018; 60.4% versus 14.6%, respectively, P < 0.001 at week 144; 72.9% versus 35.4%, respectively, P < 0.001 at week 288). The cumulative frequencies of VR and lack of HBeAg were higher in the HBcAg (?) group (both P < 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that HBcAg (?) was the predictor for the lack of HBeAg (OR 4.482, 95% CI: 1.58–12.68). In summary, the absence of HBcAg in the hepatocyte nucleus could be an independent predictor for HBeAg seroconversion rates during NA‐naïve treatment in HBeAg (+) CHB patients.