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M Gibbs

Publications and source records attributed to M Gibbs.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Effects of temperature pretreatment in the dark on photosynthesis of the intact spinach chloroplast.

Isolated, intact spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. var. "Long Standing Bloomsdale") chloroplasts were heated in the dark and the effect of this treatment on photosynthetic activities was determined at 25 degrees C. Dark incubation of the chloroplasts for 10 minutes at 35 degrees C and pH 8.1 resulted in a 50% decline in CO(2) photoassimilation. This decline in photosynthetic performance was dependent upon time, temperature, and medium pH with the optimum effect at acidic pH values. Photosynthetic decline was not observed if MgATP, MgADP, or a mixture of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, aldolase, and oxaloacetate or ribose 5-phosphate and oxaloacetate was added prior to but not after the temperature pretreatment. A chloroplast preparation reconstituted with thylakoids and stroma from pretreated (35 degrees C, 10 minutes, pH 8.1) intact chloroplasts and supplemented with ferredoxin, ADP, and NADP was photosynthetically competent, indicating that ATP-coupled electron flow and the enzymes comprising the Benson-Calvin cycle remained stable during the dark treatment. In contrast, exposure of isolated thylakoids to 35 degrees C for 10 minutes uncoupled photophosphorylation from NADP and ferricyanide reduction. We propose that the decline of intact chloroplast photosynthesis is the result of a decrease in the content of or a change in the ratios of the adenine nucleotides. Maintenance of an adequate supply of adenine nucleotide is the effect of the externally added MgATP or of chloroplastic respiration of a sugar phosphate.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1988

Encephalitis lethargica-like illness in a girl with mycoplasma infection.

We describe a patient with mycoplasma infection and clinical manifestations of encephalitis lethargica. The patient was brought to our attention after acute neurologic deterioration followed by a prolonged sleep-like state and the emergence of extrapyramidal features. MRI of the brain disclosed a striking pattern of subcortical involvement by the inflammatory process, corroborating the clinical picture.

Brain↗
PubMed1987

CO(2) Photoassimilation by the Spinach Chloroplast at Low Temperature.

Spinach chloroplasts were used to study the relationship between photosynthetic CO(2) fixation and temperature from 30 to -15 degrees C. In saturating light and high concentrations of CO(2), the temperature coefficients (Q(10)) above 20 degrees C were less than 2 in the intact chloroplast. Below 15 degrees C, the Q(10) values were greater than 2 and gradually increased with decreasing (down to 0 degrees C) temperature to approximately 4.4. Photosynthesis responded similarly to temperature in a reconstituted chloroplast preparation fortified with ribose 5-phosphate. In the intact chloroplast, temperature did not alter the Q(10) value in low light and high CO(2). Elevating the temperature to 25 degrees C after photosynthesizing at -15 degrees C (46 minutes) or 0 degrees C (17 minutes) restored the temperature-depressed photosynthetic rate without a lag in the intact chloroplast to the rate of a chloroplast continually at 25 degrees C. At 0 degrees C, the intact chloroplast photosynthetic rate responded slightly to the inorganic phosphate concentration (0.1-1.0 millimolar) and to pH (7.0-8.6). Relative to 25 degrees C, the levels of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate and glycerate 3-phosphate were increased 1300 and 200%, respectively, whereas glycolate decreased 57% during intact chloroplast photosynthesis at 0 degrees C. Chilling temperature impeded the transport of photosynthetic intermediates from the stromal compartment to the external medium. Ethylene glycol was shown to be an appropriate additive to prevent freezing of the reaction mixture down to -15 degrees C for photosynthetic CO(2) assimilation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1986

Astrocyte culture on nitrocellulose membranes and plastic: detection of cytoskeletal proteins and mRNAs by immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization.

Neonatal rat brain astrocyte secondary cultures were established on nitrocellulose membrane filters (13-mm diameter Millipore disk) and on plastic coverslips in serum-supplemented medium. On these substrata, cultured astrocytes changed their shape from flat and polygonal to stellate in the absence of hormones or growth factor supplements. Cultures became confluent after 4 days, and astrocytes on nitrocellulose filters continued to differentiate morphologically and biochemically, as evidenced by extensive cytoplasmic process formation and glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) accumulation. Cultures were immunostained for GFAP and vimentin. mRNAs to GFAP, vimentin, alpha and beta tubulin, and actin also were detected by in situ hybridization with biotinylated cDNA probes. The astrocyte culture method on nitrocellulose provides a simple, versatile means of comparing undifferentiated, morphologically mature, reactive, and neoplastic astrocytes in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Hydrogenase-Mediated Activities in Isolated Chloroplasts of Chlamydomonas reinhardii.

Isolated intact chloroplasts of Chlamydomonas reinhardii were found to catalyze photoreduction of CO(2) in the presence of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea when adapted under an atmosphere of H(2) demonstrating the association of a hydrogenase and anaerobic adaptation system with these plastids. The specific activity of photoreduction was approximately one third that detected in cells and protoplasts. Photoreduction was found to have a lower osmoticum optimum relative to aerobically maintained chloroplasts (50 millimolar versus 120 millimolar mannitol). 3-Phosphoglycerate (3-PGA) stimulated photoreduction up to a peak at 0.25 millimolar beyond which inhibition was observed. In the absence of 3-PGA, inorganic phosphate had no effect on photoreduction but in the presence of 3-PGA, inorganic phosphate also stimulated the reaction. Carbonyl cyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone and 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone inhibited photoreduction but inhibition by the former could be partially overcome by exogenously added ATP. The intact plastid can also catalyze photoevolution of H(2) while lysed chloroplast extracts catalyzed the reduction of methyl viologen by H(2). Both reactions occurred at rates approximately one-third of those found in cells. The oxyhydrogen reaction in the presence or absence of CO(2) was not detected.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1986

Association of the Chloroplastic Respiratory and Photosynthetic Electron Transport Chains of Chlamydomonas reinhardii with Photoreduction and the Oxyhydrogen Reaction.

The hydrogenase-dependent processes, photoreduction and the dark oxyhydrogen reaction, both of which can support CO(2) assimilation, were compared with aerobic photosynthesis and respiration for their sensitivity to electron transport inhibitors in cells and intact chloroplasts of Chlamydomonas reinhardii 11-32/6. Photoreduction but not photosynthesis was inhibited in chloroplasts and the oxyhydrogen reaction detected only in cells was inhibited up to 75 and 90%, respectively, by 150 micromolar rotenone, indicating the involvement of a NAD(P)H-plastoquinone oxidoreductase in the hydrogen utilizing pathways. The oxyhydrogen reaction coupled to CO(2) fixation was inhibited more than 95% by 10 micromolar 2,5 - dibromo - 3 - methyl - 6 - isopropyl - p - benzoquinone (DBMIB), a concentration which did not affect respiratory activity. In cells, both photoreduction and the oxyhydrogen reaction exhibited a similar sensitivity to salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM) showing approximately 90% inhibition by 7 millimolar concentration. Photosynthesis was inhibited only 30% by the same concentration of SHAM. Antimycin A (18 micromolar, 10 micrograms per milliliter) inhibited both photoreduction (80%) and the oxyhydrogen reaction (92%) in cells with the oxyhydrogen reaction being approximately 10 times more sensitive to lower concentrations of the inhibitor. Antimycin A at 18 micromolar concentration did not inhibit photosynthetic CO(2) fixation unless the cells were adapted to an atmosphere of N(2) and the reaction conducted anaerobically. Photosynthesis, photoreduction, and the oxyhydrogen reaction coupled to CO(2) fixation were all inhibited greater than 90% by 10 micromolar carbonylcyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone. ATP added to chloroplasts adapted to an atmosphere of H(2) could support CO(2) uptake in the dark. These results are interpreted as evidence that photoreduction and the oxyhydrogen reaction involve some common components of thylakoidal electron transport pathways in Chlamydomonas including NAD(P)H-plastoquinone oxidoreductase and the plastoquinone pool. An O(2)-consuming thylakoidal or mitochondrial reaction is an additional component of the oxyhydrogen reaction.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1986

Fermentative Metabolism of Chlamydomonas reinhardii: III. Photoassimilation of Acetate.

The anaerobic photodissimilation of acetate by Chlamydomonas reinhardii F-60 adapted to a hydrogen metabolism was studied utilizing manometric and isotopic techniques. The rate of photoanaerobic (N(2)) acetate uptake was approximately 20 mumoles per milligram chlorophyll per hour or one-half that of the photoaerobic (air) rate. Under N(2), cells produced 1.7 moles H(2) and 0.8 mole CO(2) per mole of acetate consumed. Gas production and acetate uptake were inhibited by monofluoroacetic acid (MFA), 3-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) and by H(2). Acetate uptake was inhibited about 50% by 5% H(2) (95% N(2)). H(2) in the presence of MFA or DCMU stimulated acetate uptake and the result was interpreted to indicate a transition from oxidative to reductive metabolism. Carbon-14 from both [1-(14)C]- and [2-(14)C]acetate was incorporated under N(2) or H(2) into CO(2), lipids, and carbohydrates. The methyl carbon of acetate accumulated principally (75-80%) in the lipid and carbohydrate fractions, whereas the carboxyl carbon contributed isotope primarily to CO(2) (56%) in N(2). The presence of H(2) caused a decrease in carbon lost from the cell as CO(2) and a greater proportion of the acetate was incorporated into lipid. The results support the occurrence of anaerobic and light-dependent citric acid and glyoxylate cycles which affect the conversion of acetate to CO(2) and H(2) prior to its conversion to cellular material.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1986

Tort law reform.

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Malpractice↗
PubMed1985

Fermentative Metabolism of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: II. Role of Plastoquinone.

Evidence is presented to substantiate a chloroplastic respiratory pathway in the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, whereby reducing equivalents generated during the degradation of starch enter the thylakoidal chain at the plastoquinone site catalyzed by NADH-plastoquinone reductase. In this formulation, the reduced plastoquinone is oxidized either by the photoevolution (photosystem I) of H(2) under anaerobic conditions or by O(2) during dark respiration.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1984

Remodeling of sperm chromatin following fertilization: nucleosome repeat length and histone variant transitions in the absence of DNA synthesis.

Within the first cell cycle following fertilization the average nucleosomal repeat length of sea urchin male pronuclear chromatin declines by 30-40 base pairs to a value typical of that found in the embryo. This decline occurs after a lag of about 30 min postfertilization, and is accompanied by replication of the male chromatin and accumulation of cleavage-stage (CS) core histone variants. When replication is inhibited by greater than 95% with aphidicolin, the decline in repeat length still occurs, although it is slightly retarded. The decline in repeat length also occurs when protein synthesis is blocked by greater than 98% and DNA synthesis by 60-70% with emetine. The adjustment of nucleosome repeat length therefore can occur in vivo without extensive movement of replication forks across the length of the chromatin, or normal progression of the cell cycle, and appears to require no proteins synthesized postfertilization. Blocking of DNA synthesis or protein synthesis also does not prevent the normal histone variant transitions involved in male pronuclear chromatin remodeling. Although their accumulation is slowed, CS core variants eventually become the predominant male pronuclear histones in their classes when replication is inhibited. Since a shortening of the average nucleosomal repeat length of approximately 10-20% is not sufficient to account for this large acquisition of CS variants, some of the sperm (Sp) core histones are probably displaced from the replication-blocked pronucleus. Therefore, accumulation of CS H2A and CS H2B are temporally correlated with the repeat length transition, whereas replication, normal progression of the cell cycle, and the early histone transitions involving SpH1 and SpH2B are not.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

School children's attitudes towards the handicapped.

This study set out to determine the attitude of a group of normal British 13-year-old school children towards handicapped people while avoiding problems of previous research. As has been shown in previous studies it was demonstrated that the children's attitudes to the physically handicapped were more positive than those towards the mentally handicapped. Whereas there were very few sex differences indicating that males were more negative to the handicapped in general than females, there were a number of contact differences. Children who knew or interacted with a handicapped person were by-and-large more positive in their attitudes than those who had little or no contact with handicapped people. The results of this study are discussed in terms of the integration of handicapped and non-handicapped school children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Starch Degradation in Synchronously Grown Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Characterization of the Amylase.

The activities of amylase and phosphorylase were monitored during the 12-hour light/dark synchronous cell cycle of autotrophically grown Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 11-32/90. The activity of amylase increased from 7.3 to 42 micromole reducing equivalents per 10(9) cells per hour while phosphorylase increased from 43 to 214 micromole glucose 1-phosphate released per 10(9) cells per hour between the midlight and middark periods. Cellular fractionation indicated that both enzymes were localized solely within the chloroplast. The pH optima for amylase and phosphorylase were 6.7 to 7.6 and 6.0 to 7.4, respectively. The amylase is a heat-labile alpha-amylase which is insensitive to ethylenetetraaecetate but inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1984

Fermentative Metabolism of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: I. Analysis of Fermentative Products from Starch in Dark and Light.

The anaerobic starch breakdown into end-products in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii F-60 has been investigated in the dark and in the light. The effects of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) and carbonyl cyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenyl hydrazone (FCCP) on the fermentation in the light have also been investigated.Anaerobic starch breakdown rate (13.1 +/- 3.5 micromoles C per milligram chlorophyll per hour) is increased 2-fold by FCCP in the dark. Light (100 watts per square meter) decreases up to 4-fold the dark rate, an inhibition reversed by FCCP. Stimulation of starch breakdown by the proton ionophore FCCP points to a pH-controlled rate-limiting step in the dark, while inhibition by light, and its reversal by FCCP, indicates a control by energy charge in the light.In the dark, formate, acetate, and ethanol are formed in the ratios of 2.07:1.07:0.91, and account for roughly 100% of the C from the starch. H(2) production is 0.43 mole per mole glucose in the starch. Glycerol, d-lactate, and CO(2) have been detected in minor amounts.In the light, with DCMU and FCCP present, acetate is produced in a 1:1 ratio to formate, and H(2) evolution is 2.13 moles per mole glucose. When FCCP only is present, acetate production is lower, and CO(2) and H(2) evolution is 1.60 and 4.73 moles per mole glucose, respectively.When DCMU alone is present, CO(2) and H(2) photoevolution is higher than in the dark. Without DCMU, CO(2) and H(2) evolution is about 100% higher than in its presence. In both conditions, acetate is not formed. In all conditions in the light, ethanol is a minor product. Formate production is least affected by light.The stoichiometry in the dark indicates that starch is degraded via the glycolytic pathway, and pyruvate is broken down into acetyl-CoA and formate. Acetyl-CoA is further dissimilated into acetate and ethanol. In the light, acetate is produced only in the presence of FCCP and, when photophosphorylation is possible, it is used in unidentified reactions. Ethanol formation is inhibited by the light in all conditions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1983

Influence of adenosine phosphates and magnesium on photosynthesis in chloroplasts from peas, sedum, and spinach.

(14)CO(2) photoassimilation in the presence of MgATP, MgADP, and MgAMP was investigated using intact chloroplasts from Sedum praealtum, a Crassulacean acid metabolism plant, and two C(3) plants: spinach and peas. Inasmuch as free ATP, ADP, AMP, and uncomplexed Mg(2+) were present in the assays, their influence upon CO(2) assimilation was also examined. Free Mg(2+) was inhibitory with all chloroplasts, as were ADP and AMP in chloroplasts from Sedum and peas. With Sedum chloroplasts in the presence of ADP, the time course of assimilation was linear. However, with pea chloroplasts, ADP inhibition became progressively more severe, resulting in a curved time course. ATP stimulated assimilation only in pea chloroplasts. MgATP and MgADP stimulated assimilation in all chloroplasts. ADP inhibition of CO(2) assimilation was maximal at optimum orthophosphate concentrations in Sedum chloroplasts, while MgATP stimulation was maximal at optimum or below optimum concentrations of orthophosphate. MgATP stimulation in peas and Sedum and ADP inhibition in Sedum were not sensitive to the addition of glycerate 3-phosphate (PGA).PGA-supported O(2) evolution by pea chloroplasts was not inhibited immediately by ADP; the rate of O(2) evolution slowed as time passed, corresponding to the effect of ADP on CO(2) assimilation, and indicating that glycerate 3-phosphate kinase was a site of inhibition. Likewise, upon the addition of AMP, inhibition of PGA-dependent O(2) evolution became more severe with time. This did not mirror CO(2) assimilation, which was inhibited immediately by AMP. In Sedum chloroplasts, PGA-dependent O(2) evolution was not inhibited by ADP and AMP. In chloroplasts from peas and Sedum, the magnitude of MgADP and MgATP stimulation of PGA-dependent O(2) evolution was not much larger than that given by ATP, and it was much smaller than MgATP stimulation of CO(2) assimilation. Analysis of stromal metabolite levels by anion exchange chromatography indicated that ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase was inhibited by ADP and stimulated by MgADP in Sedum chloroplasts.The appearance of label in the medium was measured when [U-(14)C] ADP-loaded Sedum chloroplasts were challenged with ATP, ADP, or AMP and their Mg(2+) complexes. The rate of back exchange was stimulated by the presence of Mg(2+). This suggests that ATP, ADP, and AMP penetrate the chloroplast slower than their Mg(2+) complexes. A portion of the CO(2) assimilation and O(2) evolution data could be explained by differential penetration rates, and other proposals were made to explain the remainder of the observations.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1983

Reduced osmotic potential effects on photosynthesis : identification of stromal acidification as a mediating factor.

Addition of sorbitol, which facilitated reductions in reaction medium osmotic potential from standard (0.33 molar sorbitol, -10 bars) isotonic conditions to a stress level of 0.67 molar sorbitol (-20 bars), inhibited the photosynthetic capacity of isolated spinach (Spinacia oleracea) chloroplasts. This inhibition, which ranged from 64 to 74% under otherwise standard reaction conditions, was dependent on reaction medium inorganic phosphate concentration, with the phosphate optimum for photosynthesis reduced to 0.05 millimolar at the low osmotic potential stress treatment from a value of 0.25 millimolar under control conditions.Stromal alkalating agents such as NH(4)Cl (0.75 millimolar) and KCl (35 millimolar) were also found to affect the degree of low osmotic potential inhibition of photosynthesis. Both agents doubled the rate of NaHCO(3)-supported O(2) evolution under the stress treatment, while hardly affecting the control rate at optimal concentrations. These agents also reduced the length of the lag phase of photosynthetic O(2) evolution under the stress treatment to a much greater degree. The rate-enhancement effect of these agents under the stress treatment was reversed by sodium acetate, which is known to facilitate stromal acidification.The reaction medium pH optimum for photosynthesis under the stress treatment was higher than under control conditions. In the presence of optimal NH(4)Cl, this shift was no longer evident.Internal pH measurements indicated that the stress treatment caused a 0.43 and 0.24 unit reduction in the stromal and intrathylakoid pH, respectively, under illumination. This osmotically induced acidification was not evident in the dark. The presence of 0.75 millimolar NH(4)Cl partially reversed the osmotically induced reduction in the illuminated stromal pH. It was concluded that stromal acidification is a mediating mechanism of the most severe site of low osmotic potential inhibition of the photosynthetic process.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1983

Cellular Fractionation of Chlamydomonas reinhardii with Emphasis on the Isolation of the Chloroplast.

A method for cellular fractionation of Chlamydomonas reinhardii, SAG 11-32/b, and isolation of intact chloroplasts from synchronized cells of the alga is described. The procedure for cell fractionation comprises essentially four steps: (1) protoplast production with autolysine; (2) lysis of the protoplasts with digitonin; (3) aggregation of broken protoplasts; and (4) separation of organelles by differential centrifugations.Replacing the differential centrifugations (step 4) by Percoll cushion centrifugations yields intact chloroplasts. Starting with 100 milliliters of an algal culture containing 3000 micrograms chlorophyll, intact chloroplasts with 100 to 200 micrograms of chlorophyll can be isolated. Envelope integrity is about 90% (ferricyanide assay). Examination of the chloroplasts by electron microscopy and marker enzyme activities indicated some mitochondrial and cytoplasmic contamination.

Journal Article↗