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Biomedical subjects

W L Butler

Publications and source records attributed to W L Butler.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Cytochrome a3: destruction by light.

Spectroscopic measurements on cultures of Prototheca zopfii irradiated with blue light revealed that inhibition of respiration was accompanied by destruction of cytochrome a(3). One of the three b-type cytochromes and one of the two c-type cytochromes of this organism were also affected. Cytochrome oxidase of yeast (not resolved into the a and a(3) components) and cytochrome a(3) of beef-heart mitochondria were also destroyed by blue light.

Cytochromes↗

Inhibition of the Hill Reaction by Tris and Restoration by Electron Donation to Photosystem II.

Experiments in which chloroplasts were washed with tris and tricine buffers at different pH's indicated that the non-protonated (uncharged) form of tris was inhibitory to the Hill reaction while the protonated form of tris and the zwitterionic forms of tricine were non-inhibitory. Buffers analogous to tris and tricine gave similar results. Photoreduction of NADP could be restored to the inhibited chloroplasts by adding the reduced forms of p-hydroquinone, p-aminophenol, p-phenylenediamine, benzidine, semicarbazide, and dihydroxydiphenyl, all of which donated electrons to photosystem II. Photoreduction of ferricyanide was shown with those donor systems (benzidine and semicarbazide) which did not react chemically with ferricyanide. Photophosphorylation was also restored with all of the electron donors except semicarbazide.

Journal Article↗

Photooxidation by photosystem II of tris-washed chloroplasts.

Irradiation of tris-washed chloroplasts with moderate intensities of red light caused a partial bleaching of chloroplast pigments and an inhibition of the hydroquinone-supported photoreduction of NADP. The presence of an electron donor for photosystem 2 (PS2) during the irradiation prevented the bleaching and inhibition. It is concluded that the strong oxidant produced by PS2 accumulates in tris-washed chloroplasts during irradiation and an electron donor for PS2 protects against the photooxidation reactions.

Chloroplasts↗

Photoreduction and photophosphorylation with tris-washed chloroplasts.

The artificial electron donor compounds p-phenylenediamine (PD), N, N, N', N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD), and 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol (DCPIP) restored the Hill reaction and photophosphorylation in chloroplasts that had been inhibited by washing with 0.8 m tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane (tris) buffer, pH 8.0. The tris-wash treatment inhibited the electron transport chain between water and photosystem II and electron donation occurred between the site of inhibition and photosystem II. Photoreduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) supported by 33 mum PD plus 330 mum ascorbate was largely inhibited by 1 mum 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) while that supported by 33 mum TMPD or DCPIP plus ascorbate was relatively insensitive to DCMU. Experiments with the tris-washed chloroplasts indicated that electron donors preferentially donate electrons to photosystem II but in the presence of DCMU the donors (with the exception of PD at low concentrations) could also supply electrons after the DCMU block. The PD-supported photoreduction of NADP showed the relative inefficiency in far-red light characteristic of chloroplast reactions requiring photosystem II. With phosphorylating systems involving electron donors at low concentrations (33 mum donor plus 330 mum ascorbate) photophosphorylation, which occurred with P/e(2) ratios approaching unity, was completely inhibited by DCMU but with higher concentrations of the donor systems, photophosphorylation was only partially inhibited.

Chloroplasts↗

Inhibition of chloroplasts by UV-irradiation and heat-treatment.

The site of inhibition in UV-irradiated and heat-treated chloroplasts was examined by using artificial electron donor compounds such as p-phenylenediamine and hydroquinone which donated electrons specifically to photosystem II. In both cases the electron donors restored the photoreduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and the restored activity was inhibited by 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea. The fluorescence of variable yield was eliminated by both inhibitory treatments and was partially restored by the electron donors in the heat-treated but not the UV-irradiated chloroplasts. The results suggest that the sites of inhibition of UV-radiation and heat treatment are in the photosynthetic electron transport chain between water and photosystem II.

Chloroplasts↗

Tripartite and bipartite models of the photochemical apparatus of photosynthesis.

Tripartite and bipartite models for the photochemical apparatus of photosynthesis are presented and examined. It is shown that the equations for the yields of fluorescence from the different parts of the photochemical apparatus of the tripartite model transform into the simple equations of the bipartite formulation when the probability for energy transfer from the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex to photosystem II is unity. The nature of the 695 and 735 nm fluorescence bands which appear in the emission spectrum of chloroplasts at low temperature is examined. It is proposed that these bands are due to fluorescence from energy-trapping centres which form in the antenna chlorophyll of photosystem II and photosystem I on cooling to low temperature. Even though these fluorescence emissions can be regarded as low temperature artifacts since they are not present at physiological temperatures, they nevertheless are proportional to the excitation energy in the two photosystems and can be used to monitor energy distribution in the photochemical apparatus. However, the question of their artifactual nature is crucial to the interpretation of fluorescence-lifetime measurements at low temperature.

Chlorophyll↗