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PubMed1998

Isolation and Identification of Two l-Azetidine-2-carboxylic Acid-Degrading Soil Microorganisms, Enterobacter agglomerans and Enterobacter amnigenus

Soil samples collected at several times during the growing season and at different locations within Convallaria majalis beds in Ann Arbor, MI, were screened for their ability to grow with the cyclic amino acid, l-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid (l-A-2-C), as their sole nitrogen source (i.e., metabolize l-A-2-C). Two different soil microorganisms were isolated, characterized, and identified using fundamental selection methods, the standard battery of biochemical characterization tests, and scanning electron microscopy. The assignment of the identity of these organisms as Enterobacter agglomerans and Enterobacter amnigenus was further verified by comparison with authentic microbial samples obtained from ATCC that were able to utilize l-A-2-C as their sole nitrogen source.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1965

Purification, properties and comparative specificities of the enzyme prolyl-transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase from Phaseolus aureus and Polygonatum multiflorum.

1. A prolyl-s-RNA synthetase (prolyl-transfer RNA synthetase) has been purified about 250-fold from seed of Phaseolus aureus (mung bean), a species not producing azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, and more than 10-fold from rhizome apices of Polygonatum multiflorum, a liliaceous species containing azetidine-2-carboxylic acid. The latter enzyme was unstable during ammonium sulphate fractionation. 2. The enzymes exhibited different substrate specificities towards the analogue. That from Phaseolus, when assayed by the ATP-PP(i) exchange, showed azetidine-2-carboxylic acid activation at about one-third the rate with proline. Both labelled imino acids gave rise to a labelled aminoacyl-s-RNA. The enzyme from Polygonatum, however, activated only proline. 3. The enzyme from Polygonatum also formed a labelled prolyl-s-RNA with Phaseolus s-RNA but at a lower rate than when the Phaseolus enzyme was used. No reaction occurred when the Phaseolus enzyme was coupled with Polygonatum s-RNA, and only a very slight one was observed when both enzyme and s-RNA came from Polygonatum. 4. Protein preparations from seeds of Pisum sativum, another species not producing azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, also activated the analogue in addition to proline, whereas those from rhizome and seeds of Convallaria, the species from which the analogue was originally isolated, failed to activate it. However, a liliaceous species not producing the analogue, Asparagus officinalis, activated it. 5. Of the other proline analogues investigated, only 3,4-dehydro-dl-proline and l-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid were active with the enzyme preparation from Phaseolus. 6. pH optima of 7.9 and 8.4 were established for the enzymes from Phaseolus and Polygonatum respectively. 7. The Phaseolus enzyme was specific for ATP and PP(i). Mn(2+) partially replaced the requirement for Mg(2+) as cofactor. Preincubation with p-chloromercuribenzoate at a concentration of 0.5mm or higher produced over 99% inhibition of the Phaseolus enzyme. One-half the enzymic activity was destroyed by preheating for 5min. at 62 degrees in tris-hydrochloric acid buffer, pH7.9. 8. All experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that azetidine-2-carboxylic acid and proline are activated by the same enzyme in Phaseolus preparations, whereas the analogue was inactive in all Polygonatum preparations. The possible nature of this different substrate behaviour is discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

The cardenolides of Speirantha convallarioides.

The cardenolide pattern of Speirantha convallarioides has been investigated and compared with Convallaria majalis, a close relative with active cardenolides and used extensively as a cardiac remedy. Five cardenolides were isolated from small amounts (25 g) of plant material by application of an efficient isolation procedure. Their identification was achieved by an easy concept mainly based on detailed analysis of 1H-NMR and DCI-NH3-mass spectral data. Rhodexin A(1) and lokundjoside (2) are the major cardenolides (42% and 31% of the total cardenolides in the plant), while digitoxigenin-glucoside (3), periplorhamnoside (4), and periplogenin-glucoside (5) are minor constituents of the cardenolide complex (3 to 4% each). Similarities in cardenolide patterns (structures of the aglycones, variability of the sugar portion) along with morphological and biogenetical characteristics support the classification of S. convallarioides as belonging in the same tribe Convallarieae as C. majalis within the family Convallariaceae.

Carbohydrate Sequence↗
PubMed1973

Structures linking the myonemes, endoplasmic reticulum, and surface membranes in the contractile ciliate Vorticella.

An electron microscope investigation of the interface between the myonemes of Vorticella convallaria and their associated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has revealed structures of a complex morphology linking these two organelles. These structures are named "linkage complexes". Each complex contains a spindle-shaped midpiece which lies in a groove of the ER membrane. Microfilaments splay out from the tips of the midpiece and may come in contact with the inner alveolar sac membrane. Three to six raillike structures lie on each side of the midpiece and parallel it. The ER membrane appears to pass through the sides of the rails. In the lumen of the ER these rails are associated with a meshwork of filaments. A cradle of five rods lies within the groove under the midpiece. The ER membrane also passes through these rods which contact the same meshwork. In the scopular region and in the stalk the microfilaments from the midpiece form a bundle which passes into the lumen of modified basal bodies. These basal bodies are connected to the alveolar sac which, in the stalk, passes as a flattened tube along its length. The parts of the dissociated linkage complex are scattered throughout the spasmoneme of the stalk along membranes of the intraspasmonemal tubules. Thus, both stalk and body contractile bundles have linkage complexes that link their associated membrane systems to the microfibrils and, in turn, connect this membrane-microfibrillar interface to the pellicular membranes. The arrangement of the linkage complex suggests an involvement in the control of the transport of calcium ions between ER and microfibrils, and possibly the transfer of a message from the surface membranes to the sites of calcium release to trigger myonemal contraction.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Calcium-binding proteins in the vorticellid spasmoneme.

The proteins of the contractile spasmoneme from Vorticella convallaria, Carcheslium polypinum, and Zoothamnium geniculatum have been extracted in the detergent, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), as well as urea and guanidine hydrochloride (GuCl). After SDS extraction, the molecular weight distribution of the proteins was examined by means of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Significant amounts of material corresponding to the contractile proteins actin and tubulin are not present. The contractile organelles in the three species examined contain a group of closely related proteins of molecular weight near 20,000, which constitute a major part (40-60%) of the dry mass. The 20,000 mol wt proteins in Zoothamnium bind calcium with high affinity (pK congruent to 6) and are termed "spasmins." By means of urea polyacrylamide gel electrophorsis, it is demonstrated that in Carchesium and Zoothamnium certain spasmin components bind calcium even in the presence of 6 M urea. The binding of calcium in 6 M urea suggests a functional relationship between the spasmins and the calcium-binding proteins of striated muscle which behave similarly. The calcium binding in urea also indicates that the spasmins within a single spasmoneme have different calcium affinities, and this difference in calcium-binding properties may be an important factor in the physiological function of the organelle.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Improved preparation and cooperative calcium contraction of glycerinated Vorticella.

An improved method for the preparation of glycerinated Vorticella convallaria was investigated. The pretreatment of living vorticellas with a medium containing 0.1% saponins and subsequent treatment with an extraction medium containing 35% glycerol at about 0 degrees C was satisfactory. The equilibrium average length of contractile stalks of glycerinated vorticellas was measured at various free calcium concentrations in the reaction medium. It was found that the contractile element in the spasmoneme of the stalk is contracted by a cooperative interaction involving at least two calcium ions.

Allosteric Regulation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A molecular phylogenetic investigation of zoothamnium (ciliophora, peritrichia, sessilida).

The gene coding for 18S small subunit ribosomal RNA (ssu rRNA) was sequenced in seven free-living, marine species of the sessiline peritrich genus Zoothamnium. These were Zoothamnium niveum, Zoothamnium alternans, Zoothamnium pelagicum, and four unidentified species. The ssu rRNA gene also was sequenced in Vorticella convallaria, Vorticella microstoma, and in an unidentified, freshwater species of Vorticella. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using these new sequences to test a previously published phylogenetic association between Zoothamnium arbuscula, currently in the family Zoothamniidae, and peritrichs in the family Vorticellidae. Trees constructed by means of neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference methods all had similar topologies. The seven new sequences of Zoothamnium species grouped into three well-supported clades, each of which contained a diversity of morphological types. The three clades formed a poorly supported, larger clade that was deeply divergent from Z. arbuscula, which remained more closely associated with vorticellid peritrichs. It is apparent that Zoothamnium is a richly diverse genus and that a much more intensive investigation, involving both morphological and molecular data and a wider selection of species, will be necessary to resolve its phylogeny. A greater amount of molecular diversity than is predicted by morphological data exists within all major clades of sessiline peritrichs that have been included in molecular phylogenies, indicating that characteristics of stalk and peristomial structure traditionally used to differentiate taxa at the generic level and above may not be uniformly reliable.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Rare earth elements in forest-floor herbs as related to soil conditions and mineral nutrition.

Mixtures of rare earth elements (REEs) in fertilizers are widely used in Chinese agriculture to improve crop nutrition. REE concentrations in wild-growing plants, especially herbs, are little known. This study describes differences in the concentrations and proportions of REEs in eight forest-floor herbaceous plants and relates these differences to soil and mineral nutrient conditions. REEs studied were yttrium (Y), lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and lutetium (Lu). Leaf concentrations of sum REEs differed more than one order of magnitude between species, being highest in Anemone nemorosa (10.1 nmol/g dry mass) and lowest in Convallaria majalis (0.66 nmol/g) from the same site. Leaf concentrations of all REEs correlated positively (p < 0.001), as did sum REE with calcium (Ca) and strontium (Sr) concentrations (p < 0.001). A negative relationship (r = -0.83, (p < 0.001) was measured between phosphorus (P) concentrations and sum REE concentrations in leaves. However, the proportions of the single REEs in the REE sum differed among species. In A. nemorosa, 57% of the molar REE sum was taken by Y + La, and only 21% by Ce. The other extreme was Maianthemum bifolium, with 37% La + Y and 41% Ce. These two species had 2.7-3.0% of the REE sum as heavier lanthanides, compared to 4.1-5.2% in the six other species. No clear relationship between soil properties or REE contents and leaf REE concentrations was detected. For La, however, an overrepresentation in leaves prevailed throughout all species compared to soils, whereas particularly Nd, Sm, and Tb had a lower proportion in the leaves of all species than in their soils. Possible uptake mechanisms of REEs in plants are discussed.

Agriculture↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Fluorescence parameters of chlorophyll in leaves of caules plants in different environmental conditions].

The functional state of medicinal plants of Convallaria majalis L., Vaccinium vitis-idaeae L., Arctostaphylos uva-ursi L. in connection with heavy metal accumulation in their leaves under man impact was studied by the pulse-amplitude-modulation (PAM) fluorometric method. The relative yield of variable fluorescence (F(v)/F(m)), induction of fluorescence of chlorophyll, and fluorescence quenching processes in leaves at different distances from the local Kirov-Sovetsk, Kirov-Omutninsk road in Kirov region were analyzed. Changes in biophysical characteristics with the increasing content of heavy metals in leaves were demonstrated. The most informative characteristic is F(v)/F(m). Its value correlates with the activity of the photosynthetic apparatus and reflects the potential effeciency of photosynthesis. The better are the environmental conditions of plant growth, the higher is the F(v)/F(m) ratio and the lower is its average statistical deviation. Fluorescence induction curves do not always vary in shape under our ecological conditions, indicating relatively favorable conditions at places of plant growth investigated. The rate of the environmental pollution in the investigated region is not critical, since the content of heavy metal in leaves does not change considerably with the distance from the road.

Chlorophyll↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Radionuclide study of the influence of beta-adrenoblockaders on the cardiotonic effect of cardiac glycosides].

Radiocardiography was used in 234 patients to explore the effect of corglycon, a glycoside drug obtained from Convallaria L., cardiac glycoside (CG) digoxin, beta-adrenoblockers (BAB) anapriline and trasicor, and combinations of CG and BAB on the minute and stroke volumes of the circulation and heart rate. It has been shown that administration of CG coupled with BAB increasing the tolerance to the cardiotoxic effect of CG does not entail a reduction of their beneficial inotropic action.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1981

[Pseudo-(venocuran-)lupus--a minor episode in the history of medicine].

Pseudolupus is a syndrome characterized by recurrent fever arthralgia, myalgia, involvement of lung and heart, high sedimentation rate, leukocytosis and lymphopenia. The diagnosis is established by the presence of circulating antimitochondrial antibodies. In 1975 it was found that the disease was due to prolonged treatment with Venocuran, a drug against venous disorders composed of phenopyrazone (pyrazolone derivative), horse-chestnut extract, and Miroton (glycosides extracted from white squill [Urginea maritima], convallaria, oleander and adonis). The drug was then withdrawn. No new cases have come to our attention since then. 15 patients with severe pseudolupus known to us in 1975 have now been followed up. In 6 of the patients all symptoms disappeared within weeks or a few months after withdrawal of the drug. However, the other 9 patients had at least 1 and often 2--3 relapses in the following months to years. In some patients, symptoms remained as long as 4--5 years. Antimitochondrial antibodies persisted in 4 patients for more than 3 years and in 1 patient are still detectable now. The pathomechanism of pseudolupus has not been elucidated.

Autoantibodies↗