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Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology (v.41, #3)
The Bach Institute of Biochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences is 70 Years Old
(pp. 225-226).
Proteinase inhibitors and their function in plants: A review by V. V. Mosolov; T. A. Valueva (pp. 227-246).
The spread, classification, and properties of plant proteins capable of inhibiting proteinases have been reviewed. Data from the literature on the likely physiological functions of these inhibitors in plants are analyzed.
Enzymatic synthesis of a conducting complex of polyaniline and poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) using palm tree peroxidase and its properties by Yu. M. Mazhugo; A. V. Caramyshev; S. V. Shleev; I. Yu. Sakharov; A. I. Yaropolov (pp. 247-250).
An enzymatic method of producing a conducting polyelectrolyte complex of polyaniline (PANI) and poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) was developed. Acidic stable peroxidase isolated from royal palm tree (Roystonea regia L.) leaves was used as a catalyst in the oxidative polymerization of aniline at pH 2.8. The synthesis procedure was optimized. Spectroscopic and electrochemical characteristics of nanoparticles of obtained PANI/PAMPS complexes at different pH were studied. It was shown that the acidity of the medium affects their properties.
Activity of polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein from banana fruit tissues by E. A. Bulantseva; Nguen T’en Tkhang; N. L. Buza; A. A. Krinitsyna; M. A. Protsenko (pp. 251-253).
The activity of polygalacturonase and the protein inhibiting this enzyme, which affected polygalacturonases of phytopathogenic fungi Verticillium dahliae and Gloesporium musarum, were detected in banana (Musa acuminata L.) fruit of cultivars Cavendish and Korolevskii. The polygalacturonase from banana fruit was inhibited by the preparations of the protein inhibitor not only from bananas but also from potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers and pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) fruit.
Properties of nitrate reductase from Fusarium oxysporum 11dn1 fungi grown under anaerobic conditions by E. V. Morozkina; A. V. Kurakov; A. N. Nosikov; E. V. Sapova; N. P. L’vov (pp. 254-258).
Production of nitrate reductase was studied in 15 species of microscopic fungi grown on a nitrate-containing medium. Experiments were performed with Fusarium oxysporum 11dn1, a fungus capable of producing nitrous oxide as the end product of denitrification. Moreover, a shift from aerobic to anaerobic conditions of growth was accompanied by a sharp increase in the activity of nitrate reductase. Studies of nitrate reductase from the mycelium of Fusarium oxysporum 11dn1, grown under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, showed that this enzyme belongs to molybdenum-containing nitrate reductases. The enzymes under study differed in the molecular weight, temperature optimum, and other properties. Nitrate reductase from the mycelium grown under aerobic conditions was shown to belong to the class of assimilatory enzymes. However, nitrate reductase from the mycelium grown anaerobically had a dissimilatory function. An increase in the activity of dissimilatory nitrate reductase, observed under anaerobic conditions, was associated with de novo synthesis of the enzyme.
Metabolic pathways responsible for consumption of aromatic hydrocarbons by microbial associations: Molecular-genetic characterization by V. G. Khomenkov; A. B. Shevelev; V. G. Zhukov; A. E. Kurlovich; N. A. Zagustina; V. O. Popov (pp. 259-263).
Genes for catechol 1,2- and 2,3-dioxygenases were cloned. These enzymes hold important positions in the ortho and meta pathways of the metabolism of aromatic carbons by microbial associations that consume the following volatile organic compounds in pilot minireactors: toluene, styrene, ethyl benzene, o-xylene, m-xylene, and naphthalene. Genes of both pathways were found in an association consuming m-xylene; only genes of the ortho pathway were found in associations consuming o-xylene, styrene, and ethyl benzene, and only genes of the meta pathway were found in associations consuming naphthalene and toluene. Genes of the ortho pathway (C12O) cloned from associations consuming o-xylene and ethyl benzene were similar to corresponding genes located on the pND6 plasmid of Pseudomonas putida. Genes of the ortho pathway from associations consuming o-xylene and m-xylene were similar to chromosomal genes of P. putida. Genes of the meta pathway (C23O) from associations consuming toluene and naphthalene were similar to corresponding genes formerly found in plasmids pWWO and pTOL.
SNP-detecting DNA technologies: Solving problems of applied biochemistry by I. N. Krakhmaleva; S. S. Shishkin; N. I. Shakhovskaya; E. B. Stolyarova; A. G. Plugov; A. I. Knyazev; V. G. Khomenkov; A. B. Shevelev; N. N. Chernov (pp. 264-268).
The heterozygosity of CANP3, ACTN3, and GHR genes in specialized collections was studied using state-of-the-art DNA technologies for DNA analysis. A new dinucleotide deletion (AC) at the beginning of exon 21 was identified in five individuals with a heterozygous CANP3 gene. Analysis of polymorphism (1747 C → T) of the ACTN3 gene demonstrated a positive association of allele C with high muscular performance. Real-time PCR assay of SNP1630 (A → C) in the GHR gene suggested a putative negative association of allele C of this SNP with high muscular performance.
R-Phycoerythrin: A natural ligand for detoxifying cadmium ions and a tunnel matrix for synthesis of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles by O. D. Bekasova; A. A. Brekhovskikh; G. D. Brykina; B. T. Dubinchuk; V. S. Mochalova; A. S. Kotel’nikov (pp. 269-274).
As evidenced by ion-selective electrode potentiometry, the hexameric R-phycoerythrin (RPE) molecule binds 20–4000 cadmium ions (Cd2+) depending on Cd2+ concentration in the solution. Cadmium ions bound to RPE serve as the nuclei of cadmium sulfide crystallization in the presence of sulfide ions. According to spectrometric, electron-microscopic, and capillary electrophoresis data, the particles are heteroaggregates of 3.2 × 6 nm in size. The fact that the particle size fits the size of the central tunnel of the RPE molecule and the similarity between the electrophoretic patterns of free RPE and the RPE-CdS complex indicate that the tunnel space, limiting the crystal growth, is the most probable site of nanoparticle formation. Properties of the nanoparticles can be modified by changing temperature, pH, etc. It is concluded that RPE can be used as a reagent for detoxification of cadmium ions and a matrix for synthesis of elongated CdS nanoparticles.
Resistance of 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate to ultraviolet radiation by T. A. Telegina; T. A. Lyudnikova; Yu. L. Zemskova; E. A. Sviridov; M. S. Kritsky (pp. 275-282).
Aeration of aqueous solutions of 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolic acid (MTHF) during exposure to ultraviolet irradiation (λ=300–390 nm, 240 W/m2, 30 min) slowed down photolysis in comparison with deaerated solutions. The rate of photolysis in the presence of oxygen depended on the ionic strength of the buffer composition. MTHF degradation did not exceed 6% of the starting amount of MTHF. Photolysis of MTHF included opening of the imidazoline ring, dehydrogenation of the tetrahydropterin heterocycle, and elimination of the p-aminobenzoylglutamate moiety. 6,7-Dimethyltetrahydropterin was used as a model compound to show that protonation of the reduced pterin heterocycle increased its resistance to oxidation, and UV irradiation did not accelerate this process. The stabilizing effect of protonation of the pterin portion and the presence of the positively charged imidazoline moiety are assumed to hamper MTHF oxidation and photolysis. It is assumed that these factors favored the choice of MTHF molecules as photosensors in radiation-sensitive proteins in the course of evolution.
Study of galactoglucomannans from the seed of Cercis canadensis L. by N. M. Mestechkina; A. V. Egorov; O. V. Anulov; V. D. Shcherbukhin (pp. 283-288).
Galactoglucomannans were isolated by selective precipitation from aqueous and alkaline extracts of endosperm and hulls of Cercis canadensis, a member of the family Fabaceae. Their monosaccharide composition (Man : Gal : Glu) was as follows: 10.4 : 0.9 : 1 (polysaccharide from the endosperm) and 4.5 : 0.9 : 1 (polysaccharide from the hulls). The identity of IR spectra was indicative of the similarity of their structure. Analysis of the structure of the galactoglucomannan from endosperm by 13C NMR spectroscopy showed that its main chain consisted of 1,4-β-D-manno- and 1,4-β-D-glucopyranose. Part of the mannose residues in the chain were substituted at C6 with single residues of α-D-galactopyranose. Galactoglucomannans are located in different parts of the seed and implement different functions.
Ultramorphometric study of the plastids in apical tuber cells of original and transgenic potato plants treated with ambiol by T. A. Platonova; A. S. Evsyunina; S. V. Belikov; N. P. Korableva (pp. 289-298).
Ultramorphometric characteristics of plastids in cells of apical tuber meristems of original and defensin gene-transfected potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) plants, either maintained under normal conditions or subjected to treatment with the antioxidant ambiol, were compared. Under normal conditions, the tuber cells of the original and transgenic potato plants differed in neither the number nor size of the plastids. Only certain quantitative distinctions in the development of individual ultrastructural characteristics of plastids were detected. Treatment with ambiol enhanced the differentiation of the internal membrane system of plastids in the cells of original and transgenic plants, especially the tubular membrane systems. Certain differences in the responses to ambiol of cell plastids of original and transgenic plants were related to plastid sizes and development of individual intraplastid structures. The results comply with earlier data on varying responses of mitochondria of original and transgenic plants to ambiol treatment.
Role of elements and physiologically active compounds in the regulation of synthesis and accumulation of indole alkaloids in Catharanthus roseus L. by M. Ya. Lovkova; G. N. Buzuk; S. M. Sokolova; L. N. Buzuk (pp. 299-305).
Effects of various elements (Co, Ni, Zn, W, Mn, Cr, B, Mo, Fe, and V), natural and synthetic auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellin on biosynthesis and accumulation of indole alkaloids was studied at increasing concentrations in the model system of Madagascar periwinkle seedlings (Catharanthus roseus L.). The main types of concentration dependences for the effect of physiologically active compounds under study were evaluated. A possible mechanism of the influence of Zn and auxin on this process was partly clarified. The compounds were shown to modulate various stages in the biosynthesis of monomeric indole alkaloids (catharanthine and vindoline).
Adaptogenic effects of furostanol glycosides of Dioscorea deltoidea wall on oxidative processes in tomato plants during biotic stress by I. S. Vasil’eva; S. A. Vanyushkin; S. V. Zinov’eva; Zh. V. Udalova; L. A. Volkova; A. M. Nosov; V. A. Paseshnichenko (pp. 306-311).
The effect of furostanol glycosides of a cell culture of Dioscorea deltoidea Wall on oxidative processes in tomato plants subjected to invasion with the gall nematode Meloidogyne incognita Kofoid et White was studied. We showed that furostanol glycosides induce a nonspecific defensive response in plants. Exposure of cell membranes to furostanol glycosides causes rearrangements in fatty acids, resulting in the formation of conjugated dienes, which makes molecules thermodynamically more stable under stress conditions. The study of changes in the activity of peroxidases of intact plants and plants affected with the nematode, which were treated with furostanol glycosides, showed that the protective effect of the guaiacol-dependent peroxidase is more long-term than the effect of the benzidine-dependent peroxidase.
Free and conjugated forms of salicylic acid: Their content and role in the potato by Ya. S. Panina; N. I. Vasyukova; O. L. Ozeretskovskaya (pp. 312-315).
Hydrolysis of conjugated forms of salicylic acid and accumulation of its free form was observed after infection of potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum L.) with an incompatible race of phytophthora or treatment with an elicitor (chitosan). Infection of tubers with a compatible race of the pathogen or treatment with a suppressor (laminarin) decreased both the degree of hydrolysis of conjugated forms of salicylic acid and the accumulation of its free form.