Biochemistry Commons^™

Isolation And Partial Characterization Of The Toxic Substance From Eremocarpus Setigerus Benth, Shuliang Lee

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The work on the active substance of Eremocarpus setigerus Benth has been previously performed by Naito and Noller. However, the investigation was not complete. Therefore we isolated and tested this substance by steam distillation and thin layer chromatography technique. A yellow sticky toxic substance was isolated with Rf values of 0.15 in benzene system and 0.57 in benzene-absolute ethanol (95:5 v/v) system.

The toxic substance which is free of halogen, nitrogen, and sulfur, is soluble in ethyl ether, ethanol, and concentrated sulfuric acid. It has a maximum absorption in the ultraviolet region that indicates the presence of unsaturation. Its infrared …

Biosynthesis Of Piperidine-2-Carboxylic Acid In Fluoride-Necrotic Glycine Max, Susan S. Martin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Synthesis of piperidine-2-carboxylic acid (pipecolic acid) in soybean was studied by infiltration of radioactive carbon labeled precursor and by experiments using enzyme extracts from control and fluoride-fumigated plants.

Pipecolic acid was synthesized from lysine in both control and treated plants. Normal plants, in which pipecolic acid had not been detected by conventional procedures, were capable of synthesizing pipecolic acid. Greater pipecolic acid synthesis was shown in treated plants than in controls, and was attributed to increased enzyme concentration induced by fluoride treatment.

The Biosynthesis Of Aminolevulinic Acid In Relation To Iron And Enzyme, Daniel Ming-Yi Teng

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The survey of plant species for aminolevalinic acid synthetase (ALAS) source was conducted. Under the conditions of this study, spinach leaves were found to be a good source of ALAS activity. The amount of amino levulinic acid (ALA) synthesized by the plant extracts was very small and was rapidly metabolized to porphyrins. ALA and porphyrin synthesis was found to be confined to the particulate fractions. Rupturing of the particles with ultrasonifier enhanced the penetration of succinyl-CoA and increased the activity. Direct study of the ALAS activity was enabled by the utilization of C¹⁴-compounds to the isolation by column …

Interaction Of Inorganic And Organic Fluoride Ions With Available Calcium On Root Growth In Triticum Vulgare, L., Subbanaidu Ramagopal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A method has been described to suspend seedling wheat roots in a saturated atmosphere. Wheat (Triticum vulgate, L.) seeds were germinated in aluminum trays and the seedlings transferred to seedling chambers. After a day's growth, the roots were treated with various concentrations of solutions containing CaSO₄, KCl, KF, NaCL, NaF, CH₃COONa, FCH₂COONa, K₂C₂O₄ and Na₂EDTA and observations were recorded 24 and 48 hours after treatment. The new root growth was described with respect to root hairs, root tissue collapse and root discoloration. Total length and …

Fluoroorganic Compounds In Relation To Hydrogen Fluoride Exposures In Leaves Of Glycine Max Merr., Julie Ye-O Cheng

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soybean plants were fumigated in HF and the organic acid-fractions of the leaf extracts were compared to those of the leaf extracts from soybean plants grown in nutrient solution containing fluoroacetate. The extracts from both treatments contained fluoroorganic compounds that were chromatographically similar to fluoroacetate and fluorocitrate.

The fluorocitrate separated from HF fumigated leaves was found to inhibit aconitase prepared from pig-heart. This inhibition was similar to that caused by commercial fluorocitrate and the fluorocitrate synthesized using guinea-pig kidney. The aconitase from soybean leaves was found to be sensitive to fluorocitrate as the aconitase that isolated from pig-heart. Inorganic fluoride …

Alkali Liberated Phenolic Acids From Alfalfa, Leslie Huey-Seng Huang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fourteen compounds were isolated from an alkaline hydrolyzed extract of alfalfa leaves by using cellulose thin layer plates. The R_f values, fluorescent characteristics, and color reactions were given for all the compounds isolated.

Eight of these were identified as trans-ferulic acid, trans-p-coumaric acid, trans-caffeic acid, o-coumaric acid, tricin, syringic acid, cis-ferulic acid and cis-p-coumaric acid. The identity of the compounds was confirmed by comparison of the R_f values on thin layer chromatograms, fluorescent characteristics under ultraviolet light, and color reactions of spray reagents with those of authentic samples. Three of …

The Complex Formation Of Silver Ion With Ribonucleic Acid, Guanosine, Inosine And Related Compounds And Peroxidase-Like Activity Of A Haemundecapeptide Prepared From Horse Heart Cytochrome C, José Angel Reinosa

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The importance of nucleic acids in plant and animal cells as carriers of genetic information and as protein biosynthesis agents is well recognized. It is also known that nucleic acid is a component of all viruses.

Takahashi (45) and Fraenkel-Conrat (16) demonstrated that the protein component of tobacco mosaic virus is non-infectious to the host plant, although it is identical to the original virus morphologically. The virus ribonucleic acid (RNA) alone was infectious, however.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which is present in chromosomes, displays a very specific function. The chromosome long has been accepted as the carrier of the hereditary unit, …

Saponin Content And Some Pod And Blossom Characteristics Of Alfalfa As Related To Seed Infestation By The Alfalfa Seed Chalcid, Ronald D. Morse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The alfalfa seed chalcid, Bruchophagus ruddi Guss., is a jet-black hymenopteran wasp. The destructive nature of this pest has been recognized since the latter part of the nineteenth century. Every year thousands of acres of alfalfa seed are destroyed, with infestation reaching as high as 8 5 percent in some areas. In Utah the chalcid annually ruins from 5 to 25 percent of the alfalfa seed. Much of this damage goes unnoticed, as infested seed is commonly blown out in the trash during harvesting and cleaning operations . The extent of damage is not restricted to the United States. Wherever …

Organo-Phosphorus Insecticides For Control Of Red-Legged Earth Mite And Lucerne Flea, J A. Button

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

MOUNTING CONCERN over residue problems arising from the use of D.D.T. and other chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides on pasture has highlighted the need for alternative chemicals capable of providing satisfactory control without undesirable side effects.

Genetic And Biochemical Aspects Of O-Hydroxycinnamic Acid Synthesis In Melilotus Alba, Herman J. Gorz, Francis A. Haskins, A. Kleinhofs

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In sweetclover (Melilotus alba Desr.) the cis- and trans-isomers of o-hydroxycinnamic acid occur primarily as the respective, β-D-glucosides. Available evidence indicates that these glucosides are formed via the following pathway: phenylalanine (formed from shikimic acid) → trans-cinnamic acid → o-coumaric acid (trans-o-hydroxycinnamic acid) → o-coumaryl glucoside (trans-β-D-glucosyl-o-hydroxycinnamic acid) → coumarinyl glucoside (cis-β-D-glucosyl-o-hydroxycinnamic acid). In tissues that are disrupted, coumarinyl glucoside is rapidly hydrolyzed by the action of endogenous β-glucosidase to yield coumarinic acid, which lactonizes spontaneously to form coumarin. The cu …

The Effect Of Fluoride On C14O2-Fixation And The Synthesis Of Organic Acids, Amino Acids, Protein And Carbohydrates, Chin-Fung Li

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many studies have been conducted on the effect of fluoride on plants, but the exact mechanisms by which fluoride causes damage is little understood. The following physiological and metabolic processes are known to be affected by fluoride: a decrease in chlorophyll (McNulty and Newman, 1961), a diminished rate of photosynthesis (Thomas and Hendricks, 1956; Bishop, et al., 1958), decreased plant growth (Bonner and Thimann, 1950), inhibition of ascorbic acid synthesis (Smith, 1952), variation in starch and total polysaccharides (Donald and Emerson, 1961), inhibition of glucose transport (Jiri, et al., 1962), inhibition of metabolism (Ordin and Skoe, 1963), effects …

Effect Of Fluoride On The Respiration Of Leaves From Higher Plants, Ming-Ho Yu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Studies concerning the effects of fluoride on the metabolism of both animals and plants have been of interest to many workers. In plants, it has been known that fluoride will inhibit the growth, that it will induce chlorosis as an evidence of visible injury, and that necrosis will eventually result. The economic importance associated with fluoride damage has been widely recognized, and, as a consequence, fluoride has become a major problem of air pollution.

Studies Of The Incorporation Of 5-Fluorouracil Into Tobacco Mosaic Viral Rna By Cell-Free Synthesing Systems Isolated From Infected Tobacco Plants, Helen Lu-Sheng Wang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on biosynthesis of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) ribonucleic acid in vitro has been reported by a number of laboratories (8, 16, 17). Bonner et al. postulated that ribonucleic acid could be synthesized from nucleotides by chromatin extracted from nuclei of pea seedlings (5, 14, 22). The evidence from in vitro synthesis of viral RNA suggested that an enzyme, RNA polymerase, links the four nucleotides (ATP, UTP, CTP, GTP) with viral RNA present as a primer and magnesium ions participating as a catalyst (7, 8).

The Respiratory Chain Involved In Oxidative Phosphorylation On Higher Plants In Relation To Carbon Dioxide-Bicarbonate Inhibition, Wan-Jean Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Increased concentrations of CO₂ with the accompanying high bicarbonate level in the culture medium have been reported to have a depressing effect in certain plant species on growth (34), respiration (23, 33), oxidative phosphorylation (9), mineral nutrient absorption (17), certain enzymatic reactions (4, 22, 27), accumulation of organic and amino acids (11), and protein synthesis (16). Since accumulation of organic acids occurs in lime-induced chlorotic tissue together with a depression in the respiration of plant tissue, an effect on the energy transfer mechanism of such plants is suspected. Inhibition of electron transfer from the substrate level could result in …

Biosynthesis Of Infectious Cucumber Mosaic Virus Ribonucleic Acid In A Cell-Free Medium, Men Hui Lee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mechanism of biosynthesis of the nucleic acids, RNA, remained obscure until 1955 when the announcement was made (14) that an enzyme isolated from bacterial sources catalyzes the synthesis of ribopolynucleotides from nucleoside-5'-diphosphates. It has been shown that the biosynthesis of polynucleotides occurs through the stepwise polymerization of nucleoside-5'-diphosphates or triphosphates. A great deal of research over the past few years has indicated that isolated nuclei from both animal (1) and plant (19) sources are able to synthesize ribonucleic acids in vitro (18).

Leaf Ribonuclease Activity As Related To Virus Infection, And Ribonucleic Acid Concentration, Andrew Chien-Yau Hsu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) appears to be the entity responsible for infectivity and genetic continuity in certain plant, animal and bacterial viruses. RNA also plays an important role in protein synthesis. The enzymes which are involved in RNA synthesis and degradation have received much attention. Among these enzymes ribonuclease (RNase) has been most thoroughly studied Rnase is widely distributed and has been isolated from many sources such as snake venom, bacteria, the pancreas, and many plant and animal tissues. Most studies with RNase have been concerned with its role in the hydrolysis of RNA in vitro. Therefore, it has generally been …

The Biochemical Differences Associated With Iron Chlorosis In Higher Plants, Daniel Ming-Yi Teng

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chlorosis, which is associated with a reduction in the chlorophyll content of leaves, is a major problem in the growing of deciduous fruit trees and some field crops on calcareous soil. Under various soil conditions more than one factor may be involved in the development of chlorosis in plants. A deficiency of magnesium, manganese, zinc or iron, and virus infections can induce chlorosis. It is also induced by the presence of high concentrations of phosphate, bicarbonate, manganese, copper, zinc, or numerous other factors.

Biochemical Studies On The Effect Of Fluoride On Higher Plants, Shang-Fa Yang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fluoride occurs naturally in plants, but its presence has attracted attention primarily in certain industrial areas where concentrations are elevated above normal by accumulation from the atmosphere. Certain plant species have been observed to be injured as a result of accumulation of excessive fluoride from the atmosphere. The general symptoms of fluoride injury are necrotic lesions and burning which appear first in the leaf tips and margins.

A Metabolic Relationship Between The Aromatic Amino Acids, Joseph F. Nyc, Francis A. Haskins, Herschel K. Mitchell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The present work involves a further investigation of a Neurospora mutant, C-86, previously mentioned by Lein, Mitchell and Houlahan (1) as one that can utilize anthranilic acid, indole, tryptophan, kynurenine, 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, and nicotinic acid as supplements for growth. Mutant C-86, when crossed to a “wild-type” strain, was found to differ from this wild type strain, with respect to tryptophan biosynthesis, by a mutation at a single locus. The evidence presented suggests the possibility of a common precursor to the aromatic amino acids.