scholarly journals Protein aggregation in C-phycocyanin. Studies at very low concentrations with the photoelectric scanner of the ultracentrifuge

1971 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. MacColl ◽  
J. J. Lee ◽  
D. S. Berns

Solutions of C-phycocyanin of very low concentrations were examined by sedimentation-velocity studies in the Spinco model E ultracentrifuge equipped with a photoelectric scanning system and a monochromator. At sufficiently low concentrations complete disaggregation from the hexamer to the monomer was observed. The equilibrium constant of monomer to hexamer was estimated to be approx. 1030. For studies of aggregation over the complete range of concentration, C-phycocyanins from Phormidium luridum and Lyngbya sp. were used. Sedimentation-velocity studies at high concentration with schlieren optics are reported for C-phycocyanins from Anabaena variabilis and Lyngbya sp. The pH-dependence of aggregation and the temperature-dependence of trimer–hexamer equilibrium for phycocyanins from these algae were found to be similar to those of other C-phycocyanins. The principal feature of the pH-dependence is the dominance of hexamers at the isoelectric point. Increasing temperature increased the amount of hexamer and decreased the amount of trimer.

1978 ◽  
Vol 171 (2) ◽  
pp. 469-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
T A Moore ◽  
M E Edgerton ◽  
G Parr ◽  
C Greenwood ◽  
R N Perham

A new spectral species of the purple membrane of Halobacterium halobium has been observed below pH 3.2. The formation of this new species is temperature-dependent and is favoured by increasing temperature up to the physiological range of the organism. The rate of formation at pH 3.0 and 22 degrees C is 7.9 × 10-3s-1. The spectral distribution and temperature-dependence of the new species suggest that it may be phototransiet O, stabilized by low pH. Flash-photolytic experiments in the pH range 7.2-2.7 show a pH-dependence corresponding to the static events and are consistent with a single protonation of bacteriorhodopsin below pH 3.22. These results can also be interpreted in terms of the stabilization of phototransient O at low pH. The temperature-dependence of the formation of the acid-induced species may reflect a relationship with the phase transition of the membrane.


Author(s):  
Yasuyoshi Fukuda ◽  
Misako Higashiya ◽  
Takahiro Obata ◽  
Keita Basaki ◽  
Megumi Yano ◽  
...  

Abstract To cryopreserve cells, it is essential to avoid intracellular ice formation during cooling and warming. One way to achieve this is to convert the water inside the cells into a non-crystalline glass. It is currently believed that to accomplish this vitrification, the cells must be suspended in a very high concentration (20–40%) of a glass-inducing solute, and subsequently cooled very rapidly. Herein, we report that this belief is erroneous with respect to the vitrification of one-cell rat embryos. In the present study, one-cell rat embryos were vitrified with 5 μL of EFS10 (a mixture of 10% ethylene glycol, 27% Ficoll, and 0.45 M sucrose) in cryotubes at a moderate cooling rate, and warmed at various rates. Survival was assessed according to the ability of the cells to develop into blastocysts and to develop to term. When embryos were vitrified at a 2,613 °C/min cooling rate and thawed by adding 1 mL of sucrose solution (0.3 M, 50 °C) at a warming rate of 18,467 °C/min, 58.1 ± 3.5% of the EFS10-vitrified embryos developed into blastocysts, and 50.0 ± 4.7% developed to term. These rates were similar to those of non-treated intact embryos. Using a conventional cryotube, we achieved developmental capabilities in one-cell rat embryos by rapid warming that were comparable to those of intact embryos, even using low concentrations (10%) of cell-permeating cryoprotectant and at low cooling rates.


2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (04) ◽  
pp. 1350026 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARCIN BUCHOWIECKI

The thermodynamic integration/path integral Monte Carlo (TI/PIMC) method of calculating the temperature dependence of the equilibrium constant quantum mechanically is applied to O + HCl ⇌ OH + Cl reaction. The method is based upon PIMC simulations for energies of the reactants and the products and subsequently on thermodynamic integration for the ratios of partition functions. PIMC calculations are performed with the primitive approximation (PA) and the Takahashi–Imada approximation (TIA).


1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-413
Author(s):  
Yixing Zhao ◽  
Gordon R Freeman

The energy and asymmetry of the optical absorption spectrum of solvated electrons, es- , change in a nonlinear fashion on changing the solvent through the series HOH, CH3OH, CH3CH3OH, (CH3)2CHOH, (CH3)3COH. The ultimate, quantum-statistical mechanical, interpretation of solvated electron spectra is needed to describe the solvent dependence. The previously reported optical spectrum of es- in tert-butanol was somewhat inaccurate, due to a small amount of water in the alcohol and to limitations of the infrared light detector. The present note records the remeasured spectrum and its temperature dependence. The value of the energy at the absorption maximum (EAmax) is 155 zJ (0.97 eV) at 299 K and 112 zJ (0.70 eV) at 338 K; the corresponding values of G epsilon max (10-22 m2 aJ-1) are 1.06 and 0.74. These unusually large changes are attributed to the abnormally rapid decrease of dielectric permittivity of tert-butanol with increasing temperature. The band asymmetry at 299 K is Wb/Wr = 1.8.Key words: optical absorption spectrum, solvated electron, solvent effects, tert-butanol, temperature dependence.


1975 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-121
Author(s):  
R.M. Rizki ◽  
T.M. Rizki ◽  
C.A. Andrews

The effects of wheat germ agglutinin on Drosophila embryonic cell lines growing on cover-glasses was examined by scanning electron microscopy. At low concentrations of the lectin (5-10 mug/ml), cells spread against the glass surface and fused to form syncytia. At high concentration, damage to the cell surface was evidenced as extensive membrane shrivelling and loss of surface microfilaments. Fusion also occurred under these conditions. There was some indication that the morphology of cells in division remains undisturbed by wheat germ agglutinin. The coalescence of cells and morphologic disotrtion induced by wheat germ agglutinin were not inhibited by N-acetylglucosamine, the hapten inhibitor of the lectin, under the conditions utilized in this study.


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 678-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Rubi Rörig ◽  
Maevi Ottonelli ◽  
Ana Gabriela Itokazu ◽  
Marcelo Maraschin ◽  
João Vitor Heberle Lins ◽  
...  

Abstract Balneário Camboriu (SC - Brazil) is a touristic city where the disordered growth of the urban population and the implementation of coastal works without proper evaluation generated environmental impacts and affected the sanitary quality of water and sediment of Camboriu River and marine adjacent area. One of the most recent and alarming phenomena observed are the blooms of invasive bryozoans (Arboscuspis bellula and Membraniporopsis tubigera) associated with epibenthic diatoms (Amphitetras antediluviana and Biddulphia biddulphiana). Several clues associate these phenomena, started in 2003, with the excess of nutrients and organic matter in the Camboriú cove and large coastal works such as dredging, landfills and construction of jetties, leading to changes in benthic ecological structure. Being an aesthetic and environmental health problem, the concern of the scientific community and government agencies intensified as the occurrences become more frequent and persistent. This research addresses this issue through environmental and experimental studies. Samplings of the benthic material collected by boat and diving, and blooms monitoring were the environmental approach. The laboratory work included the algal isolation and culture, in addition to growth conditions assessment and chemical biomass analysis. Monitoring data showed a seasonal trend in the blooms, with more conspicuous events in warmer months. Diatoms increase in abundance in colder months and bryozoans in the warmer ones. The diatom A. antediluviana, predominant in the blooms, grew satisfactorily in laboratory cultivation, showing better growth in media with higher concentrations of silicate and phosphate. Bryozoans showed slow growth in laboratory conditions. The deposited material collected in the environment showed low concentrations of saturated fatty acids, but the high biomass suggest a possible use for biofuels production. Biomass samples dominated by bryozoans showed moderate antimicrobial activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae. The explanation for the occurrence of these blooms are still inconclusive, but there is considerable evidence that it is a synergistic effect between the high concentration of bacteria and organic debris in the water related to local pollution and the elimination of natural competitors by coastal works.


1972 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin H. Self ◽  
P. David J. Weitzman

Two isoenzymes of NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase have been identified in Acinetobacter lwoffi and have been termed isoenzyme-I and isoenzyme-II. The isoenzymes may be separated by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200, or by zonal ultracentrifugation in a sucrose gradient. Low concentrations of glyoxylate or pyruvate effect considerable stimulation of the activity of isoenzyme-II. The isoenzymes also differ in pH-dependence of activity, kinetic parameters, stability to heat or urea and molecular size. Whereas isoenzyme-I resembles the NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenases from other organisms in having a molecular weight under 100000, isoenzyme-II is a much larger enzyme (molecular weight around 300000) resembling the NAD-linked isocitrate dehydrogenases of higher organisms.


1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Chakravarti ◽  
D. P. Parui

The diffusivity–mobility ratio in degenerate semiconductors in the presence of a large magnetic field is found to increase with increasing temperature at a rate which is dependent on temperature at relatively low temperatures. It is also found that, at any given temperature, the ratio is increased by the application of the field.


Author(s):  
I. N. Ganiev ◽  
S. E. Otajonov ◽  
N. F. Ibrohimov ◽  
M. Mahmudov

In the heat «cooling» investigated the temperature dependence of the specific heat capacity and thermodynamic functions doped strontium alloy AK1М2 in the range 298,15—900 K. Mathematical models are obtained that describe the change in these properties of alloys in the temperature range 298.15—900 K, as well as on the concentration of the doping component. It was found that with increasing temperature, specific heat capacity, enthalpy and entropy alloys increase, and the concentration up to 0.5 wt.% of the alloying element decreases. Gibbs energy values have an inverse relationship, i.e., temperature — decreases the content of alloying component — is up to 0.5 wt.% growing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-66
Author(s):  
Fiorella G. De Piano ◽  
Matias D. Maggi ◽  
Facundo R. Meroi Arceitto ◽  
Marcela C. Audisio ◽  
Martín Eguaras ◽  
...  

AbstractApis mellifera L. is an essential pollinator that is currently being affected by several stressors that disturb their ecological function and produce colony losses. Colonies are being seriously affected by the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. The relationship between stressors and bee symbionts is being studied in order to enhance bee health. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of cell-free supernatants (CFSs) produced by Lactobacillus johnsonii AJ5, Enterococcus faecium SM21 and Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis Mori2 on A. mellifera nutritional parameters and their toxicity against V. destructor. Toxicity and survival bioassays were conducted on adult bees with different concentrations of CFSs. Nutritional parameters such as soluble proteins and fat bodies in abdomens were measured. Varroa destructor toxicity was analyzed by a contact exposure method and via bee hemolymph. At low concentrations, two of CFSs tends to enhance bee survival. Remarkably fat bodies maintained their levels with all CFS concentrations in the abdomens, and soluble protein increased at a high concentration of two CFSs. Toxicity against V. destructor was observed only via hemolymph, and results were in agreement with the treatment that produced an increase in bee proteins. Finally, CFS produced by L. johnsonii AJ5 could be a promising natural alternative for strengthening bee health.


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