ACTION OF PROTEOLYTIC ENZYMES ON SOIL ORGANIC MATTER

1970 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. J. SOWDEN

The amino acids set free by proteolytic enzymes were determined with an amino acid analyzer. Soil and enzyme blanks were subtracted. Pronase released 2 to 10% of the aspartic acid + asparagine, threonine, serine, glutamic acid + glutamine, glycine, lysine and histidine in some fractions of soil organic matter along with 15–35% of the alanine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine and arginine. There was no release of proline, ornithine or ammonia. When the pronase hydrolysate was treated with leucine amino-peptidase, 15% of the proline was released, the yield of glycine was raised from 2 to 14% and the amount of the acidic amino acids was also higher. Acid hydrolysis of the pronase hydrolysate also released more amino acid material but the blanks were much higher than with leucine aminopeptidase. The results suggested that more than half of the aspartic and glutamic acids found on acid hydrolysis were present in the soil organic matter fractions as asparagine and glutamine. The action of pronase on the organic matter of the intact soil was slight, even in the presence of a complexing agent. Papain released very little amino acid material from organic matter fractions, but leucine aminopeptidase or HCl hydrolysis of the papain hydrolysate released about 10% of the amino acid of the fraction, indicating that significant amounts of peptides were formed on papain treatment.

1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 1134-1137 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Fong ◽  
R. K. O'dor

Acid hydrolysis of a protein in the presence of D-mannitol, a common constituent of marine algae, can cause significant reductions in the recovery of a number of amino acids. The new compounds formed by the interactions of D-mannitol and these amino acids may interfere in the chromatographic analysis of other amino acids. The recoveries of most of the amino acids appear to be either directly or inversely proportional to the amount of D-mannitol added to a protein sample before acid hydrolysis. These results suggest that it is necessary to determine the effects of contaminants in a sample of protein(s) on the recoveries of amino acids during routine acid hydrolysis. Key words: kelp, amino acids, carbohydrates, D-mannitol


1977 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. A. MARTEL ◽  
P. LASALLE

Radiocarbon dating was used to determine the mean residence time of the organic matter from a Gleysolic Ap horizon of eastern Canada. The total soil organic matter and the fulvic acids dated modern, the humic acids as 1,220 ± 150 yr B.P. and the humin as 180 ± 100 yr B.P. Acid hydrolysis of the total soil organic matter yielded a soluble fraction dating modern and an unhydrolyzed material dating 1,530 ± 110 yr B.P. Acid hydrolysis of this topsoil appears practical to separate the soil organic matter into two fractions of different stability. Fractionation into fulvic, humic acids and humin may help to give information on the dynamics of the soil organic matter by separating the soil into at least three fractions of varying stability.


1964 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
William G Gordon ◽  
Jay J Basch

Abstract Experiments with a mixture of β-Iactoglobulin and starch, simulating the composition of carbohydrate-rich foods and feeds, have been carried out to determine conditions for acid hydrolysis that will permit maximal recovery of amino acids in hydrolysates of such materials. When a large excess of 6N HC1 is used for hydrolysis, good recoveries of most amino acids are obtained. However, about one-quarter of the tyrosine present is destroyed under the conditions investigated. Some destruction of methionine and cystine may also be attributed to the presence of carbohydrate, but a special method for the determination of these amino acids is available.


2004 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marietta E. Echeverría ◽  
Daniel Markewitz ◽  
Lawrence A. Morris ◽  
Ronald L. Hendrick

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Walaa Elmasry ◽  
Yoko Kebukawa ◽  
Kensei Kobayashi

The extraterrestrial delivery of organics to primitive Earth has been supported by many laboratory and space experiments. Minerals played an important role in the evolution of meteoritic organic matter. In this study, we simulated aqueous alteration in small bodies by using a solution mixture of H2CO and NH3 in the presence of water at 150 °C under different heating durations, which produced amino acids after acid hydrolysis. Moreover, minerals were added to the previous mixture to examine their catalyzing/inhibiting impact on amino acid formation. Without minerals, glycine was the dominant amino acid obtained at 1 d of the heating experiment, while alanine and β-alanine increased significantly and became dominant after 3 to 7 d. Minerals enhanced the yield of amino acids at short heating duration (1 d); however, they induced their decomposition at longer heating duration (7 d). Additionally, montmorillonite enhanced amino acid production at 1 d, while olivine and serpentine enhanced production at 3 d. Molecular weight distribution in the whole of the products obtained by gel chromatography showed that minerals enhanced both decomposition and combination of molecules. Our results indicate that minerals affected the formation of amino acids in aqueous environments in small Solar System bodies and that the amino acids could have different response behaviors according to different minerals.


Radiocarbon ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren M Kristiansen ◽  
Kristian Dalsgaard ◽  
Mads K Holst ◽  
Bent Aaby ◽  
Jan Heinemeier

Dating of prehistoric anthropogenic earthworks requires either excavation for archaeological artifacts or macroscopic organic matter suitable for 14C analysis. Yet, the former, in many cases, is undesirable and the latter is difficult to obtain. Here we present a soil science procedure, which has the potential to overcome these problems. It includes careful sampling of buried former soil surfaces, acid-alkali-acid fractionation of soil organic matter (SOM), and subsequent 14C AMS dating. To test the procedure, soil from one of the largest known burial mounds in Scandinavia, Hohøj, and 9 other Danish burial mounds were sampled. The 14C dates from extracted SOM fractions were compared to reference ages obtained by other methods. We show that humic acid fractions in 7 of the 10 mounds had the same age as the reference, or were, at maximum, 280 yr older than the reference ages. The best age estimates were derived from an organic-rich layer from the upper cm of buried soil or sod. Differences among SOM fraction ages probably indicate the reliability of the dating. Hohøj dated to approximately 1400 BC and, thus, was up to 500 yr older than other dated Scandinavian mounds of comparable size. The remaining investigated burial mounds were dated to between 1700 and 1250 BC. We conclude that combined sampling of buried soil surfaces, SOM fractionation, and 14C analysis allows for dating of archaeological earthworks when minimal disturbance is required, or if no macroscopic organic remains are found.


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