ABSTRACT
Serotonin (5-HT) accumulation in walnut cotyledons is seen as a detoxification mechanism protecting the sensitive plant tissues of seeds from highly toxic ammonia concentrations following seed desiccation. Different metabolic pathways and cell compartments are involved in biosynthesis and storage of 5-HT. Ammonia fixation and incorporation into the indole moiety of tryptophan is followed by 5-HT biosynthesis via tryptamine in a two-step pathway with the adaptive tryptophan decarboxylase and the constitutive tryptamine 5-hydroxylase. Evidence is provided that tryptamine 5-hydroxylase is a member of the cytochrome P450 family which is involved in lipid hydroxylation processes in the very early period of seed development.
Subject(s)
Aromatic-L-Amino-Acid Decarboxylases/metabolism , Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System/metabolism , Mixed Function Oxygenases/metabolism , Nuts/enzymology , Serotonin/biosynthesis , Ammonia/metabolism , Cotyledon/enzymology , Light , Microsomes/enzymology , Seeds/enzymology , Substrate Specificity , Tryptamines/metabolism , Tryptophan/metabolismABSTRACT
We describe a systematic examination of ornithine decarboxylase activity in 120 colonic mucosal samples which were obtained from 20 subjects without colonic disease to establish the normal mean and standard deviation from proximal to distal colon. Ornithine decarboxylase activity was determined by releasing CO2 from DL-[1-14C]ornithine. The mean ornithine decarboxylase levels (CO2 liberated) ranged from 0.26 +/- 0.08 nmol/h.mg protein in the caecum to 0.44 +/- 0.16 nmol/h.mg protein in the rectum. There was no difference between sex and age. Ornithine decarboxylase was not stimulated by guanosine 5'-triphosphate. alpha-Difluoromethylornithine showed an ornithine decarboxylase inhibition of 97.1%. Ornithine decarboxylase activity can be measured with reliable precision and reproducibility. The knowledge of the normal range of ornithine decarboxylase activity in normal human colonic mucosa is necessary for the determination of ornithine decarboxylase activity in pathological findings, especially in malignant transformation.
Subject(s)
Colon/enzymology , Intestinal Mucosa/enzymology , Ornithine Decarboxylase/analysis , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aminooxyacetic Acid/metabolism , Female , Guanosine Triphosphate/pharmacology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Tissue DistributionABSTRACT
N-(Phosphonomethyl) glycine prolongates the lag-phase and inhibits the growth rate of Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Pseudomonas aureofaciens. The eucaryotes Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Neurospora crassa are not inhibited. The effect of growth inhibition in an E. coli culture depends on the time of the herbicide addition and no cells showing resistance against it are observed. The inhibitory effect can be overcome completely by a mixture of phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan. N-(Phosphonomethyl)glycine inhibits phospho-2-oxo-3-deoxyheptonate aldolase and 3-dehydroquinate synthase. Both inhibitory effects are removed by addition of CO2. Chorismate mutase, prephenate dehydratase and prephenate dehydrogenase are not influenced by this herbicide. Anthranilate synthase is also inhibited by N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. This inhibition is removed by addition of Mg2. Phospho-2-oxo-3-deoxyheptonate aldoase is derepressed in E. coli cells grown in minimal medium containing N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. Under these conditions the tyrosine-sensitive isoenyme is much more strongly derepressed than the phenylalanine-sensitive isoenzyme. 3-Dehydroquinate synthase is not affected. Chorismate mutase, prephenate dehydrogenase, prephenate dehydratase, and anthranilate synthase are derepressed, but to a lesser extent.
