Biochemical properties of the pathogenesis-related proteins from tobacco

This review describes the discovery and identification of the pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs) from tobacco. In crude leaf extracts the PRs are distinguished from the proteins in uninfected plants by their solubility at pH 3, resistance to a range of proteases, and mobility in polyacrylamide gels upon electrophoresis (PAGE) in non-denaturing conditions. PAGE has been used as a qualitative and semi-quantitative assay for PRs, and their migration in gels made from different acrylamide concentrations has been used to identify charge and size isomers and electrophoretically identical PRs in different tobacco cultivars. The subunit composition and molecular weight (mol. wt) of the four PRs identified first in Xanthi-nc were determined by SDS-PAGE; staining the gels has shown that these same four proteins in Samsun NN did not contain carbohydrate, lipid or nucleic acid, nor were they isozymic forms of twenty five enzymes known to increase in activity following infection with TMV. Evidence suggests that most of the PRs in Xanthi-nc and Samsun NN are extracellular.The purification of several PRs from Xanthi-nc, Samsun NN and other tobaccos is described, as well as their mol. wt, subunit and amino acid composition. PRs 1a, b and c consist of a single polypeptide and have similar mol. wt and amino acid compositions. Antisera prepared against purified Xanthi-nc b₁ protein have been used to determine serological relationships between PRs and form the basis of a very sensitive quantitative assay using ELISA. The regulation of synthesis of some PRs has been shown to involve translational control.     

FACTORS AFFECTING THE LOSS OF TRI-ALLATE FROM SOILS

Summary. Electron-capture gas chromatography was used to detect tri-allate residues in persistence studies with two soils. At rates equivalent to 0–75, 15 and 3 Ib/ac, 50% of the amount applied was degraded in 8–11 weeks at 25°C in moist Regina heavy clay and Weyburn loam. No loss occurred in sterile soils, indicating that microbial degradation may be a, major factor contributing to tri-allate breakdown.
When aqueous solutions buffered at pH 4–8 were held at 25° G, only 10–15% of the tri-allate was chemically degraded during 24 weeks.
At the normal field rate of 1·25 Ib/ac, tri-allate was not readily leached. From soil columns of Weyburn loam, 5–7% was eluted by 9 in. of water; with clay the corresponding value was 12–13% of the amount applied. When field plots were sprayed with 125 lb/ac in April, tri-allate could still be detected until the soil froze in November.
Facteurs agissant sur la perte de tri-allate dans les sots     

TRANSLOCATION OF AMINOTRIAZOLE AND DALAPON IN AG ROPY RON REPENS (L.) BEAUV.

Summary. Tracer studies using single drops of solutions containing 3–amino-1,2,4–triazole-5–¹⁴C (aminotriazole-¹⁴C) or 2,2–dichloropropionic acid-2–¹⁴C (datapon-¹⁴C) revealed that in couch plants (Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv.) growing under field conditions in the autumn and at the stage where the aerial shoots were 40–50 cm long, both compounds moved in both symplast and apoplast. Dalapon was less mobile in the symplast than aminotriazole and only negligible amounts of dalapon were translocated to the rhizomes. The nodes of the treated shoots appeared to act as barriers to translocation, a phenomenon more pronounced for dalapon than for aminotriazole.
Application to a basal green leaf led to a more uniform distribution of the compounds within plants and rhizomes than when the application was made to the youngest fully-expanded leaf.
In couch plants with aerial shoots 10–15 cm long treated in the stubble, the distribution of both aminotriazole and dalapon was mainly restricted to the treated shoots. Even 15 days after application only trace amounts of radioactivity could be found in the rhizomes and untreated shoots.     

EFFECT OF PYRAZON ON PHOTOSYNTHESIS OF VARIOUS PLANT SPECIES

Summary. Studies were conducted to determine the influence of pyrazon (5-amino-4-chloio-2-phenyl-3(2H)-pyridazinone) on photosynthesis. A strong inhibiting effect on O₂ evolution from leaf discs of several species was recorded. For most species a concentration of 5 × 10⁻⁵ M caused a reduction of about 50% in the rate of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis of sugar beet, highly resbtant to pyrazon, was reduced to 50% by a concentration of 7–5 × 10⁻⁵ M. Since these differences cannot account for the great divergence in susceptibility to pyrazon, it is suggested that the selectivity of this herbicide results from degradation and differential accumulation in the foliage.
Pyrazon was phytotoxic to plants of tomato and pigweed (Amaranthus retrofiexus L.) kept in the light but not when kept in the dark, after foliage application. The conclusion that pyrazon inhibits the mechanism of photosynthesis and causes starvation for carbohydrates, was strengthened by the fact that external feeding of glucose overcame the toxicity of the compound in tomato plants. These results and a possible mode of selectivity are discussed.     

THE ADSORPTION OF LINURON, ATRAZINE AND EPTC BY MODEL ALIPHATIC ADSORBENTS AND SOIL ORGANIC PREPARATIONS

Summary. Model adsorbents were prepared by treating cellulose phosphate powder with a series of alkyltrimethylammonium compounds in which the size of the alkyl group was varied from C₈to C₁₈. The adsorption of linuron, atrazine and EPTC by these materials was found to increase logarithmically with increasing chain length. The extent of the adsorption was large compared with the adsorption of these herbicides by a humic acid and by a preparation made by removing the bulk of the inorganic constituents of a peat soil with a mixture of HCl and HF. Since soil organic matter is thought to contain alkyl groups, it is concluded that the possible influence of such groups should be considered in any discussion of the mechanisms involved in the adsorption of organic molecules by soils.
Adsorption du linuron, de I'atrazine de l'EPTC par des adsorbants de la série aliphatique et des préparations organiques de sol     

Cases of Pseudorabies in Free-Living Red Foxes (Vulpes Vulpes) and in Captive Blue Foxes (Alopex Lagopus) in Denmark

In the period December 1967 through April 1969 eight spontaneous cases of pseudorabies in Danish red foxes were demonstrated by virus isolation. One fox had been kept in captivity, the remaining seven were free-living. Five of the foxes were found dead, while three, presenting abnormal behaviour when encountered, had been killed.     

THE BASIS OF THE DIFFERENTIAL PHYTOTOXICITY OF 4-HYDROXY-3,5-DI-IODOBENZONITRlLE*

Summary. Entry of ioxynil-¹⁴C into portions of leaves was greater with mustard than with barley or pea and was unrelated to stomatal density. Measurement of ioxynil content of sprayed plants showed that by increasing the concentration of ioxynil and adding a surfactant, almost as much ioxynil could be made to enter barley as entered mustard from a lower concentration without surfactant. Auto radiographs showed that a limited amount of ¹⁴C was translocated to a small extent in plants following localized application of ioxynil-¹⁴C. An experiment comparing leaf removal by cutting with destruction of equivalent leaf areas by ioxynil treatment suggested a greater translocated effect of ioxynil with mustard than with pea or barley. Les principes de la phytotoxicité différentielle du 4-hydroxy-3,5-di-iodobetZonitrile II. Absorption et migration