Activity of digestive enzymes along the gut of juvenile red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, fed natural and balanced diets

Two carbohydrases (cellulase, lysozyme), three proteases (trypsin, aminopeptidase and non-specific protease), a non-specific lipase, and semiquantitative tests of 19 digestive enzymes were assayed in different gut sections of juvenile red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, in order to identify the regions where digestion takes place and investigate the extent to which diet composition can modify the digestive capacity of abalone. The abalone were fed either fresh kelp (K) or balanced diets containing 25 or 38% crude protein for 6 months. Enzyme assays were carried out on different sections of the abalone's gut at the end of this period. On a weight-specific basis, the digestive gland was the site containing most of the enzymes. On a protein-specific basis, two main digestion regions were identified: the digestive gland-stomach region that is characterized by high activities of cellulase and lysozyme, chymotrypsin and protease, and the mouth-intestine region with a typically high activity of lipase and amino peptidase. Significant dietary effects were observed on the activity of enzymes, especially in the digestive gland. Abalone fed with 25 and 38% crude protein diets exhibited higher cellulase (39.8 ± 4.6 and 14.2 ± 0.8 mU mg^− 1 protein, respectively) and lysozyme activities (88.0 ± 20.4 and 56.6 ± 15.7 U, respectively) than those fed with fresh kelp (5.5 ± 0.7 mU mg^− 1 protein and 17.1 ± 1.8 U). In contrast, higher protease activity was found in kelp-fed organisms (234.1 ± 20.4 μg product/mg protein) than those fed the 25 and 38% crude protein diets (109.5 ± 20.7 and 119.5 ± 20.5 μg product/mg protein, respectively). Semiquantitative API ZYM assays resulted in no clear food-specific effects on the activity of carbohydrases, proteases, ester hydrolases or phosphohydrolases, yet organ-specific differences were conspicuous in various cases, and generally agreed with quantitative results. It is suggested that the increased carbohydrase activity exhibited by organisms fed the balanced diets resulted from a combination of an increased number of resident bacteria in the abalone's gut and facilitated contact between dietary substrates and digestive cells. The present results indicate that H. rufescens can adjust their enzyme levels in order to maximize the acquisition of dietary protein and carbohydrates. This characteristic can be advantageously used to search for suitable diets in abalone aquaculture.     

Langjähriger witterungseinfluss auf das grünland in zwei verschiedenen landschaftsgebieten

Langjährige Beobachtungen der Witterungsfaktoren Temperatur und Niederschlag auf Ertrag und Pflanzenbestand von zwei Dauergrünlandstandorten verschiedener Klimagebiete wurden ausgewertet. Anlaß war das Phänomen, daß im Erzgebirge der Ertrag trotz hoher Stickstoffdungung nach dem 3. Versuchsjahr sukzessive abfiel und nach dem 12. Jahr wieder anstieg. Als Vergleich bot sich nahezu gleich bewirtschaftetes Grünland im Havelländischen Luch an.

Die Ursache fur die Ertragsdepression wurde zunächst in einer Umschichtung der Pflanzenbestände vermutet. Schließlich wurde ein Zusammenhang zwischen Witterung und Ertrag am Beispiel der Abweichungen von den Mittelwerten gefunden.     

Preservation of gene resources of potato species of different ploidy levels for the building up of breeding material

Summary In the Institute for Potato Research, Groß Lüsewitz, a collection of wild and cultivated potato species of different valence levels is preserved in living state. Chiefly the preservation of the collection is done by seeds.By pollination of tetraploid varieties and promise clones with pollen ofSolanum phureja a collection of dihaploids was produced. This makes it easier to utilize the gene reservoirs of the 24 chromosome wild forms for the creation of basic material. Useful gene combination can be created by intra- and interspecific hybridisation provided that the dihaploid genotypes show efficient blossom intensity and pollen fertility. To increase the yield of diplogametic tetraploids for the genetic breedings it has to be searched for genotypes in the dihaploid collection that have a higher frequency of diplogametes.

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Die Erhaltung der genetischen Ressourcen von Kartoffelarten verschiedener Ploidiestufen für die Entwicklung von Zuchtmaterial

Zusammenfassung Im Institut für Kartoffelforschung Groß Lüsewitz wird ein lebendes Sortiment von Wild- und Kulturkartoffeln verschiedener Valenzstufen erhalten. Die Sortimentserhaltung geschieht hauptsächlich durch Samenvermehrung. Durch Bestäubung von tetraploiden Sorten und von aussichtsreichen Klonen mit Pollen vonSolanum phureja wurde ein Sortiment von Dihaploiden erzeugt. Dadurch wird es leichter möglich, das Genreservoir der 24chromosomigen Wildformen zur Entwicklung von Ausgangsmaterial zu nutzen. Eine brauchbare Genkombination kann durch intra- und interspezifische Hybridisierung erreicht werden, vorausgesetzt, daß die dihaploiden Genotypen ausreichend blühen und hohe Pollenfertilität besitzen. Um die Ausbeute an diplogametischen Tetraploiden für züchterische Zwecke zu erhöhen, muß im dihaploiden Sortimentsmaterial nach Genotypen gesucht werden, bei denen Diplogameten häufiger auftreten.

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Silicon nutrition of tomato and bitter gourd with special emphasis on silicon distribution in root fractions

Two plant species, tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), were used for in‐depth studies on the dynamics of silicon (Si) uptake and translocation to the shoots and compartmentation of Si in the roots. The experiments were conducted under controlled environmental conditions in nutrient solutions, which were partly amended with 1 mM Si in the form of silicic acid. At harvest, xylem exudates were collected, and Si concentrations and biomass of roots and shoots were determined. Mass flow of Si was calculated based on the Si concentration of the nutrient solution and transpiration determined in a parallel experiment. Plant roots were subjected to a fractionated Si analysis, allowing attributing Si to different root compartments. Silicon concentrations in the roots compared to the shoots were higher in tomato but lower in bitter gourd. A more ready translocation from the roots to the shoots in bitter gourd was in agreement with Si concentrations in the xylem exudates which were higher than in the external solution. In tomato, the xylem‐sap Si concentration was lower than in the nutrient solution. Calculated Si mass flow to the root exceeded Si uptake in tomato, which was consistent with the measured accumulation of Si in the root water‐free space (WFS). In contrast, Si concentration in the root WFS was lower than in the nutrient solution in bitter gourd, reflecting the calculated Si depletion at the root surface based on the comparison of Si mass flow and Si uptake. Within the roots, more than 80% of the total Si was located in the cell wall and less than 10% in the cytoplasmic fractions in tomato. In bitter gourd, between 60% and 70% of the total root Si was attributed to the cell‐wall fraction whereas the proportion of the cytoplasmic fraction reached more than 30%. Our results clearly confirm that tomato belongs to the Si excluders and bitter gourd to the Si‐accumulator plant species for which high Si concentrations in the cytoplasmic root fraction appear to be characteristic.     

Quick screening of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) genotypes for aluminium tolerance in an aluminium-treated acid soil

In greenhouse experiments with small pots, seeds of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) were planted into an acid soil (Oxic Paleudult from Onne, South-East Nigeria) which had been treated with Al₂(SO₄)₃-Cowpea genotypes showed varying seedling growth inhibition within 7 days when grown in soil containing 2.2 meq Al/100 g soil. Soil and plant analysis confirmed, that Al toxicity, and consequently differences in Al tolerance, were responsible for the genotypically different seedling growth responses. 783 genotypes showed a wide range of Al tolerance when screened using this technique. In a long-term pot experiment the effect of Al application to the soil on seed yields of 9 genotypes was studied. Although no significant correlation could be found between depression by Al of seedling growth and grain yield of the genotypes, the same genotypes were classified as most tolerant and most sensitive in both cases. The results show that the simple and quick screening method using Al-treated soil allows the identification of genotypes adapted to soils with high Al supply.     

Wechselwirkungen zwischen Boden-Huminstoffen und Metall-Ionen I. Isolierung und Charakterisierung der Boden-Huminstoffe

Interactions between soil humic substances and metal ions I. Isolation and characterization of the soil humic substances From two horizons of a podzol humic acids and fulvic acids were isolated by two different methods. The obtained samples were characterized by elemental analysis, the determination of the ash and moisture content, functional group analysis as well as FTIR-, ¹H-NMR-, and ¹³C-NMR-spectroscopic examinations. In spite of the different isolation methods humic and fulvic acids show great similarities. A higher oxidized state and a lower content of aromatic structural features are clearly observed in the fulvic acids in contrast to humic acids. Besides aromatic structural elements, distinct aliphatic sections were detected in the investigated samples, which showed a lower concentration in the less transformed fractions of the Ahe-horizon.     

Genotypic differences in uptake and translocation of cadmium in bean and maize inbred lines

For better understanding of mechanisms responsible for genotypic differences in uptake and translocation of cadmium (Cd) in different plant species, two maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines (B37 and F2) and a bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivar (Saxa) were grown in a complete nutrient solution with additional 0.5 μM Cd and 250 μM buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of PC synthesis, alone or in combination. The maize line B37 had a much higher Cd content in shoots (116.2 mg Cd kg^?1 dry wt.) than F2 (32.7 mg Cd kg^?1 dry wt.) and bean (1.83 in leaves, and 2.85 mg Cd kg^?1 dry wt. in stems), whereas in roots the Cd content was much higher in bean (602.6 mg Cd kg^?1 dry wt.) than in maize (427.1 mg Cd kg^?1 dry wt. in B37, and 428.2 mg Cd kg^?1 dry wt. in F2). Application of BSO markedly decreased Cd contents in roots of bean and maize lines, and also Cd contents in shoots and stem basis of both maize lines, while Cd contents in leaves, stems and stem basis of bean were not reduced by BSO. In root extracts (Tris-HCl buffer, pH 8.0) the proportion of Cd in the soluble fraction was much lower in bean (29.6%) than in the maize lines B37 (58.6%) and F2 (60.1%). Compared with the whole root tissue, Cd contents in the stele of the roots were much lower, especially in bean, and decreased by BSO in both maize lines, but not in bean. Gel-chromatography of root extracts strongly suggested that in the soluble fraction about 80% of the Cd was present as Cd-phytochelatin (PC) complexes in B37, whereas in F2 this Cd fraction accounted for about 50%, and in bean only for a few percent in the soluble fraction, Our results suggest that Cd-PC complexes constitute a mobile form in plants. The lower proportion of Cd in the soluble fraction as well as lower PC production in roots of bean compared to maize lines may be the main reasons for the very low Cd translocation from roots to shoots in bean plants.     

Long-term nitrogen balance for pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) in an acid sandy soil of Niger

On acid sandy soils of Niger (West Africa) fertilizer N recovery by pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is often more than 100 per cent in years with normal or above average rainfall. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) by N₂-fixing bacteria may contribute to the N supply in pearl millet cropping systems. For a long-term field experiment comprising treatments with and without mineral fertilizer (F) and with and without crop residue application (CR) a N balance sheet was calculated over a period of six years (1983-1988). After six years of successive millet cropping total N uptake (36-77 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1) was distinctly higher than the amount of fertilizer N applied (30 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1). The atmospheric input of NH₄-N and NO₃-N in the rainwater was about 2 kg N ha_?1 yr^?1, 70 % in the form of NH₄-N. Gaseous NH₃ losses from urea (broadcast, incorporated) were estimated from other experiments to amount to 36 % of the fertilizer N applied. Nitrogen losses by leaching (15 to > 25 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1) were dependent on the treatment and on the quantity and distribution of single rainfall events (>50 mm). Decline in total soil N content (0-60 cm) ranged from 15 to 48 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1. The long-term N balance (1983-1988) indicated an annual net gain between 6 (+CR-F) and 13 (+CR+F) kg N ha^?1 yr^?1. For the control (-CR-F) the long-term N balance was negative (10 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1). In the treatment with crop residues only, the N balance was mainly determined by leaching losses, whereas in treatments with mineral fertilizer application the N balance depended primarily on N removal by the millet crop. The annual net gain in the N balance increased from 7 kg ha^?1 with mineral fertilizer to 13 kg ha^?1 in the combination mineral fertilizer plus crop residues. In both the rhizosphere and the bulk soil (0-15 cm), between 9 and 45% of the total bacterial population were N₂-fixing (diazotrophic) bacteria. The increased N gain upon crop residue application was positively correlated with an increase in the number of diazotrophic and total bacteria. The data on bacterial numbers suggest that the gain of N in the longterm N balance is most likely due to an N input by biological nitrogen fixation. In addition, evidence exists from related studies that the proliferation of diazotrophs and total bacteria in the rhizosphere due to crop residue application stimulated root growth of pearl millet, and thus improved the phosphorus (P) acquisition in the P deficient soil.