MECHANISTIC STUDIES OF THE PHOTOREACTION OF FLAVIN WITH N, N-DIMETHYLPROPARGYLAMINE

Abstract Both photoexcited free flavin and protein-bound flavin react with N, N-dimethylpropargyla-mine (DMPA) to yield dihydroflavin-adducts which are not reoxidizable by oxygen. The mechanism of the photoreaction was reinvestigated by flash photolysis and continuous illumination experiments. We suggest that a mechanism occurs in which a flavosemiquinone and a DMPA radical result in the first photoinduced reaction. The flavin-DMPA adducts are then formed by combinations of the two radicals.     

EFFECT OF LIGHT QUALITY ON THE in vitro THYLAKOID PROTEIN PHOSPHORYLATION IN THE GREEN ALGA Scenedesmus obliquus

Abstract Thylakoid protein phosphorylation was assayed in vitro with isolated thylakoids of Scenedesmus obliquus by irradiation with monochromatic light of different wavelengths and equal photon fluences. The action spectrum for light-activated protein phosphorylation showed two maxima at 450 and 679 nm. A minimum of activity was reached around 580 nm. At this wavelength, the level of protein phosphorylation barely differed from that of dark-incubated samples. The action spectrum of thylakoid protein phosphorylation resembled the chlorophyll absorption spectrum obtained in vivo. The results show that chlorophyll is the photoreceptor for thylakoid membrane phosphorylation.     

A METAPOPULATION MODEL WITH DISCRETE SIZE STRUCTURE

ABSTRACT. We consider a discrete size‐structured meta‐population model with the proportions of patches occupied by n individuals as dependent variables. Adults are territorial and stay on a certain patch. The juveniles may emigrate to enter a dispersers' pool from which they can settle on another patch and become adults. Absence of colonization and absence of emigration lead to extinction of the metapopula‐tion. We define the basic reproduction number R₀ of the metapopulation as a measure for its strength of persistence. The metapopulation is uniformly weakly persistent if R₀> 1. We identify subcritical bifurcation of persistence equilibria from the extinction equilibrium as a source of multiple persistence equilibria: it occurs, e.g., when the immigration rate, into occupied patches, exceeds the colonization rate (of empty patches). We determine that the persistence‐optimal dispersal strategy which maximizes the basic reproduction number is of bang‐bang type: If the number of adults on a patch is below carrying capacity all the juveniles should stay, if it is above the carrying capacity all the juveniles should leave.     

Computer simulation of cavity pair distribution functions of hard spheres in a hard slit pore

We describe efficient Monte Carlo computer simulation techniques to calculate conditional distribution functions for pairs of hard-sphere (HS) cavities in a hard slit pore of width L, n* (z ₁,z ₂,r), and use these as an efficient route to calculating the corresponding dimensionless excess chemical potentials μ ^e (z ₁,z ₂,r). z_i is the distance of an HS centre from a (specified) wall and r is the distance between the cavity centres. This is the first calculation of such functions, which are of interest in their own right and provide data for the testing of theories, in addition to providing data for a simple model for the infinite dilution behaviour of a polyatomic solute in a simple molecularly confined solvent. Results are presented for special cases for the cavity functions n* (z ₁,z ₂,r) which occur when the spheres are in the same plane, when the line of sphere centres is perpendicular to the walls, and when the spheres are in contact. We compare results obtained using the Kirkwood superposition approximation in conjunction with results obtained from the computer simulation data using the first member of the BGY integral equation hierarchy. The approximation is found to be exact in certain limiting geometrical situations, but in general is quantitatively poor.     

NOESY around the critical point ωτc = 1.12. Precise determination of proton-proton distances and reorientation correlation times with two-field NOESY

When nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy (NOESY) experiments are performed around the critical point ωτ_c = 1.12, internuclear cross-relaxation rates are dependent on the resonance frequency ω, where τ_c is the reorientation time of the distance vector between two magnetic dipoles. Therefore, the correlation times and, consequently, the internuclear distances can be determined precisely by measuring the cross-relaxation rates under two magnetic fields. An application with a cyclic pentapeptide is given as an example, demonstrating the use of the two-field NOESY method in molecular structure studies. NOESY experiments with mixing times beyond 500 ms are discussed.     

Car—Parrinello study of Ziegler—Natta heterogeneous catalysis: stability and destabilization problems of the active site models

Recent results on Car—Parrinello simulations of MgCl₂/TiCl₄ Ziegler—Natta heterogeneous catalytic systems are reviewed and the stability of Ti active site configurations on the various active surfaces are discussed. In particular, the focus is on the ability of an active centre to carry out the polymerization process efficiently, achieved by monitoring geometrical changes and associated energetics during the reaction. The active site geometry is crucial in enhancing or decreasing the activation barrier, in selecting the olefin enantioface and in some cases in destabilizing the catalytic centre. A key point in the binding/destabilization interplay is the matching of Ti with the substrate, an issue that represents a fundamental difference with respect to homogeneous systems.     

MODELING INVASION OF PESTS RESISTANT TO Bt TOXINS PRODUCED BY GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS: RECESSIVE VS. DOMINANT INVADERS

ABSTRACT. There is a growing public concern about the ecological and evolutionary consequence of the use of genetically modified organisms. We study the impact of Bt resistant pests on genetically modified Bt crops and compare exposure of Bt plants to recessive and dominant Bt resistant invaders. To simulate pest invasion we develop a conceptual reaction‐diffusion model of the Bt crop Bt susceptible insects Bt resistant insects for both the recessive and dominant pests. We show by means of computer simulations that there is a key parameter which we define as the growth number that characterizes the insects' fitness. We also show that the Bt resistant insects' invasion can lead to inhomogeneity in plant and insect spatial distributions. The plant and insect spatial patterns resulting from the Bt resistant insects' invasion are found to be dependent on the duration of the Bt resistant insect reproduction period. We compare averaged plant biomass resulting from the invasion of the dominant insects with the averaged plant biomass resulting from the invasion of the recessive insects. As a result, we show that in contrast to the recessive insects, the dominant ones initiate destruction of the plant population if the inflow of Bt susceptible insects is more than a critical value. In this case the plant biomass decays to zero. Otherwise, the plant biomass under the invasion of both the dominant and recessive insects depends on the duration of the insect reproduction period. We conclude that under invasion of dominant Bt resistant pests, the refuge strategy which has received wide acceptance in agricultural practice may not be scientifically sound practice.     

Transport properties of He-CO mixtures

Classical trajectory calculations for the collision of He with CO have been carried out, with CO treated as a rigid rotor, for two similar potential energy surfaces, one obtained from high level ab initio calculations and the other from a semi-empirical fit to the infrared spectra of He-CO van der Waals dimers. Second-approximation corrections to the kinetic-theory expressions have been employed in order to carry out comparisons with the most accurate and precise diffusion, shear viscosity, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusion data available. Rotational relaxation data are also considered. Both potentials are found to have good predictive power for these transport and relaxation properties, giving on the whole very good agreement with the experimental data. This indicates that the isotropic components of the two potential surfaces are very similar, and that the anisotropies are not significantly different. It is suggested that the measurement of additional relaxation phenomena in He-CO mixtures could allow a clearer distinction to be made between the two potential surfaces.     

PTERIN- AND FLAVIN-LIKE FLUORESCENCE ASSOCIATED WITH ISOLATED FLAGELLA OF Euglena gracilis

Fluorescence excitation- and emission spectra indicate the presence of pterin(s) and flavin(s) in isolated flagella of the phytoflagellate Euglena gracilis. These compounds appear to bind at least in part non-covalently to the molecular framework of the paraflagellar body, which is the presumed photoreceptor organelle and which is attached to the isolated flagella. A compound with pterin-like fluorescence excitation and emission spectrum could he extracted with methanol from isolated flagella and could he recovered on thin-layer silica gels. Besides the previously assumed photoreceptor function of flavins, our results suggest also a role for pterins in the photosensory transduction chain of Euglena gracilis.