The Effect of Diet Quality on δ13C and δ15N in the Tissues of Locusts,Locusta migratoria L

Abstract

Locust nymphs were raised from hatching to adult locusts on either seedling wheat (C₃) or maize (C₄), to determine whether relative enrichments/depletions of ¹⁵N and ¹³C within body tissues are influenced by diet. The maize contained less hexose sugars and protein per gram than wheat.

The isotopic spacing between the food and the whole insect was found to differ between the two diets. The lower quality maize diet showed an overall +5.1‰ enrichment in δ¹⁵N compared to + 2.8‰ for wheat, possibly due to increased fractionation due to protein recycling.

The maize diet resulted in increased depletion in lipid and trehalose and depletion in chitin relative to diet. The results for both δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C suggest that substrate recycling was occurring on the low quality maize diet. Therefore diet quality determines the enrichment/depletion in δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C within organisms.     

High-Temperature Infrared Emission Spectra of DCN and DCN

The infrared spectra of two isotopomers of deuterium cyanide, D¹²C¹⁴N and D¹³C¹⁴N, were measured in emission at temperatures of 1370 K and 1520 K, respectively, in the range from 450 to 850 cm⁻¹ and, for D¹²C¹⁴N, also from 1800 to 2800 cm⁻¹. Assignments were made for rovibrational transitions to high bending states, v₂=9 for D¹³C¹⁴N and v₂=11 for D¹²C¹⁴N. To aid and verify the assignments, bands of the lower bending states, up to v₂=3, were also measured in absorption at room temperature. A global fit was made of all measurements available to us for each isotopomer. In addition to giving the rovibrational constants for each state measured, the power series expansion constants are also given and compared with those of the other deuterium cyanide isotopomers. The D¹²C¹⁴N laser transitions are verified as arising from the consequences of the Coriolis interaction between the J=21 levels of the 02⁰2 and 09^1e0 states.     

Spin-lattice relaxation in 13CH3 compounds: application to 13C enriched aspirin

Spin-lattice relaxation processes in ¹³CH₃ groups in methyl compounds are studied both theoretically and experimentally. The four spin-½ nuclei in such methyl groups give rise to 16 spin-rotational states, which are split by rotational tunnelling. From the corresponding populations (15 independent) five long lived combinations are formed: the ¹³C magnetization M _C, proton magnetization M _H, tunnelling energy TE, rotational polarization RP and dipolar energy DE. Their spin-lattice relaxation via the transitions induced by the ¹³C-proton dipolar interaction is studied in detail. Direct relaxation rates and coupling terms between these combinations are derived. Predictions are compared with experimental data for ¹³C spin-lattice relaxation at 75.4 MHz in 99% enriched (only methyl carbons enriched) single crystal of aspirin. Above 40 K, the M _C recovery is exponential and describable in terms of the direct relaxation transitions without couplings. The same is true for the initial relaxation in the region of non-exponential relaxation between 30 K and 40 K. The orientation dependence of the initial relaxation rate agrees with the theoretical calculations. The non-exponentiality is related to resonant level-crossing transitions with ω_t, + ω_C = ω_H, where the angular frequencies represent rotational tunnelling and carbon and proton resonances, respectively. The resonant transitions produce couplings between M _C, M _H and TE that are described quite accurately by the present model.     

DNP enhanced frequency-selective TEDOR experiments in bacteriorhodopsin

We describe a new approach to multiple ¹³C–¹⁵N distance measurements in uniformly labeled solids, frequency-selective (FS) TEDOR. The method shares features with FS-REDOR and ZF- and BASE-TEDOR, which also provide quantitative ¹⁵N–¹³C spectral assignments and distance measurements in U-[¹³C,¹⁵N] samples. To demonstrate the validity of the FS-TEDOR sequence, we measured distances in [U-¹³C,¹⁵N]-asparagine which are in good agreement with other methods. In addition, we integrate high frequency dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) into the experimental protocol and use FS-TEDOR to record a resolved correlation spectrum of the Arg-¹³C_γ–¹⁵N_ε region in [U-¹³C,¹⁵N]-bacteriorhodopsin. We resolve six of the seven cross-peaks expected based on the primary sequence of this membrane protein.     

3D NMR Experiments for MeasuringN Relaxation Data of Large Proteins: Application to the 44 kDa Ectodomain of SIV gp41

A suite of 3D NMR experiments for measuring¹⁵N–{¹H} NOE,¹⁵NT₁, and¹⁵NT_1ρvalues in large proteins, uniformly labeled with¹⁵N and¹³C, is presented. These experiments are designed for proteins that exhibit extensive spectral overlap in the 2D¹H–¹⁵N HSQC spectrum. The pulse sequences are readily applicable to perdeuterated samples, which increases the spectral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio, thereby permitting the characterization of protein dynamics to be extended to larger protein systems. Application of the pulse sequences is demonstrated on a perdeuterated¹³C/¹⁵N-labeled sample of the 44 kDa ectodomain of SIV gp41.     

Rotational analysis ofA 1Π-X 1Σ+ bands of As14N and As15N: perturbation studies in theA 1Π state

The ultraviolet bands ofA ¹Π-X ¹Σ⁺ system of As¹⁴N and its isotopic species As¹⁵N were excited in a quartz tube containing specpure nitrogen and traces of AsCl₃ vapour, using a microwave discharge (2450 MHz). Bands of As¹⁵N were obtained using¹⁵N₂ enriched to 95.5%. Rotational structure of several bands of As¹⁴N and As¹⁵N photographed under high dispersion (0.14 Å/mm) was reanalysed. Detailed studies of the observed perturbations in the levels ofν′ = 0 to 4 led to the identification of two³Σ^? and aC ¹Σ^? states. Molecular parametersT _e, ω_e, ω_ex_e, B_eandα _ewere determined for all the electronic states studied. Vibrational assignments of the perturbing levels were made using the isotope shift studies.     

Site-specific ϕ- and ψ-torsion angle determination in a uniformly/extensively 13C- and 15N-labeled peptide

A solid-state rotational-echo double resonance (REDOR) NMR method was introduced to identify the ?- and ψ-torsion angle from a ¹H–¹⁵N or ¹H–¹³C′ spin system of alanine-like residues in a selectively, uniformly, or extensively ¹⁵N-/¹³C-labeled peptide. When a C_α(i) or a ¹⁵N peak is site-specifically obtainable in the NMR spectrum of a uniformly ¹⁵N/¹³C-labeled sample system, the ψ- or ?-torsion angle specified by the conformational structure of peptide geometry involving ¹⁵N(i)–¹H_αi–¹⁵N(i + 1) or ¹³C′(i − 1)–¹H^Ni–¹³C′(i) spin system can be identified based on ¹³C_α- or ¹⁵N-detected ¹H_α–¹⁵N or ¹H_N–¹³C REDOR experiment. This method will conveniently be utilized to identify major secondary motifs, such as α-helix, β-sheet, and β-turn, from a uniformly ¹⁵N-/¹³C-labled peptide sample system. When tested on a ¹³C-/¹⁵N-labeled model system of a three amino acid peptide Gly–[U–¹³C, ¹⁵N]Ala–[U–¹³C, ¹⁵N]Leu, the ψ-angle of alanine obtained experimentally, ψ = −40 ± 30°, agreed reasonably well with the X-ray determined angle, ψ = −39°.     

Quantum chemical investigation on the structure and first hyperpolarizability for N‐substituted [n]cyclacene

Six N‐substituted [n]cyclacene (n = 5, 6, 7,…,10) molecules were designed to study the relationship between the structure and first hyperpolarizability. Their static first hyperpolarizabilities (β₀) were obtained by MP2/6‐31 + g(d) level. Two interesting relationships between the β₀ value and the structure have been found: (1) The β₀ value increases with the increase of the number n when n is odd: 3155 ([5]cyclacene) < 48,905 ([7]cyclacene) < < 393,444 ([9]cyclacene), and when n is even: 357,620 ([6]cyclacene) < 618,608 ([8]cyclacene) < 3,513,644 a.u. ([10]cyclacene). (2) The β₀ values (in the range of 357,620 ~ 3,513,644 a.u.) of the N‐substituted [n]cyclacene (when n is odd) are much larger (in the range of 3155~393,444 a.u.) than that of the N‐substituted [n]cyclacene (when n is even). Furthermore, their frequency‐dependent β (?2ω; ω, ω) and β (?ω; ω, 0) (ω = 0.005, 0.01, and 0.0239 a.u.) were also estimated by Møller–Plesset perturbation/6‐31 + g(d) level. Among the frequency‐dependent β (ω), [10]cyclacene has the largest β (?ω; ω, 0) and β (?2ω; ω, ω) to be 1.2 × 10⁸ (ω = 0.01) and 2.9 × 10⁷ a.u. (ω = 0.005 a.u.), which are much larger than the static β₀ = 3.5 × 10⁶ a.u. by 34 and 8 times. Our present work may offer a new idea in the design of high‐performance tubiform nonlinear optical materials. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

13C and 15N spectral editing inside histidine imidazole ring through solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Histidine usually exists in three different forms (including biprotonated species, neutral τ and π tautomers) at physiological pH in biological systems. The different protonation and tautomerization states of histidine can be characteristically determined by ¹³C and ¹⁵N chemical shifts of imidazole ring. In this work, solid-state NMR techniques were developed for spectral editing of ¹³C and ¹⁵N sites in histidine imidazole ring, which provides a benchmark to distinguish the existing forms of histidine. The selections of ¹³C_γ, ¹³C_δ2, ¹⁵N_δ1, and ¹⁵N_ε2 sites were successfully achieved based on one-bond homo- and hetero-nuclear dipole interactions. Moreover, it was demonstrated that ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵ chemical shifts were roughly linearly correlated with the corresponding atomic charge in histidine imidazole ring by theoretical calculations. Accordingly, the ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁵N chemical shifts variation in different protonation and tautomerization states could be ascribed to the atomic charge change due to proton transfer in biological process.     

Sub-Doppler and Doppler spectroscopy of DCN isotopomers in the terahertz region: ground and first excited bending states (v1v2v3)=(0 1 0)

The rotational spectra of the deuterium cyanide isotopic species DCN, D¹³CN, DC¹⁵N, and D¹³C¹⁵N were recorded in the vibrational ground and first excited bending state (v₂=1) up to 2 THz. The R-branch transitions from J=3←2 to J=13←12 were measured with sub-Doppler resolution. These very high resolution (∼70 kHz) and precise (±3-10 kHz) saturation dip measurements allowed for resolving the underlying hyperfine structure due to the ¹⁴N nucleus in DCN and D¹³CN for transitions as high as J=10←9. Additional high JR-branch (J=25←24 to J=28←27) transitions around 2 THz and direct l-type (ΔJ=0, J=19 to J=25) transitions from 66 to 118 GHz were recorded in Doppler-limited resolution. For the ground state of D¹³C¹⁵N, the J=1←0 transition was measured for the first time. The transition frequency accuracies for the other deuterated species were significantly improved. These new experimental data, together with the available infrared rovibrational data and previously measured direct l-type transitions, were subjected to a global least squares analysis for each isotopomer. This yielded precise sets of molecular constants for the ground and first excited vibrational states, including the nuclear quadrupole and magnetic spin-rotation coupling constants of the ¹⁴N nucleus for DCN and D¹³CN. The hyperfine structure due to the D, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N nuclei have not been resolved, but led to a broadening of the observed saturation dips.     

Quantitative Investigation of Dipole–CSA Cross-Correlated Relaxation by ZQ/DQ Spectroscopy

A zero-quantum/double-quantum HNCO(H) constant time experiment is presented for the quantitative evaluation of dipole–CSA cross-correlated relaxation involving the¹H^N,¹⁵N, and¹³C′ nuclei of the peptide plane. A simple procedure that allows the extraction of cross-correlated relaxation rate constants from intensity ratios of well-resolved doublet components along ω₁is described. The experiment is demonstrated on fully¹³C,¹⁵N-labeled ubiquitin.     

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of the 2ν3 overtone band of different ICN isotopomers: an improved evaluation of the anharmonic force field of cyanogen iodide

The weak 2ν₃ overtone band of the three isotopomers of cyanogen iodide, I¹²C¹⁴N, I¹³C¹⁴N, and I¹²C¹⁵N, has been recorded in the range from 4200 to 4400 cm⁻¹ with a resolution of 0.02 cm⁻¹ using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The following band origins have been determined from the analysis of the spectra: ν₀ (I¹²C¹⁴N)=4332.8368 cm⁻¹, ν₀ (I¹³C¹⁴N)=4235.7355 cm⁻¹, and ν₀ (I¹²C¹⁵N)=4274.2851 cm⁻¹. This allowed us to achieve complete knowledge of the energies for all levels of ICN corresponding to double vibrational excitation. An improved evaluation of the quartic force field of cyanogen iodide has been performed using the new data obtained together with those already known from previous works.     

Optically-pumped pulsed laser action in isotopically-substituted DCN

Pulsed MIR and FIR laser action is reported from D^12,13C^14,15N pumped by a 9 μm region TEA CO₂ laser. Thirty-four wavelengths and assignments are reported, spanning 18.1–477 μm. Output energies from D¹³C¹⁵N at 392 μm pumped by CO₂ 9R(32) are up to a factor of two larger than those from D₂O pumped by 9R(22), one of the strongest known pulsed FIR lasers.     

Binding of regulatory protein omega from Streptococcus pyogenes plasmid pSM19035 to direct and inverted 7‐base pair repeats of operator DNA

pSM19035‐encoded dimeric regulator omega (ω₂) belongs to the MetJ/Arc family of ribbon–helix–helix DNA binding proteins. ω₂ binds to a set of unspaced 7‐base pair repeat units with sequence 5′‐^A/_TATCAC^A/_T‐3′. Protein ω₂ and its variant ω₂ΔN18, lacking the first 18 N‐terminal amino acids, bind poorly to one heptad DNA, but the affinity to DNA markedly increases with two and more heptads organized in direct or inverted orientation. Raman difference spectra indicate that ω₂ and ω₂ΔN18 bind to operator DNA in the major groove and contact thymine, adenine and guanine residues. The mode of ω₂ or ω₂ΔN18 interaction with operator DNA is not affected by the orientation and number of heptads. The Raman data of ω₂T29A, an ω₂ variant with Ala instead of Thr at position 29 of the β‐sheet, show a sequence‐independent binding mode to DNA, which differs from the binding mode of wt ω₂ protein to its cognate site. The Raman data strongly support the notion that the 18 N‐terminal amino acids are not required for ω₂ activity, whereas Thr29 plays an essential role for operator DNA binding. The data suggest the formation of a hydrogen bond between Thr29 of wild‐type ω₂ to one of the bases in the central 5′‐TCA‐3′/5′‐TGA‐3′ stretch of the 7‐bp binding site. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cation Binding Induced Changes inN CSA in a Membrane-Bound Polypeptide

Cation binding to the monovalent cation selective channel, gramicidin A, is shown to induce changes in the dipolar and chemical shift observables from uniformly aligned samples. While these changes could be the result of structural or dynamic changes, they are shown to be primarily induced by through-bond polarizability effects when cations are solvated by the carbonyl oxygens of the peptide backbone. Upon cation binding partial charges are changed throughout the peptide plane, inducing large changes in the¹³C₁chemical shifts, smaller changes in the¹⁵N chemical shifts, and even smaller effects for the¹⁵N–¹³C₁and¹⁵N–²H dipolar interactions. These conclusions are substantiated by characterizing the¹⁵N chemical shift tensors in the presence and absence of cations in fast-frozen lipid bilayer preparations of gramicidin A.     

DNA Duplex Dynamics: NMR Relaxation Studies of a Decamer with UniformlyC-Labeled Purine Nucleotides

Dynamics in a DNA decamer duplex,d(CATTTGCATC) ·d(GATGCAAATG), were investigated via a detailed¹³C NMR relaxation study. Every 2′-deoxyadenosine and 2′-deoxyguanidine was chemically enriched with 15%¹³C and 98%¹⁵N isotopes. Six nuclear relaxation parameters [R(¹³C_z),R(¹H_z),R(2¹H_z¹³C_z),R(¹³C_x),R(2¹H_z¹³C_x) and steady-state¹³C{¹H} NOE] were measured at 600 MHz and three were measured at 500 MHz (¹H frequency) for the CH spin systems of sugar 1′, 3′, and 4′ as well as base 8 and 2 positions. A dependence of relaxation parameter values on chemical position was clearly observed; however, no sequence-specific variation was readily evident within our experimental error of ∼5–10%, except for 3′ and 5′ termini. It was demonstrated that the random 15%¹³C enrichment effectively suppressed both scalar and dipolar contributions of the neighboring carbons and protons on the relaxation parameters. To analyze dynamics via all observed relaxation parameters, full spectral density mapping (1992, J. W. Peng and G. Wagner,J. Magn. Reson.98, 308) and the “model-free” approach (1982, Lipari and Szabo,J. Am. Chem. Soc.104, 4546) were applied complementarily. A linear correlation between three spectral density values,J(ω_C),J(ω_H− ω_C), andJ(ω_H+ ω_C) was observed in plots containing all measured values, but not for the other spectral density terms includingJ(0). These linear correlations reflect the effect of overall motion and similar internal motions for each CH vector in the decamer. The correlations yielded two correlation times, 3–4 ns and 10–200 ps. One value, 3–4 ns, corresponds to the value of 3.3 ns obtained for the overall isotropic tumbling correlation time determined from analysis of¹³C T1/T2 ratios. The possibility of overall anisotropic tumbling was examined, but statistical analysis showed no advantage over the assumption of simple isotropic tumbling. Lack of correlations entailingJ(0) implies that a relatively slow chemical exchange contributes to yielding of effectiveJ_eff(0) values. Based on spectral density mapping and the T1/T2 ratio analysis, three basic assumptions were initially employed (and subsequently justified) for the model-free calculation: isotropic overall tumbling, one internal motion, and the presence of chemical exchange terms. Except for terminal residues, the order parameterS²and the corresponding fast internal motion correlation time were determined to be about 0.8 ± 0.1 and 20 ± 20 ps, respectively, for the various CH vectors. Only a few differences were observed between or within sugars and bases. The internal motion is very fast (ps–ns time scale) and its amplitude restricted; e.g., assuming a simple wobble-in-a-cone model, the internal motion is restricted to an angular amplitude of ±22.5° for each of the 1′, 3′, 4′, 2, and 8 positions in the purine nucleotides in the entire duplex.     

Isotopenhydrogeologische Untersuchungen Im Bacho-Delta (Vietnam)

Abstract

Abecarnil is a β-carboline with high affinity to benzodiazepine receptors. Synthesis and spectral data of the title compound are presented. [¹³C₃]. Abecarnil was synthesized in a five step synthesis. [¹³C₂]Glycine-isopropylester-hydrochloride was condensed with p-methoxy-benzaldehyde to give N-(p-methoxy-benzyliden)-[¹³C₂]glycine-isopropyl-ester. Further reaction with 5-benzyloxy-pseudogramine and the introduction of [¹³C]formaldehyde in a Pictet-Spengler reaction yielded the intermediate 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline derivative. The following dehydration led to [¹³C₃]Abecarnil in an overall yield of 23%     

Diode laser absorption spectra of HCCD and HCCD at 6500 cm

The absorption spectra of H¹²C¹³CD and H¹³C¹²CD have been observed at high resolution between 6480 and 6610 cm⁻¹ using an external cavity diode laser. The strong 2ν₁ band has been observed for each species using a sample enriched in deuterium at natural abundance of ¹³C. Rotational analyses reveal bands of both species to be essentially unperturbed. Centers of unblended lines are determined with an accuracy of approximately 10 MHz.     

Three-dimensional triple-resonance NMR Spectroscopy of isotopically enriched proteins. 1990

Four new and complementary three-dimensional triple-resonance experiments are described for obtaining complete backbone ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N resonance assignments of proteins uniformly enriched with ¹³C and ¹⁵N. The new methods all rely on ¹H detection and use multiple magnetization transfers through well-resolved one-bond J couplings. Therefore, the 3D experiments are sensitive and permit relatively rapid recording of 3D spectra (l–2 days) for protein concentrations on the order of 1 mM. One experiment (HNCO) correlates the amide ¹H and ¹⁵N shifts with the ¹³C shift of the carbonyl resonance of the preceding amino acid. A second experiment (HNCA) correlates the intraresidue amide ¹H and ¹⁵N shifts with the Cα chemical shift. This experiment often also provides a weak correlation between the amide NH and ¹⁵N resonances of one amino acid and the Ca resonance of the preceding amino acid. A third experiment (HCACO) correlates the Hα and Cα shifts with the intraresidue carbonyl shift. Finally, a 3D relay experiment, HCA(CO)N, correlates Ha and Cal resonances of one residue with the ¹⁵N frequency of the succeeding residue. The principles of these experiments are described in terms of the operator formalism. To optimize spectral resolution, special attention is paid to removal of undesired J splittings in the 3D spectra. Technical details regarding the implementation of these triple-resonance experiments on a commercial spectrometer are also provided. The experiments are demonstrated for the protein calmodulin (16.7 kDa).     

13C-Nmr Spectroscopy of β-Nitrostyrenes. II. Mono-, Bi- and Tri-Methoxy Phenyl-Substitutions and Long Distance Electronic Effects

By means of ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy and AM1 molecular orbital calculations of mono-, bi- and tri-methoxy-β-nitrostyrenes at the meta and para positions, we have characterized a long distance electronic charge transfer pattern on the ethylenic bridge (CH=CH) and on the aromatic ring (Ph) carbon centers, determined by the electron-donor nature of the methoxy-substituent groups.

After a complete spectral assignment of the ¹³C-NMR signals, we have found a functional dependence of the chemical shifts on the C₁ and C_β centers respect to the C₄ and C₃ methoxy subtitution sites on the aromatic ring, while in the same molecular series C_alfa-chemical shifts are practically constants. on the other hand, the ¹³C-NMR chemical shifts of the C₃ and C₄ centers plus the analysis of the AM1 electronic charge density have permitted us determine the long distance charge transfer effect induced by the C₄ methoxy substitutions as well as the attenuation of this effect due to the C₃ methoxy substitutions.