Effect of cortisol or adrenocorticotropic hormone on luteinizing hormone secretion by pig pituitary cells in vitro

The effect of cortisol or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) on basal and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-induced secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) was studied in vitro using dispersed pig pituitary cells. Pig pituitary cells were dispersed with collagenase and DNAase and then grown in McCoy's 5a medium containing 10% dextran charcoal-pretreated horse serum and 2.5% fetal calf serum for 3 days. Cells were preincubated with cortisol or ACTH before GnRH was added. When pituitary cells were incubated with 400 micrograms cortisol/ml medium for 6 h or longer, increase basal secretion of LH was observed. However, GnRH-induced LH release was reduced by cortisol. The degree of this reduction was dependent on cortisol, and a concentration of cortisol higher than 100 micrograms/ml was needed. Cortisol also inhibited the 17 beta-estradiol-induced increase in GnRH response. ACTH-(1-24), ACTH-(1-39), or porcine ACTH had no influence on GnRH-induced LH secretion. Our results show that cortisol can act directly on pig pituitary to inhibit both normal and estradiol-sensitized LH responsiveness to GnRH.

Effect of 3-hydroxy-4-1(H)pyridone on the basal and thyrotropin-releasing hormone-stimulated release of thyroid-stimulating hormone from perifused anterior pituitary fragments

This study investigated the direct effect of 3-hydroxy-4-1(H)-pyridone (DHP), the breakdown product of mimosine in the rumen, on thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) secretion by perifusion of rat anterior pituitary fragments. During a 2-h perifusion with thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), the total release of TSH increased linearly (P less than 0.05, r = 0.966) with increasing concentration of TRH from 1 to 100 ng/ml. The release was maximal at 100 ng/ml. There were no differences in total basal TSH release among control and DHP-treated pituitary fragments. DHP at concentrations of 1, 10, and 100 micrograms/ml had no significant effect on the TSH response to TRH. However, DHP at the concentration of 1 mg/ml significantly suppressed the TSH response to TRH administered continuously or as a 10-min pulse. These results suggest that DHP modulates the pituitary thyrotroph's response to TRH.

Relationship between Mefluidide Treatment and Abscisic Acid Metabolism in Chilled Corn Leaves

Mefluidide, N-(2,4-dimethyl-5[([trifluoromethyl]sulfonyl) amino] phenyl)acetamide, a synthetic plant growth regulator, was capable of triggering an increase in endogenous free abscisic acid content when corn (Zea mays L.) plants were grown in a nonstress, day/night, temperature regime (26 degrees C) with sufficient moisture supply. The relevance of such an abscisic acid increase prior to chilling exposure and the water relations during chilling are discussed in reference to the mefluidide protection of the chilled corn plants.

Temperature response of plasma membranes in tuber-bearing solanum species

Permeability coefficients (Kp) of nonelectroytes were determined at several temperatures for nonacclimated and acclimated plasma membranes of the frost sensitive Solanum tuberosum and the frost resistant Solanum commersonii. In nonacclimated membranes, Kp were equal at 25 degrees C for the two species. Kp decreased with decreased temperature in both species; however, the decrease was much greater in the frost sensitive S. tuberosum than in frost resistant S. commersonii.Kp increased with cold acclimation. After acclimation the temperature sensitivity of Kp or activation energy (Ea) for S. tuberosum was similar to that of S. commersonii; however, Kp for S. tuberosum were lower than those for S. commersonii at all temperatures.The differences in Kp and activation energy indicate plasma membrane differences between the species before acclimation. After acclimation there was still a difference between the plasma membranes of the two species as well as a difference between the nonacclimated and acclimated membranes of the same species.

The combined effects of dietary protein and fat on prolactin in female rats

A 3 X 3 factorial experiment was conducted to examine how protein content (8, 16 and 32% of kcals from casein) and fat content (12, 24 and 48% of kcals from corn oil) interact to influence prolactin homeostasis in female rats. Weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to each of nine diets fed ad libitum. Dietary fat had no effect on the time of vaginal opening although first estrus occurred slightly earlier with high fat diets (P less than 0.05). Rats fed diets with protein at 8% of kcal showed a 2-wk delay in vaginal opening and first estrus. After 18-20 wk of feeding, serum and pituitary prolactin concentrations were determined after decapitation during the afternoon of proestrus or diestrus. Although serum prolactin was elevated at proestrus, there were no effects of fat or protein on the serum or pituitary prolactin. Another group of rats were fitted with jugular cannulae and treated with perphenazine, a potent prolactin-stimulating drug. Dietary fat or protein had no effect on prolactin secretion after perphenazine treatment. In the final experiment, rats fed each diet were treated with either i.p. saline or perphenazine followed by decapitation. The pituitary was removed 3 h later for determination of the amount of prolactin depleted from the pituitary. There was no effect of diet on the amount of pituitary prolactin depleted by perphenazine. No evidence was obtained that changes in dietary fat or protein concentration influence serum prolactin or its secretion in response to a provocative stimulus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Mefluidide protection of severely chilled crop plants

Mefluidide, the common name of N-(2,4-dimethyl-5-[([trifluoromethyl] sulfonyl)amino]phenyl)acetamide, is capable of protecting chilling sensitive plants such as cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) from chilling injury. The applied concentrations that protect plants from stress are species specific. Applied above a threshold concentration, it has no protective effect. Regardless of its immediate potential for agriculture, it appears at least to be a powerful tool for the biologist in the study of the protection from temperature stress mechanism.

Frost injury and heterogeneous ice nucleation in leaves of tuber-bearing solanum species : ice nucleation activity of external source of nucleants

The heterogeneous ice nucleation characteristics and frost injury in supercooled leaves upon ice formation were studied in nonhardened and cold-hardened species and crosses of tuber-bearing Solanum. The ice nucleation activity of the leaves was low at temperatures just below 0 degrees C and further decreased as a result of cold acclimation. In the absence of supercooling, the nonhardened and cold-hardened leaves tolerated extracellular freezing between -3.5 degrees and -8.5 degrees C. However, if ice initiation in the supercooled leaves occurred at any temperature below -2.6 degrees C, the leaves were lethally injured.To prevent supercooling in these leaves, various nucleants were tested for their ice nucleating ability. One% aqueous suspensions of fluorophlogopite and acetoacetanilide were found to be effective in ice nucleation of the Solanum leaves above -1 degrees C. They had threshold temperatures of -0.7 degrees and -0.8 degrees C, respectively, for freezing in distilled H(2)O. Although freezing could be initiated in the Solanum leaves above -1 degrees C with both the nucleants, 1% aqueous fluorophlogopite suspension showed overall higher ice nucleation activity than acetoacetanilide and was nontoxic to the leaves. The cold-hardened leaves survived between -2.5 degrees and -6.5 degrees using 1% aqueous fluorophlogopite suspension as a nucleant. The killing temperatures in the cold-hardened leaves were similar to those determined using ice as a nucleant. However, in the nonhardened leaves, use of fluorophlogopite as a nucleant resulted in lethal injury at higher temperatures than those estimated using ice as a nucleant.

Involvement of abscisic Acid in potato cold acclimation

Upon exposure to 2 degrees C day/night (D/N), leaves of Solanum commersonii (Sc) began acclimating on the 4th day from a -5 degrees C (killing temperature) hardy level to -12 degrees C by the 15th day. Leaves of S. tuberosum L. (St) cv ;Red Pontiac' typically failed to acclimate and were always killed at -3 degrees C. Leaves of control (20/15 degrees C, D/N) and treated plants (2 degrees C, D/N) of St showed similar levels of free abscisic acid (ABA) during a 15-day sampling period. In treated Sc plants, however, free ABA contents increased 3-fold on the 4th day and then declined to their initial level thereafter. The increase was not observed in leaves of Sc control plants.Treated St plants showed a slightly higher content of leaf soluble protein than controls. In Sc, leaves of controls maintained relatively constant soluble proteins, but leaves of treated plants showed a distinct increase. This significant increase was initiated on the 4th day, peaked on the 5th day, and remained at a high level throughout the 15-day sampling period.Exogenously applied ABA induced frost hardiness in leaves of Sc plants whether plants were grown under a 20 degrees C or 2 degrees C temperature regime. When cycloheximide was added to the medium of stem-cultured plants at the beginning of 2 degrees C acclimation, or at the beginning of the ABA treatment in the 20 degrees C regime, it completely inhibited the development of frost hardiness. However, when cycloheximide was added to plants on the 5th day during 2 degrees C acclimation, the induction of frost hardiness was not inhibited. The role of ABA in triggering protein synthesis needed to induce frost hardiness is discussed.

Comparison of the structure and function of ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase--oxygenase from a cold-hardy and nonhardy potato species

A comparison of ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase from the leaves of the nonacclimated, cold-hardy species, Solanum commersonii, and the nonacclimated, nonhardy species, Solanum tuberosum showed that this enzyme from the two species differed in structure and function. The results of sulfhydryl group titration with 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) indicated that the kinetics of titration and the number of accessible sulfhydryl groups in the native enzymes were different. After 30 min, the enzyme from the hardy species had 1.7 times fewer sulfhydryl groups titrated than that from the nonhardy species. In the presence of 1% (w/v) sodium dodecyl sulfate, the total number of sulfhydryl groups titratable with 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) was the same for both species. However, this denaturant had a differential effect on the kinetics of titration with 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). Both enzymes had a native molecular weight of about 550 000. The quaternary structures of the two enzymes were similar with the presence of large and small subunits of 54 000 and 14 000, respectively. However, there was more polypeptide of 108 000--110 000 present in preparations of the enzyme from S. tuberosum than from S. commersonii. This polypeptide is an apparent dimer of the large subunit on a relative mass basis. The large subunit of the enzyme from S. tuberosum was more sensitive to the absence of reducing agent and was more sensitive to freezing and thawing than the large subunit of the enzyme from S. commersonii. Catalytic properties of both enzymes at 5 and 25 degrees C indicated no significant difference in the Km, CO2 at either temperature. However, the Vmax at 5 degrees C for the enzyme from S. commersonii was 35% higher than that of the enzyme from S. tuberosum. In contrast, the Vmax at 25 degrees C for the enzyme of the hardy species was 250% lower than that of the enzyme from the nonhardy species.

Plasma Membrane Alterations in Callus Tissues of Tuber-bearing Solanum Species during Cold Acclimation

Plasma membrane alterations in two tuber-bearing potato species during a 20-day cold acclimation period were investigated. Leaf-callus tissues of the frost-resistant Solanum acaule Hawkes ;Oka 3878' and the frost-susceptible, commonly grown Solanum tuberosum ;Red Pontiac,' were used. The former is a species that can be hardened after subjecting to the low temperature, and the latter does not harden. Samples for the electron microscopy were prepared from callus cultures after hardening at 2 C in the dark for 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 days. After 20 days acclimation, S. acaule increased in frost hardiness from -6 to - 9 C (killing temperature), whereas frost hardiness of S. tuberosum remained unchanged (killed at -3 C). Actually, after 15 days acclimation, a -9 C frost hardiness level in S. acaule callus cultures had been achieved.Membrane protein particle aggregation was monitored using freeze-fracture electron microscopy. Protein particles were aggregated in S. acaule up to 10 days after the initiation of acclimation treatment and then redistributed almost to the level of control after 15 days. No such changes were observed for S. tuberosum under similar experimental conditions. The change in protein particle aggregation pattern in S. acaule is interpreted as indicating the presence of an adaptive fluidity control mechanism in that species.

Biochemical Changes in Tuber-bearing Solanum Species in Relation to Frost Hardiness during Cold Acclimation

Biochemical changes in potato leaves during cold acclimation have been examined and compared between a frost-tolerant S. acaule and a frost-susceptible S. tuberosum species. Changes were also examined in S. tuberosum, S. acaule, and S. commersonii species when they were hardened at different temperatures to varying hardiness levels.During three weeks of stepwise cold acclimation, S. acaule increased frost hardiness from -6.0 C (killing temperature) to -9.0 C, whereas frost hardiness of S. tuberosum remained unchanged at -3.0 C. Decreases in DNA content on a dry weight basis in both species suggest that matured leaf cells accumulated more dry matter during acclimation. The advantage of using DNA as a reference for comparing metabolite changes during cold acclimation is discussed.Under the stepwise acclimating conditions, both species showed the same trends for increasing total sugar and starch with an insignificant decrease in leaf water content. High levels of total RNA, rRNA, and total and soluble protein were observed in treated S. acaule plants as compared with controls, but not in S. tuberosum. Levels of total lipid and phospholipid also were high in treated S. acaule plants as compared with controls but decreased in S. tuberosum during acclimation.When S. tuberosum, S. acaule, and S. commersonii potatoes were cold-treated at constant day/night temperatures of 10, 5, and 2 C with 14-hour daylength, each species responds differently in terms of frost hardiness increase upon subjecting plants to a low temperature. For instance, after 20 days at 2 C, a net frost hardiness of 3 and 7 C was observed in S. acaule and S. commersonii, respectively, whereas the frost hardiness in S. tuberosum remained unchanged. Also, various levels of frost hardiness can be achieved in a species by subjecting plants to different low temperature treatments. Under a warm regime of 20/15 C day/night temperatures (14-hour light), both S. acaule and S. commersonii can survive at -4.5 C or colder, whereas S. tuberosum can survive only at -2.5 C.Biochemical changes in the leaf tissue of these species were investigated at 5-day intervals during low temperature treatments. Increases in total sugar and starch were found in all three species during hardening, although S. tuberosum failed to harden. Soluble protein contents were increased in both S. acaule and S. commersonii but decreased in S. tuberosum. RNA contents change in a pattern similar to the soluble protein. Net increases of the soluble proteins were positively and significantly correlated with net increases of frost hardiness in S. acaule and S. commersonii.

Characteristics of Cold Acclimation and Deacclimation in Tuber-bearing Solanum Species

The effect of temperatures on cold acclimation and deacclimation in foliage tissues was studied in Solanum commersonii (Oka 4583), a tuber-bearing potato. The threshold temperature for cold acclimation was about 12 C. In a temperature range of 2 to 12 C, the increase in hardiness was dependent on the acclimating temperature; the lower the acclimating temperature, the more hardiness achieved. A day/night temperature of 2 C, regardless of photoperiod, appeared to the optimum acclimating temperature for the Solanum species studied. A subfreezing temperature hardened plants less effectively. The maximum level of hardiness could be reached after 15 days of cold acclimation. However, it took only 1 day to deacclimate the hardened plants to a preacclimation level when plants were subjected to a warm regime from cold. The degree of deacclimation was dependent on the temperature of the warm regime.Based on cold tolerance and the capacity to acclimate to cold, tuber-bearing Solanum species could be grouped into five categories. Chilling injury was also observed in some of the tuber-bearing Solanum species.

Changes in Frost Hardiness of Stem Cortical Tissues of Cornus stolonifera Michx. after Recovery from Water Stress

Moderate water stress increases frost hardiness in many woody plants but little attention has been given to changes in hardiness after recovery from water stress. Tests were carried out to examine how much water stress-induced frost hardiness remained when plants were rewatered under different day length regimes. Red osier dogwood plants (Cornus stolonifera Michx.) were water-stressed at normal growing temperatures in long day (LD) or short day (SD) conditions, exposed to 6 nights of freezing temperatures, and then returned to normal growing conditions with full water supply. Water-stressed plants gained an additional 8 to 10 C of hardiness. The amount of freeze-induced hardiness in both stressed and control plants was not significant (approximately 2 C) and was not affected by photoperiod. When plants were kept in or transferred to LD, they lost nearly all of their water stress-induced hardiness within 7 days after rewatering. Water-stressed plants in SD lost the least amount of hardiness (5 C) when rewatered. In dogwood, water stress is an effective way to increase hardiness temporarily, but the photoperiod has a large effect on the retention of the acquired hardiness.

Interactions of low temperature, water stress, and short days in the induction of stem frost hardiness in red osier dogwood

The induction of stem frost hardiness by low temperature, water stress, short days, and their combinations in 2- and 4-month-old growing dogwoods (Cornus stolonifera) were investigated. When plants were subjected to more than one factor, the increased hardiness was the sum of the effects of the individual factors involved. No interactions among these factors on hardiness were observed during a 3-week treatment. Results indicate that low temperature, water stress, and short days initially trigger independent frost-hardening mechanisms. Plant ages significantly influenced the change in low temperature-induced frost hardiness, but not the water stress or short day-induced frost hardiness.

Induction of Frost Hardiness in Stem Cortical Tissues of Cornus stolonifera Michx. by Water Stress: I. Unfrozen Water in Cortical Tissues and Water Status in Plants and Soil

Water supply and day length were varied in cold hardiness studies of red osier dogwood plants (Cornus stolonifera Michx.). The frost killing temperature, the content and freezing of stem cortical tissue water along with soil moisture content and tension were evaluated. Seven days of water stress in long and short day photoperiod regimes caused a rapid decrease in soil moisture content and plant water potential. During the same period, the frost hardiness increased from -3 to -11 C. Further water stress treatment had little effect. Control plants in short days showed only a gradual decrease in plant water potential and only gradually increased in frost hardiness while control plants in long days were unchanged. Freezing studies using nuclear magnetic resonance showed that increased hardiness in water-stressed plants resulted from both an increased tolerance of freezing and an increased avoidance of freezing, the latter resulting from higher solute concentration in the tissue solutions. The short day controls also showed similar changes; however, the changes were smaller over the 21 days of the study.

Induction of Frost Hardiness in Stem Cortical Tissues of Cornus stolonifera Michx. by Water Stress: II. Biochemical Changes

A decrease of protein, RNAs, and starch, and an increase of sugar were observed in 3-day water-stressed red osier dogwood plants (Cornus stolonifera Michx.) when the frost hardiness increased from -3 to -6 C. As the frost hardiness increased to -11 C after 7 days of treatment, the starch continuously decreased, however, the proteins and RNAs increased with a continuous increase of sugar. Further water stress treatment had little effect on the changes of these chemicals. Control plants in short days showed similar gradual biochemical changes in patterns. From the results of frost hardiness increases, the pattern of biochemical changes, and the mechanism of the increased freezing resistance, it appears that the water stress and short days accomplished essentially the same physiological end(s) in inducing frost hardiness in red-osier dogwood.

Short term increases in the cold tolerance of red osier dogwood stems induced by application of cysteine

Bark tissues of Cornus stolonifera stems, treated with cysteine at 24 hours after treatment, survived exposure to -11 C (the tissue temperature) with little or no injury. An initiation of increase in the cold tolerance was usually observed when plants were treated with cysteine at 12 hours after treatment. Neither plants at 36 or 48 hours after treatment nor plants 12 hours before treatment had shown increases in the cold tolerance. They were killed below -5 C, which was the survival temperature of untreated control plants. Two weeks or more of short day induction before cysteine application were required for a significant effect of short term 5 C increase in the cold tolerance.