Phosphorylation in crested wheatgrass seeds at low water potentials

Activities of Candida rugosa lipase and other esterolytic enzymes coated on glass beads and suspended in substrate and water vapor: Enzymes in thin liquid films

Candida rugosa lipase was enzymatically active when coated on glass beads and exposed to mixtures of substrate and water vapor over a range of relative humidities up to 100%. Evidence was obtained for operation of the enzyme in a thin liquid film of concentrated buffer on the surface of the glass beads. Formation of the thin film was associated with hygroscopicity of the buffer used to suspend the enzyme in preparation of the enzyme-coated beads. At some buffer concentrations estimated to be on the bead surface, the enzyme was partially soluble and both soluble and insoluble forms were enzymatically active. The vapor mode of operation over a range of relative humidities had comparatively small effects on kinetic constants for hydrolysis of ethyl acetate, which were also similar to those in phosphate buffer. The extent of reaction occurred in the order hydrolysis greater than alcoholysis greater than ester interchange greater than esterification. Reaction preference between alcoholysis and hydrolysis changed as acyl chain length of substrate increased with C. rugosa lipase, as well as with Rhizopus arrhizus lipase and porcine liver esterase, with details depending on the enzyme. The vapor mode approach has the potential of being used with a wide variety of substrates, as shown by the ability to obtain hydrolysis at 30 degrees C with substrate vapor pressures as low as 0.08 mm Hg and with substrates with boiling points as high as 206 degrees C.

Measuring water potential (activity) from free water to oven dryness

Water activities (potentials) in plant materials were measured over the range from free water to oven dryness with a Spanner thermocouple psychrometer. In a two-step procedure, water was first condensed on the thermocouple junction for several minutes. The sample was then inserted under the wet thermocouple and the maximum psychrometric cooling was measured in about 10 seconds. Calibration was with saturated salt slurries of known water activities. Psychrometric cooling was a nearly linear function of the water activity and of the negative log of the water potential. The psychrometric cooling to water activity relationship agreed with wetbulb temperature depression to relative humidity relationships given in tables. Water activities of wheat grains and leaves decreased sharply in a curvilinear fashion as their water contents decreased. Some problems of the procedure are discussed.

The effect of restricted hydration on the rate of reaction of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucose isomerase, hexokinase and fumarase

A method is described for the measurement of enzyme activity under xeric conditions. The reaction mixtures had water contents ranging between 0.1 and 0.6g/g of reaction mixture. For glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, hexokinase and fumarase, enzyme activity became detectable (about 0.05% of the fully hydrated rate) when the water content was about 0.2g/g of reaction mixture, and for phosphoglucose isomerase, around 0.15g/g of reaction mixture. With the water content raised to 0.3g/g of reaction mixture the reaction rates were only increased to 0.1-3% of the fully hydrated rate. When the combined rates for phosphoglucose isomerase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase were measured, reasonable agreement was found between the experimental data and those calculated from the individual experimentally determined rates on the assumption that diffusion was not further limiting. A method was devised for measuring the diffusion coefficients of low-molecular-weight substances in solutions having low water contents. The diffusion coefficients of riboflavin in sorbitol solution decreased by about 100-fold when the water content of the latter was reduced from 3 to 0.25g/g of sorbitol. It is concluded that to detect enzyme activity a certain minimal amount of water is required and that above this minimum the rate is still restricted by diffusion limitation. The relevance of the results to the physical state of water in reaction mixtures and to metabolism in seeds and spores in xeric conditions is discussed.