Studies on the Growth Effects of the Canaline-Urea Cycle Amino Acids with Lemna minor L

Comparison of Phase Shifts of the Circadian Rhythm of K Uptake in Lemna gibba G3 by Various Amino Acid Analogs

Phase shifts of the circadian rhythm of K(+) uptake by Lemna gibba G3, caused by pulse administration of various amino acids analogs, were examined and compared. The various phase shifts were not due to any disturbance in the biosynthesis of amino acids, since the effective time of day and direction of the phase shift caused by analogs were not correlated with the standard amino acid which was modified. Effective analogs could be classified into three groups. The first group was effective during the middle subjective day and caused both advances and delays in phase. The second group was effective early in the subjective night, causing large delays and small phase advance. Analogs in the third group shifted the phase as did cycloheximide and were effective at the subjective dawn. Since the analogs of the third group were known to inhibit protein synthesis, it is likely that they shift the phase by lowering the level of some protein(s) important for the clock. By contrast, since the analogs in groups 1 and 2 are known to generate abnormal proteins, the different phase-shifting patterns caused by analogs in groups 1 and 2 suggest that at least two other proteins are important for the circadian timing loop. The amino acid analogs shift the phase as a result of their incorporation into these proteins instead of the standard amino acid. This probably alters the structure and/or activities of these proteins.

In vitro incorporation of L-canavanine into vitellogenin of the fat body of the migratory locust Locusta migratoria migratorioides

L-Canavanine competes with L-arginine for incorporation into vitellogenin secreted in vitro by the fat body of the female locust Locusta migratoria migratorioides. Incorporation of L-[guanidinooxy-14C]canavanine into vitellogenin has been established unequivocally by combined arginase and urease hydrolyses of the acid hydrolysate of antibody-precipitated canavanyl vitellogenin. Continued exposure of the fat body to canavanine decreases in vitro protein secretion but the proportion of canavanyl vitellogenin to native vitellogenin increases. Canavanine-mediated inhibition of fat body protein secretion is dependent on both the canavanine concentration and the arginine retention by the fat body. Canavanine replaces about 10% of the arginyl residues of canavanyl vitellogenin. The electrophoretic mobility of canavanyl vitellogenin is greater than that of native vitellogenin but the ability of this aberrant protein to react with vitellogenin antibody is unimpaired.

A mechanism of L-canaline toxicity

L-Canaline, a highly toxic structural analogue of L-ornithine, reacted with pyridoxal phosphate to form a stable, ninhydrin-positive complex. NMR analysis revealed the involvement of a Schiff's base in complex formation. Interaction of L-canaline with L-tyrosine decarboxylase, a known B6-containing enzyme, curtailed significantly enzyme-mediated decarboxylation. Spectral scans provided evidence that the loss in catalytic activity is associated with the reaction of canaline with the pyridoxal phosphate moiety of the enzyme. Thus, the marked antimetabolic properties of canaline are due in part of its ability to form a Schiff's-base-containing complex with the B6 moiety of the enzyme.