Studies in enzyme cytochemistry I. Principles of cytochemical staining methods

Brain-wide distribution of reporter expression in five transgenic tetracycline-transactivator mouse lines

The spatial pattern of transgene expression in tetracycline-controlled mouse models is governed primarily by the driver line used to introduce the tetracycline-controlled transactivator (tTA). Detailed maps showing where each tTA driver activates expression are therefore essential for designing and using tet-regulated models, particularly in brain research where cell type and regional specificity determine the circuits affected by conditional gene expression. We have compiled a comprehensive online repository of serial microscopic images showing brain-wide reporter expression for five commonly used tTA driver lines. We have spatially registered all images to a common three-dimensional mouse brain anatomical reference atlas for direct comparison of spatial distribution across lines. The high-resolution images and associated metadata are shared via the web page of the EU Human Brain Project. Images can be inspected using an interactive viewing tool that includes an optional overlay feature providing anatomical delineations and reference atlas coordinates. Interactive viewing is supplemented by semi-quantitative analyses of expression levels within anatomical subregions for each tTA driver line.

Atlas of transgenic Tet-Off Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and prion protein promoter activity in the mouse brain

Conditional transgenic mouse models are important tools for investigations of neurodegenerative diseases and evaluation of potential therapeutic interventions. A popular conditional transgenic system is the binary tetracycline-responsive gene (Tet-Off) system, in which the expression of the gene of interest depends on a tetracycline-regulatable transactivator (tTA) under the control of a specific promoter construct. The most frequently used Tet-Off promoter mouse lines are the Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CamKII) and prion protein (PrP) promoter lines, respectively. To target the regulated gene of interest to relevant brain regions, a priori knowledge about the spatial distribution of the regulated gene expression in the brain is important. Such distribution patterns can be investigated using double transgenic mice in which the promoter construct regulates a LacZ reporter gene encoding the marker β-galactosidase which can be histologically detected using its substrate X-gal. We have previously published an atlas showing the brain-wide expression mediated by the Tet-Off PrP promoter mouse line, but the distribution of activity in the Tet-Off CamKII promoter mouse line is less well known. To compare promoter activity distributions in these two Tet-Off mouse lines, we have developed an online digital atlas tailored for side-by-side comparison of histological section images. The atlas provides a comprehensive list of brain regions containing X-gal labeling and an interactive dual image viewer tool for panning and zooming of corresponding section images. Comparison of spatial expression patterns between the two lines show considerable regional and cellular differences, relevant in context of generation and analysis of inducible models based on these two tetracycline responsive promoter mouse lines.

Indigogenic substrates for detection and localization of enzymes

Indoxyl esters and glycosides are useful chromogenic substrates for detecting enzyme activities in histochemistry, biochemistry and bacteriology. The chemical reactions exploited in the laboratory are similar to those that generate indigoid dyes from indoxyl-beta-d-glucoside and isatans (in certain plants), indoxyl sulfate (in urine), and 6-bromo-2-S-methylindoxyl sulfate (in certain molluscs). Pairs of indoxyl molecules released from these precursors react rapidly with oxygen to yield insoluble blue indigo (or purple 6,6'-dibromoindigo) and smaller amounts of other indigoid dyes. Our understanding of indigogenic substrates was developed from studies of the hydrolysis of variously substituted indoxyl acetates for use in enzyme histochemistry. The smallest dye particles, with least diffusion from the sites of hydrolysis, are obtained from 5-bromo-, 5-bromo-6-chloro- and 5-bromo-4-chloroindoxyl acetates, especially the last of these three. Oxidation of the diffusible indoxyls to insoluble indigoid dyes must occur rapidly. This is achieved with atmospheric oxygen and an equimolar mixture of K(3)Fe(CN)(6) and K(4)Fe(CN)(6), which has a catalytic function. H(2)O(2) is a by-product of the oxidation of indoxyl by oxygen. In the absence of a catalyst, the indoxyl diffuses and is oxidized by H(2)O(2) (catalyzed by peroxidase-like proteins) in sites different from those of the esterase activity. The concentration of K(3)Fe(CN)(6)/K(4)Fe(CN)(6) in a histochemical medium should be as low as possible because this mixture inhibits some enzymes and also promotes parallel formation from the indoxyl of soluble yellow oxidation products. The identities and positions of halogen substituents in the indoxyl moiety of a substrate determine the color and the physical properties of the resulting indigoid dye. The principles of indigogenic histochemistry learned from the study of esterases are applicable to methods for localization of other enzymes, because all indoxyl substrates release the same type of chromogenic product. Substrates are commercially available for a wide range of carboxylic esterases, phosphatases, phosphodiesterases, aryl sulfatase and several glycosidases. Indigogenic methods for carboxylic esterases have low substrate specificity and are used in conjunction with specific inhibitors of different enzymes of the group. Indigogenic methods for acid and alkaline phosphatases, phosphodiesterases and aryl sulfatase generally have been unsatisfactory; other histochemical techniques are preferred for these enzymes. Indigogenic methods are widely used, however, for glycosidases. The technique for beta-galactosidase activity, using 5-bromo-4-chloroindoxyl-beta-galactoside (X-gal) is applied to microbial cultures, cell cultures and tissues that contain the reporter gene lac-z derived from E. coli. This bacterial enzyme has a higher pH optimum than the lysosomal beta-galactosidase of animal cells. In plants, the preferred reporter gene is gus, which encodes beta-glucuronidase activity and is also demonstrable by indigogenic histochemistry. Indoxyl substrates also are used to localize enzyme activities in non-indigogenic techniques. In indoxyl-azo methods, the released indoxyl couples with a diazonium salt to form an azo dye. In indoxyl-tetrazolium methods, the oxidizing agent is a tetrazolium salt, which is reduced by the indoxyl to an insoluble coloured formazan. Indoxyl-tetrazolium methods operate only at high pH; the method for alkaline phosphatase is used extensively to detect this enzyme as a label in immunohistochemistry and in Western blots. The insolubility of indigoid dyes in water limits the use of indigogenic substrates in biochemical assays for enzymes, but the intermediate indoxyl and leucoindigo compounds are strongly fluorescent, and this property is exploited in a variety of sensitive assays for hydrolases. The most commonly used substrates for this purpose are glycosides and carboxylic and phosphate esters of N-methylindoxyl. Indigogenic enzyme substrates are among many chromogenic reagents used to facilitate the identification of cultured bacteria. An indoxyl substrate must be transported into the organisms by a permease to detect intracellular enzymes, as in the blue/white test for recognizing E. coli colonies that do or do not express the lac-z gene. Secreted enzymes are detected by substrate-impregnated disks or strips applied to the surfaces of cultures. Such devices often include several reagents, including indigogenic substrates for esterases, glycosidases and DNAse.

Expression mapping of tetracycline-responsive prion protein promoter: digital atlasing for generating cell-specific disease models

We present a digital atlas system that allows mapping of molecular expression patterns at cellular resolution through large series of histological sections. Using this system, we have mapped the distribution of a distinct marker, encoded by the LacZ reporter gene driven by the tetracycline-responsive prion protein promoter in double transgenic mice. The purpose is to evaluate the suitability of this promoter mouse line for targeting genes of interest to specific brain regions, essential for construction of inducible transgenic disease models. Following processing to visualize the promoter expression, sections were counterstained to simultaneously display cytoarchitectonics. High-resolution mosaic images covering entire coronal sections were collected through the mouse brain at intervals of 200 microm. A web-based application provides access to a customized virtual microscopy tool for viewing and navigation within and across the section images. For each section image, the nearest section in a standard atlas is defined, and annotations of key structures and regions inserted. Putative categorization of labeled cells was performed with use of distribution patterns, followed by cell size and shape, as parameters that were compared to legacy data. Among the ensuing results were expression of this promoter in putative glial cells in the cerebellum (and not in Purkinje cells), in putative glial cells in the substantia nigra, in pallidal glial cells or interneurons, and in distinct cell layers and regions of the hippocampus. The study serves as a precursor for a database resource allowing evaluation of the suitability of different promoter mouse lines for generating disease models.

The cytological localization of intracellular neuronal acetylcholinesterase

Sections of cat ciliary ganglia were stained for acetylcholinesterase activity by several modifications of the acetylthiocholine method in order to achieve optimal accuracy of cytological localization of the enzyme. These were compared by ordinary light and phase contrast microscopy with similar sections stained by standard techniques for Nissl substance, the Golgi apparatus, and the neurofibrillae, and by intravital methylene blue. The pattern of cytoplasmic distribution of acetylcholinesterase corresponded most closely with that of the Nissl substance. Following total inactivation of the ganglionic acetylcholinesterase by intravenously administered di-isopropyl fluorophosphate, the reappearance of the enzyme in vivo occurred at the same cytoplasmic sites prior to its reappearance at the cell membrane or preganglionic axonal terminations. These observations, and reports cited from the literature, provide support for the hypothesis that acetylcholinesterase is synthesized within the endoplasmic reticulum, then transported via its canaliculi to the surface of the cell and its processes, where its functional sites are oriented externally to the lipoidal membrane.

A histochemical enzyme kinetic system applied to the trypsin-like amidase and esterase activity in human mast cells

A method for the determination of enzyme kinetic constants V_m, K_m, and K_i in a histochemical system has been devised. As a substitute for the reciprocal of the reaction velocity, the times necessary to reach a fixed amount of end product (the initial visible color) in a tissue site at various substrate concentrations are plotted, according to the method of Lineweaver and Burk, against the reciprocal of the substrate concentrations. The technique as applied to trypsin-like esterase and amidase activities in human mast cells indicates that a single enzyme or closely related enzymes in this site are responsible for the hydrolysis of both the amide and ester substrates and that typical trypsin substrates act as competitive inhibitors of their hydrolysis. Parallel biochemical studies were performed to evaluate the effect of certain aspects of the experimental histochemical method on a purified homospecific enzyme. The relative kinetic constants derived by the histochemical method afford a further means of characterizing enzymic activity in a histochemical system.

A diazo coupling method for the electron microscopic localization of cholinesterase

The presence of cholinesterase at the myoneural junction of intercostal muscle has been demonstrated in both light and electron microscopic preparations. A new simultaneous diazo coupling technique using α-naphthyl acetate as substrate and "hexazonium pararosanilin" as coupler has been applied to cold formalin-fixed tissues. After postfixation in buffered osmium tetroxide the sites of esterase activity are faithfully demonstrated at a high level of resolution. The details of cholin-esterase distribution and some technical aspects of the procedure are discussed.

The localization of acid phosphatase in rat liver cells as revealed by combined cytochemical staining and electron microscopy

Discrete localization of stain in pericanalicular granules was found in 10 µ frozen sections of formol-phosphate-sucrose-fixed liver stained by the Gomori acid phosphatase technique and examined in the light microscope. The staining patterns, before and after treatment with Triton X-100 and lecithinase, were identical with those previously reported for formol-calcium-fixed material treated in the same way, and it can be assumed that the stained granules are identical with "lysosomes." Examination in the light microscope of the staining patterns and lead penetration in fixed blocks and slices of various dimensions showed nuclear staining and other artefacts to be present, produced by the different rates of penetration of the various components of the staining medium into the tissue. A uniform pericanalicular staining pattern could be obtained, however, with slices not more than 50 µ thick, into which the staining medium could penetrate rapidly from both faces. The staining pattern produced in 50 µ slices was the same both at pH 5.0 and pH 6.2, and was not altered by subsequent embedding of the stained material in butyl methacrylate. Electron microscopy showed the fine structure of fixed 50 µ frozen slices to be well preserved, but it deteriorated badly when they were incubated in the normal Gomori medium at pH 5.0 before postfixing in osmium tetroxide. After incubation in the Gomori medium at pH 6.2, the detailed morphology was substantially maintained. In both cases lead phosphate, the reaction product, was found in the pericanalicular regions of the cell, but only in the vacuolated dense bodies and never in the microbodies. Not every vacuolated dense body contained lead, and stained and unstained bodies were sometimes seen adjacent to each other. This heterogeneous distribution of stain within a morphologically homogeneous group of particles is consistent with de Duve's suggestion (9) that there is a heterogeneous distribution of enzymes within the lysosome population. It is concluded from these investigations that the vacuolated dense bodies seen in the electron microscope are the morphological counterparts of the "lysosomes" defined biochemically by de Duve.

THE LOCALIZATION BY ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF HELA CELL SURFACE ENZYMES SPLITTING ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE

Cultures of normally proliferating Hela cells have been examined in thin sections by electron microscopy following glutaraldehyde fixation, staining in Wachstein and Meisel's adenosine triphosphate containing medium, postosmication, and embedding in an epoxy resin. The cells were stained in suspension in order to ensure uniform accessibility to reagents. Discrete localization of the enzyme reaction product (lead phosphate) was found at the plasma membranes of about half the cells, but nowhere else. It appeared in the form of an intensely electron-opaque deposit lying close against the outer surface of the cells and varying in amount from a chain of small particles to a dense band about 30 mmicro in width. This opaque reaction product was present over microvilli when absent elsewhere on a cell, was heaviest where microvilli and processes were profuse, and was minimal or lacking where cell surfaces were smooth. These observations are discussed in relation to both the idea that surface enzyme activity varies with the physiological phase of individual cells in a population, and the problem of how such enzyme activity becomes manifest at a given site on a morphologically changing membrane system.

Studies on the phenazine methosulphate-tetrazolium capture reaction in NAD(P)+-dependent dehydrogenase cytochemistry. II. A novel hypothesis for the mode of action of PMS and a study of the properties of reduced PMS

The results in the preceding paper have shown that the PMS-tetrazolium capture reaction as such is not sufficient to guarantee a correct localization of formazan in microscopically small dehydrogenase sites. For cytochemical reactions where the application of PMS leads to increased formazan formation, it is proposed that PMS functions not on its own, but as an efficient acceptor of NAD(P)H-oxidizing flavoproteins and thus increases the local NAD(P)H tetrazolium oxidoreductase activity. For the redox mediator vitamin K3 this type of mechanism could be proven with rat liver fractions. The relatively rapid NADPH oxidation precluded such simple experiments with PMS. An indication of such a stimulation by PMS was, however, obtained with soluble rat liver fraction. As escape of reducing equivalents from the site might also occur at the level of reduced PMS (PMSH) the solubility properties of PMSH were studied. It was found that PMSH has a low solubility in aqueous media and is hydrophobic. On basis of these findings a 'post-tetrazolium reduction' method seemed possible and could be experimentally confirmed.

Studies on the phenazine methosulphate-tetrazolium salt capture reaction in NAD(P)+-dependent dehydrogenase cytochemistry. I. Localization artefacts caused by the escape of reduced co-enzyme during cytochemical reactions for NAD(P)+-dependent dehydrogenases

The correct localization of oxidative enzymes using cytochemical tetrazolium methods, in which low molecular weight electron carriers such as NAD(P)H and reduced phenazine methosulphate (PMSH) are used, can be endangered by the escape of the reduced intermediates before they react to form the insoluble formazan at the true enzyme-containing sites. To investigate this phenomenon, the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase reaction was studied in fixed erythrocytes which, because of their microscopic dimensions, are well-suited for studying the loss of intermediates. A mixture of active and heat-inactivated fixed erythrocytes was incubated in a PMS-supplemented medium for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The cytophotometric histograms showed that the final formazan precipitate was equally distributed over both active and inactivated cells. When bovine serum albumin was added to the medium, all the formazan was found to be bound to this protein and the erythrocytes remained essentially unstained. The false localization in this system could be explained by an unfavourable balance between the capture of electrons carried by NADPH within the erythrocyte and the diffusion of NADPH out of the erythrocyte. The rate constant of NADPH oxidation was determined, as was also the diffusion constant of NADPH in a protein matrix. Substituting the data obtained into formulae derived from the enzyme cytochemical localization theory of Holt & O'Sullivan (1958), it was calculated that the capture reaction was highly deficient and, theoretically, less than 1% of the total amount of formazan produced was localized within the erythrocyte which explains the false localization observed. The importance of these findings for the cytochemical demonstration of NAD(P)+-dependent dehydrogenases in cells and electropherograms is briefly discussed.

A quantitative histochemical technique for the characterisation of alpha-glucosidases in the brush-border membrane of rat jejunum

A quantitative histochemical method to determine the Km and Vmax of alpha-glucosidases in the intestinal epithelium without disruption of the cellular structure is described. 2-Naphthyl-alpha-D-glucoside was used as substrate and hexazonium-p-rosaniline as coupling agent. Using a Leitz MPV2 microdensitometer and a field measuring 4 X 4 micrometers, and reading the test samples against a blank focused on the lamina propria, we observed that the intensity of the colour was a linear function of both the incubation time up to 20 min, and the thickness of the slice up to 20 micrometers. The ratio between the extinction at the absorption maximum and at a second wave-length was constant, whatever the intensity of the colour. By determining the relationship between the extinction and the substrate concentration under standard conditions (slice thickness of of 10 micrometers and incubation time of 10 min), we obtained a saturation curve described by a Km of 0.68 +/- 0.038 mM and a Vmax of 1.41 +/- 0.039 A lambda 480 . 10(-2) . micrometers-1 . min-1. When the hydrolysis of the same substrate by a homogenate of jejunal mucosa was examined biochemically under comparable conditions, a Km of 0.64 +/- 0.012 mM and a Vmax of 57.3 +/- 0.70 mU/mg protein were obtained. When the natural substrate, sucrose, was used in the biochemical study, a Km of 15 +/- 3.5 mM and a Vmax of 149 +/- 24.7 mU/mg protein were obtained. These experiments demonstrate that the kinetic constants of enzyme reactions can be assessed with equal accuracy on histochemical sections as in tissue homogenates.

A theoretical study of concentration of profiles of primary cytochemical-enzyme reaction products in membrane-bound cell organelles and its application to lysosomal acid phosphatase

A numerical method was developed for computing the steady-state concentration gradient of a diffusible enzyme reaction product in a membrane-limited compartment of a simplified theoretical cell model. In cytochemical enzyme reactions proceeding according to the metal-capture principle, the local concentration of the primary reaction product is an important factor in the onset of the precipitation process and in the distribution of the final reaction product. The following variables were incorporated into the model: enzyme activity, substrate concentration, Km, diffusion coefficient of substrate and product, particle radius and cell radius. The method was applied to lysosomal acid phosphatase. Numerical values for the variables were estimated from experimental data in the literature. The results show that the calculated phosphate concentrations inside lysosomes are several orders of magnitude lower than the critical concentrations for efficient phosphate capture found in a previous experimental model study. Reasons for this apparent discrepancy are discussed.

Studies on gut ultrastructure and digestive physiology in Rhabdias bufonis and R. sphaerocephala (Nematoda:Rhabditida)

Histological, histochemical and ultrastructural methods have been used to study gut structure and digestive physiology in the parasitic nematodes Rhabdias bufonis (Schrank, 1788) and R. sphaerocephala (Goodey, 1924). Both species are parasitic in the lungs of their amphibian hosts and feed entirely upon blood drawn from the lung capillaries.

Three gland cells are present in the oesophagus, one in each sector. The two subventral ducts open, by way of ampullae, into the lumen of the oesophagus about a quarter of its length from the anterior end. The dorsal gland opens similarly into the base of the buccal capsule. It is suggested that the glands produce a B-esterase, in an histochemically inactive form in situ, which is responsible for haemolysis and the bulk of extracellular digestion. Only one cell type is present in the intestine and this is entirely absorptive in function.

The major part of haemoglobin digestion is extracellular, partly by a process of contact digestion involving the B-esterase and acid phosphatase which are present in association with the microvilli. Haematin results from this process and is precipitated in the gut lumen. A smaller proportion of haemoglobin is taken up by the gut cells and is broken down intracellularly by lysosomes, originating in Golgi in the basal gastrodermis. These show endopeptidase activity and later acid phosphatase in some of the bodies of the lysosomal sequence and only at the light microscope level. The iron-containing pigment haemosiderin resulting from digestion is retained in the lysosome residues and forms the pigment granules in the gastrodermis. The products of extracellular digestion absorbed by the gastrodermis are synthetized into lipid by a lipase, probably produced by GER.

This investigation was supported in part by Research Grant AI 06295 of the United States Public Health Service. The final manuscript was prepared during the tenure of a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the British Egg Marketing Board. I wish to extend my gratitude to Dr J. B. Jennings for advice and encouragement throughout this work.

The ultrastructural localization of the isozymes of aspartate aminotransferase in murine tissues

Two isozymes of aspartate aminotransferase have been demonstrated biochemically. One isozyme is found in the mitochondrial fraction of the cytoplasm, the other ("soluble") in the supernatant. Both isozymes can be demonstrated by the cytochemical technique of Lee and Torack, as reported in the preceding report. Aldehyde fixation rapidly inactivates both isozymes, especially the soluble one. Inactivation can be delayed by addition of ketoglutarate to the fixative. The ketoglutarate probably competes with the fixative for the active site of the enzyme, thus protecting that region of the molecule. This enables adequate tissue preservation with enough remaining enzymatic activity to be demonstrated by the precipitation of oxaloacetate as the lead salt from a medium containing alpha-ketoglutaric acid aspartic acid, and lead nitrate. Electron-opaque material was found not only in mitochondria but, as the result of substrate protection, on the plasma membranes of many cells including erythrocytes and bacteria, the limiting membrane of peroxisomes, and the transverse tubular system of striated muscle. Occasional centrioles, neurotubules, tubules in the tails of spermatozoa, the A-I band junction in myofibrils of striated muscle, and the ground substance between cisternae of endoplasmic reticulum in intestinal goblet cells also showed precipitate. In all cases, replacement of L-aspartic acid by D-aspartic acid in the medium resulted in unstained sections. The sensitivity of extramitochondrial sites to fixation, the need of ketoglutarate as an agent for protecting the enzymatic activity during the fixation process, and the known presence of only soluble isozyme in erythrocytes indicate that enzymatic activity at these sites can be attributed to the soluble isozyme. Localization of the soluble isozyme on the plasma membrane may be related to possible involvement in depolarization phenomena, amino acid transport, or synthesis of plasma membrane-bound mucopolysaccharides.

Observations on the nutrition of digenetic trematodes

Both histological and histochemical studies have been made of the food, mode of feeding, gut cell structure and digestive sequences in a selected number of digenetic trematodes.

The species investigated range from gut-dwelling trematodes feeding on the superficial epithelial tissues and associated mucoid secretions of the host to those forms living within the respiratory and circulatory system and feeding exclusively on blood.

The mode of feeding is suctorial, brought about by the muscular pharynx and normal attachment process of the oral sucker. In one case there is evidence that this purely mechanical process is supplemented with enzymic secretions produced by the trematode which have a histolytic effect upon host tissues.

On the basis of gut cell structure the species investigated are divided into those with cells and associated microvilli that vary in size and appearance so that the gastrodermal border is irregular in outline, and those with a gastrodermis comprising regular cuboidal or columnar cells bearing microvilli organized into a striated border. There is evidence to suggest that this difference in gut cell structure reflects differences in digestion. In all cases, gland cells are absent from the gastrodermis which is capable of both secretory and absorptive functions.

Digestion is predominantly an extracellular process, but the exact sequence varies according to the nature of the food ingested and different degrees of adaptation are shown by the trematodes to the blood-feeding habit. The tissue-feeding species show less modification.

I wish to thank Dr J. B. Jennings for helpful discussion and advice throughout the course of this work. The study was undertaken during the tenure of a Studentship from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

HISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF ENZYME DISTRIBUTION IN SHOOT TIPS OF WHITE SPRUCE (PICEA GLAUCA (MOENCH) VOSS)

The relationship between morphological and metabolic or enzymic differentiation in shoot tips of white spruce has been investigated by histochemical methods revealing the distribution of several enzymes and other cellular constituents in tissues of the shoot tip at different times during the growing season. Most of the enzymes studied showed well-defined distribution patterns which varied with the stage of development of the shoot tip. Less seasonal variation was observed in the distribution of the other substances included.Activity of cytochrome oxidase and succinic dehydrogenase was high in the shoot apex during the flush of growth in the spring, indicating a high level of respiratory activity in that region, consistent with the rapid growth of the shoot. Peroxidase activity was associated particularly with meristematic or potentially meristematic tissue regions. The evidence substantiates the view that mitotic activity is greatest on the flanks of the apex and supports the existence of a quiescent center with relatively low activity in the apical mother cell zone, classically the origin of the primary stem tissues. High phosphatase activity was observed in the crown region and at the bases of needle and cone scale primordia.Young cones in fall or spring exhibited enzyme distribution patterns distinctly different from those in vegetative shoot tips. No evidence was obtained to indicate what enzyme or enzymes might be particularly involved in the differentiation of reproductive buds, but the results provide a basis for a further critical investigation of this differentiation by histochemical means.