Effect of Triacontanol on Chlamydomonas: II. Specific Activity of Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase, Ribulose-Bisphosphate Concentration, and Characteristics of Photorespiration

The influence of 1-triacontanol on the growth, flowering, and quality of potted Bougainvillea plants (Bougainvillea glabra var. "Elizabeth Angus") under natural conditions

Selected physiological and biochemical parameters were monitored at the vegetative and reproductive growth stages in potted Bougainvillea plants treated with five different concentrations of TRIA. Advanced flowering, flower bud number, and blooming rate increased significantly with 0.5 and 1.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. Similarly, photosynthetic rate, pigment content, quantum yield, and stomatal conductance increased significantly with 2.5, 1.0, and 5.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. Higher levels of N, P, and K, as well as increased total soluble solids (TSS) and higher sugar and protein contents, were recorded in treated plants. Furthermore, 46% more flowers, a 1.5-fold increase in bract weight, increased longevity, and 40% less leaf abscission were recorded following 2.5 mg/L TRIA treatment. Phenol and flavonoid contents, sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and antioxidant activities were also markedly increased with 2.5 and 1.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. However, ethylene production was significantly lower in the treated plants. Positive correlations were observed between leaf TSS and flowering time and flower number, between leaf sugar content and bract weight, and between net photosynthesis and bract growth and dry matter production. It can be concluded that the foliar spray of TRIA stimulates growth, enhances flowering, and improves the quality of potted Bougainvillea plants.

Boron bioremoval by a newly isolated Chlorella sp. and its stimulation by growth stimulators

It has been well documented that excess concentrations of boron (B) causes toxic effects on many of the environmental systems. Although Chlorella sp. has been studied to remove pollutants from water, its capacity to remove B has not been investigated yet. Boron removal levels of newly isolated Chlorella sp. were investigated in BG 11 media with stimulators as triacontanol (TRIA) and/or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO(3)) and without them, to test if they could increase the removal efficiency by increasing biomass. The assays were performed to determine the effect of different medial compositions, B concentrations, pH and biomass concentrations onto removal efficiency. Boron removal was investigated at 5-10 mg/L range at pH 8 in different medial compositions and maximum removal yield was found as 32.95% at 5.45 mg/L B in media with TRIA and NaHCO(3). The effect of different pH values on the maximum removal yield was investigated at pH 5-9, and the optimum pH was found again 8. The interactive effect of biomass concentration and B removal yield was also investigated at 0.386-1.061 g wet weight/L biomass. The highest removal yield was found as 38.03% at the highest biomass range. This study highlights the importance of using new isolate Chlorella sp. as a new biomaterial for B removal process of waters containing B.

Posttranslational modifications in the amino- terminal region of the large subunit of ribulose- 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase from several plant species

A combination of limited tryptic proteolysis, reverse phasehigh performance liquid chromatography, Edman degradative sequencing, amino acid analysis, and fast-atom bombardment mass-spectrometry was used to remove and identify the first 14 to 18 N-terminal amino acid residues of the large subunit of higher plant-type ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Marchantia polymorpha, pea (Pisum sativum), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), potato (Solanum tuberosum), pepper (Capsicum annuum), soybean (Glycine max), petunia (Petunia x hybrida), cowpea (Vigna sinensis), and cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plants. The N-terminal tryptic peptide from acetylated Pro-3 to Lys-8 of the large subunit of Rubisco was identical in all species, but the amino acid sequence of the penultimate N-terminal tryptic peptide varied. Eight of the 10 species examined contained a trimethyllysyl residue at position 14 in the large subunit of Rubisco, whereas Chlamydomonas and Marchantia contained an unmodified lysyl residue at this position.

Rapid elicitation of second messengers by nanomolar doses of triacontanol and octacosanol

Triacontanol (TRIA) increases the dry weight and alters the metabolism of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings within 10 min of application to either the shoots or roots. This activity is prevented if octacosanol (OCTA, C28 primary alcohol) is applied with the TRIA on the roots or shoots. Triacontanol activity is also stopped if the OCTA is applied at least 1 min before the TRIA on the opposite part of the seedling.Triacontanol rapidly elicits a second messenger that moves rapidly throughout the plant resulting in stimulation of growth (dry-weight increase) and water uptake. Octacosanol also produces a second messenger that inhibits TRIA activity. We have named the putative secondary messengers elicited by TRIA and OCTA, TRIM and OCTAM, respectively. The water-soluble TRIM extracted from plants treated with TRIA increases the growth of rice seedlings about 50% more than extracts from untreated plants, within 24 h of application. Both OCTAM and OCTA inhibit the activity of TRIA but not of TRIM.The TRIA messenger was isolated from rice roots within 1 min of a foliar application of TRIA. The TRIM elicited by TRIA will pass through a 4-mm column of water connecting cut rice shoots with their roots and can also be recovered from water in which cut stems of TRIA-treated plants have been immersed. Triacontanol applied to oat (Avena sativa L.) or tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) shoots connected to rice roots by a 4-mm water column also results in the appearance of TRIM in rice roots.

Effect of Triacontanol on Chlamydomonas: I. Stimulation of Growth and Photosynthetic CO(2) Assimilation

Treatment of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells, cultured at 5% CO(2), with 1 to 1000 micrograms triacontanol (TRIA) per liter resulted in 21 to 35% increases in cell density, 7 to 31% increases in total chlorophyll, and 20 to 100% increases in photosynthetic CO(2) assimilation. The increase in CO(2) fixation with TRIA treatment occurred before, and was independent of, increases in total chlorophyll or cell number. Chlamydomonas cells responded to a broad range of TRIA concentrations that were at least one order of magnitude above the optimum concentration established for higher plants. The necessity for larger concentrations of TRIA may be due to destabilizing effects of Ca(2+) and K(+) present in the Chlamydomonas growth medium. These ions caused flocculation of the colloidally dispersed TRIA in apparent competition with binding of [(14)C]TRIA to Chlamydomonas cells. Octacosanol inhibited the effect of TRIA on photosynthetic CO(2) assimilation. TRIA treatment did not alter the distribution of (14)C-label among photosynthetic products. The effect of TRIA on photosynthetic CO(2) assimilation increased with time after treatment up to 3 days. Chlamydomonas cells that had been grown at low-CO(2) (air) did not respond to TRIA, and transfer of high-CO(2) (5%) grown cells that had responded to TRIA to a low-CO(2) atmosphere resulted in a loss of the effect of TRIA. The effect of pH on photosynthetic CO(2) assimilation indicated that CO(2) is probably the species of inorganic carbon utilized by control and TRIA-treated Chlamydomonas cells.