Analysis of the quantitative precipitation of bovine β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) with rabbit antiserum to β-Lg indicated that there were at least four antigenic sites on β-Lg. To study the antigenic property of bovine β-Lg, we examined the antigenic reactivity of anti β-Lg serum with β-Lg specifically modified with chemical reagents by immunodiffusion analysis, a quantitative precipitin test, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Modification of arginine residues, tryptophan residues, or sulfhydryl groups had little effect on the antigenic reactivity. A significant decrease in the reactivity was observed when β-Lg was acetylated, succinylated, modified with diethylpyrocarbonate or coupled with glycine amide.
These results suggest that 1.1 of three arginine residues, two tryptophan residues, and one sulfhydryl group are out of the antigenic sites, but there is a possibility that the amino group, histidine residue and carboxyl group may play an important role in the antigenicity of bovine β-Lg,

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Three sesquiterpenoid glycosides, 3β-hydroxysolanascone-β-sophoroside 1a, 3β-hydroxysolavetivone-β-glucoside 2a and rishitin glycoside 3a, were isolated from tobacco.

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A procedure for the purification of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase from the cyanobacterium Phormidium sp. is described. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was 104, 000 by gel filtration, and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the enzyme consisted of two subunits with an identical molecular weight of 52, 000. The optimum pH of the reaction was 8.0. The Km values for 6-phosphogluconate and NADP were 3.6×10^-5M and 1.3×10^-5M, respectively. The enzyme showed no Mg²⁺ requirement for the activity, but was activated by Mn²⁺ and Ca²⁺. The enzyme was inhibited by sulfhydryl reagents, indicating that a sulfhydryl group may be involved in the active site of the enzyme. The enzyme was also inhibited by NADPH₂, ATP, and the intermediates formed during photosynthesis. The substrate 6-phosphogluconate and cofactor NADP partially protected the enzyme from inactivation. The enzyme had enzymological and physicochemical properties similar to enzymes isolated from other sources.

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Continuous decolorization of molasses waste water by mycelia of Coriolus versicolor Ps4a was studied using waste water from a baker's yeast factory, treated by means of methane fermentation and with activated sludge. Optimum decolorization with bare pellet-type mycelia in shaking flasks needed the addition of glucose (0.5%) and peptone (0.05%) and aerobic conditions (1ppm of dissolved oxygen). Continuous decolorization in a bubbling column reactor showed a decolorization yield of approximately 75% in only 20 hr at a dilution rate (D) of 0.03hr^-1 under the optimum conditions.
In order to continue the decolorization for a longer time, mycelia immobilized within Ca-alginate gel were tested in a bubbling column reactor under the optimum conditions. The immobilized mycelia showed an almost constant decolorization yield (65.7%) during continuous decolorization for 16 days at D=0.22hr^-1.

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The effect of oxygen on wheat flour lipids during dough mixing was investigated by analysis of the lipid composition and by an ESR technique with a fatty acid spin-label (4, 4'-dimethyloxazolidine-N-oxyl derivative of 5-ketostearic acid). Dough was prepared in the presence of the spin-label under an atmosphere of air, nitrogen, 95% nitrogen-5% oxygen or oxygen, and the gluten was obtained by washing out the starch. ESR spectra of the spin-label incorporated into the gluten showed decreases in the order parameter, rotational correlation time and activation energy for rotational viscosity with increasing atmospheric oxygen concentration. During dough mixing in oxygen, oxidation of lipids proceeded and bound lipids slightly decreased. These data indicate that modification of lipids by incorporated oxygen leads to an increase in their fluidity and to a decrease in their hydrophobic interaction with protein in dough.

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The benzyl 2-methyl-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase was purified from the cells of baker's yeast by streptomycin treatment, Sephadex G-50 gel filtration, SP-Sephadex C-50 chromatography, and Toyopearl HW-60F gel filtration. The purified enzyme preparation was homogeneous and the molecular weight was about 31, 000 to 32, 000. The enzyme was NADPH-dependent and its maximum activity was at pH 7.0 and 45°C. It was stable between pH 6 and 9. The Km values at pH 7.0 were 0.42mM for benzyl 2-methyl-3-oxobutyrate (1) and 4.2mM for α-methyl β-hydroxy ester [syn-(2) and anti-(3)]. This enzyme reduced only benzyl 2-methyl-3-oxobutyrate (1) but had no effect on other synthetic substrates.
The reduced products [syn-(2) and anti(3)] produced by the purified enzyme were identified by 400MHz NMR.

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Chicks fed a 20% casein-sucrose diet showed severe growth depression, but dietary supplementation with 0.7% arginine-HC1, 0.35% glycine and 0.35% DL-methionine improved the growth rate to almost that of chicks fed a practical diet. Chicks fed high protein diets containing 64% casein showed normal growth, irrespective of the supplementation with such amino acids. Plasma arginine concentration of growth-retarded chicks was significantly lower than that of normal chicks. Plasma threonine/arginine ratio was negatively correlated with the growth rate of the chicks, the ratio of normal chicks being 3-4 whereas that of growth-retarded chicks was about 24. No lysine-arginine antagonism occurred under high casein feeding.

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Methyl 2, 3-di-O-(L-phenylalanyl)-α-D-glucopyranoside and other O-aminoacyl sugars composed of neutral amino acids were synthesized to discover their tastes. Among them, phenylalanine derivatives were strongly bitter [the bitterness of methyl 2, 3-di-O-(L-phenylalanyl-L-phenylalanyl-L-phenylalanyl)-α-D-glucopyranoside are equal to that of strychnine], on the other hand, O-aminoacyl sugars composed of amino acids having short side chain were very sweet; The sweetness of methyl 2, 3-di-O-(L-α-aminobutyryl)-α-D-glucopyranoside is more than 50 times as strong as that of sucrose.

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The primary structure of bovine β-casein contains the partial sequence of-Pro¹⁹⁶-Val-Leu-Gly-Pro-Val-Arg-Gly-Pro-Phe-Pro-Ile-Ile-Val²⁰⁹ in the C-terminal portion. We previously reported that the synthetic C-terminal octapeptide, Arg²⁰²-Val²⁰⁹, is extremely bitter with its threshold value 0.004 mM, 250 times as strong as that of caffeine. To further investigate the bitter taste of the C-terminal portion of β-casein, we synthesized the C-terminal tetradecapeptide, Pro¹⁹⁶-Val²⁰⁹, and some of its fragments. A hydrophobic hexapeptide, Pro¹⁹⁶-Va²⁰¹, was twice as bitter as caffeine. The bitter taste of the decapeptide, Pro²⁰⁰-Val²⁰⁹, was the same as that of Arg²⁰²-Val²⁰⁹. Although the tetradecapeptide, Pro¹⁹⁶-Val²⁰⁹, was composed of two bitter peptides, Pro¹⁹⁶-Val²⁰¹ and Arg²⁰²-Val²⁰⁹, its bitter taste was weaker than that of Arg²⁰²-Val²⁰⁹ and its threshold value was 0.015 mM. We suggested that the increase of bitterness in peptides through the introduction of hydrophobic amino acids depended on the number of hydrophobic amino acids added. In addition, the synthetic retro analog of Arg²⁰²-Val²⁰⁹ (H-Val-Ile-Ile-Pro-Phe-Pro-Gly-Arg-OH) was not as bitter as Arg²⁰²-Val²⁰⁹. This indicated that the sequence of Arg²⁰²-Val²⁰⁹ is important for extreme bitterness.

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An Escherichia coli C600 mutant having an altered D-xylose uptake activity was isolated. The growth rate and D-xylose uptake activity of the mutant grown on the minimal medium with D-xylose at 25°C were much lower than those of the parental strain grown under the same conditions, although the activities of D-xylose-binding proteins and the enzymes involved in D-xylose metabolism were almost the same for the two strains. An uptake study on sugars at the low temperature (25°C) indicated that the mutant was deficient in D-xylose uptake activity. A gene responsible for the D-xylose uptake activity at the low temperature was isolated and cloned onto vector plasmid pBR322. The gene specifically improved the D-xylose uptake activity of the mutant at the low temperature when it was introduced into the mutant cells. Based on these results, it was suggested that another D-xylose transport system other than the D-xylose-binding protein mediated system might be functioning in E. coli cells.

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Cultures of Aspergillus flavus and Botrytis cinerea have been found to rapidly convert the fungitoxic isoflavone licoisoflavone A [5, 7, 2', 4'-tetrahydroxy-3'-(3, 3-dimethylallyl)isoflavone] into products with reduced antifungal activity, as judged from TLC plate bioassays against the growth of Cladosporium herbarum. Both fungi produced the same five metabolites, but often in greatly differing quantities. Using physico-chemical procedures, the metabolites were characterized as a glycol (2'', 3''-dihydrodihydroxylicoisoflavone A), two dihydrofurano-isoflavones (one of which was identical with lupinisoflavone D found in Lupinus albus roots) and two hydroxydihydropyranoisoflavones.

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An attempt was made to isolate the hypotensive substances from a hot water extract of kinkan. Eight flavonoid glycosides were isolated by repeated chromatography and by gel filtration after extracting with n-butanol and treating with lead subacetate. Their structures were established to be 6, 8-di-C-glucosylapigenin (1), 3, 6-di-C-glucosylacacetin (2), 2''-O-α-L-rhamnosyl-4'-O-methylvitexin (3), 2''-O-α-L-rhamnosyl-4'-O-methylisovitexin (4), 2''-O-α-L-rhamnosylvitexin (5), 2''-O-α-L-rhamnosylorientin (6), 2''-O-α-L-rhamnosyl-4'-O-methylorientm (7) and ponicilin (8) by UV. MS, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy, and by sugar analysis. Each component was intravenously injected in SHR-SP (0.5-1.0mg/100g of body weight), 1, 2, 5 and 6 were found to lower the rat blood pressure.
Among these compounds, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 were new flavone glycosides.

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Chromatographic separation of glucose and fructose using columns of cation exchange resins in the Ca²⁺ form was analyzed with a dispersion model neglecting the adsorption process. Pulse response experiments were carried out with analysis by the moment method. Elution profiles of the sugars were successfully predicted by numerical inversion of the concentration calculated in the Laplace domain. The predicted elution profiles could be used for estimation of the column efficiency defined as the recovery of the separated sugar per unit time and per unit length of the column.

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Gibberellin A₅ (GA₅), a native GA of immature seeds of Pharbitis nil, was fed to Pharbitis nil cell suspension cultures as [C-1, ³H] GA₅ (3.1 Ci/mmol), and its metabolism over a 48 hr period was investigated. Radioactivity in free GA metabolites was 13.1%, with 79.9% in GA glucosyl conjugate-like metabolites. Only 7.0% of the radioactivity remained as [³H] GA₅. Tentative identifications were based on comparison with retention times of authentic free GAs and/or glucosyl conjugates after sequential chromatography on Si gel partition column → gradient-eluted C18 HPLC-radiocounting (RC) → isocratic-eluted C18 HPLC-RC, and showed that [³H] GA₅ was converted to [³H] GA₁ (2%), [³H] GA₃ (4%), [³H] GA₆ (2%), [³H] GA₂₂ (1%) and their glucosyl conjugates, and also to [³H] GA₈ glucoside, and [³H] GA₅ glucosyl conjugates. The major conjugate-like substances were [³H] GA₁ and [³H] GA₃ glucosyl esters, at 15% and 34%, respectively, of the total extractable radioactivity.

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Dimers formed in aerated methyl linoleate hydroperoxides were decomposed in liquid paraffin by bubbling with dry air at 30°C for 24 hr to identify the decomposition products. The aerated dimers were fractionated according to their molecular weights by gel permeation chromatography. Identification of the monomeric (25.6%) and low molecular fission products (10.8%) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed the major monomers as methyl hydroxyoctadecadienoate, methyl hydroxy (or hydroperoxy)-epoxy-octadecenoate, methyl dihydroxy (or hydroperoxy)-octadecenoate, methyl trihydroxy (or hydroperoxy)-octadecenoate; and the major fission products as methyl 8-hydroxy-octanoate, 4-hydroxy (or hydroperoxy)-nonanal or -2-nonenal, methyl 12-oxo-9-hydroxy (or hydroperoxy)-dodecanoate or -10-dodecenoate, and methyl 11-oxo-9-undecenoate.
The monomeric products were presumed to be derived from alkoxy radicals generated by the cleavage of peroxy linkages in the dimers, whereas the low molecular products were suggested to be raised by the direct carbon-carbon scission of oxygenated ester moieties on both sides of the peroxy bonds.

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Several β-D-glucans, appertaining to the same molecular species but having different degrees of branching, were isolated from water and alkali extracts of the fruiting body of Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi). The purified glucans that were mostly water-insoluble had a backbone of (1→3)-linked D-glucose residues, attached mainly with single D-glucosyl units at O-6 and also with a few short (1→4)-linked glucosyl units at O-2 positions. However, their degrees of branching appeared to differ in the range of d.b. 1/3-1/23, depending on the extracted glucan fractions. In addition to the β-glucans, the fruiting body contained water-soluble heteropolysaccharides, comprising D-glucose, D-galactose, D-mannose, L-(or o)-arabinose, D-xylose, and L-fucose.
A branched (1→3)-β-D-glucan was also isolated from the culture filtrate of G. lucidum grown in a glucose-yeast extract medium. The extracellular β-D-glucan was less soluble in water after purification, but soluble in dilute alkali. This glucan has essentially the same structure as that of hot-water extracted polysaccharide from the fruiting body. The repeating unit of the glucan contains a backbone chain of (1→3)-linked D-glucose residues, five out of sixteen D-glucose residues being substituted at O-6 positions with single D-glucosyl units and one D-glucose residue at O-2 positions probably with a cellobiose unit.
The hot-water extractable fruiting body glucan and the extracellular glucan of the culture of growing mycelium showed relatively high growth-inhibition activities against Sarcoma 180 solid tumor in mice, when administered by- successive intraperitoneal injections. When the moderately branched glucans were modified to D-glucan-polyols by periodate oxidation and borohydride reduction, they exhibited higher antitumor activities, confirming the previous conclusion that the attachment of polyol groups to the (1→3)-linked backbone significantly enhances its host-mediated antitumor effect.

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Human casein micelles were reconstituted from isolated κ- and β-caseins and calcium ions. Micelle formation was recognized in the presence of calcium chloride even at the low concentration of 5 HIM. At pH levels ranging from 5.5 to 8.0, the re-formed micelles were quite stable so that precipitation of β-casein was not observed. The large micelles were constituted by a higher ratio of β-casein to κ-casein (16:1 by weight) than the small micelles (3:1). The κ-casein in the small micelles contained carbohydrates to about 43% (w/w) in the molecule, whereas that in the large micelles was only about 25%. When the casein micelles were re-formed from κ-casein and fractionated β-casein components, the extent of phosphorylation of the β-casein component was found to influence the micelle formation; i.e., the β-casein component with no phosphate (the O-P form) was disadvantageous to form micelles, but the component with 5 phosphates (the 5-P form) formed micelles most easily.

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Lignin-carbohydrate complexes containing phenolic acids (LCC-W) were isolated from Mosobamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel) and characterized. LCC-W was separated into three fractions (W-1, 2, and 3) by gel filtration on Sepharose 4B. Of these three LCCs W-2 and W-3 were included in the gel matrices. W-2 consists of 34.7% neutral sugar, 1.6% uronic acid, 52.1% lignin, and 6.1% phenolic acid, and W-3, 67.9%, 3.6%, 22.3%, and 1.1%, respectively. Neutral sugar residues of W-2 and W-3 were mainly L-arabinose and D-xylose in the ratios of 5.5:94.3 in W-2, and 4.5:95.0 in W-3, respectively. Methylation, periodate degradation, and NMR analyses indicated that the carbohydrate moiety of LCC-W is composed of a linear backbone of β-(1→4)-linked D-xylopyranose residues with approximately every thirty residues carrying one 4-O-methyl-Dglucuronic acid and one or two arabinofuranose residues. Saponified phenolic acids were composed of trans-p-coumanc and trans-fenilic acids, which seems to be esterified to carbohydrate and lignin, respectively. Alkaline treatment, periodate degradation, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography suggested the presence of alkali labile and stable lignin-carbohydrate linkages.

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Erythropoietin, a glycoprotein, is the primary regulator of erythropoiesis. The most convenient and sensitive assay for active erythropoietin is to measure its stimulatory effect on in vitro ³H-thymidine incorporation into DNA of erythropoietin-responsive cells. An attempt with this method to estimate the erythropoietin level in rat serum, however, was unsuccesful because of the presence of inhibitory substance(s) and non-erythropoietic factor(s) stimulating ³H-thymidine incorporation. Pretreatment of the serum by heating, extraction of erythropoietin from denatured-protein aggregates, and subsequent concentration of erythropoietin in the extract with alcohol precipitation made it possible to measure the serum erythropoietin levels. Rabbit anti-erythropoietin antibody was used for a quantitative estimation of erythropoietin in the concentrated extracts. Erythropoietin levels in sera of rats fed on varied amounts of casein for 7 days were measured with these procedures to find if the impairment of erythropoiesis upon protein deprivation was due to changes in the erythropoietin level. We found that the level in protein-deprived rats was less than 1/8 that of 20% casein-fed rats, a level undetectable by the present assay, and that the serum erythropoietin increased as the protein content in the diet was increased up to 20%, then leveled off. The erythropoietin in serum decreased rapidly after protein deprivation; the level at 12hr after deprivation began was about 1/5 that in 20% casein-fed rats. Thus, the depression of erythropoiesis upon protein deprivation is primarily caused by the lowered level of erythropoietin.

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A new antibiotic was obtained from the culture broth of Streptomyces alanosinicus 879-MT₃, and the name spicamycin was given. Spicamycin had a marked effect on the induction of differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) as well as mouse myeloid leukemia cells (Ml). Its structure was elucidated by degradative studies and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectral analysis as shown in Fig. 1.

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Oxydative cyclization of lapachol was attempted by feeding this compound into the culture broth of Beauveria sulfurescens and two ionophore-producing strains of Streptomyces albus and Streptomyces griseus. As a result, three compounds were obtained, lomatiol, lomatic acid and lomatiol acetate, only with B. sulfurescens and S. albus. The structures of these products were determinated by NMR and mass spectrometry. The stereochemistry is given by a comparison with butene analogs.

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We isolated a mutant strain of a methanol-utilizing yeast, Candida boidinii S2, which shows improved formaldehyde productivity. The procedure for mutant screening consisted of; 1) induction of alcohol oxidase on a methanol-plate, 2) catabolite inactivation of alcohol oxidase on a glucose-plate, and 3) visualization of alcohol oxidase activity in a colony. One of the mutants, strain AOU-1, showed 1.7 times higher formaldehyde productivity and a higher growth rate on methanol than the parent strain. The high formaldehyde productivity was proved to be due to the high alcohol oxidase activity. No qualitative change of the enzyme was detected between the parent strain and mutant strain AOU-1. The high activity of mutant strain AOU-1 could be attributed to a quantitative change and a change in the rate of enzyme synthesis. Catabolite repression and inactivation of alcohol oxidase in the mutant were also discussed.

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The cleavage site specificities of two alkaline proteases isolated from digestive juice of the silkworm larva, Bombyx mori, were analyzed using insulin A and B chains, α-lactalbumin, and egg white lysozyme. One, named P-IIc, could cut Arg-X and Lys-X peptide bonds and another, named P-IIIa, required rather hydrophobic amino acids not only at PI but also at P4 sites. The effects of some protease inhibitors on P-IIIa could be explained by this requirement.

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The microbial synthesis of some purine 2'-amino-2'-deoxyribonucleosides from purine bases and 2'-amino-2'-deoxyuridine is described. Various bacteria, especially Erwinia herbicola, Salmonella schottmuelleri, Enterobacter aerogenes and Escherichia coli, were able to transfer the aminoribosyl moiety of 2'-amino-2'-deoxyuridine to purine bases (transaminoribosylation) in the presence of inorganic phosphate. The optimum conditions for the reaction were pH 7.0 and 63°C. No reaction was observed in the absence of inorganic phosphate and the optimum concentration of it was around 30 mM. Adenine, guanine, 2-chlorohypoxanthine and hypoxanthine were transformed to the corresponding 2'-amino-2'-deoxyribonucleosides by the catalytic activity of the wet cell paste of Enterobacter aerogenes AJ 11125. The enzymatically synthesized purine 2'-amino-2'deoxyribonucleosides were isolated and identified by physicochemical means. 2'-Amino-2'deoxyadenosine strongly inhibited the growth of Hela cells in tissue culture, and the ED₅₀ was 2.5μg/ml.

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A new cloning vector, pMFY31, has been constructed based on the high-copy-number, broad-host-range plasrnid RSF1010. The plasmid has a size of 13.2kb and carries the Ap^r, Cm^r, and Tc^r genes. It contains unique PstI, EcoRI, HindIII, BamHI, and SalI sites, all of which are located within the antibiotic resistance genes, therefore all sites are applicable to insertional inactivation. We also constructed pMFY40, a 11.6 kb derivative of pMFY31, by the elimination of the Cm^r gene. Plasmid pMFY31 has been efficiently introduced into a Pseudomonas putida strain not only by plasmid-DNA transformation but also by conjugal co-transfer with the helper plasmid, and was maintained stably in the strain.

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DNA fragments cloned from chloroplast DNA of a liverwort, Marchantia polymorpha, functioned in E. coli as transcriptional promoters using gene fusion to the E. coli lac'Z. gene. A recombinant plasmid gave as high a level of β-galactosidase activity as when it was induced by IPTG (isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside) in E. coli wild strain W3110. The inserted chloroplast DNA fragment was sequenced and mapped on the locus upstream from the 16S ribosomal RNA gene in the chloroplast genome. SI nuclease mappings using both chloroplast and E. coli RNA showed that the transcription starts at almost the same position downstream from the consensus Pribnow-box-like region. This clone also had a higher activity of β-galactosidase in E. coli than those containing promoters of the large subunit (LS) gene of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) and the β subunit gene of H⁺-ATPase. These results revealed that chloroplast DNA fragments having promoter function can -be cloned in E. coli, and the efficiency of promoter function can be estimated by this gene fusion technique.

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Intermediary subunits of soybean 11S globulin (glycinin) designated as IS I, IS II and IS III were isolated by DEAE-Sephadex column chromatography. Pseudoglycinins composed of one of the intermediary subunits alone were reconstituted. The pseudoglycinins were similar to the native glycinin as to molecular size, subunit structure and secondary structure. The turbidity and hardness of the heat-induced gels formed from pseudoglycinins were different from those derived from the native glycinin, depending on the constituent intermediary subunits. The results indicate that IS II is closely related to the generation of the gel turbidity and IS III plays an important role in increasing the gel hardness. The hardness of the gel seems to be determined by both the length and extent of branching of the constituent strands of the gel network structure.

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When rats were fed on a diet containing sardine oil (SO) for 10 days, 20:5 (eicosapentaenoic acid) was incorporated into the platelet, aorta and plasma lipids. The 20:5/20:4 (arachidonic acid) ratios of phospholipids were higher in platelets than in aortas. When the diet was changed from SO to corn oil (CO), the levels of 20: 5 in the plasma lipids and platelet phospholipids decreased with an increase of 20:4. Although the 20:5 levels of phospholipids in the aortas decreased, 20:4 did not increase during feeding with the CO diet for 4 days. The 20:5/20:4 ratios of the phosphatidylcholine in platelets and aortas rapidly changed from 5.0 and 1.1 to 2.4 and 0.6, respectively. The linoleic acid level of phosphatidylcholine in platelets and aortas increased rapidly by changing from the SO diet to the CO diet, but this fatty acid was not incorporated into phosphatidylinositol of the platelets and aortas.

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A component in the autoxidation products of linoleic acid (LA) which induced the endogenous lipid peroxidation was searched for. Secondary autoxidation products (SP) of LA induced the production of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TEARS) in liver as well as the LA hydroperoxides stimulated. SP were separated chromatographically into some fractions which were administered orally to rats. One fraction composed mainly of 9-oxononanoic acid (9-ONA) markedly stimulated the TEARS production in liver. Authentic 9-ONA also increased the lipid peroxide level as determined by a new test, as well as the activities of glutathione peroxidase and reductase in liver. Thus, hepatic lipid peroxidation was induced by orally given 9-ONA which was present in the autoxidation products of LA.

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Ceramide and mono-, di-, tri-, and tetraglycosylceramide were isolated from the bran and endosperm of rice grains and chemically characterized. The detailed compositions of free ceramide were somewhat different between the bran and endosperm, but those of the ceramide moiety in glycosylceramides were substantially the same. There was a tendency in all the sphingolipid molecules in rice grains for hydroxy acids with C₂₀ to be combined largely with the dihydroxy bases while hydroxy acids with C_24< combined mainly with the trihydroxy bases. Representative molecular species of the sphingolipid classes were concluded to be as follows: for ceramide N-2'-hydroxylignoceroyl-4-hydroxysphinganine, for monoglycosylceramide 1-O-β-glucosyl-N-2'-hydroxyarachidoyl-4, 8-sphingadienine, for diglycosylceramide 1-O-[β-mannosyl(1→4)-O-β-glucosyl] and 1-O-β-glucosyl(→4)-O-β-glucosyl]-N-2'-hydroxylignoceroyl-4-riydroxy-8-sphingenine, for triglycosylceramide 1-O-[β-mannosyl(1→4)-O-β-mannosyl(1→4)-O-β-glucosyl]- and 1-O-[β-glucosyl(1→4)-O-β-mannosyl(1→)-O-β-glucosyl]-N-2'-hydroxylignoceroyl-4-hydroxy-8-sphingenine, and for tetraglycosylceramide 1-O-[β-mannosyl(1→4))-O-β-mannosyl (1→)-O-β-mannosyl(1→4)-O-β-glucosyl]- and 1-O-[β-glucosyl(1→4)-O-β-mannosyl(1→4)-O-βmannosyl(1→4)-O-β-glucosyl]-N-2'-hydroxylignoceroyl-4-riydroxy-8-sphingenine.

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Components of the Na⁺-motive NADH: quinone oxidoreductase segment in the respiratory chain of Vibrio alginolyticus were examined in membranes prepared from wild type, Na⁺-pump-defective mutants, and a spontaneous revertant. Ag⁺ distinguished two kinds of respiratory NADH dehydrogenases. The Na⁺-pump-defective mutants lacked Ag⁺-sensitive NADH dehydrogenase activity. Incubation of the Ag⁺-sensitive NADH dehydrogenase with solubilized membrane proteins of the mutant led to the reconstitution of Na⁺-motive NADH: quinone oxidoreductase activity. We think that Ag⁺-sensitive NADH dehydrogenase is an essential component of the respiratory Na⁺ pump of this organism.

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(2Z, 4E)-γ-Ionylideneethanol was separated from the mycelium of Cercospora cruenta, and its structure was confirmed by comparing the spectral data with those of an authentic specimen synthesized from γ-ionone. Gas chromatographic analysis of the extract showed the presence of a trace amount of (2Z, 4E)-γ-ionylideneacetic acid.

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The ovary of the starfish Asterias amurensis contains various kinds of steroidal saponins. The structure of one of the major saponins, designated ovarian asterosaponin4, was elucidated by several chemical modifications and spectroscopic analyses. The structure was formulated as 20α-hydroxy-6α-O-{6-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→4)-[6-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl (1→2)]-β-D-xylopyranosyl(1→3)-6-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl}-3β-sulfo-oxy-5α-cholesta-9(11), 24-diene. Ovarian asterosaponin-4 at 125 μg/ml inhibited spontaneous oocyte maturation of the starfish, and the inhibition could be overcome by adding 1×10^-6M of 1-methyladenine, the maturation-inducing substance of the starfishes, to the oocyte.

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