A survey of 3-dehydroretinal as a visual pigment chromophore in various species of crayfish and other freshwater crustaceans

Summary 3-Dehydroretinal (vitamin A₂ aldehyde) was found in the eyes of three species among 10 species of freshwater crayfish examined. Since dark-adapted eyes contained the 11-cis form of 3-dehydroretinal, this compound must be the chromophore of the visual pigment. 3-Dehydroretinal always coexisted with retinal (vitamin A₁ aldehyde), indicating the presence of a rhodopsin-porphyropsin visual pigment system.     

How canDrosophila flies without aldehyde oxidase detoxify acetaldehyde

Summary The flies of aDrosophila melanogaster strain, called AO null as it lacks the enzyme aldehyde oxidase, are nevertheless able to detoxify acetaldehyde. It seems that this action could be attributed to aldehyde dehydrogenase, or some other enzyme which ressembles aldehyde dehydrogenase.This work was supported in part by a grant from the FNRS of Belgium.     

Drosophila melanogaster aldehyde dehydrogenase

Summary Subcellular fractionation by differential centrifugation confirms the presence of aldehyde dehydrogenase inD. melanogaster. It is found principally in the heavy mitochondrial fraction.     

New norsesquiterpene aldehyde and sesquiterpene hemiacetal from the seed ofPolygonum hydropiper

Summary A new norsesquiterpene aldehyde, polygonal and a new sesquiterpene hemiacetal, isodrimeninol having drimane skeleton have been isolated from the seed ofPolygonum hydropiper, and their structures have been established to be1 and5. Polygonal showed pungency and plant growth inhibitory activity.     

Ultrastructural autoradiographic study of the intracellular fixation of3H-acrolein

Summary The fixation of³H acrolein inDunaliella bioculata was followed by means of quantitative autoradiography electron microscopy. A fixation was observed mostly in the nucleus where aldehyde linkage remained stable at least for 48 hours.     

Ethanol metabolizing system inDrosophila melanogaster: subcellular distribution of some main enzymes

Summary The subcellular distribution of some enzymes which play a part in ethanol metabolism have been determined by differential centrifugation of homogenates of adultD. melanogaster flies of various genotypes. Aldehyde dehydrogenase, recently discovered inD. melanogaster, is present in the five genotypes studied. It has been found however to be, in vitro at least, most active in a strain lacking both alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde oxidase.     

Insecticidal effect of trans-2-nonenal,a constituent of carrot root

Summary Vapour of trans-2-nonenal killed the carrot fly larva,Psila rosae, with an LC₅₀ of 2.17 mg/24h. The aldehyde was identified in the essential oil of carrot in concentrations of up to 40 g/root.Special thanks are due to The Agricultural Institute, Dublin, for funding a proposal from M.F.R.     

A blocked mutant ofClaviceps purpurea accumulating chanoclavine-I-aldehyde

Summary An alkaloid-blocked mutant ofClaviceps purpurea was isolated from a strain which produces ergotoxine alkaloids. The mutant accumulates chanoclavine-I and the corresponding aldehyde. It lacks the ability to form tetracyclic ergolines.Dedicated to Prof. Dr Dr h.c. K. Mothes on the occasion of his eightieth birthday.     

Enzymatic processing of pheromones and pheromone analogs

Summary Pheromone perception requires rapid enzymatic degradation of the active chemical signal in the sensory hairs. Three insects are used to illustrate chemical approaches to studying the degradation of pheromones by antennal enzymes. First, hydrolysis of acetate and haloacetate esters is examined in the diamondback moth,Plutella xylostella. Second, aldehyde oxidation and the selective inhibition of the oxidase and dehydrogenase activities are described for the tobacco budworm moth,Heliothis virescens. Finally, a stereochemical analysis of the epoxide-hydrase catalyzed addition of a water molecule to the oxirane ring of disparlure is described for the gypsy moth,Lymantria dispar.     

Regulation of enzymes of ethanol metabolism in yeast (Rhodotorula gracilis)

Summary The three enzymes of ethanol metabolism alcohol dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase and acetyl-CoA synthetase in the obligate aerobic yeastRhodotorula gracilis are repressed by glucose and induced by C₂ metabolic fuels with a regulatory pattern indicating a correlation in the control mechanisms. To try an identification of the molecular signals involved in the transmission of the inducing stimulus, experiments were carried out by blocking with 2 mM pyrazole the ethanol acetaldehyde metabolic step. Results indicate that ethanol is not specifically required as a molecular signal for induction.This work was supported by a grant from the Italian Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.     

Sex pheromone blend of the codling moth,Cydia pomonella: Evidence for a behavioral role of dodecan-1-ol

Summary Pheromone glands and effluvia of the codling moth female containE-8, E-10-dodecadien-1-ol as main component, accompanied by its geometric isomers, the corresponding acetate and aldehyde (both in gland extracts only),E-9-dodecen-1-ol and saturated alcohols of 10 to 18 carbons. Dodecan-1-ol as the most abundant secondary component (about 30% of the female blend) acts in the wind tunnel by widening the dose range over which codling moth males are optimally attracted toE-8, E-10-dodecadien-1-ol.This research was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. We thank W. Riggenbach for supplying moths and T. Wildbolz, P. Charmillot and M. Tóth for conducting field trials.     

In vitro radiolabeling of galactosyl and N-acetylgalactosaminyl moieties of glycoproteins with carbon-14

Summary The primary alcohol group on the carbon 6 of terminal galactosyl and N-acetylgalactosaminyl moieties of glycoproteins can be oxidized to an aldehyde by treatment with galactose oxidase. By reacting these aldehyde groups with¹⁴C-labeled sodium cyanide,¹⁴C-labeled cyanohydrin derivatives were obtained. Similarly, reduction of these aldehyde groups with tritiated sodium borohydride following standard procedures, yields³H-labeled glycoproteins.¹⁴C- and³H-labeled derivatives of asialofetuin and asialo ovine submaxillary mucin with high specific radioactivities were prepared using these procedures. Mixtures containing microgram amounts of¹⁴C- and³H-labeled glycoproteins were subjected to column chromatography and gradient ultracentrifugation and the position of the individual glycoproteins was determined by simultaneous counting for¹⁴C and³H. These experiments demonstrate the usefulness of this approach for comparative analytical studies using biological specimens available in minute quantities.     

Acetaldehyde metabolism inDrosophila melanogaster

Summary A quantitative study on in vitro acetaldehyde degradation in homogenates fromDrosophila melanogaster files shows that aldehyde oxidase plays the major part in acetaldehyde detoxification. However, in a strain, celed AO null, because itsAldox locus produces no aldehyde-oxidase, acetaldehyde is also degradated by a still unknown mechanism. Alcoholdehydrogenase which is responsible for the dehydrogenation of ethanol in acetaldehyde, appears to catalyze the reversed reactions as wel, regenerating ethanol fromacetaldehyde.This work was supported in part by a grant from the FNRS of Belgium.     

Developmental changes of aldehyde dehydrogenase isozymes in human livers: Mitochondrial ALDH2 isozyme is expressed in fetal livers

Summary Previous reports suggested that the major cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH₁) was present in fetal and infant livers, but the major mitochondrial isozyme (ALDH₂) was absent or severely diminished. Re-examination by means of starch gel electrophoresis followed by enzyme activity staining, and by means of dot blot immuno-hybridization of liver samples with known genotypes of theALDH ₂ locus, indicated that bothALDH ₁ andALDH ₂ genes are expressed in fetal and infant livers. In addition, ALDH₄ isozyme was also observed. The results imply that a fetus with the usual homozygousALDH ₂ ¹ /ALDH ₂ ¹ genotype, but not one with the atypicalALDH ₂ ¹ /ALDH ₂ ² orALDH ₂ ² /ALDH ₂ ² , is capable of detoxifying acetaldehyde transferred from the mother.     

Mammalian aldehyde oxidases: genetics, evolution and biochemistry

Mammalian aldehyde oxidases are a small group of proteins belonging to the larger family of molybdo-flavoenzymes along with xanthine oxidoreductase and other bacterial enzymes. The two general types of reactions catalyzed by aldehyde oxidases are the hydroxylation of heterocycles and the oxidation of aldehydes into the corresponding carboxylic acids. Different animal species are characterized by a different complement of aldehyde oxidase genes. Humans contain a single active gene, while marsupials and rodents are characterized by four such genes clustering at a short distance on the same chromosome. At present, little is known about the physiological relevance of aldehyde oxidases in humans and other mammals, although these enzymes are known to play a role in the metabolism of drugs and compounds of toxicological importance in the liver. The present article provides an overview of the current knowledge of genetics, evolution, structure, enzymology, tissue distribution and regulation of mammalian aldehyde oxidases. Received 30 August 2007; received after revision 2 November 2007; accepted 8 November 2007     

Versuch zum histochemischen Nachweis des Mucins in roten Blutkörperchen

Summary The presence of groups directly oxydizable to aldehyde by means of IO₄-ions could not be proved histochemically in erythrocytes.      

Die polarographische Untersuchung von Chalkonen und Flavanonen

Summary It has been found by polarographic analysis in neutral or acid solution that chalcones show two reduction potentials, while flavanones show only one.It was possible to determine 2'-hydroxy-chalcone beside flavanone with a polarograph.The formation rate of a chalcone from an aldehyde and a ketone could be followed polarographically.     

Zur Pharmakologie von Convallatoxol,zugleich ein Beitrag zur pharmakologischen Strukturanalyse von g-Strophanthin

Summary A report is given of the positive inotrope effects of genins and glycosides with one methyl or aldehyde or carbinol group in the C₁₀ atom of the steroid stage, and of the influence of thel-rhamnose compared withd-digitoxose andd-cymarose. A structure analysis of the ouabain and convallatoxol is derived from the differences in the degree of abolition of the acute cardiac damage in the experiments.     

Sur l'interaction entre aldéhydes ou réductones et acides aminés ou protéines

Summary Proteins were exposed to acetaldehyde vapour or mixed with glucose in solution and the basic groups determined by their dy binding capacity. Only serum albumin shows a marked decrease of basic groups and of the carbon/nitrogen ratio as a sign of condensation of aldehyde and amine groups. These results were corroborated by the direct estimation of the aldehyde resine formed on the protein: serum albumin and fibrin treated with acetaldehyde vapour contained 5 to 10 times more resin than the other proteins examined. No rapid combination between serum proteins and glucose could be demonstrated by the dy method or by the kinetics of change of pH. The slow reaction seems not to be dependent on denaturation.     

Zur Kenntnis des Muscarins

Summary The alkaloid muscarin was isolated from fly agaric. The analyses of crystallized salts (chloride, tetra-chloroaurate,Reinecke's salt) led to C₉H₂₀O₂N⁺ as the simplest formula. The presence of aldehyde and tri-methyl-ammonium groups, which had been assumed hitherto, could not be proved. The quaternary nature of the nitrogen atom was shown. Pharmacological tests on frog heart, rabbit gut and cats show the purely peripheral parasympathomimetic effect of the smallest doses.