Plant NiR (nitrite reductase) and SiR (sulfite reductase) have common structural and functional features. Both enzymes are generally distinguished in terms of substrate specificity for nitrite and sulfite. The genome of Cyanidioschyzon merolae, a unicellular red alga living in acidic hot springs, encodes two SiR homologues, namely CmSiRA and CmSiRB (C. merolae sulfite reductases A and B), but n...

Gel chromatography experiments over a wide range of protein concentrations showed that Chlorella nitrate reductase is a nonassociating protein with a Stokes radius of 81 A. Sedimentation equilibrium of nitrate reductase in H2O-D2O solvents yielded a partial specific volume of 0.800 +/- 0.014 (n = 12) and a Mr = 360,000 +/- 25,000. No lipid was found associated with nitrate reductase. Cross-link...

The nitrate and nitrite reductases of Bacillus subtilis have two different physiological functions. Under conditions of nitrogen limitation, these enzymes catalyze the reduction of nitrate via nitrite to ammonia for the anabolic incorporation of nitrogen into biomolecules. They also function catabolically in anaerobic respiration, which involves the use of nitrate and nitrite as terminal electr...

The present study explored the joint effects of Cu and Se pollution mechanisms on soil enzymes to provide references for the phytoremediation of contaminated areas and agricultural environmental protection. Pot experiments and laboratory analyses were carried out to study the individual and combined influences of Cu and Se on soil enzyme activities. The activities of four soil enzymes (urease, ...

Nitrate reductase, the first enzyme in nitrate assimilation, is located at the crossroad of two energy-consuming pathways: nitrate assimilation and carbon fixation. Light, which regulates the expression of many higher-plant carbon fixation genes, also regulates nitrate reductase gene expression. Located in the cytosol, nitrate reductase obtains its reductant not from photosynthesis but from car...

Article history: Received on: 14/08/2015 Revised on: 19/09/2015 Accepted on: 30/09/2015 Available online: 12/11/2015 Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate a new simple colorimetric method for the assay of endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity in clinical researches and to compare between the role of vanadium chloride and nitrate reductase enzyme in the assay method. Methods and material...

Enterobacter cloacae SLD1a-1 is capable of reductive detoxification of selenate to elemental selenium under aerobic growth conditions. The initial reductive step is the two-electron reduction of selenate to selenite and is catalyzed by a molybdenum-dependent enzyme demonstrated previously to be located in the cytoplasmic membrane, with its active site facing the periplasmic compartment (C. A. W...

Several lines of evidence implicate ammonium as an important factor in the growth and development of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) ovules cultured in vitro. For example, ovules cultured at 28 C require indoleacetic acid (IAA) and either ammonium or gibberellic acid (GA(3)) in the medium for fiber development, whereas ovules cultured at 34 C require only IAA. Because of this effect of ammonium ...

The effects of CO(2)-limited photosynthesis on (15)NO(3) (-) uptake and reduction by maize (Zea mays, DeKalb XL-45) seedlings were examined in relation to concurrent effects of CO(2) stress on carbohydrate levels and in vitro nitrate reductase activities. During a 10-hour period in CO(2)-depleted air (30 microliters of CO(2)/ per liter), cumulative (15)NO(3) (-) uptake and reduction were restri...