Here we describe a rapid and sensitive zinquin-based fluorometric assay that enables one to monitor levels of labile Zn(II) in body fluids, buffers, and cell-conditioned culture media as well as changes in these pools in disease. Labile pools of Zn(II) are free or loosely bound pools and more tightly bound but zinquin-accessible pools in contrast to the fixed pools of Zn(II) within metalloprote...

Zinc (Zn) fertilizer is not currently recommended for rice grown on clay or clay loam soils in Arkansas. In 2003, eight field sites were established to evaluate the response of rice grown on clay soils to Zn fertilization. Shortly before or after seeding, granular Zn fertilizer was applied to the soil surface at rates of 0, 5, 10, and 20 lb Zn/acre. Tissue Zn concentration 10 to 14 days after f...

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient for basic cell activities such as cell growth, differentiation, and survival. Zn deficiency depresses both innate and adaptive immune responses. However, the precise physiological mechanisms of the Zn-mediated regulation of the immune system have been largely unclear. Zn homeostasis is tightly controlled by the coordinated activity of Zn transporters and ...

Although it is well established that many glutamatergic neurons sequester Zn(2+) within their synaptic vesicles, the physiological significance of synaptic Zn(2+) remains poorly understood. In experiments performed in a Zn(2+)-enriched auditory brainstem nucleus--the dorsal cochlear nucleus--we discovered that synaptic Zn(2+) and GPR39, a putative metabotropic Zn(2+)-sensing receptor (mZnR), ar...

Though rice is the predominant source of energy and micronutrients for more than half of the world population, it does not provide enough zinc (Zn) to match human nutritional requirements. Moreover, climate change, particularly rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, reduces the grain Zn concentration. Therefore, rice biofortification has been recognized as a key target to increase the...

Suboptimal dietary zinc (Zn(2+)) intake is increasingly appreciated as an important public health issue. Zn(2+) is an essential mineral, and infants are particularly vulnerable to Zn(2+) deficiency, as they require large amounts of Zn(2+) for their normal growth and development. Although term infants are born with an important hepatic Zn(2+) storage, adequate Zn(2+) nutrition of infants mostly ...

I . Techniques for the preparation of a semi-synthetic basal diet suitable for the rapid production of zinc deficiency in the rat are described. The complete diet usually contains between 0.6 and 0.9 ppm Zn. 2. When the unsupplemented diet was fed to weanling rats, growth arrest occurred after 4-5 d ; when supplemented with ZnSO., to provide 12 or 20 ppm Zn, the rate of growth of rats was simil...

Zinc (Zn) is an important micronutrient that can alleviate cadmium (Cd) toxicity to plants and limit Cd entry into the food chain. However, little is known about the Zn-Cd interactions in pasture plants. We characterized the effects of foliar Zn application and Cd uptake by ryegrass (Lolium rigidum L.) and clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) grown on Cd-contaminated soils; all combinations of fo...

The long-term accumulation of Zn in soils provides the microbial community time to adapt to this heavy metal. To assess the effects of long-term exposure to Zn on the metabolic diversity and tolerance to Zn of soil microbial community, the pollution-induced community tolerance (PICT) method, based on the Biolog microtitre plate system, was used. It especially is useful to study gradients of pol...

OBJECTIVE To determine if human Zn absorption adapts to chronic high Zn intakes. METHODS Zn absorption was measured at 0, 8, and 16 wk in healthy postmenopausal women who consumed controlled diets with approximately 5 mg Zn from food, supplemented to 14 (n = 6), 32 (n = 3), or 47 (n = 3) mg Zn/d for 22 wk. Zn absorption for 1 day was determined by (65)Zn-labeling of meals and whole body scint...