The mechanism whereby light effects polyphenol oxidation was examined with Vicia faba chloroplast membranes known to contain a bound latent polyphenol oxidase. Results obtained with the inhibitors 3-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) and 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-idopropyl-p-benzoquinone (DBMIB) indicated an involvement of the non-cyclic electron transport pathway in the light-dependen...

A population of polysomes isolated from frogskinis capable of supporting protein synthesis in a cell-free system containing an energy generating system,' soluble components', and amino acids. These polysomes catalyse the oxidation of DOPA after gentle trypsinization, and they also have antigenic determinants attributable to tyrosine oxidase. Skin polysomes sedimented in 10-30 % sucrose gradient...

The enzymatic oxidation of tyrosine to melanin in mammalian cells is widely believed to be mediated solely by an aerobic, copper-dependent enzyme called tyrosinase (1). This enzyme is considered to be analogous to the tyrosinase of plants and insects, which has been shown to mediate the first two steps of the tyrosine to melanin sequence (2-4): hydroxylation of tyrosine to dopa and oxidation of...

We describe a simple, inexpensive, and robust protocol for the quantification of phenol oxidase activity in insect hemolymph. Discrete volumes of hemolymph from Drosophila melanogaster larvae are applied to pieces of filter paper soaked in an L-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) solution. Phenol oxidase present in the samples catalyzes melanin synthesis from the L-DOPA precursor, resulting in...

The effects of increasing concentrations of boron (0, 0.1, 1, 10 and 20 mM) as boric acid on the rate of germination and polyphenol oxidase activities in embryo and endosperm tissues of maize seeds (Zea mays L. cv. Arifiye) were studied. The germination percentage of maize seeds was not affected by boron concentrations up to 10 mM, and decreased by 20 mM. Distilled water and lower boron concent...

To examine the consequences of nigrostriatal denervation and chronic levodopa (L-DOPA) treatment on functional activity of the basal ganglia, we analyzed, using in situ hybridization, the cellular expression of the mRNA encoding for cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI mRNA), a molecular marker for functional neuronal activity, in the basal ganglia. This analysis was performed in monkeys rendered ...

This is a reversed-phase liquid-chromatographic method, with electrochemical detection, for simultaneously measuring, in plasma, the concentrations of the catecholamine precursor dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA); the endogenous catecholamines norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine; and the deaminated catecholamine metabolites dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and dihydroxyphenylglycol (DHPG). ...