PubMed · 5432089
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J Seckbach, F A Baker, P M Shugarman. 1970-08-15. Algae thrive under pure CO2.. https://doi.org/10.1038/227744a0
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The meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001, commonly accepted to be of martian origin, is unique among known martian meteorites in containing abundant, zoned, pre-terrestrial carbonate minerals. Previous studies of the oxygen isotope compositions of these minerals have suggested that they precipitated from a low-temperature (0-80 degrees C) aqueous fluid in the martian crust--perhaps in a near-surface hydrothermal system. Here we report analyses of the major-element compositions of the carbonates, which provide an independent constraint on the composition and temperature of the fluid from which they formed. We argue that the most likely explanation for the observed compositions, and for the absence of co-existing hydrons minerals, is that the carbonates were formed by reactions between hot (> 650 degrees C), CO2-rich fluids and the ultramatic host rock during an impact event. Impact processes on the martian surface can produce both the hot, CO2-rich fluid (by volatilization of surface carbonates or other CO2 sources) and--by brecciation--the condults through which it flowed. Impact metasomatism is also consistent with the observed oxygen isotope disequillbrium, sequence of mineral formation, and carbonate mineral zoning, reflecting carbonate formation during rapid cooling from high temperatures rather than prolonged exposure to low-temperature fluids.
Light dependence and kinetics of reversible phosphorylation of the D1 reaction center protein of Photosystem II was studied in pumpkin leaves. At growth light, maximal phosphorylation of D1 was observed after illumination of 1 h, with higher phosphorylation rates at stronger irradiances. 70-85% of D1 became phosphorylated, corresponding to the proportion of the protein in appressed thylakoid membranes. Comparison of the kinetics of D1 phosphorylation and photoinactivation of Photosystem II revealed that D1 phosphorylation became saturated before any significant photoinhibition of Photosystem II could be detected. Dephosphorylation of D1 in both dim light and darkness was determined in leaves preilluminated with high light for various periods. Similar rates of D1 dephosphorylation were observed after short preillumination conditions that induce no significant loss of functional Photosystem II centers. In contrast, photodamage to Photosystem II centers significantly decreased the dephosphorylation rate of D1 in darkness, and no dephosphorylation occurred in leaves containing mainly damaged Photosystem II centers. Darkness also blocked the degradation of damaged D1 after photoinhibitory preillumination. Degradation of damaged D1 could be prevented even in dim light by sodium fluoride, an inhibitor of protein phosphatases, indicating that dephosphorylation is a prerequisite for D1 proteolysis. We conclude that in higher plants (i) high light induced photodamage to Photosystem II occurs in the centers containing phosphorylated D1. (ii) Dephosphorylation of phosphorylated and photodamaged D1 is associated with the repair cycle of inactivated Photosystem II and is a light-dependent reaction in vivo. (iii) Dephosphorylation of D1 in functional Photosystem II centers, however, occurs rapidly and independent of light. We suggest that two reversible phosphorylation cycles with spatially segregated protein phosphatases are involved in dephosphorylation of functional and damaged phosphorylated D1, respectively.
Stopped-flow kinetic studies of the isomerization of peroxynitrite to give nitrate have been performed in carbonate-enriched buffers using pH jump and carbonic anhydrase as probes. The data are consistent with the reaction of CO2 and the peroxynitrite anion rapidly forming an unstable nitrosoperoxy-carbonate anion adduct, O=N-OOCO2- (1). The CO2 catalysis of the isomerization of peroxynitrite is not accompanied by the formation of nitrite, hydrogen peroxide, or other hydroperoxidic material like peroxycarbonate. The reaction proceeds via the transient formation of an oxidant or oxidants that is (are) capable of promoting electrophilic nitration reactions. We propose that O=N-OOCO2- rearranges to give a nitrocarbonate anion, O2N-OCO2- (2) which in turn, may serve as the proximal oxidant in biological systems that produce peroxynitrite. At least four different mechanistic classes of reactions that have been ascribed to peroxynitrite can be envisioned to involve 2: (a) hydrolysis to nitrate, (b) one-electron or (c) two-electron oxidations, and (d) electrophilic nitration. Given the fast reaction of peroxynitrite with carbon dioxide and the ubiquitous presence of the latter, the role of CO2 cannot be neglected in complex peroxynitrite reactions in vitro and in vivo.