Compatible solutes are small organic osmolytes including but not limited to sugars, polyols, amino acids, and their derivatives. They are compatible with cell metabolism even at molar concentrations. A variety of organisms synthesize or take up compatible solutes for adaptation to extreme environments. In addition to their protective action on whole cells, compatible solutes display significant...

Although it is known that cephalopods and other marine molluscs accumulate organic osmolytes to prevent cellular water loss in the high salinity of seawater, very few studies on molluscs, and no studies on cephalopods have been performed to characterize the underlying transport processes. We used [H] betaine to quantify the uptake of betaine into giant fiber lobe motor neurons of the squid Loll...

Betaine, taurine, and inositol participate as osmolytes in liver cell volume homeostasis and interfere with cell function. In this study we investigated whether osmolytes are also released from the intact liver independent of osmolarity changes. In the perfused rat liver, phagocytosis of carbon particles led to a four- to fivefold stimulation of taurine efflux into the effluent perfusate above ...

Marine elasmobranchs retain relatively high levels of urea to counterbalance the osmotic strength of seawater. Oviparous species, such as the little skate Raja erinacea, release encapsulated embryos that hatch after about 9 months on the seafloor. To study the ureosmotic capability of skate embryos, we measured a variety of possible osmolytes and ornithine-urea cycle (OUC) enzyme activities in ...

The structural competition between the G-quadruplex and Watson-Crick duplex has been implicated for the repetitive DNA sequences, but the factors influencing this competitive equilibrium in the natural and pharmacological context need to be elucidated. Using a 21mer 5'-Fluorescein-d[(G3TTA)3G3]-TAMRA-3' as a model system, extensive fluorescence resonance energy transfer analysis was carried out...

Osmolytes stabilize proteins to thermal and chemical denaturation. We have studied the effects of the osmolytes sarcosine, betaine, trimethylamine-N-oxide, and taurine on the structure and stability of the protein.peptide complex RNase S using x-ray crystallography and titration calorimetry, respectively. The largest degree of stabilization is achieved with 6 m sarcosine, which increases the de...

A novel 1-->1 alpha-linked glucose disaccharide with sulfate at C-2 of one of the glucose moieties, 1-(2-O-sulfo-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl)-alpha-D-glycopyranose, was found to be the major organic solute accumulated by a Natronococcus sp. and several Natronobacterium species. The concentration of this novel disaccharide, termed sulfotrehalose, increased with increasing concentrations of external N...

The intraerythrocytic amplification of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum induces new pathways of solute permeability in the host cell's membrane. These pathways play a pivotal role in parasite development by supplying the parasite with nutrients, disposing of the parasite's metabolic waste and organic osmolytes, and adapting the host's electrolyte composition to the parasite's needs. D...

Investigators now have a wide range of analytical tools to use in measuring metabolites, proteins and transcripts in plant tissues. These tools have the potential to assist genetic studies that seek to phenotype genetic lines for heritable traits that contribute to drought tolerance. To be useful for crop breeding, hundreds or thousands of genetic lines must be assessed. This review considers t...