Biochemical Responses to Environmental Stress Biochemical Responses to Environmental Stress Proceedings of a Symposium sponsored by the Divisions of Water, Air, and Waste Chemistry, Microbial Chemistry and Technology, and Biological Chemistry of the American Chemical Society, held in Chicago, Illinois, September 14-15, 1970. Edited by I. A. ~ernstein Professor of Environmental and ., Industrial Health and of Biological Chemistry The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan <±> Plenum Press· New York-London· 1971 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 79-151618 ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-1919-1 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-1917-7 001: 10.1007/978-1-4684-1917-7 © 1971 Plenum Press, New York Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1971 A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation 227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011 United Kingdom edition published by Plenum Press, London A Division of Plenum Publishing Company, Ltd. Davis House (4th Floor), 8 Scrubs Lane, Harlesden, NW 10 6SE, England All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher PREFACE In the world outside the laboratory, life goes on in a chang ing rather than in a constant environment and organisms must continually accommodate to changes in temperature, light, humidity, nutrition, etc. Since studies of the enzymatic process, in vitro, indicate that, in general, biological catalysis can proceed only over limited ranges of temperature, pH, substrate concentration, etc., it seems reasonable to assume that biological systems have an ability to maintain a relatively constant internal milieu in the face of drastic external environmental change. This concept, as applied particularly to the mammal, was enun ciated by Bernard (1878) in the latter part of the last century. Cannon (1939) designated the phenomenon as homeostasis stating (cf Potter, 1970) that "in an open system such as our bodies represent, compounded of unstable material and subjected continually to disturbing conditions, constancy is in itself evidence that agencies are acting or are ready to act, to maintain this constancy." He further proposed that "if a state remains steady, it does so because any tendency towards change is automatically met by increased effectiveness of the factor or factors which resist the change." Considerable evidence (cf Prosser, 1958) suggests that homeo stasis is a general phenomenon which applies to all living things and at all levels of biological complexity. Survival in the face of environmental stress would seem to depend upon the ability of the organism to respond by appropriate biochemical modulations so as to maintain homeostasis. Obviously, a stress requiring an adjustment in excess of a living system's ability to accommodate, will be toxic or will result in disease. This symposium focuses on specific examples of environmental accommodation in microbial and animal systems with particular emphasis on the molecular mechanisms involved. The studies chosen for presentation are by no means all the available information on the subject, nor is the present organization of the material the first to appear in the literature. Investigators have, in reality, v vi PREFACE been studying environmental effects on biological systems for decades. It now appears worthwhile to bring their work into perspective in context of society's demand for control of further environmental pollution. An understanding of the cell's molecular mechanisms of response to environmental change and the degree of stress 'to which the cell can accommodate through these mechanisms, appears essential to a rational definition of environmental quality standards. Although it is already clear that organisms have an extensive ability to accommodate quickly, it is still necessary to determine the degree to which this is possible and the degree to which a first response affects the system's ability to accommodate to a second stress. The increasingly rapid alteration of the environment resulting from man's technological development makes it important to evaluate this latter proposition. Our ability to accommodate to a particular stress may be seriously limited by prior responses to other environmental insults. The homeostatic capabilities of biological systems should not be taken as an excuse for allowing environmental contamination to continue unabated. Rather, these abilities should be taken into account in setting priorities and limits for control of environ mental pollution. The Editor has tried to refrain from significantly influencing either the context or the rhetoric of the presentations in the hope of providing the reader with a more comprehensive view of the subject. He does, however, assume complete responsibility for the choice of contributors believing that the papers do provide a balanced - even though incomplete - review of the information relevant to the title of the symposium. Thanks are due the authors for their cooperation in expedi tiously providing typed manuscripts. The Editor is especially grateful for the assistance of Mrs. Barbara Gooding in preparing the material for submission to the Publisher. Permission from the following journals to reprint specific figures in the text is acknowledged with thanks: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (US), Science, Biophysical Journal, Nature, Cancer Research, Journal of Membrane Biology, American Journal of Physiology and Federation Proceedings. Ann Arbor, Michigan I. A. Bernstein November 27, 1970 PREFACE vii REFERENCES Bernard, C. 1878. Lecons sur 1es phenomenes 1a vie. Bailliere, Paris. Canon, W.B. 1939. The wisdom of the body. Norton, New York. Potter, V.R. 1970. Intracellular responses to environmental change: the quest for optimum environment. Environ. Res. 3: 176-186. Prosser, C.L. The nature of physiological adaptation. p. 167-180. In C.L. Prosser [Ed], Physiological adaptation. Am. Physiol. Soc., Washington. CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME JERE M. BAUER Department of Internal Medicine The University of Michigan Medical Center Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 I. A. BERNSTEIN Departments of Environmental and Industrial Health and Biological Chemistry The University of Michigan Medical Center Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 ROBERT E. BEYER Laboratory of Chemical Biology Department of Zoology The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 THOMAS D. BROCK Department of Microbiology Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana 47401 FRED R. BUTCHER McArdle Laboratory University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 53706 J. E. DONNELLAN, JR. Biology Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830 M. ESFAHANI Biochemistry Department Duke University Medical Center Durham, North Carolina 27706 x CONTRIBUTORS DAVID KUPFER Lederle Laboratories Division of American Cyanamid Company Pearl River, New York 10965 R. P. MORTLOCK Department of Microbiology University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 VAN R. POTTER McArdle Laboratory University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 53706 ROBERT D. REYNOLDS McArdle Laboratory University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 53706 DAVID F. SCOTT McArdle Laboratory University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 53706 R. S. STAFFORD Biology Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830 SALIH J. WAKIL Biochemistry Department Duke University Medical Center Durham, North Carolina 27706 W. A. WOOD Department of Biochemistry Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan 48823 CHUNG WU Departments of Internal Medicine and Biological Chemistry The University of Michigan Medical Center Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS xii GENETIC AND ENZYMATIC MECHANISMS FOR THE ACCOMMODATION TO NOVEL SUBSTRATES BY AEROBACTER AEROGENES R. P. Mortlock and W. A. Wood 1 THE RESPONSE OF ESCHERICHIA COLI TO FATTY ACID SUPPLEMENTS AND THE REGULATION OF MEMBRANE LIPID SYNTHESIS Salih J. Wakil and M. Esfahani 15 MICROBIAL ADAPTATION TO EXTREMES OF TEMPERATURE AND pH Thomas D. Brock 32 PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY OF SPORE-FORMING BACTERIA J. E. Donnellan, Jr. and R. S. Stafford 38 INDUCTION OF THE HEPATIC AMINO ACID TRANSPORT SYSTEM AND TYROSINE AMINOTRANSFERASE IN RATS ON CONTROLLED FEEDING SCHEDULES David F. Scott, Fred R. Butcher, Robert D. Reynolds and Van R. Potter 51 TRANSPLANTABLE TUMORS AS AN INTERNAL STRESS ON HOST METABOLISM AND RESPONSIVENESS OF TUMORS TO APPLIED STRESS Chung Wu and Jere M. Bauer 71 BIOCHEMICAL ASPECTS OF ACCLIMATION TO A COLD ENVIRONMENT Robert E. Beyer 94 THE EFFECTS OF CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS ON THE HEPATIC MONOOXYGENASE SYSTEM David Kupfer 119 SUBJECT INDEX 132 xi ABBREVIATIONS AMP Adenosine monophosphate ADP Adenosine diphosphate ATP Adenosine triphosphate CoA Coenzyme A CoQ Coenzyme Q DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid FeNH "Non-heme iron" FP Flavoprotein NAD Nicotinamide adenine nucleotide (or diphosphopyridine nucleotide = DPN) NADH Reduced nicotinamide adenine nucleotide Pi Inorganic phosphate RNA Ribonucleic acid TT Thymine dimer UT Uracil-thymine dimer xii