Summary
Nonsulfur purple photosynthetic bacteria,Rhodopseudomonas spheroides cells were cultured in medium containing tritiated water (THO) under the light-anaerobic and dark-aerobic conditions. The experimental R value defined as specific activity ratio of organic bound3H to THO in medium was 0.49 and 0.48 for the light-anaerobically grown cells and the dark-aerobically grown cells, respectively. From the relation of R value to number of weight doubling of the cells (n), ratio of experimental R to theoretical R, i.e., (2n−1)/2n derived by assuming no isotope effect, was 0.51 and 0.49 on an average for the light-anaerobically grown cells and the dark-aerobically grown cells, respectively.3H-incorporation from THO-medium into the light-anaerobic nongrowing cells was affected by the light intensity and suppressed by adding HgCl2, KCN, and 2,4-dinitrophenol as well as3H-labelling in the dark-aerobic nongrowing cells was affected by oxygen tension and suppressed by adding these metabolic inhibitors. From the fractionation of the lyophilized cells by modified Schneider method, the distribution of exchangeable3H in cold acid-soluble and ether-ethanol-soluble fractions and nonexchangeable3H bound to small molecules and macromolecules was 7.4/25.3/67.3 in the growing cells cultured anaerobically in the THO-medium up to late exponential phase in the light. The distribution in the nongrowing cells incubated anaerobically with the THO-medium for 18 h in the light of 300 and 3,000 lux was 82.1/8.4/9.5 and 58.2/19.2/22.6, respectively. These distributions of3H were changed with growth phase and/or incubation time. On the biological effect of3H-THO for the cells stocked at −196° C to accumulate3H-decays, the dark-aerobic nongrowing cells labelled with THO were rather radiosensitive than the dark-aerobically and light-anaerobically grown cells cultured in the THO-medium. The killing efficiencies, i.e., the probability that a single disintegration would be lethal, ranged from 1/200 to 1/275 for the above three kinds of cells labelled with THO. The killing efficiencies forR. spheroides labelled with THO were similar to that for radiosensitive strain CB13 and wild strain Hfr ofEscherichia coli labelled with3H-thymidine and stored at −196° C.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Apelgot S (1968) Effect letal de la desintegration d'atomes radioactifs (3H,14C,32P) incorpores dans une bacterie. In: Biological effects of transmutation and decay of incorporated radioisotopes. IAEA Vienna, pp 147–163
Bockrath R, Person W, Funk F (1968) Calculated energy deposits from the decay of tritium and other radioisotopes incorporated into bactera. Biophys J 8: 1027–1036
Bruner HD (1973) Distribution of tritium between the hydrosphere and invertebrates. In: Moghissi AA, Carter MW (eds) Tritium. Messenger Graphyics, Phoenix, Arizona, pp 303–314
Griffiths M, Stanier RY (1956) Some mutational changes in the photosynthetic pigment system ofRhodopseudomonas spheroides. J Gen Microbiol 14: 698–715
Hatch FT, Mazrimas JA, Koranda JJ, Martin JR (1970) Ecology and Radiation exposure of Kangaroo rats living in a tritiated environment. Radiat Res 44: 97–107
Higuchi M, Goto K, Fujimoto M, Namiki O, Kikuchi G (1965) Effect on inhibitors of nucleic acid and protein synthesis on the induced synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll andδ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase byRhodopseudomonas spheroides. Biochim Biophys Acta 95: 94–110
Higuchi M, Kikuchi G (1963) Synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll byRhodopseudomonas spheroides under dark aerobic conditions. Nature 200: 1191–1192
Inomata T, Higuchi M (1976) Incorporation of tritium into cell materials ofRhodopseudomonas spheroides from tritiated water in the medium under aerobic conditions. J Biochem 80: 569–578
Inomata T, Higuchi M (1982) Accumulation and retention of tritium (tritiated water) inRhodopseudomonas spheroides under aerobic condition. Radiat Environ Biophys 20: 123–136
Kanazawa T, Kanazawa K, Bassham JA (1972) Tritium incorporation in the metabolism ofChlorella pyrenoidosa. Environm Sci Technol 6: 638–642
Kline JR, Stewart ML (1974) Tritium uptake and loss in grass vegetation which has been exposed to an atmospheric source of tritiated water. Health Phys 26: 567–573
Komatsu K, Higuchi M, Sakka M (1981) Accumulation of tritium in aquatic organisms through a food chain with three trophic levels. J Radiat Res 22: 226–241
Koranda JJ, Anspaugh LR, Martin JR (1972) The significance of tritium release to the environment. IEEE Transact Nucl Sci 19: 27–39
Lascelles J (1956) The synthesis of porphyrins and bacteriochlorophyll by cell suspensions ofRhodopseudomonas spheroides. Biochem J 62: 78–93
Marsuhasi M, Yamada M, Hirose-Kumagai A, Koyama T (1977) In: Ishikawa T, Maruyama Y, Matsumiya H (eds) Growth and differentiation in microorganisms. Univ Tokyo Press, p 59
Person S (1968) Lethal and mutagenic effects of tritium decay produced by tritiated compounds incorporated into bacteria and bacteriophages. In: Biological effects of transmutation and decay of incorporated radioisotopes. IAEA, Vienna, pp 29–64
Rachmeler M, Pardee AB (1963) Loss of viability andβ-galactosidase-forming ability as a consequence of tritium decay inEscherichia coli. Biochim Biophys Acta 68: 62–67
Sands JA, Snipes W, Person S (1972) Mutagenesis by tritium: Decays originating from growth and storage in tritiated water and from chemostatic growth in the presence of tritiated nucleic acid precursors. Int J Radiat Biol 22: 197–202
Schneider WC (1945) Phosphorous compounds in animal tissues: I. Extraction and estimation of desoxypentose nucleic acid and of pentose nucleic acid. J Biol Chem 161: 293–303
Strand JA, Templeton WL, Tangen EG (1971) Accumulation of tritium (tritiated water) in embryonic and larval fish, and radiation effect. In: Proc. of the Third National Symp. on Radioecology, vol 1. U.S. Atomic Commission, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, pp 445–451
Turner JC (1967) Sample preparation for liquid scintillation counting. RRC Review 6, The Radiochemical Centre, Amersham Bucks, England
Weaver CL, Haward ED, Peterson HT (1969) Tritium in the environment from nuclear powerplants. Public Health Rep 84: 363–371
Weinbergar D, Porter JW (1954) Metabolism of hydrogen isotopes by rapidly growingChlorella pyrenoidosa cells. Arch Biochem Biophys 50: 160–218
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Inomata, T. Accumulation and lethal effect of tritium (tritiated water) inRhodopseudomonas spheroides . Radiat Environ Biophys 21, 281–294 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01341465
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01341465