Enzymic diagnosis of copper deficiency in subterranean clover. I. Relationship of ascorbate oxidase activity in leaves to plant copper status

1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 967 ◽  
Author(s):  
JF Loneragan ◽  
E Delhaize ◽  
J Webb

Ascorbate oxidase activity in leaf blades of various ages was examined in relation to copper supply to subterranean clover cv. Seaton Park grown in the glasshouse on a copper-deficient sand. At each copper level, ascorbate oxidase activity per g fresh weight was highest in the youngest leaf blades and declined steeply with age; activity per leaf remained relatively constant with leaf age. On either basis, and in leaf blades of each age category, ascorbate oxidase activity followed copper level. The activity per young folded leaf (YFL) was chosen as the most suitable criterion for a diagnostic test of copper deficiency. Ascorbate oxidase activity per YFL correlated closely with the response to copper of the dry matter yield of plant tops. Activity per YFL also correlated closely with copper concentrations in the youngest open leaf (YOL). These correlations held for Seaton Park subterranean clover when nitrogen was supplied either as NH4NO3 or by symbiotic fixation. Ascorbate oxidase activity in YFL of Mt Barker subterranean clover grown at varying copper levels in the field also correlated closely with YOL copper concentrations in the same plants. Moreover, subterranean clover plants deficient in any one of six other nutrients (nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, zinc) all had ascorbate oxidase activities above the suggested critical value for adequate copper supply. It is suggested that ascorbate oxidase activity in YFL can be used as a specific and sensitive test for the copper status of subterranean clover, with activities of = 50 nmol O2/min per leaf indicating deficiency, = 100 indicating sufficiency, and 50-100 indicating a marginal copper supply.

1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 981 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Delhaize ◽  
JF Loneragan ◽  
J Webb

A rapid, simple and robust field test is described for diagnosing copper deficiency in subterranean clover plants by measuring ascorbate oxidase activity in young folded leaf blades (YFL) homogenized in phosphate buffer. The test measures activity by counting the drops of iodine required to titrate, to a dark blue end-point, excess ascorbic acid added to and incubated for 20 min with a YFL homogenate. When reagent control titrations had titres of 11 drops of iodine, YFL homogenates from copper-adequate plants had titres of 2-3 drops, from copper-deficient plants 6-11, and from plants with marginal copper supply 4-5 drops. The test was standardized against the measurement of ascorbate oxidase activity in YFL by oxygen uptake. Ascorbate oxidase activity was remarkably insensitive to assay temperature, decreasing by only one-third with decreasing temperature from 30 to 10�C. It was also very stable in both homogenates and whole leaves. At room temperature, activity dropped by only 25% in homogenates after 6 h and in whole leaf blades after 48 h. When stored in ice, leaf blades retained full activity for at least 5 days. Diagnosis of copper deficiency by the new test agreed closely with diagnosis based on copper analysis of young open leaves taken from the same subterranean clover plants in field pastures. The test should allow extension workers to give on-the-spot advice about the copper status of pastures containing subterranean clover.


1962 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
AB Beck

Levels of copper, molybdenum, and inorganic sulphate are reported for samples of Western Australian pastures from areas where copper deficiency diseases in ruminants have occurred and from unaffected areas. The copper contents of the pastures were determined previously. It was found that the copper deficiency diseases commonly occurred where pastures contained less than 3 p.p.m. Cu in the dty matter during the growing period, while such diseases were absent where the pastures contained more than 6 p.p.m. Cu. Values between 3 and 6 p.p.m Cu were classified as marginal. The molybdenum and inorganic sulphate contents of the original pasture samples have now been determined. The molybdenum contents of the three classes of pasture were found to lie within the same range (0.1 to 4 p.p.m. Mo in the dry matter, with the majority less than 1 p.p.m.). These values are similar to those recorded by overseas workers for normal pastures. Inorganic sulphate contents of the three classes of pasture also lay within the same range (0.1 to 0.9 per cent SO4, with the majorio between 0.2 and 0.4 per cent). The results for the pastures examined suggest that in Western Australia the low copper level is the constant and the most significant factor associated with enzootic ataxia in sheep and falling disease in cattle.


1942 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Piper

A water-culture technique has been described which makes it possible to determine with precision the effects on plant growth resulting from the absence of traces of the various heavy metals.The essential nature of copper for plant growth has been confirmed, and the quantitative data presented show that the addition of traces of copper to a nutrient solution leads to increases of growth of the order of 200–1200%.The characteristic symptoms produced by growing oats, peas, wheat, Wimmera rye-grass, Phalaris, flax, tomato, subterranean clover, and lucerne in nutrient solutions devoid of copper are described. Copper becomes necessary for normal healthy growth at an early seedling stage and is required so long as active growth is proceeding. Optimum growth of oats was obtained throughout a wide range of copper concentration in the nutrient solution.Oats grown in a copper-free nutrient solution until the development of acute deficiency symptoms recovered and completed their normal life cycle on the addition of sufficient copper to the solution.The copper content of oats at various stages of growth has been determined. The proportion of copper in the dry matter of the plant was greatest in the young stages and rapidly decreased as growth proceeded.The copper content of mature oat plants showing symptoms of copper deficiency was less than 1·0 mg. per kg. whether grown in nutrient solution or obtained from copper-deficient soils. Oats which ceased growth from copper deficiency at an earlier stage of development contained a relatively greater amount of copper in their dry matter.


1989 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 817 ◽  
Author(s):  
JD McFarlane

Three cultivars of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L. cvv. Woogenellup, Nungarin; Trifolium yanninicum cv. Trikkala) were grown on three copper-deficient soil types at seven rates of copper, applied at sowing, to determine their vegetative and seed yield response to copper fertilizer.On two soil types, symptoms of copper deficiency were apparent where no copper was supplied. On the third, symptoms appeared only in one season, after the site was waterlogged. On the three soil types, the symptoms disappeared when 0.125 kg Cu/ha was applied at sowing. although at this rate vegetative and seed yields were reduced by as much as 44% and 59% respectively.The proposed critical concentration range in youngest open leaf tissue for both diagnosing maximum vegetative dry matter and predicting maximum seed yield is 3.0-4.5 mg Cu/kg for Woogenellup and Nungarin subterranean clover. Trikkala subterranean clover had higher critical concentration ranges for diagnosing maximum vegetative dry matter (4.0-6.0 mg Culkg) and predicting maximum seed yield (4.5-7.0 mg Cu/kg). It was not clear whether this difference was due to a higher internal requirement for copper of Trikkala or overlying environmental conditions affecting the external copper supply at the time of sampling.For whole top tissue (WT), there was no difference in the critical concentration range between the three cultivars for diagnosing maximum vegetative yield (3.0-4.0 mg Cu/kg). However, the critical concentration in WT for predicting maximum seed yield was higher for Trikkala (5.0-6.0 mg Cu/kg) than Woogenellup and Nungarin (3.5-4.5 mg Cu/kg). In the pasture situation, a critical concentration of 5.0-6.0 mg Cu/kg in the WT should be adopted when animal requirement is considered.Seed copper concentration for predicting maximum seed or vegetative yield was not a reliable indicator of copper status of subterranean clover.


1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. GOONERATNE ◽  
D. A. CHRISTENSEN

Copper (Cu) status of cattle raised in different soil zones of Saskatchewan was examined with emphasis on the relation between liver Cu concentration in pregnant cows, stage of pregnancy and fetal liver Cu status. Whole fetuses and livers from adult animals were obtained during routine slaughter operation at a local packing plant. Twenty percent of steers, 54% of pregnant cows, 52% of heifers and 77% of nonpregnant cows had liver Cu levels less than 25 mg kg−1 dry matter (DM). Hypocuprosis was most marked in cattle originating from northern regions of Saskatchewan. Fetal liver Cu concentration depended on the dam liver Cu concentration and on stage of pregnancy and could be represented as: Fetal liver Cu concentration (mg kg−1 DM) = 217.5 + 0.023 [(age of fetus (days) × dam liver Cu concentraiton (mg kg−1 DM)]. During gestation the level of Cu progressively increased in the fetal liver and decreased in maternal liver. Liver Cu levels of fetuses from dams with liver Cu greater than 25 mg kg−1 DM were higher (P < 0.05) than those in fetuses from dams with liver Cu levels lower than 25 mg kg−1 DM. Dam liver Cu status did not influence fetal liver, kidney, heart and brain weights or the Cu concentration of fetal kidney, heart or brain. The magnitude of hypocuprosis in cattle in Saskatchewan is extensive and emphasizes the importance of adequate Cu nutrition in pregnant cattle with respect to maintaining acceptable fetal Cu status. Key words: Copper deficiency, Saskatchewan, soil zones, cattle, pregnancy, fetus


1970 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. HIDIROGLOU ◽  
K. J. JENKINS ◽  
J. R. LESSARD ◽  
R. B. CARSON

A study was conducted on the effect of nutritional muscular dystrophy (NMD) on the copper and molybdenum contents of various tissues from calves under three months of age. Fifty-one calves were employed from an area in northern Ontario where NMD is common and 12 calves from a dystrophy-free area. The latter animals were fed a milk substitute which contained some 4.5 times as much copper as the milk received by the calves in the NMD area. For suckled calves in northern Ontario, no significant difference in liver copper concentrations was observed between healthy and NMD-affected animals. In calves fed the milk substitute, the liver copper level was markedly higher [204.4 ± 71.0 (SD)] than in suckled calves with dystrophy (55.5 ± 36.3) or without the disorder (60.8 ± 53.7). The copper concentrations (μg/g DM) of other tissues from NMD-affected calves were: kidney 14.8 ± 3.3, heart 14.0 ± 2.5, lung 6.5 ± 2.0, spleen 4.3 ± 1.6 and muscle 3.0 ± 1.4. No significant differences in these copper levels occurred between NMD-affected and healthy calves, or those reared on the milk substitute. Similarly, there were no significant differences in tissue molybdenum concentrations. The data indicated that the calves reared in northern Ontario had a marginal copper deficiency. Tissue copper and molybdenum levels appeared to be unaffected by the development of myopathy in the calves. The copper status of two groups, of six calves each, wintered outdoors or indoors, also was compared. Hypocuprosis and copper plasma levels were not influenced by exposure to the severe outwintering conditions of northern Ontario. Plasma copper levels showed a gradual decrease from 66 ± 16 μg per 100 ml plasma at 1 week of age to 51 ± 10 μg per 100 ml at 19 weeks.


1953 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
KD McLachlan

The results of a field experiment on two acid podzolized soils in the Heytesbury area, Victoria, are presented. Nutrient elements were tested on a phalaris (Phalaris tuberosa L.) - subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) pasture on an area cleared from heath and on an adjoining area cleared from timber with an understorey of heath. Responses of clover to lime and copper, and interactions between these treatments were obtained. There was no response to potash, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, iron, magnesium, or boron on either soil. Lime increased the yield of clover at both sites, the greater effect occurring on the area cleared from timber. The effect of lime was not due to the release of soil molybdenum. Lime corrected defective nodulation, increased the survival of the plants, and to some extent also increased the yield of individual plants. The relative significance of these effects of lime in determining the final yield of clover per acre is discussed. The effect of copper was very different on the two soils. On the area cleared from heath, copper deficiency was severe. Here, copper increased the yield in the absence as well as in the presence of lime. The effect was considerably greater in the presence of lime, and this positive interaction was highly significant. Copper increased the number of plants per unit area and the yield of individual clover plants. On the area cleared from timber, copper decreased the yield in the absence of lime. Where lime had been applied, the effect of copper on the yield, though not significant, was positive. The evidence presented indicates that copper is also required on this soil. A copper deficiency symptom of subterranean clover is described. It is suggested that the copper status of the soils may influence the distribution of trees in the area.


Author(s):  
Qingtao Jiang ◽  
Feng Zhang ◽  
Lei Han ◽  
Baoli Zhu ◽  
Xin Liu

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The association of serum copper with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) has been studied for years, but no definite conclusion is drawn. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate serum copper concentrations in PCOS subjects compared with healthy controls. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Electronic search was performed in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus up to June 30, 2020, without any restriction. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with corresponding 95% CIs in serum copper levels were employed with random-effects model. <i>I</i><sup>2</sup> was applied to evaluate heterogeneity among studies. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Nine studies, measuring plasma copper levels in 1,168 PCOS patients and 1,106 controls, were included. Pooled effect size suggested serum copper level was significantly higher in women with PCOS (SMD = 0.51 μg/mL, 95% CI = [0.30, 0.72], <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.0001). The overall heterogeneity was not connected with subgroups of the country, but derived from the opposite result of 1 study. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Our research generally indicated circulating copper level in PCOS sufferers was significantly higher than normal controls. Large-scale studies are still needed to elucidate the clear relation between copper status and etiology of PCOS.


1956 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 98 ◽  
Author(s):  
JN Black

Changes in the pre-emergence distribution of dry matter in subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) variety Bacchus Marsh were followed at 21°C, using three sizes of seed and three depths of sowing, ½, 1¼, and 2 in. Decreasing seed size and increasing depth of sowing both reduce the weight of the cotyledons a t emergence. Seed of the three sizes were sown a t three depths in pot culture a t staggered intervals so that emergence was simultaneous. Dry weight in the early vegetative stage was proportional to seed size, and total leaf area and leaf numbers showed similar trends. Plants of each seed size grew at the same relative rate. No effect of depth of sowing could be detected, and this was shown to be due to the cotyledon area a t emergence being constant for any given seed size, regardless of varying depth of sowing and hence of cotyledon weight. It was concluded that seed size in a plant having epigeal germination and without endosperm is of importance: firstly, in limiting the maximum hypocotyl elongation and hence depth of sowing, and secondly, in determining cotyledon area. Cotyledon area in turn influences seedling growth, which is not affected by cotyledon weight. Once emergence has taken place, cotyledonary reserves are of no further significance in the growth of the plants.


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