Metabolism of gamma-aminobutyric acid during cold acclimation and freezing and its relationship to frost tolerance in barley and wheat.

Amino acid homeostasis was investigated in frost-resistant barley seedlings under either cold- or freezing-stress conditions. Total free amino acid content varied only slightly, but a substantial conversion of glutamate to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) was found that was proportional to the severity of the stress. Cold acclimation caused a significant increase in amino acid pools, and induced the expression of the GABA-shunt genes.

Synthesis of pyrazole derivatives and their evaluation as photosynthetic electron transport inhibitors.

Two series of new pyrazoles, namely six pyrazolo[1,5-a][1,3,5]triazine-2,4-dione and four pyrazolo[1,5-c][1,3,5]thiadiazine-2-one derivatives, were synthesized as potential inhibitors of the photosynthetic electron transport chain at the photosystem II level. The compounds were confirmed by 1H NMR, elemental, and IR analyses. Their biological activity was evaluated in vivo upon both the growth of blue-green algae and the photosynthetic oxygen evolution by eukaryotic algae and in vitro as the ability to interfere with light-driven reduction of ferricyanide by isolated spinach chloroplasts.