Table Of ContentEuropean Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry
Third Congress
Organizing Committee:
A. D. F. ADDINK, President
Animal Physiology,
Gorlaeus Laboratory, Rijksuniversiteit Leiden
C. M. BALLINTIJN
Zoological Laboratory, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
A. P. VAN OVERBEEKE
Zoological Laboratory, Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen
L. M. SCHOONHOVEN
Animal Physiology, Landbouw Hogeschool Wageningen
N. SPRONK, Secretary
Biological Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
D. I. ZANDEE
Chemical Animal Physiology, Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht
Sponsors:
The Commission of the European Community
Ministerie van Landbouw en Visserij
Technische Hogeschool Delft
Technische Hogeschool Twente
Landbouwhogeschool Wageningen
Rijksuniversiteit Leiden
Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht
Universiteit van Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit
Proceedings of the Third Congress of the European Society for
Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry,
August 31-September 3, 1981, Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands
Exogenous and Endogenous
Influences on Metabolic
and Neural Control of
• RESPIRATION
• FEEDING
• ACTIVITY AND ENERGY SUPPLY IN MUSCLES
• ION- AND OSMOREGULATION
• REPRODUCTION
• PERCEPTION AND ORIENTATION
Volume 1
Invited Lectures
Editors
A. D. F. ADDINK
Animal Physiology
Gorlaeus Laboratory
Rijksuniversiteit Leiden, Netherlands
N. SPRONK
Biological Laboratory
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
PERGAMON PRESS
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First edition 1982
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
European Society for Comparative Physiology and
Biochemistry. Congress (3rd: 1981:
Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands)
Exogenous and endogenous influences on
metabolic & neural control of respiration, feeding,
activity and energy supply in muscles, ion- and
osmoregulation, reproduction, perception and
orientation.
Includes indexes.
Contents: v. 1. Invited lectures — v. 2.
Abstracts.
1. Metabolic regulation—Congresses.
2. Neurotrophic functions—Congresses. 3. Bio
logical control systems—Congresses. I. Addink,
A. D. F. (Alberti Daniel Francois), 1935-
II. Spronk, N. III. Title.
QP171.E97 1981 591.1'88 82-3657
AACR2
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
European Society for Comparative Physiology and
Biochemistry. Congress (3rd: 1981: Noordwijkerhout)
Exogenous and endogenous influences on metabolic
& neural control.
Vol. 1: Invited lectures
1. Physiology, Comparative—Congresses
I. Title II. Addink, A. D. F. III. Spronk, N.
574.1 QP1
ISBN 0-08-027986-4 (vol. 1)
ISBN 0-08-028845-6 (vol. 2)
In order to make this volume available as economically and as
rapidly as possible the authors' typescripts have been
reproduced in their original forms. This method unfortunately
has its typographical limitations but it is hoped that they in no
way distract the reader.
Printed in Great Britain by A. Wheaton & Co. Ltd., Exeter
PREFACE
The control of physiological activities in animals is essential to life. During
this Congress of the exogenous and endogenous influences on these metabolic and
neural processes of control are discussed fundamentally, followed by an applied
aspect. To the organizers the interaction of fundamental and applied aspects is
essential (not only) during such a congress; it proved to be a basis for a fruit-
full exchange of ideas for future research, in many ways, as was learned from the
discussions.
Especially in the context of this European Society for Comparative Physiology and
Biochemistry it is important to cooperate and to prevent possible duplications in
research. It will certainly lead to scientific agreements within Europe, for ap
plied or fundamental projects.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We want to thank the following members of the Organizing Committee: Dr. Ballintijn,
Dr. Van Overbeeke, Dr. Schoonhoven and especially Dr. Zandee for their invaluable
activities in organizing, editing and indexing the separate book, containing the
abstracts of posters and invited lectures. It was meant and proved to be the es
sential basis for the 4 days of the Congress, August 31 to September 3, 1981 in
Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands.
It is with great pleasure, that we remember the enthusiastic cooperation and at
tention with increasing intensity during the past two years which resulted in the
3rd Congress of the European Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry.
The support and experience of Dr. Munday and Dr. Gilles our President and Executive
officer of the Society were essential in the process of organization.
Furthermore the incentive activities are gratefully acknowledged of the chairmen
in the six Sections in the Congress: Dr. Dejours, Dr. De Ruiter, Dr. Beenakkers,
Dr. Gilles, Dr. Laverack and Dr. Voogt.
The Congress organization has had an explicit benefit of the accurate, helpfull
and devoted activities of Trix van footen, Thea Laan, Danielle Zandee and Marc
Spronk: not only the secretarial and financial administration before the Congress,
but also their reception in a friendly manner at the Congress desk.
For the final editing and indexing of the total manuscript of the Proceedings we
are much obliged to Trix van Kboten for her expert typing activities.
A.D.F. ADDINK and N. SPRONK
Leiden, November 1981.
PREFACE
The control of physiological activities in animals is essential to life. During
this Congress of the exogenous and endogenous influences on these metabolic and
neural processes of control are discussed fundamentally, followed by an applied
aspect. To the organizers the interaction of fundamental and applied aspects is
essential (not only) during such a congress; it proved to be a basis for a fruit-
full exchange of ideas for future research, in many ways, as was learned from the
discussions.
Especially in the context of this European Society for Comparative Physiology and
Biochemistry it is important to cooperate and to prevent possible duplications in
research. It will certainly lead to scientific agreements within Europe, for ap
plied or fundamental projects.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We want to thank the following members of the Organizing Committee: Dr. Ballintijn,
Dr. Van Overbeeke, Dr. Schoonhoven and especially Dr. Zandee for their invaluable
activities in organizing, editing and indexing the separate book, containing the
abstracts of posters and invited lectures. It was meant and proved to be the es
sential basis for the 4 days of the Congress, August 31 to September 3, 1981 in
Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands.
It is with great pleasure, that we remember the enthusiastic cooperation and at
tention with increasing intensity during the past two years which resulted in the
3rd Congress of the European Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry.
The support and experience of Dr. Munday and Dr. Gilles our President and Executive
officer of the Society were essential in the process of organization.
Furthermore the incentive activities are gratefully acknowledged of the chairmen
in the six Sections in the Congress: Dr. Dejours, Dr. De Ruiter, Dr. Beenakkers,
Dr. Gilles, Dr. Laverack and Dr. Voogt.
The Congress organization has had an explicit benefit of the accurate, helpfull
and devoted activities of Trix van footen, Thea Laan, Danielle Zandee and Marc
Spronk: not only the secretarial and financial administration before the Congress,
but also their reception in a friendly manner at the Congress desk.
For the final editing and indexing of the total manuscript of the Proceedings we
are much obliged to Trix van Kboten for her expert typing activities.
A.D.F. ADDINK and N. SPRONK
Leiden, November 1981.
The Origin of Physiology*
A. D. F. Addink
Department of Animal Physiology, Gorlaeus Laboratoria,
Rijksuniversiteit, Wassenaarseweg 76, 2300 RA Leiden,
The Netherlands
INTRODUCTION
I. THE ORIGIN OF PHYSIOLOGY AS A SCIENCE.
Scientifically speaking you are, attending this European Congress in Holland,
descendants of famous scientists in physiology and comparative physiology, such as
just to mention a few:
Galvani working on electricity and muscle movement in Italy and writing in Latin;
Claude Bernard in France, who really introduced the experimental methodology in
biology and the concept of the "milieu interieur"; Pavlov in Russia training dogs;
Fick in Germany doing research on heart physiology and in Holland Jordan explored
the muscle contraction (Postma 1980).
Concerning biochemistry Priestley in England discovered oxygen and oxygen
consumption in animals about 200 years ago; around 1935 Embden and Meyerhof
established the glycolysis and fermentation, while Krebs postulated the citric
acid cycle. Thereafter Florkin in Belgium is of importance for the comparative bio
chemistry.
As time does not permit me, I realize that you can extend this list much, much more,
but what you will find is that for a long time -some 200 years- this all happened
in Europe. Perhaps it is also for that reason, that we all enjoy the existence of
this European Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry.
We hope that the lectures on fundamental and applied subjects, summarizing results
of yesterday and today as well as the postersessions and round tables -organized
along your personal interests- will inspire you for the research in the future.
The day of tomorrow has a grey sky, but we do hope and believe, that through
cooperation between research groups inside Europe a more favourable climate can be
created, as far as scientific output is concerned.
It is really possible to shape your own scientific future in physiology and compa
rative biochemistry as Science is made by humans.
II. THE ORIGIN OF PHYSIOLOGY AS A SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENON.
Looking ahead for the scientific problems to be resolved such as the origin of
life and its subsequent evolution into e.g. highly organized vertebrate animals
* Dedicated to Prof. Dr H.J. Vonk.
1
2 A. D. F. Addink
together with their physiological implications I will give a short speculative
view on the future of animal physiology and comparative biochemistry to describe
a living animal more than just a temporary adaptive self-reproducing battery of
(sun)energy.
If we will understand the course of events starting with organic molecules, follo
wed by macromolecules and more complex forms of prebiotic situations such as com
binations of nucleotides and proteins it will be instructive to unravel physiolo
gical regulation mechanisms.
In order to arrange nucleotides and proteins stereochemically a third factor is
necessary. This third factor is basically the original part of the earth itself:
the inorganic compounds more or less crystallized.
So in a concise way I will point out two theories: at
1. the inorganic/organic interactions
2. the organic /macromolecular organization
Ad 1. Experiments with silent discharges, ultraviolet or electric discharges
(lightning), passing through a gaseous mixture of methane, ammonia, hydrogen and
water vapour resulted in the formation of amino acids, as racemic mixtures (Miller
1960 ; Fox 1965, 1972 and Oparin 1957). In the presence of clays a preference
for the formation of 1-amino acids was established. The formation of polymers from
aminoacids was established by Degens and Matheja (1971) in the presence of inorganic
templates such as kaolinite (Al, OH ). (Si.O ) and montmorillonate ((Al, Mg) OH )
(Si0 ). ((Na, Ca) n^O) . |U
4 1Q
These clays serve the same function as the ribosomes in a biological system.
As we know quite a number of enzymes contain (divalent) metalions in their active
centers such as zinc, copper or iron. Also rather primitive organic catalysts have
been described for instance an imidazole-zinc complex, which binds C0 just as the
?
active site in the zinc containing enzyme carbonic anhydrase of 36000 daltons
(Dobry-Duclaux 1966, 1970; Addink 1968).
The aminoacid configuration of the apoprotein is such that the metals fit in a stable
manner through coordination. In my opinion during prebiotic conditions the primary
structure of such a protein was formed on zinc containing geochemical matrix -zinc
is coordinated by histidin/imidazole-. This matrix is not just a clay mineral, but
a silicate of the amphibole group (Deer et al 1963) including zinc silicate such as
hemimorphite or calamine (Zn.Si 0 (OH) .HO). The amphibole silicates are composed
of double chains of linked tetrahedras; (Si.O ) , repeating at 5.3 8.
Octohedrally coordinated are arrays of five cations eg iron, magnesium, zinc, copper
or calcium, possibly cobalt (indicated by MM).
It seems to me not unlikely, that such minerals were involved in the stereochemical
allignment of proteins, which catalyzed the nucleic acid polymerization. It is known
that DNA-polymerase of Escherichia coli contains zinc. In the presence of sodium
connected to the phosphate groups of the polynucleotide strand a double stranded
macromolecule will be the result.
Through adsorption of polynucleotides and proteins on these specific amphibole
silicates and their coordinated metals it is most likely, that catalysis could take
place, as presented in the scheme. This configuration resulted in the only basic
molecular machinery in every cell: the universal genetic code.
AMINO ACIDS PROTEINS
GEOCHEMICAL ^- ^
TEMPLATE1 SILICATES-METALS -> NMUMC-LSEIOLPIRCOATTEEISN-SM M + MM-P^R O^T E_I NTSO
NUCLEOTIDES POLYNUCLEOTIDES
The Origin of Physiology 3
My conclusion is that the geochemical matrix (MM) has been the basic directing
force towards both nucleotides and proteins, resulting finally in selfreproducing
organisms. The molecular inorganic-organic interactions form in many physiological
functions the regulatory control, which we are discussing during this congress. The
original geochemical template (MM-silicates) is left outside the cell.
Ad 2. The organization of the organic/macromolecular phase resulting into self-
reproduction can be pointed out as follows. It is based on a theoretical approach
of Manfred Eigen, who got a Nobel prize for his research on fast chemical reactions.
This theory is called the HYPERCYCLE, which is meant to be "an explanation for the
origin of life, or of selforganization of matter and evolution of biological
macromolecules" to quote Eigen (1979; 1971). If we follow his line of reasoning we
can depict several types of cycles. In fig. 1 the simple cycle, one in which the
catalyst E forms a complex ES with substrate S. As the activation energy is lowered
in the complex the substrate is converted to the product, which dissociates and the
catalyst is back. The product might be a protein.
I have modified the diagrams of Eigen to show the essential influence of the
geochemical matrix in prebiotic conditions of amphibole silicates containing speci
fic metals (MM); as indicated above nucleotidephosphate binding by Ca-Mg-Al-sili-
cates as well as polypeptide adsorption or coordination (proteins and enzymes) by
zincsilicates, including hemimorphite or calamine.
In fig. 2 the catalytic cycle is composed of enzymes; these proteins form the
catalytic unit in the following steps 1, 2, 3, 4, and n. Still the question could
be asked even if we take into account the many years for the development of the
first unicellular living creature, on what occasion did it start. A geochemical
template is an answer to that question.
Fig. 1 The common catalytic cycle of an enzyme E. The substrate is indicated by S;
ES is the enzyme-substrate-complex; EP is the enzyme-product-complex and
P stands for product. E is the enzyme, which may bind again a substrate mo
lecule. MM stands for the geochemical adsorptive template containing also
essential metals.
Fig.2 The catalytic cycle is composed of several enzymes E , which catalyze the
formation of the next enzyme from
a substrate S. This cycle is a self-
instructive unit, indicated by the
symbol I, if it is fully active as
an autocatalyst. MM stands for
essential metals.
4 A. D. F. Addink
* S*
Fig. 3 The Hypercycle, an catalytic cycle consisting of selfinstructive units I ,
is capable of selfreproduction of the complete cycle, using also energy-
rich substrates. MM stands for the essential metals, which are incorporated
in proteins or nucleoproteins.
Fig. 4 The Hypercycle in its essential appearance. MM stands for the essential me
tals incorporated in the units.
In Fig. 3 and 4 a hypercycle is built of catalytic cycles of the type of Fig. 2.
These cycles are also selfinstructing for their own replication. They consist of
proteins and ribonucleic acids. These autocatalytic units are able to reproduce
themselves and catalyze also the next step! "I" stands for such informative units.
In Fig.5 rearrangement of the diagram in Fig.4 is a biologically acceptable
second degree hypercycle composed of nucleoprotein-catalysts, and enzymes after
the translation. Now I will extend this theory to celldifferentiation and resul
ting multicellular animals. You will need many more of these hypercycles to form
such an organism, including its sensory elements directed towards the environment.
The energy comes indirectly or directly from the sun.
Fig. 5 The hypercycle of a second
degree. I are selfinstructive
information units and E are
synthesized enzymes relevant
for metabolism and translation
{ h) ^2 processes. MM stands for incor
porated essential metals of
geochemical origin.
Fig. 6 Schematic second degree hypercycle with a complete set of characteristics
I and E represented by sets of (wooden) bars; probably four coils are
needed for a vertebrate organism. The axis indicates the energy supply via
substrates. Essential metals are not indicated, (page 5)
The Origin of Physiology 5
x^%
Fig. 6
VAX
Fig. 7 A fish diagram, after rearranging the second degree hypercycles of
Fig. 6.
