Purification and identification of linoleic acid hydroperoxides generated by soybean seed lipoxygenases 2 and 3

It has been known that lipoxygenase (LOX) isozymes exhibit differences in product formation, but most product information to date is for LOX 1 among soybean (Glycine max) LOX isozymes. In this study, LOXs 2 and 3 were purified and used to generate hydroperoxide (HPOD) products in an in vitro system using linoleic acid as a substrate in the presence of either air or O2. The products were analyzed to determine their stereoisomeric characteristics. The control (no enzyme) showed only low levels of hydroperoxide production and no stereoisomeric specificity. LOX 2 shows high specificity in product formation, producing roughly 4 times more 13-HPOD than 9-HPOD, nearly all of which was 13-S(Z,E)-HPOD. LOX 3 produced more 9-HPOD than 13-HPOD at approximately a 2:1 ratio. No single stereoisomer was predominant among LOX 3 products. These results demonstrate that different isozymes of LOX have characteristic product profiles in in vitro reactions.     

Grain yield increases in wheat and barley to nitrogen applied after transient waterlogging in the high rainfall cropping zone of western Australia

Nitrogen (N) is a major factor limiting grain production in the high rainfall zone (HRZ, 450–700 mm annual average rainfall of southwestern Australia (SWA). Transient waterlogging and leaching of applied N fertilizer are hazards faced in most years by crop producers. The major crops are wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), canola (Brassica napus L.) and lupin (Lupinus angustifiolius L.) grown in rotation. Two series of experiments involving, levels and timing of N fertilizer application and levels of plant population were done. The first series, in 2003–2004, consisted of 3 experiments in 3 growing seasons (early May to late-October) to measure the grain yield (GY) increase (response) of wheat and barley to various methods of N fertilizer application (methods of split N application were compared to N applied at sowing). The aim of the experiments was to determine the optimal N fertilizer application strategy for maximum GY and quality in situations where transient waterlogging was a frequent occurrence. The second series of four experiments, from 2007–2009, measured the GY of wheat sown at three levels of plant population to 4 levels of N applied after transient waterlogging (taken to be rainfall events in which >25 mm of rain was recorded in 24 to 48 hours).

Applying the N fertilizer after high rainfall and transient waterlogging (tactical N application) increased GY and protein percentage of grain compared to applying all of the N fertilizer at sowing. Where transient waterlogging was not frequent, applying the N after waterlogging was not always better than applying part of the N according to growth stage of the crop or according to fixed times after sowing. When the crop was water-logged three or more times, N uptake by the crop at anthesis and apparent fertilizer N recovery in the crop was substantially increased by applying the N after waterlogging compared to applying the entire N at sowing. This study found that a tactical N management strategy for the HRZ of SWA is to apply some N at sowing with subsequent applications made after heavy rainfall that leads to transient waterlogging. Split N fertilizer applied either according to time after sowing or to growth stage of the crop was equally effective for increasing GY in situations where waterlogging was less frequent.

The observation from these experiments, that grain yield increases due to splitting the N dose were associated with increases in ear numbers, lead to a further set of experiments where plant population was increased in conjunction with N applied after waterlogging events. The combined strategy of increased plant population with strategic N application decreased the amount of N required for maximum GY where more than 3 heavy rainfall events occurred in a growing season.

One practical outcome of this research is to indicate that farmers can withhold applications of N fertilizer after sowing in seasons when transient waterlogging does not occur.     

The potential aboveground carbon storage of north American forests

To assess the possibility of using C offset as a method of sequestering CO₂ produced by the burning of fossil fuels, it is necessary to have accurate estimates of C reservoirs and fluxes. Recent studies have shown that estimates of C commonly used in the past are too large, and this may lead to confusion about the global C budget. Field data used in recent estimates of present C storage for the North American boreal and eastern deciduous forest biomes were reanalyzed to estimate their maximum potential C storage. The original data were collected using a stratified two-stage cluster survey sampling design. The reanalysis suggests that the boreal forest and eastern deciduous forest could sequester possibly as little as 13.4% (3.0 Pg) and 18.5% (1.5 Pg), respectively, more C than they presently store. These estimates represent the potential increase in C storage under present conditions, if the study areas were allowed to revert back into forests.     

Crossing the thresholds: human ecology and historical patterns of landscape degradation

In discussions of landscape sensitivity, human activities have generally been regarded as external forces contributing to landscape change, with a focus on the impacts of cultivation methods, fertiliser practices, grazing pressures and atmospheric pollution. However, there has been comparatively little study undertaken that integrates physical and social systems in a historic context to explain the basis of human activity in sensitive landscapes. Where such attempts have been made, the manner of common land management has figured prominently, with ‘tragedy of the commons’ concepts used to explain land degradation and to provide a foundation for policy response. This has also been the case in Southern Iceland and in this paper we assess the extent to which common land domestic grazing pressures were the primary external force causing soil erosion and land degradation during the period of occupation from ca. 874 AD. We first provide field observation of soil erosion, temporally defined by tephrochronology, to highlight the extent of land degradation during this period. The ‘tragedy of the commons’ explanation of degradation is then assessed by evaluating historic documentary sources, and by environmental reconstruction and modeling of historic grazing pressures. These analyses indicate that regulatory mechanisms were in place to prevent overgrazing from at least the 1200s AD and suggest that there was sufficient biomass to support the numbers of domestic livestock indicated from historic sources. We suggest that failure to remove domestic livestock before the end of the growing season and an absence of shepherding were more likely to contribute to land degradation than absolute numbers. Lack of appropriate regulation of domestic livestock on common grazing areas can be attributed to limited cultural knowledge of changing and rapidly fluctuating environmental conditions.     

Estimating stomatal diffusion resistance for Douglas-fir,lodgepole pine and white oak under light saturated conditions

Stomatal diffusion (leaf) resistance (r_s) of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.) and white oak (Quercus alba L.) in a variety of natural environments is described during conditions of light saturation as a function of the product of the predawn (base) xylem pressure potential of twigs (ψ_xb) or the soil water potential (ψ_s), and the saturation deficit of the atmosphere (δ_e). This general functional form was derived from an analysis based on an Ohm's law analog for water flow in the soil—plant—atmosphere system. The specific form used in each case was determined using regression analysis, where dependent variables considered were xylem pressure potential of the twigs or leaves (ψ_x) and air temperature (T) as well as δe and ψ_xb (or ψ_s). For three independent sets of Douglas-fir data, it is shown qualitatively that a single function describes the combined data as well as the functions derived for each of three data sets individually. The results imply that it may be possible to describe stomatal response of Douglas-fir, and perhaps other species, over a range of environmental conditions using the same model.     

Photosynthesis-associated gene families: differences in response to tissue-specific and environmental factors

The endogenous small subunit of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase gene rbcS and the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding protein gene (LHCP) of pea are expressed in a light-inducible manner and are active mainly in green chloroplast-containing tissue. Chimeric genes under control of the 5'-flanking sequences of the rbcS ss3.6 or LHCP AB80 genes from pea were used to study the factors relating to the issue-specific and lightinducible expression of these nuclear-encoded genes in transgenic tobacco plants. The results show that plastid development plays a crucial role in the activation of expression of these chimeric genes. Particular members of each of the above gene families respond differently to tissue-specific and environmental factors. Furthermore, the light-inducible expression directed by the 5'-flanking sequence of ss3.6 rbcSgene is not exclusively mediated by phytochrome, but probably is controlledin large part by another photoreceptor.     

Genetically determined sex-reversal in 46,XY humans

Evidence is presented for the existence of a gene, probably on the X chromosome, which prevents testis differentiation when present in 46,XY human embryos. Affected 46,XY women are not completely normal because of premature ovarian involution, as a result of which they have "streak gonads" similiar to those of 45,X women.