Metabolism of [ring-2,6-14]parathion in plant cell suspension cultures of carrot (Daucus carota), purple foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), soybean,thorn apple (Datura stramonium) and wheat (Triticum aestivum)

By means of standardized procedures, the metabolism of [ring-2,6-¹⁴C]-parathion was investigated in carrot (Daucus carota L.), purple foxglove (Digitalis purpurea L.), soybean (Glycine max Merrill cv. ?Mandarin’?, and Glycine max Merrill cv. ?Harosoy 63’? cultivated on B5 and Miller media, respectively), thorn apple (Datura stramonium L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cell suspension cultures. In the wheat and soybean (Mandarin) cells only 2.9 and 8.9%, respectively, of the applied parthion remained unmetabolized after 48 h of incubation, while 51.2, 57.9, 60.3, and 62.4% of the unchanged parent were detected in the D. purpurea, D. Stramonium, carrot and soybean (Harosoy) cultures, respectively. In all suspensions, paraoxon and 4-nitrophenol were found as phase I metabolites, thus demonstrating that plant tissues can catalyse oxidative desulfuration and dearylation of parathion. 4-Nitrophenol was also glycosylated with glucose and possibly galactose. Further, as yet unidentified, metabolites indicated that bio-transformations had also occurred at the aromatic moiety. Large amounts of non-extractable residues were detected in the wheat suspension (38.3%), while the other cultures showed a lower incorporation of ¹⁴C into insoluble cell material (0.9-9.4%). For a prospective ecotoxicological evaluation of the metabolic fate of pesticides and xenobiotics in plants in general, the differential metabolic capacity of plant cell cultures and plants should be taken into account.     

Growth and reproductive performance of two rabbit breeds reared under intensive system in Ghana

A study on the growth and reproductive performance of two rabbit breeds was undertaken. Data on 588 kits and 97 does of California White and 574 kits and 90 does of New Zealand White rabbits reared under hot and humid environment in Ghana were taken. The reproductive performance of the two breeds, in terms of litter size at birth and weaning, litter weight at birth and weaning, kindling interval, age at sexual maturity, and gestation length as influenced by breed, season of kindling (rainy and dry), year of kindling (2005–2012), and parity (first to sixth and over) were determined. The performance of California White in terms of litter size at birth, at weaning, kit weight at birth, and age at first kindling was 5.9?±?0.2, 4.6?±?0.1, 54.7?±?0.4 g, and 159.8?±?0.2 days, respectively. That of New Zealand White was 5.9?±?0.1, 5.1?±?0.1, 55.2?±?1.0 g, and 159.9?±?0.2 days, respectively. The results obtained also showed a significant breed effects on kit weight at birth, litter weight at weaning, and mortality; whereas no significant differences (p?>?0.05) were observed between the two breeds regarding the other traits measured. Parity had significant effects (p?<?0.05) on all the growth and reproductive parameters measured with the exception of age at first kindling. Year of kindling also had significant effect on litter weight at birth, kit weight at birth, and at weaning (p?<?0.05) but did not have any significant effect on the age at sexual maturity and mortality. Season also had significant (p?<?0.05) effects on kit weight at birth, gestation length, kindling interval, and mortality with better performance experienced during the rainy season.

     

Numerical taxonomic studies in the generaTriticum L. andPisum L.

Summary Up till now numerical taxonomy has been applied to cultivated plants only to a limited extent though this method seems to be especially suitable for handling the great diversity of these plants. Moreover the theory of numerical taxonomy has not been studied sufficiently.Therefore studies with cultivated plants were begun with the aim to investigate the fitness of different numerical taxonomic techniques for their classification. Materials used: 1) 24 species ofTriticum and additionally 24 species ofAegilops 2) 1225Triticum taxa from Iran (mostlyT. aestivum) 3) 312 taxa ofPisum (mostlyP. sativum).Using 10 coefficients and 7 clustering methods inTriticum andAegilops in most cases a clear separation of both genera resulted as well as a species arrangement withinTriticum according to the genomes.The main aim when dealing with the wheat from Iran was the investigation of the influence of different character sets. At this the coefficient ofGower and the unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA) were applied. The separation of the different species is satisfying clear while the representatives of the different varieties ofT. aestivum could not always be found in one cluster. This effect increased when adding further characters sets.InPisum the influence of 11 similarity coefficients to the dendrogram formation has been investigated. With two-state characters the simple matching coefficient and with mainly multistate characters the Canberra metric gave best results (using UPGMA and information measures SUMRAT and SAMRAT).The hitherto existing results show the complicatedness of the evaluation of numerical taxonomic methods in their application to cultivated plants. Therefore generalizations are not yet possible.

---

Numerisch-taxonomische Studien in den GattungenTriticum L. undPisum L.

     

Human gene expression as a tool to determine horticultural maturity in a bioactive plant (Echinacea purpurea L. Moench)

A phenological study was conducted to determine the impact of harvest maturity on the immune-modulating properties of Echinacea purpurea. The aerial parts of this plant were collected during seven stages of development and were assayed for a common botanical marker for this species, cichoric acid. Plants of selected development stages were also assayed for total polysaccharides and compared for their immune-modulating effects on the THP-1 monocyte/macrophage cell line by means of a gene expression study. Although the concentration of cichoric acid did not change significantly during the course of the study, stage 1 (advanced vegetative) had the highest concentration of total polysaccharides and exhibited the most potent induction activity on immune-modulating cytokines such as interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. These findings suggest that the use of gene expression may be an effective tool not only to standardize botanical extracts but also to optimize harvest time.     

Mutations in a human ROBO gene disrupt hindbrain axon pathway crossing and morphogenesis

The mechanisms controlling axon guidance are of fundamental importance in understanding brain development. Growing corticospinal and somatosensory axons cross the midline in the medulla to reach their targets and thus form the basis of contralateral motor control and sensory input. The motor and sensory projections appeared uncrossed in patients with horizontal gaze palsy with progressive scoliosis (HGPPS). In patients affected with HGPPS, we identified mutations in the ROBO3 gene, which shares homology with roundabout genes important in axon guidance in developing Drosophila, zebrafish, and mouse. Like its murine homolog Rig1/Robo3, but unlike other Robo proteins, ROBO3 is required for hindbrain axon midline crossing.     

Palladium-catalyzed aerobic dehydrogenation of substituted cyclohexanones to phenols

Aromatic molecules are key constituents of many pharmaceuticals, electronic materials, and commodity plastics. The utility of these molecules directly reflects the identity and pattern of substituents on the aromatic ring. Here, we report a palladium(II) catalyst system, incorporating an unconventional ortho-dimethylaminopyridine ligand, for the conversion of substituted cyclohexanones to the corresponding phenols. The reaction proceeds via successive dehydrogenation of two saturated carbon-carbon bonds of the six-membered ring and uses molecular oxygen as the hydrogen acceptor. This reactivity demonstrates a versatile and efficient strategy for the synthesis of substituted aromatic molecules with fundamentally different selectivity constraints from the numerous known synthetic methods that rely on substitution of a preexisting aromatic ring.     

Patches with links: a unified system for processing faces in the macaque temporal lobe

The brain processes objects through a series of regions along the ventral visual pathway, but the circuitry subserving the analysis of specific complex forms remains unknown. One complex form category, faces, selectively activates six patches of cortex in the macaque ventral pathway. To identify the connectivity of these face patches, we used electrical microstimulation combined with simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging. Stimulation of each of four targeted face patches produced strong activation, specifically within a subset of the other face patches. Stimulation outside the face patches produced an activation pattern that spared the face patches. These results suggest that the face patches form a strongly and specifically interconnected hierarchical network.     

An assay to estimate tannins added to postmortem Turkey meat

A method for quantification of tannins in wine was adapted to determine tannins added to turkey meat. Standard curves containing varying amounts of GSE [0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 5.0%, (w/w)] as a source of tannins were developed. The R(2) value of the mean standard curve was 0.9992. The overall percent recovery of GSE in meat was determined to be 54.78%. Results showed that estimation of GSE in four out of five of the spiked samples was less than or equal to 10%. It is unclear as to why spiked samples at 0.048 mg of GSE were always underestimated (25.0%). Overall, the method seems applicable for estimation of tannins in poultry meat and is probably applicable to estimation of tannins in other meat products.