Factors that contribute to genetic variation for nutrient efficiency of crop plants

Genetic variation in nutrient efficiency may be attributed to two multifactorial components: (i) genotypes may differ in the efficiency with which the nutrients in the plant are utilized to produce yield (utilization efficiency) and/or (ii) they may differ in their effectiveness in absorbing nutrients from the soil (uptake efficiency). This contribution surveys major aspects of physiological and morphological factors affecting N-and P-efficiency. The potential importance of the various factors is discussed and exemplified mainly by own experimental work.     

GlyR alpha3: an essential target for spinal PGE2-mediated inflammatory pain sensitization

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a crucial mediator of inflammatory pain sensitization. Here, we demonstrate that inhibition of a specific glycine receptor subtype (GlyR alpha3) by PGE2-induced receptor phosphorylation underlies central inflammatory pain sensitization. We show that GlyR alpha3 is distinctly expressed in superficial layers of the spinal cord dorsal horn. Mice deficient in GlyR alpha3 not only lack the inhibition of glycinergic neurotransmission by PGE2 seen in wild-type mice but also show a reduction in pain sensitization induced by spinal PGE2 injection or peripheral inflammation. Thus, GlyR alpha3 may provide a previously unrecognized molecular target in pain therapy.     

Pharmacological modulation of perceptual learning and associated cortical reorganization

The pharmacological basis of perceptual learning and associated cortical reorganizations remains elusive. We induced perceptual learning by Hebbian coactivation of the skin of the tip of the right index finger in humans. Under placebo, tactile two-point discrimination was improved on the coactivated but not on the left index finger. This augmentation was blocked by an N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor blocker, but doubled by amphetamine. No drug effects were found on the left index finger. The individual amount of cortical reorganization as assessed by mapping of somatosensory evoked potentials was linearly correlated with the pharmacological modulation of discrimination thresholds, implying that perceptual learning and associated cortical changes are controlled by basic mechanisms known to mediate and modulate synaptic plasticity.     

Requirement of JNK2 for scavenger receptor A-mediated foam cell formation in atherogenesis

In vitro studies suggest a role for c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) in proatherogenic cellular processes. We show that atherosclerosis-prone ApoE-/- mice simultaneously lacking JNK2 (ApoE-/- JNK2-/- mice), but not ApoE-/- JNK1-/- mice, developed less atherosclerosis than do ApoE-/- mice. Pharmacological inhibition of JNK activity efficiently reduced plaque formation. Macrophages lacking JNK2 displayed suppressed foam cell formation caused by defective uptake and degradation of modified lipoproteins and showed increased amounts of the modified lipoprotein-binding and -internalizing scavenger receptor A (SR-A), whose phosphorylation was markedly decreased. Macrophage-restricted deletion of JNK2 was sufficient to decrease atherogenesis. Thus, JNK2-dependent phosphorylation of SR-A promotes uptake of lipids in macrophages, thereby regulating foam cell formation, a critical step in atherogenesis.     

Influence of Nitrogen and Potassium Supply on Contents of Acrylamide Precursors in Potato Tubers and on Acrylamide Accumulation in French Fries

Fried potato products may accumulate substantial amounts of acrylamide due to high precursor contents, namely reducing sugars and asparagine. In a two-factorial experiment increasing N supply, increased the contents of reducing sugars in most cases, and resulted in higher contents of free amino acids. α -amino-N, which was tightly correlated with the contents of free amino acids, can be regarded a suitable rapid test for free asparagine for a given variety. Increasing K addition always raised the citrate contents, but lessened the contents of reducing sugars. Selected treatments were processed into French fries. Highest acrylamide contents were observed in tubers grown with high N and inadequate K supply, which also contained the highest contents of precursors. The experiment clearly demonstrates that nutrient supply has significant impact on the contents of acrylamide precursors and thus for the acrylamide formation during frying.     

Degradation of the fungicide metalaxyl and its non-extractable residue formation in soil clay and silt fractions

The proportion of organic matter and mineral composition are important factors determining the formation and type of non-extractable residues (NERs) of pesticides in soil. In this study, we investigated the enantioselectivity in degradation and NER formation of the chiral fungicide metalaxyl in soil particle size fractions (silt and clay). Microbial and extracellular enzyme activities during these processes were monitored in incubation of silt and clay samples isolated from sterilized and non-sterilized soil samples collected from a long-term agricultural field experimental site in Ultuna, Sweden. The temporal influence on the fate of the fungicide was noted by short-term (10-d) and long-term (92-d) incubations. Besides the acquisition of quantitative data with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS), stereoselective analyses were performed with chiral GC/MS. Quantitative results pointed to a higher metabolism rate of the pesticide through microbial activity than through extracellular enzyme activity. This was also confirmed by the enantioselective depletion of R-metalaxyl and the subsequent formation of R-metalaxyl acid in microbially active samples from non-sterilized soil. The silt fraction containing a high amount of organic matter exhibited a significant hydrolyzable proportion of metalaxyl NERs that was releasable under alkaline conditions. On the contrary, the clay fraction showed an enhanced affinity for covalently bound residues. Based on our results, we recommend differentiating between reversibly and irreversibly bound proportions of pesticides in persistence and environmental risk assessment because the reversible fraction contained potentially bioavailable amounts of residues that may be released under natural conditions.     

Potassium efficiency of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

The oil crop safflower may have a certain production potential under low‐input conditions (organic farming, developing countries), where the putatively low nutrient requirement is highly welcomed. However, current knowledge regarding the nutrient use efficiency of safflower as compared to similar oil crops is limited. It was thus the aim of this study to determine the potassium (K) use efficiency of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) as compared to sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Safflower and sunflower were cultivated with increasing K supply in a mixture of equal volumes of sand, nutrient‐poor limed soil, and perlite in 5 L Mitscherlich pots. Both species responded strongly to increasing K supply with respect to growth and yield. Safflower out‐yielded sunflower at low K supply, while at high K level, the opposite was observed. Both species accumulated similar amounts of K in shoots at low K supply. Only at extremely low K supply, safflower took up more K than sunflower. However, achene yield of sunflower exceeded that of safflower at optimal and high K supply. Safflower utilized absorbed K more efficiently than sunflower to produce achene yield at suboptimal K supply in terms of both efficiency ratio and utilization index. The efficiency of a crop to use supplied or accumulated K for dry‐matter and achene production was interpreted in terms of Michaelis‐Menten kinetics, specifically addressing the shape of the yield response curve. Indeed, the efficiency of safflower to use K for growth and yield, analogue to a low K_m in enzyme kinetics, was higher than in sunflower, while the K supply or K accumulation required to initiate yield formation in safflower was significantly lower. Similarly, safflower had a lower external K requirement for achene yield than sunflower at low and optimal K supplies. It can be concluded that safflower represents a low‐input crop and outperforms sunflower on soils low in available K. The data analysis also reveals that using just one efficiency indicator is usually not sufficient to adequately describe the K efficiency of the crop under consideration.     

Photolysis of organophosphorus insecticides on soil surfaces

Photolysis on soil surfaces of the organophosphorus insecticides diazinon, methidathion and profenofos was studied under artificial sunlight conditions. All three compounds were readily degraded under the conditions used. The rate of degradation decreased in the order diazinon, profenofos, methidathion and was always greater in moist than in dry soil. The same order of stability was also observed from photolysis studies in aqueous solution. The major photolysis products identified were 2-isopropyl-6-methylpyrimidin-4-ol from diazinon, 5-methoxy-3H-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-one from methidathion and 4-bromo-2-chlorophenol and 4-bromo-2-chlorophenyl ethyl hydrogen phosphate from profenofos. The same compounds were formed in hydrolysis studies and also upon photodecomposition in aqueous solutions of diazinon and methidathion. Profenofos, however, showed a different photolytic reaction in aqueous systems, forming O-(2-chlorophenyl) O-ethyl S-propyl phosphorothioate. Soil photolysis studies together with hydrolysis experiments could be a useful quick method for obtaining early information on the chemical breakdown products which are to be expected in the soil environment.     

Evaluation of the erythroid regenerative response in two different models of experimentally induced iron deficiency anemia

Anemia was induced in weanling Sprague Dawley rats either by feeding an iron-deficient diet or by chronic phlebotomy. The erythroid regenerative response was then evaluated before and after a hemolytic event, and results were compared with those of a third group of control nonphlebotomized rats fed an iron-replete diet. Diet and phlebotomy groups developed a similar degree of anemia (mean hemoglobin concentration 7.9 g/dL and 7.8 g/dL, respectively; controls, 13.9 g/dL) and hypoferremia (mean serum iron concentration 25.4 microgram/dL and 34.9 microgram/dL, respectively; controls, 222.0 microgram/dL). However, the anemia in diet rats was nonregenerative (reticulocyte count, 83.1 X 10(3) cells/microliter) and associated with bone marrow erythroid hypoplasia; whereas the anemia in phlebotomy rats was regenerative (reticulocyte count, 169.6 X 10(3) cells/microliter) and associated with bone marrow erythroid hyperplasia. Thrombocytosis was seen in diet rats (1,580 X 10(3) cells/microliter) but not phlebotomy rats (901 X 10(3) cells/microliter) when compared with controls (809 X 10(3) cells/microliter). To further evaluate the regenerative capability, phenylhydrazine (PHZ) was administered to induce hemolysis. Erythrocyte mass declined approximately 25% in all groups, including controls. The reticulocytosis (265.3 X 10(3) cells/microliter) seen in phlebotomy rats was earlier and significantly greater than that seen in either diet or control rats. Hemoglobin concentration returned to pre-PHZ concentrations (7.9 g/dL) in phlebotomy rats within 4 days posthemolysis. In diet rats, the maximal regenerative response (176.3 X 10(3) cells/microliter) was not seen until 8 days posthemolysis, and hemoglobin (7.5 g/dL) did not return to pre-PHZ concentrations during the 8-day study. In many aspects, the anemia seen following diet- or phlebotomy-induced iron deficiency was similar. However, the erythroid regenerative capability varied depending on the mechanism by which anemia was induced and furthermore altered the efficiency of hemoglobin production following a hemolytic event. These results suggest that the availability of iron in the diet may modulate the pathogenesis of iron deficiency anemia.