Elucidation of defence responses and signalling pathways induced in Arabidopsis thaliana following challenge with Phytophthora cinnamomi

Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) Col-0 was inoculated with Phytophthora cinnamomi to assess the interaction and defence responses involved. Pathogen ingress and asexual reproduction occurred on root tissue but not leaf tissue. The colonisation of root tissue did not cause disease symptoms or plant death, indicating that Arabidopsis Col-0 was tolerant of the infection. The induction of several plant defence responses including the expression of defence-related genes were found, with differences displayed between inoculated root and leaf tissue. Arabidopsis defence-related gene mutant/over-expressing lines were also inoculated with P. cinnamomi but none of the lines tested exhibited a marked increase in susceptibility to the pathogen.     

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Subclinical copper accumulation in llamas.

A 9-year-old, intact male llama with mild ataxia and generalized malaise of 1 month's duration was euthanized following clinical evaluation. Excessive liver copper concentrations were found in the llama and also in clinically normal herdmates. This case documents multiple animals with increased hepatic stores from standard diets and mineral supplements.     

Molecular Mechanisms by Which a Fucus vesiculosus Extract Mediates Cell Cycle Inhibition and Cell Death in Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancer entities, with an extremely poor 5-year survival rate. Therefore, novel therapeutic agents with specific modes of action are urgently needed. Marine organisms represent a promising source to identify new pharmacologically active substances. Secondary metabolites derived from marine algae are of particular interest. The present work describes cellular and molecular mechanisms induced by an HPLC-fractionated, hydrophilic extract derived from the Baltic brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus (Fv1). Treatment with Fv1 resulted in a strong inhibition of viability in various pancreatic cancer cell lines. This extract inhibited the cell cycle of proliferating cells due to the up-regulation of cell cycle inhibitors, shown on the mRNA (microarray data) and protein level. As a result, cells were dying in a caspase-independent manner. Experiments with non-dividing cells showed that proliferation is a prerequisite for the effectiveness of Fv1. Importantly, Fv1 showed low cytotoxic activity against non-malignant resting T cells and terminally differentiated cells like erythrocytes. Interestingly, accelerated killing effects were observed in combination with inhibitors of autophagy. Our in vitro data suggest that Fv1 may represent a promising new agent that deserves further development towards clinical application.     

Olive oil by-product as a natural antioxidant in gilthead sea bream (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sparus aurata</Emphasis>) nutrition

The aim of the study reported here was to evaluate the efficiency of a natural antioxidant substance in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) feeds. An olive oil by-product, olive mill vegetation water (VW), contains polyphenols, which have a strong antioxidant activity. A 147-day growth trial was conducted (monofactorial balanced, 4 × 3) with diet as the experimental factor. Two diets [isonitrogenous (crude protein 40%) and isoenergetic (gross energy = 18MJ kg⁻¹ on a dry weight basis] were formulated with 1 and 5% of VW (VW1, VW5); the control diet did not contain VW. A total of 600 juvenile gilthead sea breams (mean body weight 114.1 ± 5.7 g) were utilised. Production parameters and somatic indexes were calculated at the end of the growth trial. Antioxidant activity in fish fillets was investigated using TBARS and DPPH assays. A number of haematological parameters and digestive enzyme patterns were measured in fish in the middle and at the end of the experiment. The TBARS values showed slight delays in the development of oxidation in the fillet of fish fed with VW. There was no statistical difference between fish fed with the experimental diet and the control group, except for maltase activity, which increased with increasing VW in the feed. We found that the use of VW in a gilthead sea bream diet did not have any detrimental effects on gilthead sea bream production and physiological parameters and slightly improved the conservation of the fish fillets.     

Physiology of manganese toxicity and tolerance in Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.

In cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) tolerance of manganese (Mn) excess depends on genotype, silicon (Si) nutrition, form of nitrogen (N) supply, and leaf age. The physiological mechanisms for improved Mn leaf-tissue tolerance are still poorly understood. On the basis of the density of brown spots per unit of leaf area and the callose content which are sensitive indicators of Mn toxicity, it was confirmed that cultivar (cv.) TVu 1987 was more Mn-tolerant than cv. TVu 91, young leaves were more Mn-tolerant, Si improved Mn tolerance, and NO₃^—-grown plants were more Mn-tolerant than NH₄⁺-grown plants. A close positive relationship existed between the bulk-leaf Mn content and the vacuolar Mn concentration from the same leaves. Since no clear and consistent differences existed between leaf tissues differing in Mn tolerance, the results suggest that accumulation of Mn in the vacuoles and its complexation by organic anions do not play a role in Mn leaf-tissue tolerance in cowpea. A near linear relationship was found between leaf Mn contents and concentrations of free (H₂O-soluble) and exchangeable-bound (BaCl₂-extractable) Mn in the apoplastic washing fluid (AWF) extracted from whole leaves by an infiltration and centrifugation technique. There were no differences in apoplastic Mn concentrations owing to genotype and form of nitrogen nutrition. However, Si decreased the Mn concentration in the AWF. With increasing bulk-leaf Mn contents, concentrations of organic anions in the AWF also increased. The results suggest that complexation of Mn by organic anions in the leaf apoplast contribute to Mn tolerance due to genotype and more clearly due to NO₃-N nutrition. Cell wall-bound peroxidase activity increased with leaf age and was higher in the Mn-sensitive cv. TVu 91 than in cv. TVu 1987. This was in agreement with a higher H₂O₂ production rate in cv. TVu 91. Also, a lower ratio of reduced to oxidized ascorbic acid in the AWF revealed that in Mn-sensitive leaf tissue, the apoplastic reduction capacity was lower than in Mn-tolerant leaf tissue when genotypes and leaves of different age were compared. We interpret our results as strong circumstantial evidence that Mn tolerance depends on the control of the free Mn²⁺concentration and of Mn²⁺-mediated oxidation/reduction reactions in the leaf apoplast.     

Understanding the role of urban forests for migrants – uses,perception and integrative potential

Worldwide migration and integration are current issues facing big cities. Immigrants and their descendants represent an important percentage of today's urban populations. Different policies ranging from labour markets to education, housing or health policies address the specific needs of this part of society. However, public policy and planning concepts related to urban forests rarely focus on immigrants. Very few studies investigate the recreation patterns of immigrants despite the potential influence of their different cultural backgrounds on their perceptions or preferences regarding urban woodlands. In addition, urban woodlands could potentially play a role in the social integration of migrants into the society due to being an element of nature with a strong symbolic identification potential and also a public space for social interactions. This paper discusses the results of a qualitative enquiry carried out in Freiburg, Germany, involving migrants from Turkey, the Balkan countries and Russia-Germans. The results point towards many differences in their recreational use patterns and their perception of urban forests, especially between the Turkish interviewees and the other two groups. Furthermore, the results suggest that the emotional attachment to forests can play diverse roles in the identification process of immigrants to their host country. Finally, social interactions were depicted in the interviews as being an important aspect of a forest visit. Nevertheless, social contact between forest visitors seemed to remain mostly on a ‘small-talk’ level.     

Plant‐available N:P alters root litter N recycling in a Mediterranean tree–grass ecosystem

Background: Nitrogen deposition can cause an ecosystem‐level shift in available N (nitrogen) to P (phosphorus) availability. However, most plant N nutrition is from edaphic sources rather than deposition and in seasonally dry grassland systems, root litter is the predominant nutrient source. Aims: We were interested how litter turnover and altered nutrient recycling from dead biomass can compensate for these shifts in ecosystem stoichiometry. Methods: We studied a Mediterranean savanna amended with N or NP treatments three years prior. We measured root and plant‐available soil N:P stoichiometry in two micro‐habitats: open pasture and beneath oak canopies. ¹⁵N‐labelled root litter incubated in topsoils without litterbags was used to trace uptake of litter N by herbaceous strata roots. Results: Since fertilization, NP added sites have become relatively P enriched, resulting in lower N:P ratios in living roots than either when N was added alone or control sites. Total litter‐derived ¹⁵N uptake by roots was proportional to root ingrowth response but higher in the NP than N treatment, indicating a higher N demand when N and P were added together. We observed more ¹⁵N uptake by plants under tree canopies, indicating a tighter nutrient recycling loop in these micro‐habitats in contrast to treatment level ‘fertility' trends. Conclusions: Root stoichiometry responded to manipulated soil nutrient availability and N uptake was altered as plants attempted to compensate for nutrient availability imbalances, indicating that these ecosystem perturbations have long term effects on nutrient cycling which can propagate to whole system function. This was also related to functional community‐level adaptions between micro‐habitats with under canopy communities more able to take advantage of the litter nutrient source.     

Potassium release on drying of soil samples from a variety of weathering regimes and c clay mineralogy in China

Thirty two soil samples from China were analyzed for exchangeable K before and after drying. Most soil samples were higher in exchangeable K after air-drying and ovendrying (60°C) than when wet. Soil clay minerals, especially clay-size mica, affected K released in air-dry and oven-dry samples. According to composition of clay minerals of air-dried samples, five classes were recognized. Soil samples with high mica and montmorillonite have the highest exchangeable K. Samples that contained higher kaolinite than mica had lower exchangeable K. Samples with higher kaolinite than quartz and mica had still lower exchangeable K. Samples of sandy soils contained very low exchangeable K. When quartz was the main mineral, the samples that had kaolinite and gibbsite as the main clay minerals had very low exchangeable K. The degree of weathering (weathering mean) bore an inverse relationship to the amount of K released on drying in air or at 60°C. Udults and Udalfs (Red Earths) of southeastern China, because of their high K release on being dried, are inferred to have received fine mica from the Western Desert dust rainout, reported to Liu et al. (1981).