Identification of significant regions of transcription factor DP-1 (TFDP-1) involved in stability/instability of the protein

We previously reported the identification of DP-1 isoforms (α and β), which are structurally C-terminus-deleted ones, and revealed the low-level expression of these isoforms. It is known that wild-type DP-1 is degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system, but few details are known about the domains concerned with the protein stability/instability for the proteolysis of these DP-1 isoforms. Here we identified the domains responsible for the stability/instability of DP-1. Especially, the DP-1 “Stabilon” domain was a C-terminal acidic motif and was quite important for DP-1 stability. Moreover, we propose that this DP-1 Stabilon may be useful for the stability of other nuclear proteins when fused to them.     

Hatchery selection promotes boldness in newly hatched brown trout (Salmo trutta): implications for dominance

By using newly hatched (approximately 2 weeks old) brown trout(Salmo trutta) from six families of wild and six families ofsea-ranched origin (seventh generation), we tested the hypothesesthat (1) the hatchery environment selects for increased boldness,and (2) boldness predicts dominance status. Sea-ranched troutspend their first 2 years in the hatchery before being releasedinto the wild at the onset of seaward migration. Trout werepresented with a novel object (tack) and with food (brine shrimp),and their responses were measured and scored in terms of boldness.Siblings with increasing difference in boldness were then pairedin dyadic contests. Fish of sea-ranged origin were on averagebolder than were fish of wild origin, and bolder individualswere more likely to become dominant regardless of origin. Boldnesswas not related to RNA levels, indicating that bold behaviorwas not a consequence of higher metabolism or growth rate. Neitherwas size a predictor of bold behavior or the outcome of dyadiccontests. These results are consistent with studies on olderlife stages showing increased boldness toward predators in hatchery-selectedfish, which suggests that behavioral consequences of hatcheryselection are manifested very early in life. The concordancebetween boldness and dominance may suggest that these behaviorsare linked in a risk prone-aggressive phenotype, which may bepromoted by hatchery selection. However, we also found significantvariation in behavioral and growth-related traits among families,suggesting that heritable variation has not been exhausted bysea-ranching procedures.     

Ethnobotanical review of wild edible plants in Spain

This paper compiles and evaluates the ethnobotanical data currently available on wild plants traditionally used for human consumption in Spain. Forty-six ethnobotanical and ethnographical sources from Spain were reviewed, together with some original unpublished field data from several Spanish provinces. A total of 419 plant species belonging to 67 families was recorded. A list of species, plant parts used, localization and method of consumption, and harvesting time is presented. Of the seven different food categories considered, green vegetables were the largest group, followed by plants used to prepare beverages, wild fruits, and plants used for seasoning, sweets, preservatives, and other uses. Important species according to the number of reports include: Foeniculum vulgare , Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum , Origanum vulgare , Rubus ulmifolius , Silene vulgaris , Asparagus acutifolius , and Scolymus hispanicus . We studied data on the botanical families to which the plants in the different categories belonged, overlapping between groups and distribution of uses of the different species. Many wild food plants have also been used for medicinal purposes and some are considered to be poisonous. This review highlights the rich traditional knowledge on edible plants that has remained in rural Spain. Until recently, many wild plants were used as dietary supplements. However, most of this knowledge survives only in the memory of the elderly, and will probably disappear in a few decades.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 152 , 27–71.     

The 24-h time budget of a takh harem stallion (Equus ferus przewalskii) pre- and post-reintroduction

Focal animal sampling was used to determine the 24-h time budget of a takh harem stallion (Equus ferus przewalskii) during the 2 weeks prior to, and the two weeks following, reintroduction into the Hustain Nuruu Steppe Reserve, Mongolia. Both before and after release, the stallion spent approximately 47% of his time grazing, 6% standing, and 5% in recumbent rest. The biggest changes to the time budget after release were a 4-fold increase in the amount of time spent moving, and a 50% decrease in the amount of time spent resting in a standing position. During the middle of the day when the temperatures were hottest, the stallion exhibited less grazing and more standing resting behaviour than in the morning or evening hours. Recumbent rest invariably occurred in the hours before dawn.     

Latency of Botrytis cinerea Pers.: Fr. and Biochemical Studies During Growth and Ripening of Two Grape Berry Cultivars, Respectively Susceptible and Resistant to Grey Mould

Latency and development of Botrytis cinerea were assessed under field conditions and after artificial inoculation of two grape varieties, Gamay (susceptible) and Gamaret (resistant). When the percentage of latent Botrytis was the same for both varieties, severity of visible grey mould remained very low in Gamaret berries, while Gamay clusters were destroyed by the disease to a high percentage. Some biochemical parameters were measured in berries, such as constitutive and induced anti‐fungal compounds, polymeric proanthocyanidins and lipid peroxidation products as markers of senescence. Differences were observed in polymeric proanthocyanidins (PPRA) of Gamaret compared with those of Gamay. Concentration and mean degree of polymerization (mDP) of PPRA were always higher in the berries of the resistant variety. The inhibitory effect of Gamaret PPRA on enzyme activity remained until harvest whereas Gamay PPRA lost their inhibitory activity at the beginning of véraison. Based on these results, resistance to B. cinerea seems to be linked to the maintainance of the fungus in its latent form in berries, mainly due to the ability of Gamaret PPRA to inhibit macerating fungal enzyme activities.     

Initiation and maintenance of long term somatic embryogenesis from anthers and ovaries of Vitis longii ‘Microsperma’

Anthers and ovaries of Vitis longii Microsperma produced embryogenic callus when cultured on solidified Murashige and Skoog medium with 5M 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 1M benzyladenine (BA). The initial callus was short-lived. However, long-term embryogenesis from callus was maintained through serial transfers by careful selection of clustered embryos with subtending callus. Alternatively, long term culture maintenance was through secondary embryogenesis which occurred directly from previously formed embryos on medium lacking growth regulators. Somatic embryos were white, exhibited frequent pluricotyly and tended to be larger than zygotic embryos. Histology of embryogenic callus demonstrated the presence of lipid-like substances and abundant starch. Somatic embryos were attached to callus by narrow to wide suspensor-like structures and possessed typical epidermal, cortical, and vascular tissue. Embryo cells contained abundant lipid-like accumulations but no starch. Embryos germinated when placed on medium containing 1M BA and produced plants of normal appearance.     

Somatic hybridization of sexually incompatible top-fruit tree rootstocks,wild pear (Pyrus communis var. pyraster L.) and Colt cherry (Prunus avium x pseudocerasus)

Summary Mesophyll protoplasts of wild pear (Pyrus communis var. pyraster L., Pomoideae) were chemically fused with cell suspension protoplasts of cherry rootstock Colt (Prunus avium x pseudocerasus, Prunoideae), following an electroporation treatment of the separate parental protoplast systems. Fusion-treated protoplasts were cultured, on modified K8P medium, where it had been previously established that neither parental protoplasts were capable of division. Somatic hybrid calli were recovered and, following caulogenesis on MS medium with zeatin and after rooting of regenerated shoots, complete trees were obtained and grown in vivo. Hybridity of these trees was confirmed based on morphological characters, chromosome complement and isozyme analysis. Two separate cloned lines of this intersubfamilial rootstock somatic hybrid (wild pear (+) Colt cherry) were produced. This is the first report of the production of somatic hybrid plants of two woody species, of agronomic value, within the order Rosales.     

Fruit photosynthesis

Abstract. In addition to photosynthesis as in the leaf, fruit possess a system which refixes CO₂ from the mitochondrial respiration of predominantly imported carbon. This pathway produces malate by the action of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, PEPC, (E.C. 4.1.1.31) and appears to be regulated primarily by the cytosolic concentration of HCO₃/CO₂ and malate. Malate is stored in the vacuole as malic acid, constituting a major carbon pool and a potential substrate for respiration. The PEPC in apple fruit proves to be an efficient form of the enzyme with low Michaelis constants, i.e. Km = 0.09 mol m^-3 PEP and 0.2 mol m^–3 HCO₃, and large Ki= 110 mol m^-3 HCO³. In fleshy fruit, chlorophyll and chloroplasts are unevenly distributed; they resemble the C₃ sun-type and arc concentrated in the perivascular tissue, with smaller chloroplasts, fewer grana per chloroplast and a larger degree of vacuolation than commonly found in a leaf of the same species. Fruit photosynthesis often compensates for respiratory CO₂ loss in the light. However, due to respiration in the dark, CO₂ loss is in excess of photosynthetic gain in the light, such that a continual loss of CO₂ was observed in the diurnal cycle and which is maintained throughout fruit development. The rate of CO₂ exchange decreases on a fresh weight or surface basis, but increases with fruit ontogeny on a per fruit basis, causing accumulation of several percent CO₂ in the internal cavity. Stomata are present in the outer epidermis of those fruits examined, but with a 10-to 100-fold lesser frequency than in the abaxial epidermis of leaf of the same species. The number of Stomata is set at anthesis and remained constant, while the stomatal frequency decreases as the fruit surface expands. Stomata are as sensitive as in leaves in the early stages of fruit development, but often are transformed into lenticels during fruit ontogeny, thereby decreasing the permeability of the outer epidermis. The discrepancy between the CO₂-concentrating mechanism provided by PEPC analogous to C₄/CAM Photosynthesis and the kinetics of fruit PEPC, characteristic of C₃/non-autotrophic tissue, suggests the definition of a new type of ‘fruit photosynthesis’ rather than its categorization within an existing type.