Herbivory-induced signalling in plants: perception and action

Plants and herbivores have been interacting for millions of years. Over time, plants have evolved mechanisms to defend against herbivore attacks. Herbivore-challenged plants reconfigure their metabolism to produce compounds that are toxic, repellant or anti-digestive for the herbivores. Some compounds are volatile signals that attract the predators of herbivores. All these responses are tightly regulated by a signalling network triggered by the plant's perception machinery. Several compounds that specifically elicit herbivory-induced responses in plants have been isolated from herbivore oral secretions and oviposition fluids. Elicitor perception is rapidly followed by cell membrane depolarization, calcium influx and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation; plants also elevate the concentrations of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and modulate phytohormone levels accordingly. In addition to these reactions in the herbivore-attacked regions of a leaf, defence responses are also mounted in unattacked parts of the attacked leaf and as well in unattacked leaves. In this review, we summarize recent progress in understanding how plants recognize herbivory, the involvement of several important signalling pathways that mediate the responses to herbivore attack and the signals that transduce local into systemic responses.     

Temperature modulation of behavioural thresholds controlling male moth sex pheromone response specificity

ABSTRACT. The response specificity of male Oriental fruit moths, Grapholita molesta (Busck) and pink bollworm moths, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), to different blends and doses of pheromone is altered dramatically by temperature. When acclimated and tested in a flight tunnel at 20^oC males of both species exhibit a high degree of specificity, with peak response levels occurring to a narrow range of blend-dose combinations close to the natural blend. When tested at 26^oC, however, males exhibit a significantly lower degree of specificity, with peak response occurring to a broader range of treatments. The change in response specificity results from shifts in behavioural threshold effects influencing plume orientation and initiation of upwind flight, as well as from arrestment of upwind flight, occurring later in the flight sequence. The observed changes in male behaviour suggest that the effect of temperature is directly on neural pathways involved in the perception of odour, and not simply the result of an increase in motor activity or a significant change in the release rate of the pheromone. The results support the threshold hypothesis for pheromone perception (Roelofs, 1978) as a general principle in the Lepidoptera, but also show that the degree of response specificity can be significantly affected by temperature.     

Regional growth patterns in the hypocotyls of etiolated and green cress seedlings in light and darkness

Abstract. A system is described whereby seedling development can be analysed in terms of growth rates of specific 1 mm regions of the hypocotyl. The technique involves time-lapse photography of marked hypocotyls in a specially designed chamber which accommodates seedlings in various orientations with respect to gravity, and under irradiation regimes differing in light quality, quantity and direction. The results of a preliminary study of the upward growth of etiolated or green cress seedlings in darkness or overhead while light are reported. Highest growth rates in etiolated seedlings were observed in zones in the upper one-third of ihe hypocotyl. In green seedlings, growth was more prominent within the subapical zones. Light further restricted growth of the median and basal zones in both types of seedling. However, in their immediate responses to the onset of irradiation, green and etiolated seedlings differed markedly. In etiolated seedlings, recovery of growth at the apex was accompanied by the development of inhibition in the median-basal regions; green seedlings showed a transient inhibition of growth in the apical zone together with a strong immediate inhibition in the median-basal regions.     

Increases in lake phytoplankton biomass caused by future climate‐driven changes to seasonal river flow

For the many lakes world‐wide with short residence times, changes to the rate of water throughput may have important effects on lake ecology. We studied relationships between current and predicted residence times and phytoplankton biomass using a eutrophic lake in the north‐west of England with an annual residence time averaging about 20 days, as a test case. Using 32 years of recent hydrological flow data for Bassenthwaite Lake, multiple sets of scaled flow for each year, and the process‐based phytoplankton response model, PROTECH, we modelled the effects of changing river flow on phytoplankton biomass in the lake. The impact on biomass was shown to depend on seasonal changes in flow rather than annual changes. Furthermore, there was a qualitative difference in impact depending on whether the nutrient loading to the lake came principally from flow‐independent sources, or from flow‐dependent ones. Predictions for changes in river flow under future climate scenarios in the north‐west of England have suggested that, despite little change in the annual flow magnitude, there will be a shift to greater flow in the winter and lesser flow in the summer. Applying these flow predictions to our modelling of Bassenthwaite Lake revealed that, with flow‐independent nutrient loading, and no overall increase in nutrient load, phytoplankton abundance in the summer could increase by up to 70%, including an increased proportion of Cyanobacteria. Conversely, were the loading completely dependent on the flow, the biomass would fall. In many parts of the world, river flow is expected to decrease in the summer even more than in England, suggesting these areas may expect substantial changes to seasonal phytoplankton biomass as a result of climate‐driven changes to seasonal river flow. Such changes would be in addition to any other changes owing to warming effects or eutrophication.     

Computational and Experimental Study of Performance of an Artificial Ligament: DacronTM yarn

Abstract

The success rate of reconstructing the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) with prosthetic ligaments is currently low both in humans and animals. The stress distribution in prosthetic ligaments that causes failure is very complex and not yet understood. Therefore, we have begun to develop a Finite Element Model of a prosthetic ACL. Here we describe the normal and contact stresses in Dacron^TM yarn (a multi-fibrillar structure) using input data based on experimental measurements of the load and strain of six designed yarns.

The results show that the normal and contact stresses in the fibres of the ACL yarn are directly proportional to the yam strains. Increasing the twisting length (transverse deformation) of the yarn increases the normal stress in the fibres and the yarn modulus, but decreases the contact stresses between the fibres. The structural properties of a yarn are dependent on the specific arrangement of various filament types. Increasing the distance between the longitudinal (symmetry) axes of the filaments and the axis of symmetry of the yarn decreases the stresses.     

Genome‐enabled development of DNA markers for ecology,evolution and conservation

Molecular markers have become a fundamental piece of modern biology’s toolkit. In the last decade, new genomic resources from model organisms and advances in DNA sequencing technology have altered the way that these tools are developed, alleviating the marker limitation that researchers previously faced and opening new areas of research for studies of non‐model organisms. This availability of markers is directly responsible for advances in several areas of research, including fine‐scaled estimation of population structure and demography, the inference of species phylogenies, and the examination of detailed selective pressures in non‐model organisms. This review summarizes methods for the development of large numbers of DNA markers in non‐model organisms, the challenges encountered when utilizing different methods, and new research applications resulting from these advances.     

Functional Properties of Cloned Melanogenic Proteins

Several genes critical to the regulation of melanin production in mammals have recently been cloned and characterized. They map to the albino, brown, and slaty loci in mice, and encode proteins with similar structures and features, but with distinct catalytic capacities. The albino locus encodes tyrosinase, an enzyme with three distinct catalytic activities—tyrosine hydroxylase, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) oxidase and DHI (5,6-dihydroxyindole) oxidase. The brown locus encodes TRP-l (tyrosinase-related protein-I), which has the same, but greatly reduced, catalytic potential. The slaty locus encodes TRP-2, another tyrosinase related-protein, which has DOPAchrome tautomerase activity. In this study we have examined the enzymatic interactions of these proteins, and their regulation by a novel melanogenic inhibitor. We observed that tyrosinase activity is more stable in the presence of TRP-l and/or TRP-2, but that the catalytic function of TRP-2 is not affected by the presence of TRP-1 or tyrosinase. Other factors also may influence melanogenesis and a unique melanogenic inhibitor suppresses tyrosinase and DOPAchrome tautomerase activities, but does not affect the spontaneous rate of DOPAchrome decarboxylation to DHI. The results demonstrate the catalytic functions of these proteins and how they stably interact within a melanogenic complex in the melanosome to regulate the quantity and quality of melanin synthesized by the melanocyte.     

Adipokinetic hormone of the true armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta: immunohistochemistry, amino acid analysis, quantification and bioassay

Abstract A cluster of five to seven AKH-like immunoreactive cells lie in each lobe of the paired corpora cardiaca of the true armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta. These cells form a mesh work of immunoreactive processes within the corpora cardiaca, and immunoreactive tracts projecting posteriorly over the aorta.
Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography of extracts of the corpora cardiaca of P.unipuncta revealed a single large U.V. absorbent peak with a retention time identical to synthetic Manduca- AKH. Amino acid analysis of the contents of this peak yielded a composition identical to that of synthetic Manduca-AKH which was analysed in a parallel manner. Furthermore the material within the peak possessed adipokinetic activity when bioassayed in day 2 adult male P. unipuncta. The corpora cardiaca of similar individuals were found to contain approximately 17.6ng (17.6pmol) of Manduca-AKH equivalents per pair.
Injection of Manduca-AKH into 2-day-old adult male P.unipuncta resulted in a dose-dependent elevation in haemolymph lipid levels with a maximum level of 80–90μmg/μl obtained with 5–10 ng of Manduca-AKH. Continuous flight also elevated haemolymph lipid levels in day 4 adult males with a significant elevation evident in the first samples taken after 15 min of flight and lipid levels plateauing at approximately 100 μg/μl by about 60 min of flight.