Alpine vascular plant species richness: the importance of daily maximum temperature and pH

Species richness in the alpine zone varies dramatically when communities are compared. We explored (i) which stress and disturbance factors were highly correlated with species richness, (ii) whether the intermediate stress hypothesis (ISH) and the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) can be applied to alpine ecosystems, and (iii) whether standing crop can be used as an easily measurable surrogate for causal factors determining species richness in the alpine zone. Species numbers and standing crop were determined in 14 alpine plant communities in the Swiss Alps. To quantify the stress and disturbance factors in each community, air temperature, relative air humidity, wind speed, global radiation, UV-B radiation, length of the growing season, soil suction, pH, main soil nutrients, waterlogging, soil movement, number of avalanches, level of denudation, winter dieback, herbivory, wind damage, and days with frost were measured or observed. The present study revealed that 82% of the variance in␣vascular species richness among sites could be explained by just two abiotic factors, daily maximum temperature and soil pH. Daily maximum temperature and pH affect species richness both directly and via their effects on other environmental variables. Some stress and disturbance factors were related to species richness in a monotonic way, others in an unimodal way. Monotonic relationships suggest that the harsher the environment is, the fewer species can survive in such habitats. In cases of unimodal relationships (ISH and IDH) species richness decreases at both ends of the gradients due to the harsh environment and/or the interaction of other environmental factors. Competition and disturbance seemed only to play a secondary role in the form of fine-tuning species richness in specific communities. Thus, we concluded that neither the ISH nor the IDH can be considered useful conceptual models for the alpine zone. Furthermore, we found that standing crop can be used as an easily measurable surrogate for causal factors determining species richness in the alpine zone, even though there is no direct causality.     

Trichome-borne and artificially applied acylsugars of wild tomato deter feeding and oviposition of the leafminer Liriomyza trifolii

Oviposition and adult feeding of the leafminer Liriomyza trifollii (Burgess) (Diptera, Agromyzidae) on Lycopersicon pennellii (Corr.) D'Arcy and its F₁ hybrid with Lycopersicon esculentum (Mill.) was significantly less than that on the cultivated tomato, L. esculentum. The resistance of L. pennellii and the F₁ was reduced following rinsing of foliage with ethanol. Resistant attributes of L. pennellii were transferred to L. esculentum through appression of L. pennellii foliage to L. esculentum leaflets. Application of purified 2,3,4-tri-O-acylglucoses (the principal component of type IV glandular trichome exudate of L. pennellii) to L. esculentum significantly decreased feeding and oviposition on L. esculentum leaflets by 61–99%. Therefore the principal mechanism of resistance to this leafminer by L. pennellii is the secretion of these acylglucoses. Dose response analysis of acylglucoses applied to L. esculentum shows that dosages as low as 10% those found on L. pennellii provide large reductions (91%) in leaf punctures and mines.     

Identification of soil quality indicators for assessing the effect of different tillage practices through a soil quality index in a semi-arid environment

Tillage is known to potentially affect soil quality in various ways. In this study, a soil quality index (SQI) was developed by quantifying several soil attributes either sensitive or insensitive to physical disturbance, using factor analysis as a dimension reduction technique, in order to discriminate different tillage systems. Soil properties including physical (MWD), chemical (pH, organic C, total N, available P and POM contents) and microbial (MBC, MBN, PCM, PNM and three enzymes) parameters were measured to establish a minimum data set (MDS) for the assessment of overall SQI. The soil attributes were determined on samples (0–20 cm depth) collected under moldboard (MP) and disk (DP) plows as conventional tillage (CT), and rotary (RP) and chisel (CP) plows as reduced tillage (RT) systems with a similar plant C input rate and cover crop over a period of six years (2005–2011) in a semi-arid calcareous soil (Calcixerepts) from Central Iran. Results indicated a clear difference in soil quality among the tillage systems with a significant increase of SQI under RT over time, particularly under CP practices. Although RT improved most soil microbial attributes, not all attributes contributed to SQI because of their close interrelationship. The final SQI consisted only of geometric mean of microbial activity (GMA, the square root of the product of PCM and PNM) and geometric mean of enzyme activity (GME, the cube root of the product of enzyme activities). Soil GME and GMA were found to be as key indicators contributing 55% and 36% to SQI, respectively. Therefore, the GME and GMA were the most important indicators effectively discriminating tillage systems, and could be used to monitor the enhancement of soil quality under RT in this semiarid environment. The influence of tillage year on SQI was greater than that of tillage practices. In conclusion, RT systems were characterized by a higher value of SQI, suggesting a good recovery of soil capacity and functions after abandoning CT in the studied area. Smallholder farmers should therefore be aware of the potential for high soil quality in future as a result of continuing RT systems, especially with surface tillage using CP practices.     

A genetic and spatial Bayesian analysis of mastitis resistance

A nationwide health card recording system for dairy cattle was introduced in Norway in 1975 (the Norwegian Cattle Health Services). The data base holds information on mastitis occurrences on an individual cow basis. A reduction in mastitis frequency across the population is desired, and for this purpose risk factors are investigated. In this paper a Bayesian proportional hazards model is used for modelling the time to first veterinary treatment of clinical mastitis, including both genetic and environmental covariates. Sire effects were modelled as shared random components, and veterinary district was included as an environmental effect with prior spatial smoothing. A non-informative smoothing prior was assumed for the baseline hazard, and Markov chain Monte Carlo methods (MCMC) were used for inference. We propose a new measure of quality for sires, in terms of their posterior probability of being among the, say 10% best sires. The probability is an easily interpretable measure that can be directly used to rank sires. Estimating these complex probabilities is straightforward in an MCMC setting. The results indicate considerable differences between sires with regards to their daughters disease resistance. A regional effect was also discovered with the lowest risk of disease in the south-eastern parts of Norway.     

Astrocyte Resilience to Oxidative Stress Induced by Insulin-like Growth Factor I (IGF-I) Involves Preserved AKT (Protein Kinase B) Activity

Disruption of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) signaling is a key step in the development of cancer or neurodegeneration. For example, interference of the prosurvival IGF-I/AKT/FOXO3 pathway by redox activation of the stress kinases p38 and JNK is instrumental in neuronal death by oxidative stress. However, in astrocytes, IGF-I retains its protective action against oxidative stress. The molecular mechanisms underlying this cell-specific protection remain obscure but may be relevant to unveil new ways to combat IGF-I/insulin resistance. Here, we describe that, in astrocytes exposed to oxidative stress by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), p38 activation did not inhibit AKT (protein kinase B) activation by IGF-I, which is in contrast to our previous observations in neurons. Rather, stimulation of AKT by IGF-I was significantly higher and more sustained in astrocytes than in neurons either under normal or oxidative conditions. This may be explained by phosphorylation of the phosphatase PTEN at the plasma membrane in response to IGF-I, inducing its cytosolic translocation and preserving in this way AKT activity. Stimulation of AKT by IGF-I, mimicked also by a constitutively active AKT mutant, reduced oxidative stress levels and cell death in H₂O₂-exposed astrocytes, boosting their neuroprotective action in co-cultured neurons. These results indicate that armoring of AKT activation by IGF-I is crucial to preserve its cytoprotective effect in astrocytes and may form part of the brain defense mechanism against oxidative stress injury.     

Use of live Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells as a biological response modifier in experimental infections

Abstract A short-term oral administration of live Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, strain Sillix Hansen DSM 1883, resulted in enhanced resistance of mice toward infections with K. pneumoniae, S. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes A produced by intranasal inoculation. Yeast pre-treatment also increased the efficacy of antibiotic therapy in bacterial infections and of antiviral drugs in viral infections. Yeast treatment of animals stimulated phagocytosis, activated the complement system and induced interferon which are likely to represent the main mechanisms of action whereby pretreatment of mice with live S. cerevisiae cells increases resistance to infection. It is concluded that preventive administration of live Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells should be used for increasing resistance to bacterial infections, in particular of the respiratory tract, or to viral infections, as well as an adjunct to antibiotic and antiviral drug therapy.     

Biosynthesis of modified peptidoglycan precursors by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium

In the presence of bacitracin, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (vanA phenotype) accumulate UDP-N-acetylmuramyl(UDP-Mur-NAc)-tetrapeptide and a UDP-MurNAc-depsipentapeptide containing lactate substituted for the carboxy-terminal-D-alanine residue. In an in vitro peptidoglycan polymerization assay, the modified precursors function and confer resistance to vancomycin.     

Soil and plant tests for available sulfur in wetland rice soils

Summary Soil tests, plant performance, and plant tissue analyses were used to study the availability of sulfur to wetland rice in 30 Philippine soils. The critical concentrations of available sulfur by the calcium phosphate, lithium chloride, ammonium acetate, and hydrochloric acid extractions were 9, 25, 30, and 5 mg/kg, respectively. The critical total sulfur limits were 0.11% in the shoot at maximum tillering 0.055% in the straw at maturity, and 0.065% in the grain. The critical N:S ratio was 15 in the shoot at maximum tillering, 14 in the straw at maturity, and 26 in the grain. The critical sulfate-sulfur limit was 150 mg/kg in the shoot at maximum tillering and 100 mg/kg in the straw at maturity. The critical sulfate-sulfur/total sulfur percentage ratio was 15% in the shoot at maximum tillering and the straw at maturity. Plant performance, judged by appearance and yield of dry matter, straw, and grain, was generally poorer in the sulfur deficient soils than in the other soils. Although the calcium phosphate and ammonium acetate methods gave a better correlation between plant performance and available sulfur than the others, all four methods separated sulfur-deficient soils from non-deficient ones. The hydrochloric acid method merits further study because it is simple and versatile.     

Folic acid reverses nitric oxide synthase uncoupling and prevents cardiac dysfunction in insulin resistance: Role of Ca2+/calmodulin-activated protein kinase II

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) may be uncoupled to produce superoxide rather than nitric oxide (NO) under pathological conditions such as diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance, leading to cardiac contractile anomalies. Nonetheless, the role of NOS uncoupling in insulin resistance-induced cardiac dysfunction remains elusive. Given that folic acid may produce beneficial effects for cardiac insufficiency partially through its NOS recoupling capacity, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of folic acid on insulin resistance-induced cardiac contractile dysfunction in a sucrose-induced insulin resistance model. Mice were fed a sucrose or starch diet for 8 weeks before administration of folic acid in drinking water for an additional 4 weeks. Cardiomyocyte contractile and Ca²⁺ transient properties were evaluated and myocardial function was assessed using echocardiography. Our results revealed whole body insulin resistance after sucrose feeding associated with diminished NO production, elevated peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻) levels, and impaired echocardiographic and cardiomyocyte function along with a leaky ryanodine receptor (RYR) and intracellular Ca²⁺ handling derangement. Western blot analysis showed that insulin resistance significantly promoted Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) phosphorylation, which might be responsible for the leaky RYR and cardiac mechanical dysfunction. NOS recoupling using folic acid reversed insulin resistance-induced changes in NO and ONOO⁻, CaMKII phosphorylation, and cardiac mechanical abnormalities. Taken together, these data demonstrated that treatment with folic acid may reverse cardiac contractile and intracellular Ca²⁺ anomalies through ablation of CaMKII phosphorylation and RYR Ca²⁺ leak.     

Ultrastructure of Nitrosospira sp. X101 with crystalline outer membrane protein (COMP)

Abstract The outer membrane (OM) structure of Nitrosospira sp. X101 was studied by different electron microscopic techniques and SDS-PAGE. A crystalline outer membrane protein was visible in freeze-etched cells, occasionally seen also in the thin sectioned cells, but was difficult to see in a negatively-stained preparation. The lattice probably consists of large globular protein subunits with a hexagonal arrangement. The molecular weights of the major proteins in the cell envelope are 35 kDa, 40 kDa and 42 kDa.