In vitro selection of mung bean and tomato for improving tolerance to NaCl

Mung bean and tomato were in vitro selected from cotyledons on MS medium for improved tolerance to NaCl. The growth responses; the Na, K, proline and anthocyanin contents; and activities of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5), tyrosine ammonia lyase (TAL, EC 4.3.1) and chalcone isomerase (CI, EC 5.5.1.5) of the selected plants were characterised and compared with those of the original plants in relation to treatment with NaCl. The treatments significantly reduced fresh and dry weights of shoots and roots; the reduction was least pronounced in selected plants. Meanwhile, Na content was significantly increased; however, K was decreased, a trend that was obvious in original plants but withdrawn following in vitro selection with a consequent lowering in Na/K ratio. In addition, proline was greatly induced by NaCl; the induction was most pronounced in selected plants. Moreover, NaCl significantly increased anthocyanin and activities of PAL, TAL and CI in shoots and roots of both species; the increase was lesser in the selected than in the original plants. These findings indicated that selection of mung bean and tomato resulted in a recovery of growth, overproduction of proline and K and withdrawal of Na and secondary metabolism parameters relative to original plants pointing out to an improved tolerance to NaCl following in vitro selection.     

Dream Interpretation in Ancient Civilizations

Dream interpretation was regarded by ancient peoples in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome as an art requiring intelligence and, sometimes, divine inspiration. It became a motif in literature. It was treated as a science by philosophers and physicians. Dreams were thought to come either as clear messages, or as symbols requiring interpretation. In a method called incubation, the dreamer could sleep in a sacred place in expectation of a dream that would elucidate a problem for which the dreamer desired guidance. Dream-books listing images and their meanings were popular. Historians reported leaders' famous dreams that affected the course of events. Very few ancient writers were skeptical of dreams; Cicero was one. Dream interpretation was an honored profession with exponents such as Artemidorus of Daldis. Ancient dream traditions and beliefs can provide perspective for consideration of more recent theories of dream interpretation.     

Intra-guild predation relaxes natural enemy impacts on herbivore populations

Abstract. 1. To investigate the role of intra-guild predation in mediating the impact of the natural enemy complex on herbivore populations, a manipulative field experiment was conducted using uncaged plots (islets of Spartina cordgrass) on a North American salt marsh. The densities (moderate or low) of two invertebrate predators, the generalist wolf spider Pardosa littoralis and the specialist mirid bug Tytthus vagus , were manipulated in a 2 × 2 factorial design, and the resulting treatment effects on the population growth of their herbivorous prey, Prokelisia planthoppers, were assessed.
2. The abundance of wolf spiders on experimental islets was unaffected by the presence of mirid bugs, however the density of mirid bugs was influenced very negatively by the presence of the wolf spider.
3. The negative effect of the wolf spider on mirid bugs most probably resulted from the intra-guild predation of mirids by spiders because planthopper limitation by the wolf spider alone was significantly greater than when both predators were present.
4. As a result of intra-guild predation, planthopper population growth was positive in the presence of both predators, despite the fact that each predator alone promoted a decrease in planthopper population growth.
5. Notably, the occurrence of intra-guild predation diminished top-down impacts on planthopper populations in a relatively simple food web where strong top-down effects were expected. This result, however, was limited to habitats on the marsh with simply structured vegetation lacking leaf litter.     

Alkaline butanol extraction of bile salt and steroid sulfate esters: application to the assay of sulfotransferases

A butan-1-ol solvent-extraction procedure has been evaluated for the assay of 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate:sulfotransferase activity with various bile salt and steroid substrates. Although butanol extracted the sulfate esters of steroids and bile salts from aqueous solution at neutral pH, extraction at basic pH gave optimum recovery which was independent of protein in the sample. Greater than 99.9% of unreacted 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phospho[35S]sulfate remained in the aqueous phase. The data for sulfotransferase activities obtained with this solvent-extraction assay were not significantly different from those obtained with a standard thin-layer chromatography method. Solvent extraction has enabled multiple, rapid assays of several steroid and bile salt sulfotransferases during chromatographic purification of these enzymes from tissue fractions.     

Antifungal activity of aluminium‐containing salts against the development of carrot cavity spot and potato dry rot

As an alternative to the use of synthetic chemical fungicides to control plant disease, aluminium‐containing salts were evaluated for their effects on the mycelial growth of various fungal or fungus‐like pathogens and their ability to control carrot cavity spot (Pythium sulcatum) and potato dry rot (Fusarium sambucinum). Results showed that various aluminium‐containing salts provided strong inhibition of all the tested pathogens (Alternaria solani, Botrytis cinerea, F. sambucinum, P. sulcatum and Rhizopus stolonifer) with minimal inhibitory concentration of 1–10 mM. Aluminium chloride and aluminium sulphate were generally the most effective, inhibiting mycelial growth of pathogens by as much as 47% and 100%, respectively, at a salt concentration of 1 mM. Applied at 5 mM, aluminium sulphate also provided 28% and 100% inhibition of dry rot and cavity spot, respectively. Aluminium chloride (5 mM) reduced dry rot by 25% whereas aluminium lactate (5 mM) decreased cavity spot lesions by 86%. These results indicate that various aluminium‐containing salts may provide an alternative to the use of synthetic fungicides to control these pathogens.     

An insular record of the Mayan cichlid Mayaheros urophthalmus (Günther, 1862) (Cichliformes: Cichlidae) on an island 70 km offshore in the Honduran Caribbean

Here we report the first record of the Mayan cichlid, Mayaheros urophthalmus, occurring on an offshore island 70 km from the mainland, the most distant record from the mainland to date. Specimens were collected during several ichthyological surveys on the island of Guanaja, Honduras in November 2019. Mayan cichlids are euryhaline fishes that perform very well in fresh, brackish and marine waters. It has been hypothesized that their high tolerance to salinity and potential of using costal waterways has facilitated the colonization and expansion of M. urophthalmus.     

Vigor and salt tolerance in 3 lines of tall wheatgrass

The F₁ progeny of the cross of two salt-tolerant lines of Thinopyrum elongatum [Host] D. R. Dewey grew better than either parent under non-saline and saline growth conditions. Under non-saline conditions, the hybrid produced 1.8 times as much vegetative tissue as one parent and 3.2 times more than the other parent in the same length of time. The relative growth rates of the 2 parental lines decreased equally as media osmotic potentials decreased. The relative growth rate of the hybrid did not decrease as rapidly as that of the parents; therefore, it was concluded that the greater growth of the hybrid was due to increased salt tolerance. Carbohydrate reserves and water-soluble solutes believed to be involved in osmotic adjustment were assayed to determine if there were any differences between the hybrid and its parents in their abilities to accumulate these compounds. The concentrations of these constituents were measured at dawn and at dusk of the same day in plants grown in media at osmotic potentials ranging from –0.1 to –1.2 MPa. There were no differences in pool sizes of the organic compounds in the 3 lines. Starch increased 10–40 fold in leaves from dawn to dusk and sucrose increased 100-fold. However, this pattern was unaffected by salinity. Conversely, betaine concentrations increased with increasing salinity but were the same at dawn and dusk. Na⁺ and K⁺ were affected by both light and salinity. Cl was one-half (Na⁺+ K⁺) on a molar basis under all conditions. Proline accumulated when (Na⁺+ K⁺) exceeded 200 μmol (g fresh weight)^?1. Since this amount of (Na⁺+ K⁺) existed only in tissues harvested at dusk from severely saline-stressed plants, only leaves from such plants harvested at dusk contained proline.     

Mineral composition of Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen leaves

Mineral composition ofHalimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen leaves was studied. The leaves accumulate salt, which is partly compensated by succulence. The ratio K/Na is less than 1. No distinct correlation between salt content in the soil and the mineral content at different stations could be found. Communication no. 148 of the Delta Institute for Hydrobiological Research, Yerseke, The Netherlands.     

Dominant lethal effects of triflupromazine in hybrid C3D2F 1 -J mice

In three separate experiments, triflupromazine (TFP), a phenothiazine tranquilizer, was active in a dominant lethal test using hybrid male mice. The effect for a single intraperitoneal injection was dose-related and the major effect was observed during the spermatocyte and spermatogonial stages of spermatogenesis.