Surface wax esters contribute to drought tolerance in Arabidopsis

Waxes are components of the cuticle covering the aerial organs of plants. Accumulation of waxes has previously been associated with protection against water loss, therefore contributing to drought tolerance. However, not much information is known about the function of individual wax components during water deficit. We studied the role of wax ester synthesis during drought. The wax ester load on Arabidopsis leaves and stems was increased during water deficiency. Expression of three genes, WSD1, WSD6 and WSD7 of the wax ester synthase/diacylglycerol acyltransferase (WS/DGAT or WSD) family was induced during drought, salt stress and abscisic acid treatment. WSD1 has previously been identified as the major wax ester synthase of stems. wsd1 mutants have shown reduced wax ester coverage on leaves and stems during normal or drought condition, while wax ester loads of wsd6, wsd7 and of the wsd6wsd7 double mutant were unchanged. The growth and relative water content of wsd1 plants were compromised during drought, while leaf water loss of wsd1 was increased. Enzyme assays with recombinant proteins expressed in insect cells revealed that WSD6 and WSD7 contain wax ester synthase activity, albeit with different substrate specificity compared with WSD1. WSD6 and WSD7 localize to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)/Golgi. These results demonstrated that WSD1 is involved in the accumulation of wax esters during drought, while WSD6 and WSD7 might play other specific roles in wax ester metabolism during stress.     

Leaf wax n‐alkane patterns of six tropical montane tree species show species‐specific environmental response

It remains poorly understood how the composition of leaf wax n‐alkanes reflects the local environment. This knowledge gap inhibits the interpretation of plant responses to the environment at the community level and, by extension, inhibits the applicability of n‐alkane patterns as a proxy for past environments. Here, we studied the n‐alkane patterns of five Miconia species and one Guarea species, in the Ecuadorian Andes (653–3,507 m a.s.l.). We tested for species‐specific responses in the average chain length (ACL), the C₃₁/(C₃₁ + C₂₉) ratio (ratio), and individual odd n‐alkane chain lengths across an altitudinally driven environmental gradient (mean annual temperature, mean annual relative air humidity, and mean annual precipitation). We found significant correlations between the environmental gradients and species‐specific ACL and ratio, but with varying magnitude and direction. We found that the n‐alkane patterns are species‐specific at the individual chain length level, which could explain the high variance in metrics like ACL and ratio. Although we find species‐specific sensitivity and responses in leaf n‐alkanes, we also find a general decrease in “shorter” (<C₂₉) and an increase in “longer” (>C₃₁) chain lengths with the environmental gradients, most strongly with temperature, suggesting n‐alkanes are useful for reconstructing past environments.     

口温蜡在硬软腭缺损修复中的临床应用

目的:评价口温蜡在软腭缺损修复中制取缺损腔功能印模的应用效果。方法:对11例硬软腭缺损患者分别采用口温蜡和藻酸盐制取缺损腔印模,制作阻塞器,使用两种阻塞器各1个月后,比较其戴口温蜡取模制作的阻塞器时(甲组)、戴藻酸盐取模制作的阻塞器时(乙组)和不戴阻塞器时(丙组)三种情况下,患者口鼻漏情况的主观满意度、语音清晰度(Speech Inteligibility,SI)以及单韵母频谱分析值,分别对其进行比较。结果:甲组的口鼻漏满意度、语音清晰度及单韵母[i]音F1、F2、[u]音F2、[ü]音F2的频率值均显著高于其余两组(P0.05)。结论:口温蜡取模制作的阻塞器能够明显改善患者因腭咽闭合功能不全造成的口鼻漏、言语障碍等状况。     

Tarsal taste sensilla of the autumn gum moth, Mnesampela privata: morphology and electrophysiological activity

Mnesampela privata Guenée (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae) is a native Australian geometrid that conducts considerable host assessment prior to ovipositing on its host plants, which belong to the genus Eucalyptus . The leaves of some of their hosts are covered with a particularly thick and waxy cuticle and we have shown that epicuticular waxes influence the oviposition preferences of females. This necessitates that M. privata has evolved specific chemosensory organs to assess the identity and perhaps even the quality of its hosts. In this work, we examined the morphology of tarsal taste sensilla and the sensitivity of their sensory neurones to a range of primary metabolites possibly influential on host assessment and oviposition. The ventral surface of the fifth tarsomere of females bear two parallel rows of up to eight sensilla, each loosely aligned with two parallel rows of five spines. Salts, sugars, and amino acids elicited phasi-tonic multicellular neuronal responses of variable magnitude and form. Two pairs of sensilla are closely apposed to the most distal spine in each row; the sensory neurones associated with these sensilla exhibited notably larger responses to alanine and serine compared with those of all other sensilla. The arrangement of the taste sensilla in close proximity to prominent tarsal spines is unique and could represent an adaptation that enables them to penetrate the wax layer and be brought into contact with primary metabolites present closer to the leaf surface.     

Branched-chain constituents of Brussels sprout wax

The presence of a substantial proportion of branched, in addition to normal compounds, was confirmed in the alkyl ester and primary alcohol components     

两种吹绵蚧蜡泌物超微结构的研究

采用扫描电镜技术研究了澳洲吹绵蚧lcerya purchase Maskell和埃及吹绵蚧Icerya aegyptiaca(Douglas)不同龄期主要泌蜡腺体和蜡泌物的超微结构.结果发现:成虫期背面的丝状蜡是由多格腺和皮毛共同分泌产生的.卵囊是由雌成虫成熟时腹部腹面的半圆形卵囊带所分泌的,也是实心丝状蜡结构.若虫期吹绵蚧背面覆盖着由多格腺分泌的丝状蜡,实心结构;腹面有长丝状的蜡质缠绕,紧贴腹面体壁的还有一层小蜡圈.     

防治苦瓜枯萎病的拮抗放线菌分离筛选及鉴定

以苦瓜枯萎病菌为靶标菌,通过对峙培养试验和发酵滤液抑菌试验对分离自苦瓜根际土壤的放线菌进行筛选。候选菌株0250具有广谱抗真菌活性,根据培养特征、生理生化特性以及与同源性相近的菌株进行平均核苷酸一致性分析,被鉴定为Streptomyces rhizosphaericus,并评估了该菌株在温室和田间对苦瓜的促生长和防治枯萎病效果。结果表明: 链霉菌菌株0250对苦瓜枯萎病菌的平板抑制率为69.2%,对17种植物病原真菌的平板抑制率达64.3%~85.6%;该菌株的菌悬液处理能促进盆栽和田间苦瓜植株根、茎生长发育,提升产量,对苦瓜枯萎病的防病效果分别为66.9%和61.5%。预先用菌株0250菌悬液处理土壤再接种病原菌,对土壤尖镰孢菌数量抑制率达62.1%,显著提高了苦瓜幼苗苯丙氨酸解氨酶、过氧化物酶和β-1,3-葡聚糖酶活性以及根系活力。总之,菌株0250是一株对苦瓜枯萎病具有巨大生防潜力的放线菌资源。     

The importance of leaf surface wax as short-range attractant and oviposition stimulant in a generalist Lepidoptera

Green gram, Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek, is an important pulse crop of Asia. Severe attack by the larvae of Spilosoma obliqua Walker (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) causes defoliation of green gram and reduces seed yield. Females lay eggs on the leaf surface, and therefore, surface wax plays an important role as short-range attractant and oviposition stimulant. So, we have attempted to find out whether leaf surface wax compounds (alkanes and free fatty acids) from three green gram cultivars (PDM 54, PUSA BAISAKHI and SAMRAT) could act as short-range attractant and oviposition stimulant in females. The TLC, GC-MS and GC-FID analyses of n-hexane extracts revealed 20 n-alkanes from n-C₁₅ to n-C₃₆ and 13 free fatty acids from C12:0 to C21:0, whilst linoleic acid was unique in SAMRAT. Pentacosane was the predominant amongst n-alkanes in the leaf surface waxes of three cultivars. Heneicosanoic acid and palmitoleic acid were the predominant free fatty acids in the leaf surface waxes of PDM 54, and PUSA BAISAKHI and SAMRAT, respectively. Females were attracted towards one leaf equivalent surface wax of three green gram cultivars against solvent controls (n-hexane) in Y-tube olfactometer bioassays. A synthetic blend of pentacosane, heptacosane, nonacosane, hexatriacontane, palmitoleic acid, linolenic acid and stearic acid, a synthetic blend of pentacosane, hexatriacontane and stearic acid, and a synthetic blend of hexatriacontane, linolenic acid and stearic acid resembling in amounts present in one leaf equivalent surface wax of PDM 54, PUSA BAISAKHI and SAMRAT, respectively, served as short-range attractant and oviposition stimulant in females. Females showed equal preference for egg laying towards the above three synthetic blends when these blends were tested against each other, and hence, these blends could be employed in development of baited traps in pest management strategies.     

Momordica charantia trypsin inhibitor II inhibits growth and development of Helicoverpa armigera

Abstract  Bitter gourd ( Momordica charantia L.) seeds contain several squash-type serine proteinase inhibitors (PIs), which inhibit the digestive proteinases of the polyphagous insect pest Helicoverpa armigera . In the present work isolation of a DNA sequence encoding the mature peptide of a trypsin inhibitor McTI-II, its cloning and expression as a recombinant protein using Pichia pastoris have been reported. Recombinant McTI-II inhibited bovine trypsin at 1: 1 molar ratio, as expected, but did not inhibit chymotrypsin or elastase. McTI-II also strongly inhibited trypsin-like proteinases (81% inhibition) as well as the total proteolytic activity of digestive proteinases (70% inhibition) from the midgut of H. armigera larvae. The insect larvae fed with McTI-II-incorporated artificial diet suffered over 70% reduction in the average larval weight after 12 days of feeding. Moreover, ingestion of McTI-II resulted in 23% mortality in the larval population. The strong antimetabolic activity of McTI-II toward H. armigera indicates its probable use in developing insect tolerance in susceptible plants.