Elevated CO2 differentially affects tobacco and rice defense against lepidopteran larvae via the jasmonic acid signaling pathway

Atmospheric CO_2 levels are rapidly increasing due to human activities. However, the effects of elevated CO_2(ECO_2) on plant defense against insects and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we show that ECO_2 increased the photosynthetic rates and the biomass of tobacco and rice plants, and the chewing lepidopteran insects Spodoptera litura and Mythimna separata gained less and more mass on tobacco and rice plants, respectively. Consistently, under ECO_2, the levels of jasmonic acid(JA), the main phytohormone controlling plant defense against these lepidopteran insects, as well as the main defense-related metabolites, were increased and decreased in insectdamaged tobacco and rice plants. Importantly, bioassaysand quantification of defense-related metabolites in tobacco and rice silenced in JA biosynthesis and perception indicate that ECO_2 changes plant resistance mainly by affecting the JA pathway. We further demonstrate that the defensive metabolites, but not total N or protein, are the main factors contributing to the altered defense levels under ECO_2. This study illustrates that ECO_2 changes the interplay between plants and insects, and we propose that crops should be studied for their resistance to the major pests under ECO_2 to predict the impact of ECO_2 on future agroecosystems.     

Long-term effects of malnutrition during lactation on the thyroid function of offspring.

Some studies have shown that the mother's nutritional condition may influence offspring's endocrine function through metabolic imprinting. Recently, we showed that the kind of maternal malnutrition during lactation affects adult body weight of the offspring and it is related to milk composition. We studied lactating rats fed an 8 % protein-restricted diet (PR), a control 23 % protein diet (C), and an energy-restricted diet group (ER). After weaning, all animals received a normal diet until they were 180 days of age. At this time, the animals received a single i. p. injection of (131)I and were sacrificed 2 h after the injection. Total triiodothyronine (TT3) and total thyroxin (TT4) serum concentrations were measured by enzyme immunoassay. The PR group had significantly a higher thyroid (131)I uptake, TT3 serum concentration and in TT4 serum concentration, compared to the controls. The ER group had only significantly higher TT3 serum concentration. These results showed that thyroid function regulation in adulthood may depend on maternal nutritional condition during lactation. Probably, PR group had a high thyroid function, whereas the ER group only had an increase in the deiodination of T4. The hyperthyroidism in the PR group could explain the low body weight observed in those animals.     

KIM-1 mediates fatty acid uptake by renal tubular cells to promote progressive diabetic kidney disease

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