Apoplast as the site of response to environmental signals

When the life cycle of plants is influenced by various environmental signals, the mechanical properties of the cell wall are greatly changed. These signals also modify the levels and structure of the cell wall constituents and such modifications are supposed to be the cause of the changes in the wall mechanical properties. These changes in the cell wall, the major component of the apoplast, can be recognized as the response of plants to environmental signals. The analysis of the mechanism leading to the response suggests that the apoplast is involved not only in the response but also in the perception and transduction of environmental signals in concert with the receptors of signals located on the plasma membrane. Thus, the apoplast plays a principal role in the communication of plants with the outer world and enables the plants to adapt themselves and survive in the environment full of stresses.     

Apoplast as the site of response to environmental signals

When the life cycle of plants is influenced by various environmental signals, the mechanical properties of the cell wall are greatly changed. These signals also modify the levels and structure of the cell wall constituents and such modifications are supposed to be the cause of the changes in the wall mechanical properties. These changes in the cell wall, the major component of the apoplast, can be recognized as the response of plants to environmental signals. The analysis of the mechanism leading to the response suggests that the apoplast is involved not only in the response but also in the perception and transduction of environmental signals in concert with the receptors of signals located on the plasma membrane. Thus, the apoplast plays a principal role in the communication of plants with the outer world and enables the plants to adapt themselves and survive in the environment full of stresses.     

Gangliosides as apoptotic signals in ER stress response

Renewed attention has been given lately to gangliosides and to their function as intracellular messengers of the adaptive responses to stress. Gangliosides are vital components of cell membranes; therefore, deleterious consequences can result from changes in their chemical composition and concentration, that is, membrane dynamics and structure can be altered as can the behavior of other membrane proteins. The importance of gangliosides in human health is evident in neurodegenerative diseases associated with defects in their degradation. As key modulators of intracellular calcium flux, gangliosides are involved in cellular processes downstream of calcium signaling. In this review, we focus on the effect of ganglioside accumulation on the endoplasmic reticulum calcium homeostasis and on the integrity of the mitochondrial membranes. We discuss how these events elicit an apoptotic program that ultimately leads to cell death. Owing to interorganelle crosstalk, these events are not necessarily self-contained, and gangliosides may serve as the common factor.     

Expression of Vibrio cholerae virulence genes in response to environmental signals

Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of Asiatic cholera, is a gram-negative motile bacterial species acquired via oral ingestion of contaminated food or water sources. The O1 serogroup of V. cholerae is responsible for pandemic cholera and is divided into two biotypes, classical and El Tor (Butterton and Calderwood, 1995; Mekalanos, 1985). The El Tor biotype is responsible for the current cholera pandemic. In the absence of disease, the vibrio life cycle consists of a free-swimming phase in marine and estuarine environments in association with zooplankton, crustaceans, insects, and water plants. Vibrios interact with various surfaces found in the environment to generate biofilms which may promote survival (Watnick etaL, 1999). Within the host the motile vibrios must evade the innate host defense mechanisms, penetrate the mucus layer covering the intestinal villi, adhere to and colonize the epithelial surface of the small intestine, assume a non-motile phase, replicate and cause disease by secreting numerous exoproteins at the site of infection (Oliver and Kaper, 1997). The voluminous diarrhea associated with cholera infection leads to the dissemination of the vibrios back into a watery environment and thus a continuation of the environmental phase of the life cycle. The host phase of the vibrio life cycle is only possible through the action of a group of virulence genes (ToxR-regulon) controlled by a complex and incompletely understood regulatory cascade. The ToxR regulon colonization and toxin genes are coordinately expressed in response to specific host signals that have yet to be completely defined (Skorupsky and Taylor 1997). Although little is known regarding the host signals that impact the ToxR regulatory cascade, it is clear that these intraintestinal signals play an important role in maximizing the ability of the vibrios to survive and multiply within the host. Key to understanding the complex events involved in the pathogenesis of V. cholerae will be elucidating the intraintestinal signaling molecules that trigger the expression of vibrio virulence genes. Understanding the molecular basis of this host-parasite interaction will provide important information with respect to how pathogenic bacteria establish infection and provide insights leading to novel methods for treating and/or preventing bacterial infections. This review will summarize what is known regarding host signaling and the complex ToxR regulatory system employed by V. cholerae to coordinate virulence gene expression within the host.     

The root of ABA action in environmental stress response

The growth and development of plants are influenced by the integration of diverse endogenous and environmental signals. Acting as a mediator of extrinsic signals, the stress hormone, abscisic acid (ABA), has been shown to regulate many aspects of plant development in response to unfavourable environmental stresses, allowing the plant to cope and survive in adverse conditions, such as drought, low or high temperature, or high salinity. Here, we summarize recent evidence on the roles of ABA in environmental stress responses in the Arabidopsis root; and on how ABA crosstalks with other phytohormones to modulate root development and growth in Arabidopsis. We also review literature findings showing that, in response to environmental stresses, ABA affects the root system architecture in other plant species, such as rice.     

How to cluster gene expression dynamics in response to environmental signals

Organisms usually cope with change in the environment by altering the dynamic trajectory of gene expression to adjust the complement of active proteins. The identification of particular sets of genes whose expression is adaptive in response to environmental changes helps to understand the mechanistic base of gene-environment interactions essential for organismic development. We describe a computational framework for clustering the dynamics of gene expression in distinct environments through Gaussian mixture fitting to the expression data measured at a set of discrete time points. We outline a number of quantitative testable hypotheses about the patterns of dynamic gene expression in changing environments and gene-environment interactions causing developmental differentiation. The future directions of gene clustering in terms of incorporations of the latest biological discoveries and statistical innovations are discussed. We provide a set of computational tools that are applicable to modeling and analysis of dynamic gene expression data measured in multiple environments.     

Assessment of meaning and the detection of unreliable signals by vervet monkeys

Free-ranging vervet monkeys, Cercopithecus aethiops, who had learned to ignore playbacks of one type of call by an unreliable signaller subsequently also ignored playback of an acoustically different call by the same individual if the calls had similar referents. Such transfer did not occur if either the identity of the signaller changed or if the two calls had different referents. After repeatedly being played an intergroup call in the absence of other groups, vervets also ignored an acoustically different intergroup call given by the same individual. The monkeys did not transfer habituation, however, if the new call was given by a different individual. In tests where the referents of two calls were different, the monkeys also failed to transfer habituation across call types. Vervet monkeys who had learned to ignore an unreliable leopard alarm call did not later ignore an eagle alarm call, even when the signaller remained the same. Results suggest that vervets, like humans, process information at a semantic, and not just an acoustic, level.     

Cryptic asymmetry: unreliable signals mask asymmetric performance of crayfish weapons

Animals commonly use their limbs as signals and weapons during territorial aggression. Asymmetries of limb performance that do not relate to asymmetries of limb size (cryptic asymmetry) could substantially affect disputes, but this phenomenon has not been considered beyond primates. We investigated cryptic asymmetry in male crayfish (Cherax dispar), which commonly use unreliable signals of strength during aggression. Although the strength of a chela can vary by an order of magnitude for a given size, we found repeatable asymmetries of strength that were only weakly related to asymmetries of size. Size-adjusted strength of chelae and the asymmetry of strength between chelae were highly repeatable between environmental conditions, suggesting that asymmetries of strength stemmed from variation in capacity rather than motivation. Cryptic asymmetry adds another dimension of uncertainty during conflict between animals, which could influence the evolution of unreliable signals and morphological asymmetry.     

Regulation of snf1 protein kinase in response to environmental stress

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Snf1 protein kinase, a member of the Snf1/AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) family, has important roles in metabolic control, particularly in response to nutrient stress. Here we have addressed the role of Snf1 in responses to other environmental stresses. Exposure of cells to sodium ion stress, alkaline pH, or oxidative stress caused an increase in Snf1 catalytic activity and phosphorylation of Thr-210 in the activation loop, whereas treatment with sorbitol or heat shock did not. Inhibition of respiratory metabolism by addition of antimycin A to cells also increased Snf1 activity. Analysis of mutants indicated that the kinases Sak1, Tos3, and Elm1, which activate Snf1 in response to glucose limitation, are also required under other stress conditions. Each kinase sufficed for activation in response to stress, but Sak1 had the major role. In sak1Delta tos3Delta elm1Delta cells expressing mammalian Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase alpha, Snf1 was activated by both sodium ion and alkaline stress, suggesting that stress signals regulate Snf1 activity by a mechanism that is independent of the upstream kinase. Finally, we showed that Snf1 protein kinase is regulated differently during adaptation of cells to NaCl and alkaline pH with respect to both temporal regulation of activation and subcellular localization. Snf1 protein kinase becomes enriched in the nucleus in response to alkaline pH but not salt stress. Such differences could contribute to specificity of the stress responses.     

Effect of environmental stress on radiation response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have investigated the effect of pH shock and oxidative stress (H2O2 effect) both separately and together on the response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae exposed to UV and gamma radiations for one hour. Exposure to these environmental stresses resulted in S. cerevisiae cells acquiring resistance to UV radiation. Presence of cycloheximide (a known protein synthesis inhibitor) during stress inhibited the acquired UV resistance. The increased UV resistance is apparently mediated through nucleotide excision repair as the stress exposure to rad3 mutants (defective in nucleotide excision repair) do not have any effect on UV response. Both types of stresses used probably follow the same path of induction of radioresistance as the effect of both of them is nonadditive. In the strains used in our study stress exposure does not have any significant effect on gamma radiation response.     

Differential expression of LvHSP60 in shrimp in response to environmental stress

Previous studies showed that heat-shock protein 60 (HSP60) was known to function as a molecular chaperone and is an important factor in the innate immune system in mammals. However, little was known about the physiological relevance of HSP60 in marine invertebrates. This study focuses on long-term monitoring of the differential expression of LvHSP60 in shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei in response to environmental stress. The thermal aggregation assay elucidated that LvHSP60 was an effective chaperone. It also suggested that LvHSP60 may employ the cell's intrinsic mechanism to start the immunizing process. Using quantitative real-time PCR to monitor gene expression showed that LvHSP60 was variable under different stresses including environmental stress and pathogenic infection. LvHSP60 was speculated to regulate the adaptive responses to overcome environmental stresses. In conclusion, our study proved that LvHSP60 plays an important role in the intrinsic immune system and stress responses of shrimp.     

Renal structural flexibility in response to environmental water stress in feral hogs

Several morphological characteristics of the kidney were studied to determine the degree of acclimatization that may occur in three groups of feral hogs raised under different environmental conditions. Two groups of hogs were living in the wild, while another was raised in captivity for three generations and was directly descended from one of the wild-living groups. The two groups of wild hogs were living under two different types of water stress conditions. One group experienced periodic drought, and the other ate a high salt diet. The captive hogs were given food and water ad libitum. The captive-raised hogs had significantly lower relative medullary thickness (RMT) and relative medullary area (RMA) values (RMT of 2.35; RMA of 0.35) than either group of hogs living in the wild (RMT of 2.70 and 2.69; RMA of 0.41 and 0.44). Since the feral hogs living in the wild were exposed to a higher degree of water stress than the captive-raised hogs, it was concluded that the differences in observed kidney structure were due to acclimatization.     

Phospholipase D couples survival and migration signals in stress response of human cancer cells

MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells belong to a highly invasive metastatic cell line that depends on phospholipase D (PLD) activity for survival when deprived of serum growth factors. In response to the stress of serum withdrawal, there is a rapid and dramatic increase in PLD activity. Concomitant with increased PLD activity, there was an increase in the ability of MDA-MB-231 cells to both migrate and invade Matrigel. The ability of MDA-MB-231 cells to both migrate and invade Matrigel was dependent on both PLD and mTOR, a downstream target of PLD signals. Serum withdrawal also led to a PLD-dependent increase in the expression of the stress factor, hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha. These data reveal that PLD survival signals not only prevent apoptosis but also stimulate cell migration and invasion, linking the ability to suppress apoptosis with the ability to metastasize.     

Evolution of 'pollinator'- attracting signals in fungi

Fungi produce a plethora of secondary metabolites yet their biological significance is often little understood. Some compounds show well-known antibiotic properties, others may serve as volatile signals for the attraction of insects that act as vectors of spores or gametes. Our investigations in an outcrossing, self-incompatible fungus show that a fungus-produced volatile compound with fungitoxic activities is also responsible for the attraction of specific insects that transfer gametes. We argue that insect attraction using this compound is likely to have evolved from its primary function of defence--as has been suggested for floral scent in the angiosperms. We, thus, propose that similar yet convergent evolutionary pathways have lead to interspecific communication signals in both fungi and plants.