Linking glycosphingolipids to Alzheimer’s amyloid-ß: extracellular vesicles and functional plant materials

Glycoconjugate Journal - Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are a specialized class of membrane lipids composed of a ceramide and a carbohydrate head group. GSLs are localized in cell membranes and were...     

Eye-tracking women’s preferences for men’s somatotypes

Judging physical attractiveness involves sight, touch, sound and smells. Where visual judgments are concerned, attentional processes may have evolved to prioritize sex-typical traits that reflect cues signaling direct or indirect (i.e. genetic) benefits. Behavioral techniques that measure response times or eye movements provide a powerful test of this assumption by directly assessing how attractiveness influences the deployment of attention. We used eye-tracking to characterize women’s visual attention to men’s back-posed bodies, which varied in overall fat and muscle distribution, while they judged the potential of each model for a short- or long-term relationship. We hypothesized that when judging male bodily attractiveness women would focus more on the upper body musculature of all somatotypes, as it is a signal of metabolic health, immunocompetence and underlying endocrine function. Results showed that mesomorphs (muscular men) received the highest attractiveness ratings, followed by ectomorphs (lean men) and endomorphs (heavily-set men). For eye movements, attention was evenly distributed to the upper and lower back of both ectomorphs and mesomorphs. In contrast, for endomorphs the lower back, including the waist, captured more attention over the viewing period. These patterns in visual attention were evident in the first second of viewing, suggesting that body composition is identified early in viewing and guides attention to body regions that provide salient biological information during judgments of men’s bodily attractiveness.     

Molecular pharming’s foot in the FDA’s door: Protalix’s trailblazing story

Objectives

This short commentary examines the factors that led to Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the first plant-derived biologic.

Results

In 2012, the first plant-derived protein pharmaceutical (biologic) was approved for commercial use in humans. The product, a recombinant form of human β-glucocerebrosidase marketed as ELELYSO, was developed by Protalix Biotherapeutics (Carmiel, Israel). The foresight to select this particular therapeutic product for development, flawless production pipeline, and serendipity seem to provide the key in explaining how ELELYSO became the first plant-derived biologic to achieve approval by Food and Drug Administration.

Conclusions

While the circumstances that enabled Protalix and its scientists to become the first to arrive at this historic milestone are perhaps unique, it is anticipated that more biologics will follow suit in winning regulatory endorsement.

     

Conservation genetics of Sinai’s remnant populations of Moringa peregrina, an economically valuable medicinal plant

Moringa peregrina is an economically valuable tree of Egyptian deserts. It is used medicinally, provides a highly nutritious supplement to Bedouin diets, provides fodder for livestock, and is used for fire wood. M. peregrina seeds have been a source of high-quality oil for cosmetics and perfumes since antiquity. Due to unmanaged grazing and over-collection, M. peregrina has become one of the most endangered tree species in the Egyptian desert ecosystem. A long-term conservation program is urgently needed to maintain or increase the number and size of M. peregrina populations. Ten populations harboring a total of 130 adult M. peregrina were sampled from three disjunct Wadis in South Sinai (W. Me’ar, W. Fieran and W. Zaghra). Open-pollinated seedlings were electrophoretically analyzed to address two basic questions: (1) how is genetic diversity distributed within and among populations within these three Wadis; and (2) what is the mating system of this species. M. peregrina has a mixed mating system with a selfing rate up to 16% and has limited genetic diversity within and significant genetic differentiation among its populations, the majority of which occurs among Wadis. Direct protection is urgently needed to decrease genetic deterioration within M. peregrina populations and to improve their ability to maintain or improve their population numbers. The priority of in situ conservation should be to conserve a few large well-distributed populations representing different Wadis. Ex situ germplasm collections should be made across the species’ range to ensure a representative sample of its genetic variation. Seed orchards designed to maximize cross-fertilization among unrelated individuals should be established to generate propagules to supplement natural populations.     

Africa’s highest mountain harbours Africa’s tallest trees

While world records of tree heights were set by American, Australian and Asian tree species, Africa seemed to play no role here. In our study we show that Entandrophragma excelsum (Meliaceae) found in a remote valley at Kilimanjaro has to be included in the list of the world’s superlative trees. Estimating tree age from growth rates monitored by high resolution dendrometry indicates that tall individuals may reach more than 470 years of age. A unique combination of anatomical peculiarities and favorable site conditions might explain their enormous size. The late date of this discovery of Africa’s tallest trees may be due to the comparably low study efforts at Kilimanjaro compared with other biodiversity hotspots. Since only a few square kilometers of this habitat of Entandrophragma are left, Kilimanjaro (and Africa) is about to lose not only a unique biogeographical archive with highly diverse vegetation, but also its tallest trees. The inclusion of these valleys into the immediately neighboring Kilimanjaro National Park would be an excellent and urgent possibility of protection.     

Thudichum’s Successors

This paper describes the work of five scientists who, among others, carried on the work of J. L. W. Thudichum, the pre-eminent investigator of brain chemistry in the latter half of the 19th century, after his death in 1901. This paper is dedicated to my friend Moussa Ben-Hur Youdim, who spent three years (1963–1966) in my laboratory, as a graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry, McGill University. During this time, Moussa purified monoamine oxidase of rat liver, and provided the first evidence of its multiplicity. He also contributed to the recognition of iron and riboflavin as constituents of the enzyme.     

Effects of temporal heterogeneity of water supply and nutrient levels on plant biomass growth depend on the plant’s relative size within its population

Temporal heterogeneity of water supply can alter the biomass growth of plants, even when the same total amount of water is provided. Most studies of heterogeneous watering have focused on responses of whole populations rather than individuals in a population. The effects of water supply heterogeneity may also depend on nutrient levels. Thus, we investigated the integrated effects of water supply heterogeneity and nutrient levels on plants within a population. Six plants of Perilla frutescens per pot were grown under different combinations of frequency of water supply and nutrient level. The effects on yield per pot, individual biomass, and allocation to roots were analyzed after a 44-day watering regime. A homogeneous water supply resulted in a greater yield per pot and greater biomass of individual plants than a heterogeneous supply. However, the interaction between water supply heterogeneity and nutrient level was significant only in larger individuals, not in smaller plants or at the p. Water supply heterogeneity affected the growth of all plants, but the effects differed among individuals depending on their relative size within their population. It is therefore important to focus not only on whole-population characteristics such as yield but also on individuals in a population in order to reveal the detailed effects of water supply heterogeneity.