Fetal and placental responses to artificially induced hyperthermia in rats.

Pregnant rats were utilized to study the effect of maternal hyperthermia on fetal development. Eight groups of six to eight rats were exposed to ambient temperatures of 43-44 degrees C at various stages of pregnancy. All rats were killed on day 20 of gestation. Edema, microencephaly and microphthalmia followed heat treatment on day 4, 6, or 8 and skeletal defects occurred on day 10 of gestation. Apparently heat stress of dams after day 14 of gestation had little or no effect on embryos. Most placentas from day 6-10 treatment groups were significantly heavier than control and exhibited extensive thickening and necrosis of decidua basalis. Our results suggest that the rat is a useful model for investigating maternal hyperthermia as a possible cause of human placentophathies and fetal retardation.     

Comparison of forest above‐ground biomass from dynamic global vegetation models with spatially explicit remotely sensed observation‐based estimates

Gaps in our current understanding and quantification of biomass carbon stocks, particularly in tropics, lead to large uncertainty in future projections of the terrestrial carbon balance. We use the recently published GlobBiomass data set of forest above‐ground biomass (AGB) density for the year 2010, obtained from multiple remote sensing and in situ observations at 100 m spatial resolution to evaluate AGB estimated by nine dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs). The global total forest AGB of the nine DGVMs is 365 ± 66 Pg C, the spread corresponding to the standard deviation between models, compared to 275 Pg C with an uncertainty of ~13.5% from GlobBiomass. Model‐data discrepancy in total forest AGB can be attributed to their discrepancies in the AGB density and/or forest area. While DGVMs represent the global spatial gradients of AGB density reasonably well, they only have modest ability to reproduce the regional spatial gradients of AGB density at scales below 1000 km. The 95th percentile of AGB density (AGB₉₅) in tropics can be considered as the potential maximum of AGB density which can be reached for a given annual precipitation. GlobBiomass data show local deficits of AGB density compared to the AGB₉₅, particularly in transitional and/or wet regions in tropics. We hypothesize that local human disturbances cause more AGB density deficits from GlobBiomass than from DGVMs, which rarely represent human disturbances. We then analyse empirical relationships between AGB density deficits and forest cover changes, population density, burned areas and livestock density. Regression analysis indicated that more than 40% of the spatial variance of AGB density deficits in South America and Africa can be explained; in Southeast Asia, these factors explain only ~25%. This result suggests TRENDY v6 DGVMs tend to underestimate biomass loss from diverse and widespread anthropogenic disturbances, and as a result overestimate turnover time in AGB.     

Chiral Imidazolidin-4-one with catalytic amount of Dicationic ionic liquid act as a recoverable and reusable Organocatalyst for asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction

Imidazolidin-4-one is used as a recoverable organocatalyst for the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction in the presence of catalytic amount of dicationic ionic liquid and trifluoroacetic acid as a co-catalyst. The Diels-Alder reaction between model substrate cyclopentadiene and crotonaldehyde gave the product in 95% conversion and 87% ee of the endo-product. The catalyst was shown better reusability when the 20 mol% of dicationic ionic liquid was used and catalyst was reused upto 5 cycles, conversion remains upto 3 recycles but ee of endo- 9 was slightly droped.     

Structural evolution and function of stress associated proteins in regulating biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants

Adverse environmental conditions greatly influence crop production every year and threaten food security. Plants have a range of signaling networks to combat these stresses, in which several stress-responsive genes and regulatory proteins function together. One such important family of proteins, the Stress Associated Protein (SAP) family, has been identified as a novel regulator of multiple stresses. The SAPs possess a characteristic N-terminal A20 zinc-finger domain combined with either AN1 or C₂H₂ at the C-terminus. SAPs provide tolerance against various abiotic stresses, including cold, salt, drought, heavy metal, and wounding. The majority of SAPs are stress-inducible and have a function in conferring stress tolerance in transgenics. The role of SAPs in regulating biotic stress responses is a newly emerging field among researchers. SAPs interact with many other proteins to execute their functions; however, the detailed mechanism of these interactions needs to be elucidated. In this context, the present review provides a detailed view of the evolution and functions of SAPs in plants. The involvement in crosstalk between abiotic and biotic stress signaling pathways makes SAPs ideal targets to develop crops with tolerance against multiple stresses without any yield penalty. Altogether, we provide current knowledge on SAPs for investigating their role in stress response, which can further be exploited to develop climate-resilient crops through transgene-based, breeding-mediated, or genome-editing approaches.

     

Draft genome sequencing and functional annotation and characterization of biofilm-producing bacterium Bacillus novalis PD1 isolated from rhizospheric soil

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek - Biofilm forming bacterium Bacillus novalis PD1 was isolated from the rhizospheric soil of a paddy field. B. novalis PD1 is a Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic,...     

Release of Mediator Enzyme β-Hexosaminidase and Modulated Gene Expression Accompany Hemocyte Degranulation in Response to Parasitism in the Silkworm Bombyx mori

In insects infections trigger hemocyte-mediated immune reactions including degranulation by exocytosis; however, involvement of mediator enzymes in degranulation process is unknown in insects. We report here that in silkworm Bombyx mori, infection by endoparasitoid Exorista bombycis and microsporidian Nosema bombycis activated granulation in granulocytes and promoted degranulation of accumulated structured granules. During degranulation the mediator lysosomal enzyme β-hexosaminidase showed increased activity and expression of β-hexosaminidase gene was enhanced. The events were confirmed in vitro after incubation of uninfected hemocytes with E. bombycis larval tissue protein. On infection, cytotoxicity marker enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was released from the hemocytes illustrating cell toxicity. Strong positive correlation (R²?=?0.71) between LDH activity and β-hexosaminidase released after the infection showed parasitic–protein-induced hemocyte damage and accompanied release of the enzymes. Expression of β-hexosaminidase gene was enhanced in early stages after infection followed by down regulation. The expression showed positive correlation (R²?=?0.705) with hexosaminidase activity pattern. B. mori hexosaminidase showed 98% amino acid similarity with that of B. mandarina showing origin from same ancestral gene; however, 45–60% varied from other lepidopterans showing diversity. The observation signifies the less known association of hexosaminidase in degranulation of hemocytes induced by parasitic infection in B. mori and its divergence in different species.

     

Ischemia reperfusion injury induces pyroptosis and mediates injury in steatotic liver thorough Caspase 1 activation

Apoptosis - A steatotic liver is increasingly vulnerable to ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI), and the underlying mechanisms are incompletely defined. Caspases are endo-proteases, which provide...