Enhanced quantitative resistance against fungal disease by combinatorial expression of different barley antifungal proteins in transgenic tobacco

cDNAs encoding three proteins from barley ( Hordeum vulgare ), a class-II chitinase (CHI), a class-II β-1,3-glucanase (GLU) and a Type-I ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) were expressed in tobacco plants under the control of the CaMV 35S-promoter. High-level expression of the transferred genes was detected in the transgenic plants by Northern and Western blot analysis. The leader peptides in CHI and GLU led to accumulation of these proteins in the intercellular space of tobacco leaves. RIP, which is naturally deposited in the cytosol of barley endosperm cells, was expressed either in its original cytosolic form or fused to a plant secretion peptide (spRIP). Fungal infection assays revealed that expression of the individual genes in each case resulted in an increased protection against the soilborne fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani , which infects a range of plant species including tobacco. To create a situation similar to 'multi-gene' tolerance, which traditional breeding experience has shown to provide crops with a longer-lasting protection, several of these antifungal genes were combined and protection against fungal attack resulting from their co-expression in planta was evaluated. Transgenic tobacco lines were generated with tandemly arranged genes coding for RIP and CHI as well as GLU and CHI. The performance of tobacco plants co-expressing the barley transgenes GLU/ CHI or CHI/RIP in a Rhizoctonia solani infection assay revealed significantly enhanced protection against fungal attack when compared with the protection levels obtained with corresponding isogenic lines expressing a single barley transgene to a similar level. The data indicate synergistic protective interaction of the co-expressed anti-fungal proteins in vivo .     

Klinefelter's syndrome and incontinentia pigmenti Bloch-Sulzberger

Summary We report a newborn with incontinentia pigmenti Bloch-Sulzberger and male phenotype. Chromosome analysis revealed a Klinefelter's syndrome 47,XXY. These findings are compatible with the hypothesis of dominant sexlinked genes carried on the X-chromosome in this disease.

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Zusammenfassung Wir berichten über ein neugeborenes Kind mit männlichem Phänotyp bei Incontinentia pigmenti Bloch-Sulzberger. Bei der klinischen Abklärung fand sich die Gonosomenaberration eines Klinefelter-Syndroms 47,XXY. Dieser Befund geht konform mit der Vermutung eines dominant X-gekoppelten Erbganges dieser seltenen Hauterkrankung.

     

Langzeittelemetrie der K?rpertemperatur mit synchroner Bestimmung des Energiestoffwechsels beim Blaunackenmausvogel (Urocolius macrourus) unter Normal- und Lethargiebedingungen (Torpor)

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Long-term telemetry of body temperature with synchronous measurement of metabolic rate in torpid and non-torpid Blue-naped Mousebirds (Urocolius macrourus)

     

Isolation and characterization of Leuconostoc oenos phages from German wines

Summary Thirty-four wines that showed problems during malolactic fermentation were obtained from five different German wineries and were examined for the presence of phages using electron microscopy and the agar spot-test. Phages were discovered in 11 of the wines and host strains were found for ten of these phages. The phages were characterized on the basis of their morphology, host range and protein profiles. Furthermore the ten phages could be divided into four groups by restriction enzyme analysis of the phage DNA. This grouping was consistent with results based on morphology, protein composition and host range analysis. Correspondence to: E. K. Arendt     

Infant care in a family of siamangs (Hylobates syndactylus) with twin offspring at Berlin Zoo

Infant-carrying in a family group of siamangs with twin offspring was observed during a 2-week period. The twins were about 11 months old at the time of the study. One or both twins were usually carried by their father, but hardly ever by their mother. A considerable amount of infant-carrying was also contributed by the twins' juvenile brother. Helping behavior (defined as the care of offspring by individuals who are not their parents) is not normally known to occur in siamangs or other hylobatids. We suggest that the presence of multiple offspring may have facilitated the occurrence of infant-carrying exhibited by a nonparental family member. This finding may point to one of the mechanisms influencing the occurrence of helping behavior in general.     

Studies on the oligomeric structure of yeast phosphofructo-kinase by means of cross-linking diimidoesters.

Intracellular cross-linking of yeast phosphofructokinase with a series of diimidoesters of different chain length resulted in the appearance of tetramers as largest cross-linked product of the enzyme subunits. The native enzyme is evidently composed of eight subunits being arranged in two tetramers α₄β₄. In the tetramers the monomers are probably assembled in tetrahedral geometry.     

Two new subspecies of Photorhabdus luminescens, isolated from Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae): Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. kayaii subsp. nov. and Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. thracensis subsp. nov

Bacterial isolates from nematodes from Turkish soil samples were initially characterized by molecular methods and seven members of the genus Photorhabdus identified to the species level, using riboprint analyses and metabolic properties. Strain 07-5 (DSM 15195) was highly related to the type strain of Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. laumondii DSM 15139T, and was regarded a strain of this subspecies. Strains 1121T (DSM 15194T), 68-3 (DSM 15198) and 47-10 (DSM 15197) formed one, strain 39-8T (DSM 15199T), 39-7 (DSM 15196) and 01-12 (DSM 15193) formed a second cluster that branched intermediate the three subspecies of Photorhabdus luminescens. Based upon moderate 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities and differences in metabolic properties among themselves and with type strains of the three subspecies we consider the two clusters to represent two new subspecies of Photorhabdus luminescens for which the names Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. kayaii, type strain 1121T (DSM 15194T, NCIMB 13951T), and Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. thracensis subsp. nov., type strain 39-8T (DSM 15199T, NCIMB 13952T) are proposed.