An allelopathic investigation of the domination of the introduced invasive Conyza canadensis L.

The introduced, invasive species Conyza canadensis L. covers large areas of the sandy levees next to the River Tamiš (Serbia), forming dense microcomplexes and dominating the other herbaceous species in the ruderal phytocoenosis with its aboveground mass and abundance. In addition to this species, a further 28 plant species were found, but the abundance and cover of these was significantly lower. The allelopathic influence of the species C. canadensis was investigated through analyzing the total phenolics and phenolic acids, as the main allelochemicals, in dead and vegetative parts and the soil beneath them. Seed germination and seedling growth of the target plants (Dactylis glomerata L. and Trifolium repens L.), which grow in this community, served as a measure of the inhibitory capacity of this species. It was established that the content of total phenolics and phenolic acids (p-coumaric, ferulic, p-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic and syringic) varies, following the order: vegetative plant parts > dead plant parts > sandy soil under C. canadensis. Water leachate and soils inhibited seed germination and seedling growth of the test plants to varying degrees, following the order: vegetative parts > dead parts > sandy soil, which is directly related to the content of total phenolics and phenolic acids in them. It was concluded that the pioneer species C. canadensis plays a decisive role in the first phases of vegetation succession and the process of soil formation on the barren sandy levees, owing to the synthesis of secondary phenolic metabolites.     

Viability of Rhodococcus equi and Parascaris equorum Eggs Exposed to High Temperatures

There is great concern about the potential pathogen contamination of horse manure compost spread in the same fields horses graze in. To ensure that pathogen destruction occurs, temperatures need to be sufficiently high during composting. Here, we investigated the survival rate of two marker organisms, Rhodococcus equi and Parascaris equorum eggs, exposed to temperatures potentially encountered during horse manure composting. Our results show that the time required to achieve a 1 log10 reduction in R. equi population (D-value) are 17.1 h (±1.47) at 45°C, 8.6 h (±0.28) at 50°C, 2.9 h (±0.04) at 55°C and 0.7 h (±0.04) at 60°C. For P. equorum eggs we show that at 45 and 50°C, 2 log10 reduction of viability is reached between 8 and 24 h of incubation and that it takes less than 2 h at 55 and 60°C to achieve a viability reduction of 2 log10. These results are useful for identifying composting conditions that will reduce the risk of environmental contamination by R. equi and P. equorum eggs.     

Can CD44 Be a Mediator of Cell Destruction? The Challenge of Type 1 Diabetes

CD44 is a multi-functional receptor with multiple of isoforms engaged in modulation of cell trafficking and transmission of apoptotic signals. We have previously shown that injection of anti-CD44 antibody into NOD mice induced resistance to type 1 diabetes (T1D). In this communication we describe our efforts to understand the mechanism underlying this effect. We found that CD44-deficient NOD mice develop stronger resistance to T1D than wild-type littermates. This effect is not explained by the involvement of CD44 in cell migration, because CD44-deficient inflammatory cells surprisingly had greater invasive potential than the corresponding wild type cells, probably owing to molecular redundancy. We have previously reported and we show here again that CD44 expression and hyaluronic acid (HA, the principal ligand for CD44) accumulation are detected in pancreatic islets of diabetic NOD mice, but not of non-diabetic DBA/1 mice. Expression of CD44 on insulin-secreting β cells renders them susceptible to the autoimmune attack, and is associated with a diminution in β-cells function (e.g., less insulin production and/or insulin secretion) and possibly also with an enhanced apoptosis rate. The diabetes-supportive effect of CD44 expression on β cells was assessed by the TUNEL assay and further strengthened by functional assays exhibiting increased nitric oxide release, reduced insulin secretion after glucose stimulation and decreased insulin content in β cells. All these parameters could not be detected in CD44-deficient islets. We further suggest that HA-binding to CD44-expressing β cells is implicated in β-cell demise. Altogether, these data agree with the concept that CD44 is a receptor capable of modulating cell fate. This finding is important for other pathologies (e.g., cancer, neurodegenerative diseases) in which CD44 and HA appear to be implicated.     

Investigation of the endogenous rhythm of flowering inChenopodium rubrum L.

Under the conditions applied in our laboratory 4 1/2 days old plants ofChenopodium rubrum require 2–3 photoperiodic cycles for maximal flowering response, whereas 2 1/2 days old plants are able to flower after having obtained a single inductive cycle. The period length of the free-running rhythm of flowering observed in 2 1/2 days old plants after a single transfer from light to darkness is 30h and the first peak of flowering occurs at about hour 12 in darkness. When a cycle consisting of 16h darkness and 8h light or of 8h darkness and 8h light precedes the long dark period the rhythm is rephased. Rephasing is greater when the light commenced to act on the positive slope of the first peak of the free running rhythm than when it impinged on the negative slope. With an 8h interruption of darkness by light rhythm phase is controlled by the light-on, as well as by the light-off signal. Feeding 0.4 M glucose during the long period of darkness enhanced the amplitude of the flowering response and, moreover, substituted for one photoperiodic cycle.