Structurally different flavonol glycosides and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives respond differently to moderate UV-B radiation exposure

The aim of this study was to investigate the modifying influence of moderate ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation exposure on structurally different flavonol glycosides and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives during pre-harvest using kale, a leafy Brassica species with a wide spectrum of different non-acylated and acylated flavonol glycosides. Juvenile kale plants were treated with short-term (1 day), moderate UV-B radiation [0.22-0.88 kJ m?2 day?1 biologically effective UV-B (UV-B(BE))]. Twenty compounds were quantified, revealing a structure-specific response of flavonol glycosides and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives to UV-B radiation. A dose- and structure-dependent response of the investigated phenolic compounds to additional UV-B radiation was found. The investigated quercetin glycosides decreased under UV-B; for kaempferol glycosides, however, the amount of sugar moieties and the flavonol glycoside hydoxycinnamic acid residue influenced the response to UV-B. Monoacylated kaempferol tetraglucosides decreased in the investigated UV-B range, whereas the monoacylated kaempferol diglucosides increased strongly with doses of 0.88 kJ m?2 day?1 UV-B(BE) . The UV-B-induced increase in monoacylated kaempferol triglucosides was dependent on the acylation pattern. Furthermore, the hydroxycinnamic acid glycosides disinapoyl-gentiobiose and sinapoyl-feruloyl-gentiobiose were enhanced in a dose-dependent manner under UV-B. While UV-B radiation treatments often focus on flavonol aglycones or total flavonols, our investigations were extended to structurally different non-acylated and acylated glycosides of quercetin and kaempferol.     

Biomechanics and transgenic wood

Wood, or secondary xylem, is composed mostly of three components-cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. Yet this apparent simplicity is deceiving because the sophisticated arrangement of the components on various structural levels, ranging from intricate molecular architecture to defined cellular arrangements to tissue morphology, makes wood a challenging and interesting subject of biomechanical investigation. Recent advances in genetic transformation, providing easier access to wood of specifically altered composition or structure, have opened new opportunities for research on the intricate relation between material structure and composition and mechanical properties. At the same time, investigations into the mechanical properties have provided new information regarding the structural configuration of wood. The present paper reviews the work conducted in this field and outlines future perspectives and prospects for research.     

Exceptional Evolutionary Divergence of Human Muscle and Brain Metabolomes Parallels Human Cognitive and Physical Uniqueness

Metabolite concentrations reflect the physiological states of tissues and cells. However, the role of metabolic changes in species evolution is currently unknown. Here, we present a study of metabolome evolution conducted in three brain regions and two non-neural tissues from humans, chimpanzees, macaque monkeys, and mice based on over 10,000 hydrophilic compounds. While chimpanzee, macaque, and mouse metabolomes diverge following the genetic distances among species, we detect remarkable acceleration of metabolome evolution in human prefrontal cortex and skeletal muscle affecting neural and energy metabolism pathways. These metabolic changes could not be attributed to environmental conditions and were confirmed against the expression of their corresponding enzymes. We further conducted muscle strength tests in humans, chimpanzees, and macaques. The results suggest that, while humans are characterized by superior cognition, their muscular performance might be markedly inferior to that of chimpanzees and macaque monkeys.     

Structure of a highly phosphorylated lipopolysaccharide core in the Delta algC mutants derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa wild-type strains PAO1 (serogroup O5) and PAC1R (serogroup O3)

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were isolated from rough-type mutant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Delta algC) derived from wild-type strains PAO1 (serogroup O5) and PAC1R (serogroup O3). Structural studies of the LPS core region with a special focus on the phosphorylation pattern were performed by 2D NMR spectroscopy, including a 1H,(31)P HMQC-TOCSY experiment, MALDI-TOF MS, and Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance ESIMS using the capillary skimmer dissociation technique. Both LPS were found to contain two residues each of 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (Kdo) and L-glycero-D-manno-heptose (Hep), one residue of N-(L-alanyl)-D-galactosamine and one O-carbamoyl group (Cm) on the distal Hep residue. The following structures of a tetrasaccharide trisphosphate from strain PAC1R Delta algC and that carrying an additional ethanolamine phosphate group (PEtN) from strain PAO1 Delta algC were elucidated: [carbohydrate structre: see text] where R=P in PAC1R Delta algC and PPEtN in PAO1 Delta algC. To our knowledge, in this work the presence of ethanolamine diphosphate is unambiguously confirmed and its position established for the first time in the LPS core of a rough-type strain of P. aeruginosa. In addition, the structure of the complete LPS core of wild-type strain P. aeruginosa PAO1 was reinvestigated and the position of the phosphorylation sites was revised.     

Adjusting for Ordinal Covariates by Inducing a Partial Ordering

In the context of randomized clinical trials, multiplicity arises in many forms. One prominent example is when a key endpoint is measured and analyzed both at baseline and after treatment. It is common to analyze each separately, but more efficient to adjust the post‐treatment comparisons for the baseline values. Adjustment techniques generally treat the covariate (baseline value, in this case) as either nominal or continuous. Either is problematic when applied to an ordinal covariate, the former because it fails to exploit the natural ordering and the latter because it relies on an artifical notion of linear prediction and differences between values. We propose new methods for adjusting for ordinal covariates without having to treat them as nominal or continuous. Specifically, the information‐preserving composite endpoint consists of the pair of values for each patient, one at baseline and one after treatment. Some of these patterns will indicate more improvement than others, yet some pairs of patterns are not comparable. Hence, the ordering is only partial. We develop an approach to testing and deriving estimators of magnitudes of the treatment effect based on comparing each observation in one group to each observation in the other group to which it is comparable. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

QTL analysis of early stage heterosis for biomass in Arabidopsis

The main objective of this study was to identify genomic regions involved in biomass heterosis using QTL, generation means, and mode-of-inheritance classification analyses. In a modified North Carolina Design III we backcrossed 429 recombinant inbred line and 140 introgression line populations to the two parental accessions, C24 and Col-0, whose F ₁ hybrid exhibited 44% heterosis for biomass. Mid-parent heterosis in the RILs ranged from ?31 to 99% for dry weight and from ?58 to 143% for leaf area. We detected ten genomic positions involved in biomass heterosis at an early developmental stage, individually explaining between 2.4 and 15.7% of the phenotypic variation. While overdominant gene action was prevalent in heterotic QTL, our results suggest that a combination of dominance, overdominance and epistasis is involved in biomass heterosis in this Arabidopsis cross.     

Kleinsippen vonGomphonema angustatum

Zusammenfassung Außer einer schon bekannten automiktisch-pädogamen und einer allogamen Kleinsippe vonGomphonema angustatum wird im Bereich der Biologischen Station Lunz eine weitere pädogame Sippe festgestellt, die sich von den anderen Kleinsippen deutlich unterscheidet. Von den drei Kleinsippen kommen manche zu zweit gemeinsam, andere allein an verschiedenen Fundorten vor. Wie die nähere Untersuchung der beiden pädogamen Sippen zeigt, ist auch beiGomphonema das Perizonium aus ringförmigen verkieselten Stücken zusammengesetzt.Dem Leiter der Biologischen Station Lunz, Herrn Prof. Dr.Heinz Löffler, danke ich auch an dieser Stelle bestens für die Bereitstellung der Behelfe des Instituts.     

Impaired differentiation and lactational failure of Erbb4-deficient mammary glands identify ERBB4 as an obligate mediator of STAT5

The ERBB family of type 1 receptor tyrosine kinases and their ligands have crucial functions during mammopoiesis, but the signaling networks that ultimately regulate ERBB activity in the breast have remained elusive. Here, we show that mice with Cre-lox mediated deletions of both Erbb4 alleles within the developing mammary gland (Erbb4(Flox/Flox)Wap-Cre) fail to accumulate lobuloalveoli or successfully engage lactation at parturition owing, in part, to impaired epithelial proliferation. Analysis of the mammary differentiation factor STAT5 by immunohistochemistry and western blot revealed a complete ablation of STAT5 activation in Erbb4(Flox/Flox)Wap-Cre mammary epithelium at parturition. Consistent with disrupted STAT5 function, Erbb4(Flox/Flox)Wap-Cre mammary glands at parturition failed to express the mammary epithelial differentiation marker NPT2B. Defects in epithelial functional differentiation at parturition were accompanied by a profound reduction in expression of the STAT5-regulated milk genes casein beta and whey acidic protein. We propose that ERBB4 functions as an essential mediator of STAT5 signaling, and that loss of STAT5 activity contributes to the impaired functional differentiation of mammary glands observed in mice containing conditional Erbb4 deletions.     

Expression of an <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> phosphoglucomutase in potato (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum tuberosum</Emphasis> L.) results in minor changes in tuber metabolism and a considerable delay in tuber sprouting

The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of elevating the cytosolic activity of phosphoglucomutase (PGM; EC 5.4.2.2) on photosynthesis, growth and heterotrophic metabolism. Here we describe the generation of novel transgenic plants expressing an Escherichia coli phosphoglucomutase (EcPGM) under the control of the 35S promoter. These lines were characterised by an accumulation of leaf sucrose, despite displaying no alterations in photosynthetic carbon partitioning, and a reduced tuber starch content. Determinations of the levels of a wide range of other metabolites revealed dramatic reductions in maltose and other sugars in leaves of the transformants, as well as a modification of the pattern of organic and amino acid content in tubers of these lines. Intriguingly, the transgenics also displayed a dramatically delayed rate of sprouting and significantly enhanced rate of respiration, however, it is important to note that the severity of these traits did not always correlate with the level of transgene expression. These results are discussed in the context of current understanding of the control of respiration and the breaking of tuber dormancy.