The seasonality of phytoplankton in the North American Great Lakes,a comparative synthesis

The phytoplankton and productivity of the North American Great Lakes has been studied extensively by Fisheries and Oceans Canada during the past 15 years to monitor the impact of nutrient and contaminant loading on the plankton of the ecosystem. Lakewide cruises were conducted at monthly intervals mainly during the spring to fall period. This provided extensive biomass, species, size, productivity and nutrient concentration data for the Great Lakes. These data were collected using the Utermöhl inverted microscope technique together with standardized taxonomic, productivity and data-handling procedures. These standardized methodologies were applied to all the Great Lakes which resulted in a comprehensive phycological and ecological data base for the first time. These data form the basis for the evaluation of the complex phenomenon of seasonality.The eutrophic/mesotrophic Lower Great Lakes exhibited well-developed seasonal peaks of high biomass, with inshore-offshore differentiation and spring maxima most pronounced in the inshore region. However, the oligotrophic Upper Great Lakes had low biomass and generally lacked well-developed seasonal patterns. No marked seasonal trends were observed in the ultra-oligotrophic Lake Superior. The seasonality of biomass and various taxonomic groups of phytoplankton showed differentiation between individual lakes and is discussed in detail. The seasonal succession of species provided interesting comparisons between the Lower Great Lakes, which harbour eutrophic and mesotrophic species, and the Upper Great Lakes, which harbour oligotrophic species.Due to the voluminous nature of our data, a general overview has been given for all the Great Lakes with Lake Ontario treated in detail as a case study. The Lake Ontario case study provides the state-of-the-art status ranging from the lakewide surveys of 1970 to the current research with minute organisms such as ultraplankton and picoplankton.     

Ecological studies of Euglenineae in certain polluted and unpolluted environments

Summary The ecology of Euglenineae was investigated for two years in certain polluted and unpolluted environments of Hyderabad, India. The paper includes discussions regarding the distribution and periodicity of euglenoid population in relation to the physicochemical complexes which existed in the three ponds during the period of investigation. Sewage and Garden Ponds were found to be considerably polluted, whereas, the Typha Pond was comparatively pure and less polluted. Sewage Pond exhibited the highest percentage of Euglenineae harbouring 13 species and Garden Pond harboured 2 species in large numbers. Typha Pond harboured typically Trachelomonas hispida and Euglena Sp. which were totally absent in the other two ponds. It seems that high average concentrations of free CO₂ were favourable for euglenoid growth in Sewage Pond and the oxygen deficiency was helpful to trigger the oxygen-iron-phosphate complex, releasing larger quantities of phosphorus and iron. Higher average values of percent Cl + NO₃ ratio were found to be responsible for the luxuriant growth of these flagellates and it was suggested that inorganic sources of nitrogen might be more important in their ecology as fluctuations of nitrate coincide closely with those of Euglenineae in all ponds. These flagellates were found to be abundant during the periods when water was not rich in total sulphides and concentrations higher than 2.0 ppm adversely effected the euglenoid development. These flagellates were found to develop usually after rains or during intermittent showers experiencing comparatively higher temperatures. A temperature range of 27° – 39°C was observed to be favourable for their growth. Higher concentrations of oxidizable organic matter showed a direct relationship to euglenoid population in Sewage Pond. It is suggested that certain species of Euglenineae, which very often developed in the polluted waters of Sewage Pond, could be used as biological indicators of pollution in the present investigation.Part of the thesis approved by Osmania University, Hyderabad, India for the award of the degree of Ph. D.     

Arabidopsis mutant plants with diverse defects in polyamine metabolism show unequal sensitivity to exogenous cadaverine probably based on their spermine content

Arabidopsis plants do not synthesize the polyamine cadaverine, a five carbon-chain diamine and structural analog of putrescine. Mutants defective in polyamine metabolic genes were exposed to exogenous cadaverine. Spermine-deficient spms mutant grew well while a T-DNA insertion mutant (pao4-1) of polyamine oxidase (PAO) 4 was severely inhibited in root growth compared to wild type (WT) or other pao loss-of-function mutants. To understand the molecular basis of this phenomenon, polyamine contents of WT, spms and pao4-1 plants treated with cadaverine were analyzed. Putrescine contents increased in all the three plants, and spermidine contents decreased in WT and pao4-1 but not in spms. Spermine contents increased in WT and pao4-1. As there were good correlations between putrescine (or spermine) contents and the degree of root growth inhibition, effects of exogenously added putrescine and spermine were examined. Spermine mimicked the original phenomenon, whereas high levels of putrescine evenly inhibited root growth, suggesting that cadaverine-induced spermine accumulation may explain the phenomenon. We also tested growth response of cadaverine-treated WT and pao4-1 plants to NaCl and found that spermine-accumulated pao4-1 plant was not NaCl tolerant. Based on the results, the effect of cadaverine on Arabidopsis growth and the role of PAO during NaCl stress are discussed.     

Characterization of five polyamine oxidase isoforms in Arabidopsis thaliana

The genome of Arabidopsis thaliana contains five genes (AtPAO1 to AtPAO5) encoding polyamine oxidase (PAO) which is an enzyme responsible for polyamine catabolism. To understand the individual roles of the five AtPAOs, here we characterized their tissue-specific and space-temporal expression. AtPAO1 seems to have a specific function in flower organ. AtPAO2 was expressed in shoot meristem and root tip of seedlings, and to a higher extent in the later growth stage within restricted parts of the organs, such as shoot meristem, leaf petiole and also in anther. The expression of AtPAO3 was constitutive, but highest in flower organ. AtPAO3 promoter activity was detected in cotyledon, distal portion of root, boundary region of mature rosette leaf and in filaments of flower. AtPAO4 was expressed at higher level all over young seedlings including roots, and in the mature stage its expression was ubiquitous with rather lower level in stem. AtPAO5 expression was observed in the whole plant body throughout various growth stages. Its highest expression was in flowers, particularly in sepals, but not in petals. Furthermore, we determined the substrate specificity of AtPAO1 to AtPAO4. None of the AtPAO enzymes recognized putrescine (Put). AtPAO2 and AtPAO3 showed almost similar substrate recognition patterns in which the most preferable substrate is spermidine (Spd) followed by less specificity to other tetraamines tested. AtPAO4 seemed to be spermine (Spm)-specific. More interestingly, AtPAO1 preferred thermospermine (T-Spm) and norspermine (NorSpm) to Spm, but did not recognize Spd. Based on the results, the individual function of AtPAOs is discussed.     

Crocus transcription factors CstMYB1 and CstMYB1R2 modulate apocarotenoid metabolism by regulating carotenogenic genes

Plant Molecular Biology - Two MYB genes have been identified which regulate apocarotenoid metabolism in Crocus sativus. Apocarotenoids like crocin, picrocrocin and safranal are restricted to genus...     

Characteristics of Symmetric Surface Plasmon Polariton Mode in Glass–Metal–Glass Waveguide

The propagation characteristics of symmetric surface plasmon polariton mode in a glass–metal–glass waveguide are presented. Gallium lanthanum sulfide has been taken as the glass and silver (Ag) has been used as the metal. The analysis has been done both numerically and analytically. A two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain-based simulation model has been developed in order to analyze the propagation characteristics numerically. The obtained results using numerical and analytical methods have been compared and a very good agreement has been found.     

Technical advancement in plant virus diagnosis – an appraisal

Plants infected by a wide range of viruses often cause important agronomic and economic losses worldwide. Detection of plant viruses is becoming more challenging as globalisation of trade, particularly the ornamental plants, and the potential effects of climate change facilitate movement of viruses and their vectors, thereby transforming the diagnostic landscape. Under such circumstances, detection of viruses at premature stages of infection by use of rapid, sensitive and accurate detection methods seems crucial to ensure safe and sustainable agriculture and as such reduces economic losses. For proper identification, detection technique needs to be rapid, most accurate and inexpensive, as it forms the key step in developing appropriate practical solutions to manage plant virus diseases that pose continuous threats to the viability of certain horticultural and agricultural industries. This review is concerned with the advancement in techniques in the diagnosis of viruses in plants.     

Influence of rainfall,temperature and somes oil physico-chemical variables on seasonal population structure and vertical distribution of earthworms in two semi-arid tropical grassland soils

Two semi-arid tropical grasslands, one of an alfisol and the other on vertisol were sampled for earthworm populations during July 1985 to July 1987. The soil of the alfisol grassland was slightly acidic while that of the vertisol was slightly alkaline. The alfisol grassland has a lower range of soil moisture, soil temperature, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, available nitrogen and potassium, and a higher range of phosphorus compared to the vertisol. The alfisol grassland was inhabited byOctochaetona phillotti (Michaelsen) with rare occurrence ofBarogaster annandalei (Stephenson) whereas the vertisol grassland was inhabited only byB. annandalei. The total population ofO. phillotti ranged between 16 and 96/m² while its juvenile population ranged between 3.2 and 25.6/m², pre-adult population between 5.3 and 53.6/m² and adult population between 0 and 28.8/m². The total population ofB. annandalei ranged between 3.2 and 58.3/m² and its juvenile population between 0 and 26.6/m², pre-adult population 0 and 10.6/m² and adult population between 0 and 22.4/m². The earthworms migrated to deeper layers during winter and summer,O. phillotti reaching a maximum depth of 40 cm andB. annandalei reaching a depth of 45 cm, and seen in quiescent stage. Their seasonal population structure was significantly influenced by the seasonal patterns in rainfall, soil temperature, pH, electrical conductivity and phosphorus. These variables along with organic carbon, available nitrogen and potassium together accounted for 32–63% and 79–91% respectively, of the variation in seasonal population fluctuation of differentO. phillotti andB. annandalei age groups. The physical factors of the soil were collectively more effective in causing the seasonal variation in their population size than the chemical factors.Visiting scientist (under the Rockefeller Foundation Environmental Research Fellowship in International Agriculture) in Resource Management Programme of ICRISAT, Andhra Pradesh, India     

Mood-enhancing antidepressant St. John's wort inhibits the activation of human immunodeficiency virus gene expression by ultraviolet light

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a potent activator of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gene expression in a HeLa cell clone with stably integrated copies of the HIVcat reporter construct. Recently, we have shown that activation of p38 MAP kinase and NF-kappaB is necessary but not sufficient for triggering efficient HIV gene expression in response to UV. Here we demonstrate that St. John's wort is a potent inhibitor of the UV-induced activation of HIV gene expression in HeLa cells. Stably transfected HIVcat/HeLa cells were preincubated with different amounts (25-100 microl) of St. John's wort or gingko biloba extracts for 30 min, then irradiated with UV (30 J/m2). In contrast to ginkgo biloba, St. John's wort inhibited the UV-induced HIV gene expression in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, preincubation with St. John's wort (10, 20, and 30 microl) for 30 min before UV (30 J/m2) irradiation, PMA- and UV-induced NF-kappaB activation was completely blocked, whereas ginkgo biloba did not affect the PMA- and UV-induced NF-kappaB activation in HeLa cells. UV activation of p38 MAP kinase was not inhibited by St. John's wort or by ginkgo biloba. However, we found that p38 MAP kinase and JNK1 and -2 were activated by St. John's wort, but p44/42 MAP kinase was not activated by St. John's wort in HeLa cells. Hypericin an active ingredient in St. John's wort also inhibited the UV activation of HIV gene expression in HeLa cells. These results firmly confirm that St. John's wort is a potent inhibitor of the UV-induced activation of HIV gene expression in HeLa cells.