Etioplast-chloroplast transformation in maize leaves: Effects of tissue age and light intensity

Summary The effects of light intensity and cell age on the greening of etioplasts were studied in seedlings of maize.We could see that in the youngest tissues examined by us the etioplast greening is very fast and occurs according to a particular pattern which is characterized by the contemporary presence of grana and large non crystalline prolamellar bodies. On the contrary, in the oldest examined tissues the etioplast greening is slow and the formation of grana appears to be delayed and subsequent to the using up of the prolamellar bodies.In the young tissues the intensity of the light mainly affects the duration of the lag-phase preceding the chlorophyll accumulation, while in the old tissues it also affects the total amount of chlorophyllous pigments, the restraining effect of the light appearing amplified by a concomitant restraining effect of cell age.Supported by a grant of C.N.R.     

Heat sensitivity of mycelium and haustoria in bean leaves infected with bean rust

Bean leaves experimentally inoculated with bean rust were subjected to heat treatment at 50° for 20 s, at different times after inoculation, and the modifications induced by heating in the pathogen and host cells were studied by electron microscopy, at different times after the treatment. This induced no alterations either in healthy or infected leaf cells. On the contrary, it caused severe ultrastructural alterations in the pathogen. These alterations were already visible in the haustoria and hyphae at the end of the treatment, became progressively more severe with time, and led to the death of the pathogen two days after the treatment. From this time onwards the haustoria appeared shrunken, extremely electron-dense, and encased in a mass of granular material, seemingly secreted by the host cell. No encasement was ever found around haustoria apparently dead by senescence in untreated leaves.     

Intrathylakoidal crystal appearance during the vital cycle of spinach chloroplasts

Summary The entire vital cycle of chloroplasts was followed in spinach leaves, in order to determine the plastidial situations leading to the build-up of intrathylakoidal crystals. This kind of inclusion was noticed in the juvenile ontogenetic stages as well as in the senescent chloroplast stage, while intrathylakoidal crystals were not present in the mature organelles. The appearance of such crystals, which are known to consist of ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylase, is interpreted as a consequence of an imbalance between enzyme level and membrane function.Supported by a C.N.R. grant.     

Multiple colonization and dispersal events hide the early origin and induce a lack of genetic structure of the moss Bryum argenteum in Antarctica

The dispersal routes of taxa with transoceanic disjunctions remain poorly understood, with the potential roles of Antarctica not yet demonstrated. Mosses are suitable organisms to test direct intra‐Antarctic dispersal, as major component of the extant Antarctic flora, with the cosmopolitan moss Bryum argenteum as ideal target species. We analyzed the genetic structure of B. argenteum to provide an evolutionary time frame for its radiation and shed light into its historical biogeography in the Antarctic region. We tested two alternative scenarios: (a) intra‐Antarctic panmixia and (b) intra‐Antarctic genetic differentiation. Furthermore, we tested for evidence of the existence of specific intra‐Antarctic dispersal routes. Sixty‐seven new samples (40 collected in Antarctica) were sequenced for ITS nrDNA and rps4 cpDNA regions, and phylogenetic trees of B. argenteum were constructed, with a focus on its Southern Hemisphere. Combining our new nrDNA dataset with previously published datasets, we estimated time‐calibrated phylogenies based on two different substitution rates (derived from angiosperms and bryophytes) along with ancestral area estimations. Minimum spanning network and pairwise genetic distances were also calculated. B. argenteum was potentially distributed across Africa and Antarctica soon after its origin. Its earliest intra‐Antarctic dispersal and diversification occurred during a warming period in the Pliocene. On the same timescale, a radiation took place involving a dispersal event from Antarctica to the sub‐Antarctic islands. A more recent event of dispersal and diversification within Antarctica occurred during a warm period in the Pleistocene, creating favorable conditions also for its colonization outside the Antarctic continent worldwide. We provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that contemporary populations of B. argenteum in Antarctica integrate a history of both multiple long‐range dispersal events and local persistence combined with in situ diversification. Our data support the hypothesis that B. argenteum has been characterized by strong connectivity within Antarctica, suggesting the existence of intra‐Antarctic dispersal routes.     

Orthogonal joint sparse NMF for microarray data analysis

Journal of Mathematical Biology - The 3D microarrays, generally known as gene-sample-time microarrays, couple the information on different time points collected by 2D microarrays that measure gene...     

Inactivation of neuronal forebrain A2A receptors protects dopaminergic neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease

Adenosine A_2A receptors antagonists produce neuroprotective effects in animal models of Parkinson’s disease (PD). As neuroinflammation is involved in PD pathogenesis, both neuronal and glial A_2A receptors might participate to neuroprotection. We employed complementary pharmacologic and genetic approaches to A_2A receptor inactivation, in a multiple MPTP mouse model of PD, to investigate the cellular basis of neuroprotection by A_2A antagonism. MPTP·HCl (20 mg/kg daily for 4 days) was administered in mice treated with the A_2A antagonist SCH58261, or in conditional knockout mice lacking A_2A receptors on forebrain neurons (fbnA_2AKO mice). MPTP‐induced partial loss of dopamine neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and striatum (Str), associated with increased astroglial and microglial immunoreactivity in these areas. Astroglia was similarly activated 1, 3, and 7 days after MPTP administration, whereas maximal microglial reactivity was detected on day 1, returning to baseline 7 days after MPTP administration. SCH58261 attenuated dopamine cell loss and gliosis in SNc and Str. Selective depletion of A_2A receptors in fbnA_2AKO mice completely prevented MPTP‐induced dopamine neuron degeneration and gliosis in SNc, and partially counteracted gliosis in Str. Results provide evidence of a primary role played by neuronal A_2A receptors in neuroprotective effects of A_2A antagonists in a multiple MPTP injections model of PD. With the symptomatic antiparkinsonian potential of several A_2A receptor antagonists being pursued in clinical trials, this study adds to the rationale for broader clinical benefit and use of these drugs early in the treatment of PD.     

Risk assessment does not explain high prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus in a large group of Sardinian women

Background  

A very high prevalence (22.3%) of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was recently reported following our study on a large group of Sardinian women. In order to explain such a high prevalence we sought to characterise our obstetric population through the analysis of risk factors and their association with the development of GDM.     

Correction of the defective extracellular matrix of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome skin fibroblasts by dexamethasone.

Skin fibroblasts derived from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) patients lack an organized extracellular matrix (ECM) of fibronectin (FN) and often show an accumulation of cytoplasmic FN. The treatment of EDS cells of different types (I to VIII) with 10-⁷ M dexamethasone (dex), as well as cocultivation with control fibroblasts, induced in most cases the assembly of a FN-like ECM. The study of FN mRNA expression by dot-blot hybridization and of FN released into the culture media of EDS cells showed that the correction of the defective FN-ECM of EDS cells by dex treatment is associated in most cases with an increase of FN mRNA synthesis and of secreted FN.