Specialized 16SrX phytoplasmas induce diverse morphological and physiological changes in their respective fruit crops

The host-pathogen combinations—Malus domestica (apple)/`Candidatus Phytoplasma mali´, Prunus persica (peach)/`Ca. P. prunorum´ and Pyrus communis (pear)/`Ca. P. pyri´ show different courses of diseases although the phytoplasma strains belong to the same 16SrX group. While infected apple trees can survive for decades, peach and pear trees die within weeks to few years. To this date, neither morphological nor physiological differences caused by phytoplasmas have been studied in these host plants. In this study, phytoplasma-induced morphological changes of the vascular system as well as physiological changes of the phloem sap and leaf phytohormones were analysed and compared with non-infected plants. Unlike peach and pear, infected apple trees showed substantial reductions in leaf and vascular area, affecting phloem mass flow. In contrast, in infected pear mass flow and physicochemical characteristics of phloem sap increased. Additionally, an increased callose deposition was detected in pear and peach leaves but not in apple trees in response to phytoplasma infection. The phytohormone levels in pear were not affected by an infection, while in apple and peach trees concentrations of defence- and stress-related phytohormones were increased. Compared with peach and pear trees, data from apple suggest that the long-lasting morphological adaptations in the vascular system, which likely cause reduced sap flow, triggers the ability of apple trees to survive phytoplasma infection. Some phytohormone-mediated defences might support the tolerance.     

Cr(VI) Imposed Toxicity in Maize Seedlings Assessed in Terms of Disruption in Carbohydrate Metabolism

The present study examined the toxic effects of Cr(VI; 100, 250 and 500 μM) in maize seedlings by investigating the changes in carbohydrate metabolism after 48, 96, and 144 h of exposure. Cr-stress results in severe alterations in the contents of carbohydrates and reducing sugars and the activities of carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes, amylases, phosphatases and phosphorylases, and invertases in maize seedlings. Under Cr stress, the contents of carbohydrates and reducing sugars declined in roots, whereas an increase was noticed in leaves. The catalytic activity of carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes, except invertases, in roots declined in the presence of Cr(VI) in a concentration- and exposure time-dependent manner. In contrast, the activities of these enzymes were enhanced in leaves under Cr(VI) stress. The activity of invertases increased with increasing amount of Cr(VI) but declined with an increase in the time interval. In conclusion, our results show that carbohydrate metabolism is severely affected under Cr(VI) toxicity. The study suggests that Cr-induced perturbations in the carbohydrate metabolism are one of the factors resulting in growth inhibition under Cr(VI) stress.     

Effect of ruthenium red upon Ca2+ and Mn2+ uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Comparison with the effect of La3+

The initial rate of both Ca2+ and Mn2+ uptake is inhibited by ruthenium red to about the same extent as by equivalent concentrations of La3+. The inhibition of Ca2+ uptake, however, is relieved during further incubation with ruthenium red. On preincubating the cells with ruthenium red even a stimulation of divalent cation uptake can be found. Relieve of the inhibition of divalent cation uptake is accompanied by K+ efflux. Both ruthenium red and La3+ displace Ca2+ very effectively from binding sites at the cell surface. The inhibition of initial Ca2+ uptake is accompanied by a reduction in the binding of Ca2+.     

The Chronic Effects of Whey Proteins on Blood Pressure,Vascular Function,and Inflammatory Markers in Overweight Individuals

Limited evidence suggests that dairy whey protein may be the major dairy component that is responsible for health benefits currently associated with increased dairy consumption. Whey proteins may reduce blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health. This study evaluated the effects of whey protein supplementation on blood pressure, vascular function and inflammatory markers compared to casein and glucose (control) supplementation in overweight/obese individuals. The subjects were randomized to either whey protein, casein or glucose supplementation for 12 weeks according to a parallel design. In all, 70 men and women with a mean (±s.e.m.) BMI (kg/m²) of 31.3 ± 0.8 completed the study. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased significantly at week 6 compared to baseline in the whey and casein groups, (P = 0.028 and P = 0.020, respectively) and at week 12 (P = 0.020, and P = 0.017, respectively). Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) decreased significantly compared to baseline in the whey and casein groups (P = 0.038 and P = 0.042, respectively) at week 12. DBP decreased significantly in the whey and casein groups (P = 0.025, P = 0.038, respectively) at week 12 compared to the control group. Augmentation index (AI) was significantly lower from baseline at 12 weeks (P = 0.021) in the whey group. AI decreased significantly in the whey group at 12 weeks compared to control (P = 0.006) and casein (P = 0.006). There were no significant changes in inflammatory markers within or between groups. This study demonstrated that supplementation with whey protein improves blood pressure and vascular function in overweight and obese individuals.     

Immunochemical identification of mung bean actin like protein and its cellular involvement during germination

Actin like protein, extracted and purified fromVigna radiata (mung bean) seedling, has been found to give positive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with mouse monoclonal antiactin antibody. In vivo studies show that cytochalasin B at sublethal dose inhibits the chromosomal movement at metaphase stage during germination. Fromin vitro studies it is found that the actin like protein isolated from mung bean seedling has a cytochalasin B binding property with a Kd value 1.2 × 10⁻⁵ M. From these two specific observations it appears probable that the biological function of mung bean actin like protein is to take part in cell division process directly or indirectly during the time of seedling development.     

Distinct Contributions of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal and Orbitofrontal Cortex during Emotion Regulation

The lateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices have both been implicated in emotion regulation, but their distinct roles in regulation of negative emotion remain poorly understood. To address this issue we enrolled 58 participants in an fMRI study in which participants were instructed to reappraise both negative and neutral stimuli. This design allowed us to separately study activations reflecting cognitive processes associated with reappraisal in general and activations specifically related to reappraisal of negative emotion. Our results confirmed that both the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) contribute to emotion regulation through reappraisal. However, activity in the DLPFC was related to reappraisal independently of whether negative or neutral stimuli were reappraised, whereas the lateral OFC was uniquely related to reappraisal of negative stimuli. We suggest that relative to the lateral OFC, the DLPFC serves a more general role in emotion regulation, perhaps by reflecting the cognitive demand that is inherent to the regulation task.     

Phylogenetic analysis of 1.5 Mbp and platypus EST data refute the Marsupionta hypothesis and unequivocally support Monotremata as sister group to Marsupialia/Placentalia

The extant mammalian groups Monotremata, Marsupialia and Placentalia are, according to the 'Theria' hypothesis, traditionally classified into two subclasses. The subclass Prototheria includes the monotremes and subclass Theria marsupials and placental mammals. Based on some morphological and molecular data, an alternative proposition, the Marsupionta hypothesis, favours a sister group relationship between monotremes and marsupials to the exclusion of placental mammals. Phylogenetic analyses of single genes and even multiple gene alignments have not yet been able to conclusively resolve this basal mammalian divergence. We have examined this problem using one data set composed of expressed sequence tags (EST) and another containing 1 510 509 nucleotide (nt) sites from 1358 inferred cDNA genomic sequences. All analyses of the concatenated sequences unambiguously supported the Theria hypothesis. The Marsupionta hypothesis was rejected with high statistical confidence from both data sets. In spite of the strong support for Theria, a non-negligible number of single genes supported either of the two alternative hypotheses. The divergence between monotremes and therian mammals was estimated to have taken place 168–178 Mya, a dating compatible with the fossil record. Considering the long common evolutionary branch of therians, it is surprising that sequence data from many thousand amino acid sites were needed to conclusively resolve their relationship to monotremes. This finding draws attention to other mammalian divergences that have been taken as unequivocally settled based on much smaller alignments. EST data provide a comprehensive random sample of protein coding sequences and an economic way to produce large amounts of data for phylogenetic analysis of species for which genomic sequences are not yet available.