Overexpression of GlyI and GlyII genes in transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) plants confers salt tolerance by decreasing oxidative stress

The glyoxalase system plays an important role in various physiological processes in plants, including salt stress tolerance. We report the effects of overexpressing glyoxalase I and glyoxalase II genes in transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) cv. Ailsa Craig. Stable expression of both transgenes was detected in the transformed tomato plants under salt stress. The transgenic lines overexpressing GlyI and GlyII under a high NaCl concentration (800 mM) showed reduced lipid peroxidation and the production of H₂O₂ in leaf tissues. A greater decrease in the chlorophyll a+b content in wild-type (WT) compared with transgenic lines was also observed. These results suggest that the over expression of two genes, GlyI and GlyII, may enhance salt stress tolerance by decreasing oxidative stress in transformed tomato plants. This work will help our understanding of the putative role of the glyoxalase system in the tolerance to abiotic stress in tomato plants.     

HMGB1 Mediates Cognitive Impairment in Sepsis Survivors

Severe sepsis, a syndrome that complicates infection and injury, affects 750,000 annually in the United States. The acute mortality rate is approximately 30%, but, strikingly, sepsis survivors have a significant disability burden: up to 25% of survivors are cognitively and physically impaired. To investigate the mechanisms underlying persistent cognitive impairment in sepsis survivors, here we developed a murine model of severe sepsis survivors following cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) to study cognitive impairments. We observed that serum levels of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a critical mediator of acute sepsis pathophysiology, are increased in sepsis survivors. Significantly, these levels remain elevated for at least 4 wks after CLP. Sepsis survivors develop significant, persistent impairments in learning and memory, and anatomic changes in the hippocampus associated with a loss of synaptic plasticity. Administration of neutralizing anti-HMGB1 antibody to survivors, beginning 1 wk after onset of peritonitis, significantly improved memory impairments and brain pathology. Administration of recombinant HMGB1 to na?ve mice recapitulated the memory impairments. Together, these findings indicate that elevated HMGB1 levels mediate cognitive decline in sepsis survivors, and suggest that it may be possible to prevent or reverse cognitive impairments in sepsis survivors by administration of anti-HMGB1 antibodies.     

Genome-wide analysis of the SET DOMAIN GROUP family in grapevine

The SET DOMAIN GROUP (SDG) proteins represent an evolutionarily-conserved family of epigenetic regulators present in eukaryotes and are putative candidates for the catalysis of lysine methylation in histones. Plant genomes analyses of this family have been performed in arabidopsis, maize, and rice and functional studies have shown that SDG genes are involved in the control of plant development. In this work, we describe the identification and structural characterization of SDG genes in the Vitis vinifera genome. This analysis revealed the presence of 33 putative SDG genes that can be grouped into different classes, as it has been previously described for plants. In addition to the SET domain, the proteins identified possessed other domains in the different classes. As part of our study regarding the growth and development of grapevine, we selected eight genes and their expression levels were analyzed in representative vegetative and reproductive organs of this species. The selected genes showed different patterns of expression during inflorescence and fruit development, suggesting that they participate in these processes. Furthermore, we showed that the expression of selected SDGs changes during viral infection, using as a model Grapevine Leafroll Associated Virus 3-infected symptomatic grapevine leaves and fruits. Our results suggest that developmental changes caused by this virus could be the result of alterations in SDG expression.     

Pharmacologic inhibitors of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERKs) and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) decrease glutathione content and sensitize human promonocytic leukemia cells to arsenic trioxide-induced apoptosis

Treatment with 1-4 microM As(2)O(3) slightly induced apoptosis in U-937 human promonocitic leukemia cells. This effect was potentiated by co-treatment with MEK/ERK (PD98059, U0126) and JNK (SP600125, AS601245) inhibitors, but not with p38 (SB203580, SB220025) inhibitors. However, no potentiation was obtained using lonidamine, doxorubicin, or cisplatin instead of As(2)O(3). Apoptosis potentiation by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors involved both the intrinsic and extrinsic executionary pathways, as demonstrated by Bax activation and cytochrome c release from mitochondria, and by caspase-8 activation and Bid cleavage, respectively; and the activation of both pathways was prevented by Bcl-2 over-expression. Treatment with MEK/ERK and JNK inhibitors, but not with p38 inhibitors, caused intracellular glutathione (GSH) depletion, which was differentially regulated. Thus, while it was prevented by N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) in the case of U0126, it behaved as a NAC-insensitive process, regulated at the level of DL-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO)-sensitive enzyme activity, in the case of SP600125. The MEK/ERK inhibitor also potentiated apoptosis and decreased GSH content in As(2)O(3)-treated NB4 human acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells, but none of these effects were produced by the JNK inhibitor. MEK/ERK and JNK inhibitors did not apparently affect As(2)O(3) transport activity, as measured by intracellular arsenic accumulation. SP600126 greatly induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, while BSO and U0126 had little or null effects. These results, which indicate that glutathione is a target of MAP kinases in myeloid leukemia cells, might be exploited to improve the antitumor properties of As(2)O(3), and provide a rationale for the use of kinase inhibitors as therapeutic agents.     

Calcineurin B of the human protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is involved in cell invasion

During Trypanosoma cruzi cell invasion, signal transduction pathways are triggered in parasite and host cells, leading to a rise in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration. We posed the question whether calcineurin (CaN), in particular the functional regulatory subunit CaNB, a Ca(2+)-binding EF-hand protein, was expressed in T. cruzi and whether it played a role in cell invasion. Here we report the cloning and characterization of CL strain CaNB gene, as well as the participation of CaNB in cell invasion. Treatment of metacyclic trypomastigotes (MT) or tissue-culture trypomastigotes (TCT) with the CaN inhibitors cyclosporin or cypermethrin strongly inhibited (62-64%) their entry into HeLa cells. In assays using anti-phospho-serine/threonine antibodies, a few proteins of MT were found to be dephosphorylated in a manner inhibitable by cyclosporin upon exposure to HeLa cell extract. The phosphatase activity of CaN was detected by a biochemical approach in both MT and TCT. Treatment of parasites with antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotides directed to TcCaNB-CL, which reduced the expression of TcCaNB and affected TcCaN activity, resulted in approximately 50% inhibition of HeLa cell entry by MT or TCT. Given that TcCaNB-CL may play a key role in cell invasion and differs considerably in its primary structure from the human CaNB, it might be considered as a potential chemotherapeutic target.     

A BOD monitoring disposable reactor with alginate-entrapped bacteria

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen that is required for the biochemical oxidation of the organic compounds in 5 days. New biosensor-based methods have been conducted for a faster determination of BOD. In this study, a mathematical model to evaluate the feasibility of using a BOD sensor, based on disposable alginate-entrapped bacteria, for monitoring BOD in situ was applied. The model considers the influences of alginate bead size and bacterial concentration. The disposable biosensor can be adapted according to specific requirements depending on the organic load contained in the wastewater. Using Klein and Washausen parameter in a Lineweaver–Burk plot, the glucose diffusivity was calculated in 6.4 × 10⁻¹⁰ (m²/s) for beads of 1 mm in diameter and slight diffusion restrictions were observed (n = 0.85). Experimental results showed a correlation (p < 0.05) between the respirometric peak and the standard BOD test. The biosensor response was representative of BOD.     

Haplotype reconstruction in connected tetraploid F1 populations

In diploid species, many multiparental populations have been developed to increase genetic diversity and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping resolution. In these populations, haplotype reconstruction has been used as a standard practice to increase the power of QTL detection in comparison with the marker-based association analysis. However, such software tools for polyploid species are few and limited to a single biparental F1 population. In this study, a statistical framework for haplotype reconstruction has been developed and implemented in the software PolyOrigin for connected tetraploid F1 populations with shared parents, regardless of the number of parents or mating design. Given a genetic or physical map of markers, PolyOrigin first phases parental genotypes, then refines the input marker map, and finally reconstructs offspring haplotypes. PolyOrigin can utilize single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data coming from arrays or from sequence-based genotyping; in the latter case, bi-allelic read counts can be used (and are preferred) as input data to minimize the influence of genotype calling errors at low depth. With extensive simulation we show that PolyOrigin is robust to the errors in the input genotypic data and marker map. It works well for various population designs with ≥30 offspring per parent and for sequences with read depth as low as 10x. PolyOrigin was further evaluated using an autotetraploid potato dataset with a 3 × 3 half-diallel mating design. In conclusion, PolyOrigin opens up exciting new possibilities for haplotype analysis in tetraploid breeding populations.     

Same species,different population dynamics: Spatio-temporal differences of Undaria pinnatifida (Ochrophyta,Phaeophyceae) in the intertidal of North Patagonia,Argentina

Population dynamics can be influenced by physical and biological factors, particularly in stressful environments. Introduced species usually have great physiological plasticity, resulting in populations with different traits. Undaria pinnatifida, a macroalga originally described from northeast Asia, was introduced in Northern Patagonia, Argentina (San Matías Gulf) around 2010. To describe the spatio-temporal variability in population structure and morphometry of U. pinnatifida, we conducted monthly field samplings for 2 years at the intertidal area of two contrasting sites in the San Matías Gulf. Individuals of U. pinnatifida were classified by developmental stage, and their morpho-gravimetric variables were measured. In both intertidal sites juveniles were found in higher proportion during austral autumn and grew and matured during the autumn-winter months (from May onwards), and individuals senesced during early austral summer (December and January). Conversely, density and biomass were largely different between sites, and individuals showed slight morphological variability between sites. Environmental (e.g., nutrient concentration, available substrate) and biological factors (e.g., facilitation, competition) may explain the observed differences. Since there is not a macroalga with U. pinnatifida morphometrical characteristics in the intertidal environments of San Matías Gulf, studying this recent introduction gives us a better understanding of its potential ecological effects.