Nitrogen fertilizer and landscape position impacts on CO2 and CH4 fluxes from a landscape seeded to switchgrass

This study was conducted to evaluate the impacts of N fertilizer and landscape position on carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) fluxes from a US Northern Great Plains landscape seeded to switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.). The experimental design included three N levels (low, 0 kg N ha⁻¹; medium, 56 kg N ha⁻¹; and high, 112 kg N ha⁻¹) replicated four times. The experiment was repeated at shoulder and footslope positions. Soil CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes were monitored once every 2 weeks from May 2010 to October 2012. The CO₂ fluxes were 40% higher at the footslope than the shoulder landscape position, and CH₄ fluxes were similar in both landscape positions. Soil CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes averaged over the sampling dates were not impacted by N rates. Seasonal variations showed highest CO₂ release and CH₄ uptake in summer and fall, likely due to warmer and moist soil conditions. Higher CH₄ release was observed in winter possibly due to increased anaerobic conditions. However, year to year (2010–2012) variations in soil CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes were more pronounced than the variations due to the impact of landscape positions and N rates. Drought conditions reported in 2012, with higher annual temperature and lower soil moisture than long-term average, resulted in higher summer and fall CO₂ fluxes (between 1.3 and 3 times) than in 2011 and 2010. These conditions also promoted a net CH₄ uptake in 2012 in comparison to 2010 when there was net CH₄ release. Results from this study conclude that landscape positions, air temperature, and soil moisture content strongly influenced soil CO₂ fluxes, whereas soil moisture impacted the direction of CH₄ fluxes (uptake or release). However, a comprehensive life cycle analysis would be appropriate to evaluate environmental impacts associated with switchgrass production under local environmental conditions.     

Anastomosis is required for virulence of the fungal necrotroph Alternaria brassicicola

A fungal mycelium is typically composed of radially extending hyphal filaments interconnected by bridges created through anastomoses. These bridges facilitate the dissemination of nutrients, water, and signaling molecules throughout the colony. In this study, we used targeted gene deletion and nitrate utilization mutants of the cruciferous pathogen Alternaria brassicicola and two closely related species to investigate hyphal fusion (anastomosis) and its role in the ability of fungi to cause disease. All eight of the A. brassicicola isolates tested, as well as A. mimicula and A. japonica, were capable of self-fusion, with two isolates of A. brassicicola being capable of non-self-fusion. Disruption of the anastomosis gene homolog (Aso1) in A. brassicicola resulted in both the loss of self-anastomosis and pathogenicity on cabbage. This finding, combined with our discovery that a previously described nonpathogenic A. brassicicola mutant defective for a mitogen-activated protein kinase gene (amk1) also lacked the capacity for self-anastomosis, suggests that self-anastomosis is associated with pathogenicity in A. brassicicola.     

Interaction of Hsp90 with the nascent form of the mutant epidermal growth factor receptor EGFRvIII

EGFRvIII is a mutant epidermal growth factor that promotes aggressive growth of glioblastomas. We made a plasmid that directed the expression of an EGFRvIII with three copies of the Flag epitope at its amino terminus. Flag-tagged EGFRvIII was expressed at the same levels as unmodified EGFRvIII, and showed the same subcellular localization. However, the Flag epitope could only be detected on EGFRvIII present in the endoplasmic reticulum; the epitope was covalently modified during trafficking of the receptor through the Golgi so that it was no longer recognized by anti-Flag antibody. This property was exploited to selectively purify nascent EGFRvIII from glioblastoma cells. Nascent EGFRvIII was found to copurify with a set of other proteins, identified by mass spectrometry as the two endoplasmic reticulum chaperones Grp94 and BiP, and the two cytosolic chaperones Hsc70 and Hsp90. The Hsp90-associated chaperone Cdc37 also co-purified with EGFRvIII, suggesting that Hsp90 binds EGFRvIII as a complex with this protein. Geldanamycin and radicicol, two chemically unrelated inhibitors of Hsp90, decreased the expression of EGFRvIII in glioblastoma cells. These studies show that nascent EGFRvIII in the endoplasmic reticulum associates with Hsp90 and Cdc37, and that the Hsp90 association is necessary to maintain expression of EGFRvIII.     

Mosquito transgenesis: what is the fitness cost?

The generation of transgenic mosquitoes with a minimal fitness load is a prerequisite for the success of strategies for controlling mosquito-borne diseases using transgenic insects. It is important to assemble as much information as possible on this subject because realistic estimates of transgene fitness costs are essential for modeling and planning release strategies. Transgenic mosquitoes must have minimal fitness costs, because such costs would reduce the effectiveness of the genetic drive mechanisms that are used to introduce the transgenes into field mosquito populations. Several factors affect fitness of transgenic mosquitoes, including the potential negative effect of transgene products and insertional mutagenesis. Studies to assess fitness of transgenic mosquitoes in the field (as opposed to the laboratory) are still needed.     

Synthesis, biological evaluation and mechanistic studies of totarol amino alcohol derivatives as potential antimalarial agents

Herein we report on the semisynthesis and biological evaluation of β-amino alcohol derivatives of the natural product totarol and other simple aromatic systems. All β-amino alcohol derivatives of totarol exhibited higher antiplasmodial activity than totarol [IC(50): 11.69 μM (K1, chloroquine and multi-drug resistant strain), and 11.78 μM (D10, chloroquine sensitive strain)]-12e was the most active [IC(50): 0.63 μM (K1), and 0.61 μM (D10)]. The phenyl and naphthyl β-amino alcohol derivatives were much less active than their corresponding totarol equivalents. The majority of the β-amino alcohol derivatives of totarol were more active against K1 than the D10 strains of Plasmodium falciparum, a trend similar to the inverse relationship observed with the established aryl-amino alcohol antimalarial mefloquine. Selected compounds were shown to affect erythrocyte morphology, inhibit erythrocyte invasion and trigger CQ accumulation.     

Negative density-dependent dispersal emerges from the joint evolution of density- and body condition-dependent dispersal strategies

Empirical studies have documented both positive and negative density-dependent dispersal, yet most theoretical models predict positive density dependence as a mechanism to avoid competition. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the occurrence of negative density-dependent dispersal, but few of these have been formally modeled. Here, we developed an individual-based model of the evolution of density-dependent dispersal. This model is novel in that it considers the effects of density on dispersal directly, and indirectly through effects on individual condition. Body condition is determined mechanistically, by having juveniles compete for resources in their natal patch. We found that the evolved dispersal strategy was a steep, increasing function of both density and condition. Interestingly, although populations evolved a positive density-dependent dispersal strategy, the simulated metapopulations exhibited negative density-dependent dispersal. This occurred because of the negative relationship between density and body condition: high density sites produced low-condition individuals that lacked the resources required for dispersal. Our model, therefore, generates the novel hypothesis that observed negative density-dependent dispersal can occur when high density limits the ability of organisms to disperse. We suggest that future studies consider how phenotype is linked to the environment when investigating the evolution of dispersal.     

WNT5A signaling affects pituitary gland shape

Wnt signaling is important in organogenesis, and aberrant signaling in mature cells is associated with tumorigenesis. Several members of the Wnt family of signaling molecules are expressed in the developing pituitary gland. Wnt5a is expressed in the neuroectoderm that induces pituitary gland development and has been proposed to influence pituitary cell specification. We discovered that mice deficient in Wnt5a display abnormal morphology in the dorsal part of the developing pituitary. The expression of downstream effectors of the canonical Wnt pathway is not altered, and expression of genes in other signaling pathways such as Shh, Fgf8, Fgf10 and Fgfr2b is intact. Prop1 and Hesx1 are also important for normal shape of the pituitary primordium, but their expression is unaltered in the Wnt5a mutants. Specification of the hormone-producing cell types of the mature anterior pituitary gland occurs appropriately. This study suggests that the primary role of Wnt5a in the developing pituitary gland is in establishment of the shape of the gland.     

The effect of bovine diet on Salmonella survival in synthetic abomasal fluid

Aims: To investigate the effect of diet on the survival of Salmonella in the bovine abomasum. Methods and Results: Five fistulated cows were randomly assigned to one of five diets denoted as: (i) 100% grass, (ii) grass + 5·3 kg DM concentrate, (iii) 100% grass silage, (iv) 100% hay and (v) maize/grass silage plus concentrates. Rumen fluid was harvested from each dietary treatment and inoculated with nonacid (NA) and acid‐adapted (AA) 5‐strain Salmonella cocktails. After 24‐h incubation period, Salmonella were acid challenged to synthetic abomasum fluid (SAF, pH 2·5) for 5 h to determine their resistance to low pH. The study found that the volatile fatty acids composition and the pH profile of bovine rumen fluid were significantly altered (P < 0·05) by some of the dietary treatments but not others. Regression analysis found that significantly higher numbers of acid‐adapted Salmonella survived in SAF after incubation in rumen fluid from diets 1, 2 and 4, but fewer significant differences were found between diets for nonacid–adapted Salmonella. The results suggest that the acid‐adapted cells were subjected to a higher level of cell injury than the nonadapted cells. Conclusions: Pre‐incubation in rumen fluid did influence the resistance of nonacid and acid‐adapted Salmonella to SAF but it was dependant on the dietary treatment fed to the cows. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study examined the use of diet, as a modulating factor to limit the bovine excretion of Salmonella with a view to providing a scientific basis for the design of dietary management controls in the future.     

Salicylic acid dependent signaling promotes basal thermotolerance but is not essential for acquired thermotolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Salicylic acid (SA) is reported to protect plants from heat shock (HS), but insufficient is known about its role in thermotolerance or how this relates to SA signaling in pathogen resistance. We tested thermotolerance and expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) and HS proteins (HSPs) in Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes with modified SA signaling: plants with the SA hydroxylase NahG transgene, the nonexpresser of PR proteins (npr1) mutant, and the constitutive expressers of PR proteins (cpr1 and cpr5) mutants. At all growth stages from seeds to 3-week-old plants, we found evidence for SA-dependent signaling in basal thermotolerance (i.e. tolerance of HS without prior heat acclimation). Endogenous SA correlated with basal thermotolerance, with the SA-deficient NahG and SA-accumulating cpr5 genotypes having lowest and highest thermotolerance, respectively. SA promoted thermotolerance during the HS itself and subsequent recovery. Recovery from HS apparently involved an NPR1-dependent pathway but thermotolerance during HS did not. SA reduced electrolyte leakage, indicating that it induced membrane thermoprotection. PR-1 and Hsp17.6 were induced by SA or HS, indicating common factors in pathogen and HS responses. SA-induced Hsp17.6 expression had a different dose-response to PR-1 expression. HS-induced Hsp17.6 protein appeared more slowly in NahG. However, SA only partially induced HSPs. Hsp17.6 induction by HS was more substantial than by SA, and we found no SA effect on Hsp101 expression. All genotypes, including NahG and npr1, were capable of expression of HSPs and acquisition of HS tolerance by prior heat acclimation. Although SA promotes basal thermotolerance, it is not essential for acquired thermotolerance.