North American black-fruited hawthorns. I. Variation in floral construction,breeding system correlates,and their possible evolutionary significance inCrataegus sect.Douglasii London

Differences in the numbers of stamens and styles per flower are conspicuous features of variation in North American hawthorns (Crataegus L.). Variation in stamen number between individuals is discontinuous, with modes of approximately 20 and 10 (or fewer). In North American black-fruited sectionDouglasii Loudon the 10-stamen morphotype is exclusively polyploid, whereas the 20-stamen morphotype comprises both diploids and polyploids. Polyploidy is associated with apospory, self-fertility, and varying degrees of pollen sterility. Variation in stamen number may also be correlated with variation in distribution, phenology, leaf shape, and other features of floral morphology, leading to recognition of taxa at the specific or infraspecific level. Comparable variation in stamen number is virtually unknown in Eurasian hawthorns, as in the majority of flowering plants. In sectionDouglasii stamen number morphotypes have been recognized as either varieties or species; although correlations between stamen number and other features are not as straightforward as was previously surmised, the higher rank appears to be appropriate. These data on breeding system and morphological variation may be explainable in terms of hypotheses linking gametophytic apomixis, polyploidization, and optimal strategies for pollen dispersal.     

Genetic diversity and biogeography of native and introduced populations of Ulva pertusa (Ulvales,Chlorophyta)

Genetic diversity of native and introduced populations of Ulva pertusa (Ulvales, Chlorophyta) was examined using genetic markers of chloroplast, mitochondria and nuclear non‐coding region sequences. In the preliminary investigations to genetically identify the species for further analyses, U. pertusa was found only from temperate coasts of the more extensive collection sites including tropical coasts suggesting that it is a temperate species and basically not distributed in tropical regions. For chloroplast and mitochondrial sequences, repeating patterns of short tandem repeat sequences and nucleotide substitutions were used to recognize the haplotypes (genetic types). A total of 48 haplotypes based on combinations of chloroplast and mitochondrial haplotypes were recognized in the 244 specimens collected in the presumptive native range (Northeast Asia) and introduced populations (North America, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Europe). Among them, 46 haplotypes (H1–H8 and H11–H48) were recognized in Northeast Asia, whereas only 1–5 haplotypes were recognized in the other areas. Nuclear microsatellite sequences were also analyzed. The lengths of the PCR products including the nuclear microsatellite region of 234 specimens were determined, and a total of 17 genotypes were recognized. Among them, 14 genotypes were found in Northeast Asia, whereas 1–7 genotypes were recognized in the other areas. Based on the results, the hypothesis that the native range of the species is in Northeast Asia was supported, and the populations outside this range were concluded to be non‐indigenous populations.     

Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus eludes selective autophagy by activating a host cell kinase

Autophagy, a catabolic pathway of lysosomal degradation, acts not only as an efficient recycle and survival mechanism during cellular stress, but also as an anti-infective machinery. The human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was originally considered solely as an extracellular bacterium, but is now recognized additionally to invade host cells, which might be crucial for persistence. However, the intracellular fate of S. aureus is incompletely understood. Here, we show for the first time induction of selective autophagy by S. aureus infection, its escape from autophagosomes and proliferation in the cytoplasm using live cell imaging. After invasion, S. aureus becomes ubiquitinated and recognized by receptor proteins such as SQSTM1/p62 leading to phagophore recruitment. Yet, S. aureus evades phagophores and prevents further degradation by a MAPK14/p38α MAP kinase-mediated blockade of autophagy. Our study demonstrates a novel bacterial strategy to block autophagy and secure survival inside the host cell.     

Wurzelkörper von Apfelbäumen unter dem Einfluß eines jeweils vorherrschenden Faktors

Zusammenfassung Die über viele Jahre hinweg am gleichen Standort durchgeführten Ausgrabungen ermöglichten die vorliegende Zusammenstellung von Wurzelkörpern, die den Einfluß eines jeweils vorherrschenden Faktors auf die Entwicklung erkennen lassen.Dabei zeigte sich, daß die während der ersten Lebensjahre durch Wurzelumstimmung herbeigeführte Änderung der Rangordnung einer allgemein gültigen Gesetzmäßigkeit folgt, die sich durch keinen anderen Faktor verdrängen läßt. Abgesehen von dieser unter allen Umständen eintretenden vernachlässigung der Primärwurzeln zugunsten der oberen jüngeren Wurzeln, wurde die Form des Wurzelgerüstes vor allem durch Erbanlage und Boden geprägt. Aber auch die Standweite hatte formenden Einfluß infolge der Abneigung der Wurzelkörper, sich gegenseitig zu berühren. Kronenbau und Sorte zeigten überwiegend Einfluß auf die Faserwurzelbildung. Zu morphologischen Sonderbildungen führten Vermehrungsart und Nachbau.Die vorliegenden Beobachtungen erlauben einen ungewöhnlichen Einblick in das Verhalten der Wurzelkörper von Apfelbäumen auf engbegrenztem Raum. Obwohl unter normalen Verhältnissen die Einwirkungen komplexer Natur sind und deshalb die Erfassung der Wirkung vorherrschender Faktoren in erster Linie der Grundlagenforschung dient, darf man annehmen, daß solche rein morphologischen Beobachtungen auch zu zielbewußten, der Praxis direkt dienenden, physiologischen Untersuchungen anregen. Das gilt besonders für das Problem der Abneigung bei engen Standweiten und für die Förderung der Faserwurzelbildung. Von diesen Einzelheiten abgesehen, führen die Beobachtungsergebnisse zu ersten Ansätzen einer Systematik der Obstaumwurzeln.Mit 10 Abbildungen     

Swimming Behavior of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Studied by Holographic 3D Tracking

Holographic 3D tracking was applied to record and analyze the swimming behavior of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The obtained trajectories allow to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the free swimming behavior of the bacterium. This can be classified into five distinct swimming patterns. In addition to the previously reported smooth and oscillatory swimming motions, three additional patterns are distinguished. We show that Pseudomonas aeruginosa performs helical movements which were so far only described for larger microorganisms. Occurrence of the swimming patterns was determined and transitions between the patterns were analyzed.     

Adipose stem cell-derived extracellular matrix represents a promising biomaterial by inducing spontaneous formation of prevascular-like structures by mvECs

Tissue constructs of physiologically relevant scale require a vascular system to maintain cell viability. However, in vitro vascularization of engineered tissues is still a major challenge. Successful approaches are based on a feeder layer (FL) to support vascularization. Here, we investigated whether the supporting effect on the self-assembled formation of prevascular-like structures by microvascular endothelial cells (mvECs) originates from the FL itself or from its extracellular matrix (ECM). Therefore, we compared the influence of ECM, either derived from adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) or adipogenically differentiated ASCs, with the classical cell-based FL. All cell-derived ECM (cdECM) substrates enabled mvEC growth with high viability. Prevascular-like structures were visualized by immunofluorescence staining of endothelial surface protein CD31 and could be observed on all cdECM and FL substrates but not on control substrate collagen I. On adipogenically differentiated ECM, longer and higher branched structures could be found compared with stem cell cdECM. An increased concentration of proangiogenic factors was found in cdECM substrates and FL approaches compared with controls. Finally, the expression of proteins associated with tube formation (E-selectin and thrombomodulin) was confirmed. These results highlight cdECM as promising biomaterial for adipose tissue engineering by inducing the spontaneous formation of prevascular-like structures by mvECs.     

Radiosensitization by Kinase Inhibition Revealed by Phosphoproteomic Analysis of Pancreatic Cancer Cells

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Highlights

• •Proteomes and phosphoproteomes of radiosensitive and radioresistant PDAC cell lines.
• •Common activation of DDR is proven by ATM activity on known and novel substrates.
• •Resistant cells bear raised NQO1 expression, actin dynamics including FAK activity.
• •Inhibitors of CHEK Rabusertib and FAK Defactinib radiosensitize PDAC cells.

     

Über Blattmodifikationen bei Apfelgehölzen

Theoretical and Applied Genetics -