Indole-3-carbinol - induced growth inhibition can be converted to a cytotoxic response in the presence of TPA+Ca(2+) in squamous cell carcinoma cell lines

We examined the possibility that I3C, when combined with a differentiation stimulus (TPA+CaCl(2)), would sensitise SCC cells to a differentiation stimulus. We report that I3C induces a profound growth inhibition in SCC cells that is dissimilar to the growth inhibition required to initiate differentiation. Moreover, we report that I3C, when combined with TPA+CaCl(2) treatment, induces a loss of colony forming ability that was differentiation and senescence - independent but was due to delayed cytotoxicity. This study shows that I3C in combination with a PKC activator+Ca(2+) may be a useful therapeutic strategy for treating oral SCC.     

The Evolutionary History of Wild,Domesticated, and Feral Brassica oleracea (Brassicaceae)

Understanding the evolutionary history of crops, including identifying wild relatives, helps to provide insight for conservation and crop breeding efforts. Cultivated Brassica oleracea has intrigued researchers for centuries due to its wide diversity in forms, which include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts. Yet, the evolutionary history of this species remains understudied. With such different vegetables produced from a single species, B. oleracea is a model organism for understanding the power of artificial selection. Persistent challenges in the study of B. oleracea include conflicting hypotheses regarding domestication and the identity of the closest living wild relative. Using newly generated RNA-seq data for a diversity panel of 224 accessions, which represents 14 different B. oleracea crop types and nine potential wild progenitor species, we integrate phylogenetic and population genetic techniques with ecological niche modeling, archaeological, and literary evidence to examine relationships among cultivars and wild relatives to clarify the origin of this horticulturally important species. Our analyses point to the Aegean endemic B. cretica as the closest living relative of cultivated B. oleracea, supporting an origin of cultivation in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Additionally, we identify several feral lineages, suggesting that cultivated plants of this species can revert to a wild-like state with relative ease. By expanding our understanding of the evolutionary history in B. oleracea, these results contribute to a growing body of knowledge on crop domestication that will facilitate continued breeding efforts including adaptation to changing environmental conditions.     

Relative pathogenicity of nuclear polyhedrosis viruses from Heliothis punctigera and Heliothis zea for larvae of Heliothis armigera and Heliothis punctigera

Laboratory bioassays indicated that the potency of a nuclear polyhedrosis virus from Heliothis zea derived from a commercial American formulation was similar to that of a naturally occurring nuclear polyhedrosis virus from H. punctigera in Australia. Both viruses exhibited high virulence for neonate larvae of H. armigera and H. punctigera, the major pest species in this genus in Australia. Hence evaluation of the virus in Australia can proceed employing virus from either H. punctigera or H. zea.     

Lotus tenuis tolerates the interactive effects of salinity and waterlogging by 'excluding' Na+ and Cl- from the xylem

Salinity and waterlogging interact to reduce growth of poorly adapted species by, amongst other processes, increasing the rate of Na(+) and Cl(-) transport to shoots. Xylem concentrations of these ions were measured in sap collected using xylem-feeding spittlebugs (Philaenus spumarius) from Lotus tenuis and Lotus corniculatus in saline (NaCl) and anoxic (stagnant) treatments. In aerated NaCl solution (200 mM), L. corniculatus had 50% higher Cl(-) concentrations in the xylem and shoot compared with L. tenuis, whereas concentrations of Na(+) and K(+) did not differ between the species. In stagnant-plus-NaCl solution, xylem Cl(-) and Na(+) concentrations of L. corniculatus increased to twice those of L. tenuis. These differences in xylem ion concentrations, which were not caused by variation in transpiration between the two species, contributed to lower net accumulation of Na(+) and Cl(-) in shoots of L. tenuis, indicating that ion transport mechanisms in roots of L. tenuis were contributing to better 'exclusion' of Cl(-) and Na(+) from shoots, compared with L. corniculatus. Root porosity was also higher in L. tenuis, due to constitutive aerenchyma, than in L. corniculatus, suggesting that enhanced root aeration contributed to the maintenance of Na(+) and Cl(-) 'exclusion' in L. tenuis exposed to stagnant-plus-NaCl treatment. Lotus tenuis also had greater dry mass than L. corniculatus after 56 d in NaCl or stagnant-plus-NaCl treatment. Thus, Cl(-) 'exclusion' is a key trait contributing to salt tolerance of L. tenuis, and 'exclusion' of both Cl(-) and Na(+) from the xylem enables L. tenuis to tolerate, better than L. corniculatus, the interactive stresses of salinity and waterlogging.     

Susceptibility of Heliothis armiger to a commercial nuclear polyhedrosis virus

The susceptibility of Heliothis armiger larvae of different ages to a commercial nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV), Elcar, was determined by bioassay. The median lethal dosage (LD₅₀) increased 150-fold during the first week of larval life at 25°C, i.e., during development to early fourth instar, but daily feeding rate and thus potential virus acquisition also increased. A linear relationship was determined between log LD₅₀ and larval length, indicating that larval length constitutes a useful index for estimating the susceptibility of larval populations. Median lethal times (LT₅₀s) were similar for larvae tested at ages of 0 to 7 days and ranged from 3.6 to 8.0 days at 30°C. The amount of virus produced in a single, infected neonate was equivalent to 1.4 × 10⁶ LD₅₀s for neonates, a 900,000-fold increase on the dose supplied. The data support the practice of directing the NPV against neonates, but, on the basis of larval susceptibility alone, the age of larvae at treatment may not always be critical.     

A review of sources of resistance to turnip yellows virus (TuYV) in Brassica species

Turnip yellows virus (TuYV; previously known as beet western yellows virus) causes major diseases of Brassica species worldwide resulting in severe yield-losses in arable and vegetable crops. It has also been shown to reduce the quality of vegetables, particularly cabbage where it causes tip burn. Incidences of 100% have been recorded in commercial crops of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and vegetable crops (particularly Brassica oleracea) in Europe. This review summarises the known sources of resistance to TuYV in B. napus (AACC genome), Brassica rapa (AA genome) and B. oleracea (CC genome). It also proposes names for the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for the resistances, Tu rnip Y ellows virus R esistance (TuYR), that have been mapped to at least the chromosome level in the different Brassica species. There is currently only one known source of resistance deployed commercially (TuYR1). This resistance is said to have originated in B. rapa and was introgressed into the A genome of oilseed rape via hybridisation with B. oleracea to produce allotetraploid (AACC) plants that were then backcrossed into oilseed rape. It has been utilised in the majority of known TuYV-resistant oilseed rape varieties. This has placed significant selection pressure for resistance-breaking mutations arising in TuYV. Further QTLs for resistance to TuYV (TuYR2-TuYR9) have been mapped in the genomes of B. napus, B. rapa and B. oleracea and are described here. QTLs from the latter two species have been introgressed into allotetraploid plants, providing for the first time, combined resistance from both the A and the C genomes for deployment in oilseed rape. Introgression of these new resistances into commercial oilseed rape and vegetable brassicas can be accelerated using the molecular markers that have been developed. The deployment of these resistances should lessen selection pressure for resistance-breaking isolates of TuYV and thereby prolong the effectiveness of each other and extant resistance.