The Sula Reef Complex, Norwegian shelf

Summary Cool-water carbonates in the aphotic zone of deep shelf and continental margin settings in the Northeast Atlantic are produced by the deep-water coral reefs withLophelia pertusa as the major framework builder. Through a compilation of side scan sonar, airgun and manned submersible surveys from several cruises to the mid-Norwegian Sula Reef Complex (SRC), the facies pattern and zonation of one of the largest deep-water reefs in the Northeast Atlantic is described in relation to the overall seabed topography. The late glacial to early postglacial iceberg scour on the crest and shoulder of the Sula Ridge provides settling ground for the scleractinian corals already in the early Holocene. Since then coral growth continues until today but was supposed to be disturbed by an environmental hazard, the so-called second Storegga event. The distinct distribution pattern of individualLophelia reefs on the Sula Ridge has stimulated a discussion on intrinsic environmental controls such as the bentho-pelagic coupling and the alternative hydrocarbon-based nutrition hypothesis.     

Synovial tissues concentrate secreted APRIL

Introduction  

A proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) from the TNF family, owing to its role in the generation and survival of plasma cells (PCs), is currently targeted for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment. However, little is known about APRIL expression in RA lesions, hampering our understanding of the way APRIL may modulate this autoimmune disease.     

Morpho‐anatomical and physiological differences between sun and shade leaves in Abies alba Mill. (Pinaceae,Coniferales): a combined approach

Morphology, anatomy and physiology of sun and shade leaves of Abies alba were investigated and major differences were identified, such as sun leaves being larger, containing a hypodermis and palisade parenchyma as well as possessing more stomata, while shade leaves exhibit a distinct leaf dimorphism. The large size of sun leaves and their arrangement crowded on the upper side of a plagiotropic shoot leads to self‐shading which is explainable as protection from high solar radiation and to reduce the transpiration via the lamina. Sun leaves furthermore contain a higher xanthophyll cycle pigment amount and Non‐Photochemical Quenching (NPQ) capacity, a lower amount of chlorophyll b and a total lower chlorophyll amount per leaf, as well as an increased electron transport rate and an increased photosynthesis light saturation intensity. However, sun leaves switch on their NPQ capacity at rather low light intensities, as exemplified by several parameters newly measured for conifers. Our holistic approach extends previous findings about sun and shade leaves in conifers and demonstrates that both leaf types of A. alba show structural and physiological remarkable similarities to their respective counterparts in angiosperms, but also possess unique characteristics allowing them to cope efficiently with their environmental constraints.     

Epidermal transmittance and phenolic composition in leaves of atrazine-tolerant and atrazine-sensitive cultivars of Brassica napus grown under enhanced UV-B radiation

Experiments were conducted on the atrazine-tolerant mutant Stallion and the atrazine-sensitive cv. Paroll of Brassica napus L., which were grown under either visible light or with the addition of UV-B radiation (280–320 nm) for 15 days. The mutant has been shown to be sensitive to high levels of visible light as compared to the atrazine-sensitive cultivar and therefore we wished to determine plant response to UV-B radiation with respect to potential pigment changes, certain anatomical features, radiation penetration and partial photosynthesis. With regard to pigment changes, we were particularly interested in whether the compositional shift in flavonol pigments under enhanced UV-B radiation, previously suggested to favour increased antioxidant activity, is confined to the adaxial epidermis, which generally receives most UV-B radiation or whether the pigment shift is also inducible in the abaxial epidermis.As was to be expected, the penetration of UV-B radiation (310 nm) was lower in the UV-B-exposed plants, which was correlated with an increased amount of UV-screening pigments in the adaxial and abaxial epidermal layers. The main flavonoid glycosides showed the largest shift from kaempferol to quercetin as aglycone moiety in the adaxial epidermal layer. However, in the abaxial epidermal layer the hydroxycinnamic acid (HCA) derivatives and kaempferol glycosides were predominant. Penetration of 430 nm light was higher after UV-B exposure, and probably contributed to the fact that photosynthetic efficiency of photosystem II was unchanged or higher after UV-B exposure. UV-B radiation decreased leaf area in the atrazine-tolerant mutant only. Both cultivars showed an increased leaf thickness after UV-B exposure due to cell elongation mainly of the palisade tissue. This was especially evident in the mutant.     

Local nitric oxide levels reflect the degree of allergic airway inflammation after segmental allergen challenge in asthmatics.

Nitric oxide (NO) levels are increased in the exhaled air of asthmatics. As NO levels correlate with allergic airway inflammation, NO measurement has been suggested for disease monitoring. In patients with asthma, we previously demonstrated that intrabronchial treatment with a natural porcine surfactant enhanced airway inflammation after segmental allergen provocation. We studied whether local levels of NO reflect the degree of allergic airway inflammation following segmental allergen challenge with or without surfactant pretreatment. Segmental NO, as well as nitrite and nitrate in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, was measured before and after segmental challenge with either saline, saline plus allergen, or surfactant plus allergen in 16 patients with asthma and five healthy subjects. The data were compared with inflammatory BAL cells. Segmental NO levels were increased after instillation of saline (p < 0.05), or surfactant plus allergen in asthmatics (p < 0.05), and values were higher after surfactant plus allergen compared to saline challenge. Nitrate BAL levels were not altered after saline challenge but increased after allergen challenge (p < 0.05) and further raised by surfactant (p < 0.05), whereas nitrite levels were not altered by any treatment. Segmental NO and nitrate levels correlated with the degree of eosinophilic airway inflammation, and nitrate levels also correlated with neutrophil and lymphocyte numbers in BAL. In healthy subjects, NO, nitrite, and nitrate were unaffected. Thus, segmental NO and nitrate levels reflect the degree of allergic airway inflammation in patients with asthma. Measurement of both markers can be useful in studies using segmental allergen provocation, to assess local effects of potential immunomodulators.     

Aiming off the target: recycling target capture sequencing reads for investigating repetitive DNA

Background and AimsWith the advance of high-throughput sequencing, reduced-representation methods such as target capture sequencing (TCS) emerged as cost-efficient ways of gathering genomic information, particularly from coding regions. As the off-target reads from such sequencing are expected to be similar to genome skimming (GS), we assessed the quality of repeat characterization in plant genomes using these data.MethodsRepeat composition obtained from TCS datasets of five Rhynchospora (Cyperaceae) species were compared with GS data from the same taxa. In addition, a FISH probe was designed based on the most abundant satellite found in the TCS dataset of Rhynchospora cephalotes. Finally, repeat-based phylogenies of the five Rhynchospora species were constructed based on the GS and TCS datasets and the topologies were compared with a gene-alignment-based phylogenetic tree.Key ResultsAll the major repetitive DNA families were identified in TCS, including repeats that showed abundances as low as 0.01 % in the GS data. Rank correlations between GS and TCS repeat abundances were moderately high (r = 0.58–0.85), increasing after filtering out the targeted loci from the raw TCS reads (r = 0.66–0.92). Repeat data obtained by TCS were also reliable in developing a cytogenetic probe of a new variant of the holocentromeric satellite Tyba. Repeat-based phylogenies from TCS data were congruent with those obtained from GS data and the gene-alignment tree.ConclusionsOur results show that off-target TCS reads can be recycled to identify repeats for cyto- and phylogenomic investigations. Given the growing availability of TCS reads, driven by global phylogenomic projects, our strategy represents a way to recycle genomic data and contribute to a better characterization of plant biodiversity.