Ethnobotany ofSambucus nigra L. in catalonia (Iberian Peninsula): The integral exploitation of a natural resource in mountain regions

Ethnobotany of Sambucus nigraL. in Catalonia (Iberian Peninsula):The Integral Exploitation of a Natural Resource in Mountain Regions. Economic Botany 58(3):456-469, 2004. We present in this paper data about the popular uses of elder (Sambucus nigra) obtained in two ethnobotanical studies carried out in the districts (comarques) of Pallars Jussà and Pallars Sobirà (Pyrenees) and in the Montseny Massif (Catalan Prelittoral Range), complemented with others from different Catalan regions (also investigated by our group) and compared with those from other Iberian and Mediterranean territories. This bush or small tree belonging to the family Caprifoliaceae is one of the plants that have been most reported and used (for medicinal and other purposes) by the informants, not only in the two regions studied but in all Catalonia and in many Mediterranean areas as well. It is one of the most versatile of plants, being used for food, medicine, crafts and games, as well as for ornamental purposes. In addition, almost every part of the plant, including the bark, roots, leaves, flowers, and fruit, has some uses.     

利用组织培养快速繁殖龙胆

东北龙胆(Gentiana manshurica kitagawa)是我省重要的中草药,近年来野生资源已遭到严重破坏,人工栽培发芽率低,繁殖有一定困难,利用组织培养可以快速繁殖龙胆的优良无性系,为生产提供大量的可栽培的幼苗.目前在组织培养中多利用MS培养基,本文对MS培养基加以改进,并探索哪些培养基对转化的龙胆生长发育更为适宜,结果表明,在1/2、1/4MS培养基和无机盐培养基上,龙胆苗的长势、分株及根系生长较MS培养基好,从经济效益上看,1/2无机盐培养基是培养龙胆最适宜的简化培养基,从培养基中糖的种类、浓度来看,2%以的蔗糖浓度繁殖龙胆苗更适宜.同时也表明,发根农杆菌的转化对龙胆的快速繁殖有促进作用.     

Internalization of Sambucus nigra agglutinins I and II in insect midgut CF-203 cells

In this project, the uptake mechanisms and localization of two lectins from Sambucus nigra, further referred to as S. nigra agglutinin (SNA)‐I and SNA‐II, into insect midgut CF‐203 cells were studied. SNA‐I is a chimeric lectin belonging to the class of ribosome‐inactivating proteins, whereas SNA‐II is a hololectin devoid of enzymatic activity. Internalization of the fluorescein isothiocyanate‐labeled lectin was investigated using confocal microscopy. Both lectins were internalized into the cytoplasm of CF‐203 cells at similar rates. Preexposure of the insect midgut cells to specific inhibitors of clathrin‐ and caveolae‐mediated endocytosis resulted in an inhibition of lectin uptake in CF‐203 cells and caspase‐induced cytotoxicity caused by SNA‐I and SNA‐II, confirming the involvement of both endocytosis pathways. Further studies demonstrated that the uptake mechanism(s) for both lectins required phosphoinositide 3‐kinases, but did not depend on the actin cytoskeleton. Since the hololectin SNA‐II apparently uses a similar endocytosis pathway as the chimerolectin SNA‐I, it can be concluded that the endocytosis process mainly relies on the carbohydrate‐binding activity of the lectins under investigation. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Does peptide-nucleic acid (PNA) clamping of host plant DNA benefit ITS1 amplicon-based characterization of the fungal endophyte community?

Fungal endophyte community amplicon sequencing can lose a significant number of informative reads due to host-plant co-amplification. Blocking of plant-specific sequences with peptide nucleic acid (PNA) clamps has been shown to improve metrics of detected microbial diversity in studies targeting 16S and 18S regions of rRNA genes. However, PNA clamping has not been applied to the plant ITS region of rRNA gene – a widely accepted fungal marker. By applying PNA clamping technique to ITS amplicon sequencing of the endophytic fungal community of elderberry this study shows that PNA clamping significantly reduces host-plant co-amplification with the universal ITS1/ITS4 primer set. However, PNA clamping in combination with the discriminatory ITS1F/ITS2 primer set did not improve the metrics of fungal endophyte community ITS amplicon Illumina sequencing. This study shows that PNA clamping does not add practical benefit to taxonomic profiling of plant-associated fungal communities if the primers are already specific enough to exclude amplification of host DNA.     

Temporal and spatial expression of mRNAs encoding pathogenesis-related proteins during ethylene-promoted leaflet abscission in Sambucus nigra*

Differential screening of a cDNA library generated from RNA extracted from ethylene-treated leaflet abscission zones of Sambucus nigra resulted in the isolation of 20 abscission-related clones. These clones could be grouped into seven families. Sequencing of members of these families revealed that the majority encoded pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, and these could be identified by sequence homology as a polyphenol oxidase (PPO), a PR-1 type protein, a Chial type chitinase, a PR-4 type protein similar to the potato win peptides, a PR-6 type proteinase inhibitor, a Chia4 type chitinase and a metallothionein-like protein (Coupe, Taylor & Roberts 1995, Planta 197, 442–447). Northern analysis revealed that these mRNAs were not expressed in freshly excised material but accumulated primarily in the abscission zone tissue after 18 h of exposure to ethylene at a time when abscission of the leaflet explants had reached 70%. Expression of the PPO and the Chia4-type chitinase was ethylene-dependent while that of the PR-4 type was up-regulated in the abscission zone tissue in the absence of the gas. The characterization of these mRNAs and their encoded proteins is presented and their possible roles during abscission are discussed.