Does calcium ameliorate the negative effect of NaCl on melon root water transport by regulating aquaporin activity?

The hydraulic conductance ( L ₀) of detached, exuding root systems from melon ( Cucumis melo cv. Amarillo oro) was measured. All plants received a half-strength Hoagland nutrient solution, and plants stressed either solely with NaCl (50 mM) or with NaCl (50 mM) following treatment (2 d) with CaCl₂ (10 mM) were compared with controls and CaCl₂-treated (10 mM) plants. The L ₀ of NaCl-treated plants was markedly decreased when compared to control and CaCl₂-treated plants, but the decrease was smaller when NaCl was added to plants previously treated with CaCl₂. A similar effect was observed when the flux of Ca²⁺ into the xylem and the Ca²⁺ concentration in the plasma membrane of the root cells were determined. In control, CaCl₂- and NaCl + CaCl₂-treated plants, HgCl₂ treatment (50 μM) caused a sharp decline in L ₀ to values similar to those of NaCl-stressed roots, but L ₀ was restored by treatment with 5 mM DTT. However, in NaCl roots only a slight effect of Hg²⁺ and DTT were observed. The effect of all treatments on L ₀ was similar to that on osmotic water permeability ( P _f) of individual protoplasts isolated from roots. The results suggest that NaCl decreased the passage of water through the membrane and roots by reducing the activity of Hg-sensitive water channels. The ameliorative effect of Ca²⁺ on NaCl stress could be related to water-channel function.     

Enhancement of root hydraulic conductivity by methyl jasmonate and the role of calcium and abscisic acid in this process

The role of jasmonic acid in the induction of stomatal closure is well known. However, its role in regulating root hydraulic conductivity (L) has not yet been explored. The objectives of the present research were to evaluate how JA regulates L and how calcium and abscisic acid (ABA) could be involved in such regulation. We found that exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) increased L of Phaseolus vulgaris, Solanum lycopersicum and Arabidopsis thaliana roots. Tomato plants defective in JA biosynthesis had lower values of L than wild‐type plants, and that L was restored by addition of MeJA. The increase of L by MeJA was accompanied by an increase of the phosphorylation state of the aquaporin PIP2. We observed that MeJA addition increased the concentration of cytosolic calcium and that calcium channel blockers inhibited the rise of L caused by MeJA. Treatment with fluoridone, an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis, partially inhibited the increase of L caused by MeJA, and tomato plants defective in ABA biosynthesis increased their L after application of MeJA. It is concluded that JA enhances L and that this enhancement is linked to calcium and ABA dependent and independent signalling pathways.     

EFFECT OF OVIDUCAL PROTEINASE UPON BUFO ARENARUM VITELLINE ENVELOPE. A FLUORESCENCE APPROACH

The intrinsic fluorescence of vitelline envelope from amphibian eggs was enhanced after having been treated with pars recta secretion fluid. At the same time the total number of binding sites for 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) was increased, with the affinity constant remaining unchanged. These observations are interpreted in terms of a structural change of the vitelline envelope submitted to pars recta fluid effect.     

Methane (CH4) release from littoral wetlands of Boreal lakes during an extended flooding period

Lake littoral zones have a transitional nature and dynamic conditions, which are reflected in their CH₄ emissions. Thus, detailed studies are needed to assess the littoral CH₄ emissions in a regional scale. In this study, CH₄ fluxes were followed during the ice‐free seasons in 1998 and 1999 by using the static chamber method in the littoral zone of two lakes in Finland. An exceptionally high water level in 1998 caused an unusually long inundation in otherwise ephemerally flooded zone. The flooding was normal in year 1999. The factors controlling CH₄ emissions were examined and statistical response functions were constructed. Further, the effect of extended flooding on the littoral CH₄ budged was estimated. The methane flux was primarily regulated by the water level in grass and sedge dominated eulittoral zone, but not in infralittoral reed and water lily stands. Methane emissions in the sedge dominated zone decreased significantly, when the flood was high enough to submerge the venting structures of the plants. Besides water level, sediment temperature determined CH₄ emission. The cumulative CH₄ emissions from the whole littoral wetlands in wet year were 1.1 times (L. Kevätön), or 0.61 and 0.79 times (L. Mekrijärvi) those in dry year. The crucial factor was the discrepancy between the exceptional and the average water level. The extension of inundated area does not necessarily increase CH₄ emissions if the flood reaches infrequently inundated areas, which apparently have low CH₄ production potential. This is the case especially, if the emissions in lower zones simultaneously decrease due to high water level. Our study analyses these complex responses between CH₄ emissions and water level.