Lysigenous aerenchyma formation in Arabidopsis is controlled by LESION SIMULATING DISEASE1

Aerenchyma tissues form gas-conducting tubes that provide roots with oxygen under hypoxic conditions. Although aerenchyma have received considerable attention in Zea mays, the signaling events and genes controlling aerenchyma induction remain elusive. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana hypocotyls form lysigenous aerenchyma in response to hypoxia and that this process involves H(2)O(2) and ethylene signaling. By studying Arabidopsis mutants that are deregulated for excess light acclimation, cell death, and defense responses, we find that the formation of lysigenous aerenchyma depends on the plant defense regulators LESION SIMULATING DISEASE1 (LSD1), ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPIBILITY1 (EDS1), and PHYTOALEXIN DEFICIENT4 (PAD4) that operate upstream of ethylene and reactive oxygen species production. The obtained results indicate that programmed cell death of lysigenous aerenchyma in hypocotyls occurs in a similar but independent manner from the foliar programmed cell death. Thus, the induction of aerenchyma is subject to a genetic and tissue-specific program. The data lead us to conclude that the balanced activities of LSD1, EDS1, and PAD4 regulate lysigenous aerenchyma formation in response to hypoxia.     

Unravelling cell wall formation in the woody dicot stem

Populus is presented as a model system for the study of wood formation (xylogenesis). The formation of wood (secondary xylem) is an ordered developmental process involving cell division, cell expansion, secondary wall deposition, lignification and programmed cell death. Because wood is formed in a variable environment and subject to developmental control, xylem cells are produced that differ in size, shape, cell wall structure, texture and composition. Hormones mediate some of the variability observed and control the process of xylogenesis. High-resolution analysis of auxin distribution across cambial region tissues, combined with the analysis of transgenic plants with modified auxin distribution, suggests that auxin provides positional information for the exit of cells from the meristem and probably also for the duration of cell expansion. Poplar sequencing projects have provided access to genes involved in cell wall formation. Genes involved in the biosynthesis of the carbohydrate skeleton of the cell wall are briefly reviewed. Most progress has been made in characterizing pectin methyl esterases that modify pectins in the cambial region. Specific expression patterns have also been found for expansins, xyloglucan endotransglycosylases and cellulose synthases, pointing to their role in wood cell wall formation and modification. Finally, by studying transgenic plants modified in various steps of the monolignol biosynthetic pathway and by localizing the expression of various enzymes, new insight into the lignin biosynthesis in planta has been gained.     

Floristic variation and willow carr development within a southwest England wetland

Abstract. Woodland colonization on wetlands is considered to have a detrimental effect on their ecological value, even though detailed analysis of this process is lacking. This paper provides an evaluation of the ecological changes resulting from succession of poor fen (base‐poor mire) to willow wet woodland on Goss Moor NNR in Cornwall, UK. Different ages of willow carr were associated with eight understorey communities. During willow colonization, in the ground flora, there was a progressive decrease in poor fen species and an associated increase in woodland species, which appeared to be related to an increase in canopy cover and therefore shade. The most diverse community was found to be the most recent willow and was dominated by poor fen species. The oldest willow was the second most diverse and was associated with a reduction in poor fen species and an increase in woodland species. Architectural features were used successfully to assess the general condition and structure of willow. Tree height and DBH were identified as useful parameters to accurately assess willow age in the field. The implications of active intervention to remove willow in order to conserve the full range of communities within the hydrosere are discussed.     

Protocol of a prospective study on the diagnostic value of transcranial duplex scanning of the substantia nigra in patients with parkinsonian symptoms

Background  

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. As there is no definitive diagnostic test, its diagnosis is based on clinical criteria. Recently transcranial duplex scanning (TCD) of the substantia nigra in the brainstem has been proposed as an instrument to diagnose PD. We and others have found that TCD scanning of substantia nigra duplex is a relatively accurate diagnostic instrument in patients with parkinsonian symptoms. However, all studies on TCD so far have involved well-defined, later-stage PD patients, which will obviously lead to an overestimate of the diagnostic accuracy of TCD.     

The small subunit ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (<Emphasis Type="Italic">ApS</Emphasis>) promoter mediates okadaic acid-sensitive<Emphasis Type="Italic"> uidA</Emphasis> expression in starch-synthesizing tissues and cells in<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Arabidopsis</Emphasis>

Transgenic plants of Arabidopsis thaliana Heynh., transformed with a bacterial beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene under the control of the promoter of the small subunit (ApS) of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), exhibited GUS staining in leaves (including stomata), stems, roots and flowers. Cross-sections of stems revealed GUS staining in protoxylem parenchyma, primary phloem and cortex. In young roots, the staining was found in the root tips, including the root cap, and in vascular tissue, while the older root-hypocotyl axis showed prominent staining in the secondary phloem and paratracheary parenchyma of secondary xylem. The GUS staining co-localized with ApS protein, as found by tissue printing using antibodies against ApS. Starch was found only in cell and tissue types exhibiting GUS staining and ApS labelling, but not in all of them. For example, starch was lacking in the xylem parenchyma and secondary phloem of the root-hypocotyl axis. Sucrose potently activated ApS gene expression in leaves of wild-type (wt) plants, and in transgenic seedlings grown on sucrose medium where GUS activity was quantified with 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-glucuronide as substrate. Okadaic acid, an inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A, completely blocked expression of ApS in mature leaves of wt plants and prevented GUS staining in root tips and flowers of the transgenic plants, suggesting a similar signal transduction mechanism for ApS expression in various tissues. The data support the key role of AGPase in starch synthesis, but they also underlie the ubiquitous importance of the ApS gene for AGPase function in all organs/tissues of Arabidopsis.     

Lucky rugose corals on crinoid stems: unusual examples of subepidermal epizoans from the Devonian of Morocco

Berkowski, B & Klug, C. 2011: Lucky rugose corals on crinoid stems: unusual examples of subepidermal epizoans from the Devonian of Morocco. Lethaia, Vol. 45, pp. 24–33. In the fossil record, evidence for true epizoans, i.e. living animals inhabiting other living host‐animals, is rather rare. A host reaction is usually needed to proof the syn vivo‐settling of the epizoan. Herein, we provide a first report of such an epizoan biocoenosis from various strata of the Early Devonian of Hamar Laghdad, the world‐renowned Moroccan mud‐mound locality. In this case, solitary rugose corals settled as larvae on crinoid stems, perhaps at a spot where the epidermis was missing for some reason (injury, disease). Both the crinoid and the coral began to grow around each other. By doing so, the affected crinoid columnals formed a swelling, where ultimately only an opening slightly larger than the coral orifice remained. We discuss both macroecological and small‐scale synecological aspects of this biocoenosis. The coral profited from its elevated home because it reached into more rapid currents providing the polyp with more food than at the densely populated seafloor, which was probably covered by a coral‐meadow around the mounds and hydrothermal vents. □Corals, crinoids, Early Devonian, epizoans, Morocco, Rugosa.