Concanavalin A Improves the Polyethylene Glycol Method for Fusing Plant Protoplasts

An improved method for polyethylene glycol-induced fusion of protoplasts isolated from auxotrophic mutants of Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Gatersleben was developed. By using Petri dishes coated with concanavalin A the attachment of protoplasts induced by polyethylene glycol was strengthened. As a consequence of the stronger attachment more fusion products remained after the dilution and washing procedure. It was also found that a shorter treatment combined with a more rapid dilution of the polyethylene glycol solution was superior to previous fusion methods used for plant protoplasts.     

The Effect of Activated Charcoal on Tissue Cultures: Adsorption of Metabolites Inhibiting Morphogenesis

Cell suspensions of Daucus carota and Haplopappus gracilis and callus suspensions of Allum cepa var. proliferum were grown in media with and without activated charcoal. Differentiation occurred in those Daucus and Allium cultures that contained charcoal. It was shown by mass spectrometry that the media without charcoal contained high amounts of phenylacetic acid and p-OH-benzoic acid (Daucus), 2,6-OH-benzoic acid (Allium) and benzoic acid, pelargonic acid and caprylic acid (Haplopappus), whereas the media with activated charcoal did not. It was also shown that p-OH-benzoic acid had inhibitory effects on the embryogenesis in Daucus cultures.     

Effects of Activated Charcoal on Growth and Morphogenesis in Cell Cultures

The effects of activated charcoal on growth and morphogenesis in plate cultures of different plant cells have been studied. It was shown that medium containing charcoal induced embryogenesis in cultures of Daucus carota in which embryo formation could not be brought about by omitting auxin from the medium. Charcoal-medium also induced abundant root formation in older cultures of Allium cepa, which normally did not produce roots. The growth of cultures of Glycine max and Haplopappus gracilis was totally inhibited by charcoal. It is thought that activated charcoal removes substances from the medium, one of which might be auxin.     

Predation on bellerophontiform molluscs in the Palaeozoic

Shell repair assumed to result from failed predation is documented in 66 specimens of Ordovician-Carboniferous bellerophontiform tergomyan and gastropod molluscs to examine the relationship between the distribution and appearance of injuries, shell morphology and the internal anatomy of the molluscs, as well as the attack strategies of the presumed predators. Furthermore, the distribution of repaired injuries from failed attacks along the apertural margin as a reflection of the nature of the margin and emarginations is investigated. Bellerophontiform molluscs are ideal for this study because of their distinctive isostrophic morphology and the possibility to directly compare broad and narrow conchs with either deep or shallow medial emarginations. The results show that taxa with a deep medial emargination in the form of a slit have significantly more medial injuries than lateral ones. Near-equal frequencies of lateral and medial injuries in specimens with a shallow emargination (slit or sinus) suggest random distribution. Shell form (narrow or broad) does not exert overall control on the distribution of injuries except, perhaps, in some broad explanate shells with an insignificant medial emargination. While this suggests that it is the type of medial emargination that governs distribution of injuries in these forms, it is not clear if this is a result of passive selection due to structural geometry or preferential targeting by predators (i.e. site-specific mode of attack). Predation strategies on bellerophontiform molluscs thus seem to be dependent on the morphological features of the shells rather than their interpretation as tergomyan or gastropod.     

Functional differences in epiphytic microbial communities in nutrient-rich freshwater ecosystems: an assay of denitrifying capacity

1. The denitrifying capacity of epiphyton was used to evaluate differences in the function of epiphytic microbial communities on submersed macrophytes in nutrient-rich freshwater ecosystems. The denitrifying capacity of epiphyton on Potamogeton perfoliatus shoots of different age and with different epiphytic abundances from a eutrophic lake was investigated in laboratory microcosms in the light and dark. Additionally, differences between epiphyton on shoots of Potamogeton pectinatus grown under different in situ nutrient and hydraulic conditions were investigated by examining their denitrifying capacity.
2. Denitrification was registered in well-developed epiphytic layers on both mature and senescent shoots in the dark, with activities 3- to 10-fold higher in the epiphytic communities of senescent shoots. No activity was detected on young shoots with sparse epiphyton or on shoots from which loosely attached epiphyton had been removed. Denitrification never occurred during illumination.
3. Even though the epiphytic abundance was similar in magnitude, the denitrifying capacity of epiphyton adapted to high nutrient loadings was about a hundred times higher than that of epiphyton adapted to lower nutrient levels. Additionally, epiphytic abundance and denitrifying capacity were higher at sites less exposed to wave turbulence or water currents, than at sites with more water turbulence.
4. The results illustrate how the hydraulic and nutrient conditions of the surrounding water affect both the quantity and function of epiphytic microbial communities in nutrient-rich freshwater ecosystems.     

Global assessment of coral bleaching and required rates of adaptation under climate change

Elevated ocean temperatures can cause coral bleaching, the loss of colour from reef‐building corals because of a breakdown of the symbiosis with the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium. Recent studies have warned that global climate change could increase the frequency of coral bleaching and threaten the long‐term viability of coral reefs. These assertions are based on projecting the coarse output from atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (GCMs) to the local conditions around representative coral reefs. Here, we conduct the first comprehensive global assessment of coral bleaching under climate change by adapting the NOAA Coral Reef Watch bleaching prediction method to the output of a low‐ and high‐climate sensitivity GCM. First, we develop and test algorithms for predicting mass coral bleaching with GCM‐resolution sea surface temperatures for thousands of coral reefs, using a global coral reef map and 1985–2002 bleaching prediction data. We then use the algorithms to determine the frequency of coral bleaching and required thermal adaptation by corals and their endosymbionts under two different emissions scenarios. The results indicate that bleaching could become an annual or biannual event for the vast majority of the world's coral reefs in the next 30–50 years without an increase in thermal tolerance of 0.2–1.0°C per decade. The geographic variability in required thermal adaptation found in each model and emissions scenario suggests that coral reefs in some regions, like Micronesia and western Polynesia, may be particularly vulnerable to climate change. Advances in modelling and monitoring will refine the forecast for individual reefs, but this assessment concludes that the global prognosis is unlikely to change without an accelerated effort to stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.