Could thioredoxin h be involved in early response to gravitropic stimulation of poplar stems?

The perception of gravity is essential for plant development. Trees constantly develop specialized woody tissues, termed « reaction wood » to correct inclined branch and stem growth in order to adopt an optimal position. Despite the economical impact of reaction wood occurrence and itsimportance from a developmental point of view, the perception and response to the gravitational stimulus have not been extensively studied in woody species in which primary and secondary growth occur. Using complementary approaches (proteomics, qRT-PCR, immunolocalization), we have compared straight polar stems to stems that were inclined at 35° from the vertical axis for periods of time varying from 10 min to 6 hours depending on the experiments. The proteomics approach revealed that thirty six percent of the identified proteins that were differentially expressed after gravistimulation were established as potential Thioredoxin targets. qRT-PCR indicated an early induction of Thioredoxin h expression following gravistimulation. In situ immunolocalization indicated that Thioredoxin h protein co-localized with the amyloplasts located in the endodermalcells which may be specialized in gravity perception. These investigations suggest the involvement of Thioredoxin h in the first events of signal transduction in inclined poplar stems, leading to reaction wood formation

Exploring UK medical school differences: the MedDifs study of selection, teaching, student and F1 perceptions, postgraduate outcomes and fitness to practise.

BACKGROUND: Medical schools differ, particularly in their teaching, but it is unclear whether such differences matter, although influential claims are often made. The Medical School Differences (MedDifs) study brings together a wide range of measures of UK medical schools, including postgraduate performance, fitness to practise issues, specialty choice, preparedness, satisfaction, teaching styles, entry criteria and institutional factors. METHOD: Aggregated data were collected for 50 measures across 29 UK medical schools. Data include institutional history (e.g. rate of production of hospital and GP specialists in the past), curricular influences (e.g. PBL schools, spend per student, staff-student ratio), selection measures (e.g. entry grades), teaching and assessment (e.g. traditional vs PBL, specialty teaching, self-regulated learning), student satisfaction, Foundation selection scores, Foundation satisfaction, postgraduate examination performance and fitness to practise (postgraduate progression, GMC sanctions). Six specialties (General Practice, Psychiatry, Anaesthetics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Internal Medicine, Surgery) were examined in more detail. RESULTS: Medical school differences are stable across time (median alpha = 0.835). The 50 measures were highly correlated, 395 (32.2%) of 1225 correlations being significant with p < 0.05, and 201 (16.4%) reached a Tukey-adjusted criterion of p < 0.0025. Problem-based learning (PBL) schools differ on many measures, including lower performance on postgraduate assessments. While these are in part explained by lower entry grades, a surprising finding is that schools such as PBL schools which reported greater student satisfaction with feedback also showed lower performance at postgraduate examinations. More medical school teaching of psychiatry, surgery and anaesthetics did not result in more specialist trainees. Schools that taught more general practice did have more graduates entering GP training, but those graduates performed less well in MRCGP examinations, the negative correlation resulting from numbers of GP trainees and exam outcomes being affected both by non-traditional teaching and by greater historical production of GPs. Postgraduate exam outcomes were also higher in schools with more self-regulated learning, but lower in larger medical schools. A path model for 29 measures found a complex causal nexus, most measures causing or being caused by other measures. Postgraduate exam performance was influenced by earlier attainment, at entry to Foundation and entry to medical school (the so-called academic backbone), and by self-regulated learning. Foundation measures of satisfaction, including preparedness, had no subsequent influence on outcomes. Fitness to practise issues were more frequent in schools producing more male graduates and more GPs. CONCLUSIONS: Medical schools differ in large numbers of ways that are causally interconnected. Differences between schools in postgraduate examination performance, training problems and GMC sanctions have important implications for the quality of patient care and patient safety

The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey: an analysis of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in 25 UK medical schools relating to timing, duration, teaching formats, teaching content, and problem-based learning.

BACKGROUND: What subjects UK medical schools teach, what ways they teach subjects, and how much they teach those subjects is unclear. Whether teaching differences matter is a separate, important question. This study provides a detailed picture of timetabled undergraduate teaching activity at 25 UK medical schools, particularly in relation to problem-based learning (PBL). METHOD: The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey used detailed timetables provided by 25 schools with standard 5-year courses. Timetabled teaching events were coded in terms of course year, duration, teaching format, and teaching content. Ten schools used PBL. Teaching times from timetables were validated against two other studies that had assessed GP teaching and lecture, seminar, and tutorial times. RESULTS: A total of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in the academic year 2014/2015 were analysed, including SSCs (student-selected components) and elective studies. A typical UK medical student receives 3960 timetabled hours of teaching during their 5-year course. There was a clear difference between the initial 2 years which mostly contained basic medical science content and the later 3 years which mostly consisted of clinical teaching, although some clinical teaching occurs in the first 2 years. Medical schools differed in duration, format, and content of teaching. Two main factors underlay most of the variation between schools, Traditional vs PBL teaching and Structured vs Unstructured teaching. A curriculum map comparing medical schools was constructed using those factors. PBL schools differed on a number of measures, having more PBL teaching time, fewer lectures, more GP teaching, less surgery, less formal teaching of basic science, and more sessions with unspecified content. DISCUSSION: UK medical schools differ in both format and content of teaching. PBL and non-PBL schools clearly differ, albeit with substantial variation within groups, and overlap in the middle. The important question of whether differences in teaching matter in terms of outcomes is analysed in a companion study (MedDifs) which examines how teaching differences relate to university infrastructure, entry requirements, student perceptions, and outcomes in Foundation Programme and postgraduate training

Mécanismes moléculaires de la graviperception chez le peuplier (Populus tremula x Populus alba)

The upright reorientation of poplar after gravistimulation involves a differential growth in zones of primary elongation, and a differentiation of reaction wood in zones of secondary growth. These modifications are detected in the basal and apical regions of inclined poplar stem. The basal region developed tension wood one week after inclination, while the apical region was reoriented 24 hours after inclination. This implies that the tissues of the basal and apical region of the stems respond differently to inclination. An expression study carried out at the transcriptomic level was developed using mRNA extracted from control and inclined stems during 45 min. After 45 min inclination, the straightening had not started. We identified genes involved in the graviperception and genes regulated during tension wood formation. The transcriptomic approach was broadened to the analysis of protein accumulation extracted from control and inclined stems. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis patterns of the same control and stress conditions of the basal and apical region showed different protein accumulation. An analysis by quantitative RT-PCR of selected proteins, potentially regulated by the thioredoxin (Trx), showed different transcript accumulation between basal and apical region with fast and transient changes of expression. A study carried out on 2 thioredoxins (Trx) (western blot, immunolocalisation in situ) showed the expression of Trx h1 a week after inclination and the localization of Trx h1 and Trx h2 in the amyloplasts. These results led to suggest that molecular events leading to stem reorientation are different according to the analyzed tissue. It is probable that each region of the stem receives and responds differently to gravity signal.Le redressement du peuplier suite à une stimulation gravitationnelle implique un processus de courbure locale lié à une élongation différentielle dans les zones en croissance primaire et un processus de courbure lié à la différenciation du bois de réaction dans les zones en croissance secondaire. Ces modifications morphogénétiques sont détectées au niveau de la région basale et apicale de la tige de peuplier inclinée. La région basale a développé le bois de tension une semaine après l'inclinaison, alors que la région apicale est réorientée 24 h après l'inclinaison. Ceci implique que les tissus de la région basale et apicale de la tige répondent de façon différente à l'inclinaison. Une étude d'expression menée au niveau du transcriptome a été réalisée à partir des ARNm extraits de tiges ayant été ou non inclinées pendant 45 min. En 45 min., la plante ne s'est pas redressée, mais a perçu le signal. Cette approche a permis d'identifier des transcrits de gènes impliqués dans la graviperception. L'étude de la régulation du transcriptome a été élargie par une analyse de la variation de l'accumulation des protéines extraites de tiges inclinées ou non. Les profils d'électrophorèse bidimensionnelle des conditions non stressées et stressées de la région basale et apicale ont montré une variation dans l'accumulation des protéines. Une analyse par RT-PCR quantitative de certaines protéines différentielles dont l'activité est potentiellement régulée par la thioredoxine (Trx) montre une accumulation de transcrits variable entre la région apicale et basale et des changements d'expression rapides et transitoires. Une étude complémentaire sur 2 thiorédoxines (Trx) (western blot, immunolocalisation in situ) a permis de montrer d'une part l'expression de Trx h1 une semaine après l'inclinaison et d'autre part la localisation de Trx h1 et Trx h2 au niveau des amyloplastes. L'ensemble de ces résultats a conduit à suggérer que les évènements moléculaires conduisant à la réorientation de la tige sont différents selon le tissu analysé. Probablement, chaque partie de la tige reçoit et répond différemment au signal gravité

Mécanismes moléculaires de la graviperception chez le peuplier (Populus tremula x Populus alba)

Le redressement du peuplier suite à une stimulation gravitationnelle implique un processus de courbure locale lié à une élongation différentielle dans les zones en croissance primaire et un processus de courbure lié à la différenciation du bois de réaction dans les zones en croissance secondaire. Ces modifications morphogénétiques sont détectées au niveau de la région basale et apicale de la tige de peuplier inclinée. La région basale a développé le bois de tension une semaine après l'inclinaison, alors que la région apicale est réorientée 24 h après l'inclinaison. Ceci implique que les tissus de la région basale et apicale de la tige répondent de façon différente à l'inclinaison. Une étude d'expression menée au niveau du transcriptome a été réalisée à partir des ARNm extraits de tiges ayant été ou non inclinées pendant 45 min. En 45 min., la plante ne s'est pas redressée, mais a perçu le signal. Cette approche a permis d'identifier des transcrits de gènes impliqués dans la graviperception. L'étude de la régulation du transcriptome a été élargie par une analyse de la variation de l'accumulation des protéines extraites de tiges inclinées ou non. Les profils d'électrophorèse bidimensionnelle des conditions non stressées et stressées de la région basale et apicale ont montré une variation dans l'accumulation des protéines. Une analyse par RT-PCR quantitative de certaines protéines différentielles dont l'activité est potentiellement régulée par la thioredoxine (Trx) montre une accumulation de transcrits variable entre la région apicale et basale et des changements d'expression rapides et transitoires. Une étude complémentaire sur 2 thiorédoxines (Trx) (western blot, immunolocalisation in situ) a permis de montrer d'une part l'expression de Trx h1 une semaine après l'inclinaison et d'autre part la localisation de Trx h1 et Trx h2 au niveau des amyloplastes. L'ensemble de ces résultats a conduit à suggérer que les évènements moléculaires conduisant à la réorientation de la tige sont différents selon le tissu analysé. Probablement, chaque partie de la tige reçoit et répond différemment au signal gravitéCLERMONT FD-BCIU Sci.et Tech. (630142101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Proteomic analysis of the effect of gravitational stimulation on young stems of poplar

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Effet de l'application d'un stimulus gravitationnel sur les profils protéiques de jeunes pousses de Peuplier

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Characterization and expression analysis under bending and other abiotic factors of PtaZFP2, a poplar gene encoding a Cys2/His2 zinc finger protein

In plants, mechanoperception and transduction of mechanical signals have been studied essentially in Arabidopsis thaliana L. and Lycopersicon esculentum L. plants, i.e., in nonwoody plants. Here, we have described the isolation of both the full-length cDNA and the regulatory region of PtaZFP2, encoding a member of Cys2/His2 zinc finger protein (ZFP) family in Populus tremula L.x Populus alba L. Time course analysis of expression demonstrated that PtaZFP2 mRNA accumulated as early as 5 min in response to a controlled stem bending and is restricted to the organ where the mechanical stimulus is applied. The real-time quantitative Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction experiments showed that PtaZFP2 was also rapidly up-regulated in poplar stems in response to gravitropism suggesting that PtaZFP2 is induced by different mechanical signals. Abundance of PtaZFP2 transcripts also increased highly in response to wounding and to a weaker extent to salt treatment and cold, which is consistent with the numerous putative cis-elements found in its regulatory region. As in other species, these data suggest that Cys2/His2 ZFPs could function in poplar as key transcriptional regulators in the acclimation response to different environmental factors

Proteome analysis of poplar stem under gravitational stimulation

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