318 research outputs found
Silencing of the Violaxanthin De-Epoxidase Gene in the Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Reduces Diatoxanthin Synthesis and Non-Photochemical Quenching
Diatoms are a major group of primary producers ubiquitous in all aquatic ecosystems. To protect themselves from photooxidative damage in a fluctuating light climate potentially punctuated with regular excess light exposures, diatoms have developed several photoprotective mechanisms. The xanthophyll cycle (XC) dependent non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching (NPQ) is one of the most important photoprotective processes that rapidly regulate photosynthesis in diatoms. NPQ depends on the conversion of diadinoxanthin (DD) into diatoxanthin (DT) by the violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE), also called DD de-epoxidase (DDE). To study the role of DDE in controlling NPQ, we generated transformants of P. tricornutum in which the gene (Vde/Dde) encoding for DDE was silenced. RNA interference was induced by genetic transformation of the cells with plasmids containing either short (198 bp) or long (523 bp) antisense (AS) fragments or, alternatively, with a plasmid mediating the expression of a self-complementary hairpin-like construct (inverted repeat, IR). The silencing approaches generated diatom transformants with a phenotype clearly distinguishable from wildtype (WT) cells, i.e. a lower degree as well as slower kinetics of both DD de-epoxidation and NPQ induction. Real-time PCR based quantification of Dde transcripts revealed differences in transcript levels between AS transformants and WT cells but also between AS and IR transformants, suggesting the possible presence of two different gene silencing mediating mechanisms. This was confirmed by the differential effect of the light intensity on the respective silencing efficiency of both types of transformants. The characterization of the transformants strengthened some of the specific features of the XC and NPQ and confirmed the most recent mechanistic model of the DT/NPQ relationship in diatoms
Response of the Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum to Photooxidative Stress Resulting from High Light Exposure
The response of microalgae to photooxidative stress resulting from high light exposure is a well-studied phenomenon. However, direct analyses of photosystem II (PSII) D1 protein (the main target of photoinhibition) in diatoms are scarce. In this study, the response of the diatom model species Phaeodactylum tricornutum to short-term exposure to high light was examined and the levels of D1 protein determined immunochemically. Low light (LL) acclimated cells (40 µmol photons m−2 s−1) subjected to high light (HL, 1,250 µmol photons m−2 s−1) showed rapid induction of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) and ca. 20-fold increase in diatoxanthin (DT) concentration. This resulted from the conversion of diadinoxanthin (DD) to DT through the activation of the DD-cycle. D1 protein levels under LL decreased about 30% after 1 h of the addition of lincomycin (LINC), a chloroplast protein synthesis inhibitor, showing significant D1 degradation and repair under low irradiance. Exposure to HL lead to a 3.2-fold increase in D1 degradation rate, whereas average D1 repair rate was 1.3-x higher under HL than LL, leading to decreased levels of D1 protein under HL. There were significant effects of both HL and LINC on P. tricornutum maximum quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm), showing a reduction of active PSII reaction centres. Partial recovery of Fv/Fm in the dark demonstrates the photosynthetic resilience of this diatom to changes in the light regime. P. tricornutum showed high allocation of total protein to D1 and an active D1-repair cycle to limit photoinhibition
Dynamical effects in multifragmentation at intermediate energies
The fragmentation of the quasi-projectile is studied with the INDRA
multidetector for different colliding systems and incident energies in the
Fermi energy range. Different experimental observations show that a large part
of the fragmentation is not compatible with the statistical fragmentation of a
fully equilibrated nucleus. The study of internal correlations is a powerful
tool, especially to evidence entrance channel effects. These effects have to be
included in the theoretical descriptions of nuclear multifragmentation.Comment: 13 pages, 26 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Pion radii in nonlocal chiral quark model
The electromagnetic radius of the charged pion and the transition radius of
the neutral pion are calculated in the framework of the nonlocal chiral quark
model. It is shown in this model that the contributions of vector mesons to the
pion radii are noticeably suppressed in comparison with a similar contribution
in the local Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. The form-factor for the process
gamma*pi+pi- is calculated for the -1 GeV^2<q^2<1.6 GeV^2. Our results are in
satisfactory agreement with experimental data.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Multiplicity correlations of intermediate-mass fragments with pions and fast protons in 12C + 197Au
Low-energy pi+ (E < 35 MeV) from 12C+197Au collisions at incident energies
from 300 to 1800 MeV per nucleon were detected with the Si-Si(Li)-CsI(Tl)
calibration telescopes of the INDRA multidetector. The inclusive angular
distributions are approximately isotropic, consistent with multiple
rescattering in the target spectator. The multiplicity correlations of the
low-energy pions and of energetic protons (E > 150 MeV) with intermediate-mass
fragments were determined from the measured coincidence data. The deduced
correlation functions 1 + R \approx 1.3 for inclusive event samples reflect the
strong correlations evident from the common impact-parameter dependence of the
considered multiplicities. For narrow impact-parameter bins (based on
charged-particle multiplicity), the correlation functions are close to unity
and do not indicate strong additional correlations. Only for pions at high
particle multiplicities (central collisions) a weak anticorrelation is
observed, probably due to a limited competition between these emissions.
Overall, the results are consistent with the equilibrium assumption made in
statistical multifragmentation scenarios. Predictions obtained with
intranuclear cascade models coupled to the Statistical Multifragmentation Model
are in good agreement with the experimental data.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, subm. to EPJ
Statistical Multifragmentation of Non-Spherical Expanding Sources in Central Heavy-Ion Collisions
We study the anisotropy effects measured with INDRA at GSI in central
collisions of Xe+Sn at 50 A.MeV and Au+Au at 60, 80, 100 A.MeV incident energy.
The microcanonical multifragmentation model with non-spherical sources is used
to simulate an incomplete shape relaxation of the multifragmenting system. This
model is employed to interpret observed anisotropic distributions in the
fragment size and mean kinetic energy. The data can be well reproduced if an
expanding prolate source aligned along the beam direction is assumed. An either
non-Hubblean or non-isotropic radial expansion is required to describe the
fragment kinetic energies and their anisotropy. The qualitative similarity of
the results for the studied reactions suggests that the concept of a
longitudinally elongated freeze-out configuration is generally applicable for
central collisions of heavy systems. The deformation decreases slightly with
increasing beam energy.Comment: 35 pages, 19 figures, submitted to Nuclear Physics
Fragmentation in Peripheral Heavy-Ion Collisions: from Neck Emission to Spectator Decays
Invariant cross sections of intermediate mass fragments in peripheral
collisions of Au on Au at incident energies between 40 and 150 AMeV have been
measured with the 4-pi multi-detector INDRA. The maximum of the fragment
production is located near mid-rapidity at the lower energies and moves
gradually towards the projectile and target rapidities as the energy is
increased. Schematic calculations within an extended Goldhaber model suggest
that the observed cross-section distributions and their evolution with energy
are predominantly the result of the clustering requirement for the emerging
fragments and of their Coulomb repulsion from the projectile and target
residues. The quantitative comparison with transverse energy spectra and
fragment charge distributions emphasizes the role of hard scattered nucleons in
the fragmentation process.Comment: 5 pages, 5 eps figures, RevTeX4, submitted to Phys. Lett.
Impact of chlororespiration on non-photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence and on the regulation of the diadinoxanthin cycle in the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana
In diatoms, metabolic activity during long dark periods leads to a chlororespiratory electron flow, which is accompanied by the build-up of a proton gradient strong enough to activate the diadinoxanthin (Ddx) de-epoxidation reaction of the Ddx cycle. In the present study, the impact of chlororespiration on non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of chlorophyll fluorescence and the regulation of the Ddx cycle in the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana was investigated by manipulation of the redox state of the photosynthetic electron transport chain during darkness. The response of a transfer of T. pseudonana cells from growth light conditions to 60 min darkness was found to depend on oxygen: in its presence there was no significant reduction of the PQ pool and no de-epoxidation of Ddx to diatoxanthin (Dtx). Under anaerobic conditions a high reduction state of the electron transport chain and a slow but steady de-epoxidation of Ddx was observed, which resulted in a significant accumulation of Dtx after 60 min of anaerobiosis. Unexpectedly, this high concentration of Dtx did not induce a correspondingly high NPQ as it would have been observed with Dtx formed under high light conditions. However, the sensitivity of NPQ to Dtx in cells kept under dark anaerobic conditions increased during reoxygenation and far-red (FR) light illumination. The results are discussed with respect to the activation of the de-epoxidation reaction and the formation of NPQ and their dependence on the extent of the proton gradient across the thylakoid membrane
Multifragmentation process for different mass asymmetry in the entrance channel around the Fermi energy
The influence of the entrance channel asymmetry upon the fragmentation
process is addressed by studying heavy-ion induced reactions around the Fermi
energy. The data have been recorded with the INDRA 4pi array. An event
selection method called the Principal Component Analysis is presented and
discussed. It is applied for the selection of central events and furthermore to
multifragmentation of single source events. The selected subsets of data are
compared to the Statistical Multifragmentation Model (SMM) to check the
equilibrium hypothesis and get the source characteristics. Experimental
comparisons show the evidence of a decoupling between thermal and compresional
(radial flow) degrees of freedom in such nuclear systems.Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures, article sumitted to Nuclear Physics
Response of CsI(Tl) scintillators over a large range in energy and atomic number of ions (Part I): recombination and delta -- electrons
A simple formalism describing the light response of CsI(Tl) to heavy ions,
which quantifies the luminescence and the quenching in terms of the competition
between radiative transitions following the carrier trapping at the Tl
activator sites and the electron-hole recombination, is proposed. The effect of
the delta rays on the scintillation efficiency is for the first time
quantitatively included in a fully consistent way. The light output expression
depends on four parameters determined by a procedure of global fit to
experimental data.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Nucl. Inst. Meth.
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