Genetically engineered orange petunias on the market

Main conclusion Unauthorized genetically engineered orange petunias were found on the market. Genetic engineering of petunia was shown to lead to novel flower color some 20 years ago. Here we show that petunia lines with orange flowers, generated for scientific purposes, apparently found their way to petunia breeding programmes, intentionally or unintentionally. Today they are widely available, but have not been registered for commerce

Functional characterization and expression of GASCL1 and GASCL2, two anther-specific chalcone synthase like enzymes from Gerbera hybrida

The chalcone synthase superfamily consists of type III polyketidesynthases (PKSs), enzymes responsible for producing plant secondary metabolites with various biological and pharmacological activities. Anther-specific chalcone synthase-like enzymes (ASCLs) represent an ancient group of type III PKSs involved in the biosynthesis of sporopollenin, the main component of the exine layer of moss spores and mature pollen grains of seed plants. In the latter, ASCL proteins are localized in the tapetal cells of the anther where they participate in sporopollenin biosynthesis and exine formation within the locule. It is thought that the enzymes responsible for sporopollenin biosynthesis are highly conserved, and thus far, each angiosperm species with a genome sequenced has possessed two ASCL genes, which in Arabidopsis thaliana are PKSA and PKSB. The Gerbera hybrida (gerbera) PKS protein family consists of three chalcone synthases (GCHS1, GCHS3 and GCHS4) and three 2-pyrone synthases (G2PS1, G2PS2 and G2PS3). In previous studies we have demonstrated the functions of chalcone synthases in flavonoid biosynthesis, and the involvement of 2-pyrone synthases in the biosynthesis of antimicrobial compounds found in gerbera. In this study we expanded the gerbera PKS-family by functionally characterizing two gerbera ASCL proteins. In vitro enzymatic studies using purified recombinant proteins showed that both GASCL1 and GASCL2 were able to use medium and long-chain acyl-CoA starters and perform two to three condensation reactions of malonyl-CoA to produce tri- and tetraketide 2-pyrones, usually referred to as alpha-pyrones in sporopollenin literature. Both GASCL1 and GASCL2 genes were expressed only floral organs, with most expression observed in anthers. In the anthers, transcripts of both genes showed strict tapetum-specific localization. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Modulation transfer functions of A.C. servomechanism components

Imperial Users onl

Playing, Mapping, and Power: A Critical Analysis of Using Minecraft in Spatial Design

peer reviewedInvestigating the potential of video games as an aid to community mapping and participatory architectural design, the author discusses the use of the sandbox game Minecraft by the Block by Block Foundation in collaboration with Mojang Studios, Microsoft, and UN-Habitat for three projects—Model Street (Dandora Phase 2, in Nairobi, Kenya), Mind the Step (Jardim Nakamura, in São Paulo, Brazil) and Former Marketplace (in Pristina, Kosovo). The author offers different perspectives or “lens” from which to view the projects, including as an architect (which he calls a spatial lens) and as a community member (which he dubs a player lens). Favoring agency over participant choices, he claims, the institutional forces at work can prevent true access to space making by either the foundation or the game, each of which suffers from accessibility problems for both players and the communities. He argues for a need to look more closely into the politics of the Block by Block Foundation and Minecraft and seeks to make readers explicitly aware of the systemic mechanisms of exclusion

Viewing oxidative stress through the lens of oxidative signalling rather than damage

Concepts of the roles of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants and animals have shifted in recent years from focusing on oxidative damage effects to the current view of ROS as universal signalling metabolites. Rather than having two opposing activities, i.e. damage and signalling, the emerging concept is that all types of oxidative modification/damage are involved in signalling, not least in the induction of repair processes. Examining the multifaceted roles of ROS as crucial cellular signals, we highlight as an example the loss of PSII function called photoinhibition, where photo-protection has classically been conflated with oxidative damage

Comparative study on the using of PEG and PAM as curing agents for self-curing concrete

There are many factors, which may affect on concrete quality. One of those is concrete curing. Self-curing concrete is the solution. It may produce by using chemical curing agents. The concept of those agents is to reduce the water evaporation from concrete. This research aims to study the effect of chemical curing agents on the behavior of self-curing concrete. Two different chemical curing agents were used to study the main mechanical properties of concrete. The main variables are; the type of curing agent (Polyethylene glycol "PEG400"–Poly Acrylamide "PAM") and its dosages. The results obtained in terms of compressive, tensile and flexure strength values. Test results showed that the self-curing concrete cured by each agent performed better in hardened properties compared to none cured concrete. Also, curing using the both agents together perform better than using each one individually

Topology Independent Fast Reroute using Segment Routing

This document presents Topology Independent Loop-free Alternate Fast Re-route (TI-LFA), aimed at providing link and node protection of node and adjacency segments within the Segment Routing (SR) framework. This Fast Re-route (FRR) behavior builds on proven IP-FRR concepts being LFAs, remote LFAs (RLFA), and remote LFAs with directed forwarding (DLFA). It extends these concepts to provide guaranteed coverage in any IGP network. We accommodate the FRR discovery and selection approaches in order to establish protection over post-convergence paths from the point of local repair, dramatically reducing the operational need to control the tie-breaks among various FRR options.pu

Novel thiophene derivatives with sulfonamide, isoxazole, benzothiazole, quinoline and anthracene moieties as potential anticancer agents

A novel series of thiophenes having biologically active sulfonamide (2-11), 3-methylisoxazole (12), 4-methoxybenzo[d]thiazole (13), quinoline (14, 15), benzoylphenylamino (16) and anthracene-9,10-dione (17) moieties were prepared. Structures of the newly synthesized compounds were established by elemental analysis and spectral data. All newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro anticancer activity against human breast cancer cell line (MCF7). Most of the screened compounds showed cytotoxic activities compared to doxorubicin as a positive control. Compounds 6, 7, 9 and 13 (IC50 values 10.25, 9.70, 9.55 and 9.39 µmol L–1 revealed higher cytotoxic activities than that of doxorubicin (IC50 = 32.00 µmol L). Also, compounds 5, 8 and 10 were found nearly as active as doxorubicin (IC50 values 28.85, 23.48 and 27.51 µmol L–1)

Recycled Aggregate Self-curing High-strength Concrete

The use of recycled aggregates from demolished constructions as coarse aggregates for concrete becomes a need to reduce the negative effects on the environment. Internal curing is a technique that can be used to provide additional moisture in concrete for more effective hydration of cement to reduce the water evaporation from concrete, increase the water retention capacity of concrete compared to the conventionally cured concrete. High strength concrete as a special concrete type has a high strength with extra properties compared to conventional concrete. In this research, the combination of previous three concrete types to obtain self-curing high-strength concrete cast using coarse recycled aggregates is studied. The effect of varying water reducer admixture and curing agent dosages on both the fresh and hardened concrete properties is studied. The fresh properties are discussed in terms of slump values. The hardened concrete properties are discussed in terms of compressive, splitting tensile, flexure and bond strengths. The obtained results show that, the using of water reducer admixture enhances the main fresh and hardened properties of self-curing high-strength concrete cast using recycled aggregate. Also, using the suggested chemical curing agent increased the strength compared to conventional concrete without curing

Flavonoid Metabolomics in Gerbera hybrida and Elucidation of Complexity in the Flavonoid Biosynthetic Pathway

The flavonoid biosynthetic pathway and flavonoid metabolites have been extensively studied because of their biological roles in plant and animal kingdoms. Flavonoid metabolites are involved in plant resistance, UV-protection, pollinator attraction and have antioxidant effects. Plant species synthesise a large number of secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, carotenoids and others. Flower colour is an important feature for marketing of the ornamental model plant gerbera (Gerbera hybrida). In gerbera, flavonoid metabolites accumulate in the adaxial epidermal layer of flower petals and lead to different flower colours and patterns. These metabolites consist of three subgroups, flavones, flavonols and anthocyanins in gerbera, which have also been used to characterize different cultivars. The cultivars show variation in flower colour according to their anthocyanin type. The acyanic gerbera cultivars have flavonoid profiles comparable to the cyanic cultivars, except for the synthesis and accumulation of specific anthocyanins. Metabolite profiles indicated that all analysed acyanic cultivars have a block in a late stage of the anthocyanin pathway. Ivory, a sport of the pelargonidin-cultivar Estelle, has white flowers. Ivory has flavones and flavonols, but no anthocyanin. Gene expression of all flavonoid pathway genes was similar in Estelle and Ivory. However, both cultivars have two different alleles encoding dihydroflavonol 4-reductase and in Ivory one of them (GDFR1-2) was found to have a point mutation resulting in inactivation of the encoded enzyme. Still, Ivory expresses the second allele (GDFR1-3) and accumulates active DFR enzyme. The cyanidin cultivar President expresses only the GDFR1-3 allele, but cannot synthesize pelargonidin. Therefore, GDFR1-2 contributes specifically to pelargonidin biosynthesis and GDFR1-3 to cyanidin biosynthesis. This could be explained by a coordinated biosynthesis of anthocyanins in multi-enzyme complexes, metabolons. Gerbera chalcone synthases (GCHSs) belong to the superfamily of Type III polyketide synthase enzymes. GCHS1, 3 and 4 have different contributions to the flavonoid pathway, according to the tissue specific and post-transcriptional regulation. RNA interference of CHS encoding genes was used in different gerbera cultivars to show that GCHS1 has the main contribution to anthocyanin accumulation in petal tissues. GCHS4 was strongly expressed in petals but did not lead to anthocyanin accumulation. Still, GCHS4 is expressed and encoded a functional enzyme in the vegetative tissues.Flavonoidit ovat kasvien fenolisia yhdisteitä, jotka voivat olla värittömiä (flavonit ja flavonolit) tai oranssin, punaisen tai sinisen sävyisiä pigmenttejä (antosyaanit). Flavonodit suojaavat kasvia UV-säteilyltä ja taudinaiheuttajilta, ja toisaalta houkuttelevat hyödyllisiä pölyttäjiä. Flavonoidit ovat ravinnossa tärkeitä antioksidantteja ja niiden biosynteesiä on tutkittu paljon. Tässä työssä tutkittiin koristekasvina tunnetun gerberan kukinnon flavonoidien kemiaa, entsymologiaa ja geeniekspressiota. Materiaalina käytettiin lajikkeita, jotka sisälsivät flavoneja (apigeniinia tai luteiinia), flavonoleja (kemferolia tai kversetiiniä) ja/tai antosyaaneja (pelargonidiineja tai syanidiineja). Punaisesta Estelle-lajikkeen sivuhaarana syntyneessä valkoisessa Ivory-lajikkeessa todettiin mutaatio antosyaanibiosynteesille tärkeässä DFR-entsyymiä koodaavassa geenissä. Toinen DFR-alleeli kuitenkin koodasi toimivaa entsyymiä, joka kasvissa ei johtanut pigmentin biosynteesiin vaikka geeni ilmeni. Samalla tavalla flavonoidireitin alkupäässä olevan CHS-entsyymin kohdalla todettiin, että kahdesta kukinnossa ilmenevästä muodosta vain toinen oli tärkeä kukinnon antosyaanien biosynteesille. Toinen vastasi lehtiruotiin muodostuvasta antosyaanista. Yhteenvetona voidaan todeta, että flavonodien biosynteesiä säädellään geberalla geenitoiminnan lisäksi myös proteiinitasolla