Waste Management of Ege University during the COVID-19 period

Ege University manages packaging wastes, hazardous wastes, electronic wastes and organic wastes within the scope of integrated waste management and has been awarded the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization Zero Waste Certificate. For packaging waste, recycled and non-recyclable wastes are collected separately. Recycled wastes are collected in blue boxes and gray boxes are used for non-recyclable wastes. Along with the pandemic period, with the directive of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, extra gray boxes were added and used to collect waste materials such as masks, gloves, etc. The first COVID case in Turkey started in March 2020 and these studies came into effect in April. In this context, all staff and students are informed and the health of the community and the environment is protected.Keyword: waste management, mask and glove waste management, COVID-1

Responses of the cherry rootstock to salinity in vitro

The in vitro response of sweet cherry rootstock Gisela 5 (Prunus cerasus x Prunus canescens) to increasing concentrations of NaCl (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM) in the Murashige and Skoog culture medium was studied. Induced salinity reduced growth and chlorophyll content in shoots but had no effect on water content. The increase in malondialdehyde content indicated that salinity induced oxidative stress which was accompanied with the visible symptoms of salt injury in the shoots. Antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase, catalase, and glutathione reductase were also significantly elevated. Although no change was observed in the Cl concentration, Na concentration of shoots significantly rose and NaCl treatments impaired K, Ca and Mg nutrition and induced imbalance in K:Na and Na:Ca ratios

Mitochondrial respiratory pathways modulate nitrate sensing and nitrogen-dependent regulation of plant architecture in Nicotiana sylvestris

Mitochondrial electron transport pathways exert effects on carbon–nitrogen (C/N) relationships. To examine whether mitochondria–N interactions also influence plant growth and development, we explored the responses of roots and shoots to external N supply in wild-type (WT) Nicotiana sylvestris and the cytoplasmic male sterile II (CMSII) mutant, which has a N-rich phenotype. Root architecture in N. sylvestris seedlings showed classic responses to nitrate and sucrose availability. In contrast, CMSII showed an altered ‘nitrate-sensing’ phenotype with decreased sensitivity to C and N metabolites. The WT growth phenotype was restored in CMSII seedling roots by high nitrate plus sugars and in shoots by gibberellic acid (GA). Genome-wide cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis of leaves from mature plants revealed that only a small subset of transcripts was altered in CMSII. Tissue abscisic acid content was similar in CMSII and WT roots and shoots, and growth responses to zeatin were comparable. However, the abundance of key transcripts associated with GA synthesis was modified both by the availability of N and by the CMSII mutation. The CMSII mutant maintained a much higher shoot/root ratio at low N than WT, whereas no difference was observed at high N. Shoot/root ratios were strikingly correlated with root amines/nitrate ratios, values of <1 being characteristic of high N status. We propose a model in which the amine/nitrate ratio interacts with GA signalling and respiratory pathways to regulate the partitioning of biomass between shoots and roots

Farklı pancar genotiplerinde tuz stresine bağlı olarak antioksidant düzeylerindeki değişimlerin araştırılması

Bu tez çalışmasında, iki şeker pancarı varyetesi, Beta vulgaris cv. bianca, Beta vulgaris cv. ansa ve bu bitkilerin yabani akrabası, Beta maritima'da, tuz stresinin, zamana ve konsantrasyona bağlı çeşitli etkileri incelenmiştir.Beta vulgaris cv. bianca ve Beta vulgaris cv. ansa ile karşılaştırıldığında, B. maritima'da kalıtsal olarak, temel lipid peroksidasyonu miktarı düşük, süperoksit dismutaz (SOD), peroksidaz (POX), katalaz (CAT), askorbat peroksidaz (APOX) ve glutasyon redüktaz (GR) enzimlerinin aktiviteleri yüksek düzeydedir.B. maritima'da 150 ve 500 mM NaCl uygulamalarında da, kültür varyetelerine göre lipid peroksidasyonu miktarı düşük, SOD, POX, CAT, APOX ve GR enzimlerinin aktiviteleri yüksek düzeydedir.Bu sonuçlar, B. maritima'nın oksidatif zarara karşı kalıtsal ve indüklenmiş yüksek antioksidant enzim aktiviteleri sayesinde, tuz stresine duyarlı olan şeker pancarı varyeteleri, B. vulgaris cv. bianca ve B. vulgaris cv. ansa'dan daha etkili bir korunma mekanizmasına sahip olduğunu göstermektedir

Gamma-amino butyric acid, glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamate decarboxylase levels in phylogenetically divergent plants

WOS: 000313801600010Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) is a nonprotein amino acid found in a wide range of organisms including plants. Several studies have shown that GABA plays different roles in plant metabolism including carbon-nitrogen metabolism, energy balance, signaling and development. It has been suggested that the occurrence of GABA and the enzymes related to GABA biosynthesis in prokaryotes and eukaryotes may be important in evolution and diversification. However, studies of GABA biosynthesis and GABA levels in an evolutionary context are restricted to sequenced plant genomes. In this study we aimed to compare the activities of GDH and GAD enzymes and total nitrogen, and the contents of total soluble protein, succinate, glutamate, proline and GABA in plants from different phylogenetic levels including Ulva lactuca, Pseudevernia furfuracea, Nephrolepsis exaltata, Ginkgo biloba, Pinus pinea, Magnolia grandiflora, Nymphaea alba, Urtica dioica, Portulaca oleraceae, Malva sylvestris, Rosa canina, Lavandula stoechas, Washingtonia filifera, Avena barbata and Iris kaempferi. The activities of GAD and GDH enzymes differed according to the species and were not always parallel to GABA levels. The discrepancy in the contents of succinate and GABA between higher and primitive plants was also prominent. Glutamate levels were high with a few exceptions and proline contents were at similar low values as compared to other amino acids. Our results support the hypothesis that the GABA shunt plays a key role in carbon and nitrogen partitioning via linking amino acid metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid cycle which is essential for higher plant species.Ege University Research FoundationEge University [2009-FEN-020]The authors would like to thank Ege University Research Foundation for supporting this work (Grant Number 2009-FEN-020)

Identification and Characterization of the Glucosinolate-Myrosinase System in Caper (Capparis ovata Desf.)

WOS: 000270780900013Myrosinase (EC 3.2.1.147) catalyzes cleavage of glucosinolates, which consist of a thioglucoside moiety linked to amino acid-derived side chains. Myrosinase activity and expression profiles were investigated together with glucosinolate contents in Capparis ovata (caper) in order to characterize the glucosinolate-myrosinase system. The desulfoglucosinolates-glucocapparin, glucoiberin, progoitrin, epiprogoitrin, sinigrin, gluconapin, glucosinalbin, and glucobrassicin-were extracted and quantified from leaves, seeds, flowers, flower buds, and young shoots. The major desulfoglucosinolate was glucocapparin, which accumulated to values of 39.35 +/- 0.09 and 25.56 +/- 0.11 mu mol g(-1) dry weight in seed and leaf extracts, respectively. Myrosinase has high activity in caper seeds, leaves, flowers, and flower bud tissues having the highest total activities in seed extracts (79.23 +/- 0.18 U). However, specific activities were the highest in flower bud extracts (200.44 +/- 0.09 U mg(-1) protein). The myrosinase protein migrated as a single band with a molecular weight of 65 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and on Western blots probed with the myrosinase-specific 3D7 antibodies. Native gel electrophoresis revealed two putative myrosinase isoenzymes in seeds, leaves, and flower tissues. The caper homolog of the Arabidopsis thaliana TGG1 gene was differentially expressed in seeds, leaves, flowers, and flower buds with the highest expression levels in leaves and flower bud tissues.Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [2435-104T044]; Ege University Research FoundationEge University [2005-BIL-012]The authors wish to thank Prof. Christine Foyer for her critical reading and helpful contributions to the manuscript, Prof. Johan Meijer for kindly providing the lyophilized 3D7 monoclonal hybridoma and for his helpful advices, and Dr. Richard N. Bennett for kindly providing the glucosinolate standards. This research was funded by grants TBAG 2435-104T044 from The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and 2005-BIL-012 from Ege University Research Foundation