Oxidative stress of maize roots caused by a combination of both salt stress and manganese deprivation

Salt stress impaired Mn imbalance and resulted in accumulation of ROS, and caused oxidative stress to plants. However, very little is known about the oxidative damage of maize roots caused by exposure to a combination of both salt stress and Mn deprivation. Thus the main aim of this study was to determine the effects of a combination of salt stress and Mn deprivation on antioxidative defense system in maize roots. Maize plants were cultivated in Hoagland’s media. They were subjected to 80 mM NaCl administered in the Mn-present Hoagland’s or Mn-deficient Hoagland’s media for 14 days. The findings indicated that the growth and root activity of maize seedlings cultivated in a combination of both salt stress and Mn deprivation were significantly inhibited; the compatible solute accumulation, malondialdehyde, carbonyl, 8-OHdG, and ROS were higher than those of the individual salt stress or Mn deprivation as expected. Nevertheless, the antioxidative enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-transferase and antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, glutathione and thiol were lower than those of the individual salt stress or Mn deprivation. In view of the fact that salt stress impaired Mn nutrition of maize seedlings, the findings suggested that Mn deprivation at the cellular level may be a contributory factor to salt-induced oxidative stress and related oxidative damage of maize roots

Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

International audienceOn 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of $\sim 1.7\,{\rm{s}}$ with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg(2) at a luminosity distance of ${40}_{-8}^{+8}$ Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 $\,{M}_{\odot }$. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at $\sim 40\,{\rm{Mpc}}$) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position $\sim 9$ and $\sim 16$ days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta