Agronomic performance and photosynthetically active radiation intercepted by maize intercropped with Brachiaria.

Maize and soybean are the main crops used for crop yield on Brazilian Cerrado biome. The off-season maize intercropped with ruzigrass [Urochloa ruziziensis (R. Germ. C.M. Evrard) Crins (Syn. Brachiaria ruziziensis Germ. Evrard)] increases soil cover and yield for crops in succession. However, the benefits on maize yield depend on the distribution and radiation-use efficiency (RUE) and its conversion to biomass. This study aimed to evaluate maize and ruzigrass yield in different cultivation systems. The experiment was carried out at Embrapa Agropecuária Oeste, in Dourados, MS, Brazil. The experiment design was randomized blocks, with seven treatments constituted by the combination of spacing between maize rows, single and intercropped, with ruzigrass in distribution methods. Photosynthetically active radiation, chlorophyll, leaf temperature, morphological characteristics and maize mass yield were evaluated in maize at the flowering stage (R1). Maize and ruzigrass yield were evaluated during maize maturation. The reduced spacing in single maize has a higher yield and lower radiation incidence in the ear. Maize intercropped with ruzigrass sown by broadcasting showed higher leaf temperature, lower plant height and lower maize leaf area. Morphological and physiological characteristics and maize grain yield were more influenced by planting methods than the presence of ruzigrass. The highest yield of dry matter and maize grain occurred in reduced spacing in maize, either alone or intercropped with ruzigrass

Engineering stability in NADPH oxidases: A common strategy for enzyme production

NADPH oxidases (NOXs) are membrane enzymes whose sole function is the generation of reactive oxygen species. Humans have seven NOX isoenzymes that feature distinct functions in immune response and cell signaling but share the same catalytic core comprising a FAD-binding dehydrogenase domain and a heme-binding transmembrane domain. We previously described a mutation that stabilizes the dehydrogenase domain of a prokaryotic homolog of human NOX5. The thermostable mutant exhibited a large 19 °C increase in the apparent melting temperature (app T m ) and a much tighter binding of the FAD cofactor, which allowed the crystallization and structure determination of the domain holo-form. Here, we analyze the transferability of this mutation onto prokaryotic and eukaryotic full-length NOX enzymes. We found that the mutation exerts a significative stabilizing effect on the full-length NOX5 from both Cylindrospermum stagnale (app T m increase of 8 °C) and Homo sapiens (app ΔT m of 2 °C). Enhanced thermal stability resulted in more homogeneous preparations of the bacterial NOX5 with less aggregation problems. Moreover, we also found that the mutation increases the overall expression of recombinant human NOX4 and NOX5 in mammalian cells. Such a 2–5-fold increase is mainly due to the lowered cell toxicity, which leads to higher biomasses. Because of the high sequence identity of the catalytic core within this family of enzymes, this strategy can be a general tool to boost the production of all NOXs

Produtividade e tempo de cocção de grãos de feijão-caupi de porte ereto e semiereto cultivados em Dourados, MS, ano 2011.

A indicação de cultivares de feijão-caupi com altas produtividades e de cozimento rápido proporciona estabilidade ao agricultor e economia de tempo no cozimento. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar 20 genótipos de feijão-caupi de porte ereto e semi-ereto e identificar genótipos com melhor desempenho produtivo e menor tempo de cozimento para o cultivo na região de Dourados, MS. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições. Avaliou-se o período da emergência ao florescimento (DEF), a massa de cem grãos (MCG), a produtividade de grãos secos (PROD) e o tempo de cocção de grãos secos. A cultivar BRS Tumucumaque destacou-se para menor tempo de cozimento e produtividade de grãos e pode ser indicada para cultivo na região de Dourados, MS. As cultivares BRS Caumé e BRS Itaim destacaram-se para precocidade. A maioria dos genótipos apresentou tempo de cozimento abaixo de 26 minutos. A linhagem MCO2-675F-9-3 reuniu maior associação entre tamanho grande do grão e baixo tempo de cozimento. As linhagens MCO3-737F-5-4, MCO3-737F-5-9 e MCO3-737F-5-10 reuniram maior associação entre precocidade e baixo tempo de cozimento.CONAC 2012. Disponível em: http://www.conac2012.org/resumos/pdf/050f.pdf. Acesso em: 03 jul. 2013