Hydraulic processes and properties of partially hydrophobic soils: The effect of water repellency on the characteristic curves estimated from dynamic flow experiments

Soil research done over the past decades, has proven that water repellent soils are widespread in all climates. In order to assess the effect of hydrophobicity in the estimated characteristic curves, inflow/outflow experiments were conducted in the laboratory for one soil and two artificial created hydrophobic mixtures. In the inflow/outflow experiments the pressure head at the bottom of the soil column was increased/decreased and the estimated curves were obtained by means of inverse modeling. Multistep inflow/outflow experiments were also conducted using ethanol instead of water in order to estimate the effect of liquid wetting properties on the estimated characteristic curves of the materials under study. The results have shown that the water retention functions and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity functions estimated from the dynamic experiments are strongly dependent on the degree of hydrophobicity and the wetting/drying process

Deciphering the S-Nitrosylome of Arabipdosis thaliana during the defense response

Comunicaciones a congreso

NO signaling functions in the biotic and abiotic stress responses

In the last 1990s, NO became an increasingly popular target of investigation in plants. As in mammals, NO fulfils a broad spectrum of signalling functions in pathophysiological processes in plants. Here we summarize studies published in recent years that provide novel insights into the signalling functions of NO produced by plant cells exposed to abiotic stresses and biotic stress (pathogen-derived elicitors). Particularly, we report that NO emerges as a key messenger governing the overall control of Ca2+ homeostasis. Although the precise signalling functions of NO are poorly understood, its capacity to modulate Ca2+ homeostasis provides an extraordinary and remarkable effective way of conveying information

Einfluss von Ozon, CO2 und Trockenstress auf das Wachstum und die Pollenproduktion der Beifuß-Ambrosie (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)

Klimaveränderungen beeinflussen das pflanzliche Wachstum und können auch einen Einfluss auf den Pollen haben. Wichtige Faktoren sind dabei erhöhte CO2-Konzentrationen, Trockenstress und Schadstoffbelastungen. Die Pollen der Beifuß-Ambrosie gehören mit zu den stärksten Allergie-Auslösern und beeinflussen die menschliche Gesundheit. In dieser Studie wurde die Beifuß-Ambrosie über die gesamte Vegetationsperiode erhöhten CO2- (700 ppm) und Ozon- (80 ppb) Konzentrationen ausgesetzt. Ferner wurde der Einfluss von Trockenstress unter unterschiedlichen CO2-Konzentrationen untersucht. Erhöhtes CO2 und Trockenstress hatten keinen Einfluss auf die Größe, Form und Oberflächenstruktur des Pollens. Bezüglich morphologischer Parameter resultierte erhöhtes CO2 in einer Zunahme des Stängelwachstums und der Hauptinfloreszenz, sowie vermehrter Pollenproduktion. Trockenstress führte zu einem reduzierten Wachstum des Stängels und der Hauptinfloreszenz und verringerter Pollen-Ausbeute. Erhöhte Ozon-Werte führten tendenziell zu einer geringeren, statistisch jedoch nicht signifikant veränderten Pollenausbeute. Diese Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass Klimaveränderungen die Entwicklung von Ambrosia-Pollen beeinflussen und dadurch auch die öffentliche Gesundheit beeinträchtigen.Stichwörter: Allergie, Infloreszenz, Klimawandel, Luftschadstoff, Stängel, VegetationsperiodeEffects of ozone, CO2 and drought stress on the growth and pollen production of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)Climate change will affect the growth of plants and may also influence the production of pollen. The important factors influencing climate change are increased CO2 concentrations, drought and air pollution. Common ragweed pollen is known to be strongly allergenic, thereby affecting human health. In this study, common ragweed plants were grown over an entire vegetation period under conditions of twice the ambient level of CO2 (700 ppm) and ozone (80 ppm), respectively. Furthermore, the effect of soil drought combined with different CO2 levels was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy showed no change in surface morphology and size of CO2- and drought-treated pollen. Regarding morphological parameters, elevated CO2 resulted in an increased length of the stem and the main inflorescence and higher pollen yields, whereas drought reduced the stem and inflorescence lengths and resulted in a lower pollen yield, a result that was mitigated by elevated CO2. Twice the ambient level of ozone tends to result in a reduced pollen yield. However, this was not statistically significant. These findings support the idea that the conditions of climate change will influence the development of common ragweed pollen, thereby affecting public health.Keywords: Allergy, air pollution, inflorescence, climate change, stem, vegetation perio

Ethylene supports colonization of plant roots by the mutualistic fungus Piriformospora indica

The mutualistic basidiomycete Piriformospora indica colonizes roots of mono- and dicotyledonous plants, and thereby improves plant health and yield. Given the capability of P. indica to colonize a broad range of hosts, it must be anticipated that the fungus has evolved efficient strategies to overcome plant immunity and to establish a proper environment for nutrient acquisition and reproduction. Global gene expression studies in barley identified various ethylene synthesis and signaling components that were differentially regulated in P. indica-colonized roots. Based on these findings we examined the impact of ethylene in the symbiotic association. The data presented here suggest that P. indica induces ethylene synthesis in barley and Arabidopsis roots during colonization. Moreover, impaired ethylene signaling resulted in reduced root colonization, Arabidopsis mutants exhibiting constitutive ethylene signaling, -synthesis or ethylene-related defense were hyper-susceptible to P. indica. Our data suggest that ethylene signaling is required for symbiotic root colonization by P. indica

Large-scale phenomics identifies primary and fine-tuning roles for CRKs in responses related to oxidative stress

Cysteine-rich receptor-like kinases (CRKs) are transmembrane proteins characterized by the presence of two domains of unknown function 26 (DUF26) in their ectodomain. The CRKs form one of the largest groups of receptor-like protein kinases in plants, but their biological functions have so far remained largely uncharacterized. We conducted a large-scale phenotyping approach of a nearly complete crk T-DNA insertion line collection showing that CRKs control important aspects of plant development and stress adaptation in response to biotic and abiotic stimuli in a non-redundant fashion. In particular, the analysis of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related stress responses, such as regulation of the stomatal aperture, suggests that CRKs participate in ROS/redox signalling and sensing. CRKs play general and fine-tuning roles in the regulation of stomatal closure induced by microbial and abiotic cues. Despite their great number and high similarity, large-scale phenotyping identified specific functions in diverse processes for many CRKs and indicated that CRK2 and CRK5 play predominant roles in growth regulation and stress adaptation, respectively. As a whole, the CRKs contribute to specificity in ROS signalling. Individual CRKs control distinct responses in an antagonistic fashion suggesting future potential for using CRKs in genetic approaches to improve plant performance and stress tolerance.Peer reviewe