Inter- and interspecific serological relationships in Pellia epiphylla complex

Antigenic proteins were used as markers for the study of relationships between three liverwort species from P. epiphylla complex. It has recently been shown that the electrophoretic phenotypes of this species suggested an amphiploid origin of P. borealis. Two sibling species: P. epiphylla -species S and -species N could have probably represented the parental species for P. borealis. We examined three clones of P. borealis from different localities using immunodiffusion. Then we compared them with P. epiphylla species S and N as well as with the mixture of proteins of P. epiphylla S and N samples. The results indicate that polyploid P. borealis shows an identical immunological pattern to that of the mixture of proteins of putative parental species. Only in one case the result resembled much more the pattern of P. epiphylla S proteins. The sibling species P. epiphylla S and N showed antigenic difference but the nature of the differences requires further studies. Antigenic pro-perties of proteins from P. epiphylla S and N and of their allopolyploid - P. borealis, indicated some specifity of the protein spectrum in each of the parental species and intermediate character of proteins in the polyploid forms

Assessment of laccase activity synthesized by Basidiomycota fungi in the presence of wood impregnated with creosote oil

Assessment of laccase activity synthesized by Basidiomycota fungi in the presence of wood impregnated with creosote oil. The article presents the results of the assessment of laccase activity, synthesized by fungi causing white decomposition of wood in the presence of wood samples impregnated with creosote oil in the growth environment. The obtained results indicate that the creosote oil contained in wood modulates the activity of this enzyme. Creosote oil definitely stimulates the cells of the T. versicolor fungus to induce laccase synthesis, which may be of great practical importance in terms of the possibility of designing a biotechnological method of biodegradation of pollutants, including contaminants in the form of impregnated wood waste.W artykule przedstawiono wyniki oceny aktywności lakazy, synetyzowanej przez grzyby powodujące biały rozkład drewna w obecności w środowisku wzrostu drewna impregnowanego olejem kreozotowym. Uzyskane wyniki wskazują, że olej kreozotowy zawarty w drewnie działa modulująco na aktywność tego enzymu. Zdecydowanie olej kreozotowy pobudza komórki grzyba T. versicolor do indukcji syntezy lakazy, co może mieć duże znaczenie praktyczne z punktu możliwości projektowania biotechnologicznego sposobu biodegradacji zanieczyszczeń, w tym zanieczyszczeń w postaci odpadów drewna impregnowanego

Bioactive levels of Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd and Mg, Fe in pollution sensitive and tolerant Scots pines needles – Is survival mineral-dependent?

Pine species are considered worldwide as developing various mechanisms counteracting industrial pollution specifically with Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cd. We assumed that the survival of plants should involve also the active concentrations of plant-born heavy metals as well as the mineral elements (Mg, Fe) crucial for normal photosynthetic activity of needles. The needles were collected from 100 randomly selected trees, which were divided into 50 specimens of sensitive (S) and 50 specimens of tolerant (T) species. In the study, the needles were also separated by age into 1 and 2 year-old needles. Two solutions of pH 3.5 and 6.0, mimicking acid rains (AR) were applied for extracting the bioactive forms of Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd and Mg and Fe. The elaborated mineral photosynthetic indices (12 in total), SPI (Single Phytotoxicity Indices), IPI (Integrated Phytotoxicity Indices) and TIPI (Total Integrated Phytotoxicity Indices) revealed that bioactive concentrations of Mg and Fe should be specifically regulating Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd fluxes in Scots pine needles. Such mechanism appears crucial for the survival of pine needles, both 1 and 2-years old, since Mg and Fe are directly activated in the photosynthesis process. The concentrations of bioactive Mg and Fe fractions were higher in sensitive (S) as compared to tolerant (T) pines, explaining thus the basis of their response - stronger for S and weaker for T - to adverse effects induced by the particular heavy metals. We stipulated that magnesium and iron should emerge promptly and permanently as toxicity mitigation factors, acting as a Mineral Toxicity Fence (MTF), supporting thus the survival mineral-dependent hypothesis

Isoenzymatic and cytological studies of some Asiatic species of the genus Salsola

The genetic and cytological variability of population of three Salsola species from Asia was investigated, using isozyme electrophoresis and haematoxylin staining. Eight enzyme systems, representing 14-17 loci, were examined: 6PGD, DIA, G6PD, GDH, GOT, MDH, PGM and PGI. Analysis of the chromosome number revealed that the three species have the same number of chromosomes: 2n=18. Parameters describing genetic diversity indicate a very low level of genetic variation of the studied populations. The isozyme data support hypothesis that strong directional selection can result in lower level of genetic variation of arid plant populations

Seed Total Protein Profiling in Discrimination of Closely Related Pines: Evidence from the Pinus mugo Complex

The Pinus mugo complex includes several dozen closely related European mountain pines. The discrimination of specific taxa within this complex is still extremely challenging, although numerous methodologies have been used to solve this problem, including morphological and anatomical analyses, cytological studies, allozyme variability, and DNA barcoding, etc. In this study, we used the seed total protein (STP) patterns to search for taxonomically interesting differences among three closely-related pine taxa from the Pinus mugo complex and five more distant species from the Pinaceae family. It was postulated that STP profiling can serve as the backup methodology for modern taxonomic research, in which more sophisticated analyses, i.e., based on the DNA barcoding approach, have been found to be useless. A quantitative analysis of the STP profiles revealed characteristic electrophoretic patterns for all the analyzed taxa from Pinaceae. STP profiling enabled the discrimination of closely-related pine taxa, even of those previously indistinguishable by chloroplast DNA barcodes. The results obtained in this study indicate that STP profiling can be very useful for solving complex taxonomic puzzles

Insecticidal properties of Solanum nigrum and Armoracia rusticana extracts on reproduction and development of Drosophila melanogaster

Plant-derived substances, because of high biological activity, arouse interest of many scientists. Thus, plant extracts and pure substances are intensively studied on various insects as potential insecticides. In such studies, D. melanogaster is one of the most important model organisms. In our studies, we analysed the contents of two plant extracts and tested the activity of their main components against fruit flies and compared observed effects to effects caused by crude extracts. Then, we assessed the development of the next, unexposed generation. The chemical analysis of extracts revealed the presence of numerous glycoalkaloids and glucosinolates in Solanum nigrum and Armoracia rusticana extracts. These extracts, as well as their main components, revealed lethal and sublethal effects, such as the altered developmental time of various life stages and malformations of imagoes. Interestingly, the results for the extracts and pure main compounds often varied. Some of the results were also observed in the unexposed generation. These results confirm that the tested plants produce a range of substances with potential insecticidal effects. The different effects of extracts and pure main components suggest the presence of minor compounds, which should be tested as insecticides