Effects of Alternaria alternata f.sp. lycopersici toxins on pollen

Effects of the phytotoxic compounds (AAL-toxins) isolated from cell-free culture filtrates of Alternaria alternata f.sp. lycopersici on in vitro pollen development were studied. AAL-toxins inhibited both germination and tube growth of pollen from several Lycopersicon genotypes. Pollen from susceptible genotypes, however, was more sensitive for AAL-toxins than pollen from resistant plants, while pollen of species not belonging to the host range of the fungus was not significantly affected by the tested toxin concentrations. AAL-toxins elicit symptoms in detached leaf bioassays indistinguishable from those observed on leaves of fungal infected tomato plants, and toxins play a major role in the pathogenesis. Apparently, pathogenesis-related processes and mechanisms involved in disease resistance are expressed in both vegetative and generative tissues. This overlap in gene expression between the sporophytic and gametophytic level of a plant may be advantageously utilized in plant breeding programmes. Pollen may be used to distinguish susceptible and resistant plants and to select for resistances and tolerances against phytotoxins and other selective agents.

Propagators weakly associated to a family of Hamiltonians and the adiabatic theorem for the Landau Hamiltonian with a time-dependent Aharonov-Bohm flux

We study the dynamics of a quantum particle moving in a plane under the influence of a constant magnetic field and driven by a slowly time-dependent singular flux tube through a puncture. The known adiabatic results do not cover these models as the Hamiltonian has time dependent domain. We give a meaning to the propagator and prove an adiabatic theorem. To this end we introduce and develop the new notion of a propagator weakly associated to a time-dependent Hamiltonian.Comment: Title and Abstract changed, will appear in Journal of Mathematical Physic

Tomato resistance to Alternaria stem canker: localization in host genotypes and functional expression compared to non-host resistance

The Alternaria stem canker resistance locus (Asc-locus), involved in resistance to the fungal pathogen Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici and in insensitivity to host-specific toxins (AAL-toxins) produced by the pathogen, was genetically mapped on the tomato genome. Susceptibility and resistance were assayed by testing a segregating F2 population for sensitivity to AAL-toxins in leaf bioassays. Linkage was observed to phenotypic markers solanifolium and sunny, both on chromosome 3. For the Asc-locus, a distance of 18 centiMorgan to solanifolium was calculated, corresponding to position 93 on chromosome 3. This map position of the resistance locus turned out to be the same in three different resistant tomato accessions, one Dutch and two American, that are at least 40 years apart. AAL-toxin sensitivity in susceptible and resistant tomato genotypes was compared with AAL-toxin sensitivity in a non-host Nicotiana tabacum during different levels of plant cell development. In susceptible and resistant tomato genotypes, inhibitory effects were demonstrated at all levels, except for leaves of resistant genotypes. However, during pollen and root development, inhibitory effects on susceptible genotypes were larger than on resistant genotypes. In the non-host Nicotiana tabacum, hardly any effects of AAL-toxins were demonstrated. Apparently, a cellular target site is present in tomato, but not in Nicotiana tabacum. It was concluded that three levels of AAL-toxin sensitivity exist: (1) a susceptible host sensitivity, (2) a resistant host sensitivity, (3) a non-host sensitivity, and that the resistance mechanism operating in tomato is different from that operating in Nicotiana tabacum.

Sensing of Fluctuating Nanoscale Magnetic Fields Using NV Centres in Diamond

New magnetometry techniques based on Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) defects in diamond allow for the imaging of static (DC) and oscillatory (AC) nanoscopic magnetic systems. However, these techniques require accurate knowledge and control of the sample dynamics, and are thus limited in their ability to image fields arising from rapidly fluctuating (FC) environments. We show here that FC fields place restrictions on the DC field sensitivity of an NV qubit magnetometer, and that by probing the dephasing rate of the qubit in a magnetic FC environment, we are able to measure fluctuation rates and RMS field strengths that would be otherwise inaccessible with the use of DC and AC magnetometry techniques. FC sensitivities are shown to be comparable to those of AC fields, whilst requiring no additional experimental overheads or control over the sample.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Asymmetry in shape causing absolute negative mobility

We propose a simple classical concept of nanodevices working in an absolute negative mobility (ANM) regime: The minimal spatial asymmetry required for ANM to occur is embedded in the geometry of the transported particle, rather than in the channel design. This allows for a tremendous simplification of device engineering, thus paving the way towards practical implementations of ANM. Operating conditions and performance of our model device are investigated, both numerically and analytically.Comment: 6 pages; accepted for publication in PR

Steady state existence of passive vector fields under the Kraichnan model

The steady state existence problem for Kraichnan advected passive vector models is considered for isotropic and anisotropic initial values in arbitrary dimension. The model includes the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, linear pressure model (LPM) and linearized Navier-Stokes (LNS) equations. In addition to reproducing the previously known results for the MHD and linear pressure model, we obtain the values of the Kraichnan model roughness parameter $\xi$ for which the LNS steady state exists.Comment: Improved text & figures, added references & other correction

An extensive microarray analysis of AAL-toxin-induced cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana brings new insights into the complexity of programmed cell death in plants

A T-DNA knockout of the Arabidopsis homologue of the tomato disease resistance gene Asc was obtained. The asc gene renders plants sensitive to programmed cell death (PCD) triggered by the fungal AAL toxin. To obtain more insights into the nature of AAL-toxin-induced cell death and to identify genes of potential importance for PCD, we carried out transcription profiling of AAL-toxin-induced cell death in this knockout with an oligonucleotide array representing 21,500 Arabidopsis genes. Genes responsive to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ethylene were among the earliest to be upregulated, suggesting that an oxidative burst and production of ethylene played a role in the activation of the cell death. This notion was corroborated by induction of several genes encoding ROS-generating proteins, including a respiratory burst oxidase and germin oxalate oxidase. Cytochemical studies confirmed the oxidative burst and, in addition, showed synthesis of callose, a feature of the hypersensitive response. A diverse group of transcription factors was also induced. These events were followed by repression of most of the auxin-regulated genes known to be involved in growth and developmental responses. All photosynthesis-related genes were repressed. Blocking the synthesis of ethylene or NO significantly compromised cell death. In addition, we identified a heterogeneous group of early-induced genes, some of them never before associated with PCD. The group of early-induced genes included a number of proteases that were previously implicated in developmentally regulated types of PCD, suggesting a more principal role for these proteases in the PCD process. These findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of plant PCD

Psi-series solutions of the cubic H\'{e}non-Heiles system and their convergence

The cubic H\'enon-Heiles system contains parameters, for most values of which, the system is not integrable. In such parameter regimes, the general solution is expressible in formal expansions about arbitrary movable branch points, the so-called psi-series expansions. In this paper, the convergence of known, as well as new, psi-series solutions on real time intervals is proved, thereby establishing that the formal solutions are actual solutions

Ion-channel-like behavior in lipid bilayer membranes at the melting transition

It is well known that at the gel-liquid phase transition temperature a lipid bilayer membrane exhibits an increased ion permeability. We analyze the quantized currents in which the increased permeability presents itself. The open time histogram shows a "-3/2" power law which implies an open-closed transition rate that decreases like $k(t) \propto t^{-1}$ as time evolves. We propose a "pore freezing" model to explain the observations. We discuss how this model also leads to the $1/f^{\alpha}$ noise that is commonly observed in currents across biological and artificial membranes.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure