Root and shoot glucosinolates: a comparison of their diversity, function and interactions in natural and managed ecosystems

The role of glucosinolates in aboveground plant¿insect and plant¿pathogen interactions has been studied widely in both natural and managed ecosystems. Fewer studies have considered interactions between root glucosinolates and soil organisms. Similarly, data comparing local and systemic changes in glucosinolate levels after root- and shoot-induction are scarce. An analysis of 74 studies on constitutive root and shoot glucosinolates of 29 plant species showed that overall, roots have higher concentrations and a greater diversity of glucosinolates than shoots. Roots have significantly higher levels of the aromatic 2-phenylethyl glucosinolate, possibly related to the greater effectiveness and toxicity of its hydrolysis products in soil. In shoots, the most dominant indole glucosinolate is indol-3-ylglucosinolate, whereas roots are dominated by its methoxyderivatives. Indole glucosinolates were the most responsive after jasmonate or salicylate induction, but increases after jasmonate induction were most pronounced in the shoot. In general, root glucosinolate levels did not change as strongly as shoot levels. We postulate that roots may rely more on high constitutive levels of glucosinolates, due to the higher and constant pathogen pressure in soil communities. The differences in root and shoot glucosinolate patterns are further discussed in relation to the molecular regulation of glucosinolate biosynthesis, the within-tissue distribution of glucosinolates in the roots, and the use of glucosinolate-containing crops for biofumigation. Comparative studies of tissue-specific biosynthesis and regulation in relation to the biological interactions in aboveground and belowground environments are needed to advance investigations of the evolution and further utilization of glucosinolates in natural and managed ecosystems

Inhibition of activated factors II, VII, IX, and X by synthetic organic compounds directed against the active-site seryl residue

A series of 53 organic chemicals belonging to the groups of organic phosphates, sulfonyl derivatives and carbamates were screened for their activity against the coagulation factors IIa (thrombin), VIIa, IXa and Xa. Relatively specific inhibitors for the factors IIa, VIIa and Xa were found

The phosphate potential maintained by mitochondria in State 4 is proportional to the proton-motive force

AbstractEvidence is presented for a proportional relationship between the extramitochondrial phosphate potential (ΔGexp) and the proton-motive force (Δ\̃gmH+) across the mitochondrial membrane in rat-liver mitochondria oxidising succinate in State 4, when Δ\̃gmH+ is varied by addition of uncouplers or malonate. This relationship was found when precautions were taken to minimise interference with the determination of ΔGpex and Δ\̃gmH+ by intramitochondrial nucleotides, adenylate kinase activity, the quenching method, and Δ\̃gmH+-dependent changes in matrix volume. A non-proportional ΔGpex/Δ\̃gmH+ relationship was obtained when these precautions were omitted. Our results do not support mosaic protonic coupling, but are not necessarily in conflict with other localised coupling schemes

Effective representation of RT-LOTOS terms by finite time petri nets

The paper describes a transformational approach for the specification and formal verification of concurrent and real-time systems. At upper level, one system is specified using the timed process algebra RT-LOTOS. The output of the proposed transformation is a Time Petri net (TPN). The paper particularly shows how a TPN can be automatically constructed from an RT-LOTOS specification using a compositionally defined mapping. The proof of the translation consistency is sketched in the paper and developed in [1]. The RT-LOTOS to TPN translation patterns formalized in the paper are being implemented. in a prototype tool. This enables reusing TPNs verification techniques and tools for the profit of RT-LOTOS