Citrulline, a novel compatible solute in drought-tolerant wild watermelon leaves, is an efficient hydroxyl radical scavenger

AbstractDrought-tolerant wild watermelon accumulates high levels of citrulline in the leaves in response to drought conditions. In this work, the hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity of citrulline was investigated in vitro. The second-order rate constant for the reaction between citrulline and hydroxyl radicals was found to be 3.9×109 M−1 s−1, demonstrating that citrulline is one of the most efficient scavengers among compatible solutes examined so far. Moreover, citrulline effectively protected DNA and an enzyme from oxidative injuries. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed that at least four major products were formed by the reaction between citrulline and hydroxyl radicals. Activities of metabolic enzymes were not inhibited by up to 600 mM citrulline, indicating that citrulline does not interfere with cellular metabolism. We reasoned, from these results, that citrulline contributes to oxidative stress tolerance under drought conditions as a novel hydroxyl radical scavenger

Aegilops tauschii Introgressions Improve Physio-Biochemical Traits and Metabolite Plasticity in Bread Wheat under Drought Stress

With the aim of providing genetic materials for breeding drought-resistant wheat varieties, the physiological and metabolic plasticity of three drought-resistant wheat multiple synthetic derivative lines (MSDLs) and their backcross parent “Norin 61” (N61) were evaluated in response to drought stress. The results indicated that the D-genome introgressions from Aegilops tauschii into the MDSLs improved their drought-adaptive traits. Specifically, MNH5 and MSD345 showed higher photosynthesis rates and triose phosphate utilization than N61 under control conditions, resulting in greater accumulation of glucose and sucrose in the shoots. However, under drought stress, MNH5 and MSD345 had higher intrinsic water use efficiency than MSD53 and N61. The total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase activity increased in all three MSDLs, whereas no significant changes were found in N61 in response to drought stress. Metabolome analysis identified six common drought-induced metabolites in all of the investigated genotypes. However, four metabolites (adenine, gamma aminobutyric acid, histidine, and putrescine) each specifically accumulated in an MSDL in response to drought stress, suggesting that these metabolites are important for MSDL drought resistance. In conclusion, MNH5 and MSD345 showed better adaptive responses to drought stress than MSD53 and N61, suggesting that these two MSDLs could be explored for breeding drought-resistant wheat lines

Object-Based Correspondence Effect 1

the object-based correspondence effect: Is the effect triggered by an intended grasping action?. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 75(8), 1862-1882. doi:10.3758/s13414-013-0523-

ISOLATION, CLONING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ACTIN-ENCODING cDNAs FROM Jatropha curcas L. IP-2P

Actin is a major component of the plant cytoskeleton, so all cells contain this protein. Actin is expressed constitutivelyand is involved in basic housekeeping functions required for cell maintenance. Because of this, it has been frequentlyused as an internal control to normalize changes in gene expressions analysis. Actually, the information of nucleotidesequence of actin gene of Jatropha curcas L. population IP-2P from Indonesia is not available yet. The objective of thisresearch was to isolate, clone and characterize cDNA of actin genes of J. curcas IP-2P. Three partial actin genesequences had been successfully isolated by PCR using total cDNA as template, and actin primer designed fromconserved region of Arabidopsis thaliana. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that the length of JcACT fragment is610, 534, and 701 bp encoding 203, 177, and 234 amino acids respectively. Local alignment analysis based on mRNAsequences shows that JcACT fragment shares 98% similarity with actin mRNA of Hevea brasiliensis and 99% withactin mRNA of Ricinus communis. Based on deduced amino acid sequence, JcACT is 100% identical to actins fromPrunus salicina, Gossypium hirsutum, and Betula luminifera. Even though these clones of cDNA are not completed yet,they can be used as reference in J. curcas L. gene expression analysis

ISOLASI FRAGMEN cDNA DARI GEN PENYANDI AKTIN DARI Melastoma malabathricum

Isolation of cDNA Fragment of Gene Encoding for Actin from Melastoma malabthricum. M. malabathricum grows well in acidic soil with high Al solubility, thereby it can be used as a model plant for tolerance to aluminum and acid stresses. Actin is housekeeping gene used as an internal control for gene expression analysis. The objective of this research was to isolate and clone the cDNA fragments of MmACT encoding for actin of M. malabathricum. Total RNA was isolated and used as the template for cDNA synthesis by reverse transcription. Four cDNA fragments of MmACT, called MmACT1, MmACT2, MmACT3, and MmACT4, had been isolated and inserted into pGEM-T Easy plasmid. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that the size of MmACT1 and MmACT2 is 617 bp, whereas MmACT3 and MmACT4 is 735 bp. The similarity among these four MmACT is about 78%-99% based on nucleotide sequence and about 98%-100% based on amino acid sequence. Phylogenetic analysis based on amino acid sequence showed that at 1% dissimilarity, the MmACT1, MmACT2, MmACT3 and the ACT5 Populus trichocarpha are clustered in one group, while the MmACT4 is grouped with ACT9 P. trichocarpa and ACT1 Gossypium hirsutum, and these two groups are separated from actin group of monocotyledonous plants. The sequence of MmACT fragments were registered in GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ database with accession numbers AB500686, AB500687, AB500688, and AB500689

Chemical Profiling of <i>Jatropha</i> Tissues under Different Torrefaction Conditions: Application to Biomass Waste Recovery

<div><p>Gradual depletion of the world petroleum reserves and the impact of environmental pollution highlight the importance of developing alternative energy resources such as plant biomass. To address these issues, intensive research has focused on the plant <i>Jatropha curcas</i>, which serves as a rich source of biodiesel because of its high seed oil content. However, producing biodiesel from <i>Jatropha</i> generates large amounts of biomass waste that are difficult to use. Therefore, the objective of our research was to analyze the effects of different conditions of torrefaction on <i>Jatropha</i> biomass. Six different types of <i>Jatropha</i> tissues (seed coat, kernel, stem, xylem, bark, and leaf) were torrefied at four different temperature conditions (200°C, 250°C, 300°C, and 350°C), and changes in the metabolite composition of the torrefied products were determined by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. Cellulose was gradually converted to oligosaccharides in the temperature range of 200°C–300°C and completely degraded at 350°C. Hemicellulose residues showed different degradation patterns depending on the tissue, whereas glucuronoxylan efficiently decomposed between 300°C and 350°C. Heat-induced depolymerization of starch to maltodextrin started between 200°C and 250°C, and oligomer sugar structure degradation occurred at higher temperatures. Lignin degraded at each temperature, e.g., syringyl (S) degraded at lower temperatures than guaiacyl (G). Finally, the toxic compound phorbol ester degraded gradually starting at 235°C and efficiently just below 300°C. These results suggest that torrefaction is a feasible treatment for further processing of residual biomass to biorefinery stock or fertilizer.</p></div

Stage-Specific Characterization of Physiological Response to Heat Stress in the Wheat Cultivar Norin 61

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is less adaptable to high temperatures than other major cereals. Previous studies of the effects of high temperature on wheat focused on the reproductive stage. There are few reports on yield after high temperatures at other growth stages. Understanding growth-stage-specific responses to heat stress will contribute to the development of tolerant lines suited to high temperatures at various stages. We exposed wheat cultivar “Norin 61” to high temperature at three growth stages: seedling–tillering (GS1), tillering–flowering (GS2), and flowering–maturity (GS3). We compared each condition based on agronomical traits, seed maturity, and photosynthesis results. Heat at GS2 reduced plant height and number of grains, and heat at GS3 reduced the grain formation period and grain weight. However, heat at GS1 reduced senescence and prolonged grain formation, increasing grain weight without reducing yield. These data provide fundamental insights into the biochemical and molecular adaptations of bread wheat to high-temperature stresses and have implications for the development of wheat lines that can respond to high temperatures at various times of the year

Metabolome Profiling of Heat Priming Effects, Senescence, and Acclimation of Bread Wheat Induced by High Temperatures at Different Growth Stages

Our previous study described stage-specific responses of &lsquo;Norin 61&rsquo; bread wheat to high temperatures from seedling to tillering (GS1), tillering to flowering (GS2), flowering to full maturity stage (GS3), and seedling to full maturity stage (GS1&ndash;3). The grain development phase lengthened in GS1 plants; source tissue decreased in GS2 plants; rapid senescence occurred in GS3 plants; all these effects occurred in GS1&ndash;3 plants. The present study quantified 69 flag leaf metabolites during early grain development to reveal the effects of stage-specific high-temperature stress and identify markers that predict grain weight. Heat stresses during GS2 and GS3 showed the largest shifts in metabolite contents compared with the control, followed by GS1&ndash;3 and GS1. The GS3 plants accumulated nucleosides related to the nucleotide salvage pathway, beta-alanine, and serotonin. Accumulation of these compounds in GS1 plants was significantly lower than in the control, suggesting that the reduction related to the high-temperature priming effect observed in the phenotype (i.e., inhibition of senescence). The GS2 plants accumulated a large quantity of free amino acids, indicating residual effects of the previous high-temperature treatment and recovery from stress. However, levels in GS1&ndash;3 plants tended to be close to those in the control, indicating an acclimation response. Beta-alanine, serotonin, tryptophan, proline, and putrescine are potential molecular markers that predict grain weight due to their correlation with agronomic traits

Isolation of cDNA Fragment of Gene Encoding for Actin from Melastoma malabthricum.

Isolation of cDNA Fragment of Gene Encoding for Actin from Melastoma malabthricum. M. malabathricumgrows well in acidic soil with high Al solubility, thereby it can be used as a model plant for tolerance to aluminum andacid stresses. Actin is housekeeping gene used as an internal control for gene expression analysis. The objective of thisresearch was to isolate and clone the cDNA fragments of MmACT encoding for actin of M. malabathricum. Total RNAwas isolated and used as the template for cDNA synthesis by reverse transcription. Four cDNA fragments of MmACT,called MmACT1, MmACT2, MmACT3, and MmACT4, had been isolated and inserted into pGEM-T Easy plasmid.Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that the size of MmACT1 and MmACT2 is 617 bp, whereas MmACT3 andMmACT4 is 735 bp. The similarity among these four MmACT is about 78%-99% based on nucleotide sequence andabout 98%-100% based on amino acid sequence. Phylogenetic analysis based on amino acid sequence showed that at1% dissimilarity, the MmACT1, MmACT2, MmACT3 and the ACT5 Populus trichocarpha are clustered in one group,while the MmACT4 is grouped with ACT9 P. trichocarpa and ACT1 Gossypium hirsutum, and these two groups areseparated from actin group of monocotyledonous plants. The sequence of MmACT fragments were registered inGenBank/EMBL/DDBJ database with accession numbers AB500686, AB500687, AB500688, and AB500689