Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) for direct visualization of plant metabolites in situ

Direct visualization of plant tissues by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) has revealed key insights into the localization of metabolites in situ. Recent efforts have determined the spatial distribution of primary and secondary metabolites in plant tissues and cells. Strategies have been applied in many areas of metabolism including isotope flux analyses, plant interactions, and transcriptional regulation of metabolite accumulation. Technological advances have pushed achievable spatial resolution to subcellular levels and increased instrument sensitivity by several orders of magnitude. It is anticipated that MALDI-MSI and other MSI approaches will bring a new level of understanding to metabolomics as scientists will be encouraged to consider spatial heterogeneity of metabolites in descriptions of metabolic pathway regulatio

Using a split chimney for dilution of exhaust pollution: a CFD approach

There is a demand to lower the concentration of toxic gases and smoke in the vicinity of the chimneys at low wind speed. This article deals with the advantages of using a novel and low-cost configuration which has already successfully been used to generate fire-whirls in the laboratory. The computational results show that the configuration named split chimney is able to generate a swirling flow when a hot air flow is used instead of a fire. In addition, the results show that the split chimney is able to lower the concentration of harmful gases at the outlet of the chimney without significant adverse effect on the plume rise

Differential nitric oxide synthesis and host apoptotic events correlate with bleaching susceptibility in reef corals

Coral bleaching poses a threat to coral reefs worldwide. As a consequence of the temperature-induced breakdown in coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis, bleaching can have extensive effects on reef communities. However, our understanding of bleaching at a cellular level is limited, and this is particularly true regarding differential susceptibility among coral species. Recent work suggests that bleaching may represent a host innate immune-like response to symbiont dysfunction that involves synthesis of the signalling compound nitric oxide (NO) and the induction of host apoptotic-like cell death. In this study, we examined the activity of apoptosis-regulating enzymes alongside oxidised NO accumulation (a proxy for NO synthesis) in the reef corals Acropora millepora, Montipora digitata, and Pocillopora damicornis during experimental thermal stress. P. damicornis was the most sensitive species, suffering mortality (tissue sloughing) after 5 days at 33 A degrees C but non-lethal bleaching after 9 days at 31.5 A degrees C. A. millepora bleached at 33 A degrees C but remained structurally intact, while M. digitata showed little evidence of bleaching. P. damicornis and A. millepora both exhibited evidence of temperature-induced NO synthesis and, after 5 days of heating, levels of oxidised NO in both species were fivefold higher than in controls maintained at 28.5 A degrees C. These responses preceded bleaching by a number of days and may have occurred before symbiont dysfunction (measured as chlorophyll a degradation and oxidised NO accumulation). In A. millepora, apparent NO synthesis correlated with the induction of host apoptotic-like pathways, while in P. damicornis, the upregulation of apoptotic pathways occurred later. No evidence of elevated NO production or apoptosis was observed in M. digitata at 33 A degrees C and baseline activity of apoptosis-regulating enzymes was negligible in this species. These findings provide important physiological data in the context of the responses of corals to global change and suggest that early events in the host may be important in the collapse of the coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis

The -Omics Tool Box

DOI: 10.1002/9783527686063.ch18International audienceThe-omics tool box refers to a set of modern analytical techniques developed during the past decades that paved way for a remarkable progress of knowledge in biology, biochemistry, and life sciences. The aim of these new technologies is to acquire - ideally - complete sets of molecular data of the genome, proteome, transcriptome, metabolome, and related fields. The suffix "-ome" refers to the entirety of, for example, genes, proteins, or metabolites in a regarded system while "-omics" corresponds to the related analytical methods for acquiring global qualitative and quantitative information. Thus terms like genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and metallomics were coined. These "-omics" technologies have the ambitious aim to integrate genome, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome data in order to expand our knowledge on organisms or ecological systems. Such integration and interpretation of large datasets improve the understanding of pathway functions and regulatory networks. An example from plant biology in Figure 18.1 demonstrates how functional interactions in a network among genes, proteins, and metabolites can be elucidated by an integrated "-omics" approach. This chapter presents the basics of modern genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and metallomics techniques. This includes large-scale high-throughput experiments, computational, and theoretical approaches in order to advance the frontier of knowledge on biological systems. © 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. All rights reserved