Early iron production in the Levant: Smelting and smithing at early 1st millennium BC Tell Hammeh, Jordan, and Tel Beth-Shemesh, Israel

The use of iron in the Near East is first attested by the sporadic occurrence of iron artefacts during the Bronze Age. By the end of the Late Bronze Age, however, use of iron metal gradually increases to such a level that one can assume a reasonably regular production of iron metal from terrestrial ores by smelting. However, very few iron metallurgical workshops or installations have been discovered in the Near East thus far. Of these, most are apparently related to secondary smithing, and very few if any have clear evidence for iron smelting. Recent fieldwork at Tell Hammeh, Jordan, identified a major iron smelting operation dated to ca. 930 Cal BC. Excavations in 2001 and 2003 at Tel Beth- Shemesh, Israel, uncovered remains of a full-scale smithing operation, dating to ca. 900 Cal BC. Dedicated excavation techniques were developed and refined for both sites, aiming at optimal recovery of both technological and archaeological information. The excavated materials were comprehensively analysed using relevant scientific analytical techniques, which included the development and application of a calibration method for quantitative bulk chemical analysis of iron- rich materials by XRF. Combining laboratory data and fieldwork, this thesis explores the particular lime- rich and iron-oxide-poor nature of the Hammeh slags as a function of the composition of the local ore and the sacrificial contribution of technical ceramics (tuyeres and furnace wall). Furthermore, it compares the smelting operations at Tell Hammeh with the smithing at Tel Beth-Shemesh, both in terms of their respective archaeological contexts as well as of their technological residues. This aims at the identification and reconstruction of the chaine operatoire of the technologies at both sites. The reconstructed technological processes are discussed in terms of their place in the socio-economic and cultural context of the early first millennium BC of the Levant. Beyond providing new data about early iron metallurgy, the integrated archaeological and laboratory approach, the excavation methods applied, the analytical methodology, as well as the archaeometric data presented here may serve as a model for the excavation, interpretation, or comparison of future (and previous) discoveries of iron metallurgy in the Near East

MOESM5 of Taxonomic placement of Paphiopedilum rungsuriyanum (Cypripedioideae; Orchidaceae) based on morphological, cytological and molecular analyses

Additional file 5: Figure S2. One of the most parsimonious trees from the analysis of low-copy nuclear gene, ACO for Paphiopedilum. Bootstrap percentages (BP) >70 and Bayesian posterior probabilities (PP) are given for supported clades above the branches

Data_Sheet_1_Increased Expression of 9-Cis-Epoxycarotenoid Dioxygenase, PtNCED1, Associated With Inhibited Seed Germination in a Terrestrial Orchid, Phaius tankervilliae.PDF

<p>The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) is involved in regulating seed dormancy and germination. A crucial step of ABA biosynthesis in higher plants is the oxidative cleavage of cis-epoxycarotenoids by 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). Seed development in orchids is unusual because the embryos are minute in size, without obvious histodifferentiation, and lack endosperm. To understand the regulation of ABA biosynthesis in orchid seeds, we isolated and characterized a full-length cDNA encoding an NCED homolog, PtNCED1, from developing seeds of an ornamental orchid, Phaius tankervilliae. Germination percentage was high at 90 days after pollination (DAP), when a globular embryo proper with a degenerating suspensor was evident. After 90 DAP, seed maturation was accompanied by a decrease in water content and a concomitant increase in ABA content and PtNCED1 mRNA level along with a marked decrease in germination percentage. Mature seeds pretreated with NaOCl solution lowered ABA content and improved seed germination. Moreover, after seed germination, developing protocorms could respond to dehydration stress. Dehydration of protocorms stimulated an increase in PtNCED1 level along with ABA content. Our results provide evidence of the involvement of PtNCED1 in regulating endogenous ABA content in developing seeds and protocorms. The accumulation of endogenous ABA content in orchid seeds may have a critical role in seed dormancy and the protocorm response to water stress after seed germination.</p

Data_Sheet_2_Increased Expression of 9-Cis-Epoxycarotenoid Dioxygenase, PtNCED1, Associated With Inhibited Seed Germination in a Terrestrial Orchid, Phaius tankervilliae.PDF

<p>The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) is involved in regulating seed dormancy and germination. A crucial step of ABA biosynthesis in higher plants is the oxidative cleavage of cis-epoxycarotenoids by 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). Seed development in orchids is unusual because the embryos are minute in size, without obvious histodifferentiation, and lack endosperm. To understand the regulation of ABA biosynthesis in orchid seeds, we isolated and characterized a full-length cDNA encoding an NCED homolog, PtNCED1, from developing seeds of an ornamental orchid, Phaius tankervilliae. Germination percentage was high at 90 days after pollination (DAP), when a globular embryo proper with a degenerating suspensor was evident. After 90 DAP, seed maturation was accompanied by a decrease in water content and a concomitant increase in ABA content and PtNCED1 mRNA level along with a marked decrease in germination percentage. Mature seeds pretreated with NaOCl solution lowered ABA content and improved seed germination. Moreover, after seed germination, developing protocorms could respond to dehydration stress. Dehydration of protocorms stimulated an increase in PtNCED1 level along with ABA content. Our results provide evidence of the involvement of PtNCED1 in regulating endogenous ABA content in developing seeds and protocorms. The accumulation of endogenous ABA content in orchid seeds may have a critical role in seed dormancy and the protocorm response to water stress after seed germination.</p

Data_Sheet_3_Increased Expression of 9-Cis-Epoxycarotenoid Dioxygenase, PtNCED1, Associated With Inhibited Seed Germination in a Terrestrial Orchid, Phaius tankervilliae.PDF

<p>The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) is involved in regulating seed dormancy and germination. A crucial step of ABA biosynthesis in higher plants is the oxidative cleavage of cis-epoxycarotenoids by 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). Seed development in orchids is unusual because the embryos are minute in size, without obvious histodifferentiation, and lack endosperm. To understand the regulation of ABA biosynthesis in orchid seeds, we isolated and characterized a full-length cDNA encoding an NCED homolog, PtNCED1, from developing seeds of an ornamental orchid, Phaius tankervilliae. Germination percentage was high at 90 days after pollination (DAP), when a globular embryo proper with a degenerating suspensor was evident. After 90 DAP, seed maturation was accompanied by a decrease in water content and a concomitant increase in ABA content and PtNCED1 mRNA level along with a marked decrease in germination percentage. Mature seeds pretreated with NaOCl solution lowered ABA content and improved seed germination. Moreover, after seed germination, developing protocorms could respond to dehydration stress. Dehydration of protocorms stimulated an increase in PtNCED1 level along with ABA content. Our results provide evidence of the involvement of PtNCED1 in regulating endogenous ABA content in developing seeds and protocorms. The accumulation of endogenous ABA content in orchid seeds may have a critical role in seed dormancy and the protocorm response to water stress after seed germination.</p

Data_Sheet_4_Increased Expression of 9-Cis-Epoxycarotenoid Dioxygenase, PtNCED1, Associated With Inhibited Seed Germination in a Terrestrial Orchid, Phaius tankervilliae.PDF

<p>The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) is involved in regulating seed dormancy and germination. A crucial step of ABA biosynthesis in higher plants is the oxidative cleavage of cis-epoxycarotenoids by 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). Seed development in orchids is unusual because the embryos are minute in size, without obvious histodifferentiation, and lack endosperm. To understand the regulation of ABA biosynthesis in orchid seeds, we isolated and characterized a full-length cDNA encoding an NCED homolog, PtNCED1, from developing seeds of an ornamental orchid, Phaius tankervilliae. Germination percentage was high at 90 days after pollination (DAP), when a globular embryo proper with a degenerating suspensor was evident. After 90 DAP, seed maturation was accompanied by a decrease in water content and a concomitant increase in ABA content and PtNCED1 mRNA level along with a marked decrease in germination percentage. Mature seeds pretreated with NaOCl solution lowered ABA content and improved seed germination. Moreover, after seed germination, developing protocorms could respond to dehydration stress. Dehydration of protocorms stimulated an increase in PtNCED1 level along with ABA content. Our results provide evidence of the involvement of PtNCED1 in regulating endogenous ABA content in developing seeds and protocorms. The accumulation of endogenous ABA content in orchid seeds may have a critical role in seed dormancy and the protocorm response to water stress after seed germination.</p

MOESM1 of Distribution of new satellites and simple sequence repeats in annual and perennial Glycine species

Additional file 1. Table S1. Sequence of the primers used in the study

MOESM2 of Distribution of new satellites and simple sequence repeats in annual and perennial Glycine species

Additional file 2. Table S2. Sequence of repeat sequences and probes used in the study

Groups of enriched gene ontology (GO) terms for differentially expressed genes common to both trisomy 2 and tertiary trisomy 2.

<p>The gene ontology was analyzed by use of AgriGO <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0114617#pone.0114617-Du1" target="_blank">[33]</a>.</p>a<p>Biological process (P); molecular function (F).</p>b<p>Chi-square statistical test; FDR, false discovery rate.</p><p>Groups of enriched gene ontology (GO) terms for differentially expressed genes common to both trisomy 2 and tertiary trisomy 2.</p

Gene ontology (GO) terms enriched among the misregulated genes in three trisomic plants.

<p>The specific enriched GO terms for up- and downregulated genes in <i>AAA</i> (white), <i>AAa</i> (black) and trisomy 5 (gray) were derived by use of agriGO <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0114617#pone.0114617-Du1" target="_blank">[33]</a>. The <i>p</i> values for GO terms are shown in –logarithmic scale. Data for trisomy 5 are from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0114617#pone.0114617-Huettel1" target="_blank">[5]</a>. Complete lists are presented in Tables S3 and S4 in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0114617#pone.0114617.s001" target="_blank">S1 File</a>.</p