Effect of GA 3 and paclobutrazol on adventitious shoot regeneration of two Pelargonium sp

This study had two aims. The first was to improve the regeneration efficiency of Pelargonium leaf discs by adventitious budding. The second was to test the effect of gibberellic acid (GA 3) and paclobutrazol (PBZ) on callus formation and adventitious shoot regeneration in Pelargonium before using genetic transformation of this species for functional validation of genes involved in the process of GA regulation. GA 3 and paclobutrazol (an inhibitor of GA synthesis pathway) were added (together or separately) in the shoot regeneration media of two Pelargonium species, Pelargonium * hortorum \u27Panache sud\u27 (\u27P.sud\u27) and Pelargonium * domesticum \u27Autumn haze\u27 (\u27 P.dom\u27). In both cases, GA 3 applied alone, completely inhibited the bud regeneration. Moreover, the rate of callus formation decreased drastically when 5 M of GA 3 was applied to \u27 P. dom\u27 explants. Similar result was obtained with \u27P.sud\u27 explants using 20 M GA 3. Paclobutrazol (0.3 M) applied at the same time as GA 3 (10 M) could partially restore regeneration process of \u27 P. dom\u27. For \u27 P. dom\u27, the use of paclobutrazol alone increased callus formation and slightly improved the rate of regeneration. Moreover, initiated buds had a better appearance. For \u27P. sud\u27, which had an abundant callusing, paclobutrazol did not improve regeneration and led to hyperhydric shoots

Recanalization of obstructed metallic uncovered biliary stent using endobiliary radiofrequency ablation

International audienc

Epidemiological evidence of higher susceptibility to vCJD in the young

BACKGROUND: The strikingly young age of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (vCJD) cases remains unexplained. Age dependent susceptibility to infection has been put forward, but differential dietary exposure to contaminated food products in the UK population according to age and sex during the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic may provide a simpler explanation. METHODS: Using recently published estimates of dietary exposure in mathematical models of the epidemiology of the new variant Creutzfeldt Jacob disease (vCJD), we examine whether the age characteristics of vCJD cases may be reproduced. RESULTS: The susceptibility/exposure risk function has likely peaked in adolescents and was followed by a sharp decrease with age, evocative of the profile of exposure to bovine material consumption according to age. However, assuming that the risk of contamination was proportional to exposure, with no age dependent susceptibility, the model failed to reproduce the observed age characteristics of the vCJD cases: The predicted cumulated proportion of cases over 40 years was 48%, in strong disagreement with the observed 10%. Incorporating age dependent susceptibility led to a cumulated proportion of cases over 40 years old of 12%. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis provides evidence that differential dietary exposure alone fails to explain the pattern of age in vCJD cases. Decreasing age related susceptibility is required to reproduce the characteristics of the age distribution of vCJD cases

Overexpression of RoDELLA impacts the height, branching, and flowering behaviour of Pelargonium × domesticum transgenic plants

Key message We reported the cloning of a rose DELLA gene. We obtained transgenic Pelargonium lines overexpressing this gene which presented several phenotypes in plant growth, root growth, flowering time and number of inflorescences. Abstract Control of development is an important issue for production of ornamental plant. The plant growth regulator, gibberellins (GAs), plays a pivotal role in regulating plant growth and development. DELLA proteins are nuclear negative regulator of GA signalling. Our objective was to study the role of GA in the plant architecture and in the blooming of ornamentals. We cloned a rose DELLA homologous gene, RoDELLA, and studied its function by genetic transformation of pelargonium. Several transgenic pelargonium (Pelargonium × domesticum ‘Autum Haze’) lines were produced that ectopically expressed RoDELLA under the control of the 35S promoter. These transgenic plants exhibited a range of phenotypes which could be related to the reduction in GA response. Most of transgenic plants showed reduced growth associated to an increase of the node and branch number. Moreover, overexpression of RoDELLA blocked or delayed flowering in transgenic pelargonium and exhibited defects in the root formation. We demonstrated that pelargonium could be used to validate ornamental gene as the rose DELLA gene. RoDELLA overexpression modified many aspects of plant developmental pathways, as the plant growth, the transition of vegetative to floral stage and the ability of rooting

Further investigation of the role of HLA-DPB1 in adult Hodgkin's disease (HD) suggests an influence on susceptibility to different HD subtypes

It has been suggested in a number of studies that susceptibility to adult Hodgkin's disease (HD) is influenced by the HLA class II region, and specifically by alleles at the HLA-DPB1 locus. Since HD is diagnostically complex, it is not clear whether different HLA-DPB1 alleles confer susceptibility to different HD subtypes. To clarify this we have extended a previous study to type DPB1 alleles in 147 adult HD patients from a single centre. We have analysed patients with nodular sclerosing (NS), mixed cellularity (MC) or lymphocyte predominant (LP) HD, and gender in relation to HLA-DPB1 type, in comparison with 183 adult controls. The results confirmed previously reported associations of DPB1*0301 with HD susceptibility (relative risk (RR) = 1.42; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.86-2.36) and DPB1*0201 with resistance to HD (RR = 0.49; CI 0.27-0.90). However, analysis by HD subtype and gender showed that *0301-associated susceptibility was confined to females with HD (RR = 2.46; CI 1.02-5.92), and *0201-associated resistance to females with NS-HD (RR = 0.28; CI 0.10-0.79). Susceptibility to NS-HD was also associated in females with *1001 (RR = 11.73; CI 1.32-104.36), and resistance with *1101 (RR = 0.08; CI 0.01-0.65). In contrast, susceptibility to LP-HD was associated in males with *2001 (RR = 32.14; CI 3.17-326.17), and to MC-HD with *3401 (RR = 16.78; CI 2.84-99.17). Comparison of DPB1-encoded polymorphic amino-acid frequencies in patients and controls showed that susceptibility to MC-HD was associated with Leucine at position 35 of DPB1 (RR = 8.85; CI 3.04-25.77), Alanine-55 (RR = 15.17; CI 2.00-115.20) and Valine-84 (RR = 15.94; CI 3.55-71.49). In contrast, Glutamic acid 69 was significantly associated with resistance to MC-HD (RR = 0.14; CI 0.03-0.60). Certain DPB1 alleles and individual DPbeta1 polymorphic amino acid residues may thus affect susceptibility and resistance to specific HD subtypes. This may be through their influence on the binding of peptides derived from an HD-associated infectious agent, and the consequent effect on immune responses to the agent

Thiolutin is a zinc chelator that inhibits the Rpn11 and other JAMM metalloproteases

Thiolutin is a disulfide-containing antibiotic and anti-angiogenic compound produced by Streptomyces. Its biological targets are not known. We show that reduced thiolutin is a zinc chelator that inhibits the JAB1/MPN/Mov34 (JAMM) domain–containing metalloprotease Rpn11, a deubiquitinating enzyme of the 19S proteasome. Thiolutin also inhibits the JAMM metalloproteases Csn5, the deneddylase of the COP9 signalosome; AMSH, which regulates ubiquitin-dependent sorting of cell-surface receptors; and BRCC36, a K63-specific deubiquitinase of the BRCC36-containing isopeptidase complex and the BRCA1–BRCA2-containing complex. We provide evidence that other dithiolopyrrolones also function as inhibitors of JAMM metalloproteases

CD40, autophagy and Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasmagondii represents a pathogen that survives within host cells by preventing the endosomal-lysosomal compartments from fusing with the parasitophorous vacuoles. The dogma had been that the non-fusogenic nature of these vacuoles is irreversible. Recent studies revealed that this dogma is not correct. Cell-mediated immunity through CD40 re-routes the parasitophorous vacuoles to the lysosomal compartment by a process called autophagy. Autophagosome formation around the parasitophorous vacuole results in killing of the T. gondii. CD40-induced autophagy likely contributes to resistance against T. gondii particularly in neural tissue

Genome-Wide and Phase-Specific DNA-Binding Rhythms of BMAL1 Control Circadian Output Functions in Mouse Liver

Temporal mapping during a circadian day of binding sites for the BMAL1 transcription factor in mouse liver reveals genome-wide daily rhythms in DNA binding and uncovers output functions that are controlled by the circadian oscillator

Zircon from the East Orebody of the Bayan Obo Fe–Nb–REE deposit, China, and SHRIMP ages for carbonatite-related magmatism and REE mineralization events

Extremely U-depleted