Reactive oxygen species-driven transcription in Arabidopsis under oxygen deprivation

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role as triggers of gene expression during biotic and abiotic stresses, among which is low oxygen (O2). Previous studies have shown that ROS regulation under low O2 is driven by a RHO-like GTPase that allows tight control of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production. H2O2 is thought to regulate the expression of heat shock proteins, in a mechanism that is common to both O2 deprivation and to heat stress. In this work, we used publicly available Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) microarray datasets related to ROS and O2 deprivation to define transcriptome convergence pattern. Our results show that although Arabidopsis response to anoxic and hypoxic treatments share a common core of genes related to the anaerobic metabolism, they differ in terms of ROS-related gene response. We propose that H2O2 production under O2 deprivation is a trait present in a very early phase of anoxia, and that ROS are needed for the regulation of a set of genes belonging to the heat shock protein and ROS-mediated groups. This mechanism, likely not regulated via the N-end rule pathway for O2 sensing, is probably mediated by a NADPH oxidase and it is involved in plant tolerance to the stress

SUB1A dependent and independent mechanisms are involved in the flooding tolerance of wild rice species

Crop tolerance to flooding is an important agronomic trait. Although rice (Oryza sativa) is considered a flood-tolerant crop, only limited cultivars display tolerance to prolonged submergence, which is largely attributed to the presence of the SUB1A gene. Wild Oryza species have the potential to unveil adaptive mechanisms and shed light on the basis of submergence tolerance traits. In this study, we screened 109 Oryza genotypes belonging to different rice genome groups for flooding tolerance. O. nivara and O. rufipogon accessions, belonging to the A-genome group together with O. sativa, showed a wide range of submergence responses and the tolerance-related SUB1A-1 and the intolerance-related SUB1A-2 alleles were found in tolerant and sensitive accessions, respectively. Flooding tolerant accessions of O. rhizomatis and O. eichingeri, belonging to the C-genome group, were also identified. Interestingly, SUB1A was absent in these species, which possess a SUB1 orthologue with high similarity to O. sativa SUB1C. The expression patterns of submergence-induced genes in these rice genotypes indicated limited induction of anaerobic genes, with classical anaerobic proteins poorly induced in O. rhizomatis under submergence. The results indicated that SUB1A-1 is not essential to confer submergence tolerance in the wild rice genotypes belonging to the C-genome group, which show instead a SUB1A-independent response to submergenc

botrytis cinerea induces local hypoxia in arabidopsis leaves

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A nonlinear complementary filter for underwater navigation using inertial measurements

This paper describes a nonlinear complementary filter capable of estimating the course motion variables namely the position, velocity, heading and accelerometers bias of an agile, over-actuated AUV during underwater operations, using the inertial sensors (IMU), the DVL, the depth sensor and the compass. The proposed work is within the framework of the V-Fides project, co-funded by Tuscany Region (Italy) and developed by a team lead by WASS S.p.A. (Whitehead Sistemi Subacquei, Livorno). The aim of the project was to develop and evaluate an high-depth, over-actuated, long endurance Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). The paper proposes the mathematical development of the observer, together with some experimental results, able to demonstrate the capabilities of the estimation scheme, compared with the estimations obtained via a standard Kalman Filter

Relationship between retinal inner nuclear layer, age, and disease activity in progressive MS

ObjectiveTo investigate whether inner nuclear layer (INL) thickness as assessed with optical coherence tomography differs between patients with progressive MS (P-MS) according to age and disease activity.MethodsIn this retrospective longitudinal analysis, differences in terms of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL), ganglion cell layer + inner plexiform layer (GCIPL), INL and T1/T2 lesion volumes (T1LV/T2LV) were assessed between 84 patients with P-MS and 36 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) and between patients stratified according to age (cut-off: 51 years) and evidence of clinical/MRI activity in the previous 12 monthsResultspRNFL and GCIPL thickness were significantly lower in patients with P-MS than in HCs (p = 0.003 and p < 0.0001, respectively). INL was significantly thicker in patients aged < 51 years compared to the older ones and HCs (38.2 vs 36.5 and 36.7 m; p = 0.038 and p = 0.04, respectively) and in those who presented MRI activity (new T2/gadolinium-enhancing lesions) in the previous 12 months compared to the ones who did not and HCs (39.5 vs 36.4 and 36.7 m; p = 0.003 and p = 0.008, respectively). Recent MRI activity was significantly predicted by greater INL thickness (Nagelkerke R2 0.36, p = 0.001).ConclusionsINL thickness was higher in younger patients with P-MS with recent MRI activity, a criterion used in previous studies to identify a specific subset of patients with P-MS who best responded to disease-modifying treatment. If this finding is confirmed, we suggest that INL thickness might be a useful tool in stratification of patients with P-MS for current and experimental treatment choic