Two cold inducible genes encoding lipid transfer protein LTP4 from barley show differential responses to bacterial pathogens

The barley genesHvLtp4.2 andHvLtp4.3 both encode the lipid transfer protein LTP4 and are less than 1 kb apart in tail-to-tail orientation. They differ in their non-coding regions from each other and from the gene corresponding to a previously reportedLtp4 cDNA (nowLtp4.1). Southern blot analysis indicated the existence of three or moreLtp4 genes per haploid genome and showed considerable polymorphism among barley cultivars. We have investigated the transient expression of genesHvLtp4.2 andHvLtp4.3 following transformation by particle bombardment, using promoter fusions to the-glucuronidase reporter sequence. In leaves, activities of the two promoters were of the same order as those of the sucrose synthase (Ss1) and cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoters used as controls. Their expression patterns were similar, except thatLtp4.2 was more active thanLtp4.3 in endosperm, andLtp4.3 was active in roots, whileLtp4.2 was not. The promoters of both genes were induced by low temperature, both in winter and spring barley cultivars. Northern blot analysis, using theLtp4-specific probe, indicated thatXanthomonas campestris pv.translucens induced an increase over basal levels ofLtp4 mRNA, whilePseudomonas syringae pv.japonica caused a decrease. TheLtp4.3-Gus promoter fusion also responded in opposite ways to these two compatible bacterial pathogens, whereas theLtp4.2-Gus construction did not respond to infectio

Hybrid and cognitive digital twins for the process industry

Abstract In a Europe that is undergoing digital transformation, the COGNITWIN project is contributing to accelerate the transformation and introduce Industry 4.0 to the European process industries. The opportunities here can be illustrated by the SPIRE 2050 Vision document (https://www.spire2030.eu/sites/default/files/users/user85/Vision_Document_V6_Pages_Online_0.pdf), which states that “Digitalisation of process industries has a tremendous potential to dramatically accelerate change in resource management, process control and in the design and the deployment of disruptive new business models.” The process industries are characterized with harsh environments where sensors are either costly, not available, or may be subject to costly maintenance. The development of digital twins that can exploit the combinations of data-based and physics-based models is often found to be a preferred path to robust digital twins that can help cutting costs and reduce energy consumption. In this article, we present 5 out of 6 industrial pilots that are developed in the COGNITWIN project. We discuss the commonalities and differences between the selected approaches and give some ideas about how cognition can be incorporated into the digital twins. The aim of this article is to inspire similar projects in related industries

Functional specialization of vacuoles in sugarcane leaf and stem

Plant vacuoles are frequently targeted as a storage site for novel products. We have used environment-sensitive fluorescent dyes and the expression of vacuolar marker proteins to characterize the vacuoles in different organs and cell types of sugarcane. The results demonstrated that the lumen of the vacuole in the parenchyma cells of the stem is acidic