1,684 research outputs found
Supply of sulphur to S-deficient young barley seedlings restores their capability to cope with iron shortage
The effect of the S nutritional status on a plant's capability to cope with Fe shortage was studied in solution cultivation experiments in barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Europa). Barley is a Strategy II plant and responds to Fe deficiency by secretion of chelating compounds, phytosiderophores (PS). All PS are derived from nicotianamine whose precursor is methionine. This suggests that a long-term supply of an inadequate amount of S could reduce a plant's capability to respond to Fe deficiency by limiting the rate of PS biosynthesis. The responses of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Europa) plants grown for 12 d on Fe-free nutrient solutions (NS) containing 0 or 1.2 mM SO42-, was examined after 24 h or 48 h from transfer to NS containing 1.2 mM SO42-. After the supply of S was restored to S-deprived plants, an increase in PS release in root exudates was evident after 24 h of growth in S-sufficient NS and the increment reached values up to 4-fold higher than the control 48 h after S resupply. When S was supplied to S-deficient plants, leaf ATPS (EC 2.7.7.4) and OASTL (EC 4.2.99.8) activities exhibited a progressive recovery. Furthermore, root HvST1 transcript abundance remained high for 48 h following S resupply and a significant increase in the level of root HvYS1 transcripts was also found after only 24 h of S resupply. Data support the idea that the extent to which the plant is able to cope with Fe starvation is strongly associated with its S nutritional status. In particular, our results are indicative that barley plants fully recover their capability to cope with Fe shortage after the supply of S is restored to S-deficient plants
Magnetic reversals in a simple model of MHD
We study a simple magnetohydrodynamical approach in which hydrodynamics and
MHD turbulence are coupled in a shell model, with given dynamo constrains in
the large scales. We consider the case of a low Prandtl number fluid for which
the inertial range of the velocity field is much wider than that of the
magnetic field. Random reversals of the magnetic field are observed and it
shown that the magnetic field has a non trivial evolution linked to the nature
of the hydrodynamics turbulence.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to PR
Rotational intermittency and turbulence induced lift experienced by large particles in a turbulent flow
The motion of a large, neutrally buoyant, particle, freely advected by a
turbulent flow is determined experimentally. We demonstrate that both the
translational and angular accelerations exhibit very wide probability
distributions, a manifestation of intermittency. The orientation of the angular
velocity with respect to the trajectory, as well as the translational
acceleration conditioned on the spinning velocity provide evidence of a lift
force acting on the particle.Comment: 4 page, 4 figure
Stochastic Resonance in a simple model of magnetic reversals
We discuss the effect of stochastic resonance in a simple model of magnetic
reversals. The model exhibits statistically stationary solutions and bimodal
distribution of the large scale magnetic field. We observe a non trivial
amplification of stochastic resonance induced by turbulent fluctuations, i.e.
the amplitude of the external periodic perturbation needed for stochastic
resonance to occur is much smaller than the one estimated by the equilibrium
probability distribution of the unperturbed system. We argue that similar
amplifications can be observed in many physical systems where turbulent
fluctuations are needed to maintain large scale equilibria.Comment: 6 page
Characterizing flows with an instrumented particle measuring Lagrangian accelerations
We present in this article a novel Lagrangian measurement technique: an
instrumented particle which continuously transmits the force/acceleration
acting on it as it is advected in a flow. We develop signal processing methods
to extract information on the flow from the acceleration signal transmitted by
the particle. Notably, we are able to characterize the force acting on the
particle and to identify the presence of a permanent large-scale vortex
structure. Our technique provides a fast, robust and efficient tool to
characterize flows, and it is particularly suited to obtain Lagrangian
statistics along long trajectories or in cases where optical measurement
techniques are not or hardly applicable.Comment: submitted to New Journal of Physic
Characterization of a potassium-stimulated ATPase in membrane fraction isolated from roots of grapevine seedlings
A microsomal fraction possessing Mg2+-dependent and K+-stimulated ATPase activity was extracted by differential centrifugation from roots of grape seedlings (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Verduzzo).Roots yield from grape seeds was stimulated by means of GA3 and further improved by treatments able to control microbial contamination.The biochemical characteristics of ATPase activity were studied and compared with those previously reported for roots produced by grape woody cuttings.The presence of choline-Cl, ethanolamine and glycerol-1-P in addition to BSA, EDTA, PVPP and DTT in the homogenizing medium was obligatory in order to record the K+-stimulated component of activity.The enzyme was activated by Mg2+, further stimulated by monovalent ions and showed strong preference for ATP as the substrate and optimum pH at 6.5 in the presence of both Mg2+ and K+. The effect of different monovalent ions followed a sequence similar to that found in cereal roots preparations, but very different with respect to that recorded for preparations from roots of grape woody cuttings.K+-ATPase activity was inhibited by vanadate and DES whereas molybdate and azide had no or scarce effect . ATPase activity showed a simple Michaelis-Menten saturation with increasing ATP: Mg concentration, and a complex pattern of possible negative cooperativity for K+ stimulation.Microsomes fractionated using sucrose density gradient showed enrichment in plasmalemma vesicles at 1.10-1,15 g ml-1 density.This parameter differentiates this fraction from similar preparations containing plasmalemma ATPase obtained from roots of various annual plants
- …