Characterization of cold-induced changes in the fatty acids profile of rice seedlings.

Rice, a staple food for more than one half of the world?s population, is one of the most cold-sensitive cereals. Breeding programs aimed at increasing rice production are expected to reduce cold-imposed grain losses. Several reports have demonstrated that cold induce differential effects on the fatty acids profile of membranes in chilling-sensitive and chilling-tolerant plants. In this work, we evaluated changes in fatty acid (FA) composition as a potential screening tool to evaluate chilling sensitivity of rice accessions. Cold exposure led to the preferential accumulation of the polyunsaturated linolenic and linoleic FAs and reduction of palmitic and stearic FAs, besides showing increased lignoceric acid content in roots of the variety. Similarly, roots of cold-exposed line Quila 66304 also presented preferential accumulation of linolenic and linoleic FAs and reduction of palmitic and stearic FAs. Cold exposure also led to enhanced levels of palmitic acid in shoots of Amaroo and, in a smaller extent, in shoots of Quila 66304. Linolenic acid was reduced in the shoots of both Amaroo and Quila 66304, while oleic acid content was reduced in shoots of Amaroo and slightly increased in shoots of Quila 66304. Double-bond index analysis indicated that 18 carbons FAs DBI for roots might be a good screening tool for cold response in rice. Results in this report demonstrate that cold-induced changes in FA profile represent a useful screening tool for early identification of differences in cold acclimation potential among rice accessions

Dynamic of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils treated with biochar.

In recent years the interest in pyrogenic carbon for agricultural use (biochar, i.e. carbonized biomass for agricultural use) has sharply increased. However biochar contain dangerous compounds such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), many of them potentially carcinogenic and mutagenic. They are organic compounds formed from incomplete combustion of organic materials and are persistent pollutants. Therefore, PAHs concentrations and their dynamic must be evaluated in soils amended with biochar. For this, soil samples were collected in three experimental areas in different years (1, 3, 5 or 6) after the application of 0 (control) or 16 Mg ha-1 of biochar. This is the first report of PAHs persistence up to six years in soil treated with biochar. The biochar application increased total PAHs concentrations up to five years after the application, however the levels have always been an order of magnitude lower the limits of prevention established by International Environmental Agencies for soils. Thus, under the evaluated conditions ,the use of biochar was safe concerning PAHs contamination, besides, after six years of the application, the levels found were similar to the control treatment, making it possible to define a safe frequency of application based on the persistence of PAHs in soil

Proteomic Analysis Reveals That Iron Availability Alters the Metabolic Status of the Pathogenic Fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a thermodimorphic fungus and the causative agent of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM). The ability of P. brasiliensis to uptake nutrients is fundamental for growth, but a reduction in the availability of iron and other nutrients is a host defense mechanism many pathogenic fungi must overcome. Thus, fungal mechanisms that scavenge iron from host may contribute to P. brasiliensis virulence. In order to better understand how P. brasiliensis adapts to iron starvation in the host we compared the two-dimensional (2D) gel protein profile of yeast cells during iron starvation to that of iron rich condition. Protein spots were selected for comparative analysis based on the protein staining intensity as determined by image analysis. A total of 1752 protein spots were selected for comparison, and a total of 274 out of the 1752 protein spots were determined to have changed significantly in abundance due to iron depletion. Ninety six of the 274 proteins were grouped into the following functional categories; energy, metabolism, cell rescue, virulence, cell cycle, protein synthesis, protein fate, transcription, cellular communication, and cell fate. A correlation between protein and transcript levels was also discovered using quantitative RT-PCR analysis from RNA obtained from P. brasiliensis under iron restricting conditions and from yeast cells isolated from infected mouse spleens. In addition, western blot analysis and enzyme activity assays validated the differential regulation of proteins identified by 2-D gel analysis. We observed an increase in glycolytic pathway protein regulation while tricarboxylic acid cycle, glyoxylate and methylcitrate cycles, and electron transport chain proteins decreased in abundance under iron limiting conditions. These data suggest a remodeling of P. brasiliensis metabolism by prioritizing iron independent pathways