Influence of thirteen different strains of ericoid endomycorrhizae on rooting and growth of micropropagated azalea mollis

In the wild, most of the Ericaceae are mycorrhized by typical ericoid endomycorrhizae thus overcoming the absence of root hairs and the difficulty of absorption of some nutrients in low pH soils. Many authors studied the relationship between root colonization and soil composition but only a few of them took in consideration the species of the fungi mycorrhizing the roots. Our previous works on Vaccinium pointed out the effects of different fungal strains on rooting and growth of in vitro produced plants. The aim of this research was to study the effect of the inoculum with different fungal strains on rooting, acclimatization and growth of the deciduous Azalea mollis cv. Glowing Embers (Rhododendron japonicum), micropropagated in vitro. Sterile microcuttings, planted on a sterilized turf substrate, were inoculated with Hymenoschiphus ericae, seven different strains of Oidiodendron maius, and some unidentified sterile mycelia, by superimposing the rooting medium on a pure fungal culture in agar. Rooting time and percentage was checked. Plant height and rosette diameter, leaf and shoot number of each plant were measured one year after transferring to ex vitro conditions. All tested strains were able to infect the roots of the azalea, but different effects were shown on microcutting rooting time and percentage. Oidiodendron strains were generally more effective than Hymenoschiphus on growth of established plantlets

In vitro shoot regeneration from leaf discs of Betula pendula "Dalecarlica" EM 85

The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of leaf discs as source material for regeneration studies and to test the effects of various organic additions to the medium. Zeatin has already been shown to be effective in inducing regeneration in birch whilst putrescine and cefotaxime can aid regeneration from leaf discs in other tree species such as apple and pea

Phyllometry and carpometry, chemical and functional characterization of fruits of Sorbus domestica L. (service tree) selections

Service tree (Sorbus domestica L.) belongs to a large genus of plants, that in the past characterized the agricultural landscape of large areas of Europe. In the light of recent acquisitions regarding nutraceutical and functional properties of service fruits in allied Sorbus species, our work aimed at the morphological description, evaluation of fruit quality and functionalnutraceutical properties of the same accessions selected for timber, in order to identify double aptitude plants. Morphological and chemical differences among plant selections were found particularly for titratable acidity and red colour of the skin: bletting contributed to mitigate such differences. Chromatograms obtained by reversed-phase HPLC analysis indicated that the phenolic compounds present in the matrix may be assimilated to three main classes of compounds: gallic acid, its derivative and polymeric tannins. Acids and flavonols were present in much lower quantities this indicating that the main phenolic compounds nature of our service fruit selections were hydrolysable tannins. A linear and positive correlation was found between the two methods, DPPH\u2013EPR and CAB, used to assay antioxidant capacity this indicating that easy to manage DPPH-EPR assay may be used for substrates that are high in phenols as the case of service fruits. Our original hypothesis of wide variability among trees was finally confirmed by discriminant analysis which admitted most of the recorded variables, and showed each plant selection as a case in itself

Effetto della concentrazione dei sali minerali e di IBA sulla radicazione in vitro di Sorbus domestica e S. torminalis

Sorbus spp. are supposed suitable for development of marginal sites and the demand for their high-quality timber is extremely high on the European market. Micropropagation has been investigated as a tool for large scale propagation of these species. S. domestica 'Tosca3' shootlets showed higher rooting ability than S. torminalis. The different responses to in vitro rooting treatments shown by seedling of S. domestica and S. torminalis were due both to intra and inter genetic variability. Reducing the MS medium strength to one half had beneficial effect on S. domestica \u2018Tosca 3\u2019 and on two out of the eight tested S. torminalis genotypes. The IBA tested concentrations significantly affected S. domestica \u2018Tosca 3' and four S. torminalis genotypes rooting performance

Contributo della micropropagazione alla valorizzazione del sorbo da legno

Nell\u2019attivit\ue0 di micropropagazione di selezioni autoctone da legno di S. torminalis e S. domestica la fase di radicazione si \ue8 rivelata critica per S. torminalis e quella d\u2019ambientamento per entrambe. Nel presente lavoro si evidenzia l\u2019influenza del genotipo e della citochinina sulla fase di radicazione di S. torminalis e si descrive l\u2019evoluzione dell\u2019apparato fogliare durante la fase di ambientamento delle colture.Sorbus spp. is particularly important for timber production as the price of its good-quality wood is extremely high and its demand is increasing on the European market. The use of in vitro propagation allows the large-scale production of interesting accessions as those selected at DIPROVE of Milan University. Whereas rooting was critic for S. torminalis accessions acclimatization appeared critical also for S. domestica. S. torminalis gave better rooting and in vivo survival when preconditioned on BA free medium. Changes in the morphological and histological features and in the development of the mesophyll layer of persistent (ex vitro) leaves as compared to both in vitro and new formed ones were observed

Second-order grey-scale texture analysis of pleural ultrasound images to differentiate acute respiratory distress syndrome and cardiogenic pulmonary edema

Discriminating acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) from acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema (CPE) may be challenging in critically ill patients. Aim of this study was to investigate if gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) analysis of lung ultrasound (LUS) images can differentiate ARDS from CPE. The study population consisted of critically ill patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) with acute respiratory failure and submitted to LUS and extravascular lung water monitoring, and of a healthy control group (HCG). A digital analysis of pleural line and subpleural space, based on the GLCM with second order statistical texture analysis, was tested. We prospectively evaluated 47 subjects: 16 with a clinical diagnosis of CPE, 8 of ARDS, and 23 healthy subjects. By comparing ARDS and CPE patients’ subgroups with HCG, the one-way ANOVA models found a statistical significance in 9 out of 11 GLCM textural features. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons found statistical significance within each matrix feature for ARDS vs. CPE and CPE vs. HCG (P ≤ 0.001 for all). For ARDS vs. HCG a statistical significance occurred only in two matrix features (correlation: P = 0.005; homogeneity: P = 0.048). The quantitative method proposed has shown high diagnostic accuracy in differentiating normal lung from ARDS or CPE, and good diagnostic accuracy in differentiating CPE and ARDS. Gray-level co-occurrence matrix analysis of LUS images has the potential to aid pulmonary edemas differential diagnosis

Stone formation in peach fruit exhibits spatial coordination of the lignin and flavonoid pathways and similarity to Arabidopsis dehiscence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lignification of the fruit endocarp layer occurs in many angiosperms and plays a critical role in seed protection and dispersal. This process has been extensively studied with relationship to pod shatter or dehiscence in <it>Arabidopsis</it>. Dehiscence is controlled by a set of transcription factors that define the fruit tissue layers and whether or not they lignify. In contrast, relatively little is known about similar processes in other plants such as stone fruits which contain an extremely hard lignified endocarp or stone surrounding a single seed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we show that lignin deposition in peach initiates near the blossom end within the endocarp layer and proceeds in a distinct spatial-temporal pattern. Microarray studies using a developmental series from young fruits identified a sharp and transient induction of phenylpropanoid, lignin and flavonoid pathway genes concurrent with lignification and subsequent stone hardening. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction studies revealed that specific phenylpropanoid (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and cinnamate 4-hydroxylase) and lignin (caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase, peroxidase and laccase) pathway genes were induced in the endocarp layer over a 10 day time period, while two lignin genes (<it>p-</it>coumarate 3-hydroxylase and cinnamoyl CoA reductase) were co-regulated with flavonoid pathway genes (chalcone synthase, dihydroflavanol 4-reductase, leucoanthocyanidin dioxygen-ase and flavanone-3-hydrosylase) which were mesocarp and exocarp specific. Analysis of other fruit development expression studies revealed that flavonoid pathway induction is conserved in the related Rosaceae species apple while lignin pathway induction is not. The transcription factor expression of peach genes homologous to known endocarp determinant genes in <it>Arabidopsis </it>including <it>SHATTERPROOF</it>, <it>SEEDSTCK </it>and <it>NAC SECONDARY WALL THICENING PROMOTING FACTOR 1 </it>were found to be specifically expressed in the endocarp while the negative regulator <it>FRUITFU</it>L predominated in exocarp and mesocarp.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Collectively, the data suggests, first, that the process of endocarp determination and differentiation in peach and <it>Arabidopsis </it>share common regulators and, secondly, reveals a previously unknown coordination of competing lignin and flavonoid biosynthetic pathways during early fruit development.</p