Constraining the Distribution of L- & T-Dwarfs in the Galaxy

We estimate the thin disk scale height of the Galactic population of L- & T-dwarfs based on star counts from 15 deep parallel fields from the Hubble Space Telescope. From these observations, we have identified 28 candidate L- & T- dwarfs based on their (i'-z') color and morphology. By comparing these star counts to a simple Galactic model, we estimate the scale height to be 350+-50 pc that is consistent with the increase in vertical scale with decreasing stellar mass and is independent of reddening, color-magnitude limits, and other Galactic parameters. With this refined measure, we predict that less than 10^9 M_{sol} of the Milky Way can be in the form L- & T- dwarfs, and confirm that high-latitude, z~6 galaxy surveys which use the i'-band dropout technique are 97-100% free of L- & T- dwarf interlopers.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted to ApJ

The Biostimulant, Potassium Humate Ameliorates Abiotic Stress in Arabidopsis thaliana by Increasing Starch Availability

[EN] Potassium humate is a widely used biostimulant known for its ability to enhance growth and improve tolerance to abiotic stress. However, the molecular mechanisms explaining its effects remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of action of potassium humate using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We demonstrated that a formulation of potassium humate effectively increased the fresh weight accumulation of Arabidopsis plants under normal conditions, salt stress (sodium or lithium chloride), and particularly under osmotic stress (mannitol). Interestingly, plants treated with potassium humate exhibited a reduced antioxidant response and lower proline accumulation, while maintaining photosynthetic activity under stress conditions. The observed sodium and osmotic tolerance induced by humate was not accompanied by increased potassium accumulation. Additionally, metabolomic analysis revealed that potassium humate increased maltose levels under control conditions but decreased levels of fructose. However, under stress, both maltose and glucose levels decreased, suggesting changes in starch utilization and an increase in glycolysis. Starch concentration measurements in leaves showed that plants treated with potassium humate accumulated less starch under control conditions, while under stress, they accumulated starch to levels similar to or higher than control plants. Taken together, our findings suggest that the molecular mechanism underlying the abiotic stress tolerance conferred by potassium humate involves its ability to alter starch content under normal growth conditions and under salt or osmotic stress.This research was funded by the CDTI program project EXP 00137666/IDI-20210456. awarded to CALDIC Ibérica S.L. and the research contract. "DESARROLLO DE FORMULADOS BIOESTIMULANTES Y BIOFERTILIZANTES INNOVADORES DE ORIGEN NATURAL (CALBIO) DESTINADOS A LA AGRICULTURA CONVENCIONAL Y ECOLÓGICA. ESTUDIO CIENTÍFICO DE EFECTOS SINÉRGICOS ENTRE BIOACTIVOS MICROBIANOS Y NO MICROBIANOS" Between CALDIC Ibérica S.L. and Universitat Politècnica de València. The APC was funded by the aforementioned research contract.Benito, P.; Bellón, J.; Porcel, R.; Yenush, L.; Mulet, JM. (2023). The Biostimulant, Potassium Humate Ameliorates Abiotic Stress in Arabidopsis thaliana by Increasing Starch Availability. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 24(15):1-21. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241512140121241

Overexpression of BvHb2, a Class 2 Non-Symbiotic Hemoglobin from Sugar Beet, Confers Drought-Induced Withering Resistance and Alters Iron Content in Tomato

[EN] Drought stress is one of the major threats to agriculture and concomitantly to food production. Tomato is one of the most important industrial crops, but its tolerance to water scarcity is very low. Traditional plant breeding has a limited margin to minimize this water requirement. In order to design novel biotechnological approaches to cope with this problem, we have screened a plant cDNA library from the halotolerant crop sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) for genes able to confer drought/osmotic stress tolerance to the yeast model system upon overexpression. We have identified the gene that encodes BvHb2, a class 2 non-symbiotic hemoglobin, which is present as a single copy in the sugar beet genome, expressed mainly in leaves and regulated by light and abiotic stress. We have evaluated its biotechnological potential in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and found that BvHb2 is able to confer drought and osmotic stress tolerance. We also generated transgenic lines of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) overexpressing BvHb2 and found that the resulting plants are more resistant to drought-induce withering. In addition, transgenic lines overexpressing BvHb2 exhibit increased levels of iron content in leaves. Here, we show that class 2 non-symbiotic plant hemoglobins are targets to generate novel biotechnological crops tolerant to abiotic stress. The fact that these proteins are conserved in plants opens the possibility for using Non-GMO approaches, such as classical breeding, molecular breeding, or novel breeding techniques to increase drought tolerance using this protein as a target.This project was funded by the project PAID-00-10 "Introduccion De Genes Relacionados Con La Tolerancia A Estres Hidrico Y Oxidativo En Distintos Materiales Que Presentan Caracteristicas Utiles Para Su Uso Como Patrones De Plantas Horticolas De Interes Agronomico". (Ref. 2726) from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Gisbert Domenech, MC.; Timoneda, A.; Porcel, R.; Ros, R.; Mulet, JM. (2020). Overexpression of BvHb2, a Class 2 Non-Symbiotic Hemoglobin from Sugar Beet, Confers Drought-Induced Withering Resistance and Alters Iron Content in Tomato. Agronomy. 10(11):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111754S1171011Mahajan, S., & Tuteja, N. (2005). Cold, salinity and drought stresses: An overview. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 444(2), 139-158. doi:10.1016/j.abb.2005.10.018Sinclair, T. R. (2011). Challenges in breeding for yield increase for drought. Trends in Plant Science, 16(6), 289-293. doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2011.02.008Burke, M., & Emerick, K. (2016). Adaptation to Climate Change: Evidence from US Agriculture. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 8(3), 106-140. doi:10.1257/pol.20130025Zaveri, E., Russ, J., & Damania, R. (2020). Rainfall anomalies are a significant driver of cropland expansion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(19), 10225-10233. doi:10.1073/pnas.1910719117Gupta, A., Rico-Medina, A., & Caño-Delgado, A. I. (2020). The physiology of plant responses to drought. Science, 368(6488), 266-269. doi:10.1126/science.aaz7614Ashraf, M. (2010). Inducing drought tolerance in plants: Recent advances. Biotechnology Advances, 28(1), 169-183. doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2009.11.005Romero, C., Bellés, J. M., Vayá, J. L., Serrano, R., & Culiáñez-Macià, F. A. (1997). Expression of the yeast trehalose-6-phosphate synthase gene in transgenic tobacco plants: pleiotropic phenotypes include drought tolerance. Planta, 201(3), 293-297. doi:10.1007/s004250050069Xiao, B., Huang, Y., Tang, N., & Xiong, L. (2007). Over-expression of a LEA gene in rice improves drought resistance under the field conditions. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 115(1), 35-46. doi:10.1007/s00122-007-0538-9Van Camp, W. (2005). Yield enhancement genes: seeds for growth. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 16(2), 147-153. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2005.03.002Locascio, A., Andrés-Colás, N., Mulet, J. M., & Yenush, L. (2019). Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a Tool to Investigate Plant Potassium and Sodium Transporters. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(9), 2133. doi:10.3390/ijms20092133Mulet, J. M., Alemany, B., Ros, R., Calvete, J. J., & Serrano, R. (2004). Expression of a plant serine O-acetyltransferase inSaccharomyces cerevisiae confers osmotic tolerance and creates an alternative pathway for cysteine biosynthesis. Yeast, 21(4), 303-312. doi:10.1002/yea.1076Porcel, R., Bustamante, A., Ros, R., Serrano, R., & Mulet Salort, J. M. (2018). BvCOLD1: A novel aquaporin from sugar beet (Beta vulgarisL.) involved in boron homeostasis and abiotic stress. Plant, Cell & Environment, 41(12), 2844-2857. doi:10.1111/pce.13416Smagghe, B. J., Hoy, J. A., Percifield, R., Kundu, S., Hargrove, M. S., Sarath, G., … Appleby, C. A. (2009). Review: Correlations between oxygen affinity and sequence classifications of plant hemoglobins. Biopolymers, 91(12), 1083-1096. doi:10.1002/bip.21256Bogusz, D., Appleby, C. A., Landsmann, J., Dennis, E. S., Trinick, M. J., & Peacock, W. J. (1988). Functioning haemoglobin genes in non-nodulating plants. Nature, 331(6152), 178-180. doi:10.1038/331178a0Taylor, E. R., Nie, X. Z., MacGregor, A. W., & Hill, R. D. (1994). A cereal haemoglobin gene is expressed in seed and root tissues under anaerobic conditions. Plant Molecular Biology, 24(6), 853-862. doi:10.1007/bf00014440Spyrakis, F., Bruno, S., Bidon-Chanal, A., Luque, F. J., Abbruzzetti, S., Viappiani, C., … Mozzarelli, A. (2011). Oxygen binding to Arabidopsis thaliana AHb2 nonsymbiotic hemoglobin: evidence for a role in oxygen transport. IUBMB Life, 63(5), 355-362. doi:10.1002/iub.470Gupta, K. J., Hebelstrup, K. H., Mur, L. A. J., & Igamberdiev, A. U. (2011). Plant hemoglobins: Important players at the crossroads between oxygen and nitric oxide. FEBS Letters, 585(24), 3843-3849. doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2011.10.036Trevaskis, B., Watts, R. A., Andersson, C. R., Llewellyn, D. J., Hargrove, M. S., Olson, J. S., … Peacock, W. J. (1997). Two hemoglobin genes in Arabidopsis thaliana: The evolutionary origins of leghemoglobins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 94(22), 12230-12234. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.22.12230Hill, R. D. (2012). Non-symbiotic haemoglobins—What’s happening beyond nitric oxide scavenging? AoB PLANTS, 2012. doi:10.1093/aobpla/pls004Hunt, P. W., Klok, E. J., Trevaskis, B., Watts, R. A., Ellis, M. H., Peacock, W. J., & Dennis, E. S. (2002). Increased level of hemoglobin 1 enhances survival of hypoxic stress and promotes early growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(26), 17197-17202. doi:10.1073/pnas.212648799Yang, L.-X., Wang, R.-Y., Ren, F., Liu, J., Cheng, J., & Lu, Y.-T. (2005). AtGLB1 Enhances the Tolerance of Arabidopsis to Hydrogen Peroxide Stress. Plant and Cell Physiology, 46(8), 1309-1316. doi:10.1093/pcp/pci140Hebelstrup, K. H., & Jensen, E. Ø. (2007). Expression of NO scavenging hemoglobin is involved in the timing of bolting in Arabidopsis thaliana. Planta, 227(4), 917-927. doi:10.1007/s00425-007-0667-zWang, Y., Elhiti, M., Hebelstrup, K. H., Hill, R. D., & Stasolla, C. (2011). Manipulation of hemoglobin expression affects Arabidopsis shoot organogenesis. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 49(10), 1108-1116. doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2011.06.005Vigeolas, H., Hühn, D., & Geigenberger, P. (2011). Nonsymbiotic Hemoglobin-2 Leads to an Elevated Energy State and to a Combined Increase in Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Total Oil Content When Overexpressed in Developing Seeds of Transgenic Arabidopsis Plants. Plant Physiology, 155(3), 1435-1444. doi:10.1104/pp.110.166462Sainz, M., Pérez-Rontomé, C., Ramos, J., Mulet, J. M., James, E. K., Bhattacharjee, U., … Becana, M. (2013). Plant hemoglobins may be maintained in functional form by reduced flavins in the nuclei, and confer differential tolerance to nitro-oxidative stress. The Plant Journal, 76(5), 875-887. doi:10.1111/tpj.12340FAOSTAThttp://www.fao.org/faostat/es/#homeSánchez-Rodríguez, E., Rubio-Wilhelmi, Mªm., Cervilla, L. M., Blasco, B., Rios, J. J., Rosales, M. A., … Ruiz, J. M. (2010). Genotypic differences in some physiological parameters symptomatic for oxidative stress under moderate drought in tomato plants. Plant Science, 178(1), 30-40. doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2009.10.001Gur, A., & Zamir, D. (2004). Unused Natural Variation Can Lift Yield Barriers in Plant Breeding. PLoS Biology, 2(10), e245. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0020245McCormick, S., Niedermeyer, J., Fry, J., Barnason, A., Horsch, R., & Fraley, R. (1986). Leaf disc transformation of cultivated tomato (L. esculentum) using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Plant Cell Reports, 5(2), 81-84. doi:10.1007/bf00269239Gisbert, C., Rus, A. M., Boları́n, M. C., López-Coronado, J. M., Arrillaga, I., Montesinos, C., … Moreno, V. (2000). The Yeast HAL1 Gene Improves Salt Tolerance of Transgenic Tomato. Plant Physiology, 123(1), 393-402. doi:10.1104/pp.123.1.393Römer, S., Fraser, P. D., Kiano, J. W., Shipton, C. A., Misawa, N., Schuch, W., & Bramley, P. M. (2000). Elevation of the provitamin A content of transgenic tomato plants. Nature Biotechnology, 18(6), 666-669. doi:10.1038/76523Muir, S. R., Collins, G. J., Robinson, S., Hughes, S., Bovy, A., Ric De Vos, C. H., … Verhoeyen, M. E. (2001). Overexpression of petunia chalcone isomerase in tomato results in fruit containing increased levels of flavonols. Nature Biotechnology, 19(5), 470-474. doi:10.1038/88150Schijlen, E., Ric de Vos, C. H., Jonker, H., van den Broeck, H., Molthoff, J., van Tunen, A., … Bovy, A. (2006). Pathway engineering for healthy phytochemicals leading to the production of novel flavonoids in tomato fruit. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 4(4), 433-444. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7652.2006.00192.xFischhoff, D. A., Bowdish, K. S., Perlak, F. J., Marrone, P. G., McCormick, S. M., Niedermeyer, J. G., … Fraley, R. T. (1987). Insect Tolerant Transgenic Tomato Plants. Nature Biotechnology, 5(8), 807-813. doi:10.1038/nbt0887-807KIM, J. W. (1994). Disease Resistance in Tobacco and Tomato Plants Transformed with the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Nucleocapsid Gene. Plant Disease, 78(6), 615. doi:10.1094/pd-78-0615Fillatti, J. J., Kiser, J., Rose, R., & Comai, L. (1987). Efficient Transfer of a Glyphosate Tolerance Gene into Tomato Using a Binary Agrobacterium Tumefaciens Vector. Nature Biotechnology, 5(7), 726-730. doi:10.1038/nbt0787-726Z.-Q., Z., F.-Q., C., Y.-X., L., & G.-X., J. (2002). Transformation of tomato with the BADH gene from Atriplex improves salt tolerance. Plant Cell Reports, 21(2), 141-146. doi:10.1007/s00299-002-0489-1Roy, R., Purty, R. S., Agrawal, V., & Gupta, S. C. (2005). Transformation of tomato cultivar ‘Pusa Ruby’ with bspA gene from Populus tremula for drought tolerance. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, 84(1), 56-68. doi:10.1007/s11240-005-9000-3Sheehy, R. E., Kramer, M., & Hiatt, W. R. (1988). Reduction of polygalacturonase activity in tomato fruit by antisense RNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 85(23), 8805-8809. doi:10.1073/pnas.85.23.8805Klee, H. J. (1993). Ripening Physiology of Fruit from Transgenic Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) Plants with Reduced Ethylene Synthesis. Plant Physiology, 102(3), 911-916. doi:10.1104/pp.102.3.911Klee, H. J., Hayford, M. B., Kretzmer, K. A., Barry, G. F., & Kishore, G. M. (1991). Control of ethylene synthesis by expression of a bacterial enzyme in transgenic tomato plants. The Plant Cell, 3(11), 1187-1193. doi:10.1105/tpc.3.11.1187Arrillaga, I., Gil-Mascarell, R., Gisbert, C., Sales, E., Montesinos, C., Serrano, R., & Moreno, V. (1998). Expression of the yeast HAL2 gene in tomato increases the in vitro salt tolerance of transgenic progenies. Plant Science, 136(2), 219-226. doi:10.1016/s0168-9452(98)00122-8García-Abellan, J. O., Egea, I., Pineda, B., Sanchez-Bel, P., Belver, A., Garcia-Sogo, B., … Bolarin, M. C. (2014). Heterologous expression of the yeastHAL5gene in tomato enhances salt tolerance by reducing shoot Na+accumulation in the long term. Physiologia Plantarum, 152(4), 700-713. doi:10.1111/ppl.12217Safdar, N., Yasmeen, A., & Mirza, B. (2010). An insight into functional genomics of transgenic lines of tomato cv Rio Grande harbouring yeast halotolerance genes. Plant Biology, 13(4), 620-631. doi:10.1111/j.1438-8677.2010.00412.xSade, N., Vinocur, B. J., Diber, A., Shatil, A., Ronen, G., Nissan, H., … Moshelion, M. (2008). Improving plant stress tolerance and yield production: is the tonoplast aquaporin SlTIP2;2 a key to isohydric to anisohydric conversion? New Phytologist, 181(3), 651-661. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02689.xGoel, D., Singh, A. K., Yadav, V., Babbar, S. B., & Bansal, K. C. (2010). Overexpression of osmotin gene confers tolerance to salt and drought stresses in transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Protoplasma, 245(1-4), 133-141. doi:10.1007/s00709-010-0158-0Goel, D., Singh, A. K., Yadav, V., Babbar, S. B., Murata, N., & Bansal, K. C. (2011). Transformation of tomato with a bacterial codA gene enhances tolerance to salt and water stresses. Journal of Plant Physiology, 168(11), 1286-1294. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2011.01.010Mishra, K. B., Iannacone, R., Petrozza, A., Mishra, A., Armentano, N., La Vecchia, G., … Nedbal, L. (2012). Engineered drought tolerance in tomato plants is reflected in chlorophyll fluorescence emission. Plant Science, 182, 79-86. doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2011.03.022Seo, Y. S., Choi, J. Y., Kim, S. J., Kim, E. Y., Shin, J. S., & Kim, W. T. (2012). Constitutive expression of CaRma1H1, a hot pepper ER-localized RING E3 ubiquitin ligase, increases tolerance to drought and salt stresses in transgenic tomato plants. Plant Cell Reports, 31(9), 1659-1665. doi:10.1007/s00299-012-1278-0Muñoz-Mayor, A., Pineda, B., Garcia-Abellán, J. O., Antón, T., Garcia-Sogo, B., Sanchez-Bel, P., … Bolarin, M. C. (2012). Overexpression of dehydrin tas14 gene improves the osmotic stress imposed by drought and salinity in tomato. Journal of Plant Physiology, 169(5), 459-468. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2011.11.018Zhang, X., Zou, Z., Gong, P., Zhang, J., Ziaf, K., Li, H., … Ye, Z. (2010). Over-expression of microRNA169 confers enhanced drought tolerance to tomato. Biotechnology Letters, 33(2), 403-409. doi:10.1007/s10529-010-0436-0Kanhonou, R., Serrano, R., & Ros Palau, R. (2001). Plant Molecular Biology, 47(5), 571-579. doi:10.1023/a:1012227913356Rosa Téllez, S., Kanhonou, R., Castellote Bellés, C., Serrano, R., Alepuz, P., & Ros, R. (2020). RNA-Binding Proteins as Targets to Improve Salt Stress Tolerance in Crops. Agronomy, 10(2), 250. doi:10.3390/agronomy10020250Brunelli, J. P., & Pall, M. L. (1993). A series of yeast shuttle vectors for expression of cDNAs and other DNA sequences. Yeast, 9(12), 1299-1308. doi:10.1002/yea.320091203Gietz, D., Jean, A. S., Woods, R. A., & Schiestl, R. H. (1992). Improved method for high efficiency transformation of intact yeast cells. Nucleic Acids Research, 20(6), 1425-1425. doi:10.1093/nar/20.6.1425Hoeberichts, F. A., Perez-Valle, J., Montesinos, C., Mulet, J. M., Planes, M. D., Hueso, G., … Serrano, R. (2010). The role of K+ and H+ transport systems during glucose- and H2O2-induced cell death in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast, 27(9), 713-725. doi:10.1002/yea.1767Sayle, R. (1995). RASMOL: biomolecular graphics for all. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 20(9), 374-376. doi:10.1016/s0968-0004(00)89080-5Hoy, J. A., & Hargrove, M. S. (2008). The structure and function of plant hemoglobins. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 46(3), 371-379. doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2007.12.016Kay, R., Chan, A., Daly, M., & McPherson, J. (1987). Duplication of CaMV 35 S Promoter Sequences Creates a Strong Enhancer for Plant Genes. Science, 236(4806), 1299-1302. doi:10.1126/science.236.4806.1299Livak, K. J., & Schmittgen, T. D. (2001). Analysis of Relative Gene Expression Data Using Real-Time Quantitative PCR and the 2−ΔΔCT Method. Methods, 25(4), 402-408. doi:10.1006/meth.2001.1262Bissoli, G., Niñoles, R., Fresquet, S., Palombieri, S., Bueso, E., Rubio, L., … Serrano, R. (2012). Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase ROF2 modulates intracellular pH homeostasis in Arabidopsis. The Plant Journal, 70(4), 704-716. doi:10.1111/j.1365-313x.2012.04921.xWitte, C.-P., No�l, L., Gielbert, J., Parker, J., & Romeis, T. (2004). Rapid one-step protein purification from plant material using the eight-amino acid StrepII epitope. Plant Molecular Biology, 55(1), 135-147. doi:10.1007/s11103-004-0501-ySaporta, R., Bou, C., Frías, V., & Mulet, J. (2019). A Method for a Fast Evaluation of the Biostimulant Potential of Different Natural Extracts for Promoting Growth or Tolerance against Abiotic Stress. Agronomy, 9(3), 143. doi:10.3390/agronomy9030143Trujillo-Moya, C., & Gisbert, C. (2012). The influence of ethylene and ethylene modulators on shoot organogenesis in tomato. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC), 111(1), 41-48. doi:10.1007/s11240-012-0168-zKoncz, C., & Schell, J. (1986). The promoter of TL-DNA gene 5 controls the tissue-specific expression of chimaeric genes carried by a novel type of Agrobacterium binary vector. Molecular and General Genetics MGG, 204(3), 383-396. doi:10.1007/bf00331014Ríos, G., Cabedo, M., Rull, B., Yenush, L., Serrano, R., & Mulet, J. M. (2013). Role of the yeast multidrug transporter Qdr2 in cation homeostasis and the oxidative stress response. FEMS Yeast Research, 13(1), 97-106. doi:10.1111/1567-1364.12013Citation for the Real Statistics Software or Website. Real Statistics Using Excelhttp://www.real-statistics.com/appendix/citation-real-statistics-software-website/Tukey, J. W. (1949). Comparing Individual Means in the Analysis of Variance. Biometrics, 5(2), 99. doi:10.2307/3001913Forment, J., Naranjo, M. A., Roldan, M., Serrano, R., & Vicente, O. (2002). Expression of Arabidopsis SR-like splicing proteins confers salt tolerance to yeast and transgenic plants. The Plant Journal, 30(5), 511-519. doi:10.1046/j.1365-313x.2002.01311.xHunt, P. W., Watts, R. A., Trevaskis, B., Llewelyn, D. J., Burnell, J., Dennis, E. S., & Peacock, W. J. (2001). Plant Molecular Biology, 47(5), 677-692. doi:10.1023/a:1012440926982Dohm, J. C., Minoche, A. E., Holtgräwe, D., Capella-Gutiérrez, S., Zakrzewski, F., Tafer, H., … Himmelbauer, H. (2013). The genome of the recently domesticated crop plant sugar beet (Beta vulgaris). Nature, 505(7484), 546-549. doi:10.1038/nature12817Hebelstrup, K. H., Igamberdiev, A. U., & Hill, R. D. (2007). Metabolic effects of hemoglobin gene expression in plants. Gene, 398(1-2), 86-93. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2007.01.039Hargrove, M. S., Brucker, E. A., Stec, B., Sarath, G., Arredondo-Peter, R., Klucas, R. V., … Phillips, G. N. (2000). Crystal structure of a nonsymbiotic plant hemoglobin. Structure, 8(9), 1005-1014. doi:10.1016/s0969-2126(00)00194-5Leiva-Eriksson, N., Pin, P. A., Kraft, T., Dohm, J. C., Minoche, A. E., Himmelbauer, H., & Bülow, L. (2014). Differential Expression Patterns of Non-Symbiotic Hemoglobins in Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris). Plant and Cell Physiology, 55(4), 834-844. doi:10.1093/pcp/pcu027NARANJO, M. A., FORMENT, J., ROLDAN, M., SERRANO, R., & VICENTE, O. (2006). Overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana LTL1, a salt-induced gene encoding a GDSL-motif lipase, increases salt tolerance in yeast and transgenic plants. Plant, Cell and Environment, 29(10), 1890-1900. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3040.2006.01565.xRausell, A., Kanhonou, R., Yenush, L., Serrano, R., & Ros, R. (2003). The translation initiation factor eIF1A is an important determinant in the tolerance to NaCl stress in yeast and plants. The Plant Journal, 34(3), 257-267. doi:10.1046/j.1365-313x.2003.01719.xRus, A. M., Estañ, M. T., Gisbert, C., Garcia-Sogo, B., Serrano, R., Caro, M., … Bolarín, M. C. (2001). Expressing the yeast HAL1 gene in tomato increases fruit yield and enhances K+ /Na+ selectivity under salt stress. Plant, Cell & Environment, 24(8), 875-880. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3040.2001.00719.xHoogewijs, D., Dewilde, S., Vierstraete, A., Moens, L., & Vinogradov, S. N. (2012). A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Globins in Fungi. PLoS ONE, 7(2), e31856. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031856Bai, X., Long, J., He, X., Yan, J., Chen, X., Tan, Y., … Xu, H. (2016). Overexpression of spinach non-symbiotic hemoglobin in Arabidopsis resulted in decreased NO content and lowered nitrate and other abiotic stresses tolerance. Scientific Reports, 6(1). doi:10.1038/srep26400Evangelou, E., Tsadilas, C., Tserlikakis, N., Tsitouras, A., & Kyritsis, A. (2016). Water Footprint of Industrial Tomato Cultivations in the Pinios River Basin: Soil Properties Interactions. Water, 8(11), 515. doi:10.3390/w8110515(2012). The tomato genome sequence provides insights into fleshy fruit evolution. Nature, 485(7400), 635-641. doi:10.1038/nature11119Chen, Y., & Barak, P. (1982). Iron Nutrition of Plants in Calcareous Soils. Advances in Agronomy Volume 35, 217-240. doi:10.1016/s0065-2113(08)60326-0Dutt, M., Dhekney, S. A., Soriano, L., Kandel, R., & Grosser, J. W. (2014). Temporal and spatial control of gene expression in horticultural crops. Horticulture Research, 1(1). doi:10.1038/hortres.2014.4

BvCOLD1: A novel aquaporin from sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) involved in boron homeostasis and abiotic stress

[EN] In this report we have identified BvCOLD1, a novel aquaporin from sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) which is only conserved in the Chenopodioideae family. BvCOLD1 is expressed in all plant organs investigated and located in the endoplasmic reticulum. Transport experiments in yeast indicated that BvCOLD1 is able to transport glycerol and boron, the most limiting oligoelement for sugar beet cultivation. Overexpression of BvCOLD1 in Arabidopsis thaliana plants conferred tolerance to cold, to different abiotic stresses and the ability to grow under boron limiting conditions, therefore this novel aquaporin may be an important target to design new crops with enhanced boron homeostasis and abiotic stress tolerance.Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Grant/Award Number: BIO2016-77776-P; Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion, Grant/Award Number: AGL2013-47886-R; Direccion General Investigacion Cientifica; MINECO, Grant/Award Numbers: BIO2014-61826 and BIO2016-77776-P; Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Grant/Award Number: PAID-06-10-1496Porcel, R.; Bustamante-González, AJ.; Ros, R.; Serrano Salom, R.; Mulet, JM. (2018). BvCOLD1: A novel aquaporin from sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) involved in boron homeostasis and abiotic stress. Plant Cell & Environment. 41(12):2844-2857. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.13416284428574112Aroca, R., Amodeo, G., Fernández-Illescas, S., Herman, E. M., Chaumont, F., & Chrispeels, M. J. (2004). The Role of Aquaporins and Membrane Damage in Chilling and Hydrogen Peroxide Induced Changes in the Hydraulic Conductance of Maize Roots. Plant Physiology, 137(1), 341-353. doi:10.1104/pp.104.051045Biancardi, E. (2005). Genetics and Breeding of Sugar Beet. doi:10.1201/9781482280296Bienert, G. P., Møller, A. L. B., Kristiansen, K. A., Schulz, A., Møller, I. M., Schjoerring, J. K., & Jahn, T. P. (2006). Specific Aquaporins Facilitate the Diffusion of Hydrogen Peroxide across Membranes. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 282(2), 1183-1192. doi:10.1074/jbc.m603761200Bissoli, G., Niñoles, R., Fresquet, S., Palombieri, S., Bueso, E., Rubio, L., … Serrano, R. (2012). Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase ROF2 modulates intracellular pH homeostasis in Arabidopsis. The Plant Journal, 70(4), 704-716. doi:10.1111/j.1365-313x.2012.04921.xBoursiac, Y., Chen, S., Luu, D.-T., Sorieul, M., van den Dries, N., & Maurel, C. (2005). Early Effects of Salinity on Water Transport in Arabidopsis Roots. Molecular and Cellular Features of Aquaporin Expression. Plant Physiology, 139(2), 790-805. doi:10.1104/pp.105.065029Brown, P. H., Bellaloui, N., Wimmer, M. A., Bassil, E. S., Ruiz, J., Hu, H., … Römheld, V. (2002). Boron in Plant Biology. Plant Biology, 4(2), 205-223. doi:10.1055/s-2002-25740Camacho-Cristóbal, J. J., Rexach, J., & González-Fontes, A. (2008). Boron in Plants: Deficiency and Toxicity. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology, 50(10), 1247-1255. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7909.2008.00742.xCava, F., de Pedro, M. A., Blas-Galindo, E., Waldo, G. S., Westblade, L. F., & Berenguer, J. (2008). Expression and use of superfolder green fluorescent protein at high temperatures in vivo: a tool to study extreme thermophile biology. Environmental Microbiology, 10(3), 605-613. doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01482.xDell, B., & Huang, L. (1997). Plant and Soil, 193(2), 103-120. doi:10.1023/a:1004264009230Dewar, A. M., May, M. J., Woiwod, I. P., Haylock, L. A., Champion, G. T., Garner, B. H., … Pidgeon, J. D. (2003). A novel approach to the use of genetically modified herbicide tolerant crops for environmental benefit. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 270(1513), 335-340. doi:10.1098/rspb.2002.2248Dohm, J. C., Minoche, A. E., Holtgräwe, D., Capella-Gutiérrez, S., Zakrzewski, F., Tafer, H., … Himmelbauer, H. (2013). The genome of the recently domesticated crop plant sugar beet (Beta vulgaris). Nature, 505(7484), 546-549. doi:10.1038/nature12817Duncan, D. B. (1955). Multiple Range and Multiple F Tests. Biometrics, 11(1), 1. doi:10.2307/3001478Evans, E., & Messerschmidt, U. (2017). Review: Sugar beets as a substitute for grain for lactating dairy cattle. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, 8(1). doi:10.1186/s40104-017-0154-8Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2015 World agricultural statistics = Statistiques agricoles mondiales = Estadísticas agricolas mundialesGietz, D., Jean, A. S., Woods, R. A., & Schiestl, R. H. (1992). Improved method for high efficiency transformation of intact yeast cells. Nucleic Acids Research, 20(6), 1425-1425. doi:10.1093/nar/20.6.1425Jahn, T. P., Møller, A. L. B., Zeuthen, T., Holm, L. M., Klaerke, D. A., Mohsin, B., … Schjoerring, J. K. (2004). Aquaporin homologues in plants and mammals transport ammonia. FEBS Letters, 574(1-3), 31-36. doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2004.08.004KAY, R., CHAN, A., DALY, M., & MCPHERSON, J. (1987). Duplication of CaMV 35S Promoter Sequences Creates a Strong Enhancer for Plant Genes. Science, 236(4806), 1299-1302. doi:10.1126/science.236.4806.1299Klebl, F., Wolf, M., & Sauer, N. (2003). A defect in the yeast plasma membrane urea transporter Dur3p is complemented by CpNIP1 , a Nod26-like protein from zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.), and by Arabidopsis thaliana δ-TIP or γ-TIP. FEBS Letters, 547(1-3), 69-74. doi:10.1016/s0014-5793(03)00671-9Kobayashi, M., Matoh, T., & Azuma, J. (1996). Two Chains of Rhamnogalacturonan II Are Cross-Linked by Borate-Diol Ester Bonds in Higher Plant Cell Walls. Plant Physiology, 110(3), 1017-1020. doi:10.1104/pp.110.3.1017Livak, K. J., & Schmittgen, T. D. (2001). Analysis of Relative Gene Expression Data Using Real-Time Quantitative PCR and the 2−ΔΔCT Method. Methods, 25(4), 402-408. doi:10.1006/meth.2001.1262Maurel, C., Verdoucq, L., Luu, D.-T., & Santoni, V. (2008). Plant Aquaporins: Membrane Channels with Multiple Integrated Functions. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 59(1), 595-624. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.59.032607.092734Moliterni, V. M. C., Paris, R., Onofri, C., Orrù, L., Cattivelli, L., Pacifico, D., … Mandolino, G. (2015). Early transcriptional changes in Beta vulgaris in response to low temperature. Planta, 242(1), 187-201. doi:10.1007/s00425-015-2299-zMulet, J. M., Alemany, B., Ros, R., Calvete, J. J., & Serrano, R. (2004). Expression of a plant serine O-acetyltransferase inSaccharomyces cerevisiae confers osmotic tolerance and creates an alternative pathway for cysteine biosynthesis. Yeast, 21(4), 303-312. doi:10.1002/yea.1076Muries, B., Faize, M., Carvajal, M., & Martínez-Ballesta, M. del C. (2011). Identification and differential induction of the expression of aquaporins by salinity in broccoli plants. Molecular BioSystems, 7(4), 1322. doi:10.1039/c0mb00285bNoguchi, K., Yasumori, M., Imai, T., Naito, S., Matsunaga, T., Oda, H., … Fujiwara, T. (1997). bor1-1, an Arabidopsis thaliana Mutant That Requires a High Level of Boron. Plant Physiology, 115(3), 901-906. doi:10.1104/pp.115.3.901Nozawa, A., Takano, J., Kobayashi, M., von Wirén, N., & Fujiwara, T. (2006). Roles of BOR1, DUR3, and FPS1 in boron transport and tolerance inSaccharomyces cerevisiae. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 262(2), 216-222. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.2006.00395.xO’Neill, M. A., Warrenfeltz, D., Kates, K., Pellerin, P., Doco, T., Darvill, A. G., & Albersheim, P. (1996). Rhamnogalacturonan-II, a Pectic Polysaccharide in the Walls of Growing Plant Cell, Forms a Dimer That Is Covalently Cross-linked by a Borate Ester. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 271(37), 22923-22930. doi:10.1074/jbc.271.37.22923Pang, Y., Li, L., Ren, F., Lu, P., Wei, P., Cai, J., … Wang, X. (2010). Overexpression of the tonoplast aquaporin AtTIP5;1 conferred tolerance to boron toxicity in Arabidopsis. Journal of Genetics and Genomics, 37(6), 389-397. doi:10.1016/s1673-8527(09)60057-6Patankar, H. V., Al-Harrasi, I., Al-Yahyai, R., & Yaish, M. W. (2018). Identification of Candidate Genes Involved in the Salt Tolerance of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Based on a Yeast Functional Bioassay. DNA and Cell Biology, 37(6), 524-534. doi:10.1089/dna.2018.4159Peiro, A., Izquierdo‐Garcia, A. C., Sanchez‐Navarro, J. A., Pallas, V., Mulet, J. M., & Aparicio, F. (2014). Patellins 3 and 6, two members of the P lant P atellin family, interact with the movement protein of A lfalfa mosaic virus and interfere with viral movement. Molecular Plant Pathology, 15(9), 881-891. doi:10.1111/mpp.12146Porcel, R., Aroca, R., Azcón, R., & Ruiz-Lozano, J. M. (2006). PIP Aquaporin Gene Expression in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Glycine max and Lactuca  sativa Plants in Relation to Drought Stress Tolerance. Plant Molecular Biology, 60(3), 389-404. doi:10.1007/s11103-005-4210-yROZEMA, J., BRUIN, J., & BROEKMAN, R. A. (1992). Effect of boron on the growth and mineral economy of some halophytes and non-halophytes. New Phytologist, 121(2), 249-256. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.1992.tb01111.xSayle, R. (1995). RASMOL: biomolecular graphics for all. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 20(9), 374-376. doi:10.1016/s0968-0004(00)89080-5Serrano, R., Montesinos, C., Gaxiola, R., Ríos, G., Forment, J., Leube, M., … Ros, R. (2003). FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF SALT TOLERANCE: THE YEAST OVEREXPRESSION APPROACH. Acta Horticulturae, (609), 31-38. doi:10.17660/actahortic.2003.609.2Shorrocks, V. M. (1997). Plant and Soil, 193(2), 121-148. doi:10.1023/a:1004216126069Soto, G., Alleva, K., Mazzella, M. A., Amodeo, G., & Muschietti, J. P. (2008). AtTIP1;3andAtTIP5;1, the only highly expressed Arabidopsis pollen-specific aquaporins, transport water and urea. FEBS Letters, 582(29), 4077-4082. doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2008.11.002Sreedharan, S., Shekhawat, U. K. S., & Ganapathi, T. R. (2015). Constitutive and stress-inducible overexpression of a native aquaporin gene (MusaPIP2;6) in transgenic banana plants signals its pivotal role in salt tolerance. Plant Molecular Biology, 88(1-2), 41-52. doi:10.1007/s11103-015-0305-2Su, Y., Liang, W., Liu, Z., Wang, Y., Zhao, Y., Ijaz, B., & Hua, J. (2017). Overexpression of GhDof1 improved salt and cold tolerance and seed oil content in Gossypium hirsutum. Journal of Plant Physiology, 218, 222-234. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2017.07.017Takano, J., Noguchi, K., Yasumori, M., Kobayashi, M., Gajdos, Z., Miwa, K., … Fujiwara, T. (2002). Arabidopsis boron transporter for xylem loading. Nature, 420(6913), 337-340. doi:10.1038/nature01139Tanaka, M., & Fujiwara, T. (2007). Physiological roles and transport mechanisms of boron: perspectives from plants. Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology, 456(4), 671-677. doi:10.1007/s00424-007-0370-8Tanaka, M., Wallace, I. S., Takano, J., Roberts, D. M., & Fujiwara, T. (2008). NIP6;1 Is a Boric Acid Channel for Preferential Transport of Boron to Growing Shoot Tissues in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 20(10), 2860-2875. doi:10.1105/tpc.108.058628Törnroth-Horsefield, S., Wang, Y., Hedfalk, K., Johanson, U., Karlsson, M., Tajkhorshid, E., … Kjellbom, P. (2005). Structural mechanism of plant aquaporin gating. Nature, 439(7077), 688-694. doi:10.1038/nature04316Uraguchi, S. (2014). Generation of boron-deficiency-tolerant tomato by overexpressing an Arabidopsis thaliana borate transporter AtBOR1. Frontiers in Plant Science, 5. doi:10.3389/fpls.2014.00125Vicent, I., Navarro, A., Mulet, J. M., Sharma, S., & Serrano, R. (2015). Uptake of inorganic phosphate is a limiting factor for Saccharomyces cerevisiae during growth at low temperatures. FEMS Yeast Research, 15(3). doi:10.1093/femsyr/fov008Wallis, J. W., Chrebet, G., Brodsky, G., Rolfe, M., & Rothstein, R. (1989). A hyper-recombination mutation in S. cerevisiae identifies a novel eukaryotic topoisomerase. Cell, 58(2), 409-419. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(89)90855-6Wieland, W. H., Lammers, A., Schots, A., & Orzáez, D. V. (2006). Plant expression of chicken secretory antibodies derived from combinatorial libraries. Journal of Biotechnology, 122(3), 382-391. doi:10.1016/j.jbiotec.2005.12.020Wimmer, M. A., & Eichert, T. (2013). Review: Mechanisms for boron deficiency-mediated changes in plant water relations. Plant Science, 203-204, 25-32. doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2012.12.012Yu, G., Li, J., Sun, X., Liu, Y., Wang, X., Zhang, H., & Pan, H. (2017). Exploration for the Salinity Tolerance-Related Genes from Xero-Halophyte Atriplex canescens Exploiting Yeast Functional Screening System. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 18(11), 2444. doi:10.3390/ijms18112444Yuan, D., Li, W., Hua, Y., King, G. J., Xu, F., & Shi, L. (2017). Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of the Aquaporin Gene Family and Transcriptional Responses to Boron Deficiency in Brassica napus. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8. doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.01336Zabed, H., Faruq, G., Sahu, J. N., Azirun, M. S., Hashim, R., & Nasrulhaq Boyce, A. (2014). Bioethanol Production from Fermentable Sugar Juice. The Scientific World Journal, 2014, 1-11. doi:10.1155/2014/957102Zhang, Q., Chen, H., He, M., Zhao, Z., Cai, H., Ding, G., … Xu, F. (2017). The boron transporterBnaC4.BOR1;1cis critical for inflorescence development and fertility under boron limitation inBrassica napus. Plant, Cell & Environment, 40(9), 1819-1833. doi:10.1111/pce.1298

Simvastatin preserves myocardial perfusion and coronary microvascular permeability in experimental hypercholesterolemia independent of lipid lowering

AbstractObjectivesThis study was designed to assess the lipid-independent effects of simvastatin on myocardial perfusion (MP) and coronary microvascular permeability index (PI) at baseline and during episodes of increased cardiac demand in experimental hypercholesterolemia.BackgroundSimvastatin preserves coronary endothelial function in experimental hypercholesterolemia independent of its lipid-lowering effect. However, the functional significance of this observation is unknown.MethodsPigs were randomized to three groups: normal diet (N), high-cholesterol diet (HC) and HC diet plus simvastatin (HC+S) for 12 weeks. Subsequently, cardiac electron beam computed tomography was performed before and during intravenous infusion of adenosine and dobutamine, and MP and PI were calculated.ResultsTotal and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were similarly and significantly increased in HC and HC+S animals compared with N. Basal MP was similar in all groups. Myocardial perfusion significantly increased in response to either adenosine or dobutamine in N and HC+S animals. Dobutamine also significantly increased MP in HC animals. However, the changes of MP in response to either drug were significantly lower in the HC group compared with the other two groups (p < 0.01 for adenosine and p < 0.05 for dobutamine vs. N and HC+S). Basal PI was similar in all groups and was not altered by either drug in N and HC+S animals. In contrast, PI significantly increased in HC pigs during infusion of either adenosine (p < 0.001) or dobutamine (p < 0.05).ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate that chronic administration of simvastatin preserves myocardial perfusion response and coronary microvascular integrity during cardiac stress in experimental hypercholesterolemia independent of lipid lowering

The Milky Way: An Exceptionally Quiet Galaxy; Implications for the formation of spiral galaxies

[Abridged]We compare both the Milky Way and M31 galaxies to local external disk galaxies within the same mass range, using their relative locations in the planes formed by V_flat versus M_K, j_disk, and the average Fe abundance of stars in the galaxy outskirts. We find, for all relationships, that the MW is systematically offset by ~ 1 sigma, showing a significant deficiency in stellar mass, in angular momentum, in disk radius and [Fe/H] in the stars in its outskirts at a given V_flat. On the basis of their location in the M_K, V_flat, and R_d volume, the fraction of spirals like the MW is 7+/-1%, while M31 appears to be a "typical'' spiral. Our Galaxy appears to have escaped any significant merger over the last ~10 Gyrs which may explain why it is deficient by a factor 2 to 3 in stellar mass, angular momentum and outskirts metallicity and then, unrepresentative of the typical spiral. As with M31, most local spirals show evidence for a history shaped mainly by relatively recent merging. We conclude that the standard scenario of secular evolution is generally unable to reproduce the properties of most (if not all) spiral galaxies. However, the so-called "spiral rebuilding'' scenario proposed by Hammer et al. 2005 is consistent with the properties of both distant galaxies and of their descendants - the local spirals.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Ap

Neutral Hydrogen and Optical Observations of Edge-on Galaxies: Hunting for Warps

We present 21-cm HI line and optical R-band observations for a sample of 26 edge-on galaxies. The HI observations were obtained with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, and are part of the WHISP database (Westerbork HI Survey of Spiral and Irregular Galaxies). We present HI maps, optical images, and radial HI density profiles. We have also derived the rotation curves and studied the warping and lopsidedness of the HI disks. 20 out of the 26 galaxies of our sample are warped, confirming that warping of the HI disks is a very common phenomenon in disk galaxies. Indeed, we find that all galaxies that have an extended HI disk with respect to the optical are warped. The warping usually starts around the edge of the optical disk. The degree of warping varies considerably from galaxy to galaxy. Furthermore, many warps are asymmetric, as they show up in only one side of the disk or exhibit large differences in amplitude in the approaching and receding sides of the galaxy. These asymmetries are more pronounced in rich environments, which may indicate that tidal interactions are a source of warp asymmetry. A rich environment tends to produce larger warps as well. The presence of lopsidedness seems to be related to the presence of nearby companions.Comment: To appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Efectos del entrenamiento interválico de alta intensidad durante el periodo transitorio en jugadores de fútbol sub-19

Actualmente existe un creciente interés por la aplicación del entrenamiento interválico de alta intensidad (HIIT) en fútbol (Buchheit et al. 2013). La eficacia mostrada por esta metodología de entrenamiento para mejorar las variables del rendimiento ha provocado una mayor aplicación en deportes colectivos (Iaia et al. 2009). Sin embargo, es escasa la literatura científica acerca de su impacto en fútbol. Por ello, el objetivo del trabajo es comparar los efectos sobre el rendimiento del HIIT versus entrenamiento tradicional durante el periodo transitorio invernal en jugadores de fútbol sub-19