Vegetation changes and water cycle in a changing environment

</jats:p

Measuring and modeling water-related soil\u2013vegetation feedbacks in a fallow plot

Land fallowing is one possible response to shortage of water for irrigation. Leaving the soil unseeded implies a change of the soil functioning that has an impact on the water cycle. The development of a soil crust in the open spaces between the patterns of grass weed affects the soil properties and the field-scale water balance. The objectives of this study are to test the potential of integrated non-invasive geophysical methods and ground-image analysis and to quantify the effect of the soil-vegetation interaction on the water balance of fallow land at the local-and plot scale. We measured repeatedly in space and time local soil saturation and vegetation cover over two small plots located in southern Sardinia, Italy, during a controlled irrigation experiment. One plot was left unseeded and the other was cultivated. The comparative analysis of ERT maps of soil moisture evidenced a considerably different hydrologic response to irrigation of the two plots. Local measurements of soil saturation and vegetation cover were repeated in space to evidence a positive feedback between weed growth and infiltration at the fallow plot. A simple bucket model captured the different soil moisture dynamics at the two plots during the infiltration experiment and was used to estimate the impact of the soil vegetation feedback on the yearly water balance at the fallow site

Mechanisms underlying the anti-tumoral effects of Citrus Bergamia juice.

Based on the growing deal of data concerning the biological activity of flavonoid-rich natural products, the aim of the present study was to explore in vitro the potential anti-tumoral activity of Citrus Bergamia (bergamot) juice (BJ), determining its molecular interaction with cancer cells. Here we show that BJ reduced growth rate of different cancer cell lines, with the maximal growth inhibition observed in neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) after 72 hs of exposure to 5% BJ. The SH-SY5Y antiproliferative effect elicited by BJ was not due to a cytotoxic action and it did not induce apoptosis. Instead, BJ stimulated the arrest in the G1 phase of cell cycle and determined a modification in cellular morphology, causing a marked increase of detached cells. The inhibition of adhesive capacity on different physiologic substrates and on endothelial cells monolayer were correlated with an impairment of actin filaments, a reduction in the expression of the active form of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) that in turn caused inhibition of cell migration. In parallel, BJ seemed to hinder the association between the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) and FAK. Our data suggest a mechanisms through which BJ can inhibit important molecular pathways related to cancer-associated aggressive phenotype and offer new suggestions for further studies on the role of BJ in cancer treatment

Correction: Mechanisms Underlying the Anti-Tumoral Effects of Citrus bergamia Juice.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061484.]

Adipocytes in breast cancer: lipolytic and mitochondrial alterations in the tumor microenvironment

Breast cancer cells induce metabolic reprogramming of peritumoral adipocytes, promoting adipocyte delipidation and atrophy/regression. We have previously reported that peritumoral adipocytes showed a decrease in the expression of Plin1, which together with HSL and ATGL regulate the lipolytic process, and smaller lipid droplet size.Fil: Pagnotta, Priscila Ayelén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Lotufo, Cecilia Maricel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Gantov, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Dreszman, Rubén. Clínica de Microcirugía; ArgentinaFil: Crosbie, María Luján. Complejo Medico Policial Bartolome Churruca Andres Visca; ArgentinaFil: Santiso, N.. Complejo Medico Policial Bartolome Churruca Andres Visca; ArgentinaFil: Ursino, Anabela. Complejo Medico Policial Bartolome Churruca Andres Visca; ArgentinaFil: Frascarolli, Celeste. Complejo Medico Policial Bartolome Churruca Andres Visca; ArgentinaFil: Amato, Alicia Rita. Complejo Medico Policial Bartolome Churruca Andres Visca; ArgentinaFil: Calvo, Juan Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Toneatto, Judith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaReunión Anual de Sociedades de Biociencia 2020ArgentinaSociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica SAICSociedad Argentina de Inmunología SAISociedad Argentina de Fisiología SAFI

Non-invasive monitoring of soil static characteristics and dynamic states: a case study highlighting vegetationeffects

In this paper we present the results of long term monitoring and irrigation tests performed on an experimental farm in Southern Sardinia, an area of semi-arid climate. The goal of the study is to understand the soil-vegetation interactions and how they can affect the soil water balance, particularly in view of possible climatic changes. We used long-term electromagnetic induction (EMI) time lapse monitoring and short-term irrigation experiments monitored using ERT (electrical resistivity tomography) and EMI, supported by TDR soil moisture measurements. Mapping of natural gamma-ray emission, texture analysis and laboratory calibration of an electrical constitutive relationship on soil samples complete the dataset. We observe that the growth of vegetation, with the associated below ground allocation of biomass, has a significant impact on the soil moisture dynamics. It is well known that vegetation extracts a large amount of water from the soil particularly in the hot season, but it also reduces evaporation by shadowing the soil surface. Vegetation represents a screen for rainfall and prevents light rainfall infiltration but enhances the wetting process by facilitating the infiltration and the ground water recharge. In many cases, the vegetation creates a positive feedback system. In our study, this mechanisms are well highlighted by the use of non-invasive techniques, that provide data at the scale and resolution necessary to understand the hydrological processes of the topsoil, also in their lateral and depth spatial variability. Unlike remote sensing techniques, non invasive geophysics penetrates the soil subsurface and can effectively image moisture content in the root zone. We also developed a simple conceptual model capable of representing the vegetation-soil interaction with a simple enough parameterization that can be fulfilled by measurements of a non invasive nature, available at a large scale and evidences possible relevant developments of our research