Influence of deficit irrigation and warming on plant water status during the late winter and spring in young olive trees

Changes in rainfall patterns and increases in ambient air temperature (i.e., warming) are expected with climate change. Yet, little information is available on how plant water status will respond to the combination of water deficit and increased air temperature in fruit tree species. The objective of this study was to evaluate the individual responses of deficit irrigation and warming and their combination on plant water status during the late winter and spring in young olive trees. Two temperature and two irrigation levels were applied in open top chambers during the late winter and spring of 2018 and 2019 to two- or three-year-old, potted trees (cv. Arbequina in 2018; Coratina in 2019). The temperature levels were a near-ambient control and a warming treatment that was 4 °C above the control, while the two irrigation levels were 100% and 50% of irrigation needs. Midday stem water potential (Ψs), stomatal conductance, net leaf photosynthesis, transpiration, and leaf temperature were measured periodically, and the difference between leaf and air temperature (ΔT) was calculated. The Ψs generally decreased due to irrigation deficit and warming when applied individually. When both treatments were combined, an additive response was observed. In contrast, stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis were consistently decreased by deficit irrigation, but were less affected by warming. Irrigation deficit did not affect leaf temperature under our experimental conditions. As was expected, warming most often increased leaf temperature, but it also significantly decreased ΔT early in the season when leaf transpiration appeared to be greater due to warming. The results indicate that modifications in water management with global warming will likely be required given the mostly negative individual or additive effects of irrigation deficit and air temperature on Ψs and other variables.EEA ChilecitoFil: Iglesias, Maria Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Iglesias, Maria Agustina. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Iglesias, Maria Agustina. Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Iglesias, Maria Agustina. Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Iglesias, Maria Agustina. Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Departamento de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Aguero Alcaras, Luis Martin. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Chilecito. Agencia de Extensión Rural Aimogasta; ArgentinaFil: Hamze, Leila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Hamze, Leila. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Hamze, Leila. Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Hamze, Leila. Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Hamze, Leila. Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; Argentin

Spring reproductive and vegetative phenology of olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivars at different air temperatures along a latitudinal-altitudinal gradient in Argentina

Detailed spring phenology studies are scarce in olive trees growing in non-Mediterranean climates despite crop expansion into new regions in the last few decades. Additionally, the vegetative phenology of olive trees has been little examined under any climate conditions. Thus, the aims of this study were to: (i) evaluate the timing of spring reproductive and vegetative phenological stages and their overlap for several olive cultivars growing under different air temperatures along a latitudinal gradient (29°–33° S) that included a range of altitudes (450–1,250 m asl) in western Argentina; and (ii) assess the potential relationships between the length (i.e., days) of some phenological phases and air temperature. All observations were performed during two growing seasons (2018–2019, 2019–2020). The temperature difference across the latitudinal-altitudinal gradient during the winter and early spring periods was between 4.2 and 6.0 °C. The separation of the first leaves (BBCH 11) most often occurred after inflorescence bud opening (BBCH 53) at warmer low latitude locations, but before BBCH 53 at cooler high latitude sites. A difference of 26 days in full flowering was found between extreme locations when considering both seasons. The variability of the reproductive stage dates was explained mostly by environmentally-related factors including location (71.7–95.2%) and season (0–18.1%) rather than by cultivar (2.8–6.6%). Nevertheless, cultivar responses did appear to depend on the climate conditions at different locations and growing seasons. The length of the inflorescence emergence phase (BBCH 53–60) decreased by 4.3 days/ °C as the mean air temperature during the phase increased. In contrast, the flowering phase length (BBCH 60–69) decreased with increasing mean air temperature during the phase up to 23 ºC, but increased above that temperature. These results should be useful for better timing of management practices and the development of phenological models that include non-Mediterranean environments.EEA JunínFil: Hamze, Leila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Hamze, Leila. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Hamze, Leila. Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Hamze, Leila. Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Hamze, Leila. Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Trentacoste, Eduardo Rafael. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Junín; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; Argentin

Prolonged enhancement of the micturition reflex in the cat by repetitive stimulation of bladder afferents

Prolonged modulation of the parasympathetic micturition reflex was studied in cats anaesthetized by α-chloralose. Reflex discharges were recorded from a thin pelvic nerve filament to the bladder and evoked by stimulation of the remaining ipsilateral bladder pelvic nerves or urethral branches of the pudendal nerve.Stimulation of bladder or urethral afferents at Aδ intensity evoked micturition reflexes with a latency of 90-120 ms. Such reflexes were much enhanced following repetitive conditioning stimulation of the same afferents at 20 Hz for 5 min.The reflex enhancement lasted more than 1 h after the conditioning stimulation. The effect was not prevented by a preceding complete transection of the sympathetic supply to the bladder. A prolonged suppression of the reflex was obtained after conditioning stimulation of afferents in the dorsal clitoris nerves.It is proposed that the prolonged modulations of the micturition reflex represent physiological adaptive processes, which preserve a flawless function of the bladder during life. The observations provide a theoretical explanation for the beneficial effect of electric nerve stimulation in patients with voiding disorders

Influence of environmental growth temperature on tocopherol and sterol oil concentrations in olive fruit

BACKGROUND: Tocopherols and sterols are minor components of virgin olive oils that contribute to oil quality. Based on observations at different geographical locations, it has been suggested that environmental temperature during fruit growth affects tocopherol and sterol oil concentrations in olive fruit. However, controlled experiments have not been conducted to directly assess their responses to temperature. In this study, a manipulative experiment using open top chambers (OTCs) was performed in the field to evaluate the responses of these oil components to a moderate air temperature increase during oil accumulation in young trees of two olive cultivars (Arbequina, Coratina). The two temperature levels in the OTCs were a control about 1°C above ambient temperature (T0) and a heated treatment (T+) with a target temperature of 4 °C above T0. RESULTS: Total tocopherol and sterol oil concentrations in olive fruit were generally higher in the T+ temperature treatment than in the control at the end of the oil accumulation period. The increase in total tocopherols in T+ appeared to be related to a decrease in fruit oil concentration with heating. Individual sterols showed both significant increases and decreases due to T+ and some differences in response occurred between the two cultivars. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide evidence that growth temperature affects tocopherol and sterol oil concentrations in olive fruit at the end the oil accumulation period. Cultivars should be carefully chosen for new olive growing regions, and the results could be relevant for global warming scenarios in existing growing regions.EEA CatamarcaFil: Hamze, Leila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja. - Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Miserere, Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja. - Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Miserere, Andrea. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Departamento de Ciencias y Tecnologías Aplicadas; ArgentinaFil: Molina, Maria Sol. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; Argentina.Fil: Maestri, Damian. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Maestri, Damian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Searles, Peter Stoughton. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja. - Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rousseaux, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de la Rioja. - Secretaria de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; Argentin

Transcriptional regulation of oil synthesis and fatty acid desaturation in olive fruit under elevated growth temperature

13 Páginas.-- 6 Figuras.-- 1 TablaAmbient temperature during olive fruit growth modulates oil content and fatty acid composition. However, the mechanisms behind their regulation are not completely understood. In this work, the transcriptional regulation of oil synthesis and fatty acid desaturation were evaluated by manipulating air temperature in the field. Three-year-old trees of cultivars ‘Arbequina’ and ‘Coratina’ were placed in open-top chambers (OTC) where control or elevated air temperatures were applied early in the oil accumulation phase, and fruits were sampled after 10 or 36 days of exposure. Upon elevated temperature, the oil content in ‘Coratina’ mesocarp tissue decreased less than in ‘Arbequina’ compared to their respective controls. However, the oleic acid content of ‘Coratina’ was more sensitive to temperature. The cultivar-dependent responses were mainly explained by differential gene expression. In ‘Arbequina’, the downregulation of genes involved in triacylglycerol biosynthesis (OeDGAT1-2, OeDGAT2, OePDAT1-1, and OePDAT1-2), upon elevated temperature explains the decrease in oil content, whereas the downregulation of the fatty acid desaturases genes (OeSAD1, OeSAD3, OeFAD2-1, OeFAD2-2, and OeFAD2-5) decreased the oleic/linoleic ratio. In contrast, in ‘Coratina’, OePDAT1-2 downregulation explains the fluctuation in oil content, but the increased expression of three members of the OeFAD2 gene family was responsible for the oleic/linoleic ratio. This knowledge contributes to developing an integrated strategy for olive production under high temperatures, and the analysis of the expression of key genes could be used as a selection criterion in genetic improvement programs for the adaptation of olive cultivars to global warming.In Argentine, this research was supported by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva de Argentina (ANPCyT, PICT 2015 0195 and PICT 2019 02659) and CONICET (PUE 2016 0125). Travel funds were also provided to GPGI by the University of Buenos Aires. In Spain, it was supported by Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities through Research Grant AGL2017-87871-R (AEI/FEDER,UE).Peer reviewe

Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

BackgroundWe previously reported that impaired type I IFN activity, due to inborn errors of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I interferon (IFN) immunity or to autoantibodies against type I IFN, account for 15-20% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. Therefore, the determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 remain to be identified in similar to 80% of cases.MethodsWe report here a genome-wide rare variant burden association analysis in 3269 unvaccinated patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and 1373 unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals without pneumonia. Among the 928 patients tested for autoantibodies against type I IFN, a quarter (234) were positive and were excluded.ResultsNo gene reached genome-wide significance. Under a recessive model, the most significant gene with at-risk variants was TLR7, with an OR of 27.68 (95%CI 1.5-528.7, P=1.1x10(-4)) for biochemically loss-of-function (bLOF) variants. We replicated the enrichment in rare predicted LOF (pLOF) variants at 13 influenza susceptibility loci involved in TLR3-dependent type I IFN immunity (OR=3.70[95%CI 1.3-8.2], P=2.1x10(-4)). This enrichment was further strengthened by (1) adding the recently reported TYK2 and TLR7 COVID-19 loci, particularly under a recessive model (OR=19.65[95%CI 2.1-2635.4], P=3.4x10(-3)), and (2) considering as pLOF branchpoint variants with potentially strong impacts on splicing among the 15 loci (OR=4.40[9%CI 2.3-8.4], P=7.7x10(-8)). Finally, the patients with pLOF/bLOF variants at these 15 loci were significantly younger (mean age [SD]=43.3 [20.3] years) than the other patients (56.0 [17.3] years; P=1.68x10(-5)).ConclusionsRare variants of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I IFN immunity genes can underlie life-threatening COVID-19, particularly with recessive inheritance, in patients under 60 years old