Commercial processing of Oriental lilies affects bud opening and metabolic dynamics

Lilies are a high value cut flower typically producing 4–5 flowers per stem, but the opening of young buds of Oriental hybrid lilies is often affected in cut flowers. Commercial treatment includes harvesting of the stem when the oldest bud is closed and at turning colour, approximately 2 ds before it would open on the plant. Stems are then rehydrated, stored chilled for up to 72 h and transported dry. To understand the effect of commercial treatment on the nutrient status metabolomes were compared throughout bud opening from different positions on the stem. At each developmental stage the metabolomic profile was affected by bud position and commercial treatment. Starch accumulated as long as buds remain closed; upon bud opening starch content declined. Reciprocally, sugar levels rose during flower opening and were affected by edge/ midrib location and commercial treatment. Glucose, fructose and sucrose levels remained higher in opened flowers still on the plant. AMY2 (amylase) transcript levels rose as did those of two sugar transporters (MST6 and SWEET7). Commercial processing therefore impacts on the metabolome and the ability to accumulate sugars in the opening flower bud. Commercial treatment delayed bud opening and the effect was dependent on the position of the bud on the stem. However, it had little impact on the rate of cell expansion during flower opening. Cell expansion in the different areas of the adaxial epidermis was unaffected by the commercial treatment. Furthermore, edge and adaxial tepal cells expanded faster during opening. Expression of cell expansion related genes (EXPA1 and LoPIP1) fell as flowers opened. This differential cell expansion in the tepal sectors could underpin the transition of a convex to a concave tepal shape during opening. In conclusion, commercial processing mainly affects the early stages of bud opening. Sugar and metabolite accumulation is compromised by commercial treatment, but this did not affect the capacity for cell expansion in the tepal. Furthermore, our data indicate that differential cell expansion in the different sectors of the tepals is important in lily flower opening, and that this is associated with starch breakdown and sugar accumulation

Auxin involvement in tepal senescence and abscission in Lilium: a tale of two lilies

Petal wilting and/or abscission terminates the life of the flower. However, how wilting and abscission are coordinated is not fully understood. There is wide variation in the extent to which petals wilt before abscission, even between cultivars of the same species. For example, tepals of Lilium longiflorum wilt substantially, while those of the closely related Lilium longiflorum×Asiatic hybrid (L.A.) abscise turgid. Furthermore, close comparison of petal death in these two Lilium genotypes shows that there is a dramatic fall in fresh weight/dry weight accompanied by a sharp increase in ion leakage in late senescent L. longiflorum tepals, neither of which occur in Lilium L.A. Despite these differences, a putative abscission zone was identified in both lilies, but while the detachment force was reduced to zero in Lilium L.A., wilting of the fused tepals in L. longiflorum occurred before abscission was complete. Abscission is often negatively regulated by auxin, and the possible role of auxin in regulating tepal abscission relative to wilting was tested in the two lilies. There was a dramatic increase in auxin levels with senescence in L. longiflorum but not in Lilium L.A. Fifty auxin-related genes were expressed in early senescent L. longiflorum tepals including 12 ARF-related genes. In Arabidopsis, several ARF genes are involved in the regulation of abscission. Expression of a homologous transcript to Arabidopsis ARF7/19 was 8-fold higher during senescence in L. longiflorum compared with abscising Lilium L.A., suggesting a conserved role for auxin-regulated abscission in monocotyledonous ethylene-insensitive flowers

A specific group of genes respond to cold dehydration stress in cut Alstroemeria flowers whereas ambient dehydration stress accelerates developmental senescence expression patterns

Petal development and senescence entails a normally irreversible process. It starts with petal expansion and pigment production, and ends with nutrient remobilization and ultimately cell death. In many species this is accompanied by petal abscission. Post-harvest stress is an important factor in limiting petal longevity in cut flowers and accelerates some of the processes of senescence such as petal wilting and abscission. However, some of the effects of moderate stress in young flowers are reversible with appropriate treatments. Transcriptomic studies have shown that distinct gene sets are expressed during petal development and senescence. Despite this, the overlap in gene expression between developmental and stress-induced senescence in petals has not been fully investigated in any species. Here a custom-made cDNA microarray from Alstroemeria petals was used to investigate the overlap in gene expression between developmental changes (bud to first sign of senescence) and typical post-harvest stress treatments. Young flowers were stressed by cold or ambient temperatures without water followed by a recovery and rehydration period. Stressed flowers were still at the bud stage after stress treatments. Microarray analysis showed that ambient dehydration stress accelerates many of the changes in gene expression patterns that would normally occur during developmental senescence. However, a higher proportion of gene expression changes in response to cold stress were specific to this stimulus and not senescence related. The expression of 21 transcription factors was characterized, showing that overlapping sets of regulatory genes are activated during developmental senescence and by different stresses

Exploring the future of data-driven product design

Connected devices present new opportunities to advance design through data collection in the wild, similar to the way digital services evolve through analytics. However, it is still unclear how live data transmitted by connected devices informs the design of these products, going beyond performance optimisation to support creative practices. Design can be enriched by data captured by connected devices, from usage logs to environmental sensors, and data about the devices and people around them. Through a series of workshops, this paper contributes industry and academia perspectives on the future of data-driven product design. We highlight HCI challenges, issues and implications, including sensemaking and the generation of design insight. We further challenge current notions of data-driven design and envision ways in which future HCI research can develop ways to work with data in the design process in a connected, rich, human manner

Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19.

Host-mediated lung inflammation is present1, and drives mortality2, in the critical illness caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Host genetic variants associated with critical illness may identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic development3. Here we report the results of the GenOMICC (Genetics Of Mortality In Critical Care) genome-wide association study in 2,244 critically ill patients with COVID-19 from 208 UK intensive care units. We have identified and replicated the following new genome-wide significant associations: on chromosome 12q24.13 (rs10735079, P = 1.65 × 10-8) in a gene cluster that encodes antiviral restriction enzyme activators (OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3); on chromosome 19p13.2 (rs74956615, P = 2.3 × 10-8) near the gene that encodes tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2); on chromosome 19p13.3 (rs2109069, P = 3.98 ×  10-12) within the gene that encodes dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9); and on chromosome 21q22.1 (rs2236757, P = 4.99 × 10-8) in the interferon receptor gene IFNAR2. We identified potential targets for repurposing of licensed medications: using Mendelian randomization, we found evidence that low expression of IFNAR2, or high expression of TYK2, are associated with life-threatening disease; and transcriptome-wide association in lung tissue revealed that high expression of the monocyte-macrophage chemotactic receptor CCR2 is associated with severe COVID-19. Our results identify robust genetic signals relating to key host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage in COVID-19. Both mechanisms may be amenable to targeted treatment with existing drugs. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials will be essential before any change to clinical practice

Molecular basis of USP7 inhibition by selective small-molecule inhibitors

Ubiquitination controls the stability of most cellular proteins, and its deregulation contributes to human diseases including cancer. Deubiquitinases remove ubiquitin from proteins, and their inhibition can induce the degradation of selected proteins, potentially including otherwise 'undruggable' targets. For example, the inhibition of ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7) results in the degradation of the oncogenic E3 ligase MDM2, and leads to re-activation of the tumour suppressor p53 in various cancers. Here we report that two compounds, FT671 and FT827, inhibit USP7 with high affinity and specificity in vitro and within human cells. Co-crystal structures reveal that both compounds target a dynamic pocket near the catalytic centre of the auto-inhibited apo form of USP7, which differs from other USP deubiquitinases. Consistent with USP7 target engagement in cells, FT671 destabilizes USP7 substrates including MDM2, increases levels of p53, and results in the transcription of p53 target genes, induction of the tumour suppressor p21, and inhibition of tumour growth in mice

Auxin involvement in tepal senescence and abscission in Lilium: a tale of two lilies

Petal wilting and/or abscission terminates the life of the flower. However, how wilting and abscission are coordinated is not fully understood. There is wide variation in the extent to which petals wilt before abscission, even between cultivars of the same species. For example, tepals of Lilium longiflorum wilt substantially, while those of the closely related Lilium longiflorum×Asiatic hybrid (L.A.) abscise turgid. Furthermore, close comparison of petal death in these two Lilium genotypes shows that there is a dramatic fall in fresh weight/dry weight accompanied by a sharp increase in ion leakage in late senescent L. longiflorum tepals, neither of which occur in Lilium L.A. Despite these differences, a putative abscission zone was identified in both lilies, but while the detachment force was reduced to zero in Lilium L.A., wilting of the fused tepals in L. longiflorum occurred before abscission was complete. Abscission is often negatively regulated by auxin, and the possible role of auxin in regulating tepal abscission relative to wilting was tested in the two lilies. There was a dramatic increase in auxin levels with senescence in L. longiflorum but not in Lilium L.A. Fifty auxin-related genes were expressed in early senescent L. longiflorum tepals including 12 ARF-related genes. In Arabidopsis, several ARF genes are involved in the regulation of abscission. Expression of a homologous transcript to Arabidopsis ARF7/19 was 8-fold higher during senescence in L. longiflorum compared with abscising Lilium L.A., suggesting a conserved role for auxin-regulated abscission in monocotyledonous ethylene-insensitive flowers

Apologies

NC brought the group up to date with the ISO process. The CIDOC CRM is in th

Sample Preparation Free Mass Spectrometry Using Laser-Assisted Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry: Applications to Microbiology, Metabolic Biofluid Phenotyping, and Food Authenticity

Mass spectrometry has established itself as a powerful tool in the chemical, biological, medical, environmental, and agricultural fields. However, experimental approaches and potential application areas have been limited by a traditional reliance on sample preparation, extraction, and chromatographic separation. Ambient ionization mass spectrometry methods have addressed this challenge but are still somewhat restricted in requirements for sample manipulation to make it suitable for analysis. These limitations are particularly restrictive in view of the move toward high-throughput and automated analytical workflows. To address this, we present what we consider to be the first automated sample-preparation-free mass spectrometry platform utilizing a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser for sample thermal desorption linked to the rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (LA-REIMS) methodology. We show that the pulsatile operation of the CO2 laser is the primary factor in achieving high signal-to-noise ratios. We further show that the LA-REIMS automated platform is suited to the analysis of three diverse biological materials within different application areas. First, clinical microbiology isolates were classified to species level with an accuracy of 97.2%, the highest accuracy reported in current literature. Second, fecal samples from a type 2 diabetes mellitus cohort were analyzed with LA-REIMS, which allowed tentative identification of biomarkers which are potentially associated with disease pathogenesis and a disease classification accuracy of 94%. Finally, we showed the ability of the LA-REIMS system to detect instances of adulteration of cooking oil and determine the geographical area of production of three protected olive oil products with 100% classification accuracy