Allelochemicals from the Rhizosphere Soil of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and Their Interactions with the Soilborne Pathogens

To reveal the allelopathic effects of potato, seven compounds were isolated from the rhizosphere soil: 7-methoxycoumarin (1), palmitic acid (2), caffeic acid (3), chlorogenic acid (4), quercetin dehydrate (5), quercitrin (6), and rutin (7). Bioassays showed that compounds 1, 2, 4, and 6 had inhibitory effects on the growth of L. sativa and tissue culture seedlings of potato. The existence of the allelochemicals was confirmed by HPLC, and their contents were quantified with a total concentration of 9.02 μg/g in the rhizosphere soil of replanted potato. Approaches on the interactions of the allelochemicals and pathogens of potato including A. solani, B. cinerea, F. solani, F. oxysporum, C. coccodes, and V. dahlia revealed that compound 1 had inhibitory effects but compounds 2–4 promoted the colony growth of the pathogens. These findings demonstrated that the autotoxic allelopathy and enhancement of the pathogens caused by the accumulation of the allelochemicals in the continuously cropped soil should be one of the main reasons for the replant problems of potato

Expression of skeletal but not cardiac Na+ channel isoform preserves normal conduction in a depolarized cardiac syncytium

Aims: Reentrant arrhythmias often develop in the setting of myocardial infarction and ensuing slow propagation. Increased Na+ channel expression could prevent or disrupt reentrant circuits by speeding conduction if channel availability is not limited by membrane depolarization within the diseased myocardium. We therefore asked if, in the setting of membrane depolarization, action potential (AP) upstroke and normal conduction can be better preserved by the expression of a Na+ channel isoform with altered biophysical properties compared to the native cardiac Na+ channel isoform, namely having a positively shifted, voltage-dependent inactivation. Methods and results: The skeletal Na+ channel isoform (SkM1) and the cardiac Na+ channel isoform (Nav1.5) were expressed in newborn rat ventricular myocyte cultures with a point mutation introduced in Nav1.5 to increase tetrodotoxin (TTX) sensitivity so native and expressed currents could be distinguished. External K+ was increased from 5.4 to 10 mmol/L to induce membrane depolarization. APs, Na+ currents, and conduction velocity (CV) were measured. In control cultures, elevated K + significantly reduced AP upstroke ( 3c75%) and CV ( 3c25%). Expression of Nav1.5 did not protect AP upstroke from K+ depolarization. In contrast, in SkM1 expressing cultures, high K+ reduced AP upstroke <50% and conduction was not significantly reduced. In a simulated anatomical reentry setting (using a void), the angular velocity (AV) of induced reentry was faster and the excitable gap shorter in SkM1 cultures compared to control for both normal and high K+. Conclusion: Expression of SkM1 but not Nav1.5 preserves AP upstroke and CV in a K +-depolarized syncytium. The higher AV and shorter excitable gap observed during reentry excitation around a void in SkM1 cultures would be expected to facilitate reentry self-termination. SkM1 Na+ channel expression represents a novel gene therapy for the treatment of reentrant arrhythmias