A bacterial acetyltransferase targets the protein kinase ZIP1, a positive regulator of plant immunity

Pseudomonas syringae is a model bacterial pathogen that penetrates the leaf to reach the plant apoplast, where it replicates causing disease. In order to do that, the pathogen must interfere and suppress a two-tiered plant defense response: PTI (PAMP-Triggered Immunity, or basal resistance) and ETI (Effector-Triggered Immunity). P. syringae uses a type III secretion system to directly deliver effector proteins inside the plant cell cytosol, many of which are known to suppress PTI, some of which are known to trigger ETI, and a handful of which are known to suppress ETI. Bacterial infection can also trigger a systemic plant defense response that protects the plant against additional pathogen attacks known as SAR (Systemic Acquired Resistance). We are particularly interested in the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in effector-mediated defense evasion by P. syringae, in particular those involved in the suppression of ETI and SAR, and/or mediation of hormone signaling. Here we present data describing effector-mediated interference with plant immunity, by means of acetylation of a key positive regulator of local and systemic responses. Our work identifies a novel plant target for effector function, and characterizes its function. This work illustrates how analyzing the means by which a given effector interferes with its target can provide novel information regarding eukaryotic molecular mechanisms.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. MINECO BIO2015-64391R y FEDE

Competitive interference of plant species in monocultures and mixed stands

A dynamic model is presented for calculating the dry matter yields of individual plant species in a mixed stand by means of parameters derived from a spacing experiment with species grown at 2 densities and harvested at regular intervals. Results are given of trials with different crops, including tall and dwarf peas. The model is intended for use under conditions of near-optimum supply of water and nutrients, where the principal competition is for light. A simple method for measuring relative light interception by species in mixed stands is also described

The effect of 3-indoleacetic acid on the response of Lactobacillus arabinosus 17-5 to nicotinamide

Lactobacillus arabinosus 17-5 has been widely used as an assay organism for nicotinic acid (NA) since the development of the method by Snell and Wright (1). Although it has been realized that other substances present in tissue extracts may interfere with the bioassay, the nature of such substances has not been elucidated. During an investigation of tryptophan metabolism in the pea plant, we studied the possible conversion of this compound to nicotinic acid, since such a transformation has been demonstrated to occur in numerous organisms (2-4). The method involved infiltration of tissue with large quantities of tryptophan and subsequent bioassay for nicotinic acid with Lactobacillus arabinosus 17-5. Certain anomalous results led us to believe that other metabolites of tryptophan were interfering with the assay. Because 3-indoleacetic acid (IAA) is a known plant metabolite of tryptophan (5), we tested it for possible interference with the assay, and, as described below, found that such interference may occur under certain circumstances

RNA interference in plant parasitic nematodes

RNA interference (RNAi, also called RNA-mediated interference) is a mechanism for RNA-guided regulation of gene expression in which double-stranded ribonucleic acid inhibits the expression of genes with complementary nucleotide sequences. Conserved in most eukaryotic organisms, the RNAi pathway is thought to have evolved as a form of innate immunity against viruses and also plays a major role in regulating development and genome maintenance. RNAi has recently been demonstrated in plant parasitic nematodes. It is a potentially powerful investigative tool for the genome-wide identification of gene function that should help improve our understanding of plant parasitic nematodes. RNAi should help identify gene and, hence, protein targets for nematode control strategie

Classification of multiple electromagnetic interference events in high-voltage power plant

This paper addresses condition assessment of electrical assets contained in high voltage power plants. Our work introduces a novel analysis approach of multiple event signals related to faults, and which are measured using Electro-Magnetic Interference method. The proposed method transfers the expert’s knowledge on events presence in the signals to an intelligent system which could potentially be used for automatic EMI diagnosis. Cyclic spectrum analysis is used as feature extraction to efficiently extract the repetitive rate and the dynamic discharge level of the events, and multi-class support vector machine is adopted for their classification. This first and novel method achieved successful results which may have potential implications on developing a framework for automatic diagnosis tool of EMI events

Role of RNA Interference (RNAi) in the Moss Physcomitrella patens

RNA interference (RNAi) is a mechanism that regulates genes by either transcriptional (TGS) or posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS), required for genome maintenance and proper development of an organism. Small non-coding RNAs are the key players in RNAi and have been intensively studied in eukaryotes. In plants, several classes of small RNAs with specific sizes and dedicated functions have evolved. The major classes of small RNAs include microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which differ in their biogenesis. miRNAs are synthesized from a short hairpin structure while siRNAs are derived from long double-stranded RNAs (dsRNA). Both miRNA and siRNAs control the expression of cognate target RNAs by binding to reverse complementary sequences mediating cleavage or translational inhibition of the target RNA. They also act on the DNA and cause epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation and histone modifications. In the last years, the analysis of plant RNAi pathways was extended to the bryophyte Physcomitrella patens, a non-flowering, non-vascular ancient land plant that diverged from the lineage of seed plants approximately 450 million years ago. Based on a number of characteristic features and its phylogenetic key position in land plant evolution P. patens emerged as a plant model species to address basic as well as applied topics in plant biology. Here we summarize the current knowledge on the role of RNAi in P. patens that shows functional overlap with RNAi pathways from seed plants, and also unique features specific to this species

Analyzing plant stress granules in response to plant viruses

Plant viruses have the ability to redirect host machineries and processes to establish a productive infection. Virus-host interactions lead to the reprogramming of the plant cell cycle and transcriptional controls, inhibition of cell death pathways, interference with cell signaling and protein turnover, and suppression defense pathways. Stress granules (SGs) are structures within cells that regulate gene expression during stress response, e.g. viral infection. In mammalian cells assembly of SGs is dependent on the Ras-GAP SH3-domain–binding protein (G3BP). The C-terminal domain of the viral nonstructural protein 3 (nsP3) of Semliki Forest virus (SFV) forms a complex with mammalian G3BP and sequesters it into viral RNA replication complexes in a manner that inhibits the formation of SGs. The binding domain of nsP3 to HsG3BP was mapped to two tandem ‘FGDF’ repeat motifs close to the C-terminus of the viral proteins. It was speculated that plant viruses employ a similar strategy to inhibit SG function.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Vicerrectorado de Investigación y Programa de doctorado "Biotecnología Avanzada

Plants Root Interference Area, A Benefit To The Microbial Community

Part of byproducts synthesized by plants through photosynthesis reach the ground, where create selective microenvironments for micro-flora and associations of plant - micro-organisms, which are a benefit for plant growth Setting the interference effect of the root interference area of vines and herbaceous plants and of radicular exudates from vine rhizosphere on microbial community and estimating microbial population present on the vine leaves. The biological material was represented by leaves (Fa, Fb), and soil rhizosphere (Ra, Rb) of two varieties of vines (Tamaioasa Romanian white and black / TA, TN), and from the vine roots interference area with other herbaceous plants (Ma, Mb). The soil has never been chemically treated. The microbiological study of biological samples was performed by classical and molecular methods. Overall, bacteria had a significant presence in soil samples taken from the root interference zone (Ma, Mb). Actinomycetes quantitatively dominated the root interference area  of herbaceous plant with variety TA. The range of actinomycetes species and leaves microflora was reduced. In this study we have shown that significant growth of microorganisms occurs in the interference area of vine with other herbal plants as a result of the cumulative effect of radicular exudates

An AI-based solution for wireless channel interference prediction and wireless remote control

Abstract. Most control systems rely on wired connectivity between controllers and plants due to their need for fast and reliable real-time control. Yet the demand for mobility, scalability, low operational and maintenance costs call for wireless networked control system designs. Naturally, over-the-air communication is susceptible to interference and fading and therefore, enabling low latency and high reliability is crucial for wireless control scenarios. In this view, the work of this thesis aims to enhance reliability of the wireless communication and to optimize the energy consumption while maintaining low latency and the stability of the controller-plant system. To achieve this goal, two core abstractions have been used, a neural wireless channel interference predictor and a neural predictive controller. This neural predictor design is motivated by the capability of machine learning in assimilating underlying patterns and dynamics of systems using the observed data. The system model is composed of a controller-plant scheme on which the controller transmits control signals wirelessly. The neural wireless predictor and the neural controller predict wireless channel interference and plant states, respectively. This information is used to optimize energy consumption and prevent communication outages while controlling the plant. This thesis presents the development of the neural wireless predictor, the neural controller and a neural plant. Interaction and functionality of these elements are demonstrated using a Simulink simulation. Results of simulation illustrate the effectiveness of neural networks in both control and wireless domain. The proposed solution yields about 17% reduction in energy consumption compared to state-of-the-art designs by minimizing the impact of interference in the control links while ensuring plant stability

RNA interference: A novel tool for plant disease management

Plant diseases pose a huge threat to crop production globally. Variations in their genomes cause selection to favor those who can survive pesticides and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops. Though plant breeding has been the classical means of manipulating the plant genome to develop resistant cultivar for controlling plant diseases, the advent of genetic engineering provides an entirely new approach being pursued to render plants resistant to fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes. RNA interference (RNAi) technology has emerged to be a promising therapeutic weapon to mitigate the inherent risks such as the use of a specific transgene, marker gene, or gene control sequences associated with development of traditional transgenics. Silencing specific genes by RNAi is a desirable natural solution to this problem as disease resistant transgenic plants can be produced within a regulatory framework. Recent studies have been successful in producing potent silencing effects by using target doublestranded RNAs through an effective vector system. Transgenic plants expressing RNAi vectors, as well as, dsRNA containing crop sprays have been successful for efficient control of plant pathogens affecting economically important crop species. The present paper discusses strategies and applications of this novel technology in plant disease management for sustainable agriculture production.Keywords: Plant disease, RNA interference, transgene, managementAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(18), pp. 2303-231