Abiotic and Biotic Mechanisms Controlling In Situ Remediation of NDMA

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-05-01

FINAL REPORT Abiotic and Biotic Mechanisms Controlling In Situ Remediation of NDMA SERDP Project ER-1421 MAY 2009 James E. Szecsody...00-2009 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Abiotic and Biotic Mechanisms Controlling In Situ Remediation of NDMA 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c...investigate whether in situ coupled abiotic/biotic degradation of N-nitrosodimethylamine ( NDMA , an emerging contaminant) could be used as a permeable

Generation of RNA in abiotic conditions.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Mauro, Ernesto

Generation of RNA in abiotic conditions. Ernesto Di Mauro Dipartimento di Genetica Bi-ologia Molecolare, Universit` "Sapienza" Roma, Italy. a At least four conditions must be satisfied for the spontaneous generation of (pre)-genetic poly-mers: 1) availability of precursors that are activated enough to spontaneously polymerize. Preliminary studies showed that (a) nucleic bases and acyclonucleosides can be synthesized from formamide H2NCOH by simply heating with prebiotically available mineral catalysts [last reviewed in (1)], and that b) nucleic bases can be phosphorylated in every possible posi-tion [2'; 3'; 5'; cyclic 2',3'; cyclic 3',5' (2)]. The higher stability of the cyclic forms allows their accumulation. 2) A polymerization mechanism. A reaction showing the formation of RNA polymers starting from prebiotically plausible precursors (3',5' cyclic GMP and 3', 5'cyclic AMP) was recently reported (3). Polymerization in these conditions is thermodynamically up-hill and an equilibrium is attained that limits the maximum length of the polymer produced to about 40 nucleotides for polyG and 100 nucleotides for polyA. 3) Ligation of the synthesized oligomers. If this type of reaction could occur according to a terminal-joining mechanism and could generate canonical 3',5' phosphodiester bonds, exponential growth would be obtained of the generated oligomers. This type of reaction has been reported (4) , limited to homogeneous polyA sequences and leading to the production of polyA dimers and tetramers. What is still missing are: 4) mechanisms that provide the proof of principle for the generation of sequence complexity. We will show evidence for two mechanisms providing this proof of principle for simple complementary sequences. Namely: abiotic sequence complementary-driven terminal ligation and sequence-complementary terminal growth. In conclusion: all the steps leading to the generation of RNA in abiotic conditions are satisfied. (1) R Saladino, C Crestini, F

Alternative Splicing Control of Abiotic Stress Responses.

PubMed

Laloum, Tom; Martín, Guiomar; Duque, Paula

2018-02-01

Alternative splicing, which generates multiple transcripts from the same gene, is an important modulator of gene expression that can increase proteome diversity and regulate mRNA levels. In plants, this post-transcriptional mechanism is markedly induced in response to environmental stress, and recent studies have identified alternative splicing events that allow rapid adjustment of the abundance and function of key stress-response components. In agreement, plant mutants defective in splicing factors are severely impaired in their response to abiotic stress. Notably, mounting evidence indicates that alternative splicing regulates stress responses largely by targeting the abscisic acid (ABA) pathway. We review here current understanding of post-transcriptional control of plant stress tolerance via alternative splicing and discuss research challenges for the near future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abiotic Organic Chemistry in Hydrothermal Systems.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simoneit, B. R.; Rushdi, A. I.

2004-12-01

Abiotic organic chemistry in hydrothermal systems is of interest to biologists, geochemists and oceanographers. This chemistry consists of thermal alteration of organic matter and minor prebiotic synthesis of organic compounds. Thermal alteration has been extensively documented to yield petroleum and heavy bitumen products from contemporary organic detritus. Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia and sulfur species have been used as precursors in prebiotic synthesis experiments to organic compounds. These inorganic species are common components of hot spring gases and marine hydrothermal systems. It is of interest to further test their reactivities in reductive aqueous thermolysis. We have synthesized organic compounds (lipids) in aqueous solutions of oxalic acid, and with carbon disulfide or ammonium bicarbonate at temperatures from 175-400° C. The synthetic lipids from oxalic acid solutions consisted of n-alkanols, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkyl formates, n-alkanones, n-alkenes and n-alkanes, typically to C30 with no carbon number preferences. The products from CS2 in acidic aqueous solutions yielded cyclic thioalkanes, alkyl polysulfides, and thioesters with other numerous minor compounds. The synthesis products from oxalic acid and ammonium bicarbonate solutions were homologous series of n-alkyl amides, n-alkyl amines, n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids, also to C30 with no carbon number predominance. Condensation (dehydration) reactions also occur under elevated temperatures in aqueous medium as tested by model reactions to form amide, ester and nitrile bonds. It is concluded that the abiotic formation of aliphatic lipids, condensation products (amides, esters, nitriles, and CS2 derivatives (alkyl polysulfides, cyclic polysulfides) is possible under hydrothermal conditions and warrants further studies.

ABIOTIC IN SITU TECHNOLOGIES FOR GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION CONFERENCE: PROCEEDINGS

EPA Science Inventory

The USEPA conference on Abiotic In Situ Technologies for Groundwater Remediation was held in Dallas, TX, 8/31-9/2/99. The goal of the meeting was to disseminate current information on abiotic in situ groundwater treatment echnologies. Although much information is being provided a...

Pharmacological Evidence for Calcium Involvement in the Long-Term Processing of Abiotic Stimuli in Plants

PubMed Central

Verdus, Marie-Claire; Le Sceller, Lois; Norris, Victor; Thellier, Michel

2007-01-01

Information about abiotic conditions is stored for long periods in plants and, in flax seedlings, can lead to the production of meristems. To investigate the underlying mechanism, flax seedlings were given abiotic stimuli that included a mechanical stimulus (by manipulation), one or two cold shocks, a slow cold treatment and a drought stress and, if these seedlings were then subjected to a temporary (1 to 3 days) depletion of calcium, epidermal meristems were produced in the seedling hypocotyls. This production was inhibited by the addition to the nutrient media of EGTA, ruthenium red, lanthanum or gadolinium that affect calcium availability or calcium transport. Use of these agents revealed a period of vulnerability in information processing that was less than two min for mechanical stimuli and over five min for other abiotic stimuli, consistent with information about mechanical stimuli being stored particularly fast. We propose that external calcium is needed for the transduction/storage of the information for meristem production whilst a temporary depletion of external calcium is needed for the actual production of meristems. Such roles for calcium would be consistent with a mechanism based on ion condensation on charged polymers. PMID:19516991

Pharmacological evidence for calcium involvement in the long-term processing of abiotic stimuli in plants.

PubMed

Verdus, Marie-Claire; Le Sceller, Lois; Norris, Victor; Thellier, Michel; Ripoll, Camille

2007-07-01

Information about abiotic conditions is stored for long periods in plants and, in flax seedlings, can lead to the production of meristems. To investigate the underlying mechanism, flax seedlings were given abiotic stimuli that included a mechanical stimulus (by manipulation), one or two cold shocks, a slow cold treatment and a drought stress and, if these seedlings were then subjected to a temporary (1 to 3 days) depletion of calcium, epidermal meristems were produced in the seedling hypocotyls. This production was inhibited by the addition to the nutrient media of EGTA, ruthenium red, lanthanum or gadolinium that affect calcium availability or calcium transport. Use of these agents revealed a period of vulnerability in information processing that was less than two min for mechanical stimuli and over five min for other abiotic stimuli, consistent with information about mechanical stimuli being stored particularly fast. We propose that external calcium is needed for the transduction/storage of the information for meristem production whilst a temporary depletion of external calcium is needed for the actual production of meristems. Such roles for calcium would be consistent with a mechanism based on ion condensation on charged polymers.

Growth, viability and architecture of biofilms of Listeria monocytogenes formed on abiotic surfaces.

PubMed

Reis-Teixeira, Fernanda Barbosa Dos; Alves, Virgínia Farias; de Martinis, Elaine Cristina Pereira

The pathogenic bacterium Listeria monocytogenes can persist in food processing plants for many years, even when appropriate hygienic measures are in place, with potential for contaminating ready-to-eat products and, its ability to form biofilms on abiotic surfaces certainly contributes for the environmental persistence. In this research, L. monocytogenes was grown in biofilms up 8 days attached to stainless steel and glass surfaces, contributing for advancing the knowledge on architecture of mature biofilms, since many literature studies carried out on this topic considered only early stages of cell adhesion. In this study, biofilm populations of two strains of L. monocytogenes (serotypes 1/2a and 4b) on stainless steel coupons and glass were examined using regular fluorescence microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy and classic culture method. The biofilms formed were not very dense and microscopic observations revealed uneven biofilm structures, with presence of exopolymeric matrix surrounding single cells, small aggregates and microcolonies, in a honeycomb-like arrangement. Moreover, planktonic population of L. monocytogenes (present in broth media covering the abiotic surface) remained stable throughout the incubation time, which indicates an efficient dispersal mechanism, since the culture medium was replaced daily. In conclusion, even if these strains of L. monocytogenes were not able to form thick multilayer biofilms, it was noticeable their high persistence on abiotic surfaces, reinforcing the need to focus on measures to avoid biofilm formation, instead of trying to eradicate mature biofilms. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.

Abiotic uptake of gases by organic soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smagin, A. V.

2007-12-01

Methodological and experimental studies of the abiotic uptake of gaseous substances by organic soils were performed. The static adsorption method of closed vessels for assessing the interaction of gases with the solid and liquid soil phases and the dynamic method of determining the sorption isotherms of gases by soils were analyzed. The theoretical substantiation of the methods and their practical implementations on the basis of a PGA-7 portable gas analyzer (Russia) were considered. Good agreement between the equilibrium sorption isotherms of the gases and the Langmuir model was revealed; for the real ranges of natural gas concentrations, this model can be reduced to the linear Henry equation. The limit values of the gas sorption (Langmuir monolayer capacity) are typical for dry samples; they vary from 670 4000 g/m3 for methane and oxygen to 20 000 25 000 g/m3 for carbon dioxide. The linear distribution coefficients of gases between the solid and gas phases of organic soils (Henry constants) are 8 18 units for poorly sorbed gases (O2, CH4) and 40 60 units for CO2. The kinetics of the chemicophysical uptake of gases by the soil studied is linear in character and obeys the relaxation kinetic model of the first order with the corresponding relaxation constants, which vary from 1 h -1 in wet samples to 10 h -1 in dry samples.

Abiotic stress and the plant circadian clock

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Alfredo; Shin, Jieun

2011-01-01

In this review, we focus on the interaction between the circadian clock of higher plants to that of metabolic and physiological processes that coordinate growth and performance under a predictable, albeit changing environment. In this, the phytochrome and cryptochrome photoreceptors have shown to be important, but not essential for oscillator control under diurnal cycles of light and dark. From this foundation, we will examine how emerging findings have firmly linked the circadian clock, as a central mediator in the coordination of metabolism, to maintain homeostasis. This occurs by oscillator synchronization of global transcription, which leads to a dynamic control of a host of physiological processes. These include the determination of the levels of primary and secondary metabolites, and the anticipation of future environmental stresses, such as mid-day drought and midnight coldness. Interestingly, metabolic and stress cues themselves appear to feedback on oscillator function. In such a way, the circadian clock of plants and abiotic-stress tolerance appear to be firmly interconnected processes. PMID:21325898

Recent Molecular Advances on Downstream Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress

PubMed Central

dos Reis, Sávio Pinho; Lima, Aline Medeiros; de Souza, Cláudia Regina Batista

2012-01-01

Abiotic stresses such as extremes of temperature and pH, high salinity and drought, comprise some of the major factors causing extensive losses to crop production worldwide. Understanding how plants respond and adapt at cellular and molecular levels to continuous environmental changes is a pre-requisite for the generation of resistant or tolerant plants to abiotic stresses. In this review we aimed to present the recent advances on mechanisms of downstream plant responses to abiotic stresses and the use of stress-related genes in the development of genetically engineered crops. PMID:22942725

Origin of Abiotic Methane in Submarine Hydrothermal Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seewald, J. S.; German, C. R.; Grozeva, N. G.; Klein, F.; McDermott, J. M.; Ono, S.; Reeves, E. P.; Wang, D. T.

2018-05-01

Results of recent investigations into the chemical and isotopic composition of actively venting submarine hydrothermal fluids and volatile species trapped in fluid inclusions will be discussed in the context of processes responsible for abiotic CH4 formation.

Olivine Weathering: Abiotic Versus Biotic Processes as Possible Biosignatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Longazo, T. G.; Wentworth, S. J.; McKay, D. S.; Southam, G.; Clemett, S. J.

2001-01-01

A preliminary study to determine how abiotic versus biotic processes affect the weathering of olivine crystals. Perhaps the differences between these weathering processes could be used as biosignatures. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO REDUCTIVE TRANSFORMATION OF ORGANIC POLLUTANTS

EPA Science Inventory

The relative contributions of biotic and abiotic reductive transformation reactions were probed in two anoxic freshwater sediments by following the transformation of nitrobenzene, and 2,4 dichlorophenol (compounds with different one electron reduction potentials). The sediments d...

Roles of melatonin in abiotic stress resistance in plants.

PubMed

Zhang, Na; Sun, Qianqian; Zhang, Haijun; Cao, Yunyun; Weeda, Sarah; Ren, Shuxin; Guo, Yang-Dong

2015-02-01

In recent years melatonin has emerged as a research highlight in plant studies. Melatonin has different functions in many aspects of plant growth and development. The most frequently mentioned functions of melatonin are related to abiotic stresses such as drought, radiation, extreme temperature, and chemical stresses. This review mainly focuses on the regulatory effects of melatonin when plants face harsh environmental conditions. Evidence indicates that environmental stress can increase the level of endogenous melatonin in plants. Overexpression of the melatonin biosynthetic genes elevates melatonin levels in transgenic plants. The transgenic plants show enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses. Exogenously applied melatonin can also improve the ability of plants to tolerate abiotic stresses. The mechanisms by which melatonin alleviates abiotic stresses are discussed. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Designing cooperatively folded abiotic uni- and multimolecular helix bundles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de, Soumen; Chi, Bo; Granier, Thierry; Qi, Ting; Maurizot, Victor; Huc, Ivan

2018-01-01

Abiotic foldamers, that is foldamers that have backbones chemically remote from peptidic and nucleotidic skeletons, may give access to shapes and functions different to those of peptides and nucleotides. However, design methodologies towards abiotic tertiary and quaternary structures are yet to be developed. Here we report rationally designed interactional patterns to guide the folding and assembly of abiotic helix bundles. Computational design facilitated the introduction of hydrogen-bonding functionalities at defined locations on the aromatic amide backbones that promote cooperative folding into helix-turn-helix motifs in organic solvents. The hydrogen-bond-directed aggregation of helices not linked by a turn unit produced several thermodynamically and kinetically stable homochiral dimeric and trimeric bundles with structures that are distinct from the designed helix-turn-helix. Relative helix orientation within the bundles may be changed from parallel to tilted on subtle solvent variations. Altogether, these results prefigure the richness and uniqueness of abiotic tertiary structure behaviour.

Nucleotide Selectivity in Abiotic RNA Polymerization Reactions.

PubMed

Coari, Kristin M; Martin, Rebecca C; Jain, Kopal; McGown, Linda B

2017-09-01

In order to establish an RNA world on early Earth, the nucleotides must form polymers through chemical rather than biochemical reactions. The polymerization products must be long enough to perform catalytic functions, including self-replication, and to preserve genetic information. These functions depend not only on the length of the polymers, but also on their sequences. To date, studies of abiotic RNA polymerization generally have focused on routes to polymerization of a single nucleotide and lengths of the homopolymer products. Less work has been done the selectivity of the reaction toward incorporation of some nucleotides over others in nucleotide mixtures. Such information is an essential step toward understanding the chemical evolution of RNA. To address this question, in the present work RNA polymerization reactions were performed in the presence of montmorillonite clay catalyst. The nucleotides included the monophosphates of adenosine, cytosine, guanosine, uridine and inosine. Experiments included reactions of mixtures of an imidazole-activated nucleotide (ImpX) with one or more unactivated nucleotides (XMP), of two or more ImpX, and of XMP that were activated in situ in the polymerization reaction itself. The reaction products were analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to identify the lengths and nucleotide compositions of the polymerization products. The results show that the extent of polymerization, the degree of heteropolymerization vs. homopolymerization, and the composition of the polymeric products all vary among the different nucleotides and depend upon which nucleotides and how many different nucleotides are present in the mixture.

Nucleotide Selectivity in Abiotic RNA Polymerization Reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coari, Kristin M.; Martin, Rebecca C.; Jain, Kopal; McGown, Linda B.

2017-09-01

In order to establish an RNA world on early Earth, the nucleotides must form polymers through chemical rather than biochemical reactions. The polymerization products must be long enough to perform catalytic functions, including self-replication, and to preserve genetic information. These functions depend not only on the length of the polymers, but also on their sequences. To date, studies of abiotic RNA polymerization generally have focused on routes to polymerization of a single nucleotide and lengths of the homopolymer products. Less work has been done the selectivity of the reaction toward incorporation of some nucleotides over others in nucleotide mixtures. Such information is an essential step toward understanding the chemical evolution of RNA. To address this question, in the present work RNA polymerization reactions were performed in the presence of montmorillonite clay catalyst. The nucleotides included the monophosphates of adenosine, cytosine, guanosine, uridine and inosine. Experiments included reactions of mixtures of an imidazole-activated nucleotide (ImpX) with one or more unactivated nucleotides (XMP), of two or more ImpX, and of XMP that were activated in situ in the polymerization reaction itself. The reaction products were analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to identify the lengths and nucleotide compositions of the polymerization products. The results show that the extent of polymerization, the degree of heteropolymerization vs. homopolymerization, and the composition of the polymeric products all vary among the different nucleotides and depend upon which nucleotides and how many different nucleotides are present in the mixture.

The Real Difference between Biotic and Abiotic Methane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, X.; Bao, H.; Peng, Y.

2017-12-01

Methane has both biotic and abiotic origins, and the identification of these two origins has important implications not only in understanding terrestrial processes but also in searching for extraterrestrial life. Carbon and hydrogen isotopes in methane have been used to identify certain biosignatures, but such efforts often suffer from ambiguity. Recent advancement in our capability in measuring multiply substituted isotopologues of methane (i.e. 13CDH3 and 12CD2H2) has found large 12CD2H2 depletion in abiotic methane. Quantum tunneling has been proposed to account for the apparent abiotic signature. However, quantum tunneling is neither unique to abiotic processes nor consistent with the observed not-so-depleted hydrogen isotope composition. Here we constructed a general kinetic model for methane formation from CO2, and validated it by fitting its parameters to observed 13CDH3, 12CD2H2, and 12CDH3. Our model revealed that the fundamental difference between biotic and abiotic methane isotopic signatures is in the source of hydrogens during methane formation. Hydrogens in biotic methane originate from the stronger carbon-hydrogen and sulfur-hydrogen bonds, while hydrogens in abiotic methane originate from the much weaker metal-hydrogen adsorption bond. This hydrogen source difference results in abiotic methane being more depleted in 12CD2H2 than the biotic one. Our model also shows that the primary kinetic hydrogen isotope effect is at approximately 0.6 for both abiotic and biotic pathways, a normal value further nullifying the role of quantum tunneling. The active and exclusive shuttling of reduced hydrogen via strong chemical bonds like carbon-hydrogen and sulfur-hydrogen in coenzymes is proposed here to be a unique signature of life. In an ironic sense, it is the equilibrated hydrogen isotope composition in the hydrogen donors that distinguishes the living from the non-living.

Polyamines and abiotic stress in plants: a complex relationship1

PubMed Central

Minocha, Rakesh; Majumdar, Rajtilak; Minocha, Subhash C.

2014-01-01

The physiological relationship between abiotic stress in plants and polyamines was reported more than 40 years ago. Ever since there has been a debate as to whether increased polyamines protect plants against abiotic stress (e.g., due to their ability to deal with oxidative radicals) or cause damage to them (perhaps due to hydrogen peroxide produced by their catabolism). The observation that cellular polyamines are typically elevated in plants under both short-term as well as long-term abiotic stress conditions is consistent with the possibility of their dual effects, i.e., being protectors from as well as perpetrators of stress damage to the cells. The observed increase in tolerance of plants to abiotic stress when their cellular contents are elevated by either exogenous treatment with polyamines or through genetic engineering with genes encoding polyamine biosynthetic enzymes is indicative of a protective role for them. However, through their catabolic production of hydrogen peroxide and acrolein, both strong oxidizers, they can potentially be the cause of cellular harm during stress. In fact, somewhat enigmatic but strong positive relationship between abiotic stress and foliar polyamines has been proposed as a potential biochemical marker of persistent environmental stress in forest trees in which phenotypic symptoms of stress are not yet visible. Such markers may help forewarn forest managers to undertake amelioration strategies before the appearance of visual symptoms of stress and damage at which stage it is often too late for implementing strategies for stress remediation and reversal of damage. This review provides a comprehensive and critical evaluation of the published literature on interactions between abiotic stress and polyamines in plants, and examines the experimental strategies used to understand the functional significance of this relationship with the aim of improving plant productivity, especially under conditions of abiotic stress. PMID:24847338

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Abiotic methane formation during experimental serpentinization of olivine

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Fluids circulating through actively serpentinizing systems are often highly enriched in methane (CH4). In many cases, the CH4 in these fluids is thought to derive from abiotic reduction of inorganic carbon, but the conditions under which this process can occur in natural systems remain unclear. In recent years, several studies have reported abiotic formation of CH4 during experimental serpentinization of olivine at temperatures at or below 200 °C. However, these results seem to contradict studies conducted at higher temperatures (300 °C to 400 °C), where substantial kinetic barriers to CH4 synthesis have been observed. Here, the potential for abiotic formation of CH4 from dissolved inorganic carbon during olivine serpentinization is reevaluated in a series of laboratory experiments conducted at 200 °C to 320 °C. A 13C-labeled inorganic carbon source was used to unambiguously determine the origin of CH4 generated in the experiments. Consistent with previous high-temperature studies, the results indicate that abiotic formation of CH4 from reduction of dissolved inorganic carbon during the experiments is extremely limited, with nearly all of the observed CH4 derived from background sources. The results indicate that the potential for abiotic synthesis of CH4 in low-temperature serpentinizing environments may be much more limited than some recent studies have suggested. However, more extensive production of CH4 was observed in one experiment performed under conditions that allowed an H2-rich vapor phase to form, suggesting that shallow serpentinization environments where a separate gas phase is present may be more favorable for abiotic synthesis of CH4. PMID:27821742

Abiotic methane formation during experimental serpentinization of olivine.

PubMed

McCollom, Thomas M

2016-12-06

Fluids circulating through actively serpentinizing systems are often highly enriched in methane (CH 4 ). In many cases, the CH 4 in these fluids is thought to derive from abiotic reduction of inorganic carbon, but the conditions under which this process can occur in natural systems remain unclear. In recent years, several studies have reported abiotic formation of CH 4 during experimental serpentinization of olivine at temperatures at or below 200 °C. However, these results seem to contradict studies conducted at higher temperatures (300 °C to 400 °C), where substantial kinetic barriers to CH 4 synthesis have been observed. Here, the potential for abiotic formation of CH 4 from dissolved inorganic carbon during olivine serpentinization is reevaluated in a series of laboratory experiments conducted at 200 °C to 320 °C. A 13 C-labeled inorganic carbon source was used to unambiguously determine the origin of CH 4 generated in the experiments. Consistent with previous high-temperature studies, the results indicate that abiotic formation of CH 4 from reduction of dissolved inorganic carbon during the experiments is extremely limited, with nearly all of the observed CH 4 derived from background sources. The results indicate that the potential for abiotic synthesis of CH 4 in low-temperature serpentinizing environments may be much more limited than some recent studies have suggested. However, more extensive production of CH 4 was observed in one experiment performed under conditions that allowed an H 2 -rich vapor phase to form, suggesting that shallow serpentinization environments where a separate gas phase is present may be more favorable for abiotic synthesis of CH 4 .

Proteins in phytohormone signaling pathways for abiotic stress in plants

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Plant hormones and their signaling network systems have an essential role in activating and regulating plant responses to both biotic and abiotic stress factors. This chapter describes proteins that are involved in hormone biosynthesis, long distance and intra-cellular transport, the signaling sensi...

A membraneless single compartment abiotic glucose fuel cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slaughter, Gymama; Sunday, Joshua

2014-09-01

A simple energy harvesting strategy has been developed to selectively catalyze glucose in the presence of oxygen in a glucose/O2 fuel cell. The anode consists of an abiotic catalyst Al/Au/ZnO, in which ZnO seed layer was deposited on the surface of Al/Au substrate using hydrothermal method. The cathode is constructed from a single rod of platinum with an outer diameter of 500 μm. The abiotic glucose fuel cell was studied in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4) containing 5 mM glucose at a temperature of 22 °C. The cell is characterized according to its open-circuit voltage, polarization profile, and power density plot. Under these conditions, the abiotic glucose fuel cell possesses an open-circuit voltage of 840 mV and delivered a maximum power density of 16.2 μW cm-2 at a cell voltage of 495 mV. These characteristics are comparable to biofuel cell utilizing a much more complex system design. Such low-cost lightweight abiotic catalyzed glucose fuel cells have a great promise to be optimized, miniaturized to power bio-implantable devices.

Are karrikins involved in plant abiotic stress responses?

PubMed

Li, Weiqiang; Tran, Lam-Son Phan

2015-09-01

Recent reports have shown that strigolactones play a positive role in plant responses to drought and salt stress through MAX2 (More Axillary Growth 2). Increasing evidence suggests that MAX2 is also involved in karrikin signaling, raising the question whether karrikins play any role in plant adaptation to abiotic stresses. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ABIOTIC DEGRADATION OF TRICHLOROETHYLENE UNDER THERMAL REMEDIATION CONDITIONS

EPA Science Inventory

The degradation of TCE (C₂HCl₃) to carbon dioxide (CO₂) and chloride (Cl^-) has been reported to occur during thermal remediation of subsurface environments. The overall goal of this study was to evaluate abiotic degradation of TCE at el...

Advances in crop proteomics: PTMs of proteins under abiotic stress.

PubMed

Wu, Xiaolin; Gong, Fangping; Cao, Di; Hu, Xiuli; Wang, Wei

2016-03-01

Under natural conditions, crop plants are frequently subjected to various abiotic environmental stresses such as drought and heat wave, which may become more prevalent in the coming decades. Plant acclimation and tolerance to an abiotic stress are always associated with significant changes in PTMs of specific proteins. PTMs are important for regulating protein function, subcellular localization and protein activity and stability. Studies of plant responses to abiotic stress at the PTMs level are essential to the process of plant phenotyping for crop improvement. The ability to identify and quantify PTMs on a large-scale will contribute to a detailed protein functional characterization that will improve our understanding of the processes of crop plant stress acclimation and stress tolerance acquisition. Hundreds of PTMs have been reported, but it is impossible to review all of the possible protein modifications. In this review, we briefly summarize several main types of PTMs regarding their characteristics and detection methods, review the advances in PTMs research of crop proteomics, and highlight the importance of specific PTMs in crop response to abiotic stress. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Abiotic ozone and oxygen in atmospheres similar to prebiotic Earth

SciTech Connect

Domagal-Goldman, Shawn D.; Segura, Antígona; Claire, Mark W.

The search for life on planets outside our solar system will use spectroscopic identification of atmospheric biosignatures. The most robust remotely detectable potential biosignature is considered to be the detection of oxygen (O{sub 2}) or ozone (O{sub 3}) simultaneous to methane (CH{sub 4}) at levels indicating fluxes from the planetary surface in excess of those that could be produced abiotically. Here we use an altitude-dependent photochemical model with the enhanced lower boundary conditions necessary to carefully explore abiotic O{sub 2} and O{sub 3} production on lifeless planets with a wide variety of volcanic gas fluxes and stellar energy distributions. Onmore » some of these worlds, we predict limited O{sub 2} and O{sub 3} buildup, caused by fast chemical production of these gases. This results in detectable abiotic O{sub 3} and CH{sub 4} features in the UV-visible, but no detectable abiotic O{sub 2} features. Thus, simultaneous detection of O{sub 3} and CH{sub 4} by a UV-visible mission is not a strong biosignature without proper contextual information. Discrimination between biological and abiotic sources of O{sub 2} and O{sub 3} is possible through analysis of the stellar and atmospheric context—particularly redox state and O atom inventory—of the planet in question. Specifically, understanding the spectral characteristics of the star and obtaining a broad wavelength range for planetary spectra should allow more robust identification of false positives for life. This highlights the importance of wide spectral coverage for future exoplanet characterization missions. Specifically, discrimination between true and false positives may require spectral observations that extend into infrared wavelengths and provide contextual information on the planet's atmospheric chemistry.« less

Remediating Contaminant Plumes in Groundwater with Shallow Excavations Containing Coarse Reactive Media.

PubMed

Hudak, Paul F

2018-02-01

A groundwater flow and mass transport model tested the capability of shallow excavations filled with coarse, reactive media to remediate a hypothetical unconfined aquifer with a maximum saturated thickness of 5 m. Modeled as contaminant sinks, the rectangular excavations were 10 m downgradient of an initial contaminant plume originating from a source at the top of the aquifer. The initial plume was approximately 259 m long, 23 m wide, and 5 m thick, with a downgradient tip located approximately 100 m upgradient of the site boundary. The smallest trench capable of preventing offsite migration was 11 m long (measured perpendicular to groundwater flow), 4 m wide (measured parallel to groundwater flow), and 3 m deep. Results of this study suggest that shallow trenches filled with coarse filter media that partially penetrate unconfined aquifers may be a viable alternative for remediating contaminated groundwater at some sites.

The shifting influence of abiotic drivers during landslide succession in Puerto Rico

Treesearch

L. R. Walker; A. B. Shiels; P. J. Bellingham; A. D. Sparrow; N. Fetcher; F. H. Landau; D. J. Lodge

2013-01-01

Summary 1. Abiotic variables are critical drivers of succession in most primary seres, but how their influence on biota changes over time is rarely examined. Landslides provide good model systems for examining abiotic influences because they are spatially and temporally heterogeneous habitats with distinct abiotic and biotic gradients and post-landslide erosion. 2. In...

Abiotic Nitrous Oxide Production in Natural and Artificial Seawater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ochoa, H.; Stanton, C. L.; Cavazos, A. R.; Ostrom, N. E.; Glass, J. B.

2014-12-01

The ocean contributes approximately one third of global sources of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. While nitrification is thought to be the dominant pathway for marine N2O production, mechanisms remain unresolved. Previous studies have carried the implicit assumption that marine N2O originates directly from enzymatic sources. However, abiotic production of N2O is possible via chemical reactions between nitrogenous intermediates and redox active trace metals in seawater. In this study, we investigated N2O production and isotopic composition in treatments with and without added hydroxylamine (NH2OH) and nitric oxide (NO), intermediates in microbial oxidation of ammonia to nitrite, and Fe(III). Addition of substrates to sterile artificial seawater was compared with filtered and unfiltered seawater from Sapelo Island, coastal Georgia, USA. N2O production was observed immediately after addition of Fe(III) in the presence of NH2OH at pH 8 in sterile artificial seawater. Highest N2O production was observed in the presence of Fe(III), NO, and NH2OH. The isotopomer site preference of abiotically produced N2O was consistent with previous studies (31 ± 2 ‰). Higher abiotic N2O production was observed in sterile artificial seawater (salinity: 35 ppt) than filtered Sapelo Island seawater (salinity: 25 ppt) whereas diluted sterile artificial seawater (18 ppt) showed lowest N2O production, suggesting that higher salinity promotes enhanced abiotic N2O production. Addition of Fe(III) to unfiltered Sapelo Island seawater stimulated N2O production. The presence of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), which lack known N2O producing enzymes, in Sapelo Island seawater was confirmed by successful amplification of the archaeal amoA gene, whereas ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), which contain N2O-producing enzymes were undetected. Given the few Fe-containing proteins present in AOA, it is likely that Fe(III) addition promoted N2O production via an abiotic vs. enzymatic N2O mechanism

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal responses to abiotic stresses: A review.

PubMed

Lenoir, Ingrid; Fontaine, Joël; Lounès-Hadj Sahraoui, Anissa

2016-03-01

The majority of plants live in close collaboration with a diversity of soil organisms among which arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an essential role. Mycorrhizal symbioses contribute to plant growth and plant protection against various environmental stresses. Whereas the resistance mechanisms induced in mycorrhizal plants after exposure to abiotic stresses, such as drought, salinity and pollution, are well documented, the knowledge about the stress tolerance mechanisms implemented by the AMF themselves is limited. This review provides an overview of the impacts of various abiotic stresses (pollution, salinity, drought, extreme temperatures, CO2, calcareous, acidity) on biodiversity, abundance and development of AMF and examines the morphological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms implemented by AMF to survive in the presence of these stresses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experiments on the abiotic amplification of optical activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonner, W. A.; Blair, N. E.; Dirbas, F. M.

1981-01-01

Experiments concerning the physical mechanisms for the abiotic generation and chemical mechanisms for the amplification of optical activity in biological compounds are reviewed. Attention is given to experiments involving the determination of the differential adsorption of racemic amino acids on d- and l-quartz, the asymmetric photolysis of racemic amino acids by circularly polarized light, and the asymmetric radiolysis of solid amino acids by longitudinally polarized electrons, and the enantiomeric enrichments thus obtained are noted. Further experiments on the amplification of the chirality in the polymerization of D, L-amino acid mixtures and the hydrolysis of D-, L-, and D, L-polypeptides are discussed. It is suggested that a repetitive cycle of partial polymerization-hydrolyses may account for the abiotic genesis of optically enriched polypeptides on the primitive earth.

Hormone balance and abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants.

PubMed

Peleg, Zvi; Blumwald, Eduardo

2011-06-01

Plant hormones play central roles in the ability of plants to adapt to changing environments, by mediating growth, development, nutrient allocation, and source/sink transitions. Although ABA is the most studied stress-responsive hormone, the role of cytokinins, brassinosteroids, and auxins during environmental stress is emerging. Recent evidence indicated that plant hormones are involved in multiple processes. Cross-talk between the different plant hormones results in synergetic or antagonic interactions that play crucial roles in response of plants to abiotic stress. The characterization of the molecular mechanisms regulating hormone synthesis, signaling, and action are facilitating the modification of hormone biosynthetic pathways for the generation of transgenic crop plants with enhanced abiotic stress tolerance. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy harvesting by implantable abiotically catalyzed glucose fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerzenmacher, S.; Ducrée, J.; Zengerle, R.; von Stetten, F.

Implantable glucose fuel cells are a promising approach to realize an autonomous energy supply for medical implants that solely relies on the electrochemical reaction of oxygen and glucose. Key advantage over conventional batteries is the abundant availability of both reactants in body fluids, rendering the need for regular replacement or external recharging mechanisms obsolete. Implantable glucose fuel cells, based on abiotic catalysts such as noble metals and activated carbon, have already been developed as power supply for cardiac pacemakers in the late-1960s. Whereas, in vitro and preliminary in vivo studies demonstrated their long-term stability, the performance of these fuel cells is limited to the μW-range. Consequently, no further developments have been reported since high-capacity lithium iodine batteries for cardiac pacemakers became available in the mid-1970s. In recent years research has been focused on enzymatically catalyzed glucose fuel cells. They offer higher power densities than their abiotically catalyzed counterparts, but the limited enzyme stability impedes long-term application. In this context, the trend towards increasingly energy-efficient low power MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) implants has revived the interest in abiotic catalysts as a long-term stable alternative. This review covers the state-of-the-art in implantable abiotically catalyzed glucose fuel cells and their development since the 1960s. Different embodiment concepts are presented and the historical achievements of academic and industrial research groups are critically reviewed. Special regard is given to the applicability of the concept as sustainable micro-power generator for implantable devices.

Wheat EST resources for functional genomics of abiotic stress

PubMed Central

Houde, Mario; Belcaid, Mahdi; Ouellet, François; Danyluk, Jean; Monroy, Antonio F; Dryanova, Ani; Gulick, Patrick; Bergeron, Anne; Laroche, André; Links, Matthew G; MacCarthy, Luke; Crosby, William L; Sarhan, Fathey

2006-01-01

Background Wheat is an excellent species to study freezing tolerance and other abiotic stresses. However, the sequence of the wheat genome has not been completely characterized due to its complexity and large size. To circumvent this obstacle and identify genes involved in cold acclimation and associated stresses, a large scale EST sequencing approach was undertaken by the Functional Genomics of Abiotic Stress (FGAS) project. Results We generated 73,521 quality-filtered ESTs from eleven cDNA libraries constructed from wheat plants exposed to various abiotic stresses and at different developmental stages. In addition, 196,041 ESTs for which tracefiles were available from the National Science Foundation wheat EST sequencing program and DuPont were also quality-filtered and used in the analysis. Clustering of the combined ESTs with d2_cluster and TGICL yielded a few large clusters containing several thousand ESTs that were refractory to routine clustering techniques. To resolve this problem, the sequence proximity and "bridges" were identified by an e-value distance graph to manually break clusters into smaller groups. Assembly of the resolved ESTs generated a 75,488 unique sequence set (31,580 contigs and 43,908 singletons/singlets). Digital expression analyses indicated that the FGAS dataset is enriched in stress-regulated genes compared to the other public datasets. Over 43% of the unique sequence set was annotated and classified into functional categories according to Gene Ontology. Conclusion We have annotated 29,556 different sequences, an almost 5-fold increase in annotated sequences compared to the available wheat public databases. Digital expression analysis combined with gene annotation helped in the identification of several pathways associated with abiotic stress. The genomic resources and knowledge developed by this project will contribute to a better understanding of the different mechanisms that govern stress tolerance in wheat and other cereals. PMID

Titania may produce abiotic oxygen atmospheres on habitable exoplanets

PubMed Central

Narita, Norio; Enomoto, Takafumi; Masaoka, Shigeyuki; Kusakabe, Nobuhiko

2015-01-01

The search for habitable exoplanets in the Universe is actively ongoing in the field of astronomy. The biggest future milestone is to determine whether life exists on such habitable exoplanets. In that context, oxygen in the atmosphere has been considered strong evidence for the presence of photosynthetic organisms. In this paper, we show that a previously unconsidered photochemical mechanism by titanium (IV) oxide (titania) can produce abiotic oxygen from liquid water under near ultraviolet (NUV) lights on the surface of exoplanets. Titania works as a photocatalyst to dissociate liquid water in this process. This mechanism offers a different source of a possibility of abiotic oxygen in atmospheres of exoplanets from previously considered photodissociation of water vapor in upper atmospheres by extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light. Our order-of-magnitude estimation shows that possible amounts of oxygen produced by this abiotic mechanism can be comparable with or even more than that in the atmosphere of the current Earth, depending on the amount of active surface area for this mechanism. We conclude that titania may act as a potential source of false signs of life on habitable exoplanets. PMID:26354078

Soil heterogeneity in Mojave Desert shrublands: Biotic and abiotic processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldwell, Todd G.; Young, Michael H.; McDonald, Eric V.; Zhu, Jianting

2012-09-01

Geological and ecological processes play critical roles in the evolution of desert piedmonts. Feedback between fast cyclic biotic and slow cumulative pedogenic processes on arid alluvial fan systems results in a heterogeneous landscape of interspace and canopy microsites. Defining the spatial extent between these processes will allow a better connection to ecosystem service and climate change. We use a soil chronosequence in the Mojave Desert and high spatial resolution infiltrometer measurements along transects radiating from canopies of perennial shrubs to assess the extent of biotic and abiotic processes and the heterogeneity of soil properties in arid shrublands. Results showed higher saturated conductivity under vegetation regardless of surface age, but it was more conspicuous on older, developed soils. At proximal locations to the shrub, bulk density, soil structure grade, silt, and clay content significantly increased radially from the canopy, while sand and organic material decreased. Soil properties at distal locations 2-5 times the canopy radius had no significant spatial correlation. The extent of the biotic influence of the shrub was 1.34 ± 0.32 times the canopy radius. Hydraulic properties were weakly correlated in space, but 75% of the variance could be attributed to sand content, soil structure grade, mean-particle diameter, and soil organic material, none of which are exclusively biotic or abiotic. The fast cyclic biotic processes occurring under vegetation are clearly overprinted on slow cumulative abiotic processes, resulting in the deterministic variability observed at the plant scale.

Abscisic Acid and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants

PubMed Central

Sah, Saroj K.; Reddy, Kambham R.; Li, Jiaxu

2016-01-01

Abiotic stress is a primary threat to fulfill the demand of agricultural production to feed the world in coming decades. Plants reduce growth and development process during stress conditions, which ultimately affect the yield. In stress conditions, plants develop various stress mechanism to face the magnitude of stress challenges, although that is not enough to protect them. Therefore, many strategies have been used to produce abiotic stress tolerance crop plants, among them, abscisic acid (ABA) phytohormone engineering could be one of the methods of choice. ABA is an isoprenoid phytohormone, which regulates various physiological processes ranging from stomatal opening to protein storage and provides adaptation to many stresses like drought, salt, and cold stresses. ABA is also called an important messenger that acts as the signaling mediator for regulating the adaptive response of plants to different environmental stress conditions. In this review, we will discuss the role of ABA in response to abiotic stress at the molecular level and ABA signaling. The review also deals with the effect of ABA in respect to gene expression. PMID:27200044

Cell Wall Metabolism in Response to Abiotic Stress

PubMed Central

Gall, Hyacinthe Le; Philippe, Florian; Domon, Jean-Marc; Gillet, Françoise; Pelloux, Jérôme; Rayon, Catherine

2015-01-01

This review focuses on the responses of the plant cell wall to several abiotic stresses including drought, flooding, heat, cold, salt, heavy metals, light, and air pollutants. The effects of stress on cell wall metabolism are discussed at the physiological (morphogenic), transcriptomic, proteomic and biochemical levels. The analysis of a large set of data shows that the plant response is highly complex. The overall effects of most abiotic stress are often dependent on the plant species, the genotype, the age of the plant, the timing of the stress application, and the intensity of this stress. This shows the difficulty of identifying a common pattern of stress response in cell wall architecture that could enable adaptation and/or resistance to abiotic stress. However, in most cases, two main mechanisms can be highlighted: (i) an increased level in xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) and expansin proteins, associated with an increase in the degree of rhamnogalacturonan I branching that maintains cell wall plasticity and (ii) an increased cell wall thickening by reinforcement of the secondary wall with hemicellulose and lignin deposition. Taken together, these results show the need to undertake large-scale analyses, using multidisciplinary approaches, to unravel the consequences of stress on the cell wall. This will help identify the key components that could be targeted to improve biomass production under stress conditions. PMID:27135320

Titania may produce abiotic oxygen atmospheres on habitable exoplanets.

PubMed

Narita, Norio; Enomoto, Takafumi; Masaoka, Shigeyuki; Kusakabe, Nobuhiko

2015-09-10

The search for habitable exoplanets in the Universe is actively ongoing in the field of astronomy. The biggest future milestone is to determine whether life exists on such habitable exoplanets. In that context, oxygen in the atmosphere has been considered strong evidence for the presence of photosynthetic organisms. In this paper, we show that a previously unconsidered photochemical mechanism by titanium (IV) oxide (titania) can produce abiotic oxygen from liquid water under near ultraviolet (NUV) lights on the surface of exoplanets. Titania works as a photocatalyst to dissociate liquid water in this process. This mechanism offers a different source of a possibility of abiotic oxygen in atmospheres of exoplanets from previously considered photodissociation of water vapor in upper atmospheres by extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light. Our order-of-magnitude estimation shows that possible amounts of oxygen produced by this abiotic mechanism can be comparable with or even more than that in the atmosphere of the current Earth, depending on the amount of active surface area for this mechanism. We conclude that titania may act as a potential source of false signs of life on habitable exoplanets.

Induction of abiotic stress tolerance in plants by endophytic microbes.

PubMed

Lata, R; Chowdhury, S; Gond, S K; White, J F

2018-04-01

Endophytes are micro-organisms including bacteria and fungi that survive within healthy plant tissues and promote plant growth under stress. This review focuses on the potential of endophytic microbes that induce abiotic stress tolerance in plants. How endophytes promote plant growth under stressful conditions, like drought and heat, high salinity and poor nutrient availability will be discussed. The molecular mechanisms for increasing stress tolerance in plants by endophytes include induction of plant stress genes as well as biomolecules like reactive oxygen species scavengers. This review may help in the development of biotechnological applications of endophytic microbes in plant growth promotion and crop improvement under abiotic stress conditions. Increasing human populations demand more crop yield for food security while crop production is adversely affected by abiotic stresses like drought, salinity and high temperature. Development of stress tolerance in plants is a strategy to cope with the negative effects of adverse environmental conditions. Endophytes are well recognized for plant growth promotion and production of natural compounds. The property of endophytes to induce stress tolerance in plants can be applied to increase crop yields. With this review, we intend to promote application of endophytes in biotechnology and genetic engineering for the development of stress-tolerant plants. © 2018 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Abiotic Condensation Synthesis of Glyceride Lipids and Wax Esters Under Simulated Hydrothermal Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rushdi, Ahmed I.; Simoneit, Bernd R. T.

2006-04-01

Precursor compounds for abiotic proto cellular membranes are necessary for the origin of life. Amphipathic compounds such as fatty acids and acyl glycerols are important candidates for micelle/bilayer/vesicle formation. Two sets of experiments were conducted to study dehydration reactions of model lipid precursors in aqueous media to form acyl polyols and wax esters, and to evaluate the stability and reactions of the products at elevated temperatures. In the first set, mixtures of n-nonadecanoic acid and ethylene glycol in water, with and without oxalic acid, were heated at discrete temperatures from 150 ∘C to 300 ∘C for 72 h. The products were typically alkyl alkanoates, ethylene glycolyl alkanoates, ethylene glycolyl bis-alkanoates and alkanols. The condensation products had maximum yields between 150 ∘C and 250 ∘C, and were detectable and thus stable under hydrothermal conditions to temperatures < 300 ∘C. In the second set of experiments, mixtures of n-heptanoic acid and glycerol were heated using the same experimental conditions, with and without oxalic acid, between 100 ∘C and 250 ∘C. The main condensation products were two isomers each of monoacylglycerols and diacylglycerols at all temperatures, as well as minor amounts of the fatty acid anhydride and methyl ester. The yield of glyceryl monoheptanoates generally increased with increasing temperature and glyceryl diheptanoates decreased noticeably with increasing temperature. The results indicate that condensation reactions and abiotic synthesis of organic lipid compounds under hydrothermal conditions occur easily, provided precursor concentrations are sufficiently high.

Abiotic condensation synthesis of glyceride lipids and wax esters under simulated hydrothermal conditions.

PubMed

Rushdi, Ahmed I; Simoneit, Bernd R T

2006-04-01

Precursor compounds for abiotic proto cellular membranes are necessary for the origin of life. Amphipathic compounds such as fatty acids and acyl glycerols are important candidates for micelle/bilayer/vesicle formation. Two sets of experiments were conducted to study dehydration reactions of model lipid precursors in aqueous media to form acyl polyols and wax esters, and to evaluate the stability and reactions of the products at elevated temperatures. In the first set, mixtures of n-nonadecanoic acid and ethylene glycol in water, with and without oxalic acid, were heated at discrete temperatures from 150 ( composite function)C to 300 ( composite function)C for 72 h. The products were typically alkyl alkanoates, ethylene glycolyl alkanoates, ethylene glycolyl bis-alkanoates and alkanols. The condensation products had maximum yields between 150 ( composite function)C and 250 ( composite function)C, and were detectable and thus stable under hydrothermal conditions to temperatures < 300 ( composite function)C. In the second set of experiments, mixtures of n-heptanoic acid and glycerol were heated using the same experimental conditions, with and without oxalic acid, between 100 ( composite function)C and 250 ( composite function)C. The main condensation products were two isomers each of monoacylglycerols and diacylglycerols at all temperatures, as well as minor amounts of the fatty acid anhydride and methyl ester. The yield of glyceryl monoheptanoates generally increased with increasing temperature and glyceryl diheptanoates decreased noticeably with increasing temperature. The results indicate that condensation reactions and abiotic synthesis of organic lipid compounds under hydrothermal conditions occur easily, provided precursor concentrations are sufficiently high.

Media education.

PubMed

Strasburger, Victor C

2010-11-01

The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes that exposure to mass media (eg, television, movies, video and computer games, the Internet, music lyrics and videos, newspapers, magazines, books, advertising) presents health risks for children and adolescents but can provide benefits as well. Media education has the potential to reduce the harmful effects of media and accentuate the positive effects. By understanding and supporting media education, pediatricians can play an important role in reducing harmful effects of media on children and adolescents.

Biotic and abiotic transformations of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

PubMed

Fischer, Axel; Oehm, Claudia; Selle, Michael; Werner, Peter

2005-11-01

Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) is a fuel additive which is used all over the world. In recent years it has often been found in groundwater, mainly in the USA, but also in Europe. Although MTBE seems to be a minor toxic, it affects the taste and odour of water at concentrations of < 30 microg/L. Although MTBE is often a recalcitrant compound, it is known that many ethers can be degraded by abiotic means. The aim of this study was to examine biotic and abiotic transformations of MTBE with respect to the particular conditions of a contaminated site (former refinery) in Leuna, Germany. Groundwater samples from wells of a contaminated site were used for aerobic and anaerobic degradation experiments. The abiotic degradation experiment (hydrolysis) was conducted employing an ion-exchange resin and MTBE solutions in distilled water. MTBE, tertiary butyl formate (TBF) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) were measured by a gas chromatograph with flame ionisation detector (FID). Aldehydes and organic acids were respectively analysed by a gas chromatograph with electron capture detector (ECD) and high-performance ion chromatography (HPIC). Under aerobic conditions, MTBE was degraded in laboratory experiments. Only 4 of a total of 30 anaerobic experiments exhibited degradation, and the process was very slow. In no cases were metabolites detected, but a few degradation products (TBF, TBA and formic acid) were found on the site, possibly due to the lower temperatures in groundwater. The abiotic degradation of MTBE with an ion-exchange resin as a catalyst at pH 3.5 was much faster than hydrolysis in diluted hydrochloric acid (pH 1.0). Although the aerobic degradation of MTBE in the environment seems to be possible, the specific conditions responsible are widely unknown. Successful aerobic degradation only seems to take place if there is a lack of other utilisable compounds. However, MTBE is often accompanied by other fuel compounds on contaminated sites and anaerobic conditions

Abiotic Versus Biotic Weathering Of Olivine As Possible Biosignatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Longazo, Teresa G.; Wentworth, Susan J.; Clemett, Simon J.; Southam, Gordon; McKay, David S.

2001-01-01

We are investigating the weathering of silicate minerals by both purely inorganic, and biologically mediated processes using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS). By resolving surface textures and chemical compositions of weathered surfaces at the sub-micron scale we hope to be able to distinguish abiotic from biotic weathering processes and so establish a new biosignature applicable to the study of astromaterials including but not limited to the Martian meteorites. Sterilized olivine grains (San Carlos, Arizona) no more than 1-2 mm in their longest dimension were optically assayed to be uniform in color and free of inclusions were selected as weathering subjects. Prior to all experiments surface morphologies and Fe/Mg ratios were determined for each grain using FE-SEM and EDS. Experiments were divided into two categories abiotic and biotic and were compared with "naturally" weathered samples. For the preliminary experiments, two trials (open and closed to the ambient laboratory environment) were performed under abiotic conditions, and three trials under biotic conditions (control, day 1 and day 2). The open system abiotic trials used sterile grains heated at 98 C and 200 C for both 24 and 48 hours in 1L double distilled de-ionized water. The closed system abiotic trials were conducted under the same conditions but in a sealed two layer steel/Teflon "bomb" apparatus. The biotic trials used sterile grains mounted in a flow-through device attached to a wellhead on the Columbia River aquifer. Several discolored, altered, grains were selected to document "natural" weathering surface textures for comparison with the experimental samples. Preliminary results indicate there are qualitative differences in weathered surface textures among all the designed experiments. The olivine grains in abiotic trials displayed etching, pitting, denticulate margins, dissolution and clay formation. The scale of the features

Abiotic Stress Signaling in Wheat – An Inclusive Overview of Hormonal Interactions During Abiotic Stress Responses in Wheat

PubMed Central

Abhinandan, Kumar; Skori, Logan; Stanic, Matija; Hickerson, Neil M. N.; Jamshed, Muhammad; Samuel, Marcus A.

2018-01-01

Rapid global warming directly impacts agricultural productivity and poses a major challenge to the present-day agriculture. Recent climate change models predict severe losses in crop production worldwide due to the changing environment, and in wheat, this can be as large as 42 Mt/°C rise in temperature. Although wheat occupies the largest total harvested area (38.8%) among the cereals including rice and maize, its total productivity remains the lowest. The major production losses in wheat are caused more by abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and high temperature than by biotic insults. Thus, understanding the effects of these stresses becomes indispensable for wheat improvement programs which have depended mainly on the genetic variations present in the wheat genome through conventional breeding. Notably, recent biotechnological breakthroughs in the understanding of gene functions and access to whole genome sequences have opened new avenues for crop improvement. Despite the availability of such resources in wheat, progress is still limited to the understanding of the stress signaling mechanisms using model plants such as Arabidopsis, rice and Brachypodium and not directly using wheat as the model organism. This review presents an inclusive overview of the phenotypic and physiological changes in wheat due to various abiotic stresses followed by the current state of knowledge on the identified mechanisms of perception and signal transduction in wheat. Specifically, this review provides an in-depth analysis of different hormonal interactions and signaling observed during abiotic stress signaling in wheat. PMID:29942321

Stressed out symbiotes: hypotheses for the influence of abiotic stress on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

PubMed

Millar, Niall S; Bennett, Alison E

2016-11-01

Abiotic stress is a widespread threat to both plant and soil communities. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can alleviate effects of abiotic stress by improving host plant stress tolerance, but the direct effects of abiotic stress on AM fungi are less well understood. We propose two hypotheses predicting how AM fungi will respond to abiotic stress. The stress exclusion hypothesis predicts that AM fungal abundance and diversity will decrease with persistent abiotic stress. The mycorrhizal stress adaptation hypothesis predicts that AM fungi will evolve in response to abiotic stress to maintain their fitness. We conclude that abiotic stress can have effects on AM fungi independent of the effects on the host plant. AM fungal communities will change in composition in response to abiotic stress, which may mean the loss of important individual species. This could alter feedbacks to the plant community and beyond. AM fungi will adapt to abiotic stress independent of their host plant. The adaptation of AM fungi to abiotic stress should allow the maintenance of the plant-AM fungal mutualism in the face of changing climates.

Translating knowledge about abiotic stress tolerance to breeding programmes.

PubMed

Gilliham, Matthew; Able, Jason A; Roy, Stuart J

2017-06-01

Plant breeding and improvements in agronomic practice are making a consistent contribution to increasing global crop production year upon year. However, the rate of yield improvement currently lags behind the targets set to produce enough food to meet the demands of the predicted global population in 2050. Furthermore, crops that are exposed to harmful abiotic environmental factors (abiotic stresses, e.g. water limitation, salinity, extreme temperature) are prone to reduced yields. Here, we briefly describe the processes undertaken in conventional breeding programmes, which are usually designed to improve yields in near-optimal conditions rather than specifically breeding for improved crop yield stability under stressed conditions. While there is extensive fundamental research activity that examines mechanisms of plant stress tolerance, there are few examples that apply this research to improving commercial crop yields. There are notable exceptions, and we highlight some of these to demonstrate the magnitude of yield gains that could be made by translating agronomic, phenological and genetic solutions focused on improving or mitigating the effect of abiotic stress in the field; in particular, we focus on improvements in crop water-use efficiency and salinity tolerance. We speculate upon the reasons for the disconnect between research and research translation. We conclude that to realise untapped rapid gains towards food security targets new funding structures need to be embraced. Such funding needs to serve both the core and collaborative activities of the fundamental, pre-breeding and breeding research communities in order to expedite the translation of innovative research into the fields of primary producers. © 2016 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Assessment of derelict soil quality: Abiotic, biotic and functional approaches.

PubMed

Vincent, Quentin; Auclerc, Apolline; Beguiristain, Thierry; Leyval, Corinne

2018-02-01

The intensification and subsequent closing down of industrial activities during the last century has left behind large surfaces of derelict lands. Derelict soils have low fertility, can be contaminated, and many of them remain unused. However, with the increasing demand of soil surfaces, they might be considered as a resource, for example for non-food biomass production. The study of their physico-chemical properties and of their biodiversity and biological activity may provide indications for their potential re-use. The objective of our study was to investigate the quality of six derelict soils, considering abiotic, biotic, and functional parameters. We studied (i) the soil bacteria, fungi, meso- and macro-fauna and plant communities of six different derelict soils (two from coking plants, one from a settling pond, two constructed ones made from different substrates and remediated soil, and an inert waste storage one), and (ii) their decomposition function based on the decomposer trophic network, enzyme activities, mineralization activity, and organic pollutant degradation. Biodiversity levels in these soils were high, but all biotic parameters, except the mycorrhizal colonization level, discriminated them. Multivariate analysis showed that biotic parameters co-varied more with fertility proxies than with soil contamination parameters. Similarly, functional parameters significantly co-varied with abiotic parameters. Among functional parameters, macro-decomposer proportion, enzyme activity, average mineralization capacity, and microbial polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degraders were useful to discriminate the soils. We assessed their quality by combining abiotic, biotic, and functional parameters: the compost-amended constructed soil displayed the highest quality, while the settling pond soil and the contaminated constructed soil displayed the lowest. Although differences among the soils were highlighted, this study shows that derelict soils may provide a

Pathways for abiotic organic synthesis at submarine hydrothermal fields.

PubMed

McDermott, Jill M; Seewald, Jeffrey S; German, Christopher R; Sylva, Sean P

2015-06-23

Arguments for an abiotic origin of low-molecular weight organic compounds in deep-sea hot springs are compelling owing to implications for the sustenance of deep biosphere microbial communities and their potential role in the origin of life. Theory predicts that warm H2-rich fluids, like those emanating from serpentinizing hydrothermal systems, create a favorable thermodynamic drive for the abiotic generation of organic compounds from inorganic precursors. Here, we constrain two distinct reaction pathways for abiotic organic synthesis in the natural environment at the Von Damm hydrothermal field and delineate spatially where inorganic carbon is converted into bioavailable reduced carbon. We reveal that carbon transformation reactions in a single system can progress over hours, days, and up to thousands of years. Previous studies have suggested that CH4 and higher hydrocarbons in ultramafic hydrothermal systems were dependent on H2 generation during active serpentinization. Rather, our results indicate that CH4 found in vent fluids is formed in H2-rich fluid inclusions, and higher n-alkanes may likely be derived from the same source. This finding implies that, in contrast with current paradigms, these compounds may form independently of actively circulating serpentinizing fluids in ultramafic-influenced systems. Conversely, widespread production of formate by ΣCO2 reduction at Von Damm occurs rapidly during shallow subsurface mixing of the same fluids, which may support anaerobic methanogenesis. Our finding of abiogenic formate in deep-sea hot springs has significant implications for microbial life strategies in the present-day deep biosphere as well as early life on Earth and beyond.

Pathways for abiotic organic synthesis at submarine hydrothermal fields

PubMed Central

McDermott, Jill M.; Seewald, Jeffrey S.; German, Christopher R.; Sylva, Sean P.

2015-01-01

Arguments for an abiotic origin of low-molecular weight organic compounds in deep-sea hot springs are compelling owing to implications for the sustenance of deep biosphere microbial communities and their potential role in the origin of life. Theory predicts that warm H2-rich fluids, like those emanating from serpentinizing hydrothermal systems, create a favorable thermodynamic drive for the abiotic generation of organic compounds from inorganic precursors. Here, we constrain two distinct reaction pathways for abiotic organic synthesis in the natural environment at the Von Damm hydrothermal field and delineate spatially where inorganic carbon is converted into bioavailable reduced carbon. We reveal that carbon transformation reactions in a single system can progress over hours, days, and up to thousands of years. Previous studies have suggested that CH4 and higher hydrocarbons in ultramafic hydrothermal systems were dependent on H2 generation during active serpentinization. Rather, our results indicate that CH4 found in vent fluids is formed in H2-rich fluid inclusions, and higher n-alkanes may likely be derived from the same source. This finding implies that, in contrast with current paradigms, these compounds may form independently of actively circulating serpentinizing fluids in ultramafic-influenced systems. Conversely, widespread production of formate by ΣCO2 reduction at Von Damm occurs rapidly during shallow subsurface mixing of the same fluids, which may support anaerobic methanogenesis. Our finding of abiogenic formate in deep-sea hot springs has significant implications for microbial life strategies in the present-day deep biosphere as well as early life on Earth and beyond. PMID:26056279

Abiotic gas formation drives nitrogen loss from a desert ecosystem.

PubMed

McCalley, Carmody K; Sparks, Jed P

2009-11-06

In arid environments such as deserts, nitrogen is often the most limiting nutrient for biological activity. The majority of the ecosystem nitrogen flux is typically thought to be driven by production and loss of reactive nitrogen species by microorganisms in the soil. We found that high soil-surface temperatures (greater than 50 degrees C), driven by solar radiation, are the primary cause of nitrogen loss in Mojave Desert soils. This abiotic pathway not only enables the balancing of arid ecosystem nitrogen budgets, but also changes our view of global nitrogen cycling and the predicted impact of climate change and increased temperatures on nitrogen bioavailability.

Coupled Abiotic-Biotic Degradation of Bisphenol A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Im, J.; Prevatte, C.; Campagna, S. R.; Loeffler, F.

2014-12-01

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant with weak estrogenic activity. BPA is readily biodegradable with oxygen available, but is recalcitrant to microbial degradation under anoxic conditions. However, BPA is susceptible to abiotic transformation under anoxic conditions. To better understand the fate of BPA in anoxic environments, the kinetics of BPA transformation by manganese oxide (d-MnO2) were investigated. BPA was rapidly transformed by MnO2 with a pseudo-first-order rate constant of 0.413 min-1. NMR and LC-MS analyses identified 4-hydroxycumyl alcohol (HCA) as a major intermediate. Up to 64% of the initial amount of BPA was recovered as HCA within 5 min, but the conversion efficiency decreased with time, suggesting that HCA was further degraded by MnO2. Further experiments confirmed that HCA was also susceptible to transformation by MnO2, albeit at 5-fold lower rates than BPA transformation. Mass balance approaches suggested that HCA was the major BPA transformation intermediate, but other compounds may also be formed. The abiotic transformation of BPA by MnO2 was affected by pH, and 10-fold higher transformation rates were observed at pH 4.5 than at pH 10. Compared to BPA, HCA has a lower octanol-water partitioning coefficient (Log Kow) of 0.76 vs 2.76 for BPA and a higher aqueous solubility of 2.65 g L-1 vs 0.31 g L-1 for BPA, suggesting higher mobility of HCA in the environment. Microcosms established with freshwater sediment materials collected from four geographically distinct locations and amended with HCA demonstrated rapid HCA biodegradation under oxic, but not under anoxic conditions. These findings suggest that BPA is not inert under anoxic conditions and abiotic reactions with MnO2 generate HCA, which has increased mobility and is susceptible to aerobic degradation. Therefore, coupled abiotic-biotic processes can affect the fate and longevity of BPA in terrestrial environments.

Media Standards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

North Clackamas School District 12, Milwaukie, OR.

Guidelines for library media services for the North Clackamas School District were developed by two teams representing the elementary, junior high, and senior high schools. These minimum standards describe the goals and objectives for library media services to students, staff, and community; the operation of the media centers; and the audiovisual…

New Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Downtown Business Quarterly, 1998

1998-01-01

This theme issue explores lower Manhattan's burgeoning "New Media" industry, a growing source of jobs in lower Manhattan. The first article, "New Media Manpower Issues" (Rodney Alexander), addresses manpower, training, and workforce demands faced by new media companies in New York City. The second article, "Case Study:…

Media Panel.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marklund, Inger, Ed.; Hanse, Mona-Britt, Ed.

1984-01-01

The Swedish Media Panel is a research program about children and young persons and their use of mass media. The aim of the ten-year (1975-1985) project is to explain how media habits originate, how they change as children grow older, what factors on the part of children themselves and in their surroundings may be connected with a certain use of…

Social Media

PubMed Central

Walton, AnnMarie L.; Albrecht, Tara A.; Lux, Lauren; Santacroce, Sheila Judge

2018-01-01

Social media use is ubiquitous among young adults. Young adults with cancer must make important decisions about where, what, and how to share information on social media. Oncology nurses are in a unique position to start conversations about the risks and benefits of social media use. This column aims to review a variety of social media platforms that may be used by young adults with cancer and provide guidance to nurses on initiating open dialogue with young adults about social media usage. PMID:28945728

Influence of abiotic stress signals on secondary metabolites in plants

PubMed Central

Ramakrishna, Akula; Ravishankar, Gokare Aswathanarayana

2011-01-01

Plant secondary metabolites are unique sources for pharmaceuticals, food additives, flavors, and industrially important biochemicals. Accumulation of such metabolites often occurs in plants subjected to stresses including various elicitors or signal molecules. Secondary metabolites play a major role in the adaptation of plants to the environment and in overcoming stress conditions. Environmental factors viz. temperature, humidity, light intensity, the supply of water, minerals, and CO2 influence the growth of a plant and secondary metabolite production. Drought, high salinity, and freezing temperatures are environmental conditions that cause adverse effects on the growth of plants and the productivity of crops. Plant cell culture technologies have been effective tools for both studying and producing plant secondary metabolites under in vitro conditions and for plant improvement. This brief review summarizes the influence of different abiotic factors include salt, drought, light, heavy metals, frost etc. on secondary metabolites in plants. The focus of the present review is the influence of abiotic factors on secondary metabolite production and some of important plant pharmaceuticals. Also, we describe the results of in vitro cultures and production of some important secondary metabolites obtained in our laboratory. PMID:22041989

Carbohydrates protect protein against abiotic fragmentation by soil minerals

SciTech Connect

Reardon, Patrick N.; Walter, Eric D.; Marean-Reardon, Carrie L.

The degradation and turnover of soil organic matter is an important part of global carbon cycling and of particular importance with respect to attempts to predict the response of ecosystems to global climate change. Thus, it is important to mechanistically understand the processes by which organic matter can be degraded in the soil environment, including contact with reactive or catalytic mineral surfaces. We have characterized the outcome of the interaction of two minerals, birnessite and kaolinite, with two disaccharides, cellobiose and trehalose. These results show that birnessite reacts with and degrades the carbohydrates, while kaolinite does not. The reaction ofmore » disaccharides with birnessite produces Mn(II), indicating that degradation of the disaccharides is the result of their oxidation by birnessite. Furthermore, we find that both sugars can inhibit the degradation of a model protein by birnessite, demonstrating that the presence of one organic constituent can impact abiotic degradation of another. Therefore, both the reactivity of the mineral matrix and the presence of certain organic constituents influence the outcomes of abiotic degradation. These results suggest the possibility that microorganisms may be able to control the functionality of exoenzymes through the concomitant excretion of protective organic substances, such as those found in biofilms.« less

Progress and challenges for abiotic stress proteomics of crop plants.

PubMed

Barkla, Bronwyn J; Vera-Estrella, Rosario; Pantoja, Omar

2013-06-01

Plants are continually challenged to recognize and respond to adverse changes in their environment to avoid detrimental effects on growth and development. Understanding the mechanisms that crop plants employ to resist and tolerate abiotic stress is of considerable interest for designing agriculture breeding strategies to ensure sustainable productivity. The application of proteomics technologies to advance our knowledge in crop plant abiotic stress tolerance has increased dramatically in the past few years as evidenced by the large amount of publications in this area. This is attributed to advances in various technology platforms associated with MS-based techniques as well as the accessibility of proteomics units to a wider plant research community. This review summarizes the work which has been reported for major crop plants and evaluates the findings in context of the approaches that are widely employed with the aim to encourage broadening the strategies used to increase coverage of the proteome. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

African Orphan Crops under Abiotic Stresses: Challenges and Opportunities.

PubMed

Tadele, Zerihun

2018-01-01

A changing climate, a growing world population, and a reduction in arable land devoted to food production are all problems facing the world food security. The development of crops that can yield under uncertain and extreme climatic and soil growing conditions can play a key role in mitigating these problems. Major crops such as maize, rice, and wheat are responsible for a large proportion of global food production but many understudied crops (commonly known as "orphan crops") including millets, cassava, and cowpea feed millions of people in Asia, Africa, and South America and are already adapted to the local environments in which they are grown. The application of modern genetic and genomic tools to the breeding of these crops can provide enormous opportunities for ensuring world food security but is only in its infancy. In this review, the diversity and types of understudied crops will be introduced, and the beneficial traits of these crops as well as their role in the socioeconomics of Africa will be discussed. In addition, the response of orphan crops to diverse types of abiotic stresses is investigated. A review of the current tools and their application to the breeding of enhanced orphan crops will also be described. Finally, few examples of global efforts on tackling major abiotic constraints in Africa are presented.

African Orphan Crops under Abiotic Stresses: Challenges and Opportunities

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

A changing climate, a growing world population, and a reduction in arable land devoted to food production are all problems facing the world food security. The development of crops that can yield under uncertain and extreme climatic and soil growing conditions can play a key role in mitigating these problems. Major crops such as maize, rice, and wheat are responsible for a large proportion of global food production but many understudied crops (commonly known as “orphan crops”) including millets, cassava, and cowpea feed millions of people in Asia, Africa, and South America and are already adapted to the local environments in which they are grown. The application of modern genetic and genomic tools to the breeding of these crops can provide enormous opportunities for ensuring world food security but is only in its infancy. In this review, the diversity and types of understudied crops will be introduced, and the beneficial traits of these crops as well as their role in the socioeconomics of Africa will be discussed. In addition, the response of orphan crops to diverse types of abiotic stresses is investigated. A review of the current tools and their application to the breeding of enhanced orphan crops will also be described. Finally, few examples of global efforts on tackling major abiotic constraints in Africa are presented. PMID:29623231

Dynamic covalent chemistry enables formation of antimicrobial peptide quaternary assemblies in a completely abiotic manner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reuther, James F.; Dees, Justine L.; Kolesnichenko, Igor V.; Hernandez, Erik T.; Ukraintsev, Dmitri V.; Guduru, Rusheel; Whiteley, Marvin; Anslyn, Eric V.

2018-01-01

Naturally occurring peptides and proteins often use dynamic disulfide bonds to impart defined tertiary/quaternary structures for the formation of binding pockets with uniform size and function. Although peptide synthesis and modification are well established, controlling quaternary structure formation remains a significant challenge. Here, we report the facile incorporation of aryl aldehyde and acyl hydrazide functionalities into peptide oligomers via solid-phase copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SP-CuAAC) click reactions. When mixed, these complementary functional groups rapidly react in aqueous media at neutral pH to form peptide-peptide intermolecular macrocycles with highly tunable ring sizes. Moreover, sequence-specific figure-of-eight, dumbbell-shaped, zipper-like and multi-loop quaternary structures were formed selectively. Controlling the proportions of reacting peptides with mismatched numbers of complementary reactive groups results in the formation of higher-molecular-weight sequence-defined ladder polymers. This also amplified antimicrobial effectiveness in select cases. This strategy represents a general approach to the creation of complex abiotic peptide quaternary structures.

Nitrogen isotopic fractionation during abiotic synthesis of organic solid particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuga, Maïa; Carrasco, Nathalie; Marty, Bernard; Marrocchi, Yves; Bernard, Sylvain; Rigaudier, Thomas; Fleury, Benjamin; Tissandier, Laurent

2014-05-01

The formation of organic compounds is generally assumed to result from abiotic processes in the Solar System, with the exception of biogenic organics on Earth. Nitrogen-bearing organics are of particular interest, notably for prebiotic perspectives but also for overall comprehension of organic formation in the young Solar System and in planetary atmospheres. We have investigated abiotic synthesis of organics upon plasma discharge, with special attention to N isotope fractionation. Organic aerosols were synthesized from N2-CH4 and N2-CO gaseous mixtures using low-pressure plasma discharge experiments, aimed at simulating chemistry occurring in Titan's atmosphere and in the protosolar nebula, respectively. The nitrogen content, the N speciation and the N isotopic composition were analyzed in the resulting organic aerosols. Nitrogen is efficiently incorporated into the synthesized solids, independently of the oxidation degree, of the N2 content of the starting gas mixture, and of the nitrogen speciation in the aerosols. The aerosols are depleted in 15N by 15-25‰ relative to the initial N2 gas, whatever the experimental setup is. Such an isotopic fractionation is attributed to mass-dependent kinetic effect(s). Nitrogen isotope fractionation upon electric discharge cannot account for the large N isotope variations observed among Solar System objects and reservoirs. Extreme N isotope signatures in the Solar System are more likely the result of self-shielding during N2 photodissociation, exotic effect during photodissociation of N2 and/or low temperature ion-molecule isotope exchange. Kinetic N isotope fractionation may play a significant role in the Titan's atmosphere. On the Titan's night side, 15N-depletion resulting from electron driven reactions may counterbalance photo-induced 15N enrichments occurring on the day's side. We also suggest that the low δ15N values of Archaean organic matter (Beaumont and Robert, 1999) are partly the result of abiotic synthesis of

Abiotic Formation of Methyl Halides in the Terrestrial Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keppler, F.

2011-12-01

Methyl chloride and methyl bromide are the most abundant chlorine and bromine containing organic compounds in the atmosphere. Since both compounds have relatively long tropospheric lifetimes they can effectively transport halogen atoms from the Earth's surface, where they are released, to the stratosphere and following photolytic oxidation form reactive halogen gases that lead to the chemical destruction of ozone. Methyl chloride and methyl bromide account for more than 20% of the ozone-depleting halogens delivered to the stratosphere and are predicted to grow in importance as the chlorine contribution to the stratosphere from anthropogenic CFCs decline. Today methyl chloride and methyl bromide originate mainly from natural sources with only a minor fraction considered to be of anthropogenic origin. However, until as recently as 2000 most of the methyl chloride and methyl bromide input to the atmosphere was considered to originate from the oceans, but investigations in recent years have clearly demonstrated that terrestrial sources such as biomass burning, wood-rotting fungi, coastal salt marshes, tropical vegetation and organic matter degradation must dominate the atmospheric budgets of these trace gases. However, many uncertainties still exist regarding strengths of both sources and sinks, as well as the mechanisms of formation of these naturally occurring halogenated gases. A better understanding of the atmospheric budget of both methyl chloride and methyl bromide is therefore required for reliable prediction of future ozone depletion. Biotic and abiotic methylation processes of chloride and bromide ion are considered to be the dominant pathways of formation of these methyl halides in nature. In this presentation I will focus on abiotic formation processes in the terrestrial environment and the potential parameters that control their emissions. Recent advances in our understanding of the abiotic formation pathway of methyl halides will be discussed. This will

An Abiotic Glass-Bead Collector Exhibiting Active Transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goto, Youhei; Kanda, Masato; Yamamoto, Daigo; Shioi, Akihisa

2015-09-01

Animals relocate objects as needed by active motion. Active transport is ubiquitous in living organisms but has been difficult to realize in abiotic systems. Here we show that a self-propelled droplet can gather scattered beads toward one place on a floor and sweep it clean. This is a biomimetic active transport with loadings and unloadings, because the transport was performed by a carrier and the motion of the carrier was maintained by the energy of the chemical reaction. The oil droplet produced fluctuation of the local number density of the beads on the floor, followed by its autocatalytic growth. This mechanism may inspire the technologies based on active transport wherein chemical and physical substances migrate as in living organisms.

Polyamines and abiotic stress in plants: a complex relationship Frontiers in Plant Science

Treesearch

Rakesh Minocha; Rajtilak Majumdar; Subhash C. Minocha

2014-01-01

The physiological relationship between abiotic stress in plants and polyamines was reported more than 40 years ago. Ever since there has been a debate as to whether increased polyamines protect plants against abiotic stress (e.g., due to their ability to deal with oxidative radicals) or cause damage to them (perhaps due to hydrogen peroxide produced by their catabolism...

Area and percent of forest affected by abiotic agents beyond reference conditions

Treesearch

2012-01-01

Criterion 3, Indicator 16, of the Montréal Process Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests was designed to assess the impact of abiotic agents upon forests (Montréal Process Working Group 2007). Various abiotic agents, both natural and human-induced, can change forest structure and species composition....

Abiotic stresses affect Trichoderma harzianum T39-induced resistance to downy mildew in grapevine.

PubMed

Roatti, Benedetta; Perazzolli, Michele; Gessler, Cesare; Pertot, Ilaria

2013-12-01

Enhancement of plant defense through the application of resistance inducers seems a promising alternative to chemical fungicides for controlling crop diseases but the efficacy can be affected by abiotic factors in the field. Plants respond to abiotic stresses with hormonal signals that may interfere with the mechanisms of induced systemic resistance (ISR) to pathogens. In this study, we exposed grapevines to heat, drought, or both to investigate the effects of abiotic stresses on grapevine resistance induced by Trichoderma harzianum T39 (T39) to downy mildew. Whereas the efficacy of T39-induced resistance was not affected by exposure to heat or drought, it was significantly reduced by combined abiotic stresses. Decrease of leaf water potential and upregulation of heat-stress markers confirmed that plants reacted to abiotic stresses. Basal expression of defense-related genes and their upregulation during T39-induced resistance were attenuated by abiotic stresses, in agreement with the reduced efficacy of T39. The evidence reported here suggests that exposure of crops to abiotic stress should be carefully considered to optimize the use of resistance inducers, especially in view of future global climate changes. Expression analysis of ISR marker genes could be helpful to identify when plants are responding to abiotic stresses, in order to optimize treatments with resistance inducers in field.

Mixed Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Erin

2010-01-01

While institutions do not often have a hook as compelling as an eagerly awaited movie, great content is critical for media relations success--and coupling it with the right distribution channel can ensure the story finds the right audience. Even better, retooling it for several media platforms can extend the life and reach of a story. The changes…

Expanding Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyle, Deirdre, Ed.

This collection of 45 articles, all published since 1969, examines the broad applications of media to all types of libraries and attempts to answer both philosophical and practical questions related to integrating media into library thinking. The emphasis is on humanistic rather than technological concerns. Articles are grouped into sections…

Abiotic regulation: a common way for proteins to modulate their functions.

PubMed

Zou, Zhi; Fu, Xinmiao

2015-01-01

Modulation of protein intrinsic activity in cells is generally carried out via a combination of four common ways, i.e., allosteric regulation, covalent modification, proteolytic cleavage and association of other regulatory proteins. Accumulated evidence indicate that changes of certain abiotic factors (e.g., temperature, pH, light and mechanical force) within or outside the cells directly influence protein structure and thus profoundly modulate the functions of a wide range of proteins, termed as abiotic regulatory proteins (e.g., heat shock factor, small heat shock protein, hemoglobin, zymogen, integrin, rhodopsin). Such abiotic regulation apparently differs from the four classic ways in perceiving and response to the signals. Importantly, it enables cells to directly and also immediately response to extracellular stimuli, thus facilitating the ability of organisms to resist against and adapt to the abiotic stress and thereby playing crucial roles in life evolution. Altogether, abiotic regulation may be considered as a common way for proteins to modulate their functions.

[Transgenic rice breeding for abiotic stress tolerance--present and future].

PubMed

Zhao, Feng-Yun; Zhang, Hui

2007-01-01

Environmental stresses and the continuing deterioration of arable land, along with an explosive increase in world population, pose serious threats to global agricultural production and food security. Improving the tolerance of the major crop plants to abiotic stresses has been a main goal in agriculture for a long time. As rice is considered one of the major crops, the development of new cultivars with enhanced abiotic stress-tolerance will undoubtedly have an important effect on global food production. The transgenic approach offers an attractive alternative to conventional techniques for the genetic improvement of rice cultivars. In recent years, an array of stress-related genes has already been transferred to rice to improve its resistance against abiotic stresses. Many transgenic rice plants with enhanced abiotic stress-tolerance have been obtained. This article focuses on the progress in the study of abiotic stress tolerance in transgenic rice breeding.

Media violence.

PubMed

Cantor, J

2000-08-01

Research on the effects of media violence is not well understood by the general public. Despite this fact, there is an overwhelming consensus in the scientific literature about the unhealthy effects of media violence. Meta-analyses show that media-violence viewing consistently is associated with higher levels of antisocial behavior, ranging from the trivial (imitative violence directed against toys) to the serious (criminal violence), with many consequential outcomes in between (acceptance of violence as a solution to problems, increased feelings of hostility, and the apparent delivery of painful stimulation to another person). Desensitization is another well-documented effect of viewing violence, which is observable in reduced arousal and emotional disturbance while witnessing violence, the reduced tendency to intervene in a fight, and less sympathy for the victims of violence. Although there is evidence that youth who are already violent are more likely to seek out violent entertainment, there is strong evidence that the relationship between violence viewing and antisocial behavior is bidirectional. There is growing evidence that media violence also engenders intense fear in children which often lasts days, months, and even years. The media's potential role in solutions to these problems is only beginning to be explored, in investigations examining the uses and effects of movie ratings, television ratings, and the V-chip, and the effects of media literacy programs and public education efforts. Future research should explore important individual differences in responses to media violence and effective ways to intervene in the negative effects.

The abiotic degradation of soil organic matter to oxalic acid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Studenroth, Sabine; Huber, Stefan; Schöler, H. F.

2010-05-01

The abiotic degradation of soil organic matter to volatile organic compounds was studied intensely over the last years (Keppler et al., 2000; Huber et al., 2009). It was shown that soil organic matter is oxidised due to the presence of iron (III), hydrogen peroxide and chloride and thereby produces diverse alkyl halides, which are emitted into the atmosphere. The formation of polar halogenated compounds like chlorinated acetic acids which are relevant toxic environmental substances was also found in soils and sediments (Kilian et al., 2002). The investigation of the formation of other polar halogenated and non-halogenated compounds like diverse mono- and dicarboxylic acids is going to attain more and more importance. Due to its high acidity oxalic acid might have impacts on the environment e.g., nutrient leaching, plant diseases and negative influence on microbial growth. In this study, the abiotic formation of oxalic acid in soil is examined. For a better understanding of natural degradation processes mechanistic studies were conducted using the model compound catechol as representative for structural elements of the humic substances and its reaction with iron (III) and hydrogen peroxide. Iron is one of the most abundant elements on earth and hydrogen peroxide is produced by bacteria or through incomplete reduction of oxygen. To find suitable parameters for an optimal reaction and a qualitative and quantitative analysis method the following reaction parameters are varied: concentration of iron (III) and hydrogen peroxide, time dependence, pH-value and influence of chloride. Analysis of oxalic acid was performed employing an ion chromatograph equipped with a conductivity detector. The time dependent reaction shows a relatively fast formation of oxalic acid, the optimum yield is achieved after 60 minutes. Compared to the concentration of catechol an excess of hydrogen peroxide as well as a low concentration of iron (III) are required. In absence of chloride the

Changes in abiotic influences on seed plants and ferns during 18 years of primary succession on Puerto Rican landslides

Treesearch

Lawrence R. Walker; Aaron B. Shiels; Peter J. Bellingham; Ashley D. Sparrow; Ned Fetcher; Fred H. Landau; Deborah J. Lodge

2013-01-01

Abiotic variables are critical drivers of succession in most primary seres, but how their influence on biota changes over time is rarely examined. Landslides provide good model systems for examining abiotic influences because they are spatially and temporally heterogeneous habitats with distinct abiotic and biotic gradients and post-landslide erosion. In an 18-year...

Review of recent transgenic studies on abiotic stress tolerance and future molecular breeding in potato.

PubMed

Kikuchi, Akira; Huynh, Huu Duc; Endo, Tsukasa; Watanabe, Kazuo

2015-03-01

Global warming has become a major issue within the last decade. Traditional breeding programs for potato have focused on increasing productivity and quality and disease resistance, thus, modern cultivars have limited tolerance of abiotic stresses. The introgression of abiotic stress tolerance into modern cultivars is essential work for the future. Recently, many studies have investigated abiotic stress using transgenic techniques. This manuscript focuses on the study of abiotic stress, in particular drought, salinity and low temperature, during this century. Dividing studies into these three stress categories for this review was difficult. Thus, based on the study title and the transgene property, transgenic studies were classified into five categories in this review; oxidative scavengers, transcriptional factors, and above three abiotic categories. The review focuses on studies that investigate confer of stress tolerance and the identification of responsible factors, including wild relatives. From a practical application perspective, further evaluation of transgenic potato with abiotic stress tolerance is required. Although potato plants, including wild species, have a large potential for abiotic stress tolerance, exploration of the factors responsible for conferring this tolerance is still developing. Molecular breeding, including genetic engineering and conventional breeding using DNA markers, is expected to develop in the future.

Wheat proteomics: proteome modulation and abiotic stress acclimation

PubMed Central

Komatsu, Setsuko; Kamal, Abu H. M.; Hossain, Zahed

2014-01-01

Cellular mechanisms of stress sensing and signaling represent the initial plant responses to adverse conditions. The development of high-throughput “Omics” techniques has initiated a new era of the study of plant molecular strategies for adapting to environmental changes. However, the elucidation of stress adaptation mechanisms in plants requires the accurate isolation and characterization of stress-responsive proteins. Because the functional part of the genome, namely the proteins and their post-translational modifications, are critical for plant stress responses, proteomic studies provide comprehensive information about the fine-tuning of cellular pathways that primarily involved in stress mitigation. This review summarizes the major proteomic findings related to alterations in the wheat proteomic profile in response to abiotic stresses. Moreover, the strengths and weaknesses of different sample preparation techniques, including subcellular protein extraction protocols, are discussed in detail. The continued development of proteomic approaches in combination with rapidly evolving bioinformatics tools and interactive databases will facilitate understanding of the plant mechanisms underlying stress tolerance. PMID:25538718

Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants: Myriad Roles of Ascorbate Peroxidase

PubMed Central

Pandey, Saurabh; Fartyal, Dhirendra; Agarwal, Aakrati; Shukla, Tushita; James, Donald; Kaul, Tanushri; Negi, Yogesh K.; Arora, Sandeep; Reddy, Malireddy K.

2017-01-01

One of the most significant manifestations of environmental stress in plants is the increased production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). These ROS, if allowed to accumulate unchecked, can lead to cellular toxicity. A battery of antioxidant molecules is present in plants for keeping ROS levels under check and to maintain the cellular homeostasis under stress. Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) is a key antioxidant enzyme of such scavenging systems. It catalyses the conversion of H2O2 into H2O, employing ascorbate as an electron donor. The expression of APX is differentially regulated in response to environmental stresses and during normal plant growth and development as well. Different isoforms of APX show differential response to environmental stresses, depending upon their sub-cellular localization, and the presence of specific regulatory elements in the upstream regions of the respective genes. The present review delineates role of APX isoforms with respect to different types of abiotic stresses and its importance as a key antioxidant enzyme in maintaining cellular homeostasis. PMID:28473838

Circadian redox signaling in plant immunity and abiotic stress.

PubMed

Spoel, Steven H; van Ooijen, Gerben

2014-06-20

Plant crops are critically important to provide quality food and bio-energy to sustain a growing human population. Circadian clocks have been shown to deliver an adaptive advantage to plants, vastly increasing biomass production by efficient anticipation to the solar cycle. Plant stress, on the other hand, whether biotic or abiotic, prevents crops from reaching maximum productivity. Stress is associated with fluctuations in cellular redox and increased phytohormone signaling. Recently, direct links between circadian timekeeping, redox fluctuations, and hormone signaling have been identified. A direct implication is that circadian control of cellular redox homeostasis influences how plants negate stress to ensure growth and reproduction. Complex cellular biochemistry leads from perception of stress via hormone signals and formation of reactive oxygen intermediates to a physiological response. Circadian clocks and metabolic pathways intertwine to form a confusing biochemical labyrinth. Here, we aim to find order in this complex matter by reviewing current advances in our understanding of the interface between these networks. Although the link is now clearly defined, at present a key question remains as to what extent the circadian clock modulates redox, and vice versa. Furthermore, the mechanistic basis by which the circadian clock gates redox- and hormone-mediated stress responses remains largely elusive.

From Augmentation Media to Meme Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanaka, Yuzuru

Computers as meta media are now evolving from augmentation media vehicles to meme media vehicles. While an augmentation media system provides a seamlessly integrated environment of various tools and documents, meme media system provides further functions to edit and distribute tools and documents. Documents and tools on meme media can easily…

Specification of matrix cleanup goals in fractured porous media.

PubMed

Rodríguez, David J; Kueper, Bernard H

2013-01-01

Semianalytical transient solutions have been developed to evaluate what level of fractured porous media (e.g., bedrock or clay) matrix cleanup must be achieved in order to achieve compliance of fracture pore water concentrations within a specified time at specified locations of interest. The developed mathematical solutions account for forward and backward diffusion in a fractured porous medium where the initial condition comprises a spatially uniform, nonzero matrix concentration throughout the domain. Illustrative simulations incorporating the properties of mudstone fractured bedrock demonstrate that the time required to reach a desired fracture pore water concentration is a function of the distance between the point of compliance and the upgradient face of the domain where clean groundwater is inflowing. Shorter distances correspond to reduced times required to reach compliance, implying that shorter treatment zones will respond more favorably to remediation than longer treatment zones in which back-diffusion dominates the fracture pore water response. For a specified matrix cleanup goal, compliance of fracture pore water concentrations will be reached sooner for decreased fracture spacing, increased fracture aperture, higher matrix fraction organic carbon, lower matrix porosity, shorter aqueous phase decay half-life, and a higher hydraulic gradient. The parameters dominating the response of the system can be measured using standard field and laboratory techniques. © 2012, The Author(s). Ground Water © 2012, National Ground Water Association.

Functional analysis of overexpressed PtDRS1 involved in abiotic stresses enhances growth in transgenic poplar.

PubMed

Mohammadi, Kourosh; Movahedi, Ali; Maleki, Samaneh Sadat; Sun, Weibo; Zhang, Jiaxin; Almasi Zadeh Yaghuti, Amir; Nourmohammadi, Saeed; Zhuge, Qiang

2018-05-01

Drought and salinity are two main abiotic stressors that can disrupt plant growth and survival. Various biotechnological approaches have been used to alleviate the problem of drought stress by improving water stress resistance in forestry and agriculture. The drought sensitive 1 (DRS1) gene acts as a regulator of drought stress, identified in human, yeast and some model plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, but there have been no reports of DRS1 transformation in poplar plants to date. In this study, we transformed the DRS1 gene from Populus trichocarpa into Populus deltoides × Populus euramericana 'Nanlin895' using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. We confirmed that the DRS1 gene was transformed into 'Nanlin895' poplar genomes using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR), multiplex PCR, real-time PCR, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. All transformed and wild-type (WT) plants were then transferred into a greenhouse for complementary experiments. We analyzed the physiological and biochemical responses of transgenic plants under drought and salt stresses in the greenhouse, and the results were compared with control WT plants. Responses to abiotic stress were greater in transgenic plants compared with WT. Based on our results, introduction of the DRS1 gene into poplar 'Nanlin895' plants significantly enhanced the resistance of those plants to water deficit and high salinity, allowing higher growth rates of roots and shoots in those plants. Additionally, the clawed root rate increased in transformed poplars grown in culture media or in soil, and improved survival under drought and salt stress conditions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The Role of Tomato WRKY Genes in Plant Responses to Combined Abiotic and Biotic Stresses

PubMed Central

Bai, Yuling; Sunarti, Sri; Kissoudis, Christos; Visser, Richard G. F.; van der Linden, C. G.

2018-01-01

In the field, plants constantly face a plethora of abiotic and biotic stresses that can impart detrimental effects on plants. In response to multiple stresses, plants can rapidly reprogram their transcriptome through a tightly regulated and highly dynamic regulatory network where WRKY transcription factors can act as activators or repressors. WRKY transcription factors have diverse biological functions in plants, but most notably are key players in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. In tomato there are 83 WRKY genes identified. Here we review recent progress on functions of these tomato WRKY genes and their homologs in other plant species, such as Arabidopsis and rice, with a special focus on their involvement in responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. In particular, we highlight WRKY genes that play a role in plant responses to a combination of abiotic and biotic stresses.

Regulation of MIR Genes in Response to Abiotic Stress in Hevea brasiliensis

PubMed Central

Gébelin, Virginie; Leclercq, Julie; Hu, Songnian; Tang, Chaorong; Montoro, Pascal

2013-01-01

Increasing demand for natural rubber (NR) calls for an increase in latex yield and also an extension of rubber plantations in marginal zones. Both harvesting and abiotic stresses lead to tapping panel dryness through the production of reactive oxygen species. Many microRNAs regulated during abiotic stress modulate growth and development. The objective of this paper was to study the regulation of microRNAs in response to different types of abiotic stress and hormone treatments in Hevea. Regulation of MIR genes differs depending on the tissue and abiotic stress applied. A negative co-regulation between HbMIR398b with its chloroplastic HbCuZnSOD target messenger is observed in response to salinity. The involvement of MIR gene regulation during latex harvesting and tapping panel dryness (TPD) occurrence is further discussed. PMID:24084713

The Use of Chemical Probes for the Characterization of the Predominant Abiotic Reductants in Anaerobic Sediments

EPA Science Inventory

Identifying the predominant chemical reductants and pathways for electron transfer in anaerobic systems is paramount to the development of environmental fate models that incorporate pathways for abiotic reductive transformations. Currently, such models do not exist. In this chapt...

Somewhere, Beyond the Sea: Advancing Geochemical Sensor Technologies for Biological and Abiotic Analyses on Ocean Worlds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girguis, P. R.; Hoer, D.; Michel, A.; Wankel, S. D.; Baker, I.; Farr, N.

2018-05-01

Here we present our data from recent efforts aimed at examining the relationships among abiotic and biological processes in our ocean. These technologies may help us address that enduring question as to whether life exists on other celestial bodies.

Interactions between Biological and Abiotic Pathways in the Reduction of Chlorinated Solvents

EPA Science Inventory

While biologically mediated reductive dechlorination continues to be a significant focus of chlorinated solvent remediation, there has been an increased interest in abiotic reductive processes for the remediation of chlorinated solvents. In situ chemical reduction (ISCR) uses zer...

Mud, Macrofauna and Microbes: An ode to benthic organism-abiotic interactions at varying scales

EPA Science Inventory

Benthic environments are dynamic habitats, subject to variable sources and rates of sediment delivery, reworking from the abiotic and biotic processes, and complex biogeochemistry. These activities do not occur in a vacuum, and interact synergistically to influence food webs, bi...

Understanding the Interaction of Peptides and Proteins with Abiotic Surfaces: Towards Water-Free Biologics

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-02-03

peptides immobilized on abiotic surfaces depends upon a) the chemical and physical nature of the abiotic surface; b) the physicochemical properties of... dependent model of protein aggregation, aggregation proceeds only after a lag phase in which the concentration of energetically unfavorable nuclei reaches...time dependent kinetics or dynamics at such interfaces. This paper focuses on these three most important advantages of SFG and reviews some of the

A review of selection-based tests of abiotic surrogates for species representation.

PubMed

Beier, Paul; Sutcliffe, Patricia; Hjort, Jan; Faith, Daniel P; Pressey, Robert L; Albuquerque, Fabio

2015-06-01

Because conservation planners typically lack data on where species occur, environmental surrogates--including geophysical settings and climate types--have been used to prioritize sites within a planning area. We reviewed 622 evaluations of the effectiveness of abiotic surrogates in representing species in 19 study areas. Sites selected using abiotic surrogates represented more species than an equal number of randomly selected sites in 43% of tests (55% for plants) and on average improved on random selection of sites by about 8% (21% for plants). Environmental diversity (ED) (42% median improvement on random selection) and biotically informed clusters showed promising results and merit additional testing. We suggest 4 ways to improve performance of abiotic surrogates. First, analysts should consider a broad spectrum of candidate variables to define surrogates, including rarely used variables related to geographic separation, distance from coast, hydrology, and within-site abiotic diversity. Second, abiotic surrogates should be defined at fine thematic resolution. Third, sites (the landscape units prioritized within a planning area) should be small enough to ensure that surrogates reflect species' environments and to produce prioritizations that match the spatial resolution of conservation decisions. Fourth, if species inventories are available for some planning units, planners should define surrogates based on the abiotic variables that most influence species turnover in the planning area. Although species inventories increase the cost of using abiotic surrogates, a modest number of inventories could provide the data needed to select variables and evaluate surrogates. Additional tests of nonclimate abiotic surrogates are needed to evaluate the utility of conserving nature's stage as a strategy for conservation planning in the face of climate change. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

Abiotic controls on N2O emissions from soils and wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horwath, W. R.

2016-12-01

The increase in atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) is a critical climate change issue contributing to global warming. Most studies on N2O production attribute microbial processes and their associated enzymatic reactions to be the main driver affecting emissions. The role of redox capable iron, manganese and organic compounds that can react with intermediates in the nitrogen cycle has also been shown to produce N2O abiotically. The importance of the abiotic pathways, however, is highly debated. The abiotic production of N2O is related to biophysiochemical controls and unique isotopic signatures of nitrogen cycle intermediates (hydroxylamine, nitric oxide, and nitrite), redox-active metals (iron and manganese) and organic matter (humic and fulvic acids). In a range of soils, we find that the iron directly associated with organic compounds is the strongest variable relating to N2O emissions. In addition to these factors, management is also assumed to affect abiotic N2O production through its impact on nitrogen cycle intermediates, but the environmental and physiochemical conditions that are changed by management are rarely considered in the abiotic production of N2O. We find that the amount and quality of organic compounds in soils directly determines the fate of soil N2O production (i.e. be emitted or consumed). Water depth in rice paddies and wetlands also plays a significant role in partitioning production and consumption of N2O. What is evident from studies on N2O emission is that abiotic reactions are coupled to biotic processes and they cannot be easily separated. The biotic/abiotic interactions have important ecological outcomes that influence abiotic production mechanisms and should be recognized as important controllers of N2O production and consumption processes in soils and sediments.

Phytoplankton responses to temperature increases are constrained by abiotic conditions and community composition.

PubMed

Striebel, Maren; Schabhüttl, Stefanie; Hodapp, Dorothee; Hingsamer, Peter; Hillebrand, Helmut

2016-11-01

Effects of temperature changes on phytoplankton communities seem to be highly context-specific, but few studies have analyzed whether this context specificity depends on differences in the abiotic conditions or in species composition between studies. We present an experiment that allows disentangling the contribution of abiotic and biotic differences in shaping the response to two aspects of temperature change: permanent increase of mean temperature versus pulse disturbance in form of a heat wave. We used natural communities from six different sites of a floodplain system as well as artificially mixed communities from laboratory cultures and grew both, artificial and natural communities, in water from the six different floodplain lakes (sites). All 12 contexts (2 communities × 6 sites) were first exposed to three different temperature levels (12, 18, 24 °C, respectively) and afterward to temperature pulses (4 °C increase for 7 h day(-1)). Temperature-dependent changes in biomass and community composition depended on the initial composition of phytoplankton communities. Abiotic conditions had a major effect on biomass of phytoplankton communities exposed to different temperature conditions, however, the effect of biotic and abiotic conditions together was even more pronounced. Additionally, phytoplankton community responses to pulse temperature effects depended on the warming history. By disentangling abiotic and biotic effects, our study shows that temperature-dependent effects on phytoplankton communities depend on both, biotic and abiotic constraints.

Salicylic acid-induced abiotic stress tolerance and underlying mechanisms in plants

PubMed Central

Khan, M. Iqbal R.; Fatma, Mehar; Per, Tasir S.; Anjum, Naser A.; Khan, Nafees A.

2015-01-01

Abiotic stresses (such as metals/metalloids, salinity, ozone, UV-B radiation, extreme temperatures, and drought) are among the most challenging threats to agricultural system and economic yield of crop plants. These stresses (in isolation and/or combination) induce numerous adverse effects in plants, impair biochemical/physiological and molecular processes, and eventually cause severe reductions in plant growth, development and overall productivity. Phytohormones have been recognized as a strong tool for sustainably alleviating adverse effects of abiotic stresses in crop plants. In particular, the significance of salicylic acid (SA) has been increasingly recognized in improved plant abiotic stress-tolerance via SA-mediated control of major plant-metabolic processes. However, the basic biochemical/physiological and molecular mechanisms that potentially underpin SA-induced plant-tolerance to major abiotic stresses remain least discussed. Based on recent reports, this paper: (a) overviews historical background and biosynthesis of SA under both optimal and stressful environments in plants; (b) critically appraises the role of SA in plants exposed to major abiotic stresses; (c) cross-talks potential mechanisms potentially governing SA-induced plant abiotic stress-tolerance; and finally (d) briefly highlights major aspects so far unexplored in the current context. PMID:26175738

Revisiting the Role of Plant Transcription Factors in the Battle against Abiotic Stress.

PubMed

Khan, Sardar-Ali; Li, Meng-Zhan; Wang, Suo-Min; Yin, Hong-Ju

2018-05-31

Owing to diverse abiotic stresses and global climate deterioration, the agricultural production worldwide is suffering serious losses. Breeding stress-resilient crops with higher quality and yield against multiple environmental stresses via application of transgenic technologies is currently the most promising approach. Deciphering molecular principles and mining stress-associate genes that govern plant responses against abiotic stresses is one of the prerequisites to develop stress-resistant crop varieties. As molecular switches in controlling stress-responsive genes expression, transcription factors (TFs) play crucial roles in regulating various abiotic stress responses. Hence, functional analysis of TFs and their interaction partners during abiotic stresses is crucial to perceive their role in diverse signaling cascades that many researchers have continued to undertake. Here, we review current developments in understanding TFs, with particular emphasis on their functions in orchestrating plant abiotic stress responses. Further, we discuss novel molecular mechanisms of their action under abiotic stress conditions. This will provide valuable information for understanding regulatory mechanisms to engineer stress-tolerant crops.

Media Training

ScienceCinema

None

2017-12-09

With the LHC starting up soon, the world's media are again turning their attention to CERN. We're all likely to be called upon to explain what is happening at CERN to media, friends and neighbours. The seminar will be given by BBC television news journalists Liz Pike and Nadia Marchant, and will deal with the kind of questions we're likely to be confronted with through the restart period. The training is open for everybody. Make sure you arrive early enough to get a seat - there are only 200 seats in the Globe. The session will also be webcast: http://webcast.cern.ch/

Media Matters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Kenneth J.; Pyrillis, Rita; Rosario, Ruben; Stuart, Reginald; Zinngrabe, Elaine

2007-01-01

This article presents five vignettes, written by veteran journalists, that focus on the current and future state of journalism. Despite almost daily reports of media consolidation and newspaper layoffs, the journalists sound a cautionary but optimistic tone about the industry. They weigh in on everything from the threats to diversity to the future…

Streaming Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pulley, John

2009-01-01

At a time when the evolutionary pace of new media resembles the real-time mutation of certain microorganisms, the age-old question of how best to connect with constituents can seem impossibly complex--even for an elite institution plugged into the motherboard of Silicon Valley. Identifying the most effective vehicle for reaching a particular…

Social Media

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

aiding military operations. In an effort to further social media usage in the Department of Defense (DoD), the Office of the Secretary of Defense issued ... Morale ........................................................................................................................ 61 Risks...together with the goal of providing a multidisciplinary, unclassified, non-military perspective on important Department of Defense issues . The

[Chronic otitis mediaChronic Otitis Media].

PubMed

Kohles, N; Schulz, T; Eßer, D

2015-11-01

There are 2 different kinds of chronic otitis media: Otitis media chronica mesotympanalis and otitis media chronica epitympanalis (cholesteatoma). The incidence of chronic otitis media as reported in literature differs in a wide range. The incidence rates vary between 0.45 and 46%. Both, otitis media chronica mesotympanalis and cholesteatoma, lead to eardrum perforation due to lengthy and recurring inflammations. Furthermore, chronic otitis media is characterized by frequently recurring otorrhea and conductive hearing loss. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Hydrogen peroxide priming modulates abiotic oxidative stress tolerance: insights from ROS detoxification and scavenging

PubMed Central

Hossain, Mohammad A.; Bhattacharjee, Soumen; Armin, Saed-Moucheshi; Qian, Pingping; Xin, Wang; Li, Hong-Yu; Burritt, David J.; Fujita, Masayuki; Tran, Lam-Son P.

2015-01-01

Plants are constantly challenged by various abiotic stresses that negatively affect growth and productivity worldwide. During the course of their evolution, plants have developed sophisticated mechanisms to recognize external signals allowing them to respond appropriately to environmental conditions, although the degree of adjustability or tolerance to specific stresses differs from species to species. Overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS; hydrogen peroxide, H2O2; superoxide, O2⋅-; hydroxyl radical, OH⋅ and singlet oxygen, 1O2) is enhanced under abiotic and/or biotic stresses, which can cause oxidative damage to plant macromolecules and cell structures, leading to inhibition of plant growth and development, or to death. Among the various ROS, freely diffusible and relatively long-lived H2O2 acts as a central player in stress signal transduction pathways. These pathways can then activate multiple acclamatory responses that reinforce resistance to various abiotic and biotic stressors. To utilize H2O2 as a signaling molecule, non-toxic levels must be maintained in a delicate balancing act between H2O2 production and scavenging. Several recent studies have demonstrated that the H2O2-priming can enhance abiotic stress tolerance by modulating ROS detoxification and by regulating multiple stress-responsive pathways and gene expression. Despite the importance of the H2O2-priming, little is known about how this process improves the tolerance of plants to stress. Understanding the mechanisms of H2O2-priming-induced abiotic stress tolerance will be valuable for identifying biotechnological strategies to improve abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. This review is an overview of our current knowledge of the possible mechanisms associated with H2O2-induced abiotic oxidative stress tolerance in plants, with special reference to antioxidant metabolism. PMID:26136756

ADSORPTIVE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES: MEDIA SELECTION

EPA Science Inventory

The presentation provides information on six items to be considered when selecting an adsorptive media for removing arsenic from drinking water; performance, EBCT, pre-treatment, regeneration, residuals, and cost. Each item is discussed in general and data and photographs from th...

On Media Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fedorov, Alexander

2008-01-01

This monograph analyzes the theory and practice of media education and media literacy. The book also includes the list of Russian media education literature and addresses of websites of the associations for media education.

Otitis media with effusion

MedlinePlus

OME; Secretory otitis media; Serous otitis media; Silent otitis media; Silent ear infection; Glue ear ... Kerschner JE, Preciado D. Otitis media. In: Kliegman RM, Stanton BF, St. ... of Pediatrics . 20th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016: ...

Otitis media.

PubMed

Schilder, Anne G M; Chonmaitree, Tasnee; Cripps, Allan W; Rosenfeld, Richard M; Casselbrant, Margaretha L; Haggard, Mark P; Venekamp, Roderick P

2016-09-08

Otitis media (OM) or middle ear inflammation is a spectrum of diseases, including acute otitis media (AOM), otitis media with effusion (OME; 'glue ear') and chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). OM is among the most common diseases in young children worldwide. Although OM may resolve spontaneously without complications, it can be associated with hearing loss and life-long sequelae. In developing countries, CSOM is a leading cause of hearing loss. OM can be of bacterial or viral origin; during 'colds', viruses can ascend through the Eustachian tube to the middle ear and pave the way for bacterial otopathogens that reside in the nasopharynx. Diagnosis depends on typical signs and symptoms, such as acute ear pain and bulging of the tympanic membrane (eardrum) for AOM and hearing loss for OME; diagnostic modalities include (pneumatic) otoscopy, tympanometry and audiometry. Symptomatic management of ear pain and fever is the mainstay of AOM treatment, reserving antibiotics for children with severe, persistent or recurrent infections. Management of OME largely consists of watchful waiting, with ventilation (tympanostomy) tubes primarily for children with chronic effusions and hearing loss, developmental delays or learning difficulties. The role of hearing aids to alleviate symptoms of hearing loss in the management of OME needs further study. Insertion of ventilation tubes and adenoidectomy are common operations for recurrent AOM to prevent recurrences, but their effectiveness is still debated. Despite reports of a decline in the incidence of OM over the past decade, attributed to the implementation of clinical guidelines that promote accurate diagnosis and judicious use of antibiotics and to pneumococcal conjugate vaccination, OM continues to be a leading cause for medical consultation, antibiotic prescription and surgery in high-income countries.

Research advances in major cereal crops for adaptation to abiotic stresses

PubMed Central

Maiti, RK; Satya, Pratik

2014-01-01

With devastating increase in population there is a great necessity to increase crop productivity of staple crops but the productivity is greatly affected by various abiotic stress factors such as drought, salinity. An attempt has been made a brief account on abiotic stress resistance of major cereal crops viz. In spite of good successes obtained on physiological and use molecular biology, the benefits of this high cost technology are beyond the reach of developing countries. This review discusses several morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of major cereal crops related to the adaptation of these crop to abiotic stress factors. It discusses the effect of abiotic stresses on physiological processes such as flowering, grain filling and maturation and plant metabolisms viz. photosynthesis, enzyme activity, mineral nutrition, and respiration. Though significant progress has been attained on the physiological, biochemical basis of resistance to abiotic stress factors, very little progress has been achieved to increase productivity under sustainable agriculture. Therefore, there is a great necessity of inter-disciplinary research to address this issue and to evolve efficient technology and its transfer to the farmers’ fields. PMID:25523172

Can plant-natural enemy communication withstand disruption by biotic and abiotic factors?

PubMed

Clavijo McCormick, Andrea

2016-12-01

The attraction of natural enemies towards herbivore-induced plant volatiles is a well-documented phenomenon. However, the majority of published studies are carried under optimal water and nutrient regimes and with just one herbivore. But what happens when additional levels of ecological complexity are added? Does the presence of a second herbivore, microorganisms, and abiotic stress interfere with plant-natural enemy communication? or is communication stable enough to withstand disruption by additional biotic and abiotic factors?Investigating the effects of these additional levels of ecological complexity is key to understanding the stability of tritrophic interactions in natural ecosystems and may aid to forecast the impact of environmental disturbances on these, especially in climate change scenarios, which are often associated with modifications in plant and arthropod species distribution and increased levels of abiotic stress.This review explores the literature on natural enemy attraction to herbivore-induced volatiles when, besides herbivory, plants are challenged by additional biotic and abiotic factors.The aim of this review was to establish the impact of different biotic and abiotic factors on plant-natural enemy communication and to highlight critical aspects to guide future research efforts.

Emerging trends in the functional genomics of the abiotic stress response in crop plants.

PubMed

Vij, Shubha; Tyagi, Akhilesh K

2007-05-01

Plants are exposed to different abiotic stresses, such as water deficit, high temperature, salinity, cold, heavy metals and mechanical wounding, under field conditions. It is estimated that such stress conditions can potentially reduce the yield of crop plants by more than 50%. Investigations of the physiological, biochemical and molecular aspects of stress tolerance have been conducted to unravel the intrinsic mechanisms developed during evolution to mitigate against stress by plants. Before the advent of the genomics era, researchers primarily used a gene-by-gene approach to decipher the function of the genes involved in the abiotic stress response. However, abiotic stress tolerance is a complex trait and, although large numbers of genes have been identified to be involved in the abiotic stress response, there remain large gaps in our understanding of the trait. The availability of the genome sequences of certain important plant species has enabled the use of strategies, such as genome-wide expression profiling, to identify the genes associated with the stress response, followed by the verification of gene function by the analysis of mutants and transgenics. Certain components of both abscisic acid-dependent and -independent cascades involved in the stress response have already been identified. Information originating from the genome-wide analysis of abiotic stress tolerance will help to provide an insight into the stress-responsive network(s), and may allow the modification of this network to reduce the loss caused by stress and to increase agricultural productivity.

A NAP-Family Histone Chaperone Functions in Abiotic Stress Response and Adaptation1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Pareek, Ashwani; Singla-Pareek, Sneh Lata

2016-01-01

Modulation of gene expression is one of the most significant molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress response in plants. Via altering DNA accessibility, histone chaperones affect the transcriptional competence of genomic loci. However, in contrast to other factors affecting chromatin dynamics, the role of plant histone chaperones in abiotic stress response and adaptation remains elusive. Here, we studied the physiological function of a stress-responsive putative rice (Oryza sativa) histone chaperone of the NAP superfamily: OsNAPL6. We show that OsNAPL6 is a nuclear-localized H3/H4 histone chaperone capable of assembling a nucleosome-like structure. Utilizing overexpression and knockdown approaches, we found a positive correlation between OsNAPL6 expression levels and adaptation to multiple abiotic stresses. Results of comparative transcriptome profiling and promoter-recruitment studies indicate that OsNAPL6 functions during stress response via modulation of expression of various genes involved in diverse functions. For instance, we show that OsNAPL6 is recruited to OsRad51 promoter, activating its expression and leading to more efficient DNA repair and abrogation of programmed cell death under salinity and genotoxic stress conditions. These results suggest that the histone chaperone OsNAPL6 may serve a regulatory role in abiotic stress physiology possibly via modulating nucleosome dynamics at various stress-associated genomic loci. Taken together, our findings establish a hitherto unknown link between histone chaperones and abiotic stress response in plants. PMID:27342307

Biotic and abiotic factors predicting the global distribution and population density of an invasive large mammal

PubMed Central

Lewis, Jesse S.; Farnsworth, Matthew L.; Burdett, Chris L.; Theobald, David M.; Gray, Miranda; Miller, Ryan S.

2017-01-01

Biotic and abiotic factors are increasingly acknowledged to synergistically shape broad-scale species distributions. However, the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors in predicting species distributions is unclear. In particular, biotic factors, such as predation and vegetation, including those resulting from anthropogenic land-use change, are underrepresented in species distribution modeling, but could improve model predictions. Using generalized linear models and model selection techniques, we used 129 estimates of population density of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) from 5 continents to evaluate the relative importance, magnitude, and direction of biotic and abiotic factors in predicting population density of an invasive large mammal with a global distribution. Incorporating diverse biotic factors, including agriculture, vegetation cover, and large carnivore richness, into species distribution modeling substantially improved model fit and predictions. Abiotic factors, including precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, were also important predictors. The predictive map of population density revealed wide-ranging potential for an invasive large mammal to expand its distribution globally. This information can be used to proactively create conservation/management plans to control future invasions. Our study demonstrates that the ongoing paradigm shift, which recognizes that both biotic and abiotic factors shape species distributions across broad scales, can be advanced by incorporating diverse biotic factors. PMID:28276519

Research advances in major cereal crops for adaptation to abiotic stresses.

PubMed

Maiti, R K; Satya, Pratik

2014-01-01

With devastating increase in population there is a great necessity to increase crop productivity of staple crops but the productivity is greatly affected by various abiotic stress factors such as drought, salinity. An attempt has been made a brief account on abiotic stress resistance of major cereal crops viz. In spite of good successes obtained on physiological and use molecular biology, the benefits of this high cost technology are beyond the reach of developing countries. This review discusses several morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of major cereal crops related to the adaptation of these crop to abiotic stress factors. It discusses the effect of abiotic stresses on physiological processes such as flowering, grain filling and maturation and plant metabolisms viz. photosynthesis, enzyme activity, mineral nutrition, and respiration. Though significant progress has been attained on the physiological, biochemical basis of resistance to abiotic stress factors, very little progress has been achieved to increase productivity under sustainable agriculture. Therefore, there is a great necessity of inter-disciplinary research to address this issue and to evolve efficient technology and its transfer to the farmers' fields.

Media Education Initiatives by Media Organizations: The Uses of Media Literacy in Hong Kong Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chu, Donna; Lee, Alice Y. L.

2014-01-01

As more media organizations have engaged in media education, this paper investigates the goals and practices of these activities. This article coins media education initiatives by media organizations with the term "media-organization media literac"y (MOML). Four MOML projects in Hong Kong were selected for examination. Built on critical…

Relationships between biotic and abiotic factors and regeneration of chestnut oak, white oak, and northern red oak

Treesearch

Songlin Fei; Kim C. Steiner; James C. Finley; Marc E. McDill

2003-01-01

A series of substantial field surveys of 38 mixed-oak stands in central Pennsylvania were carried out during 1996-2000. All the stands were surveyed 1 year prior to harvest, and 16 stands have been surveyed 1 year after harvest. Three abiotic factors at stand scale, four abiotic factors at plot scale, and two biotic factors and one abiotic factor at subplot scale was...

Media Grammars, Generations, and Media Gaps.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gumpert, Gary; Cathcart, Robert

1985-01-01

Argues that people are connected or separated more by media experience than by chronological years. Examines how media develop their own grammars, how individuals acquire media literacy, and the effects of media literacy on ways people relate to each other. (PD)

Biotic and abiotic interactions in aquatic microcosms determine fate and toxicity of Ag nanoparticles. Part 1. Aggregation and dissolution.

PubMed

Unrine, Jason M; Colman, Benjamin P; Bone, Audrey J; Gondikas, Andreas P; Matson, Cole W

2012-07-03

To better understand their fate and toxicity in aquatic environments, we compared the aggregation and dissolution behavior of gum arabic (GA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coated Ag nanoparticles (NPs) in aquatic microcosms. There were four microcosm types: surface water; water and sediment; water and aquatic plants; or water, sediment, and aquatic plants. Dissolution and aggregation behavior of AgNPs were examined using ultracentrifugation, ultrafiltration, and asymmetrical flow field flow fractionation coupled to ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, dynamic and static laser light scattering, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Plants released dissolved organic matter (DOM) into the water column either through active or passive processes in response to Ag exposure. This organic matter fraction readily bound Ag ions. The plant-derived DOM had the effect of stabilizing PVP-AgNPs as primary particles, but caused GA-AgNPs to be removed from the water column, likely by dissolution and binding of released Ag ions on sediment and plant surfaces. The destabilization of the GA-AgNPs also corresponded with X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy results which suggest that 22-28% of the particulate Ag was associated with thiols and 5-14% was present as oxides. The results highlight the potential complexities of nanomaterial behavior in response to biotic and abiotic modifications in ecosystems, and may help to explain differences in toxicity of Ag observed in realistic exposure media compared to simplified laboratory exposures.

Isoelectric point is an inadequate descriptor of MS2, Phi X 174 and PRD1 phages adhesion on abiotic surfaces.

PubMed

Dika, Christelle; Duval, Jérôme F L; Francius, Gregory; Perrin, Aline; Gantzer, Christophe

2015-05-15

MS2, Phi X 174 and PRD1 bacteriophages are commonly used as surrogates to evaluate pathogenic virus behavior in natural aquatic media. The interfacial properties of these model soft bioparticles are herein discussed in connection with their propensities to adhere onto abiotic surfaces that differ in terms of surface charges and hydrophobicities. The phages considered in this work exhibit distinct multilayered surface structures and their electrostatic charges are evaluated from the dependence of their electrophoretic mobilities on electrolyte concentration at neutral pH on the basis of electrokinetic theory for soft (bio)particles. The charges of the viruses probed by electrokinetics vary according to the sequence Phi X 174⩽PRD1≪MS2, where '<' stands for 'less charged than'. The hydrophobic/hydrophilic balances of the phages are further derived from their adhesions onto model hydrophobic and hydrophilic self-assembled mono-layers. The corresponding results lead to the following hydrophobicity sequence Phi X 174≪MS2

Cortex proliferation in the root is a protective mechanism against abiotic stress.

PubMed

Cui, Hongchang

2015-01-01

Although as an organ the root plays a pivotal role in nutrient and water uptake as well anchorage, individual cell types function distinctly. Cortex is regarded as the least differentiated cell type in the root, but little is known about its role in plant growth and physiology. In recent studies, we found that cortex proliferation can be induced by oxidative stress. Since all types of abiotic stress lead to oxidative stress, this finding suggests a role for cortex in coping with abiotic stress. This hypothesis was tested in this study using the spy mutant, which has an extra layer of cortex in the root. Interestingly, the spy mutant was shown to be hypersensitive to salt and oxidizing reagent applied to the leaves, but it was as tolerant as the wild type to these compounds in the soil. This result lends support to the notion that cortex has a protective role against abiotic stress arising from the soil.

Abiotic dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes in natural clayey soils: Impacts of mineralogy and temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaefer, Charles E.; Ho, Paul; Gurr, Christopher; Berns, Erin; Werth, Charles

2017-11-01

Laboratory batch experiments were performed to assess the impacts of temperature and mineralogy on the abiotic dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) or trichloroethene (TCE) due to the presence of ferrous minerals in natural aquifer clayey soils under anaerobic conditions. A combination of x-ray diffraction (XRD), magnetic susceptibility, and ferrous mineral content were used to characterize each of the 3 natural soils tested in this study, and dechlorination at temperatures ranging from 20 to 55 °C were examined. Results showed that abiotic dechlorination occurred in all 3 soils examined, yielding reduced gas abiotic dechlorination products acetylene, butane, ethene, and/or propane. Bulk first-order dechlorination rate constants (kbulk), scaled to the soil:water ratio expected for in situ conditions, ranged from 2.0 × 10- 5 day- 1 at 20 °C, to 32 × 10- 5 day- 1 at 55 °C in the soil with the greatest ferrous mineral content. For the generation of acetylene and ethene from PCE, the reaction was well described by Arrhenius kinetics, with an activation energy of 91 kJ/mol. For the generation of coupling products butane and propane, the Arrhenius equation did not provide a satisfactory description of the data, likely owing to the complex reaction mechanisms associated with these products and/or diffusional mass transfer processes associated with the ferrous minerals likely responsible for these coupling reactions. Although the data set was too limited to determine a definitive correlation, the two soils with elevated ferrous mineral contents had elevated abiotic dechlorination rate constants, while the one soil with a low ferrous mineral content had a relatively low abiotic dechlorination rate constant. Overall, results suggest intrinsic abiotic dechlorination rates may be an important long-term natural attenuation component in site conceptual models for clays that have the appropriate iron mineralogy.

Abiotic dechlorination in rock matrices impacted by long-term exposure to TCE.

PubMed

Schaefer, Charles E; Towne, Rachael M; Lippincott, David R; Lacombe, Pierre J; Bishop, Michael E; Dong, Hailiang

2015-01-01

Field and laboratory tests were performed to evaluate the abiotic reaction of trichloroethene (TCE) in sedimentary rock matrices. Hydraulically conductive fractures, and the rock directly adjacent to the hydraulically conductive fractures, within a historically contaminated TCE bedrock aquifer were used as the basis for this study. These results were compared to previous work using rock that had not been exposed to TCE (Schaefer et al., 2013) to assess the impact of long-term TCE exposure on the abiotic dechlorination reaction, as the longevity of these reactions after long-term exposure to TCE was hitherto unknown. Results showed that potential abiotic TCE degradation products, including ethane, ethene, and acetylene, were present in the conductive fractures. Using minimally disturbed slices of rock core at and near the fracture faces, laboratory testing on the rocks confirmed that abiotic dechlorination reactions between the rock matrix and TCE were occurring. Abiotic daughter products measured in the laboratory under controlled conditions were consistent with those measured in the conductive fractures, except that propane also was observed as a daughter product. TCE degradation measured in the laboratory was well described by a first order rate constant through the 118-d study. Observed bulk first-order TCE degradation rate constants within the rock matrix were 1.3×10(-8) s(-1). These results clearly show that abiotic dechlorination of TCE is occurring within the rock matrix, despite decades of exposure to TCE. Furthermore, these observed rates of TCE dechlorination are expected to have a substantial impact on TCE migration and uptake/release from rock matrices. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biotic and abiotic degradation of CL-20 and RDX in soils.

PubMed

Crocker, Fiona H; Thompson, Karen T; Szecsody, James E; Fredrickson, Herbert L

2005-01-01

The caged cyclic nitramine 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) is a new explosive that has the potential to replace existing military explosives, but little is known about its environmental toxicity, transport, and fate. We quantified and compared the aerobic environmental fate of CL-20 to the widely used cyclic nitramine explosive hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in surface and subsurface soil microcosms. Soil-free controls and biologically attenuated soil controls were used to separate abiotic processes from biologically mediated processes. Both abiotic and biological processes significantly degraded CL-20 in all soils examined. Apparent abiotic, first-order degradation rates (k) for CL-20 were not significantly different between soil-free controls (0.018 < k < 0.030 d(-1)) and biologically attenuated soil controls (0.003 < k < 0.277 d(-1)). The addition of glucose to biologically active soil microcosms significantly increased CL-20 degradation rates (0.068 < k < 1.22 d(-1)). Extents of mineralization of (14)C-CL-20 to (14)CO(2) in biologically active soil microcosms were 41.1 to 55.7%, indicating that the CL-20 cage was broken, since all carbons are part of the heterocyclic cage. Under aerobic conditions, abiotic degradation rates of RDX were generally slower (0 < k < 0.032 d(-1)) than abiotic CL-20 degradation rates. In biologically active soil microcosms amended with glucose aerobic RDX degradation rates varied between 0.010 and 0.474 d(-1). Biodegradation was a key factor in determining the environmental fate of RDX, while a combination of biotic and abiotic processes was important with CL-20. Our data suggest that CL-20 should be less recalcitrant than RDX in aerobic soils.

Abiotic CO2 reduction during geologic carbon sequestration facilitated by Fe(II)-bearing minerals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielsen, L. C.; Maher, K.; Bird, D. K.; Brown, G. E.; Thomas, B.; Johnson, N. C.; Rosenbauer, R. J.

2012-12-01

Redox reactions involving subsurface minerals and fluids and can lead to the abiotic generation of hydrocarbons from CO2 under certain conditions. Depleted oil reservoirs and saline aquifers targeted for geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) can contain significant quantities of minerals such as ferrous chlorite, which could facilitate the abiotic reduction of carbon dioxide to n-carboxylic acids, hydrocarbons, and amorphous carbon (C0). If such reactions occur, the injection of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) could significantly alter the oxidation state of the reservoir and cause extensive reorganization of the stable mineral assemblage via dissolution and reprecipitation reactions. Naturally occurring iron oxide minerals such as magnetite are known to catalyze CO2 reduction, resulting in the synthesis of organic compounds. Magnetite is thermodynamically stable in Fe(II) chlorite-bearing mineral assemblages typical of some reservoir formations. Thermodynamic calculations demonstrate that GCS reservoirs buffered by the chlorite-kaolinite-carbonate(siderite/magnesite)-quartz assemblage favor the reduction of CO2 to n-carboxylic acids, hydrocarbons, and C0, although the extent of abiotic CO2 reduction may be kinetically limited. To investigate the rates of abiotic CO2 reduction in the presence of magnetite, we performed batch abiotic CO2 reduction experiments using a Dickson-type rocking hydrothermal apparatus at temperatures (373 K) and pressures (100 bar) within the range of conditions relevant to GCS. Blank experiments containing CO2 and H2 were used to rule out the possibility of catalytic activity of the experimental apparatus. Reaction of brine-suspended magnetite nanoparticles with scCO2 at H2 partial pressures typical of reservoir rocks - up to 100 and 0.1 bars respectively - was used to investigate the kinetics of magnetite-catalyzed abiotic CO2 reduction. Later experiments introducing ferrous chlorite (ripidolite) were carried out to determine the potential for

Elucidating the Role of Carbon Sources on Abiotic and Biotic Release of Arsenic into Cambodian Aquifers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koeneke, M.

2017-12-01

Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring contaminant in Cambodia that has been contaminating well-water sources of millions of people. Commonly, studies look into the biotic factors that cause the arsenic to be released from aquifer sediments to groundwater. However, abiotic release of As from sediments, though little studied, may also play key roles in As contamination of well water. The goal of this research is to quantitatively compare organic-carbon mediated abiotic and biotic release of arsenic from sediments to groundwater. Batch anaerobic incubation experiments under abiotic (sodium azide used to immobilize microbes) and biotic conditions were conducted using Cambodian aquifer sediments, four different organic carbon sources (sodium lactate, sodium citrate, sodium oxalate, and humic acid), and six different carbon concentrations (0, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 25mg C/L). Dissolved arsenic, iron(Fe), and manganese(Mn) concentrations in the treatments were measured 112 days . In addition, sediment and solution carbon solution was measured . Collectively, these show how different carbon sources, different carbon concentrations, and how abiotic and biotic factors impact the release of arsenic from Cambodian sediments into aquifers. Overall, an introduction of organic carbon to the soil increases the amount of As released from the sediment. The biotic + abiotic and abiotic conditions seemed to play a minimal role in the amount of As released. Dissolved species analysis showed us that 100% of the As was As(V), Our ICP-MS results vary due to the heterogeneity of samples, but when high levels are Fe are seen in solution, we also see high levels of As. We also see higher As concentrations when there is a smaller amount of Mn in solution.

The Mass Media Book.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmgren, Rod, Ed.; Norton, William, Ed.

This anthology consists of two major sections, "The News Media" and "The Entertainment Media." Both feature essays by critics, working professionals, and professional observers of the media. One aim of the anthology is to show the pervasive effect of the media on us. The section on news media comments on such topics as credibility gap, Vice…

Adolescents and media literacy.

PubMed

McCannon, Robert

2005-06-01

In the face of media industry consolidation, fewer people control media content which makes it harder for parents and citizens to know the research about media-related issues, such as video game violence, nutrition, and sexual risk-taking. Media literacy offers a popular and potentially successful way to counter the misinformation that is spread by Big Media public relations.

Measuring News Media Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maksl, Adam; Ashley, Seth; Craft, Stephanie

2015-01-01

News media literacy refers to the knowledge and motivations needed to identify and engage with journalism. This study measured levels of news media literacy among 500 teenagers using a new scale measure based on Potter's model of media literacy and adapted to news media specifically. The adapted model posits that news media literate individuals…

Geographic Media Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lukinbeal, Chris

2014-01-01

While the use of media permeates geographic research and pedagogic practice, the underlying literacies that link geography and media remain uncharted. This article argues that geographic media literacy incorporates visual literacy, information technology literacy, information literacy, and media literacy. Geographic media literacy is the ability…

Hydrologic, abiotic and biotic interactions: plant density, windspeed, leaf size and groundwater all affect oak water use efficiency

Treesearch

Darin J. Law; Deborah M. Finch

2011-01-01

Plant water use in drylands can be complex due to variation in hydrologic, abiotic and biotic factors, particularly near ephemeral or intermittent streams. Plant use of groundwater may be important but is usually uncertain. Disturbances like fire contribute to complex spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Improved understanding of how such hydrologic, abiotic, and biotic...

Photochemically assisted fast abiotic oxidation of manganese and formation of δ-MnO 2 nanosheets in nitrate solution

SciTech Connect

Jung, Haesung; Chadha, Tandeep S.; Kim, Doyoon

This study introduces a new and previously unconsidered fast abiotic formation of Mn(IV) oxides. We report photochemically assisted fast abiotic oxidation of Mn 2+ (aq) to Mn(IV) (s) by superoxide radicals generated from nitrate photolysis. This photochemical pathway generates randomly stacked layered birnessite (δ-MnO 2) nanosheets.

Natural abiotic formation of oxalic acid in soils: results from aromatic model compounds and soil samples.

PubMed

Studenroth, Sabine; Huber, Stefan G; Kotte, Karsten; Schöler, Heinz F

2013-02-05

Oxalic acid is the smallest dicarboxylic acid and plays an important role in soil processes (e.g., mineral weathering and metal detoxification in plants). We have first proven its abiotic formation in soils and investigated natural abiotic degradation processes based on the oxidation of soil organic matter, enhanced by Fe(3+) and H(2)O(2) as hydroxyl radical suppliers. Experiments with the model compound catechol and further hydroxylated benzenes were performed to examine a common degradation pathway and to presume a general formation mechanism of oxalic acid. Two soil samples were tested for the release of oxalic acid and the potential effects of various soil parameters on oxalic acid formation. Additionally, the soil samples were treated with different soil sterilization methods to prove the oxalic acid formation under abiotic soil conditions. Different series of model experiments were conducted to determine a range of factors including Fe(3+), H(2)O(2), reaction time, pH, and chloride concentration on oxalic acid formation. Under certain conditions, catechol is degraded up to 65.6% to oxalic acid referring to carbon. In serial experiments with two soil samples, oxalic acid was produced, and the obtained results are suggestive of an abiotic degradation process. In conclusion, Fenton-like conditions with low Fe(3+) concentrations and an excess of H(2)O(2) as well as acidic conditions were required for an optimal oxalic acid formation. The presence of chloride reduced oxalic acid formation.

Identification of QTL in a tepary bean RIL population under abiotic stress

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

High temperatures and drought are critical abiotic factors that limit the production of grain legumes, especially in tropical countries. Tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) is a species that is tolerant to high temperatures and drought. It is also closely related to common bean (Phaseolus vu...

Abiotic stresses activate a MAPkinase in the model grass species Lolium temulentum L.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Forage and turf grasses are utilized in diverse environments which exposes them to a variety of abiotic stresses, however very little is known concerning the perception or molecular responses to these various stresses. In the model grass species Lolium temulentum (Lt), a 46 kDa mitogen-activated pro...

Earth, wind, and fire: Abiotic factors and the impacts of global environmental change on forest health

Treesearch

J.E. Lundquist; A.E. Camp; M.L. Tyrell; S.J. Seybold; P. Cannon; D.J. Lodge

2011-01-01

Trees do not just die; there is always a primary cause, and often contributing factors. Trees need adequate quantities of water, heat, light, nutrients, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and other abiotic resources to sustain life, growth, and reproduction. When these factors are deficient or excessive, they cause mortality. According to the concept of baseline mortality (...

Utilizing genetic resources and precision agriculture to enhance resistance to biotic and abiotic stress in watermelon

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Originally from Africa, watermelon is a staple crop in South Carolina and rich source of important phytochemicals that promote human health. As a result of many years of domestication and selection for desired fruit quality, modern watermelon cultivars are susceptible to biotic and abiotic stress. T...

Earth Without Life: A Systems Model of a Global Abiotic Nitrogen Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laneuville, M.; Kameya, M.; Cleaves, H. J.

2017-07-01

N is the major component of the atmosphere and plays important roles in biochemistry. Presently, the surface N-cycle is dominated by biology. However, before the origin of life, abiotic N-cycling would have set the stage for the origin of life.

Abiotic Hydrolysis of Fluorotelomer-Based Polymers as a Source of Perfluorocarboxylates at the Global Scale

EPA Science Inventory

Fluorotelomer-based polymers (FTPs) are the main product of the fluorotelomer industry. For nearly 10 years, whether FTPs degrade to form perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorocarboxylate (PFCA) homologues has been vigorously contested. Here we show that circum-neutral abiotic h...

Do positive interactions increase with abiotic stress? A test from a semi-arid steppe.

PubMed Central

Maestre, Fernando T; Cortina, Jordi

2004-01-01

Theoretical models predict that the relative importance of facilitation and competition may vary inversely across gradients of abiotic stress. However, these predictions have not been thoroughly tested in the field, especially in semi-arid environments. In this study, we evaluated how the net effect of the tussock grass Stipa tenacissima on the shrub Pistacia lentiscus varied across a gradient of abiotic stress in semi-arid Mediterranean steppes. We fitted the relationship between accumulated rainfall and the relative neighbour index (our measures of abiotic stress and of the net effect of S. tenacissima on P. lentiscus, respectively), which varied across this gradient, to a quadratic model. Competitive interactions dominated at both extremes of the gradient. Our results do not support established theory. Instead, they suggest that a shift from facilitation to competition under high abiotic stress conditions is likely to occur when the levels of the most limiting resource are so low that the benefits provided by the facilitator cannot overcome its own resource uptake. PMID:15504009

FATE OF PAH COMPOUNDS IN TWO SOIL TYPES: INFLUENCE OF VOLATILIZATION, ABIOTIC LOSS, AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY

EPA Science Inventory

The fate of 14 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds was evaluated with regard to interphase transfer potential and mechanisms of treatment in soil under unsaturated conditions. Volatilization and abiotic and biotic fate of the PAHs were determined using two soils not p...

WRKY Proteins: Signaling and Regulation of Expression during Abiotic Stress Responses

PubMed Central

Banerjee, Aditya

2015-01-01

WRKY proteins are emerging players in plant signaling and have been thoroughly reported to play important roles in plants under biotic stress like pathogen attack. However, recent advances in this field do reveal the enormous significance of these proteins in eliciting responses induced by abiotic stresses. WRKY proteins act as major transcription factors, either as positive or negative regulators. Specific WRKY factors which help in the expression of a cluster of stress-responsive genes are being targeted and genetically modified to induce improved abiotic stress tolerance in plants. The knowledge regarding the signaling cascade leading to the activation of the WRKY proteins, their interaction with other proteins of the signaling pathway, and the downstream genes activated by them are altogether vital for justified targeting of the WRKY genes. WRKY proteins have also been considered to generate tolerance against multiple abiotic stresses with possible roles in mediating a cross talk between abiotic and biotic stress responses. In this review, we have reckoned the diverse signaling pattern and biological functions of WRKY proteins throughout the plant kingdom along with the growing prospects in this field of research. PMID:25879071

The effects of climate change associated abiotic stresses on maize phytochemical defenses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Reliable large-scale maize production is an essential component of global food security; however, sustained efforts are needed to ensure optimized resilience under diverse crop stress conditions. Climate changes are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of both abiotic and biotic stress. ...

Stable Carbon Isotopic Signatures of Abiotic Organics from Hydrothermal Synthesis Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stern, Jennifer C.; Summers, David P.; Kubo, Mike; Yassar, Saima

2006-01-01

Stable carbon isotopes can be powerful biogeochemical markers in the study of life's origins. Biogenic carbon fixation produces organics that are depleted in C-13 by about -20 to -30%0. Less attention has been paid to the isotopic signatures of abiotic processes. The possibility of abiotic processes producing organics with morphologies and isotopic signatures in the biogenic range has been at the center of recent debate over the Earth's earliest microfossils. The abiotic synthesis of organic compounds in hydrothermal environments is one possible source of endogenous organic matter to the prebiotic earth. Simulated hydrothermal settings have been shown to synthesize, among other things, single chain amphiphiles and simple lipids from a mix of CO, CO2, and H2. A key characteristic of these amphiphilic molecules is the ability to self-assemble in aqueous phases into more organized structures called vesicles, which form a selectively permeable boundary and serve the function of containing and concentrating other organic molecules. The ability to form cell like structures also makes these compounds more likely to be mistaken for biogenic. Hydrothermal simulation experiments were conducted from oxalic or formic acid in water at 175 C for 72 hr. The molecular and isotopic composition of the products of these reactions were determined and compared to biogenic fractionations . Preliminary results indicate isotopic fractionation during abiotic hydrocarbon synthesis in hydrothermal environments is on par with biological carbon fixation.

Unraveling the role of fungal symbionts in plant abiotic stress tolerance

PubMed Central

Singh, Lamabam Peter

2011-01-01

Fungal symbionts have been found to be associated with every plant studied in the natural ecosystem, where they colonize and reside entirely or partially in the internal tissues of their host plant. Fungal endophytes can express/form a range of different lifestyle/relationships with different host including symbiotic, mutualistic, commensalistic and parasitic in response to host genotype and environmental factors. In mutualistic association fungal endophyte can enhance growth, increase reproductive success and confer biotic and abiotic stress tolerance to its host plant. Since abiotic stress such as, drought, high soil salinity, heat, cold, oxidative stress and heavy metal toxicity is the common adverse environmental conditions that affect and limit crop productivity worldwide. It may be a promising alternative strategy to exploit fungal endophytes to overcome the limitations to crop production brought by abiotic stress. There is an increasing interest in developing the potential biotechnological applications of fungal endophytes for improving plant stress tolerance and sustainable production of food crops. Here we have described the fungal symbioses, fungal symbionts and their role in abiotic stress tolerance. A putative mechanism of stress tolerance by symbionts has also been covered. PMID:21512319

Dissecting the sea wheatgrass genome to transfer biotic stress resistance and abiotic stress tolerance into wheat

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Wheat production is facing numerous challenges from biotic and abiotic stresses. Alien gene transfer has been an effective approach for wheat germplasm enhancement. Sea wheatgrass (SWG) (Thinopyrum junceiforme, 2n = 4x = 28, genomes J1J1J2J2) is a distant relative of wheat and a relatively untapped ...

High-throughput profiling and analysis of plant responses over time to abiotic stress

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Energy sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is a rapidly growing, high-biomass, annual crop prized for abiotic stress tolerance. Measuring genotype-by-environment (G x E) interactions remains a progress bottleneck. High throughput phenotyping within controlled environments has been proposed as a po...

WRKY proteins: signaling and regulation of expression during abiotic stress responses.

PubMed

Banerjee, Aditya; Roychoudhury, Aryadeep

2015-01-01

WRKY proteins are emerging players in plant signaling and have been thoroughly reported to play important roles in plants under biotic stress like pathogen attack. However, recent advances in this field do reveal the enormous significance of these proteins in eliciting responses induced by abiotic stresses. WRKY proteins act as major transcription factors, either as positive or negative regulators. Specific WRKY factors which help in the expression of a cluster of stress-responsive genes are being targeted and genetically modified to induce improved abiotic stress tolerance in plants. The knowledge regarding the signaling cascade leading to the activation of the WRKY proteins, their interaction with other proteins of the signaling pathway, and the downstream genes activated by them are altogether vital for justified targeting of the WRKY genes. WRKY proteins have also been considered to generate tolerance against multiple abiotic stresses with possible roles in mediating a cross talk between abiotic and biotic stress responses. In this review, we have reckoned the diverse signaling pattern and biological functions of WRKY proteins throughout the plant kingdom along with the growing prospects in this field of research.

Biotic and abiotic mechanisms in the establishment of northern red oak seedlings: a review

Treesearch

Linda S. Gribko; Thomas M. Schuler; W. Mark Ford

2002-01-01

This review of literature pertaining to the biotic and abiotic mechanisms in the establishment of northern red oak seedlings is designed to aid forest managers and researchers interested in sustaining the oak component of the eastern and central hardwood forest regions. Recommendations for future research are presented.

Nitrogen fertility and abiotic stresses management in cotton crop: a review.

PubMed

Khan, Aziz; Tan, Daniel Kean Yuen; Afridi, Muhammad Zahir; Luo, Honghai; Tung, Shahbaz Atta; Ajab, Mir; Fahad, Shah

2017-06-01

This review outlines nitrogen (N) responses in crop production and potential management decisions to ameliorate abiotic stresses for better crop production. N is a primary constituent of the nucleotides and proteins that are essential for life. Production and application of N fertilizers consume huge amounts of energy, and excess is detrimental to the environment. Therefore, increasing plant N use efficiency (NUE) is important for the development of sustainable agriculture. NUE has a key role in crop yield and can be enhanced by controlling loss of fertilizers by application of humic acid and natural polymers (hydrogels), having high water-holding capacity which can improve plant performance under field conditions. Abiotic stresses such as waterlogging, drought, heat, and salinity are the major limitations for successful crop production. Therefore, integrated management approaches such as addition of aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), the film antitranspirant (di-1-p-menthene and pinolene) nutrients, hydrogels, and phytohormones may provide novel approaches to improve plant tolerance against abiotic stress-induced damage. Moreover, for plant breeders and molecular biologists, it is a challenge to develop cotton cultivars that can tolerate plant abiotic stresses while having high potential NUE for the future.

DEMONSTRATION BULLETIN: METAL-ENHANCED ABIOTIC DEGRADATION TECHNOLOGY - ENVIROMETAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

EPA Science Inventory

EnviroMetal Technologies, Inc. (ETI), of Guelph, ON, Canada, has developed the metal-enhanced abiotic degradation technology to treat halogenated volatile organic compounds (VOC) in water. A reactive, zero-valent, granular iron medium causes reductive dehalogenation of VOCs yield...

Review of Abiotic Degradation of Chlorinated Solvents by Reactive Iron Minerals

EPA Science Inventory

Abiotic degradation of chlorinated solvents by reactive iron minerals such as iron sulfides, magnetite, green rust, and other Fe(II)-containing minerals has been observed in both laboratory and field conditions. These reactive iron minerals typically form under iron and sulfate ...

Abiotic Transformation Of Estrogens In Synthetic Municipal Wastewater: An Alternative For Treatment?

EPA Science Inventory

The abiotic transformation of estrogens, including estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), estriol (E3) and ethinylestradiol (EE2), in the presence of model vegetable matter was confirmed in this study. Batch experiments were performed to model the catalytic conversion of E1, E2, E3, and ...

Using biotechnology and genomics to improve biotic and abiotic stress in apple

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Genomic sequencing, molecular biology, and transformation technologies are providing valuable tools to better understand the complexity of how plants develop, function, and respond to biotic and abiotic stress. These approaches should complement but not replace a solid understanding of whole plant ...

The Importance of Biotic vs. Abiotic Drivers of Local Plant Community Composition Along Regional Bioclimatic Gradients

PubMed Central

Klanderud, Kari; Vandvik, Vigdis; Goldberg, Deborah

2015-01-01

We assessed if the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors for plant community composition differs along environmental gradients and between functional groups, and asked which implications this may have in a warmer and wetter future. The study location is a unique grid of sites spanning regional-scale temperature and precipitation gradients in boreal and alpine grasslands in southern Norway. Within each site we sampled vegetation and associated biotic and abiotic factors, and combined broad- and fine-scale ordination analyses to assess the relative explanatory power of these factors for species composition. Although the community responses to biotic and abiotic factors did not consistently change as predicted along the bioclimatic gradients, abiotic variables tended to explain a larger proportion of the variation in species composition towards colder sites, whereas biotic variables explained more towards warmer sites, supporting the stress gradient hypothesis. Significant interactions with precipitation suggest that biotic variables explained more towards wetter climates in the sub alpine and boreal sites, but more towards drier climates in the colder alpine. Thus, we predict that biotic interactions may become more important in alpine and boreal grasslands in a warmer future, although more winter precipitation may counteract this trend in oceanic alpine climates. Our results show that both local and regional scales analyses are needed to disentangle the local vegetation-environment relationships and their regional-scale drivers, and biotic interactions and precipitation must be included when predicting future species assemblages. PMID:26091266

The Importance of Biotic vs. Abiotic Drivers of Local Plant Community Composition Along Regional Bioclimatic Gradients.

PubMed

Klanderud, Kari; Vandvik, Vigdis; Goldberg, Deborah

2015-01-01

We assessed if the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors for plant community composition differs along environmental gradients and between functional groups, and asked which implications this may have in a warmer and wetter future. The study location is a unique grid of sites spanning regional-scale temperature and precipitation gradients in boreal and alpine grasslands in southern Norway. Within each site we sampled vegetation and associated biotic and abiotic factors, and combined broad- and fine-scale ordination analyses to assess the relative explanatory power of these factors for species composition. Although the community responses to biotic and abiotic factors did not consistently change as predicted along the bioclimatic gradients, abiotic variables tended to explain a larger proportion of the variation in species composition towards colder sites, whereas biotic variables explained more towards warmer sites, supporting the stress gradient hypothesis. Significant interactions with precipitation suggest that biotic variables explained more towards wetter climates in the sub alpine and boreal sites, but more towards drier climates in the colder alpine. Thus, we predict that biotic interactions may become more important in alpine and boreal grasslands in a warmer future, although more winter precipitation may counteract this trend in oceanic alpine climates. Our results show that both local and regional scales analyses are needed to disentangle the local vegetation-environment relationships and their regional-scale drivers, and biotic interactions and precipitation must be included when predicting future species assemblages.

Massive production of abiotic methane during subduction evidenced in metamorphosed ophicarbonates from the Italian Alps

PubMed Central

Vitale Brovarone, Alberto; Martinez, Isabelle; Elmaleh, Agnès; Compagnoni, Roberto; Chaduteau, Carine; Ferraris, Cristiano; Esteve, Imène

2017-01-01

Alteration of ultramafic rocks plays a major role in the production of hydrocarbons and organic compounds via abiotic processes on Earth and beyond and contributes to the redistribution of C between solid and fluid reservoirs over geological cycles. Abiotic methanogenesis in ultramafic rocks is well documented at shallow conditions, whereas natural evidence at greater depths is scarce. Here we provide evidence for intense high-pressure abiotic methanogenesis by reduction of subducted ophicarbonates. Protracted (≥0.5–1 Ma), probably episodic infiltration of reduced fluids in the ophicarbonates and methanogenesis occurred from at least ∼40 km depth to ∼15–20 km depth. Textural, petrological and isotopic data indicate that methane reached saturation triggering the precipitation of graphitic C accompanied by dissolution of the precursor antigorite. Continuous infiltration of external reducing fluids caused additional methane production by interaction with the newly formed graphite. Alteration of high-pressure carbonate-bearing ultramafic rocks may represent an important source of abiotic methane, with strong implications for the mobility of deep C reservoirs. PMID:28223715

Successful introgression of abiotic stress tolerance from wild tepary bean to common bean

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production is severely limited due to abiotic stresses, including drought and sub-zero temperatures. Tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius Gray), a relative of common bean, has demonstrated tolerance to these stresses. Preliminary studies screening tepary accessions ...

Effect of abiotic factors on the mercury reduction process by humic acids in aqueous systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Mercury (Hg) in the environment can have serious toxic effects on a variety of living organisms, and is a pollutant of concern worldwide. The reduction of mercury from the toxic Hg2+ form to Hg0 is especially important. One pathway for this reduction to occur is through an abiotic process with humic...

Methane clumped isotopes in the Songliao Basin (China): New insights into abiotic vs. biotic hydrocarbon formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuai, Yanhua; Etiope, Giuseppe; Zhang, Shuichang; Douglas, Peter M. J.; Huang, Ling; Eiler, John M.

2018-01-01

Abiotic hydrocarbon gas, typically generated in serpentinized ultramafic rocks and crystalline shields, has important implications for the deep biosphere, petroleum systems, the carbon cycle and astrobiology. Distinguishing abiotic gas (produced by chemical reactions like Sabatier synthesis) from biotic gas (produced from degradation of organic matter or microbial activity) is sometimes challenging because their isotopic and molecular composition may overlap. Abiotic gas has been recognized in numerous locations on the Earth, although there are no confirmed instances where it is the dominant source of commercially valuable quantities in reservoir rocks. The deep hydrocarbon reservoirs of the Xujiaweizi Depression in the Songliao Basin (China) have been considered to host significant amounts of abiotic methane. Here we report methane clumped-isotope values (Δ18) and the isotopic composition of C1-C3 alkanes, CO2 and helium of five gas samples collected from those Xujiaweizi deep reservoirs. Some geochemical features of these samples resemble previously suggested identifiers of abiotic gas (13C-enriched CH4; decrease in 13C/12C ratio with increasing carbon number for the C1-C4 alkanes; abundant, apparently non-biogenic CO2; and mantle-derived helium). However, combining these constraints with new measurements of the clumped-isotope composition of methane and careful consideration of the geological context, suggests that the Xujiaweizi depression gas is dominantly, if not exclusively, thermogenic and derived from over-mature source rocks, i.e., from catagenesis of buried organic matter at high temperatures. Methane formation temperatures suggested by clumped-isotopes (167-213 °C) are lower than magmatic gas generation processes and consistent with the maturity of local source rocks. Also, there are no geological conditions (e.g., serpentinized ultramafic rocks) that may lead to high production of H2 and thus abiotic production of CH4 via CO2 reduction. We propose

The Stable Isotope Fractionation of Abiotic Reactions: A Benchmark in the Detection of Life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Summers, David P.

2003-01-01

One very important tool in the analysis of biogenic, and potentially biogenic, samples is the study of their stable isotope distributions. The isotope distribution of a sample depends on the process(es) that created it. One important application of the analysis of C & N stable isotope ratios has been in the determination of whether organic matter in a sample is of biological origin or was produced abiotically. For example, the delta C-13 of organic material found embedded in phosphate grains was cited as a critical part of the evidence for life in 3.8 billion year old samples. The importance of such analysis in establishing biogenicity was highlighted again by the role this issue played in the recent debate over the validity of what had been accepted as the Earth s earliest microfossils. These kinds of analysis imply a comparison with the fractionation that one would have seen if the organic material had been produced by alternative, abiotic, pathways. Could abiotic reactions account for the same level of fractionation? Additionally, since the fractionation can vary between different abiotic reactions, understanding their fractionations can be important in distinguishing what reactions may have been significant in the formation of different abiological samples (such as extraterrestrial samples). There is however, a scarcity of data on the fractionation of carbon and nitrogen by abiotic reactions. In order to interpret properly what the stable isotope ratios of samples tell us about their biotic or abiotic nature, more needs to be known about how abiotic reactions fractionate C and N. Carbon isotope fractionations have been studied for a few abiotic processes. These studies presumed the presence of a reducing atmosphere, focusing on reactions involving spark discharge, W photolysis of reducing gas mixtures, and cyanide polymerization in the presence of ammonia. They did find that the initial products showed a depletion in I3C with values in the range of a few per

Oxygen and sulfur isotope systematics of sulfate produced by bacterial and abiotic oxidation of pyrite

USGS Publications Warehouse

Balci, N.; Shanks, Wayne C.; Mayer, B.; Mandernack, K.W.

2007-01-01

To better understand reaction pathways of pyrite oxidation and biogeochemical controls on ??18O and ??34S values of the generated sulfate in acid mine drainage (AMD) and other natural environments, we conducted a series of pyrite oxidation experiments in the laboratory. Our biological and abiotic experiments were conducted under aerobic conditions by using O2 as an oxidizing agent and under anaerobic conditions by using dissolved Fe(III)aq as an oxidant with varying ??18OH2O values in the presence and absence of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. In addition, aerobic biological experiments were designed as short- and long-term experiments where the final pH was controlled at ???2.7 and 2.2, respectively. Due to the slower kinetics of abiotic sulfide oxidation, the aerobic abiotic experiments were only conducted as long term with a final pH of ???2.7. The ??34SSO4 values from both the biological and abiotic anaerobic experiments indicated a small but significant sulfur isotope fractionation (???-0.7???) in contrast to no significant fractionation observed from any of the aerobic experiments. Relative percentages of the incorporation of water-derived oxygen and dissolved oxygen (O2) to sulfate were estimated, in addition to the oxygen isotope fractionation between sulfate and water, and dissolved oxygen. As expected, during the biological and abiotic anaerobic experiments all of the sulfate oxygen was derived from water. The percentage incorporation of water-derived oxygen into sulfate during the oxidation experiments by O2 varied with longer incubation and lower pH, but not due to the presence or absence of bacteria. These percentages were estimated as 85%, 92% and 87% from the short-term biological, long-term biological and abiotic control experiments, respectively. An oxygen isotope fractionation effect between sulfate and water (??18 OSO4 s(-) H2 O) of ???3.5??? was determined for the anaerobic (biological and abiotic) experiments. This measured ??18 OSO42 - s(-) H2

Negative effects of heterospecific pollen receipt vary with abiotic conditions: ecological and evolutionary implications.

PubMed

Celaya, Ileana N; Arceo-Gómez, Gerardo; Alonso, Conchita; Parra-Tabla, Víctor

2015-10-01

Studies that have evaluated the effects of heterospecific pollen (HP) receipt on plant reproductive success have generally overlooked the variability of the natural abiotic environment in which plants grow. Variability in abiotic conditions, such as light and water availability, has the potential to affect pollen-stigma interactions (i.e. conspecific pollen germination and performance), which will probably influence the effects of HP receipt. Thus, a more complete understanding of the extent, strength and consequences of plant-plant interactions via HP transfer requires better consideration of the range of abiotic conditions in which these interactions occur. This study addresses this issue by evaluating the effects of two HP donors (Tamonea curassavica and Angelonia angustifolia) on the reproductive success of Cuphea gaumeri, an endemic species of the Yucatan Peninsula. Mixed (conspecific pollen and HP) and pure (conspecific pollen only) hand-pollinations were conducted under varying conditions of water and light availability in a full factorial design. Reproductive success was measured as the number of pollen tubes that reached the bottom of the style. Only one of the two HP donors had a significant effect on C. gaumeri reproductive success, but this effect was dependent on water and light availability. Specifically, HP receipt caused a decrease in pollen tube growth, but only when the availability of water, light or both was low, and not when the availability of both resources was high. The results show that the outcome of interspecific post-pollination interactions via HP transfer can be context-dependent and vary with abiotic conditions, thus suggesting that abiotic effects in natural populations may be under-estimated. Such context-dependency could lead to spatial and temporal mosaics in the ecological and evolutionary consequences of post-pollination interactions. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany

Negative effects of heterospecific pollen receipt vary with abiotic conditions: ecological and evolutionary implications

PubMed Central

Celaya, Ileana N.; Arceo-Gómez, Gerardo; Alonso, Conchita; Parra-Tabla, Víctor

2015-01-01

Background and Aims Studies that have evaluated the effects of heterospecific pollen (HP) receipt on plant reproductive success have generally overlooked the variability of the natural abiotic environment in which plants grow. Variability in abiotic conditions, such as light and water availability, has the potential to affect pollen–stigma interactions (i.e. conspecific pollen germination and performance), which will probably influence the effects of HP receipt. Thus, a more complete understanding of the extent, strength and consequences of plant–plant interactions via HP transfer requires better consideration of the range of abiotic conditions in which these interactions occur. This study addresses this issue by evaluating the effects of two HP donors (Tamonea curassavica and Angelonia angustifolia) on the reproductive success of Cuphea gaumeri, an endemic species of the Yucatan Peninsula. Methods Mixed (conspecific pollen and HP) and pure (conspecific pollen only) hand-pollinations were conducted under varying conditions of water and light availability in a full factorial design. Reproductive success was measured as the number of pollen tubes that reached the bottom of the style. Key Results Only one of the two HP donors had a significant effect on C. gaumeri reproductive success, but this effect was dependent on water and light availability. Specifically, HP receipt caused a decrease in pollen tube growth, but only when the availability of water, light or both was low, and not when the availability of both resources was high. Conclusions The results show that the outcome of interspecific post-pollination interactions via HP transfer can be context-dependent and vary with abiotic conditions, thus suggesting that abiotic effects in natural populations may be under-estimated. Such context-dependency could lead to spatial and temporal mosaics in the ecological and evolutionary consequences of post-pollination interactions. PMID:26199385

SERDP ER-1421 Abiotic and Biotic Mechanisms Controlling In Situ Remediation of NDMA: Final Report

SciTech Connect

Szecsody, James E.; McKinley, James P.; Crocker, Fiona H.

This laboratory-scale project was initiated to investigate in situ abiotic/biotic mineralization of NDMA. Under iron-reducing conditions, aquifer sediments showed rapid abiotic NDMA degradation to dimethylamine (DMA), nitrate, formate, and finally, CO2. These are the first reported experiments of abiotic NDMA mineralization. The NDMA reactivity of these different iron phases showed that adsorbed ferrous iron was the dominant reactive phase that promoted NDMA reduction, and other ferrous phases present (siderite, iron sulfide, magnetite, structural ferrous iron in 2:1 clays) did not promote NDMA degradation. In contrast, oxic sediments that were biostimulated with propane promoted biomineralization of NDMA by a cometabolic monooxygenasemore » enzyme process. Other monooxygenase enzyme processes were not stimulated with methane or toluene additions, and acetylene addition did not block mineralization. Although NDMA mineralization extent was the highest in oxic, biostimulated sediments (30 to 82%, compared to 10 to 26% for abiotic mineralization in reduced sediments), large 1-D column studies (high sediment/water ratio of aquifers) showed 5.6 times higher NDMA mineralization rates in reduced sediment (half-life 410 ± 147 h) than oxic biomineralization (half life 2293 ± 1866 h). Sequential reduced/oxic biostimulated sediment mineralization (half-life 3180 ± 1094 h) was also inefficient compared to reduced sediment. These promising laboratory-scale results for NDMA mineralization should be investigated at field scale. Future studies of NDMA remediation should focus on the comparison of this in situ abiotic NDMA mineralization (iron-reducing environments) to ex situ biomineralization, which has been shown successful in other studies.« less

The Effect of Different Oceanic Abiotic Factors on Prokaryotic Body Sizes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pidathala, S.; Bellon, M.; Heim, N.; Payne, J.

2016-12-01

We are studying the impact of abiotic factors in the Pacific and Atlantic on prokaryotic body sizes and genome sizes because we are interested in the manner in which abiotic factors influence genome sizes independent of their influence on body sizes. Some research has been done in the past on marine bacterial evolution, including data collection on marine ecology in relation to bacterial body sizes (Straza 2009). We are using the abiotic factors: temperature, salinity, and pH to compare the biovolumes/genome sizes of different phyla by using R. We made 9 scatter plots to model these relationships. Regardless of the phyla or the ocean, we found that there is no relation between pH, temperature, and body size, with several exceptions: Deinococcus. thermus has an indirect relationship with size in respect to temperature; size only correlates to temperature for phyla that are thermophiles. We also found that bacteria like D. thermus and Thermotogae are taxa only found in higher temperatures. Additionally, almost all phyla have genome sizes restricted by certain pH levels:, Proteobacteria only reach genomes with acidity levels greater than 6. In terms of salinity levels, certain bacteria are only found within a small range, and others, like Proteobacteria, can only reach genomes at low salinity levels. Finally, Proteobacteria have large genome sizes between 30 and 40 °, and Crenarchaeota have constant genome sizes in higher temperatures. Conclusively, we discovered that these abiotic factors generally do not affect body size, with the exception of D. thermus' indirect relationship to temperature due to its small biovolume in high temperatures. However, we determined that these abiotic factors have a great impact on genome sizes. This is due to genome size independence from body size. Also, genome size could have served as an adaptive feature for bacteria in marine environments, explaining why different phyla may have diverged to accommodate their lifestyles.

MicroRNAs As Potential Targets for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants

PubMed Central

Shriram, Varsha; Kumar, Vinay; Devarumath, Rachayya M.; Khare, Tushar S.; Wani, Shabir H.

2016-01-01

The microRNAs (miRNAs) are small (20–24 nt) sized, non-coding, single stranded riboregulator RNAs abundant in higher organisms. Recent findings have established that plants assign miRNAs as critical post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression in sequence-specific manner to respond to numerous abiotic stresses they face during their growth cycle. These small RNAs regulate gene expression via translational inhibition. Usually, stress induced miRNAs downregulate their target mRNAs, whereas, their downregulation leads to accumulation and function of positive regulators. In the past decade, investigations were mainly aimed to identify plant miRNAs, responsive to individual or multiple environmental factors, profiling their expression patterns and recognizing their roles in stress responses and tolerance. Altered expressions of miRNAs implicated in plant growth and development have been reported in several plant species subjected to abiotic stress conditions such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, nutrient deprivation, and heavy metals. These findings indicate that miRNAs may hold the key as potential targets for genetic manipulations to engineer abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. This review is aimed to provide recent updates on plant miRNAs, their biogenesis and functions, target prediction and identification, computational tools and databases available for plant miRNAs, and their roles in abiotic stress-responses and adaptive mechanisms in major crop plants. Besides, the recent case studies for overexpressing the selected miRNAs for miRNA-mediated enhanced abiotic stress tolerance of transgenic plants have been discussed. PMID:27379117

The Arabidopsis PLAT domain protein1 is critically involved in abiotic stress tolerance.

PubMed

Hyun, Tae Kyung; van der Graaff, Eric; Albacete, Alfonso; Eom, Seung Hee; Großkinsky, Dominik K; Böhm, Hannah; Janschek, Ursula; Rim, Yeonggil; Ali, Walid Wahid; Kim, Soo Young; Roitsch, Thomas

2014-01-01

Despite the completion of the Arabidopsis genome sequence, for only a relatively low percentage of the encoded proteins experimental evidence concerning their function is available. Plant proteins that harbour a single PLAT (Polycystin, Lipoxygenase, Alpha-toxin and Triacylglycerol lipase) domain and belong to the PLAT-plant-stress protein family are ubiquitously present in monocot and dicots. However, the function of PLAT-plant-stress proteins is still poorly understood. Therefore, we have assessed the function of the uncharacterised Arabidopsis PLAT-plant-stress family members through a combination of functional genetic and physiological approaches. PLAT1 overexpression conferred increased abiotic stress tolerance, including cold, drought and salt stress, while loss-of-function resulted in opposite effects on abiotic stress tolerance. Strikingly, PLAT1 promoted growth under non-stressed conditions. Abiotic stress treatments induced PLAT1 expression and caused expansion of its expression domain. The ABF/ABRE transcription factors, which are positive mediators of abscisic acid signalling, activate PLAT1 promoter activity in transactivation assays and directly bind to the ABRE elements located in this promoter in electrophoretic mobility shift assays. This suggests that PLAT1 represents a novel downstream target of the abscisic acid signalling pathway. Thus, we showed that PLAT1 critically functions as positive regulator of abiotic stress tolerance, but also is involved in regulating plant growth, and thereby assigned a function to this previously uncharacterised PLAT domain protein. The functional data obtained for PLAT1 support that PLAT-plant-stress proteins in general could be promising targets for improving abiotic stress tolerance without yield penalty.

Abiotic stress QTL in lettuce crop–wild hybrids: comparing greenhouse and field experiments

PubMed Central

Hartman, Yorike; Hooftman, Danny A P; Uwimana, Brigitte; Schranz, M Eric; van de Wiel, Clemens C M; Smulders, Marinus J M; Visser, Richard G F; Michelmore, Richard W; van Tienderen, Peter H

2014-01-01

The development of stress-tolerant crops is an increasingly important goal of current crop breeding. A higher abiotic stress tolerance could increase the probability of introgression of genes from crops to wild relatives. This is particularly relevant to the discussion on the risks of new GM crops that may be engineered to increase abiotic stress resistance. We investigated abiotic stress QTL in greenhouse and field experiments in which we subjected recombinant inbred lines from a cross between cultivated Lactuca sativa cv. Salinas and its wild relative L. serriola to drought, low nutrients, salt stress, and aboveground competition. Aboveground biomass at the end of the rosette stage was used as a proxy for the performance of plants under a particular stress. We detected a mosaic of abiotic stress QTL over the entire genome with little overlap between QTL from different stresses. The two QTL clusters that were identified reflected general growth rather than specific stress responses and colocated with clusters found in earlier studies for leaf shape and flowering time. Genetic correlations across treatments were often higher among different stress treatments within the same experiment (greenhouse or field), than among the same type of stress applied in different experiments. Moreover, the effects of the field stress treatments were more correlated with those of the greenhouse competition treatments than to those of the other greenhouse stress experiments, suggesting that competition rather than abiotic stress is a major factor in the field. In conclusion, the introgression risk of stress tolerance (trans-)genes under field conditions cannot easily be predicted based on genomic background selection patterns from controlled QTL experiments in greenhouses, especially field data will be needed to assess potential (negative) ecological effects of introgression of these transgenes into wild relatives. PMID:25360276

Site-specific 15N isotopic signatures of abiotically produced N2O

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heil, Jannis; Wolf, Benjamin; Brüggemann, Nicolas; Emmenegger, Lukas; Tuzson, Béla; Vereecken, Harry; Mohn, Joachim

2014-08-01

Efficient nitrous oxide (N2O) mitigation strategies require the identification of the main source and sink processes and their contribution to total soil N2O production. Several abiotic reactions of nitrification intermediates leading to N2O production are known, but their contribution to total N2O production in soils is uncertain. As the site preference (SP) of 15N in N2O is a promising tool to give more insight into N2O production processes, we investigated the SP of N2O produced by different abiotic reactions in a laboratory study. All reactions involved the nitrification intermediate hydroxylamine (NH2OH) in combination with nitrite (NO2-), Fe3+, Fe2+ and Cu2+, reactants commonly or potentially found in soils, at different concentrations and pH values. N2O production and its four main isotopic species (14N14N16O, 15N14N16O, 14N15N16O, and 14N14N18O) were quantified simultaneously and online at high temporal resolution using quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy. Thereby, our study presents the first continuous analysis of δ18O in N2O. The experiments revealed the possibility of purely abiotic reactions over a wide range of acidity (pH 3-8) by different mechanisms. All studied abiotic pathways produced N2O with a characteristic SP in the range of 34-35‰, unaffected by process conditions and remaining constant over the course of the experiments. These findings reflect the benefit of continuous N2O isotopic analysis by laser spectroscopy, contribute new information to the challenging source partitioning of N2O emissions from soils, and emphasize the potentially significant role of coupled biotic-abiotic reactions in soils.

The Arabidopsis PLAT Domain Protein1 Is Critically Involved in Abiotic Stress Tolerance

PubMed Central

Eom, Seung Hee; Großkinsky, Dominik K.; Böhm, Hannah; Janschek, Ursula; Rim, Yeonggil; Ali, Walid Wahid; Kim, Soo Young; Roitsch, Thomas

2014-01-01

Despite the completion of the Arabidopsis genome sequence, for only a relatively low percentage of the encoded proteins experimental evidence concerning their function is available. Plant proteins that harbour a single PLAT (Polycystin, Lipoxygenase, Alpha-toxin and Triacylglycerol lipase) domain and belong to the PLAT-plant-stress protein family are ubiquitously present in monocot and dicots. However, the function of PLAT-plant-stress proteins is still poorly understood. Therefore, we have assessed the function of the uncharacterised Arabidopsis PLAT-plant-stress family members through a combination of functional genetic and physiological approaches. PLAT1 overexpression conferred increased abiotic stress tolerance, including cold, drought and salt stress, while loss-of-function resulted in opposite effects on abiotic stress tolerance. Strikingly, PLAT1 promoted growth under non-stressed conditions. Abiotic stress treatments induced PLAT1 expression and caused expansion of its expression domain. The ABF/ABRE transcription factors, which are positive mediators of abscisic acid signalling, activate PLAT1 promoter activity in transactivation assays and directly bind to the ABRE elements located in this promoter in electrophoretic mobility shift assays. This suggests that PLAT1 represents a novel downstream target of the abscisic acid signalling pathway. Thus, we showed that PLAT1 critically functions as positive regulator of abiotic stress tolerance, but also is involved in regulating plant growth, and thereby assigned a function to this previously uncharacterised PLAT domain protein. The functional data obtained for PLAT1 support that PLAT-plant-stress proteins in general could be promising targets for improving abiotic stress tolerance without yield penalty. PMID:25396746

Coupled biotic-abiotic oxidation of organic matter by biogenic MnO_{2}

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez, Julia; Peña, Jasquelin

2016-04-01

Some reactive soil minerals are strongly implicated in stabilising organic matter. However, others can play an active role in the oxidation of organic molecules. In natural systems, layer-type manganese oxide minerals (MnO2) typically occur as biomineral assemblages consisting of mineral particles and microbial biomass. Both the mineral and biological fractions of the assemblage can be powerful oxidants of organic C. The biological compartment relies on a set of enzymes to drive oxidative transformations of reduced C-substrates, whereas MnO2 minerals are strong, less specific abiotic oxidants that are assumed to rely on interfacial interactions between C-substrates and the mineral surface. This project aims to understand the coupling between microbial C mineralization and abiotic C oxidation mediated by MnO2 in bacterial-MnO2 assemblages. Specifically, under conditions of high C turnover, microbial respiration can significantly alter local pH, dissolved oxygen and pool of available reductants, which may modify rates and mechanism of C oxidation by biotic and abiotic components. We first investigated changes in the solution chemistry of Pseudomonas putida suspensions exposed to varying concentrations of glucose, chosen to represent readily bioavailable substrates in soils. Glucose concentrations tested ranged between 0 and 5.5mM and changes in pH, dissolved oxygen and dissolved organic and inorganic carbon were tracked over 48h. We then combined literature review and wet-chemical experiments to compile the pH dependence of rates of organic substrate oxidation by MnO2, including glucose. Our results demonstrate a strong pH dependence for these abiotic reactions. In assemblages of P. putida - MnO2, kinetic limitations for abiotic C oxidation by MnO2 are overcome by changes in biogeochemical conditions that result from bacterial C metabolism. When extrapolated to a soil solution confronted to an input of fresh dissolved organic matter, bacterial C metabolism of the

The interaction between abiotic photodegradation and microbial decomposition under ultraviolet radiation.

PubMed

Wang, Jing; Liu, Lingli; Wang, Xin; Chen, Yiwei

2015-05-01

Elevated ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been demonstrated to stimulate litter decomposition. Despite years of research, it is still not fully understood whether the acceleration in litter degradation is primarily attributed to abiotic photodegradation or the combined effects of abiotic photodegradation and microbial decomposition. In this study, we used meta-analysis to synthesize photodegradation studies and compared the effects of UV radiation on litter decomposition between abiotic and biotic conditions. We also conducted a microcosm experiment to assess the effects of UV radiation on litter biodegradability and microbial activity. Overall, our meta-analysis found that under abiotic photodegradation, UV radiation reduced the remaining litter mass by 1.44% (95% CI: 0.85% to 2.08%), did not affect the remaining lignin and increased the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration by 14.01% (1.49-23.67%). Under combined abiotic photodegradation and microbial decomposition, UV radiation reduced the remaining litter mass and lignin by 1.60% (0.04-3.58%) and 16.07% (9.27-24.23%), respectively, but did not alter DOC concentration. UV radiation had no significant impact on soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), but it reduced microbial respiration by 44.91% (2.26-78.62%) and altered the composition of the microbial community. In addition, UV radiation reduced nitrogen (N) immobilization by 19.44% (4.77-37.92%). Our microcosm experiment further indicated that DOC concentration and the amount of respired C in UV-treated litter increased with UV exposure time, suggesting that longer UV exposure resulted in greater biodegradability. Overall, our study suggested that UV exposure could increase litter biodegradability by increasing the microbial accessibility of lignin, as well as the labile carbon supply to microbes. However, the remaining litter mass was not different between the abiotic and biotic conditions, most likely because the positive effect of UV radiation on litter

Abiotic Stress Responses and Microbe-Mediated Mitigation in Plants: The Omics Strategies

PubMed Central

Meena, Kamlesh K.; Sorty, Ajay M.; Bitla, Utkarsh M.; Choudhary, Khushboo; Gupta, Priyanka; Pareek, Ashwani; Singh, Dhananjaya P.; Prabha, Ratna; Sahu, Pramod K.; Gupta, Vijai K.; Singh, Harikesh B.; Krishanani, Kishor K.; Minhas, Paramjit S.

2017-01-01

Abiotic stresses are the foremost limiting factors for agricultural productivity. Crop plants need to cope up adverse external pressure created by environmental and edaphic conditions with their intrinsic biological mechanisms, failing which their growth, development, and productivity suffer. Microorganisms, the most natural inhabitants of diverse environments exhibit enormous metabolic capabilities to mitigate abiotic stresses. Since microbial interactions with plants are an integral part of the living ecosystem, they are believed to be the natural partners that modulate local and systemic mechanisms in plants to offer defense under adverse external conditions. Plant-microbe interactions comprise complex mechanisms within the plant cellular system. Biochemical, molecular and physiological studies are paving the way in understanding the complex but integrated cellular processes. Under the continuous pressure of increasing climatic alterations, it now becomes more imperative to define and interpret plant-microbe relationships in terms of protection against abiotic stresses. At the same time, it also becomes essential to generate deeper insights into the stress-mitigating mechanisms in crop plants for their translation in higher productivity. Multi-omics approaches comprising genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and phenomics integrate studies on the interaction of plants with microbes and their external environment and generate multi-layered information that can answer what is happening in real-time within the cells. Integration, analysis and decipherization of the big-data can lead to a massive outcome that has significant chance for implementation in the fields. This review summarizes abiotic stresses responses in plants in-terms of biochemical and molecular mechanisms followed by the microbe-mediated stress mitigation phenomenon. We describe the role of multi-omics approaches in generating multi-pronged information to provide a better understanding

Abiotic Stress Responses and Microbe-Mediated Mitigation in Plants: The Omics Strategies.

PubMed

Meena, Kamlesh K; Sorty, Ajay M; Bitla, Utkarsh M; Choudhary, Khushboo; Gupta, Priyanka; Pareek, Ashwani; Singh, Dhananjaya P; Prabha, Ratna; Sahu, Pramod K; Gupta, Vijai K; Singh, Harikesh B; Krishanani, Kishor K; Minhas, Paramjit S

2017-01-01

Abiotic stresses are the foremost limiting factors for agricultural productivity. Crop plants need to cope up adverse external pressure created by environmental and edaphic conditions with their intrinsic biological mechanisms, failing which their growth, development, and productivity suffer. Microorganisms, the most natural inhabitants of diverse environments exhibit enormous metabolic capabilities to mitigate abiotic stresses. Since microbial interactions with plants are an integral part of the living ecosystem, they are believed to be the natural partners that modulate local and systemic mechanisms in plants to offer defense under adverse external conditions. Plant-microbe interactions comprise complex mechanisms within the plant cellular system. Biochemical, molecular and physiological studies are paving the way in understanding the complex but integrated cellular processes. Under the continuous pressure of increasing climatic alterations, it now becomes more imperative to define and interpret plant-microbe relationships in terms of protection against abiotic stresses. At the same time, it also becomes essential to generate deeper insights into the stress-mitigating mechanisms in crop plants for their translation in higher productivity. Multi-omics approaches comprising genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and phenomics integrate studies on the interaction of plants with microbes and their external environment and generate multi-layered information that can answer what is happening in real-time within the cells. Integration, analysis and decipherization of the big-data can lead to a massive outcome that has significant chance for implementation in the fields. This review summarizes abiotic stresses responses in plants in-terms of biochemical and molecular mechanisms followed by the microbe-mediated stress mitigation phenomenon. We describe the role of multi-omics approaches in generating multi-pronged information to provide a better understanding

Potential Role of Nitrite for Abiotic Fe(II) Oxidation and Cell Encrustation during Nitrate Reduction by Denitrifying Bacteria

PubMed Central

Klueglein, Nicole; Zeitvogel, Fabian; Stierhof, York-Dieter; Floetenmeyer, Matthias; Konhauser, Kurt O.; Obst, Martin

2014-01-01

Microorganisms have been observed to oxidize Fe(II) at neutral pH under anoxic and microoxic conditions. While most of the mixotrophic nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria become encrusted with Fe(III)-rich minerals, photoautotrophic and microaerophilic Fe(II) oxidizers avoid cell encrustation. The Fe(II) oxidation mechanisms and the reasons for encrustation remain largely unresolved. Here we used cultivation-based methods and electron microscopy to compare two previously described nitrate-reducing Fe(II) oxidizers ( Acidovorax sp. strain BoFeN1 and Pseudogulbenkiania sp. strain 2002) and two heterotrophic nitrate reducers (Paracoccus denitrificans ATCC 19367 and P. denitrificans Pd 1222). All four strains oxidized ∼8 mM Fe(II) within 5 days in the presence of 5 mM acetate and accumulated nitrite (maximum concentrations of 0.8 to 1.0 mM) in the culture media. Iron(III) minerals, mainly goethite, formed and precipitated extracellularly in close proximity to the cell surface. Interestingly, mineral formation was also observed within the periplasm and cytoplasm; intracellular mineralization is expected to be physiologically disadvantageous, yet acetate consumption continued to be observed even at an advanced stage of Fe(II) oxidation. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were detected by lectin staining with fluorescence microscopy, particularly in the presence of Fe(II), suggesting that EPS production is a response to Fe(II) toxicity or a strategy to decrease encrustation. Based on the data presented here, we propose a nitrite-driven, indirect mechanism of cell encrustation whereby nitrite forms during heterotrophic denitrification and abiotically oxidizes Fe(II). This work adds to the known assemblage of Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria in nature and complicates our ability to delineate microbial Fe(II) oxidation in ancient microbes preserved as fossils in the geological record. PMID:24271182

Media Violence and Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groebel, Jo

1998-01-01

Presents the results of the UNESCO global study on media violence and children which was conducted between 1996 and 1997. Highlights include the role of the media, media heroes as role models, media violence and aggression, differences by gender, rural versus urban environments, the pervasiveness of television, and recommendations. (Author/LRW)

How the Media Teach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cortes, Carlos E.

2005-01-01

The mass media teach whether or not mediamakers intend to or realize it, and users learn from the media whether or not they try or are even aware of it. This means all of the media, including newspapers, magazines, movies, television, radio, and the new cyberspace media serve as informal yet omnipresent nonschool textbooks. This raises an…

Business and the Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barchie, Lisa

By virtue of the different natures of the two institutions, the relationship between business and the media is simultaneously adversarial and symbiotic: the media see themselves as society's watchdog while business sees itself as society's driving economic force. Meanwhile, business relies on the media for information, and the media rely on…

Media Literacy Bibliography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncan, Barry

1989-01-01

Provides an up-to-date bibliography of resources available for teaching media literacy. Groups resources into the areas of media education methodology, mass media texts, general background, television, film, the news and medium of print, advertising, gender and the media, popular culture, popular music and rock video, periodicals, and…

Why Media Matter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Locatis, Craig

2007-01-01

Whether media affect learning has been debated for decades. The discussion of media's effectiveness has raised questions about the usefulness of comparison studies, not only in assessing applications of technology but in other areas as well. Arguments that media do not affect learning are re-examined and issues concerning media effects on expert…

The Media Teacher's Handbook

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scarratt, Elaine, Ed.; Davison, Jon, Ed.

2011-01-01

"The Media Teacher's Handbook" is an indispensible guide for all teachers, both specialist and non-specialist, delivering Media Studies and media education in secondary schools and colleges. It is the first text to draw together the three key elements of secondary sector teaching in relation to media study--the "theoretical",…

SOCIAL MEDIA SECURITY

Science.gov Websites

, exciting, entertaining, and useful for maintaining relationships. Professionally, people can use social HomeVISITORS AND PERSONNELSOCIAL MEDIA SECURITY FAQ on Security for Social Media Due to the widespread use of world. CENTCOM Personnel are reminded to use common sense when using social media. What are social media

Living within the Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffin, Erin

2005-01-01

In this article, the author shares how media affects her as a teenager. The author says that media has such a relationship with the world today, specifically with teenagers like her. Media gives off so much information that can be valid or invalid, positive or negative. The media can persuade anyone to do something or to think a certain way.…

RING E3 ligases: key regulatory elements are involved in abiotic stress responses in plants

PubMed Central

Cho, Seok Keun; Ryu, Moon Young; Kim, Jong Hum; Hong, Jeong Soo; Oh, Tae Rin; Kim, Woo Taek; Yang, Seong Wook

2017-01-01

Plants are constantly exposed to a variety of abiotic stresses, such as drought, heat, cold, flood, and salinity. To survive under such unfavorable conditions, plants have evolutionarily developed their own resistant-mechanisms. For several decades, many studies have clarified specific stress response pathways of plants through various molecular and genetic studies. In particular, it was recently discovered that ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS), a regulatory mechanism for protein turn over, is greatly involved in the stress responsive pathways. In the UPS, many E3 ligases play key roles in recognizing and tethering poly-ubiquitins on target proteins for subsequent degradation by the 26S proteasome. Here we discuss the roles of RING ligases that have been defined in related to abiotic stress responses in plants. PMID:28712388

Transcription factors WRKY11 and WRKY17 are involved in abiotic stress responses in Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Ali, Muhammad Amjad; Azeem, Farrukh; Nawaz, Muhammad Amjad; Acet, Tuba; Abbas, Amjad; Imran, Qari Muhammad; Shah, Kausar Hussain; Rehman, Hafiz Mamoon; Chung, Gyuhwa; Yang, Seung Hwan; Bohlmann, Holger

2018-04-17

Plant WRKY transcription factors play a vital role in abiotic stress tolerance and regulation of plant defense responses. This study examined AtWRKY11 and AtWRKY17 expression under ABA, salt, and osmotic stress at different developmental stages in Arabidopsis. We used reverse transcriptase PCR, quantitative real-time PCR, and promoter:GUS lines to analyze expression. Both genes were upregulated in response to abiotic stress. Next, we applied the same stressors to seedlings of T-DNA insertion wrky11 and 17 knock-out mutants (single and double). Under stress, the mutants exhibited slower germination and compromised root growth compared with the wild type. In most cases, double-mutant seedlings were more affected than single mutants. These results suggest that wrky11 and wrky17 are not strictly limited to plant defense responses but are also involved in conferring stress tolerance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

A significant abiotic pathway for the formation of unknown nitrogen in nature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jokic, A.; Schulten, H.-R.; Cutler, J. N.; Schnitzer, M.; Huang, P. M.

2004-03-01

The global nitrogen cycle is of prime importance in natural ecosystems. However, the origin and nature of up to one-half of total soil N remains obscure despite all attempts at elucidation. Our data provide, for the first time, unequivocal evidence that the promoting action of Mn (IV) oxide on the Maillard reaction (sugar-amino acid condensation) under ambient conditions results in the abiotic formation of heterocyclic N compounds, which are often referred to as unknown nitrogen, and of amides which are apparently the dominant N moieties in nature. The information presented is of fundamental significance in understanding the role of mineral colloids in abiotic transformations of organic N moieties, the incorporation of N in the organic matrix of fossil fuels, and the global N cycle.

Abiotic ligation of DNA oligomers templated by their liquid crystal ordering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraccia, Tommaso P.; Smith, Gregory P.; Zanchetta, Giuliano; Paraboschi, Elvezia; Yi, Yougwooo; Walba, David M.; Dieci, Giorgio; Clark, Noel A.; Bellini, Tommaso

2015-03-01

It has been observed that concentrated solutions of short DNA oligomers develop liquid crystal ordering as the result of a hierarchically structured supramolecular self-assembly. In mixtures of oligomers with various degree of complementarity, liquid crystal microdomains are formed via the selective aggregation of those oligomers that have a sufficient degree of duplexing and propensity for physical polymerization. Here we show that such domains act as fluid and permeable microreactors in which the order-stabilized molecular contacts between duplex terminals serve as physical templates for their chemical ligation. In the presence of abiotic condensing agents, liquid crystal ordering markedly enhances ligation efficacy, thereby enhancing its own phase stability. The coupling between order-templated ligation and selectivity provided by supramolecular ordering enables an autocatalytic cycle favouring the growth of DNA chains, up to biologically relevant lengths, from few-base long oligomers. This finding suggests a novel scenario for the abiotic origin of nucleic acids.

Novel perspectives for the engineering of abiotic stress tolerance in plants.

PubMed

Cabello, Julieta V; Lodeyro, Anabella F; Zurbriggen, Matias D

2014-04-01

Adverse environmental conditions pose serious limitations to agricultural production. Classical biotechnological approaches towards increasing abiotic stress tolerance focus on boosting plant endogenous defence mechanisms. However, overexpression of regulatory elements or effectors is usually accompanied by growth handicap and yield penalties due to crosstalk between developmental and stress-response networks. Herein we offer an overview on novel strategies with the potential to overcome these limitations based on the engineering of regulatory systems involved in the fine-tuning of the plant response to environmental hardships, including post-translational modifications, small RNAs, epigenetic control of gene expression and hormonal networks. The development and application of plant synthetic biology tools and approaches will add new functionalities and perspectives to genetic engineering programs for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

RING E3 ligases: key regulatory elements are involved in abiotic stress responses in plants.

PubMed

Cho, Seok Keun; Ryu, Moon Young; Kim, Jong Hum; Hong, Jeong Soo; Oh, Tae Rin; Kim, Woo Taek; Yang, Seong Wook

2017-08-01

Plants are constantly exposed to a variety of abiotic stresses, such as drought, heat, cold, flood, and salinity. To survive under such unfavorable conditions, plants have evolutionarily developed their own resistant-mechanisms. For several decades, many studies have clarified specific stress response pathways of plants through various molecular and genetic studies. In particular, it was recently discovered that ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS), a regulatory mechanism for protein turn over, is greatly involved in the stress responsive pathways. In the UPS, many E3 ligases play key roles in recognizing and tethering poly-ubiquitins on target proteins for subsequent degradation by the 26S proteasome. Here we discuss the roles of RING ligases that have been defined in related to abiotic stress responses in plants. [BMB Reports 2017; 50(8): 393-400].

Differentiating biotic from abiotic methane genesis in hydrothermally active planetary surfaces

PubMed Central

Oze, Christopher; Jones, L. Camille; Goldsmith, Jonas I.; Rosenbauer, Robert J.

2012-01-01

Molecular hydrogen (H2) is derived from the hydrothermal alteration of olivine-rich planetary crust. Abiotic and biotic processes consume H2 to produce methane (CH4); however, the extent of either process is unknown. Here, we assess the temporal dependence and limit of abiotic CH4 related to the presence and formation of mineral catalysts during olivine hydrolysis (i.e., serpentinization) at 200 °C and 0.03 gigapascal. Results indicate that the rate of CH4 production increases to a maximum value related to magnetite catalyzation. By identifying the dynamics of CH4 production, we kinetically model how the H2 to CH4 ratio may be used to assess the origin of CH4 in deep subsurface serpentinization systems on Earth and Mars. Based on our model and available field data, low H2/CH4 ratios (less than approximately 40) indicate that life is likely present and active. PMID:22679287

Differentiating biotic from abiotic methane genesis in hydrothermally active planetary surfaces.

PubMed

Oze, Christopher; Jones, L Camille; Goldsmith, Jonas I; Rosenbauer, Robert J

2012-06-19

Molecular hydrogen (H(2)) is derived from the hydrothermal alteration of olivine-rich planetary crust. Abiotic and biotic processes consume H(2) to produce methane (CH(4)); however, the extent of either process is unknown. Here, we assess the temporal dependence and limit of abiotic CH(4) related to the presence and formation of mineral catalysts during olivine hydrolysis (i.e., serpentinization) at 200 °C and 0.03 gigapascal. Results indicate that the rate of CH(4) production increases to a maximum value related to magnetite catalyzation. By identifying the dynamics of CH(4) production, we kinetically model how the H(2) to CH(4) ratio may be used to assess the origin of CH(4) in deep subsurface serpentinization systems on Earth and Mars. Based on our model and available field data, low H(2)/CH(4) ratios (less than approximately 40) indicate that life is likely present and active.

Poaceae vs. Abiotic Stress: Focus on Drought and Salt Stress, Recent Insights and Perspectives

PubMed Central

Landi, Simone; Hausman, Jean-Francois; Guerriero, Gea; Esposito, Sergio

2017-01-01

Poaceae represent the most important group of crops susceptible to abiotic stress. This large family of monocotyledonous plants, commonly known as grasses, counts several important cultivated species, namely wheat (Triticum aestivum), rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays), and barley (Hordeum vulgare). These crops, notably, show different behaviors under abiotic stress conditions: wheat and rice are considered sensitive, showing serious yield reduction upon water scarcity and soil salinity, while barley presents a natural drought and salt tolerance. During the green revolution (1940–1960), cereal breeding was very successful in developing high-yield crops varieties; however, these cultivars were maximized for highest yield under optimal conditions, and did not present suitable traits for tolerance under unfavorable conditions. The improvement of crop abiotic stress tolerance requires a deep knowledge of the phenomena underlying tolerance, to devise novel approaches and decipher the key components of agricultural production systems. Approaches to improve food production combining both enhanced water use efficiency (WUE) and acceptable yields are critical to create a sustainable agriculture in the future. This paper analyzes the latest results on abiotic stress tolerance in Poaceae. In particular, the focus will be directed toward various aspects of water deprivation and salinity response efficiency in Poaceae. Aspects related to cell wall metabolism will be covered, given the importance of the plant cell wall in sensing environmental constraints and in mediating a response; the role of silicon (Si), an important element for monocots' normal growth and development, will also be discussed, since it activates a broad-spectrum response to different exogenous stresses. Perspectives valorizing studies on landraces conclude the survey, as they help identify key traits for breeding purposes. PMID:28744298

Coordinated Actions of Glyoxalase and Antioxidant Defense Systems in Conferring Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants

PubMed Central

Hasanuzzaman, Mirza; Nahar, Kamrun; Hossain, Md. Shahadat; Mahmud, Jubayer Al; Rahman, Anisur; Inafuku, Masashi; Oku, Hirosuke; Fujita, Masayuki

2017-01-01

Being sessile organisms, plants are frequently exposed to various environmental stresses that cause several physiological disorders and even death. Oxidative stress is one of the common consequences of abiotic stress in plants, which is caused by excess generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Sometimes ROS production exceeds the capacity of antioxidant defense systems, which leads to oxidative stress. In line with ROS, plants also produce a high amount of methylglyoxal (MG), which is an α-oxoaldehyde compound, highly reactive, cytotoxic, and produced via different enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions. This MG can impair cells or cell components and can even destroy DNA or cause mutation. Under stress conditions, MG concentration in plants can be increased 2- to 6-fold compared with normal conditions depending on the plant species. However, plants have a system developed to detoxify this MG consisting of two major enzymes: glyoxalase I (Gly I) and glyoxalase II (Gly II), and hence known as the glyoxalase system. Recently, a novel glyoxalase enzyme, named glyoxalase III (Gly III), has been detected in plants, providing a shorter pathway for MG detoxification, which is also a signpost in the research of abiotic stress tolerance. Glutathione (GSH) acts as a co-factor for this system. Therefore, this system not only detoxifies MG but also plays a role in maintaining GSH homeostasis and subsequent ROS detoxification. Upregulation of both Gly I and Gly II as well as their overexpression in plant species showed enhanced tolerance to various abiotic stresses including salinity, drought, metal toxicity, and extreme temperature. In the past few decades, a considerable amount of reports have indicated that both antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems have strong interactions in conferring abiotic stress tolerance in plants through the detoxification of ROS and MG. In this review, we will focus on the mechanisms of these interactions and the coordinated action of

Biological Networks Underlying Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Temperate Crops—A Proteomic Perspective

PubMed Central

Kosová, Klára; Vítámvás, Pavel; Urban, Milan Oldřich; Klíma, Miroslav; Roy, Amitava; Prášil, Ilja Tom

2015-01-01

Abiotic stress factors, especially low temperatures, drought, and salinity, represent the major constraints limiting agricultural production in temperate climate. Under the conditions of global climate change, the risk of damaging effects of abiotic stresses on crop production increases. Plant stress response represents an active process aimed at an establishment of novel homeostasis under altered environmental conditions. Proteins play a crucial role in plant stress response since they are directly involved in shaping the final phenotype. In the review, results of proteomic studies focused on stress response of major crops grown in temperate climate including cereals: common wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum durum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), maize (Zea mays); leguminous plants: alfalfa (Medicago sativa), soybean (Glycine max), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), pea (Pisum sativum); oilseed rape (Brassica napus); potato (Solanum tuberosum); tobacco (Nicotiana tabaccum); tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum); and others, to a wide range of abiotic stresses (cold, drought, salinity, heat, imbalances in mineral nutrition and heavy metals) are summarized. The dynamics of changes in various protein functional groups including signaling and regulatory proteins, transcription factors, proteins involved in protein metabolism, amino acid metabolism, metabolism of several stress-related compounds, proteins with chaperone and protective functions as well as structural proteins (cell wall components, cytoskeleton) are briefly overviewed. Attention is paid to the differences found between differentially tolerant genotypes. In addition, proteomic studies aimed at proteomic investigation of multiple stress factors are discussed. In conclusion, contribution of proteomic studies to understanding the complexity of crop response to abiotic stresses as well as possibilities to identify and utilize protein markers in crop breeding processes are discussed. PMID:26340626

Abiotic stress responses in plants: roles of calmodulin-regulated proteins.

PubMed

Virdi, Amardeep S; Singh, Supreet; Singh, Prabhjeet

2015-01-01

Intracellular changes in calcium ions (Ca(2+)) in response to different biotic and abiotic stimuli are detected by various sensor proteins in the plant cell. Calmodulin (CaM) is one of the most extensively studied Ca(2+)-sensing proteins and has been shown to be involved in transduction of Ca(2+) signals. After interacting with Ca(2+), CaM undergoes conformational change and influences the activities of a diverse range of CaM-binding proteins. A number of CaM-binding proteins have also been implicated in stress responses in plants, highlighting the central role played by CaM in adaptation to adverse environmental conditions. Stress adaptation in plants is a highly complex and multigenic response. Identification and characterization of CaM-modulated proteins in relation to different abiotic stresses could, therefore, prove to be essential for a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in abiotic stress tolerance in plants. Various studies have revealed involvement of CaM in regulation of metal ions uptake, generation of reactive oxygen species and modulation of transcription factors such as CAMTA3, GTL1, and WRKY39. Activities of several kinases and phosphatases have also been shown to be modulated by CaM, thus providing further versatility to stress-associated signal transduction pathways. The results obtained from contemporary studies are consistent with the proposed role of CaM as an integrator of different stress signaling pathways, which allows plants to maintain homeostasis between different cellular processes. In this review, we have attempted to present the current state of understanding of the role of CaM in modulating different stress-regulated proteins and its implications in augmenting abiotic stress tolerance in plants.

Abiotic stress responses in plants: roles of calmodulin-regulated proteins

PubMed Central

Virdi, Amardeep S.; Singh, Supreet; Singh, Prabhjeet

2015-01-01

Intracellular changes in calcium ions (Ca2+) in response to different biotic and abiotic stimuli are detected by various sensor proteins in the plant cell. Calmodulin (CaM) is one of the most extensively studied Ca2+-sensing proteins and has been shown to be involved in transduction of Ca2+ signals. After interacting with Ca2+, CaM undergoes conformational change and influences the activities of a diverse range of CaM-binding proteins. A number of CaM-binding proteins have also been implicated in stress responses in plants, highlighting the central role played by CaM in adaptation to adverse environmental conditions. Stress adaptation in plants is a highly complex and multigenic response. Identification and characterization of CaM-modulated proteins in relation to different abiotic stresses could, therefore, prove to be essential for a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in abiotic stress tolerance in plants. Various studies have revealed involvement of CaM in regulation of metal ions uptake, generation of reactive oxygen species and modulation of transcription factors such as CAMTA3, GTL1, and WRKY39. Activities of several kinases and phosphatases have also been shown to be modulated by CaM, thus providing further versatility to stress-associated signal transduction pathways. The results obtained from contemporary studies are consistent with the proposed role of CaM as an integrator of different stress signaling pathways, which allows plants to maintain homeostasis between different cellular processes. In this review, we have attempted to present the current state of understanding of the role of CaM in modulating different stress-regulated proteins and its implications in augmenting abiotic stress tolerance in plants. PMID:26528296

Cytosine Methylation Alteration in Natural Populations of Leymus chinensis Induced by Multiple Abiotic Stresses

PubMed Central

Yu, Yingjie; Yang, Xuejiao; Wang, Huaying; Shi, Fengxue; Liu, Ying; Liu, Jushan; Li, Linfeng; Wang, Deli; Liu, Bao

2013-01-01

Background Human activity has a profound effect on the global environment and caused frequent occurrence of climatic fluctuations. To survive, plants need to adapt to the changing environmental conditions through altering their morphological and physiological traits. One known mechanism for phenotypic innovation to be achieved is environment-induced rapid yet inheritable epigenetic changes. Therefore, the use of molecular techniques to address the epigenetic mechanisms underpinning stress adaptation in plants is an important and challenging topic in biological research. In this study, we investigated the impact of warming, nitrogen (N) addition, and warming+nitrogen (N) addition stresses on the cytosine methylation status of Leymus chinensis Tzvel. at the population level by using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) and retrotransposon based sequence-specific amplification polymorphism (SSAP) techniques. Methodology/Principal Findings Our results showed that, although the percentages of cytosine methylation changes in SSAP are significantly higher than those in MSAP, all the treatment groups showed similar alteration patterns of hypermethylation and hypomethylation. It meant that the abiotic stresses have induced the alterations in cytosine methylation patterns, and the levels of cytosine methylation changes around the transposable element are higher than the other genomic regions. In addition, the identification and analysis of differentially methylated loci (DML) indicated that the abiotic stresses have also caused targeted methylation changes at specific loci and these DML might have contributed to the capability of plants in adaptation to the abiotic stresses. Conclusions/Significance Our results demonstrated that abiotic stresses related to global warming and nitrogen deposition readily evoke alterations of cytosine methylation, and which may provide a molecular basis for rapid adaptation by

Anionic Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Protect Plant Photosynthesis from Abiotic Stress by Scavenging Reactive Oxygen Species.

PubMed

Wu, Honghong; Tito, Nicholas; Giraldo, Juan P

2017-11-28

Plant abiotic stress leads to accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and a consequent decrease in photosynthetic performance. We demonstrate that a plant nanobionics approach of localizing negatively charged, sub-11 nm, spherical cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) inside chloroplasts in vivo augments ROS scavenging and photosynthesis of Arabidopsis thaliana plants under excess light (2000 μmol m -2 s -1 , 1.5 h), heat (35 °C, 2.5 h), and dark chilling (4 °C, 5 days). Poly(acrylic acid) nanoceria (PNC) with a hydrodynamic diameter (10.3 nm)-lower than the maximum plant cell wall porosity-and negative ζ-potential (-16.9 mV) exhibit significantly higher colocalization (46%) with chloroplasts in leaf mesophyll cells than aminated nanoceria (ANC) (27%) of similar size (12.6 nm) but positive charge (9.7 mV). Nanoceria are transported into chloroplasts via nonendocytic pathways, influenced by the electrochemical gradient of the plasma membrane potential. PNC with a low Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ ratio (35.0%) reduce leaf ROS levels by 52%, including hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion, and hydroxyl radicals. For the latter ROS, there is no known plant enzyme scavenger. Plants embedded with these PNC that were exposed to abiotic stress exhibit an increase up to 19% in quantum yield of photosystem II, 67% in carbon assimilation rates, and 61% in Rubisco carboxylation rates relative to plants without nanoparticles. In contrast, PNC with high Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ ratio (60.8%) increase overall leaf ROS levels and do not protect photosynthesis from oxidative damage during abiotic stress. This study demonstrates that anionic, spherical, sub-11 nm PNC with low Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ ratio can act as a tool to study the impact of oxidative stress on plant photosynthesis and to protect plants from abiotic stress.

Recent Advances in Utilizing Transcription Factors to Improve Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance by Transgenic Technology

PubMed Central

Wang, Hongyan; Wang, Honglei; Shao, Hongbo; Tang, Xiaoli

2016-01-01

Agricultural production and quality are adversely affected by various abiotic stresses worldwide and this will be exacerbated by the deterioration of global climate. To feed a growing world population, it is very urgent to breed stress-tolerant crops with higher yields and improved qualities against multiple environmental stresses. Since conventional breeding approaches had marginal success due to the complexity of stress tolerance traits, the transgenic approach is now being popularly used to breed stress-tolerant crops. So identifying and characterizing the critical genes involved in plant stress responses is an essential prerequisite for engineering stress-tolerant crops. Far beyond the manipulation of single functional gene, engineering certain regulatory genes has emerged as an effective strategy now for controlling the expression of many stress-responsive genes. Transcription factors (TFs) are good candidates for genetic engineering to breed stress-tolerant crop because of their role as master regulators of many stress-responsive genes. Many TFs belonging to families AP2/EREBP, MYB, WRKY, NAC, bZIP have been found to be involved in various abiotic stresses and some TF genes have also been engineered to improve stress tolerance in model and crop plants. In this review, we take five large families of TFs as examples and review the recent progress of TFs involved in plant abiotic stress responses and their potential utilization to improve multiple stress tolerance of crops in the field conditions. PMID:26904044

Abiotic vs. biotic influences on habitat selection of coexisting species: Climate change impacts?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Martin, T.E.

2001-01-01

Species are commonly segregated along gradients of microclimate and vegetation. I explore the question of whether segregation is the result of microhabitat partitioning (biotic effects) or choice of differing microclimates (abiotic effects). I explored this question for four ground-nesting bird species that are segregated along a microclimate and vegetation gradient in Arizona. Birds shifted position of their nests on the microhabitat and microclimate gradient in response to changing precipitation over nine years. Similarly, annual bird abundance varied with precipitation across 12 yr. Those shifts in abundance and nesting microhabitat with changing precipitation demonstrate the importance of abiotic influences on bird distributions and habitat choice. However, nest-site shifts and microhabitat use also appear to be influenced by interactions among coexisting species. Moreover, shifts in habitat use by all species caused nest predation (i.e., biotic) costs that increased with increasing distance along the microclimate gradient. These results indicate that abiotic and biotic costs can strongly interact to influence microhabitat choice and abundances of coexisting species. Global climate change impacts have been considered largely in terms of simple distributional shifts, but these results indicate that shifts can also increase biotic costs when species move into habitat types for which they are poorly adapted or that create new biotic interactions.

The Ascorbate-glutathione-α-tocopherol Triad in Abiotic Stress Response

PubMed Central

Szarka, András; Tomasskovics, Bálint; Bánhegyi, Gábor

2012-01-01

The life of any living organism can be defined as a hurdle due to different kind of stresses. As with all living organisms, plants are exposed to various abiotic stresses, such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures and chemical toxicity. These primary stresses are often interconnected, and lead to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants, which are highly reactive and toxic and cause damage to proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and DNA, which ultimately results in oxidative stress. Stress-induced ROS accumulation is counteracted by enzymatic antioxidant systems and non-enzymatic low molecular weight metabolites, such as ascorbate, glutathione and α-tocopherol. The above mentioned low molecular weight antioxidants are also capable of chelating metal ions, reducing thus their catalytic activity to form ROS and also scavenge them. Hence, in plant cells, this triad of low molecular weight antioxidants (ascorbate, glutathione and α-tocopherol) form an important part of abiotic stress response. In this work we are presenting a review of abiotic stress responses connected to these antioxidants. PMID:22605990

Hydrogen Peroxide Signaling in Plant Development and Abiotic Responses: Crosstalk with Nitric Oxide and Calcium

PubMed Central

Niu, Lijuan; Liao, Weibiao

2016-01-01

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as a reactive oxygen species, is widely generated in many biological systems. It has been considered as an important signaling molecule that mediates various physiological and biochemical processes in plants. Normal metabolism in plant cells results in H2O2 generation, from a variety of sources. Also, it is now clear that nitric oxide (NO) and calcium (Ca2+) function as signaling molecules in plants. Both H2O2 and NO are involved in plant development and abiotic responses. A wide range of evidences suggest that NO could be generated under similar stress conditions and with similar kinetics as H2O2. The interplay between H2O2 and NO has important functional implications to modulate transduction processes in plants. Moreover, close interaction also exists between H2O2 and Ca2+ in response to development and abiotic stresses in plants. Cellular responses to H2O2 and Ca2+ signaling systems are complex. There is quite a bit of interaction between H2O2 and Ca2+ signaling in responses to several stimuli. This review aims to introduce these evidences in our understanding of the crosstalk among H2O2, NO, and Ca2+ signaling which regulates plant growth and development, and other cellular and physiological responses to abiotic stresses. PMID:26973673

A focus on natural variation for abiotic constraints response in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana.

PubMed

Lefebvre, Valérie; Kiani, Seifollah Poormohammad; Durand-Tardif, Mylène

2009-08-13

Plants are particularly subject to environmental stress, as they cannot move from unfavourable surroundings. As a consequence they have to react in situ. In any case, plants have to sense the stress, then the signal has to be transduced to engage the appropriate response. Stress response is effected by regulating genes, by turning on molecular mechanisms to protect the whole organism and its components and/or to repair damage. Reactions vary depending on the type of stress and its intensity, but some are commonly turned on because some responses to different abiotic stresses are shared. In addition, there are multiple ways for plants to respond to environmental stress, depending on the species and life strategy, but also multiple ways within a species depending on plant variety or ecotype. It is regularly accepted that populations of a single species originating from diverse geographic origins and/or that have been subjected to different selective pressure, have evolved retaining the best alleles for completing their life cycle. Therefore, the study of natural variation in response to abiotic stress, can help unravel key genes and alleles for plants to cope with their unfavourable physical and chemical surroundings. This review is focusing on Arabidopsis thaliana which has been largely adopted by the global scientific community as a model organism. Also, tools and data that facilitate investigation of natural variation and abiotic stress encountered in the wild are set out. Characterization of accessions, QTLs detection and cloning of alleles responsible for variation are presented.

Comparison of the Abiotic Preferences of Macroinvertebrates in Tropical River Basins

PubMed Central

Everaert, Gert; De Neve, Jan; Boets, Pieter; Dominguez-Granda, Luis; Mereta, Seid Tiku; Ambelu, Argaw; Hoang, Thu Huong; Goethals, Peter L. M.; Thas, Olivier

2014-01-01

We assessed and compared abiotic preferences of aquatic macroinvertebrates in three river basins located in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Upon using logistic regression models we analyzed the relationship between the probability of occurrence of five macroinvertebrate families, ranging from pollution tolerant to pollution sensitive, (Chironomidae, Baetidae, Hydroptilidae, Libellulidae and Leptophlebiidae) and physical-chemical water quality conditions. Within the investigated physical-chemical ranges, nine out of twenty-five interaction effects were significant. Our analyses suggested river basin dependent associations between the macroinvertebrate families and the corresponding physical-chemical conditions. It was found that pollution tolerant families showed no clear abiotic preference and occurred at most sampling locations, i.e. Chironomidae were present in 91%, 84% and 93% of the samples taken in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Pollution sensitive families were strongly associated with dissolved oxygen and stream velocity, e.g. Leptophlebiidae were only present in 48%, 2% and 18% of the samples in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Despite some limitations in the study design, we concluded that associations between macroinvertebrates and abiotic conditions can be river basin-specific and hence are not automatically transferable across river basins in the tropics. PMID:25279673

Abiotic synthesis of organic compounds from carbon disulfide under hydrothermal conditions.

PubMed

Rushdi, Ahmed I; Simoneit, Bernd R T

2005-12-01

Abiotic formation of organic compounds under hydrothermal conditions is of interest to bio, geo-, and cosmochemists. Oceanic sulfur-rich hydrothermal systems have been proposed as settings for the abiotic synthesis of organic compounds. Carbon disulfide is a common component of magmatic and hot spring gases, and is present in marine and terrestrial hydrothermal systems. Thus, its reactivity should be considered as another carbon source in addition to carbon dioxide in reductive aqueous thermosynthesis. We have examined the formation of organic compounds in aqueous solutions of carbon disulfide and oxalic acid at 175 degrees C for 5 and 72 h. The synthesis products from carbon disulfide in acidic aqueous solutions yielded a series of organic sulfur compounds. The major compounds after 5 h of reaction included dimethyl polysulfides (54.5%), methyl perthioacetate (27.6%), dimethyl trithiocarbonate (6.8%), trithianes (2.7%), hexathiepane (1.4%), trithiolanes (0.8%), and trithiacycloheptanes (0.3%). The main compounds after 72 h of reaction consisted of trithiacycloheptanes (39.4%), pentathiepane (11.6%), tetrathiocyclooctanes (11.5%), trithiolanes (10.6%), tetrathianes (4.4%), trithianes (1.2%), dimethyl trisulfide (1.1%), and numerous minor compounds. It is concluded that the abiotic formation of aliphatic straight-chain and cyclic polysulfides is possible under hydrothermal conditions and warrants further studies.

Roots Withstanding their Environment: Exploiting Root System Architecture Responses to Abiotic Stress to Improve Crop Tolerance

PubMed Central

Koevoets, Iko T.; Venema, Jan Henk; Elzenga, J. Theo. M.; Testerink, Christa

2016-01-01

To face future challenges in crop production dictated by global climate changes, breeders and plant researchers collaborate to develop productive crops that are able to withstand a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses. However, crop selection is often focused on shoot performance alone, as observation of root properties is more complex and asks for artificial and extensive phenotyping platforms. In addition, most root research focuses on development, while a direct link to the functionality of plasticity in root development for tolerance is often lacking. In this paper we review the currently known root system architecture (RSA) responses in Arabidopsis and a number of crop species to a range of abiotic stresses, including nutrient limitation, drought, salinity, flooding, and extreme temperatures. For each of these stresses, the key molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the RSA response are highlighted. To explore the relevance for crop selection, we especially review and discuss studies linking root architectural responses to stress tolerance. This will provide a first step toward understanding the relevance of adaptive root development for a plant’s response to its environment. We suggest that functional evidence on the role of root plasticity will support breeders in their efforts to include root properties in their current selection pipeline for abiotic stress tolerance, aimed to improve the robustness of crops. PMID:27630659

A Central Role for Thiols in Plant Tolerance to Abiotic Stress

PubMed Central

Zagorchev, Lyuben; Seal, Charlotte E.; Kranner, Ilse; Odjakova, Mariela

2013-01-01

Abiotic stress poses major problems to agriculture and increasing efforts are being made to understand plant stress response and tolerance mechanisms and to develop new tools that underpin successful agriculture. However, the molecular mechanisms of plant stress tolerance are not fully understood, and the data available is incomplete and sometimes contradictory. Here, we review the significance of protein and non-protein thiol compounds in relation to plant tolerance of abiotic stress. First, the roles of the amino acids cysteine and methionine, are discussed, followed by an extensive discussion of the low-molecular-weight tripeptide, thiol glutathione, which plays a central part in plant stress response and oxidative signalling and of glutathione-related enzymes, including those involved in the biosynthesis of non-protein thiol compounds. Special attention is given to the glutathione redox state, to phytochelatins and to the role of glutathione in the regulation of the cell cycle. The protein thiol section focuses on glutaredoxins and thioredoxins, proteins with oxidoreductase activity, which are involved in protein glutathionylation. The review concludes with a brief overview of and future perspectives for the involvement of plant thiols in abiotic stress tolerance. PMID:23549272

MICROSCALE METABOLIC, REDOX AND ABIOTIC REACTIONS IN HANFORD 300 AREA SUBSURFACE SEDIMENTS

SciTech Connect

Beyenal, Haluk; McLEan, Jeff; Majors, Paul

2013-11-14

The Hanford 300 Area is a unique site due to periodic hydrologic influence of river water resulting in changes in groundwater elevation and flow direction. This area is also highly subject to uranium remobilization, the source of which is currently believed to be the region at the base of the vadose zone that is subject to period saturation due to the changes in the water levels in the Columbia River. We found that microbial processes and redox and abiotic reactions which operate at the microscale were critical to understanding factors controlling the macroscopic fate and transport of contaminants in themore » subsurface. The combined laboratory and field research showed how microscale conditions control uranium mobility and how biotic, abiotic and redox reactions relate to each other. Our findings extended the current knowledge to examine U(VI) reduction and immobilization using natural 300 Area communities as well as selected model organisms on redox-sensitive and redox-insensitive minerals. Using innovative techniques developed specifically to probe biogeochemical processes at the microscale, our research expanded our current understanding of the roles played by mineral surfaces, bacterial competition, and local biotic, abiotic and redox reaction rates on the reduction and immobilization of uranium.« less

Asymmetric biotic interactions and abiotic niche differences revealed by a dynamic joint species distribution model.

PubMed

Lany, Nina K; Zarnetske, Phoebe L; Schliep, Erin M; Schaeffer, Robert N; Orians, Colin M; Orwig, David A; Preisser, Evan L

2018-05-01

A species' distribution and abundance are determined by abiotic conditions and biotic interactions with other species in the community. Most species distribution models correlate the occurrence of a single species with environmental variables only, and leave out biotic interactions. To test the importance of biotic interactions on occurrence and abundance, we compared a multivariate spatiotemporal model of the joint abundance of two invasive insects that share a host plant, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae) and elongate hemlock scale (EHS; Fiorina externa), to independent models that do not account for dependence among co-occurring species. The joint model revealed that HWA responded more strongly to abiotic conditions than EHS. Additionally, HWA appeared to predispose stands to subsequent increase of EHS, but HWA abundance was not strongly dependent on EHS abundance. This study demonstrates how incorporating spatial and temporal dependence into a species distribution model can reveal the dependence of a species' abundance on other species in the community. Accounting for dependence among co-occurring species with a joint distribution model can also improve estimation of the abiotic niche for species affected by interspecific interactions. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

Comparison of the abiotic preferences of macroinvertebrates in tropical river basins.

PubMed

Everaert, Gert; De Neve, Jan; Boets, Pieter; Dominguez-Granda, Luis; Mereta, Seid Tiku; Ambelu, Argaw; Hoang, Thu Huong; Goethals, Peter L M; Thas, Olivier

2014-01-01

We assessed and compared abiotic preferences of aquatic macroinvertebrates in three river basins located in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Upon using logistic regression models we analyzed the relationship between the probability of occurrence of five macroinvertebrate families, ranging from pollution tolerant to pollution sensitive, (Chironomidae, Baetidae, Hydroptilidae, Libellulidae and Leptophlebiidae) and physical-chemical water quality conditions. Within the investigated physical-chemical ranges, nine out of twenty-five interaction effects were significant. Our analyses suggested river basin dependent associations between the macroinvertebrate families and the corresponding physical-chemical conditions. It was found that pollution tolerant families showed no clear abiotic preference and occurred at most sampling locations, i.e. Chironomidae were present in 91%, 84% and 93% of the samples taken in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Pollution sensitive families were strongly associated with dissolved oxygen and stream velocity, e.g. Leptophlebiidae were only present in 48%, 2% and 18% of the samples in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Despite some limitations in the study design, we concluded that associations between macroinvertebrates and abiotic conditions can be river basin-specific and hence are not automatically transferable across river basins in the tropics.

Pre-mRNA splicing repression triggers abiotic stress signaling in plants.

PubMed

Ling, Yu; Alshareef, Sahar; Butt, Haroon; Lozano-Juste, Jorge; Li, Lixin; Galal, Aya A; Moustafa, Ahmed; Momin, Afaque A; Tashkandi, Manal; Richardson, Dale N; Fujii, Hiroaki; Arold, Stefan; Rodriguez, Pedro L; Duque, Paula; Mahfouz, Magdy M

2017-01-01

Alternative splicing (AS) of precursor RNAs enhances transcriptome plasticity and proteome diversity in response to diverse growth and stress cues. Recent work has shown that AS is pervasive across plant species, with more than 60% of intron-containing genes producing different isoforms. Mammalian cell-based assays have discovered various inhibitors of AS. Here, we show that the macrolide pladienolide B (PB) inhibits constitutive splicing and AS in plants. Also, our RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data revealed that PB mimics abiotic stress signals including salt, drought and abscisic acid (ABA). PB activates the abiotic stress- and ABA-responsive reporters RD29A::LUC and MAPKKK18::uidA in Arabidopsis thaliana and mimics the effects of ABA on stomatal aperture. Genome-wide analysis of AS by RNA-seq revealed that PB perturbs the splicing machinery and leads to a striking increase in intron retention and a reduction in other forms of AS. Interestingly, PB treatment activates the ABA signaling pathway by inhibiting the splicing of clade A PP2C phosphatases while still maintaining to some extent the splicing of ABA-activated SnRK2 kinases. Taken together, our data establish PB as an inhibitor and modulator of splicing and a mimic of abiotic stress signals in plants. Thus, PB reveals the molecular underpinnings of the interplay between stress responses, ABA signaling and post-transcriptional regulation in plants. © 2016 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effects of Abiotic Factors on HIPV-Mediated Interactions between Plants and Parasitoids

PubMed Central

Becker, Christine; Desneux, Nicolas; Monticelli, Lucie; Fernandez, Xavier; Michel, Thomas; Lavoir, Anne-Violette

2015-01-01

In contrast to constitutively emitted plant volatiles (PV), herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPV) are specifically emitted by plants when afflicted with herbivores. HIPV can be perceived by parasitoids and predators which parasitize or prey on the respective herbivores, including parasitic hymenoptera. HIPV act as signals and facilitate host/prey detection. They comprise a blend of compounds: main constituents are terpenoids and “green leaf volatiles.” Constitutive emission of PV is well known to be influenced by abiotic factors like temperature, light intensity, water, and nutrient availability. HIPV share biosynthetic pathways with constitutively emitted PV and might therefore likewise be affected by abiotic conditions. However, the effects of abiotic factors on HIPV-mediated biotic interactions have received only limited attention to date. HIPV being influenced by the plant's growing conditions could have major implications for pest management. Quantitative and qualitative changes in HIPV blends may improve or impair biocontrol. Enhanced emission of HIPV may attract a larger number of natural enemies. Reduced emission rates or altered compositions, however, may render blends imperceptible to parasitoides and predators. Predicting the outcome of these changes is highly important for food production and for ecosystems affected by global climate change. PMID:26788501

MicroRNAs play critical roles during plant development and in response to abiotic stresses.

PubMed

de Lima, Júlio César; Loss-Morais, Guilherme; Margis, Rogerio

2012-12-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as key molecules in regulatory networks. The fine-tuning role of miRNAs in addition to the regulatory role of transcription factors has shown that molecular events during development are tightly regulated. In addition, several miRNAs play crucial roles in the response to abiotic stress induced by drought, salinity, low temperatures, and metals such as aluminium. Interestingly, several miRNAs have overlapping roles with regard to development, stress responses, and nutrient homeostasis. Moreover, in response to the same abiotic stresses, different expression patterns for some conserved miRNA families among different plant species revealed different metabolic adjustments. The use of deep sequencing technologies for the characterisation of miRNA frequency and the identification of new miRNAs adds complexity to regulatory networks in plants. In this review, we consider the regulatory role of miRNAs in plant development and abiotic stresses, as well as the impact of deep sequencing technologies on the generation of miRNA data.

Physiological and transcriptomic responses in the seed coat of field-grown soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) to abiotic stress

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Understanding how intensification of abiotic stress due to global climate change affects crop yields is important for continued agricultural productivity. Coupling genomic technologies with physiological crop responses in a dynamic field environment is an effective approach to dissect the mechanisms...

Fungal and herbivore elicitation of a newly identified maize sesquiterpenoid, zealexin A4, is constrained by abiotic stress

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The existence of microbe- or abiotic stress-inducible antimicrobials, termed phytoalexins, has only recently been discovered in maize. Identification and structural elucidation of the labdane-related diterpenoid kauralexins and sesquiterpenoid zealexins has collectively resulted in 10 novel pathogen...

A Hypothesis for the Abiotic and Non-Martian Origins of Putative Signs of Ancient Martian Life in ALH84001

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treiman, Allan H.

2001-01-01

Putative evidence of martian life in ALH84001 can be explained by abiotic and non-martian processes consistent with the meteorite's geological history. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Overexpression of Arabidopsis AnnAt8 Alleviates Abiotic Stress in Transgenic Arabidopsis and Tobacco

PubMed Central

Yadav, Deepanker; Ahmed, Israr; Shukla, Pawan; Boyidi, Prasanna; Kirti, Pulugurtha Bharadwaja

2016-01-01

Abiotic stress results in massive loss of crop productivity throughout the world. Because of our limited knowledge of the plant defense mechanisms, it is very difficult to exploit the plant genetic resources for manipulation of traits that could benefit multiple stress tolerance in plants. To achieve this, we need a deeper understanding of the plant gene regulatory mechanisms involved in stress responses. Understanding the roles of different members of plant gene families involved in different stress responses, would be a step in this direction. Arabidopsis, which served as a model system for the plant research, is also the most suitable system for the functional characterization of plant gene families. Annexin family in Arabidopsis also is one gene family which has not been fully explored. Eight annexin genes have been reported in the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana. Expression studies of different Arabidopsis annexins revealed their differential regulation under various abiotic stress conditions. AnnAt8 (At5g12380), a member of this family has been shown to exhibit ~433 and ~175 fold increase in transcript levels under NaCl and dehydration stress respectively. To characterize Annexin8 (AnnAt8) further, we have generated transgenic Arabidopsis and tobacco plants constitutively expressing AnnAt8, which were evaluated under different abiotic stress conditions. AnnAt8 overexpressing transgenic plants exhibited higher seed germination rates, better plant growth, and higher chlorophyll retention when compared to wild type plants under abiotic stress treatments. Under stress conditions transgenic plants showed comparatively higher levels of proline and lower levels of malondialdehyde compared to the wild-type plants. Real-Time PCR analyses revealed that the expression of several stress-regulated genes was altered in AnnAt8 over-expressing transgenic tobacco plants, and the enhanced tolerance exhibited by the transgenic plants can be correlated with altered expressions of

Parenting and Digital Media.

PubMed

Coyne, Sarah M; Radesky, Jenny; Collier, Kevin M; Gentile, Douglas A; Linder, Jennifer Ruh; Nathanson, Amy I; Rasmussen, Eric E; Reich, Stephanie M; Rogers, Jean

2017-11-01

Understanding the family dynamic surrounding media use is crucial to our understanding of media effects, policy development, and the targeting of individuals and families for interventions to benefit child health and development. The Families, Parenting, and Media Workgroup reviewed the relevant research from the past few decades. We find that child characteristics, the parent-child relationship, parental mediation practices, and parents' own use of media all can influence children's media use, their attitudes regarding media, and the effects of media on children. However, gaps remain. First, more research is needed on best practices of parental mediation for both traditional and new media. Ideally, this research will involve large-scale, longitudinal studies that manage children from infancy to adulthood. Second, we need to better understand the relationship between parent media use and child media use and specifically how media may interfere with or strengthen parent-child relationships. Finally, longitudinal research on how developmental processes and individual child characteristics influence the intersection between media and family life is needed. The majority of children's media use takes place within a wider family dynamic. An understanding of this dynamic is crucial to understanding child media use as a whole. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Mass Media: The Invisible Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glessing, Robert J.; White, William P.

This anthology for students of media consists of essays and articles grouped under four topics: media forms, media content, media environments, and "the last word." Media forms deals with the nature of these kinds of media: electronic, print, film, music, and comics, graffiti, and clothing. Media content contains articles on the news, advertising,…

Novel NAC Transcription Factor TaNAC67 Confers Enhanced Multi-Abiotic Stress Tolerances in Arabidopsis

PubMed Central

Mao, Xinguo; Chen, Shuangshuang; Li, Ang; Zhai, Chaochao; Jing, Ruilian

2014-01-01

Abiotic stresses are major environmental factors that affect agricultural productivity worldwide. NAC transcription factors play pivotal roles in abiotic stress signaling in plants. As a staple crop, wheat production is severely constrained by abiotic stresses whereas only a few NAC transcription factors have been characterized functionally. To promote the application of NAC genes in wheat improvement by biotechnology, a novel NAC gene designated TaNAC67 was characterized in common wheat. To determine its role, transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing TaNAC67-GFP controlled by the CaMV-35S promoter was generated and subjected to various abiotic stresses for morphological and physiological assays. Gene expression showed that TaNAC67 was involved in response to drought, salt, cold and ABA treatments. Localization assays revealed that TaNAC67 localized in the nucleus. Morphological analysis indicated the transgenics had enhanced tolerances to drought, salt and freezing stresses, simultaneously supported by enhanced expression of multiple abiotic stress responsive genes and improved physiological traits, including strengthened cell membrane stability, retention of higher chlorophyll contents and Na+ efflux rates, improved photosynthetic potential, and enhanced water retention capability. Overexpression of TaNAC67 resulted in pronounced enhanced tolerances to drought, salt and freezing stresses, therefore it has potential for utilization in transgenic breeding to improve abiotic stress tolerance in crops. PMID:24427285

Transcriptomic Profiling of the Maize (Zea mays L.) Leaf Response to Abiotic Stresses at the Seedling Stage.

PubMed

Li, Pengcheng; Cao, Wei; Fang, Huimin; Xu, Shuhui; Yin, Shuangyi; Zhang, Yingying; Lin, Dezhou; Wang, Jianan; Chen, Yufei; Xu, Chenwu; Yang, Zefeng

2017-01-01

Abiotic stresses, including drought, salinity, heat, and cold, negatively affect maize ( Zea mays L.) development and productivity. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of resistance to abiotic stresses in maize, RNA-seq was used for global transcriptome profiling of B73 seedling leaves exposed to drought, salinity, heat, and cold stress. A total of 5,330 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in differential comparisons between the control and each stressed sample, with 1,661, 2,019, 2,346, and 1,841 DEGs being identified in comparisons of the control with salinity, drought, heat, and cold stress, respectively. Functional annotations of DEGs suggested that the stress response was mediated by pathways involving hormone metabolism and signaling, transcription factors (TFs), very-long-chain fatty acid biosynthesis and lipid signaling, among others. Of the obtained DEGs (5,330), 167 genes are common to these four abiotic stresses, including 10 up-regulated TFs (five ERFs, two NACs, one ARF, one MYB, and one HD-ZIP) and two down-regulated TFs (one b-ZIP and one MYB-related), which suggested that common mechanisms may be initiated in response to different abiotic stresses in maize. This study contributes to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of maize leaf responses to abiotic stresses and could be useful for developing maize cultivars resistant to abiotic stresses.

Adolescents' sexual media diets.

PubMed

Brown, J D

2000-08-01

A model of how adolescents choose, interpret, and interact with the mass media is discussed in the context of sexual development. The Media Practice Model suggests that adolescents select and react to sexual media diets that speak to an emerging sense of themselves as sexual human beings. Relatively little is known about how the sexual content adolescents attend to in the media is interpreted or incorporated into their lives. Entertainment-education and media literacy are two strategies for increasing the possibility of healthy outcomes from adolescents' use of sexual media.

Media Directors Help Plan a Media Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crowley, John H.

In an effort to plan a more useful media course for advertising majors at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a survey was conducted, along with a series of informal interviews, of media directors with large and small advertising firms. The five participating directors completed broad questionnaires on which they rated on a five-point…

Using Social Media to Teach Social Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rheingold, Howard

2008-01-01

By showing students how to use Web-based channels to inform publics, advocate positions, contest claims, and organize action around issues they care about, participatory media education can influence civic behavior positively throughout their lives. Participatory media literacy is necessarily a hands-on enterprise, requiring active use of digital…

Pacific Southwest Media Center

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

News media, state and local officials, and others can find press releases, media events and contacts in EPA's Pacific Southwest. Additional resources include newsletters, annual reports, and library services that support regional activities.

Catholic Media and Youth.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nunes, Stephen A.

1980-01-01

Discusses the impact of media on youth and suggests some possible directions for the Catholic media, especially in the areas of textbooks, magazines, television, movies, and radio, in responding to the needs of youth. (Author/FM)

Nurses and social media.

PubMed

Farrelly, Rory

Nurses' use of social media and other electronic communications has increased significantly with growing numbers of social media opportunities, platforms and applications including blogs, social networking sites, video sites and online chat rooms and forums.

The social media revolution.

PubMed

Dubose, Cheryl

2011-01-01

The growing popularity and use of social media tools such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, blogging, and wikis have led to a social media revolution. Given this widespread influence, it is important for educators, administrators, and technologists to understand the risks of using social media in the classroom and workplace. To investigate popular social media sites and their effect on radiologic technology education and business practices. A comprehensive search of literature was performed to examine social media and its applications in education, health care, and business. Social media use is on the rise, affecting all aspects of mainstream society. Leaders in the radiologic sciences should be familiar with social media and cognizant of its risks. Future studies regarding social media use in the radiologic sciences are necessary to determine its effect on the radiologic science community. ©2011 by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists.

Media, Metaphors, and Models.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costanzo, William V.

1988-01-01

Explores how students are influenced by media technology, specifically television and computers. Notes that media are not just a vehicle of information, but are primarily models of how to see, think, read, write, and reason. (MM)

Trends in media use.

PubMed

Roberts, Donald F; Foehr, Ulla G

2008-01-01

American youth are awash in media. They have television sets in their bedrooms, personal computers in their family rooms, and digital music players and cell phones in their backpacks. They spend more time with media than any single activity other than sleeping, with the average American eight- to eighteen-year-old reporting more than six hours of daily media use. The growing phenomenon of "media multitasking"--using several media concurrently--multiplies that figure to eight and a half hours of media exposure daily. Donald Roberts and Ulla Foehr examine how both media use and media exposure vary with demographic factors such as age, race and ethnicity, and household socioeconomic status, and with psychosocial variables such as academic performance and personal adjustment. They note that media exposure begins early, increases until children begin school, drops off briefly, then climbs again to peak at almost eight hours daily among eleven- and twelve-year-olds. Television and video exposure is particularly high among African American youth. Media exposure is negatively related to indicators of socioeconomic status, but that relationship may be diminishing. Media exposure is positively related to risk-taking behaviors and is negatively related to personal adjustment and school performance. Roberts and Foehr also review evidence pointing to the existence of a digital divide--variations in access to personal computers and allied technologies by socioeconomic status and by race and ethnicity. The authors also examine how the recent emergence of digital media such as personal computers, video game consoles, and portable music players, as well as the media multitasking phenomenon they facilitate, has increased young people's exposure to media messages while leaving media use time largely unchanged. Newer media, they point out, are not displacing older media but are being used in concert with them. The authors note which young people are more or less likely to use several

Division Level Social Media

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-12

U.S. Army units of all sizes have their own social media pages on Facebook, Instagram , Twitter, or a combination of all three sites. Social media...society including the U.S. Army. Currently U.S. Army units of all sizes have their own social media pages on Facebook, Instagram , Twitter, or a...Many businesses and companies use social media as a means of reaching their current and potential customers. Websites such as Facebook, Instagram

Educational Media Yearbook 1974.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, James W., Ed.

This is the second annual edition of reports, studies, and statistics covering every aspect of the educational media field. Part 1, "The State of the Art," contains 37 articles divided into 6 topics: major organization reports, educational media developments, media professionals, research and developmental activities, sales and business…

Media Education: Sociology Surveys

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fedorov, Alexander

2007-01-01

In Russia as well as in foreign countries we can witness sort of the confusion of the terms of "media education" and "media literacy". There are quite a few differences in theoretical approaches to media education, to distinguishing of the most important aims, objectives, means of introduction into the teaching process, etc.…

Modern Media Education Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fedorov, Alexander

2011-01-01

The author supposed that media education models can be divided into the following groups: (1) educational-information models (the study of the theory, history, language of media culture, etc.), based on the cultural, aesthetic, semiotic, socio-cultural theories of media education; (2) educational-ethical models (the study of moral, religions,…

Administering Instructional Media Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erickson, Carlton W. H.

This book presents a wide discussion of the educational and administrative tasks of the instructional media program director. It includes guidelines, principles, case studies, and examples of advanced media use, with emphasis on audiovisual media, the area in which innovation has occurred most. Strong leadership, technological competence, and good…

Guidelines for Media Selection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heeren, Elske; Verwijs, Carla; Moonen, Jef

This paper presents two types of approaches to media selection--rational-choice approaches and social-influence approaches. It is argued that designers should combine the two types of approaches in a bottom-up/top-down media-selection process. As examples of the two types of approaches, two conceptual frameworks are described--task/media fit and…

Creating Quality Media Materials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hortin, John A.; Bailey, Gerald D.

1982-01-01

Innovation, imagination, and student creativity are key ingredients in creating quality media materials for the small school. Student-produced media materials, slides without a camera, personalized slide programs and copy work, self-made task cards, self-made overhead transparencies, graphic materials, and utilization of the mass media are some of…

Sizing Up Social Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, Jerold

2010-01-01

Most people are aware of the increasing importance of social media to institutional advancement, and many colleges and universities have started investing resources in these media. The next step is to measure the impact of social media on the institution and evaluate the success of one's efforts. Every advancement leader should understand how…

Media Center: Operations Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dependents Schools (DOD), Washington, DC.

This guide to basic technical procedures recommended in the operation of within-school media centers is intended for all Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) media specialists, clerks, aides, and technicians. The first four sections refer to the general media program functions identified in the related manual, "A is for Apple:…

Youth Media and Agency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hauge, Chelsey

2014-01-01

This article addresses how capacity is conceived of and understood in youth media/civic education programming, and how beliefs about agency, development, relationality and youth manifests in the discourses, programmes, and practices of organizations operating youth media programmes. Through attention to a youth media and development programme in…

The Media Reader.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valdes, Joan; Crow, Jeanne

An anthology of readings in the media correlates chapter-by-chapter to the authors' textbook, "The Media Works." Fifteen chapters cover the study of newspapers, magazines, comics, popular music, television, movies, and advertising. The authors included represent varied perspectives on the media. The selections were chosen with the help of a…

Adolescents and the Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strasburgber, Victor C., Ed.; Comstock, George A., Ed.

1993-01-01

In the 1990s, the media represent the single most easily modifiable influence on children and adolescents. This series of articles offers medically oriented practitioners a review of current research on the influence of the media on children and adolescents. The 13 articles are: (1) "Children, Adolescents, and the Media: Five Crucial…

Children's Media Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Amy B.

2008-01-01

Amy Jordan addresses the need to balance the media industry's potentially important contributions to the healthy development of America's children against the consequences of excessive and age-inappropriate media exposure. Much of the philosophical tension regarding how much say the government should have about media content and delivery stems…

Evaluating reaction pathways of hydrothermal abiotic organic synthesis at elevated temperatures and pressures using carbon isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Qi; Socki, Richard A.; Niles, Paul B.

2015-04-01

Experiments were performed to better understand the role of environmental factors on reaction pathways and corresponding carbon isotope fractionations during abiotic hydrothermal synthesis of organic compounds using piston cylinder apparatus at 750 °C and 5.5 kbars. Chemical compositions of experimental products and corresponding carbon isotopic values were obtained by a Pyrolysis-GC-MS-IRMS system. Alkanes (methane and ethane), straight-chain saturated alcohols (ethanol and n-butanol) and monocarboxylic acids (formic and acetic acids) were generated with ethanol being the only organic compound with higher δ13C than CO2. CO was not detected in experimental products owing to the favorable water-gas shift reaction under high water pressure conditions. The pattern of δ13C values of CO2, carboxylic acids and alkanes are consistent with their equilibrium isotope relationships: CO2 > carboxylic acids > alkanes, but the magnitude of the fractionation among them is higher than predicted isotope equilibrium values. In particular, the isotopic fractionation between CO2 and CH4 remained constant at ∼31‰, indicating a kinetic effect during CO2 reduction processes. No "isotope reversal" of δ13C values for alkanes or carboxylic acids was observed, which indicates a different reaction pathway than what is typically observed during Fischer-Tropsch synthesis under gas phase conditions. Under constraints imposed in experiments, the anomalous 13C isotope enrichment in ethanol suggests that hydroxymethylene is the organic intermediate, and that the generation of other organic compounds enriched in 12C were facilitated by subsequent Rayleigh fractionation of hydroxymethylene reacting with H2 and/or H2O. Carbon isotope fractionation data obtained in this study are instrumental in assessing the controlling factors on abiotic formation of organic compounds in hydrothermal systems. Knowledge on how environmental conditions affect reaction pathways of abiotic synthesis of organic

Strategies for Distinguishing Abiotic Chemistry from Martian Biochemistry in Samples Returned from Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glavin, D. P.; Burton, A. S.; Callahan, M. P.; Elsila, J. E.; Stern, J. C.; Dworkin, J. P.

2012-01-01

A key goal in the search for evidence of extinct or extant life on Mars will be the identification of chemical biosignatures including complex organic molecules common to all life on Earth. These include amino acids, the monomer building blocks of proteins and enzymes, and nucleobases, which serve as the structural basis of information storage in DNA and RNA. However, many of these organic compounds can also be formed abiotically as demonstrated by their prevalence in carbonaceous meteorites [1]. Therefore, an important challenge in the search for evidence of life on Mars will be distinguishing between abiotic chemistry of either meteoritic or martian origin from any chemical biosignatures from an extinct or extant martian biota. Although current robotic missions to Mars, including the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and the planned 2018 ExoMars rovers, will have the analytical capability needed to identify these key classes of organic molecules if present [2,3], return of a diverse suite of martian samples to Earth would allow for much more intensive laboratory studies using a broad array of extraction protocols and state-of-theart analytical techniques for bulk and spatially resolved characterization, molecular detection, and isotopic and enantiomeric compositions that may be required for unambiguous confirmation of martian life. Here we will describe current state-of-the-art laboratory analytical techniques that have been used to characterize the abundance and distribution of amino acids and nucleobases in meteorites, Apollo samples, and comet- exposed materials returned by the Stardust mission with an emphasis on their molecular characteristics that can be used to distinguish abiotic chemistry from biochemistry as we know it. The study of organic compounds in carbonaceous meteorites is highly relevant to Mars sample return analysis, since exogenous organic matter should have accumulated in the martian regolith over the last several billion years and the

S-Nitrosylated proteins in pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaf peroxisomes: changes under abiotic stress.

PubMed

Ortega-Galisteo, Ana P; Rodríguez-Serrano, María; Pazmiño, Diana M; Gupta, Dharmendra K; Sandalio, Luisa M; Romero-Puertas, María C

2012-03-01

Peroxisomes, single-membrane-bounded organelles with essentially oxidative metabolism, are key in plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Recently, the presence of nitric oxide (NO) described in peroxisomes opened the possibility of new cellular functions, as NO regulates diverse biological processes by directly modifying proteins. However, this mechanism has not yet been analysed in peroxisomes. This study assessed the presence of S-nitrosylation in pea-leaf peroxisomes, purified S-nitrosylated peroxisome proteins by immunoprecipitation, and identified the purified proteins by two different mass-spectrometry techniques (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight and two-dimensional nano-liquid chromatography coupled to ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry). Six peroxisomal proteins were identified as putative targets of S-nitrosylation involved in photorespiration, β-oxidation, and reactive oxygen species detoxification. The activity of three of these proteins (catalase, glycolate oxidase, and malate dehydrogenase) is inhibited by NO donors. NO metabolism/S-nitrosylation and peroxisomes were analysed under two different types of abiotic stress, i.e. cadmium and 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D). Both types of stress reduced NO production in pea plants, and an increase in S-nitrosylation was observed in pea extracts under 2,4-D treatment while no total changes were observed in peroxisomes. However, the S-nitrosylation levels of catalase and glycolate oxidase changed under cadmium and 2,4-D treatments, suggesting that this post-translational modification could be involved in the regulation of H(2)O(2) level under abiotic stress.

S-Nitrosylated proteins in pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaf peroxisomes: changes under abiotic stress

PubMed Central

Ortega-Galisteo, Ana P.; Rodríguez-Serrano, María; Pazmiño, Diana M.; Gupta, Dharmendra K.; Sandalio, Luisa M.; Romero-Puertas, María C.

2012-01-01

Peroxisomes, single-membrane-bounded organelles with essentially oxidative metabolism, are key in plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Recently, the presence of nitric oxide (NO) described in peroxisomes opened the possibility of new cellular functions, as NO regulates diverse biological processes by directly modifying proteins. However, this mechanism has not yet been analysed in peroxisomes. This study assessed the presence of S-nitrosylation in pea-leaf peroxisomes, purified S-nitrosylated peroxisome proteins by immunoprecipitation, and identified the purified proteins by two different mass-spectrometry techniques (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight and two-dimensional nano-liquid chromatography coupled to ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry). Six peroxisomal proteins were identified as putative targets of S-nitrosylation involved in photorespiration, β-oxidation, and reactive oxygen species detoxification. The activity of three of these proteins (catalase, glycolate oxidase, and malate dehydrogenase) is inhibited by NO donors. NO metabolism/S-nitrosylation and peroxisomes were analysed under two different types of abiotic stress, i.e. cadmium and 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D). Both types of stress reduced NO production in pea plants, and an increase in S-nitrosylation was observed in pea extracts under 2,4-D treatment while no total changes were observed in peroxisomes. However, the S-nitrosylation levels of catalase and glycolate oxidase changed under cadmium and 2,4-D treatments, suggesting that this post-translational modification could be involved in the regulation of H2O2 level under abiotic stress. PMID:22213812

Mechanical Stress Induces Biotic and Abiotic Stress Responses via a Novel cis-Element

PubMed Central

Walley, Justin W; Coughlan, Sean; Hudson, Matthew E; Covington, Michael F; Kaspi, Roy; Banu, Gopalan; Harmer, Stacey L; Dehesh, Katayoon

2007-01-01

Plants are continuously exposed to a myriad of abiotic and biotic stresses. However, the molecular mechanisms by which these stress signals are perceived and transduced are poorly understood. To begin to identify primary stress signal transduction components, we have focused on genes that respond rapidly (within 5 min) to stress signals. Because it has been hypothesized that detection of physical stress is a mechanism common to mounting a response against a broad range of environmental stresses, we have utilized mechanical wounding as the stress stimulus and performed whole genome microarray analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana leaf tissue. This led to the identification of a number of rapid wound responsive (RWR) genes. Comparison of RWR genes with published abiotic and biotic stress microarray datasets demonstrates a large overlap across a wide range of environmental stresses. Interestingly, RWR genes also exhibit a striking level and pattern of circadian regulation, with induced and repressed genes displaying antiphasic rhythms. Using bioinformatic analysis, we identified a novel motif overrepresented in the promoters of RWR genes, herein designated as the Rapid Stress Response Element (RSRE). We demonstrate in transgenic plants that multimerized RSREs are sufficient to confer a rapid response to both biotic and abiotic stresses in vivo, thereby establishing the functional involvement of this motif in primary transcriptional stress responses. Collectively, our data provide evidence for a novel cis-element that is distributed across the promoters of an array of diverse stress-responsive genes, poised to respond immediately and coordinately to stress signals. This structure suggests that plants may have a transcriptional network resembling the general stress signaling pathway in yeast and that the RSRE element may provide the key to this coordinate regulation. PMID:17953483

Soil respiration in the cold desert environment of the Colorado Plateau (USA): Abiotic regulators and thresholds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fernandez, D.P.; Neff, J.C.; Belnap, J.; Reynolds, R.L.

2006-01-01

Decomposition is central to understanding ecosystem carbon exchange and nutrient-release processes. Unlike mesic ecosystems, which have been extensively studied, xeric landscapes have received little attention; as a result, abiotic soil-respiration regulatory processes are poorly understood in xeric environments. To provide a more complete and quantitative understanding about how abiotic factors influence soil respiration in xeric ecosystems, we conducted soil- respiration and decomposition-cloth measurements in the cold desert of southeast Utah. Our study evaluated when and to what extent soil texture, moisture, temperature, organic carbon, and nitrogen influence soil respiration and examined whether the inverse-texture hypothesis applies to decomposition. Within our study site, the effect of texture on moisture, as described by the inverse texture hypothesis, was evident, but its effect on decomposition was not. Our results show temperature and moisture to be the dominant abiotic controls of soil respiration. Specifically, temporal offsets in temperature and moisture conditions appear to have a strong control on soil respiration, with the highest fluxes occurring in spring when temperature and moisture were favorable. These temporal offsets resulted in decomposition rates that were controlled by soil moisture and temperature thresholds. The highest fluxes of CO2 occurred when soil temperature was between 10 and 16??C and volumetric soil moisture was greater than 10%. Decomposition-cloth results, which integrate decomposition processes across several months, support the soil-respiration results and further illustrate the seasonal patterns of high respiration rates during spring and low rates during summer and fall. Results from this study suggest that the parameters used to predict soil respiration in mesic ecosystems likely do not apply in cold-desert environments. ?? Springer 2006.

Transposable elements contribute to activation of maize genes in response to abiotic stress.

PubMed

Makarevitch, Irina; Waters, Amanda J; West, Patrick T; Stitzer, Michelle; Hirsch, Candice N; Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey; Springer, Nathan M

2015-01-01

Transposable elements (TEs) account for a large portion of the genome in many eukaryotic species. Despite their reputation as "junk" DNA or genomic parasites deleterious for the host, TEs have complex interactions with host genes and the potential to contribute to regulatory variation in gene expression. It has been hypothesized that TEs and genes they insert near may be transcriptionally activated in response to stress conditions. The maize genome, with many different types of TEs interspersed with genes, provides an ideal system to study the genome-wide influence of TEs on gene regulation. To analyze the magnitude of the TE effect on gene expression response to environmental changes, we profiled gene and TE transcript levels in maize seedlings exposed to a number of abiotic stresses. Many genes exhibit up- or down-regulation in response to these stress conditions. The analysis of TE families inserted within upstream regions of up-regulated genes revealed that between four and nine different TE families are associated with up-regulated gene expression in each of these stress conditions, affecting up to 20% of the genes up-regulated in response to abiotic stress, and as many as 33% of genes that are only expressed in response to stress. Expression of many of these same TE families also responds to the same stress conditions. The analysis of the stress-induced transcripts and proximity of the transposon to the gene suggests that these TEs may provide local enhancer activities that stimulate stress-responsive gene expression. Our data on allelic variation for insertions of several of these TEs show strong correlation between the presence of TE insertions and stress-responsive up-regulation of gene expression. Our findings suggest that TEs provide an important source of allelic regulatory variation in gene response to abiotic stress in maize.

A proposed abiotic reaction scheme for hydroxylamine and monochloramine under chloramination relevant drinking water conditions.

PubMed

Wahman, David G; Speitel, Gerald E; Machavaram, Madhav V

2014-09-01

Drinking water monochloramine (NH2Cl) use may promote ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). AOB use (i) ammonia monooxygenase for biological ammonia (NH3) oxidation to hydroxylamine (NH2OH) and (ii) hydroxylamine oxidoreductase for NH2OH oxidation to nitrite. NH2Cl and NH2OH may react, providing AOB potential benefits and detriments. The NH2Cl/NH2OH reaction would benefit AOB by removing the disinfectant (NH2Cl) and releasing their growth substrate (NH3), but the NH2Cl/NH2OH reaction would also provide a possible additional inactivation mechanism besides direct NH2Cl reaction with cells. Because biological NH2OH oxidation supplies the electrons required for biological NH3 oxidation, the NH2Cl/NH2OH reaction provides a direct mechanism for NH2Cl to inhibit NH3 oxidation, starving the cell of reductant by preventing biological NH2OH oxidation. To investigate possible NH2Cl/NH2OH reaction implications on AOB, an understanding of the underlying abiotic reaction is first required. The present study conducted a detailed literature review and proposed an abiotic NH2Cl/NH2OH reaction scheme (RS) for chloramination relevant drinking water conditions (μM concentrations, air saturation, and pH 7-9). Next, RS literature based kinetics and end-products were evaluated experimentally between pHs 7.7 and 8.3, representing (i) the pH range for future experiments with AOB and (ii) mid-range pHs typically found in chloraminated drinking water. In addition, a (15)N stable isotope experiment was conducted to verify nitrous oxide and nitrogen gas production and their nitrogen source. Finally, the RS was slightly refined using the experimental data and an AQUASIM implemented kinetic model. A chloraminated drinking water relevant RS is proposed and provides the abiotic reaction foundation for future AOB biotic experiments. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Abiotic and Biotic Formation of Amino Acids in the Enceladus Ocean.

PubMed

Steel, Elliot L; Davila, Alfonso; McKay, Christopher P

2017-09-01

The active plume at Enceladus' south pole makes the indirect sampling of its global ocean possible. The partially resolved chemistry of the plume, which points to conditions that are seemingly compatible with life, has made orbital sampling missions a priority. We present a conceptual model of energy flux, hydrothermal H 2 production, and both abiotic and biotic production of amino acids. Based on the energy flux observed at the south pole and the inferred internal hydrothermal activity, we estimate an H 2 production of 0.6-34 mol/s from serpentinization, sufficient to sustain abiotic and biotic amino acid synthesis of 1.6-87 and 1-44 g/s, respectively. Two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulations of the hydrothermal vent suggest that the vent fluids could reach the ice-water boundary in less than 11-55 days for a 50 km deep ocean diluted by ambient ocean water 10 to 1. Concentrations of glycine, alanine, α-amino isobutyric acid, and glutamic acid in the plume and in the ambient ocean could all be above 0.01 μM just due to abiotic production. Biological synthesis, if occurring, could produce a maximum of 90 μM concentrations of amino acids based on a methanogenic ecosystem consuming H 2 and CO 2 . Racemization timescales in the ocean are short compared with production timescales. Thus, no enantiomeric excess is expected in the ambient ocean, and if biology is present, enantiomeric excess at the vent fluids is expected to be less than 10% in the plume. From vent H 2 concentrations of 7.8 mM (e.g., Lost City) and assuming complete H 2 use and conversion to chemical energy by methanogens, cell production is estimated. Annual biomass production in the methanogenic-based biology model is 4 × 10 4 -2 × 10 6 kg/year. This corresponds to cell concentrations ∼10 9 cells/cm 3 in the vents and ∼10 8 cells/cm 3 in the plume, and when diluted into the ambient ocean, we predict cell concentrations of 80-4250 cells/cm 3 . Key Words: Abiotic organic

Resistance Responses of Potato to Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi under Varying Abiotic Phosphorus Levels.

PubMed

McArthur, D A; Knowles, N R

1992-09-01

In mycorrhizal symbioses, susceptibility of a host plant to infection by fungi is influenced by environmental factors, especially the availability of soil phosphorus. This study describes morphological and biochemical details of interactions between a vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus and potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv Russet Burbank) plants, with a particular focus on the physiological basis for P-induced resistance of roots to infection. Root infection by the VAM fungus Glomus fasciculatum ([Thaxt. sensu Gerdemann] Gerdemann and Trappe) was extensive for plants grown with low abiotic P supply, and plant biomass accumulation was enhanced by the symbiosis. The capacity of excised roots from P-deficient plants to produce ethylene in the presence or absence of exogenous 1-amino cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) was markedly reduced by VAM infection. This apparent inhibition of ACC oxidase (ACC(ox)) activity was localized to areas containing infected roots, as demonstrated in split-root studies. Furthermore, leachate from VAM roots contained a potent water-soluble inhibitor of ethylene generation from exogenous ACC by nonmycorrhizal (NM) roots. The leachate from VAM-infected roots had a higher concentration of phenolics, relative to that from NM roots. Moreover, the rates of ethylene formation and phenolic concentration in leachates from VAM roots were inversely correlated, suggesting that this inhibitor may be of a phenolic nature. The specific activity of extracellular peroxidase recovered in root leachates was not stimulated by VAM infection, although activity on a fresh weight basis was significantly enhanced, reflecting the fact that VAM roots had higher protein content than NM roots. Polyphenol oxidase activity of roots did not differ between NM and VAM roots. These results characterize the low resistance response of P-deficient plants to VAM infection. When plants were grown with higher abiotic P supply, the relative benefit of the VAM symbiosis

Sampling protocol for monitoring abiotic and biotic characteristics of mountain ponds and lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hoffman, Robert L.; Tyler, Torrey J.; Larson, Gary L.; Adams, Michael J.; Wente, Wendy; Galvan, Stephanie

2005-01-01

This document describes field techniques and procedures used for sampling mountain ponds and lakes. These techniques and procedures will be used primarily to monitor, as part of long-term programs in National Parks and other protected areas, the abiotic and biotic characteristics of naturally occurring permanent montane lentic systems up to 75 ha in surface area. However, the techniques and procedures described herein also can be used to sample temporary or ephemeral montane lentic sites. Each Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) section addresses a specific component of the limnological investigation, and describes in detail field sampling methods pertaining to parameters to be measured for each component.

Microbial Hub Taxa Link Host and Abiotic Factors to Plant Microbiome Variation

PubMed Central

Agler, Matthew T.; Ruhe, Jonas; Kroll, Samuel; Morhenn, Constanze; Kim, Sang-Tae; Weigel, Detlef; Kemen, Eric M.

2016-01-01

Plant-associated microorganisms have been shown to critically affect host physiology and performance, suggesting that evolution and ecology of plants and animals can only be understood in a holobiont (host and its associated organisms) context. Host-associated microbial community structures are affected by abiotic and host factors, and increased attention is given to the role of the microbiome in interactions such as pathogen inhibition. However, little is known about how these factors act on the microbial community, and especially what role microbe–microbe interaction dynamics play. We have begun to address this knowledge gap for phyllosphere microbiomes of plants by simultaneously studying three major groups of Arabidopsis thaliana symbionts (bacteria, fungi and oomycetes) using a systems biology approach. We evaluated multiple potential factors of microbial community control: we sampled various wild A. thaliana populations at different times, performed field plantings with different host genotypes, and implemented successive host colonization experiments under lab conditions where abiotic factors, host genotype, and pathogen colonization was manipulated. Our results indicate that both abiotic factors and host genotype interact to affect plant colonization by all three groups of microbes. Considering microbe–microbe interactions, however, uncovered a network of interkingdom interactions with significant contributions to community structure. As in other scale-free networks, a small number of taxa, which we call microbial “hubs,” are strongly interconnected and have a severe effect on communities. By documenting these microbe–microbe interactions, we uncover an important mechanism explaining how abiotic factors and host genotypic signatures control microbial communities. In short, they act directly on “hub” microbes, which, via microbe–microbe interactions, transmit the effects to the microbial community. We analyzed two “hub” microbes (the

Exploration of Genetic and Genomic Resources for Abiotic and Biotic Stress Tolerance in Pearl Millet

PubMed Central

Shivhare, Radha; Lata, Charu

2017-01-01

Pearl millet is one of the most important small-grained C4 Panicoid crops with a large genome size (∼2352 Mb), short life cycle and outbreeding nature. It is highly resilient to areas with scanty rain and high temperature. Pearl millet is a nutritionally superior staple crop for people inhabiting hot, drought-prone arid and semi-arid regions of South Asia and Africa where it is widely grown and used for food, hay, silage, bird feed, building material, and fuel. Having excellent nutrient composition and exceptional buffering capacity against variable climatic conditions and pathogen attack makes pearl millet a wonderful model crop for stress tolerance studies. Pearl millet germplasm show a large range of genotypic and phenotypic variations including tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Conventional breeding for enhancing abiotic and biotic stress resistance in pearl millet have met with considerable success, however, in last few years various novel approaches including functional genomics and molecular breeding have been attempted in this crop for augmenting yield under adverse environmental conditions, and there is still a lot of scope for further improvement using genomic tools. Discovery and use of various DNA-based markers such as EST-SSRs, DArT, CISP, and SSCP-SNP in pearl millet not only help in determining population structure and genetic diversity but also prove to be important for developing strategies for crop improvement at a faster rate and greater precision. Molecular marker-based genetic linkage maps and identification of genomic regions determining yield under abiotic stresses particularly terminal drought have paved way for marker-assisted selection and breeding of pearl millet cultivars. Reference collections and marker-assisted backcrossing have also been used to improve biotic stress resistance in pearl millet specifically to downy mildew. Whole genome sequencing of pearl millet genome will give new insights for processing of functional

Resistance Responses of Potato to Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi under Varying Abiotic Phosphorus Levels 1

PubMed Central

McArthur, David A. J.; Knowles, N. Richard

1992-01-01

In mycorrhizal symbioses, susceptibility of a host plant to infection by fungi is influenced by environmental factors, especially the availability of soil phosphorus. This study describes morphological and biochemical details of interactions between a vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus and potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv Russet Burbank) plants, with a particular focus on the physiological basis for P-induced resistance of roots to infection. Root infection by the VAM fungus Glomus fasciculatum ([Thaxt. sensu Gerdemann] Gerdemann and Trappe) was extensive for plants grown with low abiotic P supply, and plant biomass accumulation was enhanced by the symbiosis. The capacity of excised roots from P-deficient plants to produce ethylene in the presence or absence of exogenous 1-amino cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) was markedly reduced by VAM infection. This apparent inhibition of ACC oxidase (ACCox) activity was localized to areas containing infected roots, as demonstrated in split-root studies. Furthermore, leachate from VAM roots contained a potent water-soluble inhibitor of ethylene generation from exogenous ACC by nonmycorrhizal (NM) roots. The leachate from VAM-infected roots had a higher concentration of phenolics, relative to that from NM roots. Moreover, the rates of ethylene formation and phenolic concentration in leachates from VAM roots were inversely correlated, suggesting that this inhibitor may be of a phenolic nature. The specific activity of extracellular peroxidase recovered in root leachates was not stimulated by VAM infection, although activity on a fresh weight basis was significantly enhanced, reflecting the fact that VAM roots had higher protein content than NM roots. Polyphenol oxidase activity of roots did not differ between NM and VAM roots. These results characterize the low resistance response of P-deficient plants to VAM infection. When plants were grown with higher abiotic P supply, the relative benefit of the VAM symbiosis

Spatially dependent biotic and abiotic factors drive survivorship and physical structure of green roof vegetation.

PubMed

Aloisio, Jason M; Palmer, Matthew I; Giampieri, Mario A; Tuininga, Amy R; Lewis, James D

2017-01-01

Plant survivorship depends on biotic and abiotic factors that vary at local and regional scales. This survivorship, in turn, has cascading effects on community composition and the physical structure of vegetation. Survivorship of native plant species is variable among populations planted in environmentally stressful habitats like urban roofs, but the degree to which factors at different spatial scales affect survivorship in urban systems is not well understood. We evaluated the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on survivorship, composition, and physical structure of two native perennial species assemblages, one characterized by a mixture of C 4 grasses and forbs (Hempstead Plains, HP) and one characterized by a mixture of C 3 grasses and forbs (Rocky Summit, RS), that were initially sown at equal ratios of growth forms (5:1:4; grass, N-fixing forb and non-N-fixing forb) in replicate 2-m 2 plots planted on 10 roofs in New York City (New York, USA). Of 24 000 installed plants, 40% survived 23 months after planting. Within-roof factors explained 71% of variation in survivorship, with biotic (species identity and assemblage) factors accounting for 54% of the overall variation, and abiotic (growing medium depth and plot location) factors explaining 17% of the variation. Among-roof factors explained 29% of variation in survivorship and increased solar radiation correlated with decreased survivorship. While growing medium properties (pH, nutrients, metals) differed among roofs there was no correlation with survivorship. Percent cover and sward height increased with increasing survivorship. At low survivorship, cover of the HP assemblage was greater compared to the RS assemblage. Sward height of the HP assemblage was about two times greater compared to the RS assemblage. These results highlight the effects of local biotic and regional abiotic drivers on community composition and physical structure of green roof vegetation. As a result, initial green roof plant

Prosocial effects of media.

PubMed

Hogan, Marjorie J

2012-06-01

Parents, teachers, health care providers, and other caring adults worry about the harmful influence of media messages and images on children and teens and wonder how to recognize and encourage positive and healthy use of media. For decades, experts have commented on the power of media. Media depictions can lead to negative attitudes and behavior in some young viewers. This article discusses whether prosocial, tolerant, and cooperative attitudes and behavior can be learned and imitated by children and adolescents and whether media can nurture or stimulate creativity or actively promote health and well-being in young consumers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Afterword: Instruments as media, media as instruments.

PubMed

Rheinberger, Hans-Jörg

2016-06-01

The collection of essays comes under the heading of two catchwords: instruments and media. This Afterword looks at their interaction and roles in exploring the characteristics of living beings throughout history, especially their melding and gliding into each other. Before turning to the papers, I will make some more general remarks on instruments and media in scientific, and in particular, biological research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Cell Wall-Related Genes in Organs of Medicago sativa L. under Different Abiotic Stresses.

PubMed

Behr, Marc; Legay, Sylvain; Hausman, Jean-Francois; Guerriero, Gea

2015-07-16

Abiotic constraints are a source of concern in agriculture, because they can have a strong impact on plant growth and development, thereby affecting crop yield. The response of plants to abiotic constraints varies depending on the type of stress, on the species and on the organs. Although many studies have addressed different aspects of the plant response to abiotic stresses, only a handful has focused on the role of the cell wall. A targeted approach has been used here to study the expression of cell wall-related genes in different organs of alfalfa plants subjected for four days to three different abiotic stress treatments, namely salt, cold and heat stress. Genes involved in different steps of cell wall formation (cellulose biosynthesis, monolignol biosynthesis and polymerization) have been analyzed in different organs of Medicago sativa L. Prior to this analysis, an in silico classification of dirigent/dirigent-like proteins and class III peroxidases has been performed in Medicago truncatula and M. sativa. The final goal of this study is to infer and compare the expression patterns of cell wall-related genes in response to different abiotic stressors in the organs of an important legume crop.

Analysis of Cell Wall-Related Genes in Organs of Medicago sativa L. under Different Abiotic Stresses

PubMed Central

Behr, Marc; Legay, Sylvain; Hausman, Jean-Francois; Guerriero, Gea

2015-01-01

Abiotic constraints are a source of concern in agriculture, because they can have a strong impact on plant growth and development, thereby affecting crop yield. The response of plants to abiotic constraints varies depending on the type of stress, on the species and on the organs. Although many studies have addressed different aspects of the plant response to abiotic stresses, only a handful has focused on the role of the cell wall. A targeted approach has been used here to study the expression of cell wall-related genes in different organs of alfalfa plants subjected for four days to three different abiotic stress treatments, namely salt, cold and heat stress. Genes involved in different steps of cell wall formation (cellulose biosynthesis, monolignol biosynthesis and polymerization) have been analyzed in different organs of Medicago sativa L. Prior to this analysis, an in silico classification of dirigent/dirigent-like proteins and class III peroxidases has been performed in Medicago truncatula and M. sativa. The final goal of this study is to infer and compare the expression patterns of cell wall-related genes in response to different abiotic stressors in the organs of an important legume crop. PMID:26193255

Enhancing crop resilience to combined abiotic and biotic stress through the dissection of physiological and molecular crosstalk

PubMed Central

Kissoudis, Christos; van de Wiel, Clemens; Visser, Richard G. F.; van der Linden, Gerard

2014-01-01

Plants growing in their natural habitats are often challenged simultaneously by multiple stress factors, both abiotic and biotic. Research has so far been limited to responses to individual stresses, and understanding of adaptation to combinatorial stress is limited, but indicative of non-additive interactions. Omics data analysis and functional characterization of individual genes has revealed a convergence of signaling pathways for abiotic and biotic stress adaptation. Taking into account that most data originate from imposition of individual stress factors, this review summarizes these findings in a physiological context, following the pathogenesis timeline and highlighting potential differential interactions occurring between abiotic and biotic stress signaling across the different cellular compartments and at the whole plant level. Potential effects of abiotic stress on resistance components such as extracellular receptor proteins, R-genes and systemic acquired resistance will be elaborated, as well as crosstalk at the levels of hormone, reactive oxygen species, and redox signaling. Breeding targets and strategies are proposed focusing on either manipulation and deployment of individual common regulators such as transcription factors or pyramiding of non- (negatively) interacting components such as R-genes with abiotic stress resistance genes. We propose that dissection of broad spectrum stress tolerance conferred by priming chemicals may provide an insight on stress cross regulation and additional candidate genes for improving crop performance under combined stress. Validation of the proposed strategies in lab and field experiments is a first step toward the goal of achieving tolerance to combinatorial stress in crops. PMID:24904607

Tissue specific and abiotic stress regulated transcription of histidine kinases in plants is also influenced by diurnal rhythm

PubMed Central

Singh, Anupama; Kushwaha, Hemant R.; Soni, Praveen; Gupta, Himanshu; Singla-Pareek, Sneh L.; Pareek, Ashwani

2015-01-01

Two-component system (TCS) is one of the key signal sensing machinery which enables species to sense environmental stimuli. It essentially comprises of three major components, sensory histidine kinase proteins (HKs), histidine phosphotransfer proteins (Hpts), and response regulator proteins (RRs). The members of the TCS family have already been identified in Arabidopsis and rice but the knowledge about their functional indulgence during various abiotic stress conditions remains meager. Current study is an attempt to carry out comprehensive analysis of the expression of TCS members in response to various abiotic stress conditions and in various plant tissues in Arabidopsis and rice using MPSS and publicly available microarray data. The analysis suggests that despite having almost similar number of genes, rice expresses higher number of TCS members during various abiotic stress conditions than Arabidopsis. We found that the TCS machinery is regulated by not only various abiotic stresses, but also by the tissue specificity. Analysis of expression of some representative members of TCS gene family showed their regulation by the diurnal cycle in rice seedlings, thus bringing-in another level of their transcriptional control. Thus, we report a highly complex and tight regulatory network of TCS members, as influenced by the tissue, abiotic stress signal, and diurnal rhythm. The insights on the comparative expression analysis presented in this study may provide crucial leads toward dissection of diverse role(s) of the various TCS family members in Arabidopsis and rice. PMID:26442025

Genetic and Computational Approaches for Studying Plant Development and Abiotic Stress Responses Using Image-Based Phenotyping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, M. T.; Walia, H.; Grondin, A.; Knecht, A.

2017-12-01

The development of abiotic stress tolerant crops (i.e. drought, salinity, or heat stress) requires the discovery of DNA sequence variants associated with stress tolerance-related traits. However, many traits underlying adaptation to abiotic stress involve a suite of physiological pathways that may be induced at different times throughout the duration of stress. Conventional single-point phenotyping approaches fail to fully capture these temporal responses, and thus downstream genetic analysis may only identify a subset of the genetic variants that are important for adaptation to sub-optimal environments. Although genomic resources for crops have advanced tremendously, the collection of phenotypic data for morphological and physiological traits is laborious and remains a significant bottleneck in bridging the phenotype-genotype gap. In recent years, the availability of automated, image-based phenotyping platforms has provided researchers with an opportunity to collect morphological and physiological traits non-destructively in a highly controlled environment. Moreover, these platforms allow abiotic stress responses to be recorded throughout the duration of the experiment, and have facilitated the use of function-valued traits for genetic analyses in major crops. We will present our approaches for addressing abiotic stress tolerance in cereals. This talk will focus on novel open-source software to process and extract biological meaningful data from images generated from these phenomics platforms. In addition, we will discuss the statistical approaches to model longitudinal phenotypes and dissect the genetic basis of dynamic responses to these abiotic stresses throughout development.

Microbiological and abiotic processes in modelling longer-term marine corrosion of steel.

PubMed

Melchers, Robert E

2014-06-01

Longer term exposure of mild steel in natural (biotic) waters progresses as a bimodal function of time, both for corrosion mass loss and for pit depth. Recent test results, however, found this also for immersion in clean fresh, almost pure and triply distilled waters. This shows chlorides or microbiological activity is not essential for the electrochemical processes producing bimodal behaviour. It is proposed that the first mode is aerobic corrosion that eventually produces a non-homogeneous corroded surface and rust coverage sufficient to allow formation of anoxic niches. Within these, aggressive autocatalytic reduction then occurs under anoxic abiotic conditions, caused by sulfide species originating from the MnS inclusions typical in steels. This is consistent with Wranglen's model for abiotic anoxic crevice and pitting corrosion without external aggressive ions. In biotic conditions, metabolites from anaerobic bacterial activity within and near the anoxic niches provides additional (sulfide) species to contribute to the severity of corrosion. Limited observational evidence that supports this hypothesis is given but further investigation is required to determine all contributor(s) to the cathodic current for the electrochemical reaction. The results are important for estimating the contribution of microbiological corrosion in infrastructure applications. © 2013.

Adhesive properties of environmental Vibrio alginolyticus strains to biotic and abiotic surfaces.

PubMed

Snoussi, Mejdi; Noumi, Emira; Cheriaa, Jihane; Usai, Donatella; Sechi, Leonardo Antonio; Zanetti, Stefania; Bakhrouf, Amina

2008-10-01

The ability of Vibrio alginolyticus strains isolated from a bathing and fishing area (Khenis, Centre of Tunisia) to adhere to both biotic and abiotic surfaces was evaluated in the present work. The biochemical, physiological and enzymatic activities of all strains was also investigated. Three morphotypes of V. alginolyticus were obtained on Congo red agar and only 14 strains produced black colonies. The majority of strains were able to degrade the skin mucus of both Sparus aurata and Dicentrarchus labrax fishes while the fish mucus preparation of these two specimens exhibits a high level of anti-V. alginolyticus strains. Adhesive properties were observed in 37.5% of the analyzed V. alginolyticus strains to Hep-2 cells and 50% to Caco-2 cells. All strains were able to form a purple pellicule on glass tube when they were stained with Crystal violet. Fifteen percent of V. alginolyticus strains (16/32) were strongly adhesive to polystyrene with a values ranging from 3.04 to 18.25 at 595 nm and only four strains were weak biofilm forming. V. alginolyticus bacterium possess a strong adhesive power to both biotic and inertes surfaces. These proprieties may allow to these strains to persist in this biotope in planctonic state or attached to both biotic and abiotic surfaces.

Transgenic alfalfa plants expressing the sweetpotato Orange gene exhibit enhanced abiotic stress tolerance.

PubMed

Wang, Zhi; Ke, Qingbo; Kim, Myoung Duck; Kim, Sun Ha; Ji, Chang Yoon; Jeong, Jae Cheol; Lee, Haeng-Soon; Park, Woo Sung; Ahn, Mi-Jeong; Li, Hongbing; Xu, Bingcheng; Deng, Xiping; Lee, Sang-Hoon; Lim, Yong Pyo; Kwak, Sang-Soo

2015-01-01

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), a perennial forage crop with high nutritional content, is widely distributed in various environments worldwide. We recently demonstrated that the sweetpotato Orange gene (IbOr) is involved in increasing carotenoid accumulation and enhancing resistance to multiple abiotic stresses. In this study, in an effort to improve the nutritional quality and environmental stress tolerance of alfalfa, we transferred the IbOr gene into alfalfa (cv. Xinjiang Daye) under the control of an oxidative stress-inducible peroxidase (SWPA2) promoter through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Among the 11 transgenic alfalfa lines (referred to as SOR plants), three lines (SOR2, SOR3, and SOR8) selected based on their IbOr transcript levels were examined for their tolerance to methyl viologen (MV)-induced oxidative stress in a leaf disc assay. The SOR plants exhibited less damage in response to MV-mediated oxidative stress and salt stress than non-transgenic plants. The SOR plants also exhibited enhanced tolerance to drought stress, along with higher total carotenoid levels. The results suggest that SOR alfalfa plants would be useful as forage crops with improved nutritional value and increased tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses, which would enhance the development of sustainable agriculture on marginal lands.

Transcription Factors and Their Roles in Signal Transduction in Plants under Abiotic Stresses

PubMed Central

Hoang, Xuan Lan Thi; Nhi, Du Ngoc Hai; Thu, Nguyen Binh Anh; Thao, Nguyen Phuong; Tran, Lam-Son Phan

2017-01-01

Abstract: In agricultural production, abiotic stresses are known as the main disturbance leading to negative impacts on crop performance. Research on elucidating plant defense mechanisms against the stresses at molecular level has been addressed for years in order to identify the major contributors in boosting the plant tolerance ability. From literature, numerous genes from different species, and from both functional and regulatory gene categories, have been suggested to be on the list of potential candidates for genetic engineering. Noticeably, enhancement of plant stress tolerance by manipulating expression of Transcription Factors (TFs) encoding genes has emerged as a popular approach since most of them are early stress-responsive genes and control the expression of a set of downstream target genes. Consequently, there is a higher chance to generate novel cultivars with better tolerance to either single or multiple stresses. Perhaps, the difficult task when deploying this approach is selecting appropriate gene(s) for manipulation. In this review, on the basis of the current findings from molecular and post-genomic studies, our interest is to highlight the current understanding of the roles of TFs in signal transduction and mediating plant responses towards abiotic stressors. Furthermore, interactions among TFs within the stress-responsive network will be discussed. The last section will be reserved for discussing the potential applications of TFs for stress tolerance improvement in plants. PMID:29204078

Age-related Decline of Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Young Drosophila melanogaster Adults.

PubMed

Colinet, Hervé; Chertemps, Thomas; Boulogne, Isabelle; Siaussat, David

2016-12-01

Stress tolerance generally declines with age as a result of functional senescence. Age-dependent alteration of stress tolerance can also occur in early adult life. In Drosophila melanogaster, evidence of such a decline in young adults has only been reported for thermotolerance. It is not known whether early adult life entails a general stress tolerance reduction and whether the response is peculiar to thermal traits. The present work was designed to investigate whether newly eclosed D melanogaster adults present a high tolerance to a range of biotic and abiotic insults. We found that tolerance to most of the abiotic stressors tested (desiccation, paraquat, hydrogen peroxide, deltamethrin, and malathion) was high in newly eclosed adults before dramatically declining over the next days of adult life. No clear age-related pattern was found for resistance to biotic stress (septic or fungal infection) and starvation. These results suggest that newly eclosed adults present a culminating level of tolerance to extrinsic stress which is likely unrelated to immune process. We argue that stress tolerance variation at very young age is likely a residual attribute from the previous life stage (ontogenetic carryover) or a feature related to the posteclosion development. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Detection of Abiotic Methane in Terrestrial Continental Hydrothermal Systems: Implications for Methane on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Socki, Richard A.; Niles, Paul B.; Gibson, Everett K., Jr.; Romanek, Christopher S.; Zhang, Chuanlun L.; Bissada, Kadry K.

2008-01-01

The recent detection of methane in the Martian atmosphere and the possibility that its origin could be attributed to biological activity, have highlighted the importance of understanding the mechanisms of methane formation and its usefulness as a biomarker. Much debate has centered on the source of the methane in hydrothermal fluids, whether it is formed biologically by microorganisms, diagenetically through the decomposition of sedimentary organic matter, or inorganically via reduction of CO2 at high temperatures. Ongoing research has now shown that much of the methane present in sea-floor hydrothermal systems is probably formed through inorganic CO2 reduction processes at very high temperatures (greater than 400 C). Experimental results have indicated that methane might form inorganically at temperatures lower still, however these results remain controversial. Currently, methane in continental hydrothermal systems is thought to be formed mainly through the breakdown of sedimentary organic matter and carbon isotope equilibrium between CO2 and CH4 is thought to be rarely present if at all. Based on isotopic measurements of CO2 and CH4 in two continental hydrothermal systems, we suggest that carbon isotope equilibration exists at temperatures as low as 155 C. This would indicate that methane is forming through abiotic CO2 reduction at lower temperatures than previously thought and could bolster arguments for an abiotic origin of the methane detected in the martian atmosphere.

Searching for links in the biotic characteristics and abiotic parameters of nine different biogas plants

PubMed Central

Walter, Andreas; Knapp, Brigitte A.; Farbmacher, Theresa; Ebner, Christian; Insam, Heribert; Franke‐Whittle, Ingrid H.

2012-01-01

Summary To find links between the biotic characteristics and abiotic process parameters in anaerobic digestion systems, the microbial communities of nine full‐scale biogas plants in South Tyrol (Italy) and Vorarlberg (Austria) were investigated using molecular techniques and the physical and chemical properties were monitored. DNA from sludge samples was subjected to microarray hybridization with the ANAEROCHIP microarray and results indicated that sludge samples grouped into two main clusters, dominated either by Methanosarcina or by Methanosaeta, both aceticlastic methanogens. Hydrogenotrophic methanogens were hardly detected or if detected, gave low hybridization signals. Results obtained using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) supported the findings of microarray hybridization. Real‐time PCR targeting Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta was conducted to provide quantitative data on the dominating methanogens. Correlation analysis to determine any links between the microbial communities found by microarray analysis, and the physicochemical parameters investigated was conducted. It was shown that the sludge samples dominated by the genus Methanosarcina were positively correlated with higher concentrations of acetate, whereas sludge samples dominated by representatives of the genus Methanosaeta had lower acetate concentrations. No other correlations between biotic characteristics and abiotic parameters were found. Methanogenic communities in each reactor were highly stable and resilient over the whole year. PMID:22950603

Adaptive introgression of abiotic tolerance traits in the sunflower Helianthus annuus.

PubMed

Whitney, Kenneth D; Randell, Rebecca A; Rieseberg, Loren H

2010-07-01

*Adaptive trait introgression is increasingly recognized as common. However, it is unclear whether adaptive genetic exchanges typically affect only a single trait, or instead affect multiple aspects of the phenotype. Here, we examine introgression of abiotic tolerance traits between two hybridizing North American sunflower species, Helianthus annuus and Helianthus debilis. *In two common gardens in the hybrid range, we measured 10 ecophysiological, phenological, and architectural traits for parents and their natural and artificial hybrids, and examined how fitness covaried with trait values. *Eight of the 10 traits showed patterns consistent with introgression from H. debilis into H. annuus, and suggested that H. debilis-like traits allowing rapid growth and reproduction before summer heat and drought have been favored in the hybrid range. Natural selection currently favors BC(1) hybrids with H. debilis-like branching traits. *We demonstrate that introgression has altered multiple aspects of the H. annuus phenotype in an adaptive manner, has affected traits relevant to both biotic and abiotic environments, and may have aided expansion of the H. annuus range into central Texas, USA.

Could abiotic stress tolerance in wild relatives of rice be used to improve Oryza sativa?

PubMed

Atwell, Brian J; Wang, Han; Scafaro, Andrew P

2014-02-01

Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima have been selected to acquire and partition resources efficiently as part of the process of domestication. However, genetic diversity in cultivated rice is limited compared to wild Oryza species, in spite of 120,000 genotypes being held in gene banks. By contrast, there is untapped diversity in the more than 20 wild species of Oryza, some having been collected from just a few coastal locations (e.g. Oryza schlechteri), while others are widely distributed (e.g. Oryza nivara and Oryza rufipogon). The extent of DNA sequence diversity and phenotypic variation is still being established in wild Oryza, with genetic barriers suggesting a vast range of morphologies and function even within species, such as has been demonstrated for Oryza meridionalis. With increasing climate variability and attempts to make more marginal land arable, abiotic and biotic stresses will be managed over the coming decades by tapping into the genetic diversity of wild relatives of O. sativa. To help create a more targeted approach to sourcing wild rice germplasm for abiotic stress tolerance, we have created a climate distribution map by plotting the natural occurrence of all Oryza species against corresponding temperature and moisture data. We then discuss interspecific variation in phenotype and its significance for rice, followed by a discussion of ways to integrate germplasm from wild relatives into domesticated rice. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Connecting RNA Processing to Abiotic Environmental Response in Arabidopsis: the role of a polyadenylation factor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Q. Q.; Xu, R.; Hunt, A. G.; Falcone, D. L.

Plants are constantly challenged by numerous environmental stresses both biotic and abiotic It is clear that plants have evolved to counter these stresses using all but limited means We recently discovered the potential role of a messenger RNA processing factor namely the Arabidopsis cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor 30 kDa subunit AtCPSF30 when a mutant deficient in this factor displayed altered responses to an array of abiotic stresses This AtCPSF30 mutant named oxt6 exhibited an elevated tolerance to oxidative stress Microarray experiments of oxt6 and its complemented lines revealed an altered gene expression profile among which were antioxidative defense genes Interestingly the same gene encoding AtCPSF30 can also be transcribed into a large transcript that codes for a potential splicing factor Both protein products have a domain for RNA binding and a calmodulin binding domain activities of which have been confirmed by biochemical assays Surprisingly binding of AtCPSF30 to calmodulin inhibits the RNA-binding activity of the protein Mutational analysis shows that a small part of the protein is responsible for calmodulin binding and point mutations in this region abolished both RNA binding activity and the inhibition of this activity by calmodulin Analyses of the potential splicing factor are on going and the results will be presented The interesting possibilities for both the interplay between splicing and polyadenylation and the regulation of these processes by stimuli that act through

Contribution of biotic and abiotic factors in the natural attenuation of sulfamethoxazole: A path analysis approach.

PubMed

Li, Yan; Rashid, Azhar; Wang, Hongjie; Hu, Anyi; Lin, Lifeng; Yu, Chang-Ping; Chen, Meng; Sun, Qian

2018-08-15

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is a sulfonamide antibiotic, widely used as curative and preventive drug for human, animal, and aquaculture bacterial infections. Its residues have been ubiquitously detected in the surface waters and sediments. In the present study, SMX dissipation and kinetics was studied in the natural water samples from Jiulong River under simulated complex natural conditions as well as conditions to mimic various biotic and abiotic environmental conditions in isolation. Structural equation modeling (SEM) by employing partial least square technique in path coefficient analysis was used to investigate the direct and indirect contributions of different environmental factors in the natural attenuation of SMX. The model explained 81% of the variability in natural attenuation as a dependent variable under the influence of sole effects of direct photo-degradation, indirect photo-degradation, hydrolysis, microbial degradation and bacterial degradation. The results of SEM suggested that the direct and indirect photo-degradation were the major pathways in the SMX natural attenuation. However, other biotic and abiotic factors also play a mediatory role during the natural attenuation and other processes. Furthermore, the potential transformation products of SMX were identified and their toxicity was evaluated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Confinement Effects on Carbon Dioxide Methanation: A Novel Mechanism for Abiotic Methane Formation

SciTech Connect

Le, Thu; Striolo, Alberto; Turner, C. Heath

An important scientific debate focuses on the possibility of abiotic synthesis of hydrocarbons during oceanic crust-seawater interactions. While on-site measurements near hydrothermal vents support this possibility, laboratory studies have provided data that are in some cases contradictory. At conditions relevant for sub-surface environments it has been shown that classic thermodynamics favour the production of CO 2 from CH 4, while abiotic methane synthesis would require the opposite. However, confinement effects are known to alter reaction equilibria. This report shows that indeed thermodynamic equilibrium can be shifted towards methane production, suggesting that thermal hydrocarbon synthesis near hydrothermal vents and deeper inmore » the magma-hydrothermal system is possible. We report reactive ensemble Monte Carlo simulations for the CO 2 methanation reaction. We compare the predicted equilibrium composition in the bulk gaseous phase to that expected in the presence of confinement. In the bulk phase we obtain excellent agreement with classic thermodynamic expectations. When the reactants can exchange between bulk and a confined phase our results show strong dependency of the reaction equilibrium conversions, X CO2, on nanopore size, nanopore chemistry, and nanopore morphology. Some physical conditions that could shift significantly the equilibrium composition of the reactive system with respect to bulk observations are discussed.« less

Confinement Effects on Carbon Dioxide Methanation: A Novel Mechanism for Abiotic Methane Formation

DOE PAGES

Le, Thu; Striolo, Alberto; Turner, C. Heath; ...

2017-08-21

An important scientific debate focuses on the possibility of abiotic synthesis of hydrocarbons during oceanic crust-seawater interactions. While on-site measurements near hydrothermal vents support this possibility, laboratory studies have provided data that are in some cases contradictory. At conditions relevant for sub-surface environments it has been shown that classic thermodynamics favour the production of CO 2 from CH 4, while abiotic methane synthesis would require the opposite. However, confinement effects are known to alter reaction equilibria. This report shows that indeed thermodynamic equilibrium can be shifted towards methane production, suggesting that thermal hydrocarbon synthesis near hydrothermal vents and deeper inmore » the magma-hydrothermal system is possible. We report reactive ensemble Monte Carlo simulations for the CO 2 methanation reaction. We compare the predicted equilibrium composition in the bulk gaseous phase to that expected in the presence of confinement. In the bulk phase we obtain excellent agreement with classic thermodynamic expectations. When the reactants can exchange between bulk and a confined phase our results show strong dependency of the reaction equilibrium conversions, X CO2, on nanopore size, nanopore chemistry, and nanopore morphology. Some physical conditions that could shift significantly the equilibrium composition of the reactive system with respect to bulk observations are discussed.« less

An Ribonuclease T2 Family Protein Modulates Acinetobacter baumannii Abiotic Surface Colonization

PubMed Central

Jacobs, Anna C.; Blanchard, Catlyn E.; Catherman, Seana C.; Dunman, Paul M.; Murata, Yoshihiko

2014-01-01

Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging bacterial pathogen of considerable medical concern. The organism's transmission and ability to cause disease has been associated with its propensity to colonize and form biofilms on abiotic surfaces in health care settings. To better understand the genetic determinants that affect biomaterial attachment, we performed a transposon mutagenesis analysis of abiotic surface-colonization using A. baumannii strain 98-37-09. Disruption of an RNase T2 family gene was found to limit the organism's ability to colonize polystyrene, polypropylene, glass, and stainless steel surfaces. DNA microarray analyses revealed that in comparison to wild type and complemented cells, the RNase T2 family mutant exhibited reduced expression of 29 genes, 15 of which are predicted to be associated with bacterial attachment and surface-associated motility. Motility assays confirmed that RNase T2 mutant displays a severe motility defect. Taken together, our results indicate that the RNase T2 family protein identified in this study is a positive regulator of A. baumannii's ability to colonize inanimate surfaces and motility. Moreover, the enzyme may be an effective target for the intervention of biomaterial colonization, and consequently limit the organism's transmission within the hospital setting. PMID:24489668

Enhanced bacoside production in shoot cultures of Bacopa monnieri under the influence of abiotic elicitors.

PubMed

Sharma, Munish; Ahuja, Ashok; Gupta, Rajinder; Mallubhotla, Sharada

2015-01-01

The effect of different abiotic elicitors [jasmonic acid, copper sulphate (CuSO4) and salicyclic acid] at varying concentrations on the stimulation of biomass and bacoside production in in vitro Bacopa monnieri shoot culture was studied. A systematic study conducted over a period of 35 days indicated that the maximum bacoside production (6.74 mg g(-1) dry weight (DW)) was obtained after a lag of 7 days and thereafter, the content decreased gradually to again increase at 28 days (5.91 mg g(-1) DW). Therefore, elicitation experiments were carried out over a period of 3, 6 and 9 days. The shoot cultures treated with 45 mg L(-1) of CuSO4 exhibited the highest bacoside content of 8.73 mg g(-1) DW (∼1.42-fold higher) than in control cultures (6.14 mg g(-1) DW). This study indicates the effectiveness of abiotic elicitation on bacoside production in in vitro shoot cultures of this medicinally important herb known for its memory-enhancing properties.

Transgenic Alfalfa Plants Expressing the Sweetpotato Orange Gene Exhibit Enhanced Abiotic Stress Tolerance

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhi; Ke, Qingbo; Kim, Myoung Duck; Kim, Sun Ha; Ji, Chang Yoon; Jeong, Jae Cheol; Lee, Haeng-Soon; Park, Woo Sung; Ahn, Mi-Jeong; Li, Hongbing; Xu, Bingcheng; Deng, Xiping; Lee, Sang-Hoon; Lim, Yong Pyo; Kwak, Sang-Soo

2015-01-01

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), a perennial forage crop with high nutritional content, is widely distributed in various environments worldwide. We recently demonstrated that the sweetpotato Orange gene (IbOr) is involved in increasing carotenoid accumulation and enhancing resistance to multiple abiotic stresses. In this study, in an effort to improve the nutritional quality and environmental stress tolerance of alfalfa, we transferred the IbOr gene into alfalfa (cv. Xinjiang Daye) under the control of an oxidative stress-inducible peroxidase (SWPA2) promoter through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Among the 11 transgenic alfalfa lines (referred to as SOR plants), three lines (SOR2, SOR3, and SOR8) selected based on their IbOr transcript levels were examined for their tolerance to methyl viologen (MV)-induced oxidative stress in a leaf disc assay. The SOR plants exhibited less damage in response to MV-mediated oxidative stress and salt stress than non-transgenic plants. The SOR plants also exhibited enhanced tolerance to drought stress, along with higher total carotenoid levels. The results suggest that SOR alfalfa plants would be useful as forage crops with improved nutritional value and increased tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses, which would enhance the development of sustainable agriculture on marginal lands. PMID:25946429

Abiotic and biotic dynamics during the initial stages of high solids switchgrass degradation.

PubMed

Fontenelle, L T; Corgie, S C; Walker, L P

2011-07-01

An understanding of the underlying dynamics of how biotic variables drive changes in abiotic parameters in the early stages of biomass biodegradation is essential for better control of the process. Probe hybridization was used to quantitatively study the growth of bacteria, yeast and fungi for three levels of initial moisture content (60, 65 and 75% MC) over a period of 64 h. Changes in abiotic parameters were also documented. By 64 h, samples were significantly differentiated both in temporal and spatial dimension, proving that considerable changes had occurred in these initial stages. Maximum carbon (C) conversion occurred in the 75% MC reactor at a peak value of 49%, with 40% and 37% in the 65 and 60% MC reactors, respectively. Higher temperature, higher pH, higher rates of O2 consumption and CO2 evolution were also observed in the highest moisture reactor; suggesting that of the three MCs studied, 75% MC was the optimal one for the process. MC during the process also proved to be important because it greatly influenced variation in the spatial dimension, further underscoring the importance of characterizing changes with bed height. Most importantly, we were able to positively correlate the rate of substrate degradation with bacterial biomass levels and highlight the critical role of bacteria in biological decomposition.

Stomata Prioritize Their Responses to Multiple Biotic and Abiotic Signal Inputs

PubMed Central

Chen, Peilei; Qiu, Muqing; Jiang, Kun; Wang, Genxuan

2014-01-01

Stomata are microscopic pores in leaf epidermis that regulate gas exchange between plants and the environment. Being natural openings on the leaf surface, stomata also serve as ports for the invasion of foliar pathogenic bacteria. Each stomatal pore is enclosed by a pair of guard cells that are able to sense a wide spectrum of biotic and abiotic stresses and respond by precisely adjusting the pore width. However, it is not clear whether stomatal responses to simultaneously imposed biotic and abiotic signals are mutually dependent on each other. Here we show that a genetically engineered Escherichia coli strain DH5α could trigger stomatal closure in Vicia faba, an innate immune response that might depend on NADPH oxidase-mediated ROS burst. DH5α-induced stomatal closure could be abolished or disguised under certain environmental conditions like low [CO2], darkness, and drought, etc. Foliar spraying of high concentrations of ABA could reduce stomatal aperture in high humidity-treated faba bean plants. Consistently, the aggressive multiplication of DH5α bacteria in Vicia faba leaves under high humidity could be alleviated by exogenous application of ABA. Our data suggest that a successful colonization of bacteria on the leaf surface is correlated with stomatal aperture regulation by a specific set of environmental factors. PMID:25003527

Contributions of Abiotic and Biotic Dechlorination Following Carboxymethyl Cellulose Stabilized Nanoscale Zero Valent Iron Injection.

PubMed

Kocur, Chris M D; Lomheim, Line; Boparai, Hardiljeet K; Chowdhury, Ahmed I A; Weber, Kela P; Austrins, Leanne M; Edwards, Elizabeth A; Sleep, Brent E; O'Carroll, Denis M

2015-07-21

A pilot scale injection of nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) stabilized with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was performed at an active field site contaminated with a range of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (cVOC). The cVOC concentrations and microbial populations were monitored at the site before and after nZVI injection. The remedial injection successfully reduced parent compound concentrations on site. A period of abiotic degradation was followed by a period of enhanced biotic degradation. Results suggest that the nZVI/CMC injection created conditions that stimulated the native populations of organohalide-respiring microorganisms. The abundance of Dehalococcoides spp. immediately following the nZVI/CMC injection increased by 1 order of magnitude throughout the nZVI/CMC affected area relative to preinjection abundance. Distinctly higher cVOC degradation occurred as a result of the nZVI/CMC injection over a 3 week evaluation period when compared to control wells. This suggests that both abiotic and biotic degradation occurred following injection.

Protein Tyrosine Nitration during Development and Abiotic Stress Response in Plants

PubMed Central

Mata-Pérez, Capilla; Begara-Morales, Juan C.; Chaki, Mounira; Sánchez-Calvo, Beatriz; Valderrama, Raquel; Padilla, María N.; Corpas, Francisco J.; Barroso, Juan B.

2016-01-01

In recent years, the study of nitric oxide (NO) in plant systems has attracted the attention of many researchers. A growing number of investigations have shown the significance of NO as a signal molecule or as a molecule involved in the response against (a)biotic processes. NO can be responsible of the post-translational modifications (NO-PTM) of target proteins by mechanisms such as the nitration of tyrosine residues. The study of protein tyrosine nitration during development and under biotic and adverse environmental conditions has increased in the last decade; nevertheless, there is also an endogenous nitration which seems to have regulatory functions. Moreover, the advance in proteome techniques has enabled the identification of new nitrated proteins, showing the high variability among plant organs, development stage and species. Finally, it may be important to discern between a widespread protein nitration because of greater RNS content, and the specific nitration of key targets which could affect cell-signaling processes. In view of the above point, we present a mini-review that offers an update about the endogenous protein tyrosine nitration, during plant development and under several abiotic stress conditions. PMID:27895655

Predicting macropores in space and time by earthworms and abiotic controls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hohenbrink, Tobias Ludwig; Schneider, Anne-Kathrin; Zangerlé, Anne; Reck, Arne; Schröder, Boris; van Schaik, Loes

2017-04-01

Macropore flow increases infiltration and solute leaching. The macropore density and connectivity, and thereby the hydrological effectiveness, vary in space and time due to earthworms' burrowing activity and their ability to refill their burrows in order to survive drought periods. The aim of our study was to predict the spatiotemporal variability of macropore distributions by a set of potentially controlling abiotic variables and abundances of different earthworm species. We measured earthworm abundances and effective macropore distributions using tracer rainfall infiltration experiments in six measurement campaigns during one year at six field sites in Luxembourg. Hydrologically effective macropores were counted in three soil depths (3, 10, 30 cm) and distinguished into three diameter classes (<2, 2-6, >6 mm). Earthworms were sampled and determined to species-level. In a generalized linear modelling framework, we related macropores to potential spatial and temporal controlling factors. Earthworm species such as Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea longa, local abiotic site conditions (land use, TWI, slope), temporally varying weather conditions (temperature, humidity, precipitation) and soil moisture affected the number of effective macropores. Main controlling factors and explanatory power of the models (uncertainty and model performance) varied depending on the depth and diameter class of macropores. We present spatiotemporal predictions of macropore density by daily-resolved, one year time series of macropore numbers and maps of macropore distributions at specific dates in a small-scale catchment with 5 m resolution.

Rice Phospholipase A Superfamily: Organization, Phylogenetic and Expression Analysis during Abiotic Stresses and Development

PubMed Central

Singh, Amarjeet; Baranwal, Vinay; Shankar, Alka; Kanwar, Poonam; Ranjan, Rajeev; Yadav, Sandeep; Pandey, Amita; Kapoor, Sanjay; Pandey, Girdhar K.

2012-01-01

Background Phospholipase A (PLA) is an important group of enzymes responsible for phospholipid hydrolysis in lipid signaling. PLAs have been implicated in abiotic stress signaling and developmental events in various plants species. Genome-wide analysis of PLA superfamily has been carried out in dicot plant Arabidopsis. A comprehensive genome-wide analysis of PLAs has not been presented yet in crop plant rice. Methodology/Principal Findings A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis identified a total of 31 PLA encoding genes in the rice genome, which are divided into three classes; phospholipase A1 (PLA1), patatin like phospholipases (pPLA) and low molecular weight secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) based on their sequences and phylogeny. A subset of 10 rice PLAs exhibited chromosomal duplication, emphasizing the role of duplication in the expansion of this gene family in rice. Microarray expression profiling revealed a number of PLA members expressing differentially and significantly under abiotic stresses and reproductive development. Comparative expression analysis with Arabidopsis PLAs revealed a high degree of functional conservation between the orthologs in two plant species, which also indicated the vital role of PLAs in stress signaling and plant development across different plant species. Moreover, sub-cellular localization of a few candidates suggests their differential localization and functional role in the lipid signaling. Conclusion/Significance The comprehensive analysis and expression profiling would provide a critical platform for the functional characterization of the candidate PLA genes in crop plants. PMID:22363522

Understanding Tropical Forest Abiotic Responses to Canopy Loss and Biomass Deposition from an Experimental Hurricane Manipulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Beusekom, A.; González, G.; Stankavitch, S.; Zimmerman, J. K.

2017-12-01

Understanding the nature and duration of the response of tropical forests to the extreme weather events of hurricanes is critical to understanding future forest regimes, as hurricanes are expected to increase in frequency with climate change. Here we present results from a manipulative experiment on hurricane disturbance effects in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) in Puerto Rico. The LEF is an example of a forest that would be in a frequent-hurricane region in Earth System Models (ESMs). Thus, the Canopy Trimming Experiment (CTE) was designed to study the key mechanisms behind such a forest's response after a major hurricane (category 4), and guide how repeated hurricanes might be expected to alter such ecosystems using these key mechanisms. Furthermore, with explicit forest manipulation instead of natural occurrence, it is possible to separate out which aspects of hurricane disturbance are most important to be accurately included in ESMs. Phase one of the experiments ran from 2005-2012, where it was found that short-term biotic responses of the forests were driven by canopy openness rather than by debris deposition. In phase two, running from 2014 through the present, we focus here on the abiotic changes forcing the overall response of the ecosystem. The manner in which these abiotic characteristics are disturbed and the speed at which they recover will be key to the continued existence of tropical forests under a climate with more frequent hurricane activity.

Enhanced abiotic reduction of Cr(VI) in a soil slurry system by natural biomaterial addition.

PubMed

Park, Donghee; Ahn, Chi Kyu; Kim, Young Mi; Yun, Yeoung-Sang; Park, Jong Moon

2008-12-30

Among various plant-based natural biomaterials, pine bark was chosen as an efficient biomaterial capable of removing toxic Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. XPS spectra indicated that Cr(VI) was abiotically reduced to Cr(III) in both liquid and solid phases. The Cr(VI)-reducing capacity of pine bark was determined as 545 (+/-1.3)mg-Cr(VI)g(-1) of it, which was 8.7 times higher than that of a common chemical Cr(VI)-reductant, FeSO4 x 7H2O. Because pine bark could completely reduce toxic Cr(VI) to less toxic or nontoxic Cr(III) even at neutral pH, it was used as an organic reductant to remediate Cr(VI)-contaminated soil in this study. Soil slurry system using a bottle roller was applied to ex situ slurry-phase remediation experiments. In the soil slurry system, pine bark completely reduced Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and adsorbed the reduced-Cr(III) on its surface. Abiotic remediation rate of Cr(VI)-contaminated soil increased with the increase of pine bark dosage and with the decreases of Cr(VI) and water contents. In conclusion, pine bark can be used to remediate Cr(VI)-contaminated soil efficiently and environmentally friendly.

Abiotic formation of RNA-like oligomers by montmorillonite catalysis: part II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ertem, Gözen; Snellinger-O'Brien, Ann M.; Ertem, M. C.; Rogoff, D. A.; Dworkin, Jason P.; Johnston, Murray V.; Hazen, Robert M.

2008-01-01

This work is an extension of our previous studies carried out to investigate the possible catalytic role of minerals in the abiotic synthesis of biologically important molecules. In the presence of montmorillonite, a member of the phyllosilicate group minerals that are abundant on Earth and identified on Mars, activated RNA monomers, namely 5‧-phosphorimidazolides of nucleosides (ImpNs), undergo condensation reactions in aqueous electrolyte solution producing oligomers with similar structures to short RNA fragments. Analysis of the linear trimer isomers formed in the reaction of a mixture of activated adenosine and cytidine monomers (ImpA and ImpC, respectively) employing high-performance liquid chromatography, selective enzymatic hydrolysis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectroscopy molecular weight measurements demonstrate that montmorillonite catalysis facilitates the formation of hetero-isomers containing 56% A- and 44% C-monomer incorporated in their structure. The results also show that 56% of the monomer units are linked together by RNA-like 3‧, 5‧-phosphodiester bonds. These results follow the same trend observed in our most recent work studying the reaction of activated adenosine and uridine monomers, and support Bernal's hypothesis proposing the possible catalytic role of minerals in the abiotic processes in the course of chemical evolution.

Life without water: cross-resistance of anhydrobiotic cell line to abiotic stresses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gusev, Oleg

2016-07-01

Anhydrobiosis is an intriguing phenomenon of natural ability of some organisms to resist water loss. The larvae of Polypedilum vanderplanki, the sleeping chironomid is the largest and most complex anhydrobionts known to date. The larvae showed ability to survive variety of abiotic stresses, including outer space environment. Recently cell line (Pv11) derived from the embryonic mass of the chironomid was established. Initially sensitive to desiccation cells, are capable to "induced" anhydrobiosis, when the resistance to desiccation can be developed by pre-treatment of the cells with trehalose followed by quick desiccation. We have further conducted complex analysis of the whole genome transcription response of Pv11 cells to different abiotic stresses, including oxidative stress and irradiation. Comparative analysis showed that the gene set, responsible for formation of desiccation resistance (ARID regions in the genome) is also activated in response to other types of stresses and likely to contribute to general enhancing of the resistance of the cells to harsh environment. We have further demonstrated that the cells are able to protect recombinant proteins from harmful effect of desiccation

Biotic and abiotic effects on CO2 sequestration during microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation.

PubMed

Okyay, Tugba Onal; Rodrigues, Debora F

2015-03-01

In this study, CO2 sequestration was investigated through the microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) process with isolates obtained from a cave called 'Cave Without A Name' (Boerne, TX, USA) and the Pamukkale travertines (Denizli, Turkey). The majority of the bacterial isolates obtained from these habitats belonged to the genera Sporosarcina, Brevundimonas, Sphingobacterium and Acinetobacter. The isolates were investigated for their capability to precipitate calcium carbonate and sequester CO2. Biotic and abiotic effects of CO2 sequestration during MICP were also investigated. In the biotic effect, we observed that the rate and concentration of CO2 sequestered was dependent on the species or strains. The main abiotic factors affecting CO2 sequestration during MICP were the pH and medium components. The increase in pH led to enhanced CO2 sequestration by the growth medium. The growth medium components, on the other hand, were shown to affect both the urease activity and CO2 sequestration. Through the Plackett-Burman experimental design, the most important growth medium component involved in CO2 sequestration was determined to be urea. The optimized medium composition by the Plackett-Burman design for each isolate led to a statistically significant increase, of up to 148.9%, in CO2 uptake through calcification mechanisms. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

DISTINGUISHING A HYPOTHETICAL ABIOTIC PLANET–MOON SYSTEM FROM A SINGLE INHABITED PLANET

SciTech Connect

Li, Tong; Tian, Feng; Wei, Wanjing

It has recently been suggested that an exomoon with a CH{sub 4} atmosphere, orbiting an abiotic Earth-mass planet with an O{sub 2}-rich atmosphere, can produce a false positive biosignature at a low–moderate spectral resolution (R = λ/Δλ ≤ 2000). If this were true, inferring the presence of life on exoplanets will be beyond our reach in the next several decades. Here we use a line-by-line radiative transfer model to compute the relevant reflection spectrum between 1 and 3.3 μm. We show that it is possible to separate the combined spectra of such planet–moon systems from an inhabited planet by multiple-band NIR observations.more » We suggest that future observations near the 2.3 μm CH{sub 4} absorption band at a resolution of 100 and an SNR of 10 or more may be a good way to distinguish an abiotic planet–moon system from a inhabited single planet.« less

Organization and Regulation of Soybean SUMOylation System under Abiotic Stress Conditions

PubMed Central

Li, Yanjun; Wang, Guixin; Xu, Zeqian; Li, Jing; Sun, Mengwei; Guo, Jingsong; Ji, Wei

2017-01-01

Covalent attachment of the small ubiquitin-related modifier, SUMO, to substrate proteins plays a significant role in plants under stress conditions, which can alter target proteins' function, location, and protein-protein interactions. Despite this importance, information about SUMOylation in the major legume crop, soybean, remains obscure. In this study, we performed a bioinformatics analysis of the entire soybean genome and identified 40 genes belonged to six families involved in a cascade of enzymatic reactions in soybean SUMOylation system. The cis-acting elements analysis revealed that promoters of SUMO pathway genes contained different combinations of stress and development-related cis-regulatory elements. RNA-seq data analysis showed that SUMO pathway components exhibited versatile tissue-specific expression patterns, indicating coordinated functioning during plant growth and development. qRT-PCR analysis of 13 SUMO pathway members indicated that majority of the SUMO pathway members were transcriptionally up-regulated by NaCl, heat and ABA stimuli during the 24 h period of treatment. Furthermore, SUMOylation dynamics in soybean roots under abiotic stress treatment were analyzed by western blot, which were characterized by regulation of SUMOylated proteins. Collectively, this study defined the organization of the soybean SUMOylation system and implied an essential function for SUMOylation in soybean abiotic stress responses. PMID:28878795

Interaction of abiotic and microbial processes in hexachloroethane reduction in groundwater

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, A. Lynn; Gschwend, Philip M.

1994-01-01

In order to gain insight into mechanisms of hexachloroethane reduction, hexa- and pentachloroethane transformation rates were measured in anaerobic groundwater samples. For samples spiked with pentachloroethane, disappearance of pentachloroethane was accompanied by tetrachloroethylene production. Transformation rates were similar in unpoisoned and in HgCl2-poisoned samples, and rates were within ±20% of predictions based on measured pH and second-order dehydrochlorination rate constants determined in clean laboratory systems, indicating that the fate of pentachloroethane in this system is dominated by abiotic reactions. No hexachloroethane transformation was observed in HgCl2-poisoned samples, whereas in unpoisoned samples, hexachloroethane disappearance was accompanied by production of tetrachloroethylene as well as traces of pentachloroethane. Although only minor amounts of pentachloroethane accumulated, as much as 30% of the hexachloroethane transformation pathway proceeds via a pentachloroethane intermediate. This suggests that the microbial reduction of hexachloroethane proceeds at least in part through a free-radical mechanism. To the extent that hexachloroethane reduction to tetrachloroethylene occurs through a pentachloroethane intermediate, the first step in the sequence, the microbially-mediated step, is the slow step; the subsequent abiotic dehydrohalogenation step occurs much more rapidly.

Abiotic mechanism for the formation of atmospheric nitrous oxide from ammonium nitrate.

PubMed

Rubasinghege, Gayan; Spak, Scott N; Stanier, Charles O; Carmichael, Gregory R; Grassian, Vicki H

2011-04-01

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas and a primary cause of stratospheric ozone destruction. Despite its importance, there remain missing sources in the N2O budget. Here we report the formation of atmospheric nitrous oxide from the decomposition of ammonium nitrate via an abiotic mechanism that is favorable in the presence of light, relative humidity and a surface. This source of N2O is not currently accounted for in the global N2O budget. Annual production of N2O from atmospheric aerosols and surface fertilizer application over the continental United States from this abiotic pathway is estimated from results of an annual chemical transport simulation with the Community Multiscale Air Quality model (CMAQ). This pathway is projected to produce 9.3(+0.7/-5.3) Gg N2O annually over North America. N2O production by this mechanism is expected globally from both megacities and agricultural areas and may become more important under future projected changes in anthropogenic emissions.

A database of annotated tentative orthologs from crop abiotic stress transcripts.

PubMed

Balaji, Jayashree; Crouch, Jonathan H; Petite, Prasad V N S; Hoisington, David A

2006-10-07

A minimal requirement to initiate a comparative genomics study on plant responses to abiotic stresses is a dataset of orthologous sequences. The availability of a large amount of sequence information, including those derived from stress cDNA libraries allow for the identification of stress related genes and orthologs associated with the stress response. Orthologous sequences serve as tools to explore genes and their relationships across species. For this purpose, ESTs from stress cDNA libraries across 16 crop species including 6 important cereal crops and 10 dicots were systematically collated and subjected to bioinformatics analysis such as clustering, grouping of tentative orthologous sets, identification of protein motifs/patterns in the predicted protein sequence, and annotation with stress conditions, tissue/library source and putative function. All data are available to the scientific community at http://intranet.icrisat.org/gt1/tog/homepage.htm. We believe that the availability of annotated plant abiotic stress ortholog sets will be a valuable resource for researchers studying the biology of environmental stresses in plant systems, molecular evolution and genomics.

Identification and Expression Profiling of the Auxin Response Factors in Dendrobium officinale under Abiotic Stresses

PubMed Central

Chen, Zhehao; Yuan, Ye; Fu, Di; Shen, Chenjia; Yang, Yanjun

2017-01-01

Auxin response factor (ARF) proteins play roles in plant responses to diverse environmental stresses by binding specifically to the auxin response element in the promoters of target genes. Using our latest public Dendrobium transcriptomes, a comprehensive characterization and analysis of 14 DnARF genes were performed. Three selected DnARFs, including DnARF1, DnARF4, and DnARF6, were confirmed to be nuclear proteins according to their transient expression in epidermal cells of Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Furthermore, the transcription activation abilities of DnARF1, DnARF4, and DnARF6 were tested in a yeast system. Our data showed that DnARF6 is a transcriptional activator in Dendrobium officinale. To uncover the basic information of DnARF gene responses to abiotic stresses, we analyzed their expression patterns under various hormones and abiotic treatments. Based on our data, several hormones and significant stress responsive DnARF genes have been identified. Since auxin and ARF genes have been identified in many plant species, our data is imperative to reveal the function of ARF mediated auxin signaling in the adaptation to the challenging Dendrobium environment. PMID:28471373

Identification and Expression Profiling of the Auxin Response Factors in Dendrobium officinale under Abiotic Stresses.

PubMed

Chen, Zhehao; Yuan, Ye; Fu, Di; Shen, Chenjia; Yang, Yanjun

2017-05-04

Auxin response factor (ARF) proteins play roles in plant responses to diverse environmental stresses by binding specifically to the auxin response element in the promoters of target genes. Using our latest public Dendrobium transcriptomes, a comprehensive characterization and analysis of 14 DnARF genes were performed. Three selected DnARFs , including DnARF1 , DnARF4 , and DnARF6 , were confirmed to be nuclear proteins according to their transient expression in epidermal cells of Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Furthermore, the transcription activation abilities of DnARF1 , DnARF4 , and DnARF6 were tested in a yeast system. Our data showed that DnARF6 is a transcriptional activator in Dendrobium officinale . To uncover the basic information of DnARF gene responses to abiotic stresses, we analyzed their expression patterns under various hormones and abiotic treatments. Based on our data, several hormones and significant stress responsive DnARF genes have been identified. Since auxin and ARF genes have been identified in many plant species, our data is imperative to reveal the function of ARF mediated auxin signaling in the adaptation to the challenging Dendrobium environment.

[Response of Calliphora vicina larval hemocytes to abiotic and biotic foreign particles injection].

PubMed

Kind, T V

2012-01-01

Human erythrocytes injection into the body cavity of Calliphora vicina postfeeding larvae results to their fast binding by thrombocytoidal fragments with agglutinates formation. There were almost none sites of lysis and degradation of erythrocytes in agglutinates even after shape modification and strands generation. Exceptions are zones of agglutinates with juvenile hemocytes, where destruction of erythrocytes is seen. The sequential injection of erythrocytes and charcoal particles leads to charcoal adhesion at first to agglutinates periphery and later to more deep stratum of cytoplasm between the erythrocytes. Under such conditions agglutinate formation period is accompanied with morphology variations which do not influence the intensity of agglutinating reaction. Juvenile plasmatocytes phagocytized the charcoal particles regardless of their concentration and duration of previous contact with erythrocytes. When mixture of abiotic and biotic particles was injected into post feeding larvae, crythrocytes and charcoal generate independent aggregations in the range of separate agglutinates. At the same time plasmatocytes form nodules consisting of temporary cell aggregations covered with cores of non phagocytized charcoal particles. These data testified that presumably lectin receptors responsible for foreign biotic and abiotic particles recognition are very near but not identical for different types of hemocytes. They may be specifical (for plasmatocytes) or integrated to different parts of cellular membrane (in thrombocytoids).

Abiotic nitrogen fixation on terrestrial planets: reduction of NO to ammonia by FeS.

PubMed

Summers, David P; Basa, Ranor C B; Khare, Bishun; Rodoni, David

2012-02-01

Understanding the abiotic fixation of nitrogen and how such fixation can be a supply of prebiotic nitrogen is critical for understanding both the planetary evolution of, and the potential origin of life on, terrestrial planets. As nitrogen is a biochemically essential element, sources of biochemically accessible nitrogen, especially reduced nitrogen, are critical to prebiotic chemistry and the origin of life. Loss of atmospheric nitrogen can result in loss of the ability to sustain liquid water on a planetary surface, which would impact planetary habitability and hydrological processes that shape the surface. It is known that NO can be photochemically converted through a chain of reactions to form nitrate and nitrite, which can be subsequently reduced to ammonia. Here, we show that NO can also be directly reduced, by FeS, to ammonia. In addition to removing nitrogen from the atmosphere, this reaction is particularly important as a source of reduced nitrogen on an early terrestrial planet. By converting NO directly to ammonia in a single step, ammonia is formed with a higher product yield (~50%) than would be possible through the formation of nitrate/nitrite and subsequent conversion to ammonia. In conjunction with the reduction of NO, there is also a catalytic disproportionation at the mineral surface that converts NO to NO₂ and N₂O. The NO₂ is then converted to ammonia, while the N₂O is released back in the gas phase, which provides an abiotic source of nitrous oxide.

Molecular responses of genetically modified maize to abiotic stresses as determined through proteomic and metabolomic analyses

PubMed Central

Benevenuto, Rafael Fonseca; Agapito-Tenfen, Sarah Zanon; Vilperte, Vinicius; Wikmark, Odd-Gunnar; van Rensburg, Peet Jansen; Nodari, Rubens Onofre

2017-01-01

Some genetically modified (GM) plants have transgenes that confer tolerance to abiotic stressors. Meanwhile, other transgenes may interact with abiotic stressors, causing pleiotropic effects that will affect the plant physiology. Thus, physiological alteration might have an impact on the product safety. However, routine risk assessment (RA) analyses do not evaluate the response of GM plants exposed to different environmental conditions. Therefore, we here present a proteome profile of herbicide-tolerant maize, including the levels of phytohormones and related compounds, compared to its near-isogenic non-GM variety under drought and herbicide stresses. Twenty differentially abundant proteins were detected between GM and non-GM hybrids under different water deficiency conditions and herbicide sprays. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that most of these proteins are assigned to energetic/carbohydrate metabolic processes. Among phytohormones and related compounds, different levels of ABA, CA, JA, MeJA and SA were detected in the maize varieties and stress conditions analysed. In pathway and proteome analyses, environment was found to be the major source of variation followed by the genetic transformation factor. Nonetheless, differences were detected in the levels of JA, MeJA and CA and in the abundance of 11 proteins when comparing the GM plant and its non-GM near-isogenic variety under the same environmental conditions. Thus, these findings do support molecular studies in GM plants Risk Assessment analyses. PMID:28245233

Cyclone tolerance in new world arecaceae: biogeographic variation and abiotic natural selection.

PubMed

Griffith, M Patrick; Noblick, Larry R; Dowe, John L; Husby, Chad E; Calonje, Michael A

2008-10-01

Consistent abiotic factors can affect directional selection; cyclones are abiotic phenomena with near-discrete geographic limits. The current study investigates selective pressure of cyclones on plants at the species level, testing for possible natural selection. New World Arecaceae (palms) are used as a model system, as plants with monopodial, unbranched arborescent form are most directly affected by the selective pressure of wind load. Living specimens of known provenance grown at a common site were affected by the same cyclone. Data on percentage mortality were compiled and analysed in biogeographic and phylogenetic contexts. Palms of cyclone-prone provenance exhibited a much lower (one order of magnitude) range in cyclone tolerance, and significantly lower (P < 0.001) mean percentage mortality than collections from cyclone-free areas. Palms of cyclone-free provenance had much greater variation in tolerance, and significantly greater mean percentage mortality. A test for serial independence recovered no significant phylogenetic autocorrelation of percentage mortality. Variation in cyclone tolerance in New World Arecaceae correlates with biogeography, and is not confounded with phylogeny. These results suggest natural selection of cyclone tolerance in cyclone-prone areas.

Using thermodynamics to assess biotic and abiotic impediments to root water uptake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bechmann, Marcel; Hildebrandt, Anke; Kleidon, Axel

2016-04-01

Root water uptake has been the subject of extensive research, dealing with understanding the processes limiting transpiration and understanding strategies of plants to avoid water stress. Many of those studies use models of water flow from the soil through the plant into the atmosphere to learn about biotic and abiotic factors affecting plant water relations. One important question in this context is to identify those processes that are most limiting to water transport, and specifically whether these processes lie within the plant or the soil? Here, we propose to use a thermodynamic formulation of root water uptake to answer this question. The method allows us to separate the energy exported at the root collar into a sum of energy fluxes related to all processes along the flow path, notably including the effect of increasing water retention in drier soils. Evaluation of the several contributions allows us to identify and rank the processes by how much these impede water flow from the soil to the atmosphere. The application of this approach to a complex 3-dimensional root water uptake model reveals insights on the role of root versus soil resistances to limit water flow. We investigate the efficiency of root water uptake in an ensemble of root systems with varying root hydraulic properties. While root morphology is kept the same, root radial and axial resistances are artificially varied. Starting with entirely young systems (uptake roots, high radial, low axial conductance) we increasingly add older roots (transport roots, high axial, low radial conductance) to improve transport within root systems. This yields a range of root hydraulic architectures, where the extremes are limited either by radial uptake capacity or low capacity to transport water along the root system. We model root water uptake in this range of root systems with a 3-dimensional root water uptake model in two different soils, applying constant flux boundary conditions in a dry down experiment and

The wheat transcription factor, TabHLH39, improves tolerance to multiple abiotic stressors in transgenic plants.

PubMed

Zhai, Yiqian; Zhang, Lichao; Xia, Chuan; Fu, Silu; Zhao, Guangyao; Jia, Jizeng; Kong, Xiuying

2016-05-13

Although bHLH transcription factors play important roles regulating plant development and abiotic stress response and tolerance, few functional studies have been performed in wheat. In this study, we isolated and characterized a bHLH gene, TabHLH39, from wheat. The TabHLH39 gene is located on wheat chromosome 5DL, and the protein localized to the nucleus and activated transcription. TabHLH39 showed variable expression in roots, stems, leaves, glumes, pistils and stamens and was induced by polyethylene glycol, salt and cold treatments. Further analysis revealed that TabHLH39 overexpression in Arabidopsis significantly enhanced tolerance to drought, salt and freezing stress during the seedling stage, which was also demonstrated by enhanced abiotic stress-response gene expression and changes to several physiological indices. Therefore, TabHLH39 has potential in transgenic breeding applications to improve abiotic stress tolerance in crops. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Promoter of AtUSP Is Co-regulated by Phytohormones and Abiotic Stresses in Arabidopsis thaliana.

PubMed

Bhuria, Monika; Goel, Parul; Kumar, Sanjay; Singh, Anil K

2016-01-01

Universal stress proteins (USPs) are known to be expressed in response to various abiotic stresses in a wide variety of organisms, such as bacteria, archaebacteria, protists, algae, fungi, plants, and animals. However, in plants, biological function of most of the USPs still remains obscure. In the present study, Arabidopsis USP gene ( AtUSP ) showed induction in response to abscisic acid (ABA) and various abiotic stresses viz . heat, dehydration, salt, osmotic, and cold stresses. Additionally, in silico analysis of AtUSP promoter identified several cis -elements responsive to phytohormones and abiotic stresses such as ABRE, ERE, DRE, and HSE, etc. To functionally validate the AtUSP promoter, the 1115 bp region of promoter was characterized under phytohormone and abiotic stress treatments. Deletion analysis of promoter was carried out by cloning the full length promoter (D0) and its three 5' deletion derivatives, D1 (964 bp), D2 (660 bp), and D3 (503 bp) upstream of the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene, which were then stably transformed in Arabidopsis plants. The AtUSP promoter (D0) showed minimal activity under non-stress conditions which was enhanced in response to phytohormone treatments (ABA and ACC) and abiotic stresses such as dehydration, heat, cold, salt, and osmotic stresses. The seedlings harboring D1 and D2 deletion fragments showed constitutive GUS expression even under control condition with increased activity almost under all the treatments. However, D3 seedlings exhibited complete loss of activity under control condition with induction under ACC treatment, dehydration, heat, oxidative, salt, and osmotic stresses. Thus, present study clearly showed that AtUSP promoter is highly inducible by phytohormones and multiple abiotic stresses and it can be exploited as stress inducible promoter to generate multi-stress tolerant crops with minimal effects on their other important traits.

Abortion in the media.

PubMed

Conti, Jennifer A; Cahill, Erica

2017-12-01

To review updates in how abortion care is depicted and analysed though various media outlets: news, television, film, and social media. A surge in recent media-related abortion research has recognized several notable and emerging themes: abortion in the news media is often inappropriately sourced and politically motivated; abortion portrayal in US film and television is frequently misrepresented; and social media has a new and significant role in abortion advocacy. The portrayal of abortion onscreen, in the news, and online through social media has a significant impact on cultural, personal, and political beliefs in the United States. This is an emerging field of research with wide spread potential impact across several arenas: medicine, policy, public health.

[Primary tuberculous otitis media].

PubMed

Benavides Gabernet, M; Morera Faet, H; Saiz, V; Mateos, M; Collado, D; Pérez, A; Morera Pérez, C

2000-04-01

Tuberculous otitis media is now an infrequent disease, with an incidence of less than 1%. In most cases the origin is a pulmonary focus and primary cases are rarer. We report a case of primary tuberculous otitis media in an immunocompetent patient. A bibliographic review was made of clinical and etiopathogenic aspects, as well as diagnosis and treatment. We highlight the diagnostic difficulty and the fact that this entity should be included in the differential diagnosis of persistent suppurative otitis media.

Media Monopoly in Brazil.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amaral, Roberto; Guimaraes, Cesar

1994-01-01

Documents the process of broadcasting media development in Brazil, the failure of new technologies to produce democratization, and the barriers to democratization erected by monopolization and "metastasis." (SR)

Overview: new media.

PubMed

O'Keeffe, Gwenn Schurgin

2012-06-01

Pediatricians care for children's growth and development from the time they are born until they become adults. In addition, pediatricians must be vigilant for external influences. Technology influences children of all ages. Seventy-five percent of teenagers own cell phones, with 25% using them for social media. Technology can lead to an increase in skills and social benefits but there is also the potential for harm such as sexting, cyberbullying, privacy issues, and Internet addiction, all of which can affect health. Pediatricians must become well versed in the new media to provide media-oriented anticipatory guidance and advice on media-related issues. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Media multitasking in adolescence.

PubMed

Cain, Matthew S; Leonard, Julia A; Gabrieli, John D E; Finn, Amy S

2016-12-01

Media use has been on the rise in adolescents overall, and in particular, the amount of media multitasking-multiple media consumed simultaneously, such as having a text message conversation while watching TV-has been increasing. In adults, heavy media multitasking has been linked with poorer performance on a number of laboratory measures of cognition, but no relationship has yet been established between media-multitasking behavior and real-world outcomes. Examining individual differences across a group of adolescents, we found that more frequent media multitasking in daily life was associated with poorer performance on statewide standardized achievement tests of math and English in the classroom, poorer performance on behavioral measures of executive function (working memory capacity) in the laboratory, and traits of greater impulsivity and lesser growth mindset. Greater media multitasking had a relatively circumscribed set of associations, and was not related to behavioral measures of cognitive processing speed, implicit learning, or manual dexterity, or to traits of grit and conscientiousness. Thus, individual differences in adolescent media multitasking were related to specific differences in executive function and in performance on real-world academic achievement measures: More media multitasking was associated with poorer executive function ability, worse academic achievement, and a reduced growth mindset.

Abiotic-biotic characterization of Pt/Ir microelectrode arrays in chronic implants

PubMed Central

Prasad, Abhishek; Xue, Qing-Shan; Dieme, Robert; Sankar, Viswanath; Mayrand, Roxanne C.; Nishida, Toshikazu; Streit, Wolfgang J.; Sanchez, Justin C.

2014-01-01

Pt/Ir electrodes have been extensively used in neurophysiology research in recent years as they provide a more inert recording surface as compared to tungsten or stainless steel. While floating microelectrode arrays (FMA) consisting of Pt/Ir electrodes are an option for neuroprosthetic applications, long-term in vivo functional performance characterization of these FMAs is lacking. In this study, we have performed comprehensive abiotic-biotic characterization of Pt/Ir arrays in 12 rats with implant periods ranging from 1 week up to 6 months. Each of the FMAs consisted of 16-channel, 1.5 mm long, and 75 μm diameter microwires with tapered tips that were implanted into the somatosensory cortex. Abiotic characterization included (1) pre-implant and post-explant scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study recording site changes, insulation delamination and cracking, and (2) chronic in vivo electrode impedance spectroscopy. Biotic characterization included study of microglial responses using a panel of antibodies, such as Iba1, ED1, and anti-ferritin, the latter being indicative of blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. Significant structural variation was observed pre-implantation among the arrays in the form of irregular insulation, cracks in insulation/recording surface, and insulation delamination. We observed delamination and cracking of insulation in almost all electrodes post-implantation. These changes altered the electrochemical surface area of the electrodes and resulted in declining impedance over the long-term due to formation of electrical leakage pathways. In general, the decline in impedance corresponded with poor electrode functional performance, which was quantified via electrode yield. Our abiotic results suggest that manufacturing variability and insulation material as an important factor contributing to electrode failure. Biotic results show that electrode performance was not correlated with microglial activation (neuroinflammation) as we were able

Maternal, social and abiotic environmental effects on growth vary across life stages in a cooperative mammal.

PubMed

English, Sinead; Bateman, Andrew W; Mares, Rafael; Ozgul, Arpat; Clutton-Brock, Tim H

2014-03-01

Resource availability plays a key role in driving variation in somatic growth and body condition, and the factors determining access to resources vary considerably across life stages. Parents and carers may exert important influences in early life, when individuals are nutritionally dependent, with abiotic environmental effects having stronger influences later in development as individuals forage independently. Most studies have measured specific factors influencing growth across development or have compared relative influences of different factors within specific life stages. Such studies may not capture whether early-life factors continue to have delayed effects at later stages, or whether social factors change when individuals become nutritionally independent and adults become competitors for, rather than providers of, food. Here, we examined variation in the influence of the abiotic, social and maternal environment on growth across life stages in a wild population of cooperatively breeding meerkats. Cooperatively breeding vertebrates are ideal for investigating environmental influences on growth. In addition to experiencing highly variable abiotic conditions, cooperative breeders are typified by heterogeneity both among breeders, with mothers varying in age and social status, and in the number of carers present. Recent rainfall had a consistently marked effect on growth across life stages, yet other seasonal terms only influenced growth during stages when individuals were growing fastest. Group size and maternal dominance status had positive effects on growth during the period of nutritional dependence on carers, but did not influence mass at emergence (at 1 month) or growth at independent stages (>4 months). Pups born to older mothers were lighter at 1 month of age and subsequently grew faster as subadults. Males grew faster than females during the juvenile and subadult stage only. Our findings demonstrate the complex ways in which the external environment

Exploring biotic vs. abiotic controls on syngenetic carbonate and clay mineral precipitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nascimento, Gabriela S.; McKenzie, Judith A.; Martinez Ruiz, Francisca; Bontognali, Tomaso R. R.; Vasconcelos, Crisogono

2016-04-01

A possible syngenetic relationship between carbonate and clay mineral precipitation has been reported for sedimentary rocks deposited in both lacustrine and marine sedimentary environments throughout the geological record. In particular, the mineral dolomite is often found associated with Mg-rich clays, such as stevensite. It is notable that this carbonate/clay association has been recorded in numerous samples taken from modern dolomite precipitating environments; for example, the Coorong lakes, South Australia, coastal sabkhas, Abu Dhabi, UAE and coastal hypersaline lagoons (Lagoa Vermelha and Brejo do Espinho) east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. An HRTEM study of samples from these three locations indicates a possible physical/chemical association between the Ca-dolomite and Mg-rich clays, demonstrating a probable co-precipitation. To test this hypothesis, we have conducted a series of biotic and abiotic laboratory experiments. If this syngenesis actually occurs in nature, what, if any, are the biogeochemical processes controlling these precipitation reactions? Our experiments were designed to determine the extent of the biotic versus abiotic component influencing the mineral precipitation and, in the case of a biotic influence, to understand the mechanism through which microorganisms might mediate the formation of clay minerals. The experiments were carried out in the Geomicrobiology Laboratory of ETH Zürich using cultures of living microbes and artificial organic compounds that simulate functional groups present in natural biofilms formed under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In addition, pure inorganic experiments were designed to understand possible physico-chemical conditions for diagenetic processes that could induce dissolution of Mg-carbonates and precipitation of Mg-rich clays. Our results show a remarkable biotic influence during the formation of clay minerals. Specifically, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), released by microbes in their

Maternal, social and abiotic environmental effects on growth vary across life stages in a cooperative mammal

PubMed Central

English, Sinead; Bateman, Andrew W; Mares, Rafael; Ozgul, Arpat; Clutton-Brock, Tim H

2014-01-01

Resource availability plays a key role in driving variation in somatic growth and body condition, and the factors determining access to resources vary considerably across life stages. Parents and carers may exert important influences in early life, when individuals are nutritionally dependent, with abiotic environmental effects having stronger influences later in development as individuals forage independently. Most studies have measured specific factors influencing growth across development or have compared relative influences of different factors within specific life stages. Such studies may not capture whether early-life factors continue to have delayed effects at later stages, or whether social factors change when individuals become nutritionally independent and adults become competitors for, rather than providers of, food. Here, we examined variation in the influence of the abiotic, social and maternal environment on growth across life stages in a wild population of cooperatively breeding meerkats. Cooperatively breeding vertebrates are ideal for investigating environmental influences on growth. In addition to experiencing highly variable abiotic conditions, cooperative breeders are typified by heterogeneity both among breeders, with mothers varying in age and social status, and in the number of carers present. Recent rainfall had a consistently marked effect on growth across life stages, yet other seasonal terms only influenced growth during stages when individuals were growing fastest. Group size and maternal dominance status had positive effects on growth during the period of nutritional dependence on carers, but did not influence mass at emergence (at 1 month) or growth at independent stages (>4 months). Pups born to older mothers were lighter at 1 month of age and subsequently grew faster as subadults. Males grew faster than females during the juvenile and subadult stage only. Our findings demonstrate the complex ways in which the external environment

Fast Abiotic Production of Methane at Temperatures Below 100°C

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Etiope, G.; Ionescu, A.

2015-12-01

Fischer-Tropsch Type (FTT) reactions, e.g., the Sabatier synthesis between H2 and CO2, are considered a main source of abiotic methane on Earth and likely on other planets. Several laboratory FTT experiments demonstrated abiotic CH4 production at temperatures above 200°C, by using Fe, Ni or Cr catalysts, simulating hydrothermal conditions in peridotite-hosted systems in mid-ocean ridges. Nevertheless, at least on laboratory experiment time-scale, Fe-Ni-Cr catalysts do not support CH4 generation at T<100°C, such as those of land-based serpentinization systems. We have recently reported rapid production of considerable amounts of CH4 (>800 ppmv in 155 mL bottles after 1 day) via Sabatier reaction at 90, 50 and 25°C, using small concentrations of non-pretreated ruthenium (Ru) equivalent to those occurring in chromitites in continental ultramafic rocks (Etiope & Ionescu, 2014; Geofluids, doi:10.1111/gfl.12106). We have repeated the experiments by using 13C-enriched CO2 and we confirm fast production of CH4at percentage levels. The experiments performed so far show that: 1. considerable amounts of CH4can be produced in dry conditions below 100°C with small quantities of Ru; 2. under the same experimental conditions (<100°C), Fe, Ni and Cr oxides do not produce CH4; 3. low T Sabatier reaction can produce CH4 with a large C isotope fractionation between CO2 and CH4, leading to relatively " light" (13C-depleted) CH4, resembling microbial gas; 4. the CO2-CH4isotope separation decreases over time and by increasing the temperature; 5. minor amounts of C2-C6hydrocarbons are also generated. Our laboratory data are compatible with the isotopic patterns of CH4 naturally occurring in land-based seeps and springs. Our experiments suggest that Ru-enriched chromitites could potentially generate CH4 at low T. Since Ru is reported in Martian meteorites, low T abiotic CH4 production on Mars via Sabatier reaction cannot be excluded (Etiope et al. 2013, Icarus, 224, 276-285).

Kinetics of abiotic nitrous oxide production via oxidation of hydroxylamine by particulate metals in seawater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavazos, A. R.; Taillefert, M.; Glass, J. B.

2016-12-01

The oceans are a significant of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. Current models of global oceanic N2­O flux focus on microbial N2O cycling and often ignore abiotic reactions, such as the thermodynamically favorable oxidation of the nitrification intermediate hydroxylamine (NH2OH) by Mn(IV) or Fe(III). At circumneutral pH, NH2OH oxidation is more thermodynamically favorable via Mn(IV) than Fe(III) reduction. We characterized the kinetics of NH2OH oxidation in synthetic ocean water at pH 5.1-8.8 using microsensor electrodes to measure real-time N2O production. N2O production rates and yield were greater when NH2OH was oxidized by Mn(IV) than Fe(III). Accordingly, the reduction of Mn(IV) was first order with respect to NH2OH whereas the reduction of Fe(III) was zero order with respect to NH2OH. Interestingly, the order of the reaction with respect to Mn(IV) appears to be negative whereas the reaction is second order with respect to Fe(III). The inverse order with respect to Mn(IV) may be due to the aggregation of particles in seawater, which decreases their surface area and changes their reactivity. Finally, the reaction is first order with respect to protons with Fe(III) as the oxidant but zero order with Mn(IV). The stronger effect of the pH on the reaction with Fe(III) as the oxidant compared to Mn(IV) reflects the stoichiometry of these two reactions, as each mole of N2O produced by Fe(III) reduction consumes eight protons while each mole of N2O produced with Mn(IV) as the oxidant requires only four protons. Our data show that abiotic NH2OH oxidation by Mn(IV) or Fe(III) particles may represent a significant source of N2O in seawater. These findings suggest that abiotic N2O production in marine waters may be significant in areas of the oceans where particulate metals originating from aerosols, dust, or rivers may react with NH2OH released from ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms.

Media Literacy: The School Library Media Center's New Curriculum Baby.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Julia

1994-01-01

Defines seven key concepts of media literacy education. Discusses reading visual media as well as print media and computer programs; determining values and ethics; decoding or deconstructing; critical thinking; the promotion of media literacy by interest groups; and educational restructuring with the role of the school library media specialist as…

Assay of Plasma Membrane H+-ATPase in Plant Tissues under Abiotic Stresses.

PubMed

Janicka, Małgorzata; Wdowikowska, Anna; Kłobus, Grażyna

2018-01-01

Plasma membrane (PM) H + -ATPase, which generates the proton gradient across the outer membrane of plant cells, plays a fundamental role in the regulation of many physiological processes fundamental for growth and development of plants. It is involved in the uptake of nutrients from external solutions, their loading into phloem and long-distance transport, stomata aperture and gas exchange, pH homeostasis in cytosol, cell wall loosening, and cell expansion. The crucial role of the enzyme in resistance of plants to abiotic and biotic stress factors has also been well documented. Such great diversity of physiological functions linked to the activity of one enzyme requires a suitable and complex regulation of H + -ATPase. This regulation comprises the transcriptional as well as post-transcriptional levels. Herein, we describe the techniques that can be useful for the analysis of the plasma membrane proton pump modifications at genetic and protein levels under environmental factors.

The chemistry of gamete attraction: chemical structures, biosynthesis, and (a)biotic degradation of algal pheromones.

PubMed Central

Boland, W

1995-01-01

Female gametes of marine brown algae release and/or attract their conspecific males by chemical signals. The majority of these compounds are unsaturated, nonfunctionalized acyclic, and/or alicyclic C11 hydrocarbons. Threshold concentrations for release and attraction are generally observed in the range of 1-1000 pmol. The blends may contain various configurational isomers of the genuine pheromones as well as mixtures of enantiomers. Higher plants produce the C11 hydrocarbons from dodeca-3,6,9-trienoic acid; brown algae exploit the family of icosanoids for biosynthesis of the same compounds. The biosynthetic routes comprise several spontaneously occurring pericyclic reactions such as [3.3]-sigmatropic rearrangements, [1.7]-hydrogen shifts, and electrocyclic ring closures. All pheromones are (a)biotically degraded by ubiquitous oxidative pathways involving singlet oxygen or hydroxyl radicals, which may be produced through the agency of heavy metals, huminic acids, or light. PMID:7816845

Abiotic degradation of glyphosate into aminomethylphosphonic acid in the presence of metals.

PubMed

Ascolani Yael, J; Fuhr, J D; Bocan, G A; Daza Millone, A; Tognalli, N; Dos Santos Afonso, M; Martiarena, M L

2014-10-08

Glyphosate [N-phosphono-methylglycine (PMG)] is the most used herbicide worldwide, particularly since the development of transgenic glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops. Aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) is the main glyphosate metabolite, and it may be responsible for GR crop damage upon PMG application. PMG degradation into AMPA has hitherto been reckoned mainly as a biological process, produced by soil microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) and plants. In this work, we use density functional calculations to identify the vibrational bands of PMG and AMPA in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra experiments. SERS shows the presence of AMPA after glyphosate is deposited from aqueous solution on different metallic surfaces. AMPA is also detected in ATR-FTIR experiments when PMG interacts with metallic ions in aqueous solution. These results reveal an abiotic degradation process of glyphosate into AMPA, where metals play a crucial role.

Abiotic/biotic coupling in the rhizosphere: a reactive transport modeling analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lawrence, Corey R.; Steefel, Carl; Maher, Kate

2014-01-01

A new generation of models is needed to adequately simulate patterns of soil biogeochemical cycling in response changing global environmental drivers. For example, predicting the influence of climate change on soil organic matter storage and stability requires models capable of addressing complex biotic/abiotic interactions of rhizosphere and weathering processes. Reactive transport modeling provides a powerful framework simulating these interactions and the resulting influence on soil physical and chemical characteristics. Incorporation of organic reactions in an existing reactive transport model framework has yielded novel insights into soil weathering and development but much more work is required to adequately capture root and microbial dynamics in the rhizosphere. This endeavor provides many advantages over traditional soil biogeochemical models but also many challenges.

Precise through-space control of an abiotic electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Kyle E.; Bocanegra, Jessica L.; Liu, Xiaoxi; Chau, H.-Y. Katharine; Lee, Patrick C.; Li, Jianing; Schneebeli, Severin T.

2017-04-01

Nature has evolved selective enzymes for the efficient biosynthesis of complex products. This exceptional ability stems from adapted enzymatic pockets, which geometrically constrain reactants and stabilize specific reactive intermediates by placing electron-donating/accepting residues nearby. Here we perform an abiotic electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction, which is directed precisely through space. Ester arms--positioned above the planes of aromatic rings--enable it to distinguish between nearly identical, neighbouring reactive positions. Quantum mechanical calculations show that, in two competing reaction pathways, both [C-H...O]-hydrogen bonding and electrophile preorganization by coordination to a carbonyl group likely play a role in controlling the reaction. These through-space-directed mechanisms are inspired by dimethylallyl tryptophan synthases, which direct biological electrophilic aromatic substitutions by preorganizing dimethylallyl cations and by stabilizing reactive intermediates with [C-H...N]-hydrogen bonding. Our results demonstrate how the third dimension above and underneath aromatic rings can be exploited to precisely control electrophilic aromatic substitutions.

Effects of biotic and abiotic factors on the temporal dynamic of bat-fruit interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laurindo, Rafael de Souza; Gregorin, Renato; Tavares, Davi Castro

2017-08-01

Mutualistic interactions between animals and plants vary over time and space based on the abundance of fruits or animals and seasonality. Little is known about this temporal dynamic and the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on the structure of interaction networks. We evaluated changes in the structure of network interactions between bats and fruits in relation to variations in rainfall. Our results suggest that fruit abundance is the main variable responsible for temporal changes in network attributes, such as network size, connectance, and number of interactions. In the same way, temperature positively affected the abundance of fruits and bats. An increase in temperature and alterations in rainfall patterns, due to human induced climate change, can cause changes in phenological patterns and fruit production, with negative consequences to biodiversity maintenance, ecological interactions, and ecosystem functioning.

Ultraweak photon emission and proteomics analyses in soybean under abiotic stress.

PubMed

Komatsu, Setsuko; Kamal, Abu Hena Mostafa; Makino, Takahiro; Hossain, Zahed

2014-07-01

Biophotons are ultraweak photon emissions that are closely related to various biological activities and processes. In mammals, biophoton emissions originate from oxidative bursts in immunocytes during immunological responses. Biophotons emitted from plant organs provide novel information about the physiological state of plant under in vivo condition. In this review, the principles and recent advances in the measurement of biophoton emissions in plants are described. Furthermore, examples of biophoton emission and proteomics in soybean under abiotic stress are reviewed and discussed. Finally, this review suggests that the application of proteomics should provide a better interpretation of plant response to biophoton emission and allow the identification of genes that will allow the screening of crops able to produce maximal yields, even in stressful environments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Salt lakes of Western Australia - Natural abiotic formation of volatile organic compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krause, T.; Studenroth, S.; Mulder, I.; Tubbesing, C.; Kotte, K.; Ofner, J.; Junkermann, W.; Schöler, H. F.

2012-04-01

Western Australia is a semi-/arid region that is heavily influenced by global climate change and agricultural land use. The area is known for its many ephemeral saline and hypersaline lakes with a wide range of hydrogeochemical parameters that have gradually changed over the last fifty years. Historically, the region was covered by eucalyptus trees and shrubs, but was cleared mainly within 10 years after WWII to make room for wheat and live stock. After the clearance of the deep rooted native plants the groundwater started to rise, bringing increased amounts of dissolved salts and minerals to the surface and discharging them into streams and lakes. Thus most of Western Australia is influenced by secondary salinisation (soil salting) [1]. Another problem is that the discharged minerals affect the pH of ground and surface water, which ranges from acidic to slightly basic. During the 2011 campaign surface water was measured with a pH between 2.5 and 7.1. Another phenomenon in Western Australia is the decrease of rainfall over the last decades assumed to be linked to the secondary salinisation. The rising saline and mineral rich groundwater increases the biotical and abiotical activity of the salt lakes. Halogenated and non-halogenated volatile organic compounds emitted from those lakes undergo fast oxidation and chemical reactions to form small particles modifying cloud microphysics and thus suppressing rain events [2]. Our objective is to gain a better understanding of this extreme environment with its hypersaline acidic lakes with regard to the potential abiotic formation of volatile organic compounds and its impact on the local climate. In spring 2011 fifty-three sediment samples from ten salt lakes in the Lake King region where taken, freeze-dried and ground. In order to simulate the abiotic formation of volatile organic compounds the soil samples were resuspended with water in gas-tight headspace vials. The headspace was measured using a purge and trap GC

Strain improvement of industrially important microorganisms based on resistance to toxic metabolites and abiotic stress.

PubMed

Fiedurek, Jan; Trytek, Mariusz; Szczodrak, Janusz

2017-06-01

Improvement of the biosynthetic capabilities of industrially relevant microbes to produce desired metabolites in higher quantities is one of the important topics of modern biotechnology. In this article, different strategies of improvement of mutated microbial strains are briefly described. This is followed by the first comprehensive review of the literature on obtaining high yielding microorganisms, that is, mutants exhibiting resistance to antimetabolites, nutritional repression, and abiotic stresses as well as tolerance to solvents and toxic substrates or products. Furthermore, the efficiency of the microbial metabolites produced by improved microbial strains, advantages, and limitations, as well as future prospects for strategies of strain development are discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Biotic and abiotic controls on biogenic volatile organic compound fluxes from a subalpine forest floor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gray, Christopher M.; Monson, Russell K.; Fierer, Noah

2014-04-01

Nonmethane biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) play key roles in the atmosphere, where they can influence a wide range of chemical processes, and in soils, where they can alter the rates of biogeochemical cycles and impact the growth of plants and soil organisms. However, the diversity and quantities of BVOCs released from or taken up by soils remain poorly characterized as do the biotic and abiotic controls on these fluxes. Here we used proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry to quantify BVOC flux rates from soils with and without active root systems in a subalpine coniferous forest. The total measured BVOC flux averaged 102 nmol m-2 h-1 (an estimated 2.0 µg-C m-2 h-1). The individual BVOCs with the highest net emissions from soil included monoterpenes and methanol (averaging 646 and 641 ng-C m-2 h-1, respectively) while soil represented a net sink of isoprene (-98 ng-C m-2 h-1) and formaldehyde (-37 ng-C m-2 h-1). Tree roots, directly or indirectly, contributed an average of 53% of the total carbon emitted from the soil as BVOCs, with methanol and acetaldehyde among those BVOCs most strongly associated with active root presence. The fluxes of most of the dominant BVOCs emitted from soil, including methanol, increased linearly with increasing temperature. Together the fluxes of certain BVOCs into or out of the forest floor (particularly methanol, isoprene, and monoterpenes) are likely relevant to ecosystem-level processes and belowground ecology, but these fluxes are highly variable and are strongly controlled by both root presence and soil abiotic conditions.

Abiotic controls of emergent macrophyte density in a bedrock channel - The Cahaba River, AL (USA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaughn, Ryan S.; Davis, Lisa

2015-10-01

Research examining bedrock channels is growing. Despite this, biotic-abiotic interactions remain a topic mostly addressed in alluvial systems. This research identified hydrogeomorphic factors operating at the patch-scale (100-102 m) in bedrock shoals of the Cahaba River (AL) that help determine the distribution of the emergent aquatic macrophyte, Justicia americana. Macrophyte patch density (number of stems/m2) and percent bedrock void surface area (rock surface area/m2 occupied by joints, fractures, and potholes) were measured (n = 24 within two bedrock shoals) using stem counts and underwater photography, respectively. One-dimensional hydrologic modeling (HEC-RAS 4.1.0) was completed for a section within a shoal to examine velocity and channel depth as controlling variables for macrophyte patch density. Results from binary logistic regression analysis identified depth and velocity as good predictors of the presence or absence of Justicia americana within shoal structures (depth p = 0.001, velocity p = 0.007), which is a similar finding to previous research conducted in alluvial systems. Correlation analysis between bedrock surface void area and stem density demonstrated a statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.665, p = 0.01), elucidating a link between abiotic-biotic processes that may well be unique to bedrock channels. These results suggest that the amount of void space present in bedrock surfaces, in addition to localized depth and velocity, helps control macrophyte patch density in bedrock shoal complexes. The utility of geomorphology in explaining patch-scale habitat heterogeneity in this study highlights geomorphology's potential to help understand macrophyte habitat heterogeneity at the reach scale, while also demonstrating its promise for mapping and understanding habitat heterogeneity at the system scale.

Biotic and abiotic controls of argentine ant invasion success at local and landscape scales

USGS Publications Warehouse

Menke, S.B.; Fisher, R.N.; Jetz, W.; Holway, D.A.

2007-01-01

Although the ecological success of introduced species hinges on biotic interactions and physical conditions, few experimental studies - especially on animals - have simultaneously investigated the relative importance of both types of factors. The lack of such research may stem from the common assumption that native and introduced species exhibit similar environmental tolerances. Here we combine experimental and spatial modeling approaches (1) to determine the relative importance of biotic and abiotic controls of Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) invasion success, (2) to examine how the importance of these factors changes with spatial scale in southern California (USA), and (3) to assess how Argentine ants differ from native ants in their environmental tolerances. A factorial field experiment that combined native ant removal with irrigation revealed that Argentine ants failed to invade any dry plots (even those lacking native ants) but readily invaded all moist plots. Native ants slowed the spread of Argentine ants into irrigated plots but did not prevent invasion. In areas without Argentine ants, native ant species showed variable responses to irrigation. At the landscape scale, Argentine ant occurrence was positively correlated with minimum winter temperature (but not precipitation), whereas native ant diversity increased with precipitation and was negatively correlated with minimum winter temperature. These results are of interest for several reasons. First, they demonstrate that fine-scale differences in the physical environment can eclipse biotic resistance from native competitors in determining community susceptibility to invasion. Second, our results illustrate surprising complexities with respect to how the abiotic factors limiting invasion can change with spatial scale, and third, how native and invasive species can differ in their responses to the physical environment. Idiosyncratic and scale-dependent processes complicate attempts to forecast where

The Effects of Abiotic Factors on Induced Volatile Emissions in Corn Plants1

PubMed Central

Gouinguené, Sandrine P.; Turlings, Ted C.J.

2002-01-01

Many plants respond to herbivory by releasing a specific blend of volatiles that is attractive to natural enemies of the herbivores. In corn (Zea mays), this induced odor blend is mainly composed of terpenoids and indole. The induced signal varies with plant species and genotype, but little is known about the variation due to abiotic factors. Here, we tested the effect of soil humidity, air humidity, temperature, light, and fertilization rate on the emission of induced volatiles in young corn plants. Each factor was tested separately under constant conditions for the other factors. Plants released more when standing in dry soil than in wet soil, whereas for air humidity, the optimal release was found at around 60% relative humidity. Temperatures between 22°C and 27°C led to a higher emission than lower or higher temperatures. Light intensity had a dramatic effect. The emission of volatiles did not occur in the dark and increased steadily with an increase in the light intensity. An experiment with an unnatural light-dark cycle showed that the release was fully photophase dependent. Fertilization also had a strong positive effect; the emission of volatiles was minimal when plants were grown under low nutrition, even when results were corrected for plant biomass. Changes in all abiotic factors caused small but significant changes in the relative ratios among the different compounds (quality) in the induced odor blends, except for air humidity. Hence, climatic conditions and nutrient availability can be important factors in determining the intensity and variability in the release of induced plant volatiles. PMID:12114583

Using abiotic variables to predict importance of sites for species representation.

PubMed

Albuquerque, Fabio; Beier, Paul

2015-10-01

In systematic conservation planning, species distribution data for all sites in a planning area are used to prioritize each site in terms of the site's importance toward meeting the goal of species representation. But comprehensive species data are not available in most planning areas and would be expensive to acquire. As a shortcut, ecologists use surrogates, such as occurrences of birds or another well-surveyed taxon, or land types defined from remotely sensed data, in the hope that sites that represent the surrogates also represent biodiversity. Unfortunately, surrogates have not performed reliably. We propose a new type of surrogate, predicted importance, that can be developed from species data for a q% subset of sites. With species data from this subset of sites, importance can be modeled as a function of abiotic variables available at no charge for all terrestrial areas on Earth. Predicted importance can then be used as a surrogate to prioritize all sites. We tested this surrogate with 8 sets of species data. For each data set, we used a q% subset of sites to model importance as a function of abiotic variables, used the resulting function to predict importance for all sites, and evaluated the number of species in the sites with highest predicted importance. Sites with the highest predicted importance represented species efficiently for all data sets when q = 25% and for 7 of 8 data sets when q = 20%. Predicted importance requires less survey effort than direct selection for species representation and meets representation goals well compared with other surrogates currently in use. This less expensive surrogate may be useful in those areas of the world that need it most, namely tropical regions with the highest biodiversity, greatest biodiversity loss, most severe lack of inventory data, and poorly developed protected area networks. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

Simultaneous influence of indigenous microorganism along with abiotic factors controlling arsenic mobilization in Brahmaputra floodplain, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sathe, Sandip S.; Mahanta, Chandan; Mishra, Pushpanjali

2018-06-01

In the dynamic cycling of oxic and anoxic aqueous alluvial aquifer environments, varying Arsenic (As) concentrations are controlled by both abiotic and biotic factors. Studies have shown a significant form of toxic As (III) being released through the reductive dissolution of iron-oxy/hydroxide minerals and microbial reduction mechanisms, which leads to a serious health concern. The present study was performed in order to assess the abiotic and biotic factors influencing As release into the alluvial aquifer groundwater in Brahmaputra floodplain, India. The groundwater chemistry, characterization of the sediments, isolation, identification and characterization of prominent As releasing indigenous bacterium were conducted. The measured solid and liquid phases of total As concentration were ranged between 0.02 and 17.2 mg kg-1 and 8 to 353 μg L-1, respectively. The morphology and mineralogy showed the presence of detrital and authigenic mineral assemblages whereas primary and secondary As bearing Realgar and Claudetite minerals were identified, respectively. Furthermore, significant non-labile As fraction was found associated with the amorphous oxides of Fe, Mn and Al. The observed groundwater chemistry and sediment color, deduced a sub-oxic reducing aquifer conditions in As-contaminated regions. In addition, 16S rDNA sequencing results of the isolated bacterium showed the prominent Pseudomonas aeruginosa responsible for the mobilization of As, reducing condition, biomineralization and causing grey color to the sediments at the shallower and deeper aquifers in the study area. These findings suggest that microbial metabolic activities are equally responsible in iron-oxy/hydroxide reductive dissolution, controlling As mobilization in dynamic fluvial flood plains.

Abiotic and biotic factors responsible for antimonite oxidation in Agrobacterium tumefaciens GW4

PubMed Central

Li, Jingxin; Yang, Birong; Shi, Manman; Yuan, Kai; Guo, Wei; Wang, Qian; Wang, Gejiao

2017-01-01

Antimonite [Sb(III)]-oxidizing bacteria can transform the toxic Sb(III) into the less toxic antimonate [Sb(V)]. Recently, the cytoplasmic Sb(III)-oxidase AnoA and the periplasmic arsenite [As(III)] oxidase AioAB were shown to responsible for bacterial Sb(III) oxidation, however, disruption of each gene only partially decreased Sb(III) oxidation efficiency. This study showed that in Agrobacterium tumefaciens GW4, Sb(III) induced cellular H2O2 content and H2O2 degradation gene katA. Gene knock-out/complementation of katA, anoA, aioA and anoA/aioA and Sb(III) oxidation and growth experiments showed that katA, anoA and aioA were essential for Sb(III) oxidation and resistance and katA was also essential for H2O2 resistance. Furthermore, linear correlations were observed between cellular H2O2 and Sb(V) content in vivo and chemical H2O2 and Sb(V) content in vitro (R2 = 0.93 and 0.94, respectively). These results indicate that besides the biotic factors, the cellular H2O2 induced by Sb(III) also catalyzes bacterial Sb(III) oxidation as an abiotic oxidant. The data reveal a novel mechanism that bacterial Sb(III) oxidation is associated with abiotic (cellular H2O2) and biotic (AnoA and AioAB) factors and Sb(III) oxidation process consumes cellular H2O2 which contributes to microbial detoxification of both Sb(III) and cellular H2O2. PMID:28252030

Evidence for abiotic sulfurization of marine dissolved organic matter in sulfidic environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pohlabeln, A. M.; Niggemann, J.; Dittmar, T.

2016-02-01

Sedimentary organic matter abiotically sulfurizes in sulfidic marine environments. Here we hypothesize that sulfurization also affects dissolved organic matter (DOM), and that sulfidic marine environments are sources of dissolved organic sulfur (DOS) to the ocean. To test these hypotheses we studied solid-phase extractable (SPE) DOS in the Black Sea at various water column depths (oxic and anoxic) and in sediment porewaters from the German Wadden Sea. The concentration and molecular composition of SPE-DOS from these sites and from the oxic water columns of the North Sea (Germany) and of the North Pacific were compared. In support of our hypotheses, SPE-DOS concentrations were elevated in sulfidic waters compared to oxic waters. For a detailed molecular characterization of SPE-DOS, selective wet-chemical alteration experiments targeting different sulfur-containing functional groups were applied prior to Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). These experiments included harsh hydrolysis, selective derivatization of thiols, oxidation, and deoxygenation to test for thioesters, sulfonic acid esters, alkylsulfates, thiols, non-aromatic thioethers, and sulfoxides. Additionally, collision-induced fragmentation experiments were applied to test for sulfonic acids. The tests revealed that the sulfonic acid group was the main structural feature in SPE-DOS, independent of the environmental conditions of the sampling site. Only in Wadden Sea anoxic porewater also non-aromatic thioethers were found which are presumably not stable in oxic waters. The findings from our field studies were confirmed in laboratory experiments, where we abiotically sulfurized marine and algal-derived DOM under conditions similar to that in anoxic marine sediments.

Contribution of hydrolysis in the abiotic attenuation of RDX and HMX in coastal waters.

PubMed

Monteil-Rivera, Fanny; Paquet, Louise; Giroux, Romain; Hawari, Jalal

2008-01-01

Sinking of military ships, dumping of munitions during the two World Wars, and military training have resulted in the undersea deposition of numerous unexploded ordnances (UXOs). Leaching of energetic compounds such as hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) from these UXOs may cause adverse ecological effects so that the long-term fate of these chemicals in the sea should be known. The present study assesses the contribution of alkaline hydrolysis into the natural attenuation of RDX and HMX in coastal waters. Alkaline hydrolysis rates were shown to be unaffected by the presence of sodium chloride, the most common component in marine waters. Kinetic parameters (E(a), ln A, k(2)) quantified for the alkaline hydrolysis of RDX and HMX in deionized water (30-50 degrees C, pH 10-12) agreed relatively well with abiotic degradation rates determined in sterilized natural coastal waters (50 and 60 degrees C, variable salinity) even if the latter were generally slightly faster than the former. Furthermore, similar products (HCHO, NO(2)(-), O(2)NNHCH(2)NHCHO) were obtained on alkaline hydrolysis in deionized water and abiotic degradation in coastal waters. These two findings suggested that degradation of nitramines in sterilized natural coastal waters, away from light, was mainly governed by alkaline hydrolysis. Kinetic calculations using the present parameters showed that alkaline hydrolysis of RDX and HMX in marine waters at 10 degrees C would respectively take 112 +/- 10 and 2408 +/- 217 yr to be completed (99.0%). We concluded that under natural conditions hydrolysis should not contribute significantly to the natural attenuation of HMX in coastal waters whereas it could play an active role in the natural attenuation of RDX.

High-Resolution Electrospray Ionization/Ion Mobility Spectrometer for Detection of Abiotic Amino Acids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beegle, L. W.; Terrell, C. A.; Kim, H.; Kanik, I.

2003-01-01

One of the primary goals of the current NASA thrust in Astrobiology is the detection and identification of organic molecules as part of an in-situ lander platform on the surface of Mars or Europa. The identification of these molecules should help determine whether indigenous organisms exist on the surface of Mars or in an undersea environment on Europa. In addition, a detailed organic chemical inventory of surface and near surface molecules will help elucidate the possibilities of life elsewhere in the Universe. Terrestrial life has, as its backbone, the family of molecules known as the amino acids (AA), and while AA can be found in the terrestrial environments as part of more complex molecules, such as peptides, and proteins, they also exist as individual molecules due to of the hydrolyses of biopolymers. In terrestrial biochemistry, there are 20 principal amino acids which are necessary for life. However, some forms of these molecules can be found in nature synthesized via abiotic process. For example, they are known to exist extraterrestrially as a component of carbonaceous meteorites. The idea that amino acids are readily created by abiotic means has been demonstrated by their positive identification in the Murchison CM2 meteorite, which fell in 1969. This meteorite was analyzed before contamination by terrestrial microbes could result. Three laboratories individually tested parts of the meteorite and concluded that the amino acids present in them were indigenous to the meteorite because, among other reasons, they had equal L- and D- enantiomers. Final identification of the constituents of the Murchison included 33 amino acids which have no known biotic source, 11 amino acids which have limited distribution and 8 (Glycine, Alanine, Valine, Proline, Leucine, Isoleucine, Aspartic Acid, and Glutamic Acid), which readily occur in terrestrial proteins.

Abiotic and biotic factors responsible for antimonite oxidation in Agrobacterium tumefaciens GW4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jingxin; Yang, Birong; Shi, Manman; Yuan, Kai; Guo, Wei; Wang, Qian; Wang, Gejiao

2017-03-01

Antimonite [Sb(III)]-oxidizing bacteria can transform the toxic Sb(III) into the less toxic antimonate [Sb(V)]. Recently, the cytoplasmic Sb(III)-oxidase AnoA and the periplasmic arsenite [As(III)] oxidase AioAB were shown to responsible for bacterial Sb(III) oxidation, however, disruption of each gene only partially decreased Sb(III) oxidation efficiency. This study showed that in Agrobacterium tumefaciens GW4, Sb(III) induced cellular H2O2 content and H2O2 degradation gene katA. Gene knock-out/complementation of katA, anoA, aioA and anoA/aioA and Sb(III) oxidation and growth experiments showed that katA, anoA and aioA were essential for Sb(III) oxidation and resistance and katA was also essential for H2O2 resistance. Furthermore, linear correlations were observed between cellular H2O2 and Sb(V) content in vivo and chemical H2O2 and Sb(V) content in vitro (R2 = 0.93 and 0.94, respectively). These results indicate that besides the biotic factors, the cellular H2O2 induced by Sb(III) also catalyzes bacterial Sb(III) oxidation as an abiotic oxidant. The data reveal a novel mechanism that bacterial Sb(III) oxidation is associated with abiotic (cellular H2O2) and biotic (AnoA and AioAB) factors and Sb(III) oxidation process consumes cellular H2O2 which contributes to microbial detoxification of both Sb(III) and cellular H2O2.

Stream pH as an abiotic gradient influencing distributions of trout in Pennsylvania streams

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kocovsky, P.M.; Carline, R.F.

2005-01-01

Elevation and stream slope are abiotic gradients that limit upstream distributions of brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis and brown trout Salmo trutta in streams. We sought to determine whether another abiotic gradient, base-flow pH, may also affect distributions of these two species in eastern North America streams. We used historical data from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's fisheries management database to explore the effects of reach elevation, slope, and base-flow pH on distributional limits to brook trout and brown trout in Pennsylvania streams in the Appalachian Plateaus and Ridge and Valley physiographic provinces. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) was used to calculate a canonical axis that separated allopatric brook trout populations from allopatric brown trout populations and allowed us to assess which of the three independent variables were important gradients along which communities graded from allopatric brook trout to allopatric brown trout. Canonical structure coefficients from DFA indicated that in both physiographic provinces, stream base-flow pH and slope were important factors in distributional limits; elevation was also an important factor in the Ridge and Valley Province but not the Appalachian Plateaus Province. Graphs of each variable against the proportion of brook trout in a community also identified apparent zones of allopatry for both species on the basis of pH and stream slope. We hypothesize that pH-mediated interspecific competition that favors brook trout in competition with brown trout at lower pH is the most plausible mechanism for segregation of these two species along pH gradients. Our discovery that trout distributions in Pennsylvania are related to stream base-flow pH has important implications for brook trout conservation in acidified regions. Carefully designed laboratory and field studies will be required to test our hypothesis and elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the partitioning of brook trout and

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal 14-3-3 Proteins Are Involved in Arbuscule Formation and Responses to Abiotic Stresses During AM Symbiosis.

PubMed

Sun, Zhongfeng; Song, Jiabin; Xin, Xi'an; Xie, Xianan; Zhao, Bin

2018-01-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are soil-borne fungi belonging to the ancient phylum Glomeromycota and are important symbionts of the arbuscular mycorrhiza, enhancing plant nutrient acquisition and resistance to various abiotic stresses. In contrast to their significant physiological implications, the molecular basis involved is poorly understood, largely due to their obligate biotrophism and complicated genetics. Here, we identify and characterize three genes termed Fm201 , Ri14-3-3 and RiBMH2 that encode 14-3-3-like proteins in the AM fungi Funneliformis mosseae and Rhizophagus irregularis , respectively. The transcriptional levels of Fm201 , Ri14-3-3 and RiBMH2 are strongly induced in the pre-symbiotic and symbiotic phases, including germinating spores, intraradical hyphae- and arbuscules-enriched roots. To functionally characterize the Fm201 , Ri14-3-3 and RiBMH2 genes, we took advantage of a yeast heterologous system owing to the lack of AM fungal transformation systems. Our data suggest that all three genes can restore the lethal Saccharomyces cerevisiae bmh1 bmh2 double mutant on galactose-containing media. Importantly, yeast one-hybrid analysis suggests that the transcription factor RiMsn2 is able to recognize the STRE (CCCCT/AGGGG) element present in the promoter region of Fm201 gene. More importantly, Host-Induced Gene Silencing of both Ri14-3-3 and RiBMH2 in Rhizophagus irregularis impairs the arbuscule formation in AM symbiosis and inhibits the expression of symbiotic PT4 and MST2 genes from plant and fungal partners, respectively. We further subjected the AM fungus- Medicago truncatula association system to drought or salinity stress. Accordingly, the expression profiles in both mycorrhizal roots and extraradical hyphae reveal that these three 14-3-3-like genes are involved in response to drought or salinity stress. Collectively, our results provide new insights into molecular functions of the AM fungal 14-3-3 proteins in abiotic stress responses and

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal 14-3-3 Proteins Are Involved in Arbuscule Formation and Responses to Abiotic Stresses During AM Symbiosis

PubMed Central

Sun, Zhongfeng; Song, Jiabin; Xin, Xi’an; Xie, Xianan; Zhao, Bin

2018-01-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are soil-borne fungi belonging to the ancient phylum Glomeromycota and are important symbionts of the arbuscular mycorrhiza, enhancing plant nutrient acquisition and resistance to various abiotic stresses. In contrast to their significant physiological implications, the molecular basis involved is poorly understood, largely due to their obligate biotrophism and complicated genetics. Here, we identify and characterize three genes termed Fm201, Ri14-3-3 and RiBMH2 that encode 14-3-3-like proteins in the AM fungi Funneliformis mosseae and Rhizophagus irregularis, respectively. The transcriptional levels of Fm201, Ri14-3-3 and RiBMH2 are strongly induced in the pre-symbiotic and symbiotic phases, including germinating spores, intraradical hyphae- and arbuscules-enriched roots. To functionally characterize the Fm201, Ri14-3-3 and RiBMH2 genes, we took advantage of a yeast heterologous system owing to the lack of AM fungal transformation systems. Our data suggest that all three genes can restore the lethal Saccharomyces cerevisiae bmh1 bmh2 double mutant on galactose-containing media. Importantly, yeast one-hybrid analysis suggests that the transcription factor RiMsn2 is able to recognize the STRE (CCCCT/AGGGG) element present in the promoter region of Fm201 gene. More importantly, Host-Induced Gene Silencing of both Ri14-3-3 and RiBMH2 in Rhizophagus irregularis impairs the arbuscule formation in AM symbiosis and inhibits the expression of symbiotic PT4 and MST2 genes from plant and fungal partners, respectively. We further subjected the AM fungus-Medicago truncatula association system to drought or salinity stress. Accordingly, the expression profiles in both mycorrhizal roots and extraradical hyphae reveal that these three 14-3-3-like genes are involved in response to drought or salinity stress. Collectively, our results provide new insights into molecular functions of the AM fungal 14-3-3 proteins in abiotic stress responses and

Media Anthropology: A Theoretical Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eiselein, E. B.; Topper, Martin

1976-01-01

Media anthropology, a diverse field, has involved nearly all the major subdisciplines of anthropology and most of the major media in five different areas of interaction: the study of media, reaching the public, gathering data, teaching with media, and applied media anthropology. (NQ)

Media Education and Native Peoples.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greer, Sandy

1991-01-01

Media literacy encourages critical thinking about the news media, advertising, and popular culture. Media education of American Indian students challenges mass media's stereotyped aboriginal representations and the mainstream values of egotism and consumerism. Integrated across the curriculum at all grades, media education is empowering and…

Why media relations matter.

PubMed

Kureczka, Joan E

2006-04-01

There is a common misperception that only medium- and large-cap biotechs need to understand and interact with the media. As investor demands increase and partnering dynamics evolve, startups need to understand the art of media relations more now than ever before.

Media Literacy and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lacina, Jan

2005-01-01

Technology affects education at all levels. Children are naturals at using technology. They use technology in all aspects of their lives; for that reason, it is imperative that teachers not only keep up with the latest technology, but also find ways to integrate technology, including the media, into classroom instruction. Media literacy is a…

Media Objectives for Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arrasjid, Harun, Ed.; Arrasjid, Dorine, Ed.

The purpose of this book is to provide a compendium of instructional objectives concerning instructional media and materials. It is useful for either teacher training programs or college level media courses. Each objective is stated behaviorally, such as "list the important features of a tape recorder." Objectives are arranged by medium. The media…

Digital Media and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, 2012

2012-01-01

MacArthur launched the digital media and learning initiative in 2006 to explore how digital media are changing the way young people learn, socialize, communicate, and play. Since 2006, the Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $100 million for research, development of innovative new technologies, new learning environments for youth,…

Social media and revalidation.

PubMed

2016-11-01

In recognition of nurses' increasing use of social media, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has allowed online activity to be included in continuing professional development (CPD) hours for revalidation. One social media activity for nurses is taking part in a Twitter chat, and the Royal College of Nursing has published useful advice.

Photonic layered media

DOEpatents

Fleming, James G.; Lin, Shawn-Yu

2002-01-01

A new class of structured dielectric media which exhibit significant photonic bandstructure has been invented. The new structures, called photonic layered media, are easy to fabricate using existing layer-by-layer growth techniques, and offer the ability to significantly extend our practical ability to tailor the properties of such optical materials.

Media Services: Program Evaluation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Edwin W.

The program for school media services in the Des Moines Independent Community School District is a combination of individual building media center programs and the district support services for these PK-12 programs, and its purpose is to ensure that students and staff have access to and are effective users of information. The district or central…

Introduction to Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riler, Robert

Designed for senior high school students, this one semester course focuses on four aspects of modern media: television, film, radio, and advertising. Each topic is worked into a weekly lesson plan format that stresses the active involvement of students in the learning process. The course outline contains lists of objectives and media materials…

Austria: Media Dependence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Signitzer, Benno

1978-01-01

Describes the Austrian broadcast industry which is dominated by foreign influences. Suggests the restoration of autonomy of Austria's media through a system of promotion of and subsidies to Austrian media efforts, as well as a decentralization of foreign influence to increase the quality and competitiveness of domestic production. (JMF)

Media and Equal Opportunities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lefranc, Robert

1994-01-01

Considers the proposition that media are vehicles for equality of opportunity in education. How to harness the "parallel school," i.e. where students learn outside the school, to improve learning in the schools is discussed. The effect of social groupings on the equality of opportunity via media is also considered. (Author/KRN)

News Media Industry

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

convergence of media types, rapidly evolving technology, changing consumer behavior , and traditionalists ensconced in the ways of the past all...changing consumer behavior have all contributed to uncertain times for these media icons. Newspaper readership and subscriptions levels continue to...consistently center on changing technologies, corporate pressures, changing consumer behavior and revenue generation (advertising). Because it’s

Japanese Media in English.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanaka, Sachiko Oda

1995-01-01

Describes the use of English in the media in Japan, focusing on the role and history of English-language newspapers, radio, and television programs, as well as the proliferation of English-language films shown in Japanese cinemas. Discusses the implications of English in the Japanese media. (20 references) (MDM)

Social Media. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williamson, Ronald

2010-01-01

The growing use of social media by students and adults is impacting schools. A recent Pew study found that 73% of teens use social-networking sites to connect with others. Social media includes blogs, wikis, and podcasts as well as sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Linkedin. While such sites promote connection with others, their use has created…

New Media Publishing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritchie, Ian

The media industry is the fastest growing business in the world today; additional leisure time, coupled with increasingly global distribution, has created large international markets for information and entertainment. The United Kingdom is relatively strong in the three main areas concerned with new media publishing: information technology,…

Folk Media in Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Instructional Technology Report, 1975

1975-01-01

This issue is dedicated to folk media. Using Indonesia for his case study, Dr. Nat Colletta analyzes traditional culture as a medium for development. Juan Diaz Bordenave expresses doubts about adapting folk media to development objectives; Susan Hostetler and Arthur Gillette report on uses of the theater to promote development objectives; and…

Advertising Pressures on Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammitt, Harry

The majority of the media in the United States is funded through revenues derived from the sale of advertising space. The problem that arises from this situation is fundamentally an economic one: if advertisers are paying the bills for the media, how much control over content should they have? This report offers a review of instances in which…

Fermilab | Tevatron | Media

Science.gov Websites

Book Newsroom Newsroom News and features Press releases Photo gallery Fact sheets and brochures Media media Video of shutdown event Guest book Tevatron Impact June 11, 2012 About the symposium Symposium Book Fermilab at Work For Industry Jobs Interact Facebook Twitter Instagram Google+ YouTube Flickr

Trends in Media Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Donald F.; Foehr, Ulla G.

2008-01-01

American youth are awash in media. They have television sets in their bedrooms, personal computers in their family rooms, and digital music players and cell phones in their backpacks. They spend more time with media than any single activity other than sleeping, with the average American eight- to eighteen-year-old reporting more than six hours of…

Choosing Training Delivery Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hybert, Peter R.

2000-01-01

Focuses on decisionmaking about delivery media, and introduces CADDI's Performance-based, Accelerated, Customer-Stakeholder-driven Training & Development(SM) (PACT) Processes for training and development (T&D). Describes the media decisions that correspond with the design three levels of PACT: Curriculum Architecture Design, Modular Curriculum…

Building Social Media Connections

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferriter, William N.; Ramsden, Jason T.; Sheninger, Eric C.

2012-01-01

Incorporating social media tools into your professional practices does not have to be intimidating as long as you are willing to tackle five action steps. It is far easier to articulate the strengths--and to imagine the possibilities--of social media spaces as tools for communication and professional development when you are actively using those…

Writing and Digital Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Waes, Luuk, Ed.; Leijten, Marielle, Ed.; Neuwirth, Chris, Ed.

2006-01-01

Digital media has become an increasingly powerful force in modern society. This volume brings together outstanding European, American and Australian research in "writing and digital media" and explores its cognitive, social and cultural implications. In addition to presenting programs of original research by internationally known…

Loneliness and Media Gratifications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canary, Daniel J.; Spitzberg, Brian H.

1993-01-01

Assesses the nature of the relationship between experienced loneliness and media gratifications. Finds that chronically lonely college students rely less on media for escape than do others and that they reported the least motivation for watching their favorite soap opera. (SR)

STS_135_Media

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-23

JSC2011-E-040265 (23 March 2011) --- A long parade of media is escorted between buildings at NASA?s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a media availability with the crew of STS-135 in the Systems Engineering Simulator March 23, 2011. Photo credit: NASA Photo/Houston Chronicle, Smiley N. Pool

The importance of disturbance by fire and other abiotic and biotic factors in driving cheatgrass invasion varies based on invasion stage

Treesearch

Becky K. Kerns; Michelle A. Day

2017-01-01

Disturbances create fluctuations in resource availability that alter abiotic and biotic constraints. Exotic invader response may be due to multiple factors related to disturbance regimes and complex interactions between other small- and largescale abiotic and biotic processes that may vary across invasion stages. We explore how cheatgrass responds to both frequency and...

Analysis of global gene expression in Brachypodium distachyon reveals extensive network plasticity in response to abiotic stress.

PubMed

Priest, Henry D; Fox, Samuel E; Rowley, Erik R; Murray, Jessica R; Michael, Todd P; Mockler, Todd C

2014-01-01

Brachypodium distachyon is a close relative of many important cereal crops. Abiotic stress tolerance has a significant impact on productivity of agriculturally important food and feedstock crops. Analysis of the transcriptome of Brachypodium after chilling, high-salinity, drought, and heat stresses revealed diverse differential expression of many transcripts. Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis revealed 22 distinct gene modules with specific profiles of expression under each stress. Promoter analysis implicated short DNA sequences directly upstream of module members in the regulation of 21 of 22 modules. Functional analysis of module members revealed enrichment in functional terms for 10 of 22 network modules. Analysis of condition-specific correlations between differentially expressed gene pairs revealed extensive plasticity in the expression relationships of gene pairs. Photosynthesis, cell cycle, and cell wall expression modules were down-regulated by all abiotic stresses. Modules which were up-regulated by each abiotic stress fell into diverse and unique gene ontology GO categories. This study provides genomics resources and improves our understanding of abiotic stress responses of Brachypodium.

Model-based Analysis of Mixed Uranium(VI) Reduction by Biotic and Abiotic Pathways During in Situ Bioremediation

SciTech Connect

Zhao, Jiao; Scheibe, Timothy D.; Mahadevan, Radhakrishnan

2013-10-24

Uranium bioremediation has emerged as a potential strategy of cleanup of radionuclear contamination worldwide. An integrated geochemical & microbial community model is a promising approach to predict and provide insights into the bioremediation of a complicated natural subsurface. In this study, an integrated column-scale model of uranium bioremediation was developed, taking into account long-term interactions between biotic and abiotic processes. It is also combined with a comprehensive thermodynamic analysis to track the fate and cycling of biogenic species. As compared with other bioremediation models, the model increases the resolution of the connection of microbial community to geochemistry and establishes directmore » quantitative correlation between overall community evolution and geochemical variation, thereby accurately predicting the community dynamics under different sedimentary conditions. The thermodynamic analysis examined a recently identified homogeneous reduction of U(VI) by Fe(II) under dynamic sedimentary conditions across time and space. It shows that the biogenic Fe(II) from Geobacter metabolism can be removed rapidly by the biogenic sulphide from sulfate reducer metabolism, hence constituting one of the reasons that make the abiotic U(VI) reduction thermodynamically infeasible in the subsurface. Further analysis indicates that much higher influent concentrations of both Fe(II) and U(VI) than normal are required to for abiotic U(VI) reduction to be thermodynamically feasible, suggesting that the abiotic reduction cannot be an alternative to the biotic reduction in the remediation of uranium contaminated groundwater.« less

Episodic abiotic stress and Phytophthora ramorum blight in rhododendron: impacts on root infection, symptom expression and chemical management

Treesearch

Tatiana Roubtsova; Richard Bostock

2013-01-01

Of concern for disease management and certification programs in nursery ornamentals is that roots, when colonized by Phytophthora ramorum, may serve as a potential reservoir of inoculum. An additional complication is that the above ground portion of plants with root infections may be asymptomatic. Our central hypothesis is that mild abiotic...

Global Expressions Landscape of NAC Transcription Factor Family and Their Responses to Abiotic Stresses in Citrullus lanatus

PubMed Central

Lv, Xiaolong; Lan, Shanrong; Guy, Kateta Malangisha; Yang, Jinghua; Zhang, Mingfang; Hu, Zhongyuan

2016-01-01

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is one xerophyte that has relative higher tolerance to drought and salt stresses as well as more sensitivity to cold stress, compared with most model plants. These characteristics facilitate it a potential model crop for researches on salt, drought or cold tolerance. In this study, a genome-wide comprehensive analysis of the ClNAC transcription factor (TF) family was carried out for the first time, to investigate their transcriptional profiles and potential functions in response to these abiotic stresses. The expression profiling analysis reveals that several NAC TFs are highly responsive to abiotic stresses and development, for instance, subfamily IV NACs may play roles in maintaining water status under drought or salt conditions, as well as water and metabolites conduction and translocation toward fruit. In contrast, rapid and negative responses of most of the ClNACs to low-temperature adversity may be related to the sensitivity to cold stress. Crosstalks among these abiotic stresses and hormone (abscisic acid and jasmonic acid) pathways were also discussed based on the expression of ClNAC genes. Our results will provide useful insights for the functional mining of NAC family in watermelon, as well as into the mechanisms underlying abiotic tolerance in other cash crops. PMID:27491393

Global Expressions Landscape of NAC Transcription Factor Family and Their Responses to Abiotic Stresses in Citrullus lanatus.

PubMed

Lv, Xiaolong; Lan, Shanrong; Guy, Kateta Malangisha; Yang, Jinghua; Zhang, Mingfang; Hu, Zhongyuan

2016-08-05

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is one xerophyte that has relative higher tolerance to drought and salt stresses as well as more sensitivity to cold stress, compared with most model plants. These characteristics facilitate it a potential model crop for researches on salt, drought or cold tolerance. In this study, a genome-wide comprehensive analysis of the ClNAC transcription factor (TF) family was carried out for the first time, to investigate their transcriptional profiles and potential functions in response to these abiotic stresses. The expression profiling analysis reveals that several NAC TFs are highly responsive to abiotic stresses and development, for instance, subfamily IV NACs may play roles in maintaining water status under drought or salt conditions, as well as water and metabolites conduction and translocation toward fruit. In contrast, rapid and negative responses of most of the ClNACs to low-temperature adversity may be related to the sensitivity to cold stress. Crosstalks among these abiotic stresses and hormone (abscisic acid and jasmonic acid) pathways were also discussed based on the expression of ClNAC genes. Our results will provide useful insights for the functional mining of NAC family in watermelon, as well as into the mechanisms underlying abiotic tolerance in other cash crops.

The impact of individual and combined abiotic factors on daily otolith growth in a coral reef fish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wenger, Amelia S.; Whinney, James; Taylor, Brett; Kroon, Frederieke

2016-06-01

Coral reefs are increasingly subjected to both local and global stressors, however, there is limited information on how reef organisms respond to their combined effects under natural conditions. This field study examined the growth response of the damselfish Neopomacentrus bankieri to the individual and combined effects of multiple abiotic factors. Turbidity, temperature, tidal movement, and wave action were recorded every 10 minutes for four months, after which the daily otolith growth of N. bankieri was aligned with corresponding abiotic conditions. Temperature was the only significant driver of daily otolith increment width, with increasing temperatures resulting in decreasing width. Although tidal movement was not a significant driver of increment width by itself, the combined effect of tidal movement and temperature had a greater negative effect on growth than temperature alone. Our results indicate that temperature can drive changes in growth even at very fine scales, and demonstrate that the cumulative impact of abiotic factors can be substantially greater than individual effects. As abiotic factors continue to change in intensity and duration, the combined impacts of them will become increasingly important drivers of physiological and ecological change.

The impact of individual and combined abiotic factors on daily otolith growth in a coral reef fish.

PubMed

Wenger, Amelia S; Whinney, James; Taylor, Brett; Kroon, Frederieke

2016-06-28

Coral reefs are increasingly subjected to both local and global stressors, however, there is limited information on how reef organisms respond to their combined effects under natural conditions. This field study examined the growth response of the damselfish Neopomacentrus bankieri to the individual and combined effects of multiple abiotic factors. Turbidity, temperature, tidal movement, and wave action were recorded every 10 minutes for four months, after which the daily otolith growth of N. bankieri was aligned with corresponding abiotic conditions. Temperature was the only significant driver of daily otolith increment width, with increasing temperatures resulting in decreasing width. Although tidal movement was not a significant driver of increment width by itself, the combined effect of tidal movement and temperature had a greater negative effect on growth than temperature alone. Our results indicate that temperature can drive changes in growth even at very fine scales, and demonstrate that the cumulative impact of abiotic factors can be substantially greater than individual effects. As abiotic factors continue to change in intensity and duration, the combined impacts of them will become increasingly important drivers of physiological and ecological change.

The impact of individual and combined abiotic factors on daily otolith growth in a coral reef fish

PubMed Central

Wenger, Amelia S.; Whinney, James; Taylor, Brett; Kroon, Frederieke

2016-01-01

Coral reefs are increasingly subjected to both local and global stressors, however, there is limited information on how reef organisms respond to their combined effects under natural conditions. This field study examined the growth response of the damselfish Neopomacentrus bankieri to the individual and combined effects of multiple abiotic factors. Turbidity, temperature, tidal movement, and wave action were recorded every 10 minutes for four months, after which the daily otolith growth of N. bankieri was aligned with corresponding abiotic conditions. Temperature was the only significant driver of daily otolith increment width, with increasing temperatures resulting in decreasing width. Although tidal movement was not a significant driver of increment width by itself, the combined effect of tidal movement and temperature had a greater negative effect on growth than temperature alone. Our results indicate that temperature can drive changes in growth even at very fine scales, and demonstrate that the cumulative impact of abiotic factors can be substantially greater than individual effects. As abiotic factors continue to change in intensity and duration, the combined impacts of them will become increasingly important drivers of physiological and ecological change. PMID:27350589

Flowering phenology, growth forms, and pollination syndromes in tropical dry forest species: Influence of phylogeny and abiotic factors.

PubMed

Cortés-Flores, Jorge; Hernández-Esquivel, Karen Beatriz; González-Rodríguez, Antonio; Ibarra-Manríquez, Guillermo

2017-01-01

Analyses of the influence of temporal variation in abiotic factors on flowering phenology of tropical dry forest species have not considered the possible response of species with different growth forms and pollination syndromes, while controlling for phylogenetic relationships among species. Here, we investigated the relationship between flowering phenology, abiotic factors, and plant functional attributes, while controlling for phylogenetic relationship among species, in a dry forest community in Mexico. We characterized flowering phenology (time and duration) and pollination syndromes of 55 tree species, 49 herbs, 24 shrubs, 15 lianas, and 11 vines. We tested the influence of pollination syndrome, growth form, and abiotic factors on flowering phenology using phylogenetic generalized least squares. We found a relationship between flowering duration and time. Growth form was related to flowering time, and the pollination syndrome had a more significant relationship with flowering duration. Flowering time variation in the community was explained mainly by abiotic variables, without an important phylogenetic effect. Flowering time in lianas and trees was negatively and positively correlated with daylength, respectively. Functional attributes, environmental cues, and phylogeny interact with each other to shape the diversity of flowering patterns. Phenological differentiation among species groups revealed multiples strategies associated with growth form and pollination syndromes that can be important for understanding species coexistence in this highly diverse plant community. © 2017 Botanical Society of America.

Relative contribution of biotic and abiotic factors to the population density of the cassava green mite, Mononychellus tanajoa (Acari: Tetranychidae).

PubMed

Rêgo, Adriano S; Teodoro, Adenir V; Maciel, Anilde G S; Sarmento, Renato A

2013-08-01

The cassava green mite, Mononychellus tanajoa, is a key pest of cassava, Manihot esculenta Crantz (Euphorbiaceae), and it may be kept in check by naturally occurring predatory mites of the family Phytoseiidae. In addition to predatory mites, abiotic factors may also contribute to regulate pest mite populations in the field. Here, we evaluated the population densities of both M. tanajoa and the generalist predatory mite Euseius ho DeLeon (Acari: Phytoseiidae) over the cultivation cycle (11 months) of cassava in four study sites located around the city of Miranda do Norte, Maranhão, Brazil. The abiotic variables rainfall, temperature and relative humidity were also recorded throughout the cultivation cycle of cassava. We determined the relative importance of biotic (density of E. ho) and abiotic (rainfall, temperature and relative humidity) factors to the density of M. tanajoa. The density of M. tanajoa increased whereas the density of E. ho remained constant throughout time. A hierarchical partitioning analysis revealed that most of the variance for the density of M. tanajoa was explained by rainfall and relative humidity followed by E. ho density and temperature. We conclude that abiotic factors, especially rainfall, were the main mechanisms driving M. tanajoa densities.

ABIOTIC DEHALOGENATION OF 1,2-DICHLOROETHANE AND 1,2-DIBROMETHANE IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION CONTAINING HYDROGEN SULFIDE

EPA Science Inventory

The detection of significant levels of halogenated ali- phatic contaminants in groundwater resources in the U- nited States (1, 2) has spurred a considerable effort to understand the various mechanisms-both microbiological and abiotic-by which these compounds may be trans- formed...

An experimental test of well-described vegetation patterns across slope aspects using woodland herb transplants and manipulated abiotic drivers

Treesearch

Robert J. Warren

2010-01-01

• The ubiquitous transition of plant communities across slope aspects is a welldescribed, but rarely tested, ecological dynamic. Aspect position is often used as a proxy for microclimate changes in moisture, light and temperature, but these abiotic drivers are seldom decoupled and very rarely manipulated across slope aspects. • To investigate the mechanisms...

Abiotic processes are insufficient for fertile island development: A 10-year artificial shrub experiment in a desert grassland

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The relative importance of biotic and abiotic processes in the development of “fertile islands” in dryland systems has rarely been investigated. Here we approached this question by using artificial shrubs, which exclude plant litter production and soil nutrient uptake, but retain the functions of tr...

Correlation between macrobenthic structure (biotic) and water-sediment characteristics (abiotic) adjacent aquaculture areas at Tembelas Island, indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharani, Jeanny; Hidayat, Jafron W.; Putro, Sapto P.

2018-05-01

Macrobenthic community play important role in sedimentary habitats as a part of food chain. Their structure may be influenced by environmental characteristic spatially and temporally. The purpose of this study is to access the correlation between macrobenthic structure (biotic) and water-sediment characteristics (abiotic) adjacent aquaculture areas at Tembelas Island, Indonesia. Water and sediments samples were taken twice, where the first and second sampling time were taken in June and October 2016, respectively. Samples were taken in the area of fish farming at coastal area of policulture/IMTA (as Location I), site of 1 km away from fish farming area as a reference site (as Location II), and monoculture sites (as Location III), with three stations for each location. Data of abiotic parameters included the composition of sediment substrate and DO, pH, salinity, temperature, and. Sediment samples were taken using Ekman grab. The organisms were 1 mm -size sieved and fixed using 10% formalin for further analysis, i.e. sorting, preserving, enumerating, identifying, and grouping. The relationship between biotics (macrobentos) and abiotics (physical-chemical factors) was assessed using a non-parametric multivariate procedure (BIOENV). This study found 61 species consisting of 46 families and 5 classes of macrobenthos. The most common classes were member of Mollusca and Polychaeta. Total nitrogen, silt, and clay were the abiotic factors most influencing macrobenthic structure (BIO-ENV; r = 0.46; R2 = 21.16%).

LSU network hubs integrate abiotic and biotic stress responses via interaction with the superoxide dismutase FSD2

PubMed Central

Garcia-Molina, Antoni; Altmann, Melina; Alkofer, Angela; Epple, Petra M.; Dangl, Jeffery L.

2017-01-01

Abstract In natural environments, plants often experience different stresses simultaneously, and adverse abiotic conditions can weaken the plant immune system. Interactome mapping revealed that the LOW SULPHUR UPREGULATED (LSU) proteins are hubs in an Arabidopsis protein interaction network that are targeted by virulence effectors from evolutionarily diverse pathogens. Here we show that LSU proteins are up-regulated in several abiotic and biotic stress conditions, such as nutrient depletion or salt stress, by both transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms. Interference with LSU expression prevents chloroplastic reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and proper stomatal closure during sulphur stress. We demonstrate that LSU1 interacts with the chloroplastic superoxide dismutase FSD2 and stimulates its enzymatic activity in vivo and in vitro. Pseudomonas syringae virulence effectors interfere with this interaction and preclude re-localization of LSU1 to chloroplasts. We demonstrate that reduced LSU levels cause a moderately enhanced disease susceptibility in plants exposed to abiotic stresses such as nutrient deficiency, high salinity, or heavy metal toxicity, whereas LSU1 overexpression confers significant disease resistance in several of these conditions. Our data suggest that the network hub LSU1 plays an important role in co-ordinating plant immune responses across a spectrum of abiotic stress conditions. PMID:28207043

LSU network hubs integrate abiotic and biotic stress responses via interaction with the superoxide dismutase FSD2.

PubMed

Garcia-Molina, Antoni; Altmann, Melina; Alkofer, Angela; Epple, Petra M; Dangl, Jeffery L; Falter-Braun, Pascal

2017-02-01

In natural environments, plants often experience different stresses simultaneously, and adverse abiotic conditions can weaken the plant immune system. Interactome mapping revealed that the LOW SULPHUR UPREGULATED (LSU) proteins are hubs in an Arabidopsis protein interaction network that are targeted by virulence effectors from evolutionarily diverse pathogens. Here we show that LSU proteins are up-regulated in several abiotic and biotic stress conditions, such as nutrient depletion or salt stress, by both transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms. Interference with LSU expression prevents chloroplastic reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and proper stomatal closure during sulphur stress. We demonstrate that LSU1 interacts with the chloroplastic superoxide dismutase FSD2 and stimulates its enzymatic activity in vivo and in vitro. Pseudomonas syringae virulence effectors interfere with this interaction and preclude re-localization of LSU1 to chloroplasts. We demonstrate that reduced LSU levels cause a moderately enhanced disease susceptibility in plants exposed to abiotic stresses such as nutrient deficiency, high salinity, or heavy metal toxicity, whereas LSU1 overexpression confers significant disease resistance in several of these conditions. Our data suggest that the network hub LSU1 plays an important role in co-ordinating plant immune responses across a spectrum of abiotic stress conditions. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

Biotic and abiotic factors influencing infestation levels of the arundo leafminer, Lasioptera donacis, in its native range in Mediterranean Europe

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Lasioptera donacis is a biological control agent of Arundo donax, which is an invasive weed in the riparian habitats of the Rio Grande Basin of Texas and Northern Mexico. Field research was conducted in the native range of L. donacis in Mediterranean Europe to evaluate the biotic and abiotic factor...

An alternative pathway for marine nitrous oxide production at oxic-anoxic interfaces from coupled biotic-abiotic reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glass, J. B.; Stanton, C. L.; Ochoa, H.; Haslun, J. A.; Gandhi, H.; Taillefert, M.; Dichristina, T. J.; Stewart, F. J.; Klotz, M. G.; Ostrom, N. E.

2016-02-01

Marine emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, comprise approximately a third of global sources. Recent evidence suggests that the dominant source of N2O in seawater is the activity of ammonia-oxidizing Thaumarchaeota that lack characterized N2O-generating enzymes. Nitrous oxide may arise from a novel enzyme and/or abiotic reactions between nitrification intermediates, hydroxylamine (NH2OH) and nitric oxide (NO), and redox-active metals in seawater. Isotopic site preference, or difference in δ15N between the two nitrogen atoms in N2O, has been used as tracer for microbial N2O production pathways (-10 to 0‰ for nitrifier-denitrification and denitrification vs. 30-37‰ for nitrification via NH2OH oxidation). Seawater N2O site preference falls in between these two characterized end members, suggesting simultaneous production via a combination of both microbial pathways or via a novel mechanism with intermediate site preference. Here we show significant N2O production in abiotic experiments after addition of iron to seawater containing NH2OH and NO. The N2O produced from chemical reduction of NO by Fe(II) had a site preference of 16‰ whereas N2O produced from abiotic NH2OH oxidation had a site preference of 31‰. We propose that coupled biotic-abiotic N2O production pathways could contribute significant sources of N2O at marine oxic-anoxic interfaces.

Genome-Wide Analysis of the GRF Family Reveals Their Involvement in Abiotic Stress Response in Cassava.

PubMed

Shang, Sang; Wu, Chunlai; Huang, Chao; Tie, Weiwei; Yan, Yan; Ding, Zehong; Xia, Zhiqiang; Wang, Wenquan; Peng, Ming; Tian, Libo; Hu, Wei

2018-02-20

GENERAL REGULATORY FACTOR (GRF) proteins play vital roles in the regulation of plant growth, development, and response to abiotic stress. However, little information is known for this gene family in cassava ( Manihot esculenta ). In this study, 15 MeGRFs were identified from the cassava genome and were clustered into the ε and the non-ε groups according to phylogenetic, conserved motif, and gene structure analyses. Transcriptomic analyses showed eleven Me GRFs with constitutively high expression in stems, leaves, and storage roots of two cassava genotypes. Expression analyses revealed that the majority of GRFs showed transcriptional changes under cold, osmotic, salt, abscisic acid (ABA), and H₂O₂ treatments. Six Me GRFs were found to be commonly upregulated by abiotic stress, ABA, and H₂O₂ treatments, which may be the converging points of multiple signaling pathways. Interaction network analysis identified 18 possible interactors of MeGRFs. Taken together, this study elucidates the transcriptional control of Me GRFs in tissue development and the responses of abiotic stress and related signaling in cassava. Some constitutively expressed, tissue-specific, and abiotic stress-responsive candidate MeGRF genes were identified for the further genetic improvement of crops.

Overexpression of SlGRAS40 in Tomato Enhances Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses and Influences Auxin and Gibberellin Signaling

PubMed Central

Liu, Yudong; Huang, Wei; Xian, Zhiqiang; Hu, Nan; Lin, Dongbo; Ren, Hua; Chen, Jingxuan; Su, Deding; Li, Zhengguo

2017-01-01

Abiotic stresses are major environmental factors that inhibit plant growth and development impacting crop productivity. GRAS transcription factors play critical and diverse roles in plant development and abiotic stress. In this study, SlGRAS40, a member of the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) GRAS family, was functionally characterized. In wild-type (WT) tomato, SlGRAS40 was upregulated by abiotic stress induced by treatment with D-mannitol, NaCl, or H2O2. Transgenic tomato plants overexpressing SlGRAS40 (SlGRAS40-OE) were more tolerant of drought and salt stress than WT. SlGRAS40-OE plants displayed pleiotropic phenotypes reminiscent of those resulting from altered auxin and/or gibberellin signaling. A comparison of WT and SlGRAS40-OE transcriptomes showed that the expression of a large number of genes involved in hormone signaling and stress responses were modified. Our study of SlGRAS40 protein provides evidence of how another GRAS plays roles in resisting abiotic stress and regulating auxin and gibberellin signaling during vegetative and reproductive growth in tomato. PMID:29018467

Model for detection and assessment of abiotic stress caused by uranium mining in European Black Pine landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filchev, Lachezar; Roumenina, Eugenia

2013-10-01

The article presents the results obtained from a study for detection and assessment of abiotic stress through pollution with heavy metals, metalloids, and natural radionuclides in European Black Pine (Pinus nigra L.) forests caused by uranium mining using ground-based biogeochemical, biophysical, and field spectrometry data. The forests are located on a territory subject to underground and open uranium mining. An operational model of the study is proposed. The areas subject to technogeochemical load are outlined based on the aggregate pollution index Zc. Laboratory and field spectrometry data were used to detect the signals of abiotic stress at pixel level. The methods used for determination of stressed and unstressed black pine forests are: four vegetation indices (TCARI, MCARI, MTVI 2, and PRI 1) for stress detection, and the position, depth, asymmetry, and shift of the red-edge. Based on the "blue shift" and the depth and position of the red-edge, registered by the laboratory analysis and field spectral reflectance, it is established that coniferous forests subject to abiotic stress show an increase in total chlorophyll content and carotene. It has been found that the vegetation indices MTVI 2 and PRI 1, as well as the combination of vegetation indices and pigments may be used as a direct indicator of abiotic stress in coniferous forests caused by uranium mining.

Relative Importance of Biotic and Abiotic Forces on the Composition and Dynamics of a Soft-Sediment Intertidal Community

PubMed Central

Barbeau, Myriam A.

2016-01-01

Top-down, bottom-up, middle-out and abiotic factors are usually viewed as main forces structuring biological communities, although assessment of their relative importance, in a single study, is rarely done. We quantified, using multivariate methods, associations between abiotic and biotic (top-down, bottom-up and middle-out) variables and infaunal population/community variation on intertidal mudflats in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, over two years. Our analysis indicated that spatial structural factors like site and plot accounted for most of the community and population variation. Although we observed a significant relationship between the community/populations and the biotic and abiotic variables, most were of minor importance relative to the structural factors. We suggest that community and population structure were relatively uncoupled from the structuring influences of biotic and abiotic factors in this system because of high concentrations of resources that sustain high densities of infauna and limit exploitative competition. Furthermore, we hypothesize that the infaunal community primarily reflects stochastic spatial events, namely a “first come, first served” process. PMID:26790098

Utilizing genetic diversity in the desert watermelon citrullus colocynthis for enhancing watermelon cultivars for resistance to biotic and abiotic stress

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Wide genetic diversity exists among the desert watermelon Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (CC) accessions collected in the deserts of northern Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Because of their resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, there can be a viable source of genes used for enhancing wa...

MediaTracker system

SciTech Connect

Sandoval, D. M.; Strittmatter, R. B.; Abeyta, J. D.

2004-01-01

The initial objectives of this effort were to provide a hardware and software platform that can address the requirements for the accountability of classified removable electronic media and vault access logging. The Media Tracker system software assists classified media custodian in managing vault access logging and Media Tracking to prevent the inadvertent violation of rules or policies for the access to a restricted area and the movement and use of tracked items. The MediaTracker system includes the software tools to track and account for high consequence security assets and high value items. The overall benefits include: (1) real-time access tomore » the disposition of all Classified Removable Electronic Media (CREM), (2) streamlined security procedures and requirements, (3) removal of ambiguity and managerial inconsistencies, (4) prevention of incidents that can and should be prevented, (5) alignment with the DOE's initiative to achieve improvements in security and facility operations through technology deployment, and (6) enhanced individual responsibility by providing a consistent method of dealing with daily responsibilities. In response to initiatives to enhance the control of classified removable electronic media (CREM), the Media Tracker software suite was developed, piloted and implemented at the Los Alamos National Laboratory beginning in July 2000. The Media Tracker software suite assists in the accountability and tracking of CREM and other high-value assets. One component of the MediaTracker software suite provides a Laboratory-approved media tracking system. Using commercial touch screen and bar code technology, the MediaTracker (MT) component of the MediaTracker software suite provides an efficient and effective means to meet current Laboratory requirements and provides new-engineered controls to help assure compliance with those requirements. It also establishes a computer infrastructure at vault entrances for vault access logging, and can

Species associations overwhelm abiotic conditions to dictate the structure and function of wood-decay fungal communities.

PubMed

Maynard, Daniel S; Covey, Kristofer R; Crowther, Thomas W; Sokol, Noah W; Morrison, Eric W; Frey, Serita D; van Diepen, Linda T A; Bradford, Mark A

2018-04-01

Environmental conditions exert strong controls on the activity of saprotrophic microbes, yet abiotic factors often fail to adequately predict wood decomposition rates across broad spatial scales. Given that species interactions can have significant positive and negative effects on wood-decay fungal activity, one possibility is that biotic processes serve as the primary controls on community function, with abiotic controls emerging only after species associations are accounted for. Here we explore this hypothesis in a factorial field warming- and nitrogen-addition experiment by examining relationships among wood decomposition rates, fungal activity, and fungal community structure. We show that functional outcomes and community structure are largely unrelated to abiotic conditions, with microsite and plot-level abiotic variables explaining at most 19% of the total variability in decomposition and fungal activity, and 2% of the variability in richness and evenness. In contrast, taxonomic richness, evenness, and species associations (i.e., co-occurrence patterns) exhibited strong relationships with community function, accounting for 52% of the variation in decomposition rates and 73% in fungal activity. A greater proportion of positive vs. negative species associations in a community was linked to strong declines in decomposition rates and richness. Evenness emerged as a key mediator between richness and function, with highly even communities exhibiting a positive richness-function relationship and uneven communities exhibiting a negative or null response. These results suggest that community-assembly processes and species interactions are important controls on the function of wood-decay fungal communities, ultimately overwhelming substantial differences in abiotic conditions. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

Manipulation of arginase expression modulates abiotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis: effect on arginine metabolism and ROS accumulation

PubMed Central

Chan, Zhulong

2013-01-01

Arginine is an important medium for the transport and storage of nitrogen, and arginase (also known as arginine amidohydrolase, ARGAH) is responsible for catalyse of arginine into ornithine and urea in plants. In this study, the impact of AtARGAHs on abiotic stress response was investigated by manipulating AtARGAHs expression. In the knockout mutants of AtARGAHs, enhanced tolerances were observed to multiple abiotic stresses including water deficit, salt, and freezing stresses, while AtARGAH1- and AtARGAH2-overexpressing lines exhibited reduced abiotic stress tolerances compared to the wild type. Consistently, the enhanced tolerances were confirmed by the changes of physiological parameters including electrolyte leakage, water loss rate, stomatal aperture, and survival rate. Interestingly, the direct downstream products of arginine catabolism including polyamines and nitric oxide (NO) concentrations significantly increased in the AtARGAHs-knockout lines, but decreased in overexpressing lines under control conditions. Additionally, the AtARGAHs-overexpressing and -knockout lines displayed significantly reduced relative arginine (% of total free amino acids) relative to the wild type. Similarly, reactive oxygen species accumulation was remarkably regulated by AtARGAHs under abiotic stress conditions, as shown from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide radical () concentrations, and antioxidant enzyme activities. Taken together, this is the first report, as far as is known, to provide evidence that AtARGAHs negatively regulate many abiotic stress tolerances, at least partially, attribute to their roles in modulating arginine metabolism and reactive oxygen species accumulation. Biotechnological strategy based on manipulation of AtARGAHs expression will be valuable for future crop breeding. PMID:23378380

Alfalfa Cellulose Synthase Gene Expression under Abiotic Stress: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to RT-qPCR Normalization

PubMed Central

Guerriero, Gea; Legay, Sylvain; Hausman, Jean-Francois

2014-01-01

Abiotic stress represents a serious threat affecting both plant fitness and productivity. One of the promptest responses that plants trigger following abiotic stress is the differential expression of key genes, which enable to face the adverse conditions. It is accepted and shown that the cell wall senses and broadcasts the stress signal to the interior of the cell, by triggering a cascade of reactions leading to resistance. Therefore the study of wall-related genes is particularly relevant to understand the metabolic remodeling triggered by plants in response to exogenous stresses. Despite the agricultural and economical relevance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), no study, to our knowledge, has addressed specifically the wall-related gene expression changes in response to exogenous stresses in this important crop, by monitoring the dynamics of wall biosynthetic gene expression. We here identify and analyze the expression profiles of nine cellulose synthases, together with other wall-related genes, in stems of alfalfa plants subjected to different abiotic stresses (cold, heat, salt stress) at various time points (e.g. 0, 24, 72 and 96 h). We identify 2 main responses for specific groups of genes, i.e. a salt/heat-induced and a cold/heat-repressed group of genes. Prior to this analysis we identified appropriate reference genes for expression analyses in alfalfa, by evaluating the stability of 10 candidates across different tissues (namely leaves, stems, roots), under the different abiotic stresses and time points chosen. The results obtained confirm an active role played by the cell wall in response to exogenous stimuli and constitute a step forward in delineating the complex pathways regulating the response of plants to abiotic stresses. PMID:25084115

Assessing and Exploiting Functional Diversity in Germplasm Pools to Enhance Abiotic Stress Adaptation and Yield in Cereals and Food Legumes

PubMed Central

Dwivedi, Sangam L.; Scheben, Armin; Edwards, David; Spillane, Charles; Ortiz, Rodomiro

2017-01-01

There is a need to accelerate crop improvement by introducing alleles conferring host plant resistance, abiotic stress adaptation, and high yield potential. Elite cultivars, landraces and wild relatives harbor useful genetic variation that needs to be more easily utilized in plant breeding. We review genome-wide approaches for assessing and identifying alleles associated with desirable agronomic traits in diverse germplasm pools of cereals and legumes. Major quantitative trait loci and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with desirable agronomic traits have been deployed to enhance crop productivity and resilience. These include alleles associated with variation conferring enhanced photoperiod and flowering traits. Genetic variants in the florigen pathway can provide both environmental flexibility and improved yields. SNPs associated with length of growing season and tolerance to abiotic stresses (precipitation, high temperature) are valuable resources for accelerating breeding for drought-prone environments. Both genomic selection and genome editing can also harness allelic diversity and increase productivity by improving multiple traits, including phenology, plant architecture, yield potential and adaptation to abiotic stresses. Discovering rare alleles and useful haplotypes also provides opportunities to enhance abiotic stress adaptation, while epigenetic variation has potential to enhance abiotic stress adaptation and productivity in crops. By reviewing current knowledge on specific traits and their genetic basis, we highlight recent developments in the understanding of crop functional diversity and identify potential candidate genes for future use. The storage and integration of genetic, genomic and phenotypic information will play an important role in ensuring broad and rapid application of novel genetic discoveries by the plant breeding community. Exploiting alleles for yield-related traits would allow improvement of selection efficiency and

Role of Biotic and Abiotic Processes on Soil CO2 Dynamics in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Risk, D. A.; Macintyre, C. M.; Lee, C.; Cary, C.; Shanhun, F.; Almond, P. C.

2016-12-01

In the harsh conditions of the Antarctic Dry Valleys, microbial activity has been recorded via measurements of soil carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and surface efflux. However, high temporal resolution studies in the Dry Valleys have also shown that abiotic solubility-driven processes can strongly influence (and perhaps even dominate) the CO2 dynamics in these low flux environments and suggests that biological activity may be lower than previously thought. In this study, we aim to improve our understanding of CO2 dynamics (biotic and abiotic) in Antarctic Dry Valley soils using long-term automated measurements of soil CO2 surface flux and soil profile concentration at several sites, often at sub-diel frequency. We hypothesize that soil CO2 variations are driven primarily by environmental factors affecting CO2 solubility in soil solution, mainly temperature, and that these processes may even overprint biologic production in representative Dry Valley soils. Monitoring of all sites revealed only one likely biotic CO2 production event, lasting three weeks during the Austral summer and reaching fluxes of 0.4 µmol/m2/s. Under more typical low flux conditions (<0.10 µmol/m2/s) we observed a cyclical daily sink/source pattern consistent with CO2 solubility cycling that would not generally have been evident with normal synoptic afternoon sampling campaigns. Subsurface CO2 monitoring and a lab-controlled Antarctic soil simulation experiment confirmed that abiotic processes are capable of dominating soil CO2 variability. Diel temperature cycles crossing the freezing boundary revealed a dual abiotic cycle of solubility cycling and gas exclusion from ice formation observed only by high temporal frequency measurements (30 min). This work demonstrates a need for a numerical model to partition the dynamic abiotic processes underlying any biotic CO2 production in order to understand potential climate-change induced increases in microbial productivity in terrestrial Antarctica.

Assessing and Exploiting Functional Diversity in Germplasm Pools to Enhance Abiotic Stress Adaptation and Yield in Cereals and Food Legumes.

PubMed

Dwivedi, Sangam L; Scheben, Armin; Edwards, David; Spillane, Charles; Ortiz, Rodomiro

2017-01-01

There is a need to accelerate crop improvement by introducing alleles conferring host plant resistance, abiotic stress adaptation, and high yield potential. Elite cultivars, landraces and wild relatives harbor useful genetic variation that needs to be more easily utilized in plant breeding. We review genome-wide approaches for assessing and identifying alleles associated with desirable agronomic traits in diverse germplasm pools of cereals and legumes. Major quantitative trait loci and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with desirable agronomic traits have been deployed to enhance crop productivity and resilience. These include alleles associated with variation conferring enhanced photoperiod and flowering traits. Genetic variants in the florigen pathway can provide both environmental flexibility and improved yields. SNPs associated with length of growing season and tolerance to abiotic stresses (precipitation, high temperature) are valuable resources for accelerating breeding for drought-prone environments. Both genomic selection and genome editing can also harness allelic diversity and increase productivity by improving multiple traits, including phenology, plant architecture, yield potential and adaptation to abiotic stresses. Discovering rare alleles and useful haplotypes also provides opportunities to enhance abiotic stress adaptation, while epigenetic variation has potential to enhance abiotic stress adaptation and productivity in crops. By reviewing current knowledge on specific traits and their genetic basis, we highlight recent developments in the understanding of crop functional diversity and identify potential candidate genes for future use. The storage and integration of genetic, genomic and phenotypic information will play an important role in ensuring broad and rapid application of novel genetic discoveries by the plant breeding community. Exploiting alleles for yield-related traits would allow improvement of selection efficiency and

Inter-annual variability of carbon fluxes in temperate forest ecosystems: effects of biotic and abiotic factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, M.; Keenan, T. F.; Hufkens, K.; Munger, J. W.; Bohrer, G.; Brzostek, E. R.; Richardson, A. D.

2014-12-01

Carbon dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems are influenced by both abiotic and biotic factors. Abiotic factors, such as variation in meteorological conditions, directly drive biophysical and biogeochemical processes; biotic factors, referring to the inherent properties of the ecosystem components, reflect the internal regulating effects including temporal dynamics and memory. The magnitude of the effect of abiotic and biotic factors on forest ecosystem carbon exchange has been suggested to vary at different time scales. In this study, we design and conduct a model-data fusion experiment to investigate the role and relative importance of the biotic and abiotic factors for inter-annual variability of the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) of temperate deciduous forest ecosystems in the Northeastern US. A process-based model (FöBAAR) is parameterized at four eddy-covariance sites using all available flux and biometric measurements. We conducted a "transplant" modeling experiment, that is, cross- site and parameter simulations with different combinations of site meteorology and parameters. Using wavelet analysis and variance partitioning techniques, analysis of model predictions identifies both spatial variant and spatially invariant parameters. Variability of NEE was primarily modulated by gross primary productivity (GPP), with relative contributions varying from hourly to yearly time scales. The inter-annual variability of GPP and NEE is more regulated by meteorological forcing, but spatial variability in certain model parameters (biotic response) has more substantial effects on the inter-annual variability of ecosystem respiration (Reco) through the effects on carbon pools. Both the biotic and abiotic factors play significant roles in modulating the spatial and temporal variability in terrestrial carbon cycling in the region. Together, our study quantifies the relative importance of both, and calls for better understanding of them to better predict regional CO2

Media multitasking and implicit learning.

PubMed

Edwards, Kathleen S; Shin, Myoungju

2017-07-01

Media multitasking refers to the simultaneous use of different forms of media. Previous research comparing heavy media multitaskers and light media multitaskers suggests that heavy media multitaskers have a broader scope of attention. The present study explored whether these differences in attentional scope would lead to a greater degree of implicit learning for heavy media multitaskers. The study also examined whether media multitasking behaviour is associated with differences in visual working memory, and whether visual working memory differentially affects the ability to process contextual information. In addition to comparing extreme groups (heavy and light media multitaskers) the study included analysis of people who media multitask in moderation (intermediate media multitaskers). Ninety-four participants were divided into groups based on responses to the media use questionnaire, and completed the contextual cueing and n-back tasks. Results indicated that the speed at which implicit learning occurred was slower in heavy media multitaskers relative to both light and intermediate media multitaskers. There was no relationship between working memory performance and media multitasking group, and no relationship between working memory and implicit learning. There was also no evidence for superior performance of intermediate media multitaskers. A deficit in implicit learning observed in heavy media multitaskers is consistent with previous literature, which suggests that heavy media multitaskers perform more poorly than light media multitaskers in attentional tasks due to their wider attentional scope.

Ethics and social media.

PubMed

Milton, Constance L

2014-10-01

Nurses' use of social media has increased significantly with growing numbers of media-sharing opportunities, platforms, and emerging forms of electronic applications. With the proliferation, opportunities and limitations surface regarding the responsibilities and accountability that nurses have in choosing technology applications with an embedded philosophical ethos that is consistent with the discipline's societal mandate of serving humankind in ways that honor human dignity. This article begins a discussion addressing possible disciplinary obligations and responsibilities for the implementation of social media platforms and possible implications for its future use in the discipline of nursing. © The Author(s) 2014.

[Tuberculous otitis media].

PubMed

Hamouda, S; Opsomer, H; Delattre, A; Thumerelle, C; Flammarion, S; Santos, C; Deschildre, A

2008-11-01

Tuberculous otitis media is a rare disease. Its diagnosis is often made late. We report the case of a 13-year-old girl presenting with a right chronic otitis media and a massive and painful cervical adenitis. High resolution CT-scan revealed cervical and mediastinal adenitis associated with extensive lesions involving the middle ear, mastoid air cells, and sphenoidal bone. The diagnosis of tuberculous otitis media was made on a positive tuberculin skin test and on the identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in gastric juices. The young girl progressed well after 9 months of antituberculous chemotherapy.

A Model of Continental Growth and Mantle Degassing Comparing Biotic and Abiotic Worlds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Höning, D.; Hansen-Goos, H.; Spohn, T.

2012-12-01

While examples for interaction of the biosphere with the atmosphere can be easily cited (e.g., production and consumption of O2), interaction between the biosphere and the solid planet and its interior is much less established. It has been argued (e.g., Rosing et al. 2006; Sleep et al, 2012) that the formation of continents could be a consequence of bioactivity harvesting solar energy through photosynthesis to help build the continents and that the mantle should carry a chemical biosignature. We present an interaction model that includes mantle convection, mantle water vapor degassing at mid-oceanic ridges and regassing through subduction zones, continental crust formation and erosion and water storage and transport in a porous oceanic crust that includes hydrous mineral phases. The mantle viscosity in this model depends on the water concentration in the mantle. We use boundary layer theory of mantle convection to parameterize the mantle convection flow rate and assume that the plate speed equals the mantle flow rate. The biosphere enters the calculation through the assumption that the continental erosion rate is enhanced by a factor of several through bioactivity and through an assumed reduction of the kinetic barrier to diagenetic and metamorphic reactions (e.g., Kim et al. 2004) in the sedimentary basins in subduction zones that would lead to increased water storage capacities. We further include a stochastic model of continent-to-continent interactions that limits the effective total length of subduction zones. We use present day parameters of the Earth and explore a phase plane spanned by the percentage of surface coverage of the Earth by continents and the total water content of the mantle. We vary the ratio of the erosion rate in a postulated abiotic Earth to the present Earth, as well as the activation barrier to diagenetic and metamorphic reactions that affect the water storage capacity of the subducting crust. We find stable and unstable fixed points in

Multiple sulfur isotopes fractionations associated with abiotic sulfur transformations in Yellowstone National Park geothermal springs

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The paper presents a quantification of main (hydrogen sulfide and sulfate), as well as of intermediate sulfur species (zero-valent sulfur (ZVS), thiosulfate, sulfite, thiocyanate) in the Yellowstone National Park (YNP) hydrothermal springs and pools. We combined these measurements with the measurements of quadruple sulfur isotope composition of sulfate, hydrogen sulfide and zero-valent sulfur. The main goal of this research is to understand multiple sulfur isotope fractionation in the system, which is dominated by complex, mostly abiotic, sulfur cycling. Results Water samples from six springs and pools in the Yellowstone National Park were characterized by pH, chloride to sulfate ratios, sulfide and intermediate sulfur species concentrations. Concentrations of sulfate in pools indicate either oxidation of sulfide by mixing of deep parent water with shallow oxic water, or surface oxidation of sulfide with atmospheric oxygen. Thiosulfate concentrations are low (<6 μmol L-1) in the pools with low pH due to fast disproportionation of thiosulfate. In the pools with higher pH, the concentration of thiosulfate varies, depending on different geochemical pathways of thiosulfate formation. The δ34S values of sulfate in four systems were close to those calculated using a mixing line of the model based on dilution and boiling of a deep hot parent water body. In two pools δ34S values of sulfate varied significantly from the values calculated from this model. Sulfur isotope fractionation between ZVS and hydrogen sulfide was close to zero at pH < 4. At higher pH zero-valent sulfur is slightly heavier than hydrogen sulfide due to equilibration in the rhombic sulfur–polysulfide – hydrogen sulfide system. Triple sulfur isotope (32S, 33S, 34S) fractionation patterns in waters of hydrothermal pools are more consistent with redox processes involving intermediate sulfur species than with bacterial sulfate reduction. Small but resolved differences in ∆33S among

Spectral identification of abiotic O2 buildup from early runaways and rarefied atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwieterman, Edward; Meadows, Victoria; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn; Arney, Giada; Robinson, Tyler D.; Luger, Rodrigo; Barnes, Rory

2016-01-01

The spectral detection of oxygen (O2) in a planetary atmosphere has been considered a robust signature of life because O2 is highly reactive on planets with Earth-like redox buffers and because significant continuous abiotic sources were thought to be implausible. However, recent work has revealed the possibility that significant O2 may build-up in terrestrial atmospheres through (1) photochemical channels or (2) through the escape of hydrogen. We focus on the latter category here. Significant amounts of abiotic O2 could remain in the atmospheres of planets in the habitable zones of late type stars, where an early runaway greenhouse and massive hydrogen escape during the pre-main-sequence phase could have irreversibly oxidized the crust and mantle (Luger & Barnes 2015). Additionally, it has been hypothesized that O2 could accumulate in the atmospheres of planets with sufficiently low abundances of non-condensable gases such as N2 where water would not be cold trapped in the troposphere, leading to H-escape from UV photolysis in a wet stratosphere (Wordsworth & Pierrehumbert 2014). We self-consistently model the climate, photochemistry, and spectra of both rarefied and post-runaway, high-O2 atmospheres. Because an early runaway might not have lasted long enough for the entire water inventory to escape, we explore both completely desiccated scenarios and cases where a surface ocean remains. We find "habitable" surface conditions for a wide variety of oxygen abundances, atmospheric masses, and CO2 mixing ratios. If O2 builds up from massive or sustained H escape, the O2 abundance should be very high, and could be spectrally indicated by the presence of O2-O2 (O4) collisionally-induced absorption (CIA) features. We generate synthetic direct-imaging and transit transmission spectra of these atmospheres and calculate the strength of the UV/Visible and NIR O4 features. We find that while both the UV/Visible and NIR O4 features are strong in the radiance spectra of very

Introduction to Media Literacy Education and Media Literacy Education Bibliography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Julia

Noting that media literacy education is mandated in almost every developed country in the world except the United States, this paper introduces the concept of media literacy education and presents a 32-item annotated bibliography on media literacy education. The paper defines media literacy as the ability to access, decode, analyze, evaluate, and…

Congressional and Media Protocols

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The OIG's Office of Congressional and Public Affairs is the primary point of contact for all media and congressional inquiries on matters related to the OIG, which ensures that they are handled expeditiously.

Media Room | NREL

Science.gov Websites

researcher profiles, and find other resources for media. View all news and feature stories Leadership Bios Learn more about NREL's director, deputy lab directors, and the complete leadership team. About NREL

Media independent interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The work done on the Media Independent Interface (MII) Interface Control Document (ICD) program is described and recommendations based on it were made. Explanations and rationale for the content of the ICD itself are presented.

Gallaudet College Media Applications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torr, Donald

1978-01-01

Described are projects, activities, and services for the aurally handicapped initiated by the Office of Educational Technology at Gallaudet College in media areas of computer, television, print, film, slides, transparencies, computer/television, and computer/radio. (BD)

Mixed-Media Owls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schultz, Kathy

2010-01-01

The fun of creating collages is there are unlimited possibilities for the different kinds of materials one can use. In this article, the author describes how her eighth-grade students created an owl using mixed media.

Communications and media services

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcculla, James W.; Kukowski, James F.

1990-01-01

NASA's internal and external communication methods are reviewed. NASA information services for the media, for the public, and for employees are discussed. Consideration is given to electron information distribution, the NASA TV-audio system, the NASA broadcast news service, astronaut appearances, technology and information exhibits, speaker services, and NASA news reports for internal communications. Also, the NASA worldwide electronic mail network is described and trends for future NASA communications and media services are outlined.

The media and suicide.

PubMed

Sudak, Howard S; Sudak, Donna M

2005-01-01

The authors aim to inform readers of the theory that when newspapers, film, and television describe suicidal deaths, additional suicides may result by virtue of contagion or copy-cat effects; to review data that support and refute this theory; to present some promising and recommended ways to prevent copy-cat suicide; and to cite news-media examples of both particularly bad and good reporting. A review of the literature on media-related suicide was conducted, which included reviewing materials published in scientific journals and data published by the U.S. Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, and materials from private, not-for-profit agencies. Data support an increased number of suicides resulting from media accounts of suicide that romanticize or dramatize the description of suicidal deaths. Specific guidelines for the media that may be able to decrease these additional deaths have been devised. Psychiatrists should be familiar with the harm that may result from improper reporting of suicide in the media since they may be called upon by reporters or family members following the suicide of one of their patients or following the suicide of a newsworthy person. Following the media guidelines available may prevent such contagion effects from occurring.

Antagonistic, overlapping and distinct responses to biotic stress in rice (Oryza sativa) and interactions with abiotic stress

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Every year, substantial crop loss occurs globally, as a result of bacterial, fungal, parasite and viral infections in rice. Here, we present an in-depth investigation of the transcriptomic response to infection with the destructive bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae(Xoo) in both resistant and susceptible varieties of Oryza sativa. A comparative analysis to fungal, parasite and viral infection in rice is also presented. Results Within 24 h of Xoo inoculation, significant reduction of cell wall components and induction of several signalling components, membrane bound receptor kinases and specific WRKY and NAC transcription factors was prominent, providing a framework for how the presence of this pathogen was signalled and response mounted. Extensive comparative analyses of various other pathogen responses, including in response to infection with another bacterium (Xoc), resistant and susceptible parasite infection, fungal, and viral infections, led to a proposed model for the rice biotic stress response. In this way, a conserved induction of calcium signalling functions, and specific WRKY and NAC transcription factors, was identified in response to all biotic stresses. Comparison of these responses to abiotic stress (cold, drought, salt, heat), enabled the identification of unique genes responsive only to bacterial infection, 240 genes responsive to both abiotic and biotic stress, and 135 genes responsive to biotic, but not abiotic stresses. Functional significance of a number of these genes, using genetic inactivation or over-expression, has revealed significant stress-associated phenotypes. While only a few antagonistic responses were observed between biotic and abiotic stresses, e.g. for a number of endochitinases and kinase encoding genes, some of these may be crucial in explaining greater pathogen infection and damage under abiotic stresses. Conclusions The analyses presented here provides a global view of the responses to multiple

Media | NOAA Gulf Spill Restoration

Science.gov Websites

Louisiana Mississippi Texas Region-wide Open Ocean Data Media & News Publications Press Releases Story Archive Home Media Media Here you can find the latest news and publications related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Our Media Kit provides: Press releases; Photos, videos, and b-roll; Audio from news

Media preparation and bacteriological tools.

PubMed

Elbing, Karen; Brent, Roger

2002-08-01

Recipes are provided in this unit for minimal liquid media, rich liquid media, solid media, top agar, and stab agar. Also included are descriptions and useful information about tools used with growth media such as inoculating loops, sterile toothpicks and spreaders.

Media Education: An Indian Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumar, Keval Joe

This paper provides both a preliminary analysis of a survey on media education in India, and reviews of the research on media education in the western world, the limited media education research already done in India, and the more extensive research that has been done on the sociology of Indian youth and the media. The purpose of the survey was to…

Persistent Organic Pollutants in Biotic and Abiotic Components of Antarctic Pristine Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhardwaj, Laxmikant; Chauhan, Abhishek; Ranjan, Anuj; Jindal, Tanu

2018-02-01

Over the past decades, research in Antarctica has built a new understanding of Antarctica, its past, present and future. Human activities and long-range pollutants are increasing on the Antarctic continent. Research on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been carried out internationally by several countries having their permanent research stations to explain the impact of an ever increasing range of POPs in Antarctic ecosystem. POPs have been detected in Antarctica despite its geographical isolation and almost complete absence of human settlements. The presence of POPs in different abiotic (atmosphere, water bodies, sediments, soil, sea ice) and biotic components (mosses, lichens, krill, penguins, skua, etc.) in Antarctica has been studied and documented around for decades and has either been banned or strictly regulated but is still found in the environment. This review focuses on recent research pertaining to sources and occurrence of POPs in Antarctic lake water, soil, sediment, lichen, mosses and other Antarctic marine community. This review also proposes to summarize the current state of research on POPs in Antarctica environment and draw the earliest conclusions on possible significance of POPs in Antarctica based on presently available information from related Antarctic environment.

Polyamines control of cation transport across plant membranes: implications for ion homeostasis and abiotic stress signaling.

PubMed

Pottosin, Igor; Shabala, Sergey

2014-01-01

Polyamines are unique polycationic metabolites, controlling a variety of vital functions in plants, including growth and stress responses. Over the last two decades a bulk of data was accumulated providing explicit evidence that polyamines play an essential role in regulating plant membrane transport. The most straightforward example is a blockage of the two major vacuolar cation channels, namely slow (SV) and fast (FV) activating ones, by the micromolar concentrations of polyamines. This effect is direct and fully reversible, with a potency descending in a sequence Spm(4+) > Spd(3+) > Put(2+). On the contrary, effects of polyamines on the plasma membrane (PM) cation and K(+)-selective channels are hardly dependent on polyamine species, display a relatively low affinity, and are likely to be indirect. Polyamines also affect vacuolar and PM H(+) pumps and Ca(2+) pump of the PM. On the other hand, catabolization of polyamines generates H2O2 and other reactive oxygen species (ROS), including hydroxyl radicals. Export of polyamines to the apoplast and their oxidation there by available amine oxidases results in the induction of a novel ion conductance and confers Ca(2+) influx across the PM. This mechanism, initially established for plant responses to pathogen attack (including a hypersensitive response), has been recently shown to mediate plant responses to a variety of abiotic stresses. In this review we summarize the effects of polyamines and their catabolites on cation transport in plants and discuss the implications of these effects for ion homeostasis, signaling, and plant adaptive responses to environment.

ANALYSIS OF BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS INFLUENCING THE OCCURRENCE OF WEST NILE VIRUS INFECTION IN TUNISIA.

PubMed

Ben Hassine, Th; Calistri, P; Ippoliti, C; Conte, A; Danzetta, M L; Bruno, R; Lelli, R; Bejaoui, M; Hammami, S

2014-01-01

Eco-climatic conditions are often associated with the occurrence of West Nile Disease (WND) cases. Among the complex set of biotic and abiotic factors influencing the emergence and spread of this vector-borne disease, two main variables have been considered to have a great influence on the probability of West Nile Virus (WNV) introduction and circulation in Tunisia: the presence of susceptible bird populations and the existence of geographical areas where the environmental and climatic conditions are more favourable to mosquito multiplications. The aim of this study was to identify and classify the climatic and environmental variables possibly associated with the occurrence of WNVhuman cases in Tunisia. The following environmental and climatic variables have been considered: wetlands and humid areas, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), temperatures and elevation. A preliminary analysis for the characterization of main variables associated with areas with a history of WNV human cases in Tunisia between 1997 and 2011 has been made. This preliminary analysis clearly indicates the closeness to marshes ecosystem, where migratory bird populations are located, as an important risk factor for WNV infection. On the contrary the temperature absolute seems to be not a significant factor in Tunisian epidemiological situation. In relation to NDVI values, more complex considerations should be made.

Occurrence of pathogenic Vibrio species from the biotic and abiotic components of Andaman Islands, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kada, N. M.; Raju, M.; Perumal, K.; Chatragadda, R.

2016-02-01

Oceans are of prime part in the life of human beings since their origin and many human settlements from the ancient period took near to the oceans as they are source of fishing, transport and trade. Human impact on the health of ocean has drastically changed time to time with increase in human derived discharges and recreational activities near to the seas leading to entry of human pathogens into it causing severe damage to aquatic life thriving in it. A study is made on the occurrence of Vibrio sp. in the biotic and abiotic components such as seaweeds, finfishes, shell fishes, cyanobacterial blooms, seawater and sediments of Andaman Islands, India. PCR based methods along with 16S rRNA and pyrH sequencing were employed to identify the isolates to species level. Human pathogens such as Vibrio alginolyticus was found to be abundant in majority of the samples screened followed by V. parahaemolyticus, V. harveyi and V. metschnikovii. Besides these V. campbellii and V. owensii are also available from some of the samples. This study is first of its kind from these pristine islands and stand as a baseline data on the occurrence and abundance of Vibrios from these islands for future researchers.

Chemical controls on abiotic and biotic release of geogenic arsenic from Pleistocene aquifer sediments to groundwater.

PubMed

Gillispie, Elizabeth C; Andujar, Erika; Polizzotto, Matthew L

2016-08-10

Over 150 million people in South and Southeast Asia consume unsafe drinking water from arsenic-rich Holocene aquifers. Although use of As-free water from Pleistocene aquifers is a potential mitigation strategy, such aquifers are vulnerable to geogenic As pollution, placing millions more people at potential risk. The goal of this research was to define chemical controls on abiotic and biotic release of geogenic As to groundwater. Batch incubations of sediments with natural chemical variability from a Pleistocene aquifer in Cambodia were conducted to evaluate how interactions among arsenic, manganese and iron oxides, and dissolved and sedimentary organic carbon influenced As mobilization from sediments. The addition of labile dissolved organic carbon produced the highest concentrations of dissolved As after >7 months, as compared to sediment samples incubated with sodium azide or without added carbon, and the extent of As release was positively correlated with the percent of initial extractable Mn released from the sediments. The mode of As release was impacted by the source of DOC supplied to the sediments, with biological processes responsible for 81% to 85% of the total As release following incubations with lactate and acetate but only up to 43% to 61% of the total As release following incubations with humic and fulvic acids. Overall, cycling of key redox-active elements and organic-carbon reactivity govern the potential for geogenic As release to groundwater, and results here may be used to formulate better predictions of the arsenic pollution potential of aquifers in South and Southeast Asia.

The Role of Abiotic Environmental Conditions and Herbivory in Shaping Bacterial Community Composition in Floral Nectar

PubMed Central

Samuni-Blank, Michal; Izhaki, Ido; Laviad, Sivan; Bar-Massada, Avi; Gerchman, Yoram; Halpern, Malka

2014-01-01

Identifying the processes that drive community assembly has long been a central theme in ecology. For microorganisms, a traditional prevailing hypothesis states that “everything is everywhere, but the environment selects”. Although the bacterial community in floral nectar may be affected by both atmosphere (air-borne bacteria) and animals as dispersal vectors, the environmental and geographic factors that shape microbial communities in floral nectar are unknown. We studied culturable bacterial communities in Asphodelus aestivus floral nectar and in its typical herbivorous bug Capsodes infuscatus, along an aridity gradient. Bacteria were sampled from floral nectar and bugs at four sites, spanning a geographical range of 200 km from Mediterranean to semi-arid conditions, under open and bagged flower treatments. In agreement with the niche assembly hypothesis, the differences in bacterial community compositions were explained by differences in abiotic environmental conditions. These results suggest that microbial model systems are useful for addressing macro-ecological questions. In addition, similar bacterial communities were found in the nectar and on the surface of the bugs that were documented visiting the flowers. These similarities imply that floral nectar bacteria dispersal is shaped not only by air borne bacteria and nectar consumers as previously reported, but also by visiting vectors like the mirid bugs. PMID:24922317

Safety assessment of bacterial choline oxidase protein introduced in transgenic crops for tolerance against abiotic stress.

PubMed

Singh, Abinav K; Singh, Bhanu P; Prasad, G B K S; Gaur, Shailendra N; Arora, Naveen

2008-12-24

Genetically modified crops have resistance to abiotic stress by introduction of choline oxidase protein. In the present study, the safety of choline oxidase protein derived from Arthrobacter globiformis was assessed for toxicity and allergenicity. The protein was stable at 90 degrees C for 1 h. Toxicity studies of choline oxidase in mice showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) from control in terms of growth, body weight, food consumption, and blood biochemical indices. Histology of gut tissue of mice fed protein showed normal gastric mucosal lining and villi in jejunum and ileum sections. Specific IgE in serum and IL-4 release in splenic culture supernatant were low in choline oxidase treated mice, comparable to control. Intravenous challenge with choline oxidase did not induce any adverse reaction, unlike ovalbumin group mice. Histology of lung tissues from choline oxidase sensitized mice showed normal airways, whereas ovalbumin-sensitized mice showed inflamed airways with eosinophilic infiltration and bronchoconstriction. ELISA carried out with food allergic patients' sera revealed no significant IgE affinity with choline oxidase. Also, choline oxidase did not show any symptoms of toxicity and allergenicity in mice.

Polyamines control of cation transport across plant membranes: implications for ion homeostasis and abiotic stress signaling

PubMed Central

Pottosin, Igor; Shabala, Sergey

2014-01-01

Polyamines are unique polycationic metabolites, controlling a variety of vital functions in plants, including growth and stress responses. Over the last two decades a bulk of data was accumulated providing explicit evidence that polyamines play an essential role in regulating plant membrane transport. The most straightforward example is a blockage of the two major vacuolar cation channels, namely slow (SV) and fast (FV) activating ones, by the micromolar concentrations of polyamines. This effect is direct and fully reversible, with a potency descending in a sequence Spm4+ > Spd3+ > Put2+. On the contrary, effects of polyamines on the plasma membrane (PM) cation and K+-selective channels are hardly dependent on polyamine species, display a relatively low affinity, and are likely to be indirect. Polyamines also affect vacuolar and PM H+ pumps and Ca2+ pump of the PM. On the other hand, catabolization of polyamines generates H2O2 and other reactive oxygen species (ROS), including hydroxyl radicals. Export of polyamines to the apoplast and their oxidation there by available amine oxidases results in the induction of a novel ion conductance and confers Ca2+ influx across the PM. This mechanism, initially established for plant responses to pathogen attack (including a hypersensitive response), has been recently shown to mediate plant responses to a variety of abiotic stresses. In this review we summarize the effects of polyamines and their catabolites on cation transport in plants and discuss the implications of these effects for ion homeostasis, signaling, and plant adaptive responses to environment. PMID:24795739

Silicon Regulates Antioxidant Activities of Crop Plants under Abiotic-Induced Oxidative Stress: A Review

PubMed Central

Kim, Yoon-Ha; Khan, Abdul L.; Waqas, Muhammad; Lee, In-Jung

2017-01-01

Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in soil, where its availability to plants can exhilarate to 10% of total dry weight of the plant. Si accumulation/transport occurs in the upward direction, and has been identified in several crop plants. Si application has been known to ameliorate plant growth and development during normal and stressful conditions over past two-decades. During abiotic (salinity, drought, thermal, and heavy metal etc) stress, one of the immediate responses by plant is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as singlet oxygen (1O2), superoxide (O2−), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and hydroxyl radicals (OH), which cause severe damage to the cell structure, organelles, and functions. To alleviate and repair this damage, plants have developed a complex antioxidant system to maintain homeostasis through non-enzymatic (carotenoids, tocopherols, ascorbate, and glutathione) and enzymatic antioxidants [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX)]. To this end, the exogenous application of Si has been found to induce stress tolerance by regulating the generation of ROS, reducing electrolytic leakage, and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, and immobilizing and reducing the uptake of toxic ions like Na, under stressful conditions. However, the interaction of Si and plant antioxidant enzyme system remains poorly understood, and further in-depth analyses at the transcriptomic level are needed to understand the mechanisms responsible for the Si-mediated regulation of stress responses. PMID:28428797

Root System Architecture and Abiotic Stress Tolerance: Current Knowledge in Root and Tuber Crops

PubMed Central

Khan, M. A.; Gemenet, Dorcus C.; Villordon, Arthur

2016-01-01

The challenge to produce more food for a rising global population on diminishing agricultural land is complicated by the effects of climate change on agricultural productivity. Although great progress has been made in crop improvement, so far most efforts have targeted above-ground traits. Roots are essential for plant adaptation and productivity, but are less studied due to the difficulty of observing them during the plant life cycle. Root system architecture (RSA), made up of structural features like root length, spread, number, and length of lateral roots, among others, exhibits great plasticity in response to environmental changes, and could be critical to developing crops with more efficient roots. Much of the research on root traits has thus far focused on the most common cereal crops and model plants. As cereal yields have reached their yield potential in some regions, understanding their root system may help overcome these plateaus. However, root and tuber crops (RTCs) such as potato, sweetpotato, cassava, and yam may hold more potential for providing food security in the future, and knowledge of their root system additionally focuses directly on the edible portion. Root-trait modeling for multiple stress scenarios, together with high-throughput phenotyping and genotyping techniques, robust databases, and data analytical pipelines, may provide a valuable base for a truly inclusive ‘green revolution.’ In the current review, we discuss RSA with special reference to RTCs, and how knowledge on genetics of RSA can be manipulated to improve their tolerance to abiotic stresses. PMID:27847508

Different cucumber CsYUC genes regulate response to abiotic stresses and flower development.

PubMed

Yan, Shuangshuang; Che, Gen; Ding, Lian; Chen, Zijing; Liu, Xiaofeng; Wang, Hongyin; Zhao, Wensheng; Ning, Kang; Zhao, Jianyu; Tesfamichael, Kiflom; Wang, Qian; Zhang, Xiaolan

2016-02-09

The phytohormone auxin is essential for plant growth and development, and YUCCA (YUC) proteins catalyze a rate-limiting step for endogenous auxin biosynthesis. Despite YUC family genes have been isolated from several species, systematic expression analyses of YUCs in response to abiotic stress are lacking, and little is known about the function of YUC homologs in agricultural crops. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is a world cultivated vegetable crop with great economical and nutritional value. In this study, we isolated 10 YUC family genes (CsYUCs) from cucumber and explored their expression pattern under four types of stress treatments. Our data showed that CsYUC8 and CsYUC9 were specifically upregulated to elevate the auxin level under high temperature. CsYUC10b was dramatically increased but CsYUC4 was repressed in response to low temperature. CsYUC10a and CsYUC11 act against the upregulation of CsYUC10b under salinity stress, suggesting that distinct YUC members participate in different stress response, and may even antagonize each other to maintain the proper auxin levels in cucumber. Further, CsYUC11 was specifically expressed in the male flower in cucumber, and enhanced tolerance to salinity stress and regulated pedicel and stamen development through auxin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis.

Emissions of putative isoprene oxidation products from mango branches under abiotic stress

PubMed Central

Jardine, Kolby J.; Meyers, Kimberly; Abrell, Leif; Alves, Eliane G.; Yanez Serrano, Ana Maria; Kesselmeier, Jürgen; Karl, Thomas; Guenther, Alex; Vickers, Claudia; Chambers, Jeffrey Q.

2013-01-01

Although several per cent of net carbon assimilation can be re-released as isoprene emissions to the atmosphere by many tropical plants, much uncertainty remains regarding its biological significance. In a previous study, we detected emissions of isoprene and its oxidation products methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR) from tropical plants under high temperature/light stress, suggesting that isoprene is oxidized not only in the atmosphere but also within plants. However, a comprehensive analysis of the suite of isoprene oxidation products in plants has not been performed and production relationships with environmental stress have not been described. In this study, putative isoprene oxidation products from mango (Mangifera indica) branches under abiotic stress were first identified. High temperature/light and freeze–thaw treatments verified direct emissions of the isoprene oxidation products MVK and MACR together with the first observations of 3-methyl furan (3-MF) and 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) as putative novel isoprene oxidation products. Mechanical wounding also stimulated emissions of MVK and MACR. Photosynthesis under 13CO2 resulted in rapid (<30min) labelling of up to five carbon atoms of isoprene, with a similar labelling pattern observed in the putative oxidation products. These observations highlight the need to investigate further the mechanisms of isoprene oxidation within plants under stress and its biological and atmospheric significance. PMID:23881400

Emissions of putative isoprene oxidation products from mango branches under abiotic stress.

PubMed

Jardine, Kolby J; Meyers, Kimberly; Abrell, Leif; Alves, Eliane G; Yanez Serrano, Ana Maria; Kesselmeier, Jürgen; Karl, Thomas; Guenther, Alex; Chambers, Jeffrey Q; Vickers, Claudia

2013-09-01

Although several per cent of net carbon assimilation can be re-released as isoprene emissions to the atmosphere by many tropical plants, much uncertainty remains regarding its biological significance. In a previous study, we detected emissions of isoprene and its oxidation products methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR) from tropical plants under high temperature/light stress, suggesting that isoprene is oxidized not only in the atmosphere but also within plants. However, a comprehensive analysis of the suite of isoprene oxidation products in plants has not been performed and production relationships with environmental stress have not been described. In this study, putative isoprene oxidation products from mango (Mangifera indica) branches under abiotic stress were first identified. High temperature/light and freeze-thaw treatments verified direct emissions of the isoprene oxidation products MVK and MACR together with the first observations of 3-methyl furan (3-MF) and 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) as putative novel isoprene oxidation products. Mechanical wounding also stimulated emissions of MVK and MACR. Photosynthesis under (13)CO2 resulted in rapid (<30 min) labelling of up to five carbon atoms of isoprene, with a similar labelling pattern observed in the putative oxidation products. These observations highlight the need to investigate further the mechanisms of isoprene oxidation within plants under stress and its biological and atmospheric significance.

Metabolomics reveals biotic and abiotic elicitor effects on the soft coral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi terpenoid content.

PubMed

Farag, Mohamed A; Al-Mahdy, Dalia A; Meyer, Achim; Westphal, Hildegard; Wessjohann, Ludger A

2017-04-05

The effects of six biotic and abiotic elicitors, i.e. MeJA (methyl jasmonate), SA (salicylic acid), ZnCl 2 , glutathione and β-glucan BG (fungal elicitor), and wounding, on the secondary metabolite accumulation in the soft coral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi were assessed. Upon elicitation, metabolites were extracted and analysed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Except for MeJA, no differences in photosynthetic efficiency were observed after treatments, suggesting the absence of a remarkable stress on primary production. Chemometric analyses of UPLC-MS data showed clear segregation of SA and ZnCl 2 elicited samples at 24 and 48 h post elicitation. Levels of acetylated diterpene and sterol viz., sarcophytonolide I and cholesteryl acetate, was increased in ZnCl 2 and SA groups, respectively, suggesting an activation of specific acetyl transferases. Post elicitation, sarcophytonolide I level increased 132 and 17-folds at 48 h in 0.1 mM SA and 1 mM ZnCl 2 groups, respectively. Interestingly, decrease in sarcophine, a major diterpene was observed only in response to ZnCl 2 , whereas no change was observed in sesquiterpene content following treatments. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first documentation for elicitation effects on a soft corals secondary metabolome and suggests that SA could be applied to increase diterpenoid levels in corals.

A walk on the wild side: Oryza species as source for rice abiotic stress tolerance

PubMed Central

Menguer, Paloma Koprovski; Sperotto, Raul Antonio; Ricachenevsky, Felipe Klein

2017-01-01

Abstract Oryza sativa, the common cultivated rice, is one of the most important crops for human consumption, but production is increasingly threatened by abiotic stresses. Although many efforts have resulted in breeding rice cultivars that are relatively tolerant to their local environments, climate changes and population increase are expected to soon call for new, fast generation of stress tolerant rice germplasm, and current within-species rice diversity might not be enough to overcome such needs. The Oryza genus contains other 23 wild species, with only Oryza glaberrima being also domesticated. Rice domestication was performed with a narrow genetic diversity, and the other Oryza species are a virtually untapped genetic resource for rice stress tolerance improvement. Here we review the origin of domesticated Oryza sativa from wild progenitors, the ecological and genomic diversity of the Oryza genus, and the stress tolerance variation observed for wild Oryza species, including the genetic basis underlying the tolerance mechanisms found. The summary provided here is important to indicate how we should move forward to unlock the full potential of these germplasms for rice improvement. PMID:28323300

Isolation and Abiotic Stress Resistance Analyses of a Catalase Gene from Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.

PubMed

Yong, Bin; Wang, Xiaoyan; Xu, Pan; Zheng, Haiyan; Fei, Xueting; Hong, Zixi; Ma, Qinqin; Miao, Yuzhi; Yuan, Xianghua; Jiang, Yusong; Shao, Huanhuan

2017-01-01

As an indicator of the antioxidant capability of plants, catalase can detoxify reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by environmental stresses. Sweet potato is one of the top six most important crops in the world. However, its catalases remain largely unknown. In this study, a catalase encoding gene, IbCAT2 (accession number: KY615708), was identified and cloned from sweet potato cv. Xushu 18. It contained a 1479 nucleotides' open reading frame (ORF). S-R-L, Q-K-L, and a putative calmodulin binding domain were located at the C-terminus of IbCAT2, which suggests that IbCAT2 could be a peroxisomal catalase. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) based quantitative analyses showed that IbCAT2 was mainly expressed in young leaves and expanding tuberous roots under normal conditions. When exposed to 10% PEG6000 or 200 mmol/L NaCl solutions, IbCAT2 was upregulated rapidly in the first 11 days and then downregulated, although different tissues showed different degree of change. Overexpression of IbCAT2 conferred salt and drought tolerance in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae . The positive response of IbCAT2 to abiotic stresses suggested that IbCAT2 might play an important role in stress responses.

Identification of suitable qPCR reference genes in leaves of Brassica oleracea under abiotic stresses.

PubMed

Brulle, Franck; Bernard, Fabien; Vandenbulcke, Franck; Cuny, Damien; Dumez, Sylvain

2014-04-01

Real-time quantitative PCR is nowadays a standard method to study gene expression variations in various samples and experimental conditions. However, to interpret results accurately, data normalization with appropriate reference genes appears to be crucial. The present study describes the identification and the validation of suitable reference genes in Brassica oleracea leaves. Expression stability of eight candidates was tested following drought and cold abiotic stresses by using three different softwares (BestKeeper, NormFinder and geNorm). Four genes (BolC.TUB6, BolC.SAND1, BolC.UBQ2 and BolC.TBP1) emerged as the most stable across the tested conditions. Further gene expression analysis of a drought- and a cold-responsive gene (BolC.DREB2A and BolC.ELIP, respectively), confirmed the stability and the reliability of the identified reference genes when used for normalization in the leaves of B. oleracea. These four genes were finally tested upon a benzene exposure and all appeared to be useful reference genes along this toxicological condition. These results provide a good starting point for future studies involving gene expression measurement on leaves of B. oleracea exposed to environmental modifications.

Mass spectrometry-based plant metabolomics: Metabolite responses to abiotic stress.

PubMed

Jorge, Tiago F; Rodrigues, João A; Caldana, Camila; Schmidt, Romy; van Dongen, Joost T; Thomas-Oates, Jane; António, Carla

2016-09-01

Metabolomics is one omics approach that can be used to acquire comprehensive information on the composition of a metabolite pool to provide a functional screen of the cellular state. Studies of the plant metabolome include analysis of a wide range of chemical species with diverse physical properties, from ionic inorganic compounds to biochemically derived hydrophilic carbohydrates, organic and amino acids, and a range of hydrophobic lipid-related compounds. This complexitiy brings huge challenges to the analytical technologies employed in current plant metabolomics programs, and powerful analytical tools are required for the separation and characterization of this extremely high compound diversity present in biological sample matrices. The use of mass spectrometry (MS)-based analytical platforms to profile stress-responsive metabolites that allow some plants to adapt to adverse environmental conditions is fundamental in current plant biotechnology research programs for the understanding and development of stress-tolerant plants. In this review, we describe recent applications of metabolomics and emphasize its increasing application to study plant responses to environmental (stress-) factors, including drought, salt, low oxygen caused by waterlogging or flooding of the soil, temperature, light and oxidative stress (or a combination of them). Advances in understanding the global changes occurring in plant metabolism under specific abiotic stress conditions are fundamental to enhance plant fitness and increase stress tolerance. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 35:620-649, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Carbonyl sulfide produced by abiotic thermal and photodegradation of soil organic matter from wheat field substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whelan, Mary E.; Rhew, Robert C.

2015-01-01

Carbonyl sulfide (COS) is a reduced sulfur gas that is taken up irreversibly in plant leaves proportionally with CO2, allowing its potential use as a tracer for gross primary production. Recently, wheat field soil at the Southern Great Plains Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site in Lamont, Oklahoma, was found to be a measureable source of COS to the atmosphere. To understand the mechanism of COS production, soil and root samples were collected from the site and incubated in the laboratory over a range of temperatures (15-34°C) and light conditions (light and dark). Samples exhibited mostly COS net uptake from the atmosphere in dark and cool (<22-25°C) trials. COS emission was observed during dark incubations at high temperatures (>25°C), consistent with field observations, and at a lower temperature (19°C) when a full spectrum lamp (max wavelength 600 nm) was applied. Sterilized soil and root samples yielded only COS production that increased with temperature, supporting the hypothesis that (a) COS production in these samples is abiotic, (b) production is directly influenced by temperature and light, and (c) some COS consumption in soil and root samples is biotic.

A walk on the wild side: Oryza species as source for rice abiotic stress tolerance.

PubMed

Menguer, Paloma Koprovski; Sperotto, Raul Antonio; Ricachenevsky, Felipe Klein

2017-01-01

Oryza sativa, the common cultivated rice, is one of the most important crops for human consumption, but production is increasingly threatened by abiotic stresses. Although many efforts have resulted in breeding rice cultivars that are relatively tolerant to their local environments, climate changes and population increase are expected to soon call for new, fast generation of stress tolerant rice germplasm, and current within-species rice diversity might not be enough to overcome such needs. The Oryza genus contains other 23 wild species, with only Oryza glaberrima being also domesticated. Rice domestication was performed with a narrow genetic diversity, and the other Oryza species are a virtually untapped genetic resource for rice stress tolerance improvement. Here we review the origin of domesticated Oryza sativa from wild progenitors, the ecological and genomic diversity of the Oryza genus, and the stress tolerance variation observed for wild Oryza species, including the genetic basis underlying the tolerance mechanisms found. The summary provided here is important to indicate how we should move forward to unlock the full potential of these germplasms for rice improvement.

Persistent Organic Pollutants in Biotic and Abiotic Components of Antarctic Pristine Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhardwaj, Laxmikant; Chauhan, Abhishek; Ranjan, Anuj; Jindal, Tanu

2018-05-01

Over the past decades, research in Antarctica has built a new understanding of Antarctica, its past, present and future. Human activities and long-range pollutants are increasing on the Antarctic continent. Research on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been carried out internationally by several countries having their permanent research stations to explain the impact of an ever increasing range of POPs in Antarctic ecosystem. POPs have been detected in Antarctica despite its geographical isolation and almost complete absence of human settlements. The presence of POPs in different abiotic (atmosphere, water bodies, sediments, soil, sea ice) and biotic components (mosses, lichens, krill, penguins, skua, etc.) in Antarctica has been studied and documented around for decades and has either been banned or strictly regulated but is still found in the environment. This review focuses on recent research pertaining to sources and occurrence of POPs in Antarctic lake water, soil, sediment, lichen, mosses and other Antarctic marine community. This review also proposes to summarize the current state of research on POPs in Antarctica environment and draw the earliest conclusions on possible significance of POPs in Antarctica based on presently available information from related Antarctic environment.

Abiotic Protein Fragmentation by Manganese Oxide: Implications for a Mechanism to Supply Soil Biota with Oligopeptides.

PubMed

Reardon, Patrick N; Chacon, Stephany S; Walter, Eric D; Bowden, Mark E; Washton, Nancy M; Kleber, Markus

2016-04-05

The ability of plants and microorganisms to take up organic nitrogen in the form of free amino acids and oligopeptides has received increasing attention over the last two decades, yet the mechanisms for the formation of such compounds in soil environments remain poorly understood. We used Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopies to distinguish the reaction of a model protein with a pedogenic oxide (Birnessite, MnO2) from its response to a phyllosilicate (Kaolinite). Our data demonstrate that birnessite fragments the model protein while kaolinite does not, resulting in soluble peptides that would be available to soil biota and confirming the existence of an abiotic pathway for the formation of organic nitrogen compounds for direct uptake by plants and microorganisms. The absence of reduced Mn(II) in the solution suggests that birnessite acts as a catalyst rather than an oxidant in this reaction. NMR and EPR spectroscopies are shown to be valuable tools to observe these reactions and capture the extent of protein transformation together with the extent of mineral response.

The interactive biotic and abiotic processes of DDT transformation under dissimilatory iron-reducing conditions.

PubMed

Jin, Xin; Wang, Fang; Gu, Chenggang; Yang, Xinglun; Kengara, Fredrick O; Bian, Yongrong; Song, Yang; Jiang, Xin

2015-11-01

The objective of the study was to elucidate the biotic and abiotic processes under dissimilatory iron reducing conditions involved in reductive dechlorination and iron reduction. DDT transformation was investigated in cultures of Shewanella putrefaciens 200 with/without α-FeOOH. A modified first-order kinetics model was developed and described DDT transformation well. Both the α-FeOOH reduction rate and the dechlorination rate of DDT were positively correlated to the biomass. Addition of α-FeOOH enhanced reductive dechlorination of DDT by favoring the cell survival and generating Fe(II) which was absorbed on the surface of bacteria and iron oxide. 92% of the absorbed Fe(II) was Na-acetate (1M) extractable. However, α-FeOOH also played a negative role of competing for electrons as reflected by the dechlorination rate of DDT was inhibited when increasing the α-FeOOH from 1 g L(-1) to 5 g L(-1). DDT was measured to be toxic to S. putrefaciens 200. The metabolites DDD, DDE and DDMU were recalcitrant to S. putrefaciens 200. The results suggested that iron oxide was not the key factor to promote the dissipation of DDX (DDT and the metabolites), whereas the one-electron reduction potential (E1) of certain organochlorines is the main factor and that the E1 higher than the threshold of the reductive driving forces of DIRB probably ensures the occur of reductive dechlorination. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Polyamines Act as Double Edged Swords in Plant Abiotic Stress Responses.

PubMed

Gupta, Kamala; Sengupta, Atreyee; Chakraborty, Mayukh; Gupta, Bhaskar

2016-01-01

The specific genetic changes through which plants adapt to the multitude of environmental stresses are possible because of the molecular regulations in the system. These intricate regulatory mechanisms once unveiled will surely raise interesting questions. Polyamines and hydrogen peroxide have been suggested to be important signaling molecules during biotic and abiotic stresses. Hydrogen peroxide plays a versatile role from orchestrating physiological processes to stress response. It helps to achieve acclimatization and tolerance to stress by coordinating intra-cellular and systemic signaling systems. Polyamines, on the other hand, are low molecular weight polycationic aliphatic amines, which have been implicated in various stress responses. It is quite interesting to note that both hydrogen peroxide and polyamines have a fine line of inter-relation between them since the catabolic pathways of the latter releases hydrogen peroxide. In this review we have tried to illustrate the roles and their multifaceted functions of these two important signaling molecules based on current literature. This review also highlights the fact that over accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and polyamines can be detrimental for plant cells leading to toxicity and pre-mature cell death.

Effect of H2 and redox condition on biotic and abiotic MTBE transformation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bradley, P.M.; Chapelle, F.H.; Landmeyer, J.E.

2006-01-01

Laboratory studies conducted with surface water sediment from a methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)-contaminated site in South Carolina demonstrated that, under methanogenic conditions, [U-14C] MTBE was transformed to 14C tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) with no measurable production of 14CO2. Production of TBA was not attributed to the activity of methanogenic microorganisms, however, because comparable transformation of [U-14C] MTBE to 14C-TBA also was observed in heat-sterilized controls with dissolved H2 concentrations > 5 nM. The results suggest that the transformation of MTBE to TBA may be an abiotic process that is driven by biologically produced H2 under in situ conditions. In contrast, mineralization of [U-14C] MTBE to 14CO2 was completely inhibited by heat sterilization and only observed in treatments characterized by dissolved H2 concentrations < 2 nM. These results suggest that the pathway of MTBE transformation is influenced by in situ H2 concentrations and that in situ H2 concentrations may be an useful indicator of MTBE transformation pathways in ground water systems.

Biotic and abiotic retention, recycling and remineralization of metals in the ocean

SciTech Connect

Boyd, Philip W.; Ellwood, Michael J.; Tagliabue, Alessandro

Trace metals shape both the biogeochemical functioning and biological structure of oceanic provinces. Trace metal biogeochemistry has primarily focused on modes of external supply of metals from aeolian, hydrothermal, sedimentary and other sources. However, metals also undergo internal transformations such as abiotic and biotic retention, recycling and remineralization. The role of these internal transformations in metal biogeochemical cycling is now coming into focus. First, the retention of metals by biota in the surface ocean for days, weeks or months depends on taxon-specific metal requirements of phytoplankton, and on their ultimate fate: that is, viral lysis, senescence, grazing and/or export tomore » depth. Rapid recycling of metals in the surface ocean can extend seasonal productivity by maintaining higher levels of metal bioavailability compared to the influence of external metal input alone. As metal-containing organic particles are exported from the surface ocean, different metals exhibit distinct patterns of remineralization with depth. These patterns are mediated by a wide range of physicochemical and microbial processes such as the ability of particles to sorb metals, and are influenced by the mineral and organic characteristics of sinking particles. We conclude that internal metal transformations play an essential role in controlling metal bioavailability, phytoplankton distributions and the subsurface resupply of metals.« less

On the laws for the emergence of life from the abiotic matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolb, Vera M.

2012-10-01

In this work we pose a question if the laws for the emergence of life from the abiotic matter can exist even before carbon and the organic compounds were available. Carbon as an element became available via nucleosynthesis in the stars, and various carbon compounds were later made in the interstellar space and on the various objects in space. Is the emergence of life blue-printed as some general law which would then guarantee that life would evolve in the universe, or is it a law which co-evolved with the organic compounds and the environment in which they existed and which may be a subject to chance? This question is of a fundamental importance for astrobiology, which seeks extraterrestrial life without really knowing if it exists. Numerous articles and books have been written on the subject of the inevitability of life in the universe, on the evolution of matter which leads to life, and on the role of chance in the emergence of life. We select from these resources, critically examine them, and provide an inclusive summary, which we believe will be useful to astrobiologists.

Genomics of Secondary Metabolism in Populus: Interactions with Biotic and Abiotic Environments

SciTech Connect

Chen, F.; Liu, C.; Tschaplinski, T. J.

2009-09-01

Populus trees face constant challenges from the environment during their life cycle. To ensure their survival and reproduction, Populus trees deploy various types of defenses, one of which is the production of a myriad of secondary metabolites. Compounds derived from the shikimate-phenylpropanoid pathway are the most abundant class of secondary metabolites synthesized in Populus. Among other major classes of secondary metabolites in Populus are terpenoids and fatty acid-derivatives. Some of the secondary metabolites made by Populus trees have been functionally characterized. Some others have been associated with certain biological/ecological processes, such as defense against insects and microbial pathogens or acclimationmore » or adaptation to abiotic stresses. Functions of many Populus secondary metabolites remain unclear. The advent of various novel genomic tools will enable us to explore in greater detail the complexity of secondary metabolism in Populus. Detailed data mining of the Populus genome sequence can unveil candidate genes of secondary metabolism. Metabolomic analysis will continue to identify new metabolites synthesized in Populus. Integrated genomics that combines various 'omics' tools will prove to be the most powerful approach in revealing the molecular and biochemical basis underlying the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in Populus. Characterization of the biological/ecological functions of secondary metabolites as well as their biosynthesis will provide knowledge and tools for genetically engineering the production of seconday metabolites that can lead to the generation of novel, improved Populus varieties.« less

Identification of Abiotic Stress Protein Biomarkers by Proteomic Screening of Crop Cultivar Diversity

PubMed Central

Barkla, Bronwyn J.

2016-01-01

Modern day agriculture practice is narrowing the genetic diversity in our food supply. This may compromise the ability to obtain high yield under extreme climactic conditions, threatening food security for a rapidly growing world population. To identify genetic diversity, tolerance mechanisms of cultivars, landraces and wild relatives of major crops can be identified and ultimately exploited for yield improvement. Quantitative proteomics allows for the identification of proteins that may contribute to tolerance mechanisms by directly comparing protein abundance under stress conditions between genotypes differing in their stress responses. In this review, a summary is provided of the data accumulated from quantitative proteomic comparisons of crop genotypes/cultivars which present different stress tolerance responses when exposed to various abiotic stress conditions, including drought, salinity, high/low temperature, nutrient deficiency and UV-B irradiation. This field of research aims to identify molecular features that can be developed as biomarkers for crop improvement, however without accurate phenotyping, careful experimental design, statistical robustness and appropriate biomarker validation and verification it will be challenging to deliver what is promised. PMID:28248236

Identification of Abiotic Stress Protein Biomarkers by Proteomic Screening of Crop Cultivar Diversity.

PubMed

Barkla, Bronwyn J

2016-09-08

Modern day agriculture practice is narrowing the genetic diversity in our food supply. This may compromise the ability to obtain high yield under extreme climactic conditions, threatening food security for a rapidly growing world population. To identify genetic diversity, tolerance mechanisms of cultivars, landraces and wild relatives of major crops can be identified and ultimately exploited for yield improvement. Quantitative proteomics allows for the identification of proteins that may contribute to tolerance mechanisms by directly comparing protein abundance under stress conditions between genotypes differing in their stress responses. In this review, a summary is provided of the data accumulated from quantitative proteomic comparisons of crop genotypes/cultivars which present different stress tolerance responses when exposed to various abiotic stress conditions, including drought, salinity, high/low temperature, nutrient deficiency and UV-B irradiation. This field of research aims to identify molecular features that can be developed as biomarkers for crop improvement, however without accurate phenotyping, careful experimental design, statistical robustness and appropriate biomarker validation and verification it will be challenging to deliver what is promised.

Feeding in deep-sea demosponges: Influence of abiotic and biotic factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, Leah M.; Hamel, Jean-François; Mercier, Annie

2017-09-01

In shallow benthic communities, sponges are widely recognized for their ability to contribute to food webs by cycling nutrients and mediating carbon fluxes through filter feeding. In comparison, little is known about filter feeding in deep-sea species and how it may be modulated by environmental conditions. Here, a rare opportunity to maintain live healthy deep-sea sponges for an extended period led to a preliminary experimental study of their feeding metrics. This work focused on demosponges collected from the continental slope of eastern Canada at 1000 m depth. Filtration rates (as clearance of phytoplankton cells) at holding temperature (6 °C) were positively correlated with food particle concentration, ranging on average from 18.8 to 160.6 cells ml-1 h-1 at nominal concentrations of 10,000-40,000 cells ml-1. Cell clearance was not significantly affected by decreasing seawater temperature, from 6 °C to 3 °C or 0 °C, although two of the sponges showed decreased filtration rates. Low pH ( 7.5) and the presence of a predatory sea star markedly depressed or inhibited feeding activity in all sponges tested. While performed under laboratory conditions on a limited number of specimens, this work highlights the possible sensitivity of deep-sea demosponges to various types and levels of biotic and abiotic factors, inferring a consequent vulnerability to natural and anthropogenic disturbances.

Disentangling geographical, biotic, and abiotic drivers of plant diversity in neotropical Ruellia (Acanthaceae).

PubMed

Tripp, Erin A; Tsai, Yi-Hsin Erica

2017-01-01

It has long been hypothesized that biotic interactions are important drivers of biodiversity evolution, yet such interactions have been relatively less studied than abiotic factors owing to the inherent complexity in and the number of types of such interactions. Amongst the most prominent of biotic interactions worldwide are those between plants and pollinators. In the Neotropics, the most biodiverse region on Earth, hummingbird and bee pollination have contributed substantially to plant fitness. Using comparative methods, we test the macroevolutionary consequences of bird and bee pollination within a species rich lineage of flowering plants: Ruellia. We additionally explore impacts of species occupancy of ever-wet rainforests vs. dry ecosystems including cerrado and seasonally dry tropical forests. We compared outcomes based on two different methods of model selection: a traditional approach that utilizes a series of transitive likelihood ratio tests as well as a weighted model averaging approach. Analyses yield evidence for increased net diversification rates among Neotropical Ruellia (compared to Paleotropical lineages) as well as among hummingbird-adapted species. In contrast, we recovered no evidence of higher diversification rates among either bee- or non-bee-adapted lineages and no evidence for higher rates among wet or dry habitat lineages. Understanding fully the factors that have contributed to biases in biodiversity across the planet will ultimately depend upon incorporating knowledge of biotic interactions as well as connecting microevolutionary processes to macroevolutionary patterns.

Disentangling geographical, biotic, and abiotic drivers of plant diversity in neotropical Ruellia (Acanthaceae)

PubMed Central

Tsai, Yi-Hsin Erica

2017-01-01

It has long been hypothesized that biotic interactions are important drivers of biodiversity evolution, yet such interactions have been relatively less studied than abiotic factors owing to the inherent complexity in and the number of types of such interactions. Amongst the most prominent of biotic interactions worldwide are those between plants and pollinators. In the Neotropics, the most biodiverse region on Earth, hummingbird and bee pollination have contributed substantially to plant fitness. Using comparative methods, we test the macroevolutionary consequences of bird and bee pollination within a species rich lineage of flowering plants: Ruellia. We additionally explore impacts of species occupancy of ever-wet rainforests vs. dry ecosystems including cerrado and seasonally dry tropical forests. We compared outcomes based on two different methods of model selection: a traditional approach that utilizes a series of transitive likelihood ratio tests as well as a weighted model averaging approach. Analyses yield evidence for increased net diversification rates among Neotropical Ruellia (compared to Paleotropical lineages) as well as among hummingbird-adapted species. In contrast, we recovered no evidence of higher diversification rates among either bee- or non-bee-adapted lineages and no evidence for higher rates among wet or dry habitat lineages. Understanding fully the factors that have contributed to biases in biodiversity across the planet will ultimately depend upon incorporating knowledge of biotic interactions as well as connecting microevolutionary processes to macroevolutionary patterns. PMID:28472046

Asymmetrical development of root endodermis and exodermis in reaction to abiotic stresses

PubMed Central

Líška, Denis; Martinka, Michal; Kohanová, Jana; Lux, Alexander

2016-01-01

Background and Aims In the present study, we show that development of endodermis and exodermis is sensitively regulated by water accessibility. As cadmium (Cd) is known to induce xeromorphic effects in plants, maize roots were exposed also to Cd to understand the developmental process of suberin lamella deposition in response to a local Cd source. Methods In a first experiment, maize roots were cultivated in vitro and unilaterally exposed to water-containing medium from one side and to air from the other. In a second experiment, the roots were placed between two agar medium layers with a strip of Cd-containing medium attached locally and unilaterally to the root surface. Key Results The development of suberin lamella (the second stage of exodermal and endodermal development) started asymmetrically, preferentially closer to the root tip on the side exposed to the air. In the root contact with Cd in a spatially limited area exposed to one side of the root, suberin lamella was preferentially developed in the contact region and additionally along the whole length of the root basipetally from the contact area. However, the development was unilateral and asymmetrical, facing the treated side. The same pattern occurred irrespective of the distance of Cd application from the root apex. Conclusions These developmental characteristics indicate a sensitive response of root endodermis and exodermis in the protection of vascular tissues against abiotic stresses. PMID:27112163

Isolation and Abiotic Stress Resistance Analyses of a Catalase Gene from Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam

PubMed Central

Yong, Bin; Wang, Xiaoyan; Xu, Pan; Zheng, Haiyan; Fei, Xueting; Hong, Zixi; Ma, Qinqin; Miao, Yuzhi; Yuan, Xianghua; Jiang, Yusong

2017-01-01

As an indicator of the antioxidant capability of plants, catalase can detoxify reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by environmental stresses. Sweet potato is one of the top six most important crops in the world. However, its catalases remain largely unknown. In this study, a catalase encoding gene, IbCAT2 (accession number: KY615708), was identified and cloned from sweet potato cv. Xushu 18. It contained a 1479 nucleotides' open reading frame (ORF). S-R-L, Q-K-L, and a putative calmodulin binding domain were located at the C-terminus of IbCAT2, which suggests that IbCAT2 could be a peroxisomal catalase. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) based quantitative analyses showed that IbCAT2 was mainly expressed in young leaves and expanding tuberous roots under normal conditions. When exposed to 10% PEG6000 or 200 mmol/L NaCl solutions, IbCAT2 was upregulated rapidly in the first 11 days and then downregulated, although different tissues showed different degree of change. Overexpression of IbCAT2 conferred salt and drought tolerance in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The positive response of IbCAT2 to abiotic stresses suggested that IbCAT2 might play an important role in stress responses. PMID:28638833

Transcriptome sequencing of the Antarctic vascular plant Deschampsia antarctica Desv. under abiotic stress.

PubMed

Lee, Jungeun; Noh, Eun Kyeung; Choi, Hyung-Seok; Shin, Seung Chul; Park, Hyun; Lee, Hyoungseok

2013-03-01

Antarctic hairgrass (Deschampsia antarctica Desv.) is the only natural grass species in the maritime Antarctic. It has been studied as an extremophile that has successfully adapted to marginal land with the harshest environment for terrestrial plants. However, limited genetic research has focused on this species due to the lack of genomic resources. Here, we present the first de novo assembly of its transcriptome by massive parallel sequencing and its expression profile using D. antarctica grown under various stress conditions. Total sequence reads generated by pyrosequencing were assembled into 60,765 unigenes (28,177 contigs and 32,588 singletons). A total of 29,173 unique protein-coding genes were identified based on sequence similarities to known proteins. The combined results from all three stress conditions indicated differential expression of 3,110 genes. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction showed that several well-known stress-responsive genes encoding late embryogenesis abundant protein, dehydrin 1, and ice recrystallization inhibition protein were induced dramatically and that genes encoding U-box-domain-containing protein, electron transfer flavoprotein-ubiquinone, and F-box-containing protein were induced by abiotic stressors in a manner conserved with other plant species. We identified more than 2,000 simple sequence repeats that can be developed as functional molecular markers. This dataset is the most comprehensive transcriptome resource currently available for D. antarctica and is therefore expected to be an important foundation for future genetic studies of grasses and extremophiles.

Coupled nutrient removal and biomass production with mixed algal culture: impact of biotic and abiotic factors.

PubMed

Su, Yanyan; Mennerich, Artur; Urban, Brigitte

2012-08-01

The influence of biotic (algal inoculum concentration) and abiotic factors (illumination cycle, mixing velocity and nutrient strength) on the treatment efficiency, biomass generation and settleability were investigated with selected mixed algal culture. Dark condition led to poor nutrient removal efficiency. No significant difference in the N, P removal and biomass settleability between continuous and alternating illumination was observed, but a higher biomass generation capability for the continuous illumination was obtained. Different mixing velocity led to similar phosphorus removal efficiencies (above 98%) with different retention times. The reactor with 300 rpm mixing velocity had the best N removal capability. For the low strength wastewater, the N rates were 5.4±0.2, 9.1±0.3 and 10.8±0.3 mg/l/d and P removal rates were 0.57±0.03, 0.56±0.03 and 0.72±0.05 mg/l/d for reactors with the algal inoculum concentration of 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8 g/l, respectively. Low nutrient removal efficiency and poor biomass settleability were obtained for high strength wastewater. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does Abiotic Stress Cause Functional B Vitamin Deficiency in Plants?1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Beaudoin, Guillaume A.; Gregory, Jesse F.

2016-01-01

B vitamins are the precursors of essential metabolic cofactors but are prone to destruction under stress conditions. It is therefore a priori reasonable that stressed plants suffer B vitamin deficiencies and that certain stress symptoms are metabolic knock-on effects of these deficiencies. Given the logic of these arguments, and the existence of data to support them, it is a shock to realize that the roles of B vitamins in plant abiotic stress have had minimal attention in the literature (100-fold less than hormones) and continue to be overlooked. In this article, we therefore aim to explain the connections among B vitamins, enzyme cofactors, and stress conditions in plants. We first outline the chemistry and biochemistry of B vitamins and explore the concept of vitamin deficiency with the help of information from mammals. We then summarize classical and recent evidence for stress-induced vitamin deficiencies and for plant responses that counter these deficiencies. Lastly, we consider potential implications for agriculture. PMID:27807106

Abiotic formation of valine peptides under conditions of high temperature and high pressure.

PubMed

Furukawa, Yoshihiro; Otake, Tsubasa; Ishiguro, Takato; Nakazawa, Hiromoto; Kakegawa, Takeshi

2012-12-01

We investigated the oligomerization of solid valine and the stabilities of valine and valine peptides under conditions of high temperature (150-200 °C) and high pressure (50-150 MPa). Experiments were performed under non-aqueous condition in order to promote dehydration reaction. After prolonged exposure of monomeric valine to elevated temperatures and pressures, the products were analyzed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry comparing their retention times and masses. We identified linear peptides that ranged in size from dimer to hexamer, as well as a cyclic dimer. Previous studies that attempted abiotic oligomerization of valine in the absence of a catalyst have never reported valine peptides larger than a dimer. Increased reaction temperature increased the dissociative decomposition of valine and valine peptides to products such as glycine, β-alanine, ammonia, and amines by processes such as deamination, decarboxylation, and cracking. The amount of residual valine and peptide yields was greater at higher pressures at a given temperature, pressure, and reaction time. This suggests that dissociative decomposition of valine and valine peptides is reduced by pressure. Our findings are relevant to the investigation of diagenetic processes in prebiotic marine sediments where similar pressures occur under water-poor conditions. These findings also suggest that amino acids, such as valine, could have been polymerized to peptides in deep prebiotic marine sediments within a few hundred million years.

Silicon Regulates Antioxidant Activities of Crop Plants under Abiotic-Induced Oxidative Stress: A Review.

PubMed

Kim, Yoon-Ha; Khan, Abdul L; Waqas, Muhammad; Lee, In-Jung

2017-01-01

Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in soil, where its availability to plants can exhilarate to 10% of total dry weight of the plant. Si accumulation/transport occurs in the upward direction, and has been identified in several crop plants. Si application has been known to ameliorate plant growth and development during normal and stressful conditions over past two-decades. During abiotic (salinity, drought, thermal, and heavy metal etc) stress, one of the immediate responses by plant is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ), superoxide ([Formula: see text]), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), and hydroxyl radicals (OH), which cause severe damage to the cell structure, organelles, and functions. To alleviate and repair this damage, plants have developed a complex antioxidant system to maintain homeostasis through non-enzymatic (carotenoids, tocopherols, ascorbate, and glutathione) and enzymatic antioxidants [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX)]. To this end, the exogenous application of Si has been found to induce stress tolerance by regulating the generation of ROS, reducing electrolytic leakage, and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, and immobilizing and reducing the uptake of toxic ions like Na, under stressful conditions. However, the interaction of Si and plant antioxidant enzyme system remains poorly understood, and further in-depth analyses at the transcriptomic level are needed to understand the mechanisms responsible for the Si-mediated regulation of stress responses.

Building the crops of tomorrow: advantages of symbiont-based approaches to improving abiotic stress tolerance

SciTech Connect

Coleman-Derr, Devin; Tringe, Susannah G.

The exponential growth in world population is feeding a steadily increasing global need for arable farmland, a resource that is already in high demand. This trend has led to increased farming on subprime arid and semi-arid lands, where limited availability of water and a host of environmental stresses often severely reduce crop productivity. The conventional approach to mitigating the abiotic stresses associated with arid climes is to breed for stress-tolerant cultivars, a time and labor intensive venture that often neglects the complex ecological context of the soil environment in which the crop is grown. In recent years, studies have attemptedmore » to identify microbial symbionts capable of conferring the same stress-tolerance to their plant hosts, and new developments in genomic technologies have greatly facilitated such research. Here in this paper, we highlight many of the advantages of these symbiont-based approaches and argue in favor of the broader recognition of crop species as ecological niches for a diverse community of microorganisms that function in concert with their plant hosts and each other to thrive under fluctuating environmental conditions« less

Microbial Community Structure in a Serpentine-Hosted Abiotic Gas Seepage at the Chimaera Ophiolite, Turkey

PubMed Central

Sun, Li; Müller, Bettina; Ivarsson, Magnus; Hosgörmez, Hakan; Özcan, Dogacan; Broman, Curt; Schnürer, Anna

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT The surface waters at the ultramafic ophiolitic outcrop in Chimaera, Turkey, are characterized by high pH values and high metal levels due to the percolation of fluids through areas of active serpentinization. We describe the influence of the liquid chemistry, mineralogy, and H2 and CH4 levels on the bacterial community structure in a semidry, exposed, ultramafic environment. The bacterial and archaeal community structures were monitored using Illumina sequencing targeting the 16S rRNA gene. At all sampling points, four phyla, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Acidobacteria, accounted for the majority of taxa. Members of the Chloroflexi phylum dominated low-diversity sites, whereas Proteobacteria dominated high-diversity sites. Methane, nitrogen, iron, and hydrogen oxidizers were detected as well as archaea and metal-resistant bacteria. IMPORTANCE Our study is a comprehensive microbial investigation of the Chimaera ophiolite. DNA has been extracted from 16 sites in the area and has been studied from microbial and geochemical points of view. We describe a microbial community structure that is dependent on terrestrial, serpentinization-driven abiotic H2, which is poorly studied due to the rarity of these environments on Earth. PMID:28389534

Microbial Community Structure in a Serpentine-Hosted Abiotic Gas Seepage at the Chimaera Ophiolite, Turkey.

PubMed

Neubeck, Anna; Sun, Li; Müller, Bettina; Ivarsson, Magnus; Hosgörmez, Hakan; Özcan, Dogacan; Broman, Curt; Schnürer, Anna

2017-06-15

The surface waters at the ultramafic ophiolitic outcrop in Chimaera, Turkey, are characterized by high pH values and high metal levels due to the percolation of fluids through areas of active serpentinization. We describe the influence of the liquid chemistry, mineralogy, and H 2 and CH 4 levels on the bacterial community structure in a semidry, exposed, ultramafic environment. The bacterial and archaeal community structures were monitored using Illumina sequencing targeting the 16S rRNA gene. At all sampling points, four phyla, Proteobacteria , Actinobacteria , Chloroflexi , and Acidobacteria , accounted for the majority of taxa. Members of the Chloroflexi phylum dominated low-diversity sites, whereas Proteobacteria dominated high-diversity sites. Methane, nitrogen, iron, and hydrogen oxidizers were detected as well as archaea and metal-resistant bacteria. IMPORTANCE Our study is a comprehensive microbial investigation of the Chimaera ophiolite. DNA has been extracted from 16 sites in the area and has been studied from microbial and geochemical points of view. We describe a microbial community structure that is dependent on terrestrial, serpentinization-driven abiotic H 2 , which is poorly studied due to the rarity of these environments on Earth. Copyright © 2017 Neubeck et al.

Emissions of putative isoprene oxidation products from mango branches under abiotic stress

SciTech Connect

Jardine, Kolby J.; Meyers, Kimberly; Abrell, Leif

Although several per cent of net carbon assimilation can be re-released as isoprene emissions to the atmosphere by many tropical plants, much uncertainty remains regarding its biological significance. In a previous study, we detected emissions of isoprene and its oxidation products methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR) from tropical plants under high temperature/light stress, suggesting that isoprene is oxidized not only in the atmosphere but also within plants. However, a comprehensive analysis of the suite of isoprene oxidation products in plants has not been performed and production relationships with environmental stress have not been described. In this study, putativemore » isoprene oxidation products from mango (Mangifera indica) branches under abiotic stress were first identified. High temperature/light and freeze–thaw treatments verified direct emissions of the isoprene oxidation products MVK and MACR together with the first observations of 3-methyl furan (3-MF) and 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) as putative novel isoprene oxidation products. Mechanical wounding also stimulated emissions of MVK and MACR. Photosynthesis under 13CO 2 resulted in rapid (<30min) labelling of up to five carbon atoms of isoprene, with a similar labelling pattern observed in the putative oxidation products. These observations highlight the need to investigate further the mechanisms of isoprene oxidation within plants under stress and its biological and atmospheric significance.« less

Induction of glutathione synthesis and glutathione reductase activity by abiotic stresses in maize and wheat.

PubMed

Kocsy, Gábor; Szalai, Gabriella; Galiba, Gábor

2002-06-21

The effect of different abiotic stresses (extreme temperatures and osmotic stress) on the synthesis of glutathione and hydroxymethylglutathione, on the ratio of the reduced to oxidised forms of these thiols (GSH/GSSG, hmGSH/hmGSSG), and on the glutathione reductase (GR) activity was studied in maize and wheat genotypes having different sensitivity to low temperature stress. Cold treatment induced a greater increase in total glutathione (TG) content and in GR activity in tolerant genotypes of both species than in sensitive ones. The GSH/GSSG and hmGSH/hmGSSG ratios were increased by this treatment only in the frost-tolerant wheat variety. High-temperature stress increased the TG content and the GSH/GSSG ratio only in the chilling-sensitive maize genotype, but GR activity was greater after this treatment in both maize genotypes. Osmotic stress resulted in a great increase in the TG content in wheat and the GR activity in maize. The amount of total hydroxymethylglutathione increased following all stress treatments. These results indicate the involvement of these antioxidants in the stress responses of wheat and maize.

Abiotic reduction of trifluralin and pendimethalin by sulfides in black-carbon-amended coastal sediments.

PubMed

Gong, Wenwen; Liu, Xinhui; Xia, Shuhua; Liang, Baocui; Zhang, Wei

2016-06-05

Dinitroaniline herbicides such as trifluralin and pendimethalin are persistent bioaccumulative toxins to aquatic organisms. Thus, in-situ remediation of contaminated sediments is desired. This study investigated whether black carbons (BCs), including apple wood charcoal (BC1), rice straw biochar (BC2), and activated carbon (BC3), could facilitate abiotic reduction of trifluralin and pendimethalin by sulfides of environmentally-relevant concentrations in anoxic coastal sediments. The reduction rates of trifluralin and pendimethalin increased substantially with increasing BC dosages in the sediments. This enhancing effect was dependent on BC type with the greatest for BC3 followed by BC1 and BC2, which well correlated with their specific surface area. The pseudo-first order reduction rate constants (kobs) for BC3-amended sediment (2%) were 13- and 14 times the rate constants in the BC-free sediment. The reduction rates increased with increasing temperature from 8 to 25°C in the BC-amended sediment, following the Arrhenius relationship. Finally, through molecular modeling by density functional theory and reaction species identification from mass spectra, molecular pathways of trifluralin and pendimethalin reduction were elucidated. In contrary to the separate sequential reduction of each nitro group to amine group, both nitro groups, first reduced to nitroso, then eventually to amine groups. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Phytophthora sojae cytoplasmic effector mediates disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance in Nicotiana benthamiana.

PubMed

Zhang, Meixiang; Ahmed Rajput, Nasir; Shen, Danyu; Sun, Peng; Zeng, Wentao; Liu, Tingli; Juma Mafurah, Joseph; Dou, Daolong

2015-06-03

Each oomycete pathogen encodes a large number of effectors. Some effectors can be used in crop disease resistance breeding, such as to accelerate R gene cloning and utilisation. Since cytoplasmic effectors may cause acute physiological changes in host cells at very low concentrations, we assume that some of these effectors can serve as functional genes for transgenic plants. Here, we generated transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana plants that express a Phytophthora sojae CRN (crinkling and necrosis) effector, PsCRN115. We showed that its expression did not significantly affect the growth and development of N. benthamiana, but significantly improved disease resistance and tolerance to salt and drought stresses. Furthermore, we found that expression of heat-shock-protein and cytochrome-P450 encoding genes were unregulated in PsCRN115-transgenic N. benthamiana based on digital gene expression profiling analyses, suggesting the increased plant defence may be achieved by upregulation of these stress-related genes in transgenic plants. Thus, PsCRN115 may be used to improve plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Emissions of putative isoprene oxidation products from mango branches under abiotic stress

DOE PAGES

Jardine, Kolby J.; Meyers, Kimberly; Abrell, Leif; ...

2013-07-23

Although several per cent of net carbon assimilation can be re-released as isoprene emissions to the atmosphere by many tropical plants, much uncertainty remains regarding its biological significance. In a previous study, we detected emissions of isoprene and its oxidation products methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR) from tropical plants under high temperature/light stress, suggesting that isoprene is oxidized not only in the atmosphere but also within plants. However, a comprehensive analysis of the suite of isoprene oxidation products in plants has not been performed and production relationships with environmental stress have not been described. In this study, putativemore » isoprene oxidation products from mango (Mangifera indica) branches under abiotic stress were first identified. High temperature/light and freeze–thaw treatments verified direct emissions of the isoprene oxidation products MVK and MACR together with the first observations of 3-methyl furan (3-MF) and 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) as putative novel isoprene oxidation products. Mechanical wounding also stimulated emissions of MVK and MACR. Photosynthesis under 13CO 2 resulted in rapid (<30min) labelling of up to five carbon atoms of isoprene, with a similar labelling pattern observed in the putative oxidation products. These observations highlight the need to investigate further the mechanisms of isoprene oxidation within plants under stress and its biological and atmospheric significance.« less

Children's media policy.

PubMed

Jordan, Amy B

2008-01-01

Amy Jordan addresses the need to balance the media industry's potentially important contributions to the healthy development of America's children against the consequences of excessive and age-inappropriate media exposure. Much of the philosophical tension regarding how much say the government should have about media content and delivery stems from the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protection against government interference in free speech, including commercial speech. Courts, Jordan says, have repeatedly had to weigh the rights of commercial entities to say what they please against the need to protect vulnerable citizens such as children. This balancing act is complicated even further, she says, because many government regulations apply only to broadcast television and not to non-broadcast media such as the Internet or cable television, though Congress has addressed the need to protect children's privacy online. The need to protect both free speech and children has given rise to a fluid media policy mix of federal mandates and industry self-regulation. Jordan describes the role of the three branches of the federal government in formulating and implementing media policy. She also notes the jockeying for influence in policymaking by industry lobbies, child advocacy groups, and academic researchers. The media industry itself, says Jordan, is spurred to self-regulation when public disapproval grows severe enough to raise the possibility of new government action. Jordan surveys a range of government and industry actions, from legislatively required parental monitoring tools, such as the V-Chip blocking device on television sets, to the voluntary industry ratings systems governing television, movies, and video games, to voluntary social website disclosures to outright government bans, such as indecency and child privacy information collection. She considers the success of these efforts in limiting children's exposure to damaging content and in improving parents

Microplate Fluorescence Assay for Measurement of the Ability of Strains of Listeria monocytogenes from Meat and Meat-Processing Plants To Adhere to Abiotic Surfaces▿

PubMed Central

Gamble, Rachel; Muriana, Peter M.

2007-01-01

Listeria monocytogenes is a significant food-borne pathogen that is capable of adhering to and producing biofilms on processing equipment, making it difficult to eliminate from meat-processing environments and allowing potential contamination of ready-to-eat (RTE) products. We devised a fluorescence-based microplate method for screening isolates of L. monocytogenes for the ability to adhere to abiotic surfaces. Strains of L. monocytogenes were incubated for 2 days at 30°C in 96-well microplates, and the plates were washed in a plate washer. The retained cells were incubated for 15 min at 25°C with 5,6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate and washed again, and then the fluorescence was read with a plate reader. Several enzymatic treatments (protease, lipase, and cellulase) were effective in releasing adherent cells from the microplates, and this process was used for quantitation on microbiological media. Strongly adherent strains of L. monocytogenes were identified that had 15,000-fold-higher levels of fluorescence and 100,000-fold-higher plate counts in attachment assays than weakly adherent strains. Strongly adherent strains of L. monocytogenes adhered equally well to four different substrates (glass, plastic, rubber, and stainless steel); showed high-level attachment on microplates at 10, 20, 30, and 40°C; and showed significant differences from weakly adherent strains when examined by scanning electron microscopy. A greater incidence of strong adherence was observed for strains isolated from RTE meats than for those isolated from environmental surfaces. Analysis of surface adherence among Listeria isolates from processing environments may provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in attachment and suggest solutions to eliminate them from food-processing environments. PMID:17586676

Understanding Violence Through Social Media

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

understudied. To determine the feasibility of social media utilization in conflict prediction, we compared historical conflict data and social media...research, we conclude that social media metadata has a positive impact on conflict prediction when compared with historical conflict data. Additionally...of social media utilization in conflict prediction, we compared historical conflict data and social media metadata, utilizing over 829,537 geo

The Zinc-Finger Thylakoid-Membrane Protein FIP Is Involved With Abiotic Stress Response in Arabidopsis thaliana.

PubMed

Lopes, Karina L; Rodrigues, Ricardo A O; Silva, Marcos C; Braga, Wiliane G S; Silva-Filho, Marcio C

2018-01-01

Many plant genes have their expression modulated by stress conditions. Here, we used Arabidopsis FtsH5 protease, which expression is regulated by light stress, as bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen to search for new proteins involved in the stress response. As a result, we found FIP (FtsH5 Interacting Protein), which possesses an amino proximal cleavable transit peptide, a hydrophobic membrane-anchoring region, and a carboxyl proximal C 4 -type zinc-finger domain. In vivo experiments using FIP fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) showed a plastid localization. This finding was corroborated by chloroplast import assays that showed FIP inserted in the thylakoid membrane. FIP expression was down-regulated in plants exposed to high light intensity, oxidative, salt, and osmotic stresses, whereas mutant plants expressing low levels of FIP were more tolerant to these abiotic stresses. Our data shows a new thylakoid-membrane protein involved with abiotic stress response in Arabidopsis thaliana .

Unravelling chemical priming machinery in plants: the role of reactive oxygen-nitrogen-sulfur species in abiotic stress tolerance enhancement.

PubMed

Antoniou, Chrystalla; Savvides, Andreas; Christou, Anastasis; Fotopoulos, Vasileios

2016-10-01

Abiotic stresses severely limit crop yield and their detrimental effects are aggravated by climate change. Chemical priming is an emerging field in crop stress management. The exogenous application of specific chemical agents before stress events results in tolerance enhancement and reduction of stress impacts on plant physiology and growth. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the remarkable effects of chemical priming on plant physiology remain to be elucidated. Reactive oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur species (RONSS) are molecules playing a vital role in the stress acclimation of plants. When applied as priming agents, RONSS improve stress tolerance. This review summarizes the recent knowledge on the role of RONSS in cell signalling and gene regulation contributing to abiotic stress tolerance enhancement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

National Media Laboratory media testing results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mularie, William

1993-01-01

The government faces a crisis in data storage, analysis, archive, and communication. The sheer quantity of data being poured into the government systems on a daily basis is overwhelming systems ability to capture, analyze, disseminate, and store critical information. Future systems requirements are even more formidable: with single government platforms having data rate of over 1 Gbit/sec, greater than Terabyte/day storage requirements, and with expected data archive lifetimes of over 10 years. The charter of the National Media Laboratory (NML) is to focus the resources of industry, government, and academia on government needs in the evaluation, development, and field support of advanced recording systems.

Multiple abiotic stress tolerance of the transformants yeast cells and the transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing a novel durum wheat catalase.

PubMed

Feki, Kaouthar; Kamoun, Yosra; Ben Mahmoud, Rihem; Farhat-Khemakhem, Ameny; Gargouri, Ali; Brini, Faiçal

2015-12-01

Catalases are reactive oxygen species scavenging enzymes involved in response to abiotic and biotic stresses. In this study, we described the isolation and functional characterization of a novel catalase from durum wheat, designed TdCAT1. Molecular Phylogeny analyses showed that wheat TdCAT1 exhibited high amino acids sequence identity to other plant catalases. Sequence homology analysis showed that TdCAT1 protein contained the putative calmodulin binding domain and a putative conserved internal peroxisomal targeting signal PTS1 motif around its C-terminus. Predicted three-dimensional structural model revealed the presence of four putative distinct structural regions which are the N-terminal arm, the β-barrel, the wrapping and the α-helical domains. TdCAT1 protein had the heme pocket that was composed by five essential residues. TdCAT1 gene expression analysis showed that this gene was induced by various abiotic stresses in durum wheat. The expression of TdCAT1 in yeast cells and Arabidopsis plants conferred tolerance to several abiotic stresses. Compared with the non-transformed plants, the transgenic lines maintained their growth and accumulated more proline under stress treatments. Furthermore, the amount of H2O2 was lower in transgenic lines, which was due to the high CAT and POD activities. Taken together, these data provide the evidence for the involvement of durum wheat catalase TdCAT1 in tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses in crop plants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Carbon Isotopes of Alkanes in Hydrothermal Abiotic Organic Synthesis Processes at High Temperatures and Pressures: An Experimental Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fu, Qi; Socki, Richard A.; Niles, Paul B.

2010-01-01

Observation of methane in the Martian atmosphere has been reported by different detection techniques [1-4]. With more evidence showing extensive water-rock interaction in Martian history [5-7], abiotic formation by Fischer-Tropsch Type (FTT) synthesis during serpentization reactions may be one possible process responsible for methane generation on Mars [8, 9]. While the experimental studies performed to date leave little doubt that chemical reactions exist for the abiotic synthesis of organic compounds by mineral surface-catalyzed reactions [10-12], little is known about the reaction pathways by which CO2 and/or CO are reduced under hydrothermal conditions. Carbon and hydrogen isotope measurements of alkanes have been used as an effective tool to constrain the origin and reaction pathways of hydrocarbon formation. Alkanes generated by thermal breakdown of high molecular weight organic compounds have carbon and hydrogen isotopic signatures completely distinct from those formed abiotically [13-15]. Recent experimental studies, however, showed that different abiogenic hydrocarbon formation processes (e.g., polymerization vs. depolymerization) may have different carbon and hydrogen isotopic patterns [16]. Results from previous experiments studying decomposition of higher molecular weight organic compounds (lignite) also suggested that pressure could be a crucial factor affecting fractionation of carbon isotopes [17]. Under high pressure conditions, no experimental data are available describing fractionation of carbon isotope during mineral catalyzed FTT synthesis. Thus, hydrothermal experiments present an excellent opportunity to provide the requisite carbon isotope data. Such data can also be used to identify reaction pathways of abiotic organic synthesis under experimental conditions.

Mismatch in microbial food webs: predators but not prey perform better in their local biotic and abiotic conditions.

PubMed

Parain, Elodie C; Gravel, Dominique; Rohr, Rudolf P; Bersier, Louis-Félix; Gray, Sarah M

2016-07-01

Understanding how trophic levels respond to changes in abiotic and biotic conditions is key for predicting how food webs will react to environmental perturbations. Different trophic levels may respond disproportionately to change, with lower levels more likely to react faster, as they typically consist of smaller-bodied species with higher reproductive rates. This response could cause a mismatch between trophic levels, in which predators and prey will respond differently to changing abiotic or biotic conditions. This mismatch between trophic levels could result in altered top-down and bottom-up control and changes in interaction strength. To determine the possibility of a mismatch, we conducted a reciprocal-transplant experiment involving Sarracenia purpurea food webs consisting of bacterial communities as prey and a subset of six morphologically similar protozoans as predators. We used a factorial design with four temperatures, four bacteria and protozoan biogeographic origins, replicated four times. This design allowed us to determine how predator and prey dynamics were altered by abiotic (temperature) conditions and biotic (predators paired with prey from either their local or non-local biogeographic origin) conditions. We found that prey reached higher densities in warmer temperature regardless of their temperature of origin. Conversely, predators achieved higher densities in the temperature condition and with the prey from their origin. These results confirm that predators perform better in abiotic and biotic conditions of their origin while their prey do not. This mismatch between trophic levels may be especially significant under climate change, potentially disrupting ecosystem functioning by disproportionately affecting top-down and bottom-up control.

Spatial variability of biotic and abiotic tree establishment constraints across a treeline ecotone in the Alaska Range

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stueve, K.M.; Isaacs, R.E.; Tyrrell, L.E.; Densmore, R.V.

2011-01-01

Throughout interior Alaska (USA), a gradual warming trend in mean monthly temperatures occurred over the last few decades (;2-48C). The accompanying increases in woody vegetation at many alpine treeline (hereafter treeline) locations provided an opportunity to examine how biotic and abiotic local site conditions interact to control tree establishment patterns during warming. We devised a landscape ecological approach to investigate these relationships at an undisturbed treeline in the Alaska Range. We identified treeline changes between 1953 (aerial photography) and 2005 (satellite imagery) in a geographic information system (GIS) and linked them with corresponding local site conditions derived from digital terrain data, ancillary climate data, and distance to 1953 trees. Logistic regressions enabled us to rank the importance of local site conditions in controlling tree establishment. We discovered a spatial transition in the importance of tree establishment controls. The biotic variable (proximity to 1953 trees) was the most important tree establishment predictor below the upper tree limit, providing evidence of response lags with the abiotic setting and suggesting that tree establishment is rarely in equilibrium with the physical environment or responding directly to warming. Elevation and winter sun exposure were important predictors of tree establishment at the upper tree limit, but proximity to trees persisted as an important tertiary predictor, indicating that tree establishment may achieve equilibrium with the physical environment. However, even here, influences from the biotic variable may obscure unequivocal correlations with the abiotic setting (including temperature). Future treeline expansion will likely be patchy and challenging to predict without considering the spatial variability of influences from biotic and abiotic local site conditions. ?? 2011 by the Ecological Society of America.

Genetic engineering strategies for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance and quality enhancement in horticultural crops: a comprehensive review.

PubMed

Parmar, Nehanjali; Singh, Kunwar Harendra; Sharma, Deepika; Singh, Lal; Kumar, Pankaj; Nanjundan, J; Khan, Yasin Jeshima; Chauhan, Devendra Kumar; Thakur, Ajay Kumar

2017-08-01

Genetic engineering technique offers myriads of applications in improvement of horticultural crops for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, and produce quality enhancement. During last two decades, a large number of transgenic horticultural crops has been developed and more are underway. A number of genes including natural and synthetic Cry genes, protease inhibitors, trypsin inhibitors and cystatin genes have been used to incorporate insect and nematode resistance. For providing protection against fungal and bacterial diseases, various genes like chitinase, glucanase, osmotin, defensin and pathogenesis-related genes are being transferred to many horticultural crops world over. RNAi technique has been found quite successful in inducing virus resistance in horticultural crops in addition to coat protein genes. Abiotic stresses such as drought, heat and salinity adversely affect production and productivity of horticultural crops and a number of genes encoding for biosynthesis of stress protecting compounds including mannitol, glycine betaine and heat shock proteins have been employed for abiotic stress tolerance besides various transcription factors like DREB1, MAPK, WRKY, etc. Antisense gene and RNAi technologies have revolutionized the pace of improvement of horticultural crops, particularly ornamentals for color modification, increasing shelf-life and reducing post-harvest losses. Precise genome editing tools, particularly CRISPR/Cas9, have been efficiently applied in tomato, petunia, citrus, grape, potato and apple for gene mutation, repression, activation and epigenome editing. This review provides comprehensive overview to draw the attention of researchers for better understanding of genetic engineering advancements in imparting biotic and abiotic stress tolerance as well as on improving various traits related to quality, texture, plant architecture modification, increasing shelf-life, etc. in different horticultural crops.

Identification of the invertase gene family (INVs) in tea plant and their expression analysis under abiotic stress.

PubMed

Qian, Wenjun; Yue, Chuan; Wang, Yuchun; Cao, Hongli; Li, Nana; Wang, Lu; Hao, Xinyuan; Wang, Xinchao; Xiao, Bin; Yang, Yajun

2016-11-01

Fourteen invertase genes were identified in the tea plant, all of which were shown to participate in regulating growth and development, as well as in responding to various abiotic stresses. Invertase (INV) can hydrolyze sucrose into glucose and fructose, which plays a principal role in regulating plant growth and development as well as the plants response to various abiotic and biotic stresses. However, currently, there is a lack of reported information, regarding the roles of INVs in either tea plant development or in the tea plants response to various stresses. In this study, 14 INV genes were identified from the transcriptome data of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze), and named CsINV1-5 and CsINV7-15. Based on the results of a Blastx search and phylogenetic analysis, the CsINV genes could be clustered into 6 acid invertase (AI) genes and 8 alkaline/neutral invertase (A/N-Inv) genes. The results of tissue-specific expression analysis showed that the transcripts of all the identified CsINV genes are detectable in various tissues. Under various abiotic stress conditions, the expression patterns of the 14 CsINV genes were diverse in both the leaves and roots, and some of them were shown to be significantly expressed. Overall, we hypothesize that the identified CsINV genes all participate in regulating growth and development in the tea plant, and most likely through different signaling pathways that regulate the carbohydrate allocation and the ratio of hexose and sucrose for improving the resistance of the leaves and the roots of the tea plant to various abiotic stresses.

Spatial variability of biotic and abiotic tree establishment constraints across a treeline ecotone in the Alaska range.

PubMed

Stueve, Kirk M; Isaacs, Rachel E; Tyrrell, Lucy E; Densmore, Roseann V

2011-02-01

Throughout interior Alaska (U.S.A.), a gradual warming trend in mean monthly temperatures occurred over the last few decades (approximatlely 2-4 degrees C). The accompanying increases in woody vegetation at many alpine treeline (hereafter treeline) locations provided an opportunity to examine how biotic and abiotic local site conditions interact to control tree establishment patterns during warming. We devised a landscape ecological approach to investigate these relationships at an undisturbed treeline in the Alaska Range. We identified treeline changes between 1953 (aerial photography) and 2005 (satellite imagery) in a geographic information system (GIS) and linked them with corresponding local site conditions derived from digital terrain data, ancillary climate data, and distance to 1953 trees. Logistic regressions enabled us to rank the importance of local site conditions in controlling tree establishment. We discovered a spatial transition in the importance of tree establishment controls. The biotic variable (proximity to 1953 trees) was the most important tree establishment predictor below the upper tree limit, providing evidence of response lags with the abiotic setting and suggesting that tree establishment is rarely in equilibrium with the physical environment or responding directly to warming. Elevation and winter sun exposure were important predictors of tree establishment at the upper tree limit, but proximity to trees persisted as an important tertiary predictor, indicating that tree establishment may achieve equilibrium with the physical environment. However, even here, influences from the biotic variable may obscure unequivocal correlations with the abiotic setting (including temperature). Future treeline expansion will likely be patchy and challenging to predict without considering the spatial variability of influences from biotic and abiotic local site conditions.

Design of a Custom RT-qPCR Array for Assignment of Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Traditional Portuguese Grapevine Varieties

PubMed Central

Carvalho, Luísa C.; Silva, Marília; Coito, João L.; Rocheta, Margarida P.; Amâncio, Sara

2017-01-01

Widespread agricultural losses attributed to drought, often combined with high temperatures, frequently occur in the field, namely in Mediterranean climate areas, where the existing scenarios for climate change indicate an increase in the frequency of heat waves and severe drought events in summer. Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is the most cultivated fruit species in the world and the most valuable one and is a traditional Mediterranean species. Currently, viticulture must adjust to impending climate changes that are already pushing vine-growers toward the use of ancient and resilient varieties. Portugal is very rich in grapevine biodiversity, however, currently, 90% of the total producing area is planted with only 16 varieties. There is a pressing need to understand the existing genetic diversity and the physiological potential of the varieties/genotypes available to be able to respond to climate changes. With the above scenario in mind, an assembly of 65 differentially expresses genes (DEGs) previously identified as responsive to abiotic stresses in two well studied genotypes, ‘Touriga Nacional’ and ‘Trincadeira,’ was designed to scan the gene expression of leaf samples from 10 traditional Portuguese varieties growing in two regions with distinct environmental conditions. Forty-five of those DEGs proved to be associated to “abiotic stress” and were chosen to build a custom qPCR array to identify uncharacterized genotypes as sensitive or tolerant to abiotic stress. According to the experimental set-up behind the array design these DEGs can also be used as indicators of the main abiotic stress that the plant is subjected and responding to (drought, heat, or excess light). PMID:29118776

Spatial variation in abiotic and biotic factors in a floodplain determine anuran body size and growth rate at metamorphosis.

PubMed

Indermaur, Lukas; Schmidt, Benedikt R; Tockner, Klement; Schaub, Michael

2010-07-01

Body size at metamorphosis is a critical trait in the life history of amphibians. Despite the wide-spread use of amphibians as experimental model organisms, there is a limited understanding of how multiple abiotic and biotic factors affect the variation in metamorphic traits under natural conditions. The aim of our study was to quantify the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on spatial variation in the body size of tadpoles and size at metamorphosis of the European common toad (Bufo b. spinosus). Our study population was distributed over the riverbed (active tract) and the fringing riparian forest of a natural floodplain. The riverbed had warm ponds with variable hydroperiod and few predators, whereas the forest had ponds with the opposite characteristics. Spatial variation in body size at metamorphosis was governed by the interactive effects of abiotic and biotic factors. The particular form of the interaction between water temperature and intraspecific tadpole density suggests that abiotic factors laid the foundation for biotic factors: intraspecific density decreased growth only at high temperature. Predation and intraspecific density jointly reduced metamorphic size. Interspecific density had a negligible affect on body size at metamorphosis, suggesting weak inter-anuran interactions in the larval stage. Population density at metamorphosis was about one to two orders of magnitudes higher in the riverbed ponds than in the forest ponds, mainly because of lower tadpole mortality. Based on our results, we conclude that ponds in the riverbed appear to play a pivotal role for the population because tadpole growth and survival is best in this habitat.

Detection of Free Polyamines in Plants Subjected to Abiotic Stresses by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).

PubMed

Gong, Xiaoqing; Liu, Ji-Hong

2017-01-01

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a sensitive, rapid, and accurate technique to detect and characterize various metabolites from plants. The metabolites are extracted with different solvents and eluted with appropriate mobile phases in a designed HPLC program. Polyamines are known to accumulate under abiotic stress conditions in various plant species and thought to provide protection against oxidative stress by scavenging reactive oxygen species. Here, we describe a common method to detect the free polyamines in plant tissues both qualitatively and quantitatively.