Readiness of adolescents to use genetically modified organisms according to their knowledge and emotional attitude towards GMOs.

Introduction: Agriculture based on genetically modified organisms plays an increasingly important role in feeding the world population, which is evidenced by a considerable growth in the size of land under genetically modified crops (GM). Uncertainty and controversy around GM products are mainly due to the lack of accurate and reliable information, and lack of knowledge concerning the essence of genetic modifications, and the effect of GM food on the human organism, and consequently, a negative emotional attitude towards what is unknown.

Objective: The objective of the presented study was to discover to what extent knowledge and the emotional attitude of adolescents towards genetically modified organisms is related with acceptance of growing genetically modified plants or breeding GM animals on own farm or allotment garden, and the purchase and consumption of GM food, as well as the use of GMOs in medicine.

Inoculation insensitive promoters for cell type enriched gene expression in legume roots and nodules.

Background: Establishment and maintenance of mutualistic plant-microbial interactions in the rhizosphere and within plant roots involve several root cell types. The processes of host-microbe recognition and infection require complex signal exchange and activation of downstream responses. These molecular events coordinate host responses across root cell layers during microbe invasion, ultimately triggering changes of root cell fates.

Emotional attitudes of young people completing secondary schools towards genetic modification of organisms (GMO) and genetically modified foods (GMF).

Objective: The objective of the study was recognition of the opinions of adolescents completing secondary schools concerning genetically modified organisms and genetically modified food, especially the respondents' emotional attitude towards scientific achievements in the area of live genetically modified organisms.

Material And Method: The study covered a group of 500 school adolescents completing secondary school at the level of maturity examination. The study was conducted by the method of a diagnostic survey using a self-designed questionnaire form.

Lotus japonicus ARPC1 is required for rhizobial infection.

Remodeling of the plant cell cytoskeleton precedes symbiotic entry of nitrogen-fixing bacteria within the host plant roots. Here we identify a Lotus japonicus gene encoding a predicted ACTIN-RELATED PROTEIN COMPONENT1 (ARPC1) as essential for rhizobial infection but not for arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis. In other organisms ARPC1 constitutes a subunit of the ARP2/3 complex, the major nucleator of Y-branched actin filaments.

Cytokinin induction of root nodule primordia in Lotus japonicus is regulated by a mechanism operating in the root cortex.

Cytokinin plays a central role in the formation of nitrogen-fixing root nodules following inoculation with rhizobia. We show that exogenous cytokinin induces formation of discrete and easily visible nodule primordia in Lotus japonicus roots. The expression of nodulin genes was up-regulated upon cytokinin treatment, suggesting that the genuine nodulation program was indeed activated.

The molecular network governing nodule organogenesis and infection in the model legume Lotus japonicus.

Bacterial infection of interior tissues of legume root nodules is controlled at the epidermal cell layer and is closely coordinated with progressing organ development. Using spontaneous nodulating Lotus japonicus plant mutants to uncouple nodule organogenesis from infection, we have determined the role of 16 genes in these two developmental processes. We show that host-encoded mechanisms control three alternative entry processes operating in the epidermis, the root cortex and at the single cell level.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza of Arnica montana under field conditions--conventional and molecular studies.

Two distinct populations of Arnica montana, an endangered medicinal plant, were studied under field conditions. The material was investigated using microscopic and molecular methods. The analyzed plants were always found to be mycorrhizal.

Iron and ferritin accumulate in separate cellular locations in Phaseolus seeds.

Background: Iron is an important micronutrient for all living organisms. Almost 25% of the world population is affected by iron deficiency, a leading cause of anemia. In plants, iron deficiency leads to chlorosis and reduced yield.

Optimization of culture conditions of Arnica montana L.: effects of mycorrhizal fungi and competing plants.

Arnica montana is a rare plant that needs special protection because of its intensive harvesting for medicinal purposes. The present work was aimed at finding optimal culture conditions for Arnica plants in order to enable their successful reintroduction into their natural stands. Plants were cultivated under controlled greenhouse conditions on substrata with different nitrogen (N) concentration.

CERBERUS, a novel U-box protein containing WD-40 repeats, is required for formation of the infection thread and nodule development in the legume-Rhizobium symbiosis.

Endosymbiotic infection of legume plants by Rhizobium bacteria is initiated through infection threads (ITs) which are initiated within and penetrate from root hairs and deliver the endosymbionts into nodule cells. Despite recent progress in understanding the mutual recognition and early symbiotic signaling cascades in host legumes, the molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial infection processes and successive nodule organogenesis are still poorly understood. We isolated a novel symbiotic mutant of Lotus japonicus, cerberus, which shows defects in IT formation and nodule organogenesis.

Rearrangement of actin cytoskeleton mediates invasion of Lotus japonicus roots by Mesorhizobium loti.

Infection thread-dependent invasion of legume roots by rhizobia leads to internalization of bacteria into the plant cells, which is one of the salient features of root nodule symbiosis. We found that two genes, Nap1 (for Nck-associated protein 1) and Pir1 (for 121F-specific p53 inducible RNA), involved in actin rearrangements were essential for infection thread formation and colonization of Lotus japonicus roots by its natural microsymbiont, Mesorhizobium loti. nap1 and pir1 mutants developed an excess of uncolonized nodule primordia, indicating that these two genes were not essential for the initiation of nodule organogenesis per se.

The conserved cysteine-rich domain of a tesmin/TSO1-like protein binds zinc in vitro and TSO1 is required for both male and female fertility in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Development of reproductive tissue and control of cell division are common challenges to all sexually reproducing eukaryotes. The Arabidopsis thaliana TSO1 gene is involved in both these processes. Mild tso1 mutant alleles influence only ovule development, whereas strong alleles have an effect on all floral tissues and cause cell division defects.

LysM domains mediate lipochitin-oligosaccharide recognition and Nfr genes extend the symbiotic host range.

Legume-Rhizobium symbiosis is an example of selective cell recognition controlled by host/non-host determinants. Individual bacterial strains have a distinct host range enabling nodulation of a limited set of legume species and vice versa. We show here that expression of Lotus japonicus Nfr1 and Nfr5 Nod-factor receptor genes in Medicago truncatula and L.

Accumulation of copper by Acremonium pinkertoniae, a fungus isolated from industrial wastes.

Acremonium pinkertoniae isolated from zinc wastes was studied to understand the mechanisms that allow living organisms to thrive in polluted environments and the possible role of the fungus in the redistribution and cycling of copper. The fungus was cultured on solid media supplemented with copper sulfate at increasing concentrations. At high doses it was observed that the mycelia acquired a characteristic blue color.

Genotype-phenotype analyses of classic neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCLs): genetic predictions from clinical and pathological findings.

Objective: Genotype-phenotype associations were studied in 517 subjects clinically affected by classical neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL).

Methods: Genetic loci CLN1-3 were analyzed in regard to age of onset, initial neurological symptoms, and electron microscope (EM) profiles.

Results: The most common initial symptom leading to a clinical evaluation was developmental delay (30%) in NCL1, seizures (42.

Overexpression of E2F-1 in lung and liver metastases of human colon cancer is associated with gene amplification.

We have shown previously that metastatic tumors of human colorectal cancer in lung as compared to liver have high levels of thymidylate synthase (TS) mRNA expression that correlated with high levels of E2F-1 mRNA expression. We now report that Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) and DNA PCR analyses of lung and liver metastases of human colon cancer show frequent gains in the region of chromosome 20q and have an increase in gene copy number of E2F-1. In as much as TS is transcriptionally regulated by E2F-1, these results provide an explanation for the high levels of TS mRNA noted in some tumor samples.