Induction of defense-related responses in Cf9 tomato cells by the AVR9 elicitor peptide of cladosporium fulvum is developmentally regulated.

The AVR9 elicitor from the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum induces defense-related responses, including cell death, specifically in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants that carry the Cf-9 resistance gene. To study biochemical mechanisms of resistance in detail, suspension cultures of tomato cells that carry the Cf-9 resistance gene were initiated.

Correlation between binding affinity and necrosis-inducing activity of mutant AVR9 peptide elicitors.

The race-specific peptide elicitor AVR9 of the fungus Cladosporium fulvum induces a hypersensitive response only in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) plants carrying the complementary resistance gene Cf-9 (MoneyMaker-Cf9). A binding site for AVR9 is present on the plasma membranes of both resistant and susceptible tomato genotypes. We used mutant AVR9 peptides to determine the relationship between elicitor activity of these peptides and their affinity to the binding site in the membranes of tomato.

Molecular and biochemical basis of the interaction between tomato and its fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum.

The interaction between the biotrophic fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum and tomato complies with the gene-for-gene model. Resistance, expressed as a hypersensitive response (HR) followed by other defence responses, is based on recognition of products of avirulence genes from C. fulvum (race-specific elicitors) by receptors (putative products of resistance genes) in the host plant tomato.

A High-Affinity Binding Site for the AVR9 Peptide Elicitor of Cladosporium fulvum Is Present on Plasma Membranes of Tomato and Other Solanaceous Plants.

The race-specific Cladosporium fulvum peptide elicitor AVR9, which specifically induces a hypersensitive response in tomato genotypes carrying the Cf-9 resistance gene, was labeled with iodine-125 at the N-terminal tyrosine residue and used in binding studies. 125I-AVR9 showed specific, saturable, and reversible binding to plasma membranes isolated from leaves of tomato cultivar Moneymaker without Cf resistance genes (MM-Cf0) or from a near-isogenic genotype with the Cf-9 resistance gene (MM-Cf9). The dissociation constant was found to be 0.

Production of the AVR9 elicitor from the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum in transgenic tobacco and tomato plants.

Three constructs were used to study the expression of the avirulence gene Avr9 from the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum in plants. They include pAVIR1, pAVIR2 and pAVIR21, encoding the wild-type AVR9 protein and two hybrid AVR9 proteins containing the signal sequences of the pathogenesis-related proteins PR-S and PR-1a, respectively. Transgenic tobacco plants obtained with the three constructs showed a normal phenotype and produced AVR9 elicitor with the same specific necrosis-inducing activity as the wild-type AVR9 elicitor produced in planta by isolates of C.

Insect resistance of transgenic plants that express modified Bacillus thuringiensis cryIA(b) and cryIC genes: a resistance management strategy.

Tobacco and tomato plants were generated exhibiting insect resistance due to the introduction of modified cryIA(b) and cryIC genes of Bacillus thuringiensis. Limited modifications at selected regions of the coding sequences of both genes are sufficient to obtain resistance against Spodoptera exigua, Heliothis virescens and Manduca sexta. The criteria used to modify both genes demonstrate that the removal of sequence motifs potentially resulting in premature polyadenylation and transcript instability causes increased insect resistance.

Molecular communication between host plant and the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum.

Host genotype specificity in interactions between biotrophic fungal pathogens and plants in most cases complies with the gene-for-gene model. Success or failure of infection is determined by absence or presence of complementary genes, avirulence and resistance genes, in the pathogen and the host plant, respectively. Resistance, expressed by the induction of a hypersensitive response followed by other defence responses in the host, is envisaged to be based on recognition of the pathogen, mediated through direct interaction between products of avirulence genes of the pathogen (the so-called race-specific elicitors) and receptors in the host plant, the putative products of resistance genes.

Insect-resistant chrysanthemum calluses by introduction of a Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein gene.

A 3'-end truncated crystal protein gene, derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) subsp. aizawai 7.21, encoding the toxic fragment of the insecticidal protein cryIA(b), was constructed.

The C-terminal domain of the toxic fragment of a Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein determines receptor binding.

The insecticidal crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis show a high degree of specificity. In vitro binding studies with several crystal proteins demonstrated a correlation between toxicity and binding to receptors of larval midgut epithelial cells. In order to study the domain-function relationships of the toxic fragment, hybrid crystal proteins based on CryIA(b) and CryIC were constructed.

Insecticidal activity of a bacterial crystal protein expressed by a recombinant baculovirus in insect cells.

Baculoviruses are insect pathogens with a relatively slow speed of action, and this has limited their use as control agents of insect pests. Introduction into baculoviruses of genes which code for proteins interfering specifically with insect metabolism or metamorphosis, such as toxins, hormones, and enzymes, may enhance the pathogenicity of these viruses. The complete insecticidal crystal protein gene cryIA(b) of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp.

The anatomical effects of surgically repositioning the disc in the temporomandibular joint of rats. An experimental study.

A sample of 16 rats was used as experimental material to evaluate the effect of surgical repositioning of the disc of the temporomandibular joint according to the technique described by McCarty and Farrar (1979) and its variation according to Leopard (1984). The animals were killed 6 weeks postoperatively. Macroscopic and microscopic examination revealed that in all rats treated according to the procedure of McCarty and Farrar (1979) the disc had completely disappeared.

A Translation Fusion Product of Two Different Insecticidal Crystal Protein Genes of Bacillus thuringiensis Exhibits an Enlarged Insecticidal Spectrum.

Two truncated Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein genes, belonging to the classes cryIA(b) and cryIC and both coding for insecticidal N-terminal fragments of the corresponding crystal proteins, were translationally fused. Expression of the gene fusion in Escherichia coli showed a biologically active protein with a toxicity spectrum that overlapped those of both contributing crystal proteins.

Effects of experimental defects of the articular disc of the temporomandibular joint in rats.

Triangular defects were made in different locations of the disc in rat temporomandibular joints. After 3 months the following effects were observed. Central defects had become rounded without gross changes in the mandibular head.

Relationship of electromyographic parameters in jaw dysfunction patients classified according to Helkimo's index.

Forty-two jaw pain-dysfunction syndrome patients (PDS) were divided into three groups depending on the severity of their condition using the Helkimo clinical dysfunction index. For both the left and right masseter and anterior temporal muscles three parameters of their electromyographic activity were measured, the silent period (SP), the root mean square value (RMS) and the mean power frequency (MPF). During the experiments the patients were instructed to clench as hard as possible in the intercuspal position.

Phase plane modeling of human jaw movement: reproducibility and rhythm dependency of the RMS error.

The rhythm dependence and reproducibility of the jaw motion error for open-close-clench movements in man have been investigated. The results indicate that the error strongly depends upon the rhythm of movements. Sometimes there is a significant difference (p less than 0.

The reproducibility of movement parameters of the empty open-close-clench cycle in man and their dependency on the frequency of movements.

The reproducibility of the empty open-close-clench cycle has been investigated. Four subjects were asked three times to perform thirty empty open-close-clench movements at each frequency of 1/2, 1 and 2 cycles s-1. To describe such a series of thirty movements a set of nine parameters were selected.

Aspects of functional improvement after treatment of a pain dysfunction patient.

First results of an investigation of several aspects of the function of the chewing apparatus by means of optical-electric movement scanning, EMG and occlusal sound registration on one time base, are presented. Observations made on a patient with pain-dysfunction syndrome before and after treatment has been compared with observations made on a healthy subject. It has been suggested that the method used, may be of value for objective evaluation of functional improvement and analyses of several aspects of the physiology of the chewing apparatus.