Chloroplast envelope K/H antiporters are involved in cytosol pH regulation.

Variations in light intensity induce cytosol pH changes in photosynthetic tissues, providing a possible signal to adjust a variety of biochemical, physiological and developmental processes to the energy status of the cells. It was shown that these pH changes are partially due to the transport of protons in or out of the thylakoid lumen. However, the ion transporters in the chloroplast that transmit these pH changes to the cytosol are not known.

Ongoing Evolution in the Genus : Diversity of Flowering Strategies on the Way to Hysteranthy.

Species of the genus are found over a wide range of climatic areas. In natural habitats, these geophytes diverge in the flowering strategies. This variability was assessed by analyzing the flowering traits of the Spanish collection of wild crocuses, preserved in the Bank of Plant Germplasm of Cuenca.

Epigenetic Variability Among Saffron Crocus ( L.) Accessions Characterized by Different Phenotypes.

This work represents the first epigenomic study carried out on saffron crocus. Five accessions of saffron, showing differences in tepal pigmentation, yield of saffron and flowering time, were analyzed at the epigenetic level by applying a methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme-sequencing (MRE-seq) approach. Five accession-specific hypomethylomes plus a reference hypomethylome, generated by combining the sequence data from the single accessions, were obtained.

Epigenetic Barcodes for Detection of Adulterated Plants and Plant-Derived Products.

In this chapter, we report a possible alternative use of epigenetics by applying methylation-sensitive amplified fragment length polymorphisms (MS-AFLP) to saffron traceability. Saffron is the most expensive plant-derived product in the world and one of the most frequently adulterated. One of the most frequent adulteration is by adding to saffron stigmas different parts of the saffron flower itself to increase volumes.

Estimation of an Upper Bound to the Value of the Step Potentials in Two-Layered Soils from Grounding Resistance Measurements.

Due to the constant updating of regulatory standards on safety issues in electrical installations, limits are established for the maximum step potential that an installation can hold in a ground fault situation. In this paper, an upper bound to the maximum value of the step potentials arising in the soil surface when a fault takes place in a grounded electrical installation is estimated by means of a simple procedure. The direct measurement of the grounding electrode resistance together with some information about the soil resistivity and the knowledge of characteristic parameters of the electrode are used for the calculation of that upper bound.

Identification of phenolic markers for saffron authenticity and origin: An untargeted metabolomics approach.

Saffron is a high-quality and expensive spice being widely subjected to adulteration. An UHPLC-ESI/QTOF-MS metabolomic-based approach was therefore used to investigate the discrimination potential between adulterated (added with different percentage of other parts of the flower) and authentic saffron, as well as to trace its geographical origin. Both unsupervised (hierarchical clustering) and supervised OPLS-DA multivariate statistics allowed discriminating authentic saffron from styles added of other floral components, as well as PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) vs non PDO saffron samples according to their chemical fingerprints.

BCL2-ASSOCIATED ATHANOGENE4 Regulates the KAT1 Potassium Channel and Controls Stomatal Movement.

Potassium (K) is a key monovalent cation necessary for multiple aspects of cell growth and survival. In plants, this cation also plays a key role in the control of stomatal movement. KAT1 and its homolog KAT2 are the main inward rectifying channels present in guard cells, mediating K influx into these cells, resulting in stomatal opening.

Epigenetic stability in Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) accessions during four consecutive years of cultivation and vegetative propagation under open field conditions.

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a sterile species that is vegetatively propagated in the field, year by year, via the production of new corms. While Saffron's genetic variability is extremely low, phenotypic variation is frequently observed in the field and epigenetics could be a possible origin of these alternative phenotypes.

Transport and Use of Bicarbonate in Plants: Current Knowledge and Challenges Ahead.

Bicarbonate plays a fundamental role in the cell pH status in all organisms. In autotrophs, HCO₃ may further contribute to carbon concentration mechanisms (CCM). This is especially relevant in the CO₂-poor habitats of cyanobacteria, aquatic microalgae, and macrophytes.

Genetic and Epigenetic Approaches for the Possible Detection of Adulteration and Auto-Adulteration in Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Spice.

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is very expensive and, because of this, often subject to adulteration. Modern genetic fingerprinting techniques are an alternative low cost technology to the existing chemical techniques, which are used to control the purity of food products.

Photosynthetic use of inorganic carbon in deep-water kelps from the Strait of Gibraltar.

Mechanisms of inorganic carbon assimilation were investigated in the four deep-water kelps inhabiting sea bottoms at the Strait of Gibraltar; these species are distributed at different depths (Saccorhiza polysiches at shallower waters, followed by Laminaria ochroleuca, then Phyllariopsis brevipes and, at the deepest bottoms, Phyllariopsis purpurascens). To elucidate the capacity to use HCO3(-) as a source of inorganic carbon for photosynthesis in the kelps, different experimental approaches were used. Specifically, we measured the irradiance-saturated gross photosynthetic rate versus pH at a constant dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration of 2 mM, the irradiance-saturated apparent photosynthesis (APS) rate versus DIC, the total and the extracellular carbonic anhydrase (CAext), the observed and the theoretical photosynthetic rates supported by the spontaneous dehydration of HCO3(-) to CO2, and the δ(13)C signature in tissues of the algae.

Diversity and relationships of Crocus sativus and its relatives analysed by inter-retroelement amplified polymorphism (IRAP).

Background And Aims: Saffron (Crocus sativus) is a sterile triploid (2n = 3x = 24) cultivated species, of unknown origin from other diploid and polyploid species in the genus Crocus (Iridaceae). Species in the genus have high morphological diversity, with no clear phylogenetic patterns below the level of section Crocus series Crocus. Using DNA markers, this study aimed to examine the diversity and relationships within and between species of Crocus series Crocus.

AFLP and MS-AFLP analysis of the variation within saffron crocus (Crocus sativus L.) germplasm.

The presence and extent of genetic variation in saffron crocus are still debated, as testified by several contradictory articles providing contrasting results about the monomorphism or less of the species. Remarkably, phenotypic variations have been frequently observed in the field, such variations are usually unstable and can change from one growing season to another. Considering that gene expression can be influenced both by genetic and epigenetic changes, epigenetics could be a plausible cause of the alternative phenotypes.

The K+/H+ antiporter LeNHX2 increases salt tolerance by improving K+ homeostasis in transgenic tomato.

The endosomal LeNHX2 ion transporter exchanges H(+) with K(+) and, to lesser extent, Na(+) . Here, we investigated the response to NaCl supply and K(+) deprivation in transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) overexpressing LeNHX2 and show that transformed tomato plants grew better in saline conditions than untransformed controls, whereas in the absence of K(+) the opposite was found.

Effectiveness of tranexamic acid in revision total knee arthroplasty.

The effectiveness of Tranexamic Acid (TXA, antifibrinolytic drug) in reducing allogeneic blood transfusion requirements has not been tested in revision total knee arthroplasty. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of TXA after two intravenous doses of 1 g each. Between April 2006 and February 2010, 68 consecutive patients (19 male, 49 female) of 74 +/- 6 [m +/- SD] years of age were included and divided into three groups: control (28 patients), in which TXA was not administered but was not contraindicated; TXA (19 patients) who received TXA, and NO-TXA (21 patients), who were not administered TXA because of a contraindication.

Saponins from the Spanish saffron Crocus sativus are efficient adjuvants for protein-based vaccines.

Protein and peptide-based vaccines provide rigorously formulated antigens. However, these purified products are only weakly immunogenic by themselves and therefore require the addition of immunostimulatory components or adjuvants in the vaccine formulation. Various compounds derived from pathogens, minerals or plants, possess pro-inflammatory properties which allow them to act as adjuvants and contribute to the induction of an effective immune response.

Bilateral ocular involvement as a presentation of Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.

We describe a 54 years old female with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia who presented with a bilateral ocular involvement. Ophthalmic involvement in Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia is very rare. In addition, to our knowledge, there are only a few reports in the literature in which a primary diagnosis was made on the basis of ocular involvement.

Bacillus subtilis FZB24 affects flower quantity and quality of saffron (Crocus sativus).

The effect of Bacillus subtilis FZB24 on saffron ( Crocus sativus L.) was studied using saffron corms from Spain and the powdered form of B. SUBTILIS FZB24(R).

[Short-term prognosis of transient ischemic attacks. Mexican multicenter stroke registry].

Background: There are no data on Mexican population referring to frequency and prognosis of transient ischemic attacks (TIA). The purpose of the present study was to: (1) estimate the prevalence, vascular risk factors and short-term outcome in patients with TIA included in the first Mexican registry of cerebrovascular disease, and (2) analyze the acute care provided in these patients.

Patients And Methods: This national registry of cerebrovascular diseases is a multicenter, observational, and hospital-based registry that was conducted from November 2002 to October 2004.

Implications of carotenoid biosynthetic genes in apocarotenoid formation during the stigma development of Crocus sativus and its closer relatives.

Crocus sativus is a triploid sterile plant characterized by its long red stigmas, which produce and store significant quantities of the apocarotenoids crocetin and crocin, formed from the oxidative cleavage of zeaxanthin. Here, we investigate the accumulation and the molecular mechanisms that regulate the synthesis of these apocarotenoids during stigma development in C. sativus.