Climate variability and aridity modulate the role of leaf shelters for arthropods: A global experiment.

Current climate change is disrupting biotic interactions and eroding biodiversity worldwide. However, species sensitive to aridity, high temperatures, and climate variability might find shelter in microclimatic refuges, such as leaf rolls built by arthropods. To explore how the importance of leaf shelters for terrestrial arthropods changes with latitude, elevation, and climate, we conducted a distributed experiment comparing arthropods in leaf rolls versus control leaves across 52 sites along an 11,790 km latitudinal gradient.

Changes of Endophytic Bacterial Community in Mature Leaves of L. during the Seasonal Transition from Winter Dormancy to Vegetative Growth.

Diverse communities of bacterial endophytes inhabit plant tissues, and these bacteria play important roles for plant growth and health. Cherry laurel ( L.) is a broadleaf evergreen shrub that is widely grown in temperate zones for its ornamental and medicinal properties, however virtually nothing is known about its associated bacterial community.

Subtle structures with not-so-subtle functions: A data set of arthropod constructs and their host plants.

The construction of shelters on plants by arthropods might influence other organisms via changes in colonization, community richness, species composition, and functionality. Arthropods, including beetles, caterpillars, sawflies, spiders, and wasps often interact with host plants via the construction of shelters, building a variety of structures such as leaf ties, tents, rolls, and bags; leaf and stem galls, and hollowed out stems. Such constructs might have both an adaptive value in terms of protection (i.

Developmental roles of Auxin Binding Protein 1 in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Auxin is a major plant growth regulator, but current models on auxin perception and signaling cannot explain the whole plethora of auxin effects, in particular those associated with rapid responses. A possible candidate for a component of additional auxin perception mechanisms is the AUXIN BINDING PROTEIN 1 (ABP1), whose function in planta remains unclear. Here we combined expression analysis with gain- and loss-of-function approaches to analyze the role of ABP1 in plant development.

Molecular characterization and evolution of carnivorous sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.) class V β-1,3-glucanase.

A gene for β-1,3-glucanase was isolated from carnivorous sundew. It is active in leaves and roots, but not in digestive glands. Analyses in transgenic tobacco suggest its function in germination.

Phylogenetic structure and habitat associations of Beauveria species isolated from soils in Slovakia.

The phylogenetic structure of 109 soil-borne entomopathogenic Beauveria isolates acquired using the Galleria mellonella bait method from different habitat types in Slovakia was determined by sequence analysis of their ITS and Bloc loci. Three Beauveria species were identified; Beauveria bassiana, B. pseudobassiana and B.

Strong morphological defects in conditional Arabidopsis abp1 knock-down mutants generated in absence of functional ABP1 protein.

The Auxin Binding Protein 1 (ABP1) is one of the most studied proteins in plants. Since decades ago, it has been the prime receptor candidate for the plant hormone auxin with a plethora of described functions in auxin signaling and development. The developmental importance of ABP1 has recently been questioned by identification of Arabidopsis thaliana abp1 knock-out alleles that show no obvious phenotypes under normal growth conditions.

Embryo-lethal phenotypes in early abp1 mutants are due to disruption of the neighboring BSM gene.

The Auxin Binding Protein1 (ABP1) has been identified based on its ability to bind auxin with high affinity and studied for a long time as a prime candidate for the extracellular auxin receptor responsible for mediating in particular the fast non-transcriptional auxin responses. However, the contradiction between the embryo-lethal phenotypes of the originally described Arabidopsis T-DNA insertional knock-out alleles ( abp1-1 and abp1-1s) and the wild type-like phenotypes of other recently described loss-of-function alleles ( abp1-c1 and abp1-TD1) questions the biological importance of ABP1 and relevance of the previous genetic studies. Here we show that there is no hidden copy of the ABP1 gene in the Arabidopsis genome but the embryo-lethal phenotypes of abp1-1 and abp1-1s alleles are very similar to the knock-out phenotypes of the neighboring gene, BELAYA SMERT ( BSM).

Stable isotope composition of human fingernails from Slovakia.

Stable isotope composition of human fingernails has proven to be useful for documenting human dietary information and geographical patterns in archeological, forensic, anthropological and biological studies. Therefore, it is of interest to detect all factors influencing the stable isotopic composition in the certain regions in the world. Carbon and nitrogen isotope data of human fingernail keratin from 52 individuals from Slovakia were reported in this study.

Glucan-rich diet is digested and taken up by the carnivorous sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.): implication for a novel role of plant β-1,3-glucanases.

Carnivory in plants evolved as an adaptation strategy to nutrient-poor environments. Thanks to specialized traps, carnivorous plants can gain nutrients from various heterotrophic sources such as small insects. Digestion in traps requires a coordinated action of several hydrolytic enzymes that break down complex substances into simple absorbable nutrients.

[The synovial membrane in chronic juvenile arthritis. Electron microscopy study and case report].

A case report of a patient with juvenile chronic arthritis who underwent early synovectomy of the knee joint is presented. The synovial membrane was examined by light and electron microscopy. The following signs of nonspecific inflammation were observed; lympho-plasmocytic infiltrate in the ground substance of the interstitial connective tissue, increased phagocytic activity of synovial lining cells and macrophages, and neutrophilic granulocytes.

[Determination of glomerular filtration in children using 99mTc-DTPA and the sequential gammagraphy method].

The method of sequence scintigraphy of the kidney with 99mTc-DTPA (diethylene triamine pentacetic acid) and subsequent determination of glomerular filtration rate by means of a gamma camera and computer were applied in examining 160 children with different diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract. By modifying the commercial computer program a study with quantitative evaluation of some functional parameters was designed, involving also the determination of the overall and of separate values of GF 99mTc-DTPA according to G. Gates.

Dynamic 99mTc-DTPA renal gammagraphy with glomerular filtration rate determination.

Using the method of 99mTc-DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid), sequential renal gammagraphy with subsequent glomerular filtration rate determination by means of a gamma-camera and computer, a total of 285 patients with suspected renal and urinary tract diseases, subjects after surgery on these organs or those serving as controls after drug therapy were examined. With the help of a modified computer user's program, a study was designed to perform quantitative evaluation of some functional parameters as well as determination of total and separate glomerular filtration rate values by 99mTc-DTPA according to Gates. The benefits of the method employed in our study are that it is non-invasive, rapid, atraumatic, with low exposure to radiation while offering a broad range of applications in routine diagnostic practice of nephrology, and especially so in paediatric patients.

Value correlation of alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotropin with the results of lymphadenectomy in non-seminomatous testicular tumours.

In a group of 131 patients with nonseminomatous testicular tumours, the authors correlated the postorchiectomic levels of alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotropin with the results of lymphadenectomy. They found 90.5% correlation of negative and 74% of positive levels of tumour markers with results of lymphadenectomy.

Lymphocytes in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) studied by means of electron and scanning microscope.

When searching for timely diagnostic criteria of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis we also paid attention to lymphocytes. We found the elimination of hyaloplasma of lymphocytes is one of the criteria of approaching outbreak of the disease.