Phytosterols in grapes and wine, and effects of agrochemicals on their levels.

To improve the knowledge on the chemical diversity and complexity of grapevine, we investigated the plant sterol content of berry and seed tissues at pre-véraison and véraison stages in 2009 and 2010. We also assessed the effects of benzothiadiazole and chitosan elicitors on content of sterols in grapes and their levels in the corresponding experimental wines. β-Sitosterol was the most abundant component in berry tissues, in both growth stages and years, with the highest amounts in the flesh and skin at pre-véraison and véraison, respectively.

Benzothiadiazole (BTH) activates sterol pathway and affects vitamin D3 metabolism in Solanum malacoxylon cell cultures.

Benzo-(1,2,3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH), a particularly efficient inducer of systemic acquired resistance (SAR), was developed as an immunizing agent to sensitize various crop species against pathogen infections. Recent works highlighted its activating effect on different metabolic pathways, concerning both primary and secondary metabolites. In this study, we investigated the effect of BTH treatment on sterol levels and vitamin D(3) metabolism in Solanum malacoxylon cultures.

Nutritional traits of bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) seeds from plants chronically exposed to ozone pollution.

The effect of chronic exposure to ozone pollution on nutritional traits of bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Borlotto Nano Lingua di Fuoco) seeds from plants grown in filtered and nonfiltered open-top chambers (OTCs) has been investigated.

Absorption of albumin by the midgut of a lepidopteran larva.

In the last decade, the study of peptide and protein absorption by the insect gut has received increasing attention because of the considerable impact this information may have on the development of new delivery strategies for insecticide macromolecules targeting haemocoelic receptors. Available experimental evidence in vivo suggests that, in insects, peptides and proteins can cross the intestinal barrier reaching the haemocoel, but the functional bases of this absorption pathway have not yet been thoroughly investigated. The current knowledge of the mechanisms involved in protein and polypeptide absorption in animals derives from the extensive studies performed in mammalian polarised epithelial cells, where the transcellular transport of proteins by transcytosis has been demonstrated.

AcMNPV ChiA protein disrupts the peritrophic membrane and alters midgut physiology of Bombyx mori larvae.

Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) chitinase A (ChiA) is a protein which promotes the final liquefaction of infected host larvae. The potential of this viral molecule as a new tool for insect control is explored here. The ChiA gene was isolated from the AcMNPV genome by PCR and expressed in E.

Effects of elicitors and Ca2+ deprivation on the levels of sterols and 1α,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 in cell cultures of Solanum malacoxylon.

1α,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 [1α,25(OH)2D3], the hormonal form of vitamin D3 that is essential for the maintenance of calcium-phosphorus homeostasis in birds and mammals, has been found in several plants. In order to study the metabolic role of 1α,25(OH)2D3 in plant cells, we monitored the changes of cellular levels of 1α,25(OH)2D3 in cell suspension cultures of Solanum malacoxylon Sendt. under different experimental conditions.