Mitochondrial alternative oxidase contributes to successful tardigrade anhydrobiosis.

Anhydrobiosis can be described as an adaptation to lack of water that enables some organisms, including tardigrades, to survive extreme conditions, even some that do not exist on Earth. The cellular mechanisms underlying anhydrobiosis are still not completely explained including the putative contribution of mitochondrial proteins. Since mitochondrial alternative oxidase (AOX), described as a drought response element in plants, was recently proposed for various invertebrates including tardigrades, we investigated whether AOX is involved in successful anhydrobiosis of tardigrades.

Chemoreception of botanical nematicides by Meloidogyne incognita and Caenorhabditis elegans.

Plant-parasitic nematodes, such as Meloidogyne incognita, cause serious damage to various agricultural crops worldwide, and their control necessitates environmentally safe measures. We have studied the effects of plant secondary metabolites on M. incognita locomotion, as it is an important factor affecting host inoculation inside the soil.

Behavior of in a nicotine gradient modulated by food.

Nicotine decreases food intake, and smokers often report that they smoke to control their weight. To see whether similar phenomena could be observed in the model organism , we challenged drug-naïve nematodes with a chronic low (0.01 mM) and high (1 mM) nicotine concentration for 55 h (from hatching to adulthood).

Nicotine affects protein complex rearrangement in Caenorhabditis elegans cells.

Nicotine may affect cell function by rearranging protein complexes. We aimed to determine nicotine-induced alterations of protein complexes in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) cells, thereby revealing links between nicotine exposure and protein complex modulation.

In vitro genoprotective and genotoxic effect of nicotine on human leukocytes evaluated by the comet assay.

The comet assay was used to measure the DNA damage induced in vitro by nicotine in human leukocytes as the extent of DNA migration in the comet head area, tail length, percent DNA in the tail, and Olive tail moment. Samples of whole blood were collected and blood cells were challenged with acute doses of 0.1, 1 and 10 µM of (-)-nicotine for 60 minutes.

[Absorption, metabolism and excretion of nicotine in humans].

Nicotine is an alkaloid present in many plants of Solanaceae family. The levorotatory enantiomer (S) is a naturally occurring form. Nicotine enters the human body as a component of tobacco smoke.

Concentration- and time-dependent behavioral changes in Caenorhabditis elegans after exposure to nicotine.

Nicotine induces profound behavioral responses in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. We tested the effect of a broad range of concentrations of nicotine (from 0.001 mM to 30 mM in nematode growth medium) on C.

Genotoxicity of nicotine in cell culture of Caenorhabditis elegans evaluated by the comet assay.

To assess the genotoxicity of nicotine, its DNA-damaging effect on Caenorhabditis elegans cells was tested with the alkaline single-cell microgel electrophoresis (comet) assay. The degree of DNA migration (a measure of possible DNA single-strand breaks, alkali-labile sites, and incomplete excision repair sites) was expressed as the head DNA%, tail length, and Olive tail moment. Large differences were found between experimental variants: 0, 1, 10, and 100 microM (-)-nicotine.

Proteins induced by cadmium in soybean cells.

The cadmium (Cd)-induced changes in protein pattern and identification of metal-stimulated polypeptides were analyzed in soybean cell suspension culture. The cell cultures were treated with various concentrations of Cd(2+) (3-10microM) for 24, 48 and 72h. The synthesis of [(35)S]-labeled proteins and their accumulation were analyzed by SDS-PAGE, whereas the identification of selected protein bands was performed by mass spectrometry.

Genotoxicity of lead in lupin root cells as evaluated by the comet assay.

This paper presents the results of a study on the influence of lead (Pb(+2)) on DNA integrity on plant cells. The study was performed on the root tips of lupin (Lupinus luteus cv. Juno) seedlings treated with two selected concentrations of Pb(NO3)2: 150 and 350 mg l(-1), which were found to inhibit root growth by 50% and 70%, respectively [Rucińska et al.

Cadmium-induced changes in antioxidant enzymes in suspension culture of soybean cells.

Cadmium (Cd), similarly to other heavy metals, inhibits plant growth. We have recently showed that Cd(2+) either stimulates (1-4 microM) or inhibits (>or= 6 microM) growth of soybean (Glycine max L.) cells in suspension culture (Sobkowiak & Deckert, 2003, Plant Physiol Biochem.