Importance of Dietary Uptake for in Situ Bioaccumulation of Systemic Fungicides Using Gammarus pulex as a Model Organism.

Bioaccumulation of organic contaminants from contaminated food sources might pose an underestimated risk toward shredding invertebrates. This assumption is substantiated by monitoring studies observing discrepancies of predicted tissue concentrations determined from laboratory-based experiments compared with measured concentrations of systemic pesticides in gammarids. To elucidate the role of dietary uptake in bioaccumulation, gammarids were exposed to leaf material from trees treated with a systemic fungicide mixture (azoxystrobin, cyprodinil, fluopyram, and tebuconazole), simulating leaves entering surface waters in autumn.

Correlates of bird collisions with buildings across three North American countries.

Collisions with buildings cause up to 1 billion bird fatalities annually in the United States and Canada. However, efforts to reduce collisions would benefit from studies conducted at large spatial scales across multiple study sites with standardized methods and consideration of species- and life-history-related variation and correlates of collisions. We addressed these research needs through coordinated collection of data on bird collisions with buildings at sites in the United States (35), Canada (3), and Mexico (2).

Yeast-Derived Formulations Are Differentially Fermented by the Canine and Feline Microbiome As Assessed in a Novel Colonic Fermentation Model.

The current study evaluated the effect of five yeast-derived formulations (T1-T5) on microbial metabolism and composition of the canine and feline gut microbiota using a novel colonic incubation approach. This novel model allowed for growth of the entire spectrum of dog- and cat-derived bacteria from the inoculum, thus offering an excellent platform to evaluate effects of nutritional interventions on the gut microbiota. Further, yeast-derived ingredients differentially increased production of acetate, propionate, butyrate, ammonium, and branched short-chain fatty acids, with T5 and T1 consistently stimulating propionate and butyrate, respectively.

Effect of a combined brief narrative exposure therapy with case management versus treatment as usual in primary care for patients with traumatic stress sequelae following intensive care medicine: study protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial (PICTURE).

Background: Traumatic events like critical illness and intensive care are threats to life and bodily integrity and pose a risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD affects the quality of life and morbidity and may increase health-care costs. Limited access to specialist care results in PTSD patients being treated in primary care settings.

Expression of coordinately regulated defence response genes and analysis of their role in disease resistance in Medicago truncatula.

Microarray technology was used to identify the genes associated with disease defence responses in the model legume Medicago truncatula. Transcript profiles from M. truncatula cv.

Characterization and expression of Arabidopsis UDP-sugar pyrophosphorylase.

At5g52560, a homolog of pea (Pisum sativum) UDP-sugar pyrophosphorylase (PsUSP) was functionally annotated by expression in Escherichia coli and subsequent characterization of substrate specificity and kinetic properties. Arabidopsis contains a single USP gene (AtUSP) and evaluation of gene databases suggests that USP is unique to plants. The 69 kDa AtUSP gene product exhibited high activity with Glc-1-P, GlcA-1-P and Gal-1-P, but low activity with GlcNAc-1-P, Fuc-1-P, Man-1-P, inositol-1-P or Glc-6-P.

UDP-sugar pyrophosphorylase is essential for pollen development in Arabidopsis.

Arabidopsis UDP-sugar pyrophosphorylase (AtUSP) is a broad substrate enzyme that synthesizes nucleotide sugars. The products of the AtUSP reaction can act as precursors for the synthesis of glycolipids, glycoproteins, and cell wall components including pectin and hemicellulose. AtUSP has no close homologs in Arabidopsis and its biological function has not been clearly defined.

The acyl-CoA synthetase encoded by LACS2 is essential for normal cuticle development in Arabidopsis.

Long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (LACS) activities are encoded by a family of at least nine genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). These enzymes have roles in lipid synthesis, fatty acid catabolism, and the transport of fatty acids between subcellular compartments. Here, we show that the LACS2 gene (At1g49430) is expressed in young, rapidly expanding tissues, and in leaves expression is limited to cells of the adaxial and abaxial epidermal layers, suggesting that the LACS2 enzyme may act in the synthesis of cutin or cuticular waxes.

Peroxisomal Acyl-CoA synthetase activity is essential for seedling development in Arabidopsis thaliana.

In plants and other eukaryotes, long-chain acyl-CoAs are assumed to be imported into peroxisomes for beta-oxidation by an ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter. However, two genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, LACS6 and LACS7, encode peroxisomal long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (LACS) isozymes. To investigate the biochemical and biological roles of peroxisomal LACS, we identified T-DNA knockout mutants for both genes.

Fungal responsive fatty acid acetylenases occur widely in evolutionarily distant plant families.

The fungal elicitor-induced ELI12 gene from parsley has been previously shown to encode a divergent form of the Delta12-oleic acid desaturase. In this report, we show that the ELI12 gene product is a fatty acid acetylenase or a triple-bond-forming enzyme. Expression of this enzyme in transgenic soybean seeds was accompanied by the accumulation of the Delta12-acetylenic fatty acids, crepenynic and dehydrocrepenynic acids.

Soil nitrogen availability, plant luxury consumption, and herbivory by white-tailed deer.

N is often cited as a limiting factor for sapling growth in northeastern USA forests. However, under conditions of elevated soil N, seedlings and saplings of some tree species exhibit luxury consumption of N, leading to elevated tissue N concentration. While this pool of plant N may have benefits for saplings if light levels change, it may also increase the risk of herbivory by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus L.

Fatty acid export from the chloroplast. Molecular characterization of a major plastidial acyl-coenzyme A synthetase from Arabidopsis.

Acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthetases (ACSs, EC 6.2.1.

Characterization of an acyl-CoA synthetase from Arabidopsis thaliana.

One of the major goals of modern plant biotechnology is to manipulate lipid metabolism in oilseed crops to produce new and improved edible and industrial vegetable oils. Lipids constitute the structural components of cellular membranes and act as sources of energy for the germinating seed and are therefore essential to plant cell function. Both de novo synthesis and modification of existing lipids are dependent on the activity of acyl-CoA synthetases (ACSs).

Characterization of the AMP-binding protein gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana: will the real acyl-CoA synthetases please stand up?

One of the most prominent and important topics in modern agricultural biotechnology is the manipulation of oilseed triacylglycerol composition. Towards this goal, we have sought to identify and characterize acyl-CoA synthetases (ACSs), which play an important role in both de novo synthesis and modification of existing lipids. We have identified and cloned 20 different genes that bear strong sequence homology to known ACSs from other organisms.

The CaMV-35S promoter is sensitive to shortened photoperiod in transgenic tobacco.

 The CaMV-35S promoter is one the most widely used promoters in transgenic plant research because it exhibits a high level of transcriptional activity in a variety of plant tissues. Here, the CaMV-35S promoter fused to the GUS gene was used as a model for constitutive expression in transgenic Nicotiana tabacum (cv 'Xanthi') leaves. The transgenic plants were placed under a shortened photoperiod to determine if GUS expression changed; measurements were made using fluorometry and ribonuclease protection assays.

Timentin as an alternative antibiotic for suppression of Agrobacterium tumefaciens in genetic transformation.

The effects of timentin on shoot regeneration of tobacco (Nicotiana tabaccum) and Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila L.) and its use for the suppression of Agrobacterium tumefaciens in Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation were determined. Timentin is a mixture of ticarcillin and clavulanic acid, and at concentrations of 200-500 mg/l with ratios of ticarcillin:clavulanic acid of 50:1 and 100:1, it had little effect on shoot regeneration of tobacco or Siberian elm.