Ulvan, a sulfated polysaccharide from green algae, activates plant immunity through the jasmonic acid signaling pathway.

The industrial use of elicitors as alternative tools for disease control needs the identification of abundant sources of them. We report on an elicitor obtained from the green algae Ulva spp. A fraction containing most exclusively the sulfated polysaccharide known as ulvan-induced expression of a GUS gene placed under the control of a lipoxygenase gene promoter.

Physiological and transcriptomic aspects of urea uptake and assimilation in Arabidopsis plants.

Urea is the major nitrogen (N) form supplied as fertilizer in agriculture, but it is also an important N metabolite in plants. Urea transport and assimilation were investigated in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Uptake studies using (15)N-labeled urea demonstrated the capacity of Arabidopsis to absorb urea and that the urea uptake was regulated by the initial N status of the plants.

New approach to measure protein binding based on a parallel artificial membrane assay and human serum albumin.

We report here a new, label-free approach to measure serum protein binding constants. The assay is able to measure HSA K d values in the milli-molar to micromolar range. The protein is not immobilized on any surface and the assay self-corrects for nonspecific adsorption.

High-throughput lipophilicity measurement with immobilized artificial membranes.

We report on a new, high-throughput assay designed to measure octanol/water partition coefficients in early drug discovery. The assay is carried out in 96-well microtiterplates and measures the diffusion of compounds between two aqueous compartments separated by a thin octanol liquid layer. Octanol/water partition coefficients are derived from the apparent permeability (P(a)) values using a calibration curve.

The algal polysaccharide carrageenans can act as an elicitor of plant defence.

•  Effects of two algal polysaccharides, laminarin and carrageenans, on defence responses and signalling in tobacco plants is presented. A possible role as defence elicitors is important in the context of the use of algal extracts as plant protectants. •  The effect of the extracts was assessed after infiltration of tobacco leaves, and compared to the effect of a known elicitor of Phytophthora parasitica var.