Antimicrobial activity and properties of de novo design of short synthetic lipopeptides.

The aim of this article is to introduce the topic of newly designed peptides as well as their biological activity. We designed nine encoded peptides composed of six amino acids. All these peptides were synthesized with C-terminal amidation.

Plant Growth-Promoting Endophytic Bacteria Isolated from and Their Antifungal Activity.

Modern technologies can satisfy human needs only with the use of large quantities of fertilizers and pesticides that are harmful to the environment. For this reason, it is possible to develop new technologies for sustainable agriculture. The process could be carried out by using endophytic microorganisms with a (possible) positive effect on plant vitality.

Silver Nanoparticles Alter Microtubule Arrangement, Dynamics and Stress Phytohormone Levels.

The superior properties of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has resulted in their broad utilization worldwide, but also the risk of irreversible environment infestation. The plant cuticle and cell wall can trap a large part of the nanoparticles and thus protect the internal cell structures, where the cytoskeleton, for example, reacts very quickly to the threat, and defense signaling is subsequently triggered. We therefore used not only wild-type seedlings, but also the mutant, which has a different composition of the cuticle.

Novel properties of antimicrobial peptide anoplin.

Antimicrobial decapeptide anoplin was tested for its antifungal activity against plant pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans and protection of Brassica napus plants from disease. To reveal the mode of action of the peptide, a natural form of anoplin amidated on C-terminus (ANP-NH2), and its carboxylated analog (ANP-OH) were used in the study. We demonstrated strong antifungal activity of anoplin in vitro regardless C-terminus modification.

Imported tropical neuroinfections: practice skills and knowledge among nurses and nursing students.

Objective: Tropical neuroinfections are still cause of substantial mortality in travelers. Therefore, good knowledge of early symptoms is very important for nurses acting as first contact persons.

Methods: Nurse's practical skills and knowledge of signs and early recognition of tropical neuroinfections, providing first aid and quick action has been studied among graduates of two Tropical Nursing PhD programs (in EU-Countries vs.

Loss of membrane fluidity and endocytosis inhibition are involved in rapid aluminum-induced root growth cessation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is the main limiting factor in crop production on acid soils. The main symptom of Al toxicity is a rapid inhibition of root growth, but the mechanism of root growth cessation remains unclear. Here we examined the earliest changes in the plasma membrane and processes related to the membrane in the Arabidopsis thaliana root tip cells of roots grown in a hydropony.

Aluminium ions inhibit the formation of diacylglycerol generated by phosphatidylcholine-hydrolysing phospholipase C in tobacco cells.

• Aluminium ions (Al) have been recognized as a major toxic factor for crop production in acidic soils. This study aimed to assess the impact of Al on the activity of phosphatidylcholine-hydrolysing phospholipase C (PC-PLC), a new member of the plant phospholipase family. • We labelled the tobacco cell line BY-2 and pollen tubes with a fluorescent derivative of phosphatidylcholine and assayed for patterns of fluorescently labelled products.

Mutual regulation of plant phospholipase D and the actin cytoskeleton.

Membrane lipids and cytoskeleton dynamics are intimately inter-connected in the eukaryotic cell; however, only recently have the molecular mechanisms operating at this interface in plant cells been addressed experimentally. Phospholipase D (PLD) and its product phosphatidic acid (PA) were discovered to be important regulators in the membrane-cytoskeleton interface in eukaryotes. Here we report the mechanistic details of plant PLD-actin interactions.

Aluminum ions inhibit phospholipase D in a microtubule-dependent manner.

Aluminum is a highly cytotoxic metal to plants, but the molecular base and the primary target of Al toxicity are still unknown. The most important physiological consequence of Al toxicity is a cessation of root growth and changes in root morphology suggesting a role of the root cytoskeleton as a target structure. The important role of phospholipid degrading enzyme phospholipase D in regulation of cytoskeleton remodelling in both animal and plant organisms is now evident.

Inositol trisphosphate receptor in higher plants: is it real?

The receptor for D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3-R) has been well documented in animal cells. It constitutes an important component of the intracellular calcium signalling system. Today the corresponding genes in many species have been sequenced and the antibodies against some of the InsP3-Rs are available.

Plant PIP2-dependent phospholipase D activity is regulated by phosphorylation.

Phospholipase D (PLD) forms the major family of phospholipases that was first discovered and cloned in plants. In this report we have shown, for the first time, that C2 phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2)-dependent PLD(s) from 5 day hypocotyls of Brassica oleracea associated with plasma membrane is covalently modified-phosphorylated. Pre-incubation of the plasma membrane fraction with acid phosphatase resulted in concentration-dependent inhibition of PIP2-dependent PLD activity.

Phosphatidic acid produced by phospholipase D is required for tobacco pollen tube growth.

Phospholipase D (PLD) and its product phosphatidic acid (PA) are involved in a number of signalling pathways regulating cell proliferation, membrane vesicle trafficking and defence responses in eukaryotic cells. Here we report that PLD and PA have a role in the process of polarised plant cell expansion as represented by pollen tube growth. Both phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate-dependent and independent PLD activities were identified in pollen tube extracts, and activity levels during pollen tube germination and growth were measured.

In vitro distribution and characterization of membrane-associated PLD and PI-PLC in Brassica napus.

Two types of phospholipid degrading enzyme, phospholipase D (PLD; EC 3.1.4.