Quantifying the Sensitivity of Soil Microbial Communities to Silver Sulfide Nanoparticles Using Metagenome Sequencing.

Soils are a sink for sulfidised-silver nanoparticles (Ag2S-NPs), yet there are limited ecotoxicity data for their effects on microbial communities. Conventional toxicity tests typically target a single test species or function, which does not reflect the broader community response. Using a combination of quantitative PCR, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and species sensitivity distribution (SSD) methods, we have developed a new approach to calculate silver-based NP toxicity thresholds (HCx, hazardous concentrations) that are protective of specific members (operational taxonomic units, OTUs) of the soil microbial community.

Phosphorus remobilization from rice flag leaves during grain filling: an RNA-seq study.

The physiology and molecular regulation of phosphorus (P) remobilization from vegetative tissues to grains during grain filling is poorly understood, despite the pivotal role it plays in the global P cycle. To test the hypothesis that a subset of genes involved in the P starvation response are involved in remobilization of P from flag leaves to developing grains, we conducted an RNA-seq analysis of rice flag leaves during the preremobilization phase (6 DAA) and when the leaves were acting as a P source (15 DAA). Several genes that respond to phosphate starvation, including three purple acid phosphatases (OsPAP3, OsPAP9b and OsPAP10a), were significantly up-regulated at 15 DAA, consistent with a role in remobilization of P from flag leaves during grain filling.

The establishment of DOHaD working groups in Australia and New Zealand.

The evidence underpinning the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) is overwhelming. As the emphasis shifts more towards interventions and the translational strategies for disease prevention, it is important to capitalize on collaboration and knowledge sharing to maximize opportunities for discovery and replication. DOHaD meetings are facilitating this interaction.

A QTL on the short arm of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) chromosome 3B affects the stability of grain weight in plants exposed to a brief heat shock early in grain filling.

Background: Molecular markers and knowledge of traits associated with heat tolerance are likely to provide breeders with a more efficient means of selecting wheat varieties able to maintain grain size after heat waves during early grain filling.

Results: A population of 144 doubled haploids derived from a cross between the Australian wheat varieties Drysdale and Waagan was mapped using the wheat Illumina iSelect 9,000 feature single nucleotide polymorphism marker array and used to detect quantitative trait loci for heat tolerance of final single grain weight and related traits. Plants were subjected to a 3 d heat treatment (37 °C/27 °C day/night) in a growth chamber at 10 d after anthesis and trait responses calculated by comparison to untreated control plants.

VAMP721a and VAMP721d are important for pectin dynamics and release of bacteria in soybean nodules.

In root nodules rhizobia enter host cells via infection threads. The release of bacteria to a host cell is possible from cell wall-free regions of the infection thread. We hypothesized that the VAMP721d and VAMP721e exocytotic pathway, identified before in Medicago truncatula, has a role in the local modification of cell wall during the release of rhizobia.

Sex and age-dependent effects of a maternal junk food diet on the mu-opioid receptor in rat offspring.

Perinatal junk food exposure increases the preference for palatable diets in juvenile and adult rat offspring. Previous studies have implicated reduced sensitivity of the opioid pathway in the programming of food preferences; however it is not known when during development these changes in opioid signalling first emerge. This study aimed to determine the impact of a maternal junk food (JF) diet on mu-opioid receptor (MuR) expression and ligand binding in two key regions of the reward pathway, the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in rats during the early suckling (postnatal day (PND) 1 and 7) and late suckling/early post-weaning (PND 21 and 28) periods.

The effect of maternal and post-weaning low and high glycaemic index diets on glucose tolerance, fat deposition and hepatic function in rat offspring.

Clinical studies have reported beneficial effects of a maternal low glycaemic index (GI) diet on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, but the impact of the diet on the offspring in later life, and the mechanisms underlying these effects, remain unclear. In this study, Albino Wistar rats were fed either a low GI (n=14) or high GI (n=14) diet during pregnancy and lactation and their offspring weaned onto either the low or high GI diet. Low GI dams had better glucose tolerance (AUC[glucose], 1322±55 v.

Variation for N Uptake System in Maize: Genotypic Response to N Supply.

An understanding of the adaptations made by plants in their nitrogen (N) uptake systems in response to reduced N supply is important to the development of cereals with enhanced N uptake efficiency (NUpE). Twenty seven diverse genotypes of maize (Zea mays, L.) were grown in hydroponics for 3 weeks with limiting or adequate N supply.

Rice SPX-Major Facility Superfamily3, a Vacuolar Phosphate Efflux Transporter, Is Involved in Maintaining Phosphate Homeostasis in Rice.

To maintain a stable cytosol phosphate (Pi) concentration, plant cells store Pi in their vacuoles. When the Pi concentration in the cytosol decreases, Pi is exported from the vacuole into the cytosol. This export is mediated by Pi transporters on the tonoplast.

Genetic approaches to enhancing nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) in cereals: challenges and future directions.

Over 100million tonnes of nitrogen (N) fertiliser are applied globally each year to maintain high yields in agricultural crops. The rising price of N fertilisers has made them a major cost for farmers. Inefficient use of N fertiliser leads to substantial environmental problems through contamination of air and water resources and can be a significant economic cost.

Meristem micropropagation of cassava (Manihot esculenta) evokes genome-wide changes in DNA methylation.

There is great interest in the phenotypic, genetic and epigenetic changes associated with plant in vitro culture known as somaclonal variation. In vitro propagation systems that are based on the use of microcuttings or meristem cultures are considered analogous to clonal cuttings and so widely viewed to be largely free from such somaclonal effects. In this study, we surveyed for epigenetic changes during propagation by meristem culture and by field cuttings in five cassava (Manihot esculenta) cultivars.

Derivation of Soil Ecological Criteria for Copper in Chinese Soils.

Considerable information on copper (Cu) ecotoxicity as affected by biological species and abiotic properties of soils has been collected from the last decade in the present study. The information on bioavailability/ecotoxicity, species sensitivity and differences in laboratory and field ecotoxicity of Cu in different soils was collated and integrated to derive soil ecological criteria for Cu in Chinese soils, which were expressed as predicted no effect concentrations (PNEC). First, all ecotoxicity data of Cu from bioassays based on Chinese soils were collected and screened with given criteria to compile a database.

Change of function of the wheat stress-responsive transcriptional repressor TaRAP2.1L by repressor motif modification.

Plants respond to abiotic stresses by changes in gene regulation, including stress-inducible expression of transcriptional activators and repressors. One of the best characterized families of drought-related transcription factors are dehydration-responsive element binding (DREB) proteins, known as C-repeat binding factors (CBF). The wheat DREB/CBF gene TaRAP2.

Image-based phenotyping for non-destructive screening of different salinity tolerance traits in rice.

Background: Soil salinity is an abiotic stress wide spread in rice producing areas, limiting both plant growth and yield. The development of salt-tolerant rice requires efficient and high-throughput screening techniques to identify promising lines for salt affected areas. Advances made in image-based phenotyping techniques provide an opportunity to use non-destructive imaging to screen for salinity tolerance traits in a wide range of germplasm in a reliable, quantitative and efficient way.

Increased expression of six ZIP family genes by zinc (Zn) deficiency is associated with enhanced uptake and root-to-shoot translocation of Zn in barley (Hordeum vulgare).

Low zinc (Zn) in soils reduces yield and grain Zn content. Regulation of ZRT/IRT-like protein (ZIP) family genes is a major mechanism in plant adaptation to low and fluctuating Zn in soil. Although several Zn deficiency-inducible ZIP genes are identified in cereals, there has been no systematic study on the association of Zn deficiency-induced uptake and root-to-shoot translocation with expression of ZIP family genes.

Natural colloidal P and its contribution to plant P uptake.

Phosphorus (P) bioavailability depends on its concentration and speciation in solution. Andisols and Oxisols have very low soil solution concentration of free orthophosphate, as they contain high concentrations of strongly P-sorbing minerals (Al/Fe oxyhydroxides, allophanes). Free orthophosphate is the form of P taken up by plants, but it is not the only P species present in the soil solution.

The early origins of food preferences: targeting the critical windows of development.

The nutritional environment to which an individual is exposed during the perinatal period plays a crucial role in determining his or her future metabolic health outcomes. Studies in rodent models have demonstrated that excess maternal intake of high-fat and/or high-sugar "junk foods" during pregnancy and lactation can alter the development of the central reward pathway, particularly the opioid and dopamine systems, and program an increased preference for junk foods in the offspring. More recently, there have been attempts to define the critical windows of development during which the opioid and dopamine systems within the reward pathway are most susceptible to alteration and to determine whether it is possible to reverse these effects through nutritional interventions applied later in development.

Impact of maternal obesity on offspring adipose tissue: lessons for the clinic.

Maternal obesity is a major risk factor for the subsequent development of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in the child. This relationship appears to be driven largely by the exposure of the fetus to an increased nutrient supply during critical periods of development, which results in persistent changes in the structure and function of key systems involved in the regulation of energy balance, appetite and fat deposition. One of the key targets is the fat cell, or adipocyte, in which prenatal overnutrition programs a heightened capacity for fat storage.

Wheat grain preharvest sprouting and late maturity alpha-amylase.

Preharvest sprouting (PHS) and late maturity α-amylase (LMA) are the two major causes of unacceptably high levels of α-amylase in ripe wheat grain. High α-amylase activity in harvested grain results in substantially lower prices for wheat growers and at least in the case of PHS, is associated with adverse effects on the quality of a range of end-products and loss of viability during storage. The high levels of α-amylase are reflected in low falling number, the internationally accepted measure for grain receival and trade.

Validation of an optimized method for the determination of iodine in human breast milk by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) after tetramethylammonium hydroxide extraction.

In this study a novel method to determine iodine concentrations in human breast milk was developed and validated. The iodine was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) following tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) extraction at 90°C in disposable polypropylene tubes. While similar approaches have been used previously, this method adopted a shorter extraction time (1h vs.

Heterogeneity in cord blood DHA concentration: towards an explanation.

This paper aimed to identify the dietary and non-dietary determinants of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels in umbilical cord blood at delivery. DHA was measured in cord blood plasma phospholipids of 1571 participants from the DOMInO (DHA to Optimize Mother Infant Outcome) randomized controlled trial. Socioeconomic, lifestyle and clinical data relating to the mother and current pregnancy were obtained from all women and their relationships with cord blood DHA assessed.

The effects of prenatal exposure to a 'junk food' diet on offspring food preferences and fat deposition can be mitigated by improved nutrition during lactation.

Exposure to a maternal junk food (JF) diet in utero and during the suckling period has been demonstrated to increase the preference for palatable food and increase the susceptibility to diet-induced obesity in adult offspring. We aimed to determine whether the effects of prenatal exposure to JF could be ameliorated by cross-fostering offspring onto dams consuming a standard rodent chow during the suckling period. We report here that when all offspring were given free access to the JF diet for 7 weeks from 10 weeks of age, male offspring of control (C) or JF dams that were cross-fostered at birth onto JF dams (C-JF, JF-JF), exhibited higher fat (C-C: 12.

Naloxone treatment alters gene expression in the mesolimbic reward system in 'junk food' exposed offspring in a sex-specific manner but does not affect food preferences in adulthood.

We have previously reported that the opioid receptor blocker, naloxone, is less effective in reducing palatable food intake in offspring exposed to a maternal cafeteria diet during the perinatal period, implicating a desensitization of the central opioid pathway in the programming of food preferences. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of a maternal cafeteria diet and naloxone treatment on the development of the mesolimbic reward pathway and food choices in adulthood. We measured mRNA expression of key components of the reward pathway (mu-opioid receptor, proenkephalin, tyrosine hydroxylase, D1 and D2 receptors and the dopamine active transporter (DAT)) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the offspring of control and cafeteria fed (JF) dams at weaning and after a 10-day naloxone treatment post-weaning and determined food preferences in adulthood in the remaining offspring.

Soybean SAT1 (Symbiotic Ammonium Transporter 1) encodes a bHLH transcription factor involved in nodule growth and NH4+ transport.

Glycine max symbiotic ammonium transporter 1 was first documented as a putative ammonium (NH4(+)) channel localized to the symbiosome membrane of soybean root nodules. We show that Glycine max symbiotic ammonium transporter 1 is actually a membrane-localized basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) DNA-binding transcription factor now renamed Glycine max bHLH membrane 1 (GmbHLHm1). In yeast, GmbHLHm1 enters the nucleus and transcriptionally activates a unique plasma membrane NH4(+) channel Saccharomyces cerevisiae ammonium facilitator 1.

massiR: a method for predicting the sex of samples in gene expression microarray datasets.

Unlabelled: High-throughput gene expression microarrays are currently the most efficient method for transcriptome-wide expression analyses. Consequently, gene expression data available through public repositories have largely been obtained from microarray experiments. However, the metadata associated with many publicly available expression microarray datasets often lacks sample sex information, therefore limiting the reuse of these data in new analyses or larger meta-analyses where the effect of sex is to be considered.