1,721,016 research outputs found
The importance of nodule CO2 fixation for the efficiency of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in pea at vegetative growth and during pod formation
No full textNodule CO2 fixation is of pivotal importance for N-2 fixation. The process provides malate for bacteroids and oxaloacetate for nitrogen assimilation. The hypothesis of the present paper was that grain legume nodules would adapt to higher plant N demand and more restricted carbon availability at pod formation through increased nodule CO2 fixation and a more efficient N-2 fixation. Growth, N-2 fixation, and nodule composition during vegetative growth and at pod formation were studied in pea plants (Pisum sativum L.). In parallel experiments, N-15(2) and (CO2)-C-13 uptake, as well as nodule hydrogen and CO2 release, was measured. Plants at pod formation showed higher growth rates and N-2 fixation per plant when compared with vegetative growth. The specific activity of active nodules was about 25% higher at pod formation. The higher nodule activity was accompanied by higher amino acid concentration in nodules and xylem sap with a higher share of asparagine. Nodule (CO2)-C-13 fixation was increased at pod formation, both per plant and per N-15(2) fixed unit. However, malate concentration in nodules was only 40% of that during vegetative growth and succinate was no longer detectable. The data indicate that increased N-2 fixation at pod formation is connected with strongly increased nodule CO2 fixation. While the sugar concentration in nodules at pod formation was not altered, the concentration of organic acids, namely malate and succinate, was significantly lower. It is concluded that strategies to improve the capability of nodules to fix CO2 and form organic acids might prolong intensive N-2 fixation into the later stages of pod formation and pod filling in grain legumes.German Science Foundation (DFG) [SCHU 1602/3-1
The argon-induced decline in nitrogenase activity commences before the beginning of a decline in nodule oxygen uptake
No full textReplacement of N(2) by argon in the air around nodules directs nitrogenase electron flow in its total onto H(+) resulting in increased nodule H(2) evolution (total nitrogenase activity (TNA)). However, argon application induces a so-called argon-induced decline in nitrogenase activity (Ar-ID) connected with decreased nodule oxygen permeability. Consequently, TNA measurements tend to underestimate total nitrogenase activity. It is unclear whether the decline in oxygen diffusion into nodules induces the Ar-ID, or whether a decline in nitrogenase activity is followed by lower nodule O(2) uptake. The objective of the present work was to examine the time sequence of the decline in nodule H(2) evolution and O(2) uptake after argon application. In addition, the reliability of TNA values, taken as quickly as possible after the switch to Ar/O(2), was tested through comparative measurement of (15)N(2) uptake of the same plants. Short-term TNA measurements in an optimized gas exchange measurement system yielded reliable results, verified by parallel determination of (15)N(2) uptake. A five min application of Ar/O(2) was without effect on the subsequent H(2) evolution in ambient air. A parallel experiment on control plants revealed that a decrease in nodule oxygen uptake began several minutes after the onset of the decline in H(2) evolution. We conclude that the primary effect of the replacement of N(2) by argon differs from oxygen diffusion control. A gas exchange system allowing an immediate taking of TNA yields reliable results and does not disturb nodule activity. Gas exchange measurements provide a powerful tool for studying nodule physiology and should be combined with material from molecular studies. (C) 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved
Elevated CO2 concentration around alfalfa nodules increases N-2 fixation
No full textNodule CO2 fixation via PEPC provides malate for bacteroids and oxaloacetate for N assimilation. The process is therefore of central importance for efficient nitrogen fixation. Nodule CO2 fixation is known to depend on external CO2 concentration. The hypothesis of the present paper was that nitrogen fixation in alfalfa plants is enhanced when the nodules are exposed to elevated CO2 concentrations. Therefore nodulated plants of alfalfa were grown in a hydroponic system that allowed separate aeration of the root/nodule compartment that avoided any gas leakage to the shoots. The root/nodule compartments were aerated either with a 2500 mu l l(-1) (+CO2) or zero mu l l(-1) (-CO2) CO2-containing N-2/O-2 gas flow (80/20, v/v). Nodule CO2 fixation, nitrogen fixation, and growth were strongly increased in the +CO2 treatment in a 3-week experimental period. More intensive CO2 and nitrogen fixation coincided with higher per plant amounts of amino acids and organic acids in the nodules. Moreover, the concentration of asparagine was increased in both the nodules and the xylem sap. Plants in the +CO2 treatment tended to develop nodules with higher %N concentration and individual activity. In a parallel experiment on plants with inefficient nodules (fix(-)) the +CO2 treatment remained without effect. Our data support the thesis that nodule CO2 fixation is pivotal for efficient nitrogen fixation. It is concluded that strategies which enhance nodule CO2 fixation will improve nitrogen fixation and nodule formation. Moreover, sufficient CO2 application to roots and nodules is necessary for growth and efficient nitrogen fixation in hydroponic and aeroponic growth systems.German Science Foundation [DFG, SCHU 1602/3-1
Asparagine as a major factor in the N-feedback regulation of N-2 fixation in Medicago truncatula
No full textThe objective of this study was to assess whether a whole plant N-feedback regulation impact on nitrogen fixation in Medicago truncatula would manifest itself in shifts of the composition of the amino acid flow from shoots to nodules. Detected shifts in the phloem amino acid composition were supposed to be mimicked through artificial phloem feeding and concomitant measurement of nodule activity. The amino acid composition of the phloem exudates was analyzed from plants grown under the influence of treatments (limiting P supply or application of combined nitrogen) known to reduce nodule nitrogen fixation activity. Plants in nutrient solution were supplied with sufficient (9 μM) control, limiting (1 μM) phosphorus or 3 mM NHNO (downregulated nodule activity). Low phosphorus and the application of NHNO reduced per plant and specific nitrogenase activity (H evolution). At day 64 of growth, phloem exudates were collected from cuts of the shoot base. The amount of amino acids was strongly increased in both phloem exudates and nodules of the treatments with downregulated nodule activity. The increase in the downregulated treatments was almost exclusively the result of a higher proportion of asparagine in both phloem exudates and nodules. Leaf labeling with N showed that nitrogen from the leaves is retranslocated to nodules. An artificial phloem feeding with asparagine resulted in an increased concentration of asparagine in nodules and a decreased nodule activity. A possible role of asparagine in an N-feedback regulation of nitrogen fixation in M. truncatula is discussed
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Nitrogen from senescing lower leaves of common bean is re-translocated to nodules and might be involved in a N-feedback regulation of nitrogen fixation
No full textCorrespondance: [email protected] Publication Inra prise en compte dans l'analyse bibliométrique des publications scientifiques mondiales sur les Fruits, les Légumes et la Pomme de terre. Période 2000-2012. http://prodinra.inra.fr/record/256699International audienceThe objective of the present study was to elucidate whether remobilized N from lower leaves is involved in causing the drop in N-2 fixation during pod-filling in common bean (Phoseolus vulgaris L). Moreover, we addressed the question of whether remobilized N from lower Leaves would reach the nodules. Nodulated common bean plants were grown in a growth chamber in quartz sand. During a 2-week period, at vegetative and at reproductive growth, 50% of the Leaves (lower part) were either excised or individually darkened, thereby removing the same photosynthetic capacity yet allowing N to be remobilized from the darkened leaves. Moreover, at the vegetative growth period, three lower leaves per plants were N-15 labelled by applying (NH4NO3)-N-15 prior to imposing the darkening treatment. Leaf darkening at vegetative growth induced N remobilization as welt as reduced N-2-fixation rates and growth. Leaf excision at reproductive growth enhanced N-2 fixation. Changes in N-2-fixation rates were in all cases the result of altered growth rates, white the % N in the whole plant and in various plant parts remained conserved. Directly after leaf labetting, but also at the end of the vegetative growth period, substantial amounts of N-15 from the leaves could be recovered in nodules in the control, and in higher amounts in the leaf-darkening treatment. It is proposed that nitrogen from leaves circulates within the plant via nodules, and that the strength or composition of this circular flow may be the signal for a putative N-feedback effec
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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