27 research outputs found
Imitational modeling of the possible optimal strategies of the predator and prey behavior in the early stages of evolution named “Chase”
No full textIntra-annual density fluctuations in tree rings are proxies of air temperature across Europe
No full textIntra-Annual Density Fluctuations (IADFs) are an important wood functional trait that determine trees' ability to adapt to climatic changes. Here, we use a large tree-ring database of 11 species from 89 sites across eight European countries, covering a climatic gradient from the Mediterranean to northern Europe, to analyze how climate variations drive IADF formation. We found that IADF occurrence increases nonlinearly with ring width in both gymnosperms and angiosperms and decreases with altitude and age. Recently recorded higher mean annual temperatures facilitate the formation of IADFs in almost all the studied species. Precipitation plays a significant role in inducing IADFs in species that exhibit drought tolerance capability, and a growth pattern known as bimodal growth. Our findings suggest that species with bimodal growth patterns growing in western and southern Europe will form IADFs more frequently, as an adaptation to increasing temperatures and droughts
Effects of Valsartan vs Amlodipin on renal function in salt loaded spontaneously hypertensive rats
No full textThe goal of this study was to compare the effects of valsartan and amlodipin on the systolic blood pressure and parameters specific
to the renal function in salt loaded spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). 32 male SHR were used at age of 20 weeks and body weight ranging between 265-300 g. From 8 weeks of age tab water was replaced with a solution of NaCl (1%) given ad libitum. Rats were divided into 2 groups: valsartan treated group SHRVAL (n=16) in which valsartan was given at a dose of 10 mg/kg b. w. and amlodipine treated group SHRAMLO (n=16) in which amlodipine was given at a dose of 5 mg/kg b. w. For a period of 12 weeks we have evaluated the effect of the investigated drugs on systolic blood pressure, body weight and renal function tests. In salt loaded rats amlodipine was more effective in reducing the systolic blood pressure in contrast to valsartan who had more pronounced effect on renal parameters most evident in proteinuria. Since both treatment groups have different mechanism of action a combination therapy may be beneficial in improving renal
function in SHR rats
Functional and structural properties of dentate granule cells with hilar basal dendrites in mouse entorhino-hippocampal slice cultures
No full textDuring postnatal development hippocampal dentate granule cells (GCs) often extend dendrites from the basal pole of their cell bodies into the hilar region. These so-called hilar basal dendrites (hBD) usually regress with maturation. However, hBDs may persist in a subset of mature GCs under certain conditions (both physiological and pathological). The functional role of these hBD-GCs remains not well understood. Here, we have studied hBD-GCs in mature (≥18 days in vitro) mouse entorhino-hippocampal slice cultures under control conditions and have compared their basic functional properties (basic intrinsic and synaptic properties) and structural properties (dendritic arborisation and spine densities) to those of neighboring GCs without hBDs in the same set of cultures. Except for the presence of hBDs, we did not detect major differences between the two GC populations. Furthermore, paired recordings of neighboring GCs with and without hBDs did not reveal evidence for a heavy aberrant GC-to-GC connectivity. Taken together, our data suggest that in control cultures the presence of hBDs on GCs is neither sufficient to predict alterations in the basic functional and structural properties of these GCs nor indicative of a heavy GC-to-GC connectivity between neighboring GCs
Mimicking natural polymorphism in eIF4E by CRISPR-Cas9 base editing is associated with resistance to potyviruses
No full textInternational audienceIn many crop species, natural variation in eIF4E proteins confers resistance to potyviruses. Gene editing offers new opportunities to transfer genetic resistance to crops that seem to lack natural eIF4E alleles. However, because eIF4E are physiologically important proteins, any introduced modification for virus resistance must not bring adverse phenotype effects. In this study, we assessed the role of amino acid substitutions encoded by a Pisum sativum eIF4E virus-resistance allele (W69L, T80D S81D, S84A, G114R and N176K) by introducing them independently into the Arabidopsis thaliana eIF4E1 gene, a susceptibility factor to the Clover yellow vein virus (ClYVV). Results show that most mutations were sufficient to prevent ClYVV accumulation in plants without affecting plant growth. In addition, two of these engineered resistance alleles can be combined with a loss-of-function eIFiso4E to expand the resistance spectrum to other potyviruses. Finally, we use CRISPR-nCas9-cytidine deaminase technology to convert the Arabidopsis eIF4E1 susceptibility allele into a resistance allele by introducing the N176K mutation with a single-point mutation through C-to-G base editing to generate resistant plants. This study shows how combining knowledge on pathogen susceptibility factors with precise genome-editing technologies offers a feasible solution for engineering transgene-free genetic resistance in plants, even across species barriers
In the absence of <i>eIF4E1</i>, global translation activity decreases while virus accumulation increases.
No full text(a) Graphical representation of the translation initiation complexes 4F in Arabidopsis thaliana. (b) Phenotypic comparison of representative wild-type and eif4e1KO plants in the absence (mock) or presence of TuMV-GFP UK1 infection 14 dpi. Photographs were taken under natural light conditions (upper panel) and under wavelengths specific for green fluorescent protein (GFP) excitation (lower panel) by using GFP fluorometric imaging. (c) Comparison of monosome-normalized (left panel) and first polysome-normalized (right panel) polysome profiles 14 dpi. n = 3 biological replicates. (d) Quantifications of polysome to monosome ratio from raw absorbance profiles. Error bars indicate standard deviation. n = 3 biological replicates (e) Comparison of puromycin incorporation 14 dpi. Western blot using anti-puromycin antibodies was performed on 20 ug of total protein extracts and equal protein levels were checked using anti-Actin antibodies. (f) Quantification of puromycin signal intensity. Graphs show the 95% confidence intervals of the means obtained from three independent experimental repeats. n = 13 biological replicates. (g) Accumulation analysis of TuMV by a quantitative DAS-ELISA at 14 dpi. n = 16 biological replicates. “ns” non-statistically significant difference, “*” P P P P < 0.05.</p
A synthesis of radial growth patterns preceding tree mortality
No full textTree mortality is a key factor influencing forest functions and dynamics, but our understanding of the mechanisms leading to mortality and the associated changes in tree growth rates are still limited. We compiled a new pan-continental tree-ring width database from sites where both dead and living trees were sampled (2970 dead and 4224 living trees from 190 sites, including 36 species), and compared early and recent growth rates between trees that died and those that survived a given mortality event. We observed a decrease in radial growth before death in ca. 84% of the mortality events. The extent and duration of these reductions were highly variable (1–100 years in 96% of events) due to the complex interactions among study species and the source(s) of mortality. Strong and long-lasting declines were found for gymnosperms, shade- and drought-tolerant species, and trees that died from competition. Angiosperms and trees that died due to biotic attacks (especially bark-beetles) typically showed relatively small and short-term growth reductions. Our analysis did not highlight any universal trade-off between early growth and tree longevity within a species, although this result may also reflect high variability in sampling design among sites. The intersite and interspecific variability in growth patterns before mortality provides valuable information on the nature of the mortality process, which is consistent with our understanding of the physiological mechanisms leading to mortality. Abrupt changes in growth immediately before death can be associated with generalized hydraulic failure and/or bark-beetle attack, while long-term decrease in growth may be associated with a gradual decline in hydraulic performance coupled with depletion in carbon reserves. Our results imply that growth-based mortality algorithms may be a powerful tool for predicting gymnosperm mortality induced by chronic stress, but not necessarily so for angiosperms and in case of intense drought or bark-beetle outbreaks
Intra-annual density fluctuations in tree rings are proxies of air temperature across Europe
No full textAbstract Intra-Annual Density Fluctuations (IADFs) are an important wood functional trait that determine trees’ ability to adapt to climatic changes. Here, we use a large tree-ring database of 11 species from 89 sites across eight European countries, covering a climatic gradient from the Mediterranean to northern Europe, to analyze how climate variations drive IADF formation. We found that IADF occurrence increases nonlinearly with ring width in both gymnosperms and angiosperms and decreases with altitude and age. Recently recorded higher mean annual temperatures facilitate the formation of IADFs in almost all the studied species. Precipitation plays a significant role in inducing IADFs in species that exhibit drought tolerance capability, and a growth pattern known as bimodal growth. Our findings suggest that species with bimodal growth patterns growing in western and southern Europe will form IADFs more frequently, as an adaptation to increasing temperatures and droughts
