13 research outputs found
Ozone tolerance in Phaseolus vulgaris depends on more than one mechanism
No full textTwo bean cultivars with different ozone-sensitivity, i.e. the O3-sensitive Cannellino and the O3-tolerant Top Crop, were exposed to acute O3-stress with the aim of evaluating physiological and biochemical traits responsible for O3-tolerance. The cultivars differed in their constitutive ability to prevent and counter O3-induced oxidative damage. The ability to dissipate excess-energy, via regulated and unregulated nonphotochemical quenching mechanisms (NPQ, NO) was constitutively greater in Top Crop than in Cannellino, and allowed the O3-tolerant cultivar to compensate light-induced declines in PSII and preserve photosystem II from excitation-energy to a superior degree than the O3-sensitive one. The inevitable generation of reactive oxygen species was countered to a significantly smaller extent in the O3-sensitive cultivar, because of constitutively lower activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase than the O3-tolerant cultivar. Indeed, Cannellino underwent an early accumulation of H2O2 and an almost complete disruption of cell structure and irreversible damages in the photosynthetic apparatus
Studio della fluorescenza della clorofilla a e dell’immagine della fluorescenza in due varietà di Lycopersicon esculentum sottoposte ad un singolo pulse di ozono
No full text
L’impiego di un collare elettronico per inibire l’aggressività in uno stallone da riproduzione
No full textDirectional Freezing (Harmony Cryocare – Multi Thermal Gradient 516*): a New Tool for Equine Semen Cryopreservation
No full textInfluence of Kiwifruit Canopy Position on Fruit Quality
No full textThe influence of canopy position on several kiwifruit quality attributes was evaluated. The experiment was conducted on fruit from a commercial kiwifruit orchard (Actinidia deliciosa 'Hayward') located at Rigoli (Pisa, Italy), in 2004 growing season, where vines were trained as a free palmette. Fruit were harvested from four different positions of the canopy; the positions (external- and internal- top, external- and internal- bottom) were characterized by a different quantity of daily intercepted solar radiation. At harvest some fruit quality attributes were measured (i.e., weight, soluble solids content and flesh firmness) and fruit analysed for ascorbic acid and chlorophylls content. Canopy position markedly influenced some of the quality attributes studied, particularly fruit ascorbic acid content
The clinical significance of the POLG gene polymorphism in male infertility.
No full textBased on association studies, an increasing number of gene polymorphisms have been proposed as modulators of spermatogenesis. Interestingly, a clear cause-effect relationship between a polymorphism of the POLG gene and oligo(astheno)zoospermia was recently described. The POLG gene contains a polymorphic CAG repeat, and the presence of a homozygous mutant (not10/not10 CAG) genotype was found only in infertile men. In the present study, a large number of infertile patients and normospermic men of Italian origin were studied to define the effect of POLG genotypes on spermatogenic potential and whether the homozygous mutant is specific for spermatogenic disturbances. The mutated genotype was found at the same frequency in both infertile and normospermic men. Mean values of sperm parameters such as sperm count, motility, and morphology did not differ significantly between carriers of the three different genotypes. Our study failed to confirm any influence of the POLG gene polymorphism on the efficiency of the spermatogenesis. More importantly, considering that the homozygous mutant genotype has been found in normospermic fertile men, the analysis of the CAG repeat tract of the POLG gene does not appear to have any clinical diagnostic value
Effect of nitrate fertilization and saline stress on the content of active constituents of Echinacea angustifolia D.C
No full textIn this study, the effect of nitrogen form (nitrate and ammonium in the molar ratio of 1:1 or 1:0), supplied to the plant or NaCl salinity (up to a concentration of 50 mol m3) of the feeding solution, on the content of selected caffeic acid derivatives and the activities of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL; EC. 4.3.1.5) and shikimate dehydrogenase (SKDH; EC 1.1.1.25) were investigated in the leaves and the roots of Echinacea angustifolia DC, grown hydroponically. Two experiments were conducted under glasshouse conditions with seedlings transplanted in aerated stagnant nutrient solution (floating raft system) four weeks after emergence. The nitrate/ammonium ratio in the
nutrient solution did not affect plant growth or dry matter partitioning, but it influenced the concentration of determined metabolites; in particular, the root concentrations of chlorogenic acid, echinacoside and caffeic acid were significantly higher in the plants grown with nitrate as sole source of nitrogen. NaCl salinity reduced plant growth, by reducing the biomass allocated to the inflorescences, and enhanced the accumulation of chlorogenic acid and cichoric acids, at least in the roots
