Search results for "FUNGI"
showing 10 items of 3688 documents
Recurrent domestication by Lepidoptera of genes from their parasites mediated by Bracoviruses
2015
Bracoviruses are symbiotic viruses associated with tens of thousands of species of parasitic wasps that develop within the body of lepidopteran hosts and that collectively parasitize caterpillars of virtually every lepidopteran species. Viral particles are produced in the wasp ovaries and injected into host larvae with the wasp eggs. Once in the host body, the viral DNA circles enclosed in the particles integrate into lepidopteran host cell DNA. Here we show that bracovirus DNA sequences have been inserted repeatedly into lepidopteran genomes, indicating this viral DNA can also enter germline cells. The original mode of Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) unveiled here is based on the integrativ…
Live imaging of developmental processes in a living meristem of Davidia involucrata (Nyssaceae).
2014
Morphogenesis in plants is usually reconstructed by scanning electron microscopy and histology of meristematic structures. These techniques are destructive and require many samples to obtain a consecutive series of states. Unfortunately, using this methodology the absolute timing of growth and complete relative initiation of organs remain obscure. To overcome this limitation, an in vivo observational method based on Epi-Illumination Light Microscopy (ELM) was developed and tested with a male inflorescence meristem (floral unit) of the handkerchief tree Davidia involucrata Baill. (Nyssaceae). We asked whether the most basal flowers of this floral unit arise in a basipetal sequence or, altern…
Droplet digital PCR as a tool for investigating dynamics of cryptic symbionts
2021
Abstract Interactions among symbiotic organisms and their hosts are major drivers of ecological and evolutionary processes. Monitoring the infection patterns among natural populations and identifying factors affecting these interactions are critical for understanding symbiont–host relationships. However, many of these interactions remain understudied since the knowledge about the symbiont species is lacking, which hinders the development of appropriate tools. In this study, we developed a digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) assay based on apicomplexan COX1 gene to detect an undescribed agamococcidian symbiont. We show that the method gives precise and reproducible results and enables detecting cryp…
Aquatic Macrophytes Occurrence in Mediterranean Farm Ponds: Preliminary Investigations in North-Western Sicily (Italy)
2021
Mediterranean wetlands are severely affected by habitat degradation and related loss of biodiversity. In this scenario, the wide number of artificial farm ponds can play a significant role in the biodiversity conservation of aquatic flora. In the present contribution we show the preliminary results of a study on Mediterranean farm ponds of north-western Sicily (Italy), aimed to investigating the environmental factors linked to the occurrence of submerged macrophytes (vascular plants and charophytes). We studied the aquatic flora of 30 ponds and determined the chemical and isotopic composition of their water bodies on a subset of the most representative 10 sites. Results show that (1) farm p…
Uranium speciation in plants
2002
The chemical characterization of the radionuclide species is essential for a reliable assessment of the migration of radionuclides and heavy metals into the geological and biological environment on the load pathway soil - plant - animal - human. Only a few is known about the speciation of uranium in plants. Therefore we investigate the change of speciation during the transfer of uranium from initial solution into plant. Various plants (lupins, dandelion e.g.) were grown in an agricultural test field and in the laboratory on contaminated soils (up to concentration of 1g U/kg soil) and as hydroponics in the uranium containing solutions (uranium concentration: 10-5 M - 10-2 M, pH: 3 - 8). For …
Redox modulation of Rubisco conformation and activity through its cysteine residues
2008
Treatment of purified Rubisco with agents that specifically oxidize cysteine-thiol groups causes catalytic inactivation and increased proteolytic sensitivity of the enzyme. It has been suggested that these redox properties may sustain a mechanism of regulating Rubisco activity and turnover during senescence or stress. Current research efforts are addressing the structural basis of the redox modulation of Rubisco and the identification of critical cysteines. Redox shifts result in Rubisco conformational changes as revealed by the alteration of its proteolytic fragmentation pattern upon oxidation. In particular, the augmented susceptibility of Rubisco to proteases is due to increased exposure…
A DFT study of the Diels–Alder reaction between methyl acrolein derivatives and cyclopentadiene. Understanding the effects of Lewis acids catalysts b…
2006
Abstract The effects of Lewis acid catalysts based on sulfur containing boron heterocycles on the Diels–Alder reactions of two methyl acroleins with cyclopentadiene have been studied using DFT methods. These reactions take place along highly asynchronous concerted processes. While the reaction with crotonaldehyde leads to the expected endo adduct, the reaction with methacrolein leads to exo one in agreement with the experiments. The catalytic effect can be explained through the analysis of the electrophilicity index (ω) of the reagents, and the molecular structure of the corresponding transition structures.
Graphitically encapsulated cobalt nanocrystal assemblies
2010
Graphitically encapsulated cobalt nanocrystal assemblies are chemically prepared by one-pot reaction at380 degrees C followed by a reversed etching process to produce porous graphitic structure for revealing their self-assembling nature.
Modeling of the N-terminal Section and the Lumenal Loop of Trimeric Light Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) by Using EPR
2015
The major light harvesting complex II (LHCII) of green plants plays a key role in the absorption of sunlight, the regulation of photosynthesis, and in preventing photodamage by excess light. The latter two functions are thought to involve the lumenal loop and the N-terminal domain. Their structure and mobility in an aqueous environment are only partially known. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has been used to measure the structure of these hydrophilic protein domains in detergent-solubilized LHCII. A new technique is introduced to prepare LHCII trimers in which only one monomer is spin-labeled. These heterogeneous trimers allow to measure intra-molecular distances within one LHCII mon…
Reversible inhibition of CO2fixation by ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase through the synergic effect of arsenite and a monothiol
2013
The activity of the photosynthetic carbon-fixing enzyme, ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), is partially inhibited by arsenite in the millimolar concentration range. However, micromolar arsenite can fully inhibit Rubisco in the presence of a potentiating monothiol such as cysteine, cysteamine, 2-mercaptoethanol or N-acetylcysteine, but not glutathione. Arsenite reacts specifically with the vicinal Cys172-Cys192 from the large subunit of Rubisco and with the monothiol to establish a ternary complex, which is suggested to be a trithioarsenical. The stability of the complex is strongly dependent on the nature of the monothiol. Enzyme activity is fully recovered through …