Search results for "engineer"

2019

Street greeneries and other green spaces within the urban matrix can potentially reduce air pollution and increase urban biodiversity. Yet, these services can be negatively affected by anthropogenic stress factors. In the boreo-nemoral zone, large amounts of salts are spread each year for deicing the pavement. To address the effect of deicing salt on street lines of lime trees and how this cascades up to influence the surrounding arthropod biodiversity, we compared heavily salt-polluted and less polluted sites in the city of Riga, Latvia. We analyzed the impairment of foliar functions and development of aphids’ colonies using a common garden experiment. We found marked variation in the soil…

Boolean computation in plants using post-translational genetic control and a visual output signal

2018

[EN] Due to autotrophic growing capacity and extremely rich secondary metabolism, plants should be preferred targets of synthetic biology. However, developments in plants usually run below those in other taxonomic groups. In this work we engineered genetic circuits capable of logic YES, OR and AND Boolean computation in plant tissues with a visual output signal. The circuits, which are deployed by means of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, perform with the conditional activity of the MYB transcription factor Roseal from Antirrhinum majus inducing the accumulation of anthocyanins, plant endogenous pigments that are directly visible to the naked eye or accurately quantifiable by spectrophotometric a…

Effect of fruit-set time on the quality performance of Anona cherimola Mill. fruit in south italy

2019

Abstract The aim of this work was to analyse the differences between fruits obtained by different dates of fruit set and identify the proper fruit-set time that allows to obtain the optimum fruit quality in Annona cherimola cv Fino de Jete, planted in Southern Italy. Six fruit-set dates were selected from the first week of June to the second week of July. Fruits were sampled from October to November, when 1500 Growing Degree Days (DD) were accumulated; The DD were calculated using a base temperature of 12 °C. Fruit fresh weight (FW) and skin colour were measured. These parameters were measured also after storage, and in addition, the following parameters were measured: fruit shape (FS), pul…

Molecule structural factors influencing the loading of flavoring compounds in a natural-preformed capsule: Yeast cells

2016

International audience; Yeast cells are efficient microcapsules for the encapsulation of flavoring compounds. However, as they are preformed capsules, they have to be loaded with the active. Encapsulation efficiency is to a certain level correlated with LogP. In this study, the effect of structural factors on the encapsulation of amphiphilic flavors was investigated. Homological series of carboxylic acids, ethyl esters, lactones, alcohols and ketones were encapsulated into the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. Although, in a single homological series, the length of the molecule and thus the LogP were correlated with encapsulation efficiency (EY%), big differences were observable between series. Fo…

Enhancing heterologous protein expression and secretion in HEK293 cells by means of combination of CMV promoter and IFNα2 signal peptide

2016

Efficient production and secretion of recombinant proteins in mammalian cell lines relies in a combination of genetic, metabolic and culture strategy factors. The present work assesses the influence of two key genetic components of expression vectors (promoter and signal peptide) on protein production and secretion effciency in HEK293 cells expressing eGFP as a reporter protein. Firstly, the strength of 3 different promoters was evaluated using transient expression methods. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that the highest level of intracellular protein expression was found when eGFP was under the control of CMV promoter, being 3-times higher in comparison to the rest of the promoters teste…

Modelling nonlinear dynamics of Crassulacean acid metabolism productivity and water use for global predictions

2021

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) crops are important agricultural commodities in water-limited environments across the globe, yet modeling of CAM productivity lacks the sophistication of widely used C3 and C4 crop models, in part due to the complex responses of the CAM cycle to environmental conditions. This work builds on recent advances in CAM modeling to provide a framework for estimating CAM biomass yield and water use efficiency from basic principles. These advances, which integrate the CAM circadian rhythm with established models of carbon fixation, stomatal conductance, and the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, are coupled to models of light attenuation, plant respiration, and bioma…

Assessment of genetically modified maize MON 87403 for food and feed uses, import and processing, under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 (application EFS…

2018

GMO; maize (Zea mays); MON 87403; ear biomass; Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003; International audience; aize MON 87403 was developed to increase ear biomass at early reproductive phase through the expression of a modified AtHB17 gene from Arabidopsis thaliana, encoding a plant transcription factor of the HD-Zip II family. The molecular characterisation data and bioinformatic analyses did not identify issues requiring assessment for food and feed safety. No statistically significant differences in the agronomic and phenotypic characteristics tested between maize MON 87403 and its conventional counterpart were identified. The compositional analysis of maize MON 87403 did not identify differences…

Effect of Nanoaquacitrates on Physiological Parameters of Fodder Galega Infected with Phytoplasma

2018

AbstractThe laboratory experiments have been found that soaking seedsGalega orientalisL. (Fodder galega) in nanoaquacitrates solutions of Mn (10 and 20 mg/dm3), Mo (4 mg/dm3) and Mg (2 and 4 mg/dm3), has been lead to germination energy rise, while Mn (10 and 20 mg/dm3) and Mo (4 mg/dm3) concentrations has been influenced germinating ability. At the same time, the soaking seeds in solution of nanoaquacitrates Mn (20 mg/dm3) had the biggest stimulatory effect on the accumulation 7 daily sprouts mass (on 18%). It has been shown that soaking seeds in nanoparticles Mn and Mo solutions leads to the increase of catalase activities (especially under the influence of manganese) and peroxidase activi…

Clone-Dependent Expression of Esca Disease Revealed by Leaf Metabolite Analysis

2019

International audience; Grapevine trutk diseases, especially Esca, are of major concern since they gradually alter vineyards worldwide and cause heavy economic losses. The expression of Esca disease symptoms depends on several factors, including the grapevine cultivar. In this context, a possible clone-dependent expression of the Esca disease was studied. Two clones of 'Chardonnay' grown in the same plot were compared according to their developmental and physiological traits, metabolome, and foliar symptom expression. Analysis of their leaf metabolome highlighted differences related to symptom expression. Interestingly, the content of a few specific metabolites exhibited opposite variations…

Effect of weak magnetic fields on the in vitro propagation of Genista aetnensis (Raf. Ex Biv.) Dc.

2017

Over the years, many studies have emphasized the importance of the magnetic fields (MF), used as a safe alternative choice to improve agricultural production. The induction effect of different magnetic fields varies depending on the species, explants typology, intensity of magnetic field and period of exposure. The aim of the present study was to investigate the application of a continuous magnetic field induction, at different exposure times, as a production enhancement for in vitro culture of Genista aetnensis, an endemic shrub commonly named 'Mount Etna broom'. An in vitro protocol has been settled for the conservation of the species. Plantlets cultured onto a solified Murashige and Skoo…