Bud Tissues Research Articles

Transfer of endogenous small RNAs between branches of scions and rootstocks in grafted sweet cherry trees.

Grafting is a well-established agricultural practice in cherry production for clonal propagation, altered plant vigor and architecture, increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, precocity, and higher yield. Mobile molecules, such as water, hormones, nutrients, DNAs, RNAs, and proteins play essential roles in rootstock-scion interactions. Small RNAs (sRNAs) are 19 to 30-nucleotides (nt) RNA molecules that are a group of mobile signals in plants. Rootstock-to-scion transfer of transgene-derived small interfering RNAs enabled virus resistance in nontransgenic sweet cherry scion. To determine whether there was long-distance scion-to-rootstock transfer of endogenous sRNAs, we compared sRNAs profiles in bud tissues of an ungrafted 'Gisela 6' rootstock, two sweet cherry 'Emperor Francis' scions as well as their 'Gisela 6' rootstocks. Over two million sRNAs were detected in each sweet cherry scion, where 21-nt sRNA (56.1% and 55.8%) being the most abundant, followed by 24-nt sRNAs (13.1% and 12.5%). Furthermore, we identified over three thousand sRNAs that were potentially transferred from the sweet cherry scions to their corresponding rootstocks. In contrast to the sRNAs in scions, among the transferred sRNAs in rootstocks, the most abundant were 24-nt sRNAs (46.3% and 34.8%) followed by 21-nt sRNAs (14.6% and 19.3%). In other words, 21-nt sRNAs had the least transferred proportion out of the total sRNAs in sources (scions) while 24-nt had the largest proportion. The transferred sRNAs were from 574 cherry transcripts, of which 350 had a match from the Arabidopsis thaliana standard protein set. The finding that "DNA or RNA binding activity" was enriched in the transcripts producing transferred sRNAs indicated that they may affect the biological processes of the rootstocks at different regulatory levels. Overall, the profiles of the transported sRNAs and their annotations revealed in this study facilitate a better understanding of the role of the long-distance transported sRNAs in sweet cherry rootstock-scion interactions as well as in branch-to-branch interactions in a tree.

Комплексна оцінка зимостійкості та потенційної морозостійкості деревних ліан родини Vitaceae juss. в умовах інтродукції в правобережному лісостепу України

The purpose of the study was to investigate the winter and frost resistance of introduced woody vines of the Vitaceae family of the genus Ampelopsis Michx. and Parthenocissus Planch. in the conditions of introduction in the city of Kyiv, located in the Right-bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine. The actual winter resistance in the field was determined by establishing the degree of freezing of shoots after the winter, which was calculated by the percentage of the damaged part of its total length. The dependence of the degree of winter resistance on phenological features of seasonal development was defined as the ratio of the duration of vegetation to the duration of shoot growth. Potential frost resistance was determined by setting the biological limit of frost resistance of individual tissues of the medial part of annual shoots by determining the level of their damage as a result of direct freezing at a given temperature. According to the results of the research, we provided comprehensive estimation of winter and frost resistance of the investigated representatives. Research has shown that woody vines of the genus Parthenocissus are characterized by a sufficient level of winter hardiness and potential frost resistance, and members of the genus Ampelopsis – medium and low. Thus, in modern climate change, introduced woody vines of the genus Parthenocissus manifest themselves as plants with a higher degree of winter- and potential frost-resistance than the representatives of the genus Ampelopsis, because after the winter their shoots freeze less, and the tissues of shoots and buds are less exposed to the harmful effects of lowering the temperature. This indicates a high correspondence of the phenorhythmics of their seasonal development to the climatic conditions of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine, timely entry into the dormant period.

Comparative study of hGPR120 receptor self-assembled nano-gold sensor and tissue sensor

GPR120 (FFAR4) is a free fatty acid receptor, which transmits a signal of excess fatty acid. When a person ingests too much fatty acid, free fatty acid appears in the intestine. At this time, it can sense the free fatty acid and thus control a person's appetite. In this study, we constructed three sensors for the detection of 14 natural fatty acids. Then the interconnected allosteric interactions (Ka) of the three sensors are compared, and their dynamics are also studied. The results show that all three receptor sensors can sense 14 fatty acids. And the Pearson correlation coefficient of Ka between the hGPR120 nanogold sensor and the hGPR120 self-assembled taste bud tissue sensor reached 0.966. This indicated that the hGPR120 nanogold sensor could mimick the ability of the hGPR120 receptor to transmit signals to cells and could be used to study intracellular signaling and activation of this receptor. We also found that the surface of the cattle taste bud tissue does’t contain the GPR120 receptor. We could use the differences between human and cattle taste bud tissues to develop self-assembled human receptor sensors to provide novel technologies and detection platforms for human receptor-ligand interaction studies and drug screening.

Effects of culture medium strength and antioxidants on adventitious bud multiplication, hyperhydricity and tissue browning of date palm cv. Aziza Bouzid

The effects of medium strength as well as different antioxidant types and concentrations on adventitious shoot bud multiplication, hyperhydricity and tissue browning of date palm cv. Aziza Bouzid were evaluated. Organogenic cultures of date palm cv. Aziza Bouzid were cultured on semi-solid Murashige and Skoog medium at half-strength (MS/2) or one-third-strength (MS/3), supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 2-naphthoxyacetic acid (NOA), 0.5 mg/L kinetin, and different concentrations of activated charcoal and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The findings of the present study showed that the use MS/3 media resulted in lower hyperhydricity rates than MS/2 media. Besides, activated charcoal significantly reduced tissue browning. The lowest rates of hyperhydricity (35%) and tissue browning (20%) were observed in MS/3 medium supplemented with 1.5 g/L activated charcoal. Interestingly, this culture medium showed also the highest number of adventitious shoot buds per explant (35.20), with a significant difference with all the other media (25.55-30.15 adventitious shoot buds per explant). Increasing the concentration of activated charcoal to 2 g/L did not decreased the browning rate. The use of PVP alone showed tissue browning rates varying from 30 to 55% while combining PVP and activated charcoal showed browning percentages ranging from 20 to 30%. Shoot elongation and rooting were successfully achieved and plantlet were acclimatized and showed normal growth and development under the greenhouse conditions.

Effects of culture medium strength and antioxidants on adventitious bud multiplication, hyperhydricity and tissue browning of date palm cv. Aziza Bouzid

Effects of culture medium strength and antioxidants on adventitious bud multiplication, hyperhydricity and tissue browning of date palm cv. Aziza Bouzid

855 Reconstruction of Severe Burns to the Breast in Pediatric Patients: A Ten-year Experience

Abstract Introduction The breast and anterior chest are the most commonly burned part of the trunk. Burn injuries to the breast can be associated with pain, asymmetries, and significant social stigma. Burns to the breast bud in the young female may inhibit normal breast development, and result in either significant asymmetries or amastia, making the treatment of breast burn injuries challenging. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted on all female patients under the age of 21 years admitted to our institution for breast burn injuries from January 1st 2008 – December 30th 2018.This project was undertaken at our institution as an exempt project under 45 CFR 46.101 and, as such, it was not formally supervised by an Institutional Review Board. Patients were included if they had follow-up reconstructive procedures for breast burn injuries many days after their acute phase treatment. Results Ninety-six patients aged 1 to 20 years have been admitted to our institution with burned breast injuries. The mean age of this cohort (n=96) was 6.4 ±4.8 years with a mean percent TBSA of 36.3 ±21.4 and a mean time since injury from admission of 2279.1 ±2284.1 days. Flame burns (66.8%) were the most common etiology for breast burn injuries, followed by scald burns (22.8%), in this cohort. The mean body mass index was 22.7 ±6.3 kg/m2. Follow up for reconstructive procedures was 7.2 ±5.6 years after injury date. Conclusions Our institution’s ten-year experience of 96 female patients with severe burn injuries has enhanced our understanding of reconstructive techniques. The location, size, anatomic extent, type of deformity, and symmetry must all be assessed before any treatment plans, which may need to include a combination of modalities. Applicability of Research to Practice Most importantly, surgeons must preserve viable breast bud tissue during debridement. Scar contractures should be released once there are signs of breast development, and the scar contracture significantly impairs normal breast development. Treatment of these contractures with a combination of release and grafting, local flaps or tissue expansion can reduce breast asymmetry. Reduction mammoplasty may be used safely in burned female patients with minimal risks, if key principles are followed.

Cold plasma treatment to release dormancy and improve growth in grape buds: a promising alternative to natural chilling and rest breaking chemicals

Winter dormancy of temperate zone perennial plant species is commonly released by chilling temperature. If the duration of the cold weather is not adequate, plant growth becomes disorganized leading to reduced growth, spread out flowering and fruit maturation and often reduced yield. In mild-winter regions, growers commonly resort to spraying their trees with chemicals such as hydrogen cyanamide to compensate for the lack of chilling to ensure good growth and yield. Although effective, most of these chemicals are highly toxic; unfortunately, there is no effective and environmentally friendly alternative which can be used to release dormancy. In this work, we present a cold plasma treatment-based method which can effectively release the dormancy of grape buds. We have found that exposing grape buds to plasma provides improvement of several growth parameters including higher, faster and more synchronous budbreak and more vigorous vegetative growth, comparatively similar to or better than natural chilling. Biochemical analyses of bud tissue suggest that the plasma treatment triggered a marked transient oxidative stress as indicated by the increase in the concentrations of free proline, malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Proline appears to have played a key role; as a compatible osmolyte, it may have protected cellular structures against free radicals and as a signaling molecule, it may have induced the events leading to dormancy release. We anticipate that our work will provide a starting point for the development of novel plasma-based tools and methods to treat dormant plants. The plasma treatment method may allow higher agricultural production in several regions of the world at risk of becoming marginal for the cultivation of certain crops due to global warming.

Callus culture and plantlet regeneration in date palm (Phoneix dactylifera L.): an important horticultural cash crop for arid and semi-arid horticulture.

Phoneix dactylifera L. commonly called date palm is a highly valuable horticultural cash crop for arid and semi-arid regions. The availability of offshoots and their survival during plantation are major concern. Being dioecious tree, seed propagation in date palm do not produce true-to-type offspring and tissue culture propagation is the only viable option to supply quality-planting propagules. Hereby, we report callus culture and plantlet regeneration in female date palm using in vitro-derived adventitious shoot bud tissues as explants. Explants (89.33 ± 2.67%) produced callus culture on 0.8% agar-gelled Murashige and Skoog's basal medium containing 100.0mgl-1 each polyvinylpyrrolidone, ascorbic acid and glutamine, 50.0mgl-1 each citric acid, adenine sulphate and l-arginine as additives, 0.1% activated charcoal (AC), 100mgl-1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 3.0mgl-1 2-isopentenyladenine (2-iP). Callus culture were amplified on medium containing 3.0mgl-1 2-iP along with 50mgl-1 2,4-D for 2 passages and 10mgl-1 2,4-D for 2 passages. Cultures grew moderately, organized and subsequently regenerated into shoot bud like structures during gradual transfer from medium containing higher concentration of 2,4-D to lower concentration. Plantlets were developed by sub-culturing of differentiated buds on (1) hormone free medium supplied with 10.0% sucrose and (2) medium containing 100.0mgl-1 each ascorbic acid and glutamine, 50.0mgl-1 each citric acid, adenine sulphate and l-arginine as additives, 1.0mgl-1 each 6-benzylaminopurine, kinetin, 2-iP and α-naphthaleneacetic acid. Plantlets were developed on medium containing 0.1% AC, 1.0mgl-1 each indole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-butyric acid. Rooted plantlets were soil-transplanted and acclimatized through gradual exposure from in vitro to in vivo conditions. Simple adoption, higher culture regeneration and simultaneous production of rooted plantlets in a cyclic manner render the protocol useful for mass scale propagation of elite genotype of female date palm.

Clove Oil Delays Rather Than Prevents Scur/Horn Growth in Dairy Cattle.

The objective of this study was to evaluate if administration of clove oil prevents scur/horn growth in dairy cattle long term. At approximately 4 days of age, calves had one of four treatments assigned to each horn bud: (1) clove oil administered subcutaneously under the horn bud (CLOV, n = 132); (2) cautery disbudded and the horn bud removed (BUDOFF, n = 126); (3) cautery disbudded and the horn bud tissue left intact (BUDON, n = 129); (4) a liquid nitrogen filled probe applied to the horn bud area (CRYO, n = 131). At approximately 16 months of age, all cattle were checked for scur or horn development. A sub-set of scurs/horns from the CLOV cattle were removed to evaluate tissue and structural development. In total, 5% of CLOV buds developed into horns and 63% into scurs; 10% of the scurs looked like normally developed horns but they were not attached to the skull. Cautery disbudding prevented scur and horn development in cattle when the horn bud tissue was removed, but some scur growth was observed in the BUDON treatment. CRYO was 100% ineffective at preventing scur/horn growth. Injecting clove oil under the horn bud appeared to delay horn development, but not prevent it, when administered to 4 day old dairy calves.

Anatomical Structure of Sepal and Petal of Red Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus Britton & Rose) During Flower Development

Red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus Britton & Rose) is one type of cactus plant which is very potential as an ornamental plant and edible fruit. Flower is organ that play an important role in the process of breeding plants generatively. This reasearch aimed to study the anatomical structure of sepals and petals of red dragon fruit plants during flower development. The research stages included: sepals and petals sampling that held at various stages of flowering ; morphological observation (measurement length of sepals and petals); anatomical slides of sepals and petals cross section using the embedding method, anatomical observation and image capture of sepals and petals. The parameters observed were bud size, sepal length, petal length, sepal thickness, petal thickness, and tissue description composed. The results of this study indicated that buds have an increased development pattern. The increase in bud size is directly proportional to the stage of the bud. Sepal and petal are composed of epidermal tissue which form papillae, cryptophore stomata, secretory parenchyma space containing mucus, and tissues transport system is closed collateral.

Depletion of KNL2 Results in Altered Expression of Genes Involved in Regulation of the Cell Cycle, Transcription, and Development in Arabidopsis.

Centromeres contain specialized nucleosomes at which histone H3 is partially replaced by the centromeric histone H3 variant cenH3 that is required for the assembly, maintenance, and proper function of kinetochores during mitotic and meiotic divisions. Previously, we identified a KINETOCHORE NULL 2 (KNL2) of Arabidopsis thaliana that is involved in the licensing of centromeres for the cenH3 recruitment. We also demonstrated that a knockout mutant for KNL2 shows mitotic and meiotic defects, slower development, reduced growth rate, and fertility. To analyze an effect of KNL2 mutation on global gene transcription of Arabidopsis, we performed RNA-sequencing experiments using seedling and flower bud tissues of knl2 and wild-type plants. The transcriptome data analysis revealed a high number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in knl2 plants. The set was enriched in genes involved in the regulation of the cell cycle, transcription, development, and DNA damage repair. In addition to comprehensive information regarding the effects of KNL2 mutation on the global gene expression, physiological changes in plants are also presented, which provides an integrated understanding of the critical role played by KNL2 in plant growth and development.

Identification of a Sidwf1 gene controlling short internode length trait in the sesame dwarf mutant dw607.

SiDWF1 encodes a gibberellin receptor GID1B-like protein controlling the internode length and plant height in sesame. Sesame is a high-height crop. Here we systematically analyzed the morphological and genetic characters of the sesame dwarf mutant dw607 (dwf1 type). The plant height and the internode length of dw607 significantly declined, while the thousand seed weight (TSW) significantly increased (P < 0.01). The cell size of stem parenchyma and pith tissue reduced, and vascular bundle cells and parenchyma tissue arranged much tighter in the dwarf mutant. Based on the cross-population association mapping of a RIL population of the cross 'dw607 (dwf1) × 15N41 (wt type),' the target interval linked to the short internode length was located on C9.scaffold2 of SiChr.4 in sesame. We further screened the 58 variants using the genomic variant data of 824 germplasm and BSA DNA pools and determined the target gene Sidwf1. The SNP mutation of C1057 to T1057 resulted in the amino acid change of P150 (proline) to S150 (serine) in SiDWF1. SiDWF1 gene allele is 1,638bp and encodes a gibberellin receptor GID1B-like protein. Transcription profile assay reflected that Sidwf1 is highly expressed in leaf, stem, bud, and capsule tissues. The dynamic variation in endogenous GA3 content in dw607 and the wild type was also monitored in this study. The results revealed the molecular genetic mechanism of the internode length and plant height trait in sesame for the first time. The findings supply the theoretical and material basis for developing the marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding in sesame.

X-ray phase contrast imaging of Vitis spp. buds shows freezing pattern and correlation between volume and cold hardiness

Grapevine (Vitis spp.) buds must survive winter temperatures in order to resume growth when suitable conditions return in spring. They do so by developing cold hardiness through deep supercooling, but the mechanistic process of supercooling in buds remains largely unknown. Here we use synchrotron X-ray phase contrast imaging to study cold hardiness-related characteristics of V. amurensis, V. riparia, and V. vinifera buds: time-resolved 2D imaging was used to visualize freezing; and microtomography was used to evaluate morphological changes during deacclimation. Bud cold hardiness was determined (low temperature exotherms; LTEs) using needle thermocouples during 2D imaging as buds were cooled with a N2 gas cryostream. Resolution in 2D imaging did not allow for ice crystal identification, but freezing was assessed by movement of tissues coinciding with LTE values. Freezing was observed to propagate from the center of the bud toward the outer bud scales. The freezing events observed lasted several minutes. Additionally, loss of supercooling ability appears to be correlated with increases in bud tissue volume during the process of deacclimation, but major increases in volume occur after most of the supercooling ability is lost, suggesting growth resumption processes are limited by deacclimation state.

Pathogens and Molds Affecting Production and Quality of Cannabis sativa L.

Plant pathogens infecting marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) plants reduce growth of the crop by affecting the roots, crown, and foliage. In addition, fungi (molds) that colonize the inflorescences (buds) during development or after harvest, and which colonize internal tissues as endophytes, can reduce product quality. The pathogens and molds that affect C. sativa grown hydroponically indoors (in environmentally controlled growth rooms and greenhouses) and field-grown plants were studied over multiple years of sampling. A PCR-based assay using primers for the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of ribosomal DNA confirmed identity of the cultures. Root-infecting pathogens included Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Fusarium brachygibbosum, Pythium dissotocum, Pythium myriotylum, and Pythium aphanidermatum, which caused root browning, discoloration of the crown and pith tissues, stunting and yellowing of plants, and in some instances, plant death. On the foliage, powdery mildew, caused by Golovinomyces cichoracearum, was the major pathogen observed. On inflorescences, Penicillium bud rot (caused by Penicillium olsonii and Penicillium copticola), Botrytis bud rot (Botrytis cinerea), and Fusarium bud rot (F. solani, F. oxysporum) were present to varying extents. Endophytic fungi present in crown, stem, and petiole tissues included soil-colonizing and cellulolytic fungi, such as species of Chaetomium, Trametes, Trichoderma, Penicillium, and Fusarium. Analysis of air samples in indoor growing environments revealed that species of Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Beauveria, and Trichoderma were present. The latter two species were the result of the application of biocontrol products for control of insects and diseases, respectively. Fungal communities present in unpasteurized coconut (coco) fiber growing medium are potential sources of mold contamination on cannabis plants. Swabs taken from greenhouse-grown and indoor buds pre- and post-harvest revealed the presence of Cladosporium and up to five species of Penicillium, as well as low levels of Alternaria species. Mechanical trimming of buds caused an increase in the frequency of Penicillium species, presumably by providing entry points through wounds or spreading endophytes from pith tissues. Aerial distribution of pathogen inoculum and mold spores and dissemination through vegetative propagation are important methods of spread, and entry through wound sites on roots, stems, and bud tissues facilitates pathogen establishment on cannabis plants.

Nexus Between Spermidine and Floral Organ Identity and Fruit/Seed Set in Tomato.

Polyamines (PAs) constituting putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), and spermine (Spm) are ubiquitous in all organisms and play essential roles in the growth and developmental processes in living organisms, including plants. Evidences obtained through genetic, biochemical, and transgenic approaches suggest a tight homeostasis for cellular PA levels. Altered cellular PA homeostasis is associated with abnormal phenotypes. However, the mechanisms involved for these abnormalities are not yet fully understood, nor is it known whether cellular ratios of different polyamines play any role(s) in specific plant processes. We expressed a yeast spermidine synthase gene (ySpdSyn) under a constitutive promoter CaMV35S in tomato and studied the different phenotypes that developed. The constitutive expression of ySpdSyn resulted in variable flower phenotypes in independent transgenic lines, some of which lacked fruit and seed set. Quantification of PA levels in the developing flowers showed that the transgenic plants without fruit and seed set had significantly reduced Spd levels as well as low Spd/Put ratio compared to the transgenic lines with normal fruit and seed set. Transcript levels of SlDELLA, GA-20oxidase-1, and GA-3oxidase-2, which impact gibberellin (GA) metabolism and signaling, were significantly reduced in bud tissue of transgenic lines that lacked fruit and seed set. These findings indicate that PAs, particularly Spd, impact floral organ identity and fruit set in tomato involving GA metabolism and signaling. Furthermore, we suggest that a nexus exists between PA ratios and developmental programs in plants.

The regulatory landscape of a core maize domestication module controlling bud dormancy and growth repression

Many domesticated crop plants have been bred for increased apical dominance, displaying greatly reduced axillary branching compared to their wild ancestors. In maize, this was achieved through selection for a gain-of-function allele of the TCP transcription factor teosinte branched1 (tb1). The mechanism for how a dominant Tb1 allele increased apical dominance, is unknown. Through ChIP seq, RNA seq, hormone and sugar measurements on 1 mm axillary bud tissue, we identify the genetic pathways putatively regulated by TB1. These include pathways regulating phytohormones such as gibberellins, abscisic acid and jasmonic acid, but surprisingly, not auxin. In addition, metabolites involved in sugar sensing such as trehalose 6-phosphate were increased. This suggests that TB1 induces bud suppression through the production of inhibitory phytohormones and by reducing sugar levels and energy balance. Interestingly, TB1 also putatively targets several other domestication loci, including teosinte glume architecture1, prol1.1/grassy tillers1, as well as itself. This places tb1 on top of the domestication hierarchy, demonstrating its critical importance during the domestication of maize from teosinte.

Expression of Oncofetal Antigen 5T4 in Murine Taste Papillae.

Background: Multicellular taste buds located within taste papillae on the tongue mediate taste sensation. In taste papillae, taste bud cells (TBCs), such as taste receptor cells and taste precursor cells, and the surrounding lingual epithelium including epithelial progenitors (also called taste stem/progenitor cells) are maintained by continuous cell turnover throughout life. However, it remains unknown how the cells constituting taste buds proliferate and differentiate to maintain taste bud tissue. Based on in situ hybridization (ISH) screening, we demonstrated that the oncofetal antigen 5T4 (also known as trophoblast glycoprotein: TPBG) gene is expressed in the adult mouse tongue.Results: In immunohistochemistry of coronal tongue sections, 5T4 protein was detected at a low level exclusively in the basal part of the lingual epithelium in developing and adult mice, and at a high level particularly in foliate papillae and circumvallate papillae (CVPs). Furthermore, immunohistochemistry of the basal part of CVPs indicated that the proliferation marker PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) co-localized with 5T4. 5T4 was strongly expressed in Krt5+ epithelial progenitors and Shh+ taste precursor cells, but weakly in mature taste receptor cells. The number of proliferating cells in the CVP was higher in 5T4-knockout mice than in wild-type (WT) mice, while neither cell differentiation nor the size of taste buds differed between these two groups of mice. Notably, X-ray irradiation enhanced cell proliferation more in 5T4-knockout mice than in WT mice.Conclusion: Our results suggest that 5T4, expressed in epithelial progenitors (taste stem/progenitor cells), and taste precursor cells, may influence the maintenance of taste papillae under both normal and injury conditions.

Calcium dynamics of reproductive apple buds during the dormant season in the Western Cape, South Africa

Calcium (Ca) deficiency in apples results in unwanted physical disorders in mature fruit that reduce fruit value. Ca deficiency associated with bitter pit is already prevalent early in the season, as it is initiated a few weeks after full bloom. Information regarding Ca concentration in reproductive buds or bud tissues is lacking, thus we investigated the Ca concentration in reproductive buds of the bitter pit susceptible ‘Braeburn’ and non-susceptible ‘Cripps Pink’ apple cultivars during the dormant season. Wavelength-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (WD SEM) was used to quantify total Ca concentration of parenchyma and vascular tissues, from June to September, for two seasons (2012 and 2014). Results showed a changing trend in Ca concentration from June to September for total Ca concentration and between cultivars. Total Ca concentration was the highest in ‘Cripps Pink’ during the whole period and related to the non-susceptibly to Ca related disorders. Ca concentration in ‘Cripps Pink’ declined towards September in contrast with the increasing trend of ‘Braeburn’. This may indicate that the total Ca concentration of the buds, and not the change of Ca concentration in buds during winter, is associated with a higher Ca status of fruit on non-susceptible cultivars. The actual Ca concentration of ‘Cripps Pink’ at the end of August was still higher than that of ‘Braeburn’. Results may be explained partly by the time of primary xylem formation in the bud, which happens earlier in ‘Cripps Pink’, as well as the associated increase in Ca translocation, indicating the role of generic differences between cultivars, contributing towards final changes in the inherent Ca concentration at the beginning of the dormant season.

Cloning and Expression Analysis of the ScD53 Gene from Sugarcane

D53 is a crucial gene involved in tillering regulation in crops via the strigolactone signaling pathway. The objective of our research was to clone the homologous sugarcane (Saccharum L. spp. hybrids) gene of D53 (ScD53) by in silico cloning combined with RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends techniques, and the physicochemical properties and structure of ScD53 protein were analyzed using bioinformatic software and tools. The relationships between the expression of ScD53 and some plant hormones, bud germination and tillering occurrence of seedlings were also detected using the real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR) technique. The homolog was named ScD53 and possessed a 3918-bp cDNA sequence. Bioinformatic analysis showed that ScD53 has a complete open reading frame of 3363 bp that encodes 1120 amino acid residues. The ScD53 protein possesses the conserved domain of the P-loop NTPase and ClpB_D2-small superfamilies, which may be unstable hydrophilic proteins and are likely to be located in the nucleus. The main secondary and tertiary structures of the ScD53 protein are composed of random coil and alpha helix structures and exhibit high similarity in structure and homology with D53 proteins from sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and maize (Zea mays L.). The FQ-PCR results showed that the expression of ScD53 is tissue specific and is differently expressed in the different tissues. The expression of ScD53 is associated with bud germination, the high expression of which inhibits bud germination. Plant hormone treatment experiments indicated that the expressions of ScD53 were induced in bud and leaf tissues by strigolactones, 3-indole acetic acid and kinetin (KT, a cytokinin analog). The high expression of ScD53 following strigolactone and auxin treatment obviously delayed occurrence of tillers and reduced the number of tillers for the seedlings. However, this was not observed during KT treatment, which implied that the negative effects of this gene on seedlings tillering phenotype were eliminated by the positive influences of other unknown pathways. Our results above help elucidate the function of ScD53 and provide important information and direction for the use of this gene in improving sugarcane yield through tiller regulation.

Intrauterine low-protein diet disturbs metanephric gene expression and induces urinary tract developmental abnormalities in mice

Intrauterine low-protein diet can affect kidney development and hence final nephron number. In this study, we reported that intrauterine low-protein diet can cause congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) phenotypes, which was dominated by the duplicated collecting system phenotype. At the same time, ectopic ureteric buds were increased under intrauterine low-protein diet and the number of UB branches was reduced in the serum-free culture. Intrauterine low-protein diet can change metanephric gene expression. Slit2/Robo2 and Spry1 expression levels were decreased, Ret expression was increased, and downstream p-Akt activity enhanced with apoptosis abnormal in ureteric bud tissue, which may be the mechanisms that intrauterine low-protein diet causes increased incidence of CAKUT in offspring. Thus, we showed correlation between intrauterine low-protein diet and CAKUT in offspring.