1. |
- Andreazza, N, et al.
(author)
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Production of imidazole alkaloids in cell cultures of jaborandi as affected by the medium pH
- 2009
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In: Biotechnology letters. - : Springer. - 0141-5492 .- 1573-6776. ; 31:4, s. 607-614
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The effect of pH (from 4.8 to 9.8) on the production of pilosine and pilocarpine and on their partition between cell and medium was studied in two lineages (P and PP) of Pilocarpus microphyllus cell suspension cultures. Highest mass accumulation was observed at high pHs and both lineages produced pilocarpine while only lineage PP produced pilosine. Both alkaloids were released in the medium but higher accumulation occurred in the cells. The highest production of pilocarpine was at pH 8.8-9.8 in both cell lineages. Other imidazole alkaloids were also identified in both lineages. At all pHs tested, the pH in the media cultures tended to stabilize around 6 after 10-15 days of cultivation. NO(3) (-) and NH(4) (+) variation in the media might partially explain the pH stabilization.
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2. |
- Bergqvist, AS, et al.
(author)
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Detection of the hyaluronan receptor CD44 in the bovine oviductal epithelium
- 2005
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In: Journal of reproduction and development. - Ibaraki , Japan : Society for Reproduction and Development. - 0916-8818 .- 1348-4400. ; 51:4, s. 445-453
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Hyaluronan is involved in fundamental reproductive events such as sperm storage in the female reproductive tract, fertilization, and early embryo development, these functions are presumably mediated by its major cell surface receptor, CD44. The present study was conducted to investigate the presence and localization of CD44 in the bovine oviductal epithelium, using immunohistochemical and Western blot methods on tissue sections and epithelial cell extracts collected from the uterotubal junction (UTJ), isthmus, and ampulla of animals in the oestrus or luteal phase of the oestrous cycle. While positive immunolabelling for CD44 was found on the ad-luminal surface and supra-nuclear region of epithelial cells in all tubal segments investigated, in the UTJ, there were epithelial cells in which the entire cytoplasm positively stained. We found no differences in terms of CD44-positive staining between the different stages of the oestrous cycle. Presence of CD44 was detected by Western blotting in the tubal epithelium as a single band at 200 kDa. Although it appeared in all tubal segments, the expression of CD44 protein was more accentuated in the sperm reservoir (UTJ) than in the other segments. This is the first time CD44 has been detected in the epithelium of the tubal sperm reservoir in cattle, suggesting a pathway for the action of hyaluronan in this segment.
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3. |
- Crutsinger, G M, et al.
(author)
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Ecosystem retrogression leads to increased insect abundance and herbivory across an island chronosequence
- 2008
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In: Functional Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0269-8463 .- 1365-2435. ; 22:5, s. 816-823
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 1. Ecosystem retrogression, the decline-phase of ecosystem development, occurs during the long-term absence of catastrophic disturbance. It usually involves increased nutrient limitation over time, and leads to reductions in primary productivity, decomposition, and nutrient cycling.2. As a consequence, retrogression can alter the quality and abundance of host plants as food resources, but little is known about how these changes influence herbivore densities and foliage consumption.3. In this study, we used a 5000-year-old chronosequence of forested islands in northern Sweden on which retrogression occurs in the absence of lightning-induced wildfire. We asked whether retrogression affected the abundance and herbivory of a dominant herbivorous weevil (Deporaus betulae) and the quality and productivity of a dominant host-tree, mountain birch (Betula pubescens).4. Betula pubescens trees on retrogressed islands were less productive and produced smaller, tougher leaves that were lower in nutrients and higher in secondary metabolites than did those trees on earlier-successional islands.5. Despite the lower density and what ecologists might perceive as poorer quality of host plants, we observed several-fold higher weevil abundance and damage on retrogressed islands. This suggests that weevils might prefer the poorer quality leaves with higher secondary metabolites that occur on nutrient stressed host trees.6. Our results show that ecosystem retrogression increases susceptibility of B. pubescens trees to attack by herbivorous weevils.7. Our study provides evidence that ecosystem retrogression and associated shifts in the quantity and quality of available resources can operate as an important driver of abundance of a dominant insect herbivore.
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4. |
- Geibler, Justus von, et al.
(author)
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Accounting for the social dimension of sustainability: experiences from the biotechnology industry
- 2006
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In: Business Strategy and the Environment. - : Wiley. - 1099-0836 .- 0964-4733. ; 15:5, s. 334-346
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Accounting for the social dimension of sustainability proves to be a challenge for corporate practitioners, due to its intangible, qualitative nature and lack of consensus on relevant criteria. We suggest a semi-quantitative approach based on stakeholder involvement to identify relevant aspects for a sector specific assessment of the social dimension. Our case study on biotechnology illustrates that the dialogue with internal and external stakeholders enabled the creation of a key performance indicator (KPI) set to account for social sustainability in the early design stages of biotechnological processes and product development. Indicators for eight aspects are identified for the social assessment: health and safety, quality of working conditions, impact on employment, education and training, knowledge management, innovation potential, customer acceptance and societal product benefit, and social dialogue. We describe the integration of the KPI set in a software application, tailor made for practitioners of the sector, and highlight first user experiences. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
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5. |
- Olivain, C, et al.
(author)
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Colonization of tomato root by pathogenic and nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum strains inoculated together and separately into the soil
- 2006
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In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. - 0099-2240 .- 1098-5336. ; 72:2, s. 1523-1531
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In soil, fungal colonization of plant roots has been traditionally studied by indirect methods such as microbial isolation that do not enable direct observation of infection sites or of interactions between fungal pathogens and their antagonists. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to visualize the colonization of tomato roots in heat-treated soil and to observe the interactions between a nonpathogenic strain, Fo47, and a pathogenic strain, Fo18, inoculated onto tomato roots in soil. When inoculated separately, both fungi colonized the entire root surface, with the exception of the apical zone. When both strains were introduced together, they both colonized the root surface and were observed at the same locations. When Fo47 was introduced at a higher concentration than Fo18, it colonized much of the root surface, but hyphae of Fo18 could still be observed at the same location on the root. There was no exclusion of the pathogenic strain by the presence of the nonpathogenic strain. These results are not consistent with the hypothesis that specific infection sites exist on the root for Fusarium oxysporum and instead support the hypothesis that competition occurs for nutrients rather than for infection sites.
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6. |
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7. |
- Ahad, Abdul, et al.
(author)
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Actin is bundled in activation-tagged tobacco mutants that tolerate aluminum
- 2007
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In: Planta. - New York : Springer. - 0032-0935 .- 1432-2048. ; 225:2, s. 451-468
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A panel of aluminum-tolerant (AlRes) mutants was isolated by protoplast-based T-DNA activation tagging in the tobacco cultivar SR1. The mutants fell into two phenotypic classes: a minority of the mutants were fertile and developed similarly to the wild type (type I), the majority was male-sterile and grew as semi-dwarfs (type II). These traits, along with the aluminum tolerance, were inherited in a monogenic dominant manner. Both types of mutants were characterized by excessive bundling of actin microfilaments and by a strongly increased abundance of actin, a phenotype that could be partially phenocopied in the wild type by treatment with aluminum chloride. The actin bundles could be dissociated into finer strands by addition of exogenous auxin in both types of mutants. However, actin microfilaments and leaf expansion were sensitive to blockers of actin assembly in the wild type and in the mutants of type I, whereas they were more tolerant in the mutants of type II. The mutants of type II displayed a hypertrophic development of vasculature, manifest in form of supernumerary leaf veins and extended xylem layers in stems and petioles. Whereas mutants of type I were characterized by a normal, but aluminum-tolerant polar auxin-transport, auxin-transport was strongly promoted in the mutants of type II. The phenotype of these mutants is discussed in terms of reduced endocytosis leading, concomitantly with aluminum tolerance, to changes in polar auxin transport.
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8. |
- Andersson-Gunneras, S., et al.
(author)
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Biosynthesis of cellulose-enriched tension wood in Populus : global analysis of transcripts and metabolites identifies biochemical and developmental regulators in secondary wall biosynthesis
- 2006
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In: The Plant Journal. - Malden : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0960-7412 .- 1365-313X. ; 45:2, s. 144-165
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Stems and branches of angiosperm trees form tension wood (TW) when exposed to a gravitational stimulus. One of the main characteristics of TW, which distinguishes it from normal wood, is the formation of fibers with a thick inner gelatinous cell wall layer mainly composed of crystalline cellulose. Hence TW is enriched in cellulose, and deficient in lignin and hemicelluloses. An expressed sequence tag library made from TW-forming tissues in Populus tremula (L.) x tremuloides (Michx.) and data from transcript profiling using microarray and metabolite analysis were obtained during TW formation in Populus tremula (L.) in two growing seasons. The data were examined with the aim of identifying the genes responsible for the change in carbon
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9. |
- Aspeborg, Henrik, et al.
(author)
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Carbohydrate-active enzymes involved in the secondary cell wall biogenesis in hybrid aspen
- 2005
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In: Plant Physiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0032-0889 .- 1532-2548. ; 137:3, s. 983-997
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Wood formation is a fundamental biological process with significant economic interest. While lignin biosynthesis is currently relatively well understood, the pathways leading to the synthesis of the key structural carbohydrates in wood fibers remain obscure. We have used a functional genomics approach to identify enzymes involved in carbohydrate biosynthesis and remodeling during xylem development in the hybrid aspen Populus tremula x tremuloides. Microarrays containing cDNA clones from different tissue-specific libraries were hybridized with probes obtained from narrow tissue sections prepared by cryosectioning of the developing xylem. Bioinformatic analyses using the sensitive tools developed for carbohydrate-active enzymes allowed the identification of 25 xylem-specific glycosyltransferases belonging to the Carbohydrate-Active EnZYme families GT2, GT8, GT14, GT31, GT43, GT47, and GT61 and nine glycosidases (or transglycosidases) belonging to the Carbohydrate-Active EnZYme families GH9, GH10, GH16, GH17, GH19, GH28, GH35, and GH51. While no genes encoding either polysaccharide lyases or carbohydrate esterases were found among the secondary wall-specific genes, one putative O-acetyltransferase was identified. These wood-specific enzyme genes constitute a valuable resource for future development of engineered fibers with improved performance in different applications.
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10. |
- Aspeborg, Henrik, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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Vegetabile material, plants and a method of producing a plant having altered lignin properties
- 2008
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Patent (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- The present invention is related to a set of genes, which when modified in plants gives altered lignin properties. The invention provides DNA construct such as a vector useful in the method of the invention. Further, the invention relates to a plant cell or plant progeny of the plants and wood produced by the plants according to the invention Lower lignin levels will result in improved saccharification for bio-refining and ethanol production and improved pulp and paper. Increased lignin levels will utilise lignin properties for energy production. The genes and DNA constructs may be used for the identification of plants having altered lignin characteristics as compared to the wild-type. According to the invention genes and DNA constructs may also be used as candidate genes in marker assisted breeding.
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