The possibility of storing natural enemies at low temperatures is important for the mass production of biological control agents. We evaluated the effect of different periods of cold storage on immature mortality, mummy body mass, lifespan, reproduction and flight capacity of the parasitoid Praon volucre (Haliday). One-day-old mummies of the aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) containing pre-pupae of P. volucre were stored in a climatic chamber at 5°C and 70 ± 10% RH in the dark for different periods of time (5, 10, 15 and 20 days). The control consisted of mummies kept at 22 ± 1°C, 70 ± 10% RH and a 12 h photophase. Percentage adult emergence, mummy body mass, flight capacity and number of eggs in the ovarioles of P. volucre females decreased with increase in the period of storage, while the longevity of females was only slightly affected. Fat content of mummies, percentage of parasitized aphids and survival of progeny to emergence decreased with increase in the period of storage. Storage of P. volucre pre-pupae for up to 5 days at 5°C did not affect any of the above mentioned parameters. The fact that P. volucre pre-pupae can be stored for 5 days without loss of quality and for 10 days with only a slight loss facilitates the planning of mass production and shipment., Juracy Caldeira Lins, Jr. ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
During shock, prognosis of a patient depends largely on intestinal barrier function. The potency of gut epithelium to represent an obstacle to toxins is determined by the blood supply. All established methods of mucosal function determination necessitate the functional involvement of bloodstream. Microdialysis allows monitoring of extracellular substances in the gut submucosa, but its potential use for gut barrier integrity assessment is unknown. Twelve rats underwent perfusion of the descending colon either with 20 % ethanol or control medium (vehicle). Both media contained equal amounts of a radioactive tracer substance (51Cr-EDTA). Mucosal permeability for 51Cr-EDTA was assessed by microdialysate to luminal perfusate activity ratios. Sampling was performed using the colon submucosal microdialysis technique. The group subjected to ethanol treatment had profound macro- and microscopical alterations in perfused colonic segment associated with a significant increase in tracer permeability during ethanol exposure (2.354±0.298 % for ethanol as opposed to 0.209±0.102 % for control group, p<0.01), which remained elevated for 60 min after cessation of ethanol administration (3.352±0.188 % for ethanol compared to 0.140± 0.0838 % for the control group, p<0.001). Submucosal microdialysis with radioactive tracer substance can be considered a feasible and advantageous alternative of gut barrier function estimation. Parallel monitoring of local tissue chemistry with this method remains a challenge in the future., N. Cibiček, H. Živná, Z. Zadák, J. Kulíř, E. Čermáková, V. Palička., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Pearson) plants were grown in growth chambers for 25 days with cadmium (Cd) and then exposed briefly to ozone (O3). Gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, and pigment composition were analysed in leaves at the end of the treatment to assess the effects of a single pollutant and their combination on photosynthesis. The CO2 assimilation rate was dramatically reduced in plants subjected to the combined treatment, while the single effect of Cd appeared less severe than that of O3. The decline of CO2 photoassimilation found in all
O3-exposed plants was attributed to both stomatal and nonstomatal limitations. Tomato plants seemed to detoxify Cd to a great extent, but this resulted in growth suppression. In response to O3 exposure, the plants protected their photosystems by heat dissipation of excess energy via the xanthophyll cycle. Cd combined with O3 affected adversely this cycle resulting in an increase in photosynthetic performance under the same experimental light conditions., E. Degl’Innocenti, A. Castagna, A. Ranieri, L. Guidi., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Drought stress is one of the main environmental factors limiting plant growth and productivity of many crops. Elevated carbon dioxide concentration (eCO2) can ameliorate, mitigate, or compensate for the negative impact of drought on plant growth and enable plants to remain turgid and functional for a longer period. In order to investigate the combined effects of eCO2 and drought stress on photosynthetic performance and leaf structures, we analyzed photosynthetic characteristics and structure and ultrastructure of cucumber leaves. The decline in net photosynthetic rate under moderate drought stress occurred due to stomatal limitation alone, while under severe drought stress, it was the result of stomatal and nonstomatal limitations. Conversely, eCO2 improved photosynthetic performance under moderate drought stress, increased the lengths of the palisade cells and the number of chloroplasts per palisade cell under severe drought stress, and significantly increased the grana thickness under moderate drought stress. Additionally, eCO2 significantly decreased stomatal density, stomatal widths and stomatal aperture on the abaxial surface of leaves under moderate drought stress. In conclusion, eCO2 can alleviate the negative effects of drought stress by improving the drought resistance of cucumber seedlings through stomatal modifications and leaf structure., B. B. Liu, M. Li, Q. M. Li, Q. Q. Cui, W. D. Zhang, X. Z. Ai, H. G. Bi., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Geitlerinema amphibium (BA-13), mat-forming cyanobacterium from the southern Baltic Sea, was grown at three irradiances [5, 65, and 125 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1] and three temperatures (15, 22.5, and 30°C). To determine the effect of the investigated factors and their interaction on culture concentration, pigment content, and photosynthetic parameters of cyanobacterium, factorial experiments and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were carried out. Both chlorophyll (Chl) a and phycobilins (PB) were influenced by the irradiance and temperature, but stronger effect was noted in the case of the former one. Chl a and PB concentration per 100 μm of filament dropped above 4-fold with the increasing irradiance. The ratios between individual carotenoids [β-carotene, zeaxanthin, and myxoxanthophyll (Myx)] and Chl a increased significantly with an increase in the irradiance. The greatest fluctuations were observed in the ratio of Myx to Chl a (above 10-fold). Thus, Myx was suggested as the main photoprotective carotenoid in G. amphibium. Based on photosynthetic light response (PI) curves, two mechanisms of photoacclimation in G. amphibium were recognized: a change of photosynthetic units (PSU) number and a change of PSU size. These two mechanisms constituted the base of significant changes in photosynthetic rate and its parameters, such as the compensation point (PC), the initial slope of photosynthetic curve (α), saturation irradiance (EK), maximal photosynthetic rate (Pmax), and dark respiration rate (RD). The greatest changes were observed in PC values (about 15-fold within the range of the factors tested). Studied parameters showed a wide range of changes, which might indicate G. amphibium ability to acclimatize well to irradiance and temperature, and indirectly might explain the successful growth of cyanobacterium in dynamically changing environmental conditions., S. Jodłowska, A. Latała., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The chilling and light stresses were experimentally created to explore photosynthesis of Fraxinus mandshurica seedlings in northeast China. Net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate decreased significantly with the decline of temperature and light. Significant interaction effects of light and chilling were observed on gas exchange of photosynthesis. The minimal fluorescence yield of the dark-adapted state (F0) increased with increasing light and decreasing temperature. Both high and low light stresses induced the decreases of the maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm), photochemical quenching coefficient (qP), nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ), and electron transport rate. Decline of Fv/Fm and increased F0 were observed under decreasing temperatures. Decreased NPQ and qP at frost temperature suggest that F. mandschurica failed to dissipate excess light energy. No interactive effects of chilling and light on chlorophyll fluorescence parameters suggests that F. mandschurica seedlings might be adapted to combined stresses of light and chilling., X. F. Li, L. Jin, C. Y. Zhu, Y. J. Wen, Y. Wang., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Photoprotective pigments, like those involved in the xanthophyll cycle, help plants avoid oxidative damage caused by excess radiation. This study aims to characterize a spectrum of strategies used to cope with light stress by a diverse group of prairie plants at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (East Bethel, MN). We find that concentrations of photosynthetic and photoprotective pigments are highly correlated with one another and with other physiological traits across species and over time, and tend to be phylogenetically conserved. During a period of water limitation, plots dominated by species with constitutively low pigment concentrations showed a greater decline in mean reflectance and photochemical reflectance index, a reflectance-based indicator of photoprotective physiology, possibly due to alterations in canopy structure. Our findings suggest two contrasting strategies for withstanding light stress: (1) Using photoprotective pigments to dissipate excess energy, and (2) altering canopy structure to minimize absorbance of excess radiation., S. Kothari, J. Cavender-Bares, K. Bitan, A. S. Verhoeven, R. Wang, R. A. Montgomery, J. A. Gamon., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The impact of drought stress (DS) on eight Eurasian and North African genotypes of wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum) was evaluated by analysis of chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence fast induction curves using the JIP-test. Three-week-old, pot-grown plants were exposed to a DS treatment by withholding water for nine days. The genotype-specific impairment of the functionality of the photosynthetic electron transport chain was quantified using the relative decline of the performance indices (PIabs and PItot), two key parameters of the JIP-test. The genotypes showing the highest (HOR10164) and lowest (HOR10710) relative PIs under DS were subjected to additional experiments, including measurements of leaf gas exchange, water status, pigment content, key enzyme activity, and protein abundance. The genotypes showed a specific profile of DS-mediated inhibition of photosynthesis, associated with higher relative leaf water contents in HOR10164 at the end of the treatment. Whereas decreased photosynthetic rate in HOR10164 was mainly caused by stomatal closure, nonstomatal limitations (decreased Rubisco content and activity) were detected in HOR10710. Additional genotype specific features were the upregulation of the NADP-malate dehydrogenase in HOR10164 and a decreased fraction of QA-reducing reaction centers in HOR10710., C. Jedmowski, S. Bayramov, W. Brüggemann., and Obsahuje bibliografii
1_Maternal and grand-maternal photoperiodic responses of Trichogramma buesi, T. embryophagum, T. evanescens, T. piceum, T. principium, and T. telengai were investigated in laboratory conditions. During the experiment, grand-maternal and maternal generations developed at 20°C and one of the 4 photoperiodic regimes: L : D = 12 : 12, 14 : 10, 16 : 8, and 18 : 6 (in total, 16 combinations) while the progeny developed at L : D = 12 : 12 and one of the 3 thermal regimes: 13, 14, and 15°C. The proportion of diapausing individuals in the progeny of all the studied species was significantly dependent on the direct influence of temperature and on the maternal photoperiodic response. The influence of the photoperiodic conditions during development of the grand-maternal generation was statistically significant in 5 of the 6 studied species, being relatively weak in T. embryophagum and T. telengai, whose geographical ranges extend up to north-western regions of Europe (possibly, these wasps enter diapause so early that the grand-mothers of the diapausing generation develop under long day conditions). Comparative analysis showed that the thresholds of the maternal and grand-maternal photoperiodic responses coincided or almost coincided. The grand-maternal effect was stronger in the progeny of maternal females which developed under short day conditions than in those that developed under long day conditions. This pattern of interaction probably synchronizes the life cycle with seasonal changes because diapause is induced under decreasing day length and thus mothers of diapausing individuals develop at shorter daylength than do grand-mothers., 2_We conclude that the grand-maternal and the maternal effects on Trichogramma progeny diapause are based on one and the same photoperiodic response. In nature, the grand-maternal effect increases the proportion of diapausing individuals in the progeny of females which have developed under short day conditions during two generations, thus achieving a "cumulative" photoperiodic effect., Natalia D. Voinovich, Nina P. Vaghina, Sergey Ya. Reznik., and Obsahuje seznam literatury