scholarly journals Morphological, anatomical, and ultrastructural changes in Vaccinium corymbosum fruits during ontogeny

Botany ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (9) ◽  
pp. 589-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agata Konarska

Given their attractive appearance and flavour, as well as high antioxidant content, Vaccinium corymbosum L. fruits are greatly appreciated by consumers. These quality traits are primarily dependent on pomological characteristics of the cultivar. Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Bluecrop’ is one of the most popular and valuable cultivars of highbush blueberry; however, its fruits become soft shortly after harvesting. Changes in the fruit structure and in the content of phenolic compounds and, in particular, emergence of some traits related to fruit firmness and shelf life, were analysed in the surface layers of ‘Bluecrop’ fruits from the stage of flowering through the fruit set stage to harvest maturity using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The study involved investigations of qualitative and quantitative changes in the development and microstructure of epicuticular wax, cuticle, epidermis, hypodermis, and stone cells, and analysis of the presence of tannins and anthocyanins. Moreover, it was found that the development of many traits associated with fruit firmness and shelf life started in the initial period of ontogeny. These results can be useful for the researchers developing new cultivars in detection of early manifestations of developmental features of specific quality traits and in comparative analyses of blueberry cultivars differing in fruit firmness and shelf life.

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1987-1991
Author(s):  
Rakesh Kumar ◽  
H. R. Sharma ◽  
Manish Kumar

A study was conducted in tomato using an 6 x 6 diallel crossing design excluding reciprocals to quantify the magnitude of heterosis and to identify the best heterotic combinations for post harvest and nutritional quality attributes viz. pericarp thickness (mm), fruit firmness (g/0.503 cm2), shelf life (days), total soluble solids (oBrix), lycopene content (mg/100g) and ascorbic acid (mg/100g) which are considered essential in present day hybrid varieties of tomato from consumer point of view. All the 22 entries (6 parents, 15 F1 hybrids and 1 standard check) were field evaluated using randomized complete block design with three replications during Kharif 2015-16. Highly significant heterosis (5% level of significance) of positive nature was found for pericarp thickness (22.90%, 32.20% and 5.62%), fruit firmness (17.32%, 56.72% and 9.21%), shelf life (17.54%, 24.87% and 9.57%), total soluble solids (24.44%, 51.44% and 34.20%), lycopene content (28.75%, 35.05% and 25.63%) and ascorbic acid (19.07%,30.00% and 17.85%) over the better, mid and standard check, respectively. Three promising crosses viz., Solan Lalima x EC-1055, Solan Lalima x EC-1057 and Solan Lalima x EC-1058 were identified as high yielding F1 combinations having superiority to post harvest and nutritional quality traits in tomato and can be promoted for release and commercial cultivation.


Agronomy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Ceccarelli ◽  
Brian Farneti ◽  
Christine Frisina ◽  
David Allen ◽  
Irene Donati ◽  
...  

Peach market is facing a constant decrease due to the poor fruit quality perceived at consumption that might be greatly affected by fruit ripening stage at harvest and by the post-harvest management. The present work aimed at clarifying the influence of maturity at harvest on the evolution of peach aroma and quality during shelf-life after prolonged cold storage. “August Flame” peaches were harvested at three maturity stages, determined based on IAD (index of absorption difference) and ethylene emission. Fruit quality traits (firmness, soluble solids, titratable acidity), ethylene and volatile organic compound (VOC) emission were monitored during for four weeks of cold storage (0 °C). Every week of cold storage was followed by 6 days of shelf-life (18 °C). Ripening segregation at harvest based on IAD was successful since each maturity classes significantly differed based on all quality traits. Cold storage enhanced the aroma development of ‘August Flame’ peach, primarily by increasing the emission of esters and lactones associated with pleasant aroma. Moreover, cold storage also reduced the differences in aroma between the maturity classes. The role of ethylene, which was also influenced by cold storage, in regulating the VOCs emission is discussed.


Author(s):  
M. O. Magnusson ◽  
D. G. Osborne ◽  
T. Shimoji ◽  
W. S. Kiser ◽  
W. A. Hawk

Short term experimental and clinical preservation of kidneys is presently best accomplished by hypothermic continuous pulsatile perfusion with cryoprecipitated and millipore filtered plasma. This study was undertaken to observe ultrastructural changes occurring during 24-hour preservation using the above mentioned method.A kidney was removed through a midline incision from healthy mongrel dogs under pentobarbital anesthesia. The kidneys were flushed immediately after removal with chilled electrolyte solution and placed on a LI-400 preservation system and perfused at 8-10°C. Serial kidney biopsies were obtained at 0-½-1-2-4-8-16 and 24 hours of preservation. All biopsies were prepared for electron microscopy. At the end of the preservation period the kidneys were autografted.


Author(s):  
A. P. Lupulescu ◽  
H. Pinkus ◽  
D. J. Birmingham

Our laboratory is engaged in the study of the effect of different chemical agents on human skin, using electron microscopy. Previous investigations revealed that topical use of a strong alkali (NaOH 1N) or acid (HCl 1N), induces ultrastructural changes in the upper layers of human epidermis. In the current experiments, acetone and kerosene, which are primarily lipid solvents, were topically used on the volar surface of the forearm of Caucasian and Negro volunteers. Skin specimens were bioptically removed after 90 min. exposure and 72. hours later, fixed in 3% buffered glutaraldehyde, postfixed in 1% phosphate osmium tetroxide, then flat embedded in Epon.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mutsumi Yokota ◽  
Soichiro Kakuta ◽  
Takahiro Shiga ◽  
Kei-ichi Ishikawa ◽  
Hideyuki Okano ◽  
...  

AbstractMitochondrial structural changes are associated with the regulation of mitochondrial function, apoptosis, and neurodegenerative diseases. PRKN is known to be involved with various mechanisms of mitochondrial quality control including mitochondrial structural changes. Parkinson’s disease (PD) with PRKN mutations is characterized by the preferential degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, which has been suggested to result from the accumulation of damaged mitochondria. However, ultrastructural changes of mitochondria specifically in dopaminergic neurons derived from iPSC have rarely been analyzed. The main reason for this would be that the dopaminergic neurons cannot be distinguished directly among a mixture of iPSC-derived differentiated cells under electron microscopy. To selectively label dopaminergic neurons and analyze mitochondrial morphology at the ultrastructural level, we generated control and PRKN-mutated patient tyrosine hydroxylase reporter (TH-GFP) induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines. Correlative light-electron microscopy analysis and live cell imaging of GFP-expressing dopaminergic neurons indicated that iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons had smaller and less functional mitochondria than those in non-dopaminergic neurons. Furthermore, the formation of spheroid-shaped mitochondria, which was induced in control dopaminergic neurons by a mitochondrial uncoupler, was inhibited in the PRKN-mutated dopaminergic neurons. These results indicate that our established TH-GFP iPSC lines are useful for characterizing mitochondrial morphology, such as spheroid-shaped mitochondria, in dopaminergic neurons among a mixture of various cell types. Our in vitro model would provide insights into the vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons and the processes leading to the preferential loss of dopaminergic neurons in patients with PRKN mutations.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 554
Author(s):  
Natália Salomão ◽  
Michelle Brendolin ◽  
Kíssila Rabelo ◽  
Mayumi Wakimoto ◽  
Ana Maria de Filippis ◽  
...  

Intrauterine transmission of the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) during early pregnancy has rarely been reported, although vertical transmission has been observed in newborns. Here, we report four cases of spontaneous abortion in women who became infected with CHIKV between the 11th and 17th weeks of pregnancy. Laboratorial confirmation of the infection was conducted by RT-PCR on a urine sample for one case, and the other three were by detection of IgM anti-CHIKV antibodies. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and an electron microscopy assay allowed us to find histopathological, such as inflammatory infiltrate in the decidua and chorionic villi, as well as areas of calcification, edema and the deposition of fibrinoid material, and ultrastructural changes, such as mitochondria with fewer cristae and ruptured membranes, endoplasmic reticulum with dilated cisterns, dispersed chromatin in the nuclei and the presence of an apoptotic body in case 1. In addition, by immunohistochemistry (IHC), we found a positivity for the anti-CHIKV antibody in cells of the endometrial glands, decidual cells, syncytiotrophoblasts, cytotrophoblasts, Hofbauer cells and decidual macrophages. Electron microscopy also helped in identifying virus-like particles in the aborted material with a diameter of 40–50 nm, which was consistent with the size of CHIKV particles in the literature. Our findings in this study suggest early maternal fetal transmission, adding more evidence on the role of CHIKV in fetal death.


1968 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 698-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. W. Israel ◽  
M. M. Salpeter ◽  
F. C. Steward

Cultured carrot explants, stimulated to grow rapidly in a medium containing coconut milk, were labeled with radioactive proline. After an initial period of absorption (8 hr for proline-3H; 24 hr for proline-14C) the tissue was allowed to grow for a further period of 6 days in a similar medium free from the radioactivity. Samples were prepared for electron microscopy and radioautography at the end of the absorption period and also after the further growth. The distribution of the products from the radioactive proline in the cells is shown by high-resolution radioautography and is rendered quantitative for the different regions of the cells. The results show that the combined label, which was present in the form of proline and the hydroxyproline derived from it, was all in the protoplasm, not in the cell walls. Any combined label that appeared to be over the cell walls is shown to be due to scatter from adjacent cytoplasmic sites. Initially the radioactivity was concentrated in nuclei, even more so in nucleoli, but it subsequently appeared throughout the ground cytoplasm and was also concentrated in the plastids. The significance of these observations for the general concept of a plant cell wall protein and for the special problem of growth induction in otherwise quiescent cells is discussed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 200-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Carbognani ◽  
L Spaggiari ◽  
M Rusca ◽  
L Cattelani ◽  
P Solli ◽  
...  

During lung preservation, the vascular endothelium is probably the first site of damage and these lesions are considered the main limiting factor in solid-organ preservation. In the present study, the ultrastructural changes in the endothelial cells of human pulmonary artery hypothermically stored (at 4 °C) for 6 and 12 h in Euro-Collins, University of Wisconsin and Ringer-lactate solutions were compared. The arteries obtained from three patients who underwent pneumonectomy were divided into 20 segments and preserved in the three solutions mentioned. The specimens, which were fixed in osmic acid, were examined using transmission electron microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the cells stored in the University of Wisconsin solution either for 6 or 12 h were the best preserved, while the most severely damaged cells were those stored in Euro-Collins solution, even after just 6 h. The cells stored in Ringer-lactate showed an intermediate level of damage. The data from an ultrastructural grading scale, which quantified the damage to the cytoplasm, mitochondria and nucleus, were in broad agreement with the general transmission electron microscopy observations. Analysis of variance of the grading scale data showed that there were statistically significant differences between the groups after both 6 and 12 h storage ( P < 0.05).


2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed M. Nurulain ◽  
Mohamed Shafiullah ◽  
Javed Yasin ◽  
Abdu Adem ◽  
Juma Al Kaabi ◽  
...  

AbstractOrganophosphorus compounds (OPCs) have a wide range of applications, from agriculture to warfare. Exposure to these brings forward a varied kind of health issues globally. Terbufos is one of the leading OPCs used worldwide. The present study investigates the cardiac effect of no observable dose of a metabolite of terbufos, terbufos-sulfone (TS), under non-diabetic and streptozotocin-induced diabetic condition. One hundred nanomoles per rat (1/20 of LD50) was administered intraperitoneally to adult male Wister rats daily for fifteen days. The left ventricle was collected for ultrastructural changes by transmission electron microscopy. The blood samples were collected for biochemical tests including RBC acetylcholinesterase, creatinine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides, ALT, AST, and GGT. The study revealed about 10 % inhibition of RBC-AChE in two weeks of TS treatment in non-diabetic rats whereas RBC-AChE activity was significantly decreased in diabetic TS treated rats. CK, LDH, and triglycerides were significantly higher in diabetic TS treated rats. Electron microscopy of the heart showed derangement and lesions of the mitochondria of cardiomyocytes in the TS treated groups. The present study concludes that a non-lethal dose of TS causes cardiac lesions which exacerbate under diabetic condition. Biochemical tests confirmed the ultrastructural changes. It is concluded that a non-lethal dose of TS may be a risk factor for a cardiovascular disease, which may be fatal under diabetic condition.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document