Protective Role of Ice Barriers: How Reproductive Organs of Early Flowering and Mountain Plants Escape Frost Injuries

In the temperate zone of Europe, plants flowering in early spring or at high elevation risk that their reproductive organs are harmed by episodic frosts. Focusing on flowers of two mountain and three early-flowering colline to montane distributed species, vulnerability to ice formation and ice management strategies using infrared video thermography were investigated. Three species had ice susceptible flowers and structural ice barriers, between the vegetative and reproductive organs, that prevent ice entrance from the frozen stems. Structural ice barriers as found in Anemona nemorosa and Muscari sp. have not yet been described for herbaceous species that of Jasminum nudiflorum corroborates findings for woody species. Flowers of Galanthus nivalis and Scilla forbesii were ice tolerant. For all herbs, it became clear that the soil acts as a thermal insulator for frost susceptible below ground organs and as a thermal barrier against the spread of ice between individual flowers and leaves. Both ice barrier types presumably promote that the reproductive organs can remain supercooled, and can at least for a certain time-period escape from effects of ice formation. Both effects of ice barriers appear significant in the habitat of the tested species, where episodic freezing events potentially curtail the reproductive success.

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Conservation of food tree species in Niger: towards a participatory approach in rural communities

Forest Systems ◽

10.5424/fs/2016253-09558 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. e080 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Dolores Agúndez Leal ◽

Soumana Douma ◽

Javier Madrigal ◽

Almudena Gómez-Ramos ◽

Barbara Vicenti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Communities ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Woody Species ◽

Human Consumption ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Ecological Regions ◽

Food Species ◽

And Gender

Aim of study: Indigenous woody species play an important role as a complement on the diet of rural populations in Niger, especially in periods of food scarcity. However, these species are nowadays overexploited and management programmes are necessary to conserve them. In order to design a conservation programme for edible woody species, this paper presents a sociological analysis about the use of edible woody species and their products during shortage periods in Niger.Area of study: Four villages in two distinct agro-ecological regions were selected to conduct structured enquiries based on focus group discussions and surveys with key informants.Material and Methods: Perceptions of the conservation status of these species were identified; as well the factors affecting food values, perceptions, management and collection practices.Main results: Results show that B. senegalensis was a staple food in the driest areas, and M. crassifolia was used for fodder and human consumption in the most critical situations. The local communities related the drivers of species conservation status specific to the agro-ecological regions, and gender and ethnic differences were also identified.Research highlights: Understanding these factors constitutes a first step towards adaptive management strategies for the conservation of woody food species in rural communities of Niger.Keywords: Africa; biodiversity; cultural preferences; food; NTFPs.

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The effect of vitamin C on Endosulfan-induced oxidative stress parameters in prepubertal rats

Biomedicine ◽

10.51248/.v39i2.203 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 333-338

Author(s):

Kalaivani Manokaran ◽

Vasanthalaxmi Krishnananda Rao ◽

Nilima . ◽

Manjula Shimoga Durgoji Rao ◽

Sucheta Prasanna Kumar

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Vitamin C ◽

Wistar Rats ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Treated Group ◽

Reproductive Organs ◽

Protective Role ◽

Control Group ◽

Group I ◽

Testicular Weight

Introduction and Aim: Oxidative stress plays a very important role in endosulfan-induced toxic effects on reproductive organs. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant which plays an important role in decreasing oxidative stress. The present study was aimed to investigate the protective role of vitamin C against endosulfan-induced testicular toxicity in Wistar rats. To investigate a protective effect of vitamin C against endosulfan induced toxicity on biochemical changes. Materials and Methods: Seventy male neonatal Wistar rats were divided into seven groups. The group I was taken as the control group, the endosulfan-treated were grouped into II (3 mg/kg body weight (BW) and group III (6 mg/kg BW), Group IV (9 mg/kg BW) and Group V (12 mg/kg BW). Group VI (9 mg/kg BW) and group VII (12 mg/kg BW) were pretreated with vitamin C (20 mg/kg BW) for 60 days. After the experimental procedures, the testicular weight, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme and testosterone in plasma, LDH, steroidogenic enzymes 3?-HSD and 17?-HSD in testis were evaluated. One-way ANOVA was used to determine the statistical significance. Results: Significant improvement in the testicular weight (P<0.05) , LDH (P<0.05) levels both in plasma and testis, increase in testosterone(P<0.001) and steroidogenic enzyme levels(P<0.001) was observed in the group pretreated with vitamin C treated group when compared to the endosulfan treated group. Conclusion: Vitamin C decreases the toxic effect of endosulfan on testis. The present action might be due to its antioxidative properties.

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Enhanced nitrogen management strategies for winter wheat production in the Canadian prairies

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.1139/cjps-2017-0319 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 98 (3) ◽

pp. 683-702 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

B.L. Beres ◽

R.J. Graf ◽

R.B. Irvine ◽

J.T. O’Donovan ◽

K.N. Harker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Winter Wheat ◽

Grain Yield ◽

Nutrient Management ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Maximum Yield ◽

Nitrification Inhibitor ◽

Early Spring ◽

Nitrification Inhibitors ◽

Side Band ◽

Application Method

To address knowledge gaps around enhanced efficiency urea fertilizer efficacy for nitrogen (N) management, a study was designed to improve integrated nutrient management systems for western Canadian winter wheat producers. Three factors were included in Experiment 1: (i) urea type [urea, urea + urease inhibitor—Agrotain®; urea + urease and nitrification inhibitor—SuperU®, polymer-coated urea—Environmentally Smart Nitrogen® (ESN®), and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN)], (ii) application method (side-band vs. spring-broadcast vs. 50% side-band: 50% spring-broadcast), and (iii) cultivar (AC Radiant hard red winter wheat vs. CDC Ptarmigan soft white winter wheat). The Agrotain® and CDC Ptarmigan treatments were removed in Experiment 2 to allow for additional application methods: (i) fall side-band, (ii) 50% side-band — 50% late fall broadcast, (iii) 50% side-band — 50% early spring broadcast, (iv) 50% side-band — 50% mid-spring broadcast, and (v) 50% side-band — 50% late spring broadcast. CDC Ptarmigan produced superior grain yield and N utilization over AC Radiant. Grain yield and protein content were influenced by N form and application method. Split applications of N usually provided the maximum yield and protein, particularly with Agrotain® or SuperU®. An exception to the poor fall-application results was the SuperU® treatments, which produced similar yield to the highest-yielding treatments. The results suggest that split applications of N might be most efficient for yield and protein optimization when combined with an enhanced efficiency urea product, particularly with urease or urease + nitrification inhibitors, and if the majority of N is applied in spring.

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Factors delaying spring runoff in the upper Ürümqi River basin, China

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s0260305500005127 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

pp. 225-230 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Richard Kattelmann ◽

Yang Daqing

Keyword(s):

Snow Cover ◽

River Basin ◽

Early Spring ◽

Ice Formation ◽

Stream Channels ◽

Spring Runoff ◽

Basal Ice ◽

Interface Growth ◽

Streamflow Generation ◽

Soil Interface

Although less than 100 mm of precipitation generally falls during the winter months in the upper Ürümqi River basin, an uneven snowpack of 20 to 100 cm depth is present in early spring. When the surface of this snow cover begins to melt in April, the meltwater is not immediately transformed into streamflow. Several processes are responsible for the five to 15 days of delay in streamflow generation: refreezing in the snow cover itself, creation of a basal ice layer at the snow-soil interface, growth of superimposed ice on the glaciers of the basin, ice formation in stream channels and restoration of high albedo by snowstorms that occur about once a week in spring.

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How does timing of flowering affect competition for pollinators, flower visitation and seed set in an early spring grassland plant?

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-51916-0 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sandra Kehrberger ◽

Andrea Holzschuh

Keyword(s):

Species Interactions ◽

Seed Set ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Early Spring ◽

Flowering Plants ◽

Early Flowering ◽

Flower Visitation ◽

Floral Longevity ◽

Visitation Rates ◽

Phenological Shifts

Abstract Knowledge on how the timing of flowering is related to plant fitness and species interactions is crucial to understand consequences of phenological shifts as they occur under climate change. Early flowering plants may face advantages of low competition for pollinators and disadvantages of low pollinator abundances and unfavourable weather conditions. However, it is unknown how this trade-off changes over the season and how the timing affects reproductive success. On eight grasslands we recorded intra-seasonal changes in pollinators, co-flowering plants, weather conditions, flower visitation rates, floral longevity and seed set of Pulsatilla vulgaris. Although bee abundances and the number of pollinator-suitable hours were low at the beginning of the season, early flowers of P. vulgaris received higher flower visitation rates and estimated total number of bee visits than later flowers, which was positively related to seed set. Flower visitation rates decreased over time and with increasing number of co-flowering plants, which competed with P. vulgaris for pollinators. Low interspecific competition for pollinators seems to be a major driver for early flowering dates. Thus, non-synchronous temporal shifts of co-flowering plants as they may occur under climate warming can be expected to strongly affect plant-pollinator interactions and the fitness of the involved plants.

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Ameliorative Effects of Honey, Propolis, Pollen, and Royal Jelly Mixture against Chronic Toxicity of Sumithion Insecticide in White Albino Rats

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules25112633 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (11) ◽

pp. 2633 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Atef M.K. Nassar ◽

Yehia M.M. Salim ◽

Khalid S.A. Eid ◽

Hazem M. Shaheen ◽

Abdullah A. Saati ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Royal Jelly ◽

Corn Oil ◽

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid ◽

Reproductive Organs ◽

Protective Role ◽

Albino Rats ◽

Total Protein Content ◽

Glutathione S Transferase ◽

Significant Toxicity

Sumithion (Fenitrothion) (SUM) is an organophosphorus insecticide used to combat a wide variety of plant pests. Exposure to SUM causes significant toxicity to the brain, liver, kidney, and reproductive organs through, for example, binding to DNA, and it induces DNA damage, which ends with oxidative stress. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the protective role of bee products: a mixture of honey, propolis, palm pollen, and royal jelly (HPPJ) against SUM-induced toxicity. Twenty-four male albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) were classified into four groups, each containing six rats: control (corn oil), SUM (85 mg/kg; 1/20 LD50), HPPJ, and SUM + HPPJ once daily for 28 consecutive days. Blood samples were gently collected in sterilized ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) tubes for blood picture analyses and tubes without anticoagulant for serum isolation. Serum was used for assays of enzymatic and biochemical characteristics. The results revealed that SUM increased the weights of the liver, kidney, and brain as well as the enzymatic activity of glutathione peroxidase (GP), serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST). Additionally, SUM significantly increased the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT) and glucose, uric acid, and creatinine contents, while decreasing the acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity and total lipids and total protein content. Furthermore, because of the inclusion of phenolic, flavonoids, terpenoids, and sugars, the HPPJ mixture counteracted the hematological, renal, and hepatic toxicity of SUM exposure.

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Videographic evidence of endangered species depredation by feral cat.

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc120293 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 293 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Seth Judge ◽

Jill S Lippert ◽

Kathleen Misajon ◽

Darcy Hu ◽

Steven C Hess

Keyword(s):

Direct Evidence ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Bird Species ◽

Feral Cat ◽

Feral Cats ◽

Video Cameras ◽

Infrared Video ◽

Available Technology ◽

Visual Confirmation ◽

Breeding Seasons

Feral cats (Felis catus) have long been implicated as nest predators of endangered ‘Ua‘u (Hawaiian Petrel; Pterodroma sandwichensis) on Hawai‘i Island, but until recently, visual confirmation has been limited by available technology. ‘Ua‘u nest out of view, deep inside small cavities, on alpine lava flows. During the breeding seasons of 2007 and 2008, we monitored known burrows within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Digital infrared video cameras assisted in determining the breeding behaviour and nesting success at the most isolated of burrows. With 7 cameras, we collected a total of 819 videos and 89 still photographs of adult and nestling ‘Ua‘u at 14 burrows. Videos also confirmed the presence of rats (Rattus spp.) at 2 burrows, ‘Ôma‘o (Myadestes obscurus) at 8 burrows, and feral cats at 6 burrows. A sequence of videos showed a feral cat taking a downy ‘Ua‘u chick from its burrow, representing the first direct evidence of ‘Ua‘u depredation by feral cat in Hawai‘i. This technique provides greater understanding of feral cat behaviour in ‘Ua’u colonies, which may assist in the development of more targeted management strategies to reduce nest predation on endangered insular bird species.

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Influence of Microclimate and Growth Form on Plant Temperatures of Early Spring Species in a High-elevation Prairie

The American Midland Naturalist ◽

10.2307/2425419 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 109 (2) ◽

pp. 380 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

W. K. Smith ◽

A. K. Knapp ◽

J. A. Pearson ◽

J. H. Varman ◽

J. B. Yavitt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Form ◽

High Elevation ◽

Early Spring

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MORPHOFUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LEAVES AND FRUITS IN MALOIDEAE (ROSACEAE): b. THE ROLE OF SURFACE TISSUES IN THE FORMATION OF RESISTANCE TO FUNGAL DISEASES

PROCEEDINGS ON APPLIED BOTANY GENETICS AND BREEDING ◽

10.30901/2227-8834-2019-2-95-101 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 180 (2) ◽

pp. 95-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

T. Kh. Kumachova ◽

O. O. Beloshapkina ◽

A. S. Voronkov ◽

A. S. Ryabchenko

Keyword(s):

Fungal Pathogens ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

Complex Surface ◽

Reproductive Organs ◽

Protective Role ◽

Middle Part ◽

Fungal Diseases ◽

Published Data ◽

Wide Range ◽

Identification Of Species

Background. Resistance to the effects of plant biotic stressors is determined by a set of factors. Among them, the leading protective role is often assigned to the physiological and biochemical characteristics of the surface tissues. However, one cannot ignore the specificity of the microstructural organization of the plant surface, since the nature of interactions in phytopathogenic organisms is more complex than the chemical impact. Meanwhile, the information accumulated to date about the structure of the surface tissues of the vegetative and reproductive organs of plants, and the interface of mycobiota, is fragmentary.Objective. Mature leaves and fruits taken from representatives of the subfamily Maloideae Werber (Malus domestica Borkh., Pyrus communis L., Cydonia oblonga Mill. and Mespilus germanica L.) were selected for the study.Materials and methods. Samples for the research were taken from the middle part of the crown of model trees in 3 replications. In recent years, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with cryofixation is considered the most promising technique and is used to analyze the surface of biological organisms and identification of species. It is particularly informative in the case of organisms with complex surface micromorphology and for studying the biodiversity of pathogens. However, in this work we combined the methods of light, electron (SEM, TEM) and confocal microscopy. The samples were also studied using phytopathological and histochemical techniques. Condensed polyphenols were detected using K2Cr2O7 and FeCl3 as well as 4-(Dimethylamino)cinnamaldehyde (DMACA, Sigma-Aldrich).Results. On the basis of the obtained phytopathological materials and published data an overview of fungal diseases afflicting leaves and fruits of M. domestica, P. communis, C. oblonga and M. germanica was made. It has been established that a common feature of the Maloideae fruits is the accumulation of condensed polyphenols, which play an important protective role against biotic stressors, in the cells of the pericarp’s outer tissues. Anatomical and morphological characteristics of passive immunity, or horizontal resistance to fungal pathogens, include the specific nature of waxy and cuticular deposits, features of the formation of cuticular folds and peristomatic rings in the stomata area and microstrands at the base of trichomes, thickness of the cuticle and cork tissue, and the development of lenticels on fruits.Conclusion. The studied model plants suffer from a sufficiently wide range of diseases with different etiologies; among them, the most widespread and harmful are mycoses. In view of this, their resistance to fungal pathogens correlates with the specificity of the leaf and fruit surface microstructure and the content of phenolic substances (polyphenols) in the cells of the pericarp’s surface tissues.

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Stemphylium Leaf Blight: A Re-Emerging Threat to Onion Production in Eastern North America

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-05-21-0903-fe ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Frank Hay ◽

Sara Marie Stricker ◽

Bruce Gossen ◽

Mary Ruth McDonald ◽

Daniel Heck ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

North America ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Early Spring ◽

Leaf Blight ◽

Eastern North America ◽

Resistance Development ◽

Air Temperatures ◽

Pleospora Allii ◽

Prediction Systems

Stemphylium leaf blight (SLB), caused by Stemphylium vesicarium, is a foliar disease of onion worldwide, and has recently become an important disease in the northeastern United States and Ontario, Canada. The symptoms begin as small, tan to brown lesions on the leaves that can progress to defoliate plants. Crop loss occurs through reduced photosynthetic area, resulting in smaller, lower-quality bulbs. Leaf necrosis caused by SLB also can compromise bulb storage, as green leaves are required for the uptake of sprout inhibitors applied prior to harvest. The pathogen can overwinter on infested onion residue and infected volunteer plants. Asymptomatic weedy hosts near onion fields may also be a source of inoculum. Production of ascospores of the teleomorph (Pleospora allii) peaks in early spring in northeastern North America, often before the crop is planted, and declines rapidly as daily mean air temperatures rise. Conidia usually are present throughout the growing season. Application of fungicides is a standard practice for management of the complex of fungi that can cause foliar diseases of onion in this region. Recent assessments have shown that populations of S. vesicarium in New York and Ontario are resistant to at least three single-site mode-of-action fungicides. Three disease prediction systems have been developed and evaluated that may enable growers to reduce the frequency and/or number of fungicide applications, but the loss of efficacious fungicides due to resistance development within S. vesicarium populations threatens sustainability. The lack of commercially acceptable onion cultivars with sufficient resistance to reduce the number of fungicides for SLB also limits the ability to manage SLB effectively. Integrated disease management strategies for SLB are essential to maintain profitable, sustainable onion production across eastern North America.

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