Ectomycorrhizal fungus supports endogenous rhythmic growth and corresponding resource allocation in oak during various below- and aboveground biotic interactions

Endogenous rhythmic growth (ERG) is displayed by many tropical and some major temperate tree species and characterized by alternating root and shoot flushes (RF and SF). These flushes occur parallel to changes in biomass partitioning and in allocation of recently assimilated carbon and nitrogen. To address how biotic interactions interplay with ERG, we cross-compared the RF/SF shifts in oak microcuttings in the presence of pathogens, consumers and a mycorrhiza helper bacterium, without and with an ectomycorrhizal fungus (EMF), and present a synthesis of the observations. The typical increase in carbon allocation to sink leaves during SF did not occur in the presence of root or leaf pathogens, and the increase in nitrogen allocation to lateral roots during RF did not occur with the pathogens. The RF/SF shifts in resource allocation were mostly restored upon additional interaction with the EMF. Its presence led to increased resource allocation to principal roots during RF, also when the oaks were inoculated additionally with other interactors. The interactors affected the alternating, rhythmic growth and resource allocation shifts between shoots and roots. The restoring role of the EMF on RF/SF changes in parallel to the corresponding enhanced carbon and nitrogen allocation to sink tissues suggests that the EMF is supporting plants in maintaining the ERG.

The Rhythmic Growth Pattern of Microbes is Antithetical to Antioxidant Activity of Kombucha: A New Finding in Food Biochemistry

Background: Kombucha is a traditional, popular and probiotic health drink having strong antioxidant properties. Involvement of various bacteria and yeasts in kombucha fermentation have been previously described by several scientists. In this research, we aimed to determine the growth pattern of microbes involved in kombucha fermentation, using the orthodox turbidimetric method and a simultaneous determination of antioxidant activity regularly. Methods: This experiment was designed in a simple way to evaluate the interrelation between growth of microbes involved in kombucha fermentation and the rate of release of antioxidant molecules using spectrophotometric growth study and DPPH free radical scavenging assay. Results: In this research, some new characteristics of kombucha have been found regarding microbial fermentation. Moreover, we prepared broths using different types of sugars as carbon source for a comparative analysis. Significance: In all the broths, it was found that there is a negative correlation between rhythmic microbial growth pattern and antioxidant activity which is definitely a new finding in food science.

EARLY FLOWERING 3 controls temperature responsiveness of the circadian clock

SummaryPredictable changes in light and temperature during a diurnal cycle are major entrainment cues that enable the circadian clock to generate internal biological rhythms that are synchronized with the external environment. With the average global temperature predicted to keep increasing, the intricate light-temperature coordination that is necessary for clock functionality is expected to be seriously affected. Hence, understanding how temperature signals are perceived by the circadian clock has become an important issue, especially in light of climate change scenarios. In Arabidopsis, the clock component EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3) not only serves as an essential light Zeitnehmer, but also functions as a thermosensor participating in thermomorphogenesis. However, the role of ELF3 in temperature entrainment of the circadian clock is not fully understood. Here, we report that ELF3 is essential for delivering temperature input to the clock. We demonstrate that in the absence of ELF3, the oscillator was unable to properly respond to temperature changes, resulting in an impaired gating of thermoresponses. Consequently, clock-controlled physiological processes such as rhythmic growth and cotyledon movement were disturbed. Together, our results reveal that ELF3 is an essential Zeitnehmer for temperature sensing of the oscillator, and thereby for coordinating the rhythmic control of thermoresponsive physiological outputs.

Nyctinastic thallus movement in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha is regulated by a circadian clock

ABSTRACTThe circadian clock coordinates an organism’s growth, development and physiology with environmental factors. One illuminating example is the rhythmic growth of hypocotyls and cotyledons in Arabidopsis thaliana. Such daily oscillations in leaf position are often referred to as sleep movements or nyctinasty. Here, we report that plantlets of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha show analogous rhythmic movements of thallus lobes, and that the circadian clock controls this rhythm, with auxin a likely meditator. The mechanisms of this circadian clock are partly conserved as compared to angiosperms, with homologs to the core clock genes PRR, RVE and TOC1 forming a core transcriptional feedback loop also in M. polymorpha.

Tree Response to Herbivory Is Affected by Endogenous Rhythmic Growth and Attenuated by Cotreatment With a Mycorrhizal Fungus

Herbivores and mycorrhizal fungi interactively influence growth, resource utilization, and plant defense responses. We studied these interactions in a tritrophic system comprising Quercus robur, the herbivore Lymantria dispar, and the ectomycorrhizal fungus Piloderma croceum under controlled laboratory conditions at the levels of gene expression and carbon and nitrogen (C/N) allocation. Taking advantage of the endogenous rhythmic growth displayed by oak, we thereby compared gene transcript abundances and resource shifts during shoot growth with those during the alternating root growth flushes. During root flush, herbivore feeding on oak leaves led to an increased expression of genes related to plant growth and enriched gene ontology terms related to cell wall, DNA replication, and defense. C/N-allocation analyses indicated an increased export of resources from aboveground plant parts to belowground. Accordingly, the expression of genes related to the transport of carbohydrates increased upon herbivore attack in leaves during the root flush stage. Inoculation with an ectomycorrhizal fungus attenuated these effects but, instead, caused an increased expression of genes related to the production of volatile organic compounds. We conclude that oak defense response against herbivory is strong in root flush at the transcriptomic level but this response is strongly inhibited by inoculation with ectomycorrhizal fungi and it is extremely weak at shoot flush.

Investigation of the influence of pressurized CO2 on the crystal growth of poly(l-lactic acid) by using an in situ high-pressure optical system

The rhythmic growth of the bamboo-like branch of PLLA crystals under pressurized CO2.

MORPHOMETRIC AND HISTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CRIBRIFORM TYPE OF INTRADUCTAL CARCINOMA OF THE MAMMARY GLAND

Introduction: Due to the increasing morbidity and mortality rates from breast cancer, the problem of early, especially morphological diagnosis, continues to be important. The aim of this study to investigate the karyometric and histochemical features of cribriform pattern of parenchyma of intraductal carcinoma of the mammary gland. Materials and methods: Operational and biopsy material was studied in form of serial sections of micropreparations of cribriform type intraductal carcinoma of the mammary gland. Fixation with 10% neutral formalin, paraffin sections are stained with hematoxylin and eosin, complex Bergman + Periodic Acid - Schiff (PAS) reaction + alcyan blue. Cariometry was performed on 100 parenchymal tumor cell, tenth logarithms of the nucleus volume (LgV) were determined, kariocavirogram was constructed. Results: The atypical cellular polymorphism of the tumor, cribriform structures with cancerous cells in the state of apoptosis was revealed. The modal nuclear classes are defined in the interval LgV 0,75; 0,9; 1,2; 1,45, and do not comply with the law of rhythmic growth of nuclei in normal and confirm the cellular atypism of a cancerous tumor. Results are deprived of subjectivity through mathematical analysis of data in percentages (%). Histochemically, in the cytoplasm of cancer cells, precursors of lipids were detected in the form of a Schiff (PAS) positive reaction; alcyan-positive basal membrane of the duct; Bergman-positive protein structures in the nuclei. Conclusions: Cariometry and histochemical analysis of intraductal carcinoma of the mammary gland is an objective and accessible complex method for the analysis of atypical cells, reveals the degree of differentiation, apoptosis of cells and non-invasive stage of cancer.

Nonbirefringent bands in thin films of a copolymer melt: rapid rhythmic crystal growth with an unusual crystal–melt interface

Rhythmic-growth-induced nonbirefringent bands that are comprised of repetitive stacks of discrete flat-on lamellae along the growth directions are reported in a thin film of an asymmetric PCL-b-PEO during isothermal melt crystallization.