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Sample records for osmotic water stress

  1. Root water extraction under combined water and osmotic stress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jong van Lier, de Q.; Dam, van J.C.; Metselaar, K.

    2009-01-01

    Using a numerical implicit model for root water extraction by a single root in a symmetric radial flow problem, based on the Richards equation and the combined convection-dispersion equation, we investigated some aspects of the response of root water uptake to combined water and osmotic stress. The

  2. The plant cuticle is required for osmotic stress regulation of abscisic acid biosynthesis and osmotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Zhenyu

    2011-05-01

    Osmotic stress activates the biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA). One major step in ABA biosynthesis is the carotenoid cleavage catalyzed by a 9-cis epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). To understand the mechanism for osmotic stress activation of ABA biosynthesis, we screened for Arabidopsis thaliana mutants that failed to induce the NCED3 genee xpression in response to osmotic stress treatments. The ced1 (for 9-cis epoxycarotenoid dioxy genase defective 1) mutant isolated in this study showed markedly reduced expression of NCED3 in response to osmotic stress (polyethylene glycol)treatments compared with the wild type. Other ABA biosynthesis genes are also greatly reduced in ced1 under osmotic stress. ced1 mutant plants are very sensitive to even mild osmotic stress. Map-based cloning revealed unexpectedly thatCED1 encodes a putative a/b hydrolase domain-containing protein and is allelic to the BODYGUARD gene that was recently shown to be essential for cuticle biogenesis. Further studies discovered that other cut in biosynthesis mutants are also impaired in osmotic stress induction of ABA biosynthesis genes and are sensitive to osmotic stress. Our work demonstrates that the cuticle functions not merely as a physical barrier to minimize water loss but also mediates osmotic stress signaling and tolerance by regulating ABA biosynthesis and signaling. © 2011 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

  3. Self-assembly of silk fibroin under osmotic stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sohn, Sungkyun

    The supramolecular self-assembly behavior of silk fibroin was investigated using osmotic stress technique. In Chapter 2, a ternary phase diagram of water-silk-LiBr was constructed based on X-ray results on the osmotically stressed regenerated silk fibroin of Bombyx mori silkworm. Microscopic data indicated that silk I is a hydrated structure and a rough estimate of the number of water molecules lost by the structure upon converting from silk I to silk II has been made, and found to be about 2.2 per [GAGAGS] hexapeptide. In Chapter 3, wet-spinning of osmotically stressed, regenerated silk fibroin was performed, based on the prediction that the enhanced control over structure and phase behavior using osmotic stress method helps improve the physical properties of wet-spun regenerated silk fibroin fibers. The osmotic stress was applied in order to pre-structure the regenerated silk fibroin molecule from its original random coil state to more oriented state, manipulating the phase of the silk solution in the phase diagram before the start of spinning. Monofilament fiber with a diameter of 20 microm was produced. In Chapter 4, we investigated if there is a noticeable synergistic osmotic pressure increase between co-existing polymeric osmolyte and salt when extremely highly concentrated salt molecules are present both at sample subphase and stressing subphase, as is the case of silk fibroin self-assembly. The equilibration method that measures osmotic pressure relative to a reference with known osmotic pressure was introduced. Osmotic pressure of aqueous LiBr solution up to 2.75M was measured and it was found that the synergistic effect was insignificant up to this salt concentration. Solution parameters of stressing solutions and Arrhenius kinetics based on time-temperature relationship for the equilibration process were derived as well. In Chapter 5, self-assembly behavior of natural silk fibroin within the gland of Bombyx mori silkworm was investigated using osmotic

  4. Transcriptome Profiling of Watermelon Root in Response to Short-Term Osmotic Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yongchao; Mo, Yanling; Yang, Xiaozheng; Zhang, Haifei; Wang, Yongqi; Li, Hao; Wei, Chunhua; Zhang, Xian

    2016-01-01

    Osmotic stress adversely affects the growth, fruit quality and yield of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai). Increasing the tolerance of watermelon to osmotic stress caused by factors such as high salt and water deficit is an effective way to improve crop survival in osmotic stress environments. Roots are important organs in water absorption and are involved in the initial response to osmosis stress; however, few studies have examined the underlying mechanism of tolerance to osmotic stress in watermelon roots. For better understanding of this mechanism, the inbred watermelon accession M08, which exhibits relatively high tolerance to water deficits, was treated with 20% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000. The root samples were harvested at 6 h after PEG treatment and untreated samples were used as controls. Transcriptome analyses were carried out by Illumina RNA sequencing. A total of 5246 differentially expressed genes were identified. Gene ontology enrichment and biochemical pathway analyses of these 5246 genes showed that short-term osmotic stress affected osmotic adjustment, signal transduction, hormone responses, cell division, cell cycle and ribosome, and M08 may repress root growth to adapt osmotic stress. The results of this study describe the watermelon root transcriptome under osmotic stress and propose new insight into watermelon root responses to osmotic stress at the transcriptome level. Accordingly, these results allow us to better understand the molecular mechanisms of watermelon in response to drought stress and will facilitate watermelon breeding projects to improve drought tolerance.

  5. Aquaporin-mediated increase in root hydraulic conductance is involved in silicon-induced improved root water uptake under osmotic stress in Sorghum bicolor L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Peng; Yin, Lina; Deng, Xiping; Wang, Shiwen; Tanaka, Kiyoshi; Zhang, Suiqi

    2014-09-01

    The fact that silicon application alleviates water deficit stress has been widely reported, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here the effects of silicon on water uptake and transport of sorghum seedlings (Sorghum bicolor L.) growing under polyethylene glycol-simulated osmotic stress in hydroponic culture and water deficit stress in sand culture were investigated. Osmotic stress dramatically decreased dry weight, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and leaf water content, but silicon application reduced these stress-induced decreases. Although silicon application had no effect on stem water transport capacity, whole-plant hydraulic conductance (Kplant) and root hydraulic conductance (Lp) were higher in silicon-treated seedlings than in those without silicon treatment under osmotic stress. Furthermore, the extent of changes in transpiration rate was similar to the changes in Kplant and Lp. The contribution of aquaporin to Lp was characterized using the aquaporin inhibitor mercury. Under osmotic stress, the exogenous application of HgCl2 decreased the transpiration rates of seedlings with and without silicon to the same level; after recovery induced by dithiothreitol (DTT), however, the transpiration rate was higher in silicon-treated seedlings than in untreated seedlings. In addition, transcription levels of several root aquaporin genes were increased by silicon application under osmotic stress. These results indicate that the silicon-induced up-regulation of aquaporin, which was thought to increase Lp, was involved in improving root water uptake under osmotic stress. This study also suggests that silicon plays a modulating role in improving plant resistance to osmotic stress in addition to its role as a mere physical barrier. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  6. Casein Micelle Dispersions under Osmotic Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouchoux, Antoine; Cayemitte, Pierre-Emerson; Jardin, Julien; Gésan-Guiziou, Geneviève; Cabane, Bernard

    2009-01-01

    Abstract Casein micelles dispersions have been concentrated and equilibrated at different osmotic pressures using equilibrium dialysis. This technique measured an equation of state of the dispersions over a wide range of pressures and concentrations and at different ionic strengths. Three regimes were found. i), A dilute regime in which the osmotic pressure is proportional to the casein concentration. In this regime, the casein micelles are well separated and rarely interact, whereas the osmotic pressure is dominated by the contribution from small residual peptides that are dissolved in the aqueous phase. ii), A transition range that starts when the casein micelles begin to interact through their κ-casein brushes and ends when the micelles are forced to get into contact with each other. At the end of this regime, the dispersions behave as coherent solids that do not fully redisperse when osmotic stress is released. iii), A concentrated regime in which compression removes water from within the micelles, and increases the fraction of micelles that are irreversibly linked to each other. In this regime the osmotic pressure profile is a power law of the residual free volume. It is well described by a simple model that considers the micelle to be made of dense regions separated by a continuous phase. The amount of water in the dense regions matches the usual hydration of proteins. PMID:19167314

  7. Osmotic stress alters chromatin condensation and nucleocytoplasmic transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finan, John D.; Leddy, Holly A. [Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (United States); Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC (United States); Guilak, Farshid, E-mail: guilak@duke.edu [Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (United States); Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC (United States)

    2011-05-06

    Highlights: {yields} The rate of nucleocytoplasmic transport increases under hyper-osmotic stress. {yields} The mechanism is a change in nuclear geometry, not a change in permeability of the nuclear envelope. {yields} Intracytoplasmic but not intranuclear diffusion is sensitive to osmotic stress. {yields} Pores in the chromatin of the nucleus enlarge under hyper-osmotic stress. -- Abstract: Osmotic stress is a potent regulator of biological function in many cell types, but its mechanism of action is only partially understood. In this study, we examined whether changes in extracellular osmolality can alter chromatin condensation and the rate of nucleocytoplasmic transport, as potential mechanisms by which osmotic stress can act. Transport of 10 kDa dextran was measured both within and between the nucleus and the cytoplasm using two different photobleaching methods. A mathematical model was developed to describe fluorescence recovery via nucleocytoplasmic transport. As osmolality increased, the diffusion coefficient of dextran decreased in the cytoplasm, but not the nucleus. Hyper-osmotic stress decreased nuclear size and increased nuclear lacunarity, indicating that while the nucleus was getting smaller, the pores and channels interdigitating the chromatin had expanded. The rate of nucleocytoplasmic transport was increased under hyper-osmotic stress but was insensitive to hypo-osmotic stress, consistent with the nonlinear osmotic properties of the nucleus. The mechanism of this osmotic sensitivity appears to be a change in the size and geometry of the nucleus, resulting in a shorter effective diffusion distance for the nucleus. These results may explain physical mechanisms by which osmotic stress can influence intracellular signaling pathways that rely on nucleocytoplasmic transport.

  8. Novel regulation of aquaporins during osmotic stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vera-Estrella, Rosario; Barkla, Bronwyn J; Bohnert, Hans J; Pantoja, Omar

    2004-08-01

    Aquaporin protein regulation and redistribution in response to osmotic stress was investigated. Ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) McTIP1;2 (McMIPF) mediated water flux when expressed in Xenopus leavis oocytes. Mannitol-induced water imbalance resulted in increased protein amounts in tonoplast fractions and a shift in protein distribution to other membrane fractions, suggesting aquaporin relocalization. Indirect immunofluorescence labeling also supports a change in membrane distribution for McTIP1;2 and the appearance of a unique compartment where McTIP1;2 is expressed. Mannitol-induced redistribution of McTIP1;2 was arrested by pretreatment with brefeldin A, wortmannin, and cytochalasin D, inhibitors of vesicle trafficking-related processes. Evidence suggests a role for glycosylation and involvement of a cAMP-dependent signaling pathway in McTIP1;2 redistribution. McTIP1;2 redistribution to endosomal compartments may be part of a homeostatic process to restore and maintain cellular osmolarity under osmotic-stress conditions.

  9. A cellulose synthase-like protein is required for osmotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Jianhua

    2010-04-16

    Osmotic stress imposed by soil salinity and drought stress significantly affects plant growth and development, but osmotic stress sensing and tolerance mechanisms are not well understood. Forward genetic screens using a root-bending assay have previously identified salt overly sensitive (sos) mutants of Arabidopsis that fall into five loci, SOS1 to SOS5. These loci are required for the regulation of ion homeostasis or cell expansion under salt stress, but do not play a major role in plant tolerance to the osmotic stress component of soil salinity or drought. Here we report an additional sos mutant, sos6-1, which defines a locus essential for osmotic stress tolerance. sos6-1 plants are hypersensitive to salt stress and osmotic stress imposed by mannitol or polyethylene glycol in culture media or by water deficit in the soil. SOS6 encodes a cellulose synthase-like protein, AtCSLD5. Only modest differences in cell wall chemical composition could be detected, but we found that sos6-1 mutant plants accumulate high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under osmotic stress and are hypersensitive to the oxidative stress reagent methyl viologen. The results suggest that SOS6/AtCSLD5 is not required for normal plant growth and development but has a critical role in osmotic stress tolerance and this function likely involves its regulation of ROS under stress. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  10. Folding propensity of intrinsically disordered proteins by osmotic stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mansouri, Amanda L.; Grese, Laura N.; Rowe, Erica L.

    2016-01-01

    Proteins imparted with intrinsic disorder conduct a range of essential cellular functions. To better understand the folding and hydration properties of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), we used osmotic stress to induce conformational changes in nuclear co-activator binding domain (NCBD) and activator for thyroid hormone and retinoid receptor (ACTR). Osmotic stress was applied by the addition of small and polymeric osmolytes, where we discovered that water contributions to NCBD folding always exceeded those for ACTR. Both NCBD and ACTR were found to gain a-helical structure with increasing osmotic stress, consistent with their folding upon NCBD/ACTR complex formation. Using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), we further characterized NCBD structural changes with the osmolyte ethylene glycol. Here a large reduction in overall size initially occurred before substantial secondary structural change. In conclusion, by focusing on folding propensity, and linked hydration changes, we uncover new insights that may be important for how IDP folding contributes to binding.

  11. The plant cuticle is required for osmotic stress regulation of abscisic acid biosynthesis and osmotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Zhenyu; Xiong, Liming; Li, Wenbo; Zhu, Jian-Kang; Zhu, Jianhua

    2011-01-01

    Osmotic stress activates the biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA). One major step in ABA biosynthesis is the carotenoid cleavage catalyzed by a 9-cis epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). To understand the mechanism for osmotic stress activation of ABA

  12. Novel Regulation of Aquaporins during Osmotic Stress1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vera-Estrella, Rosario; Barkla, Bronwyn J.; Bohnert, Hans J.; Pantoja, Omar

    2004-01-01

    Aquaporin protein regulation and redistribution in response to osmotic stress was investigated. Ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) McTIP1;2 (McMIPF) mediated water flux when expressed in Xenopus leavis oocytes. Mannitol-induced water imbalance resulted in increased protein amounts in tonoplast fractions and a shift in protein distribution to other membrane fractions, suggesting aquaporin relocalization. Indirect immunofluorescence labeling also supports a change in membrane distribution for McTIP1;2 and the appearance of a unique compartment where McTIP1;2 is expressed. Mannitol-induced redistribution of McTIP1;2 was arrested by pretreatment with brefeldin A, wortmannin, and cytochalasin D, inhibitors of vesicle trafficking-related processes. Evidence suggests a role for glycosylation and involvement of a cAMP-dependent signaling pathway in McTIP1;2 redistribution. McTIP1;2 redistribution to endosomal compartments may be part of a homeostatic process to restore and maintain cellular osmolarity under osmotic-stress conditions. PMID:15299122

  13. Quantification of osmotic water transport in vivo using fluorescent albumin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morelle, Johann; Sow, Amadou; Vertommen, Didier; Jamar, François; Rippe, Bengt; Devuyst, Olivier

    2014-10-15

    Osmotic water transport across the peritoneal membrane is applied during peritoneal dialysis to remove the excess water accumulated in patients with end-stage renal disease. The discovery of aquaporin water channels and the generation of transgenic animals have stressed the need for novel and accurate methods to unravel molecular mechanisms of water permeability in vivo. Here, we describe the use of fluorescently labeled albumin as a reliable indicator of osmotic water transport across the peritoneal membrane in a well-established mouse model of peritoneal dialysis. After detailed evaluation of intraperitoneal tracer mass kinetics, the technique was validated against direct volumetry, considered as the gold standard. The pH-insensitive dye Alexa Fluor 555-albumin was applied to quantify osmotic water transport across the mouse peritoneal membrane resulting from modulating dialysate osmolality and genetic silencing of the water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP1). Quantification of osmotic water transport using Alexa Fluor 555-albumin closely correlated with direct volumetry and with estimations based on radioiodinated ((125)I) serum albumin (RISA). The low intraperitoneal pressure probably accounts for the negligible disappearance of the tracer from the peritoneal cavity in this model. Taken together, these data demonstrate the appropriateness of pH-insensitive Alexa Fluor 555-albumin as a practical and reliable intraperitoneal volume tracer to quantify osmotic water transport in vivo. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

  14. Osmotic stress, endogenous abscisic acid and the control of leaf morphology in Hippuris vulgaris L

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goliber, T. E.; Feldman, L. J.

    1989-01-01

    Previous reports indicate that heterophyllous aquatic plants can be induced to form aerial-type leaves on submerged shoots when they are grown in exogenous abscisic acid (ABA). This study reports on the relationship between osmotic stress (e.g. the situation encountered by a shoot tip when it grows above the water surface), endogenous ABA (as measured by gas chromatography-electron capture detector) and leaf morphology in the heterophyllous aquatic plant, Hippuris vulgaris. Free ABA could not be detected in submerged shoots of H. vulgaris but in aerial shoots ABA occurred at ca. 40 ng (g fr wt)-1. When submerged shoots were osmotically stressed ABA appeared at levels of 26 to 40 ng (g fr wt)-1. These and other data support two main conclusions: (1) Osmotically stressing a submerged shoot causes the appearance of detectable levels of ABA. (2) The rise of ABA in osmotically stressed submerged shoots in turn induces a change in leaf morphology from the submerged to the aerial form. This corroborates the hypothesis that, in the natural environment, ABA levels rise in response to the osmotic stress encountered when a submerged shoot grows up through the water/air interface and that the increased ABA leads to the production of aerial-type leaves.

  15. Osmotic water transport in aquaporins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zeuthen, Thomas; Alsterfjord, Magnus; Beitz, Eric

    2013-01-01

    Abstract  We test a novel, stochastic model of osmotic water transport in aquaporins. A solute molecule present at the pore mouth can either be reflected or permeate the pore. We assume that only reflected solute molecules induce osmotic transport of water through the pore, while permeating solute...... molecules give rise to no water transport. Accordingly, the rate of water transport is proportional to the reflection coefficient σ, while the solute permeability, P(S), is proportional to 1 - σ. The model was tested in aquaporins heterologously expressed in Xenopus oocytes. A variety of aquaporin channel...... sizes and geometries were obtained with the two aquaporins AQP1 and AQP9 and mutant versions of these. Osmotic water transport was generated by adding 20 mM of a range of different-sized osmolytes to the outer solution. The osmotic water permeability and the reflection coefficient were measured...

  16. Osmotic stress tolerance in semi-terrestrial tardigrades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heidemann, Nanna W T; Smith, Daniel K.; Hygum, Thomas L.

    2016-01-01

    Little is known about ionic and osmotic stress tolerance in tardigrades. Here, we examine salt stress tolerance in Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri and Echiniscus testudo from Nivå (Denmark) and address whether limno-terrestrial tardigrades can enter a state of quiescence (osmobiosis) in the face of high......-ionic osmolytes as compared to NaCl. Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri furthermore readily regained activity following gradual increases in non-ionic osmolytes and NaCl of up to 2434 ± 28 and 1905 ± 3 mOsm kg−1, respectively, showing that short-term acclimation promoted salt stress tolerance. Our results suggest...... that the limno-terrestrial R. oberhaeuseri enters a state of quiescence in the face of high external osmotic pressure and that it, in this state, is highly tolerant of ionic and osmotic stress....

  17. Quercitol and osmotic adaptation of field-grown Eucalyptus under seasonal drought stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arndt, Stefan K; Livesley, Stephen J; Merchant, Andrew; Bleby, Timothy M; Grierson, Pauline F

    2008-07-01

    This study investigated the role of quercitol in osmotic adjustment in field-grown Eucalyptus astringens Maiden subject to seasonal drought stress over the course of 1 year. The trees grew in a native woodland and a farm plantation in the semi-arid wheatbelt region of south Western Australia. Plantation trees allocated relatively more biomass to leaves than woodland trees, but they suffered greater drought stress over summer, as indicated by lower water potentials, CO(2)assimilation rates and stomatal conductances. In contrast, woodland trees had relatively fewer leaves and suffered less drought stress. Plantation trees under drought stress engaged in osmotic adjustment, but woodland trees did not. Quercitol made a significant contribution to osmotic adjustment in drought-stressed trees (25% of total solutes), and substantially more quercitol was measured in the leaves of plantation trees (5% dry matter) than in the leaves of woodland trees (2% dry matter). We found no evidence that quercitol was used as a carbon storage compound while starch reserves were depleted under drought stress. Differences in stomatal conductance, biomass allocation and quercitol production clearly indicate that E. astringens is both morphologically and physiologically 'plastic' in response to growth environment, and that osmotic adjustment is only one part of a complex strategy employed by this species to tolerate drought.

  18. Effect of osmotic stress and post-stress recovery on the content of phenolics and properties of antioxidants in germinating seeds of grapevine Vitis californica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanisław Weidner

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The tested material consisted of grapevine Vitis californica stratified seeds germinated under optimum conditions (+25°C in water, under osmotic stress (-0.2 MPa in PEG solution and submitted to recovery after stress (+25°C in water. The germinating seeds were determined to contain tannins, catechins and the following phenolic acids: gallic, caffeic, p-coumaric and ferulic. The acids occurred in free, ester- and glycoside-bound forms. The dominant form of phenolic acids was the ester-bound fraction. Gallic acid was the most abundant phenolic acid in germinating seeds, while ferulic acid appeared in the smallest amounts. Our analysis of tannins demonstrated that osmotic stress depressed their concentration. Presence of catechin group compounds such as catechin and epicatechin was also determined. In each sample epicatechin was dominant. The total concentration of catechin increased under stress conditions and declined during post-stress recovery. Catechins are a constituent of tannins and their increase under osmotic stress is most probably caused by the breakdown of some tannins in seeds germinating under stress conditions. Samples submitted to osmotic stress were also found to contain less of total phenolic compounds, whereas in samples which underwent post-stress recovery the total level of phenolic compounds increased. Compared to extracts from seeds germinating under optimum conditions, osmotic stress depressed the capacity of extract to scavenge DPPH● (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and ABTS●+ – 2,2-Azino-bis (3-etylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid free radicals, but the antioxidant activity rose in seeds submitted to recovery after stress. Positive correlation was therefore demonstrated between the total content of phenolic acids in germinating grapevine seeds and the reducing power of extracts obtained from these seeds and their free radical scavenging activity. The results suggest that osmotic stress inhibits the activity of

  19. Xylem diameter changes during osmotic stress, desiccation and freezing in Pinus sylvestris and Populus tremula.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lintunen, Anna; Lindfors, Lauri; Nikinmaa, Eero; Hölttä, Teemu

    2017-04-01

    Trees experience low apoplastic water potential frequently in most environments. Low apoplastic water potential increases the risk of embolism formation in xylem conduits and creates dehydration stress for the living cells. We studied the magnitude and rate of xylem diameter change in response to decreasing apoplastic water potential and the role of living parenchyma cells in it to better understand xylem diameter changes in different environmental conditions. We compared responses of control and heat-injured xylem of Pinus sylvestris (L.) and Populus tremula (L.) branches to decreasing apoplastic water potential created by osmotic stress, desiccation and freezing. It was shown that xylem in control branches shrank more in response to decreasing apoplastic water potential in comparison with the samples that were preheated to damage living xylem parenchyma. By manipulating the osmotic pressure of the xylem sap, we observed xylem shrinkage due to decreasing apoplastic water potential even in the absence of water tension within the conduits. These results indicate that decreasing apoplastic water potential led to withdrawal of intracellular water from the xylem parenchyma, causing tissue shrinkage. The amount of xylem shrinkage per decrease in apoplastic water potential was higher during osmotic stress or desiccation compared with freezing. During desiccation, xylem diameter shrinkage involved both dehydration-related shrinkage of xylem parenchyma and water tension-induced shrinkage of conduits, whereas dehydration-related shrinkage of xylem parenchyma was accompanied by swelling of apoplastic ice during freezing. It was also shown that the exchange of water between symplast and apoplast within xylem is clearly faster than previously reported between the phloem and the xylem. Time constant of xylem shrinkage was 40 and 2 times higher during osmotic stress than during freezing stress in P. sylvestris and P. tremula, respectively. Finally, it was concluded that the

  20. Physiological adaptations to osmotic stress and characterization of a polyethylene glycol-responsive gene in Braya humilis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Lirong

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Braya humilis (Brassicaceae is a widely distributed plant in arid and semi-arid regions of northern Asia. This plant is well adapted to extremely arid conditions and is a promising candidate species to discover novel drought tolerance strategies. However, not much information about the mechanism(s mediating drought resistance in this species is currently available. Therefore, the present study aimed to characterize the physiological traits and expression patterns of a polyethylene glycol (PEG-responsive gene in B. humilis responding to different levels of osmotic stress induced by PEG-6000. Several important physiological parameters were examined, including the levels of relative water content, soluble protein, malondialdehyde, and antioxidant enzyme activity. A tolerance threshold between 20 and 30% PEG-6000 was identified for B. humilis. The water status and oxidative damage below this threshold were maintained at a relatively constant level during the 12 h of treatment. However, once the threshold was exceeded, the water status and oxidative damage were obviously affected after treatment for 4 h. The soluble protein results suggest that B. humilis maintains a vigorous resistance to osmotic stress and that it may play a greater role in osmotic regulation at late stages of stress. Moreover, superoxide dismutase and catalase may be important at preventing oxidative damage in plants at early stages of stress, while peroxidase may be more involved in some biological processes that resist osmotic stress at the late stage, especially in severely damaged plants. Furthermore, a PEG-responsive gene, BhCIPK12, was identified by differential display reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (PCR, cloned, and characterized by quantitative real-time PCR. We hypothesized that this gene may play an important role in mediating osmotic stress or drought resistance in plants. Altogether, these results provide valuable insights into the mechanism

  1. Overexpression of a cytosolic abiotic stress responsive universal stress protein (SbUSP mitigates salt and osmotic stress in transgenic tobacco plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pushpika eUdawat

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The Universal Stress Protein (USP is a ubiquitous protein and plays an indispensable role in plant abiotic stress tolerance. The genome of Salicornia brachiata contains two homologues of intron less SbUSP gene which encodes for salt and osmotic responsive universal stress protein. In vivo localization reveals that SbUSP is a membrane bound cytosolic protein. The role of the gene was functionally validated by developing transgenic tobacco and compared with control (wild type and vector control plants under different abiotic stress condition. Transgenic lines (T1 exhibited higher chlorophyll, relative water, proline, total sugar, reducing sugar, free amino acids, polyphenol contents, osmotic potential, membrane stability and lower electrolyte leakage and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde content under stress treatments than control (WT and VC plants. Lower accumulation of H2O2 and O2- radicals was also detected in transgenic lines compared to control plants under stress conditions. Present study confers that overexpression of the SbUSP gene enhances plant growth, alleviates ROS buildup, maintains ion homeostasis and improves the physiological status of the plant under salt and osmotic stresses. Principal component analysis (PCA exhibited a statistical distinction of plant response to salinity stress, and a significant response was observed for transgenic lines under stress, which provides stress endurance to the plant. A possible signaling role is proposed that some downstream genes may get activated by abiotic stress responsive cytosolic SbUSP, which leads to the protection of cell from oxidative damages. The study unveils that ectopic expression of the gene mitigates salt or osmotic stress by scavenging ROS and modulating the physiological process of the plant.

  2. Osmotic stress on nitrification in an airlift bioreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin Rencun; Zheng Ping; Mahmood, Qaisar; Hu Baolan

    2007-01-01

    The effect of osmotic pressure on nitrification was studied in a lab-scale internal-loop airlift-nitrifying reactor. The reactor slowly adapted to the escalating osmotic pressure during 270 days operation. The conditions were reversed to the initial stage upon full inhibition of the process. Keeping influent ammonium concentration constant at 420 mg N L -1 and hydraulic retention time at 20.7 h, with gradual increase in osmotic pressure from 4.3 to 18.8 x 10 5 Pa by adding sodium sulphate, the ammonium removal efficiencies of the nitrifying bioreactor were maintained at 93-100%. Further increase in osmotic pressure up to 19.2 x 10 5 Pa resulted in drop of the ammonium conversion to 69.2%. The osmotic pressure caused abrupt inhibition of nitrification without any alarm and the critical osmotic pressure value causing inhibition remained between 18.8 and 19.2 x 10 5 Pa. Nitrite oxidizers were found more sensitive to osmotic stress as compared with ammonia oxidizers, leading to nitrite accumulation up to 61.7% in the reactor. The performance of bioreactor recovered gradually upon lowering the osmotic pressure. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy indicated that osmotic stress resulted in simplification of the nitrifying bacterial populations in the activated sludge as the cellular size reduced; the inner membrane became thinner and some unknown inclusions appeared within the cells. The microbial morphology and cellular structure restored upon relieving the osmotic pressure. Addition of potassium relieved the effect of osmotic pressure upon nitrification. Results demonstrate that the nitrifying reactor possesses the potential to treat ammonium-rich brines after acclimatization

  3. Overexpression of a Cytosolic Abiotic Stress Responsive Universal Stress Protein (SbUSP) Mitigates Salt and Osmotic Stress in Transgenic Tobacco Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udawat, Pushpika; Jha, Rajesh K.; Sinha, Dinkar; Mishra, Avinash; Jha, Bhavanath

    2016-01-01

    The universal stress protein (USP) is a ubiquitous protein and plays an indispensable role in plant abiotic stress tolerance. The genome of Salicornia brachiata contains two homologs of intron less SbUSP gene which encodes for salt and osmotic responsive USP. In vivo localization reveals that SbUSP is a membrane bound cytosolic protein. The role of the gene was functionally validated by developing transgenic tobacco and compared with control [wild-type (WT) and vector control (VC)] plants under different abiotic stress condition. Transgenic lines (T1) exhibited higher chlorophyll, relative water, proline, total sugar, reducing sugar, free amino acids, polyphenol contents, osmotic potential, membrane stability, and lower electrolyte leakage and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde content) under stress treatments than control (WT and VC) plants. Lower accumulation of H2O2 and O2− radicals was also detected in transgenic lines compared to control plants under stress conditions. Present study confers that overexpression of the SbUSP gene enhances plant growth, alleviates ROS buildup, maintains ion homeostasis and improves the physiological status of the plant under salt and osmotic stresses. Principal component analysis exhibited a statistical distinction of plant response to salinity stress, and a significant response was observed for transgenic lines under stress, which provides stress endurance to the plant. A possible signaling role is proposed that some downstream genes may get activated by abiotic stress responsive cytosolic SbUSP, which leads to the protection of cell from oxidative damages. The study unveils that ectopic expression of the gene mitigates salt or osmotic stress by scavenging ROS and modulating the physiological process of the plant. PMID:27148338

  4. Osmotic stress upregulates the transcription of thiamine (vitamin B1 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Osmotic stress upregulates the transcription of thiamine (vitamin B1) ... Oil palm's responses in terms of the expression profiles of these two thiamine biosynthesis genes to an osmotic stress inducer, polyethylene glycol ... from 32 Countries:.

  5. The Effect of Water Deficit stress on Osmotic Metabolites and Anti Oxidant System and Grain and Oil Yield of Amaranth CV. Koniz

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehrdad Yarnia

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Drought is one of the most important environmental stresses that highly affect crop growth and yield. But the response of crops to stress depending on the timing of crop growth stages is different. The purpose of this study was to investigate effect of different levels of water stress (irrigation after 50, 80, 110, 140 and 170 mm evaporation from pan on different stages of Amaranth growth (establishment, branching, flowering and grain filling. To find the effects of water deficit stress on this plant it was decided to determine its protein percentage, oil and grain yields under drought stress. Evaluation of physiological characteristics as to the extent of osmotic adjustment and antioxidant activity was also carried out. Results showed that water deficit stress,depending on the severity and duration of stress, caused a reduction between between a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 89 percent in yield, 28 to 70 percent in harvest index, 12 to 32 percent in grain protein and 29 to 97 percent in oil yield. This indicates the high sensitivity of grain and oil yields to severe and prolonged drought stresses. Changes in osmotic substances (proline and soluble carbohydrates showed that this crop under water stress conditions increased proline and soluble carbohydrates by 31 and 50 percents, respectively. Thus, if could be said that under severe droughts the ability of crops to cops with drought will be reduced. Similarly, amaranth, to cope with water stress, increases the amount of antioxidant enzymes like catalase, peroxidase and super oxid dismutase up to 53, 23 and 79%, respectively. Higher amount of super oxid dismutase enzyme produce as the result of drought stress may play an important role to cope with reactive oxygen species and oxidative stresses.

  6. Screening for Osmotic Stress Responses in Rice Varieties under Drought Condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Swapna

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Drought is the major abiotic stress factor that limits rice production worldwide. To evaluate the osmotic stress responses in rice varieties under drought condition, a total of 42 high-yielding rice varieties were collected from various research stations of Kerala Agricultural University in India. The experimental setup comprises of initial hydroponic treatments at different osmotic potentials, artificially induced by desired strengths of polyethylene glycol (PEG6000, and followed by the pot planted experiments in the rain-out-zone. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, relative water content, cell membrane stability, photosynthetic pigments, proline content, along with plant growth parameters of the varieties under drought condition were evaluated. Moreover, the standard scores of these rice varieties were assessed under stress and recovery conditions based on the scoring scale of the Standard Evaluation System for rice. Among the 42 rice varieties, we identified 2 rice varieties, Swarnaprabha and Kattamodan, with less leaf rolling, better drought recovery ability as well as relative water content, increased membrane stability index, osmolyte accumulation, and antioxidant enzyme activities pointed towards their degree of tolerance to drought stress. The positive adaptive responses of these rice varieties towards drought stress can be used in the genetic improvement of rice drought resistance breeding program.

  7. Stress responses of the industrial workhorse Bacillus licheniformis to osmotic challenges.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Schroeter

    Full Text Available The Gram-positive endospore-forming bacterium Bacillus licheniformis can be found widely in nature and it is exploited in industrial processes for the manufacturing of antibiotics, specialty chemicals, and enzymes. Both in its varied natural habitats and in industrial settings, B. licheniformis cells will be exposed to increases in the external osmolarity, conditions that trigger water efflux, impair turgor, cause the cessation of growth, and negatively affect the productivity of cell factories in biotechnological processes. We have taken here both systems-wide and targeted physiological approaches to unravel the core of the osmostress responses of B. licheniformis. Cells were suddenly subjected to an osmotic upshift of considerable magnitude (with 1 M NaCl, and their transcriptional profile was then recorded in a time-resolved fashion on a genome-wide scale. A bioinformatics cluster analysis was used to group the osmotically up-regulated genes into categories that are functionally associated with the synthesis and import of osmostress-relieving compounds (compatible solutes, the SigB-controlled general stress response, and genes whose functional annotation suggests that salt stress triggers secondary oxidative stress responses in B. licheniformis. The data set focusing on the transcriptional profile of B. licheniformis was enriched by proteomics aimed at identifying those proteins that were accumulated by the cells through increased biosynthesis in response to osmotic stress. Furthermore, these global approaches were augmented by a set of experiments that addressed the synthesis of the compatible solutes proline and glycine betaine and assessed the growth-enhancing effects of various osmoprotectants. Combined, our data provide a blueprint of the cellular adjustment processes of B. licheniformis to both sudden and sustained osmotic stress.

  8. Stress responses of the industrial workhorse Bacillus licheniformis to osmotic challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schroeter, Rebecca; Hoffmann, Tamara; Voigt, Birgit; Meyer, Hanna; Bleisteiner, Monika; Muntel, Jan; Jürgen, Britta; Albrecht, Dirk; Becher, Dörte; Lalk, Michael; Evers, Stefan; Bongaerts, Johannes; Maurer, Karl-Heinz; Putzer, Harald; Hecker, Michael; Schweder, Thomas; Bremer, Erhard

    2013-01-01

    The Gram-positive endospore-forming bacterium Bacillus licheniformis can be found widely in nature and it is exploited in industrial processes for the manufacturing of antibiotics, specialty chemicals, and enzymes. Both in its varied natural habitats and in industrial settings, B. licheniformis cells will be exposed to increases in the external osmolarity, conditions that trigger water efflux, impair turgor, cause the cessation of growth, and negatively affect the productivity of cell factories in biotechnological processes. We have taken here both systems-wide and targeted physiological approaches to unravel the core of the osmostress responses of B. licheniformis. Cells were suddenly subjected to an osmotic upshift of considerable magnitude (with 1 M NaCl), and their transcriptional profile was then recorded in a time-resolved fashion on a genome-wide scale. A bioinformatics cluster analysis was used to group the osmotically up-regulated genes into categories that are functionally associated with the synthesis and import of osmostress-relieving compounds (compatible solutes), the SigB-controlled general stress response, and genes whose functional annotation suggests that salt stress triggers secondary oxidative stress responses in B. licheniformis. The data set focusing on the transcriptional profile of B. licheniformis was enriched by proteomics aimed at identifying those proteins that were accumulated by the cells through increased biosynthesis in response to osmotic stress. Furthermore, these global approaches were augmented by a set of experiments that addressed the synthesis of the compatible solutes proline and glycine betaine and assessed the growth-enhancing effects of various osmoprotectants. Combined, our data provide a blueprint of the cellular adjustment processes of B. licheniformis to both sudden and sustained osmotic stress.

  9. Interaction of prechilling, temperature, osmotic stress, and light in Picea abies seed germination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leinonen, K.; Rita, H.

    1995-01-01

    A multi-factor experimental approach and proportional odds model was used to study interactions between five environmental factors significant to Norway spruce seed germination: prechilling (at +4.5 °C), suboptimal temperatures (+12 and +16 °C), osmotically induced water stress (–0.3 Mpa and 0 Mpa), prolonged white light, and short-period far-red light. Temperature and osmotic stress interacted with one another in the germination of seeds: the effect of osmotic stress being stronger at +16 °C than at +12 °C. In natural conditions, this interaction may prevent germination early in the summer when soil dries and temperature increases. Prolonged white light prevented germination at low temperature and low osmotic potential. Inhibitory effect was less at higher temperatures and higher osmotic potential, as well as after prechilling. Short-period far-red light did not prevent germination of unchilled seeds in darkness. Prechilling tended to make seeds sensitive to short pulses of far-red light, an effect which depended on temperature: at +12 °C the effect on germination was promotive, but at +16 °C, inhibitory and partly reversible by white light. It seems that Norway spruce seeds may have adapted to germinate in canopy shade light rich in far-red. The seeds may also have evolved mechanisms to inhibit germination in prolonged light

  10. The effects of exogenous proline and osmotic stress on morpho ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    USER

    2010-06-21

    Jun 21, 2010 ... For evaluation of growth parameters of strawberry callus under osmotic stress and exogenous proline, embryonic calli were transferred to Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing four sucrose. (osmotic stress) treatments including 3, 6, 9 and 12% and various concentrations of exogenous L- proline ...

  11. Expression profiling on soybean leaves reveals integration of ER- and osmotic-stress pathways

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dewey Ralph E

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the potential of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER stress response to accommodate adaptive pathways, its integration with other environmental-induced responses is poorly understood in plants. We have previously demonstrated that the ER-stress sensor binding protein (BiP from soybean exhibits an unusual response to drought. The members of the soybean BiP gene family are differentially regulated by osmotic stress and soybean BiP confers tolerance to drought. While these results may reflect crosstalk between the osmotic and ER-stress signaling pathways, the lack of mutants, transcriptional response profiles to stresses and genome sequence information of this relevant crop has limited our attempts to identify integrated networks between osmotic and ER stress-induced adaptive responses. As a fundamental step towards this goal, we performed global expression profiling on soybean leaves exposed to polyethylene glycol treatment (osmotic stress or to ER stress inducers. Results The up-regulated stress-specific changes unmasked the major branches of the ER-stress response, which include enhancing protein folding and degradation in the ER, as well as specific osmotically regulated changes linked to cellular responses induced by dehydration. However, a small proportion (5.5% of total up-regulated genes represented a shared response that seemed to integrate the two signaling pathways. These co-regulated genes were considered downstream targets based on similar induction kinetics and a synergistic response to the combination of osmotic- and ER-stress-inducing treatments. Genes in this integrated pathway with the strongest synergistic induction encoded proteins with diverse roles, such as plant-specific development and cell death (DCD domain-containing proteins, an ubiquitin-associated (UBA protein homolog and NAC domain-containing proteins. This integrated pathway diverged further from characterized specific branches of ER-stress as

  12. The effects of exogenous proline and osmotic stress on morpho ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    For evaluation of growth parameters of strawberry callus under osmotic stress and exogenous proline, embryonic calli were transferred to Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing four sucrose (osmotic stress) treatments including 3, 6, 9 and 12% and various concentrations of exogenous Lproline (0, 2.5, 5 and 10 ...

  13. Osmotic and Heat Stress Effects on Segmentation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julian Weiss

    Full Text Available During vertebrate embryonic development, early skin, muscle, and bone progenitor populations organize into segments known as somites. Defects in this conserved process of segmentation lead to skeletal and muscular deformities, such as congenital scoliosis, a curvature of the spine caused by vertebral defects. Environmental stresses such as hypoxia or heat shock produce segmentation defects, and significantly increase the penetrance and severity of vertebral defects in genetically susceptible individuals. Here we show that a brief exposure to a high osmolarity solution causes reproducible segmentation defects in developing zebrafish (Danio rerio embryos. Both osmotic shock and heat shock produce border defects in a dose-dependent manner, with an increase in both frequency and severity of defects. We also show that osmotic treatment has a delayed effect on somite development, similar to that observed in heat shocked embryos. Our results establish osmotic shock as an alternate experimental model for stress, affecting segmentation in a manner comparable to other known environmental stressors. The similar effects of these two distinct environmental stressors support a model in which a variety of cellular stresses act through a related response pathway that leads to disturbances in the segmentation process.

  14. Title: Potassium application regulates nitrogen metabolism and osmotic adjustment in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) functional leaf under drought stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahoor, Rizwan; Zhao, Wenqing; Abid, Muhammad; Dong, Haoran; Zhou, Zhiguo

    2017-08-01

    To evaluate the role of potassium (K) in maintaining nitrogen metabolism and osmotic adjustment development of cotton functional leaves to sustain growth under soil drought and rewatering conditions, the plants of two cotton cultivars Siza 3 (low-K sensitive) and Simian 3 (low-K tolerant), were grown under three different K rates (K0, K1, and K2; 0, 150, and 300kgK 2 Oha -1 , respectively) and exposed to drought stress with 40±5% soil relative water content (SRWC). The drought stress was applied at flowering stage by withholding water for eight days followed by rewatering to a well-watered level (75±5% SRWC). The results showed that drought-stressed plants of both cultivars showed a decrease in leaf relative water content (RWC) and osmotic potential in the functional leaves and developed osmotic adjustment with an increase in the contents of free amino acids, soluble sugars, inorganic K, and nitrate as compared to well-watered plants. In drought-stressed plants, nitrogen-metabolizing enzyme activities of nitrogen reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), and glutamate synthase (GOGAT) were diminished significantly (P≤0.05) along with decreased chlorophyll content and soluble proteins. However, drought-stressed plants under K application not only exhibited higher osmotic adjustment with greater accumulation of osmolytes but also regulated nitrogen metabolism by maintaining higher enzyme activities, soluble proteins, and chlorophyll content in functional leaves as compared to the plants without K application. Siza 3 showed better stability in enzyme activities and resulted in 89% higher seed cotton yield under K2 as compared to K0 in drought-stressed plants, whereas this increase was 53% in the case of Simian 3. The results of the study suggested that K application enhances cotton plants' potential for sustaining high nitrogen-metabolizing enzyme activities and related components to supplement osmotic adjustment under soil drought conditions. Copyright © 2017

  15. Calcium and Calmodulin Are Involved in Nitric Oxide-Induced Adventitious Rooting of Cucumber under Simulated Osmotic Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Lijuan; Yu, Jian; Liao, Weibiao; Yu, Jihua; Zhang, Meiling; Dawuda, Mohammed M

    2017-01-01

    Osmotic stress is a major form of abiotic stress that adversely affects growth and development of plants and subsequently reduces yield and quality of crops. In this study, the effect of nitric oxide (NO) and calcium (Ca 2+ ) on the process of adventitious rooting in cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) under simulated osmotic stress was investigated. The results revealed that the effect of exogenous NO and Ca 2+ in promoting the development of adventitious roots in cucumber seedlings under simulated osmotic stress was dose-dependent, with a maximal biological response at 10 μM NO donor nitroprusside (SNP) or 200 μM Ca 2+ . The application of Ca 2+ chelators or channel inhibitors and calmodulin (CaM) antagonists significantly reversed NO-induced adventitious rooting, implying that endogenous Ca 2+ /CaM might be involved in NO-induced adventitious rooting under osmotic stress. Moreover, intracellular Ca amount was also increased by NO in cucumber hypocotyls during the development of adventitious roots under osmotic stress. This increase of endogenous Ca 2+ was inhibited by NO specific scavenger 2-(4-carboxyphenyl) -4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide potassium salt (cPTIO), nitrate reductase inhibitors tungstate (Na 2 WO 4 ) and sodium azide (NaN 3 ) . This gives an indication that Ca 2+ might be a downstream signaling molecule in the adventitious root development by NO under osmotic condition. The results also show that NO or Ca 2+ play a positive role in improving plant water status and photosynthetic system by increasing chlorophyll content and photochemical activity in leaves. Furthermore, NO and Ca 2+ treatment might alleviate the negative effects of osmotic stress by decreasing membrane damage and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by enhancing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). Therefore, Ca 2+ /CaM may act as a downstream signaling molecule in NO-induced development of adventitious root

  16. Screening of Bread Wheat Genotypes for Stem Reserves Remobilization, Relative Water Content and Osmotic Adjustment under Drought Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z Soleimani

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Drought one of the most important global threats against bread wheat production. In order to identify physiological traits associated with drought tolerance, 52 bread wheat varieties were cultured under two normal and drought stress condition in a randomized complete block desigen with three replications. RWC (in three independent times, leaf rolling, leaf silvering, days to flowering, days to maturity and stem reserve remobilization were investigeted. Also in a pot experiment osmotic adjustment of the varieties were measured at seedling stage. varieties Star and Bezostaya had the highest RWC (0.79 and 0.78, respectively. Osmotic adjustment in Rasol and Unknown11 were highest (0.58 and 0.56, respectively. Varieties Tipik, Unknown11 and Azar2 showed the least decrease in thousand grain weight after spraying with KI (4.8, 5.5 and 5.5, respectively. Also varieties Dez, Gaspard and MV-17 have the highest degree of leaf silvering and varieties Niknejad, Star and Kohdasht under drought stress were able than the other varieties bring their leaves to form a rolling and cope with water deficit. Under drought stress, Varieties Alborz, Zagros and Inia were observed premature than the other varieties and Gaspard and Kaslojen varieties were observed late mature than the other varieties. Altogetehr varieties Kohdasht, Star and Bezostaya can be used as genetic resources for leaf water retention under drought stress condition for imjproving other varieties. Also as Azar2 and Unknown11 had highest amount of thousand grain weight under normal condition and simoultanously showed high ability in stem reserves remobilization they can be selected as parents in crosses for improving these traits.

  17. A cellulose synthase-like protein is required for osmotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Jianhua; Lee, Byeongha; Dellinger, Michael T.; Cui, Xinping; Zhang, Changqing; Wu, Shang; Nothnagel, Eugene A.; Zhu, Jian-Kang

    2010-01-01

    Osmotic stress imposed by soil salinity and drought stress significantly affects plant growth and development, but osmotic stress sensing and tolerance mechanisms are not well understood. Forward genetic screens using a root-bending assay have

  18. Osmotic stress regulates the strength and kinetics of sugar binding to the maltoporin channel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gurnev, Philip A; Bezrukov, Sergey M; Harries, Daniel; Adrian Parsegian, V

    2010-01-01

    We study the effect of osmotic stress, exerted by salts, on carbohydrate binding to the sugar-specific bacterial channel maltoporin. When the channel is reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers, single events of its occlusion by sugar are seen as transient interruptions in the flow of small ions. We find that, for most salts, changes in the free energy of maltoporin-sugar binding vary linearly with solution osmotic pressure. Such a change in binding with solution osmolarity indicates that for each salt a constant number of salt-excluding water molecules is released upon sugar-maltoporin association at all salt concentrations. We find that larger numbers of water molecules are released upon binding of the cyclic carbohydrate β-cyclodextrin (CD) than upon binding of the corresponding linear homologue maltoheptaose (m7). Remarkably, the extent to which salts affect the binding constants and rates depends sensitively on the type of salt; dehydration in solutions of different anions corresponds to the Hofmeister series. In sodium sulfate solutions, CD and m7 respectively release about 120 and 35 salt-excluding water molecules; in sodium chloride solutions, 35 and 15 waters. No water release is observed with sodium bromide. Finally, by adding adamantane, known to form an inclusion complex with CD, we can infer that CD not only dehydrates but also undergoes a conformational change upon binding to the channel. As a practical outcome, our results also demonstrate how osmotic stress can improve single-molecule detection of different solutes using protein-based nanopores.

  19. Osmotic stress response in the wine yeast Dekkera bruxellensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galafassi, Silvia; Toscano, Marco; Vigentini, Ileana; Piškur, Jure; Compagno, Concetta

    2013-12-01

    Dekkera bruxellensis is mainly associated with lambic beer fermentation and wine production and may contribute in a positive or negative manner to the flavor development. This yeast is able to produce phenolic compounds, such as 4-ethylguaiacol and 4-ethylphenol which could spoil the wine, depending on their concentration. In this work we have investigated how this yeast responds when exposed to conditions causing osmotic stress, as high sorbitol or salt concentrations. We observed that osmotic stress determined the production and accumulation of intracellular glycerol, and the expression of NADH-dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) activity was elevated. The involvement of the HOG MAPK pathway in response to this stress condition was also investigated. We show that in D. bruxellensis Hog1 protein is activated by phosphorylation under hyperosmotic conditions, highlighting the conserved role of HOG MAP kinase signaling pathway in the osmotic stress response. Gene Accession numbers in GenBank: DbHOG1: JX65361, DbSTL1: JX965362. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Potassium up-regulates antioxidant metabolism and alleviates growth inhibition under water and osmotic stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahanger, Mohammad Abass; Agarwal, R M

    2017-07-01

    Pot experiments were conducted to find out the effectivity of K on Triticum aestivum L cultivars. Polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG 6000) was used as an osmoticum to induce osmotic stress under sand culture setting up the water potential of external solution at -3 and -5 bars. In pots, plants were raised under restricted and normal irrigation and K was applied in varying doses (0, 20, 40, 60 kg ha -1 ) and estimation of different physiological and biochemical parameters was done at two developmental stages, i.e., preflowering and flowering. Supplementation of K resulted in obvious increase in growth and activity of antioxidant enzymes in both normal and stressed plants. Added potassium increased total phenols and tannins thereby strengthening the components of both the enzymatic as well as non-enzymatic antioxidant system. Under both normal and stressed conditions, K-fed plants experienced significant increase in the synthesis of osmolytes like free proline, amino acids, and sugars which assumes special significance in growth under water stress conditions. Wheat plants accumulating greater K were able to counteract the water stress-induced changes by maintaining lower Na/K ratio.

  1. Osmotic stress confers enhanced cell integrity to hydrostatic pressure but impairs growth in Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberto eScoma

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Alcanivorax is a hydrocarbonoclastic genus dominating oil spills worldwide. While its presence has been detected in oil-polluted seawaters, marine sediment and salt marshes under ambient pressure, its presence in deep-sea contaminated environments is negligible. Recent laboratory evidences highlighted the piezosensitive nature of some Alcanivorax species, whose growth yields are highly impacted by mild hydrostatic pressures (HPs. In the present study, osmotic stress was used as a tool to increase HP resistance in the type strain A. borkumensis SK2. Control cultures grown under standard conditions of salinity and osmotic pressure with respect to seawater (35.6 ppt or 1136 mOsm kg-1, respectively were compared with cultures subjected to hypo- and hyperosmosis (330 and 1720 mOsm kg-1, or 18 and 62 ppt in salinity, equivalent to brackish and brine waters, respectively, under atmospheric or increased HP (0.1 and 10MPa. Osmotic stress had a remarkably positive impact on cell metabolic activity in terms of CO2 production (thus, oil bioremediation and O2 respiration under hyperosmosis, as acclimation to high salinity enhanced cell activity under 10MPa by a factor of 10. Both osmotic shocks significantly enhanced cell protection by reducing membrane damage under HP, with cell integrities close to 100% under hyposmosis. The latter was likely due to intracellular water-reclamation as no trace of the piezolyte ectoine was found, contrary to hyperosmosis. Notably, ectoine production was equivalent at 0.1MPa in hyperosmosis-acclimated cells and at 10MPa under isosmotic conditions, supporting the hypothesis that ectoine synthesis may be primarily triggered by HP rather than osmotic stress. While stimulating cell metabolism and enhancing cell integrity, osmotic stress had always a negative impact on culture growth and performance. No net growth was observed during 4-day incubation tests, and CO2:O2 ratios and pH values indicated that culture performance in

  2. In silico identification of known osmotic stress responsive genes from Arabidopsis in soybean and Medicago

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina M. Soares-Cavalcanti

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Plants experience various environmental stresses, but tolerance to these adverse conditions is a very complex phenomenon. The present research aimed to evaluate a set of genes involved in osmotic response, comparing soybean and medicago with the well-described Arabidopsis thaliana model plant. Based on 103 Arabidopsis proteins from 27 categories of osmotic stress response, comparative analyses against Genosoja and Medicago truncatula databases allowed the identification of 1,088 soybean and 1,210 Medicago sequences. The analysis showed a high number of sequences and high diversity, comprising genes from all categories in both organisms. Genes with unknown function were among the most representative, followed by transcription factors, ion transport proteins, water channel, plant defense, protein degradation, cellular structure, organization & biogenesis and senescence. An analysis of sequences with unknown function allowed the annotation of 174 soybean and 217 Medicago sequences, most of them concerning transcription factors. However, for about 30% of the sequences no function could be attributed using in silico procedures. The establishment of a gene set involved in osmotic stress responses in soybean and barrel medic will help to better understand the survival mechanisms for this type of stress condition in legumes.

  3. The osmotic stress response of split influenza vaccine particles in an acidic environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Hyo-Jick; Kim, Min-Chul; Kang, Sang-Moo; Montemagno, Carlo D

    2014-12-01

    Oral influenza vaccine provides an efficient means of preventing seasonal and pandemic disease. In this work, the stability of envelope-type split influenza vaccine particles in acidic environments has been investigated. Owing to the fact that hyper-osmotic stress can significantly affect lipid assembly of vaccine, osmotic stress-induced morphological change of split vaccine particles, in conjunction with structural change of antigenic proteins, was investigated by the use of stopped-flow light scattering (SFLS), intrinsic fluorescence, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and hemagglutination assay. Split vaccine particles were found to exhibit a step-wise morphological change in response to osmotic stress due to double-layered wall structure. The presence of hyper-osmotic stress in acidic medium (0.3 osmolarity, pH 2.0) induced a significant level of membrane perturbation as measured by SFLS and TEM, imposing more damage to antigenic proteins on vaccine envelope than can be caused by pH-induced conformational change at acidic iso-osmotic condition. Further supports were provided by the intrinsic fluorescence and hemagglutinin activity measurements. Thus, hyper-osmotic stress becomes an important factor for determining stability of split vaccine particles in acidic medium. These results are useful in better understanding the destabilizing mechanism of split influenza vaccine particles in gastric environment and in designing oral influenza vaccine formulations.

  4. In vitro screening of potato genotypes for osmotic stress tolerance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gelmesa Dandena

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. is a cool season crop which is susceptible to both drought and heat stresses. Lack of suitable varieties of the crop adapted to drought-prone areas of the lowland tropics deprives farmers living in such areas the opportunity to produce and use the crop as a source of food and income. As a step towards developing such varieties, the present research was conducted to evaluate different potato genotypes for osmotic stress tolerance under in vitro conditions and identify drought tolerant genotypes for future field evaluation. The experiment was carried out at the Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany, by inducing osmotic stress using sorbitol at two concentrations (0.1 and 0.2 M in the culture medium. A total of 43 genotypes collected from different sources (27 advanced clones from CIP, nine improved varieties, and seven farmers’ cultivars were used in a completely randomized design with four replications in two rounds. Data were collected on root and shoot growth. The results revealed that the main effects of genotype, sorbitol treatment, and their interactions significantly (P < 0.01 influenced root and shoot growthrelated traits. Under osmotic stress, all the measured root and shoot growth traits were significantly correlated. The dendrogram obtained from the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean allowed grouping of the genotypes into tolerant, moderately tolerant, and susceptible ones to a sorbitol concentration of 0.2 M in the culture medium. Five advanced clones (CIP304350.100, CIP304405.47, CIP392745.7, CIP388676.1, and CIP388615.22 produced shoots and rooted earlier than all other genotypes, with higher root numbers, root length, shoot and root mass under osmotic stress conditions induced by sorbitol. Some of these genotypes had been previously identified as drought-tolerant under field conditions, suggesting the capacity of the in vitro evaluation method to predict drought stress tolerant

  5. The Arabidopsis Vacuolar Sorting Receptor1 Is Required for Osmotic Stress-Induced Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Zhen-Yu; Gehring, Christoph A; Zhu, Jianhua; Li, Feng-Min; Zhu, Jian-Kang; Xiong, Liming

    2014-01-01

    Osmotic stress activates the biosynthesis of the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) through a pathway that is rate limited by the carotenoid cleavage enzyme 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). To understand the signal transduction mechanism underlying the activation of ABA biosynthesis, we performed a forward genetic screen to isolate mutants defective in osmotic stress regulation of the NCED3 gene. Here, we identified the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Vacuolar Sorting Receptor1 (VSR1) as a unique regulator of ABA biosynthesis. The vsr1 mutant not only shows increased sensitivity to osmotic stress, but also is defective in the feedback regulation of ABA biosynthesis by ABA. Further analysis revealed that vacuolar trafficking mediated by VSR1 is required for osmotic stress-responsive ABA biosynthesis and osmotic stress tolerance. Moreover, under osmotic stress conditions, the membrane potential, calcium flux, and vacuolar pH changes in the vsr1 mutant differ from those in the wild type. Given that manipulation of the intracellular pH is sufficient to modulate the expression of ABA biosynthesis genes, including NCED3, and ABA accumulation, we propose that intracellular pH changes caused by osmotic stress may play a signaling role in regulating ABA biosynthesis and that this regulation is dependent on functional VSR1.

  6. The Arabidopsis Vacuolar Sorting Receptor1 Is Required for Osmotic Stress-Induced Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Zhen-Yu

    2014-11-21

    Osmotic stress activates the biosynthesis of the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) through a pathway that is rate limited by the carotenoid cleavage enzyme 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). To understand the signal transduction mechanism underlying the activation of ABA biosynthesis, we performed a forward genetic screen to isolate mutants defective in osmotic stress regulation of the NCED3 gene. Here, we identified the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Vacuolar Sorting Receptor1 (VSR1) as a unique regulator of ABA biosynthesis. The vsr1 mutant not only shows increased sensitivity to osmotic stress, but also is defective in the feedback regulation of ABA biosynthesis by ABA. Further analysis revealed that vacuolar trafficking mediated by VSR1 is required for osmotic stress-responsive ABA biosynthesis and osmotic stress tolerance. Moreover, under osmotic stress conditions, the membrane potential, calcium flux, and vacuolar pH changes in the vsr1 mutant differ from those in the wild type. Given that manipulation of the intracellular pH is sufficient to modulate the expression of ABA biosynthesis genes, including NCED3, and ABA accumulation, we propose that intracellular pH changes caused by osmotic stress may play a signaling role in regulating ABA biosynthesis and that this regulation is dependent on functional VSR1.

  7. Effect of osmotic stress on in vitro propagation of Musa sp. (Malbhog ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study demonstrates up to 36% reduced microbial contamination in aseptic culture establishment and subsequent micropropagation due to osmotic stress induction in the banana suckers. Osmotic stress was induced by keeping the freshly collected suckers in shade and measuring fresh weight at 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 ...

  8. Osmotic stress adaptation of Paracoccidioides lutzii, Pb01, monitored by proteomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Leandro Nascimento da Silva; Brito, Wesley de Almeida; Parente, Ana Flávia Alves; Weber, Simone Schneider; Bailão, Alexandre Melo; Casaletti, Luciana; Borges, Clayton Luiz; Soares, Célia Maria de Almeida

    2016-10-01

    The ability to respond to stressful conditions is essential for most living organisms. In pathogenic organisms, this response is required for effective transition from a saprophytic lifestyle to the establishment of pathogenic interactions within a susceptible host. Hyperosmotic stress has been used as a model to study signal transduction and seems to cause many cellular adaptations, including the alteration of protein expression and cellular volume as well as size regulation. In this work, we evaluated the proteomic profile of Paracoccidioides lutzii Pb01 yeast cells during osmotic stress induced by potassium chloride. We performed a high accuracy proteomic technique (NanoUPLC-MS(E)) to identify differentially expressed proteins during osmotic shock. The data describe an osmoadaptative response of this fungus when subjected to this treatment. Proteins involved in the synthesis of cell wall components were modulated, which suggested cell wall remodeling. In addition, alterations in the energy metabolism were observed. Furthermore, proteins involved in amino acid metabolism and hydrogen peroxide detoxification were modulated during osmotic stress. Our study suggests that P. lutzii Pb01. presents a vast osmoadaptative response that is composed of different proteins that act together to minimize the effects caused by osmotic stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. GERMINATION AND INITIAL GROWTH OF COWPEA CULTIVARS UNDER OSMOTIC STRESS AND SALICYLIC ACID

    OpenAIRE

    ARAÚJO, EDILENE DANIEL DE; MELO, ALBERTO SOARES DE; ROCHA, MARIA DO SOCORRO; CARNEIRO, REBECA FERREIRA; ROCHA, MAURISRAEL DE MOURA

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT Cowpea is one of the major food crops in Northeast Brazil, where it is commonly cultivated in the semi-arid regions with limited water availability. It is important to study the elicitors associated with cowpea to mitigate any deleterious effects of abiotic stress on the initial establishment of this crop. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the morphophysiological changes in cowpea cultivars under osmotic stress with seeds soaked in salicylic acid. The germination test was conducted...

  10. Screening for Osmotic Stress Responses in Rice Varieties under Drought Condition

    OpenAIRE

    Simon Swapna; Korukkanvilakath Samban Shylaraj

    2017-01-01

    Drought is the major abiotic stress factor that limits rice production worldwide. To evaluate the osmotic stress responses in rice varieties under drought condition, a total of 42 high-yielding rice varieties were collected from various research stations of Kerala Agricultural University in India. The experimental setup comprises of initial hydroponic treatments at different osmotic potentials, artificially induced by desired strengths of polyethylene glycol (PEG6000), and followed by the pot...

  11. Arabidopsis decuple mutant reveals the importance of SnRK2 kinases in osmotic stress responses in vivo

    KAUST Repository

    Fujii, Hiroaki

    2011-01-10

    Osmotic stress associated with drought or salinity is a major factor that limits plant productivity. Protein kinases in the SNF1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) family are activated by osmotic stress, suggesting that the kinases are involved in osmotic stress signaling. However, due to functional redundancy, their contribution to osmotic stress responses remained unclear. In this report, we constructed an Arabidopsis line carrying mutations in all 10 members of the SnRK2 family. The decuple mutant snrk2.1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10 grew poorly under hyperosmotic stress conditions but was similar to the wild type in culture media in the absence of osmotic stress. The mutant was also defective in gene regulation and the accumulation of abscisic acid (ABA), proline, and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate under osmotic stress. In addition, analysis of mutants defective in the ABA-activated SnRK2s (snrk2.2/3/6) and mutants defective in the rest of the SnRK2s (snrk2.1/4/5/7/8/9/10) revealed that SnRK2s are a merging point of ABA-dependent and -independent pathways for osmotic stress responses. These results demonstrate critical functions of the SnRK2s in mediating osmotic stress signaling and tolerance.

  12. Transformation of oats and its application to improving osmotic stress tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maqbool, Shahina B; Zhong, Heng; Oraby, Hesham F; Sticklen, Mariam B

    2009-01-01

    Oat (Avena sativa L.), a worldwide temperate cereal crop, is deficient in tolerance to osmotic stress due to drought and/or salinity. To genetically transform the available commercial oat cultivars, a genotype-independent and efficient regeneration system from shoot apical meristems was developed using four oat cultivars: Prairie, Porter, Ogle, and Pacer. All these oat cultivars generated a genotype-independent in vitro differentiated multiple shoots from shoot apical meristems at a high frequency. Using this system, three oat cultivars were genetically co-transformed with pBY520 (containing hva1 and bar) and pAct1-D (containing gus) using biolistic trade mark bombardment. Transgenic plants were selected and regenerated using herbicide resistance and GUS as a marker. Molecular and biochemical analyses of putative transgenic plants confirmed the co-integration of hva1 and bar genes with a frequency of 100%, and 61.6% of the transgenic plants carried all three genes (hva1, bar and gus). Further analyses of R0, R1, and R2 progenies confirmed stable integration, expression, and Mendalian inheritance for all transgenes. Histochemical analysis of GUS protein in transgenic plants showed a high level of GUS expression in vascular tissues and in the pollen grains of mature flowers. Immunochemical analysis of transgenic plants indicated a constitutive expression of hva1 at all developmental stages. However, the level of HVA1 was higher during the early seedling stages. The characteristic of HVA1 expression for osmotic tolerance in transgenic oat progeny was analyzed in vitro as well as in vivo. Transgenic plants exhibited significantly (Pplants. The symptoms of wilting or death of leaves as observed in 80% of non-transgenic plants due to osmotic stress was delayed and detected only in less than 10% of trans-genic plants. These observations confirmed the characteristic of HVA1 protein as providing or enhancing the osmotic tolerance in transgenic plants against salinity and

  13. Role of Arabidopsis ABF1/3/4 during det1 germination in salt and osmotic stress conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernando, V C Dilukshi; Al Khateeb, Wesam; Belmonte, Mark F; Schroeder, Dana F

    2018-05-01

    Arabidopsis det1 mutants exhibit salt and osmotic stress resistant germination. This phenotype requires HY5, ABF1, ABF3, and ABF4. While DE-ETIOLATED 1 (DET1) is well known as a negative regulator of light development, here we describe how det1 mutants also exhibit altered responses to salt and osmotic stress, specifically salt and mannitol resistant germination. LONG HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) positively regulates both light and abscisic acid (ABA) signalling. We found that hy5 suppressed the det1 salt and mannitol resistant germination phenotype, thus, det1 stress resistant germination requires HY5. We then queried publically available microarray datasets to identify genes downstream of HY5 that were differentially expressed in det1 mutants. Our analysis revealed that ABA regulated genes, including ABA RESPONSIVE ELEMENT BINDING FACTOR 3 (ABF3), are downregulated in det1 seedlings. We found that ABF3 is induced by salt in wildtype seeds, while homologues ABF4 and ABF1 are repressed, and all three genes are underexpressed in det1 seeds. We then investigated the role of ABF3, ABF4, and ABF1 in det1 phenotypes. Double mutant analysis showed that abf3, abf4, and abf1 all suppress the det1 salt/osmotic stress resistant germination phenotype. In addition, abf1 suppressed det1 rapid water loss and open stomata phenotypes. Thus interactions between ABF genes contribute to det1 salt/osmotic stress response phenotypes.

  14. Investigating the role of polyols in Cladosporium fulvum during growth under hyper-osmotic stress and in planta.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Anthony J; Blissett, Kerry J; Oliver, Richard P

    2003-02-01

    The role of the large amounts of polyols accumulated by the fungal tomato pathogen, Cladosporium fulvum (syn. Fulvia fulva, Cooke) both in planta and in axenic cultures has been examined. Arabinitol and glycerol accumulated in response to hyper-osmotic stress in vitro. Mannitol levels were lower in osmo-stressed mycelium. (13)C NMR spectroscopy indicated that carbon flow from glucose to mannitol was redirected to arabinitol and glycerol in hyper-osmotic conditions. Infected tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants contained all three polyols whereas glycerol was the only polyol present in uninfected plants, suggesting that the mannitol and arabinitol were of fungal origin. Substantially higher levels of arabinitol and glycerol were present in infected plants that were subjected to a restricted watering regime compared to fully watered plants. The results suggest that a primary role of fungal arabinitol and glycerol, but not mannitol, is osmoregulation and that water acquisition is an important aspect of pathogenicity.

  15. The effects of osmotic stress on the structure and function of the cell nucleus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finan, John D; Guilak, Farshid

    2010-02-15

    Osmotic stress is a potent regulator of the normal function of cells that are exposed to osmotically active environments under physiologic or pathologic conditions. The ability of cells to alter gene expression and metabolic activity in response to changes in the osmotic environment provides an additional regulatory mechanism for a diverse array of tissues and organs in the human body. In addition to the activation of various osmotically- or volume-activated ion channels, osmotic stress may also act on the genome via a direct biophysical pathway. Changes in extracellular osmolality alter cell volume, and therefore, the concentration of intracellular macromolecules. In turn, intracellular macromolecule concentration is a key physical parameter affecting the spatial organization and pressurization of the nucleus. Hyper-osmotic stress shrinks the nucleus and causes it to assume a convoluted shape, whereas hypo-osmotic stress swells the nucleus to a size that is limited by stretch of the nuclear lamina and induces a smooth, round shape of the nucleus. These behaviors are consistent with a model of the nucleus as a charged core/shell structure pressurized by uneven partition of macromolecules between the nucleoplasm and the cytoplasm. These osmotically-induced alterations in the internal structure and arrangement of chromatin, as well as potential changes in the nuclear membrane and pores are hypothesized to influence gene transcription and/or nucleocytoplasmic transport. A further understanding of the biophysical and biochemical mechanisms involved in these processes would have important ramifications for a range of fields including differentiation, migration, mechanotransduction, DNA repair, and tumorigenesis. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  16. Recovery of leaf elongation during short term osmotic stress correlates with osmotic adjustment and cell turgor restoration in different durum wheat cultivars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahdid, M.

    2014-01-01

    In order to investigate the responses of leaf elongation rate (LER), turgor and osmotic adjustment (OA) during a short-term stress (7 hours) imposed by PEG6000 and a recovery phase, three durum wheat (Triticum durum L.) varieties (Inrat; MBB; and OZ ) were grown in aerated nutrient solutions. Leaf elongation kinetics of leaf 3 was estimated using LVDT. Turgor was estimated using a cell pressure probe; osmotic potential as well as total sugars and potassium (K+) concentrations were estimated from expressed sap of elongation zone. Growth recovered rapidly and then stabilised at a lower value. A significant difference was found in % recovery of LER between the varieties. The cessation of growth after stress coincided with a decrease in turgor followed by a recovery period reaching control values in MBB and Inrat. A strong correlation (R2 = 0.83) between the reduction in turgor (turgor) and % recovery of LER was found at 7 hours after stress. The difference in the partial recovery of LER between varieties was thus related to the capacity of partial turgor recovery. Partial turgor recovery is associated with sugar or K+ based OA which indicates its importance in maintaining high LER values under water deficit. (author)

  17. Chloroplast osmotic adjustment allows for acclimation of photosynthesis to low water potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, A.S.; Berkowitz, G.

    1987-01-01

    Previously in this laboratory, studies indicated that photosynthesis (PS) of chloroplasts isolated from spinach plants which underwent osmotic adjustment during in situ water deficits was inhibited less at low osmotic potentials (Psi/sub s/) in vitro than PS of plastids isolated from well watered plants. In this study, an attempt was made to determine if chloroplast acclimation to low Psi/sub s/ was associated with in situ stromal solute accumulation. During a 14d stress cycle, in situ stromal volume was estimated by measuring (using the 3 H 2 O, 14 C-sorbitol silicon oil centrifugation technique) the stromal space of plastids in solutions which had the Psi/sub s/ adjusted to the leaf Psi/sub s/. During the first lid of the cycle, stromal volume did not decline, despite a decrease of over 20% in the leaf RWC. After this time, stromal volume dropped rapidly. In situ stromal Psi/sub s/ was also estimated during a stress cycle. These studies indicated that stromal Psi/sub s/ was lowered by net solute accumulation. The data presented in this report suggest that chloroplast acclimation to low Psi/sub s/ may involve stromal solute accumulation and volume maintenance during cell water loss

  18. Citricoccus zhacaiensis B-4 (MTCC 12119) a novel osmotolerant plant growth promoting actinobacterium enhances onion (Allium cepa L.) seed germination under osmotic stress conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selvakumar, Govindan; Bhatt, Ravindra M; Upreti, Kaushal K; Bindu, Gurupadam Hema; Shweta, Kademani

    2015-05-01

    The water potential of rhizospheric soil is a key parameter that determines the availability of water, oxygen, and nutrients to plants and microbes. Recent global warming trends and erratic precipitation patterns have resulted in the emergence of drought as a major constraint of agricultural productivity. Though several strategies are being evaluated to address this issue, a novel approach is the utilization of microbes for alleviation of drought stress effects in crops. Citricoccus zhacaiensis B-4 is an osmotolerant actinobacterium isolated from banana rhizosphere on mannitol supplemented medium (-2.92 MPa osmotic potential). This isolate expressed plant growth promotion traits viz, IAA, GA3 production, phosphate, zinc solubilization, ACC deaminase activity and ammonia production under PEG induced osmotic stress and non-stress conditions. Under in vitro osmotic conditions, biopriming with the actinobacterium improved the percent germination, seedling vigour and germination rate of onion seeds (cv. Arka Kalyan) at osmotic potentials up to -0.8 MPa. Considering its novelty, osmotolerance and plant growth promoting traits, biopriming with C. zhacaiensis is suggested as a viable option for the promotion of onion seed germination under drought stressed environments.

  19. Protozoa inhibition by different salts: Osmotic stress or ionic stress?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Changhao; Li, Jingya; Lan, Christopher Q; Liao, Dankui

    2017-09-01

    Cell density and morphology changes were tested to examine the effects of salts including NaHCO 3 , NaCl, KHCO 3 , and KCl at 160 mM on protozoa. It was demonstrated that ionic stress rather than osmotic stress led to protozoa cell death and NaHCO 3 was shown to be the most effective inhibitor. Deformation of cells and cell shrinkage were observed when protozoan cells were exposed to polyethylene glycol (PEG) or any of the salts. However, while PEG treated cells could fully recover in both number and size, only a small portion of the salt-treated cells survive and cell size was 36-58% smaller than the regular. The disappearance of salt-treated protozoa cells was hypothetically attributed to disruption of the cytoplasmic membrane of these cells. It is further hypothesized that the PEG-treated protozoan cells carried out regulatory volume increase (RVI) after the osmotic shock but the RVI of salt-treated protozoa was hurdled to varied extents. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1418-1424, 2017. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  20. Effect of Osmotic Stress on Seed Germination Indices of Nigella sativa and Silybum marianum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H Balouchi

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Evaluation of medicinal plants to drought and salt stress tolerance, in an attempt to plant them under drought and saline regions, is of utmost importance. Environmental stresses, especially drought and salt, reduce the global crop yields more than other factors. Selection of drought tolerant crops at germination stage, usually is, the fast and low cost method. In order to study the effect of osmotic stress on germination indices of black cumin and milk thistle, an experiment carried out in a completely randomized design with four replications at the Seed Technology Laboratoary of Yasouj University in 2008. Treatments were 0 (as control, -2.4, -4.8, -7.2 and -9.4 bar osmotic potentials created by using PEG 6000. Results showed that, decreasing of osmotic potential reduced speed of germination and its percentage, root and shoot lengths and dry matter in these two plants. Black cumin showed higher tolerance, to -4.8 bar osmotic potential, as compared to milk thistle. However, milk thistle showed higher tolerance to drought stress, up to this osmotic potential (-4.8 bar, compared to black cumin. Milk thistle had lower germination speed and percentage at higher drought stress as compared to black cumin. Generally, milk thistle showed better growth and survival than black cumin due to its higher root and shoot length and dry matter.

  1. A physiological evaluation of the enhanced osmotic stress tolerance ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ELO

    2012-01-05

    Jan 5, 2012 ... SR3 and Jinan 177 were hydroponically subjected to osmotic stress, the accumulation of proline .... hydroponically in half strength Hoagland's solution for three weeks ..... ascrobate specific peroxidase in spinach chloroplasts.

  2. Osmotic stress represses strigolactone biosynthesis in Lotus japonicus roots: exploring the interaction between strigolactones and ABA under abiotic stress

    KAUST Repository

    Liu, Junwei; He, Hanzi; Vitali, Marco; Visentin, Ivan; Charnikhova, Tatsiana V.; Haider, Imran; Schubert, Andrea; Ruyter-Spira, Carolien P.; Bouwmeester, Harro J J; Lovisolo, Claudio; Cardinale, Francesca

    2015-01-01

    Main conclusion: Strigolactone changes and cross talk with ABA unveil a picture of root-specific hormonal dynamics under stress.Abstract: Strigolactones (SLs) are carotenoid-derived hormones influencing diverse aspects of development and communication with (micro)organisms, and proposed as mediators of environmental stimuli in resource allocation processes; to contribute to adaptive adjustments, therefore, their pathway must be responsive to environmental cues. To investigate the relationship between SLs and abiotic stress in Lotus japonicus, we compared wild-type and SL-depleted plants, and studied SL metabolism in roots stressed osmotically and/or phosphate starved. SL-depleted plants showed increased stomatal conductance, both under normal and stress conditions, and impaired resistance to drought associated with slower stomatal closure in response to abscisic acid (ABA). This confirms that SLs contribute to drought resistance in species other than Arabidopsis. However, we also observed that osmotic stress rapidly and strongly decreased SL concentration in tissues and exudates of wild-type Lotus roots, by acting on the transcription of biosynthetic and transporter-encoding genes and independently of phosphate abundance. Pre-treatment with exogenous SLs inhibited the osmotic stress-induced ABA increase in wild-type roots and down-regulated the transcription of the ABA biosynthetic gene LjNCED2. We propose that a transcriptionally regulated, early SL decrease under osmotic stress is needed (but not sufficient) to allow the physiological increase of ABA in roots. This work shows that SL metabolism and effects on ABA are seemingly opposite in roots and shoots under stress.

  3. Osmotic stress represses strigolactone biosynthesis in Lotus japonicus roots: exploring the interaction between strigolactones and ABA under abiotic stress

    KAUST Repository

    Liu, Junwei

    2015-02-26

    Main conclusion: Strigolactone changes and cross talk with ABA unveil a picture of root-specific hormonal dynamics under stress.Abstract: Strigolactones (SLs) are carotenoid-derived hormones influencing diverse aspects of development and communication with (micro)organisms, and proposed as mediators of environmental stimuli in resource allocation processes; to contribute to adaptive adjustments, therefore, their pathway must be responsive to environmental cues. To investigate the relationship between SLs and abiotic stress in Lotus japonicus, we compared wild-type and SL-depleted plants, and studied SL metabolism in roots stressed osmotically and/or phosphate starved. SL-depleted plants showed increased stomatal conductance, both under normal and stress conditions, and impaired resistance to drought associated with slower stomatal closure in response to abscisic acid (ABA). This confirms that SLs contribute to drought resistance in species other than Arabidopsis. However, we also observed that osmotic stress rapidly and strongly decreased SL concentration in tissues and exudates of wild-type Lotus roots, by acting on the transcription of biosynthetic and transporter-encoding genes and independently of phosphate abundance. Pre-treatment with exogenous SLs inhibited the osmotic stress-induced ABA increase in wild-type roots and down-regulated the transcription of the ABA biosynthetic gene LjNCED2. We propose that a transcriptionally regulated, early SL decrease under osmotic stress is needed (but not sufficient) to allow the physiological increase of ABA in roots. This work shows that SL metabolism and effects on ABA are seemingly opposite in roots and shoots under stress.

  4. Alterations in polyribosome and messenger ribonucleic acid metabolism and messenger ribonucleoprotein utilization in osmotically stressed plant seedlings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mason, H.S.

    1986-01-01

    Polyribosome aggregation state in growing tissues of barley and wheat leaf of stems of pea and squash was studied in relation to seedling growth and water status of the growing tissue in plants at various levels of osmotic stress. It was found to be highly correlated with water potential and osmotic potential of the growing tissue and with leaf of stem elongation rate. Stress rapidly reduced polyribosome content and water status in growing tissues of barley leaves; changes were slow and slight in the non-growing leaf blade. Membrane-bound and free polyribosomes were equally sensitive to stress-induced disaggregation. Incorporation of 32 PO 4 3- into ribosomal RNA was rapidly inhibited by stress, but stability of poly(A) + RNA relative to ribosomal RNA was similar in stressed and unstressed tissues, with a half-life of about 12 hours. Stress also caused progressive loss of poly(A) + RNA from these tissues. Quantitation of poly(A) and in vitro messenger template activity in polysome gradient fractions showed a shift of activity from the polysomal region to the region of 20-60 S in stressed plants. Messenger RNA in the 20-60 S region coded for the same peptides as mRNA found in the polysomal fraction. Nonpolysomal and polysome-derived messenger ribonucleoprotein complexes (mRNP) were isolated, and characteristic proteins were found associated with either fraction. Polysomal mRNP from stressed or unstressed plants were translated with similar efficiency in a wheat germ cell-free system. It was concluded that no translational inhibitory activity was associated with nonpolysomal mRNP from barley prepared as described

  5. Does Osmotic Stress Affect Natural Product Expression in Fungi?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overy, David; Correa, Hebelin; Roullier, Catherine; Chi, Wei-Chiung; Pang, Ka-Lai; Rateb, Mostafa; Ebel, Rainer; Shang, Zhuo; Capon, Rob; Bills, Gerald; Kerr, Russell

    2017-08-13

    The discovery of new natural products from fungi isolated from the marine environment has increased dramatically over the last few decades, leading to the identification of over 1000 new metabolites. However, most of the reported marine-derived species appear to be terrestrial in origin yet at the same time, facultatively halo- or osmotolerant. An unanswered question regarding the apparent chemical productivity of marine-derived fungi is whether the common practice of fermenting strains in seawater contributes to enhanced secondary metabolism? To answer this question, a terrestrial isolate of Aspergillus aculeatus was fermented in osmotic and saline stress conditions in parallel across multiple sites. The ex-type strain of A. aculeatus was obtained from three different culture collections. Site-to-site variations in metabolite expression were observed, suggesting that subculturing of the same strain and subtle variations in experimental protocols can have pronounced effects upon metabolite expression. Replicated experiments at individual sites indicated that secondary metabolite production was divergent between osmotic and saline treatments. Titers of some metabolites increased or decreased in response to increasing osmolite (salt or glycerol) concentrations. Furthermore, in some cases, the expression of some secondary metabolites in relation to osmotic and saline stress was attributed to specific sources of the ex-type strains.

  6. Effects of osmotic stress on predation behaviour of Asterias rubens L.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aguera Garcia, Antonio; Schellekens, Tim; Jansen, J.M.; Smaal, A.C.

    2015-01-01

    Environmental stress plays an important role in determining ecosystem functioning and structure. In estuarine areas both tidal and seasonal salinity changes may cause osmotic stress on predators, affecting their behaviour and survival. The interaction between these predators and their prey may

  7. Early growth response of six wheat varieties under artificial osmotic stress condition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khakwani, A.A.; Dennett, M.D.; Munir, M

    2011-01-01

    An experiment was carried out under laboratory conditions where seeds of six wheat varieties (Damani, Hashim-8, Gomal-8, DN-73, Zam-04 and Dera-98) were raised in Petri dishes and were either treated with distilled water (control) or 15% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 solution. Seeds were treated with 15% PEG solution to establish an artificial osmotic stress condition (water stress) and observe its effect on germination percentage, coleoptile length, shoot and root length, fresh weight of shoot and root. A significant difference (P<0.05) was recorded between varietal and treatment means regarding all traits. Variety Hashim-8 gave maximum germination percentage (93.33%) whereas maximum coleoptile (1.78 cm) and shoot length (5.77 cm) was observed in variety DN-73 which was statistically at par with variety Hashim-8. Similarly, root length (3.63 g), fresh shoot (0.15 g) and root weight (0.12 g) was maximum in variety Dera-98 which was statistically at par with variety Hashim-8. A second experiment was carried out under glass house environment where plants were treated with non-stress (100% field capacity) and water stress (35% field capacity) treatments. Although total grain yield was significantly (P<0.05) reduced in all six wheat varieties when grown in water stress condition however Hashim-8 showed the lowest reduction (13%) while Zam-04 showed the highest (32%). The outcome of both experiments indicated that these varieties have great potential to incorporate with the existing commercial wheat varieties in order to obtain high yield in water stress regions. (author)

  8. The response of foodborne pathogens to osmotic and desiccation stresses in the food chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Burgess, Catherine M.; Gianotti, Andrea; Gruzdev, Nadia

    2016-01-01

    In combination with other strategies, hyperosmolarity and desiccation are frequently used by the food processing industry as a means to prevent bacterial proliferation, and particularly that of foodborne pathogens, in food products. However, it is increasingly observed that bacteria, including...... human pathogens, encode mechanisms to survive and withstand these stresses. This review provides an overview of the mechanisms employed by Salmonella spp., Shiga toxin producing E. coli, Cronobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter spp. to tolerate osmotic and desiccation stresses...... and identifies gaps in knowledge which need to be addressed to ensure the safety of low water activity and desiccated food products....

  9. Abscisic acid regulates root growth under osmotic stress conditions via an interacting hormonal network with cytokinin, ethylene and auxin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowe, James H; Topping, Jennifer F; Liu, Junli; Lindsey, Keith

    2016-07-01

    Understanding the mechanisms regulating root development under drought conditions is an important question for plant biology and world agriculture. We examine the effect of osmotic stress on abscisic acid (ABA), cytokinin and ethylene responses and how they mediate auxin transport, distribution and root growth through effects on PIN proteins. We integrate experimental data to construct hormonal crosstalk networks to formulate a systems view of root growth regulation by multiple hormones. Experimental analysis shows: that ABA-dependent and ABA-independent stress responses increase under osmotic stress, but cytokinin responses are only slightly reduced; inhibition of root growth under osmotic stress does not require ethylene signalling, but auxin can rescue root growth and meristem size; osmotic stress modulates auxin transporter levels and localization, reducing root auxin concentrations; PIN1 levels are reduced under stress in an ABA-dependent manner, overriding ethylene effects; and the interplay among ABA, ethylene, cytokinin and auxin is tissue-specific, as evidenced by differential responses of PIN1 and PIN2 to osmotic stress. Combining experimental analysis with network construction reveals that ABA regulates root growth under osmotic stress conditions via an interacting hormonal network with cytokinin, ethylene and auxin. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

  10. Quorum sensing regulates the osmotic stress response in Vibrio harveyi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Kessel, Julia C; Rutherford, Steven T; Cong, Jian-Ping; Quinodoz, Sofia; Healy, James; Bassler, Bonnie L

    2015-01-01

    Bacteria use a chemical communication process called quorum sensing to monitor cell density and to alter behavior in response to fluctuations in population numbers. Previous studies with Vibrio harveyi have shown that LuxR, the master quorum-sensing regulator, activates and represses >600 genes. These include six genes that encode homologs of the Escherichia coli Bet and ProU systems for synthesis and transport, respectively, of glycine betaine, an osmoprotectant used during osmotic stress. Here we show that LuxR activates expression of the glycine betaine operon betIBA-proXWV, which enhances growth recovery under osmotic stress conditions. BetI, an autorepressor of the V. harveyi betIBA-proXWV operon, activates the expression of genes encoding regulatory small RNAs that control quorum-sensing transitions. Connecting quorum-sensing and glycine betaine pathways presumably enables V. harveyi to tune its execution of collective behaviors to its tolerance to stress. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  11. PEG-induced osmotic stress in Mentha x piperita L.: Structural features and metabolic responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Búfalo, Jennifer; Rodrigues, Tatiane Maria; de Almeida, Luiz Fernando Rolim; Tozin, Luiz Ricardo Dos Santos; Marques, Marcia Ortiz Mayo; Boaro, Carmen Silvia Fernandes

    2016-08-01

    The present study investigated whether osmotic stress induced by the exposure of peppermint (Mentha x piperita L.) to moderate and severe stress for short periods of time changes the plant's physiological parameters, leaf anatomy and ultrastructure and essential oil. Plants were exposed to two levels of polyethyleneglycol (50 g L(-1) and 100 g L(-1) of PEG) in a hydroponic experiment. The plants exposed to 50 g L(-1) maintained metabolic functions similar to those of the control group (0 g L(-1)) without changes in gas exchange or structural characteristics. The increase in antioxidant enzyme activity reduced the presence of free radicals and protected membranes, including chloroplasts and mitochondria. In contrast, the osmotic stress caused by 100 g L(-1) of PEG inhibited leaf gas exchange, reduced the essential oil content and changed the oil composition, including a decrease in menthone and an increase in menthofuran. These plants also showed an increase in peroxidase activity, but this increase was not sufficient to decrease the lipid peroxidation level responsible for damaging the membranes of organelles. Morphological changes were correlated with the evaluated physiological features: plants exposed to 100 g L(-1) of PEG showed areas with collapsed cells, increases in mesophyll thickness and the area of the intercellular space, cuticle shrinkage, morphological changes in plastids, and lysis of mitochondria. In summary, our results revealed that PEG-induced osmotic stress in M. x piperita depends on the intensity level of the osmotic stress applied; severe osmotic stress changed the structural characteristics, caused damage at the cellular level, and reduced the essential oil content and quality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  12. Mechanical properties of the collagen network in human articular cartilage as measured by osmotic stress technique

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Basser, P.J.; Schneiderman, R.; Bank, R.A.; Wachtel, E.; Maroudas, A.

    1998-01-01

    We have used an isotropic osmotic stress technique to assess the swelling pressures of human articular cartilage over a wide range of hydrations in order to determine from these measurements, for the first time, the tensile stress in the collagen network, P(c), as a function of hydration. Osmotic

  13. The grapevine VvWRKY2 gene enhances salt and osmotic stress tolerance in transgenic Nicotiana tabacum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mzid, Rim; Zorrig, Walid; Ben Ayed, Rayda; Ben Hamed, Karim; Ayadi, Mariem; Damak, Yosra; Lauvergeat, Virginie; Hanana, Mohsen

    2018-06-01

    Our study aims to assess the implication of WRKY transcription factor in the molecular mechanisms of grapevine adaptation to salt and water stresses. In this respect, a full-length VvWRKY2 cDNA, isolated from a Vitis vinifera grape berry cDNA library, was constitutively over-expressed in Nicotiana tabacum seedlings. Our results showed that transgenic tobacco plants exhibited higher seed germination rates and better growth, under both salt and osmotic stress treatments, when compared to wild type plants. Furthermore, our analyses demonstrated that, under stress conditions, transgenic plants accumulated more osmolytes, such as soluble sugars and free proline, while no changes were observed regarding electrolyte leakage, H 2 O 2 , and malondialdehyde contents. The improvement of osmotic adjustment may be an important mechanism underlying the role of VvWRKY 2 in promoting tolerance and adaptation to abiotic stresses. Principal component analysis of our results highlighted a clear partition of plant response to stress. On the other hand, we observed a significant adaptation behaviour response for transgenic lines under stress. Taken together, all our findings suggest that over-expression of VvWRKY2 gene has a compelling role in abiotic stress tolerance and, therefore, would provide a useful strategy to promote abiotic stress tolerance in grape via molecular-assisted breeding and/or new biotechnology tools.

  14. From microgravity to osmotic conditions: mechanical integration of plant cells in response to stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wojtaszek, Przemyslaw; Kasprowicz, Anna; Michalak, Michal; Janczara, Renata; Volkmann, Dieter; Baluska, Frantisek

    Chemical reactions and interactions between molecules are commonly thought of as being at the basis of Life. Research of recent years, however, is more and more evidently indicating that physical forces are profoundly affecting the functioning of life at all levels of its organiza-tion. To detect and to respond to such forces, plant cells need to be integrated mechanically. Cell walls are the outermost functional zone of plant cells. They surround the individual cells, and also form a part of the apoplast. In cell suspensions, cell walls are embedded in the cul-ture medium which can be considered as a superapoplast. Through physical and chemical interactions they provide a basis for the structural and functional cell wall-plasma membrane-cytoskeleton (WMC) continuum spanning the whole cell. Here, the working of WMC contin-uum, and the participation of signalling molecules, like NO, would be presented in the context of plant responses to stress. In addition, the effects of the changing composition of WMC continuum will be considered, with particular attention paid to the modifications of the WMC components. Plant cells are normally adapted to changing osmotic conditions, resulting from variable wa-ter availability. The appearance of the osmotic stress activates adaptory mechanisms. If the strength of osmotic stress grows relatively slowly over longer period of time, the cells are able to adapt to conditions that are lethal to non-adapted cells. During stepwise adaptation of tobacco BY-2 suspension cells to the presence of various osmotically active agents, cells diverged into independent, osmoticum type-specific lines. In response to ionic agents (NaCl, KCl), the adhe-sive properties were increased and randomly dividing cells formed clumps, while cells adapted to nonionic osmotica (mannitol, sorbitol, PEG) revealed ordered pattern of precisely positioned cell divisions, resulting in the formation of long cell files. Changes in the growth patterns were accompanied by

  15. Osmotic stress alters the balance between organic and inorganic solutes in flax (Linum usitatissimum).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quéro, Anthony; Molinié, Roland; Elboutachfaiti, Redouan; Petit, Emmanuel; Pau-Roblot, Corinne; Guillot, Xavier; Mesnard, François; Courtois, Josiane

    2014-01-01

    Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is grown for its oil and its fiber. This crop, cultivated in temperate regions, has seen a renewed interest due to the presence of abundant molecules of interest for many applications. Little information is available about the behavior of flax during osmotic stress; yet this is considered a major stress that causes significant yield losses in most crops. To control the presence of this stress better, flax behavior was investigated following the application of osmotic stress and the response was examined by applying increasing concentrations of PEG 8000. This resulted in the reorganization of 32 metabolites and 6 mineral ions in the leaves. The analysis of these two types of solute highlighted the contrasting behavior between a higher metabolite content (particularly fructose, glucose and proline) and a decrease in mineral ions (especially nitrate and potassium) following PEG treatment. However, this reorganization did not lead to a greater accumulation of solutes, with the total amount remaining unchanged in leaves during osmotic stress. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  16. Genetic variation of drought tolerance in Pinus pinaster at three hierarchical levels: a comparison of induced osmotic stress and field testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaspar, Maria João; Velasco, Tania; Feito, Isabel; Alía, Ricardo; Majada, Juan

    2013-01-01

    Understanding the survival capacity of forest trees to periods of severe water stress could improve knowledge of the adaptive potential of different species under future climatic scenarios. In long lived organisms, like forest trees, the combination of induced osmotic stress treatments and field testing can elucidate the role of drought tolerance during the early stages of establishment, the most critical in the life of the species. We performed a Polyethylene glycol-osmotic induced stress experiment and evaluated two common garden experiments (xeric and mesic sites) to test for survival and growth of a wide range clonal collection of Maritime pine. This study demonstrates the importance of additive vs non additive effects for drought tolerance traits in Pinus pinaster, and shows differences in parameters determining the adaptive trajectories of populations and family and clones within populations. The results show that osmotic adjustment plays an important role in population variation, while biomass allocation and hydric content greatly influence survival at population level. Survival in the induced osmotic stress experiment presented significant correlations with survival in the xeric site, and height growth at the mesic site, at population level, indicating constraints of adaptation for those traits, while at the within population level no significant correlation existed. These results demonstrate that population differentiation and within population genetic variation for drought tolerance follow different patterns.

  17. Genetic variation of drought tolerance in Pinus pinaster at three hierarchical levels: a comparison of induced osmotic stress and field testing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria João Gaspar

    Full Text Available Understanding the survival capacity of forest trees to periods of severe water stress could improve knowledge of the adaptive potential of different species under future climatic scenarios. In long lived organisms, like forest trees, the combination of induced osmotic stress treatments and field testing can elucidate the role of drought tolerance during the early stages of establishment, the most critical in the life of the species. We performed a Polyethylene glycol-osmotic induced stress experiment and evaluated two common garden experiments (xeric and mesic sites to test for survival and growth of a wide range clonal collection of Maritime pine. This study demonstrates the importance of additive vs non additive effects for drought tolerance traits in Pinus pinaster, and shows differences in parameters determining the adaptive trajectories of populations and family and clones within populations. The results show that osmotic adjustment plays an important role in population variation, while biomass allocation and hydric content greatly influence survival at population level. Survival in the induced osmotic stress experiment presented significant correlations with survival in the xeric site, and height growth at the mesic site, at population level, indicating constraints of adaptation for those traits, while at the within population level no significant correlation existed. These results demonstrate that population differentiation and within population genetic variation for drought tolerance follow different patterns.

  18. Arabidopsis decuple mutant reveals the importance of SnRK2 kinases in osmotic stress responses in vivo

    KAUST Repository

    Fujii, Hiroaki; Verslues, Paul E.; Zhu, Jian-Kang

    2011-01-01

    Osmotic stress associated with drought or salinity is a major factor that limits plant productivity. Protein kinases in the SNF1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) family are activated by osmotic stress, suggesting that the kinases are involved

  19. Dynamics of seed germination, seedling growth and physiological responses of sweet corn under peg-induced water stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, W.; Zhang, X.; Li, G.; Suo, H.; Ashraf, U.; Mo, Z.

    2017-01-01

    Stress induced variations in seed germination of various crops has been well reported but germination potential of sweet corn seeds under osmotic stress with relation to time dynamics is still elusive. Present study explored the water absorption, germination potential and physiological indices and of sweet corn seeds exposed to five different levels of PEG-induced water stress i.e., 0, -0.3, -0.6, -0.9 and -1.2 M Pa water potential (Psi /sub w/) with respect to time dynamics. Results showed that enhanced water stress for prolonged time period (96 h) led to substantial reduction in water absorption and seed moisture contents, seed germination and vigor index as well as seedlings growth and fresh and dry biomass. Osmotic stress triggered antioxidant defense system like super-oxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) and accumulation of soluble sugars, proline and protein contents considerably. Initially, activities of SOD and CAT were higher but then reduced as stress persisted, however, POD showed a linear increase with respect to stress exposure time. Water stress also increased MDA contents up to 36 h then declined. Further, alpha-amylase activity and soluble protein showed significant correlations with maize seed germination. Overall, germination potential decreased with increase in osmotic stress in sweet corn seeds. (author)

  20. Abscisic acid-regulated protein degradation causes osmotic stress-induced accumulation of branched-chain amino acids in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Tengfang; Jander, Georg

    2017-10-01

    Whereas proline accumulates through de novo biosynthesis in plants subjected to osmotic stress, leucine, isoleucine, and valine accumulation in drought-stressed Arabidopsis thaliana is caused by abscisic acid-regulated protein degradation. In response to several kinds of abiotic stress, plants greatly increase their accumulation of free amino acids. Although stress-induced proline increases have been studied the most extensively, the fold-increase of other amino acids, in particular branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs; leucine, isoleucine, and valine), is often higher than that of proline. In Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), BCAAs accumulate in response to drought, salt, mannitol, polyethylene glycol, herbicide treatment, and nitrogen starvation. Plants that are deficient in abscisic acid signaling accumulate lower amounts of BCAAs, but not proline and most other amino acids. Previous bioinformatic studies had suggested that amino acid synthesis, rather than protein degradation, is responsible for the observed BCAA increase in osmotically stressed Arabidopsis. However, whereas treatment with the protease inhibitor MG132 decreased drought-induced BCAA accumulation, inhibition of BCAA biosynthesis with the acetolactate synthase inhibitors chlorsulfuron and imazapyr did not. Additionally, overexpression of BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACID TRANSFERASE2 (BCAT2), which is upregulated in response to osmotic stress and functions in BCAA degradation, decreased drought-induced BCAA accumulation. Together, these results demonstrate that BCAA accumulation in osmotically stressed Arabidopsis is primarily the result of protein degradation. After relief of the osmotic stress, BCAA homeostasis is restored over time by amino acid degradation involving BCAT2. Thus, drought-induced BCAA accumulation is different from that of proline, which is accumulated due to de novo synthesis in an abscisic acid-independent manner and remains elevated for a more prolonged period of time after removal of

  1. Sorbitol treatment extends lifespan and induces the osmotic stress response in Caenorhabditis elegans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Devon eChandler-Brown

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The response to osmotic stress is a highly conserved process for adapting to changing environmental conditions. Prior studies have shown that hyperosmolarity by addition of sorbitol to the growth medium is sufficient to increase both chronological and replicative lifespan in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we report a similar phenomenon in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Addition of sorbitol to the nematode growth medium induces an adaptive osmotic response and increases C. elegans lifespan by about 35%. Lifespan extension from 5% sorbitol behaves similarly to dietary restriction in a variety of genetic backgrounds, increasing lifespan additively with mutation of daf-2(e1370 and independently of daf-16(mu86, sir-2.1(ok434, aak-2(ok524, and hif-1(ia04. Dietary restriction by bacterial deprivation or mutation of eat-2(ad1113 fails to further extend lifespan in the presence of 5% sorbitol. Two mutants with constitutive activation of the osmotic response, osm-5(p813 and osm-7(n1515, were found to be long-lived, and lifespan extension from sorbitol required the glycerol biosynthetic enzymes GPDH-1 and GPDH-2. Taken together, these observations demonstrate that exposure to sorbitol at levels sufficient to induce an adaptive osmotic response extends lifespan in worms and define the osmotic stress response pathway as a longevity pathway conserved between yeast and nematodes.

  2. Soybean mother plant exposure to temperature stress and its effect on germination under osmotic stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khalil, S.K.; Rehman, A.; Khan, A.Z.; Mexal, J.G.; Zubair, M.; Wahab, S.; Khalil, I.H.; Mohammad, F.

    2010-01-01

    High temperature reduces quality of soybean seed developed at different positions on the plant. The objective of this research was to study the quality of seed produced under different temperature regimes located at different position in the canopy. Soybean plants grown in pots were transferred at first pod stage to three growth chambers fixed at 18/10, 25/15 and 32/20 deg. C day/night temperature having 13/11 hrs day/night length. The plants remained in growth chambers until physiological maturity. Seeds harvested from each growth chamber were exposed to osmotic stress having osmotic potential of -0.5 MPa and unstressed control. Both stressed and control treatments were germinated in three growth chambers fixed at 18, 25 and 35 deg. C. Seed developed at lowest temperature (18/10 deg. C day/night) had maximum germination. Germination decreased linearly with increased day/night temperature and lowest germination was recorded at highest temperature of 32/20 deg. C (day/night). Seed developed at bottom position was heaviest and had better germination compared with seed developed at middle and top position. Seed germination was highest at 25 deg. C and took fewer days to 50% germination than 18 and 25 deg. C. Osmotic stress decreased germination and delayed days to 50% germination than control. It can be concluded that optimum temperature for seed development was 18/10 deg. C (day/night) whereas best germination temperature was 25 deg. C. (author)

  3. Leaf water relations and net gas exchange responses of salinized Carrizo citrange seedlings during drought stress and recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Pérez, J G; Syvertsen, J P; Botía, P; García-Sánchez, F

    2007-08-01

    Since salinity and drought stress can occur together, an assessment was made of their interacting effects on leaf water relations, osmotic adjustment and net gas exchange in seedlings of the relatively chloride-sensitive Carrizo citrange, Citrus sinensis x Poncirus trifoliata. Plants were fertilized with nutrient solution with or without additional 100 mm NaCl (salt and no-salt treatments). After 7 d, half of the plants were drought stressed by withholding irrigation water for 10 d. Thus, there were four treatments: salinized and non-salinized plants under drought-stress or well-watered conditions. After the drought period, plants from all stressed treatments were re-watered with nutrient solution without salt for 8 d to study recovery. Leaf water relations, gas exchange parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence, proline, quaternary ammonium compounds and leaf and root concentrations of Cl(-) and Na(+) were measured. Salinity increased leaf Cl(-) and Na(+) concentrations and decreased osmotic potential (Psi(pi)) such that leaf relative water content (RWC) was maintained during drought stress. However, in non-salinized drought-stressed plants, osmotic adjustment did not occur and RWC decreased. The salinity-induced osmotic adjustment was not related to any accumulation of proline, quaternary ammonium compounds or soluble sugars. Net CO(2) assimilation rate (A(CO2)) was reduced in leaves from all stressed treatments but the mechanisms were different. In non-salinized drought-stressed plants, lower A(CO2) was related to low RWC, whereas in salinized plants decreased A(CO2) was related to high levels of leaf Cl(-) and Na(+). A(CO2) recovered after irrigation in all the treatments except in previously salinized drought-stressed leaves which had lower RWC and less chlorophyll but maintained high levels of Cl(-), Na(+) and quaternary ammonium compounds after recovery. High leaf levels of Cl(-) and Na(+) after recovery apparently came from the roots. Plants preconditioned by

  4. Behavior of Jatropha curcas L. seeds under osmotic stress: germination and cell cycle activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristiane Dantas de Brito

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Jatropha curcas is an oil-rich Euphorbiaceae seed species renowned for its apparent tolerance to environmental stresses. It is considered a promising source of renewable feedstock for biodiesel production in the Brazilian semiarid region where crop establishment requires a better understanding of the mechanisms leading to proper seed and plant behavior under water restrictive conditions. This study describes physiological and cytological profiles of J. curcas seeds imbibed in water restriction conditions by means of osmotic stress or osmoconditioning. Seeds were characterized by size, weight, moisture content and dry mass, germinability, and cell cycle activation by means of tubulin and microtubule cytoskeleton accumulation. Osmoconditioning at -0.8 MPa did not induce priming effects as it did not improve the physiological quality of the seed lots. Western blotting and immunocytochemical analysis revealed an increasing accumulation of tubulin and microtubule cytoskeleton in seeds imbibed in water for 48h onwards, culminating in the onset of mitotic configurations after germination. Only cortical microtubules were observed during seed osmoconditioning, whereas mitotic microtubules only occurred after re-imbibition of osmoconditioned seeds in water and subsequent germination.

  5. Alternative oxidase pathway optimizes photosynthesis during osmotic and temperature stress by regulating cellular ROS, malate valve and antioxidative systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DINAKAR eCHALLABATHULA

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study reveals the importance of alternative oxidase (AOX pathway in optimizing photosynthesis under osmotic and temperature stress conditions in the mesophyll protoplasts of Pisum sativum. The responses of photosynthesis and respiration were monitored at saturating light intensity of 1000 µmoles m-2 s-1 at 25 oC under a range of sorbitol concentrations from 0.4 M to 1.0M to induce hyper-osmotic stress and by varying the temperature of the thermo-jacketed pre-incubation chamber from 25 oC to 10 oC to impose sub-optimal temperature stress. Compared to controls (0.4 M sorbitol and 25 OC, the mesophyll protoplasts showed remarkable decrease in NaHCO3-dependent O2 evolution (indicator of photosynthetic carbon assimilation, under both hyper-osmotic (1.0 M sorbitol and sub-optimal temperature stress conditions (10 OC, while the decrease in rates of respiratory O2 uptake were marginal. The capacity of AOX pathway increased significantly in parallel to increase in intracellular pyruvate and reactive oxygen species (ROS levels under both hyper-osmotic stress and sub-optimal temperature stress under the background of saturating light. The ratio of redox couple (Malate/OAA related to malate valve increased in contrast to the ratio of redox couple (GSH/GSSG related to antioxidative system during hyper-osmotic stress. Nevertheless, the ratio of GSH/GSSG decreased in the presence of sub-optimal temperature, while the ratio of Malate/OAA showed no visible changes. Also, the redox ratios of pyridine nucleotides increased under hyper-osmotic (NADH/NAD and sub-optimal temperature (NADPH/NADP stresses, respectively. However, upon restriction of AOX pathway by using salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM, the observed changes in NaHCO3 dependent O2 evolution, cellular ROS, redox ratios of Malate/OAA, NAD(PH/NAD(P and GSH/GSSG were further aggravated under stress conditions with concomitant modulations in NADP-MDH and antioxidant enzymes. Taken together, the

  6. Influence of biostimulants-seed-priming on Ceratotheca triloba germination and seedling growth under low temperatures, low osmotic potential and salinity stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masondo, Nqobile A; Kulkarni, Manoj G; Finnie, Jeffrey F; Van Staden, Johannes

    2018-01-01

    Extreme temperatures, drought and salinity stress adversely affect seed germination and seedling growth in crop species. Seed priming has been recognized as an indispensable technique in the production of stress-tolerant plants. Seed priming increases seed water content, improves protein synthesis using mRNA and DNA and repair mitochondria in seeds prior to germination. The current study aimed to determine the role of biostimulants-seed-priming during germination and seedling growth of Ceratotheca triloba (Bernh.) Hook.f. (an indigenous African leafy vegetable) under low temperature, low osmotic potential and salinity stress conditions. Ceratotheca triloba seeds were primed with biostimulants [smoke-water (SW), synthesized smoke-compound karrikinolide (KAR 1 ), Kelpak ® (commercial seaweed extract), phloroglucinol (PG) and distilled water (control)] for 48h at 25°C. Thereafter, primed seeds were germinated at low temperatures, low osmotic potential and high NaCl concentrations. Low temperature (10°C) completely inhibited seed germination. However, temperature shift to 15°C improved germination. Smoke-water and KAR 1 enhanced seed germination with SW improving seedling growth under different stress conditions. Furthermore, priming seeds with Kelpak ® stimulated percentage germination, while PG and the control treatment improved seedling growth at different PEG and NaCl concentrations. Generally, high concentrations of PEG and NaCl brought about detrimental effects on seed germination and seedling growth. Findings from this study show the potential role of seed priming with biostimulants in the alleviation of abiotic stress conditions during seed germination and seedling growth in C. triloba plants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Osmotically-driven membrane processes for water reuse and energy recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Achilli, Andrea

    Osmotically-driven membrane processes are an emerging class of membrane separation processes that utilize concentrated brines to separate liquid streams. Their versatility of application make them an attractive alternative for water reuse and energy production/recovery. This work focused on innovative applications of osmotically-driven membrane processes. The novel osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBR) system for water reuse was presented. Experimental results demonstrated high sustainable flux and relatively low reverse diffusion of solutes from the draw solution into the mixed liquor. Membrane fouling was minimal and controlled with osmotic backwashing. The OMBR system was found to remove greater than 99% of organic carbon and ammonium-nitrogen. Forward osmosis (FO) can employ different draw solution in its process. More than 500 inorganic compounds were screened as draw solution candidates, the desktop screening process resulted in 14 draw solutions suitable for FO applications. The 14 draw solutions were then tested in the laboratory to evaluate water flux and reverse salt diffusion through the membrane. Results indicated a wide range of water flux and reverse salt diffusion depending on the draw solution utilized. Internal concentration polarization was found to lower both water flux and reverse salt diffusion by reducing the draw solution concentration at the interface between the support and dense layer of the membrane. A small group of draw solutions was found to be most suitable for FO processes with currently available FO membranes. Another application of osmotically-driven membrane processes is pressure retarded osmosis (PRO). PRO was investigated as a viable source of renewable energy. A PRO model was developed to predict water flux and power density under specific experimental conditions. The predictive model was tested using experimental results from a bench-scale PRO system. Previous investigations of PRO were unable to verify model predictions due to

  8. Alleviation of osmotic stress of water and salt in germination and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2008-07-04

    Jul 4, 2008 ... ening, osmoconditioning, osmohardening, and hormonal priming have ... germination, emergence and plant growth of wheat (Das and Choudhury .... In the present study, a significant three way interaction. (osmotic agents ...

  9. Role of Osmotic Adjustment in Plant Productivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gebre, G.M.

    2001-01-11

    Successful implementation of short rotation woody crops requires that the selected species and clones be productive, drought tolerant, and pest resistant. Since water is one of the major limiting factors in poplar (Populus sp.) growth, there is little debate for the need of drought tolerant clones, except on the wettest of sites (e.g., lower Columbia River delta). Whether drought tolerance is compatible with productivity remains a debatable issue. Among the many mechanisms of drought tolerance, dehydration postponement involves the maintenance of high leaf water potential due to, for example, an adequate root system. This trait is compatible with productivity, but requires available soil moisture. When the plant leaf water potential and soil water content decline, the plant must be able to survive drought through dehydration tolerance mechanisms, such as low osmotic potential or osmotic adjustment. Osmotic adjustment and low osmotic potential are considered compatible with growth and yield because they aid in the maintenance of leaf turgor. However, it has been shown that turgor alone does not regulate cell expansion or stomatal conductance and, therefore, the role of osmotic adjustment is debated. Despite this finding, osmotic adjustment has been correlated with grain yield in agronomic crop species, and gene markers responsible for osmotic adjustment are being investigated to improve drought tolerance in productive progenies. Although osmotic adjustment and low osmotic potentials have been investigated in several forest tree species, few studies have investigated the relationship between osmotic adjustment and growth. Most of these studies have been limited to greenhouse or container-grown plants. Osmotic adjustment and rapid growth have been specifically associated in Populus and black spruce (Picea mariuna (Mill.) B.S.P.) progenies. We tested whether these relationships held under field conditions using several poplar clones. In a study of two hybrid poplar

  10. Relationships between phenotypic variation in osmotic adjustment, water-use efficiency, and drought tolerance of seven cultivars of Lotus corniculatus L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Inostroza

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Lotus corniculatus L. is a perennial forage legume species highly-adapted to growth under drought conditions. However, the genetic and physiological mechanisms involved in its adaptive capacity have not been elucidated. The role of osmotic adjustment (OA and water-use efficiency (WUE on the drought tolerance of L. corniculatus was studied in a greenhouse experiment. Seven cultivars of different origin were subjected to two contrasting treatments of available soil water: No water stress (NWS and with water stress (WWS. Xylem water potential (Ψx, osmotic potential (Ψπ, pressure potential (Ψp, relative water content (RWC, stomatal conductance (g s, shoot DM production, water transpiration (T, and WUE (shoot DM/T were measured. Water treatments significantly (P < 0.05 affected plant water status, which was reflected in reduced Ψx, RWC, g s, and transpiration rate in the WWS treatment compared with the NWS treatment. All cultivars showed a high capacity for OA under WWS treatment because Ψπ decreased by approximately 60% and Ψp increased by approximately 30%, compared with the NWS treatment. Cultivars with a higher solute accumulation (low Ψπ value had the lowest DM production under WWS treatment. In contrast, WUE varied greatly among cultivars and was positively associated (R² = 0.88; P < 0.01 with DM production under drought conditions.

  11. Silicon alleviates salt and drought stress of Glycyrrhiza uralensis seedling by altering antioxidant metabolism and osmotic adjustment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wenjin; Xie, Zhicai; Wang, Lianhong; Li, Ming; Lang, Duoyong; Zhang, Xinhui

    2017-05-01

    This study was conducted to determine effect and mechanism of exogenous silicon (Si) on salt and drought tolerance of Glycyrrhiza uralensis seedling by focusing on the pathways of antioxidant defense and osmotic adjustment. Seedling growth, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant metabolism, osmolytes concentration and Si content of G. uralensis seedlings were analyzed under control, salt and drought stress [100 mM NaCl with 0, 10 and 20% of PEG-6000 (Polyethylene glycol-6000)] with or without 1 mM Si. Si addition markedly affected the G. uralensis growth in a combined dose of NaCl and PEG dependent manner. In brief, Si addition improved germination rate, germination index, seedling vitality index and biomass under control and NaCl; Si also increased radicle length under control, NaCl and NaCl-10% PEG, decreased radicle length, seedling vitality index and germination parameters under NaCl-20% PEG. The salt and drought stress-induced-oxidative stress was modulated by Si application. Generally, Si application increased catalase (CAT) activity under control and NaCl-10% PEG, ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity under all treatments and glutathione (GSH) content under salt combined drought stress as compared with non-Si treatments, which resisted to the increase of superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide caused by salt and drought stress and further decreased membrane permeability and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration. Si application also increased proline concentration under NaCl and NaCl-20% PEG, but decreased it under NaCl-10% PEG, indicating proline play an important role in G. uralensis seedling response to osmotic stress. In conclusion, Si could ameliorate adverse effects of salt and drought stress on G. uralensis likely by reducing oxidative stress and osmotic stress, and the oxidative stress was regulated through enhancing of antioxidants (mainly CAT, APX and GSH) and osmotic stress was regulated by proline.

  12. Piecewise linear approximations to model the dynamics of adaptation to osmotic stress by food-borne pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Métris, Aline; George, Susie M; Ropers, Delphine

    2017-01-02

    Addition of salt to food is one of the most ancient and most common methods of food preservation. However, little is known of how bacterial cells adapt to such conditions. We propose to use piecewise linear approximations to model the regulatory adaptation of Escherichiacoli to osmotic stress. We apply the method to eight selected genes representing the functions known to be at play during osmotic adaptation. The network is centred on the general stress response factor, sigma S, and also includes a module representing the catabolic repressor CRP-cAMP. Glutamate, potassium and supercoiling are combined to represent the intracellular regulatory signal during osmotic stress induced by salt. The output is a module where growth is represented by the concentration of stable RNAs and the transcription of the osmotic gene osmY. The time course of gene expression of transport of osmoprotectant represented by the symporter proP and of the osmY is successfully reproduced by the network. The behaviour of the rpoS mutant predicted by the model is in agreement with experimental data. We discuss the application of the model to food-borne pathogens such as Salmonella; although the genes considered have orthologs, it seems that supercoiling is not regulated in the same way. The model is limited to a few selected genes, but the regulatory interactions are numerous and span different time scales. In addition, they seem to be condition specific: the links that are important during the transition from exponential to stationary phase are not all needed during osmotic stress. This model is one of the first steps towards modelling adaptation to stress in food safety and has scope to be extended to other genes and pathways, other stresses relevant to the food industry, and food-borne pathogens. The method offers a good compromise between systems of ordinary differential equations, which would be unmanageable because of the size of the system and for which insufficient data are available

  13. Saltstone Osmotic Pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nichols, Ralph L.; Dixon, Kenneth L.

    2013-01-01

    Recent research into the moisture retention properties of saltstone suggest that osmotic pressure may play a potentially significant role in contaminant transport (Dixon et al., 2009 and Dixon, 2011). The Savannah River Remediation Closure and Disposal Assessments Group requested the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to conduct a literature search on osmotic potential as it relates to contaminant transport and to develop a conceptual model of saltstone that incorporates osmotic potential. This report presents the findings of the literature review and presents a conceptual model for saltstone that incorporates osmotic potential. The task was requested through Task Technical Request HLW-SSF-TTR-2013-0004. Simulated saltstone typically has very low permeability (Dixon et al. 2008) and pore water that contains a large concentration of dissolved salts (Flach and Smith 2013). Pore water in simulated saltstone has a high salt concentration relative to pore water in concrete and groundwater. This contrast in salt concentration can generate high osmotic pressures if simulated saltstone has the properties of a semipermeable membrane. Estimates of osmotic pressure using results from the analysis of pore water collected from simulated saltstone show that an osmotic pressure up to 2790 psig could be generated within the saltstone. Most semi-permeable materials are non-ideal and have an osmotic efficiency 3 , KNO 3 , Na 3 PO 4 x12H 2 O, and K 3 PO 4 when exposed to a dilute solution. Typically hydraulic head is considered the only driving force for groundwater in groundwater models. If a low permeability material containing a concentrated salt solution is present in the hydrogeologic sequence large osmotic pressures may develop and lead to misinterpretation of groundwater flow and solute transport. The osmotic pressure in the semi-permeable material can significantly impact groundwater flow in the vicinity of the semi-permeable material. One possible outcome is that

  14. Alleviation of Osmotic Stress Effects by Exogenous Application of Salicylic or Abscisic Acid on Wheat Seedlings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcińska, Izabela; Czyczyło-Mysza, Ilona; Skrzypek, Edyta; Grzesiak, Maciej T.; Janowiak, Franciszek; Filek, Maria; Dziurka, Michał; Dziurka, Kinga; Waligórski, Piotr; Juzoń, Katarzyna; Cyganek, Katarzyna; Grzesiak, Stanisław

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the study was to assess the role of salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA) in osmotic stress tolerance of wheat seedlings. This was accomplished by determining the impact of the acids applied exogenously on seedlings grown under osmotic stress in hydroponics. The investigation was unique in its comprehensiveness, examining changes under osmotic stress and other conditions, and testing a number of parameters simultaneously. In both drought susceptible (SQ1) and drought resistant (CS) wheat cultivars, significant physiological and biochemical changes were observed upon the addition of SA (0.05 mM) or ABA (0.1 μM) to solutions containing half-strength Hoagland medium and PEG 6000 (−0.75 MPa). The most noticeable result of supplementing SA or ABA to the medium (PEG + SA and PEG + ABA) was a decrease in the length of leaves and roots in both cultivars. While PEG treatment reduced gas exchange parameters, chlorophyll content in CS, and osmotic potential, and conversely, increased lipid peroxidation, soluble carbohydrates in SQ1, proline content in both cultivars and total antioxidants activity in SQ1, PEG + SA or PEG + ABA did not change the values of these parameters. Furthermore, PEG caused a two-fold increase of endogenous ABA content in SQ1 and a four-fold increase in CS. PEG + ABA increased endogenous ABA only in SQ1, whereas PEG + SA caused a greater increase of ABA content in both cultivars compared to PEG. In PEG-treated plants growing until the harvest, a greater decrease of yield components was observed in SQ1 than in CS. PEG + SA, and particularly PEG + ABA, caused a greater increase of these yield parameters in CS compared to SQ1. In conclusion, SA and ABA ameliorate, particularly in the tolerant wheat cultivar, the harmful effects and after effects of osmotic stress induced by PEG in hydroponics through better osmotic adjustment achieved by an increase in proline and carbohydrate content as well as by an increase in antioxidant activity

  15. Alleviation of Osmotic Stress Effects by Exogenous Application of Salicylic or Abscisic Acid on Wheat Seedlings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarzyna Cyganek

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to assess the role of salicylic acid (SA and abscisic acid (ABA in osmotic stress tolerance of wheat seedlings. This was accomplished by determining the impact of the acids applied exogenously on seedlings grown under osmotic stress in hydroponics. The investigation was unique in its comprehensiveness, examining changes under osmotic stress and other conditions, and testing a number of parameters simultaneously. In both drought susceptible (SQ1 and drought resistant (CS wheat cultivars, significant physiological and biochemical changes were observed upon the addition of SA (0.05 mM or ABA (0.1 μM to solutions containing half-strength Hoagland medium and PEG 6000 (−0.75 MPa. The most noticeable result of supplementing SA or ABA to the medium (PEG + SA and PEG + ABA was a decrease in the length of leaves and roots in both cultivars. While PEG treatment reduced gas exchange parameters, chlorophyll content in CS, and osmotic potential, and conversely, increased lipid peroxidation, soluble carbohydrates in SQ1, proline content in both cultivars and total antioxidants activity in SQ1, PEG + SA or PEG + ABA did not change the values of these parameters. Furthermore, PEG caused a two-fold increase of endogenous ABA content in SQ1 and a four-fold increase in CS. PEG + ABA increased endogenous ABA only in SQ1, whereas PEG + SA caused a greater increase of ABA content in both cultivars compared to PEG. In PEG-treated plants growing until the harvest, a greater decrease of yield components was observed in SQ1 than in CS. PEG + SA, and particularly PEG + ABA, caused a greater increase of these yield parameters in CS compared to SQ1. In conclusion, SA and ABA ameliorate, particularly in the tolerant wheat cultivar, the harmful effects and after effects of osmotic stress induced by PEG in hydroponics through better osmotic adjustment achieved by an increase in proline and carbohydrate content as well as by an increase in antioxidant

  16. Characterization of Macrophomina phaseolina isolates by their response to different osmotic potentials and AFLP

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    Bárbara J. Gutiérrez Cedeño

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Charcoal rot of Phaseolus vulgaris is caused by the fungus Macrophomina phaseolina, the disease is associated with high temperature and water stress. The objective of this study was to characterize isolates of M. phaseolina by their response to different osmotic potentials and AFLP. The growth of 11 isolates was determined on potato dextrose agar at 48 and 72 h in a gradient of osmotic potential induced using NaCl as well as their effects on germination of sclerotia. Three water groups were statistically different indicating differential response to osmotic potential and all sclerotia grown under these conditions, germinated between 24 and 48h. There were groups of isolates that were tolerant to water stress induced. The AFLP genotyping allowed the formation of five genetic groups, showing a wide genetic variability. Of the nine starters CTA-AT showed a high degree of confidence in the identification of genotypes of M. phaseolina and CAA-AC had the lowest discriminatory power. These results show that M. phaseolina isolates responded differently to osmotic potential and are genetically different between them. Although there was a clear correspondence of genetic groups to water groups; these responses are important features in the search for alternative management in black bean pathosystem. Keywords: molecular marker, M. phaseolina, water deficit

  17. The Influence of the Osmotic Dehydration Process on Physicochemical Properties of Osmotic Solution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lech, Krzysztof; Michalska, Anna; Wojdyło, Aneta; Nowicka, Paulina; Figiel, Adam

    2017-12-16

    The osmotic dehydration (OD) process consists of the removal of water from a material during which the solids from the osmotic solution are transported to the material by osmosis. This process is commonly performed in sucrose and salt solutions. Taking into account that a relatively high consumption of those substances might have a negative effect on human health, attempts have been made to search for alternatives that can be used for osmotic dehydration. One of these is an application of chokeberry juice with proven beneficial properties to human health. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical properties of the OD solution (chokeberry juice concentrate) before and after the osmotic dehydration of carrot and zucchini. The total polyphenolics content, antioxidant capacity (ABTS, FRAP), dynamic viscosity, density, and water activity were examined in relation to the juice concentration used for the osmotic solution before and after the OD process. During the osmotic dehydration process, the concentration of the chokeberry juice decreased. Compounds with lower molecular weight and lower antioxidant capacity present in concentrated chokeberry juice had a stronger influence on the exchange of compounds during the OD process in carrot and zucchini. The water activity of the osmotic solution increased after the osmotic dehydration process. It was concluded that the osmotic solution after the OD process might be successfully re-used as a product with high quality for i.e. juice production.

  18. Characterization of γ-aminobutyric acid metabolism and oxidative damage in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings under salt and osmotic stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Quraan, Nisreen A; Sartawe, Fatima Al-Batool; Qaryouti, Muien M

    2013-07-15

    The molecular response of plants to abiotic stresses has been considered a process mainly involved in the modulation of transcriptional activity of stress-related genes. Nevertheless, recent findings have suggested new layers of regulation and complexity. Upstream molecular mechanisms are involved in the plant response to abiotic stress. Plants gain resistance to abiotic stress by reprogramming metabolism and gene expression. GABA is proposed to be a signaling molecule involved in nitrogen metabolism, regulating the cytosolic pH, and protection against oxidative damage in response to various abiotic stresses. The aim of our study was to examine the role of the GABA shunt pathway-specific response in five wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars (Hurani 75, Sham I, Acsad 65, Um Qayes and Nodsieh) to salt and osmotic stress in terms of seed germination, seedling growth, oxidative damage (malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation), and characterization of the glutamate decarboxylse gene (GAD) m-RNA level were determined using RT-PCR techniques. Our data showed a marked increase in GABA, MDA and GAD m-RNA levels under salt and osmotic stress in the five wheat cultivars. Um Qayes cultivar showed the highest germination percentage, GABA accumulation, and MDA level under salt and osmotic stresses. The marked increase in GAD gene expression explains the high accumulation of the GABA level under both stresses. Our results indicated that the GABA shunt is a key signaling and metabolic pathway that allows wheat to adapt to salt and osmotic stress. Based on our data, the Um Qayes wheat cultivar is the cultivar most recommended to be grown in soil with high salt and osmotic contents. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  19. Free water transport, small pore transport and the osmotic pressure gradient

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Parikova, Alena; Smit, Watske; Zweers, Machteld M.; Struijk, Dirk G.; Krediet, Raymond T.

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Water transport in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients occurs through the small pores and water channels, the latter allowing free water transport (FWT). The osmotic gradient is known to be one of the major determinants of water transport. The objective of the study was to analyse the

  20. Cell Wall Remodeling Enzymes Modulate Fungal Cell Wall Elasticity and Osmotic Stress Resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ene, Iuliana V; Walker, Louise A; Schiavone, Marion; Lee, Keunsook K; Martin-Yken, Hélène; Dague, Etienne; Gow, Neil A R; Munro, Carol A; Brown, Alistair J P

    2015-07-28

    The fungal cell wall confers cell morphology and protection against environmental insults. For fungal pathogens, the cell wall is a key immunological modulator and an ideal therapeutic target. Yeast cell walls possess an inner matrix of interlinked β-glucan and chitin that is thought to provide tensile strength and rigidity. Yeast cells remodel their walls over time in response to environmental change, a process controlled by evolutionarily conserved stress (Hog1) and cell integrity (Mkc1, Cek1) signaling pathways. These mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways modulate cell wall gene expression, leading to the construction of a new, modified cell wall. We show that the cell wall is not rigid but elastic, displaying rapid structural realignments that impact survival following osmotic shock. Lactate-grown Candida albicans cells are more resistant to hyperosmotic shock than glucose-grown cells. We show that this elevated resistance is not dependent on Hog1 or Mkc1 signaling and that most cell death occurs within 10 min of osmotic shock. Sudden decreases in cell volume drive rapid increases in cell wall thickness. The elevated stress resistance of lactate-grown cells correlates with reduced cell wall elasticity, reflected in slower changes in cell volume following hyperosmotic shock. The cell wall elasticity of lactate-grown cells is increased by a triple mutation that inactivates the Crh family of cell wall cross-linking enzymes, leading to increased sensitivity to hyperosmotic shock. Overexpressing Crh family members in glucose-grown cells reduces cell wall elasticity, providing partial protection against hyperosmotic shock. These changes correlate with structural realignment of the cell wall and with the ability of cells to withstand osmotic shock. The C. albicans cell wall is the first line of defense against external insults, the site of immune recognition by the host, and an attractive target for antifungal therapy. Its tensile strength is conferred by

  1. Osmotic and Salt Stresses Modulate Spontaneous and Glutamate-Induced Action Potentials and Distinguish between Growth and Circumnutation in Helianthus annuus Seedlings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Stolarz

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Action potentials (APs, i.e., long-distance electrical signals, and circumnutations (CN, i.e., endogenous plant organ movements, are shaped by ion fluxes and content in excitable and motor tissues. The appearance of APs and CN as well as growth parameters in seedlings and 3-week old plants of Helianthus annuus treated with osmotic and salt stress (0–500 mOsm were studied. Time-lapse photography and extracellular measurements of electrical potential changes were performed. The hypocotyl length was strongly reduced by the osmotic and salt stress. CN intensity declined due to the osmotic but not salt stress. The period of CN in mild salt stress was similar to the control (~164 min and increased to more than 200 min in osmotic stress. In sunflower seedlings growing in a hydroponic medium, spontaneous APs (SAPs propagating basipetally and acropetally with a velocity of 12–20 cm min−1 were observed. The number of SAPs increased 2–3 times (7–10 SAPs 24 h−1plant−1 in the mild salt stress (160 mOsm NaCl and KCl, compared to the control and strong salt stress (3–4 SAPs 24 h−1 plant−1 in the control and 300 mOsm KCl and NaCl. Glutamate-induced series of APs were inhibited in the strong salt stress-treated seedlings but not at the mild salt stress and osmotic stress. Additionally, in 3-week old plants, the injection of the hypo- or hyperosmotic solution at the base of the sunflower stem evoked series of APs (3–24 APs transmitted along the stem. It has been shown that osmotic and salt stresses modulate differently hypocotyl growth and CN and have an effect on spontaneous and evoked APs in sunflower seedlings. We suggested that potassium, sodium, and chloride ions at stress concentrations in the nutrient medium modulate sunflower excitability and CN.

  2. Overexpression of a Plasma Membrane-Localized SbSRP-Like Protein Enhances Salinity and Osmotic Stress Tolerance in Transgenic Tobacco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avinash Mishra

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available An obligate halophyte, Salicornia brachiata grows in salt marshes and is considered to be a potential resource of salt- and drought-responsive genes. It is important to develop an understanding of the mechanisms behind enhanced salt tolerance. To increase this understanding, a novel SbSRP gene was cloned, characterized, over-expressed, and functionally validated in the model plant Nicotiana tabacum. The genome of the halophyte S. brachiata contains two homologs of an intronless SbSRP gene of 1,262 bp in length that encodes for a stress-related protein. An in vivo localization study confirmed that SbSRP is localized on the plasma membrane. Transgenic tobacco plants (T1 that constitutively over-express the SbSRP gene showed improved salinity and osmotic stress tolerance. In comparison to Wild Type (WT and Vector Control (VC plants, transgenic lines showed elevated relative water and chlorophyll content, lower malondialdehyde content, lower electrolyte leakage and higher accumulation of proline, free amino acids, sugars, polyphenols, and starch under abiotic stress treatments. Furthermore, a lower build-up of H2O2 content and superoxide-radicals was found in transgenic lines compared to WT and VC plants under stress conditions. Transcript expression of Nt-APX (ascorbate peroxidase, Nt-CAT (catalase, Nt-SOD (superoxide dismutase, Nt-DREB (dehydration responsive element binding factor, and Nt-AP2 (apetala2 genes was higher in transgenic lines under stress compared to WT and VC plants. The results suggested that overexpression of membrane-localized SbSRP mitigates salt and osmotic stress in the transgenic tobacco plant. It was hypothesized that SbSRP can be a transporter protein to transmit the environmental stimuli downward through the plasma membrane. However, a detailed study is required to ascertain its exact role in the abiotic stress tolerance mechanism. Overall, SbSRP is a potential candidate to be used for engineering salt and osmotic

  3. Identification of Proteins Using iTRAQ and Virus-Induced Gene Silencing Reveals Three Bread Wheat Proteins Involved in the Response to Combined Osmotic-Cold Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ning; Zhang, Lingran; Shi, Chaonan; Zhao, Lei; Cui, Dangqun; Chen, Feng

    2018-05-25

    Crops are often subjected to a combination of stresses in the field. To date, studies on the physiological and molecular responses of common wheat to a combination of osmotic and cold stresses, however, remain unknown. In this study, wheat seedlings exposed to osmotic-cold stress for 24 h showed inhibited growth, as well as increased lipid peroxidation, relative electrolyte leakage, and soluble sugar contents. iTRAQ-based quantitative proteome method was employed to determine the proteomic profiles of the roots and leaves of wheat seedlings exposed to osmotic-cold stress conditions. A total of 250 and 258 proteins with significantly altered abundance in the roots and leaves were identified, respectively, and the majority of these proteins displayed differential abundance, thereby revealing organ-specific differences in adaptation to osmotic-cold stress. Yeast two hybrid assay examined five pairs of stress/defense-related protein-protein interactions in the predicted protein interaction network. Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that abiotic stresses increased the expression of three candidate protein genes, i.e., TaGRP2, CDCP, and Wcor410c in wheat leaves. Virus-induced gene silencing indicated that three genes TaGRP2, CDCP, and Wcor410c were involved in modulating osmotic-cold stress in common wheat. Our study provides useful information for the elucidation of molecular and genetics bases of osmotic-cold combined stress in bread wheat.

  4. Polyamines and plant stress - Activation of putrescine biosynthesis by osmotic shock

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flores, H. E.; Galston, A. W.

    1982-01-01

    The putrescine content of oat leaf cells and protoplasts increases up to 60-fold within 6 hours of exposure to osmotic stress (0.4 to 0.6 molar sorbitol). Barley, corn, wheat, and wild oat leaves show a similar response. Increased arginine decarboxylase activity parallels the rise in putrescine, whereas ornithine decarboxylase remains unchanged. DL-alpha-Difluoromethylarginine, a specific irreversible inhibitor of arginine decarboxylase, prevents the stress-induced rise in increase in arginine decarboxylase activity and putrescine synthesis, indicating the preferential activation of this pathway.

  5. Effect of iso-osmotic salt and water stress in relation to adjustment on mutant sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) plant lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahuja, Akash V.; Kalwade, Sachin B.; Nikam, Ashok A.; Devarumath, R.M.; Chauvan, Viraj S.; Kanse, Sangram S.

    2014-01-01

    Gamma radiation induced mutagenesis followed by in vitro selection was employed for salt tolerance in popular sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) cv.CoM0265. Assimilated regenerated mutant plantlets were planted on control as well as salt affected soil. Mutants which showed relatively good response with respect to its quantitative and qualitative parameters were selected for priming experiment. Nine mutants and its respective control and parent control which are known to vary in salt tolerance under field conditions were studied. In order to discriminate between the ionic and osmotic components of salt stress, mutant plants were treated with NaCl salt (100 mM) or polyethylene glycol-PEG 8000 solutions (20%) for 10 days. Both NaCI and PEG treatment significantly reduced leaf width, number of green leaves and chlorophyll stability index. Osmotic adjustment indicated that the NaCI and PEG stress lead to accumulation of osmolytes, however sugar level changes non significantly. The ion concentration was drastically affected upon NaCI treatment, whereas PEG stress accumulated relatively less amount of Na + ions in comparison to NaCl. However, there was an increase in K + concentration upon PEG treatment, whereas NaCI stress accumulated less K + concentration with respect to PEG and control. The NaCI and PEG treated mutant plants showed increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Catalase (CAT) in comparison to its control and parent control. Among the mutant selected gamma rays irradiation in corporation with enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress is one of the important goals for the biotechnological improvement of crop plants. Enhanced salinity tolerance may prove beneficial to improve the competitiveness of the popular sugarcane cultivars and their commercial cultivation in saline areas. (author)

  6. The genome of the xerotolerant mold Wallemia sebi reveals adaptations to osmotic stress and suggests cryptic sexual reproduction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mahajabeen, Padamsee; Kumas, T. K. Arun; Riley, Robert; Binder, Manfred; Boyd, Alex; Calvo, Ann M.; Furukawa, Kentaro; Hesse, Cedar; Hohmann, Stefan; James, Tim Y.; LaButti, Kurt; Lapidus, Alla; Lindquist, Erika; Lucas, Susan; Miller, Kari; Shantappa, Sourabha; Grigoriev, Igor V.; Hibbett, David S.; McLaughlin, David J.; Spatafora, Joseph W.; Aime, Mary C.

    2011-09-03

    Wallemia (Wallemiales, Wallemiomycetes) is a genus of xerophilic Fungi of uncertain phylogenetic position within Basidiomycota. Most commonly found as food contaminants, species of Wallemia have also been isolated from hypersaline environments. The ability to tolerate environments with reduced water activity is rare in Basidiomycota. We sequenced the genome of W. sebi in order to understand its adaptations for surviving in osmotically challenging environments, and we performed phylogenomic and ultrastructural analyses to address its systematic placement and reproductive biology. W. sebi has a compact genome (9.8 Mb), with few repeats and the largest fraction of genes with functional domains compared with other Basidiomycota. We applied several approaches to searching for osmotic stress-related proteins. In silico analyses identied 93 putative osmotic stress proteins; homology searches showed the HOG (High Osmolarity Glycerol) pathway to be mostly conserved. Despite the seemingly reduced genome, several gene family expansions and a high number of transporters (549) were found that also provide clues to the ability of W. sebito colonize harsh environments. Phylogenetic analyses of a 71-protein dataset support the position of Wallemia as the earliest diverging lineage of Agaricomycotina, which is conrmed by septal pore ultrastructure that shows the septal pore apparatus as a variant of the Tremella-type. Mating type gene homologs were idented although we found no evidence of meiosis during conidiogenesis, suggesting there may be aspects of the life cycle of W. sebi that remain cryptic

  7. Transcriptomic Profiling and Physiological Analysis of Haloxylon ammodendron in Response to Osmotic Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-Juan Gao

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Haloxylon ammodendron, a perennial xero-halophyte, is an essential species for investigating the effects of drought on desert tree. To gain a comprehensive knowledge on the responses of H. ammodendron to drought stress, we specially performed the molecular and physiological analysis of H. ammodendron in response to −0.75 MPa osmotic stress for six and 24 h in lab condition via RNA-seq and digital gene expression (DGE. In total, 87,109 unigenes with a mean length of 680 bp and 13,486 potential simple sequence repeats (SSRs were generated, and 3353 differentially expressed genes (DEGs in shoots and 4564 in roots were identified under stress. These DEGs were mainly related to ion transporters, signal transduction, ROS-scavenging, photosynthesis, cell wall organization, membrane stabilization and hormones. Moreover, the physiological changes of inorganic ions and organic solute content, peroxidase (POD activity and osmotic potential were in accordance with dynamic transcript profiles of the relevant genes. In this study, a detailed investigation of the pathways and candidate genes identified promote the research on the molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance in the xero-halophytic species. Our data provides valuable genetic resources for future improvement of forage and crop species for better adaptation to abiotic stresses.

  8. Water and sucrose diffusion coefficients during osmotic dehydration of sapodilla (Achras zapota L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lívia Muritiba Pereira de Lima Coimbra

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Sapodilla is an original fruit from Central America that is well adapted in all regions of the Brazilian territory. Despite its wide adaptation and acceptance in fruit markets, it is rare to find it outside tropical regions, partially because of its high perishability. The development of alternative, simple, and inexpensive methods to extend the conservation and marketing of these fruits is important, and osmotic dehydration is one of these methods. The main objective of this study was to determine the water and sucrose diffusion coefficients during the osmotic dehydration of sapodilla. This process was performed in short duration (up to 6h to evaluate detailed information on water loss and solids gain kinetics at the beginning of the process and in long duration (up to 60h to determine the equilibrium concentrations in sapodilla. The immersion time had greater influence on the water and sucrose diffusion coefficients (P<0.05; the maximum water loss (WL and solute gain (SG occurred in the osmotic solution at the highest concentration. Water and sucrose diffusion coefficients ranged from 0.00 x 10-10 m2/s to 1.858 x 10-10 m2/s, and from 0.00 x 10-10to 2.304 x 10-10 m2/s, respectively. Thus, understanding the WL and SG kinetics during the process of sapodilla osmotic dehydration could significantly contribute to new alternatives of preservation and commercialization of this fruit.

  9. The HOG pathway controls osmotic regulation of transcription via the stress response element (STRE) of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CTT1 gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schüller, C; Brewster, J L; Alexander, M R; Gustin, M C; Ruis, H

    1994-09-15

    The HOG signal pathway of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is defined by the PBS2 and HOG1 genes encoding members of the MAP kinase kinase and of the MAP kinase family, respectively. Mutations in this pathway (deletions of PBS2 or HOG1, or point mutations in HOG1) almost completely abolish the induction of transcription by osmotic stress that is mediated by stress response elements (STREs). We have demonstrated previously that STREs also mediate induction of transcription by heat shock, nitrogen starvation and oxidative stress. This study shows that they are also activated by low external pH, sorbate, benzoate or ethanol stress. Induction by these other stress signals appears to be HOG pathway independent. HOG1-dependent osmotic induction of transcription of the CTT1 gene encoding the cytosolic catalase T occurs in the presence of a protein synthesis inhibitor and can be detected rapidly after an increase of tyrosine phosphorylation of Hog1p triggered by high osmolarity. Consistent with a role of STREs in the induction of stress resistance, a number of other stress protein genes (e.g. HSP104) are regulated like CTT1. Furthermore, catalase T was shown to be important for viability under severe osmotic stress, and heat shock was demonstrated to provide cross-protection against osmotic stress.

  10. Effects of water stress on photosynthetic electron transport, photophosphorylation, and metabolite levels of Xanthium strumarium mesophyll cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharkey, T D; Badger, M R

    1982-12-01

    Several component processes of photosynthesis were measured in osmotically stressed mesophyll cells of Xanthium strumarium L. The ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate regeneration capacity was reduced by water stress. Photophoshorylation was sensitive to water stress but photosynthetic electron transport was unaffected by water potentials down to-40 bar (-4 MPa). The concentrations of several intermediates of the photosynthetic carbon-reduction cycle remained relatively constant and did not indicate that ATP supply was limiting photosynthesis in the water-stressed cells.

  11. Biophysical characterization of the Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus membrane during cold and osmotic stress and its relevance for cryopreservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meneghel, Julie; Passot, Stéphanie; Dupont, Sébastien; Fonseca, Fernanda

    2017-02-01

    Freezing lactic acid bacteria often leads to cell death and loss of technological properties. Our objective was to provide an in-depth characterization of the biophysical properties of the Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus membrane in relation to its freeze resistance. Freezing was represented as a combination of cold and osmotic stress. This work investigated the relative incidence of increasing sucrose concentrations coupled or not with subzero temperatures without ice nucleation on the biological and biophysical responses of two strains with different membrane fatty acid compositions and freeze resistances. Following exposure of bacterial cells to the highest sucrose concentration, the sensitive strain exhibited a survival rate of less than 10 % and 5 h of acidifying activity loss. Similar biological activity losses were observed upon freeze-thawing and after osmotic treatment for each strain thus highlighting osmotic stress as the main source of cryoinjury. The direct measurement of membrane fluidity by fluorescence anisotropy was linked to membrane lipid organization characterized by FTIR spectroscopy. Both approaches made it possible to investigate the specific contributions of the membrane core and the bilayer external surface to cell degradation caused by cold and osmotic stress. Cold-induced membrane rigidification had no significant implication on bacterial freeze-thaw resistance. Interactions between extracellular sucrose and membrane phospholipid headgroups under osmotic stress were also observed. Such interactions were more evident in the sensitive strain and when increasing sucrose concentration, thus suggesting membrane permeabilization. The relevance of biophysical properties for elucidating mechanisms of cryoinjury and cryoprotection is discussed.

  12. Analysis of DNA methylation of maize in response to osmotic and salt stress based on methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Ming-pu

    2010-01-01

    Water stress is known to alter cytosine methylation, which generally represses transcription. However, little is known about the role of methylation alteration in maize under osmotic stress. Here, methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) was used to screen PEG- or NaCl-induced methylation alteration in maize seedlings. The sequences of 25 differentially amplified fragments relevant to stress were successfully obtained. Two stress-specific fragments from leaves, LP166 and LPS911, shown to be homologous to retrotransposon Gag-Pol protein genes, suggested that osmotic stress-induced methylation of retrotransposons. Three MSAP fragments, representing drought-induced or salt-induced methylation in leaves, were homologous to a maize aluminum-induced transporter. Besides these, heat shock protein HSP82, Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 2, Lipoxygenase, casein kinase (CK2), and dehydration-responsive element-binding (DREB) factor were also homologs of MSAP sequences from salt-treated roots. One MSAP fragment amplified from salt-treated roots, designated RS39, was homologous to the first intron of maize protein phosphatase 2C (zmPP2C), whereas - LS103, absent from salt-treated leaves, was homologous to maize glutathione S-transferases (zmGST). Expression analysis showed that salt-induced intron methylation of root zmPP2C significantly downregulated its expression, while salt-induced demethylation of leaf zmGST weakly upregulated its expression. The results suggested that salinity-induced methylation downregulated zmPP2C expression, a negative regulator of the stress response, while salinity-induced demethylation upregulated zmGST expression, a positive effecter of the stress response. Altered methylation, in response to stress, might also be involved in stress acclimation. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  13. ThNAC13, a NAC Transcription Factor from Tamarix hispida, Confers Salt and Osmotic Stress Tolerance to Transgenic Tamarix and Arabidopsis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Liuqiang; Li, Zhen; Lu, Mengzhu; Wang, Yucheng

    2017-01-01

    NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) proteins play critical roles in many plant biological processes and environmental stress. However, NAC proteins from Tamarix hispida have not been functionally characterized. Here, we studied a NAC gene from T. hispida, ThNAC13, in response to salt and osmotic stresses. ThNAC13 is a nuclear protein with a C-terminal transactivation domain. ThNAC13 can bind to NAC recognized sites and calmodulin-binding NAC (CBNAC) binding element. Overexpression of ThNAC13 in Arabidopsis improved seed germination rate and increased root growth and fresh weight gain under salt or osmotic stress. Transgenic T. hispida plants transiently overexpressing ThNAC13 and with RNAi-silenced ThNAC13 were generated for gain- and loss-of-function experiments. Following exposure to salt or osmotic stress, overexpression of ThNAC13 induced superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities, chlorophyll and proline contents; decreased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde levels; and reduced electrolyte leakage rates in both transgenic Tamarix and Arabidopsis plants. In contrast, RNAi-silenced ThNAC13 showed the opposite results in transgenic Tamarix. Furthermore, ThNAC13 induced the expression of SODs and PODs in transgenic Arabidopsis. These results suggest that ThNAC13 improves salt and osmotic tolerance by enhancing the ROS-scavenging capability and adjusting osmotic potential. PMID:28491072

  14. ThNAC13, a NAC Transcription Factor from Tamarix hispida, Confers Salt and Osmotic Stress Tolerance to Transgenic Tamarix and Arabidopsis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mengzhu Lu

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2 proteins play critical roles in many plant biological processes and environmental stress. However, NAC proteins from Tamarix hispida have not been functionally characterized. Here, we studied a NAC gene from T. hispida, ThNAC13, in response to salt and osmotic stresses. ThNAC13 is a nuclear protein with a C-terminal transactivation domain. ThNAC13 can bind to NAC recognized sites and calmodulin-binding NAC (CBNAC binding element. Overexpression of ThNAC13 in Arabidopsis improved seed germination rate and increased root growth and fresh weight gain under salt or osmotic stress. Transgenic T. hispida plants transiently overexpressing ThNAC13 and with RNAi-silenced ThNAC13 were generated for gain- and loss-of-function experiments. Following exposure to salt or osmotic stress, overexpression of ThNAC13 induced superoxide dismutase (SOD and peroxidase (POD activities, chlorophyll and proline contents; decreased the reactive oxygen species (ROS and malondialdehyde levels; and reduced electrolyte leakage rates in both transgenic Tamarix and Arabidopsis plants. In contrast, RNAi-silenced ThNAC13 showed the opposite results in transgenic Tamarix. Furthermore, ThNAC13 induced the expression of SODs and PODs in transgenic Arabidopsis. These results suggest that ThNAC13 improves salt and osmotic tolerance by enhancing the ROS-scavenging capability and adjusting osmotic potential.

  15. Maintenance of water uptake and reduced water loss contribute to water stress tolerance of Spiraea alba Du Roi and Spiraea tomentosa L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanton, Kelly M; Mickelbart, Michael V

    2014-01-01

    Two primarily eastern US native shrubs, Spiraea alba Du Roi and Spiraea tomentosa L., are typically found growing in wet areas, often with standing water. Both species have potential for use in the landscape, but little is known of their environmental requirements, including their adaptation to water stress. Two geographic accessions of each species were evaluated for their response to water stress under greenhouse conditions. Above-ground biomass, water relations and gas exchange were measured in well-watered and water stress treatments. In both species, water stress resulted in reduced growth, transpiration and pre-dawn water potential. However, both species also exhibited the ability to osmotically adjust to lower soil water content, resulting in maintained midday leaf turgor potential in all accessions. Net CO2 assimilation was reduced only in one accession of S. alba, primarily due to large reductions in stomatal conductance. S. tomentosa lost a larger proportion of leaves than S. alba in response to water stress. The primary water stress tolerance strategies of S. alba and S. tomentosa appear to be the maintenance of water uptake and reduced water loss.

  16. Studies on osmotic concentration of radioactive effluents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, K.C.; Ramachandhran, V.; Misra, B.M.

    1986-01-01

    The potential of direct osmosis for concentrating radioactive effluents is examined on the laboratory scale. Studies were carried out using asymmetric cellulose acetate membranes of a range of porosities under varying salinity gradients. A suitable bench scale osmotic concentrator employing tubular membrane systems has been fabricated and tested. An attempt to understand the mechanism of water permeation under osmotic and hydrostatic gradients has been made based on the irreversible thermodynamic approach. The solute separation of sodium chloride and radionuclides under osmosis is in the range of 85 to 95% for various osmotic sink solutions. The osmotic water flux is observed to be lower than the hydraulic water flux under reverse osmosis conditions. While the solute separation increases with an increase in annealing temperature, water flux decreases for both osmosis and reverse osmosis systems for various feed salinities. The effect of concentration polarization is analysed, and the effect of feed and osmotic sink velocity on the performance of the osmotic concentrator has also been studied. (orig.)

  17. Nitric oxide is involved in light-specific responses of tomato during germination under normal and osmotic stress conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piterková, Jana; Luhová, Lenka; Hofman, Jakub; Turecková, Veronika; Novák, Ondrej; Petrivalsky, Marek; Fellner, Martin

    2012-09-01

    Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the signalling and regulation of plant growth and development and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. The photoperiod-sensitive mutant 7B-1 in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) showing abscisic acid (ABA) overproduction and blue light (BL)-specific tolerance to osmotic stress represents a valuable model to study the interaction between light, hormones and stress signalling. The role of NO as a regulator of seed germination and ABA-dependent responses to osmotic stress was explored in wild-type and 7B-1 tomato under white light (WL) and BL. Germination data were obtained from the incubation of seeds on germinating media of different composition. Histochemical analysis of NO production in germinating seeds was performed by fluorescence microscopy using a cell-permeable NO probe, and endogenous ABA was analysed by mass spectrometry. The NO donor S-nitrosoglutathione stimulated seed germination, whereas the NO scavenger 2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (PTIO) had an inhibitory effect. Under WL in both genotypes, PTIO strongly suppressed germination stimulated by fluridone, an ABA inhibitor. The stimulatory effect of the NO donor was also observed under osmotic stress for 7B-1 seeds under WL and BL. Seed germination inhibited by osmotic stress was restored by fluridone under WL, but less so under BL, in both genotypes. This effect of fluridone was further modulated by the NO donor and NO scavenger, but only to a minor extent. Fluorescence microscopy using the cell-permeable NO probe DAF-FM DA (4-amino-5-methylamino-2',7'-difluorofluorescein diacetate) revealed a higher level of NO in stressed 7B-1 compared with wild-type seeds. As well as defective BL signalling, the differential NO-dependent responses of the 7B-1 mutant are probably associated with its high endogenous ABA concentration and related impact on hormonal cross-talk in germinating seeds. These data confirm that light-controlled seed germination and

  18. OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION KINETICS OF GUAVAS IN MALTOSE SOLUTIONS WITH CALCIUM SALT*

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. DI S. MASTRANTONIO

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available

    The osmotic dehydration kinetics of guavas in maltose solutions at 40 and 60ºBrix, with addition of 0, 0.6 and 1.2% of calcium lactate was studied in this paper and the final product quality was evaluated. The experiments were carried out up to 60 hours and samples were taken for analysis at different times to evaluate guavas weight reduction, water loss and sugar gain and to characterize the product according to its texture and color. After 24 hours of process the mass transfer of water and sugar between the osmotic solution and the fruit was negligible, showing that process equilibrium was reached. The increase of sugar concentration in the osmotic solution showed strong influence on the dehydration process, increasing the water loss and reducing sugar gain. The presence of calcium ions in the osmotic solution also influenced the kinetics of mass transfer and showed a strong influence on fruit texture. Higher values of stress and strain at failure were obtained when calcium lactate was employed. The effect of the different osmotic treatments on the color parameters was also investigated and significant changes were observed in the values of chroma C* and hue H* due to sugar concentration and calcium addition.

    KEYWORDS: Osmotic dehydration; kinetics; guava; maltose; calcium lactate.

  19. Effect of Osmotic Stress on Seed Germination Indices of Nigella sativa and Silybum marianum

    OpenAIRE

    H Balouchi; A. Yadavi; M. Movahedi Dehnavi

    2012-01-01

    Evaluation of medicinal plants to drought and salt stress tolerance, in an attempt to plant them under drought and saline regions, is of utmost importance. Environmental stresses, especially drought and salt, reduce the global crop yields more than other factors. Selection of drought tolerant crops at germination stage, usually is, the fast and low cost method. In order to study the effect of osmotic stress on germination indices of black cumin and milk thistle, an experiment carried out in a...

  20. Hybrid Pressure Retarded Osmosis−Membrane Distillation (PRO−MD) Process for Osmotic Power and Clean Water Generation

    KAUST Repository

    Han, Gang; Zuo, Jian; Wan, Chunfeng; Chung, Neal Tai-Shung

    2015-01-01

    unique advantages of high water recovery rate, huge osmotic power generation, well controlled membrane fouling, and minimal environmental impacts. Experimental results show that the PRO−MD hybrid process is promising that not only can harvest osmotic

  1. Stevia rebaudiana (Bert Bertoni: influence of osmotic stress and seed priming on seed germination under laboratory conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keila Regina Hossa

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The foremost factor necessary for plant growers cultivating large acreages of Stevia rebaudiana (Bert Bertoni is the production of qualitative bedding plants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of osmotic-priming on the uniformity of seed germination. First, we evaluated the percentage of normal seedlings from two seed samples harvested in 2011 and 2012. The seeds harvested in 2012 produced 71.4% normal seedlings and thus they were used in the next experiments. The seeds were subjected to osmotic stress using five concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000 at -0.2, -0.4, -0.6, -0.8, and -1.0 MPa in contrast with distilled water. Based on these first results, only -0.8 and -1.0 MPa were evaluated in the third experiment. The seeds were immersed in both concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000 for imbibing at 20ºC for four, five, six, and seven days. Thereafter, we evaluated the time to the first normal seedling (Ti, time to the last normal seedling (Tf, percentage normal seedlings at the initial time (Pi and percentage of normal seedlings at the end of every treatment (Pf. Osmotic priming increased the percentage of normal seedlings of the Stevia rebaudiana and reduced the time to the first and last germination events.

  2. Global analysis of the yeast osmotic stress response by quantitative proteomics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soufi, Boumediene; Kelstrup, C.D.; Stoehr, G.

    2009-01-01

    a comprehensive, quantitative, and time-resolved analysis using high-resolution mass spectrometry of phospho-proteome and proteome changes in response to osmotic stress in yeast. We identified 5534 unique phosphopeptide variants and 3383 yeast proteins. More than 15% of the detected phosphorylation site status...... changed more than two-fold within 5 minutes of treatment. Many of the corresponding phosphoproteins are involved in the early response to environmental stress. Surprisingly, we find that 158 regulated phosphorylation sites are potential substrates of basophilic kinases as opposed to the classical proline......-directed MAP kinase network implicated in stress response mechanisms such as p38 and HOG pathways. Proteome changes reveal an increase in abundance of more than one hundred proteins after 20 min of salt stress. Many of these are involved in the cellular response to increased osmolarity, which include proteins...

  3. Responses to water stress of gas exchange and metabolites in Eucalyptus and Acacia spp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Charles R; Aranda, Ismael; Cano, F Javier

    2011-10-01

    Studies of water stress commonly examine either gas exchange or leaf metabolites, and many fail to quantify the concentration of CO₂ in the chloroplasts (C(c)). We redress these limitations by quantifying C(c) from discrimination against ¹³CO₂ and using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for leaf metabolite profiling. Five Eucalyptus and two Acacia species from semi-arid to mesic habitats were subjected to a 2 month water stress treatment (Ψ(pre-dawn) = -1.7 to -2.3 MPa). Carbohydrates dominated the leaf metabolite profiles of species from dry areas, whereas organic acids dominated the metabolite profiles of species from wet areas. Water stress caused large decreases in photosynthesis and C(c), increases in 17-33 metabolites and decreases in 0-9 metabolites. In most species, fructose, glucose and sucrose made major contributions to osmotic adjustment. In Acacia, significant osmotic adjustment was also caused by increases in pinitol, pipecolic acid and trans-4-hydroxypipecolic acid. There were also increases in low-abundance metabolites (e.g. proline and erythritol), and metabolites that are indicative of stress-induced changes in metabolism [e.g. γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) shunt, photorespiration, phenylpropanoid pathway]. The response of gas exchange to water stress and rewatering is rather consistent among species originating from mesic to semi-arid habitats, and the general response of metabolites to water stress is rather similar, although the specific metabolites involved may vary. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  4. Osmotic pressure induced tensile forces in tendon collagen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masic, Admir; Bertinetti, Luca; Schuetz, Roman; Chang, Shu-Wei; Metzger, Till Hartmut; Buehler, Markus J; Fratzl, Peter

    2015-01-22

    Water is an important component of collagen in tendons, but its role for the function of this load-carrying protein structure is poorly understood. Here we use a combination of multi-scale experimentation and computation to show that water is an integral part of the collagen molecule, which changes conformation upon water removal. The consequence is a shortening of the molecule that translates into tensile stresses in the range of several to almost 100 MPa, largely surpassing those of about 0.3 MPa generated by contractile muscles. Although a complete drying of collagen would be relevant for technical applications, such as the fabrication of leather or parchment, stresses comparable to muscle contraction already occur at small osmotic pressures common in biological environments. We suggest, therefore, that water-generated tensile stresses may play a role in living collagen-based materials such as tendon or bone.

  5. Osmotic coefficients of water for thorium nitrate solutions at 25, 37, and 50oC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemire, R.J.; Sagert, N.H.; Lau, D.W.P.

    1983-01-01

    Vapor pressure osmometry was used to measure osmotic coefficients of water for thorium nitrate solutions at 25, 37, and 50 o C and at molalities up to 0.2 mol·kg -1 . The data were fitted to three- and four-parameter equations containing limiting-law terms for a 4:1 electrolyte. The variation of the osmotic coefficients as a function of temperature was found to be small. The results are compared to published values for the osmotic coefficients. (author)

  6. Hybrid Pressure Retarded Osmosis−Membrane Distillation (PRO−MD) Process for Osmotic Power and Clean Water Generation

    KAUST Repository

    Han, Gang

    2015-05-20

    A novel pressure retarded osmosis−membrane distillation (PRO−MD) hybrid process has been experimentally conceived for sustainable production of renewable osmotic power and clean water from various waters. The proposed PRO−MD system may possess unique advantages of high water recovery rate, huge osmotic power generation, well controlled membrane fouling, and minimal environmental impacts. Experimental results show that the PRO−MD hybrid process is promising that not only can harvest osmotic energy from freshwater but also from wastewater. When employing a 2 M NaCl MD concentrate as the draw solution, ultrahigh power densities of 31.0 W/m2 and 9.3 W/m2 have been demonstrated by the PRO subsystem using deionized water and real wastewater brine as the feeds, respectively. Simultaneously, high purity potable water with a flux of 32.5−63.1 L/(m2.h) can be produced by the MD subsystem at 40−60 °C without any detrimental effects of fouling. The energy consumption in the MD subsystem might be further reduced by applying a heat exchanger in the hybrid system and using low-grade heat or solar energy to heat up the feed solution. The newly developed PRO−MD hybrid process would provide insightful guidelines for the exploration of alternative green technologies for renewable osmotic energy and clean water production.

  7. Photosystem I shows a higher tolerance to sorbitol-induced osmotic stress than photosystem II in the intertidal macro-algae Ulva prolifera (Chlorophyta).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Shan; Zheng, Zhenbing; Gu, Wenhui; Xie, Xiujun; Huan, Li; Pan, Guanghua; Wang, Guangce

    2014-10-01

    The photosynthetic performance of the desiccation-tolerant, intertidal macro-algae Ulva prolifera was significantly affected by sorbitol-induced osmotic stress. Our results showed that photosynthetic activity decreased significantly with increases in sorbitol concentration. Although the partial activity of both photosystem I (PS I) and photosystem II (PS II) was able to recover after 30 min of rehydration, the activity of PS II decreased more rapidly than PS I. At 4 M sorbitol concentration, the activity of PS II was almost 0 while that of PS I was still at about one third of normal levels. Following prolonged treatment with 1 and 2 M sorbitol, the activity of PS I and PS II decreased slowly, suggesting that the effects of moderate concentrations of sorbitol on PS I and PS II were gradual. Interestingly, an increase in non-photochemical quenching occurred under these conditions in response to moderate osmotic stress, whereas it declined significantly under severe osmotic stress. These results suggest that photoprotection in U. prolifera could also be induced by moderate osmotic stress. In addition, the oxidation of PS I was significantly affected by osmotic stress. P700(+) in the thalli treated with high concentrations of sorbitol could still be reduced, as PS II was inhibited by 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU), but it could not be fully oxidized. This observation may be caused by the higher quantum yield of non-photochemical energy dissipation in PS I due to acceptor-side limitation (Y(NA)) during rehydration in seawater containing DCMU. © 2014 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

  8. Osmotic properties of binary mixtures 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium dicyanamide and 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride with water: Effect of aggregation of ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, Sayeed Ashique; Chatterjee, Aninda; Maity, Banibrata; Seth, Debabrata

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Osmotic properties of binary mixture of two ionic liquids (ILs): 1-butyl-1-methyl pyrrolidinium dicyanamide and 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride with water was reported by using vapour pressure osmometry (VPO) method. - Highlights: • Osmotic properties of binary mixture of ionic liquids (ILs) with water by using vapour pressure osmometry (VPO) method. • The experimental osmotic coefficients were well correlated by Archer extension of Pitzer model. • From the experimental osmotic coefficient data the critical micellar concentration (cmc) of the ILs in water was estimated. • Mean molar activity coefficient and the excess Gibbs free energy was determine for the (ILs + water) binary mixture. - Abstract: In this work, the osmotic properties of the binary mixture of ionic liquids (ILs) and water were studied by using vapour pressure osmometry (VPO) method. We have used two ILs: 1-butyl-1-methyl pyrrolidinium dicyanamide and 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride. The aqueous solution of NaCl was used as the reference solution to precisely measure the osmotic coefficients of the above systems. We have calculated the activity of water in the above systems and the change of vapour pressure of water due to the addition of ILs in water. The experimental osmotic coefficients were correlated by the Archer extension of Pitzer model. The parameters of this Archer extension of Pitzer model were found from this data fitting. From the experimental osmotic coefficient value we have estimated the critical micellar concentration (cmc) of ILs in water. The experimental values of osmotic coefficient in the above systems were compared with the literature and the reason of variation was explained, in terms of the aggregation of ILs in water

  9. Rootstock alleviates PEG-induced water stress in grafted pepper seedlings: physiological responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penella, Consuelo; Nebauer, Sergio G; Bautista, Alberto San; López-Galarza, Salvador; Calatayud, Ángeles

    2014-06-15

    Recent studies have shown that tolerance to abiotic stress, including water stress, is improved by grafting. In a previous work, we took advantage of the natural variability of Capsicum spp. and selected accessions tolerant and sensitive to water stress as rootstocks. The behavior of commercial cultivar 'Verset' seedlings grafted onto the selected rootstocks at two levels of water stress provoked by adding 3.5 and 7% PEG (polyethylene glycol) was examined over 14 days. The objective was to identify the physiological traits responsible for the tolerance provided by the rootstock in order to determine if the tolerance is based on the maintenance of the water relations under water stress or through the activation of protective mechanisms. To achieve this goal, various physiological parameters were measured, including: water relations; proline accumulation; gas exchange; chlorophyll fluorescence; nitrate reductase activity; and antioxidant capacity. Our results indicate that the effect of water stress on the measured parameters depends on the duration and intensity of the stress level, as well as the rootstock used. Under control conditions (0% PEG) all plant combinations showed similar values for all measured parameters. In general terms, PEG provoked a strong decrease in the gas exchange parameters in the cultivar grafted onto the sensitive accessions, as also observed in the ungrafted plants. This effect was related to lower relative water content in the plants, provoked by an inefficient osmotic adjustment that was dependent on reduced proline accumulation. At the end of the experiment, chronic photoinhibition was observed in these plants. However, the plants grafted onto the tolerant rootstocks, despite the reduction in photosynthetic rate, maintained the protective capacity of the photosynthetic machinery mediated by osmotic adjustment (based on higher proline content). In addition, water stress limited uptake and further NO3(-) transfer to the leaves. Increased

  10. Water and Salt Stresses, Kinetin and Protein Synthesis in Tobacco Leaves 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben-Zioni, Aliza; Itai, C.; Vaadia, Y.

    1967-01-01

    The capacity of tobacco (Nicotiana rustica) leaf discs to incorporate l-leucine 14C into proteins was measured. Leaf discs were obtained from plants which experienced soil water depletion, or which were exposed to a saline or osmotic stress in the root medium. The stresses were brief of relatively short duration and water potential did not decrease below 4 bars in the root media. Leaf discs were sampled 2 hours after stress removal, achieved by reirrigation, or replacement of saline and osmotic solutions with normal nutrient solution. Plants were always turgid when leaves were sampled. All stressed tissues showed reduced capacity to incorporate l-leucine 14C into protein. The reduction was about 50% and could not be attributed either to reduced uptake into the discs, or to possible isotopic dilution. Incorporation decreased progressively with leaf age in control discs as well as in stressed leaf discs. At all ages tested, incorporation in stressed discs was lower than that of the control. Full recovery of incorporation capacity in stressed discs was obtained when discs were sampled 72 hours after stress removal but not earlier. Kinetin pretreatment prior to incubation with labelled leucine partially restored incorporation in stressed discs. The differences in response to kinetin of stressed and control discs suggest a lower endogenous level of cytokinins in the stressed discs. The results were qualitatively similar regardless of the kind of stress given to the plants during pretreatment. This supports the hypothesis that the normal supply of root cytokinins is important in shoot metabolism. PMID:16656515

  11. Global Transcriptional Responses to Osmotic, Oxidative, and Imipenem Stress Conditions in Pseudomonas putida.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bojanovič, Klara; D'Arrigo, Isotta; Long, Katherine S

    2017-04-01

    Bacteria cope with and adapt to stress by modulating gene expression in response to specific environmental cues. In this study, the transcriptional response of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to osmotic, oxidative, and imipenem stress conditions at two time points was investigated via identification of differentially expressed mRNAs and small RNAs (sRNAs). A total of 440 sRNA transcripts were detected, of which 10% correspond to previously annotated sRNAs, 40% to novel intergenic transcripts, and 50% to novel transcripts antisense to annotated genes. Each stress elicits a unique response as far as the extent and dynamics of the transcriptional changes. Nearly 200 protein-encoding genes exhibited significant changes in all stress types, implicating their participation in a general stress response. Almost half of the sRNA transcripts were differentially expressed under at least one condition, suggesting possible functional roles in the cellular response to stress conditions. The data show a larger fraction of differentially expressed sRNAs than of mRNAs with >5-fold expression changes. The work provides detailed insights into the mechanisms through which P. putida responds to different stress conditions and increases understanding of bacterial adaptation in natural and industrial settings. IMPORTANCE This study maps the complete transcriptional response of P. putida KT2440 to osmotic, oxidative, and imipenem stress conditions at short and long exposure times. Over 400 sRNA transcripts, consisting of both intergenic and antisense transcripts, were detected, increasing the number of identified sRNA transcripts in the strain by a factor of 10. Unique responses to each type of stress are documented, including both the extent and dynamics of the gene expression changes. The work adds rich detail to previous knowledge of stress response mechanisms due to the depth of the RNA sequencing data. Almost half of the sRNAs exhibit significant expression changes under at least one

  12. Correlation and prediction of osmotic coefficient and water activity of aqueous electrolyte solutions by a two-ionic parameter model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pazuki, G.R.

    2005-01-01

    In this study, osmotic coefficients and water activities in aqueous solutions have been modeled using a new approach based on the Pitzer model. This model contains two physically significant ionic parameters regarding ionic solvation and the closest distance of approach between ions in a solution. The proposed model was evaluated by estimating the osmotic coefficients of nine electrolytes in aqueous solutions. The obtained results showed that the model is suitable for predicting the osmotic coefficients in aqueous electrolyte solutions. Using adjustable parameters, which have been calculated from regression between the experimental osmotic coefficient and the results of this model, the water activity coefficients of aqueous solutions were calculated. The average absolute relative deviations of the osmotic coefficients between the experimental data and the calculated results were in agreement

  13. Renal cells express different forms of vimentin: the independent expression alteration of these forms is important in cell resistance to osmotic stress and apoptosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bettina S Buchmaier

    Full Text Available Osmotic stress has been shown to regulate cytoskeletal protein expression. It is generally known that vimentin is rapidly degraded during apoptosis by multiple caspases, resulting in diverse vimentin fragments. Despite the existence of the known apoptotic vimentin fragments, we demonstrated in our study the existence of different forms of vimentin VIM I, II, III, and IV with different molecular weights in various renal cell lines. Using a proteomics approach followed by western blot analyses and immunofluorescence staining, we proved the apoptosis-independent existence and differential regulation of different vimentin forms under varying conditions of osmolarity in renal cells. Similar impacts of osmotic stress were also observed on the expression of other cytoskeleton intermediate filament proteins; e.g., cytokeratin. Interestingly, 2D western blot analysis revealed that the forms of vimentin are regulated independently of each other under glucose and NaCl osmotic stress. Renal cells, adapted to high NaCl osmotic stress, express a high level of VIM IV (the form with the highest molecular weight, besides the three other forms, and exhibit higher resistance to apoptotic induction with TNF-α or staurosporin compared to the control. In contrast, renal cells that are adapted to high glucose concentration and express only the lower-molecular-weight forms VIM I and II, were more susceptible to apoptosis. Our data proved the existence of different vimentin forms, which play an important role in cell resistance to osmotic stress and are involved in cell protection against apoptosis.

  14. An ABRE promoter sequence is involved in osmotic stress-responsive expression of the DREB2A gene, which encodes a transcription factor regulating drought-inducible genes in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, June-Sik; Mizoi, Junya; Yoshida, Takuya; Fujita, Yasunari; Nakajima, Jun; Ohori, Teppei; Todaka, Daisuke; Nakashima, Kazuo; Hirayama, Takashi; Shinozaki, Kazuo; Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, Kazuko

    2011-12-01

    In plants, osmotic stress-responsive transcriptional regulation depends mainly on two major classes of cis-acting elements found in the promoter regions of stress-inducible genes: ABA-responsive elements (ABREs) and dehydration-responsive elements (DREs). ABRE has been shown to perceive ABA-mediated osmotic stress signals, whereas DRE is known to be involved in an ABA-independent pathway. Previously, we reported that the transcription factor DRE-BINDING PROTEIN 2A (DREB2A) regulates DRE-mediated transcription of target genes under osmotic stress conditions in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). However, the transcriptional regulation of DREB2A itself remains largely uncharacterized. To elucidate the transcriptional mechanism associated with the DREB2A gene under osmotic stress conditions, we generated a series of truncated and base-substituted variants of the DREB2A promoter and evaluated their transcriptional activities individually. We found that both ABRE and coupling element 3 (CE3)-like sequences located approximately -100 bp from the transcriptional initiation site are necessary for the dehydration-responsive expression of DREB2A. Coupling our transient expression analyses with yeast one-hybrid and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays indicated that the ABRE-BINDING PROTEIN 1 (AREB1), AREB2 and ABRE-BINDING FACTOR 3 (ABF3) bZIP transcription factors can bind to and activate the DREB2A promoter in an ABRE-dependent manner. Exogenous ABA application induced only a modest accumulation of the DREB2A transcript when compared with the osmotic stress treatment. However, the osmotic stress-induced DREB2A expression was found to be markedly impaired in several ABA-deficient and ABA-insensitive mutants. These results suggest that in addition to an ABA-independent pathway, the ABA-dependent pathway plays a positive role in the osmotic stress-responsive expression of DREB2A.

  15. Organization of cis-acting regulatory elements in osmotic- and cold-stress-responsive promoters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, Kazuko; Shinozaki, Kazuo

    2005-02-01

    cis-Acting regulatory elements are important molecular switches involved in the transcriptional regulation of a dynamic network of gene activities controlling various biological processes, including abiotic stress responses, hormone responses and developmental processes. In particular, understanding regulatory gene networks in stress response cascades depends on successful functional analyses of cis-acting elements. The ever-improving accuracy of transcriptome expression profiling has led to the identification of various combinations of cis-acting elements in the promoter regions of stress-inducible genes involved in stress and hormone responses. Here we discuss major cis-acting elements, such as the ABA-responsive element (ABRE) and the dehydration-responsive element/C-repeat (DRE/CRT), that are a vital part of ABA-dependent and ABA-independent gene expression in osmotic and cold stress responses.

  16. Disruption of AtWNK8 Enhances Tolerance of Arabidopsis to Salt and Osmotic Stresses via Modulating Proline Content and Activities of Catalase and Peroxidase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong Liao

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available With no lysine kinases (WNKs play important roles in plant growth and development. However, its role in salt and osmotic stress tolerance is unclear. Here, we report that AtWNK8 is mainly expressed in primary root, hypocotyl, stamen and pistil and is induced by NaCl and sorbitol treatment. Compared to the wild-type, the T-DNA knock-out wnk8 mutant was more tolerant to severe salinity and osmotic stresses, as indicated by 27% and 198% more fresh weight in the NaCl and sorbitol treatment, respectively. The wnk8 mutant also accumulated 1.43-fold more proline than the wild-type in the sorbitol treatment. Under NaCl and sorbitol stresses, catalase (CAT activity in wnk8 mutant was 1.92- and 3.7-times of that in Col-0, respectively. Similarly, under salt and osmotic stress conditions, peroxidase (POD activities in wnk8 mutant were 1.81- and 1.58-times of that in Col-0, respectively. Taken together, we revealed that maintaining higher CAT and POD activities might be one of the reasons that the disruption of AtWNK8 enhances the tolerance to salt stress, and accumulating more proline and higher activities of CAT and POD might result in the higher tolerance of WNK8 to osmotic stress.

  17. Biochemical response of hybrid black poplar tissue culture (Populus × canadensis) on water stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popović, B M; Štajner, D; Ždero-Pavlović, R; Tari, I; Csiszár, J; Gallé, Á; Poór, P; Galović, V; Trudić, B; Orlović, S

    2017-05-01

    In this study, poplar tissue culture (hybrid black poplar, M1 genotype) was subjected to water stress influenced by polyethyleneglycol 6000 (100 and 200 mOsm PEG 6000). The aim of the research was to investigate the biochemical response of poplar tissue culture on water deficit regime. Antioxidant status was analyzed including antioxidant enzymes, superoxide-dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), guiacol-peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione-reductase, reduced glutathione, total phenol content, Ferric reducing antioxidant power and DPPH radical antioxidant power. Polyphenol oxidase and phenylalanine-ammonium-lyase were determined as enzymatic markers of polyphenol metabolism. Among oxidative stress parameters lipid peroxidation, carbonyl-proteins, hydrogen-peroxide, reactive oxygen species, nitric-oxide and peroxynitrite were determined. Proline, proline-dehydrogenase and glycinebetaine were measured also as parameters of water stress. Cell viability is finally determined as a biological indicator of osmotic stress. It was found that water stress induced reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and lipid peroxidation in leaves of hybrid black poplar and reduced cell viability. Antioxidant enzymes including SOD, GPx, CAT and GSH-Px were induced but total phenol content and antioxidant capacity were reduced by PEG 6000 mediated osmotic stress. The highest biochemical response and adaptive reaction was the increase of proline and GB especially by 200 mOsm PEG. While long term molecular analysis will be necessary to fully address the poplar potentials for water stress adaptation, our results on hybrid black poplar suggest that glycine-betaine, proline and PDH enzyme might be the most important markers of poplar on water stress and that future efforts should be focused on these markers and strategies to enhance their concentration in poplar.

  18. Global Transcriptional Responses to Osmotic, Oxidative, and Imipenem Stress Conditions in Pseudomonas putida

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bojanovic, Klara; D'Arrigo, Isotta; Long, Katherine

    2017-01-01

    functional roles in the cellular response to stress conditions. The data show a larger fraction of differentially expressed sRNAs than of mRNAs with >5-fold expression changes. The work provides detailed insights into the mechanisms through which P. putida responds to different stress conditions...... intergenic and antisense transcripts, were detected, increasing the number of identified sRNA transcripts in the strain by a factor of 10. Unique responses to each type of stress are documented, including both the extent and dynamics of the gene expression changes. The work adds rich detail to previous......Bacteria cope with and adapt to stress by modulating gene expression in response to specific environmental cues. In this study, the transcriptional response of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to osmotic, oxidative, and imipenem stress conditions at two time points was investigated via identification...

  19. Effectiveness of halo-tolerant, auxin producing Pseudomonas and Rhizobium strains to improve osmotic stress tolerance in mung bean (Vigna radiata L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maqshoof Ahmad

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Halo-tolerant, auxin producing bacteria could be used to induce salt tolerance in plants. A number of Rhizobium and auxin producing rhizobacterial strains were assessed for their ability to tolerate salt stress by conducting osmoadaptation assay. The selected strains were further screened for their ability to induce osmotic stress tolerance in mung bean seedlings under salt-stressed axenic conditions in growth pouch/jar trials. Three most effective strains of Rhizobium and Pseudomonas containing ACC-deaminase were evaluated in combination, for their ability to induce osmotic stress tolerance in mung bean at original, 4, and 6 dS m-1 under axenic conditions. Results showed that sole inoculation of Rhizobium and Pseudomonas strains improved the total dry matter up to 1.4, and 1.9 fold, respectively, while the increase in salt tolerance index was improved up to 1.3 and 2.0 fold by the Rhizobium and Pseudomonas strains, respectively. However, up to 2.2 fold increase in total dry matter and salt tolerance index was observed due to combined inoculation of Rhizobium and Pseudomonas strains. So, combined application of Rhizobium and Pseudomonas strains could be explored as an effective strategy to induce osmotic stress tolerance in mung bean.

  20. A numerical method for osmotic water flow and solute diffusion with deformable membrane boundaries in two spatial dimension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Lingxing; Mori, Yoichiro

    2017-12-01

    Osmotic forces and solute diffusion are increasingly seen as playing a fundamental role in cell movement. Here, we present a numerical method that allows for studying the interplay between diffusive, osmotic and mechanical effects. An osmotically active solute obeys a advection-diffusion equation in a region demarcated by a deformable membrane. The interfacial membrane allows transmembrane water flow which is determined by osmotic and mechanical pressure differences across the membrane. The numerical method is based on an immersed boundary method for fluid-structure interaction and a Cartesian grid embedded boundary method for the solute. We demonstrate our numerical algorithm with the test case of an osmotic engine, a recently proposed mechanism for cell propulsion.

  1. Effect of Osmotic Pressure on the Stability of Whole Inactivated Influenza Vaccine for Coating on Microneedles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyo-Jick Choi

    Full Text Available Enveloped virus vaccines can be damaged by high osmotic strength solutions, such as those used to protect the vaccine antigen during drying, which contain high concentrations of sugars. We therefore studied shrinkage and activity loss of whole inactivated influenza virus in hyperosmotic solutions and used those findings to improve vaccine coating of microneedle patches for influenza vaccination. Using stopped-flow light scattering analysis, we found that the virus underwent an initial shrinkage on the order of 10% by volume within 5 s upon exposure to a hyperosmotic stress difference of 217 milliosmolarity. During this shrinkage, the virus envelope had very low osmotic water permeability (1 - 6×10-4 cm s-1 and high Arrhenius activation energy (Ea = 15.0 kcal mol-1, indicating that the water molecules diffused through the viral lipid membranes. After a quasi-stable state of approximately 20 s to 2 min, depending on the species and hypertonic osmotic strength difference of disaccharides, there was a second phase of viral shrinkage. At the highest osmotic strengths, this led to an undulating light scattering profile that appeared to be related to perturbation of the viral envelope resulting in loss of virus activity, as determined by in vitro hemagglutination measurements and in vivo immunogenicity studies in mice. Addition of carboxymethyl cellulose effectively prevented vaccine activity loss in vitro and in vivo, believed to be due to increasing the viscosity of concentrated sugar solution and thereby reducing osmotic stress during coating of microneedles. These results suggest that hyperosmotic solutions can cause biphasic shrinkage of whole inactivated influenza virus which can damage vaccine activity at high osmotic strength and that addition of a viscosity enhancer to the vaccine coating solution can prevent osmotically driven damage and thereby enable preparation of stable microneedle coating formulations for vaccination.

  2. Temperature and water stress during conditioning and incubation phase affecting Orobanche crenata seed germination and radicle growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JUAN eMORAL

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Orobanche crenata is a holoparasitic plant that is potentially devastating to crop yield of legume species. Soil temperature and humidity are known to affect seed germination, however, the extent of their influence on germination and radicle growth of those of O. crenata is largely unknown. In this work, we studied the effects of temperature, water potential (Ψt and the type of water stress (matric or osmotic on O. crenata seeds during conditioning and incubation periods. We found that seeds germinated between 5 and 30ºC during both periods, with a maximum around 20ºC. Germination increased with increasing Ψt from -1.2 to 0 MPa during conditioning and incubation periods. Likewise, seed germination increased logarithmically with length of conditioning period until 40 days. The impact of the type of water stress on seed germination was similar, although the radicle growth of seeds under osmotic stress was lower than under matric stress, what could explain the lowest infestation of Orobanche spp. in regions characterized by saline soil. The data in this study will be useful to forecast infection of host roots by O. crenata.

  3. Temperature and water stress during conditioning and incubation phase affecting Orobanche crenata seed germination and radicle growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moral, Juan; Lozano-Baena, María Dolores; Rubiales, Diego

    2015-01-01

    Orobanche crenata is a holoparasitic plant that is potentially devastating to crop yield of legume species. Soil temperature and humidity are known to affect seed germination, however, the extent of their influence on germination and radicle growth of those of O. crenata is largely unknown. In this work, we studied the effects of temperature, water potential (Ψt) and the type of water stress (matric or osmotic) on O. crenata seeds during conditioning and incubation periods. We found that seeds germinated between 5 and 30°C during both periods, with a maximum around 20°C. Germination increased with increasing Ψt from -1.2 to 0 MPa during conditioning and incubation periods. Likewise, seed germination increased logarithmically with length of conditioning period until 40 days. The impact of the type of water stress on seed germination was similar, although the radicle growth of seeds under osmotic stress was lower than under matric stress, what could explain the lowest infestation of Orobanche sp. in regions characterized by saline soil. The data in this study will be useful to forecast infection of host roots by O. crenata.

  4. Light energy dissipation under water stress conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stuhlfauth, T.; Scheuermann, R.; Fock, H.P.

    1990-01-01

    Using 14 CO 2 gas exchange and metabolite analyses, stomatal as well as total internal CO 2 uptake and evolution were estimated. Pulse modulated fluorescence was measured during induction and steady state of photosynthesis. Leaf water potential of Digitalis lanata EHRH. plants decreased to -2.5 megapascals after withholding irrigation. By osmotic adjustment, leaves remained turgid and fully exposed to irradiance even at severe water stress. Due to the stress-induced reduction of stomatal conductance, the stomatal CO 2 exchange was drastically reduced, whereas the total CO 2 uptake and evolution were less affected. Stomatal closure induced an increase in the reassimilation of internally evolved CO 2 . This CO 2 -recycling consumes a significant amount of light energy in the form of ATP and reducing equivalents. As a consequence, the metabolic demand for light energy is only reduced by about 40%, whereas net photosynthesis is diminished by about 70% under severe stress conditions. By CO 2 recycling, carbon flux, enzymatic substrate turnover and consumption of light energy were maintained at high levels, which enabled the plant to recover rapidly after rewatering. In stressed D. lanata plants a variable fluorescence quenching mechanism, termed coefficient of actinic light quenching, was observed. Besides water conservation, light energy dissipation is essential and involves regulated metabolic variations

  5. Overexpression of AtEDT1/HDG11 in Chinese Kale (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra) Enhances Drought and Osmotic Stress Tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Zhangsheng; Sun, Binmei; Xu, Xiaoxia; Chen, Hao; Zou, Lifang; Chen, Guoju; Cao, Bihao; Chen, Changming; Lei, Jianjun

    2016-01-01

    Plants are constantly challenged by environmental stresses, including drought and high salinity. Improvement of drought and osmotic stress tolerance without yield decrease has been a great challenge in crop improvement. The Arabidopsis ENHANCED DROUGHT TOLERANCE1/HOMEODOMAIN GLABROUS11 (AtEDT1/HDG11), a protein of the class IV HD-Zip family, has been demonstrated to significantly improve drought tolerance in Arabidopsis, rice, and pepper. Here, we report that AtEDT1/HDG11 confers drought and osmotic stress tolerance in the Chinese kale. AtEDT1/HDG11-overexpression lines exhibit auxin-overproduction phenotypes, such as long hypocotyls, tall stems, more root hairs, and a larger root system architecture. Compared with the untransformed control, transgenic lines have significantly reduced stomatal density. In the leaves of transgenic Chinese kale plants, proline (Pro) content and reactive oxygen species-scavenging enzyme activity was significantly increased after drought and osmotic stress, particularly compared to wild kale. More importantly, AtEDT1/HDG11-overexpression leads to abscisic acid (ABA) hypersensitivity, resulting in ABA inhibitor germination and induced stomatal closure. Consistent with observed phenotypes, the expression levels of auxin, ABA, and stress-related genes were also altered under both normal and/or stress conditions. Further analysis showed that AtEDT1/HDG11, as a transcription factor, can target the auxin biosynthesis gene YUCC6 and ABA response genes ABI3 and ABI5. Collectively, our results provide a new insight into the role of AtEDT1/HDG11 in enhancing abiotic stress resistance through auxin- and ABA-mediated signaling response in Chinese kale.

  6. QseC Mediates Osmotic Stress Resistance and Biofilm Formation in Haemophilus parasuis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lvqin He

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Haemophilus parasuis is known as a commensal organism discovered in the upper respiratory tract of swine where the pathogenic bacteria survive in various adverse environmental stress. QseC, a histidine protein kinase of the two-component regulatory systems CheY/QseC, is involved in the environmental adaptation in bacteria. To investigate the role of QseC in coping with the adverse environment stresses and survive in the host, we constructed a qseC mutant of H. parasuis serovar 13 strain (ΔqseC, MY1902. In this study, we found that QseC was involved in stress tolerance of H. parasuis, by the ΔqseC exhibited a decreased resistance to osmotic pressure, oxidative stress, and heat shock. Moreover, the ΔqseC weakened the ability to take up iron and biofilm formation. We also found that the QseC participate in sensing the epinephrine in environment to regulate the density of H. parasuis.

  7. RBC deformability and amino acid concentrations after hypo-osmotic challenge may reflect chronic cell hydration status in healthy young men

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stookey, Jodi D; Klein, Alexis; Hamer, Janice; Chi, Christine; Higa, Annie; Ng, Vivian; Arieff, Allen; Kuypers, Frans A; Larkin, Sandra; Perrier, Erica; Lang, Florian

    2013-01-01

    Biomarkers of chronic cell hydration status are needed to determine whether chronic hyperosmotic stress increases chronic disease risk in population-representative samples. In vitro, cells adapt to chronic hyperosmotic stress by upregulating protein breakdown to counter the osmotic gradient with higher intracellular amino acid concentrations. If cells are subsequently exposed to hypo-osmotic conditions, the adaptation results in excess cell swelling and/or efflux of free amino acids. This study explored whether increased red blood cell (RBC) swelling and/or plasma or urine amino acid concentrations after hypo-osmotic challenge might be informative about relative chronic hyperosmotic stress in free-living men. Five healthy men (20–25 years) with baseline total water intake below 2 L/day participated in an 8-week clinical study: four 2-week periods in a U-shaped A-B-C-A design. Intake of drinking water was increased by +0.8 ± 0.3 L/day in period 2, and +1.5 ± 0.3 L/day in period 3, and returned to baseline intake (0.4 ± 0.2 L/day) in period 4. Each week, fasting blood and urine were collected after a 750 mL bolus of drinking water, following overnight water restriction. The periods of higher water intake were associated with significant decreases in RBC deformability (index of cell swelling), plasma histidine, urine arginine, and urine glutamic acid. After 4 weeks of higher water intake, four out of five participants had ½ maximal RBC deformability below 400 mmol/kg; plasma histidine below 100 μmol/L; and/or undetectable urine arginine and urine glutamic acid concentrations. Work is warranted to pursue RBC deformability and amino acid concentrations after hypo-osmotic challenge as possible biomarkers of chronic cell hydration. PMID:24303184

  8. Impact of osmotic stress on seedling growth observations, membrane characteristics and antioxidant defense system of different wheat genotypes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bardees M. Mickky

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to find out a straightforward technique for screening the tolerance of ten wheat genotypes to two levels of osmotic stress at early seedling stage. Data revealed that polyethylene glycol-induced drought had general negative effect on seedling morphological characters indicated by plumule and radicle length, number of adventitious roots as well as seedling biomass and water content. Water deficit could also suppress membrane integrity by stimulating lipid peroxidation with marked increase in membrane leakage and subsequent decrease in its stability index. For all the addressed germination parameters and seedling membrane features, the impact of severe drought was more pronounced than that of moderate drought. Simultaneously, moderate stress could activate peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and ascorbic peroxidase of the studied genotypes; but these enzymes were inhibited by severe stress. The activity of catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase was conversely retarded by drought whether at moderate or severe level. More interestingly, a novel function “Stress Impact Index; SII” was introduced to rank the estimated morpho-physiological traits (SIItrait as well as the considered genotypes (SIIgenotype according to their sensitivity to stress. Values of SIItrait implied that germination parameters were generally affected by drought more intensively than membrane characteristics and finally came the antioxidant enzymes with the least degree of suppression when applying stress. Based on the magnitudes of SIIgenotype, Sids 13 seemed to be the most drought-tolerant wheat cultivar while Shandawel 1 could be the most sensitive one at their juvenile growth stage.

  9. Induction of Barley Silicon Transporter HvLsi1 and HvLsi2, increased silicon concentration in the shoot and regulated Starch and ABA Homeostasis under Osmotic stress and Concomitant Potassium Deficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed A. Hosseini

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Drought is one of the major stress factors reducing cereal production worldwide. There is ample evidence that the mineral nutrient status of plants plays a critical role in increasing plant tolerance to different biotic and abiotic stresses. In this regard, the important role of various nutrients e.g., potassium (K or silicon (Si in the mitigation of different stress factors, such as drought, heat or frost has been well documented. Si application has been reported to ameliorate plant nutrient deficiency. Here, we used K and Si either solely or in combination to investigate whether an additive positive effect on barley growth can be achieved under osmotic stress and which mechanisms contribute to a better tolerance to osmotic stress. To achieve this goal, barley plants were subjected to polyethylene glycol (PEG-induced osmotic stress under low or high K supply and two Si regimes. The results showed that barley silicon transporters HvLsi1 and HvLsi2 regulate the accumulation of Si in the shoot only when plant suffered from K deficiency. Si, in turn, increased the starch level under both osmotic stress and K deficiency and modulated the glycolytic and TCA pathways. Hormone profiling revealed that the beneficial effect of Si is most likely mediated also by ABA homeostasis and active cytokinin isopentenyl adenine (iP. We conclude that Si may effectively improve stress tolerance under K deficient condition in particular when additional stress like osmotic stress interferes.

  10. Ionic and osmotic relations in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) plants grown at various salinity level

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hariadi, Yuda; Marandon, Karl; Tian, Yu

    2011-01-01

    or by the gradual increase of NaCl levels in the irrigation water. For both methods, the optimal plant growth and biomass was achieved between 100 mM and 200 mM NaCl, suggesting that quinoa possess a very efficient system to adjust osmotically for abrupt increases in NaCl stress. Up to 95% of osmotic adjustment......Cl-induced activation of H+-ATPase is needed to restore otherwise depolarized membrane potential and prevent further K+ leak from the cytosol. Taken together, this work emphasizes the role of inorganic ions for osmotic adjustment in halophytes and calls for more in-depth studies of the mechanisms of vacuolar Na...

  11. Light energy dissipation under water stress conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stuhlfauth, T.; Scheuermann, R.; Fock, H.P. (Universitaet Kaiserslautern (West Germany))

    1990-04-01

    Using {sup 14}CO{sub 2} gas exchange and metabolite analyses, stomatal as well as total internal CO{sub 2} uptake and evolution were estimated. Pulse modulated fluorescence was measured during induction and steady state of photosynthesis. Leaf water potential of Digitalis lanata EHRH. plants decreased to {minus}2.5 megapascals after withholding irrigation. By osmotic adjustment, leaves remained turgid and fully exposed to irradiance even at severe water stress. Due to the stress-induced reduction of stomatal conductance, the stomatal CO{sub 2} exchange was drastically reduced, whereas the total CO{sub 2} uptake and evolution were less affected. Stomatal closure induced an increase in the reassimilation of internally evolved CO{sub 2}. This CO{sub 2}-recycling consumes a significant amount of light energy in the form of ATP and reducing equivalents. As a consequence, the metabolic demand for light energy is only reduced by about 40%, whereas net photosynthesis is diminished by about 70% under severe stress conditions. By CO{sub 2} recycling, carbon flux, enzymatic substrate turnover and consumption of light energy were maintained at high levels, which enabled the plant to recover rapidly after rewatering. In stressed D. lanata plants a variable fluorescence quenching mechanism, termed coefficient of actinic light quenching, was observed. Besides water conservation, light energy dissipation is essential and involves regulated metabolic variations.

  12. Two tandem RNase III cleavage sites determine betT mRNA stability in response to osmotic stress in Escherichia coli.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minji Sim

    Full Text Available While identifying genes regulated by ribonuclease III (RNase III in Escherichia coli, we observed that steady-state levels of betT mRNA, which encodes a transporter mediating the influx of choline, are dependent on cellular concentrations of RNase III. In the present study, we also observed that steady-state levels of betT mRNA are dependent on RNase III activity upon exposure to osmotic stress, indicating the presence of cis-acting elements controlled by RNase III in betT mRNA. Primer extension analyses of betT mRNA revealed two tandem RNase III cleavage sites in its stem-loop region, which were biochemically confirmed via in vitro cleavage assays. Analyses of cleavage sites suggested the stochastic selection of cleavage sites by RNase III, and mutational analyses indicated that RNase III cleavage at either site individually is insufficient for efficient betT mRNA degradation. In addition, both the half-life and abundance of betT mRNA were significantly increased in association with decreased RNase III activity under hyper-osmotic stress conditions. Our findings demonstrate that betT mRNA stability is controlled by RNase III at the post-transcriptional level under conditions of osmotic stress.

  13. Subcellular membrane fluidity of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus under cold and osmotic stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meneghel, Julie; Passot, Stéphanie; Cenard, Stéphanie; Réfrégiers, Matthieu; Jamme, Frédéric; Fonseca, Fernanda

    2017-09-01

    Cryopreservation of lactic acid bacteria may lead to undesirable cell death and functionality losses. The membrane is the first target for cell injury and plays a key role in bacterial cryotolerance. This work aimed at investigating at a subcellular resolution the membrane fluidity of two populations of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus when subjected to cold and osmotic stresses associated to freezing. Cells were cultivated at 42 °C in mild whey medium, and they were exposed to sucrose solutions of different osmolarities (300 and 1800 mOsm L -1 ) after harvest. Synchrotron fluorescence microscopy was used to measure membrane fluidity of cells labeled with the cytoplasmic membrane probe 1-[4 (trimethylamino) phenyl]-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (TMA-DPH). Images were acquired at 25 and 0 °C, and more than a thousand cells were individually analyzed. Results revealed that a bacterial population characterized by high membrane fluidity and a homogeneous distribution of fluidity values appeared to be positively related to freeze-thaw resistance. Furthermore, rigid domains with different anisotropy values were observed and the occurrence of these domains was more important in the freeze-sensitive bacterial population. The freeze-sensitive cells exhibited a broadening of existing highly rigid lipid domains with osmotic stress. The enlargement of domains might be ascribed to the interaction of sucrose with membrane phospholipids, leading to membrane disorganization and cell degradation.

  14. Estimating contribution of anthocyanin pigments to osmotic adjustment during winter leaf reddening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Nicole M; Carpenter, Kaylyn L; Cannon, Jonathan G

    2013-01-15

    The association between plant water stress and synthesis of red, anthocyanin pigments in leaves has led some plant biologists to propose an osmotic function of leaf reddening. According to this hypothesis, anthocyanins function as a solute in osmotic adjustment (OA), contributing to depression of osmotic potential (Ψ(π)) and maintenance of turgor pressure during drought-stressed conditions. Here we calculate the percent contribution of anthocyanin to leaf Ψ(π) during OA in two angiosperm evergreen species, Galax urceolata and Gaultheria procumbens. Both species exhibit dramatic leaf reddening under high light during winter, concomitant with declines in leaf water potential and accumulation of solutes. Data previously published by the authors on osmotic potential at full turgor (Ψ(π,100)) of G. urceolata and G. procumbens leaves before and after leaf reddening were used to estimate OA. In vivo molar concentrations of anthocyanin, glucose, fructose, and sucrose measured from the same individuals were converted to pressure equivalents using the Ideal Gas Law, and percent contribution to OA was estimated. Estimated mean OA during winter was -0.7MPa for G. urceolata and -0.8MPa for G. procumbens. In vivo concentrations of anthocyanin (3-10mM) were estimated to account for ∼2% of OA during winter, and comprised <0.7% of Ψ(π,100) in both species. Glucose, fructose, and sucrose combined accounted for roughly 50 and 80% of OA for G. urceolata and G. procumbens, respectively, and comprised ∼20% of Ψ(π,100). We observed that a co-occurring, acyanic species (Vinca minor) achieved similar OA without synthesizing anthocyanin. We conclude that anthocyanins represent a measurable, albeit meager, component of OA in red-leafed evergreen species during winter. However, due to their low concentrations, metabolic costliness relative to other osmolytes, and striking red color (unnecessary for an osmotic function), it is unlikely that they are synthesized solely for an

  15. Osmocapsules for direct measurement of osmotic strength.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Shin-Hyun; Lee, Tae Yong; Lee, Sang Seok

    2014-03-26

    Monodisperse microcapsules with ultra-thin membranes are microfluidically designed to be highly sensitive to osmotic pressure, thereby providing a tool for the direct measurement of the osmotic strength. To make such osmocapsules, water-in-oil-in-water double-emulsion drops with ultra-thin shells are prepared as templates through emulsification of core-sheath biphasic flow in a capillary microfluidic device. When photocurable monomers are used as the oil phase, the osmocapsules are prepared by in-situ photopolymerization of the monomers, resulting in semipermeable membranes with a relatively large ratio of membrane thickness to capsule radius, approximately 0.02. These osmocapsules are buckled by the outward flux of water when they are subjected to a positive osmotic pressure difference above 125 kPa. By contrast, evaporation-induced consolidation of middle-phase containing polymers enables the production of osmocapsules with a small ratio of membrane thickness to capsule radius of approximately 0.002. Such an ultra-thin membrane with semi-permeability makes the osmocapsules highly sensitive to osmotic pressure; a positive pressure as small as 12.5 kPa induces buckling of the capsules. By employing a set of distinct osmocapsules confining aqueous solutions with different osmotic strengths, the osmotic strength of unknown solutions can be estimated through observation of the capsules that are selectively buckled. This approach provides the efficient measurement of the osmotic strength using only a very small volume of liquid, thereby providing a useful alternative to other measurement methods which use complex setups. In addition, in-vivo measurement of the osmotic strength can be potentially accomplished by implanting these biocompatible osmocapsules into tissue, which is difficult to achieve using conventional methods. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Water relations and gas exchange in poplar and willow under water stress and elevated atmospheric CO2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Jon D; Tognetti, Roberto; Paris, Piero

    2002-05-01

    Predictions of shifts in rainfall patterns as atmospheric [CO2] increases could impact the growth of fast growing trees such as Populus spp. and Salix spp. and the interaction between elevated CO2 and water stress in these species is unknown. The objectives of this study were to characterize the responses to elevated CO2 and water stress in these two species, and to determine if elevated CO2 mitigated drought stress effects. Gas exchange, water potential components, whole plant transpiration and growth response to soil drying and recovery were assessed in hybrid poplar (clone 53-246) and willow (Salix sagitta) rooted cuttings growing in either ambient (350 &mgr;mol mol-1) or elevated (700 &mgr;mol mol-1) atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]). Predawn water potential decreased with increasing water stress while midday water potentials remained unchanged (isohydric response). Turgor potentials at both predawn and midday increased in elevated [CO2], indicative of osmotic adjustment. Gas exchange was reduced by water stress while elevated [CO2] increased photosynthetic rates, reduced leaf conductance and nearly doubled instantaneous transpiration efficiency in both species. Dark respiration decreased in elevated [CO2] and water stress reduced Rd in the trees growing in ambient [CO2]. Willow had 56% lower whole plant hydraulic conductivity than poplar, and showed a 14% increase in elevated [CO2] while poplar was unresponsive. The physiological responses exhibited by poplar and willow to elevated [CO2] and water stress, singly, suggest that these species respond like other tree species. The interaction of [CO2] and water stress suggests that elevated [CO2] did mitigate the effects of water stress in willow, but not in poplar.

  17. Systems responses to progressive water stress in durum wheat.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimah Z Habash

    Full Text Available Durum wheat is susceptible to terminal drought which can greatly decrease grain yield. Breeding to improve crop yield is hampered by inadequate knowledge of how the physiological and metabolic changes caused by drought are related to gene expression. To gain better insight into mechanisms defining resistance to water stress we studied the physiological and transcriptome responses of three durum breeding lines varying for yield stability under drought. Parents of a mapping population (Lahn x Cham1 and a recombinant inbred line (RIL2219 showed lowered flag leaf relative water content, water potential and photosynthesis when subjected to controlled water stress time transient experiments over a six-day period. RIL2219 lost less water and showed constitutively higher stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, transpiration, abscisic acid content and enhanced osmotic adjustment at equivalent leaf water compared to parents, thus defining a physiological strategy for high yield stability under water stress. Parallel analysis of the flag leaf transcriptome under stress uncovered global trends of early changes in regulatory pathways, reconfiguration of primary and secondary metabolism and lowered expression of transcripts in photosynthesis in all three lines. Differences in the number of genes, magnitude and profile of their expression response were also established amongst the lines with a high number belonging to regulatory pathways. In addition, we documented a large number of genes showing constitutive differences in leaf transcript expression between the genotypes at control non-stress conditions. Principal Coordinates Analysis uncovered a high level of structure in the transcriptome response to water stress in each wheat line suggesting genome-wide co-ordination of transcription. Utilising a systems-based approach of analysing the integrated wheat's response to water stress, in terms of biological robustness theory, the findings suggest that each durum

  18. SAXS investigations on lipid membranes under osmotic stress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rubim, R.L.; Vieira, V.; Gerbelli, B.B.; Teixeira da Silva, E.R.; Oliveira, C.L.P.; Oliveira, E.A. [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2012-07-01

    Full text: In this work we, experimentally, investigate the interactions between lipid bilayers. A structural characterization is performed by small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) on multilamellar systems under known osmotic pressure. Changes in the composition of membranes can modify their mechanical properties and structural parameters, like the flexibility of these membranes, which plays a key role on the determination of the tridimensional organization of bilayers. The membranes are composed of soya lecithin, where the major component is DPPC (Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine), and fatty acids are incorporated to the membrane in different concentrations, in order to turn the membrane more fluid. The membranes are inserted in a solution of PVP [poly(vinyl-pyrrolidone) - 40000] and the polymer will apply an osmotic pressure on them. The osmotic pressure is controlled by preparing PVP solutions of desired composition and, as we know the concentration of polymer in solution, we can obtain the intensity of the osmotic pressure. SAXS experiments were done in order to determine the distance between the bilayer. From the position of the Bragg peaks, the lamellar periodicity (the thickness of the membranes plus their distance of separation) was determined. Using theoretical model for the form and structure factors we fitted those experimental data and determined the thickness of the membranes. The distance between the membranes was controlled by the osmotic pressure (P) applied to the membranes and, for a given pressure, we determine the distance between the bilayers (a) on equilibrium. The experimental curve P(a) is theoretically described by the different contributions from van der Waals, hydration and fluctuation forces. From the fitting of experimental curves, relevant parameters characterizing the strength of the different interactions are obtained, such as Hamaker and rigidity constant [2, 3]. We observe that the separation between the bilayers on equilibrium is

  19. The rate of hypo-osmotic challenge influences regulatory volume decrease (RVD) and mechanical properties of articular chondrocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Z; Irianto, J; Kazun, S; Wang, W; Knight, M M

    2015-02-01

    Osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with a gradual reduction in the interstitial osmotic pressure within articular cartilage. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of sudden and gradual hypo-osmotic challenge on chondrocyte morphology and biomechanics. Bovine articular chondrocytes were exposed to a reduction in extracellular osmolality from 327 to 153 mOsmol/kg applied either suddenly (osmotic stress, 66% of chondrocytes exhibited an increase in diameter followed by RVD, whilst 25% showed no RVD. By contrast, cells exposed to gradual hypo-osmotic stress exhibited reduced cell swelling without subsequent RVD. There was an increase in the equilibrium modulus for cells exposed to sudden hypo-osmotic stress. However, gradual hypo-osmotic challenge had no effect on cell mechanical properties. This cell stiffening response to sudden hypo-osmotic challenge was abolished when actin organization was disrupted with cytochalasin D or RVD inhibited with REV5901. Both sudden and gradual hypo-osmotic challenge reduced cortical F-actin distribution and caused chromatin decondensation. Sudden hypo-osmotic challenge increases chondrocyte mechanics by activation of RVD and interaction with the actin cytoskeleton. Moreover, the rate of hypo-osmotic challenge is shown to have a profound effect on chondrocyte morphology and biomechanics. This important phenomenon needs to be considered when studying the response of chondrocytes to pathological hypo-osmotic stress. Copyright © 2014 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation of Pseudocercospora fijiensis to Determine the Role of PfHog1 in Osmotic Stress Regulation and Virulence Modulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francis Onyilo

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Black Sigatoka disease, caused by Pseudocercospora fijiensis is a serious constraint to banana production worldwide. The disease continues to spread in new ecological niches and there is an urgent need to develop strategies for its control. The high osmolarity glycerol (HOG pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is well known to respond to changes in external osmolarity. HOG pathway activation leads to phosphorylation, activation and nuclear transduction of the HOG1 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs. The activated HOG1 triggers several responses to osmotic stress, including up or down regulation of different genes, regulation of protein translation, adjustments to cell cycle progression and synthesis of osmolyte glycerol. This study investigated the role of the MAPK-encoding PfHog1 gene on osmotic stress adaptation and virulence of P. fijiensis. RNA interference-mediated gene silencing of PfHog1 significantly suppressed growth of P. fijiensis on potato dextrose agar media supplemented with 1 M NaCl, indicating that PfHog1 regulates osmotic stress. In addition, virulence of the PfHog1-silenced mutants of P. fijiensis on banana was significantly reduced, as observed from the low rates of necrosis and disease development on the infected leaves. Staining with lacto phenol cotton blue further confirmed the impaired mycelial growth of the PfHog1 in the infected leaf tissues, which was further confirmed with quantification of the fungal biomass using absolute- quantitative PCR. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that PfHog1 plays a critical role in osmotic stress regulation and virulence of P. fijiensis on its host banana. Thus, PfHog1 could be an interesting target for the control of black Sigatoka disease in banana.

  1. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation of Pseudocercospora fijiensis to Determine the Role of PfHog1 in Osmotic Stress Regulation and Virulence Modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onyilo, Francis; Tusiime, Geoffrey; Chen, Li-Hung; Falk, Bryce; Stergiopoulos, Ioannis; Tripathi, Jaindra N; Tushemereirwe, Wilberforce; Kubiriba, Jerome; Changa, Charles; Tripathi, Leena

    2017-01-01

    Black Sigatoka disease, caused by Pseudocercospora fijiensis is a serious constraint to banana production worldwide. The disease continues to spread in new ecological niches and there is an urgent need to develop strategies for its control. The high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is well known to respond to changes in external osmolarity. HOG pathway activation leads to phosphorylation, activation and nuclear transduction of the HOG1 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). The activated HOG1 triggers several responses to osmotic stress, including up or down regulation of different genes, regulation of protein translation, adjustments to cell cycle progression and synthesis of osmolyte glycerol. This study investigated the role of the MAPK-encoding PfHog1 gene on osmotic stress adaptation and virulence of P. fijie nsis. RNA interference-mediated gene silencing of PfHog1 significantly suppressed growth of P. fijiensis on potato dextrose agar media supplemented with 1 M NaCl, indicating that PfHog1 regulates osmotic stress. In addition, virulence of the PfHog1 -silenced mutants of P. fijiensis on banana was significantly reduced, as observed from the low rates of necrosis and disease development on the infected leaves. Staining with lacto phenol cotton blue further confirmed the impaired mycelial growth of the PfHog1 in the infected leaf tissues, which was further confirmed with quantification of the fungal biomass using absolute- quantitative PCR. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that PfHog1 plays a critical role in osmotic stress regulation and virulence of P. fijiensis on its host banana. Thus, PfHog1 could be an interesting target for the control of black Sigatoka disease in banana.

  2. A Simple Membrane Osmometer System & Experiments that Quantitatively Measure Osmotic Pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marvel, Stephen C.; Kepler, Megan V.

    2009-01-01

    It is important for students to be exposed to the concept of osmotic pressure. Understanding this concept lays the foundation for deeper discussions that lead to more theoretical aspects of water movement associated with the concepts of free energy, water potential, osmotic potential, pressure potential, and osmotic adjustment. The concept of…

  3. Water transport through the intestinal epithelial barrier under different osmotic conditions is dependent on LI-cadherin trans-interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weth, Agnes; Dippl, Carsten; Striedner, Yasmin; Tiemann-Boege, Irene; Vereshchaga, Yana; Golenhofen, Nikola; Bartelt-Kirbach, Britta; Baumgartner, Werner

    2017-04-03

    In the intestine water has to be reabsorbed from the chymus across the intestinal epithelium. The osmolarity within the lumen is subjected to high variations meaning that water transport often has to take place against osmotic gradients. It has been hypothesized that LI-cadherin is important in this process by keeping the intercellular cleft narrow facilitating the buildup of an osmotic gradient allowing water reabsorption. LI-cadherin is exceptional among the cadherin superfamily with respect to its localization along the lateral plasma membrane of epithelial cells being excluded from adherens junction. Furthermore it has 7 but not 5 extracellular cadherin repeats (EC1-EC7) and a small cytosolic domain. In this study we identified the peptide VAALD as an inhibitor of LI-cadherin trans-interaction by modeling the structure of LI-cadherin and comparison with the known adhesive interfaces of E-cadherin. This inhibitory peptide was used to measure LI-cadherin dependency of water transport through a monolayer of epithelial CACO2 cells under various osmotic conditions. If LI-cadherin trans-interaction was inhibited by use of the peptide, water transport from the luminal to the basolateral side was impaired and even reversed in the case of hypertonic conditions whereas no effect could be observed at isotonic conditions. These data are in line with a recently published model predicting LI-cadherin to keep the width of the lateral intercellular cleft small. In this narrow cleft a high osmolarity can be achieved due to ion pumps yielding a standing osmotic gradient allowing water absorption from the gut even if the faeces is highly hypertonic.

  4. Slow and steady cell shrinkage reduces osmotic stress in bovine and murine oocyte and zygote vitrification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, D; Ding, J; Smith, G W; Smith, G D; Takayama, S

    2015-01-01

    Does the use of a new cryoprotectant agent (CPA) exchange protocol designed to minimize osmotic stress improve oocyte or zygote vitrification by reducing sublethal cryodamage? The use of a new CPA exchange protocol made possible by automated microfluidics improved oocyte and zygote vitrification with superior morphology as indicated by a smoother cell surface, higher sphericity, higher cytoplasmic lipid retention, less cytoplasmic leakage and higher developmental competence compared with conventional methods. The use of more 'steps' of CPA exposure during the vitrification protocol increases cryosurvival and development in the bovine model. However, such an attempt to eliminate osmotic stress is limited by the practicality of performing numerous precise pipetting steps in a short amount of time. Murine meiotically competent germinal vesicle intact oocytes and zygotes were harvested from the antral follicles in ovaries and ampulla, respectively. Bovine ovaries were obtained from a local abattoir at random stages of the estrous cycle. A total of 110 murine oocytes, 802 murine zygotes and 52 bovine oocytes were used in this study. Microfluidic devices were fabricated using conventional photo- and soft-lithography. CPAs used were 7.5% ethylene glycol (EG) and 7.5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for equilibration solution and 15% EG, 15% DMSO and 0.5 M sucrose for vitrification solution. End-point analyses include mathematical modeling using Kedem-Katchalsky equations, morphometrics assessed by conventional and confocal microscopy, cytoplasmic lipid quantification by nile red staining, cytoplasmic leakage quantification by fluorescent dextran intercalation and developmental competence analysis by 96 h embryo culture and blastomere quantification. The automated microfluidics protocol decreased the shrinkage rate of the oocyte and zygote by 13.8 times over its manual pipetting alternative. Oocytes and zygotes with a lower shrinkage rate during CPA exposure experienced less

  5. The co-action of osmotic and high temperature stresses results in a growth improvement of Debaryomyces hansenii cells

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Papoušková, Klára; Sychrová, Hana

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 118, č. 1 (2007), s. 1-7 ISSN 0168-1605 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GD204/03/H066; GA ČR(CZ) GA206/05/0035; GA MŠk(CZ) LC531; GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA5011407 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50110509 Keywords : D. hansenii * osmotic stress * temperature stress Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 2.581, year: 2007

  6. mRNA-seq analysis of the Gossypium arboreum transcriptome reveals tissue selective signaling in response to water stress during seedling stage.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xueyan Zhang

    Full Text Available The cotton diploid species, Gossypium arboreum, shows important properties of stress tolerance and good genetic stability. In this study, through mRNA-seq, we de novo assembled the unigenes of multiple samples with 3h H(2O, NaCl, or PEG treatments in leaf, stem and root tissues and successfully obtained 123,579 transcripts of G. arboreum, 89,128 of which were with hits through BLAST against known cotton ESTs and draft genome of G. raimondii. About 36,961 transcripts (including 1,958 possible transcription factor members were identified with differential expression under water stresses. Principal component analysis of differential expression levels in multiple samples suggested tissue selective signalling responding to water stresses. Venn diagram analysis showed the specificity and intersection of transcripts' response to NaCl and PEG treatments in different tissues. Self-organized mapping and hierarchical cluster analysis of the data also revealed strong tissue selectivity of transcripts under salt and osmotic stresses. In addition, the enriched gene ontology (GO terms for the selected tissue groups were differed, including some unique enriched GO terms such as photosynthesis and tetrapyrrole binding only in leaf tissues, while the stem-specific genes showed unique GO terms related to plant-type cell wall biogenesis, and root-specific genes showed unique GO terms such as monooxygenase activity. Furthermore, there were multiple hormone cross-talks in response to osmotic and salt stress. In summary, our multidimensional mRNA sequencing revealed tissue selective signalling and hormone crosstalk in response to salt and osmotic stresses in G. arboreum. To our knowledge, this is the first such report of spatial resolution of transcriptome analysis in G. arboreum. Our study will potentially advance understanding of possible transcriptional networks associated with water stress in cotton and other crop species.

  7. Identification of QTLs for shoot and root growth under ionic-osmotic stress in Lotus, using a RIL population

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Quero, Gastón; Gutíerrez, Lucía; Lascano, Ramiro

    2014-01-01

    The genus Lotus includes a group of forage legume species including genotypes of agronomic interest and model species. In this work, an experimental hydroponic growth system allowed the discrimination of growth responses to ionic-osmotic stress in a population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs...

  8. Mass transfer kinetics during osmotic dehydration of pomegranate arils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mundada, Manoj; Hathan, Bahadur Singh; Maske, Swati

    2011-01-01

    The mass transfer kinetics during osmotic dehydration of pomegranate arils in osmotic solution of sucrose was studied to increase palatability and shelf life of arils. The freezing of the whole pomegranate at -18 °C was carried out prior to osmotic dehydration to increase the permeability of the outer cellular layer of the arils. The osmotic solution concentrations used were 40, 50, 60°Bx, osmotic solution temperatures were 35, 45, 55 °C. The fruit to solution ratio was kept 1:4 (w/w) during all the experiments and the process duration varied from 0 to 240 min. Azuara model and Peleg model were the best fitted as compared to other models for water loss and solute gain of pomegranate arils, respectively. Generalized Exponential Model had an excellent fit for water loss ratio and solute gain ratio of pomegranate arils. Effective moisture diffusivity of water as well as solute was estimated using the analytical solution of Fick's law of diffusion. For above conditions of osmotic dehydration, average effective diffusivity of water loss and solute gain varied from 2.718 × 10(-10) to 5.124 × 10(-10) m(2)/s and 1.471 × 10(-10) to 5.147 × 10(-10) m(2)/s, respectively. The final product was successfully utilized in some nutritional formulations such as ice cream and bakery products.

  9. Recovery from heat, salt and osmotic stress in Physcomitrella patens requires a functional small heat shock protein PpHsp16.4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruibal, Cecilia; Castro, Alexandra; Carballo, Valentina; Szabados, László; Vidal, Sabina

    2013-11-05

    Plant small heat shock proteins (sHsps) accumulate in response to various environmental stresses, including heat, drought, salt and oxidative stress. Numerous studies suggest a role for these proteins in stress tolerance by preventing stress-induced protein aggregation as well as by facilitating protein refolding by other chaperones. However, in vivo evidence for the involvement of sHsps in tolerance to different stress factors is still missing, mainly due to the lack of appropriate mutants in specific sHsp genes. In this study we characterized the function of a sHsp in abiotic stress tolerance in the moss Physcomitrella patens, a model for primitive land plants. Using suppression subtractive hybridization, we isolated an abscisic acid-upregulated gene from P. patens encoding a 16.4 kDa cytosolic class II sHsp. PpHsp16.4 was also induced by salicylic acid, dithiothreitol (DTT) and by exposure to various stimuli, including osmotic and salt stress, but not by oxidative stress-inducing compounds. Expression of the gene was maintained upon stress relief, suggesting a role for this protein in the recovery stage. PpHsp16.4 is encoded by two identical genes arranged in tandem in the genome. Targeted disruption of both genes resulted in the inability of plants to recover from heat, salt and osmotic stress. In vivo localization studies revealed that PpHsp16.4 localized in cytosolic granules in the vicinity of chloroplasts under non stress conditions, suggesting possible distinct roles for this protein under stress and optimal growth. We identified a member of the class II sHsp family that showed hormonal and abiotic stress gene regulation. Induction of the gene by DTT treatment suggests that damaged proteins may act as signals for the stress-induction of PpHsp16.4. The product of this gene was shown to localize in cytosolic granules near the chloroplasts, suggesting a role for the protein in association with these organelles. Our study provides the first direct genetic

  10. Osmotic effects of polyethylene glycol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiller, L R; Emmett, M; Santa Ana, C A; Fordtran, J S

    1988-04-01

    Polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been used to increase the osmotic pressure of fluids used to cleanse the gastrointestinal tract. However, little is known about its osmotic activity. To investigate this activity systematically, solutions of PEG of differing molecular weights were made and subjected to measurement of osmolality by both freezing point depression and vapor pressure osmometry. Measured osmolality was increasingly greater than predicted from average molecular weight as PEG concentration increased. Measurement of sodium activity in NaCl/PEG solutions by means of an ion-selective electrode suggested that the higher than expected osmolality could be due in part to interactions that, in effect, sequestered water from the solution. Osmolality was consistently greater by freezing point osmometry than by vapor pressure osmometry. To determine which osmometry method reflected biologically relevant osmolality, normal subjects underwent steady-state total gut perfusion with an electrolyte solution containing 105 g/L of PEG 3350. This produced rectal effluent that was hypertonic by freezing point osmometry but isotonic by vapor pressure osmometry. Assuming that luminal fluid reaches osmotic equilibrium with plasma during total gut perfusion, this result suggests that the vapor pressure osmometer accurately reflects the biologically relevant osmolality of intestinal contents. We conclude that PEG exerts more of an osmotic effect than would be predicted from its molecular weight. This phenomenon may reflect interactions between PEG and water molecules that alter the physical chemistry of the solution and sequester water from the solution.

  11. Effect of drought and abscisic acid application on the osmotic adjustment of four wheat cultivars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iqbal, S.; Bano, A.

    2010-01-01

    The accumulation of osmolytes in leaf tissues and the abscisic acid-induced stomatal closure are well-recognized mechanisms associated with drought tolerance in crop plants. We determine the response in terms of osmotic potential and the contents of leaf proline, glycine betaine and soluble sugar at booting and grain filling stages of four wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars to drought and exogenously applied abscisic acid (ABA) in a pot study. Leaf sample were collected 3, 6 and 9 days after drought induction and at 48 and 72 h of re-watering (recovery). Marked decreases in osmotic potential associated with the accumulation of proline, glycine betaine and soluble sugars occurred under conditions of drought stress Accession 011320 was most sensitive to drought and showed the largest decrease in osmotic potential and least accumulation of proline, sugar and glycine betaine The inhibitory effects of drought stress were ameliorated by exogenous application of ABA. This ameliorating effect was more pronounced at the booting than at grain filling stage particularly in the sensitive accession 011320. Upon rewatering the recovery from drought stress was found to be greater in case of abscisic acid application. The leaf praline content is seen to be a suitable indicator for selecting drought-tolerant genotypes. (author)

  12. Modulation of δ-Aminolevulinic Acid Dehydratase Activity by the Sorbitol-Induced Osmotic Stress in Maize Leaf Segments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, M; Tiwary, S; Gadre, R

    2018-01-01

    Osmotic stress induced with 1 M sorbitol inhibited δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) and aminolevulinic acid (ALA) synthesizing activities in etiolated maize leaf segments during greening; the ALAD activity was inhibited to a greater extent than the ALA synthesis. When the leaves were exposed to light, the ALAD activity increased for the first 8 h, followed by a decrease observed at 16 and 24 h in both sorbitol-treated and untreated leaf tissues. The maximum inhibition of the enzyme activity was observed in the leaf segments incubated with sorbitol for 4 to 8 h. Glutamate increased the ALAD activity in the in vitro enzymatic preparations obtained from the sorbitol-treated leaf segments; sorbitol inhibited the ALAD activity in the preparations from both sorbitol-treated and untreated leaves. It was suggested that sorbitol-induced osmotic stress inhibits the enzyme activity by affecting the ALAD induction during greening and regulating the ALAD steady-state level of ALAD in leaf cells. The protective effect of glutamate on ALAD in the preparations from the sorbitol-treated leaves might be due to its stimulatory effect on the enzyme.

  13. Neutral lipid production in Dunaliella salina during osmotic stress and adaptation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yao, Shuo; Lu, Jingquan; Sárossy, Zsuzsa

    2016-01-01

    The salt-tolerant green microalga Dunaliella salina can survive both hyper- and hypo-osmotic shock. Upon osmotic shock, the cells transiently and rapidly decreased or increased in size within minutes and slowly over hours acquired their original cell size and volume. Cell size distribution differs...... significantly in the cultures grown in the salinity range from 1.5 to 15 % NaCl. By using Nile Red fluorescence to detect neutral lipids, it became clear that only hyper-osmotic shock on cells induced transient neutral lipid appearance in D. salina, while those transferred from 9 to 15 % NaCl stimulated...

  14. Effects of PEG-induced osmotic stress on growth and dhurrin levels of forage sorghum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    O'Donnell, Natalie H.; Møller, Birger Lindberg; Neale, Alan D.

    2013-01-01

    Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is a valuable forage crop in regions with low soil moisture. Sorghum may accumulate high concentrations of the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin when drought stressed resulting in possible cyanide (HCN) intoxication of grazing animals. In addition, high concentratio...... of plant growth and root activity, increasing the rate of nitrate uptake. Data presented in this article support a role for cyanogenic glucosides in mitigating oxidative stress....... of nitrate, also potentially toxic to ruminants, may accumulate during or shortly after periods of drought. Little is known about the degree and duration of drought-stress required to induce dhurrin accumulation, or how changes in dhurrin concentration are influenced by plant size or nitrate metabolism....... Given that finely regulating soil moisture under controlled conditions is notoriously difficult, we exposed sorghum plants to varying degrees of osmotic stress by growing them for different lengths of time in hydroponic solutions containing polyethylene glycol (PEG). Plants grown in medium containing 20...

  15. A novel zinc-finger-like gene from Tamarix hispida is involved in salt and osmotic tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Yan; Wang, Yucheng; Lou, Lingling; Zheng, Tangchun; Qu, Guan-Zheng

    2011-11-01

    In the present study, a zinc-finger-like cDNA (ThZFL) was cloned from the Tamarix hispida. Northern blot analysis showed that the expression of ThZFL can be induced by salt, osmotic stress and ABA treatment. Overexpression of the ThZFL confers salt and osmotic stress tolerance in both yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and tobacco. Furthermore, MDA levels in ThZFL transformed tobacco were significantly decreased compared with control plants under salt and osmotic stress, suggesting ThZFL may confer stress tolerance by decreasing membrane lipid peroxidation. Subcellular localization analysis showed the ThZFL protein is localized in the cell wall. Our results indicated the ThZFL gene is an excellent candidate for genetic engineering to improve salt and osmotic tolerance in agricultural plants.

  16. Net carbon allocation in soybean seedlings as influenced by soil water stress at two soil temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCoy, E.L.; Boersma, L.; Ekasingh, M.

    1990-01-01

    The influence of water stress at two soil temperatures on allocation of net photoassimilated carbon in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) was investigated using compartmental analysis. The experimental phase employed classical 14 C labeling methodology with plants equilibrated at soil water potentials of -0.04, -0.25 and -0.50 MPa; and soil temperatures of 25 and 10C. Carbon immobilization in the shoot apex generally followed leaf elongation rates with decreases in both parameters at increasing water stress at both soil temperatures. However, where moderate water stress resulted in dramatic declines in leaf elongation rates, carbon immobilization rates were sharply decreased only at severe water stress levels. Carbon immobilization was decreased in the roots and nodules of the nonwater stressed treatment by the lower soil temperature. This relation was reversed with severe water stress, and carbon immobilization in the roots and nodules was increased at the lower soil temperature. Apparently, the increased demand for growth and/or carbon storage in these tissues with increased water stress overcame the low soil temperature limitations. Both carbon pool sizes and partitioning of carbon to the sink tissues increased with moderate water stress at 25C soil temperature. Increased pool sizes were consistent with whole plant osmotic adjustment at moderate water stress. Increased partitioning to the sinks was consistent with carbon translocation processes being less severely influenced by water stress than is photosynthesis

  17. Evidence for a role of claudin 2 as a proximal tubular stress responsive paracellular water channel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilmes, Anja, E-mail: Anja.Wilmes@i-med.ac.at; Aschauer, Lydia; Limonciel, Alice; Pfaller, Walter; Jennings, Paul

    2014-09-01

    Claudins are the major proteins of the tight junctions and the composition of claudin subtypes is decisive for the selective permeability of the paracellular route and thus tissue specific function. Their regulation is complex and subject to interference by several factors, including oxidative stress. Here we show that exposure of cultured human proximal tubule cells (RPTEC/TERT1) to the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A (CsA) induces an increase in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), a decrease in dome formation (on solid growth supports) and a decrease in water transport (on microporous growth supports). In addition, CsA induced a dramatic decrease in the mRNA for the pore forming claudins -2 and -10, and the main subunits of the Na{sup +}/K{sup +} ATPase. Knock down of claudin 2 by shRNA had no discernable effect on TEER or dome formation but severely attenuated apical to basolateral water reabsorption when cultured on microporous filters. Generation of an osmotic gradient in the basolateral compartment rescued water transport in claudin 2 knock down cells. Inhibition of Na{sup +}/K{sup +} ATPase with ouabain prevented dome formation in both cell types. Taken together these results provide strong evidence that dome formation is primarily due to transcellular water transport following a solute osmotic gradient. However, in RPTEC/TERT1 cells cultured on filters under iso-osmotic conditions, water transport is primarily paracellular, most likely due to local increases in osmolarity in the intercellular space. In conclusion, this study provides strong evidence that claudin 2 is involved in paracellular water transport and that claudin 2 expression is sensitive to compound induced cellular stress. - Highlights: • Cyclosporine A increased TEER and decreased water transport in RPTEC/TERT1 cells. • Claudins 2 and 10 were decreased in response to cyclosporine A. • Knock down of claudin 2 inhibited water transport in proximal tubular cells. • We

  18. A Simple Student Laboratory on Osmotic Flow, Osmotic Pressure, and the Reflection Coefficient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feher, Joseph J.; Ford, George D.

    1995-01-01

    Describes a laboratory exercise containing a practical series of experiments that novice students can perform within two hours. The exercise provides a confirmation of van't Hoff's law while placing more emphasis on osmotic flow than pressure. Students can determine parameters such as the reflection coefficient which stress the interaction of both…

  19. Transcriptional profiling of sugarcane leaves and roots under progressive osmotic stress reveals a regulated coordination of gene expression in a spatiotemporal manner.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro Pereira-Santana

    Full Text Available Sugarcane is one of the most important crops worldwide and is a key plant for the global production of sucrose. Sugarcane cultivation is severely affected by drought stress and it is considered as the major limiting factor for their productivity. In recent years, this plant has been subjected to intensive research focused on improving its resilience against water scarcity; particularly the molecular mechanisms in response to drought stress have become an underlying issue for its improvement. To better understand water stress and the molecular mechanisms we performed a de novo transcriptomic assembly of sugarcane (var. Mex 69-290. A total of 16 libraries were sequenced in a 2x100 bp configuration on a HiSeq-Illumina platform. A total of 536 and 750 genes were differentially up-regulated along with the stress treatments for leave and root tissues respectively, while 1093 and 531 genes were differentially down-regulated in leaves and roots respectively. Gene Ontology functional analysis showed that genes related to response of water deprivation, heat, abscisic acid, and flavonoid biosynthesis were enriched during stress treatment in our study. The reliability of the observed expression patterns was confirmed by RT-qPCR. Additionally, several physiological parameters of sugarcane were significantly affected due to stress imposition. The results of this study may help identify useful target genes and provide tissue-specific data set of genes that are differentially expressed in response to osmotic stress, as well as a complete analysis of the main groups is significantly enriched under this condition. This study provides a useful benchmark for improving drought tolerance in sugarcane and other economically important grass species.

  20. Osmotic Adjustment in Leaves of VA Mycorrhizal and Nonmycorrhizal Rose Plants in Response to Drought Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Augé, R M; Schekel, K A; Wample, R L

    1986-11-01

    Osmotic adjustment in Rosa hybrida L. cv Samantha was characterized by the pressure-volume approach in drought-acclimated and unacclimated plants brought to the same level of drought strain, as assayed by stomatal closure. Plants were colonized by either of the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Glomus deserticola Trappe, Bloss and Menge or G. intraradices Schenck and Smith, or were nonmycorrhizal. Both the acclimation and the mycorrhizal treatments decreased the osmotic potential (Psi(pi)) of leaves at full turgor and at the turgor loss point, with a corresponding increase in pressure potential at full turgor. Mycorrhizae enabled plants to maintain leaf turgor and conductance at greater tissue water deficits, and lower leaf and soil water potentials, when compared with nonmycorrhizal plants. As indicated by the Psi(pi) at the turgor loss point, the active Psi(pi) depression which attended mycorrhizal colonization alone was 0.4 to 0.6 megapascals, and mycorrhizal colonization and acclimation in concert 0.6 to 0.9 megapascals, relative to unacclimated controls without mycorrhizae. Colonization levels and sporulation were higher in plants subjected to acclimation. In unacclimated hosts, leaf water potential, water saturation deficit, and soil water potential at a particular level of drought strain were affected most by G. intraradices. G. deserticola had the greater effect after drought preconditioning.

  1. Sea Water Acidification Affects Osmotic Swelling, Regulatory Volume Decrease and Discharge in Nematocytes of the Jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rossana Morabito

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Increased acidification/PCO2 of sea water is a threat to the environment and affects the homeostasis of marine animals. In this study, the effect of sea water pH changes on the osmotic phase (OP, regulatory volume decrease (RVD and discharge of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa nematocytes, collected from the Strait of Messina (Italy, was assessed. Methods: Isolated nematocytes, suspended in artificial sea water (ASW with pH 7.65, 6.5 and 4.5, were exposed to hyposmotic ASW of the same pH values and their osmotic response and RVD measured optically in a special flow through chamber. Nematocyte discharge was analyzed in situ in ASW at all three pH values. Results: At normal pH (7.65, nematocytes subjected to hyposmotic shock first expanded osmotically and then regulated their cell volume within 15 min. Exposure to hyposmotic ASW pH 6.5 and 4.5 compromised the OP and reduced or totally abrogated the ensuing RVD, respectively. Acidic pH also significantly reduced the nematocyte discharge response. Conclusion: Data indicate that the homeostasis and function of Cnidarians may be altered by environmental changes such as sea water acidification, thereby validating their use as novel bioindicators for the quality of the marine environment.

  2. Sea water acidification affects osmotic swelling, regulatory volume decrease and discharge in nematocytes of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morabito, Rossana; Marino, Angela; Lauf, Peter K; Adragna, Norma C; La Spada, Giuseppa

    2013-01-01

    Increased acidification/PCO2 of sea water is a threat to the environment and affects the homeostasis of marine animals. In this study, the effect of sea water pH changes on the osmotic phase (OP), regulatory volume decrease (RVD) and discharge of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) nematocytes, collected from the Strait of Messina (Italy), was assessed. Isolated nematocytes, suspended in artificial sea water (ASW) with pH 7.65, 6.5 and 4.5, were exposed to hyposmotic ASW of the same pH values and their osmotic response and RVD measured optically in a special flow through chamber. Nematocyte discharge was analyzed in situ in ASW at all three pH values. At normal pH (7.65), nematocytes subjected to hyposmotic shock first expanded osmotically and then regulated their cell volume within 15 min. Exposure to hyposmotic ASW pH 6.5 and 4.5 compromised the OP and reduced or totally abrogated the ensuing RVD, respectively. Acidic pH also significantly reduced the nematocyte discharge response. Data indicate that the homeostasis and function of Cnidarians may be altered by environmental changes such as sea water acidification, thereby validating their use as novel bioindicators for the quality of the marine environment. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  3. Effects of drought stress on growth, solute accumulation and membrane stability of leafy vegetable, huckleberry (Solanum scabrum Mill.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assaha, Dekoum Vincent Marius; Liu, Liyun; Ueda, Akihiro; Nagaoka, Toshinori; Saneoka, Hirofumi

    2016-01-01

    The present study sought to investigate the factors implicated in growth impairment of huckleberry (a leafy vegetable) under water stress conditions. To achieve this, seedlings of plant were subjected to control, mild stress and severe stress conditions for 30 days. Plant growth, plant water relation, gas exchange, oxidative stress damage, electrolyte leakage rate, mineral content and osmolyte accumulation were measured. Water deficit markedly decreased leaf, stem and root growth. Leaf photosynthetic rate was tremendously reduced by decrease in stomatal conductance under stress conditions. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content markedly increased under mild (82%) and severe (131%) stress conditions, while electrolyte leakage rate (ELR) increased by 59% under mild stress and 3-fold under severe stress. Mineral content in leafwas high in stressed plants, while proline content markedly increased under mild stress (12-fold) and severe stress (15-fold), with corresponding decrease in osmotic potential at full turgor and an increase in osmotic adjustment. These results suggest that maintenance of high mineral content and osmotic adjustment constitute important adaptations in huckleberry under water deficit conditions and that growth depression under drought stress would be mainly caused by increased electrolyte leakage resulting from membrane damage induced by oxidative stress.

  4. Irreversibility of a bad start: early exposure to osmotic stress limits growth and adaptive developmental plasticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chi-Shiun; Gomez-Mestre, Ivan; Kam, Yeong-Choy

    2012-05-01

    Harsh environments experienced early in development have immediate effects and potentially long-lasting consequences throughout ontogeny. We examined how salinity fluctuations affected survival, growth and development of Fejervarya limnocharis tadpoles. Specifically, we tested whether initial salinity effects on growth and rates of development were reversible and whether they affected the tadpoles' ability to adaptively accelerate development in response to deteriorating conditions later in development. Tadpoles were initially assigned to either low or high salinity, and then some were switched between salinity levels upon reaching either Gosner stage 30 (early switch) or 38 (late switch). All tadpoles initially experiencing low salinity survived whereas those initially experiencing high salinity had poor survival, even if switched to low salinity. Growth and developmental rates of tadpoles initially assigned to high salinity did not increase after osmotic stress release. Initial low salinity conditions allowed tadpoles to attain a fast pace of development even if exposed to high salinity afterwards. Tadpoles experiencing high salinity only late in development metamorphosed faster and at a smaller size, indicating an adaptive acceleration of development to avoid osmotic stress. Nonetheless, early exposure to high salinity precluded adaptive acceleration of development, always causing delayed metamorphosis relative to those in initially low salinity. Our results thus show that stressful environments experienced early in development can critically impact life history traits, having long-lasting or irreversible effects, and restricting their ability to produce adaptive plastic responses.

  5. Real-time label-free monitoring of the cellular response to osmotic stress using conventional and long-range surface plasmons

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vala, Milan; Roberek, R.; Bocková, Markéta; Wegener, J.; Homola, Jiří

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 40, č. 1 (2013), s. 417-421 ISSN 0956-5663 R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP205/12/G118 Institutional support: RVO:67985882 Keywords : surface plasmon resonance * NRK cells * osmotic stress Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering Impact factor: 6.451, year: 2013

  6. Lower critical solution temperature (LCST) phase separation of glycol ethers for forward osmotic control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakayama, Daichi; Mok, Yeongbong; Noh, Minwoo; Park, Jeongseon; Kang, Sunyoung; Lee, Yan

    2014-03-21

    Lower critical solution temperature (LCST) phase transition of glycol ether (GE)-water mixtures induces an abrupt change in osmotic pressure driven by a mild temperature change. The temperature-controlled osmotic change was applied for the forward osmosis (FO) desalination. Among three GEs evaluated, di(ethylene glycol) n-hexyl ether (DEH) was selected as a potential FO draw solute. A DEH-water mixture with a high osmotic pressure could draw fresh water from a high-salt feed solution such as seawater through a semipermeable membrane at around 10 °C. The water-drawn DEH-water mixture was phase-separated into a water-rich phase and a DEH-rich phase at around 30 °C. The water-rich phase with a much reduced osmotic pressure released water into a low-salt solution, and the DEH-rich phase was recovered into the initial DEH-water mixture. The phase separation behaviour, the residual GE concentration in the water-rich phase, the osmotic pressure of the DEH-water mixture, and the osmotic flux between the DEH-water mixture and salt solutions were carefully analysed for FO desalination. The liquid-liquid phase separation of the GE-water mixture driven by the mild temperature change between 10 °C and 30 °C is very attractive for the development of an ideal draw solute for future practical FO desalination.

  7. Novel insights into E. coli's hexuronate metabolism: KduI facilitates the conversion of galacturonate and glucuronate under osmotic stress conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monique Rothe

    Full Text Available Using a gnotobiotic mouse model, we previously observed the upregulation of 2-deoxy-D-gluconate 3-dehydrogenase (KduD in intestinal E. coli of mice fed a lactose-rich diet and the downregulation of this enzyme and of 5-keto 4-deoxyuronate isomerase (KduI on a casein-rich diet. The present study aimed to define the role of the so far poorly characterized E. coli proteins KduD and KduI in vitro. Galacturonate and glucuronate induced kduD and kduI gene expression 3-fold and 7 to 11-fold, respectively, under aerobic conditions as well as 9 to 20-fold and 19 to 54-fold, respectively, under anaerobic conditions. KduI facilitated the breakdown of these hexuronates. In E. coli, galacturonate and glucuronate are normally degraded by UxaABC and UxuAB. However, osmotic stress represses the expression of the corresponding genes in an OxyR-dependent manner. When grown in the presence of galacturonate or glucuronate, kduID-deficient E. coli had a 30% to 80% lower maximal cell density and 1.5 to 2-fold longer doubling times under osmotic stress conditions than wild type E. coli. Growth on lactose promoted the intracellular formation of hexuronates, which possibly explain the induction of KduD on a lactose-rich diet. These results indicate a novel function of KduI and KduD in E. coli and demonstrate the crucial influence of osmotic stress on the gene expression of hexuronate degrading enzymes.

  8. Osmotic dehydration of Braeburn variety apples in the production of sustainable food products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciurzyńska, Agnieszka; Cichowska, Joanna; Kowalska, Hanna; Czajkowska, Kinga; Lenart, Andrzej

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of osmotic dehydration conditions on the properties of osmotically pre-treated dried apples. The scope of research included analysing the most important mass exchange coefficients, i.e. water loss, solid gain, reduced water content and water activity, as well as colour changes of the obtained dried product. In the study, apples were osmotically dehydrated in one of two 60% solutions: sucrose or sucrose with an addition of chokeberry juice concentrate, for 30 and 120 min, in temperatures of 40 and 60°C. Ultrasound was also used during the first 30 min of the dehydration process. After osmotic pre-treatment, apples were subjected to innovative convective drying with the puffing effect, and to freeze-drying. Temperature and dehydration time increased the effectiveness of mass exchange during osmotic dehydration. The addition of chokeberry juice concentrate to standard sucrose solution and the use of ultrasound did not change the value of solid gain and reduced water content. Water activity of the dried apple tissue was not significantly changed after osmotic dehydration, while changes in colour were significant.

  9. Screening of the two-component-system histidine kinases of Listeria monocytogenes EGD-e. LiaS is needed for growth under heat, acid, alkali, osmotic, ethanol and oxidative stresses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pöntinen, Anna; Lindström, Miia; Skurnik, Mikael; Korkeala, Hannu

    2017-08-01

    To study the role of each two-component system (TCS) histidine kinase (HK) in stress tolerance of Listeria monocytogenes EGD-e, we monitored the growth of individual HK deletion mutant strains under heat (42.5 °C), acid (pH 5.6), alkali (pH 9.4), osmotic (6% NaCl), ethanol (3.5 vol%), and oxidative (5 mM H 2 O 2 ) stresses. The growth of ΔliaS (Δlmo1021) strain was impaired under each stress, with the most notable decrease under heat and osmotic stresses. The ΔvirS (Δlmo1741) strain showed nearly completely restricted growth at high temperature and impaired growth in ethanol. The growth of ΔagrC (Δlmo0050) strain was impaired under osmotic stress and slightly under oxidative stress. We successfully complemented the HK mutations using a novel allelic exchange based approach. This approach avoided the copy-number problems associated with in trans complementation from a plasmid. The mutant phenotypes were restored to the wild-type level in the complemented strains. This study reveals novel knowledge on the HKs needed for growth of L. monocytogenes EGD-e under abovementioned stress conditions, with LiaS playing multiple roles in stress tolerance of L. monocytogenes EGD-e. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Germination and vigor of linseed seeds under different conditions of light, temperature and water stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel Stefanello

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L., cultivated from seeds, is one of the oldest plants domesticated by humans and is popularly used as a medicine. It can be used as the raw material to produce oil and bran because it has high lipids content, fiber and proteins. Based on the economic potential of this species and the need for more information about its physiology, the goal of this study was to analyze the effects of light, temperature and water stress on the germination and vigor of linseed seeds. In experiment I the seeds were sown on paper at constant temperatures of 15, 20, 25 and 30 ºC in the presence and absence of light. In experiment II, the seeds were placed on paper germitest soaked in solutions of polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000 at osmotic potentials corresponding to zero, -0.10, -0.20, -0.30, -0.40, -0.50 and -0.60 MPa. To evaluate the physiological potential, the following tests were made: germination, first germination count, length and dry mass of seedlings, and water stress. It was found that the highest percentages of germination and vigor occurred at a constant temperature of 20 °C, both in the presence and absence of light. The reduction of the osmotic potential of the substrate promoted a significant decrease in the germination and vigor of the linseed seeds. Osmotic potentials equal or less than -0.30 MPa were harmful to germination and there was no normal seedling development starting at -0.50 MPa.

  11. Fatty acids from high rate algal pond's microalgal biomass and osmotic stress effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drira, Neila; Dhouibi, Nedra; Hammami, Saoussen; Piras, Alessandra; Rosa, Antonella; Porcedda, Silvia; Dhaouadi, Hatem

    2017-11-01

    The extraction of oil from a wild microalgae biomass collected from a domestic wastewater treatment facility's high rate algal pond (HRAP) was investigated. An experiment plan was used to determine the most efficient extraction method, the optimal temperature, time and solvent system based on total lipids yield. Microwave-assisted extraction was the most efficient method whether in n-hexane or in a mixture of chloroform/methanol compared to Soxhlet, homogenization, and ultrasounds assisted extractions. This same wild biomass was cultivated in a photobioreactor (PBR) and the effect of osmotic stress was studied. The lipids extraction yield after 3days of stress increased by more than four folds without any significant loss of biomass, however, the quality of extracted total lipids in terms of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids was not affected by salinity change in the culture medium. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Development of hyper osmotic resistant CHO host cells for enhanced antibody production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamachi, Yasuharu; Omasa, Takeshi

    2018-04-01

    Cell culture platform processes are generally employed to shorten the duration of new product development. A fed-batch process with continuous feeding is a conventional platform process for monoclonal antibody production using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. To establish a simplified platform process, the feeding method can be changed from continuous feed to bolus feed. However, this change induces a rapid increase of osmolality by the bolus addition of nutrients. The increased osmolality suppresses cell culture growth, and the final product concentration is decreased. In this study, osmotic resistant CHO host cells were developed to attain a high product concentration. To establish hyper osmotic resistant CHO host cells, CHO-S host cells were passaged long-term in a hyper osmotic basal medium. There were marked differences in cell growth of the original and established host cells under iso- (328 mOsm/kg) or hyper-osmolality (over 450 mOsm/kg) conditions. Cell growth of the original CHO host cells was markedly decreased by the induction of osmotic stress, whereas cell growth of the hyper osmotic resistant CHO host cells was not affected. The maximum viable cell concentration of hyper osmotic resistant CHO host cells was 132% of CHO-S host cells after the induction of osmotic stress. Moreover, the hyper osmotic resistant characteristic of established CHO host cells was maintained even after seven passages in iso-osmolality basal medium. The use of hyper osmotic resistance CHO host cells to create a monoclonal antibody production cell line might be a new approach to increase final antibody concentrations with a fed-batch process. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Water stress drastically reduces root growth and inulin yield in Cichorium intybus (var. sativum) independently of photosynthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandoorne, B.; Mathieu, A.-S.; Van den Ende, W.; Vergauwen, R.; Périlleux, C.; Javaux, M.; Lutts, S.

    2012-01-01

    Root chicory (Cichorium intybus var. sativum) is a cash crop cultivated for inulin production in Western Europe. This plant can be exposed to severe water stress during the last 3 months of its 6-month growing period. The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of a progressive decline in water availability on plant growth, photosynthesis, and sugar metabolism and to determine its impact on inulin production. Water stress drastically decreased fresh and dry root weight, leaf number, total leaf area, and stomatal conductance. Stressed plants, however, increased their water-use efficiency and leaf soluble sugar concentration, decreased the shoot-to-root ratio and lowered their osmotic potential. Despite a decrease in photosynthetic pigments, the photosynthesis light phase remained unaffected under water stress. Water stress increased sucrose phosphate synthase activity in the leaves but not in the roots. Water stress inhibited sucrose:sucrose 1-fructosyltransferase and fructan:fructan 1 fructosyltransferase after 19 weeks of culture and slightly increased fructan 1-exohydrolase activity. The root inulin concentration, expressed on a dry-weight basis, and the mean degree of polymerization of the inulin chain remained unaffected by water stress. Root chicory displayed resistance to water stress, but that resistance was obtained at the expense of growth, which in turn led to a significant decrease in inulin production. PMID:22577185

  14. Effects of ultraviolet-B radiation on plants during mild water stress, 4: The insensitivity of soybean internal water relations to ultraviolet-B radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teramura, A.H.; Forseth, I.N.; Lydon, J.

    1984-01-01

    The combined effects of ultraviolet-B (UV-B, 280–320 nm) radiation and water stress were investigated on the water relations of greenhouse grown soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Essex]. On a weighted (Caldwell 1971), total daily dose basis, plants received either 0 or 3 000 effective J m 2 UV-B BE supplied by filtered FS-40 sunlamps. The latter dose simulated the solar UV-B radiation anticipated at College Park, Maryland, U.S.A. (39°N latitude) in the event that the global stratospheric ozone column is reduced by 25%. Plants were either well-watered or preconditioned by drought stress cycles. Diurnal measurements of water potential and stomatal conductance were made on the youngest fully expanded leaf. Various internal water relations parameters were determined for detached leaves. Plants were monitored before, during and after water stress. There were no significant differences in leaf water potential or stomatal conductance between treatments before plants were preconditioned to water stress. However, drought stress resulted in significantly lower midday and afternoon leaf water potentials and lower leaf conductances as compared to well-watered plants. UV-B radiation had no additional effect on leaf water potential; however, UV did result in lower leaf conductances in plants preconditioned to water stress. Turgid weight:dry weight ratio, elastic modulus, bound water and relative water content were unaffected by UV-B radiation. Osmotic potentials at full and zero turgor were significantly lower in the drought stressed treatments as compared to well-watered plants. (author)

  15. Effects of osmotic stress on the activity of MAPKs and PDGFR-beta-mediated signal transduction in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, M-B; Christensen, Søren Tvorup; Hoffmann, E K

    2008-01-01

    Signaling in cell proliferation, cell migration, and apoptosis is highly affected by osmotic stress and changes in cell volume, although the mechanisms underlying the significance of cell volume as a signal in cell growth and death are poorly understood. In this study, we used NIH-3T3 fibroblasts...... in a serum- and nutrient-free inorganic medium (300 mosM) to analyze the effects of osmotic stress on MAPK activity and PDGF receptor (PDGFR)-beta-mediated signal transduction. We found that hypoosmolarity (cell swelling at 211 mosM) induced the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of ERK1/2, most...... likely via a pathway independent of PDGFR-beta and MEK1/2. Conversely, hyperosmolarity (cell shrinkage at 582 mosM) moved nuclear and phosphorylated ERK1/2 to the cytoplasm and induced the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of p38 and phosphorylation of JNK1/2. In a series of parallel experiments...

  16. Silicon improves salt tolerance by increasing root water uptake in Cucumis sativus L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Yong-Xing; Xu, Xuan-Bin; Hu, Yan-Hong; Han, Wei-Hua; Yin, Jun-Liang; Li, Huan-Li; Gong, Hai-Jun

    2015-09-01

    Silicon enhances root water uptake in salt-stressed cucumber plants through up-regulating aquaporin gene expression. Osmotic adjustment is a genotype-dependent mechanism for silicon-enhanced water uptake in plants. Silicon can alleviate salt stress in plants. However, the mechanism is still not fully understood, and the possible role of silicon in alleviating salt-induced osmotic stress and the underlying mechanism still remain to be investigated. In this study, the effects of silicon (0.3 mM) on Na accumulation, water uptake, and transport were investigated in two cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cultivars ('JinYou 1' and 'JinChun 5') under salt stress (75 mM NaCl). Salt stress inhibited the plant growth and photosynthesis and decreased leaf transpiration and water content, while added silicon ameliorated these negative effects. Silicon addition only slightly decreased the shoot Na levels per dry weight in 'JinYou 1' but not in 'JinChun 5' after 10 days of stress. Silicon addition reduced stress-induced decreases in root hydraulic conductivity and/or leaf-specific conductivity. Expressions of main plasma membrane aquaporin genes in roots were increased by added silicon, and the involvement of aquaporins in water uptake was supported by application of aquaporin inhibitor and restorative. Besides, silicon application decreased the root xylem osmotic potential and increased root soluble sugar levels in 'JinYou 1.' Our results suggest that silicon can improve salt tolerance of cucumber plants through enhancing root water uptake, and silicon-mediated up-regulation of aquaporin gene expression may in part contribute to the increase in water uptake. In addition, osmotic adjustment may be a genotype-dependent mechanism for silicon-enhanced water uptake in plants.

  17. Physiological and Proteomic Responses of Contrasting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Varieties to PEG-Induced Osmotic Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Cuimei; Shi, Shangli

    2018-01-01

    Drought severely limits global plant distribution and agricultural production. Elucidating the physiological and molecular mechanisms governing alfalfa stress responses will contribute to the improvement of drought tolerance in leguminous crops. In this study, the physiological and proteomic responses of two alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) varieties contrasting in drought tolerance, Longzhong (drought-tolerant) and Gannong No. 3 (drought-sensitive), were comparatively assayed when seedlings were exposed to -1.2 MPa polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) treatments for 15 days. The results showed that the levels of proline, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl free radical (OH•) and superoxide anion free radical (O2•-) in both varieties were significantly increased, while the root activity, the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities, and the ratios of reduced/oxidized ascorbate (AsA/DHA) and reduced/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) were significantly decreased. The soluble protein and soluble sugar contents, the total antioxidant capability (T-AOC) and the activities of peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) first increased and then decreased with the increase in treatment days. Under osmotic stress, Longzhong exhibited lower levels of MDA, H2O2, OH• and O2•- but higher levels of SOD, CAT, APX, T-AOC and ratios of AsA/DHA and GSH/GSSG compared with Gannong No.3. Using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ), 142 differentially accumulated proteins (DAPs) were identified from two alfalfa varieties, including 52 proteins (34 up-regulated and 18 down-regulated) in Longzhong, 71 proteins (28 up-regulated and 43 down-regulated) in Gannong No. 3, and 19 proteins (13 up-regulated and 6 down-regulated) shared by both varieties. Most of these DAPs were involved in stress and defense, protein metabolism, transmembrane transport, signal transduction, as well as cell wall and

  18. Physiological and Proteomic Responses of Contrasting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Varieties to PEG-Induced Osmotic Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Cuimei; Shi, Shangli

    2018-01-01

    Drought severely limits global plant distribution and agricultural production. Elucidating the physiological and molecular mechanisms governing alfalfa stress responses will contribute to the improvement of drought tolerance in leguminous crops. In this study, the physiological and proteomic responses of two alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) varieties contrasting in drought tolerance, Longzhong (drought-tolerant) and Gannong No. 3 (drought-sensitive), were comparatively assayed when seedlings were exposed to -1.2 MPa polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) treatments for 15 days. The results showed that the levels of proline, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), hydroxyl free radical (OH • ) and superoxide anion free radical (O 2 •- ) in both varieties were significantly increased, while the root activity, the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities, and the ratios of reduced/oxidized ascorbate (AsA/DHA) and reduced/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) were significantly decreased. The soluble protein and soluble sugar contents, the total antioxidant capability (T-AOC) and the activities of peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) first increased and then decreased with the increase in treatment days. Under osmotic stress, Longzhong exhibited lower levels of MDA, H 2 O 2 , OH • and O 2 •- but higher levels of SOD, CAT, APX, T-AOC and ratios of AsA/DHA and GSH/GSSG compared with Gannong No.3. Using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ), 142 differentially accumulated proteins (DAPs) were identified from two alfalfa varieties, including 52 proteins (34 up-regulated and 18 down-regulated) in Longzhong, 71 proteins (28 up-regulated and 43 down-regulated) in Gannong No. 3, and 19 proteins (13 up-regulated and 6 down-regulated) shared by both varieties. Most of these DAPs were involved in stress and defense, protein metabolism, transmembrane transport, signal transduction, as well as cell

  19. Validation of reference genes for normalization of qPCR mRNA expression levels in Staphylococcus aureus exposed to osmotic and lactic acid stress conditions encountered during food production and preservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sihto, Henna-Maria; Tasara, Taurai; Stephan, Roger; Johler, Sophia

    2014-07-01

    Staphylococcus aureus represents the most prevalent cause of food-borne intoxications worldwide. While being repressed by competing bacteria in most matrices, this pathogen exhibits crucial competitive advantages during growth at high salt concentrations or low pH, conditions frequently encountered in food production and preservation. We aimed to identify reference genes that could be used to normalize qPCR mRNA expression levels during growth of S. aureus in food-related osmotic (NaCl) and acidic (lactic acid) stress adaptation models. Expression stability of nine housekeeping genes was evaluated in full (LB) and nutrient-deficient (CYGP w/o glucose) medium under conditions of osmotic (4.5% NaCl) and acidic stress (lactic acid, pH 6.0) after 2-h exposure. Among the set of candidate reference genes investigated, rplD, rpoB,gyrB, and rho were most stably expressed in LB and thus represent the most suitable reference genes for normalization of qPCR data in osmotic or lactic acid stress models in a rich medium. Under nutrient-deficient conditions, expression of rho and rpoB was highly stable across all tested conditions. The presented comprehensive data on changes in expression of various S. aureus housekeeping genes under conditions of osmotic and lactic acid stress facilitate selection of reference genes for qPCR-based stress response models. © 2014 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Phosphatidic acid, a versatile water-stress signal in roots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fionn eMcLoughlin

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Adequate water supply is of utmost importance for growth and reproduction of plants. In order to cope with water deprivation, plants have to adapt their development and metabolism to ensure survival. To maximize water use efficiency, plants use a large array of signaling mediators such as hormones, protein kinases and phosphatases, Ca2+, reactive oxygen species and low abundant phospholipids that together form complex signaling cascades. Phosphatidic acid (PA is a signaling lipid that rapidly accumulates in response to a wide array of abiotic stress stimuli. PA formation provides the cell with spatial and transient information about the external environment by acting as a protein-docking site in cellular membranes. PA reportedly binds to a number of proteins that play a role during water limiting conditions, such as drought and salinity and has been shown to play an important role in maintaining root system architecture. Members of two osmotic stress-activated protein kinase families, sucrose non-fermenting 1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2 and mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs were recently shown bind PA and are also involved in the maintenance of root system architecture and salinity stress tolerance. In addition, PA regulates several proteins involved in abscisic acid (ABA-signaling. PA-dependent recruitment of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH under water limiting conditions indicates a role in regulating metabolic processes. Finally, a recent study also shows the PA recruits the clathrin heavy chain and a potassium channel subunit, hinting towards additional roles in cellular trafficking and potassium homeostasis. Taken together, the rapidly increasing number of proteins reported to interact with PA implies a broad role for this versatile signaling phospholipid in mediating salt and water stress responses.

  1. Osmotic concentration in three races of honey bee, Apis mellifera L. under environmental conditions of arid zone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Hussain; Alqarni, Abdulaziz S; Owayss, Ayman A; Hassan, Awad M; Smith, Brian H

    2017-07-01

    Hemolymph osmolarity has great effect on honey bee health, especially in arid and semi-arid zones. It regulates water and nutrients in stressed tissues. Osmotic concentration in three races ( Apis mellifera ligustica , A. m. carnica and A. m. jemenitica ) of Apis mellifera was tested in central Saudi Arabia during spring and summer seasons in 2015. Newly emerged bee workers were first marked and later their hemolymph was extracted after intervals of 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 days. A significant positive correlation between age and osmolarity was found in all three races during spring and summer seasons. The lowest combined osmotic concentration for all three races was found after 1 day interval, while the highest osmotic concentration was recorded after 25 days. Among all races, A. m. ligustica showed significantly high osmotic concentration after 25 days in spring and summer seasons as compared to the other two races. Only A. m. jemenitica showed similar osmotic concentration after 10 and 15 days in both spring and summer seasons compared to other two races. Mean osmotic concentration of all three races was significantly different after 20 and 25 days in spring and summer seasons. Overall mean recorded during summer was significantly higher than the mean of spring season. Combined osmotic concentration in young drones of all races was significantly lower than that of old drones during spring and summer seasons.

  2. The Response Strategy of Maize, Pea and Broad Bean Plants to Different Osmotic Potential Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamdia M. Abd El-Samad

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available This investigation was conducted to study the tolerance strategy of maize, broad bean and pea plants to salinity stress with exogenous applications of proline or phenylalanine on seed germination and seedlings growth. From the results obtained, it can be observed that osmotic stress affected adversely the rate of germination in maize, broad bean and pea plants. The excessive inhibition was more prominent at higher concentration of NaCl. The seeds and grains tested were exhibited some differential responses to salinity, in a manner that the inhibitory effect of salinity on seed germination ran in the order, maize higher than broad bean and the later was higher than pea plant. Treatment with proline or phenylalanine (100 ppm significantly increased these seed germination and seedlings growth characteristics even at lowest salinity level tested.

  3. Fouling in Membrane Distillation, Osmotic Distillation and Osmotic Membrane Distillation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mourad Laqbaqbi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Various membrane separation processes are being used for seawater desalination and treatment of wastewaters in order to deal with the worldwide water shortage problem. Different types of membranes of distinct morphologies, structures and physico-chemical characteristics are employed. Among the considered membrane technologies, membrane distillation (MD, osmotic distillation (OD and osmotic membrane distillation (OMD use porous and hydrophobic membranes for production of distilled water and/or concentration of wastewaters for recovery and recycling of valuable compounds. However, the efficiency of these technologies is hampered by fouling phenomena. This refers to the accumulation of organic/inorganic deposits including biological matter on the membrane surface and/or in the membrane pores. Fouling in MD, OD and OMD differs from that observed in electric and pressure-driven membrane processes such electrodialysis (ED, membrane capacitive deionization (MCD, reverse osmosis (RO, nanofiltration (NF, ultrafiltration (UF, microfiltration (MF, etc. Other than pore blockage, fouling in MD, OD and OMD increases the risk of membrane pores wetting and reduces therefore the quantity and quality of the produced water or the concentration efficiency of the process. This review deals with the observed fouling phenomena in MD, OD and OMD. It highlights different detected fouling types (organic fouling, inorganic fouling and biofouling, fouling characterization techniques as well as various methods of fouling reduction including pretreatment, membrane modification, membrane cleaning and antiscalants application.

  4. Modelling reveals endogenous osmotic adaptation of storage tissue water potential as an important driver determining different stem diameter variation patterns in the mangrove species Avicennia marina and Rhizophora stylosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandegehuchte, Maurits W; Guyot, Adrien; Hubeau, Michiel; De Swaef, Tom; Lockington, David A; Steppe, Kathy

    2014-09-01

    Stem diameter variations are mainly determined by the radial water transport between xylem and storage tissues. This radial transport results from the water potential difference between these tissues, which is influenced by both hydraulic and carbon related processes. Measurements have shown that when subjected to the same environmental conditions, the co-occurring mangrove species Avicennia marina and Rhizophora stylosa unexpectedly show a totally different pattern in daily stem diameter variation. Using in situ measurements of stem diameter variation, stem water potential and sap flow, a mechanistic flow and storage model based on the cohesion-tension theory was applied to assess the differences in osmotic storage water potential between Avicennia marina and Rhizophora stylosa. Both species, subjected to the same environmental conditions, showed a resembling daily pattern in simulated osmotic storage water potential. However, the osmotic storage water potential of R. stylosa started to decrease slightly after that of A. marina in the morning and increased again slightly later in the evening. This small shift in osmotic storage water potential likely underlaid the marked differences in daily stem diameter variation pattern between the two species. The results show that in addition to environmental dynamics, endogenous changes in the osmotic storage water potential must be taken into account in order to accurately predict stem diameter variations, and hence growth.

  5. Seed viability of Dimorphandra gardneriana subject to water stress in different temperatures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Matias Ursulino

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The forest species Dimorphandra gardneriana Tul. is widely used for various pharmacological products, yet few basic studies have been undertaken to understand their ecological and physiological attributes under stress conditions. The goal of this research was to evaluate the seed germination and vigor when subjected to different osmotic potentials and temperatures. Water restriction was simulated with polyethylene glycol 6000 solution (PEG 6000 with osmotic potentials of 0; -0,2; -0,4; -0,6; -0,8, and -1,0MPa at temperatures of 20, 25, 30, and 35°C. The effect of the treatment was determined by the germination and vigor (germination speed index, length and phytomass of dry shoot and roots of the seeds, in an entirely random design with four repetitions. From-0, 4MPa it occurs a drastic reduction in germination and vigor of seeds although these factors were less affected at temperature of 25°C up to -0, 2MPa.

  6. Ionic and osmotic relations in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) plants grown at various salinity levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hariadi, Yuda; Marandon, Karl; Tian, Yu; Jacobsen, Sven-Erik; Shabala, Sergey

    2011-01-01

    Ionic and osmotic relations in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) were studied by exposing plants to six salinity levels (0-500 mM NaCl range) for 70 d. Salt stress was administered either by pre-mixing of the calculated amount of NaCl with the potting mix before seeds were planted or by the gradual increase of NaCl levels in the irrigation water. For both methods, the optimal plant growth and biomass was achieved between 100 mM and 200 mM NaCl, suggesting that quinoa possess a very efficient system to adjust osmotically for abrupt increases in NaCl stress. Up to 95% of osmotic adjustment in old leaves and between 80% and 85% of osmotic adjustment in young leaves was achieved by means of accumulation of inorganic ions (Na(+), K(+), and Cl(-)) at these NaCl levels, whilst the contribution of organic osmolytes was very limited. Consistently higher K(+) and lower Na(+) levels were found in young, as compared with old leaves, for all salinity treatments. The shoot sap K(+) progressively increased with increased salinity in old leaves; this is interpreted as evidence for the important role of free K(+) in leaf osmotic adjustment under saline conditions. A 5-fold increase in salinity level (from 100 mM to 500 mM) resulted in only a 50% increase in the sap Na(+) content, suggesting either a very strict control of xylem Na(+) loading or an efficient Na(+) removal from leaves. A very strong correlation between NaCl-induced K(+) and H(+) fluxes was observed in quinoa root, suggesting that a rapid NaCl-induced activation of H(+)-ATPase is needed to restore otherwise depolarized membrane potential and prevent further K(+) leak from the cytosol. Taken together, this work emphasizes the role of inorganic ions for osmotic adjustment in halophytes and calls for more in-depth studies of the mechanisms of vacuolar Na(+) sequestration, control of Na(+) and K(+) xylem loading, and their transport to the shoot.

  7. Measurement of water filtration in skeletal muscle in man by an osmotic transient method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Palm, T; Nielsen, S L; Lassen, N A

    1983-01-01

    Water filtration in the human forearm was determined with a new method using a hyperoncotic transient of albumin solution infused into the brachial artery. Baseline dilution of labelled albumin in deep forearm vein plasma in excess of the contribution from arterial blood and from infusate...... was assumed to originate from extravascular water filtered into the blood by the transient. The filtration coefficient (Fc) was determined as the ratio between filtered water and increase in colloid osmotic pressure in the blood samples, and gives the filtrative water permeability in the exchange areas...... muscles, but it is of the same order of magnitude as the capillary filtration coefficient (CFC) determined plethysmographically for the entire forearm by the venous stasis technique....

  8. Histone H3 lysine 9 methyltransferase FvDim5 regulates fungal development, pathogenicity and osmotic stress responses in Fusarium verticillioides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Qin; Ji, Tiantian; Sun, Xiao; Huang, Hai; Zhang, Hao; Lu, Xi; Wu, Liming; Huo, Rong; Wu, Huijun; Gao, Xuewen

    2017-10-16

    Histone methylation plays important biological roles in eukaryotic cells. Methylation of lysine 9 at histone H3 (H3K9me) is critical for regulating chromatin structure and gene transcription. Dim5 is a lysine histone methyltransferase (KHMTase) enzyme, which is responsible for the methylation of H3K9 in eukaryotes. In the current study, we identified a single ortholog of Neurospora crassa Dim5 in Fusarium verticillioides. In this study, we report that FvDim5 regulates the trimethylation of H3K9 (H3K9me3). The FvDIM5 deletion mutant (ΔFvDim5) showed significant defects in conidiation, perithecium production and fungal virulence. Unexpectedly, we found that deletion of FvDIM5 resulted in increased tolerance to osmotic stresses and upregulated FvHog1 phosphorylation. These results indicate the importance of FvDim5 for the regulation of fungal development, pathogenicity and osmotic stress responses in F. verticillioides. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Osmotic Power: A Fresh Look at an Old Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dugdale, Pam

    2014-01-01

    Electricity from osmotic pressure might seem a far-fetched idea but this article describes a prototype in Norway where the osmotic pressure generated between salt and fresh water drives a turbine. This idea was applied in a student investigation, where they were tasked with researching which alternative materials could be used for the…

  10. Downregulation of the taurine transporter TauT during hypo-osmotic stress in NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Daniel Bloch; Friis, Martin Barfred; Hoffmann, Else Kay

    2012-01-01

    The present work was initiated to investigate regulation of the taurine transporter TauT by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the tonicity-responsive enhancer binding protein (TonEBP) in NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts during acute and long-term (4 h) exposure to low-sodium/hypo-osmotic stress. Taurine...... are significantly increased following hyperosmotic exposure. Swelling-induced ROS production in NIH3T3 fibroblasts is generated by NOX4 and by increasing total ROS, by either exogenous application of H(2)O(2) or overexpressing NOX4, we demonstrate that TonEBP activity and taurine influx are regulated negatively...... by ROS under hypo-osmotic, low-sodium conditions, whereas the TauT mRNA level is unaffected. Acute exposure to ROS reduces taurine uptake as a result of modulated TauT transport kinetics. Thus, swelling-induced ROS production could account for the reduced taurine uptake under low...

  11. Osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yadav, Ashok Kumar; Singh, Satya Vir

    2014-09-01

    The main cause of perishability of fruits and vegetables are their high water content. To increase the shelf life of these fruits and vegetables many methods or combination of methods had been tried. Osmotic dehydration is one of the best and suitable method to increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. This process is preferred over others due to their vitamin and minerals, color, flavor and taste retention property. In this review different methods, treatments, optimization and effects of osmotic dehydration have been reviewed. Studied showed that combination of different osmotic agents were more effective than sucrose alone due to combination of properties of solutes. During the experiments it was found that optimum osmosis was found at approximately 40 °C, 40 °B of osmotic agent and in near about 132 min. Pretreatments also leads to increase the osmotic process in fruits and vegetables. Mass transfer kinetics study is an important parameter to study osmosis. Solids diffusivity were found in wide range (5.09-32.77 kl/mol) studied by Fick's laws of diffusion. These values vary depending upon types of fruits and vegetables and osmotic agents.

  12. Nitrogen Metabolism in Adaptation of Photosynthesis to Water Stress in Rice Grown under Different Nitrogen Levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chu Zhong

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available To investigate the role of nitrogen (N metabolism in the adaptation of photosynthesis to water stress in rice, a hydroponic experiment supplying with low N (0.72 mM, moderate N (2.86 mM, and high N (7.15 mM followed by 150 g⋅L-1 PEG-6000 induced water stress was conducted in a rainout shelter. Water stress induced stomatal limitation to photosynthesis at low N, but no significant effect was observed at moderate and high N. Non-photochemical quenching was higher at moderate and high N. In contrast, relative excessive energy at PSII level (EXC was declined with increasing N level. Malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 contents were in parallel with EXC. Water stress decreased catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activities at low N, resulting in increased H2O2 content and severer membrane lipid peroxidation; whereas the activities of antioxidative enzymes were increased at high N. In accordance with photosynthetic rate and antioxidative enzymes, water stress decreased the activities of key enzymes involving in N metabolism such as glutamate synthase and glutamate dehydrogenase, and photorespiratory key enzyme glycolate oxidase at low N. Concurrently, water stress increased nitrate content significantly at low N, but decreased nitrate content at moderate and high N. Contrary to nitrate, water stress increased proline content at moderate and high N. Our results suggest that N metabolism appears to be associated with the tolerance of photosynthesis to water stress in rice via affecting CO2 diffusion, antioxidant capacity, and osmotic adjustment.

  13. Osmotic dehydration of fruit and berry raw materials in the food industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. A. Gribova

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Osmotic dehydration has recently received more attention as an effective method of preserving fruits and berries. Osmosis is a simple process that facilitates the processing of fruits and berries in order to preserve the original characteristics, namely nutritional value and organoleptic properties: color, aroma and texture. Osmotic dehydration has found wide application in the preservation of food products, as the activity of water in fruits and berries decreases, in some of them up to 90% of water is contained. The process of osmotic dehydration with the help of various agents is less energy-intensive than the process of drying or freezing, since it can be processed at ambient temperature. Osmotic dehydration has potential advantages in preserving the quality of food and in maintaining healthy food for the food industry. Treatment includes dehydration of fruits and berries by an osmotic agent followed by dehydration in dry or frozen apparatus where the moisture content decreases and the product becomes more stable. This process is a partial dewatering process to provide improved product quality compared to conventional drying processes or freezing. The purpose of studying osmotic dehydration is to identify the advantages and disadvantages in the treatment of osmotic agents. Various aspects of osmotic dehydration technology are considered, namely the solutions used, the characteristics of solutions, the effect of variable processes and the qualitative characteristics of osmo-dehydrated products. Factors of osmotic dehydration that depend on the osmotic agent, concentration of solute, temperature, time, size, shape and compactness of the material, mixing and the ratio of the solution to the samples.

  14. A review on controlled porosity osmotic pump tablets and its evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chinmaya Keshari Sahoo

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Conventional drug delivery system provides an immediate release of drug which does not control the release of the drug and does not maintain effective concentration at target site for a longer period of time. Hence to avoid the shortcomings there is development of various controlled drug delivery systems. Among these osmotic drug delivery system (ODDS utilizes the principle of osmotic pressure and delivers drug dose in an optimized manner to maintain drug concentration within the therapeutic window and minimizes toxic effects. ODDS releases drug at a controlled rate that is independent of the pH and thermodynamics of dissolution medium. The release of drug from ODDS follows zero order kinetics. The release of drug from osmotic system depends upon various formulation factors such as solubility, osmotic pressure of the core components, size of the delivery orifice and nature of the rate controlling membrane. Controlled porosity osmotic pump (CPOP contains drug, osmogens, excipients in core and a coating of semipermeable membrane with water soluble additives. In CPOP water soluble additives dissolve after coming in contact with water, resulting in an in situ formation of a microporous membrane. The present study gives an idea about osmosis, CPOP, components of CPOP and its evaluation.

  15. A Novel Sugar Transporter from Dianthus spiculifolius, DsSWEET12, Affects Sugar Metabolism and Confers Osmotic and Oxidative Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Aimin; Ma, Hongping; Feng, Shuang; Gong, Shufang; Wang, Jingang

    2018-02-07

    Plant SWEETs (sugars will eventually be exported transporters) play a role in plant growth and plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present study, DsSWEET12 from Dianthus spiculifolius was identified and characterized. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that DsSWEET12 expression was induced by sucrose starvation, mannitol, and hydrogen peroxide. Colocalization experiment showed that the DsSWEET12-GFP fusion protein was localized to the plasma membrane, which was labeled with FM4-64 dye, in Arabidopsis and suspension cells of D. spiculifolius . Compared to wild type plants, transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings overexpressing DsSWEET12 have longer roots and have a greater fresh weight, which depends on sucrose content. Furthermore, a relative root length analysis showed that transgenic Arabidopsis showed higher tolerance to osmotic and oxidative stresses. Finally, a sugar content analysis showed that the sucrose content in transgenic Arabidopsis was less than that in the wild type, while fructose and glucose contents were higher than those in the wild type. Taken together, our results suggest that DsSWEET12 plays an important role in seedling growth and plant response to osmotic and oxidative stress in Arabidopsis by influencing sugar metabolism.

  16. The tonoplast intrinsic aquaporin (TIP) subfamily of Eucalyptus grandis: Characterization of EgTIP2, a root-specific and osmotic stress-responsive gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Marcela I; Bravo, Juliana P; Sassaki, Flávio T; Severino, Fábio E; Maia, Ivan G

    2013-12-01

    Aquaporins have important roles in various physiological processes in plants, including growth, development and adaptation to stress. In this study, a gene encoding a root-specific tonoplast intrinsic aquaporin (TIP) from Eucalyptus grandis (named EgTIP2) was investigated. The root-specific expression of EgTIP2 was validated over a panel of five eucalyptus organ/tissues. In eucalyptus roots, EgTIP2 expression was significantly induced by osmotic stress imposed by PEG treatment. Histochemical analysis of transgenic tobacco lines (Nicotiana tabacum SR1) harboring an EgTIP2 promoter:GUS reporter cassette revealed major GUS staining in the vasculature and in root tips. Consistent with its osmotic-stress inducible expression in eucalyptus, EgTIP2 promoter activity was up-regulated by mannitol treatment, but was down-regulated by abscisic acid. Taken together, these results suggest that EgTIP2 might be involved in eucalyptus response to drought. Additional searches in the eucalyptus genome revealed the presence of four additional putative TIP coding genes, which could be individually assigned to the classical TIP1-5 groups. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Three cycles of water deficit from seed to young plants of Moringa oleifera woody species improves stress tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivas, Rebeca; Oliveira, Marciel T; Santos, Mauro G

    2013-02-01

    The main objective of this study was to assess whether recurring water stress occurring from seed germination to young plants of Moringa oleifera Lam. are able to mitigate the drought stress effects. Germination, gas exchange and biochemical parameters were analysed after three cycles of water deficit. Young plants were used 50 days after germination under three osmotic potentials (0.0, -0.3 and -0.4 MPa). For each germination treatment, control (irrigated) and stressed (10% of water control) plants were compared for a total of six treatments. There were two cycles of drought interspersed with 10 days of rehydration. The young plants of M. oleifera showed increased tolerance to repeated cycles of drought, maintaining high relative water content (RWC), high water use efficiency (WUE), increased photosynthetic pigments and increased activity of antioxidant enzymes. There was rapid recovery of the photosynthetic rate during the rehydration period. The stressed plants from the -0.3 and -0.4 MPa treatments showed higher tolerance compared to the control plants. The results suggest that seeds of M. oleifera subjected to mild water deficit have had increased the ability for drought tolerance when young plant. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. Influence of salinity and water content on soil microorganisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nan Yan

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Salinization is one of the most serious land degradation problems facing world. Salinity results in poor plant growth and low soil microbial activity due to osmotic stress and toxic ions. Soil microorganisms play a pivotal role in soils through mineralization of organic matter into plant available nutrients. Therefore it is important to maintain high microbial activity in soils. Salinity tolerant soil microbes counteract osmotic stress by synthesizing osmolytes which allows them to maintain their cell turgor and metabolism. Osmotic potential is a function of the salt concentration in the soil solution and therefore affected by both salinity (measured as electrical conductivity at a certain water content and soil water content. Soil salinity and water content vary in time and space. Understanding the effect of changes in salinity and water content on soil microorganisms is important for crop production, sustainable land use and rehabilitation of saline soils. In this review, the effects of soil salinity and water content on microbes are discussed to guide future research into management of saline soils.

  19. ThNAC13, a NAC Transcription Factor from Tamarix hispida, Confers Salt and Osmotic Stress Tolerance to Transgenic Tamarix and Arabidopsis

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Liuqiang; Li, Zhen; Lu, Mengzhu; Wang, Yucheng

    2017-01-01

    NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) proteins play critical roles in many plant biological processes and environmental stress. However, NAC proteins from Tamarix hispida have not been functionally characterized. Here, we studied a NAC gene from T. hispida, ThNAC13, in response to salt and osmotic stresses. ThNAC13 is a nuclear protein with a C-terminal transactivation domain. ThNAC13 can bind to NAC recognized sites and calmodulin-binding NAC (CBNAC) binding element. Overexpression of ThNAC13 in Arab...

  20. Physiological responses of genotypes soybean to simulated drought stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleonóra Krivosudská

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research was to investigate possible genetic variation in the sensitivity of soybean cultivars for nitrogen fixation rates in response to soil drying. The work confirmed that the selected physiological characteristics (RWC, osmotic potential, stress index and created nodules on roots are good evaluating parameters for the determination of water stress in plant. In the floricultural year 2014 an experiment with four genetic resources of soybean was launched. Sowing of Maverick (USA, Drina (HRV, Nigra (SVK and Polanka (CZK genotypes was carried out in the containers of 15 l capacity. This stress had a negative impact on the physiological parameters. By comparing the RWC values, the decrease was more significant at the end of dehydration, which was monitored in Maverick and Drina genotypes using the Nitrazon inoculants and water stress effect. Inoculated stressed Nigra and Polanka genotypes have kept higher water content till the end of dehydration period. Also the proline accumulation was monitored during the water stress, whilst higher content of free proline reached of Maverick. More remarkable decrease of osmotic potential was again registered in a foreign Drina and Maverick genotypes in the inoculated variations. Nigra and Polanka genotypes responses not so significant in the given conditions.

  1. The structure of arabidopsis thaliana OST1 provides insights into the kinase regulation mechanism in response to osmotic stress

    KAUST Repository

    Yunta, Cristina; Martí nez-Ripoll, Martí n; Zhu, Jian-Kang; Albert, Armando

    2011-01-01

    SnRK [SNF1 (sucrose non-fermenting-1)-related protein kinase] 2.6 [open stomata 1 (OST1)] is well characterized at molecular and physiological levels to control stomata closure in response to water-deficit stress. OST1 is a member of a family of 10 protein kinases from Arabidopsis thaliana (SnRK2) that integrates abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent and ABA-independent signals to coordinate the cell response to osmotic stress. A subgroup of protein phosphatases type 2C binds OST1 and keeps the kinase dephosphorylated and inactive. Activation of OST1 relies on the ABA-dependent inhibition of the protein phosphatases type 2C and the subsequent self-phosphorylation of the kinase. The OST1 ABA-independent activation depends on a short sequence motif that is conserved among all the members of the SnRK2 family. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism underlying this regulation. The crystallographic structure of OST1 shows that ABA-independent regulation motif stabilizes the conformation of the kinase catalytically essential α C helix, and it provides the basis of the ABA-independent regulation mechanism for the SnRK2 family of protein kinases. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. The structure of arabidopsis thaliana OST1 provides insights into the kinase regulation mechanism in response to osmotic stress

    KAUST Repository

    Yunta, Cristina

    2011-11-01

    SnRK [SNF1 (sucrose non-fermenting-1)-related protein kinase] 2.6 [open stomata 1 (OST1)] is well characterized at molecular and physiological levels to control stomata closure in response to water-deficit stress. OST1 is a member of a family of 10 protein kinases from Arabidopsis thaliana (SnRK2) that integrates abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent and ABA-independent signals to coordinate the cell response to osmotic stress. A subgroup of protein phosphatases type 2C binds OST1 and keeps the kinase dephosphorylated and inactive. Activation of OST1 relies on the ABA-dependent inhibition of the protein phosphatases type 2C and the subsequent self-phosphorylation of the kinase. The OST1 ABA-independent activation depends on a short sequence motif that is conserved among all the members of the SnRK2 family. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism underlying this regulation. The crystallographic structure of OST1 shows that ABA-independent regulation motif stabilizes the conformation of the kinase catalytically essential α C helix, and it provides the basis of the ABA-independent regulation mechanism for the SnRK2 family of protein kinases. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. A Novel Sugar Transporter from Dianthus spiculifolius, DsSWEET12, Affects Sugar Metabolism and Confers Osmotic and Oxidative Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aimin Zhou

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Plant SWEETs (sugars will eventually be exported transporters play a role in plant growth and plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present study, DsSWEET12 from Dianthus spiculifolius was identified and characterized. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that DsSWEET12 expression was induced by sucrose starvation, mannitol, and hydrogen peroxide. Colocalization experiment showed that the DsSWEET12-GFP fusion protein was localized to the plasma membrane, which was labeled with FM4-64 dye, in Arabidopsis and suspension cells of D. spiculifolius. Compared to wild type plants, transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings overexpressing DsSWEET12 have longer roots and have a greater fresh weight, which depends on sucrose content. Furthermore, a relative root length analysis showed that transgenic Arabidopsis showed higher tolerance to osmotic and oxidative stresses. Finally, a sugar content analysis showed that the sucrose content in transgenic Arabidopsis was less than that in the wild type, while fructose and glucose contents were higher than those in the wild type. Taken together, our results suggest that DsSWEET12 plays an important role in seedling growth and plant response to osmotic and oxidative stress in Arabidopsis by influencing sugar metabolism.

  4. Ebselen exhibits glycation-inhibiting properties and protects against osmotic fragility of human erythrocytes in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Julio C M; Folmer, Vanderlei; Da Rocha, João B T; Nogueira, Cristina W

    2014-05-01

    Diabetic status is associated with an increase on oxidative stress markers in humans and animal models. We have investigated the in vitro effects of high concentrations of glucose on the profile of oxidative stress and osmotic fragility of blood from control and diabetic patients; we considered whether its antioxidant properties could afford some protection against glucose-induced osmotic fragility, and whether ebselen could act as an inhibitor of hemoglobin glycation. Raising blood glucose to 5-100 mmol/L resulted in a concentration-dependent increase of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c; P Ebselen significantly reduced the glucose-induced increase in osmotic fragility and inhibited HbA1c formation (P < 0.0001). These results indicate that blood from patients with uncontrolled diabetes are more sensitive to osmotic shock than from patients with controlled diabetes and control subjects in relation to increased production of free radicals in vivo. © 2014 International Federation for Cell Biology.

  5. Saltstone Osmotic Pressure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nichols, Ralph L. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Dixon, Kenneth L. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRN

    2013-09-23

    Recent research into the moisture retention properties of saltstone suggest that osmotic pressure may play a potentially significant role in contaminant transport (Dixon et al., 2009 and Dixon, 2011). The Savannah River Remediation Closure and Disposal Assessments Group requested the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to conduct a literature search on osmotic potential as it relates to contaminant transport and to develop a conceptual model of saltstone that incorporates osmotic potential. This report presents the findings of the literature review and presents a conceptual model for saltstone that incorporates osmotic potential. The task was requested through Task Technical Request HLW-SSF-TTR- 2013-0004.

  6. Phosphorus and water recovery by a novel osmotic membrane bioreactor-reverse osmosis system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Wenhai; Hai, Faisal I; Price, William E; Guo, Wenshan; Ngo, Hao H; Yamamoto, Kazuo; Nghiem, Long D

    2016-01-01

    An osmotic membrane bioreactor-reverse osmosis (OMBR-RO) hybrid system integrated with periodic microfiltration (MF) extraction was evaluated for simultaneous phosphorus and clean water recovery from raw sewage. In this hybrid system, the forward osmosis membrane effectively retained inorganic salts and phosphate in the bioreactor, while the MF membrane periodically bled them out for phosphorus recovery with pH adjustment. The RO process was used for draw solute recovery and clean water production. Results show that phosphorus recuperation from the MF permeate was most effective when the solution pH was adjusted to 10, whereby the recovered precipitate contained 15-20% (wt/wt) of phosphorus. Periodic MF extraction also limited salinity build-up in the bioreactor, resulting in a stable biological performance and an increase in water flux during OMBR operation. Despite the build-up of organic matter and ammonia in the draw solution, OMBR-RO allowed for the recovery of high quality reused water. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Osmotic stress changes the expression and subcellular localization of the Batten disease protein CLN3.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanda Getty

    Full Text Available Juvenile CLN3 disease (formerly known as juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis is a fatal childhood neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in the CLN3 gene. CLN3 encodes a putative lysosomal transmembrane protein with unknown function. Previous cell culture studies using CLN3-overexpressing vectors and/or anti-CLN3 antibodies with questionable specificity have also localized CLN3 in cellular structures other than lysosomes. Osmoregulation of the mouse Cln3 mRNA level in kidney cells was recently reported. To clarify the subcellular localization of the CLN3 protein and to investigate if human CLN3 expression and localization is affected by osmotic changes we generated a stably transfected BHK (baby hamster kidney cell line that expresses a moderate level of myc-tagged human CLN3 under the control of the human ubiquitin C promoter. Hyperosmolarity (800 mOsm, achieved by either NaCl/urea or sucrose, dramatically increased the mRNA and protein levels of CLN3 as determined by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. Under isotonic conditions (300 mOsm, human CLN3 was found in a punctate vesicular pattern surrounding the nucleus with prominent Golgi and lysosomal localizations. CLN3-positive early endosomes, late endosomes and cholesterol/sphingolipid-enriched plasma membrane microdomain caveolae were also observed. Increasing the osmolarity of the culture medium to 800 mOsm extended CLN3 distribution away from the perinuclear region and enhanced the lysosomal localization of CLN3. Our results reveal that CLN3 has multiple subcellular localizations within the cell, which, together with its expression, prominently change following osmotic stress. These data suggest that CLN3 is involved in the response and adaptation to cellular stress.

  8. Molecular sieving action of the cell membrane during gradual osmotic hemolysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    MacGregor, R.D. II

    1977-05-01

    Rat erythrocytes were hemolyzed by controlled gradual osmotic hemolysis to study cell morphology and hemoglobin loss from individual cells. Results suggest that each increase in the rate of loss of a protein from the cells during the initial phases of controlled gradual osmotic hemolysis is caused by the passage of a previously impermeable species across the stressed membrane. Similarly, during the final stages of controlled gradual osmotic hemolysis, each sharp decrease in the rate of loss of a protein corresponds to the termination of a molecular flow. A theoretical model is described that predicts the molecular sieving of soluble globular proteins across the stressed red cell membrane. Hydrophobic interactions occur between the soluble proteins and the lipid bilayer portion of the cell membrane. A spectrin network subdivides the bilayer into domains that restrict the insertion of large molecules into the membrane. Other membrane proteins affect soluble protein access to the membrane. Changes in the loss curves caused by incubation of red cells are discussed in terms of the model.

  9. Physiological performance of sesame seeds under the water stress at different temperatures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dayana Silva de Medeiros

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Sesame (Sesamum indicum L. shows great economic potential because it can be explored by the national as well as the international market. It can be grown in the second season when it is subject to less favorable weather conditions such as drought during the sowing and emergence. Given this the objective was to evaluate the effect of water stress induced by polyethylene glycol solutions (PEG 6000 at different temperatures in order to asses the physiological quality of sesame seeds. In this work, were used PEG 6000 with different osmotic potentials (0.0 control and (-0.2, –0.4, –0.6, –0.8, –1.0 –1,2 and –1.4 MPa at temperatures of 25, 30 and 35 °C. For determine the effect of the treatments it was evaluated seed germination and vigor (first count and length of the primary root and shoot, in a completely randomized, with four replications. The sesame seeds are affected by water stress, with significant reductions in germination and vigor. A temperature of 30 °C favored the germination performance in less restrictive water potentials.

  10. System analysis of salt and osmotic stress induced proteins in Nostoc muscorum and Bradyrhizobium japonicum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vipin Kaithwas

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In this study the proteome response of the two diazotrophic organism’s viz. Nostoc muscorum and Bradyrhizobium japonicum exposed to salt (NaCl and osmotic (sucrose stresses was compared. Out of the total over expressed proteins; we have selected only three over expressed proteins viz. GroEL chaperonin, nitrogenase Mo-Fe protein and argininosuccinate synthase for further analysis, and then we analyzed the amino acid frequencies of all the three over expressed proteins. That led to the conclusion that amino acids e.g. alanine, glycine and valine that were energetically cheaper to produce were showing higher frequencies. This study would help in tracing the phylogenetic relationship between protein families.

  11. GlnR-Mediated Regulation of ectABCD Transcription Expands the Role of the GlnR Regulon to Osmotic Stress Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, ZhiHui; Deng, WanXin; Li, ShiYuan; He, JuanMei; Ren, ShuangXi; Huang, WeiRen; Lu, YinHua; Zhao, GuoPing; Cai, ZhiMing; Wang, Jin

    2015-10-01

    Ectoine and hydroxyectoine are excellent compatible solutes for bacteria to deal with environmental osmotic stress and temperature damages. The biosynthesis cluster of ectoine and hydroxyectoine is widespread among microorganisms, and its expression is activated by high salinity and temperature changes. So far, little is known about the mechanism of the regulation of the transcription of ect genes and only two MarR family regulators (EctR1 in methylobacteria and the EctR1-related regulator CosR in Vibrio cholerae) have been found to negatively regulate the expression of ect genes. Here, we characterize GlnR, the global regulator for nitrogen metabolism in actinomycetes, as a negative regulator for the transcription of ectoine/hydroxyectoine biosynthetic genes (ect operon) in Streptomyces coelicolor. The physiological role of this transcriptional repression by GlnR is proposed to protect the intracellular glutamate pool, which acts as a key nitrogen donor for both the nitrogen metabolism and the ectoine/hydroxyectoine biosynthesis. High salinity is deleterious, and cells must evolve sophisticated mechanisms to cope with this osmotic stress. Although production of ectoine and hydroxyectoine is one of the most frequently adopted strategies, the in-depth mechanism of regulation of their biosynthesis is less understood. So far, only two MarR family negative regulators, EctR1 and CosR, have been identified in methylobacteria and Vibrio, respectively. Here, our work demonstrates that GlnR, the global regulator for nitrogen metabolism, is a negative transcriptional regulator for ect genes in Streptomyces coelicolor. Moreover, a close relationship is found between nitrogen metabolism and osmotic resistance, and GlnR-mediated regulation of ect transcription is proposed to protect the intracellular glutamate pool. Meanwhile, the work reveals the multiple roles of GlnR in bacterial physiology. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  12. Osmotic dehydration of fish: principal component analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lončar Biljana Lj.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Osmotic treatment of the fish Carassius gibelio was studied in two osmotic solutions: ternary aqueous solution - S1, and sugar beet molasses - S2, at three solution temperatures of 10, 20 and 30oC, at atmospheric pressure. The aim was to examine the influence of type and concentration of the used hypertonic agent, temperature and immersion time on the water loss, solid gain, dry mater content, aw and content of minerals (Na, K, Ca and Mg. S2 solution has proven to be the best option according to all output variables.[ Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 31055

  13. Fitness decline under osmotic stress in Caenorhabditis elegans populations subjected to spontaneous mutation accumulation at varying population sizes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katju, Vaishali; Packard, Lucille B; Keightley, Peter D

    2018-04-01

    The consequences of mutations for population fitness depends on their individual selection coefficients and the effective population size. An earlier study of Caenorhabditis elegans spontaneous mutation accumulation lines evolved for 409 generations at three population sizes found that N e   = 1 populations declined significantly in fitness whereas the fitness of larger populations (N e   = 5, 50) was indistinguishable from the ancestral control under benign conditions. To test if larger MA populations harbor a load of cryptic deleterious mutations that are obscured under benign laboratory conditions, we measured fitness under osmotic stress via exposure to hypersaline conditions. The fitness of N e   = 1 lines exhibited a further decline under osmotic stress compared to benign conditions. However, the fitness of larger populations remained indistinguishable from that of the ancestral control. The average effects of deleterious mutations in N e   = 1 lines were estimated to be 22% for productivity and 14% for survivorship, exceeding values previously detected under benign conditions. Our results suggest that fitness decline is due to large effect mutations that are rapidly removed via selection even in small populations, with implications for conservation practices. Genetic stochasticity may not be as potent and immediate a threat to the persistence of small populations as other demographic and environmental stochastic factors. © 2018 The Author(s). Evolution © 2018 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  14. Comparison of the compressive yield response of aggregated suspensions: Pressure filtration, centrifugation, and osmotic consolidation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, K.T.; Melant, R.M.; Zukoski, C.F.

    1996-01-01

    The compressive rheological responses of suspensions containing flocculated kaolin, alumina (average particle sizes of 0.2 and 0.5 microm), and hydrous zirconia (average particle sizes of 8, 57, and 139 nm) particles have been measured using three different techniques: pressure filtration, volume fraction profile during centrifugation, and sediment height during centrifugation at multiple spinning speeds. While the volume fraction profile technique appears to be experimentally most robust, equivalent responses are found using the different techniques, indicating that the compressive yield stress is a material property of a given suspension. The compressive yield stress of each suspension increases rapidly with volume fraction but cannot be generally described using simple power-law or exponential fits. The compressive yield stress also increases with the inverse square of particle size. The packing behavior of the suspensions undergoing osmotic consolidation is compared with the mechanical compressive yield response. Some suspensions exhibited the same packing behavior as in the mechanical techniques, while others consistently packed to higher densities during osmotic consolidation. Although equivalent osmotic and mechanical loads do not always result in the same volume fractions, the similar increases in volume fraction with applied driving force suggest that both the osmotic and mechanical techniques are controlled by the force needed to rearrange the particle network

  15. Osmotically driven membrane process for the management of urban runoff in coastal regions

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Zhenyu; Valladares Linares, Rodrigo; Abu-Ghdaib, Muhannad; Zhan, Tong; Yangali-Quintanilla, Victor; Amy, Gary L.

    2014-01-01

    An osmotic detention pond was proposed for the management of urban runoff in coastal regions. Forward osmosis was employed as a bridge to utilize natural osmotic energy from seawater for concentrating and reusing urban runoff water, and as a barrier

  16. Rennet-induced gelation of concentrated milk in the presence of sodium caseinate: differences between milk concentration using ultrafiltration and osmotic stressing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishnankutty Nair, P; Corredig, M

    2015-01-01

    Concentrating milk is a common unit operation in the dairy industry. With the reduction of water, the particles interact more frequently with each other and the functionality of the casein micelles may depend on the interactions occurring during concentration. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of concentration on the renneting properties of the casein micelles by comparing 2 concentration methods: ultrafiltration and osmotic stressing. Both methods selectively concentrate the protein fraction of milk, while the composition of the soluble phase is unaltered. To evaluate possible differences in the rearrangements of the casein micelles during concentration, renneting properties were evaluated with or without the addition of soluble caseins, added either before or after concentration. The results indicate that casein micelles undergo rearrangements during concentration and that shear during membrane filtration may play a role in affecting the final properties of the milk. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Water and salinity stress in grapevines: early and late changes in transcript and metabolite profiles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cramer, Grant R; Ergül, Ali; Grimplet, Jerome; Tillett, Richard L; Tattersall, Elizabeth A R; Bohlman, Marlene C; Vincent, Delphine; Sonderegger, Justin; Evans, Jason; Osborne, Craig; Quilici, David; Schlauch, Karen A; Schooley, David A; Cushman, John C

    2007-04-01

    Grapes are grown in semiarid environments, where drought and salinity are common problems. Microarray transcript profiling, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and metabolite profiling were used to define genes and metabolic pathways in Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon with shared and divergent responses to a gradually applied and long-term (16 days) water-deficit stress and equivalent salinity stress. In this first-of-a-kind study, distinct differences between water deficit and salinity were revealed. Water deficit caused more rapid and greater inhibition of shoot growth than did salinity at equivalent stem water potentials. One of the earliest responses to water deficit was an increase in the transcript abundance of RuBisCo activase (day 4), but this increase occurred much later in salt-stressed plants (day 12). As water deficit progressed, a greater number of affected transcripts were involved in metabolism, transport, and the biogenesis of cellular components than did salinity. Salinity affected a higher percentage of transcripts involved in transcription, protein synthesis, and protein fate than did water deficit. Metabolite profiling revealed that there were higher concentrations of glucose, malate, and proline in water-deficit-treated plants as compared to salinized plants. The metabolite differences were linked to differences in transcript abundance of many genes involved in energy metabolism and nitrogen assimilation, particularly photosynthesis, gluconeogenesis, and photorespiration. Water-deficit-treated plants appear to have a higher demand than salinized plants to adjust osmotically, detoxify free radicals (reactive oxygen species), and cope with photoinhibition.

  18. Constitutive over-expression of rice chymotrypsin protease inhibitor gene OCPI2 results in enhanced growth, salinity and osmotic stress tolerance of the transgenic Arabidopsis plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiwari, Lalit Dev; Mittal, Dheeraj; Chandra Mishra, Ratnesh; Grover, Anil

    2015-07-01

    Protease inhibitors are involved primarily in defense against pathogens. In recent years, these proteins have also been widely implicated in response of plants to diverse abiotic stresses. Rice chymotrypsin protease inhibitor gene OCPI2 is highly induced under salt and osmotic stresses. The construct containing the complete coding sequence of OCPI2 cloned downstream to CaMV35S promoter was transformed in Arabidopsis and single copy, homozygous transgenic lines were produced. The transgenic plants exhibited significantly enhanced tolerance to NaCl, PEG and mannitol stress as compared to wild type plants. Importantly, the vegetative and reproductive growth of transgenic plants under unstressed, control conditions was also enhanced: transgenic plants were more vigorous than wild type, resulting into higher yield in terms of silique number. The RWC values and membrane stability index of transgenic in comparison to wild type plants was higher. Higher proline content was observed in the AtOCPI2 lines, which was associated with higher transcript expression of pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase and lowered levels of proline dehydrogenase genes. The chymotrypsin protease activities were lower in the transgenic as against wild type plants, under both unstressed, control as well as stressed conditions. It thus appears that rice chymotrypsin protease inhibitor gene OCPI2 is a useful candidate gene for genetic improvement of plants against salt and osmotic stress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  19. Drastic anthocyanin increase in response to PAP1 overexpression in fls1 knockout mutant confers enhanced osmotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Won Je; Jeong, Chan Young; Kwon, Jaeyoung; Van Kien, Vu; Lee, Dongho; Hong, Suk-Whan; Lee, Hojoung

    2016-11-01

    KEY MESSAGE : pap1 - D/fls1ko double mutant plants that produce substantial amounts of anthocyanin show tolerance to abiotic stress. Anthocyanins are flavonoids that are abundant in various plants and have beneficial effects on both plants and humans. Many genes in flavonoid biosynthetic pathways have been identified, including those in the MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) complex. The MYB gene Production of Anthocyanin Pigment 1 (PAP1) plays a particularly important role in anthocyanin accumulation. PAP1 expression in many plant systems strongly increases anthocyanin levels, resulting in a dark purple color in many plant organs. In this study, we generated double mutant plants that harbor fls1ko in the pap1-D background (i.e., pap1-D/fls1ko plants), to examine whether anthocyanins can be further enhanced by blocking flavonol biosynthesis under PAP1 overexpression. We also wanted to examine whether the increased anthocyanin levels contribute to defense against osmotic stresses. The pap1-D/fls1ko mutants accumulated higher anthocyanin levels than pap1-D plants in both control and sucrose-treated conditions. However, flavonoid biosynthesis genes were slightly down-regulated in the pap1-D/fls1ko seedlings as compared to their expression in pap1-D seedlings. We also report the performance of pap1-D/fls1ko seedlings in response to plant osmotic stresses.

  20. Tamarix hispida zinc finger protein ThZFP1 participates in salt and osmotic stress tolerance by increasing proline content and SOD and POD activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zang, Dandan; Wang, Chao; Ji, Xiaoyu; Wang, Yucheng

    2015-06-01

    Zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) are a large family that play important roles in various biological processes, such as signal transduction, RNA binding, morphogenesis, transcriptional regulation, abiotic or biotic stress response. However, the functions of ZFPs involved in abiotic stress are largely not known. In the present study, we cloned and functionally characterized a ZFP gene, ThZFP1, from Tamarix hispida. The expression of ThZFP1 is highly induced by NaCl, mannitol or ABA treatment. To study the function of ThZFP1 involved in abiotic stress response, transgenic T. hispida plants with overexpression or knockdown of ThZFP1 were generated using a transient transformation system. Gain- and loss-of-function studies of ThZFP1 suggested that ThZFP1 can induce the expression of a series of genes, including delta-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), leading to accumulation of proline and enhanced activities of SOD and POD. These physiological changes enhanced proline content and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capability when exposed to salt or osmotic stress. All the results obtained from T. hispida plants were further confirmed by analyses of the transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing ThZFP1. These data together suggested that ThZFP1 positively regulates proline accumulation and activities of SOD and POD under salt and osmotic stress conditions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Water stress-induced modifications of leaf hydraulic architecture in sunflower: co-ordination with gas exchange.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nardini, Andrea; Salleo, Sebastiano

    2005-12-01

    The hydraulic architecture, water relationships, and gas exchange of leaves of sunflower plants, grown under different levels of water stress, were measured. Plants were either irrigated with tap water (controls) or with PEG600 solutions with osmotic potential of -0.4 and -0.8 MPa (PEG04 and PEG08 plants, respectively). Mature leaves were measured for hydraulic resistance (R(leaf)) before and after making several cuts across minor veins, thus getting the hydraulic resistance of the venation system (R(venation)). R(leaf) was nearly the same in controls and PEG04 plants but it was reduced by about 30% in PEG08 plants. On the contrary, R(venation) was lowest in controls and increased in PEG04 and PEG08 plants as a likely result of reduction in the diameter of the veins' conduits. As a consequence, the contribution of R(venation) to the overall R(leaf) markedly increased from controls to PEG08 plants. Leaf conductance to water vapour (g(L)) was highest in controls and significantly lower in PEG04 and PEG08 plants. Moreover, g(L) was correlated to R(venation) and to leaf water potential (psi(leaf)) with highly significant linear relationships. It is concluded that water stress has an important effect on the hydraulic construction of leaves. This, in turn, might prove to be a crucial factor in plant-water relationships and gas exchange under water stress conditions.

  2. Roles of the cytoskeleton and of Protein Phosphorylation Events in the Osmotic Stress Response in EEL Intestinal Epithelium

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lionetto, Maria G; Pedersen, Stine F; Hoffmann, Else K

    2002-01-01

    The eel intestinal epithelium responds to an acute hypertonic challenge by a biphasic increase of the rate of Cl(-) absorption (measured as short circuit current, Isc, and creating a negative transepithelial potential, V(te), at the basolateral side of the epithelium). While the first, transient...... phase is bumetanide-insensitive, the second, sustained phase is bumetanide-sensitive, reflecting activation of the apically located Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl(-) (NKCC) cotransporter, which correlates with the cellular RVI response. Here, we investigated the involvement of the cytoskeleton and of serine....../threonine phosphorylation events in the osmotic stress-induced ion transport in the eel intestinal epithelium, focusing on the sustained RVI phase, as well as on the previously uncharacterized response to hypotonic stress. The study was carried out using confocal laser scanning microscopy, a quantitative F-actin assay...

  3. Evaluation of water, sucrose and minerals effective diffusivities during osmotic treatment of pork in sugar beet molasses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nićetin Milica R.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Effective diffusivities of water, sucrose and minerals in osmotic treatment of pork cubes (M. triceps brachii were calculated using Response Surface Methodology (RSM, with respect to temperature (20, 35 and 50oC and concentration of sugar beet molasses, (60, 70 and 80% w/w. The numerical solution of Fick's' law for unsteady-state mass transfer in a perfect cube configuration was used to calculate the effective diffusivities of water, sucrose and minerals (Na, K, Ca and Mg. Zugarramurdi and Lupin's model was used to predict the equilibrium condition, which was shown to be appropriate for water loss and solute uptake during osmotic treatment. Effective diffusivity of water was found to be in the range of 6.95×10-10 - 8.03×10-10 m2s-1, the sucrose effective diffusivity was between 6.39×10-10 and 8.25×10-10 m2s-1, while diffusivities for minerals were in the range 6.34×10-10 - 8.82×10-10 m2s-1, for Na, 6.27×10-10 - 7.43×10-10 m2s-1, for K, 6.44×10-10 - 8.94×10-10 m2s-1, for Ca and 3.47×10-10 - 5.66×10-10 m2s-1, for Mg. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 31055

  4. Overexpression of Pyrabactin Resistance-Like Abscisic Acid Receptors Enhances Drought, Osmotic, and Cold Tolerance in Transgenic Poplars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingling Yu

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Abscisic acid (ABA has been known participate in a wider range of adaptive responses to diverse environmental abiotic stresses such as drought, osmosis, and low temperatures. ABA signaling is initiated by its receptors PYR/PYL/RCARs, a type of soluble proteins with a conserved START domain which can bind ABA and trigger the downstream pathway. Previously, we discovered that poplar (Populus trichocarpa genome encodes 14 PYR/PYL/RCAR orthologs (PtPYRLs, and two of them, PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5 have been functionally characterized to positively regulate drought tolerance. However, the physiological function of these ABA receptors in poplar remains uncharacterized. Here, we generated transgenic poplar plants overexpressing PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5 and found that they exhibited more vigorous growth and produced greater biomass when exposed to drought stress. The improved drought tolerance was positively correlated with the key physiological responses dictated by the ABA signaling pathway, including increase in stomatal closure and decrease in leaf water loss. Further analyses revealed that overexpression lines showed improved capacity in scavenging reactive oxygen species and enhanced the activation of antioxidant enzymes under drought stress. Moreover, overexpression of PtPYRL1 or PtPYRL5 significantly increased the poplar resistance to osmotic and cold stresses. In summary, our results suggest that constitutive expression of PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5 significantly enhances the resistance to drought, osmotic and cold stresses by positively regulating ABA signaling in poplar.

  5. GlnR-Mediated Regulation of ectABCD Transcription Expands the Role of the GlnR Regulon to Osmotic Stress Management

    OpenAIRE

    Shao, ZhiHui; Deng, WanXin; Li, ShiYuan; He, JuanMei; Ren, ShuangXi; Huang, WeiRen; Lu, YinHua; Zhao, GuoPing; Cai, ZhiMing; Wang, Jin

    2015-01-01

    Ectoine and hydroxyectoine are excellent compatible solutes for bacteria to deal with environmental osmotic stress and temperature damages. The biosynthesis cluster of ectoine and hydroxyectoine is widespread among microorganisms, and its expression is activated by high salinity and temperature changes. So far, little is known about the mechanism of the regulation of the transcription of ect genes and only two MarR family regulators (EctR1 in methylobacteria and the EctR1-related regulator Co...

  6. Controlled porosity solubility modulated osmotic pump tablets of gliclazide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Arti; Verma, P R P; Gore, Subhash

    2015-06-01

    A system that can deliver drug at a controlled rate is very important for the treatment of various chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. Poorly water-soluble drug with pH-dependent solubility such as gliclazide (GLZ) offers challenges in the controlled-release formulation because of low dissolution rate and poor bioavailability. Solid dispersion (SD) of GLZ consisted of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC-SSL) as a polymeric solubilizer was manufactured by hot melt extrusion (HME) technology. Then, controlled porosity osmotic pump (CPOP) tablet of gliclazide was designed to deliver drug in a controlled manner up to 16 h. The developed formulation was optimized for type and level of pore former and coating weight gain. The optimized formulation was found to exhibit zero order kinetics independent of pH and agitation speed but depends on osmotic pressure of dissolution media indicated that mechanism of drug release was osmotic pressure. The in vivo performance prediction of developed formulation using convolution approach revealed that the developed formulation was superior to the existing marketed extended-release formulation in terms of attaining steady state plasma levels and indicated adequate exposure in translating hypoglycemic response. The prototype solubilization method combined with controlled porosity osmotic pump based technique could provide a unique way to increase dissolution rate and bioavailability of many poorly water-soluble, narrow therapeutic index drugs used in diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

  7. Effect of road transport stress on Erthrocyte Osmotic Fragility (EOF ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    After an overnight fast, venous blood was collected from each subject for the determination of serum cortisol, glucose concentration and erythrocyte osmotic fragility. The subjects were then transported at a speed of 65 – 75Km/h covering a distance of 180km. Thereafter venous blood was again collected (within 10 minutes) ...

  8. Dependence of osmotic pressure on solution properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fritz, S.J.

    1978-01-01

    Hydrostatic pressure, temperature, salt concentration, and the chemical composition of the salt are parameters affecting solution properties. Pressure and temperature have little effect on osmosis, but osmotic pressure variations due to type of dissolved salt may be significant, especially at high concentrations. For a given salt solution, concentration variations cause large differences in osmotic pressure. A representative difference in concentration across a clay layer in a relatively shallow groundwater system might be 100 to 1,000 ppm. When expressed as ppm NaCl, this difference could cause a head difference of 0.8 to 8 meters of water if one of the rock bodies were closed to fluid escape

  9. Phenotypic variations in osmotic lysis of Sahel goat erythrocytes in non-ionic glucose media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Igbokwe, Nanacha Afifi; Igbokwe, Ikechukwu Onyebuchi

    2016-03-01

    Erythrocyte osmotic lysis in deionised glucose media is regulated by glucose influx, cation efflux, and changes in cell volume after water diffusion. Transmembrane fluxes may be affected by varied expression of glucose transporter protein and susceptibility of membrane proteins to glucose-induced glycosylation and oxidation in various physiologic states. Variations in haemolysis of Sahel goat erythrocytes after incubation in hyposmotic non-ionic glucose media, associated with sex, age, late pregnancy, and lactation, were investigated. The osmotic fragility curve in glucose media was sigmoidal with erythrocytes from goats in late pregnancy (PRE) or lactation (LAC) or from kid (KGT) or middle-aged (MGT) goats. Non-sigmoidal phenotype occurred in yearlings (YGT) and old (OGT) goats. The composite fragility phenotype for males and non-pregnant dry (NPD) females was non-sigmoidal. Erythrocytes with non-sigmoidal curves were more stable than those with sigmoidal curves because of inflectional shift of the curve to the left. Erythrocytes tended to be more fragile with male than female sex, KGT and MGT than YGT and OGT, and LAC and PRE than NPD. Thus, sex, age, pregnancy, and lactation affected the haemolytic pattern of goat erythrocytes in glucose media. The physiologic state of the goat affected the in vitro interaction of glucose with erythrocytes, causing variations in osmotic stability with variants of fragility phenotype. Variations in the effect of high extracellular glucose concentrations on the functions of membrane-associated glucose transporter, aquaporins, and the cation cotransporter were presumed to be relevant in regulating the physical properties of goat erythrocytes under osmotic stress.

  10. The 7B-1 mutant in tomato shows blue-light-specific resistance to osmotic stress and abscisic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fellner, Martin; Sawhney, Vipen K

    2002-03-01

    Germination of wild-type (WT) tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) seed is inhibited by mannitol (100-140 mM) in light, but not in darkness, suggesting that light amplifies the responsiveness of the seed to osmotic stress (M. Fellner, V.K. Sawhney (2001) Theor Appl Genet 102:215-221). Here we report that white light (W) and especially blue light (B) strongly enhance the mannitol-induced inhibition of seed germination, and that the effect of red light (R) is weak or nil. The inhibitory effect of mannitol could be completely overcome by fluridone, an inhibitor of abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis, indicating that mannitol inhibits seed germination via ABA accumulation in seeds. The inhibition of WT seed germination by exogenous ABA was also amplified by W or B, but not by R. In a recessive, ABA-overproducing, 7B-1 mutant of tomato, seed germination and hypocotyl growth were resistant to inhibition by mannitol or exogenous ABA, both in W or B. Experiments with fluridone suggested that inhibition of hypocotyl growth by W or B is also partially via ABA accumulation. De-etiolation in the mutant was especially less in B compared to the WT, and there was no difference in hypocotyl growth between the two genotypes in R. Our data suggest that B amplifies the responsiveness of tomato seeds and hypocotyls to mannitol and ABA, and that W- or B-specific resistance of the 7B-1 mutant to osmotic stress or ABA is a consequence of a defect in B perception or signal transduction.

  11. Enhanced water stress tolerance of transgenic maize plants over-expressing LEA Rab28 gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amara, Imen; Capellades, Montserrat; Ludevid, M Dolors; Pagès, Montserrat; Goday, Adela

    2013-06-15

    Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins participate in plant stress responses and contribute to the acquisition of desiccation tolerance. In this report Rab28 LEA gene has been over-expressed in maize plants under a constitutive maize promoter. The expression of Rab28 transcripts led to the accumulation and stability of Rab28 protein in the transgenic plants. Native Rab28 protein is localized to nucleoli in wild type maize embryo cells; here we find by whole-mount immunocytochemistry that in root cells of Rab28 transgenic and wild-type plants the protein is also associated to nucleolar structures. Transgenic plants were tested for stress tolerance and resulted in sustained growth under polyethyleneglycol (PEG)-mediated dehydration compared to wild-type controls. Under osmotic stress transgenic seedlings showed increased leaf and root areas, higher relative water content (RWC), reduced chlorophyll loss and lower Malondialdehyde (MDA) production in relation to wild-type plants. Moreover, transgenic seeds exhibited higher germination rates than wild-type seeds under water deficit. Overall, our results highlight the presence of transgenic Rab28 protein in nucleolar structures and point to the potential of group 5 LEA Rab28 gene as candidate to enhance stress tolerance in maize plants. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  12. Effect of process variables on the osmotic dehydration of star-fruit slices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camila Dalben Madeira Campos

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this work was to study the effect of blanching and the influence of temperature, solution concentration, and the initial fruit:solution ratio on the osmotic dehydration of star-fruit slices. For blanching, different concentrations of citric and ascorbic acids were studied. The samples immersed in 0.75% citric acid presented little variation in color in relation to the fresh star-fruit. Osmotic dehydration was carried out in an incubator with orbital shaking, controlled temperature, and constant shaking at 120 rpm. The influence of process variables was studied in trials defined by a complete 23 central composite design. In general, water loss and solids gain were positively influenced by temperature and by solution concentration. Nevertheless, lower temperatures reduced water loss throughout the osmotic dehydration process. An increase in the amount of dehydrating solution (initial fruit:solution ratio slightly influenced the evaluated responses. The process carried out at 50 ºC with a solution concentration of 50% resulted in a product with lower solids gain and greater water loss. Under these conditions, blanching minimized the effect of the osmotic treatment on star-fruit browning, and therefore the blanched fruits showed little variation in color in relation to the fresh fruit.

  13. Regulation of Aquaporin Z osmotic permeability in ABA tri-block copolymer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenyuan Xie

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Aquaporins are transmembrane water channel proteins present in biological plasma membranes that aid in biological water filtration processes by transporting water molecules through at high speeds, while selectively blocking out other kinds of solutes. Aquaporin Z incorporated biomimetic membranes are envisaged to overcome the problem of high pressure needed, and holds great potential for use in water purification processes, giving high flux while keeping energy consumption low. The functionality of aquaporin Z in terms of osmotic permeability might be regulated by factors such as pH, temperature, crosslinking and hydrophobic thickness of the reconstituted bilayers. Hence, we reconstituted aquaporin Z into vesicles that are made from a series of amphiphilic block copolymers PMOXA-PDMS-PMOXAs with various hydrophobic molecular weights. The osmotic permeability of aquaporin Z in these vesicles was determined through a stopped-flow spectroscopy. In addition, the temperature and pH value of the vesicle solutions were adjusted within wide ranges to investigate the regulation of osmotic permeability of aquaporin Z through external conditions. Our results show that aquaporin Z permeability was enhanced by hydrophobic mismatch. In addition, the water filtration mechanism of aquaporin Z is significantly affected by the concentration of H+ and OH- ions.

  14. Osmotic versus conventional membrane bioreactors integrated with reverse osmosis for water reuse: Biological stability, membrane fouling, and contaminant removal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Wenhai; Phan, Hop V; Xie, Ming; Hai, Faisal I; Price, William E; Elimelech, Menachem; Nghiem, Long D

    2017-02-01

    This study systematically compares the performance of osmotic membrane bioreactor - reverse osmosis (OMBR-RO) and conventional membrane bioreactor - reverse osmosis (MBR-RO) for advanced wastewater treatment and water reuse. Both systems achieved effective removal of bulk organic matter and nutrients, and almost complete removal of all 31 trace organic contaminants investigated. They both could produce high quality water suitable for recycling applications. During OMBR-RO operation, salinity build-up in the bioreactor reduced the water flux and negatively impacted the system biological treatment by altering biomass characteristics and microbial community structure. In addition, the elevated salinity also increased soluble microbial products and extracellular polymeric substances in the mixed liquor, which induced fouling of the forward osmosis (FO) membrane. Nevertheless, microbial analysis indicated that salinity stress resulted in the development of halotolerant bacteria, consequently sustaining biodegradation in the OMBR system. By contrast, biological performance was relatively stable throughout conventional MBR-RO operation. Compared to conventional MBR-RO, the FO process effectively prevented foulants from permeating into the draw solution, thereby significantly reducing fouling of the downstream RO membrane in OMBR-RO operation. Accumulation of organic matter, including humic- and protein-like substances, as well as inorganic salts in the MBR effluent resulted in severe RO membrane fouling in conventional MBR-RO operation. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Optimization of the Energy Output of Osmotic Power Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Dinger

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available On the way to a completely renewable energy supply, additional alternatives to hydroelectric, wind, and solar power have to be investigated. Osmotic power is such an alternative with a theoretical global annual potential of up to 14400 TWh (70% of the global electricity consumption of 2008 per year. It utilizes the phenomenon that upon the mixing of fresh water and oceanic salt water (e.g., at a river mouth, around 2.88 MJ of energy per 1 m3 of fresh water is released. Here, we describe a new approach to derive operational parameter settings for osmotic power plants using a pressure exchanger for optimal performance, either with respect to maximum generated power or maximum extracted energy. Up to now, only power optimization is discussed in the literature, but when considering the fresh water supply as a limiting factor, the energy optimization appears as the challenging task.

  16. The comparative osmoregulatory ability of two water beetle genera whose species span the fresh-hypersaline gradient in inland waters (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae, Hydrophilidae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susana Pallarés

    Full Text Available A better knowledge of the physiological basis of salinity tolerance is essential to understanding the ecology and evolutionary history of organisms that have colonized inland saline waters. Coleoptera are amongst the most diverse macroinvertebrates in inland waters, including saline habitats; however, the osmoregulatory strategies they employ to deal with osmotic stress remain unexplored. Survival and haemolymph osmotic concentration at different salinities were examined in adults of eight aquatic beetle species which inhabit different parts of the fresh-hypersaline gradient. Studied species belong to two unrelated genera which have invaded saline waters independently from freshwater ancestors; Nebrioporus (Dytiscidae and Enochrus (Hydrophilidae. Their osmoregulatory strategy (osmoconformity or osmoregulation was identified and osmotic capacity (the osmotic gradient between the animal's haemolymph and the external medium was compared between species pairs co-habiting similar salinities in nature. We show that osmoregulatory capacity, rather than osmoconformity, has evolved independently in these different lineages. All species hyperegulated their haemolymph osmotic concentration in diluted waters; those living in fresh or low-salinity waters were unable to hyporegulate and survive in hyperosmotic media (> 340 mosmol kg(-1. In contrast, the species which inhabit the hypo-hypersaline habitats were effective hyporegulators, maintaining their haemolymph osmolality within narrow limits (ca. 300 mosmol kg(-1 across a wide range of external concentrations. The hypersaline species N. ceresyi and E. jesusarribasi tolerated conductivities up to 140 and 180 mS cm(-1, respectively, and maintained osmotic gradients over 3500 mosmol kg(-1, comparable to those of the most effective insect osmoregulators known to date. Syntopic species of both genera showed similar osmotic capacities and in general, osmotic responses correlated well with upper salinity levels

  17. Visual expression analysis of the responses of the alternative oxidase gene (aox1) to heat shock, oxidative, and osmotic stresses in conidia of citric acid-producing Aspergillus niger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honda, Yuki; Hattori, Takasumi; Kirimura, Kohtaro

    2012-03-01

    The citric acid-producing filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger WU-2223L shows cyanide-insensitive respiration catalyzed by alternative oxidase in addition to the cytochrome pathway. Sequence analysis of the 5' flanking region of the alternative oxidase gene (aox1) revealed a potential heat shock element (HSE) and a stress response element (STRE). We have previously confirmed aox1 expression in conidia. In this study, to confirm whether the upstream region of aox1 responds to various stresses, we used a visual expression analysis system for single-cell conidia of the A. niger strain AOXEGFP-1. This strain harbored a fusion gene comprising aox1 and egfp, which encodes the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). The fluorescence intensity of EGFP increased in conidia of A. niger AOXEGFP-1 that were subjected to heat shock at 35-45 °C, oxidative stress by exposure to 5mM paraquat or 1 mM t-butylhydroperoxide, or osmotic stresses by exposure to 0.5 M KCl or 1.0 M mannitol. These results indicate that the putative HSE and STRE in the upstream region of aox1 directly or indirectly respond to heat shock, oxidative, and osmotic stresses. Copyright © 2011 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. IAA-Ala Resistant3, an evolutionarily conserved target of miR167, mediates Arabidopsis root architecture changes during high osmotic stress

    KAUST Repository

    Kinoshita, Natsuko

    2012-09-01

    The functions of microRNAs and their target mRNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana development have been widely documented; however, roles of stress-responsive microRNAs and their targets are not as well understood. Using small RNA deep sequencing and ATH1 microarrays to profile mRNAs, we identified IAA-Ala Resistant3 (IAR3) as a new target of miR167a. As expected, IAR3 mRNA was cleaved at the miR167a complementary site and under high osmotic stress miR167a levels decreased, whereas IAR3 mRNA levels increased. IAR3 hydrolyzes an inactive form of auxin (indole-3-acetic acid [IAA]-alanine) and releases bioactive auxin (IAA), a central phytohormone for root development. In contrast with the wild type, iar3 mutants accumulated reduced IAA levels and did not display high osmotic stress-induced root architecture changes. Transgenic plants expressing a cleavage-resistant form of IAR3 mRNA accumulated high levels of IAR3 mRNAs and showed increased lateral root development compared with transgenic plants expressing wild-type IAR3. Expression of an inducible noncoding RNA to sequester miR167a by target mimicry led to an increase in IAR3 mRNA levels, further confirming the inverse relationship between the two partners. Sequence comparison revealed the miR167 target site on IAR3 mRNA is conserved in evolutionarily distant plant species. Finally, we showed that IAR3 is required for drought tolerance. © 2012 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

  19. IAA-Ala Resistant3, an evolutionarily conserved target of miR167, mediates Arabidopsis root architecture changes during high osmotic stress

    KAUST Repository

    Kinoshita, Natsuko; Wang, Huan; Kasahara, Hiroyuki; Liu, Jun; MacPherson, Cameron R.; Machida, Yasunori; Kamiya, Yuji; Hannah, Matthew A.; Chuaa, Nam Hai

    2012-01-01

    The functions of microRNAs and their target mRNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana development have been widely documented; however, roles of stress-responsive microRNAs and their targets are not as well understood. Using small RNA deep sequencing and ATH1 microarrays to profile mRNAs, we identified IAA-Ala Resistant3 (IAR3) as a new target of miR167a. As expected, IAR3 mRNA was cleaved at the miR167a complementary site and under high osmotic stress miR167a levels decreased, whereas IAR3 mRNA levels increased. IAR3 hydrolyzes an inactive form of auxin (indole-3-acetic acid [IAA]-alanine) and releases bioactive auxin (IAA), a central phytohormone for root development. In contrast with the wild type, iar3 mutants accumulated reduced IAA levels and did not display high osmotic stress-induced root architecture changes. Transgenic plants expressing a cleavage-resistant form of IAR3 mRNA accumulated high levels of IAR3 mRNAs and showed increased lateral root development compared with transgenic plants expressing wild-type IAR3. Expression of an inducible noncoding RNA to sequester miR167a by target mimicry led to an increase in IAR3 mRNA levels, further confirming the inverse relationship between the two partners. Sequence comparison revealed the miR167 target site on IAR3 mRNA is conserved in evolutionarily distant plant species. Finally, we showed that IAR3 is required for drought tolerance. © 2012 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

  20. A micropuncture study of proximal tubular transport of lithium during osmotic diuresis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leyssac, P P; Holstein-Rathlou, N H; Skøtt, P

    1990-01-01

    Lithium and sodium are normally reabsorbed in parallel with water by the renal proximal tubule whereby their tubular fluid-to-plasma concentration ratios (TF/P) remain close to unity throughout the proximal convoluted segment. During osmotic diuresis, the late proximal (TF/P)Na is known to decrease....... The present experiments were undertaken to study whether the late proximal TF/P for Li decreases like that of Na during osmotic diuresis. Data were obtained in a control period (C) and in two successive periods during mannitol diuresis (P1, P2). Glomerular filtration rate decreased gradually during osmotic...

  1. The Wheat E Subunit of V-Type H+-ATPase Is Involved in the Plant Response to Osmotic Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao-Hong Zhang

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The vacuolar type H+-ATPase (V-type H+-ATPase plays important roles in establishing an electrochemical H+-gradient across tonoplast, energizing Na+ sequestration into the central vacuole, and enhancing salt stress tolerance in plants. In this paper, a putative E subunit of the V-type H+-ATPase gene, W36 was isolated from stress-induced wheat de novo transcriptome sequencing combining with 5'-RACE and RT-PCR methods. The full-length of W36 gene was 1097 bp, which contained a 681 bp open reading frame (ORF and encoded 227 amino acids. Southern blot analysis indicated that W36 was a single-copy gene. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression level of W36 could be upregulated by drought, cold, salt, and exogenous ABA treatment. A subcellular localization assay showed that the W36 protein accumulated in the cytoplasm. Isolation of the W36 promoter revealed some cis-acting elements responding to abiotic stresses. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing W36 were enhanced salt and mannitol tolerance. These results indicate that W36 is involved in the plant response to osmotic stress.

  2. Response of three broccoli cultivars to salt stress, in relation to water status and expression of two leaf aquaporins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muries, Beatriz; Carvajal, Micaela; Martínez-Ballesta, María Del Carmen

    2013-05-01

    The aim of this study was to compare differences in water relations in the leaves of three broccoli cultivars and differential induction of the expression of PIP2 aquaporin isoforms under salt stress. Although broccoli is known to be moderately tolerant to salinity, scarce information exists about the involvement of leaf aquaporins in its adaptation to salinity. Thus, leaf water relations, leaf cell hydraulic conductivity (Lpc), gas exchange parameters and the PIP2 expression pattern were determined for short- (15 h) and long- (15 days) term NaCl treatments. In the long term, the lower half-time of water exchange in the cells of cv. Naxos, compared with Parthenon and Chronos, and its increased PIP2 abundance may have contributed to its Lpc maintenance. This unmodified Lpc in cv. Naxos under prolonged salinity may have diluted NaCl in the leaves, as suggested by lower Na(+) concentrations in the leaf sap. By contrast, the increase in the half-time of water exchange and the lower PIP2 abundance in cvs. Chronos and Parthenon would have contributed to the reduced Lpc values. In cv. Parthenon, there were no differences between the ε values of control and salt-stressed plants; in consequence, cell turgor was enhanced. Also, the increases in BoPIP2;2 and BoPIP2;3 expression in cv. Chronos for the short-term NaCl treatment suggest that these isoforms are involved in osmotic regulation as downstream factors in this cultivar, in fact, in the short-term, Chronos had a significantly reduced osmotic potential and higher PIP2 isoforms expression.

  3. RBC deformability and amino acid concentrations after hypo-osmotic challenge may reflect chronic cell hydration status in healthy young men

    OpenAIRE

    Stookey, Jodi D; Klein, Alexis; Hamer, Janice; Chi, Christine; Higa, Annie; Ng, Vivian; Arieff, Allen; Kuypers, Frans A; Larkin, Sandra; Perrier, Erica; Lang, Florian

    2013-01-01

    Biomarkers of chronic cell hydration status are needed to determine whether chronic hyperosmotic stress increases chronic disease risk in population-representative samples. In vitro, cells adapt to chronic hyperosmotic stress by upregulating protein breakdown to counter the osmotic gradient with higher intracellular amino acid concentrations. If cells are subsequently exposed to hypo-osmotic conditions, the adaptation results in excess cell swelling and/or efflux of free amino acids. This stu...

  4. Swelling, mechanical and friction properties of PVA/PVP hydrogels after swelling in osmotic pressure solution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yan; Xiong, Dangsheng; Liu, Yuntong; Wang, Nan; Zhao, Xiaoduo

    2016-08-01

    The potential of polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVA/PVP) hydrogels as articular cartilage replacements was in vitro evaluated by using a macromolecule-based solution to mimic the osmotic environment of cartilage tissue. The effects of osmotic pressure solution on the morphology, crystallinity, swelling, mechanical and friction properties of PVA/PVP hydrogels were investigated by swelling them in non-osmotic and osmotic pressure solutions. The results demonstrated that swelling ratio and equilibrium water content were greatly reduced by swelling in osmotic solution, and the swelling process was found to present pseudo-Fickian diffusion character. The crystallization degree of hydrogels after swelling in osmotic solution increased more significantly when it compared with that in non-osmotic solution. After swelling in osmotic solution for 28days, the compressive tangent modulus and storage modulus of hydrogels were significantly increased, and the low friction coefficient was reduced. However, after swelling in the non-osmotic solution, the compressive tangent modulus and friction coefficient of hydrogels were comparable with those of as-prepared hydrogels. The better material properties of hydrogels in vivo than in vitro evaluation demonstrated their potential application in cartilage replacement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Osmotic Control of opuA Expression in Bacillus subtilis and Its Modulation in Response to Intracellular Glycine Betaine and Proline Pools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Tamara; Wensing, Annette; Brosius, Margot; Steil, Leif; Völker, Uwe

    2013-01-01

    Glycine betaine is an effective osmoprotectant for Bacillus subtilis. Its import into osmotically stressed cells led to the buildup of large pools, whose size was sensitively determined by the degree of the osmotic stress imposed. The amassing of glycine betaine caused repression of the formation of an osmostress-adaptive pool of proline, the only osmoprotectant that B. subtilis can synthesize de novo. The ABC transporter OpuA is the main glycine betaine uptake system of B. subtilis. Expression of opuA was upregulated in response to both sudden and sustained increases in the external osmolarity. Nonionic osmolytes exerted a stronger inducing effect on transcription than ionic osmolytes, and this was reflected in the development of corresponding OpuA-mediated glycine betaine pools. Primer extension analysis and site-directed mutagenesis pinpointed the osmotically controlled opuA promoter. Deviations from the consensus sequence of SigA-type promoters serve to keep the transcriptional activity of the opuA promoter low in the absence of osmotic stress. opuA expression was downregulated in a finely tuned manner in response to increases in the intracellular glycine betaine pool, regardless of whether this osmoprotectant was imported or was newly synthesized from choline. Such an effect was also exerted by carnitine, an effective osmoprotectant for B. subtilis that is not a substrate for the OpuA transporter. opuA expression was upregulated in a B. subtilis mutant that was unable to synthesize proline in response to osmotic stress. Collectively, our data suggest that the intracellular solute pool is a key determinant for the osmotic control of opuA expression. PMID:23175650

  6. Mathematical modelling of the osmotic dehydration of cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AZOUBEL Patricia Moreira

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available Osmotic dehydration of cherry tomato as influenced by osmotic agent (sodium chloride and a mixed sodium chloride and sucrose solutions and solution concentration (10 and 25% w/w at room temperature (25°C was studied. Kinetics of water loss and solids uptake were determined by a two parameter model, based on Fick's second law and applied to spherical geometry. The water apparent diffusivity coefficients obtained ranged from 2.17x10-10 to 11.69x10-10 m²/s.

  7. Analytical Expressions for Thermo-Osmotic Permeability of Clays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonçalvès, J.; Ji Yu, C.; Matray, J.-M.; Tremosa, J.

    2018-01-01

    In this study, a new formulation for the thermo-osmotic permeability of natural pore solutions containing monovalent and divalent cations is proposed. The mathematical formulation proposed here is based on the theoretical framework supporting thermo-osmosis which relies on water structure alteration in the pore space of surface-charged materials caused by solid-fluid electrochemical interactions. The ionic content balancing the surface charge of clay minerals causes a disruption in the hydrogen bond network when more structured water is present at the clay surface. Analytical expressions based on our heuristic model are proposed and compared to the available data for NaCl solutions. It is shown that the introduction of divalent cations reduces the thermo-osmotic permeability by one third compared to the monovalent case. The analytical expressions provided here can be used to advantage for safety calculations in deep underground nuclear waste repositories.

  8. The upregulation of thiamine (vitamin B1 biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings under salt and osmotic stress conditions is mediated by abscisic acid at the early stages of this stress response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rapala-Kozik Maria

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent reports suggest that vitamin B1 (thiamine participates in the processes underlying plant adaptations to certain types of abiotic and biotic stress, mainly oxidative stress. Most of the genes coding for enzymes involved in thiamine biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana have been identified. In our present study, we examined the expression of thiamine biosynthetic genes, of genes encoding thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes and the levels of thiamine compounds during the early (sensing and late (adaptation responses of Arabidopsis seedlings to oxidative, salinity and osmotic stress. The possible roles of plant hormones in the regulation of the thiamine contribution to stress responses were also explored. Results The expression of Arabidopsis genes involved in the thiamine diphosphate biosynthesis pathway, including that of THI1, THIC, TH1 and TPK, was analyzed for 48 h in seedlings subjected to NaCl or sorbitol treatment. These genes were found to be predominantly up-regulated in the early phase (2-6 h of the stress response. The changes in these gene transcript levels were further found to correlate with increases in thiamine and its diphosphate ester content in seedlings, as well as with the enhancement of gene expression for enzymes which require thiamine diphosphate as a cofactor, mainly α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, pyruvate dehydrogenase and transketolase. In the case of the phytohormones including the salicylic, jasmonic and abscisic acids which are known to be involved in plant stress responses, only abscisic acid was found to significantly influence the expression of thiamine biosynthetic genes, the thiamine diphosphate levels, as well as the expression of genes coding for main thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes. Using Arabidopsis mutant plants defective in abscisic acid production, we demonstrate that this phytohormone is important in the regulation of THI1 and THIC gene expression during salt stress

  9. Osmotic adjustment, gas exchanges and chlorophyll fluorescence of a hexaploid triticale and its parental species under salt stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morant-Manceau, Annick; Pradier, Elisabeth; Tremblin, Gérard

    2004-01-01

    The effect of salt stress (NaCl 85.7 or 110 mmol/L) was investigated in the triticale T300 and its parental species, Triticum dicoccum farrum (Triticum df) and Secale cereale cv. Petkus. Triticum df and T300 were more salt-tolerant than the rye (110 mmol/L NaCl was the highest concentration allowing rye growth to the three-leaf stage). Na+, K+ and Cl- ions accounted for almost half of the osmotic adjustment in Triticum df and T300, and up to 90% in rye. Salinity decreased the net photosynthesis and transpiration rates of the three cereals as compared to control plants, but induced no significant change in chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters. Water-use efficiency (WUE) increased with salinity. In the presence of 110 mmol/L NaCl, the K+/Na+ ratio decreased markedly in rye as compared to the other two cereals. Proline concentration, which increased in Triticum df and T300, could have protected membrane selectivity in favour of K+. Proline content remained low in rye, and increasing soluble sugar content did not appear to prevent competition between Na+ and K+. The salt sensitivity of rye could be due to low K+ uptake in the presence of a high NaCl concentration.

  10. Physicochemical characteristics of guava “Paluma” submitted to osmotic dehydration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roselene Ferreira Oliveira

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work was to evaluate the conservation post process osmotic of guava stored temperature at 5oC. Guava (Psidium guajava L., red variety “Paluma” minimally processed by mild osmotic dehydration, were packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET and stored temperature at 5ºC. Non-treated guava, packed in PET trays, was used as control. The treatment used was osmotic dehydration in sucrose syrup at 60ºBrix and physicochemical determinations were pH, total soluble solids (TSS, total titratable acidity (TTA, reducing sugars (RS, total sugars (TS and parameters related to colour read (a*, chroma (c*, yellow (b*, luminosity (L* of the fresh and osmotically dehydrated guava slices. The dehydrated fruits lost about 34.45% of water, concentrating contents of soluble solids, total and reducing sugars, when compared to control samples. The pH value remained around 3.76 for the OD fruits and 3.87 for the fresh fruits. The colour of the dehydrated fruits was more intense than the control samples’. The guava slices osmotic dehydration had 21 days of shelf life, showed physicochemical characteristics significantly superior to the control samples’, having a stable and high quality product as a result.

  11. Osmotic pressure of the cutaneous surface fluid of Rana esculenta

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hviid Larsen, Erik; Ramløv, Hans

    2012-01-01

    The osmotic pressure of the cutaneous surface fluid (CSF) in vivo was measured for investigating whether evaporative water loss (EWL) derives from water diffusing through the skin or fluid secreted by exocrine subepidermal mucous glands. EWL was stimulated by subjecting R. esculenta to 30–34 °C....../Kg, n = 16. Osmolality of lymph was, 239 ± 4 mosmol/Kg, n = 8. Thus the flow of water across the epidermis would be in the direction from CSF to the interstitial fluid driven by the above osmotic gradients and/or coupled to the inward active Na+ flux via the slightly hyperosmotic paracellular...... compartment [EH Larsen et al. (2009) Acta Physiologica 195: 171–186]. It is concluded that the source of EWL of the frog on land is the fluid secreted by the mucous glands and not water diffusing through the skin. The study supports the hypothesis [EH Larsen (2011) Acta Physiologica 202: 435–464] that volume...

  12. Genome-Wide Analysis of the TORC1 and Osmotic Stress Signaling Network in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeremy Worley

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The Target of Rapamycin kinase Complex I (TORC1 is a master regulator of cell growth and metabolism in eukaryotes. Studies in yeast and human cells have shown that nitrogen/amino acid starvation signals act through Npr2/Npr3 and the small GTPases Gtr1/Gtr2 (Rags in humans to inhibit TORC1. However, it is unclear how other stress and starvation stimuli inhibit TORC1, and/or act in parallel with the TORC1 pathway, to control cell growth. To help answer these questions, we developed a novel automated pipeline and used it to measure the expression of a TORC1-dependent ribosome biogenesis gene (NSR1 during osmotic stress in 4700 Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains from the yeast knock-out collection. This led to the identification of 440 strains with significant and reproducible defects in NSR1 repression. The cell growth control and stress response proteins deleted in these strains form a highly connected network, including 56 proteins involved in vesicle trafficking and vacuolar function; 53 proteins that act downstream of TORC1 according to a rapamycin assay—including components of the HDAC Rpd3L, Elongator, and the INO80, CAF-1 and SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes; over 100 proteins involved in signaling and metabolism; and 17 proteins that directly interact with TORC1. These data provide an important resource for labs studying cell growth control and stress signaling, and demonstrate the utility of our new, and easily adaptable, method for mapping gene regulatory networks.

  13. Effect of water and saline stress on germination of Atriplex nummularia (Chenopodiaceae)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruiz, Monica B; Parera, Carlos A

    2013-01-01

    Saline soils, characteristic of arid zones, can affect the germination of the species due to low water potential or ion toxicity. The effect of water and saline stress on germination was evaluated in atriplex nummularia a potential source of forage for arid zones. the seeds were scarified to reduce the inhibitory effect on germination and incubated in at 23 Celsius degrade on germination paper imbibed with solutions of sodium chloride (NaCl) and polyethylene glycol (peg) at three water potentials: -0,5; -1,0 and -1,5 MPA. The percentage germination and germination speed were significantly affected by the concentration of the solution and the solute used. While more negative osmotic potentials, the percentage of germination and germination speed were significantly lower. The seeds germinated in peg solution have higher germination and germination speed than the seeds germinated in NaCl, especially in -1,0 MPA. The data suggest that the seeds of a. nummularia show sensitivity to the presence of Na+ and Cl- ions affecting the germination process.

  14. On equations for the total suction and its matric and osmotic components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dao, Vinh N.T.; Morris, Peter H.; Dux, Peter F.

    2008-01-01

    A clear fundamental understanding of suctions is crucial for the study of the behaviour of plastic cement mortar and concrete, including plastic shrinkage cracking. In this paper, the expression relating the change in free energy of the pore water with an isothermal change in pressure is first derived. Based upon definitions of suctions, it is then shown that total, matric, and osmotic suctions can all be expressed in the same thermodynamic form. The widely accepted, but not yet satisfactorily validated, assumption that the total suction comprises matric and osmotic components is then confirmed theoretically. The well-known Kelvin equation for matric suction, and Morse and van't Hoff equations for osmotic suction are subsequently derived from the corresponding thermodynamic equations. The applicability of latter two equations in evaluating the osmotic suctions of cement mortar and concrete is highlighted

  15. Active osmotic exchanger for advanced filtration at the nano scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marbach, Sophie; Bocquet, Lyderic

    2015-11-01

    One of the main functions of the kidney is to remove the waste products of an organism, mostly by excreting concentrated urea while reabsorbing water and other molecules. The human kidney is capable of recycling about 200 liters of water per day, at the relatively low cost of 0.5 kJ/L (standard dialysis requiring at least 150 kJ/L). Kidneys are constituted of millions of parallel filtration networks called nephrons. The nephrons of all mammalian kidneys present a specific loop geometry, the Loop of Henle, that is believed to play a key role in the urinary concentrating mechanism. One limb of the loop is permeable to water and the other contains sodium pumps that exchange with a common interstitium. In this work, we take inspiration from this osmotic exchanger design to propose new nanofiltration principles. We first establish simple analytical results to derive general operating principles, based on coupled water permeable pores and osmotic pumps. The best filtration geometry, in terms of power required for a given water recycling ratio, is comparable in many ways to the mammalian nephron. It is not only more efficient than traditional reverse osmosis systems, but can also work at much smaller pressures (of the order of the blood pressure, 0.13 bar, as compared to more than 30 bars for pressure-retarded osmosis systems). We anticipate that our proof of principle will be a starting point for the development of new filtration systems relying on the active osmotic exchanger principle.

  16. Influence of osmotic processes on the excess-hydraulic head measured in the Toarcian/Domerian argillaceous formation of Tournemire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tremosa, J.

    2010-01-01

    In the framework of the studies dealing on ability to store radioactive wastes in argillaceous formations, signification of interstitial pressures is an important point to understand water and solutes transport. In very low permeability argillaceous formations, like those studied in the Callovo-Oxfordian of the Paris basin by ANDRA, pore pressure is frequently higher than the theoretical hydrostatic pressure or than the pressure in the surrounding aquifers. Such an overpressure is also measured in the Toarcian/Domerian argillaceous formation (k = 10 -21 m 2 ), studied by the IRSN in the underground research laboratory of Tournemire (Aveyron, France). The hydraulic head profile has been specified in this manuscript and found to present a 30 ±10 m excess head. This excess-head can be due to compaction disequilibrium of the argillaceous formation, diagenetic evolution of the rock, tectonic compression, changes in hydrodynamic boundary conditions or osmotic processes. Amongst these potential causes, chemical osmosis and thermo-osmosis, a fluid flow under a chemical concentration and a temperature gradient, respectively, are expected to develop owing to the small pore size and the electrostatic interactions related to the charged surface of clay minerals. The goal of the work presented here was to study and quantify the contribution of each cause to the measured excess-head. Chemo-osmotic and thermo-osmotic permeabilities were obtained by experiments and using theoretical models. Theoretical models are based on the reproduction of the interactions occurring between the charged surface of clay minerals and pore solution and their up-scaling at the representative elementary volume macroscopic scale. Chemical osmosis phenomenon is related to anionic exclusion and the determination of the chemo-osmotic efficiency requires the resolution of an electrical interactions model. A triple-layer-model which considers diffuse layers overlapping was improved during this thesis to be

  17. Overexpression of a Medicago truncatula stress-associated protein gene (MtSAP1) leads to nitric oxide accumulation and confers osmotic and salt stress tolerance in transgenic tobacco.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charrier, Aurélie; Planchet, Elisabeth; Cerveau, Delphine; Gimeno-Gilles, Christine; Verdu, Isabelle; Limami, Anis M; Lelièvre, Eric

    2012-08-01

    The impact of Medicago truncatula stress-associated protein gene (MtSAP1) overexpression has been investigated in Nicotiana tabacum transgenic seedlings. Under optimal conditions, transgenic lines overexpressing MtSAP1 revealed better plant development and higher chlorophyll content as compared to wild type seedlings. Interestingly, transgenic lines showed a stronger accumulation of nitric oxide (NO), a signaling molecule involved in growth and development processes. This NO production seemed to be partially nitrate reductase dependent. Due to the fact that NO has been also reported to play a role in tolerance acquisition of plants to abiotic stresses, the responses of MtSAP1 overexpressors to osmotic and salt stress have been studied. Compared to the wild type, transgenic lines were less affected in their growth and development. Moreover, NO content in MtSAP1 overexpressors was always higher than that detected in wild seedlings under stress conditions. It seems that this better tolerance induced by MtSAP1 overexpression could be associated with this higher NO production that would enable seedlings to reach a high protection level to prepare them to cope with abiotic stresses.

  18. An osmotic model of the growing pollen tube.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adrian E Hill

    Full Text Available Pollen tube growth is central to the sexual reproduction of plants and is a longstanding model for cellular tip growth. For rapid tip growth, cell wall deposition and hardening must balance the rate of osmotic water uptake, and this involves the control of turgor pressure. Pressure contributes directly to both the driving force for water entry and tip expansion causing thinning of wall material. Understanding tip growth requires an analysis of the coordination of these processes and their regulation. Here we develop a quantitative physiological model which includes water entry by osmosis, the incorporation of cell wall material and the spreading of that material as a film at the tip. Parameters of the model have been determined from the literature and from measurements, by light, confocal and electron microscopy, together with results from experiments made on dye entry and plasmolysis in Lilium longiflorum. The model yields values of variables such as osmotic and turgor pressure, growth rates and wall thickness. The model and its predictive capacity were tested by comparing programmed simulations with experimental observations following perturbations of the growth medium. The model explains the role of turgor pressure and its observed constancy during oscillations; the stability of wall thickness under different conditions, without which the cell would burst; and some surprising properties such as the need for restricting osmotic permeability to a constant area near the tip, which was experimentally confirmed. To achieve both constancy of pressure and wall thickness under the range of conditions observed in steady-state growth the model reveals the need for a sensor that detects the driving potential for water entry and controls the deposition rate of wall material at the tip.

  19. An Osmotic Model of the Growing Pollen Tube

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Adrian E.; Shachar-Hill, Bruria; Skepper, Jeremy N.; Powell, Janet; Shachar-Hill, Yair

    2012-01-01

    Pollen tube growth is central to the sexual reproduction of plants and is a longstanding model for cellular tip growth. For rapid tip growth, cell wall deposition and hardening must balance the rate of osmotic water uptake, and this involves the control of turgor pressure. Pressure contributes directly to both the driving force for water entry and tip expansion causing thinning of wall material. Understanding tip growth requires an analysis of the coordination of these processes and their regulation. Here we develop a quantitative physiological model which includes water entry by osmosis, the incorporation of cell wall material and the spreading of that material as a film at the tip. Parameters of the model have been determined from the literature and from measurements, by light, confocal and electron microscopy, together with results from experiments made on dye entry and plasmolysis in Lilium longiflorum. The model yields values of variables such as osmotic and turgor pressure, growth rates and wall thickness. The model and its predictive capacity were tested by comparing programmed simulations with experimental observations following perturbations of the growth medium. The model explains the role of turgor pressure and its observed constancy during oscillations; the stability of wall thickness under different conditions, without which the cell would burst; and some surprising properties such as the need for restricting osmotic permeability to a constant area near the tip, which was experimentally confirmed. To achieve both constancy of pressure and wall thickness under the range of conditions observed in steady-state growth the model reveals the need for a sensor that detects the driving potential for water entry and controls the deposition rate of wall material at the tip. PMID:22615784

  20. Hydrothermal Carbonization of Spent Osmotic Solution (SOS Generated from Osmotic Dehydration of Blueberries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaushlendra Singh

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Hydrothermal carbonization of spent osmotic solution (SOS, a waste generated from osmotic dehydration of fruits, has the potential of transformation into hydrochars, a value-added product, while reducing cost and overall greenhouse gas emissions associated with waste disposal. Osmotic solution (OS and spent osmotic solution (SOS generated from the osmotic dehydration of blueberries were compared for their thermo-chemical decomposition behavior and hydrothermal carbonization. OS and SOS samples were characterized for total solids, elemental composition, and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA. In addition, hydrothermal carbonization was performed at 250 °C and for 30 min to produce hydrochars. The hydrochars were characterized for elemental composition, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET surface area, particle shape and surface morphology. TGA results show that the SOS sample loses more weight in the lower temperature range than the OS sample. Both samples produced, approximately, 40%–42% (wet-feed basis hydrochar during hydrothermal carbonization but with different properties. The OS sample produced hydrochar, which had spherical particles of 1.79 ± 1.30 μm diameter with a very smooth surface. In contrast, the SOS sample produced hydrochar with no definite particle shape but with a raspberry-like surface.

  1. Osmotic potential calculations of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions over wide solute concentration levels and temperatures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cochrane, T. T., E-mail: agteca@hotmail.com [AGTECA S.A., 230 Oceanbeach Road, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga 3116 (New Zealand); Cochrane, T. A., E-mail: tom.cochrane@canterbury.ac.nz [Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand)

    2016-01-15

    Purpose: To demonstrate that the authors’ new “aqueous solution vs pure water” equation to calculate osmotic potential may be used to calculate the osmotic potentials of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions over wide ranges of solute concentrations and temperatures. Currently, the osmotic potentials of solutions used for medical purposes are calculated from equations based on the thermodynamics of the gas laws which are only accurate at low temperature and solute concentration levels. Some solutions used in medicine may need their osmotic potentials calculated more accurately to take into account solute concentrations and temperatures. Methods: The authors experimented with their new equation for calculating the osmotic potentials of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions up to and beyond body temperatures by adjusting three of its factors; (a) the volume property of pure water, (b) the number of “free” water molecules per unit volume of solution, “N{sub f},” and (c) the “t” factor expressing the cooperative structural relaxation time of pure water at given temperatures. Adequate information on the volume property of pure water at different temperatures is available in the literature. However, as little information on the relative densities of inorganic and organic solutions, respectively, at varying temperatures needed to calculate N{sub f} was available, provisional equations were formulated to approximate values. Those values together with tentative t values for different temperatures chosen from values calculated by different workers were substituted into the authors’ equation to demonstrate how osmotic potentials could be estimated over temperatures up to and beyond bodily temperatures. Results: The provisional equations formulated to calculate N{sub f}, the number of free water molecules per unit volume of inorganic and organic solute solutions, respectively, over wide concentration ranges compared well with the calculations of N{sub f

  2. Osmotic potential calculations of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions over wide solute concentration levels and temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cochrane, T. T.; Cochrane, T. A.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To demonstrate that the authors’ new “aqueous solution vs pure water” equation to calculate osmotic potential may be used to calculate the osmotic potentials of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions over wide ranges of solute concentrations and temperatures. Currently, the osmotic potentials of solutions used for medical purposes are calculated from equations based on the thermodynamics of the gas laws which are only accurate at low temperature and solute concentration levels. Some solutions used in medicine may need their osmotic potentials calculated more accurately to take into account solute concentrations and temperatures. Methods: The authors experimented with their new equation for calculating the osmotic potentials of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions up to and beyond body temperatures by adjusting three of its factors; (a) the volume property of pure water, (b) the number of “free” water molecules per unit volume of solution, “N f ,” and (c) the “t” factor expressing the cooperative structural relaxation time of pure water at given temperatures. Adequate information on the volume property of pure water at different temperatures is available in the literature. However, as little information on the relative densities of inorganic and organic solutions, respectively, at varying temperatures needed to calculate N f was available, provisional equations were formulated to approximate values. Those values together with tentative t values for different temperatures chosen from values calculated by different workers were substituted into the authors’ equation to demonstrate how osmotic potentials could be estimated over temperatures up to and beyond bodily temperatures. Results: The provisional equations formulated to calculate N f , the number of free water molecules per unit volume of inorganic and organic solute solutions, respectively, over wide concentration ranges compared well with the calculations of N f using recorded

  3. Cross-talk between abscisic acid-dependent and abscisic acid-independent pathways during abiotic stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roychoudhury, Aryadeep; Paul, Saikat; Basu, Supratim

    2013-07-01

    Salinity, drought and low temperature are the common forms of abiotic stress encountered by land plants. To cope with these adverse environmental factors, plants execute several physiological and metabolic responses. Both osmotic stress (elicited by water deficit or high salt) and cold stress increase the endogenous level of the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA). ABA-dependent stomatal closure to reduce water loss is associated with small signaling molecules like nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species and cytosolic free calcium, and mediated by rapidly altering ion fluxes in guard cells. ABA also triggers the expression of osmotic stress-responsive (OR) genes, which usually contain single/multiple copies of cis-acting sequence called abscisic acid-responsive element (ABRE) in their upstream regions, mostly recognized by the basic leucine zipper-transcription factors (TFs), namely, ABA-responsive element-binding protein/ABA-binding factor. Another conserved sequence called the dehydration-responsive element (DRE)/C-repeat, responding to cold or osmotic stress, but not to ABA, occurs in some OR promoters, to which the DRE-binding protein/C-repeat-binding factor binds. In contrast, there are genes or TFs containing both DRE/CRT and ABRE, which can integrate input stimuli from salinity, drought, cold and ABA signaling pathways, thereby enabling cross-tolerance to multiple stresses. A strong candidate that mediates such cross-talk is calcium, which serves as a common second messenger for abiotic stress conditions and ABA. The present review highlights the involvement of both ABA-dependent and ABA-independent signaling components and their interaction or convergence in activating the stress genes. We restrict our discussion to salinity, drought and cold stress.

  4. The Role of Superoxide Dismutase in Inducing of Wheat Seedlings Tolerance to Osmotic Shock

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oboznyi A.I.

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Influence of short-term hardening osmotic exposure (immersion in 1 M sucrose solution with subsequent transferring to distilled water for 20 min on the hydrogen peroxide generation and superoxide dismutase activity in wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Elegiya seedlings and their tolerance to osmotic shock were investigated. During the initial 30 min after osmotic exposure, the increasing of hydrogen peroxide amount in roots and shoots (to a lesser extent was observed, but the resistance of the seedlings and superoxide dismutase (SOD activity decreased. Sometime later the decrease in hydrogen peroxide amount and the increase of seedlings tolerance to osmotic shock took place. SOD activity increased in 10 min after hardening osmotic exposure. Transient accumulation of hydrogen peroxide induced in this way was suppressed by the treatment of seedlings with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC, SOD inhibitor. DDC and hydrogen peroxide scavenger dimethylthiourea decreased positive hardening effect of osmotic exposure on the development of seedlings tolerance. It was concluded that SOD providing the generation of signal hydrogen peroxide pool took part in the induction of seedlings tolerance to osmotic shock development caused by preliminary hardening effect.

  5. Osmotic coefficients of binary mixtures of four ionic liquids with ethanol or water at T = (313.15 and 333.15) K

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calvar, Noelia; Gonzalez, Begona; Dominguez, Angeles; Macedo, Eugenia A.

    2009-01-01

    Measurements of osmotic coefficients of BmimCl (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) and HmimCl (1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) with ethanol and EmimEtSO 4 (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate) and EmpyEtSO 4 (1-ethyl-3-methylpyridinium ethylsulfate) with water at T = (313.15 and 333.15) K are reported in this work. Vapour pressure and activity results of the studied binary systems are obtained from experimental measurements. The results for the osmotic coefficients are correlated using the extended Pitzer model modified by Archer and the modified NRTL (MNRTL) model. The standard deviations obtained with both models are also given. The parameters obtained with the extended Pitzer model of Archer are used to calculate the mean molal activity coefficients

  6. Plant responsiveness to root-root communication of stress cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falik, Omer; Mordoch, Yonat; Ben-Natan, Daniel; Vanunu, Miriam; Goldstein, Oron; Novoplansky, Ariel

    2012-07-01

    Phenotypic plasticity is based on the organism's ability to perceive, integrate and respond to multiple signals and cues informative of environmental opportunities and perils. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that plants are able to adapt to imminent threats by perceiving cues emitted from their damaged neighbours. Here, the hypothesis was tested that unstressed plants are able to perceive and respond to stress cues emitted from their drought- and osmotically stressed neighbours and to induce stress responses in additional unstressed plants. Split-root Pisum sativum, Cynodon dactylon, Digitaria sanguinalis and Stenotaphrum secundatum plants were subjected to osmotic stress or drought while sharing one of their rooting volumes with an unstressed neighbour, which in turn shared its other rooting volume with additional unstressed neighbours. Following the kinetics of stomatal aperture allowed testing for stress responses in both the stressed plants and their unstressed neighbours. In both P. sativum plants and the three wild clonal grasses, infliction of osmotic stress or drought caused stomatal closure in both the stressed plants and in their unstressed neighbours. While both continuous osmotic stress and drought induced prolonged stomatal closure and limited acclimation in stressed plants, their unstressed neighbours habituated to the stress cues and opened their stomata 3-24 h after the beginning of stress induction. The results demonstrate a novel type of plant communication, by which plants might be able to increase their readiness to probable future osmotic and drought stresses. Further work is underway to decipher the identity and mode of operation of the involved communication vectors and to assess the potential ecological costs and benefits of emitting and perceiving drought and osmotic stress cues under various ecological scenarios.

  7. Abscisic Acid Accumulation by Roots of Xanthium strumarium L. and Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. in Relation to Water Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornish, K; Zeevaart, J A

    1985-11-01

    Plants of Xanthium strumarium L. and Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv ;Rheinlands Ruhm' were grown in solution culture, and control and steam-girdled intact plants were stressed. Detached roots of both species were stressed to different extents in two ways: (a) either in warm air or, (b) in the osmoticum Aquacide III. The roots of both species produced and accumulated progressively more abscisic acid (ABA), the greater the stress inflicted by either method. ABA-glucose ester levels in Xanthium roots were not affected by water stress and were too low to be the source of the stress-induced ABA. The fact that ABA accumulated in detached roots and in roots of girdled plants proves that ABA was synthesized in the roots and not merely transported from the shoots.Maximum ABA accumulation in detached roots occurred after 60 to 70% loss of fresh weight. In Xanthium roots, ABA levels continued to increase for at least 11 hours, and no catabolism was apparent when stressed roots were immersed in water, although the roots did stop accumulating ABA. When osmotically stressed, Xanthium roots reached a maximum ABA level after 2 hours, but ABA continued to rise in the medium.Under optimal stress conditions, endogenous ABA levels increased 100 times over their prestress values in detached roots of Xanthium, and 15 times in Lycopersicon under nonoptimal stress, when endogenous ABA was expressed as concentrations based on tissue water content. These are much greater relative increases than observed in the leaves (15 times in Xanthium, 3 times in Lycopersicon), although the roots contain substantially less ABA than the leaves in all circumstances. The results suggest that the endogenous level of ABA in roots could rise appreciably prior to leaf wilt, and could modify the plant's water economy before the leaves become stressed.

  8. The impact of long-term water stress on relative growth rate and morphology of needles and shoots of Metasequoia glyptostroboides seedlings: research toward identifying mechanistic models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yanxiang; Equiza, Maria Alejandra; Zheng, Quanshui; Tyree, Melvin T

    2011-09-01

    Leaf morphology in the upper canopy of trees tends to be different from that lower down. The effect of long-term water stress on leaf growth and morphology was studied in seedlings of Metasequoia glyptostroboides to understand how tree height might affect leaf morphology in larger trees. Tree height increases water stress on growing leaves through increased hydraulic resistance to water flow and increased gravitational potential, hence we assume that water stress imposed by soil dehydration will have an effect equivalent to stress induced by height. Seedlings were subjected to well-watered and two constant levels of long-term water stress treatments. Drought treatment significantly reduced final needle count, area and mass per area (leaf mass area, LMA) and increased needle density. Needles from water-stressed plants had lower maximum volumetric elastic modulus (ε(max)), osmotic potential at full turgor (Ψ¹⁰⁰(π)) (and at zero turgor (Ψ⁰(π)) (than those from well-watered plants. Palisade and spongy mesophyll cell size and upper epidermal cell size decreased significantly in drought treatments. Needle relative growth rate, needle length and cell sizes were linear functions of the daily average water potential at the time of leaf growth (r² 0.88-0.999). We conclude that water stress alone does mimic the direction and magnitude of changes in leaf morphology observed in tall trees. The results are discussed in terms of various models for leaf growth rate. Copyright © Physiologia Plantarum 2011.

  9. An analysis of the effects of osmotic backwashing on the seawater reverse osmosis process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, JunYoung; Jeong, WooWon; Nam, JongWoo; Kim, JaeHun; Kim, JiHoon; Chon, Kangmin; Lee, Euijong; Kim, HyungSoo; Jang, Am

    2014-01-01

    Fouling control is an important consideration in the design and operation of membrane-based water treatment processes. It has been generally known that chemical cleaning is still the most common method to remove foultants and maintain the performance of reverse osmosis (RO) desalination. Regardless of the chemical membrane cleaning methods applied effectively, however, frequent chemical cleaning can shorten the membrane life. In addition, it also increases operating and maintenance costs due to the waste chemical disposal. As an alternative, osmotic backwashing can be applied to RO membranes by diluting the concentration polarization (CP) layer. In this study, the effects of osmotic backwashing were analysed under different total dissolved salts (TDSs) and backwashing conditions, and the parameters of the osmotic backwashing were evaluated. The results of the analysis based on the properties of the organic matters found in raw water showed that the cleaning efficiency in respect to the fouling by hydrophilic organic matters was the greatest. Osmotic backwashing was carried out by changing the TDS of the permeate. As a result, the backwashing volume decreased with time due to the CP of the permeate and the backwashing volume. The difference in the osmotic pressure between the raw water and the permeate (Delta pi) also decreased as time passed. It was confirmed that when the temperature of the effluent was high, both the cleaning efficiency and the backwashing volume, which inpours at the same time, increased. When the circulation flow of the effluent was high, both the cleaning efficiency and the backwashing volume increased.

  10. Transformation of Oats and Its Application to Improving Osmotic Stress Tolerance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maqbool, Shahina B.; Zhong, Heng; Oraby, Hesham F.; Sticklen, Mariam B.

    Oat (Avena sativa L.), a worldwide temperate cereal crop, is deficient in tolerance to osmotic stress due to drought and/or salinity. To genetically transform the available commercial oat cultivars, a genotype-independent and efficient regeneration system from shoot apical meristems was developed using four oat cultivars: Prairie, Porter, Ogle, and Pacer. All these oat cultivars generated a genotype-independent in vitro differentiated multiple shoots from shoot apical meristems at a high frequency. Using this system, three oat cultivars were genetically co-transformed with pBY520 (containing hva1 and bar) and pAct1-D (containing gus) using biolistic™ bombardment. Transgenic plants were selected and regenerated using herbicide resistance and GUS as a marker. Molecular and biochemical analyses of putative transgenic plants confirmed the co-integration of hva1 and bar genes with a frequency of 100%, and 61.6% of the transgenic plants carried all three genes (hva1, bar and gus). Further analyses of R0, R1, and R2 progenies confirmed stable integration, expression, and Mendalian inheritance for all transgenes. Histochemical analysis of GUS protein in transgenic plants showed a high level of GUS expression in vascular tissues and in the pollen grains of mature flowers. Immunochemical analysis of transgenic plants indicated a constitutive expression of hva1 at all developmental stages. However, the level of HVA1 was higher during the early seedling stages.

  11. Osmotic generation of 'anomalous' fluid pressures in geological environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuzii, C.E.

    2000-01-01

    Osmotic pressures are generated by differences in chemical potential of a solution across a membrane. But whether osmosis can have a significant effect on the pressure of fluids in geological environments has been controversial, because the membrane properties of geological media are poorly understood. 'Anomalous' pressures - large departures from hydrostatic pressure that are not explicable in terms of topographic or fluid-density effects are widely found in geological settings, and are commonly considered to result from processes that alter the pore or fluid volume, which in turn implies crustal changes happening at a rate too slow to observe directly. Yet if osmosis can explain some anomalies, there is no need to invoke such dynamic geological processes in those cases. Here I report results of a nine- year in situ measurement of fluid pressures and solute concentrations in shale that are consistent with the generation of large (up to 20 MPa) osmotic-pressure anomalies which could persist for tens of millions of years. Osmotic pressures of this magnitude and duration can explain many of the pressure anomalies observed in geological settings. The require, however, small shale porosity and large contrasts in the amount of dissolved solids in the pore waters - criteria that may help to distinguish between osmotic and crystal-dynamic origins of anomalous pressures.

  12. Understanding Fast and Robust Thermo-osmotic Flows through Carbon Nanotube Membranes: Thermodynamics Meets Hydrodynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Li; Merabia, Samy; Joly, Laurent

    2018-04-19

    Following our recent theoretical prediction of the giant thermo-osmotic response of the water-graphene interface, we explore the practical implementation of waste heat harvesting with carbon-based membranes, focusing on model membranes of carbon nanotubes (CNT). To that aim, we combine molecular dynamics simulations and an analytical model considering the details of hydrodynamics in the membrane and at the tube entrances. The analytical model and the simulation results match quantitatively, highlighting the need to take into account both thermodynamics and hydrodynamics to predict thermo-osmotic flows through membranes. We show that, despite viscous entrance effects and a thermal short-circuit mechanism, CNT membranes can generate very fast thermo-osmotic flows, which can overcome the osmotic pressure of seawater. We then show that in small tubes confinement has a complex effect on the flow and can even reverse the flow direction. Beyond CNT membranes, our analytical model can guide the search for other membranes to generate fast and robust thermo-osmotic flows.

  13. A model-based study delineating the roles of the two signaling branches of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Sho1 and Sln1, during adaptation to osmotic stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parmar, J H; Bhartiya, Sharad; Venkatesh, K V

    2009-01-01

    Adaptation to osmotic shock in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is brought about by the activation of two independent signaling pathways, Sho1 and Sln1, which in turn trigger the high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway. The HOG pathway thereby activates the transcription of Gpd1p, an enzyme necessary to synthesize glycerol. The production of glycerol brings about a change in the intracellular osmolarity leading to adaptation. We present a detailed mechanistic model for the response of the yeast to hyperosmotic shock. The model integrates the two branches, Sho1 and Sln1, of the HOG pathway and also includes the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade, gene regulation and metabolism. Model simulations are consistent with known experimental results for wild-type strain, and Ste11Δ and Ssk1Δ mutant strains subjected to osmotic stress. Simulation results predict that both the branches contribute to the overall wild-type response for moderate osmotic shock, while under severe osmotic shock, the cell responds mainly through the Sln1 branch. The analysis shows that the Sln1 branch helps the cell in preventing cross-talk to other signaling pathways by inhibiting ste11ste50 activation and also by increasing the phosphorylation of Ste50. We show that the negative feedbacks to the Sho1 branch must be faster than those to the Sln1 branch to simultaneously achieve pathway specificity and adaptation during hyperosmotic shock. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the presence of both branches imparts robust behavior to the cell under osmoadaptation to perturbations

  14. Osmotic dehydration of fruit and berry raw materials in the food industry

    OpenAIRE

    N. A. Gribova; L. G. Eliseeva

    2017-01-01

    Osmotic dehydration has recently received more attention as an effective method of preserving fruits and berries. Osmosis is a simple process that facilitates the processing of fruits and berries in order to preserve the original characteristics, namely nutritional value and organoleptic properties: color, aroma and texture. Osmotic dehydration has found wide application in the preservation of food products, as the activity of water in fruits and berries decreases, in some of them up to 90% o...

  15. Solute Transfer in Osmotic Dehydration of Vegetable Foods: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñiz-Becerá, Sahylin; Méndez-Lagunas, Lilia L; Rodríguez-Ramírez, Juan

    2017-10-01

    While various mechanisms have been proposed for the water transfer during osmotic dehydration (OD), little progress has been made to understand the mechanisms of solute transfer during osmotic dehydration. The transfer of solutes has been often described only by the diffusion mechanism; however, numerous evidences suggest the participation of a variety of mechanisms. This review deals with the main issues of solute transfer in the OD of vegetables. In this context, several studies suggest that during OD of fruits and vegetables, the migration of solutes is not influenced by diffusion. Thus, new theories that may explain the solute transport are analyzed, considering the influence of the plant microstructure and its interaction with the physicochemical properties of osmotic liquid media. In particular, the surface adhesion phenomenon is analyzed and discussed, as a possible mechanism present during the transfer of solutes in OD. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  16. Does osmotic distillation change the isotopic relation of wines?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schmitt Matthias

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Currently partial alcohol reduction of wine is in the focus of research worldwide. There are several technologies available to achieve this target. These techniques are either based on distilling or membrane processes. Osmotic distillation, one of the possibilities, is a quite modern membrane process that can be used. During that process, wine is pumped in counter flow to water along a micro porous, hydrophobic membrane. The volatile components of the wine can permeate that membrane and are dissolved in water. The driving force of that process is the vapor pressure difference between the volatiles on the wine and water side of the membrane. The aim of this work was to determine if the alcohol reduction by osmotic distillation can change the isotopic relation in a wine. Can this enological practice change the composition of a wine in a way that an illegal water addition is simulated? Different wines were reduced by 2% alcohol v/v with varying process parameters. The isotopic analysis of the O 16/18 ratio in the wine were performed according to the OIV methods (353/2009 These analyses showed that the isotopic ratio is modified by an alcohol reduction of 2% v/v in a way that corresponds to an addition of 4–5% of external water.

  17. Abscisic Acid Accumulation by Roots of Xanthium strumarium L. and Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. in Relation to Water Stress 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornish, Katrina; Zeevaart, Jan A. D.

    1985-01-01

    Plants of Xanthium strumarium L. and Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv `Rheinlands Ruhm' were grown in solution culture, and control and steam-girdled intact plants were stressed. Detached roots of both species were stressed to different extents in two ways: (a) either in warm air or, (b) in the osmoticum Aquacide III. The roots of both species produced and accumulated progressively more abscisic acid (ABA), the greater the stress inflicted by either method. ABA-glucose ester levels in Xanthium roots were not affected by water stress and were too low to be the source of the stress-induced ABA. The fact that ABA accumulated in detached roots and in roots of girdled plants proves that ABA was synthesized in the roots and not merely transported from the shoots. Maximum ABA accumulation in detached roots occurred after 60 to 70% loss of fresh weight. In Xanthium roots, ABA levels continued to increase for at least 11 hours, and no catabolism was apparent when stressed roots were immersed in water, although the roots did stop accumulating ABA. When osmotically stressed, Xanthium roots reached a maximum ABA level after 2 hours, but ABA continued to rise in the medium. Under optimal stress conditions, endogenous ABA levels increased 100 times over their prestress values in detached roots of Xanthium, and 15 times in Lycopersicon under nonoptimal stress, when endogenous ABA was expressed as concentrations based on tissue water content. These are much greater relative increases than observed in the leaves (15 times in Xanthium, 3 times in Lycopersicon), although the roots contain substantially less ABA than the leaves in all circumstances. The results suggest that the endogenous level of ABA in roots could rise appreciably prior to leaf wilt, and could modify the plant's water economy before the leaves become stressed. PMID:16664467

  18. Design of an expert system for the development and formulation of push-pull osmotic pump tablets containing poorly water-soluble drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhi-hong; Dong, Hong-ye; Peng, Bo; Liu, Hong-fei; Li, Chun-lei; Liang, Min; Pan, Wei-san

    2011-05-30

    The purpose of this article was to build an expert system for the development and formulation of push-pull osmotic pump tablets (PPOP). Hundreds of PPOP formulations were studied according to different poorly water-soluble drugs and pharmaceutical acceptable excipients. The knowledge base including database and rule base was built based on the reported results of hundreds of PPOP formulations containing different poorly water-soluble drugs and pharmaceutical excipients and the experiences available from other researchers. The prediction model of release behavior was built using back propagation (BP) neural network, which is good at nonlinear mapping and learning function. Formulation design model was established based on the prediction model of release behavior, which was the nucleus of the inference engine. Finally, the expert system program was constructed by VB.NET associating with SQL Server. Expert system is one of the most popular aspects in artificial intelligence. To date there is no expert system available for the formulation of controlled release dosage forms yet. Moreover, osmotic pump technology (OPT) is gradually getting consummate all over the world. It is meaningful to apply expert system on OPT. Famotidine, a water insoluble drug was chosen as the model drug to validate the applicability of the developed expert system. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Plasticity in leaf-level water relations of tropical rainforest trees in response to experimental drought.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binks, Oliver; Meir, Patrick; Rowland, Lucy; da Costa, Antonio Carlos Lola; Vasconcelos, Steel Silva; de Oliveira, Alex Antonio Ribeiro; Ferreira, Leandro; Christoffersen, Bradley; Nardini, Andrea; Mencuccini, Maurizio

    2016-07-01

    The tropics are predicted to become warmer and drier, and understanding the sensitivity of tree species to drought is important for characterizing the risk to forests of climate change. This study makes use of a long-term drought experiment in the Amazon rainforest to evaluate the role of leaf-level water relations, leaf anatomy and their plasticity in response to drought in six tree genera. The variables (osmotic potential at full turgor, turgor loss point, capacitance, elastic modulus, relative water content and saturated water content) were compared between seasons and between plots (control and through-fall exclusion) enabling a comparison between short- and long-term plasticity in traits. Leaf anatomical traits were correlated with water relation parameters to determine whether water relations differed among tissues. The key findings were: osmotic adjustment occurred in response to the long-term drought treatment; species resistant to drought stress showed less osmotic adjustment than drought-sensitive species; and water relation traits were correlated with tissue properties, especially the thickness of the abaxial epidermis and the spongy mesophyll. These findings demonstrate that cell-level water relation traits can acclimate to long-term water stress, and highlight the limitations of extrapolating the results of short-term studies to temporal scales associated with climate change. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

  20. Variations in water status, gas exchange, and growth in Rosmarinus officinalis plants infected with Glomus deserticola under drought conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Blanco, Ma Jesús; Ferrández, Trinitario; Morales, Ma Angeles; Morte, Asunción; Alarcón, Juan José

    2004-06-01

    The influence of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus deserticola on the water relations, gas exchange parameters, and vegetative growth of Rosmarinus officinalis plants under water stress was studied. Plants were grown with and without the mycorrhizal fungus under glasshouse conditions and subjected to water stress by withholding irrigation water for 14 days. Along the experimental period, a significant effect of the fungus on the plant growth was observed, and under water stress, mycorrhizal plants showed an increase in aerial and root biomass compared to non-mycorrhizal plants. The decrease in the soil water potential generated a decrease in leaf water potential (psi(l)) and stem water potential (psi(x)) of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants, with this decrease being lower in mycorrhizal water-stressed plants. Mycorrhization also had positive effects on the root hydraulic conductivity (Lp) of water stressed plants. Furthermore, mycorrhizal-stressed plants showed a more important decrease in osmotic potential at full turgor (psi(os)) than did non-mycorrhizal-stressed plants, indicating the capacity of osmotic adjustment. Mycorrhizal infection also improved photosynthetic activity (Pn) and stomatal conductance (g(s)) in plants under water stress compared to the non-mycorrhizal-stressed plants. A similar behaviour was observed in the photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) with this parameter being lower in non-mycorrhizal plants than in mycorrhizal plants under water stress conditions. In the same way, under water restriction, mycorrhizal plants showed higher values of chlorophyll content than did non-mycorrhizal plants. Thus, the results obtained indicated that the mycorrhizal symbiosis had a beneficial effect on the water status and growth of Rosmarinus officinalis plants under water-stress conditions.

  1. Expression of stress hormones AVP and CRH in the hypothalamus of Mus musculus following water and food deprivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yadawa, Arun Kumar; Chaturvedi, Chandra Mohini

    2016-12-01

    Neurohypophyseal hormone, arginine vasopressin (AVP), in addition to acting as antidiuretic hormone is also considered to be stress hormone like hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). Present study was designed to investigate the relative response of these stress hormones during water and food deprivation. In this study, male laboratory mice of Swiss strain were divided in 5 groups, control - provided water and food ad libitum, two experimental groups water deprived for 2 and 4days respectively (WD2 and WD4) and another two groups food deprived for 2 and 4days respectively (FD2 and FD4). Results indicate an increased expression of AVP mRNA as well as peptide in the hypothalamus of WD2 mice and the expression was further upregulated after 4days of water deprivation but the expression of CRH remained unchanged compare to their respective controls. On the other hand no change was observed in the expression of hypothalamic AVP mRNA while AVP peptide increased significantly in FD2 and FD4 mice compare to control. Further, the expression of CRH mRNA although increased in hypothalamus of both FD2 and FD4 mice, the immunofluorescent staining shows decreased expression of CRH in PVN of food deprived mice. Based on these findings it is concluded that since during osmotic stress only AVP expression is upregulated but during metabolic stress i.e. food deprivation transcription and translation of both the stress hormones are differentially regulated. Further, it is suggested that role of AVP and CRH may be stress specific. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Modeling and computational simulation of the osmotic evaporation process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Freddy Forero Longas

    2016-09-01

    Conclusions: It was found that for the conditions studied the Knudsen diffusion model is most suitable to describe the transfer of water vapor through the hydrophobic membrane. Simulations developed adequately describe the process of osmotic evaporation, becoming a tool for faster economic development of this technology.

  3. Vocal Fold Epithelial Response to Luminal Osmotic Perturbation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivasankar, Mahalakshmi; Fisher, Kimberly V.

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: Dry-air challenges increase the osmolarity of fluid lining the luminal surface of the proximal airway. The homeostasis of surface fluid is thought to be essential for voice production and laryngeal defense. Therefore, the authors hypothesized that viable vocal fold epithelium would generate a water flux to reduce an osmotic challenge (150…

  4. Evidence of independent action of neurohypophyseal peptides on osmotic water flow and active sodium transport in the same target organ: studies on RANA esculenta skin and bladder (1961)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourguet, J.; Maetz, J.

    1961-01-01

    Neurohypophyseal peptides produce on the skin and bladder of certain amphibia simultaneous increases of the passive osmotic permeability to water and active transport of sodium. The present work shows that oxytocin and two of its analogues arginine-8-oxytocin (arginine vasotocin) and lysine-8-oxytocin (lysine vasotocin) may produce the same increase of water permeability, while stimulating in quite different ways the sodium transport. This is the case for both skin and bladder. In other words, there is no correlation between natriferic and hydro-osmotic activities. The results are interpreted as evidence that neurohypophyseal hormones act on not one, as previously assumed, but two targets, inside the same epithelial cell. (author) [fr

  5. Osmotic Pressure Simulations of Amino Acids and Peptides Highlight Potential Routes to Protein Force Field Parameterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Mark S.; Lay, Wesley K.

    2016-01-01

    Recent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of proteins have suggested that common force fields overestimate the strength of amino acid interactions in aqueous solution. In an attempt to determine the causes of these effects, we have measured the osmotic coefficients of a number of amino acids using the AMBER ff99SB-ILDN force field with two popular water models, and compared the results with available experimental data. With TIP4P-Ew water, interactions between aliphatic residues agree well with experiment, but interactions of the polar residues serine and threonine are found to be excessively attractive. For all tested amino acids, the osmotic coefficients are lower when the TIP3P water model is used. Additional simulations performed on charged amino acids indicate that the osmotic coefficients are strongly dependent on the parameters assigned to the salt ions, with a reparameterization of the sodium:carboxylate interaction reported by the Aksimentiev group significantly improving description of the osmotic coefficient for glutamate. For five neutral amino acids, we also demonstrate a decrease in solute-solute attractions using the recently reported TIP4P-D water model and using the KBFF force field. Finally, we show that for four two-residue peptides improved agreement with experiment can be achieved by re-deriving the partial charges for each peptide. PMID:27052117

  6. Responses of neurons to extreme osmomechanical stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, X; Harris, J A; Morris, C E

    1995-05-01

    Neurons are often regarded as fragile cells, easily destroyed by mechanical and osmotic insult. The results presented here demonstrate that this perception needs revision. Using extreme osmotic swelling, we show that molluscan neurons are astonishingly robust. In distilled water, a heterogeneous population of Lymnaea stagnalis CNS neurons swelled to several times their initial volume, yet had a ST50 (survival time for 50% of cells) > 60 min. Cells that were initially bigger survived longer. On return to normal medium, survivors were able, over the next 24 hr, to rearborize. Reversible membrane capacitance changes corresponding to about 0.7 muF/cm2 of apparent surface area accompanied neuronal swelling and shrinking in hypo- and hyperosmotic solutions; reversible changes in cell surface area evidently contributed to the neurons' ability to accommodate hydrostatic pressures then recover. The reversible membrane area/capacitance changes were not dependent on extracellular Ca2+. Neurons were monitored for potassium currents during direct mechanical inflation and during osmotically driven inflation. The latter but not the former stimulus routinely elicited small potassium currents, suggesting that tension increases activate the currents only if additional disruption of the cortex has occurred. Under stress in distilled water, a third of the neurons displayed a quite unexpected behavior: prolonged writhing of peripheral regions of the soma. This suggested that a plasma membrane-linked contractile machinery (presumably actomyosin) might contribute to the neurons' mechano-osmotic robustness by restricting water influx. Consistent with this possibility, 1 mM N-ethyl-maleimide, which inhibits myosin ATPase, decreased the ST50 to 18 min, rendered the survival time independent of initial size, and abolished writhing activity. For neurons, active mechanical resistance of the submembranous cortex, along with the mechanical compliance supplied by insertion or eversion of membrane

  7. EXPRESSION OF CALCIUM-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE (CDPK GENES IN VITIS AMURENSIS UNDER ABIOTIC STRESS CONDITIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dubrovina A.S.

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abiotic stresses, such as extreme temperatures, soil salinity, or water deficit, are one of the major limiting factors of crop productivity worldwide. Examination of molecular and genetic mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance in plants is of great interest to plant biologists. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs, which are the most important Ca2+ sensors in plants, are known to play one of the key roles in plant adaptation to abiotic stress. CDPK is a multigene family of enzymes. Analysis of CDPK gene expression under various abiotic stress conditions would help identify those CDPKs that might play important roles in plant adaptation to abiotic stress. We focused on studying CDPK gene expression under osmotic, water deficit, and temperature stress conditions in a wild-growing grapevine Vitis amurensis Rurp., which is native to the Russian Far East and is known to possess high adaptive potential and high level of resistance against adverse environmental conditions. Healthy V. amurensis cuttings (excised young stems with one healthy leaf were used for the treatments. For the non-stress treatment, we placed the cuttings in distilled water for 12 h at room temperature. For the water-deficit stress, detached cuttings were laid on a paper towel for 12 h at room temperature. For osmotic stress treatments, the cuttings were placed in 0.4 М NaCl and 0.4 М mannitol solutions for 12 h at room temperature. To examine temperature stress tolerance, the V. amurensis cuttings were placed in a growth chamber at +10oC and +37oC for 12 h. The total expression of VaCDPK genes was examined by semiquantitative RT-PCR with degenerate primers designed to the CDPK kinase domain. The total level of CDPK gene expression increased under salt and decreased under low temperature stress conditions. We sequenced 300 clones of the amplified part of different CDPK transcripts obtained from the analyzed cDNA probes. Analysis of the cDNA sequences identified 8 different

  8. Design of robust hollow fiber membranes with high power density for osmotic energy production

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Sui

    2014-04-01

    This study highlights the design strategy of highly asymmetric hollow fiber membranes that possess both characteristics of high flux and high mechanical strength to effectively reap the osmotic energy from seawater brine with an ultrahigh power density. An advanced co-extrusion technology was employed to fabricate the polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber supports with diversified structures from macrovoid to sponge-like. The microstructure of the supports is found critical for the stability and water permeability of the thin film composite (TFC) membranes. A high porosity in the porous layer is needed to reduce internal concentration polarization, while a thick and relatively dense skin layer underneath the TFC layer is required to maintain good mechanical stability and stress dissipation. The pore size of the supporting layer underneath the TFC layer must be small with a narrow pore size distribution to ensure the formation of a less-defective, highly permeable and mechanically stable TFC layer. The newly developed hollow fiber comprising high asymmetry, high porosity, and a thick skin layer with a small and narrow pore size distribution underneath the TFC layer produces a maximum power density of 24.3W/m2 at 20.0bar by using 1M NaCl as the concentrated brine and deionized (DI) water as the feed. The proposed design strategy for ultrahigh power density membranes clearly advances the osmotic energy production close to commercialization with a quite cost-effective and practicable approach. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

  9. Design of robust hollow fiber membranes with high power density for osmotic energy production

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Sui; Sukitpaneenit, Panu; Chung, Neal Tai-Shung

    2014-01-01

    This study highlights the design strategy of highly asymmetric hollow fiber membranes that possess both characteristics of high flux and high mechanical strength to effectively reap the osmotic energy from seawater brine with an ultrahigh power density. An advanced co-extrusion technology was employed to fabricate the polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber supports with diversified structures from macrovoid to sponge-like. The microstructure of the supports is found critical for the stability and water permeability of the thin film composite (TFC) membranes. A high porosity in the porous layer is needed to reduce internal concentration polarization, while a thick and relatively dense skin layer underneath the TFC layer is required to maintain good mechanical stability and stress dissipation. The pore size of the supporting layer underneath the TFC layer must be small with a narrow pore size distribution to ensure the formation of a less-defective, highly permeable and mechanically stable TFC layer. The newly developed hollow fiber comprising high asymmetry, high porosity, and a thick skin layer with a small and narrow pore size distribution underneath the TFC layer produces a maximum power density of 24.3W/m2 at 20.0bar by using 1M NaCl as the concentrated brine and deionized (DI) water as the feed. The proposed design strategy for ultrahigh power density membranes clearly advances the osmotic energy production close to commercialization with a quite cost-effective and practicable approach. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

  10. A systems biology analysis of long and short-term memories of osmotic stress adaptation in fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    You Tao

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Saccharomyces cerevisiae senses hyperosmotic conditions via the HOG signaling network that activates the stress-activated protein kinase, Hog1, and modulates metabolic fluxes and gene expression to generate appropriate adaptive responses. The integral control mechanism by which Hog1 modulates glycerol production remains uncharacterized. An additional Hog1-independent mechanism retains intracellular glycerol for adaptation. Candida albicans also adapts to hyperosmolarity via a HOG signaling network. However, it remains unknown whether Hog1 exerts integral or proportional control over glycerol production in C. albicans. Results We combined modeling and experimental approaches to study osmotic stress responses in S. cerevisiae and C. albicans. We propose a simple ordinary differential equation (ODE model that highlights the integral control that Hog1 exerts over glycerol biosynthesis in these species. If integral control arises from a separation of time scales (i.e. rapid HOG activation of glycerol production capacity which decays slowly under hyperosmotic conditions, then the model predicts that glycerol production rates elevate upon adaptation to a first stress and this makes the cell adapts faster to a second hyperosmotic stress. It appears as if the cell is able to remember the stress history that is longer than the timescale of signal transduction. This is termed the long-term stress memory. Our experimental data verify this. Like S. cerevisiae, C. albicans mimimizes glycerol efflux during adaptation to hyperosmolarity. Also, transient activation of intermediate kinases in the HOG pathway results in a short-term memory in the signaling pathway. This determines the amplitude of Hog1 phosphorylation under a periodic sequence of stress and non-stressed intervals. Our model suggests that the long-term memory also affects the way a cell responds to periodic stress conditions. Hence, during osmohomeostasis, short-term memory is

  11. Combined osmotic dehydration and drying process of pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) fillets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, Mayara Galvão; da Silva Pena, Rosinelson

    2017-09-01

    The osmotic dehydration (OD) and complementary drying of pirarucu ( Arapaima gigas ) fillets were studied. Pieces of the dorsal portion of pirarucu (60 mm × 20 mm × 10 mm) underwent OD in a binary solution (NaCl-water) with the application of vacuum pulse following a central rotatable composite design. The effect of the following process variables was assessed: temperature (20-40 °C), osmotic solution concentration (15-25% NaCl), and vacuum pulse pressure (7-101 kPa) on water loss (WL), solid gain (SG), and water activity (a w ). OD kinetics was obtained and the Peleg model was fitted to WL and SG data. The osmotically dehydrated pirarucu was dried (40-70 °C) in a fixed-bed dryer and mathematical models were fitted to the drying data. The optimal operational condition for the OD process was 35 °C, solution with 25% NaCl, and atmospheric pressure, which yielded WL of 14.87 ± 1.46%, SG of 8.56 ± 0.45%, and a w of 0.87 ± 0.02. The Peleg model efficiently predicted the WL and SG kinetics. The increase in the water loss in drying was more evident at low temperatures (40-50 °C) with effective diffusivity ranging from 10.85 × 10 -9 to 12.30 × 10 -9 m 2 /s. The Midilli and Page models efficiently predicted the drying kinetics.

  12. Water Stress in Global Transboundary River Basins: Significance of Upstream Water Use on Downstream Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munia, H.; Guillaume, J. H. A.; Mirumachi, N.; Porkka,M.; Wada, Yoshihide; Kummu, M.

    2016-01-01

    Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins. While the impacts of upstream water use on downstream water availability have been analyzed in many of these international river basins, this has not been systematically done at the global scale using coherent and comparable datasets. In this study, we aim to assess the change in downstream water stress due to upstream water use in the world's transboundary river basins. Water stress was first calculated considering only local water use of each sub-basin based on country-basin mesh, then compared with the situation when upstream water use was subtracted from downstream water availability. Wefound that water stress was generally already high when considering only local water use, affecting 0.95-1.44 billion people or 33%-51% of the population in transboundary river basins. After accounting for upstream water use, stress level increased by at least 1 percentage-point for 30-65 sub-basins, affecting 0.29-1.13 billion people. Altogether 288 out of 298 middle-stream and downstream sub-basin areas experienced some change in stress level. Further, we assessed whether there is a link between increased water stress due to upstream water use and the number of conflictive and cooperative events in the transboundary river basins, as captured by two prominent databases. No direct relationship was found. This supports the argument that conflicts and cooperation events originate from a combination of different drivers, among which upstream-induced water stress may play a role. Our findings contribute to better understanding of upstream-downstream dynamics in water stress to help address water allocation problems.

  13. Maize water status and physiological traits as affected by root endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica under combined drought and mechanical stresses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosseini, Fatemeh; Mosaddeghi, Mohammad Reza; Dexter, Anthony Roger; Sepehri, Mozhgan

    2018-05-01

    Under combined drought and mechanical stresses, mechanical stress primarily controlled physiological responses of maize. Piriformospora indica mitigated the adverse effects of stresses, and inoculated maize experienced less oxidative damage and had better adaptation to stressful conditions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of maize root colonization by an endophytic fungus P. indica on plant water status, physiological traits and root morphology under combined drought and mechanical stresses. Seedlings of inoculated and non-inoculated maize (Zea mays L., cv. single cross 704) were cultivated in growth chambers filled with moistened siliceous sand at a matric suction of 20 hPa. Drought stress was induced using PEG 6000 solution with osmotic potentials of 0, - 0.3 and - 0.5 MPa. Mechanical stress (i.e., penetration resistances of 1.05, 4.23 and 6.34 MPa) was exerted by placing weights on the surface of the sand medium. After 30 days, leaf water potential (LWP) and relative water content (RWC), root and shoot fresh weights, root volume (RV) and diameter (RD), leaf proline content, leaf area (LA) and catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities were measured. The results show that exposure to individual drought and mechanical stresses led to higher RD and proline content and lower plant biomass, RV and LA. Moreover, increasing drought and mechanical stress severity increased APX activity by about 1.9- and 3.1-fold compared with the control. When plants were exposed to combined stresses, mechanical stress played the dominant role in controlling plant responses. P. indica-inoculated plants are better adapted to individual and combined stresses. The inoculated plants had greater RV, LA, RWC, LWP and proline content under stressful conditions. In comparison with non-inoculated plants, inoculated plants showed lower CAT and APX activities which means that they experienced less oxidative stress induced by stressful conditions.

  14. The Effects of water and salt stresses on germination in two bread ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    use

    2011-12-05

    Dec 5, 2011 ... soluble salts in soil leads to an increase in osmotic pressure of the soil solution, which may limit the absorption of water by the seeds or plant roots. Salt damage to plants is attributed to reduction in water availability, toxicity or specific ions, and nutritional imbalance caused by such ions (James et al., 2006).

  15. Lack of Methylated Hopanoids Renders the Cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme Sensitive to Osmotic and pH Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garby, Tamsyn J; Matys, Emily D; Ongley, Sarah E; Salih, Anya; Larkum, Anthony W D; Walter, Malcolm R; Summons, Roger E; Neilan, Brett A

    2017-07-01

    To investigate the function of 2-methylhopanoids in modern cyanobacteria, the hpnP gene coding for the radical S -adenosyl methionine (SAM) methylase protein that acts on the C-2 position of hopanoids was deleted from the filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133S. The resulting Δ hpnP mutant lacked all 2-methylhopanoids but was found to produce much higher levels of two bacteriohopanepentol isomers than the wild type. Growth rates of the Δ hpnP mutant cultures were not significantly different from those of the wild type under standard growth conditions. Akinete formation was also not impeded by the absence of 2-methylhopanoids. The relative abundances of the different hopanoid structures in akinete-dominated cultures of the wild-type and Δ hpnP mutant strains were similar to those of vegetative cell-dominated cultures. However, the Δ hpnP mutant was found to have decreased growth rates under both pH and osmotic stress, confirming a role for 2-methylhopanoids in stress tolerance. Evidence of elevated photosystem II yield and NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoreductase activity in the Δ hpnP mutant under stress conditions, compared to the wild type, suggested that the absence of 2-methylhopanoids increases cellular metabolic rates under stress conditions. IMPORTANCE As the first group of organisms to develop oxygenic photosynthesis, Cyanobacteria are central to the evolutionary history of life on Earth and the subsequent oxygenation of the atmosphere. To investigate the origin of cyanobacteria and the emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis, geobiologists use biomarkers, the remnants of lipids produced by different organisms that are found in geologic sediments. 2-Methylhopanes have been considered indicative of cyanobacteria in some environmental settings, with the parent lipids 2-methylhopanoids being present in many contemporary cyanobacteria. We have created a Nostoc punctiforme Δ hpnP mutant strain that does not produce 2-methylhopanoids to assess the

  16. Design and development of controlled porosity osmotic tablet of diltiazem hydrochloride

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadhana R Shahi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The present work aims towards the design and development of extended release formulation of freely water-soluble drug diltiazem hydrochloride (DLTZ based on osmotic technology by using controlled porosity approach. DLTZ is an ideal candidate for a zero-order drug delivery system because it is freely water-soluble and has a short half-life (2-3 h. Sodium chloride (Osmogen was added to the core tablet to alter the solubility of DLTZ in an aqueous medium. Cellulose acetate (CA and sorbitol were used as semipermeable membrane and pore former, respectively. The effect of different formulation variables namely concentration of osmogen in the core tablet, % pore former, % weight gain, pH of the dissolution medium and agitation intensity on the in vitro release was studied. DLTZ release was directly proportional to % pore former and inversely proportional to % weight gain. The optimized formulation (F8 delivered DLTZ independent of pH and agitation intensity for 12 h at the upper level concentration of % pore former (25% w/w and middle level concentration of % weight gain (6% w/w. The comparative study of elementary osmotic pump (EOP and controlled porosity osmotic pump revealed that it superior than conventional EOP and also easier and cost effective to formulate.

  17. Water harvesting from municipal wastewater via osmotic gradient: An evaluation of process performance

    KAUST Repository

    Valladares Linares, Rodrigo; Li, Zhenyu; Abu-Ghdaib, Muhannad; Wei, Chunhai; Amy, Gary L.; Vrouwenvelder, Johannes S.

    2013-01-01

    Forward osmosis (FO) presents a unique opportunity for integrated wastewater treatment and seawater desalination. This study assesses the efficiency of a submerged FO system to reduce the volume of wastewater that needs to be treated while recovering high quality water that can be further treated for sustainable fresh water production. A semi-batch operation was employed with two membrane orientations in terms of active and support layers. A change of membrane orientation could improve the flux and slightly reduce the salt leakage from the draw solution to the feed solution. The formation of fouling on the membrane resulted in a decrease of the initial flux and average flux with both membrane orientations. The fouling layer on the membrane surface was determined to be caused by biopolymer-like substances. Osmotic backwash removed almost all organic foulants from the membrane surface, but did not improve the flux. There was a moderate to high retention of nutrients (N and P), varying from 56% to 99%, and almost a complete retention for trace metals regardless of membrane orientation. However the membrane showed a limited ability to retain low molecular weight acids and low molecular weight neutral compounds. This study identified a possible role of the FO process to integrate wastewater treatment and seawater desalination for a sustainable solution of the water-energy nexus for coastal cities. © 2013 Elsevier B.V..

  18. Water harvesting from municipal wastewater via osmotic gradient: An evaluation of process performance

    KAUST Repository

    Valladares Linares, Rodrigo

    2013-11-01

    Forward osmosis (FO) presents a unique opportunity for integrated wastewater treatment and seawater desalination. This study assesses the efficiency of a submerged FO system to reduce the volume of wastewater that needs to be treated while recovering high quality water that can be further treated for sustainable fresh water production. A semi-batch operation was employed with two membrane orientations in terms of active and support layers. A change of membrane orientation could improve the flux and slightly reduce the salt leakage from the draw solution to the feed solution. The formation of fouling on the membrane resulted in a decrease of the initial flux and average flux with both membrane orientations. The fouling layer on the membrane surface was determined to be caused by biopolymer-like substances. Osmotic backwash removed almost all organic foulants from the membrane surface, but did not improve the flux. There was a moderate to high retention of nutrients (N and P), varying from 56% to 99%, and almost a complete retention for trace metals regardless of membrane orientation. However the membrane showed a limited ability to retain low molecular weight acids and low molecular weight neutral compounds. This study identified a possible role of the FO process to integrate wastewater treatment and seawater desalination for a sustainable solution of the water-energy nexus for coastal cities. © 2013 Elsevier B.V..

  19. Physiological response of Cucurbita pepo var. pepo mycorrhized by Sonoran desert native arbuscular fungi to drought and salinity stresses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Citlalli Harris-Valle

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Plants response to symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF under water stress is important to agriculture. Under abiotic stress conditions native fungi are more effective than exotics in improving plant growth and water status. Mycorrhization efficiency is related to soil fungi development and energy cost-benefit ratio. In this study, we assessed the effect on growth, water status and energy metabolism of Cucurbita pepo var. pepo when inoculated with native AMF from the Sonoran desert Mexico (mixed isolate and field consortium, and compared with an exotic species from a temperate region, under drought, low and high salinity conditions. Dry weights, leaf water content, water and osmotic potentials, construction costs, photochemistry and mycorrhization features were quantified. Under drought and low salinity conditions, the mixed isolate increased plant growth and leaf water content. Leaf water potential was increased only by the field consortium under drought conditions (0.5-0.9 MPa. Under high salinity, the field consortium increased aerial dry weight (more than 1 g and osmotic potential (0.54 MPa, as compared to non-mycorrhized controls. Plants inoculated with native AMF, which supposedly diminish the effects of stress, exhibited low construction costs, increased photochemical capacity, and grew larger external mycelia in comparison to the exotic inoculum.

  20. Phytohormone profiling in relation to osmotic adjustment in NaCl-treated plants of the halophyte tomato wild relative species Solanum chilense comparatively to the cultivated glycophyte Solanum lycopersicum

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Gharbi, E.; Martínez, J. L.; Benahmed, H.; Hichri, I.; Dobrev, Petre; Motyka, Václav; Quineta, M.; Lutts, S.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 258, MAY (2017), s. 77-89 ISSN 0168-9452 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA16-14649S Institutional support: RVO:61389030 Keywords : antioxidant enzyme-activities * improves salinity tolerance * enhances salt tolerance * abscisic-acid * water-stress * na+-exclusion * accumulation * ethylene * growth * arabidopsis * Osmotic adjustment * Halophyte * Salinity * Solanum chilense * Hormone * Tomato Subject RIV: EF - Botanics OBOR OECD: Plant sciences, botany Impact factor: 3.437, year: 2016

  1. Underground water stress release models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yong; Dang, Shenjun; Lü, Shaochuan

    2011-08-01

    The accumulation of tectonic stress may cause earthquakes at some epochs. However, in most cases, it leads to crustal deformations. Underground water level is a sensitive indication of the crustal deformations. We incorporate the information of the underground water level into the stress release models (SRM), and obtain the underground water stress release model (USRM). We apply USRM to the earthquakes occurred at Tangshan region. The analysis shows that the underground water stress release model outperforms both Poisson model and stress release model. Monte Carlo simulation shows that the simulated seismicity by USRM is very close to the real seismicity.

  2. Genetically engineered Rice with transcription factor DREB genes for abiotic stress tolerance(abstract)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Datta, S.K.; Datta, K.

    2005-01-01

    Water stress (drought and Salinity) is the most severe limitation to rice productivity. Several breeding approaches (MAS, QTL) applied to suitable genotypes are in place at IRRI and elsewhere. Phenotyping of water stress tolerance is in progress with potential predictability. Dr. Shinozaki's group has cloned a number of transcription factor genes, which have been shown to work in Arabidopsis to achieve drought, cold, and salinity tolerant plants. None of these genes have as yet displayed their potential functioning in rice. Genetic engineering aims at cross talk between different stress signaling pathways leading to stress tolerance. Osmotic Adjustment (OA) is an effective component of abiotic stress (drought and salinity) tolerance in many plants including rice. When plant experiences water stress, OA contributes to turgor maintenance of both shoots and roots. Conventional breeding could not achieve the OA in rice excepting a few rice cultivars, which are partially adapted to water-stress conditions. Several stress-related genes have now been cloned and transferred in to enhance the osmolytes and some transgenic lines showed increased tolerance to osmotic stress. A few strategies could be effectively deployed for a better understanding of water-stress tolerance in rice and to develop transgenic rice, which can survive for a critical period of water-stress conditions: 1) Switching on of transcription factor regulating the expression of several genes related to abiotic stress, 2) Use of a suitable stress inducible promoter driving the target gene for an efficient and directed expression in plants, 3) Understanding of phenotyping and GxE in a given environment, 4) Selection of a few adaptive rice cultivars suitable in drought/salinity prone areas, 5) Microarray, proteomics, QTL and MAS may expedite the cloning and characterizing the stress induced genes, and 6) Finally, the efficient transformation system for generating a large number of transgenic rice of different

  3. Efficiency of osmotic pipe flows

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haaning, Louise Sejling; Jensen, Kaare Hartvig; Helix Nielsen, Claus

    2013-01-01

    efficiency of these flows is limited by the presence of “unstirred” concentration boundary layers near the tube walls, and our primary aim is to understand and quantify these layers and their effect on the flow. We measure the outlet flow rate Qout while varying the inlet flow rate Q*, concentration c......We present experiments and theory for flows of sugar or salt solutions in cylindrical tubes with semipermeable walls (hollow fiber membranes) immersed in water, quantifying the strength of the osmotic driving force in relation to the dimensionless parameters that specify the system. The pumping...

  4. Studies of osmotic diarrhea induced in normal subjects by ingestion of polyethylene glycol and lactulose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammer, H F; Santa Ana, C A; Schiller, L R; Fordtran, J S

    1989-10-01

    The purpose of these studies was to gain insight into the pathophysiology of pure osmotic diarrhea and the osmotic diarrhea caused by carbohydrate malabsorption. Diarrhea was induced in normal volunteers by ingestion of polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is nonabsorbable, not metabolized by colonic bacteria, and carries no electrical charge. In PEG-induced diarrhea, (a) stool weight was directly correlated with the total mass of PEG ingested; (b) PEG contributed 40-60% of the osmolality of the fecal fluid, the remainder being contributed by other solutes either of dietary, endogenous, or bacterial origin; and (c) fecal sodium, potassium, and chloride were avidly conserved by the intestine, in spite of stool water losses exceeding 1,200 g/d. Diarrhea was also induced in normal subjects by ingestion of lactulose, a disaccharide that is not absorbed by the small intestine but is metabolized by colonic bacteria. In lactulose-induced diarrhea, (a) a maximum of approximate 80 g/d of lactulose was metabolized by colonic bacteria to noncarbohydrate moieties such as organic acids; (b) the organic acids were partially absorbed in the colon; (c) unabsorbed organic acids obligated the accumulation of inorganic cations (Na greater than Ca greater than K greater than Mg) in the diarrheal fluid; (d) diarrhea associated with low doses of lactulose was mainly due to unabsorbed organic acids and associated cations, whereas with larger doses of lactulose unmetabolized carbohydrates also played a major role; and (e) the net effect of bacterial metabolism of lactulose and partial absorption of organic acids on stool water output was done dependent. With low or moderate doses of lactulose, stool water losses were reduced by as much as 600 g/d (compared with equimolar osmotic loads of PEG); with large dose, the increment in osmotically active solutes within the lumen exceeded the increment of the ingested osmotic load, and the severity of diarrhea was augmented.

  5. Approximate Mathematical Modeling of Osmotic Dehydration of Cone-Shaped Fruits and Vegetables in Hypertonic Solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Sirousazar

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Water loss kinetics in osmotic dehydration of cone-shaped fruits and vegetables was modeled on the basis of diffusion mechanism, using the Fick’s second law. The model was developed by taking into account the influences of the fruit geometrical characteristics, initial water content of fruit, water diffusion coefficient in fruit, and the water concentration in hypertonic solution. Based on the obtained model, it was shown that the water diffusion coefficient and the initial water concentration of fruit have direct effects on the dehydration rate and also inverse influence on the dehydration duration. The geometrical parameters of fruit and water concentration in hypertonic solution showed direct effect on the dehydration duration as well as inverse effect on the dehydration rate. The presented model seems to be useful tool to predict the dehydration kinetics of cone-shaped fruit during osmotic dehydration process and to optimize the process prior to perform the experiments.

  6. A bHLH gene from Tamarix hispida improves abiotic stress tolerance by enhancing osmotic potential and decreasing reactive oxygen species accumulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Xiaoyu; Nie, Xianguang; Liu, Yujia; Zheng, Lei; Zhao, Huimin; Zhang, Bing; Huo, Lin; Wang, Yucheng

    2016-02-01

    Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) leucine-zipper transcription factors play important roles in abiotic stress responses. However, their specific roles in abiotic stress tolerance are not fully known. Here, we functionally characterized a bHLH gene, ThbHLH1, from Tamarix hispida in abiotic stress tolerance. ThbHLH1 specifically binds to G-box motif with the sequence of 'CACGTG'. Transiently transfected T. hispida plantlets with transiently overexpressed ThbHLH1 and RNAi-silenced ThbHLH1 were generated for gain- and loss-of-function analysis. Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana lines overexpressing ThbHLH1 were generated to confirm the gain- and loss-of-function analysis. Overexpression of ThbHLH1 significantly elevates glycine betaine and proline levels, increases Ca(2+) concentration and enhances peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities to decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Additionally, ThbHLH1 regulates the expression of the genes including P5CS, BADH, CaM, POD and SOD, to activate the above physiological changes, and also induces the expression of stress tolerance-related genes LEAs and HSPs. These data suggest that ThbHLH1 induces the expression of stress tolerance-related genes to improve abiotic stress tolerance by increasing osmotic potential, improving ROS scavenging capability and enhancing second messenger in stress signaling cascades. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Effect of pore structure on chemico-osmotic, diffusion and hydraulic properties of mud-stones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takeda, M.; Manaka, M.; Ito, K.; Miyoshi, S.; Tokunaga, T.

    2012-01-01

    Document available in extended abstract form only. An in-situ experiment by Neuzil (2000) has obtained the substantial proof of chemical osmosis in natural clayey formation. Chemical osmosis in clayey formations has thus received attention in recent years in the context of geological disposal of radioactive waste. Chemical osmosis is the diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane driven by the difference of chemical potentials between solutions to compensate the difference of water potentials, increasing the other potential differences, such as the pressure difference. Accordingly, the chemical osmosis could generate localized, abnormal fluid pressures in geological formations where formation media act as semi-permeable membranes and groundwater salinity is not uniform. Without taking account of the chemical osmosis, groundwater flow modeling may mislead the prediction of the groundwater flow direction. Therefore the possibility of chemical osmosis needs to be identified for potential host formations for radioactive waste repositories. The chemico-osmotic property of formation media is an essential parameter to identify the possibility of chemical osmosis in the formation; however, the diffusion and hydraulic properties are also fundamental parameters to estimate the duration of chemical osmosis since they control the spatial variation of salinity and the dissipation of osmotically induced pressures. In order to obtain the chemico-osmotic, diffusion and hydraulic parameters from a rock sample, this study developed a laboratory experimental system capable of performing chemical osmosis and permeability experiments. A series of experiments were performed on mud-stones. The chemico-osmotic parameter of each rock sample was further interpreted by the osmotic efficiency model proposed by Bresler (1973) to examine the pore structure inherent in rocks. Diatomaceous and siliceous mud-stone samples were obtained from drill cores taken from the Koetoi and Wakkanai

  8. Oscillatory phase separation in giant lipid vesicles induced by transmembrane osmotic differentials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oglęcka, Kamila; Rangamani, Padmini; Liedberg, Bo; Kraut, Rachel S; Parikh, Atul N

    2014-01-01

    Giant lipid vesicles are closed compartments consisting of semi-permeable shells, which isolate femto- to pico-liter quantities of aqueous core from the bulk. Although water permeates readily across vesicular walls, passive permeation of solutes is hindered. In this study, we show that, when subject to a hypotonic bath, giant vesicles consisting of phase separating lipid mixtures undergo osmotic relaxation exhibiting damped oscillations in phase behavior, which is synchronized with swell–burst lytic cycles: in the swelled state, osmotic pressure and elevated membrane tension due to the influx of water promote domain formation. During bursting, solute leakage through transient pores relaxes the pressure and tension, replacing the domain texture by a uniform one. This isothermal phase transition—resulting from a well-coordinated sequence of mechanochemical events—suggests a complex emergent behavior allowing synthetic vesicles produced from simple components, namely, water, osmolytes, and lipids to sense and regulate their micro-environment. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03695.001 PMID:25318069

  9. Optimisation of ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration of sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) using response surface methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oladejo, Ayobami Olayemi; Ma, Haile

    2016-08-01

    Sweet potato is a highly nutritious tuber crop that is rich in β-carotene. Osmotic dehydration is a pretreatment method for drying of fruit and vegetables. Recently, ultrasound technology has been applied in food processing because of its numerous advantages which include time saving, little damage to the quality of the food. Thus, there is need to investigate and optimise the process parameters [frequency (20-50 kHz), time (10-30 min) and sucrose concentration (20-60% w/v)] for ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration of sweet potato using response surface methodology. The optimised values obtained were frequency of 33.93 kHz, time of 30 min and sucrose concentration of 35.69% (w/v) to give predicted values of 21.62, 4.40 and 17.23% for water loss, solid gain and weight reduction, respectively. The water loss and weight reduction increased when the ultrasound frequency increased from 20 to 35 kHz and then decreased as the frequency increased from 35 to 50 kHz. The results from this work show that low ultrasound frequency favours the osmotic dehydration of sweet potato and also reduces the use of raw material (sucrose) needed for the osmotic dehydration of sweet potato. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  10. Plants in water-controlled ecosystems: active role in hydrologic processes and response to water stress. III. Vegetation water stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porporato, A.; Laio, F.; Ridolfi, L.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.

    The reduction of soil moisture content during droughts lowers the plant water potential and decreases transpiration; this in turn causes a reduction of cell turgor and relative water content which brings about a sequence of damages of increasing seriousness. A review of the literature on plant physiology and water stress shows that vegetation water stress can be assumed to start at the soil moisture level corresponding to incipient stomatal closure and reach a maximum intensity at the wilting point. The mean crossing properties of these soil moisture levels crucial for water stress are derived analytically for the stochastic model of soil moisture dynamics described in Part II (F. Laio, A. Porporato, L. Ridolfi, I. Rodriguez-Iturbe. Adv. Water Res. 24 (7) (2001) 707-723). These properties are then used to propose a measure of vegetation water stress which combines the mean intensity, duration, and frequency of periods of soil water deficit. The characteristics of vegetation water stress are then studied under different climatic conditions, showing how the interplay between plant, soil, and environment can lead to optimal conditions for vegetation.

  11. Growth and microtubule orientation of Zea mays roots subjected to osmotic stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blancaflor, E. B.; Hasenstein, K. H.

    1995-01-01

    Previous work has shown that microtubule (MT) reorientation follows the onset of growth inhibition on the lower side of graviresponding roots, indicating that growth reduction can occur independently of MT reorientation. To test this observation further, we examined whether the reduction in growth in response to osmotic stress is correlated with MT reorientation. The distribution and rate of growth in maize roots exposed to 350 mOsm sorbitol and KCl or 5 mM Mes/Tris buffer were measured with a digitizer. After various times roots were processed for indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Application of sorbitol or KCl had no effect on the organization of MTs in the apical 2 mm of the root but resulted in striking and different effects in the basal region of the root. Sorbitol treatment caused rapid appearance of oval to circular holes in the microtubular array that persisted for at least 9 h. Between 30 min and 4 h of submersion in KCl, MTs in cortical cells 4 mm and farther from the quiescent center began to reorient oblique to the longitudinal axis. After 9 h, the alignment of MTs had shifted to parallel to the root axis but MTs of the epidermal cells remained transverse. In KCl-treated roots MT reorientation appeared to follow a pattern of development similar to that in controls but without elongation. Our data provide additional evidence that MT reorientation is not the cause but a consequence of growth inhibition.

  12. Direct measurement of osmotic pressure of glycosaminoglycan solutions by membrane osmometry at room temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chahine, Nadeen O; Chen, Faye H; Hung, Clark T; Ateshian, Gerard A

    2005-09-01

    Articular cartilage is a hydrated soft tissue composed of negatively charged proteoglycans fixed within a collagen matrix. This charge gradient causes the tissue to imbibe water and swell, creating a net osmotic pressure that enhances the tissue's ability to bear load. In this study we designed and utilized an apparatus for directly measuring the osmotic pressure of chondroitin sulfate, the primary glycosaminoglycan found in articular cartilage, in solution with varying bathing ionic strength (0.015 M, 0.15 M, 0.5 M, 1 M, and 2 M NaCl) at room temperature. The osmotic pressure (pi) was found to increase nonlinearly with increasing chondroitin sulfate concentration and decreasing NaCl ionic bath environment. Above 1 M NaCl, pi changes negligibly with further increases in salt concentration, suggesting that Donnan osmotic pressure is negligible above this threshold, and the resulting pressure is attributed to configurational entropy. Results of the current study were also used to estimate the contribution of osmotic pressure to the stiffness of cartilage based on theoretical and experimental considerations. Our findings indicate that the osmotic pressure resulting from configurational entropy is much smaller in cartilage (based on an earlier study on bovine articular cartilage) than in free solution. The rate of change of osmotic pressure with compressive strain is found to contribute approximately one-third of the compressive modulus (H(A)(eff)) of cartilage (Pi approximately H(A)(eff)/3), with the balance contributed by the intrinsic structural modulus of the solid matrix (i.e., H(A) approximately 2H(A)(eff)/3). A strong dependence of this intrinsic modulus on salt concentration was found; therefore, it appears that proteoglycans contribute structurally to the magnitude of H(A), in a manner independent of osmotic pressure.

  13. Recycling of osmotic solutions in microwave-osmotic dehydration: product quality and potential for creation of a novel product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wray, Derek; Ramaswamy, Hosahalli S

    2016-08-01

    Despite osmotic dehydration being a cost effective process for moisture removal, the cost implications of making, regenerating, and properly disposing of the spent osmotic solutions contributes greatly to the economic feasibility of the drying operation. The potential for recycling of osmotic solutions and their use for creation of a novel product was explored using microwave-osmotic dehydration under continuous flow spray (MWODS) conditions. Identical runs were repeated 10 times to determine the progressive physical and compositional effects of the thermal treatment and leaching from the cranberry samples. The microbiological stability and constant drying performance indicated that MWODS would be well suited for employing recycled solutions. While the anthocyanin content of the solution never approached that of cranberry juice concentrate, it is demonstrated that the spent syrup can infuse these health positive components into another product (apple). This study found that re-using osmotic solutions is a viable option to reduce cost in future MWODS applications, with no detriment to product quality and potential to use the spent solution for novel products. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  14. Osmotic heat engine using thermally responsive ionic liquids

    KAUST Repository

    Zhong, Yujiang

    2017-07-11

    The osmotic heat engine (OHE) is a promising technology for converting low grade heat to electricity. Most of the existing studies have focused on thermolytic salt systems. Herein, for the first time, we proposed to use thermally responsive ionic liquids (TRIL) that have either an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) or lower critical solution temperature (LCST) type of phase behavior as novel thermolytic osmotic agents. Closed-loop TRIL-OHEs were designed based on these unique phase behaviors to convert low grade heat to work or electricity. Experimental studies using two UCST-type TRILs, protonated betaine bis(trifluoromethyl sulfonyl)imide ([Hbet][Tf2N]) and choline bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Choline][Tf2N]) showed that (1) the specific energy of the TRIL-OHE system could reach as high as 4.0 times that of the seawater and river water system, (2) the power density measured from a commercial FO membrane reached up to 2.3 W/m2, and (3) the overall energy efficiency reached up to 2.6% or 18% of the Carnot efficiency at no heat recovery and up to 10.5% or 71% of the Carnet efficiency at 70% heat recovery. All of these results clearly demonstrated the great potential of using TRILs as novel osmotic agents to design high efficient OHEs for recovery of low grade thermal energy to work or electricity.

  15. Osmotic properties of sulfobutylether and hydroxypropyl cyclodextrins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zannou, E A; Streng, W H; Stella, V J

    2001-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the osmolality of sulfobutylether (SBE) and hydroxypropyl (HP) derivatives of cyclodextrins (CDs) via vapor pressure osmometry (VPO) and freezing point depression (FPD). (SBE) and HP-CDs are efficient excipients capable of solubilizing and stabilizing poorly water-soluble drugs in parenteral formulations. (SBE)-CDs have also been used as solubility enhancers and osmotic agents for the sustained release of poorly water-soluble drugs from osmotic pump tablets. The knowledge of the CD's osmolality in solution or inside such tablets would allow one to further characterize the release mechanisms. Experiments were conducted at 37 degrees C with eight types of HP and (SBE)-CDs. The aqueous solutions ranged from 0.005-0.350 mol(-1). Methods were developed to allow the measurement of high osmolalities using a vapor pressure osmometer or a differential scanning calorimeter. The osmolality calculations from the VPO and FPD measurements correlated well. The osmolality of (SBE)-CDs was significantly higher than the osmolality of HP-CDs and increased with the total degree of substitution (TDS). All CDs showed deviations from ideality at high concentrations. Empirical correlations of osmolality with concentration and TDS allowed the prediction of osmolality over a wide concentration range. This study also gave some useful insights into the behavior of CD derivatives in solution.

  16. Influence of static magnetic fields in phototaxis and osmotic stress in Gymnodinium catenatum (Dinophyceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vale, Paulo

    2017-07-01

    Phototaxis response of the toxic microalgae Gymnodinium catenatum was studied in vitro. The percentage of cells remaining at mid-depth 20 min after stirring increased with solar radio, X-ray and solar flares output. It also increased with geomagnetic activity and temperature, and was dependent on culture time. Increase in the local static magnetic field with a permanent magnet did not influence the positive phototaxis response. However, survival and growth to a provoked hypo-osmotic shock in an altered static magnetic field was dependent on culture time and geomagnetic activity at a threshold below 22 nT. The results from phototaxis and hypo-osmotic shock experiments were in line with the previous hypothesis for the existence of two separate deleterious mechanisms conditioning the natural blooms of G. catenatum: one that is dependent on solar radiation and the other that is related to geomagnetic activity. Variations in electromagnetic fields caused by tectonic activity were also capable of influencing G. catenatum phototaxis and growth response in vitro.

  17. ABA signaling in stress-response and seed development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakashima, Kazuo; Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, Kazuko

    2013-07-01

    KEY MESSAGE : We review the recent progress on ABA signaling, especially ABA signaling for ABA-dependent gene expression, including the AREB/ABF regulon, SnRK2 protein kinase, 2C-type protein phosphatases and ABA receptors. Drought negatively impacts plant growth and the productivity of crops. Drought causes osmotic stress to organisms, and the osmotic stress causes dehydration in plant cells. Abscisic acid (ABA) is produced under osmotic stress conditions, and it plays an important role in the stress response and tolerance of plants. ABA regulates many genes under osmotic stress conditions. It also regulates gene expression during seed development and germination. The ABA-responsive element (ABRE) is the major cis-element for ABA-responsive gene expression. ABRE-binding protein (AREB)/ABRE-binding factor (ABF) transcription factors (TFs) regulate ABRE-dependent gene expression. Other TFs are also involved in ABA-responsive gene expression. SNF1-related protein kinases 2 are the key regulators of ABA signaling including the AREB/ABF regulon. Recently, ABA receptors and group A 2C-type protein phosphatases were shown to govern the ABA signaling pathway. Moreover, recent studies have suggested that there are interactions between the major ABA signaling pathway and other signaling factors in stress-response and seed development. The control of the expression of ABA signaling factors may improve tolerance to environmental stresses.

  18. WATER AND SODIUM CHLORIDE EFFECTS ON Mimosa Tenuiflora (WILLD. POIRET SEED GERMINATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivonete Alves Bakke

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Water shortage and saline soils of the Brazilian semi-arid northeastern region are limiting factors to the development of many plants. Jurema preta (Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd. Poiret is a small, multiple use tree that abundantly colonizes unfavorable sites, including environments with severe water stress. This work had the objective of investigating the tolerance of jurema preta seeds to water and salt stresses during germination. Seeds germination in polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000 and sodium chloride (NaCl solutions was analyzed under five different osmotic potentials (0.0; -0.3, -0.6, -0.9 and -1.2MPa, in order to simulate water and salt stress, respectively, in four 100-seed replications for each treatment. Seeds were placed into 10cmx10cmx4cm boxes, and germination accomplished in BOD germinator adjusted to 30oC. The number of germinated seeds was monitored every 24 hours, and percentage and speed of seed germination were generated from these data. Mean percentage germination in the control treatment was ~95%, reducing to 63-53% at -0.9 to -1.2-MPa PEG solutions, and to 27- 9.5% at NaCl solutions at equivalent osmotic potentials. Velocity of germination index was more affected, and decreased up to 1/8 of the control, at -0.6 MPa. Jurema preta seeds showed lower tolerance to NaCl than to water stress, and this species can be classified as a glycophyte.

  19. Genome-wide analysis of the HD-ZIP IV transcription factor family in Gossypium arboreum and GaHDG11 involved in osmotic tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Eryong; Zhang, Xueyan; Yang, Zhaoen; Wang, Xiaoqian; Yang, Zuoren; Zhang, Chaojun; Wu, Zhixia; Kong, Depei; Liu, Zhao; Zhao, Ge; Butt, Hamama Islam; Zhang, Xianlong; Li, Fuguang

    2017-06-01

    HD-ZIP IV proteins belong to the homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-ZIP) transcription factor family and are involved in trichome development and drought stress in plants. Although some functions of the HD-ZIP IV group are well understood in Arabidopsis, little is known about their function in cotton. In this study, HD-ZIP genes were identified from three Gossypium species (G. arboreum, G. raimondii and G. hirsutum) and clustered into four families (HD-ZIP I, II, III and IV) to separate HD-ZIP IV from the other three families. Systematic analyses of phylogeny, gene structure, conserved domains, and expression profiles in different plant tissues and the expression patterns under osmotic stress in leaves were further conducted in G. arboreum. More importantly, ectopic overexpression of GaHDG11, a representative of the HD-ZIP IV family, confers enhanced osmotic tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis plants, possibly due to elongated primary root length, lower water loss rates, high osmoprotectant proline levels, significant levels of antioxidants CAT, and/or SOD enzyme activity with reduced levels of MDA. Taken together, these observations may lay the foundation for future functional analysis of cotton HD-ZIP IV genes to unravel their biological roles in cotton.

  20. Water potential in soil and Atriplex nummularia (phytoremediator halophyte) under drought and salt stresses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Melo, Hidelblandi Farias; de Souza, Edivan Rodrigues; de Almeida, Brivaldo Gomes; Mulas, Maurizio

    2018-02-23

    Atriplex nummularia is a halophyte widely employed to recover saline soils and was used as a model to evaluate the water potentials in the soil-plant system under drought and salt stresses. Potted plants grown under 70 and 37% of field capacity irrigated with solutions of NaCl and of a mixture of NaCl, KCl, MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 reproducing six electrical conductivity (EC): 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 dS m -1 . After 100 days, total water (Ψ w, plant ) and osmotic (Ψ o, plant ) potentials at predawn and midday and Ψ o, soil , matric potential (Ψ m, soil ) and Ψ w, soil were determined. The type of ion in the irrigation water did not influence the soil potential, but was altered by EC. The soil Ψ o component was the largest contributor to Ψ w, soil . Atriplex is surviving ECs close to 40 dS m -1 due to the decrease in the Ψ w . The plants reached a Ψ w of approximately -8 MPa. The water potentials determined for different moisture levels, EC levels and salt types showed huge importance for the management of this species in semiarid regions and can be used to recover salt affected soils.

  1. A comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals the core genetic components of salt and osmotic stress responses in Braya humilis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengshan Zhao

    Full Text Available Braya humilis is a member of the Euclidieae tribe within the family Brassicaceae. This species exhibits a broad range of adaptations to different climatic zones and latitudes as it has a distribution that ranges from northern Asia to the arctic-alpine regions of northern North America. In China, B. humilis is mainly found on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP and in adjacent arid regions. In this study, we sequenced a sample from an arid region adjacent to the QTP using the Illumina platform generating a total of 46,485 highly accurate unigenes, of which 78.41% were annotated by BLASTing versus public protein databases. The B. humilis transcriptome is characterized by a high level of sequence conservation compared with its close relative, Arabidopsis thaliana. We also used reciprocal blast to identify shared orthologous genes between B. humilis and four other sequenced Brassicaceae species (i.e. A. thaliana, A. lyrata, Capsella rubella, and Thellungiella parvula. To enable precise characterization of orthologous genes, the early-diverging basal angiosperm Amborella trichopoda was also included. A total of 6,689 orthologous genes were identified before stricter criteria for the determination of e-values, amino acid hit lengths, and identity values was applied to further reduce this list. This led to a final list of 381 core orthologous genes for B. humilis; 39 out of these genes are involved in salt and osmotic stress responses and estimations of nonsynonymous/synonymous substitution ratios for this species and A. thaliana orthologs show that these genes are under purifying selection in B. humilis. Expression of six genes was detected in B. humilis seedlings under salt and osmotic stress treatments. Comparable expression patterns to their counterparts in Arabidopsis suggest that these orthologous genes are both sequence and functional conservation. The results of this study demonstrate that the environmental adaptations of B. humilis are mainly the

  2. Controlling Release of Integral Lipid Nanoparticles Based on Osmotic Pump Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Zhiqiang; Yu, Qin; Xie, Yunchang; Li, Fengqian; Lu, Yi; Dong, Xiaochun; Zhao, Weili; Qi, Jianping; Wu, Wei

    2016-08-01

    To achieve controlled release of integral nanoparticles by the osmotic pump strategy using nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) as model nanoparticles. NLCs was prepared by a hot-homogenization method, transformed into powder by lyophilization, and formulated into osmotic pump tablets (OPTs). Release of integral NLCs was visualized by live imaging after labeling with a water-quenching fluorescent probe. Effects of formulation variables on in vitro release characteristics were evaluated by measuring the model drug fenofibrate. Pharmacokinetics were studied in beagle dogs using the core tablet and a micronized fenofibrate formulation as references. NLCs are released through the release orifices of the OPTs as integral nanoparticles. Near zero-order kinetics can be achieved by optimizing the influencing variables. After oral administration, decreased C max and steady drug levels for as long as over 24 h are observed. NLC-OPTs show an oral bioavailability of the model drug fenofibrate similar to that of the core tablets, which is about 1.75 folds that of a fast-release formulation. Controlled release of integral NLCs is achieved by the osmotic pump strategy.

  3. The cis-regulatory element CCACGTGG is involved in ABA and water-stress responses of the maize gene rab28.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pla, M; Vilardell, J; Guiltinan, M J; Marcotte, W R; Niogret, M F; Quatrano, R S; Pagès, M

    1993-01-01

    The maize gene rab28 has been identified as ABA-inducible in embryos and vegetative tissues. It is also induced by water stress in young leaves. The proximal promoter region contains the conserved cis-acting element CCACGTGG (ABRE) reported for ABA induction in other plant genes. Transient expression assays in rice protoplasts indicate that a 134 bp fragment (-194 to -60 containing the ABRE) fused to a truncated cauliflower mosaic virus promoter (35S) is sufficient to confer ABA-responsiveness upon the GUS reporter gene. Gel retardation experiments indicate that nuclear proteins from tissues in which the rab28 gene is expressed can interact specifically with this 134 bp DNA fragment. Nuclear protein extracts from embryo and water-stressed leaves generate specific complexes of different electrophoretic mobility which are stable in the presence of detergent and high salt. However, by DMS footprinting the same guanine-specific contacts with the ABRE in both the embryo and leaf binding activities were detected. These results indicate that the rab28 promoter sequence CCACGTGG is a functional ABA-responsive element, and suggest that distinct regulatory factors with apparent similar affinity for the ABRE sequence may be involved in the hormone action during embryo development and in vegetative tissues subjected to osmotic stress.

  4. Respostas de plantas de Schizolobium amazonicum [S. parahyba var. amazonicum] e Schizolobium parahyba [Schizolobium parahybum] à deficiência hídrica Responses of Schizolobium amazonicum [S. parahyba var. Amazonicum] and Schizolobium parahyba [Schizolobium parahybum] plants to water stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cláudio José Reis de Carvalho

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Plantas jovens de S. amazonicum (paricá e S. parahyba (guapuruvu foram submetidas a dois ciclos de deficiência hídrica em casa de vegetação. O déficit hídrico induziu o aumento dos teores de aminoácidos solúveis totais, prolina, açúcares solúveis totais e K+ nos tecidos foliares, ocasionando o abaixamento do potencial osmótico em ambas as espécies. Porém, a análise dos resultados das curvas pressão-volume indica que as espécies respondem, de maneira diferente, ao estresse hídrico e o S. amazonicum apresenta maior capacidade de adaptação osmótica do que o S. parahyba.Juvenile plants of S. amazonicum (paricá and S. parahyba (guapuruvu were subjected to two cycles of water stress in greenhouse conditions. The water deficit induced the increase in total soluble amino acids, proline, total soluble sugars and K+ contents in the leaf tissues, lowering osmotic potential values in both species. However, the analysis of the pressure-volume curve results suggests that the species respond differently to water stress, and that S. amazonicum presents greater capacity of osmotic adaptation than S. parahyba.

  5. Physiological response of Pseudomonas putida S12 subjected to reduced water activity.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kets, E.P.W.; Bont, de J.A.M.; Heipieper, H.J.

    1996-01-01

    The effect of osmotic stress, given as decreased water activity (aw), on growth and the accumulation of potassium and the compatible solute betaine by Pseudomonas putida S12 was investigated. Reduced aw was imposed by addition of sodium chloride, sucrose, glycerol or polyethylene glycol to the

  6. Combinatorial stresses kill pathogenic Candida species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaloriti, Despoina; Tillmann, Anna; Cook, Emily; Jacobsen, Mette; You, Tao; Lenardon, Megan; Ames, Lauren; Barahona, Mauricio; Chandrasekaran, Komelapriya; Coghill, George; Goodman, Daniel; Gow, Neil A. R.; Grebogi, Celso; Ho, Hsueh-Lui; Ingram, Piers; McDonagh, Andrew; De Moura, Alessandro P. S.; Pang, Wei; Puttnam, Melanie; Radmaneshfar, Elahe; Romano, Maria Carmen; Silk, Daniel; Stark, Jaroslav; Stumpf, Michael; Thiel, Marco; Thorne, Thomas; Usher, Jane; Yin, Zhikang; Haynes, Ken; Brown, Alistair J. P.

    2012-01-01

    Pathogenic microbes exist in dynamic niches and have evolved robust adaptive responses to promote survival in their hosts. The major fungal pathogens of humans, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata, are exposed to a range of environmental stresses in their hosts including osmotic, oxidative and nitrosative stresses. Significant efforts have been devoted to the characterization of the adaptive responses to each of these stresses. In the wild, cells are frequently exposed simultaneously to combinations of these stresses and yet the effects of such combinatorial stresses have not been explored. We have developed a common experimental platform to facilitate the comparison of combinatorial stress responses in C. glabrata and C. albicans. This platform is based on the growth of cells in buffered rich medium at 30°C, and was used to define relatively low, medium and high doses of osmotic (NaCl), oxidative (H 2O2) and nitrosative stresses (e.g., dipropylenetriamine (DPTA)-NONOate). The effects of combinatorial stresses were compared with the corresponding individual stresses under these growth conditions. We show for the first time that certain combinations of combinatorial stress are especially potent in terms of their ability to kill C. albicans and C. glabrata and/or inhibit their growth. This was the case for combinations of osmotic plus oxidative stress and for oxidative plus nitrosative stress. We predict that combinatorial stresses may be highly signif cant in host defences against these pathogenic yeasts. PMID:22463109

  7. Global monthly water stress: II. Water demand and severity of water

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wada, Y.; Beek, L.P.H. van; Viviroli, D.; Dürr, H.H.; Weingartner, R.; Bierkens, M.F.P.

    2011-01-01

    This paper assesses global water stress at a finer temporal scale compared to conventional assessments. To calculate time series of global water stress at a monthly time scale, global water availability, as obtained from simulations of monthly river discharge from the companion paper, is confronted

  8. Activation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae filamentation/invasion pathway by osmotic stress in high-osmolarity glycogen pathway mutants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davenport, K. D.; Williams, K. E.; Ullmann, B. D.; Gustin, M. C.; McIntire, L. V. (Principal Investigator)

    1999-01-01

    Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are frequently used signal transduction mechanisms in eukaryotes. Of the five MAPK cascades in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the high-osmolarity glycerol response (HOG) pathway functions to sense and respond to hypertonic stress. We utilized a partial loss-of-function mutant in the HOG pathway, pbs2-3, in a high-copy suppressor screen to identify proteins that modulate growth on high-osmolarity media. Three high-copy suppressors of pbs2-3 osmosensitivity were identified: MSG5, CAK1, and TRX1. Msg5p is a dual-specificity phosphatase that was previously demonstrated to dephosphorylate MAPKs in yeast. Deletions of the putative MAPK targets of Msg5p revealed that kss1delta could suppress the osmosensitivity of pbs2-3. Kss1p is phosphorylated in response to hyperosmotic shock in a pbs2-3 strain, but not in a wild-type strain nor in a pbs2-3 strain overexpressing MSG5. Both TEC1 and FRE::lacZ expressions are activated in strains lacking a functional HOG pathway during osmotic stress in a filamentation/invasion-pathway-dependent manner. Additionally, the cellular projections formed by a pbs2-3 mutant on high osmolarity are absent in strains lacking KSS1 or STE7. These data suggest that the loss of filamentation/invasion pathway repression contributes to the HOG mutant phenotype.

  9. Osmotic pressure in Ca/Na montmorillonite dispersions: Monte Carlo simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joensson, Bo; Aakesson, T.; Segad, M.; Cabane, B.

    2010-01-01

    Document available in extended abstract form only. In the past, clay-water systems have been extensively studied. due to its importance in agricultural as well as technological applications. A more recent use of clay is as sealing material for nuclear waste. The success for such a containment depends on the clay structure and its swelling properties. This means that the clay should be able to sustain considerable changes in the surrounding ground water including salinities of glacial melt water as well as sea water, while still being an effective hydraulic barrier. We have approached this problem using statistical mechanical simulation techniques. The osmotic pressure in Ca/Na montmorillonite dispersions has been calculated via Monte Carlo simulations. For a clay system in equilibrium with pure water, Monte Carlo simulations predict a large swelling when the clay counterions are monovalent, while in presence of divalent counterions a limited swelling is predicted with an aqueous layer between the clay lamellae of about 1 nm - in excellent agreement with SAXS data. Montmorillonite in contact with a salt reservoir with e.g. both Na and Ca counterions will only show a modest swelling unless the Na + concentration in the bulk is several orders of magnitude larger than the Ca 2+ concentration. This is true both for a clay repository surrounded by ground water as well as sea water of high salinity. The limited swelling of clay in presence of divalent counterions is a consequence of ion-ion correlations, which both reduce the entropic repulsion and give rise to an attractive component in the total osmotic pressure. Ion-ion correlations also favour divalent counterions when competing with monovalent ones. This is an important aspect for the retention of radioactive charged species. A more fundamental result of ion-ion correlations is that the osmotic pressure as a function of clay sheet separation becomes non-monotonic - which indicates the possibility of a phase

  10. Dimethylglycine provides salt and temperature stress protection to Bacillus subtilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bashir, Abdallah; Hoffmann, Tamara; Smits, Sander H J; Bremer, Erhard

    2014-05-01

    Glycine betaine is a potent osmotic and thermal stress protectant of many microorganisms. Its synthesis from glycine results in the formation of the intermediates monomethylglycine (sarcosine) and dimethylglycine (DMG), and these compounds are also produced when it is catabolized. Bacillus subtilis does not produce sarcosine or DMG, and it cannot metabolize these compounds. Here we have studied the potential of sarcosine and DMG to protect B. subtilis against osmotic, heat, and cold stress. Sarcosine, a compatible solute that possesses considerable protein-stabilizing properties, did not serve as a stress protectant of B. subtilis. DMG, on the other hand, proved to be only moderately effective as an osmotic stress protectant, but it exhibited good heat stress-relieving and excellent cold stress-relieving properties. DMG is imported into B. subtilis cells primarily under osmotic and temperature stress conditions via OpuA, a member of the ABC family of transporters. Ligand-binding studies with the extracellular solute receptor (OpuAC) of the OpuA system showed that OpuAC possesses a moderate affinity for DMG, with a Kd value of approximate 172 μM; its Kd for glycine betaine is about 26 μM. Docking studies using the crystal structures of the OpuAC protein with the sulfur analog of DMG, dimethylsulfonioacetate, as a template suggest a model of how the DMG molecule can be stably accommodated within the aromatic cage of the OpuAC ligand-binding pocket. Collectively, our data show that the ability to acquire DMG from exogenous sources under stressful environmental conditions helps the B. subtilis cell to cope with growth-restricting osmotic and temperature challenges.

  11. Release and Decay Kinetics of Copeptin vs AVP in Response to Osmotic Alterations in Healthy Volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenske, Wiebke K; Schnyder, Ingeborg; Koch, Gilbert; Walti, Carla; Pfister, Marc; Kopp, Peter; Fassnacht, Martin; Strauss, Konrad; Christ-Crain, Mirjam

    2018-02-01

    Copeptin is the C-terminal fragment of the arginine vasopressin (AVP) prohormone whose measurement is more robust than that of AVP. Similar release and clearance characteristics have been suggested promoting copeptin as a surrogate marker. To characterize the physiology of osmotically regulated copeptin release and its half-life in direct comparison with plasma AVP. Ninety-one healthy volunteers underwent a standardized three-phase test protocol including (1) osmotic stimulation into the hypertonic range by hypertonic-saline infusion followed by osmotic suppression via (2) oral water load and (3) subsequent glucose infusion. Plasma copeptin, AVP, serum sodium, and osmolality levels were measured in regular intervals. In phase 1, an increase in median osmotic pressure [289 (286; 291) to 311 (309; 314) mOsm/kg H2O] caused similar release kinetics of plasma copeptin [4 (3.1; 6) to 29.3 (18.6; 48.2) pmol/L] and AVP [1 (0.7; 1.6) to 10.3 (6.8; 18.8) pg/mL]. Subsequent osmotic suppression to 298 (295; 301) mOsm/kg at the end of phase 3 revealed markedly different decay kinetics between both peptides-an estimated initial half-life of copeptin being approximately 2 times longer than that of AVP (26 vs 12 minutes). Copeptin is released in equimolar amounts with AVP in response to osmotic stimulation, suggesting its high potential as an AVP surrogate for differentiation of osmotic disorders. Furthermore, we here describe the decay kinetics of copeptin in response to osmotic depression enabling to identify a half-life for copeptin in direct comparison with AVP. Copyright © 2017 Endocrine Society

  12. Hyperosmotic stress inhibits insulin receptor substrate-1 function by distinct mechanisms in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gual, Philippe; Gonzalez, Teresa; Grémeaux, Thierry

    2003-01-01

    . Furthermore, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor rapamycin prevented the osmotic shock-induced phosphorylation of IRS-1 on Ser307. The inhibition of mTOR completely reversed the inhibitory effect of hyperosmotic stress on insulin-induced IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation and PI 3-kinase activation......In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, hyperosmotic stress was found to inhibit insulin signaling, leading to an insulin-resistant state. We show here that, despite normal activation of insulin receptor, hyperosmotic stress inhibits both tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and IRS-1....... In addition, prolonged osmotic stress enhanced the degradation of IRS proteins through a rapamycin-insensitive pathway and a proteasome-independent process. These data support evidence of new mechanisms involved in osmotic stress-induced cellular insulin resistance. Short-term osmotic stress induces...

  13. Comparison of proteome response to saline and zinc stress in lettuce

    OpenAIRE

    Lucini, Luigi; Bernardo, Letizia

    2015-01-01

    Zinc salts occurring in soils can exert an osmotic stress toward plants. However, being zinc a heavy metal, some more specific effects on plant metabolisms can be forecast. In this work, lettuce has been used as a model to investigate salt and zinc stresses at proteome level through a shotgun tandem MS proteomic approach. The effect of zinc stress in lettuce, in comparison with NaCl stress, was evaluated to dissect between osmotic/oxidative stress related effects, from those changes specifica...

  14. Adaptation to osmotic stress provides protection against ammonium nitrate in Pelophylax perezi embryos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortiz-Santaliestra, Manuel E.; Fernandez-Beneitez, Maria Jose; Lizana, Miguel; Marco, Adolfo

    2010-01-01

    The negative effects of pollution on amphibians are especially high when animals are additionally stressed by other environmental factors such as water salinity. However, the stress provoked by salinity may vary among populations because of adaptation processes. We tested the combined effect of a common fertilizer, ammonium nitrate (0-90.3 mg N-NO 3 NH 4 /L), and water salinity (0-2 per mille ) on embryos of two Pelophylax perezi populations from ponds with different salinity concentrations. Embryos exposed to the fertilizer were up to 17% smaller than controls. Survival rates of embryos exposed to a single stressor were always below 10%. The exposure to both stressors concurrently increased mortality rate (>95%) of embryos from freshwater. Since the fertilizer was lethal only when individuals were stressed by the salinity, it did not cause lethal effects on embryos naturally adapted to saline environments. Our results underscore the importance of testing multiple stressors when analyzing amphibian sensitivity to environmental pollution. - Natural resistance to salinity minimizes the impact of chemical fertilizers on amphibian embryos.

  15. Osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables: a review

    OpenAIRE

    Yadav, Ashok Kumar; Singh, Satya Vir

    2012-01-01

    The main cause of perishability of fruits and vegetables are their high water content. To increase the shelf life of these fruits and vegetables many methods or combination of methods had been tried. Osmotic dehydration is one of the best and suitable method to increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. This process is preferred over others due to their vitamin and minerals, color, flavor and taste retention property. In this review different methods, treatments, optimization and effec...

  16. Faba Bean Can Adapt to Chocolate Spot Disease by Pretreatment with Shikimic and Salicylic Acids through Osmotic Adjustment, Solutes Allocation and Leaf Turgidity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heshmat S. Aldesuquy

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the effect of shikimic and salicylic acids at the concentrations of 0.4 and 0.7 mM, respectively, or their combination as phenolic compounds and Ridomil MZ at the concentration of 250 g/100 L as a fungicide on osmotic pressure (OP, solutes allocation, organic acids, inorganic ions and relative water content were quantified in Vicia faba leaves infected by Botrytis fabae. Pathogen induced noticeable decrease in osmotic pressure, total soluble sugar (TSS and inorganic osmolytes (i.e. Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cl- while caused obvious increase in proline, total soluble nitrogen (TSN and organic acids (i.e. Keto and citric acids in water extract of the leaf of faba bean plants. Furthermore, pathogen caused marked decrease in relative water content (RWC of infected leaves and as a consequence the saturation water deficit (SWD was increased. Exogenous application of shikimic acid, salicylic acid or their combination could counteract the adverse effects of B. fabae on osmotic adjustment by inducing additional increase in proline, total soluble sugars, total soluble nitrogen and organic acids which in turn increase the osmotic pressure as well as relative water content in leaves of infected plants. Recovery of osmotic adjustment as well as leaf turgidity of infected host by using these chemical inducers may encourage the using of them as protective control means. The results of the present study showed also that the application of chemical inducers such as shikimic and salicylic acids or their interaction increased the resistance of Vicia faba against the chocolate spot disease.

  17. The role of silicon in higher plants under salinity and drought stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Devrim Coskun

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Although deemed a non-essential mineral nutrient, silicon (Si is clearly beneficial to plant growth and development, particularly under stress conditions, including salinity and drought. Here, we review recent research on the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms underlying Si-induced alleviation of osmotic and ionic stresses associated with salinity and drought. We distinguish between changes observed in the apoplast (i.e. suberization, lignification, and silicification of the extracellular matrix; transpirational bypass flow of solutes and water, and those of the symplast (i.e. transmembrane transport of solutes and water; gene expression; oxidative stress; metabolism, and discuss these features in the context of Si biogeochemistry and bioavailability in agricultural soils, evaluating the prospect of using Si fertilization to increase crop yield and stress tolerance under salinity and drought conditions.

  18. The transcriptional activator LdtR from 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' mediates osmotic stress tolerance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando A Pagliai

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The causal agent of Huanglongbing disease, 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus', is a non-culturable, gram negative, phloem-limited α-proteobacterium. Current methods to control the spread of this disease are still limited to the removal and destruction of infected trees. In this study, we identified and characterized a regulon from 'Ca. L. asiaticus' involved in cell wall remodeling, that contains a member of the MarR family of transcriptional regulators (ldtR, and a predicted L,D-transpeptidase (ldtP. In Sinorhizobium meliloti, mutation of ldtR resulted in morphological changes (shortened rod-type phenotype and reduced tolerance to osmotic stress. A biochemical approach was taken to identify small molecules that modulate LdtR activity. The LdtR ligands identified by thermal shift assays were validated using DNA binding methods. The biological impact of LdtR inactivation by the small molecules was then examined in Sinorhizobium meliloti and Liberibacter crescens, where a shortened-rod phenotype was induced by growth in presence of the ligands. A new method was also developed to examine the effects of small molecules on the viability of 'Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus', using shoots from HLB-infected orange trees. Decreased expression of ldtRLas and ldtPLas was observed in samples taken from HLB-infected shoots after 6 h of incubation with the LdtR ligands. These results provide strong proof of concept for the use of small molecules that target LdtR, as a potential treatment option for Huanglongbing disease.

  19. THE APPLICATION OF LEAF ULTRASONIC RESONANCE TO VITIS VINIFERA L. SUGGESTS THE EXISTENCE OF A DIURNAL OSMOTIC ADJUSTMENT SUBJECTED TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Domingo Sancho-Knapik

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this study was to apply the air-coupled broad-band ultrasonic spectroscopy in attached transpiring leaves of Vitis vinifera L. to monitor changes in leaf water potential (Y through the measurements of the standardized value of the resonant frequency associated with the maximum transmitance (f/fo. With this purpose, the response of grapevine to a drought stress period was investigated in terms of leaf water status, ultrasounds, gas exchange and sugar accumulation. Two strong correlations were obtained between f/fo and Y measured at predawn (pd and at midday (md with different slopes. This fact implied the existence of two values of Y for a given value of f/fo, which was taken as a sign that the ultrasonic technique was not directly related to the overall Y, but only to one of its components: the turgor pressure (P. The difference in Y at constant f/fo (d was found to be dependent on net CO2 assimilation (A and might be used as a rough estimator of photosynthetic activity. It was then, the other main component of Y, osmotic potential (π, the one that may have lowered the values of midday Y with respect to predawn Y by the accumulation of sugars associated to net CO2 assimilation. This phenomenon suggests the existence of a diurnal osmotic adjustment in this species associated to sugars production in well-watered plants.

  20. Artificial neural network model of pork meat cubes osmotic dehydration

    OpenAIRE

    Pezo, Lato L.; Ćurčić, Biljana Lj.; Filipović, Vladimir S.; Nićetin, Milica R.; Koprivica, Gordana B.; Mišljenović, Nevena M.; Lević, Ljubinko B.

    2013-01-01

    Mass transfer of pork meat cubes (M. triceps brachii), shaped as 1x1x1 cm, during osmotic dehydration (OD) and under atmospheric pressure was investigated in this paper. The effects of different parameters, such as concentration of sugar beet molasses (60-80%, w/w), temperature (20-50ºC), and immersion time (1-5 h) in terms of water loss (WL), solid gain (SG), final dry matter content (DM), and water activity (aw), were investigated using experimental results. Five artificial neural net...

  1. Biochemical degradation and physical migration of polyphenolic compounds in osmotic dehydrated blueberries with pulsed electric field and thermal pretreatments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Yuanshan; Jin, Tony Z; Fan, Xuetong; Wu, Jijun

    2018-01-15

    Fresh blueberries were pretreated by pulsed electric fields (PEF) or thermal pretreatment and then were subject to osmotic dehydration. The changes in contents of anthocyanins, predominantly phenolic acids and flavonols, total phenolics, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and antioxidant activity in the blueberry samples during pretreatment and osmotic dehydration were investigated. Biochemical degradation and physical migration of these nutritive compounds from fruits to osmotic solutions were observed during the pretreatments and osmotic dehydration. PEF pretreated samples had the least degradation loss but the most migration loss of these compounds compared to thermally pretreated and control samples. Higher rates of water loss and solid gain during osmotic dehydration were also obtained by PEF pretreatment, reducing the dehydration time from 130 to 48h. PEF pretreated and dehydrated fruits showed superior appearance to thermally pretreated and control samples. Therefore, PEF pretreatment is a preferred technology that balances nutritive quality, appearance, and dehydration rate. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. Comparative study of the energy potential of cyanide waters using two osmotic membrane modules under dead-end flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Díaz, Y.; Quiñones-Bolaños, E.; Bustos-Blanco, C.; Vives-Pérez, L.; Bustillo-Lecompte, C.; Saba, M.

    2017-12-01

    The energy potential of the osmotic pressure gradient of cyanide waters is evaluated using two membrane modules, horizontal and vertical, operated under dead-end flow. The membrane was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). The membrane is mainly composed of carbon, oxygen, and sulphur. The properties of the membrane were unchanged and had no pore clogging after exposure to the cyanide waters. Potentials of 1.78×10-4 and 6.36×10-5Wm-2 were found for the horizontal and vertical modules, respectively, using the Van’t Hoff equation. Likewise, the permeability coefficient of the membrane was higher in the vertical module. Although the energy potential is low under the studied conditions the vertical configuration has a greater potential due to the action of gravity and the homogenous contact of the fluid with the membrane.

  3. MORPHOMETRIC PARAMETERS AND MICRORELIEF OF THE LUMBRICUS CELOMOCYTES IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE OSMOTIC PRESSURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrey Andreevich Prisnyi

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Study the morphometric parameters and microrelief of the coelomocytes membrane of the Lumbricus representatives in normal and under osmotic pressure. Materials and methods: In the experiments, representatives of three species belonging to the genus Lumbricus were used. To conduct each series of experiments a coelomic liquid of 15 representatives of each species was used. From the circulation system of each individual examined, at least 250 cells were processed. The study of morphometric parameters of coelomocytes was carried out in isotonic conditions, and also with the use of osmotic tests in vitro. The features of the surface topography of coelomocytes were study using the “Integra Vita Probe Nanaboratorium” (NT-MDT, Russia. The analysis of amplitude and functional average statistical parameters of membrane roughness is carried out. The results of the research were processed using statistics methods using the Microsoft Excel 7.0 analysis package. Results: The Lumbricus representatives of revealed differences in the responses of amoebocytes and eleocytes to the effect of osmotic stress. Under the conditions of osmotic pressure, several morphologically different forms were found among the cells of each type. This indicates the potential ability of coelomocytes to spread out on the substrate for any type of osmotic pressure. The change in the topography of the cell membrane of coelomocytes under the hypoosmotic pressure is characterized by a smoothing of the microrelief structures with a decrease in the size of the microvysings and microinvaginations. Conclusion: The microrelief of the coelomocytes membrane reflects the features of their functional status changing under the influence of environmental factors.

  4. Effects of rainfall exclusion on leaf gas exchange traits and osmotic adjustment in mature canopy trees of Dryobalanops aromatica (Dipterocarpaceae) in a Malaysian tropical rain forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inoue, Yuta; Ichie, Tomoaki; Kenzo, Tanaka; Yoneyama, Aogu; Kumagai, Tomo'omi; Nakashizuka, Tohru

    2017-10-01

    Climate change exposes vegetation to unusual levels of drought, risking a decline in productivity and an increase in mortality. It still remains unclear how trees and forests respond to such unusual drought, particularly Southeast Asian tropical rain forests. To understand leaf ecophysiological responses of tropical rain forest trees to soil drying, a rainfall exclusion experiment was conducted on mature canopy trees of Dryobalanops aromatica Gaertn.f. (Dipterocarpaceae) for 4 months in an aseasonal tropical rain forest in Sarawak, Malaysia. The rainfall was intercepted by using a soft vinyl chloride sheet. We compared the three control and three treatment trees with respect to leaf water use at the top of the crown, including stomatal conductance (gsmax), photosynthesis (Amax), leaf water potential (predawn: Ψpre; midday: Ψmid), leaf water potential at turgor loss point (πtlp), osmotic potential at full turgor (π100) and a bulk modulus of elasticity (ε). Measurements were taken using tree-tower and canopy-crane systems. During the experiment, the treatment trees suffered drought stress without evidence of canopy dieback in comparison with the control trees; e.g., Ψpre and Ψmid decreased with soil drying. Minimum values of Ψmid in the treatment trees decreased during the experiment, and were lower than πtlp in the control trees. However, the treatment trees also decreased their πtlp by osmotic adjustment, and the values were lower than the minimum values of their Ψmid. In addition, the treatment trees maintained gs and Amax especially in the morning, though at midday, values decreased to half those of the control trees. Decreasing leaf water potential by osmotic adjustment to maintain gs and Amax under soil drying in treatment trees was considered to represent anisohydric behavior. These results suggest that D. aromatica may have high leaf adaptability to drought by regulating leaf water consumption and maintaining turgor pressure to improve its leaf

  5. Optimization of Vacuum Frying Parameters in Combination with Osmotic Dehydration of Kiwi Slices to Produce Healthy Product

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatemeh Aghabozorg Afjeh Aghabozorg Afjeh

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Osmotic dehydration under discontinuous reduced pressure is one of the new methods of preparation fruits and vegetable processing with in view of good health. Processing of foods at high temperatures used to cook them can cause the formation of carcinogenic substances like acrylamide, and this risk remains even if the trans-fat is removed. The low temperatures employed in this method resulted in the products with the desired texture, nutritional, and colour. The purpose of this research was evaluation of the variable effects of osmotic dehydration process (ambient pressure, contact time of product and solution, concentration and temperature of osmotic solution on the quality factors of product (colour changes, texture, moisture, oil uptake, and water loss to solid gain ratio and achieving the optimum process conditions. Studying the quality parameters of the product, the temperature range of osmotic solution, pressure, concentration of the osmotic solution and contact time of product and solution were assumed as 30 to 50°C, 500 to 700 mbar, 30 to 50% and 60 to 180 min, respectively. The test plans involving 31 tests were obtained by using response surface statistical models and central composite design. They were fried at the condition of 108ºC, 8 min and 320 mbar by using statistical correlations, 48.71ºC for the osmotic solution temperature, 592.07 mbar for the pressure, 62.92 min for the time and 34.87% for the osmotic solution. Concentrations were obtained as optimum conditions of osmotic dehydration of kiwi slices under reduced pressure. In summary combination of osmotic dehydration and vacuum frying improved the quality of the final fried kiwi, so this method is recommended for production of healthy products.

  6. Effects of Drought Stress and Rewatering on some Morphological and Physiological Properties of Three Grapevine Cultivars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehdi Aran

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Most plants have developed morphological and physiological mechanisms which allow them to cope with drought stress. Almost all the studies conducted on grapevines (Vitisvinifera L. responses to drought conditions have focused on physiological responses such as stomatal reactions, photosynthesis and osmotic adjustment, and biochemical responses like carbohydrates and proline. According to these studies, physiological and biochemical responses of grapevines to water stress are quite variable. This variability could be related to cultivar, time of the year, previous water stress level, intensity of stress, and environmental conditions. Osmotic adjustment in terms of compatible solutes accumulation has been considered as an important physiological adaptation for plant to resist drought, which facilitates the extraction of water from dry soils and maintenance of cell turgor, gas exchange and growth in very dry environments. Acting as compatible solutes as well as antioxidants, a significant rise in proline amount was observed in grapevine leaves under water stress conditions, suggesting that this amino acid has a protective role against the formation of excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS. Plants, in order to overcome oxidative stress, have developed enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defense mechanisms against scavenge ROS. Materials and Methods: This research was conducted to assess the effect of different levels of irrigation on some characteristics of three cultivars of grapevine (Yaghooti, Bidanesefid and Askari, as a factorial based on a randomized complete block design in two years with four replications. The experiment started in June 21, 2014 and 2015. Water treatments were applied in four levels including: control plant (100% FC, moderate stress (60% FC, severe stress (30% FC and rewatering treatment after severe stress treatment. Increase height, leaf number, stem diameter, leaf fresh and dry weight, stem dry weight

  7. Information processing in the adaptation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to osmotic stress: an analysis of the phosphorelay system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uschner, Friedemann; Klipp, Edda

    2014-12-01

    Cellular signaling is key for organisms to survive immediate stresses from fluctuating environments as well as relaying important information about external stimuli. Effective mechanisms have evolved to ensure appropriate responses for an optimal adaptation process. For them to be functional despite the noise that occurs in biochemical transmission, the cell needs to be able to infer reliably what was sensed in the first place. For example Saccharomyces cerevisiae are able to adjust their response to osmotic shock depending on the severity of the shock and initiate responses that lead to near perfect adaptation of the cell. We investigate the Sln1-Ypd1-Ssk1-phosphorelay as a module in the high-osmolarity glycerol pathway by incorporating a stochastic model. Within this framework, we can imitate the noisy perception of the cell and interpret the phosphorelay as an information transmitting channel in the sense of C.E. Shannon's "Information Theory". We refer to the channel capacity as a measure to quantify and investigate the transmission properties of this system, enabling us to draw conclusions on viable parameter sets for modeling the system.

  8. Effect of Protectants on the Fermentation Performance of Wine Yeasts Subjected to Osmotic Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Caridi

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available During alcoholic fermentation of must from dried grapes, yeasts are subjected to very high sugar concentrations, besides other environmental stresses, and they modify their metabolic behaviour giving low ethanol yield and abnormally high acetic acid production. To investigate the protective effect of catechin, inositol, and SO2 on wine yeasts, three thermotolerant strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, selected for wine making of must from dried grapes, and three strains of Saccharomyces selected for the production of wine, were inoculated in a sample of must at very high osmotic strength. A significant (p<0.01 or p<0.05 relationship between the addition of 100 mg/L of catechin, inositol or SO2 to the grape must and the change in the metabolic behaviour of the yeasts was observed. Compared to the control and depending on strain and protectant, the fermentation rate after 3 days increased up to 55 %, the ethanol content of the wines increased up to 16 %, the unitary succinic acid production increased up to 55 %, the unitary acetic acid production decreased up to 53 %, and the unitary glycerol production decreased up to 69 %. So by adding catechin, inositol or SO2 to the grape must it is possible to minimise the abnormal fermentation performance that wine yeasts exhibit in wine making of must from dried grapes.

  9. Polyol accumulation by Aspergillus oryzae at low water activity in solid-state fermentation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruijter, G.J.G.; Visser, J.; Rinzema, A.

    2004-01-01

    Polyol accumulation and metabolism were examined in Aspergillus oryzae cultured on whole wheat grains or on wheat dough as a model for solid-state culture. In solid-state fermentation (SSF), water activity (a(w)) is typically low resulting in osmotic stress. In addition to a high level of mannitol,

  10. Use of crop water stress index for monitoring water stress in some sinanthropic plant species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marinela Roxana ROŞESCU

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available The water stress indicator (crop water stress index, CWSI is a measure of the transpiration rate of a plant, influenced by the leaf and air temperature difference from the plant’s vicinity and the air pressure deficit of the water vapors from the atmosphere. The experiments were realized in July-August 2008 and 2009 for six species in the cities Pitesti, Mioveni and Maracineni: Cichorium intybus L., Conyza canadensis (L. Cronq., Erigeron annuus L. (Pers., Lactuca serriola Torn., Polygonum aviculare L. and Echinochloa crus-galli (L. Beauv. For those species we calculated the CWSI to estimate the water stress on the selected plants in the urban environment conditions. The analyzed species were exposed to a less accentuated water stress while vegetating in the soil and to a more intense one they were grown in the asphalt cracks. Cichorium intybus had the smallest CWSI value (0.26 while Lactuca serriola the highest one (0.44.

  11. Thermal and Osmotic Tolerance of 'Irukandji' Polyps: Cubozoa; Carukia barnesi.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Courtney

    Full Text Available This research explores the thermal and osmotic tolerance of the polyp stage of the Irukandji jellyfish Carukia barnesi, which provides new insights into potential polyp habitat suitability. The research also targets temperature, salinity, feeding frequency, and combinations thereof, as cues for synchronous medusae production. Primary findings revealed 100% survivorship in osmotic treatments between 19 and 46‰, with the highest proliferation at 26‰. As salinity levels of 26‰ do not occur within the waters of the Great Barrier Reef or Coral Sea, we conclude that the polyp stage of C. barnesi is probably found in estuarine environments, where these lower salinity conditions commonly occur, in comparison to the medusa stage, which is oceanic. Population stability was achieved at temperatures between 18 and 31°C, with an optimum temperature of 22.9°C. We surmise that C. barnesi polyps may be restricted to warmer estuarine areas where water temperatures do not drop below 18°C. Asexual reproduction was also positively correlated with feeding frequency. Temperature, salinity, feeding frequency, and combinations thereof did not induce medusae production, suggesting that this species may use a different cue, possibly photoperiod, to initiate medusae production.

  12. Effect of water activity and protective solutes on growth and subsequent survival to air-drying of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Champagne, Claude P; Raymond, Yves; Simon, Jean-Paul

    2012-08-01

    Probiotic cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus acidophilus were grown in media having water activities (a (w)) adjusted between 0.99 and 0.94 with NaCl or with a mixture of glycerol and sucrose in order to find conditions of osmotic stress which would still allow for good growth. Cultures grown at a (w) = 0.96 or 0.99 were then recovered by centrifugation, added to a sucrose-phosphate medium and air-dried. In some assays, a 2-h osmotic stress was applied to the cell concentrate prior to air-drying. Assays were also carried out where betaine, glutamate and proline (BGP) supplements were added as protective compounds to the growth or drying media. For most strains, evidence of osmotic stress and benefits of BGP supplementation on growth occurred at a (w) = 0.96. Growing the cells in complex media adjusted at a (w) = 0.96 did not enhance their subsequent survival to air-drying, but applying the 2-h osmotic stress did. Addition of the BGP supplements to the growth medium or in the 2-h stress medium did not enhance survival to air-drying. Furthermore, addition of BGP to a sucrose-phosphate drying medium reduced survival of the cultures to air-drying. This study provides preliminary data for producers of probiotics who wish to use air-drying in replacement of freeze-drying for the stabilization of cultures.

  13. Adaptation of Bacillus subtilis carbon core metabolism to simultaneous nutrient limitation and osmotic challenge : a multi-omics perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kohlstedt, Michael; Sappa, Praveen K; Meyer, Hanna; Maaß, Sandra; Zaprasis, Adrienne; Hoffmann, Tamara; Becker, Judith; Steil, Leif; Hecker, Michael; van Dijl, Jan Maarten; Lalk, Michael; Mäder, Ulrike; Stülke, Jörg; Bremer, Erhard; Völker, Uwe; Wittmann, Christoph

    The Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis encounters nutrient limitations and osmotic stress in its natural soil ecosystem. To ensure survival and sustain growth, highly integrated adaptive responses are required. Here, we investigated the system-wide response of B.subtilis to different,

  14. Osmoregulation and muscle water control in vitro facing salinity stress of the Amazon fish Oscar Astronotus ocellatus (Cichlidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutierre, Silvia M. M.; Schulte, Jessica M.; Schofield, Pam; Prodocimo, Viviane

    2017-01-01

    Specimens of Oscar Astronotus ocellatus from a fish farm were abruptly submitted to salt stress of 14 ppt and 20 ppt, for 3 and 8 h to determine their plasma osmolality. Muscle wet body mass change in vitro was analyzed from control freshwater animals. Fish in 14 ppt presented no osmolality distress even after 8 h. In 20 ppt, a slight increase (10%) in plasma osmolality was observed for both times of exposure when compared to control fish. Muscle slices submitted in vitro to hyper-osmotic saline displayed decreased body mass after 75 min, and slices submitted to hypo-osmotic saline displayed increased body mass after 45 min when compared to control (isosmotic saline). These results reinforce A. ocellatus’s euryhalinity. The fish were able to regulate its internal medium and tolerate 14 ppt, but presented an intense osmotic challenge and low muscle hydration control when facing salinities of 20 ppt.

  15. Interspecies and Intraspecies Analysis of Trehalose Contents and the Biosynthesis Pathway Gene Family Reveals Crucial Roles of Trehalose in Osmotic-Stress Tolerance in Cassava

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bingying Han

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Trehalose is a nonreducing α,α-1,1-disaccharide in a wide range of organisms, and has diverse biological functions that range from serving as an energy source to acting as a protective/signal sugar. However, significant amounts of trehalose have rarely been detected in higher plants, and the function of trehalose in the drought-tolerant crop cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz is unclear. We measured soluble sugar concentrations of nine plant species with differing levels of drought tolerance and 41 cassava varieties using high-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light-scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD. Significantly high amounts of trehalose were identified in drought-tolerant crops cassava, Jatropha curcas, and castor bean (Ricinus communis. All cassava varieties tested contained high amounts of trehalose, although their concentrations varied from 0.23 to 1.29 mg·g−1 fresh weight (FW, and the trehalose level was highly correlated with dehydration stress tolerance of detached leaves of the varieties. Moreover, the trehalose concentrations in cassava leaves increased 2.3–5.5 folds in response to osmotic stress simulated by 20% PEG 6000. Through database mining, 24 trehalose pathway genes, including 12 trehalose-6-phosphate synthases (TPS, 10 trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatases (TPP, and two trehalases were identified in cassava. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that there were four cassava TPS genes (MeTPS1–4 that were orthologous to the solely active TPS gene (AtTPS1 and OsTPS1 in Arabidopsis and rice, and a new TPP subfamily was identified in cassava, suggesting that the trehalose biosynthesis activities in cassava had potentially been enhanced in evolutionary history. RNA-seq analysis indicated that MeTPS1 was expressed at constitutionally high level before and after osmotic stress, while other trehalose pathway genes were either up-regulated or down-regulated, which may explain why cassava accumulated high level of trehalose

  16. Osmotic dehydration of some agro-food tissue pre-treated by pulsed electric field: Impact of impeller’s Reynolds number on mass transfer and color

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Amami

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Tissues of apple, carrot and banana were pre-treated by pulsed electric field (PEF and subsequently osmotically dehydrated in an agitated flask at ambient temperature using a 65% sucrose solution as osmotic medium. The effect of stirring intensity was investigated through water loss (WL and solid gain (SG. Changes in product color were also considered to analyze the impact of the treatment. The impeller’s Reynolds number was used to quantify the agitation. The Reynolds number remained inferior to 300 thus displaying laminar flow regime. Water loss (WL and solid gain (SG increase with the increase of Reynolds number. Mass transfer in osmotic dehydration of all three test particles has been studied on the basis of a two-exponential kinetic model. Then, mass transfer coefficients were related to the agitation intensity. This paper shows that the proposed empirical model is able to describe mass transfer phenomena in osmotic dehydration of these tissues. It is also shown that a higher agitation intensity improves both the kinetics of water loss and solid gain.

  17. Dehydration and osmotic adjustment in apple stem tissue during winter as it relates to the frost resistance of buds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pramsohler, Manuel; Neuner, Gilbert

    2013-08-01

    In deciduous trees, measurement of stem water potential can be difficult during the leafless period in winter. By using thermocouple psychrometry, osmotic water potentials (Ψo; actual Ψo: Ψo(act); Ψo at full saturation: Ψo(sat)) of expressed sap of bark and bud tissue were measured in order to test if the severity of winter desiccation in apple stems could be sufficiently assessed with Ψo. Water potentials were related to frost resistance and freezing behaviour of buds. The determination of Ψo reliably allowed winter desiccation and osmotic adjustments in apple stem tissue to be assessed. In winter in bark tissue, a pronounced decrease in Ψo(act) and Ψo(sat) was found. Decreased Ψo(sat) indicates active osmotic adjustment in the bark as observed earlier in the leaves of evergreen woody plants. In terminal bud meristems, no significant osmotic adjustments occurred and dehydration during winter was much less. Osmotic water potentials, Ψo(act) and Ψo(sat), of bud tissue were always less negative than in the bark. To prevent water movement and dehydration of the bud tissue via this osmotic gradient, it must be compensated for either by a sufficiently high turgor pressure (Ψp) in bark tissue or by the isolation of the bud tissue from the bark during midwinter. During freezing of apple buds, freeze dehydration and extra-organ freezing could be demonstrated by significantly reduced Ψo(act) values of bud meristems that had been excised in the frozen state. Infrared video thermography was used to monitor freezing patterns in apple twigs. During extracellular freezing of intact and longitudinally dissected stems, infrared differential thermal analysis (IDTA) images showed that the bud meristem remains ice free. Even if cooled to temperatures below the frost-killing temperature, no freezing event could be detected in bud meristems during winter. In contrast, after bud break, terminal buds showed a second freezing at the frost-killing temperature that indicates

  18. Stress for Stress Tolerance? A Fundamentally New Approach in Mammalian Embryology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pribenszky, Csaba; Vajta, Gabor; Molnár, Miklós

    2010-01-01

    tolerance to various in vitro procedures. The aim of this review is to summarize reports on the effects of stress on gametes and embryos of several species. Treatment with sublethal doses of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), osmotic, heat, or oxidative stress resulted in increased morphological survival...

  19. Approximate Mathematical Modeling of Osmotic Dehydration of Cone-Shaped Fruits and Vegetables in Hypertonic Solutions

    OpenAIRE

    Mohammad Sirousazar

    2017-01-01

    Water loss kinetics in osmotic dehydration of cone-shaped fruits and vegetables was modeled on the basis of diffusion mechanism, using the Fick’s second law. The model was developed by taking into account the influences of the fruit geometrical characteristics, initial water content of fruit, water diffusion coefficient in fruit, and the water concentration in hypertonic solution. Based on the obtained model, it was shown that the water diffusion coefficient and the initial water concentratio...

  20. 21 CFR 864.6600 - Osmotic fragility test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Osmotic fragility test. 864.6600 Section 864.6600 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES HEMATOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY DEVICES Manual Hematology Devices § 864.6600 Osmotic fragility...

  1. Alfalfa root role in osmotic adjustment under salt stress (abstract)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibriz, M.; Ghorri, M.; Alami, T.; El Guilli, M.; El- Moidaoui, M.; Benbella, M.

    2005-01-01

    The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the sodium chloride on the morpho physiological characteristics of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). The characteristics taken into consideration dry matter production of shoot and root (DMS, DMR), root volume (RV), proline content (PS, PR), included total soluble sugar (SSS; SSR) and chlorophyll a, band (a+b). Salt tolerance of the six genotypes was characterised by capacity to growth in salt environment, buildup of osmoregulating compounds (proline and solubles sugar) and a less inhibition of photosynthesis process (decrease of chlorophyll pigment content). Important genotypes differences were observed for each parameter, which make possible a better understanding of the Alfalfa adaptation mechanisms. The results show that the salt stress has a significant influence on the growth of this plants by decreasing the production of dry matter and :)f the root volume. The most important decreases were clear at the 12 g/l concentration mainly upon the Australian variety (Siriver).Thus the most tolerant to salt stress was the Demnate genotype (Dem04) which presented the lowest decrease percentage. The salt effect upon the plant physiological characteristics causes a decrease of the relative water content and chlorophyll a, b and (a+b) content. It also causes an increase of the relative loss of water, the total soluble sugars (SSS; SSR) and the proline contents (PS, PR). Thus, we found a high correlation between the proline and sugar contents of shoot and root and also between these substances and shoot and root dry matter production. (author)

  2. GABA not only a neurotransmitter: osmotic regulation by GABAAR signalling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiziana eCesetti

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In neurons the anionic channel γ-aminobutyric (GABA A receptor (GABAAR plays a central role in mediating both the neurotrophic and neurotransmitter role of GABA. Activation of this receptor by GABA also affects the function of non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system (CNS, as GABAARs are expressed in mature macroglia and in almost all progenitor types, including neural stem cells. The relevance of GABA signalling in non-neuronal cells has been comparatively less investigated than in neurons. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that these cells are direct targets of GABA regulation. In non-neuronal cells GABAAR activation leads to influx or efflux of chloride (Cl- depending on the electrochemical gradient. Ion transport is indissolubly associated to water fluxes across the plasma membrane and plays a key role in brain physiology. Therefore, GABAAR could affect osmotic tension in the brain by modulating ion gradients. In addition, since water movements also occur through specialized water channels and transporters, GABAAR signalling could affect the movement of water also by regulating the function of the channels and transporters involved, thereby affecting not only the direction of the water fluxes but also their dynamics. This regulation has consequences at the cellular level as it modulates cell volume and activates multiple intracellular signalling mechanisms important for cell proliferation, maturation and survival. It may also have consequences at the systemic level. For example, it may indirectly control neuronal excitability, by regulating the extracellular space and interstitial concentration of Cl-, and contribute to brain water homeostasis. Therefore, GABAergic osmotic regulation should be taken into account during the treatment of pathologies requiring the administration of GABAAR modulators and for the development of therapies for diseases causing water unbalance in the brain.

  3. Osmotic homeostasis and NKLy lymphoma cells radiosensitivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tishchenko, V.V.; Magda, I.N.

    1992-01-01

    In experiments with cells of ascites NKLy lymphoma differing in ploidy and position in the cell cycle, a study was made of the radiosensitivity, osmotic homeostasis peculiarities and thermoradiation changes in potassium content. It was shown that the resistance of osmotic homeostasis of NKLy cells to thermoradiation correlated with their radioresistance

  4. Growth and Physiological Responses of Phaseolus Species to Salinity Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. S. Bayuelo-Jiménez

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the changes on growth, photosynthesis, water relations, soluble carbohydrate, and ion accumulation, for two salt-tolerant and two salt-sensitive Phaseolus species grown under increasing salinity (0, 60 and 90 mM NaCl. After 20 days exposure to salt, biomass was reduced in all species to a similar extent (about 56%, with the effect of salinity on relative growth rate (RGR confined largely to the first week. RGR of salt-tolerant species was reduced by salinity due to leaf area ratio (LAR reduction rather than a decline in photosynthetic capacity, whereas unit leaf rate and LAR were the key factors in determining RGR on salt-sensitive species. Photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance decreased gradually with salinity, showing significant reductions only in salt-sensitive species at the highest salt level. There was little difference between species in the effect of salinity on water relations, as indicated by their positive turgor. Osmotic adjustment occurred in all species and depended on higher K+, Na+, and Cl− accumulation. Despite some changes in soluble carbohydrate accumulation induced by salt stress, no consistent contributions in osmotic adjustment could be found in this study. Therefore, we suggest that tolerance to salt stress is largely unrelated to carbohydrate accumulation in Phaseolus species.

  5. Osmotically and thermally isolated forward osmosis-membrane distillation (fo-md) integrated module for water treatment applications

    KAUST Repository

    Ghaffour, Noreddine

    2016-09-01

    An integrated forward osmosis-membrane distillation (FO-MD) module and systems and methods incorporating the module is disclosed providing higher efficiencies and using less energy. The FO-MD module is osmotically and thermally isolated. The isolation can prevent mixing of FO draw solution/FO permeate and MD feed, and minimize dilution of FO draw solution and cooling of MD feed. The module provides MD feed solution and FO draw solution streams that flow in the same module but are separated by an isolation barrier. The osmotically and thermally isolated FO-MD integrated module, systems and methods offer higher driving forces of both FO and MD processes, higher recovery, and wider application than previously proposed hybrid FO- MD systems.

  6. Osmotically and thermally isolated forward osmosis-membrane distillation (fo-md) integrated module for water treatment applications

    KAUST Repository

    Ghaffour, NorEddine; Francis, Lijo; Li, Zhenyu; Valladares, Rodrigo; Alsaadi, Ahmad S.; Ghdaib, Muhannad Abu; Amy, Gary L.

    2016-01-01

    An integrated forward osmosis-membrane distillation (FO-MD) module and systems and methods incorporating the module is disclosed providing higher efficiencies and using less energy. The FO-MD module is osmotically and thermally isolated. The isolation can prevent mixing of FO draw solution/FO permeate and MD feed, and minimize dilution of FO draw solution and cooling of MD feed. The module provides MD feed solution and FO draw solution streams that flow in the same module but are separated by an isolation barrier. The osmotically and thermally isolated FO-MD integrated module, systems and methods offer higher driving forces of both FO and MD processes, higher recovery, and wider application than previously proposed hybrid FO- MD systems.

  7. Salt Effect on Osmotic Pressure of Polyelectrolyte Solutions: Simulation Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan-Michael Y. Carrillo

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: We present results of the hybrid Monte Carlo/molecular dynamics simulations of the osmotic pressure of salt solutions of polyelectrolytes. In our simulations, we used a coarse-grained representation of polyelectrolyte chains, counterions and salt ions. During simulation runs, we alternate Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulation steps. Monte Carlo steps were used to perform small ion exchange between simulation box containing salt ions (salt reservoir and simulation box with polyelectrolyte chains, counterions and salt ions (polyelectrolyte solution. This allowed us to model Donnan equilibrium and partitioning of salt and counterions across membrane impermeable to polyelectrolyte chains. Our simulations have shown that the main contribution to the system osmotic pressure is due to salt ions and osmotically active counterions. The fraction of the condensed (osmotically inactive counterions first increases with decreases in the solution ionic strength then it saturates. The reduced value of the system osmotic coefficient is a universal function of the ratio of the concentration of osmotically active counterions and salt concentration in salt reservoir. Simulation results are in a very good agreement with osmotic pressure measurements in sodium polystyrene sulfonate, DNA, polyacrylic acid, sodium polyanetholesulfonic acid, polyvinylbenzoic acid, and polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride solutions.

  8. Increased Resistance to osmotic lysis of sickled erythrocytes ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    treated with CNw had significantly reduced osmotic lysis when compared with the untreated set (P<0.05, respectively) at various hypotonic NaCl concentrations. Various Hb genotypes exhibited a graded increase in osmotic pressure lysis in ...

  9. Arabidopsis thaliana sucrose phosphate synthase (sps) genes are expressed differentially in organs and tissues, and their transcription is regulated by osmotic stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solís-Guzmán, María Gloria; Argüello-Astorga, Gerardo; López-Bucio, José; Ruiz-Herrera, León Francisco; López-Meza, Joel Edmundo; Sánchez-Calderón, Lenin; Carreón-Abud, Yazmín; Martínez-Trujillo, Miguel

    2017-11-01

    Sucrose is synthesized from UDP-Glc and Fru-6-phosphate via the activity of sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) enzymes, which produce Suc-6-phosphate. Suc-6-phosphate is rapidly dephosphorylated by phosphatases to produce Suc and inorganic phosphate. Arabidopsis has four sps genes encoding SPS enzymes. Of these enzymes, AtSPS1F and AtSPS2F have been grouped with other dicotyledonous SPS enzymes, while AtSPS3F and AtSPS4F are included in groups with both dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous SPS enzymes. In this work, we generated Arabidopsis thaliana transformants containing the promoter region of each sps gene fused to gfp::uidA reporter genes. A detailed characterization of expression conferred by the sps promoters in organs and tissues was performed. We observed expression of AtSPS1F, AtSPS2F and AtSPS3F in the columella roots of the plants that support sucrose synthesis. Hence, these findings support the idea that sucrose synthesis occurs in the columella cells, and suggests that sucrose has a role in this tissue. In addition, the expression of AtSPS4F was identified in embryos and suggests its participation in this developmental stage. Quantitative transcriptional analysis of A. thaliana plants grown in media with different osmotic potential showed that AtSPS2F and AtSPS4F respond to osmotic stress. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Analysis of unsaturated clayey materials hydration incorporating the effect of thermo-osmotic flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez, M.; Arson, C.

    2012-01-01

    Document available in extended abstract form only. The hydraulic gradient is the main physical phenomenon influencing the movement of water in permeable porous media. It is, however, not the only one. Figure 1 presents the main kinds of flow that can occur in a porous media alongside with the corresponding gradient responsible for the movements. The word 'law' is generally used for the diagonal terms associated with the direct flow phenomena, and the name 'effect' is reserved to the non-diagonal ones, called also 'coupled processes'. Lippmann (1907) discovered and named the phenomenon of thermo-osmosis. He discovered it experimentally by separating a volume of water into two parts by means of a membrane. Different temperatures were held in the two regions of the system. The thermal gradient caused a flow of water through the membrane from the cold to the hot side. In permeable reservoirs, the non-diagonal coefficients are relatively small and negligible compared to the diagonal terms. That is the reason why the coupled processes are generally ignored when analyzing problems in aquifers. However, in non-isothermal problems involving low permeability media and/or low hydraulic gradients thermo-osmosis may play a more influential role. Srivastava and Avasthi (1975) and Horseman and McEwen (1996) showed that water flux due to thermo-osmosis can easily exceed Darcy flux in low permeability clays. The 'phenomenological coefficient' that links each flow with the corresponding driving gradient must be measured experimentally. Accounting for thermo-osmosis is assuming that the transport of heat may modify the transport of fluids. The counterpart phenomenon of thermo-osmosis is thermo-filtration, which reflects the influence of a pressure gradient on heat flow. Thermo-osmosis and thermo-filtration are generally formulated as reciprocal relations, so that the coupled conductivity terms related to each phenomenon are set equal. Thermo-osmotic effects have been studied in the

  11. The humic acid-induced changes in the water status, chlorophyll fluorescence and antioxidant defense systems of wheat leaves with cadmium stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozfidan-Konakci, Ceyda; Yildiztugay, Evren; Bahtiyar, Mustafa; Kucukoduk, Mustafa

    2018-07-15

    The using of bio-stimulant in plants grown under stress conditions for enhancing nutrition efficiency and crop quality traits is an effective approach. One of the bio-stimulants, humus material, is defined as humic acid (HA). HA application as a promotion of plant growth to plants grown in the heavy metals-contaminated soils has promised hope in terms of effects on plants but the its limiting effect is the application dose. Therefore, the wheat seedlings were grown in hydroponic culture for 21 d and the various concentrations of humic acid (HA; 750 or 1500 mg L -1 ) were treated alone or in combination with cadmium (Cd) stress (100 or 200 μM) for 7 d. The results showed that after Cd stress treatment, water content (RWC), osmotic potential (Ψ Π ) and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters decreased and proline content (Pro) increased for 7 d. In spite of activated peroxidase (POX) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), stress induced the toxic levels of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) accumulation. Cd stress triggered lipid peroxidation (TBARS content). HA application successfully eliminated the negative effects of stress on RWC, Ψ Π and photosynthetic parameters. In the presence of HA under stress, the increased activation of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and NADPH-oxidase (NOX) enzymes and ascorbate, glutathione and GSH/GSSG ratio observed. Only 750 mg L -1 HA under stress conditions induced the activities of monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), and dehydroascorbate (DHA) content. After the combined application of HA and Cd stress, the low contents of H 2 O 2 and TBARS maintained in wheat leaves. Hence, HA successfully eliminated the toxicity of Cd stress by modulating the water status, photosynthetic apparatus and antioxidant activity in wheat leaves. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Structure and osmotic pressure of ionic microgel dispersions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hedrick, Mary M. [Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108-6050 (United States); Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108-6050 (United States); Chung, Jun Kyung; Denton, Alan R., E-mail: alan.denton@ndsu.edu [Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108-6050 (United States)

    2015-01-21

    We investigate structural and thermodynamic properties of aqueous dispersions of ionic microgels—soft colloidal gel particles that exhibit unusual phase behavior. Starting from a coarse-grained model of microgel macroions as charged spheres that are permeable to microions, we perform simulations and theoretical calculations using two complementary implementations of Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theory. Within a one-component model, based on a linear-screening approximation for effective electrostatic pair interactions, we perform molecular dynamics simulations to compute macroion-macroion radial distribution functions, static structure factors, and macroion contributions to the osmotic pressure. For the same model, using a variational approximation for the free energy, we compute both macroion and microion contributions to the osmotic pressure. Within a spherical cell model, which neglects macroion correlations, we solve the nonlinear PB equation to compute microion distributions and osmotic pressures. By comparing the one-component and cell model implementations of PB theory, we demonstrate that the linear-screening approximation is valid for moderately charged microgels. By further comparing cell model predictions with simulation data for osmotic pressure, we chart the cell model’s limits in predicting osmotic pressures of salty dispersions.

  13. Structure and osmotic pressure of ionic microgel dispersions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hedrick, Mary M.; Chung, Jun Kyung; Denton, Alan R.

    2015-01-01

    We investigate structural and thermodynamic properties of aqueous dispersions of ionic microgels—soft colloidal gel particles that exhibit unusual phase behavior. Starting from a coarse-grained model of microgel macroions as charged spheres that are permeable to microions, we perform simulations and theoretical calculations using two complementary implementations of Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theory. Within a one-component model, based on a linear-screening approximation for effective electrostatic pair interactions, we perform molecular dynamics simulations to compute macroion-macroion radial distribution functions, static structure factors, and macroion contributions to the osmotic pressure. For the same model, using a variational approximation for the free energy, we compute both macroion and microion contributions to the osmotic pressure. Within a spherical cell model, which neglects macroion correlations, we solve the nonlinear PB equation to compute microion distributions and osmotic pressures. By comparing the one-component and cell model implementations of PB theory, we demonstrate that the linear-screening approximation is valid for moderately charged microgels. By further comparing cell model predictions with simulation data for osmotic pressure, we chart the cell model’s limits in predicting osmotic pressures of salty dispersions

  14. Perturabation of nodular operation under salt and water deficit stress in rhizobium common bean symbiosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harzalli Jebara, Salwa

    2006-01-01

    This work aims at the search for markers of tolerance to the osmotic stress and nodular efficiency of symbiosis Haricot Rhizobium. Thus, after having fixed the best period of hydroponic culture, we showed that a severe salt treatment generated an inhibition of the parameters of growth and nodulation. These inhibitions are accompanied by an inhibition of the enzymatic activities: ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT), but an activation of peroxidase (POX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), suggesting that these two antioxydants can be biochemical markers of the tolerance to salinity. To check the validity of these markers and to see the participation of the vegetable genotype in the response to the stress, we compared the effect of two concentrations salt 25 and 50 mM NaCe at two contrasting genotypes BAT477 tolerant and sensitive COCOT. This study illustrates the role of the vegetable genotype in the tolerance and efficiency and emphasize a significant result that SOD and POX constitute biochemical markers of tolerance to salinity. In order to ensure itself of the validity of this assumption in the event of water deficit stress, a treatment of 50 mM mannitol is applied to 16 symbioses formed by four genotypes of bean BAT477, COCOT, Flamingo and BRB17 inoculated by four strains of rhizobium CIAT899, 12 to 3, 1 to 6 and 8 to 3. This study permits us to make a screening of these symbioses according to their efficiency and their tolerance based on parameters of growth, of fixing and extent of the antioxydant enzymatic activities. It gets clear that the response of enzymatic antioxydants is in relation to the intrinsic potentialities of the partners of symbioses and appears to act as of the first stages of recognition plants bacterium. It will be retained that activities POX and SOD are markers of nodular tolerance. The CAT is the enzyme most connected to each partner of symbiosis and the APX would play a rather functional role. The heterogeneity of found answer

  15. Mechanism of actuation in conducting polymers: Osmotic expansion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bay, Lasse; Jacobsen, Torben; West, Keld

    2001-01-01

    Conducting polymers expand or contract when their redox state is changed. This expansion/contraction effect can be separated in an intrinsic part because of changes of the polymer backbone on reduction/oxidation and a part depending on the surrounding electrolyte phase, because of osmotic expansion...... is compared with measurements on PPy(DBS) films. The experiments show that the expansion decreases as the electrolyte concentration is increased. This means that a considerable part of the total expansion is due to the osmotic effect. The osmotic effect should be taken into account when interpreting...

  16. Drying and osmotic conditioning in Hancornia speciosa Gomes seeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tathiana Elisa Masetto

    Full Text Available Hancornia speciosa is a native tree species of the Brazilian Cerrado whose seeds are desiccation sensitive. In this study, we aimed to evaluate drying and osmotic conditioning in H. speciosa seeds. We used fresh seeds with 48% moisture content, which were slowly dried until they attained contents of 20%, 15%, 10% and 5%. To evaluate osmotic conditioning, the seeds were imbibed in 12 mL osmotic solutions at 0.0; -0.2; -0.4 and -0.6 MPa for two days. After that, they were dehydrated until their original moisture content. The experiments were carried out in a completely randomized design with four repetitions with 50 seeds each. Reduction in moisture content from 20% to 5% decreased the physiological potential of seeds. H. speciosa seeds do not require osmotic priming with PEG solutions, because imbibition of seeds in osmotic solutions of up to -0.6 MPa results in reduction of germination rate and seedling length.

  17. Optimization of osmotic dehydration of chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill. slices using Response Surface Methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresa Delgado

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Osmotic dehydration of chestnut slices in sucrose was optimized for the first time by Response Surface Methodology (RSM. Experiments were planned according to a three-factor central composite design (α=1.68, studying the influence of sucrose concentration, temperature and time, on the following parameters: volume ratio, water activity, color variation, weight reduction, solids gain, water loss and normalized moisture content, as well as total moisture, ash and fat contents. The experimental data was adequately fitted into second-order polynomial models with coefficients of determination (R2 from 0.716 to 0.976, adjusted-R2 values from 0.460 to 0.954, and non-significant lacks of fit. The optimal osmotic dehydration process conditions for maximum water loss and minimum solids gain and color variation were determined by the “Response Optimizer” option: 83% sucrose concentration, 20 °C and 9.2 hours. Thus, the best operational conditions corresponded to high sugar concentration and low temperature, improving energy saving and decreasing the process costs.

  18. Evaluation of Virulence Factors In vitro, Resistance to Osmotic Stress and Antifungal Susceptibility of Candida tropicalis Isolated from the Coastal Environment of Northeast Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuza-Alves, Diana L.; de Medeiros, Sayama S. T. Q.; de Souza, Luanda B. F. C.; Silva-Rocha, Walicyranison P.; Francisco, Elaine C.; de Araújo, Maria C. B.; Lima-Neto, Reginaldo G.; Neves, Rejane P.; Melo, Analy S. de Azevedo; Chaves, Guilherme M.

    2016-01-01

    Several studies have been developed regarding human health risks associated with the recreational use of beaches contaminated with domestic sewage. These wastes contain various micro-organisms, including Candida tropicalis. In this context, the objective of this study was to characterize C. tropicalis isolates from the sandy beach of Ponta Negra, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, regarding the expression of in vitro virulence factors, adaptation to osmotic stress and susceptibility to antifungal drugs. We analyzed 62 environmental isolates and observed a great variation among them for the various virulence factors evaluated. In general, environmental isolates were more adherent to human buccal epithelial cells (HBEC) than C. tropicalis ATCC13803 reference strain, and they also showed increased biofilm production. Most of the isolates presented wrinkled phenotypes on Spider medium (34 isolates, 54.8%). The majority of the isolates also showed higher proteinase production than control strains, but low phospholipase activity. In addition, 35 isolates (56.4%) had high hemolytic activity (hemolysis index > 0.55). With regard to C. tropicalis resistance to osmotic stress, 85.4% of the isolates were able to grow in a liquid medium containing 15% sodium chloride. The strains were highly resistant to the azoles tested (fluconazole, voriconazole and itraconazole). Fifteen strains were resistant to the three azoles tested (24.2%). Some strains were also resistant to amphotericin B (14 isolates; 22.6%), while all of them were susceptible for the echinocandins tested, except for a single strain of intermediate susceptibility to micafungin. Our results demonstrate that C. tropicalis isolated from the sand can fully express virulence attributes and showed a high persistence capacity on the coastal environment; in addition of showing high minimal inhibitory concentrations to several antifungal drugs used in current clinical practice, demonstrating that environmental isolates may

  19. Adaptation of Staphylococcus xylosus to nutrients and osmotic stress in a salted meat model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurore eVermassen

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Staphylococcus xylosus is commonly used as starter culture for meat fermentation. Its technological properties are mainly characterized in vitro, but the molecular mechanisms for its adaptation to meat remain unknown. A global transcriptomic approach was used to determine these mechanisms. S. xylosus modulated the expression of about 40% to 50% of the total genes during its growth and survival in the meat model. The expression of many genes involved in DNA machinery and cell division, but also in cell lysis, was up-regulated. Considering that the S. xylosus population remained almost stable between 24 and 72 h of incubation, our results suggest a balance between cell division and cell lysis in the meat model. The expression of many genes encoding enzymes involved in glucose and lactate catabolism was up-regulated and revealed that glucose and lactate were used simultaneously. S. xylosus seemed to adapt to anaerobic conditions as revealed by the overexpression of two regulatory systems and several genes encoding cofactors required for respiration. In parallel, genes encoding transport of peptides and peptidases that could furnish amino acids were up-regulated and thus concomitantly a lot of genes involved in amino acid synthesis were down-regulated. Several genes involved in glutamate homeostasis were up-regulated. Finally, S. xylosus responded to the osmotic stress generated by salt added to the meat model by overexpressing genes involved in transport and synthesis of osmoprotectants, and Na+ and H+ extrusion.

  20. Adaptation of Staphylococcus xylosus to Nutrients and Osmotic Stress in a Salted Meat Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermassen, Aurore; Dordet-Frisoni, Emilie; de La Foye, Anne; Micheau, Pierre; Laroute, Valérie; Leroy, Sabine; Talon, Régine

    2016-01-01

    Staphylococcus xylosus is commonly used as starter culture for meat fermentation. Its technological properties are mainly characterized in vitro, but the molecular mechanisms for its adaptation to meat remain unknown. A global transcriptomic approach was used to determine these mechanisms. S. xylosus modulated the expression of about 40–50% of the total genes during its growth and survival in the meat model. The expression of many genes involved in DNA machinery and cell division, but also in cell lysis, was up-regulated. Considering that the S. xylosus population remained almost stable between 24 and 72 h of incubation, our results suggest a balance between cell division and cell lysis in the meat model. The expression of many genes encoding enzymes involved in glucose and lactate catabolism was up-regulated and revealed that glucose and lactate were used simultaneously. S. xylosus seemed to adapt to anaerobic conditions as revealed by the overexpression of two regulatory systems and several genes encoding cofactors required for respiration. In parallel, genes encoding transport of peptides and peptidases that could furnish amino acids were up-regulated and thus concomitantly a lot of genes involved in amino acid synthesis were down-regulated. Several genes involved in glutamate homeostasis were up-regulated. Finally, S. xylosus responded to the osmotic stress generated by salt added to the meat model by overexpressing genes involved in transport and synthesis of osmoprotectants, and Na+ and H+ extrusion. PMID:26903967

  1. Enhanced monoclonal antibody production by gradual increase of osmotic pressure

    OpenAIRE

    Lin, Jianqiang; Takagi, Mutsumi; Qu, Yinbo; Gao, Peiji; Yoshida, Toshiomi

    1999-01-01

    The time length required for the adaptation of AFP-27 hybridoma cells to high osmotic pressure and the effect of a gradual increase of osmotic pressure on monoclonal antibody production were investigated. When the cells were subjected to an increase of osmotic pressure from 300 mOsmol kg-1 to 366 mOsmol kg- 1, the intracellular content of osmoprotective free amino acids reached a maximum level 6 h after the osmotic pressure was increased to 366 mOsmol kg-1. The same time period of 6 h incubat...

  2. Upregulations of Clcn3 and P-Gp Provoked by Lens Osmotic Expansion in Rat Galactosemic Cataract

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lixia Ji

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Lens osmotic expansion, provoked by overactivated aldose reductase (AR, is the most essential event of sugar cataract. Chloride channel 3 (Clcn3 is a volume-sensitive channel, mainly participating in the regulation of cell fundamental volume, and P-glycoprotein (P-gp acts as its modulator. We aim to study whether P-gp and Clcn3 are involved in lens osmotic expansion of galactosemic cataract. Methods and Results. In vitro, lens epithelial cells (LECs were primarily cultured in gradient galactose medium (10–60 mM, more and more vacuoles appeared in LEC cytoplasm, and mRNA and protein levels of AR, P-gp, and Clcn3 were synchronously upregulated along with the increase of galactose concentration. In vivo, we focused on the early stage of rat galactosemic cataract, amount of vacuoles arose from equatorial area and scattered to the whole anterior capsule of lenses from the 3rd day to the 9th day, and mRNA and protein levels of P-gp and Clcn3 reached the peak around the 9th or 12th day. Conclusion. Galactosemia caused the osmotic stress in lenses; it also markedly leads to the upregulations of AR, P-gp, and Clcn3 in LECs, together resulting in obvious osmotic expansion in vitro and in vivo.

  3. Water stress, water salience, and the implications for water supply planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, M. E.; Islam, S.

    2017-12-01

    Effectively addressing the water supply challenges posed by urbanization and climate change requires a holistic understanding of the water supply system, including the impact of human behavior on system dynamics. Decision makers have limits to available information and information processing capacity, and their attention is not equally distributed among risks. The salience of a given risk is higher when increased attention is directed to it and though perceived risk may increase, real risk does not change. Relevant to water supply planning is how and when water stress results in an increased salience of water risks. This work takes a socio-hydrological approach to develop a water supply planning model that includes water consumption as an endogenous variable, in the context of Las Vegas, NV. To understand the benefits and limitations of this approach, this model is compared to a traditional planning model that uses water consumption scenarios. Both models are applied to project system reliability and water stress under four streamflow and demographic scenarios, and to assess supply side responses to changing conditions. The endogenous demand model enables the identification of feedback between both supply and demand management decisions on future water consumption and system performance. This model, while specific to the Las Vegas case, demonstrates a prototypical modeling framework capable of examining water-supply demand interactions by incorporating water stress driven conservation.

  4. Membrane fouling and anti-fouling strategies using RO retentate from a municipal water recycling plant as the feed for osmotic power generation

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Si Cong

    2015-10-25

    RO retentate from a municipal water recycling plant is considered as a potential feed stream for osmotic power generation in this paper. The feasibility of using RO retentate from a municipal water recycling plant was examined from two aspects: (a) the membrane fouling propensity of RO retentate, and (b) the efficacy of anti-fouling strategies. The membranes used in this study were the inner selective thin film composite polyethersulfone (TFC/PES) hollow fiber membranes, which possessed a high water permeability and good mechanical strength. Scaling by phosphate salts was found to be one possible inorganic fouling on the innermost layer of the PES membrane, whereas silica fouling was observed to be the governing fouling on the outmost surface of the PES membrane. Two anti-fouling pretreatments, i.e., pH adjustment and anti-scalant pre-treatment for the feed stream, were studied and found to be straightforward and effective. Using RO retentate at pH 7.2 as the feed and 1 M NaCl as the draw solution, the average power density was 7.3 W/m at 20 bar. The average power density increased to 12.6 W/m by modifying RO retentate with an initial pH value of 5.5 using HCl and to 13.4 W/m by adding 1.1 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Moreover, the flux recovery of the fouled membranes, without the indicated pretreatments, reached 84.9% using deionized (DI) water flushing and 95.0% using air bubbling under a high crossflow velocity of 23.3 cm/s (Re = 2497) for 30 min. After pretreatment by pH adjustment, the flux recovery increased to 94.6% by DI water flushing and 100.0% by air bubbling. After pretreatment by adding 1.1 mM EDTA into RO retentate, flux was almost fully restored by physical cleaning by DI water flushing and air bubbling. These results provide insight into developing an effective pretreatment by either pH adjustment or EDTA addition before PRO and physical cleaning methods by DI water flushing and air bubbling for membrane used in osmotic power

  5. Membrane fouling and anti-fouling strategies using RO retentate from a municipal water recycling plant as the feed for osmotic power generation

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Si Cong; Amy, Gary L.; Chung, Neal Tai-Shung

    2015-01-01

    RO retentate from a municipal water recycling plant is considered as a potential feed stream for osmotic power generation in this paper. The feasibility of using RO retentate from a municipal water recycling plant was examined from two aspects: (a) the membrane fouling propensity of RO retentate, and (b) the efficacy of anti-fouling strategies. The membranes used in this study were the inner selective thin film composite polyethersulfone (TFC/PES) hollow fiber membranes, which possessed a high water permeability and good mechanical strength. Scaling by phosphate salts was found to be one possible inorganic fouling on the innermost layer of the PES membrane, whereas silica fouling was observed to be the governing fouling on the outmost surface of the PES membrane. Two anti-fouling pretreatments, i.e., pH adjustment and anti-scalant pre-treatment for the feed stream, were studied and found to be straightforward and effective. Using RO retentate at pH 7.2 as the feed and 1 M NaCl as the draw solution, the average power density was 7.3 W/m at 20 bar. The average power density increased to 12.6 W/m by modifying RO retentate with an initial pH value of 5.5 using HCl and to 13.4 W/m by adding 1.1 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Moreover, the flux recovery of the fouled membranes, without the indicated pretreatments, reached 84.9% using deionized (DI) water flushing and 95.0% using air bubbling under a high crossflow velocity of 23.3 cm/s (Re = 2497) for 30 min. After pretreatment by pH adjustment, the flux recovery increased to 94.6% by DI water flushing and 100.0% by air bubbling. After pretreatment by adding 1.1 mM EDTA into RO retentate, flux was almost fully restored by physical cleaning by DI water flushing and air bubbling. These results provide insight into developing an effective pretreatment by either pH adjustment or EDTA addition before PRO and physical cleaning methods by DI water flushing and air bubbling for membrane used in osmotic power

  6. Membrane fouling and anti-fouling strategies using RO retentate from a municipal water recycling plant as the feed for osmotic power generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Si Cong; Amy, Gary L; Chung, Tai-Shung

    2016-01-01

    RO retentate from a municipal water recycling plant is considered as a potential feed stream for osmotic power generation in this paper. The feasibility of using RO retentate from a municipal water recycling plant was examined from two aspects: (a) the membrane fouling propensity of RO retentate, and (b) the efficacy of anti-fouling strategies. The membranes used in this study were the inner selective thin film composite polyethersulfone (TFC/PES) hollow fiber membranes, which possessed a high water permeability and good mechanical strength. Scaling by phosphate salts was found to be one possible inorganic fouling on the innermost layer of the PES membrane, whereas silica fouling was observed to be the governing fouling on the outmost surface of the PES membrane. Two anti-fouling pretreatments, i.e., pH adjustment and anti-scalant pre-treatment for the feed stream, were studied and found to be straightforward and effective. Using RO retentate at pH 7.2 as the feed and 1 M NaCl as the draw solution, the average power density was 7.3 W/m(2) at 20 bar. The average power density increased to 12.6 W/m(2) by modifying RO retentate with an initial pH value of 5.5 using HCl and to 13.4 W/m(2) by adding 1.1 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Moreover, the flux recovery of the fouled membranes, without the indicated pretreatments, reached 84.9% using deionized (DI) water flushing and 95.0% using air bubbling under a high crossflow velocity of 23.3 cm/s (Re = 2497) for 30 min. After pretreatment by pH adjustment, the flux recovery increased to 94.6% by DI water flushing and 100.0% by air bubbling. After pretreatment by adding 1.1 mM EDTA into RO retentate, flux was almost fully restored by physical cleaning by DI water flushing and air bubbling. These results provide insight into developing an effective pretreatment by either pH adjustment or EDTA addition before PRO and physical cleaning methods by DI water flushing and air bubbling for membrane used in

  7. Plant response to sunflower seeds to osmotic conditioning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camila Santos Barros de Morais

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of seeds osmotic conditioning in seedlings emergence and plants performance of sunflower. Three lots of seeds sunflower (Catissol, was submited to osmotic conditioning with polyethylene glycol solution, –2,0 MPa in aerated system, under 15 ºC for 8 hour and then was evaluated for germination tests and vigour. Under filed conditions was conducted emergency evaluations of seedling, plants development as well as the productivity and seeds quality, and the accumulation of nutrients in the seeds. The osmotic conditioning improve the survival of seedling, the dry matter mass to aerial part of plants from 60 days after sowing and oil content, in lots with low seeds physiological quality. The osmotic conditioning not increase the seeds yield but promotes the vigour of seeds produced, regardless of the lot used for sowing seeds.

  8. Solute coupled diffusion in osmotically driven membrane processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hancock, Nathan T; Cath, Tzahi Y

    2009-09-01

    Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging water treatment technology with potential applications in desalination and wastewater reclamation. In FO, water is extracted from a feed solution using the high osmotic pressure of a hypertonic solution that flows on the opposite side of a semipermeable membrane; however, solutes diffuse simultaneously through the membrane in both directions and may jeopardize the process. In this study, we have comprehensively explored the effects of different operating conditions on the forward diffusion of solutes commonly found in brackish water and seawater, and reverse diffusion of common draw solution solutes. Results show that reverse transport of solutes through commercially available FO membranes range between 80 mg to nearly 3,000 mg per liter of water produced. Divalent feed solutes have low permeation rates (less than 1 mmol/m2-hr) while monovalent ions and uncharged solutes exhibit higher permeation. Findings have significant implications on the performance and sustainability of the FO process.

  9. ThDof1.4 and ThZFP1 constitute a transcriptional regulatory cascade involved in salt or osmotic stress in Tamarix hispida.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zang, Dandan; Wang, Lina; Zhang, Yiming; Zhao, Huimin; Wang, Yucheng

    2017-07-01

    Identification of the upstream regulators of a gene is important to characterize the transcriptional pathway and the function of the gene. Previously, we found that a zinc finger protein (ThZFP1) is involved in abiotic stress tolerance of Tamarix hispida. In the present study, we further investigated the transcriptional pathway of ThZFP1. Dof motifs are abundant in the ThZFP1 promoter; therefore, we used them to screen for transcriptional regulators of ThZFP1. A Dof protein, ThDof1.4, binds to the Dof motif specifically, and was hypothesized as the upstream regulator of ThZFP1. Further study showed that overexpression of ThDof1.4 in T. hispida activated the expression of GUS controlled by the ThZFP1 promoter. In T. hispida, transient overexpression of ThDof1.4 increased the transcripts of ThZFP1; conversely, transient RNAi-silencing of ThDof1.4 reduced the expression of ThZFP1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation indicated that ThDof1.4 binds to the ThZFP1 promoter. Additionally, ThDof1.4 and ThZFP1 share similar expression patterns in response to salt or drought stress. Furthermore, like ThZFP1, ThDof1.4 could increase the proline level and enhance ROS scavenging capability to improve salt and osmotic stress tolerance. Together, these results suggested that ThDof1.4 and ThZFP1 form a transcriptional regulatory cascade involved in abiotic stress resistance in T. hispida.

  10. Improved Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility and Packed Cell Volume ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Improved Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility and Packed Cell Volume following administration of Aloe barbadensis Juice Extract in Rats. ... Abstract. Aloe barbadensis is a popular house plant that has a long history of a multipurpose folk remedy. ... Keywords: osmotic fragility, packed cell volume, haemoglobin, Aloe vera ...

  11. Stress-induced accumulation of wheat germ agglutinin and abscisic acid in roots of wheat seedlings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cammue, B.P.A.; Broekaert, W.F.; Kellens, J.T.C.; Peumans, W.J.; Raikhel, N.V.

    1989-01-01

    Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) levels in roots of 2-day-old wheat seedlings increased up to three-fold when stressed by air-drying. Similar results were obtained when seedling roots were incubated either in 0.5 molar mannitol or 180 grams per liter polyethylene glycol 6,000, with a peak level of WGA after 5 hours of stress. Longer periods of osmotic treatment resulted in a gradual decline of WGA in the roots. Since excised wheat roots incorporate more [ 35 S]cysteine into WGA under stress conditions, the observed increase of lectin levels is due to de novo synthesis. Measurement of abscisic acid (ABA) levels in roots of control and stressed seedlings indicated a 10-fold increase upon air-drying. Similarly, a five- and seven-fold increase of ABA content of seedling roots was found after 2 hours of osmotic stress by polyethylene glycol 6,000 and mannitol, respectively. Finally, the stress-induced increase of WGA in wheat roots could be inhibited by growing seedlings in the presence of fluridone, an inhibitor of ABA synthesis. These results indicate that roots of water-stressed wheat seedlings (a) contain more WGA as a result of an increased de novo synthesis of this lectin, and (b) exhibit higher ABA levels. The stress-induced increase of lectin accumulation seems to be under control of ABA

  12. Modelling the coupled chemico-osmotic and advective-diffusive transport of nitrate salts in the Callovo-Oxfordian clay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baechler, S.; Croise, J.; Altmann, S.

    2010-01-01

    Document available in extended abstract form only. Fine-grained saturated porous materials can act as a semi-permeable osmotic membrane when exposed to a solute concentration gradient. The ions diffusion is hindered while water movement towards higher concentrations takes place in the semi-permeable membrane. The capacity of the fine-grained porous material to act as a semi permeable osmotic membrane is referred to as the osmotic efficiency (its value is 1 when the membranes is ideal, less than 1 when the membrane is leaky, allowing diffusion). The efficiency to retain ions in solution is dependent on the thickness of the diffuse double layer which itself depends on the solution concentration in the membrane. Clay rich formations have been shown to act as non-ideal semi-permeable membrane. Andra is investigating the Callovo-Oxfordian clay as a host rock for intermediate-level to high-level radioactive waste. In this context, it has been feared that osmotic water flows generated by the release of sodium nitrate salt in high concentrations, out of intermediate radioactive bituminous waste, could induce important over-pressures. The latest would eventually lead to fracturing of the host rock around the waste disposal drifts. The purpose of the present study was to develop a simulation code with the capacity to assess the potential impact of osmosis on: the re-saturation of the waste disposal drifts, the pressure evolution and the solute transport in and around a waste disposal drift. A chemo-osmotic coupled flow and transport model was implemented using the FlexPDE-finite element library. Our model is based on the chemo-osmotic formulation developed by Bader and Kooi, 2005. The model has been extended to highly concentrated solutions based on Pitzer's equation. In order to assess the impact of osmotic flow on the re-saturation time, the model was also designed to allow unsaturated flow modelling. The model configuration consists of an initially unsaturated 2D

  13. Estresse hídrico com diferentes osmóticos em sementes de feijão e expressão diferencial de proteínas durante a germinação = Differential protein expression during germination as a result of a water deficit associated with variable osmotic pressure in snap-beans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle Letícia Martins Coelho

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available O feijão (Phaseolus vulgaris L. é de grande expressão alimentícia. A emergência da cultura é dependente de água e considerada a fase mais crítica. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram simular a deficiência de água no início da germinação em laboratório, em sementes de feijão‘Pérola’, utilizando-se: manitol, CaCl2, MgCl2 e NaCl em potenciais de 0; -0,3; -0,6; -0,9 e - 1,2 MPa, estabelecidos pela equação de Van’t Hoff e avaliar o perfil eletroforético de proteínas totais solúveis por meio de SDS-PAGE. Foram avaliados: germinação, classificação de vigor, massa seca de raiz e de parte aérea e resposta diferencial de expressão de proteínas. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado. Os dados foram analisados pela aplicação do teste F, para análise de variância, regressão polinomial para os níveis de potencial osmóticos para cada uma das variáveis fisiológicas estudadas. O bandeamento eletroforético foiavaliado visualmente por imagem dos géis. A simulação do estresse permitiu avaliar a drasticidade do NaCl em todos os parâmetros avaliados e a ausência de proteínas de baixo peso molecular neste osmótico. As proteínas de 110 e 30 kDa foram indicativas de estresse hídrico, mas não do salino.Snap-beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. have a high nutritionally value. Successful seedling emergence is dependent on the availability of water and is considered the most critical phase in plant development. The objectives of this work were to simulate water deficiency at the beginning of the germination period. Snap-bean seeds of the variety ‘Pérola’ were submitted to osmotic stress under laboratory conditions. Mannitol, CaCl2, MgCl2 and NaCl were used to develop five degrees of osmotic potential: 0, -0.3, -0.6, -0.9 and -1.2 MPa. Van’t Hoff’s equation was used to calculate the osmotic potential. The protein pattern of the total soluble proteins after electrophoresis was evaluated with SDS

  14. New Osmosis Law and Theory: the New Formula that Replaces van't Hoff Osmotic Pressure Equation

    OpenAIRE

    Huang, Hung-Chung; Xie, Rongqing

    2012-01-01

    This article derived a new abstract concept from the osmotic process and concluded it via "osmotic force" with a new law -- "osmotic law". The "osmotic law" describes that, in an osmotic system, osmolyte moves osmotically from the side with higher "osmotic force" to the side with lower "osmotic force". In addition, it was proved mathematically that the osmotic process could be explained perfectly via "osmotic force" and "osmotic laws", which can prevent the difficulties in using current "osmo...

  15. Neuroendocrine and cardiovascular parameters during simulation of stress-induced rise in circulating oxytocin in the rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ondrejcakova, M; Bakos, J; Garafova, A; Kovacs, L; Kvetnansky, R; Jezova, D

    2010-07-01

    Physiological functions of oxytocin released during stress are not well understood. We have (1) investigated the release of oxytocin during chronic stress using two long-term stress models and (2) simulated stress-induced oxytocin secretion by chronic treatment with oxytocin via osmotic minipumps. Plasma oxytocin levels were significantly elevated in rats subjected to acute immobilization stress for 120 min, to repeated immobilization for 7 days and to combined chronic cold stress exposure for 28 days with 7 days immobilization. To simulate elevation of oxytocin during chronic stress, rats were implanted with osmotic minipumps subcutaneously and treated with oxytocin (3.6 microg/100 g body weight/day) or vehicle for 2 weeks. Chronic subcutaneous oxytocin infusion led to an increase in plasma oxytocin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone, adrenal weights and heart/body weight ratio. Oxytocin treatment had no effect on the incorporation of 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine into DNA in the heart ventricle. Mean arterial pressure response to intravenous phenylephrine was reduced in oxytocin-treated animals. Decrease in adrenal tyrosin hydroxylase mRNA following oxytocin treatment was not statistically significant. Oxytocin treatment failed to modify food intake and slightly increased water consumption. These data provide evidence on increased concentrations of oxytocin during chronic stress. It is possible that the role of oxytocin released during stress is in modulating hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and selected sympathetic functions.

  16. Physical and virtual water transfers for regional water stress alleviation in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xu; Liu, Junguo; Liu, Qingying; Tillotson, Martin R; Guan, Dabo; Hubacek, Klaus

    2015-01-27

    Water can be redistributed through, in physical terms, water transfer projects and virtually, embodied water for the production of traded products. Here, we explore whether such water redistributions can help mitigate water stress in China. This study, for the first time to our knowledge, both compiles a full inventory for physical water transfers at a provincial level and maps virtual water flows between Chinese provinces in 2007 and 2030. Our results show that, at the national level, physical water flows because of the major water transfer projects amounted to 4.5% of national water supply, whereas virtual water flows accounted for 35% (varies between 11% and 65% at the provincial level) in 2007. Furthermore, our analysis shows that both physical and virtual water flows do not play a major role in mitigating water stress in the water-receiving regions but exacerbate water stress for the water-exporting regions of China. Future water stress in the main water-exporting provinces is likely to increase further based on our analysis of the historical trajectory of the major governing socioeconomic and technical factors and the full implementation of policy initiatives relating to water use and economic development. Improving water use efficiency is key to mitigating water stress, but the efficiency gains will be largely offset by the water demand increase caused by continued economic development. We conclude that much greater attention needs to be paid to water demand management rather than the current focus on supply-oriented management.

  17. Osmotic relations of the coelomic fluid and body wall tissues in Arenicola marina subjected to salinity change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weber, Roy E.; Spaargaren, D.H.

    1979-01-01

    nitrogenous organic molecules (ninhydrin-positive substances, NPS) in the body wall tissues and in the coelomic fluid of specimens of Arenicola in response to sudden changes in salinity. The coelomic solutes consist almost entirely of electrolytes and the osmotic contribution of NPS is essentially negligible....... In the body wall extracts, however, NPS accounts for at least one third of the osmotic concentration and for most of the substantial non-electrolyte fraction. There is no evidence from coelomic NPS measurements for extrusion of cellular amino acids during adaptation to lowered salinity. In diluted sea water...

  18. Assessing corn water stress using spectral reflectance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mefford, Brenna S.

    Multiple remote sensing techniques have been developed to identify crop water stress, but some methods may be difficult for farmers to apply. Unlike most techniques, shortwave vegetation indices can be calculated using satellite, aerial, or ground imagery from the green (525-600 nm), red (625-700 nm), and near infrared (750-900 nm) spectral bands. If vegetation indices can be used to monitor crop water stress, growers could use this information as a quick low-cost guideline for irrigation management, thus helping save water by preventing over irrigating. This study occurred in the 2013 growing season near Greeley, CO, where pressurized drip irrigation was used to irrigate twelve corn ( Zea mays L.) treatments of varying water deficit. Multispectral data was collected and four different vegetation indices were evaluated: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Optimized Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (OSAVI), Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI), and the Wide Dynamic Range Vegetation Index (WDRVI). The four vegetation indices were compared to corn water stress as indicated by the stress coefficient (Ks) and water deficit in the root zone, calculated by using a water balance that monitors crop evapotranspiration (ET), irrigation events, precipitation events, and deep percolation. ET for the water balance was calculated using two different methods for comparison purposes: (1) calculation of the stress coefficient (Ks) using FAO-56 standard procedures; (2) use of canopy temperature ratio (Tc ratio) of a stressed crop to a non-stressed crop to calculate Ks. It was found that obtaining Ks from Tc ratio is a viable option, and requires less data to obtain than Ks from FAO-56. In order to compare the indices to Ks, vegetation ratios were developed in the process of normalization. Vegetation ratios are defined as the non-stressed vegetation index divided by the stressed vegetation index. Results showed that vegetation ratios were sensitive to water

  19. Osmoregulation by trehalose synthesis in Salmonella manhattan after exposure to waste waters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupray, E; Derrien, A; Pichon, R

    1995-03-01

    A 24 h period in waste waters improved the subsequent survival of Salmonella in oligotrophic sea water, at 20 degrees C, compared to a direct input control. The main osmoprotective compound accumulated, investigated by 1H-NMR spectroscopy (nuclear magnetic resonance), after 6 d in sea water was trehalose. Taking into account these observations, this paper put forward the following explanation concerning the survival mechanism: (1) stress in waste waters induces the endogenous synthesis of trehalose via the activation of the gene kat F; (2) when exposed to an osmotic stress, two degradative cytoplasmic enzymes are repressed and the bacteria accumulate trehalose which acts as an osmoprotectant. The succession of the two steps enables Salm. manhattan to immediately resist to the high salinity of oligotrophic seawater.

  20. Gbu Glycine Betaine Porter and Carnitine Uptake in Osmotically Stressed Listeria monocytogenes Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendum, Mary Lou; Smith, Linda Tombras

    2002-01-01

    The food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes grows actively under high-salt conditions by accumulating compatible solutes such as glycine betaine and carnitine from the medium. We report here that the dominant transport system for glycine betaine uptake, the Gbu porter, may act as a secondary uptake system for carnitine, with a Km of 4 mM for carnitine uptake and measurable uptake at carnitine concentrations as low as 10 μM. This porter has a Km for glycine betaine uptake of about 6 μM. The dedicated carnitine porter, OpuC, has a Km for carnitine uptake of 1 to 3 μM and a Vmax of approximately 15 nmol/min/mg of protein. Mutants lacking either opuC or gbu were used to study the effects of four carnitine analogs on growth and uptake of osmolytes. In strain DP-L1044, which had OpuC and the two glycine betaine porters Gbu and BetL, triethylglycine was most effective in inhibiting growth in the presence of glycine betaine, but trigonelline was best at inhibiting growth in the presence of carnitine. Carnitine uptake through OpuC was inhibited by γ-butyrobetaine. Dimethylglycine inhibited both glycine betaine and carnitine uptake through the Gbu porter. Carnitine uptake through the Gbu porter was inhibited by triethylglycine. Glycine betaine uptake through the BetL porter was strongly inhibited by trigonelline and triethylglycine. These results suggest that it is possible to reduce the growth of L. monocytogenes under osmotically stressful conditions by inhibiting glycine betaine and carnitine uptake but that to do so, multiple uptake systems must be affected. PMID:12406761

  1. MONITORING ON PLANT LEAF WATER POTENTIAL USING NIR SPECTROSCOPY FOR WATER STRESS MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diding Suhandy

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The performance of the calibration model with temperature compensation for on-plant leaf water potential (LWP determination in tomato plants was evaluated. During a cycle of water stress, the on-plant LWP measurement was conducted. The result showed that the LWP values under water stress and recovery from water stress could be monitored well. It showed that a real time monitoring of the LWP values using NIR spectroscopy could be possible.   Keywords: water stress, real time monitoring of leaf water potential, NIR spectroscopy, plant response-based

  2. Efficiency of Osmotic Dehydration of Apples in Polyols Solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cichowska, Joanna; Żubernik, Joanna; Czyżewski, Jakub; Kowalska, Hanna; Witrowa-Rajchert, Dorota

    2018-02-17

    The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of selected compounds from the polyol group, as well as other saccharides, on the osmotic dehydration process of apples. The following alternative solutions were examined: erythritol, xylitol, maltitol, inulin and oligofructose. Efficiency of the osmotic dehydration process was evaluated based on the kinetics of the process, and through comparison of the results obtained during the application of a sucrose solution. This innovative research utilizes alternative solutions in osmotic pretreatment, which until now, have not been commonly used in fruit processing by researchers worldwide. Results indicate that erythritol and xylitol show stronger or similar efficiency to sucrose; however, the use of inulin, as well as oligofructose, was not satisfactory due to the insufficient, small osmotic driving forces of the process, and the low values of mass transfer parameters.

  3. Inverse osmotic process for radioactive laundry waste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ebara, K; Takahashi, S; Sugimoto, Y; Yusa, H; Hyakutake, H

    1977-01-07

    Purpose: To effectively recover the processing amount reduced in a continuous treatment. Method: Laundry waste containing radioactive substances discharged from a nuclear power plant is processed in an inverse osmotic process while adding starch digesting enzymes such as amylase and takadiastase, as well as soft spherical bodies such as sponge balls of a particle diameter capable of flowing in the flow of the liquid wastes along the inverse osmotic membrane pipe and having such a softness and roundness as not to damage the inverse osmotic membrane. This process can remove the floating materials such as thread dusts or hairs deposited on the membrane surface by the action of the soft elastic balls and remove paste or the like through decomposition by the digesting enzymes. Consequently, effective recovery can be attained for the reduced processing amount.

  4. Identification of differentially accumulated proteins involved in regulating independent and combined osmosis and cadmium stress response in Brachypodium seedling roots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ziyan; Zhu, Dong; Wu, Jisu; Cheng, Zhiwei; Yan, Xing; Deng, Xiong; Yan, Yueming

    2018-05-17

    In this study, we aimed to identify differentially accumulated proteins (DAPs) involved in PEG mock osmotic stress, cadmium (Cd 2+ ) stress, and their combined stress responses in Brachypodium distachyon seedling roots. The results showed that combined PEG and Cd 2+ stresses had more significant effects on Brachypodium seedling root growth, physiological traits, and ultrastructures when compared with each individual stress. Totally, 106 DAPs were identified that are responsive to individual and combined stresses in roots. These DAPs were mainly involved in energy metabolism, detoxification and stress defense and protein metabolism. Principal component analysis revealed that DAPs from Cd 2+ and combined stress treatments were grouped closer than those from osmotic stress treatment, indicating that Cd 2+ and combined stresses had more severe influences on the root proteome than osmotic stress alone. Protein-protein interaction analyses highlighted a 14-3-3 centered sub-network that synergistically responded to osmotic and Cd 2+ stresses and their combined stresses. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis of 14 key DAP genes revealed that most genes showed consistency between transcriptional and translational expression patterns. A putative pathway of proteome metabolic changes in Brachypodium seedling roots under different stresses was proposed, which revealed a complicated synergetic responsive network of plant roots to adverse environments.

  5. Engineered strains of Streptococcus macedonicus towards an osmotic stress resistant phenotype retain their ability to produce the bacteriocin macedocin under hyperosmotic conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anastasiou, Rania; Driessche, Gonzalez Van; Boutou, Effrossyni; Kazou, Maria; Alexandraki, Voula; Vorgias, Constantinos E; Devreese, Bart; Tsakalidou, Effie; Papadimitriou, Konstantinos

    2015-10-20

    Streptococcus macedonicus ACA-DC 198 produces the bacteriocin macedocin in milk only under low NaCl concentrations (<1.0%w/v). The thermosensitive plasmid pGh9:ISS1 was employed to generate osmotic stress resistant (osmr) mutants of S. macedonicus. Three osmr mutants showing integration of the vector in unique chromosomal sites were identified and the disrupted loci were characterized. Interestingly, the mutants were able to grow and to produce macedocin at considerably higher concentrations of NaCl compared to the wild-type (up to 4.0%w/v). The production of macedocin under hyperosmotic conditions solely by the osmr mutants was validated by the well diffusion assay and by mass spectrometry analysis. RT-PCR experiments demonstrated that the macedocin biosynthetic regulon was transcribed at high salt concentrations only in the mutants. Mutant osmr3, the most robust mutant, was converted in its markerless derivative (osmr3f). Co-culture of S. macedonicus with spores of Clostridium tyrobutyricum in milk demonstrated that only the osmr3f mutant and not the wild-type inhibited the growth of the spores under hyperosmotic conditions (i.e., 2.5%w/v NaCl) due to the production of macedocin. Our study shows how genetic manipulation of a strain towards a stress resistant phenotype could improve bacteriocin production under conditions of the same stress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Fecal osmotic gap and pH in experimental diarrhea of various causes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eherer, A J; Fordtran, J S

    1992-08-01

    Although the osmotic gap of fecal fluid is often used to distinguish osmotic diarrhea from secretory diarrhea, there has never been a scientific evaluation of the validity of this concept. Similarly, although a low fecal fluid pH value is used to indicate that diarrhea is mediated by carbohydrate malabsorption, the validity of this method is unproven. Therefore, in the present study, diarrhea was induced in normal subjects by different mechanisms and fecal fluid osmotic gap (using an assumed fecal fluid osmolality of 290 mOsm/kg) and pH were measured. In secretory diarrhea caused by phenolphthalein, the osmotic gap was always less than 50 mOsm/kg, whereas in osmotic diarrhea caused by polyethylene glycol, magnesium hydroxide, lactulose, and sorbitol, the osmotic gap always exceeded 50 mOsm/kg. In osmotic diarrhea caused by sodium sulfate, the fecal fluid osmotic gap was less than 50 mOsm/kg, but phenolphthalein-induced secretory diarrhea could be distinguished from sodium sulfate-induced osmotic diarrhea by the fecal chloride concentration. When diarrhea was caused by carbohydrate malabsorption (lactulose or sorbitol), the fecal fluid pH was always less than 5.6 and usually less than 5.3; by contrast, other causes of diarrhea rarely caused a fecal pH as low as 5.6 and never caused a pH less than 5.3. It is concluded that measurement of fecal fluid osmotic gap and pH can distinguish various mechanisms of experimental diarrhea in normal subjects. The concepts on which these tests are based are therefore verified experimentally.

  7. Experimental investigation of a spiral-wound pressure-retarded osmosis membrane module for osmotic power generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yu Chang; Kim, Young; Oh, Dongwook; Lee, Kong Hoon

    2013-03-19

    Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) uses a semipermeable membrane to produce renewable energy from salinity-gradient energy. A spiral-wound (SW) design is one module configuration of the PRO membrane. The SW PRO membrane module has two different flow paths, axial and spiral, and two different spacers, net and tricot, for draw- and feed-solution streams, respectively. This study used an experimental approach to investigate the relationship between two interacting flow streams in a prototype SW PRO membrane module, and the adverse impact of a tricot fabric spacer (as a feed spacer) on the PRO performance, including water flux and power density. The presence of the tricot spacer inside the membrane envelope caused a pressure drop due to flow resistance and reduced osmotic water permeation due to the shadow effect. The dilution of the draw solution by water permeation resulted in the reduction of the osmotic pressure difference along a pressure vessel. For a 0.6 M NaCl solution and tap water, the water flux and corresponding maximum power density were 3.7 L m(-2)h(-1) and 1.0 W/m(2) respectively at a hydraulic pressure difference of 9.8 bar. The thickness and porosity of the tricot spacer should be optimized to achieve high SW PRO module performance.

  8. Stress-inducible expression of AtDREB1A transcription factor greatly improves drought stress tolerance in transgenic indica rice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravikumar, G; Manimaran, P; Voleti, S R; Subrahmanyam, D; Sundaram, R M; Bansal, K C; Viraktamath, B C; Balachandran, S M

    2014-06-01

    The cultivation of rice (Oryza sativa L.), a major food crop, requires ample water (30 % of the fresh water available worldwide), and its productivity is greatly affected by drought, the most significant environmental factor. Much research has focussed on identifying quantitative trait loci, stress-regulated genes and transcription factors that will contribute towards the development of climate-resilient/tolerant crop plants in general and rice in particular. The transcription factor DREB1A, identified from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, has been reported to enhance stress tolerance against drought stress. We developed transgenic rice plants with AtDREB1A in the background of indica rice cultivar Samba Mahsuri through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The AtDREB1A gene was stably inherited and expressed in T1 and T2 plants and in subsequent generations, as indicated by the results of PCR, Southern blot and RT-PCR analyses. Expression of AtDREB1A was induced by drought stress in transgenic rice lines, which were highly tolerant to severe water deficit stress in both the vegetative and reproductive stages without affecting their morphological or agronomic traits. The physiological studies revealed that the expression of AtDREB1A was associated with an increased accumulation of the osmotic substance proline, maintenance of chlorophyll, increased relative water content and decreased ion leakage under drought stress. Most of the homozygous lines were highly tolerant to drought stress and showed significantly a higher grain yield and spikelet fertility relative to the nontransgenic control plants under both stressed and unstressed conditions. The improvement in drought stress tolerance in combination with agronomic traits is very essential in high premium indica rice cultivars, such as Samba Mahsuri, so that farmers can benefit in times of seasonal droughts and water scarcity.

  9. Efficiency of Osmotic Dehydration of Apples in Polyols Solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna Cichowska

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of selected compounds from the polyol group, as well as other saccharides, on the osmotic dehydration process of apples. The following alternative solutions were examined: erythritol, xylitol, maltitol, inulin and oligofructose. Efficiency of the osmotic dehydration process was evaluated based on the kinetics of the process, and through comparison of the results obtained during the application of a sucrose solution. This innovative research utilizes alternative solutions in osmotic pretreatment, which until now, have not been commonly used in fruit processing by researchers worldwide. Results indicate that erythritol and xylitol show stronger or similar efficiency to sucrose; however, the use of inulin, as well as oligofructose, was not satisfactory due to the insufficient, small osmotic driving forces of the process, and the low values of mass transfer parameters.

  10. Genotypic variation in growth and physiological response to drought stress and re-watering reveals the critical role of recovery in drought adaptation in maize seedlings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daoqian eChen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Non-irrigated crops in temperate climates and irrigated crops in arid climates are subjected to continuous cycles of water stress and re-watering. Thus, fast and efficient recovery from water stress may be among the key determinants of plant drought adaptation. The present study was designed to comparatively analyze the roles of drought resistance and drought recovery in drought adaptation and to investigate the physiological basis of genotypic variation in drought adaptation in maize (Zea mays seedlings. As the seedlings behavior in growth associate with yield under drought, it could partly reflect the potential of drought adaptability. Growth and physiological responses to progressive drought stress and recovery were observed in seedlings of ten maize lines. The results showed that drought adaptability is closely related to drought recovery (r = 0.714**, but not to drought resistance (r = 0.332. Drought induced decreases in leaf water content, water potential, osmotic potential, gas exchange parameters, chlorophyll content, Fv/Fm and nitrogen content, and increased H2O2 accumulation and lipid peroxidation. After recovery, most of these physiological parameters rapidly returned to normal levels. The physiological responses varied between lines. Further correlation analysis indicated that the physiological bases of drought resistance and drought recovery are definitely different, and that maintaining higher chlorophyll content (r = 0.874*** and Fv/Fm (r = 0.626* under drought stress contributes to drought recovery. Our results suggest that both drought resistance and recovery are key determinants of plant drought adaptation, and that drought recovery may play a more important role than previously thought. In addition, leaf water potential, chlorophyll content and Fv/Fm could be used as efficient reference indicators in the selection of drought-adaptive genotypes.

  11. Inverse osmotic process for radioactive laundry waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebara, Katsuya; Takahashi, Sankichi; Sugimoto, Yoshikazu; Yusa, Hideo; Hyakutake, Hiroshi.

    1977-01-01

    Purpose: To effectively recover the processing amount reduced in a continuous treatment. Method: Laundry waste containing radioactive substances discharged from a nuclear power plant is processed in an inverse osmotic process while adding starch digesting enzymes such as amylase and takadiastase, as well as soft spherical bodies such as sponge balls of a particle diameter capable of flowing in the flow of the liquid wastes along the inverse osmotic membrane pipe and having such a softness and roundness as not to damage the inverse osmotic membrane. This process can remove the floating materials such as thread dusts or hairs deposited on the membrane surface by the action of the soft elastic balls and remove paste or the like through decomposition by the digesting enzymes. Consequently, effective recovery can be attained for the reduced processing amount. (Furukawa, Y.)

  12. Influence of power ultrasound on the main quality properties and cell viability of osmotic dehydrated cranberries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nowacka, Malgorzata; Fijalkowska, Aleksandra; Wiktor, Artur; Dadan, Magdalena; Tylewicz, Urszula; Dalla Rosa, Marco; Witrowa-Rajchert, Dorota

    2018-02-01

    The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of ultrasound treatment in two osmotic solutions, carried out at different time, on some physical properties, antioxidant activity and cell survival of cranberries. Ultrasound treatment was conducted at 21kHz for 30 and 60min in liquid medium: 61.5% sucrose solution and 30% sucrose solution with 0.1% steviol glycosides addition. Some samples before the ultrasound treatment were subjected to cutting or blanching. The results showed that dry matter content and concentration of the dissolved substances increased during ultrasound treatment in osmotic solution, however higher value was observed for treatment in 61.5% sucrose solution and for longer time. Water activity and volume of cranberries did not change after the ultrasonic treatment. Combined treatment led to colour and antioxidant activity alterations as well. A cell viability of whole and cut samples decreased after 60min of osmotic treatment and completely lost in the blanched samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Osmotic stress induced by sodium chloride, sucrose or trehalose improves cryotolerance and developmental competence of porcine oocytes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lin, Lin; Kragh, Peter Michael; Purup, Stig

    2009-01-01

    Cl with those of concentrated solutions of two non-permeable osmotic agents, namely sucrose and trehalose, on the cryotolerance and developmental competence of porcine oocytes. In Experiment 1, porcine in vitro-matured cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs; n = 1200) were exposed to 588 mOsmol NaCl, sucrose...... or trehalose solutions for 1 h, allowed to recover for a further 1 h, vitrified, warmed and subjected to parthenogenetic activation. Both Day 2 (where Day 0 is the day of activation) cleavage and Day 7 blastocyst rates were significantly increased after NaCl, sucrose and trehalose osmotic treatments compared...... with untreated controls (cleavage: 46 ± 5%, 44 ± 7%, 45 ± 4% and 26 ± 6%, respectively; expanded blastocyst rate: 6 ± 1%, 6 ± 2%, 7 ± 2% and 1 ± 1%, respectively). In Experiment 2, COCs (n = 2000) were treated with 588 mOsmol NaCl, sucrose or trehalose, then used as recipients for SCNT (Day 0). Cleavage rates...

  14. Functional Characterization of the Tau Class Glutathione-S-Transferases Gene (SbGSTU) Promoter of Salicornia brachiata under Salinity and Osmotic Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiwari, Vivekanand; Patel, Manish Kumar; Chaturvedi, Amit Kumar; Mishra, Avinash; Jha, Bhavanath

    2016-01-01

    Reactive oxygen or nitrogen species are generated in the plant cell during the extreme stress condition, which produces toxic compounds after reacting with the organic molecules. The glutathione-S-transferase (GST) enzymes play a significant role to detoxify these toxins and help in excretion or sequestration of them. In the present study, we have cloned 1023 bp long promoter region of tau class GST from an extreme halophyte Salicornia brachiata and functionally characterized using the transgenic approach in tobacco. Computational analysis revealed the presence of abiotic stress responsive cis-elements like ABRE, MYB, MYC, GATA, GT1 etc., phytohormones, pathogen and wound responsive motifs. Three 5'-deletion constructs of 730 (GP2), 509 (GP3) and 348 bp (GP4) were made from 1023 (GP1) promoter fragment and used for tobacco transformation. The single event transgenic plants showed notable GUS reporter protein expression in the leaf tissues of control as well as treated plants. The expression level of the GUS gradually decreases from GP1 to GP4 in leaf tissues, whereas the highest level of expression was detected with the GP2 construct in root and stem under control condition. The GUS expression was found higher in leaves and stems of salinity or osmotic stress treated transgenic plants than that of the control plants, but, lower in roots. An efficient expression level of GUS in transgenic plants suggests that this promoter can be used for both constitutive as well as stress inducible expression of gene(s). And this property, make it as a potential candidate to be used as an alternative promoter for crop genetic engineering.

  15. Expression of the grape VqSTS21 gene in Arabidopsis confers resistance to osmotic stress and biotrophic pathogens but not Botrytis cinerea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Huang

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Stilbene synthase (STS is a key gene in the biosynthesis of various stilbenoids, including resveratrol and its derivative glucosides (such as piceid, that has been shown to contribute to disease resistance in plants. However, the mechanism behind such a role has yet to be elucidated. Furthermore, the function of STS genes in osmotic stress tolerance remains unclear. As such, we sought to elucidate the role of STS genes in the defense against biotic and abiotic stress in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Expression profiling of 31 VqSTS genes from Vitis quinquangularis revealed that VqSTS21 was up-regulated in response to powdery mildew (PM infection. To provide a deeper understanding of the function of this gene, we cloned the full-length coding sequence of VqSTS21 and overexpressed it in Arabidopsis thaliana via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The resulting VqSTS21 Arabidopsis lines produced trans-piceid rather than resveratrol as their main stilbenoid product and exhibited improved disease resistance to PM and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, but displayed increased susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea. In addition, transgenic Arabidopsis lines were found to confer tolerance to salt and drought stress from seed germination through plant maturity. Intriguingly, qPCR assays of defense-related genes involved in salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and abscisic acid-induced signaling pathways in these transgenic lines suggested that VqSTS21 plays a role in various phytohormone-related pathways, providing insight into the mechanism behind VqSTS21-mediated resistance to biotic and abiotic stress.

  16. The Effect of Ascorbic Acid Treatment on Viability and Vigor Maize (Zea mays L. Seedling under Drought Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HAMIDAH HAMAMA

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted in the laboratory and the field to examine the effects of ascorbic acid treatment on germination and seedling growth under drought stress. The laboratory works consisted of two experiments and were designed to determine the critical osmotic potential of maize and to determine the optimum ascorbic acid concentration. The field study was designed to examine the effects of soaking seed in ascorbic acid on seedling growth under drought stress. Drought condition was simulated by PEG-6000 and regulation of water treatment. During the first experiment, interactions of both osmotic potential and varieties were significant at all variables. Germination percentage and speed of germination were significantly decreased by increasing of osmotic potential. The second experiment showed that interactions of both factors were significant at all variables except vigor index, the length of shoot, primary, and seminal root. The results showed that the ascorbic acid treatment improved the germination percentage, the speed of germination and the vigor index compared with the control, besides the increase in length of shoot, primary and seminal root and number of seminal root. However, the best result was showed by 55 mM ascobic acid. The result of field experiment showed that interactions were not always significant and 55 mM ascorbic acid treatment increased the seedling height, the number of leaves and leaf area but it had no effect on the water deficit and the root length.

  17. A Novel Non-coding RNA Regulates Drought Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

    KAUST Repository

    Albesher, Nour H.

    2014-05-01

    Drought (soil water deficit) as a major adverse environmental condition can result in serious reduction in plant growth and crop production. Plants respond and adapt to drought stresses by triggering various signalling pathways leading to physiological, metabolic and developmental changes that may ultimately contribute to enhanced tolerance to the stress. Here, a novel non-coding RNA (ncRNA) involved in plant drought stress tolerance was identified. We showed that increasing the expression of this ncRNA led to enhanced sensitivity during seed germination and seedling growth to the phytohormone abscisic acid. The mutant seedlings are also more sensitive to osmotic stress inhibition of lateral root growth. Consistently, seedlings with enhanced expression of this ncRNA exhibited reduced transiprational water loss and were more drought-tolerant than the wild type. Future analyses of the mechanism for its role in drought tolerance may help us to understand how plant drought tolerance could be further regulated by this novel ncRNA.

  18. Electro-osmotic flows inside triangular microchannels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vocale, P; Spiga, M; Geri, M; Morini, G L

    2014-01-01

    This work presents a numerical investigation of both pure electro-osmotic and combined electro-osmotic/pressure-driven flows inside triangular microchannels. A finite element analysis has been adopted to solve the governing equations for the electric potential and the velocity field, accounting for a finite thickness of the electric double layer. The influence of non-dimensional parameters such as the aspect ratio of the cross-section, the electrokinetic diameter and the ratio of the pressure force to the electric force on the flow behavior has been investigated. Numerical results point out that the velocity field is significantly influenced by the aspect ratio of the cross section and the electrokinetic diameter. More specifically, the aspect ratio plays an important role in determining the maximum volumetric flow rate, while the electrokinetic diameter is crucial to establishing the range of pressures that may be sustained by the electro-osmotic flow. Numerical results are also compared with two correlations available in the literature which enable to assess the volumetric flow rate and the pressure head for microchannels featuring a rectangular, a trapezoidal or an elliptical cross-section.

  19. Environmental impacts by running an osmotic power plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Staalstroem, A.; Gitmark, J.

    2012-07-01

    The possible environmental impact by running an osmotic power plant is assessed by using results from monitoring of the prototype plant at Tofte in the Oslofjord, where a water flow of approximately 13 L/s of freshwater is mixed with 20 L/s of saltwater and discharged at 2 m depth. The results from the biological investigations show no impact of the discharge water on the benthic communities in the area. Eutrophication effects near the discharge point are identified as the main environmental concern in an up-scaled power plant. Water samples from the saltwater intake indicate that the phosphorous concentration often is higher at 35 m depth than in the euphotic layer, and there will be a net supply of phosphorous to this layer. By diving the outlet plume below the euphotic zone, eutrophication effects as well as possible effects from use of chemicals and possible changed temperature and salinity in the surface layer is avoided. (Author)

  20. Alleviation of Water Stress Effects on MR220 Rice by Application of Periodical Water Stress and Potassium Fertilization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurul Amalina Mohd Zain

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The use of periodical water stress and potassium fertilization may enhance rice tolerance to drought stress and improve the crop’s instantaneous water use efficiency without much yield reduction. This study was conducted to assess the effects of different periodical water stress combined with potassium fertilization regimes on growth, yield, leaf gas exchanges and biochemical changes in rice grown in pots and compare them with standard local rice grower practices. Five treatments including (1 standard local grower’s practice (control, 80CF = 80 kg K2O/ha + control flooding; (2 120PW15 = 120 kg K2O/ha + periodical water stress for 15 days; (3 120DS15V = 120 kg K2O/ha + drought stress for 15 days during the vegetative stage; (4 120DS25V = 120 kg K2O/ha + drought stress for 25 days and (5 120DS15R = 120 kg K2O/ha + drought stress for 15 days during the reproductive stage, were evaluated in this experiment. Control and 120PW15 treatments were stopped at 100 DAS, and continuously saturated conditions were applied until harvest. It was found that rice under 120PW15 treatment showed tolerance to drought stress evidenced by increased water use efficiency, peroxidase (POX, catalase (CAT and proline levels, maximum efficiency of photosystem II (fv/fm and lower minimal fluorescence (fo, compared to other treatments. Path coefficient analysis revealed that most of parameters contribute directly rather than indirectly to rice yield. In this experiment, there were four factors that are directly involved with rice yield: grain soluble sugar, photosynthesis, water use efficiency and total chlorophyll content. The residual factors affecting rice yield are observed to be quite low in the experiment (0.350, confirming that rice yield was mostly influenced by the parameters measured during the study.

  1. Linking the salt transcriptome with physiological responses of a salt-resistant Populus species as a strategy to identify genes important for stress acclimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinker, Monika; Brosché, Mikael; Vinocur, Basia; Abo-Ogiala, Atef; Fayyaz, Payam; Janz, Dennis; Ottow, Eric A; Cullmann, Andreas D; Saborowski, Joachim; Kangasjärvi, Jaakko; Altman, Arie; Polle, Andrea

    2010-12-01

    To investigate early salt acclimation mechanisms in a salt-tolerant poplar species (Populus euphratica), the kinetics of molecular, metabolic, and physiological changes during a 24-h salt exposure were measured. Three distinct phases of salt stress were identified by analyses of the osmotic pressure and the shoot water potential: dehydration, salt accumulation, and osmotic restoration associated with ionic stress. The duration and intensity of these phases differed between leaves and roots. Transcriptome analysis using P. euphratica-specific microarrays revealed clusters of coexpressed genes in these phases, with only 3% overlapping salt-responsive genes in leaves and roots. Acclimation of cellular metabolism to high salt concentrations involved remodeling of amino acid and protein biosynthesis and increased expression of molecular chaperones (dehydrins, osmotin). Leaves suffered initially from dehydration, which resulted in changes in transcript levels of mitochondrial and photosynthetic genes, indicating adjustment of energy metabolism. Initially, decreases in stress-related genes were found, whereas increases occurred only when leaves had restored the osmotic balance by salt accumulation. Comparative in silico analysis of the poplar stress regulon with Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) orthologs was used as a strategy to reduce the number of candidate genes for functional analysis. Analysis of Arabidopsis knockout lines identified a lipocalin-like gene (AtTIL) and a gene encoding a protein with previously unknown functions (AtSIS) to play roles in salt tolerance. In conclusion, by dissecting the stress transcriptome of tolerant species, novel genes important for salt endurance can be identified.

  2. Abiotic Stress-Related Expressed Sequence Tags from the Diploid Strawberry Fragaria vesca f. semperflorens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maximo. Rivarola

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Strawberry ( spp. is a eudicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Rosaceae family, which includes other agronomically important plants such as raspberry ( L. and several tree-fruit species. Despite the vital role played by cultivated strawberry in agriculture, few stress-related gene expression characterizations of this crop are available. To increase the diversity of available transcriptome sequence, we produced 41,430 L. expressed sequence tags (ESTs from plants growing under water-, temperature-, and osmotic-stress conditions as well as a combination of heat and osmotic stresses that is often found in irrigated fields. Clustering and assembling of the ESTs resulted in a total of 11,836 contigs and singletons that were annotated using Gene Ontology (GO terms. Furthermore, over 1200 sequences with no match to available Rosaceae ESTs were found, including six that were assigned the “response to stress” GO category. Analysis of EST frequency provided an estimate of steady state transcript levels, with 91 sequences exhibiting at least a 20-fold difference between treatments. This EST collection represents a useful resource to advance our understanding of the abiotic stress-response mechanisms in strawberry. The sequence information may be translated to valuable tree crops in the Rosaceae family, where whole-plant treatments are not as simple or practical.

  3. How Does Silicon Mediate Plant Water Uptake and Loss Under Water Deficiency?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daoqian Chen

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In plants, water deficiency can result from a deficit of water from the soil, an obstacle to the uptake of water or the excess water loss; in these cases, the similar consequence is the limitation of plant growth and crop yield. Silicon (Si has been widely reported to alleviate the plant water status and water balance under variant stress conditions in both monocot and dicot plants, especially under drought and salt stresses. However, the underlying mechanism is unclear. In addition to the regulation of leaf transpiration, recently, Si application was found to be involved in the adjustment of root hydraulic conductance by up-regulating aquaporin gene expression and concentrating K in the xylem sap. Therefore, this review discusses the potential effects of Si on both leaf transpiration and root water absorption, especially focusing on how Si modulates the root hydraulic conductance. A growing number of studies support the conclusion that Si application improves plant water status by increasing root water uptake, rather than by decreasing their water loss under conditions of water deficiency. The enhancement of plant water uptake by Si is achievable through the activation of osmotic adjustment, improving aquaporin activity and increasing the root/shoot ratio. The underlying mechanisms of the Si on improving plant water uptake under water deficiency conditions are discussed.

  4. Phylogenetic diversity of stress signalling pathways in fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stansfield Ian

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Microbes must sense environmental stresses, transduce these signals and mount protective responses to survive in hostile environments. In this study we have tested the hypothesis that fungal stress signalling pathways have evolved rapidly in a niche-specific fashion that is independent of phylogeny. To test this hypothesis we have compared the conservation of stress signalling molecules in diverse fungal species with their stress resistance. These fungi, which include ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and microsporidia, occupy highly divergent niches from saline environments to plant or mammalian hosts. Results The fungi displayed significant variation in their resistance to osmotic (NaCl and sorbitol, oxidative (H2O2 and menadione and cell wall stresses (Calcofluor White and Congo Red. There was no strict correlation between fungal phylogeny and stress resistance. Rather, the human pathogens tended to be more resistant to all three types of stress, an exception being the sensitivity of Candida albicans to the cell wall stress, Calcofluor White. In contrast, the plant pathogens were relatively sensitive to oxidative stress. The degree of conservation of osmotic, oxidative and cell wall stress signalling pathways amongst the eighteen fungal species was examined. Putative orthologues of functionally defined signalling components in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were identified by performing reciprocal BLASTP searches, and the percent amino acid identities of these orthologues recorded. This revealed that in general, central components of the osmotic, oxidative and cell wall stress signalling pathways are relatively well conserved, whereas the sensors lying upstream and transcriptional regulators lying downstream of these modules have diverged significantly. There was no obvious correlation between the degree of conservation of stress signalling pathways and the resistance of a particular fungus to the corresponding stress. Conclusion Our

  5. Modelling and analysis of central metabolism operating regulatory interactions in salt stress conditions in a L-carnitine overproducing E. coli strain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guido Santos

    Full Text Available Based on experimental data from E. coli cultures, we have devised a mathematical model in the GMA-power law formalism that describes the central and L-carnitine metabolism in and between two steady states, non-osmotic and hyperosmotic (0.3 M NaCl. A key feature of this model is the introduction of type of kinetic order, the osmotic stress kinetic orders (g(OSn, derived from the power law general formalism, which represent the effect of osmotic stress in each metabolic process of the model.By considering the values of the g(OSn linked to each metabolic process we found that osmotic stress has a positive and determinant influence on the increase in flux in energetic metabolism (glycolysis; L-carnitine biosynthesis production; the transformation/excretion of Acetyl-CoA into acetate and ethanol; the input flux of peptone into the cell; the anabolic use of pyruvate and biomass decomposition. In contrast, we found that although the osmotic stress has an inhibitory effect on the transformation flux from the glycolytic end products (pyruvate to Acetyl-CoA, this inhibition is counteracted by other effects (the increase in pyruvate concentration to the extent that the whole flux increases. In the same vein, the down regulation exerted by osmotic stress on fumarate uptake and its oxidation and the production and export of lactate and pyruvate are reversed by other factors up to the point that the first increased and the second remained unchanged.The model analysis shows that in osmotic conditions the energy and fermentation pathways undergo substantial rearrangement. This is illustrated by the observation that the increase in the fermentation fluxes is not connected with fluxes towards the tricaboxylic acid intermediates and the synthesis of biomass. The osmotic stress associated with these fluxes reflects these changes. All these observations support that the responses to salt stress observed in E. coli might be conserved in halophiles.Flux evolution

  6. Method of osmotic energy harvesting using responsive compounds and molecules

    KAUST Repository

    Hu, Xiao

    2017-07-27

    The present invention discloses and claims a more efficient and economical method and system for osmotic energy production and capture using responsive compounds and molecules. The present invention is an energy harvest system enabled by stimuli responsive draw solutions that are competent in terms of energy production, geographic location flexibility, and the affordable, efficient and economical production and delivery of osmotic power. Specifically, the present invention is a novel osmotic power system that uses stimuli responsive draw solutions, economically feasible larger permeable membranes, and low grade heat sources to deliver osmotic power more efficiently and economically with less negative environmental impact, greater power output, and located in more geographically diverse areas of the world than previously thought possible for supporting such a power source.

  7. Quantified Effects of Late Pregnancy and Lactation on the Osmotic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Quantified Effects of Late Pregnancy and Lactation on the Osmotic Stability of ... in the composition of erythrocyte membranes associated with the physiologic states. Keywords: Erythrocyteosmotic stability, osmotic fragility, late pregnancy, ...

  8. Drying characteristics of osmotically pretreated cranberries : Energy and quality aspects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grabowski, S.; Marcotte, M. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, St. Hyacinthe, PQ (Canada). Food Research and Development Centre; Poirier, M.; Kudra, T. [Natural Resources Canada, Varennes, PQ (Canada). CANMET Energy Technology Centre

    2002-06-01

    This paper presents the results of a study in which osmotically pretreated cranberries were dried. The osmotic treatment included dehydration and sugar infusion. The process involved pretreating halved cranberries in a standard osmotic solution followed by freeze-drying, vacuum-drying and air-drying in various dryers, such as cabinet-air-through, fluid bed, pulsed fluid bed, and vibrated fluid bed dryers. The intent was to identify the best drying technology. The comparison criteria selected were energy consumption and product quality. Product quality for freeze-dried berries was quantified based on anthocyanins content, rehydration ratio, color, and taste. Unit heat consumption could be used for selecting the drying method, as all other drying methods yielded similar but slightly lower quality products. The highest energy efficiency was obtained with the vibrated fluid bed and the pulsed fluid bed. It was noted that drying rates were reduced during the second drying period when sugar was infused into the cranberries during osmotic pretreatment, but the total energy consumption was reduced by osmotic dehydration. 22 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs.

  9. Detection of osmotic damages in GRP boat hulls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krstulović-Opara, L.; Domazet, Ž.; Garafulić, E.

    2013-09-01

    Infrared thermography as a tool of non-destructive testing is method enabling visualization and estimation of structural anomalies and differences in structure's topography. In presented paper problem of osmotic damage in submerged glass reinforced polymer structures is addressed. The osmotic damage can be detected by a simple humidity gauging, but for proper evaluation and estimation testing methods are restricted and hardly applicable. In this paper it is demonstrated that infrared thermography, based on estimation of heat wave propagation, can be used. Three methods are addressed; Pulsed thermography, Fast Fourier Transform and Continuous Morlet Wavelet. An additional image processing based on gradient approach is applied on all addressed methods. It is shown that the Continuous Morlet Wavelet is the most appropriate method for detection of osmotic damage.

  10. Quantitative analysis of glycerol accumulation, glycolysis and growth under hyper osmotic stress.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elzbieta Petelenz-Kurdziel

    Full Text Available We provide an integrated dynamic view on a eukaryotic osmolyte system, linking signaling with regulation of gene expression, metabolic control and growth. Adaptation to osmotic changes enables cells to adjust cellular activity and turgor pressure to an altered environment. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae adapts to hyperosmotic stress by activating the HOG signaling cascade, which controls glycerol accumulation. The Hog1 kinase stimulates transcription of genes encoding enzymes required for glycerol production (Gpd1, Gpp2 and glycerol import (Stl1 and activates a regulatory enzyme in glycolysis (Pfk26/27. In addition, glycerol outflow is prevented by closure of the Fps1 glycerol facilitator. In order to better understand the contributions to glycerol accumulation of these different mechanisms and how redox and energy metabolism as well as biomass production are maintained under such conditions we collected an extensive dataset. Over a period of 180 min after hyperosmotic shock we monitored in wild type and different mutant cells the concentrations of key metabolites and proteins relevant for osmoadaptation. The dataset was used to parameterize an ODE model that reproduces the generated data very well. A detailed computational analysis using time-dependent response coefficients showed that Pfk26/27 contributes to rerouting glycolytic flux towards lower glycolysis. The transient growth arrest following hyperosmotic shock further adds to redirecting almost all glycolytic flux from biomass towards glycerol production. Osmoadaptation is robust to loss of individual adaptation pathways because of the existence and upregulation of alternative routes of glycerol accumulation. For instance, the Stl1 glycerol importer contributes to glycerol accumulation in a mutant with diminished glycerol production capacity. In addition, our observations suggest a role for trehalose accumulation in osmoadaptation and that Hog1 probably directly contributes to the

  11. Modeling osmotic salinity effects on yield characteristics of substrate-grown greenhouse crops

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sonneveld, C.; Bos, van den A.L.; Voogt, W.

    2004-01-01

    In a series of experiments with different osmotic potentials in the root environment, various vegetables, and ornamentals were grown in a substrate system. The osmotic potential was varied by addition of nutrients. Yield characteristics of the crop were related to the osmotic potential of the

  12. PHOTOMETRIC EVIDENCE FOR THE OSMOTIC BEHAVIOR OF RAT LIVER MICROSOMES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tedeschi, Henry; James, Joseph M.; Anthony, William

    1963-01-01

    Electron microscope observations are consistent with the interpretation that the elements of the endoplasmic reticulum are osmotically active in situ as well as after isolation. More recently, it has been reported that microsomal suspensions equilibrate almost completely with added C14-sucrose and that no osmotic behavior is evident from photometric data. These findings were considered at variance with the electron microscope data. However, equilibration with added label simply attests to a relatively high permeability, and, in addition, the photometric data need not be critical. Osmotic volume changes, measured photometrically, may be masked by concomitant events (e.g., changes in the refractive index of the test solutions at varying osmotic pressures, breakdown of the particles, and agglutination). For these reasons the photometric experiments were repeated. In this work, the reciprocal of optical density of microsomal suspensions was found to vary linearly with the reciprocal of concentration of the medium at constant refractive index. These changes probably correspond to osmotic volume changes, since the effect was found to be (a) independent of substance used and (b) osmotically reversible. The transmission of the suspension was found to vary with the refractive index of the medium, the concentration of particles, and the wavelength of incident light, according to relationships that are similar to or identical with those obtained for mitochondrial suspensions. PMID:14064105

  13. Investigation of the Effects of Extracellular Osmotic Pressure on Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Individual Chondrocyte.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Trung Dung; Oloyede, Adekunle; Singh, Sanjleena; Gu, YuanTong

    2016-06-01

    It has been demonstrated that most cells of the body respond to osmotic pressure in a systematic manner. The disruption of the collagen network in the early stages of osteoarthritis causes an increase in water content of cartilage which leads to a reduction of pericellular osmolality in chondrocytes distributed within the extracellular environment. It is therefore arguable that an insight into the mechanical properties of chondrocytes under varying osmotic pressure would provide a better understanding of chondrocyte mechanotransduction and potentially contribute to knowledge on cartilage degeneration. In this present study, the chondrocyte cells were exposed to solutions with different osmolality. Changes in their dimensions and mechanical properties were measured over time. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to apply load at various strain-rates and the force-time curves were logged. The thin-layer elastic model was used to extract the elastic stiffness of chondrocytes at different strain-rates and at different solution osmolality. In addition, the porohyperelastic (PHE) model was used to investigate the strain-rate-dependent responses under the loading and osmotic pressure conditions. The results revealed that the hypo-osmotic external environment increased chondrocyte dimensions and reduced Young's modulus of the cells at all strain-rates tested. In contrast, the hyper-osmotic external environment reduced dimensions and increased Young's modulus. Moreover, using the PHE model coupled with inverse FEA simulation, we established that the hydraulic permeability of chondrocytes increased with decreasing extracellular osmolality which is consistent with previous work in the literature. This could be due to a higher intracellular fluid volume fraction with lower osmolality.

  14. The lateral intercellular space as osmotic coupling compartment in isotonic transport

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, E.H.; Willumsen, N.J.; Mobjerg, N.

    2009-01-01

    coupling of water absorption to ion flow is energized by lateral Na+/K+ pumps. We show that the theory accounts quantitatively for steady- and time dependent states of solute-coupled fluid uptake by toad skin epithelium. Our experimental results exclude definitively three alternative theories of epithelial......Solute-coupled water transport and isotonic transport are basic functions of low- and high-resistance epithelia. These functions are studied with the epithelium bathed on the two sides with physiological saline of similar composition. Hence, at transepithelial equilibrium water enters...... the epithelial cells from both sides, and with the reflection coefficient of tight junction being larger than that of the interspace basement membrane, all of the water leaves the epithelium through the interspace basement membrane. The common design of transporting epithelia leads to the theory that an osmotic...

  15. Use of osmotic dehydration to improve fruits and vegetables quality during processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maftoonazad, Neda

    2010-11-01

    Osmotic treatment describes a preparation step to further processing of foods involving simultaneous transient moisture loss and solids gain when immersing in osmotic solutions, resulting in partial drying and improving the overall quality of food products. The different aspects of the osmotic dehydration (OD) technology namely the solutes employed, solutions characteristics used, process variables influence, as well as, the quality characteristics of the osmodehydrated products will be discussed in this review. As the process is carried out at mild temperatures and the moisture is removed by a liquid diffusion process, phase change that would be present in the other drying processes will be avoided, resulting in high quality products and may also lead to substantial energy savings. To optimize this process, modeling of the mass transfer phenomenon can improve high product quality. Several techniques such as microwave heating, vacuum, high pressure, pulsed electric field, etc. may be employed during or after osmotic treatment to enhance performance of the osmotic dehydration. Moreover new technologies used in osmotic dehydration will be discussed. Patents on osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables are also discussed in this article.

  16. Physicochemical characteristics of guava “Paluma” submitted to osmotic dehydration

    OpenAIRE

    Roselene Ferreira Oliveira; Lia Mara Moterlle; Edmar Clemente

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this work was to evaluate the conservation post process osmotic of guava stored temperature at 5oC. Guava (Psidium guajava L.), red variety “Paluma” minimally processed by mild osmotic dehydration, were packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and stored temperature at 5ºC. Non-treated guava, packed in PET trays, was used as control. The treatment used was osmotic dehydration in sucrose syrup at 60ºBrix and physicochemical determinations were pH, total soluble solids (TSS), tot...

  17. Optimum condition of producing crisp osmotic banana using superheated steam puffing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabtiang, Surapit; Prachayawarakorn, Somkiat; Soponronnarit, Somchart

    2017-03-01

    Puffing can improve textural property of snacks. Nevertheless, high temperature puffing accelerates non-enzymatic browning reactions. The osmotic treatment using sucrose solution potentially retards the browning, but the high amount of sucrose gain causes hard texture. The objective of this work was therefore to study the effects of osmotic time, puffing time and puffing temperature on banana qualities such as colour, shrinkage and textural property. The experimental results showed that puffing temperature, puffing time and osmotic time significantly affected colour, shrinkage and textual properties. The optimisation using response surface methodology was used for a trade-off between colour and textural properties. To obtain a good quality product, the puffed osmotic banana should be operated at the osmotic time of 43 min and puffing temperature of 220 °C and puffing time of 2 min. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  18. Osmotic power. A great energy source for renewable energy; Una gran fuente de energia renovable para electricidad. Potencia osmotica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alonso Alvarez, J.

    2009-07-01

    When freshwater meets saltwater, for example, where a river flows out into the sea, enormous quantities of energy can be utilised to generate power, through the natural phenomenon of osmosis. Osmotic power is based on the natural phenomenon of osmosis, defined as the transport of water through a semi-permeable membranes, enclosing their cells, and tho produce osmotic power one has to design similar, artificial membranes. In an osmotic power plant we feed freshwater into separate chambers, separated by an artificial membranes. The salt molecules in the seawater then draw the freshwater through the membranes, causing the pressure on the seawater side to increase. This pressure corresponds to a water column of 120 meters or a large waterfall, and can be utilised in a turbine which generated electricity. The idea to generate power through osmosis is originates from the 1970s. At the time, however, the membranes had low efficiency and power price were too low to enable anyone to profitable invest in such a project. many years later, research scientists al SINTEF brought the idea to STAT kraft. The collaboration was initiated in 1997, and the development of a new, renewable energy source was initiated. (Author)

  19. Silencing of the CaCP Gene Delays Salt- and Osmotic-Induced Leaf Senescence in Capsicum annuum L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huai-Juan Xiao

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Cysteine proteinases have been known to participate in developmental processes and in response to stress in plants. Our present research reported that a novel CP gene, CaCP, was involved in leaf senescence in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.. The full-length CaCP cDNA is comprised of 1316 bp, contains 1044 nucleotides in open reading frame (ORF, and encodes a 347 amino acid protein. The deduced protein belongs to the papain-like cysteine proteases (CPs superfamily, containing a highly conserved ERFNIN motif, a GCNGG motif and a conserved catalytic triad. This protein localized to the vacuole of plant cells. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that the expression level of CaCP gene was dramatically higher in leaves and flowers than that in roots, stems and fruits. Moreover, CaCP transcripts were induced upon during leaf senescence. CaCP expression was upregulated by plant hormones, especially salicylic acid. CaCP was also significantly induced by abiotic and biotic stress treatments, including high salinity, mannitol and Phytophthora capsici. Loss of function of CaCP using the virus-induced gene-silencing technique in pepper plants led to enhanced tolerance to salt- and osmotic-induced stress. Taken together, these results suggest that CaCP is a senescence-associated gene, which is involved in developmental senescence and regulates salt- and osmotic-induced leaf senescence in pepper.

  20. Silencing of the CaCP Gene Delays Salt- and Osmotic-Induced Leaf Senescence in Capsicum annuum L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Huai-Juan; Yin, Yan-Xu; Chai, Wei-Guo; Gong, Zhen-Hui

    2014-01-01

    Cysteine proteinases have been known to participate in developmental processes and in response to stress in plants. Our present research reported that a novel CP gene, CaCP, was involved in leaf senescence in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). The full-length CaCP cDNA is comprised of 1316 bp, contains 1044 nucleotides in open reading frame (ORF), and encodes a 347 amino acid protein. The deduced protein belongs to the papain-like cysteine proteases (CPs) superfamily, containing a highly conserved ERFNIN motif, a GCNGG motif and a conserved catalytic triad. This protein localized to the vacuole of plant cells. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that the expression level of CaCP gene was dramatically higher in leaves and flowers than that in roots, stems and fruits. Moreover, CaCP transcripts were induced upon during leaf senescence. CaCP expression was upregulated by plant hormones, especially salicylic acid. CaCP was also significantly induced by abiotic and biotic stress treatments, including high salinity, mannitol and Phytophthora capsici. Loss of function of CaCP using the virus-induced gene-silencing technique in pepper plants led to enhanced tolerance to salt- and osmotic-induced stress. Taken together, these results suggest that CaCP is a senescence-associated gene, which is involved in developmental senescence and regulates salt- and osmotic-induced leaf senescence in pepper. PMID:24823878

  1. Abscisic acid, a stress hormone helps in improving water relations and yield of sunflower (helianthus annuus l.) hybrids under drought

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussain, S.; Saleem, M.F.; Cheema, M.A.; Ashraf, M.Y.; Haq, M.A.

    2010-01-01

    Genotypic variation in water relations under drought is an important index of studying drought tolerance of crops. Abscisic acid (ABA) application helped in mitigating drought stress by improving water relations and yield. Three sunflower hybrids viz., DK-4040 (tall stature), S-278 (medium stature) and SF-187 (short stature) were subjected to different irrigation and ABA application regimes i.e., four irrigations (25 days after sowing (DAS), at bud initiation, at flower initiation and at achene formation) and with no ABA spray, three irrigations (25 days after sowing, at flower initiation and at achene formation) and with no ABA spray, three irrigations (25 days after sowing, at flower initiation and at achene formation) and with ABA spray at bud initiation, three irrigations (25 days after sowing), at bud initiation and at achene formation) and with no ABA spray, three irrigations (25 days after sowing), at bud initiation and at achene formation) and with ABA spray at flower initiation. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with split plot arrangement and had three replications. Exogenous application of ABA under drought at either stage (bud or flower initiation) was helpful in ameliorating drought stress by improving water relations and yield of sunflower hybrids; however response was better when ABA was applied under drought at bud initiation than at flower initiation stage. Sunflower hybrid DK- 4040 showed better enhancement of drought tolerance by exogenous application of ABA under drought than SF-187 and S-278 because it showed more improvement in water potential, osmotic potential, turgor pressure, relative leaf water contents and achene yield. (author)

  2. Grafting improves cucumber water stress tolerance in Saudi Arabia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdulaziz R. Al-Harbi

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Water scarcity is a major limiting factor for crop productivity in arid and semi-arid areas. Grafting elite commercial cultivars onto selected vigorous rootstocks is considered as a useful strategy to alleviate the impact of environmental stresses. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using grafting to improve fruit yield and quality of cucumber under water stress conditions. Alosama F1 cucumber cultivar (Cucumis sativus L. was grafted onto Affyne (Cucumis sativus L. and Shintoza A90 (Cucurbitamaxima × C. moschata rootstocks. Non-grafted plants were used as control. All genotypes were grown under three surface drip irrigation regimes: 50%, 75% and 100% of the crop evapotranspiration (ETc, which represent high-water stress, moderate-water stress and non-water stress conditions, respectively. Yield and fruit quality traits were analyzed and assessed. In comparison to the non-grafted plants, the best grafting treatment under water stress was Alosama F1 grafted onto Shintoza A90 rootstock. It had an overall improved yield and fruit quality under water stress owing to an increase in the total fruit yield by 27%, from 4.815 kg plant−1 in non-grafted treatment to 6.149 kg plant−1 in grafted treatment under moderate -water stress, total soluble solid contents (13%, titratable acidity (39% and vitamin C (33%. The soil water contents were low in soil surface and increase gradually with soil depth, while salt distribution showed an adverse trend. The positive effects of grafting on plant growth, productivity, and water use efficiency support this strategy as an useful tool for improving water stress tolerance in greenhouse grown cucumber in Saudi Arabia.

  3. Grafting improves cucumber water stress tolerance in Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Harbi, Abdulaziz R; Al-Omran, Abdulrasoul M; Alharbi, Khadiga

    2018-02-01

    Water scarcity is a major limiting factor for crop productivity in arid and semi-arid areas. Grafting elite commercial cultivars onto selected vigorous rootstocks is considered as a useful strategy to alleviate the impact of environmental stresses. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using grafting to improve fruit yield and quality of cucumber under water stress conditions. Alosama F 1 cucumber cultivar ( Cucumis sativus L.) was grafted onto Affyne ( Cucumis sativus L.) and Shintoza A90 ( Cucurbitamaxima × C. moschata ) rootstocks. Non-grafted plants were used as control. All genotypes were grown under three surface drip irrigation regimes: 50%, 75% and 100% of the crop evapotranspiration (ETc), which represent high-water stress, moderate-water stress and non-water stress conditions, respectively. Yield and fruit quality traits were analyzed and assessed. In comparison to the non-grafted plants, the best grafting treatment under water stress was Alosama F 1 grafted onto Shintoza A90 rootstock. It had an overall improved yield and fruit quality under water stress owing to an increase in the total fruit yield by 27%, from 4.815 kg plant -1 in non-grafted treatment to 6.149 kg plant -1 in grafted treatment under moderate -water stress, total soluble solid contents (13%), titratable acidity (39%) and vitamin C (33%). The soil water contents were low in soil surface and increase gradually with soil depth, while salt distribution showed an adverse trend. The positive effects of grafting on plant growth, productivity, and water use efficiency support this strategy as an useful tool for improving water stress tolerance in greenhouse grown cucumber in Saudi Arabia.

  4. Osmotically driven membrane process for the management of urban runoff in coastal regions

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Zhenyu

    2014-01-01

    An osmotic detention pond was proposed for the management of urban runoff in coastal regions. Forward osmosis was employed as a bridge to utilize natural osmotic energy from seawater for concentrating and reusing urban runoff water, and as a barrier to reject runoff-derived contaminants. The process was demonstrated by a lab scale testing using synthetic urban runoff (as the feed solution) and synthetic seawater (as the draw solution). The submerged forward osmosis process was conducted under neutral, acidic and natural organic matter fouling condition, respectively. Forward osmosis flux decline was mainly attributed to the dilution of seawater during a semi-batch process in lab scale testing. However, it is possible to minimize flux decrease by maintaining a constant salinity at the draw solution side. Various changes in urban runoff water quality, including acidic conditions (acid rain) and natural organic matter presence, did not show significant effects on the rejection of trace metals and phosphorus, but influenced salt leakage and the rejection of nitrate and total nitrogen. Rejection of trace metals varied from 98% to 100%, phosphorus varied from 97% to 100, nitrate varied from 52% to 94% and total nitrogen varied from 65% to 85% under different feed water conditions. The work described in this study contributes to an integrated system of urban runoff management, seawater desalination and possible power generation in coastal regions to achieve a sustainable solution to the water-energy nexus. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

  5. Osmotically driven membrane process for the management of urban runoff in coastal regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zhenyu; Valladares Linares, Rodrigo; Abu-Ghdaib, Muhannad; Zhan, Tong; Yangali-Quintanilla, Victor; Amy, Gary

    2014-01-01

    An osmotic detention pond was proposed for the management of urban runoff in coastal regions. Forward osmosis was employed as a bridge to utilize natural osmotic energy from seawater for concentrating and reusing urban runoff water, and as a barrier to reject runoff-derived contaminants. The process was demonstrated by a lab scale testing using synthetic urban runoff (as the feed solution) and synthetic seawater (as the draw solution). The submerged forward osmosis process was conducted under neutral, acidic and natural organic matter fouling condition, respectively. Forward osmosis flux decline was mainly attributed to the dilution of seawater during a semi-batch process in lab scale testing. However, it is possible to minimize flux decrease by maintaining a constant salinity at the draw solution side. Various changes in urban runoff water quality, including acidic conditions (acid rain) and natural organic matter presence, did not show significant effects on the rejection of trace metals and phosphorus, but influenced salt leakage and the rejection of nitrate and total nitrogen. Rejection of trace metals varied from 98% to 100%, phosphorus varied from 97% to 100, nitrate varied from 52% to 94% and total nitrogen varied from 65% to 85% under different feed water conditions. The work described in this study contributes to an integrated system of urban runoff management, seawater desalination and possible power generation in coastal regions to achieve a sustainable solution to the water-energy nexus. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Effects of enhanced ultraviolet-B radiation, water deficit, and their combination on UV-absorbing compounds and osmotic adjustment substances in two different moss species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hui, Rong; Zhao, Ruiming; Song, Guang; Li, Yixuan; Zhao, Yang; Wang, Yanli

    2018-05-01

    A simulation experiment was conducted to explore the influence of enhanced ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, water deficit, and their combination on UV-absorbing compounds and osmotic adjustment substances of mosses Bryum argenteum and Didymodon vinealis isolated from biological soil crusts (BSCs) growing in a revegetated area of the Tengger Desert, China. Four levels of UV-B radiation and two gradients of water regime were employed. Compared with their controls, amounts of total flavonoids, chlorophyll, carotenoids, soluble sugars, and soluble proteins significantly decreased (p argenteum, D. vinealis was more resistant to enhanced UV-B and water deficit singly and in combination. These results suggest that the damage of enhanced UV-B on both species might be alleviated by water deficit. This alleviation is important for understanding the response of BSCs to UV-B radiation in future global climate change. This also provides novel insights into assessment damages of UV-B to BSC stability in arid and semiarid regions.

  7. Model Dependency of TMAO's Counteracting Effect Against Action of Urea: Kast Model versus Osmotic Model of TMAO.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borgohain, Gargi; Paul, Sandip

    2016-03-10

    Classical molecular dynamics simulation of GB1 peptide (a 16-residue β-hairpin) in different osmotic environments is studied. Urea is used for denaturation of the peptide, and trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is used to offset the effect of urea. Protein-urea electrostatic interactions are found to play a major role in protein-denaturation. To emphasize on protein protecting action of TMAO against urea, two different models of TMAO are used, viz., the Kast model and the Osmotic model. We observe that the Osmotic model of TMAO gives the best protection to counteract urea's action when used in ratio 1:2 of urea:TMAO (i.e., reverse ratio). This is because the presence of TMAO makes urea-protein electrostatic interactions more unfavorable. Preferential solvation of TMAO molecules by urea (and water) molecules is also observed, which causes depletion in the number of urea molecules in the vicinity of the protein. The calculations of intraprotein hydrogen bonds between different residues of protein further reveal the breaking of backbone hydrogen bonds of residues 2 and 15 in the presence of urea, and the same is preserved in the presence of TMAO. Free energy landscapes show that the narrowest distribution is obtained for the osmotic TMAO model when used in reverse ratio.

  8. Osmotic Compounds Enhance Antibiotic Efficacy against Acinetobacter baumannii Biofilm Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falghoush, Azeza; Beyenal, Haluk; Besser, Thomas E; Omsland, Anders; Call, Douglas R

    2017-10-01

    Biofilm-associated infections are a clinical challenge, in part because a hydrated matrix protects the bacterial community from antibiotics. Herein, we evaluated how different osmotic compounds (maltodextrin, sucrose, and polyethylene glycol [PEG]) enhance antibiotic efficacy against Acinetobacter baumannii biofilm communities. Established (24-h) test tube biofilms (strain ATCC 17978) were treated with osmotic compounds in the presence or absence of 10× the MIC of different antibiotics (50 μg/ml tobramycin, 20 μg/ml ciprofloxacin, 300 μg/ml chloramphenicol, 30 μg/ml nalidixic acid, or 100 μg/ml erythromycin). Combining antibiotics with hypertonic concentrations of the osmotic compounds for 24 h reduced the number of biofilm bacteria by 5 to 7 log ( P baumannii strains were similarly treated with 400-Da PEG and tobramycin, resulting in a mean 2.7-log reduction in recoverable bacteria compared with tobramycin treatment alone. Multivariate regression models with data from different osmotic compounds and nine antibiotics demonstrated that the benefit from combining hypertonic treatments with antibiotics is a function of antibiotic mass and lipophilicity ( r 2 > 0.82; P baumannii and Escherichia coli K-12. Augmenting topical antibiotic therapies with a low-mass hypertonic treatment may enhance the efficacy of antibiotics against wound biofilms, particularly when using low-mass hydrophilic antibiotics. IMPORTANCE Biofilms form a barrier that protects bacteria from environmental insults, including exposure to antibiotics. We demonstrated that multiple osmotic compounds can enhance antibiotic efficacy against Acinetobacter baumannii biofilm communities, but viscosity is a limiting factor, and the most effective compounds have lower molecular mass. The synergism between osmotic compounds and antibiotics is also dependent on the hydrophobicity and mass of the antibiotics. The statistical models presented herein provide a basis for predicting the optimal combination of

  9. Effect of plasma colloid osmotic pressure on intraocular pressure during haemodialysis

    OpenAIRE

    Tokuyama, T.; Ikeda, T.; Sato, K.

    1998-01-01

    BACKGROUND—In a previous case report, it was shown that an increase in plasma colloid osmotic pressure induced by the removal of fluid during haemodialysis was instrumental in decreasing intraocular pressure. The relation between changes in intraocular pressure, plasma osmolarity, plasma colloid osmotic pressure, and body weight before and after haemodialysis is evaluated.
METHODS—Intraocular pressure, plasma osmolarity, plasma colloid osmotic pressure, and body weight were evaluated before a...

  10. Role of aquaporin and sodium channel in pleural water movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Jinjun; Hu, Jie; Bai, Chunxue

    2003-12-16

    The role of the ENaC sodium channel and aquaporin-1 (AQP1) water channel on pleural fluid dynamics in mice was investigated. 0.25 ml of hypertonic or isosmolar fluid was infused into the pleural space in anesthetized wildtype and AQP1 null mice. Pleural fluid was sampled at specified times to quantify the osmolality and volume. The sodium channel activator terbutaline increased isosmolar fluid clearance by 90% while the sodium channel inhibitor amiloride decreased it by 15%, but had no effect on osmotically driven water transport. AQP1 deletion significantly decreased osmotic water transport in pleural space by twofold, but it had no effect on isosmolar fluid clearance. Pretreatment with dexamethasone increased pleural osmotic fluid entry by 25%, while intravenous injection of HgCl2 decreased osmotic pleural water movement by 43%. These results provided evidence for a role of a sodium channel in pleural fluid absorption; AQP1 plays a major role in osmotic liquid transport but it does not affect isosmolar fluid clearance.

  11. Osmotic membrane bioreactor for phenol biodegradation under continuous operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Praveen, Prashant; Loh, Kai-Chee, E-mail: chelohkc@nus.edu.sg

    2016-03-15

    Highlights: • Osmotic membrane bioreactor was used for phenol biodegradation in continuous mode. • Extractant impregnated membranes were used to alleviate substrate inhibition. • Phenol removal was achieved through both biodegradation and membrane rejection. • Phenol concentrations up to 2500 mg/L were treated at HRT varying in 2.8–14 h. • A biofilm removal strategy was formulated to improve bioreactor sustainability. - Abstract: Continuous phenol biodegradation was accomplished in a two-phase partitioning osmotic membrane bioreactor (TPPOMBR) system, using extractant impregnated membranes (EIM) as the partitioning phase. The EIMs alleviated substrate inhibition during prolonged operation at influent phenol concentrations of 600–2000 mg/L, and also at spiked concentrations of 2500 mg/L phenol restricted to 2 days. Filtration of the effluent through forward osmosis maintained high biomass concentration in the bioreactor and improved effluent quality. Steady state was reached in 5–6 days at removal rates varying between 2000 and 5500 mg/L-day under various conditions. Due to biofouling and salt accumulation, the permeate flux varied from 1.2–7.2 LMH during 54 days of operation, while maintaining an average hydraulic retention time of 7.4 h. A washing cycle, comprising 1 h osmotic backwashing using 0.5 M NaCl and 2 h washing with water, facilitated biofilm removal from the membranes. Characterization of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) through FTIR showed peaks between 1700 and 1500 cm{sup −1}, 1450–1450 cm{sup −1} and 1200–1000 cm{sup −1}, indicating the presence of proteins, phenols and polysaccharides, respectively. The carbohydrate to protein ratio in the EPS was estimated to be 0.3. These results indicate that TPPOMBR can be promising in continuous treatment of phenolic wastewater.

  12. Substrate water availability and seed water content on niger germination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla Regina Baptista Gordin

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Niger is an oleaginous species whose cultivation has been spreading, but there is not much information on the adverse conditions during its seedling establishment. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of substrate water availability and seed water content on niger germination. Seeds were moistened using the humid atmosphere method for 0; 24; 48; and 72 hours, obtaining the water contents of 7.0 %, 12.8 %, 16.8 % and 32.2 %. Then, they were sown in substrate moistened with PEG 6000 solutions with different osmotic potentials: 0.0 MPa (control, -0.1 MPa, -0.2 MPa, -0.3 MPa and -0.4 MPa. A completely randomized design, in a 4 x 5 factorial scheme (water content x osmotic potential, with four replications of 50 seeds, was used. First count and germination percentage, germination speed index and mean time, shoot and root length and seedlings dry weight were evaluated. The reduction in the substrate osmotic potential decreases the niger seed germination and seedling growth, regardless of water content, but with a higher evidence in seed water contents below 32.2 % and 12.8 %, respectively.

  13. Effect of environmental stress factors on the uptake and survival of Campylobacter jejuni in Acanthamoeba castellanii

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bui, Thanh Xuan; Qvortrup, Klaus; Wolff, Anders

    2012-01-01

    -exposure to heat, starvation, oxidative or osmotic stresses encountered in the environment may affect the subsequent interaction of C. jejuni with free-living protozoa. To test this hypothesis, we examined the impact of environmental stress on expression of virulence-associated genes (ciaB, dnaJ, and htrA) of C......Background: Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of bacterial food-borne illness in Europe and North America. The mechanisms allowing survival in the environment and transmission to new hosts are not well understood. Environmental free-living protozoa may facilitate both processes. Pre......, heat treated or osmotically stressed bacteria than with control bacteria. Also, while similar to 1.5 x 10(3) colony forming unit/ml internalized bacteria could typically be recovered 24 h post-gentamicin treatment with control bacteria, no starved, heat treated or osmotically stressed bacteria could...

  14. CHANGES IN OSMOTIC AND IONIC INDICATORS IN Ananas comosus (L. cv. MD GOLD PRE-TREATED WITH PHYTOHORMONES AND SUBMITTED TO SALINE MEDIUM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    YURI LIMA MELO

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of NaCl on the hydroponic culture of cv. MD Gold pineapple pretreated with the phytohormones naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP using indicators of water stress and osmotic adjustment. Pineapple seedlings from saline treatments in the absence (-NB and presence (+NB of the phytohormones during the in vitro culture were grown in Hoagland & Arnon (1950 nutrient solution in the absence and presence of different NaCl concentrations (50; 100 and 150 mM for 10 days in a greenhouse. Plants obtained from in vitro culture pretreated with phytoregulators (+NB showed distinct physiological responses compared to non-treated plants (-NB in relation to dry mass (DM in roots, electrolyte leakage (EL and Na+ and K+ concentrations in leaves and roots, and also regarding soluble sugars (TSS, free amino acids (TFAA and proline (PRO concentrations in leaves. Additionally, salt treatments induced similar responses in -NB and +NB plants, however differing in relation to intensity and the studied organs. The presence of NaCl in the solution reduced leaf DM in the -NB treatment, the leaf relative water content in -NB and +NB, and root RWC only in the -NB treatment. High levels of NaCl increased leaf EL in the +NB treatment. Potassium levels decreased with the increase of NaCl concentrations in nutrient solution for leaves and roots submitted to -NB treatment and for roots submitted to +NB treatment. Leaf potassium levels increased in +NB treatment regardless of salt treatment. No ionic toxic effects were identified except for roots subjected to 150 mM NaCl solution both for -NB and +NB conditions. TSS concentrations decreased with increasing NaCl concentration in leaves for both -NB and +NB treatments. Furthermore, TFAA and PRO showed increased levels in leaves subjected to saline stress, being more expressive in -NB treatment. In conclusion, pretreatment with growth regulators in pineapple

  15. Linking the Salt Transcriptome with Physiological Responses of a Salt-Resistant Populus Species as a Strategy to Identify Genes Important for Stress Acclimation1[W][OA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinker, Monika; Brosché, Mikael; Vinocur, Basia; Abo-Ogiala, Atef; Fayyaz, Payam; Janz, Dennis; Ottow, Eric A.; Cullmann, Andreas D.; Saborowski, Joachim; Kangasjärvi, Jaakko; Altman, Arie; Polle, Andrea

    2010-01-01

    To investigate early salt acclimation mechanisms in a salt-tolerant poplar species (Populus euphratica), the kinetics of molecular, metabolic, and physiological changes during a 24-h salt exposure were measured. Three distinct phases of salt stress were identified by analyses of the osmotic pressure and the shoot water potential: dehydration, salt accumulation, and osmotic restoration associated with ionic stress. The duration and intensity of these phases differed between leaves and roots. Transcriptome analysis using P. euphratica-specific microarrays revealed clusters of coexpressed genes in these phases, with only 3% overlapping salt-responsive genes in leaves and roots. Acclimation of cellular metabolism to high salt concentrations involved remodeling of amino acid and protein biosynthesis and increased expression of molecular chaperones (dehydrins, osmotin). Leaves suffered initially from dehydration, which resulted in changes in transcript levels of mitochondrial and photosynthetic genes, indicating adjustment of energy metabolism. Initially, decreases in stress-related genes were found, whereas increases occurred only when leaves had restored the osmotic balance by salt accumulation. Comparative in silico analysis of the poplar stress regulon with Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) orthologs was used as a strategy to reduce the number of candidate genes for functional analysis. Analysis of Arabidopsis knockout lines identified a lipocalin-like gene (AtTIL) and a gene encoding a protein with previously unknown functions (AtSIS) to play roles in salt tolerance. In conclusion, by dissecting the stress transcriptome of tolerant species, novel genes important for salt endurance can be identified. PMID:20959419

  16. Exogenous application of hydrogen sulfide donor sodium hydrosulfide enhanced multiple abiotic stress tolerance in bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L). Pers.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Haitao; Ye, Tiantian; Chan, Zhulong

    2013-10-01

    As a gaseous molecule, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been recently found to be involved in plant responses to multiple abiotic stress. In this study, salt (150 and 300 mM NaCl), osmotic (15% and 30% PEG6000) and cold (4 °C) stress treatments induced accumulation of endogenous H2S level, indicating that H2S might play a role in bermudagrass responses to salt, osmotic and cold stresses. Exogenous application of H2S donor (sodium hydrosulfide, NaHS) conferred improved salt, osmotic and freezing stress tolerances in bermudagrass, which were evidenced by decreased electrolyte leakage and increased survival rate under stress conditions. Additionally, NaHS treatment alleviated the reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst and cell damage induced by abiotic stress, via modulating metabolisms of several antioxidant enzymes [catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and GR (glutathione reductase)] and non-enzymatic glutathione antioxidant pool and redox state. Moreover, exogenous NaHS treatment led to accumulation of osmolytes (proline, sucrose and soluble total sugars) in stressed bermudagrass plants. Taken together, all these data indicated the protective roles of H2S in bermudagrass responses to salt, osmotic and freezing stresses, via activation of the antioxidant response and osmolyte accumulation. These findings might be applicable to grass and crop engineering to improve abiotic stress tolerance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  17. Assessing the effects of exposure to environmental stress on some functional properties of Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amund, O D; Ouoba, L I I; Sutherland, J P; Ghoddusi, H B

    2014-12-01

    This study assessed the effects of exposing a strain of Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis to acid, bile and osmotic stresses on antagonistic properties, biofilm formation and antibiotic susceptibility/resistance profile. Exposure to each stress factor appeared to have no significant effect on the antagonism against Escherichia coli NCTC 12900 and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis PT4. No suppression in biofilm formation due to exposure to stress was observed. Bile and osmotic stresses resulted in significantly higher biofilm formation. Expression of an exopolysaccharide synthesis gene, gtf 01207, was significantly higher when the B. animalis ssp. lactis strain was exposed to osmotic stress. Susceptibility of the B. animalis ssp. lactis strain to chloramphenicol, erythromycin, ampicillin and vancomycin, and resistance to tetracycline remained unchanged when exposed to each stress. The expression of a tetracycline resistance gene, tet(W), was significantly higher when exposed to each stress. These results may suggest that the potential for the B. animalis ssp. lactis strain to provide probiotic benefit, after exposure to the stressful conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, remains intact.

  18. Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria in Amelioration of Salinity Stress: A Systems Biology Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gayathri Ilangumaran

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Salinity affects plant growth and is a major abiotic stress that limits crop productivity. It is well-understood that environmental adaptations and genetic traits regulate salinity tolerance in plants, but imparting the knowledge gained towards crop improvement remain arduous. Harnessing the potential of beneficial microorganisms present in the rhizosphere is an alternative strategy for improving plant stress tolerance. This review intends to elucidate the understanding of salinity tolerance mechanisms attributed by plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR. Recent advances in molecular studies have yielded insights into the signaling networks of plant–microbe interactions that contribute to salt tolerance. The beneficial effects of PGPR involve boosting key physiological processes, including water and nutrient uptake, photosynthesis, and source-sink relationships that promote growth and development. The regulation of osmotic balance and ion homeostasis by PGPR are conducted through modulation of phytohormone status, gene expression, protein function, and metabolite synthesis in plants. As a result, improved antioxidant activity, osmolyte accumulation, proton transport machinery, salt compartmentalization, and nutrient status reduce osmotic stress and ion toxicity. Furthermore, in addition to indole-3-acetic acid and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase biosynthesis, other extracellular secretions of the rhizobacteria function as signaling molecules and elicit stress responsive pathways. Application of PGPR inoculants is a promising measure to combat salinity in agricultural fields, thereby increasing global food production.

  19. Regulation of Water Use in the Southernmost European Fir (Abies pinsapo Boiss.: Drought Avoidance Matters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raúl Sánchez-Salguero

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The current scenario of global warming has resulted in considerable uncertainty regarding the capacity of forest trees to adapt to increasing drought. Detailed ecophysiological knowledge would provide a basis to forecast expected species dynamics in response to climate change. Here, we compare the water balance (stomatal conductance, xylem water potential, needle osmotic adjustment of Abies pinsapo, a relict drought-sensitive Mediterranean fir, along an altitudinal gradient. We related these variables to soil water and nutrient availability, air temperature, atmospheric water potential, and vapour pressure deficit during two consecutive years. Our results indicate that A. pinsapo closed stomata rapidly over a very narrow range of soil water availability and atmospheric dryness. This isohydric response during water stress suggests that this relict conifer relied on the plant hormone abscisic acid to maintain closed stomata during sustained drought, instead of needle desiccation to passively drive stomatal closure, needle osmotic adjustment or a plastic response of the xylem to different levels of water availability. Both the soil and foliar nutrient contents suggest that the studied populations are not limited by nutrient deficiencies, and drought was stronger in the warmer low-elevation areas.

  20. An analysis of electro-osmotic and magnetohydrodynamic heat pipes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrison, M.A.

    1988-01-01

    Mechanically simple methods of improving heat transport in heat pipes are investigated. These methods are electro-osmotic and magnetohydrodynamic augmentation. For the electro-osmotic case, a detailed electrokinetic model is used. The electrokinetic model used includes the effects of pore surface curvature and multiple ion diffusivities. The electrokinetic model is extended to approximate the effects of elevated temperature. When the electro-osmotic model is combined with a suitable heat-pipe model, it is found that the electro-osmotic pump should be a thin membrane. Arguments are provided that support the use of a volatile electrolyte. For the magnetohydrodynamic case, a brief investigation is provided. A quasi-one-dimensional hydromagnetic duct flow model is used. This hydromagnetic model is extended to approximate flow effects unique to heat pipes. When combined with a suitable heat pipe model, it is found that there is no performance gain for the case considered. In fact, there are serious pressure-distribution problems that have not been previously recognized. Potential solutions to these pressure-distribution problems are suggested

  1. Water-transporting proteins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zeuthen, Thomas

    2010-01-01

    . In the K(+)/Cl(-) and the Na(+)/K(+)/2Cl(-) cotransporters, water is entirely cotransported, while water transport in glucose uniporters and Na(+)-coupled transporters of nutrients and neurotransmitters takes place by both osmosis and cotransport. The molecular mechanism behind cotransport of water...... transport. Epithelial water transport is energized by the movements of ions, but how the coupling takes place is uncertain. All epithelia can transport water uphill against an osmotic gradient, which is hard to explain by simple osmosis. Furthermore, genetic removal of aquaporins has not given support...... to osmosis as the exclusive mode of transport. Water cotransport can explain the coupling between ion and water transport, a major fraction of transepithelial water transport and uphill water transport. Aquaporins enhance water transport by utilizing osmotic gradients and cause the osmolarity...

  2. High salt intake enhances swim stress-induced PVN vasopressin cell activation and active stress coping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, N C; Gilman, T L; Daws, L C; Toney, G M

    2018-07-01

    Stress contributes to many psychiatric disorders; however, responsivity to stressors can vary depending on previous or current stress exposure. Relatively innocuous heterotypic (differing in type) stressors can summate to result in exaggerated neuronal and behavioral responses. Here we investigated the ability of prior high dietary sodium chloride (salt) intake, a dehydrating osmotic stressor, to enhance neuronal and behavioral responses of mice to an acute psychogenic swim stress (SS). Further, we evaluated the contribution of the osmo-regulatory stress-related neuropeptide arginine vasopressin (VP) in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), one of only a few brain regions that synthesize VP. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of high dietary salt intake on responsivity to heterotypic stress and the potential contribution of VPergic-mediated neuronal activity on high salt-induced stress modulation, thereby providing insight into how dietary (homeostatic) and environmental (psychogenic) stressors might interact to facilitate psychiatric disorder vulnerability. Salt loading (SL) with 4% saline for 7 days was used to dehydrate and osmotically stress mice prior to exposure to an acute SS. Fluid intake and hematological measurements were taken to quantify osmotic dehydration, and serum corticosterone levels were measured to index stress axis activation. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to stain for the immediate early gene product c-Fos to quantify effects of SL on SS-induced activation of neurons in the PVN and extended amygdala - brain regions that are synaptically connected and implicated in responding to osmotic stress and in modulation of SS behavior, respectively. Lastly, the role of VPergic PVN neurons and VP type 1 receptor (V1R) activity in the amygdala in mediating effects of SL on SS behavior was evaluated by quantifying c-Fos activation of VPergic PVN neurons and, in functional experiments, by nano-injecting the V1R selective

  3. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp. Metabolomics: Osmoprotection as a Physiological Strategy for Drought Stress Resistance and Improved Yield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piebiep Goufo

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Plants usually tolerate drought by producing organic solutes, which can either act as compatible osmolytes for maintaining turgor, or radical scavengers for protecting cellular functions. However, these two properties of organic solutes are often indistinguishable during stress progression. This study looked at individualizing properties of osmotic adjustment vs. osmoprotection in plants, using cowpea as the model species. Two cultivars were grown in well-watered soil, drought conditions, or drought followed by rewatering through fruit formation. Osmoadaptation was investigated in leaves and roots using photosynthetic traits, water homoeostasis, inorganic ions, and primary and secondary metabolites. Multifactorial analyses indicated allocation of high quantities of amino acids, sugars, and proanthocyanidins into roots, presumably linked to their role in growth and initial stress perception. Physiological and metabolic changes developed in parallel and drought/recovery responses showed a progressive acclimation of the cowpea plant to stress. Of the 88 metabolites studied, proline, galactinol, and a quercetin derivative responded the most to drought as highlighted by multivariate analyses, and their correlations with yield indicated beneficial effects. These metabolites accumulated differently in roots, but similarly in leaves, suggesting a more conservative strategy to cope with drought in the aerial parts. Changes in these compounds roughly reflected energy investment in protective mechanisms, although the ability of plants to adjust osmotically through inorganic ions uptake could not be discounted.

  4. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) Metabolomics: Osmoprotection as a Physiological Strategy for Drought Stress Resistance and Improved Yield.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goufo, Piebiep; Moutinho-Pereira, José M; Jorge, Tiago F; Correia, Carlos M; Oliveira, Manuela R; Rosa, Eduardo A S; António, Carla; Trindade, Henrique

    2017-01-01

    Plants usually tolerate drought by producing organic solutes, which can either act as compatible osmolytes for maintaining turgor, or radical scavengers for protecting cellular functions. However, these two properties of organic solutes are often indistinguishable during stress progression. This study looked at individualizing properties of osmotic adjustment vs. osmoprotection in plants, using cowpea as the model species. Two cultivars were grown in well-watered soil, drought conditions, or drought followed by rewatering through fruit formation. Osmoadaptation was investigated in leaves and roots using photosynthetic traits, water homoeostasis, inorganic ions, and primary and secondary metabolites. Multifactorial analyses indicated allocation of high quantities of amino acids, sugars, and proanthocyanidins into roots, presumably linked to their role in growth and initial stress perception. Physiological and metabolic changes developed in parallel and drought/recovery responses showed a progressive acclimation of the cowpea plant to stress. Of the 88 metabolites studied, proline, galactinol, and a quercetin derivative responded the most to drought as highlighted by multivariate analyses, and their correlations with yield indicated beneficial effects. These metabolites accumulated differently in roots, but similarly in leaves, suggesting a more conservative strategy to cope with drought in the aerial parts. Changes in these compounds roughly reflected energy investment in protective mechanisms, although the ability of plants to adjust osmotically through inorganic ions uptake could not be discounted.

  5. Numerical simulation of electro-osmotic consolidation coupling non-linear variation of soil parameters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Hui; Hu, Liming; Wen, Qingbo

    2017-06-01

    Electro-osmotic consolidation is an effective method for soft ground improvement. A main limitation of previous numerical models on this technique is the ignorance of the non-linear variation of soil parameters. In the present study, a multi-field numerical model is developed with the consideration of the non-linear variation of soil parameters during electro-osmotic consolidation process. The numerical simulations on an axisymmetric model indicated that the non-linear variation of soil parameters showed remarkable impact on the development of the excess pore water pressure and degree of consolidation. A field experiment with complex geometry, boundary conditions, electrode configuration and voltage application was further simulated with the developed numerical model. The comparison between field and numerical data indicated that the numerical model coupling of the non-linear variation of soil parameters gave more reasonable results. The developed numerical model is capable to analyze engineering cases with complex operating conditions.

  6. Impact of emerging clean vehicle system on water stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cai, Hua; Hu, Xiaojun; Xu, Ming

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • Clean vehicles may increase US water consumption up to 2810 billion gallons/year. • Large-scale clean vehicle adoption could lead to severe regional water stress. • Fuel choice for clean vehicle is crucial in minimizing regional water stress. • Regional optimization illustrated the importance of regional consideration. - Abstract: While clean vehicles (i.e., vehicles powered by alternative fuels other than fossil fuels) offer great potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from gasoline-based vehicles, the associated impact on water resources has not yet been fully assessed. This research provides a systematic evaluation of the impact of a fully implemented clean vehicle system on national and state-level water demand and water stress. On the national level, based on existing policies, transitioning the current gasoline-based transportation into one with clean vehicles will increase national annual water consumption by 1950–2810 billion gallons of water, depending on the market penetration of electric vehicles. On the state level, variances of water efficiency in producing different fuels are significant. The fuel choice for clean vehicle development is especially crucial for minimizing water stress increase in states with already high water stress, high travel demands, and significant variations in water efficiency in producing different alternative fuels. Current development of clean vehicle infrastructure, however, has not reflected these state-level variations. This study takes an optimization approach to further evaluate impacts on state-level water stress from a fully implemented clean vehicle system and identified potential roles (fuel producer or consumer) states may play in real world clean vehicle development scenario. With an objective of minimizing overall water stress impact, our optimization model aims to provide an analytical framework to better assess impacts on state-level water

  7. Osmotic therapies added to antibiotics for acute bacterial meningitis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, Emma Cb; Ajdukiewicz, Katherine Mb; Bergman, Hanna; Heyderman, Robert S; Garner, Paul

    2018-01-01

    children with bacterial meningitis die in high-income countries with much higher rates in low-income settings. The infection causes the brain to swell, and this is thought to contribute to death and to long-term brain damage in survivors. Osmotic therapies increase the concentration of the blood by exerting an osmotic pressure across a semi-permeable membrane (such as a cell wall or blood vessel lining in the brain). This draws water from the brain into the blood, thereby reducing pressure in the brain. Potentially osmotic therapies could increase the rate of survival, or they could do harm. What are the main results of the review? We included five trials that compared glycerol with placebo in a total of 1451 patients with bacterial meningitis. In the studies steroids were often given as well, but this did not appear to modify any of the effects seen with glycerol. This review detected no benefit from glycerol relating to death. There appeared to be marginal protection against deafness and against neurological disability. No effect on epileptic seizures at follow-up was noted. Glycerol was not associated with any severe adverse effects. The number of trials included was small and only two tested a large number of participants. All trials were from different healthcare settings and examined either adults or children. PMID:29405037

  8. Expression of TaWRKY44, a wheat WRKY gene, in transgenic tobacco confers multiple abiotic stress tolerances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiatian eWang

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The WRKY transcription factors have been reported to be involved in various plant physiological and biochemical processes. In this study, we successfully assembled ten unigenes from expressed sequence tags (ESTs of wheat and designated them as TaWRKY44–TaWRKY53, respectively. Among these genes, a subgroup I gene, TaWRKY44, was found to be upregulated by treatments with PEG6000, NaCl, 4°C, abscisic acid (ABA, H2O2 and gibberellin (GA. The TaWRKY44-GFP fusion protein was localized to the nucleus of onion epidermal cells, and TaWRKY44 was able to bind to the core DNA sequences of TTGACC and TTAACC in yeast. The N-terminal of TaWRKY44 showed transcriptional activation activity. Expression of TaWRKY44 in tobacco plants conferred drought and salt tolerance and transgenic tobacco exhibited a higher survival rate, relative water content (RWC, soluble sugar, proline and superoxide dismutase (SOD content, as well as higher activities of catalase (CAT and peroxidase (POD, but less ion leakage (IL, lower contents of malondialdehyde (MDA, and H2O2. In addition, expression of TaWRKY44 also increased the seed germination rate in the transgenic lines under osmotic stress conditions while exhibiting a lower H2O2 content and higher SOD, CAT and POD activities. Expression of TaWRKY44 upregulated the expression of some reactive oxygen species (ROS-related genes and stress-responsive genes in tobacco under osmotic stresses. These data demonstrate that TaWRKY44 may act as a positive regulator in drought/salt/osmotic stress responses by either efficient ROS elimination through direct or indirect activation of the cellular antioxidant systems or activation of stress-associated gene expression.

  9. Co-regulation of water and K(+) transport in sunflower plants during water stress recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benlloch, Manuel; Benlloch-González, María

    2016-06-01

    16-day-old sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants were subjected to deficit irrigation for 12 days. Following this period, plants were rehydrated for 2 days to study plant responses to post-stress recovery. The moderate water stress treatment applied reduced growth in all plant organs and the accumulation of K(+) in the shoot. After the rehydration period, the stem recovered its growth and reached a similar length to the control, an effect which was not observed in either root or leaves. Moreover, plant rehydration after water stress favored the accumulation of K(+) in the apical zone of the stem and expanding leaves. In the roots of plants under water stress, watering to field capacity, once the plants were de- topped, rapidly favored K(+) and water transport in the excised roots. This quick and short-lived response was not observed in roots of plants recovered from water stress for 2 days. These results suggest that the recovery of plant growth after water stress is related to coordinated water and K(+) transport from the root to the apical zone of the ​​stem and expanding leaves. This stimulation of K(+) transport in the root and its accumulation in the cells of the growing zones of the ​​stem must be one of the first responses induced in the plant during water stress recovery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  10. Stress tolerances of nullmutants of function-unknown genes encoding menadione stress-responsive proteins in Aspergillus nidulans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leiter, Éva; Bálint, Mihály; Miskei, Márton; Orosz, Erzsébet; Szabó, Zsuzsa; Pócsi, István

    2016-07-01

    A group of menadione stress-responsive function-unkown genes of Aspergillus nidulans (Locus IDs ANID_03987.1, ANID_06058.1, ANID_10219.1, and ANID_10260.1) was deleted and phenotypically characterized. Importantly, comparative and phylogenetic analyses of the tested A. nidulans genes and their orthologs shed light only on the presence of a TANGO2 domain with NRDE protein motif in the translated ANID_06058.1 gene but did not reveal any recognizable protein-encoding domains in other protein sequences. The gene deletion strains were subjected to oxidative, osmotic, and metal ion stress and, surprisingly, only the ΔANID_10219.1 mutant showed an increased sensitivity to 0.12 mmol l(-1) menadione sodium bisulfite. The gene deletions affected the stress sensitivities (tolerances) irregularly, for example, some strains grew more slowly when exposed to various oxidants and/or osmotic stress generating agents, meanwhile the ΔANID_10260.1 mutant possessed a wild-type tolerance to all stressors tested. Our results are in line with earlier studies demonstrating that the deletions of stress-responsive genes do not confer necessarily any stress-sensitivity phenotypes, which can be attributed to compensatory mechanisms based on other elements of the stress response system with overlapping functions. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. [Biochemical basis of tolerance to osmotic stress in phytopathogenic fungus: The case of Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Villarreal, Rodolfo; Garza-Romero, Tamar S; Moreno-Medina, Víctor R; Hernández-Delgado, Sanjuana; Mayek-Pérez, Netzahualcoyotl

    Fungus Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. is the causative agent of charcoal rot disease which causes significant yield losses in major crops such as maize, sorghum, soybean and common beans in Mexico. This fungus is a facultative parasite which shows broad ability to adapt itself to stressed environments where water deficits and/or high temperature stresses commonly occur. These environmental conditions are common for most cultivable lands throughout Mexico. Here we describe some basic facts related to the etiology and epidemiology of the fungus as well as to the importance of responses to stressed environments, particularly to water deficits, based on morphology and growth traits, as well as on physiology, biochemistry and pathogenicity of fungus M. phaseolina. To conclude, we show some perspectives related to future research into the genus, which emphasize the increasing need to improve the knowledge based on the application of both traditional and biotechnological tools in order to elucidate the mechanisms of resistance to environmental stress which can be extrapolated to other useful organisms to man. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  12. Environmental adaptability and stress tolerance of Laribacter hongkongensis: a genome-wide analysis

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    Lau Susanna KP

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Laribacter hongkongensis is associated with community-acquired gastroenteritis and traveler's diarrhea and it can reside in human, fish, frogs and water. In this study, we performed an in-depth annotation of the genes in its genome related to adaptation to the various environmental niches. Results L. hongkongensis possessed genes for DNA repair and recombination, basal transcription, alternative σ-factors and 109 putative transcription factors, allowing DNA repair and global changes in gene expression in response to different environmental stresses. For acid stress, it possessed a urease gene cassette and two arc gene clusters. For alkaline stress, it possessed six CDSs for transporters of the monovalent cation/proton antiporter-2 and NhaC Na+:H+ antiporter families. For heavy metals acquisition and tolerance, it possessed CDSs for iron and nickel transport and efflux pumps for other metals. For temperature stress, it possessed genes related to chaperones and chaperonins, heat shock proteins and cold shock proteins. For osmotic stress, 25 CDSs were observed, mostly related to regulators for potassium ion, proline and glutamate transport. For oxidative and UV light stress, genes for oxidant-resistant dehydratase, superoxide scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, exclusion and export of redox-cycling antibiotics, redox balancing, DNA repair, reduction of disulfide bonds, limitation of iron availability and reduction of iron-sulfur clusters are present. For starvation, it possessed phosphorus and, despite being asaccharolytic, carbon starvation-related CDSs. Conclusions The L. hongkongensis genome possessed a high variety of genes for adaptation to acid, alkaline, temperature, osmotic, oxidative, UV light and starvation stresses and acquisition of and tolerance to heavy metals.

  13. Contribution of proteoglycan osmotic swelling pressure to the compressive properties of articular cartilage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, EunHee; Chen, Silvia S; Klisch, Stephen M; Sah, Robert L

    2011-08-17

    The negatively charged proteoglycans (PG) provide compressive resistance to articular cartilage by means of their fixed charge density (FCD) and high osmotic pressure (π(PG)), and the collagen network (CN) provides the restraining forces to counterbalance π(PG). Our objectives in this work were to: 1), account for collagen intrafibrillar water when transforming biochemical measurements into a FCD-π(PG) relationship; 2), compute π(PG) and CN contributions to the compressive behavior of full-thickness cartilage during bovine growth (fetal, calf, and adult) and human adult aging (young and old); and 3), predict the effect of depth from the articular surface on π(PG) in human aging. Extrafibrillar FCD (FCD(EF)) and π(PG) increased with bovine growth due to an increase in CN concentration, whereas PG concentration was steady. This maturation-related increase was amplified by compression. With normal human aging, FCD(EF) and π(PG) decreased. The π(PG)-values were close to equilibrium stress (σ(EQ)) in all bovine and young human cartilage, but were only approximately half of σ(EQ) in old human cartilage. Depth-related variations in the strain, FCD(EF), π(PG), and CN stress profiles in human cartilage suggested a functional deterioration of the superficial layer with aging. These results suggest the utility of the FCD-π(PG) relationship for elucidating the contribution of matrix macromolecules to the biomechanical properties of cartilage. Copyright © 2011 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Osmotic actuation for microfluidic components in point-of-care applications

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Yu-Chih

    2013-01-01

    We present a novel design of micropumps and valves driven by osmotic force for point-of-care applications. Although there have been significant progresses in microfluidic components and control devices such as fluidic diodes, switches, resonators and digital-to-analog converters, the ultimate power source still depends on bulky off-chip components, which are expensive and cannot be easily miniaturized. For point-of-care applications, it is critical to integrate all the components in a compact size at low cost. In this work, we report two key active components actuated by osmotic mechanism for total integrated microfluidic system. For the proof of concept, we have demonstrated valve actuation, which can maintain stable ON/OFF switching operations under 125 kPa back pressure. We have also implemented an osmotic pump, which can pump a high flow rate over 30 μL/min for longer than 30 minutes. The experimental data demonstrates the possibility and potential of applying osmotic actuation in point-of-care disposable microfluidics. © 2013 IEEE.

  15. Osmotic coefficients of aqueous solutions of four ionic liquids at T = (313.15 and 333.15) K

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez, Begona; Calvar, Noelia; Dominguez, Angeles; Macedo, Eugenia A.

    2008-01-01

    Measurements of osmotic coefficients of BmimCl (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride), HmimCl (1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride), MmimMeSO 4 (1,3-dimethylimidazolium methylsulfate), and BmimMeSO 4 (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium methylsulfate) with water at T = (313.15 and 333.15) K are reported in this work. Vapour pressure and activity data of all the studied binary systems are obtained from experimental data. The osmotic coefficients data are correlated using the extended Pitzer model of Archer and the modified NRTL (MNRTL) model and standard deviations obtained with both models are given too. The parameters obtained with the extended Pitzer model of Archer are used to calculate the mean molal activity coefficients

  16. Osmotic pressure in a bacterial swarm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ping, Liyan; Wu, Yilin; Hosu, Basarab G; Tang, Jay X; Berg, Howard C

    2014-08-19

    Using Escherichia coli as a model organism, we studied how water is recruited by a bacterial swarm. A previous analysis of trajectories of small air bubbles revealed a stream of fluid flowing in a clockwise direction ahead of the swarm. A companion study suggested that water moves out of the agar into the swarm in a narrow region centered ∼ 30 μm from the leading edge of the swarm and then back into the agar (at a smaller rate) in a region centered ∼ 120 μm back from the leading edge. Presumably, these flows are driven by changes in osmolarity. Here, we utilized green/red fluorescent liposomes as reporters of osmolarity to verify this hypothesis. The stream of fluid that flows in front of the swarm contains osmolytes. Two distinct regions are observed inside the swarm near its leading edge: an outer high-osmolarity band (∼ 30 mOsm higher than the agar baseline) and an inner low-osmolarity band (isotonic or slightly hypotonic to the agar baseline). This profile supports the fluid-flow model derived from the drift of air bubbles and provides new (to our knowledge) insights into water maintenance in bacterial swarms. High osmotic pressure at the leading edge of the swarm extracts water from the underlying agar and promotes motility. The osmolyte is of high molecular weight and probably is lipopolysaccharide. Copyright © 2014 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Seed germination of Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth, under water stress Germinação de sementes de Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth, sob estresse hídrico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lígia M. de M. Silva

    2001-04-01

    Full Text Available Bowdichia virgilioides (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae is a native tree species in Brazil characteristic of the savannah vegetation. Seeds of this species were submitted to different osmotic potentials induced by polyethyleneglycol (PEG-6000 in order to verify their resistance to drought conditions. Seeds were previously scarified with sulphuric acid and incubated at 25 ºC with an eight hours photoperiod, at osmotic potentials of 0.0, -0.1, -0.3, -0.5, -0.7, -0.9 and -1.1 MPa. It was found that water stress resistance limit ranged from -0.7 to -0.9 MPa. Significant reduction in germination velocity from -0.3 MPa, and final percentage of germination from -0.5 MPa in relation to control, were observed. Germination under drastic conditions of water stress was inhibited, but was restored with an increase of water availability.Bowdichia virgilioides (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae é uma espécie arbórea nativa do Brasil, característica da vegetação de cerrado, denominada principalmente de sucupira-preta. Sementes dessa espécie foram escarificadas com ácido sulfúrico e submetidas a diferentes potenciais osmóticos, induzidos por polietilenoglicol (PEG-6000, com o objetivo de avaliar a sua resistência a condições de seca. As sementes foram colocadas para germinar a 25 ºC, sob fotoperíodo de oito horas, nos potenciais osmóticos de 0,0, -0,1, -0,3, -0,5, -0,7, -0,9, e -1,1 MPa. Pelos resultados obtidos, observou-se que o limite de resistência da espécie ao estresse hídrico situa-se entre -0,7 e -0,9 MPa. A velocidade de germinação foi significativamente reduzida a partir de -0,3 MPa e a porcentagem final a partir de -0,5 MPa, em relação às sementes não submetidas ao estresse hídrico. Sob drásticas condições de estresse hídrico não houve germinação das sementes, que foi restabelecida com o aumento da disponibilidade de água.

  18. The Effect of Antioxidant Polysaccharide Based Coatings on Optimum Immersion Time, Vitamin C Content and Salt Adsorption of Quince Cylinders during Osmotic Dehydration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Akbarian

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the effects of carboxymethyl cellulose-low methyl pectin based edible coatings containing ascorbic acid antioxidant were investigated on optimum immersion time during osmotic dehydration of quince sheets. The selection of coating type was based on natural composition of fruits peel, (i.e cellulose and pectin and the osmotic solutions were formulated on the basis of natural ingredients in fruits (fructose, citric acid and calcium ions. The results showed that solid gain trends have been incremental until 240 min in both coating types however, the coated samples showed lower solid gain in all testing times. The optimum immersion time was found to be 180 min based on the water loss (W.L, solids gain (S.G, process efficiency index and weight reduction (W. R. In next stage, the absorption of salt and citric acid from osmotic solution and loss of vitamin C from quince cylinders (dried by hot air were measured. Absorption of salt and citric acid in the coated samples was smaller than the non-coated samples and coated and osmotic quince cylinders indicated smaller vitamin C losses than the uncoated and non-osmotic samples.

  19. Water stress induced changes in antioxidant enzymes, membrane ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PRECIOUS

    2009-12-01

    Dec 1, 2009 ... membrane stability index occurred under water stress. Accession 320 ... yielding wheat varieties for areas affected by water stress. (Mujtaba ...... Peroxidase activity in golden delicious apples as a ... Food Chem. 24: 200-201.

  20. Effect of ultrasound and centrifugal force on carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) slices during osmotic dehydration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barman, Nirmali; Badwaik, Laxmikant S

    2017-01-01

    Osmotic dehydration (OD) of carambola slices were carried out using glucose, sucrose, fructose and glycerol as osmotic agents with 70°Bx solute concentration, 50°C of temperature and for time of 180min. Glycerol and sucrose were selected on the basis of their higher water loss, weight reduction and lowers solid gain. Further the optimization of OD of carambola slices (5mm thick) were carried out under different process conditions of temperature (40-60°C), concentration of sucrose and glycerol (50-70°Bx), time (180min) and fruit to solution ratio (1:10) against various responses viz. water loss, solid gain, texture, rehydration ratio and sensory score according to a composite design. The optimized value for temperature, concentration of sucrose and glycerol has been found to be 50°C, 66°Bx and 66°Bx respectively. Under optimized conditions the effect of ultrasound for 10, 20, 30min and centrifugal force (2800rpm) for 15, 30, 45 and 60min on OD of carambola slices were checked. The controlled samples showed 68.14% water loss and 13.05% solid gain in carambola slices. While, the sample having 30min ultrasonic treatment showed 73.76% water loss and 9.79% solid gain; and the sample treated with centrifugal force for 60min showed 75.65% water loss and 6.76% solid gain. The results showed that with increasing in treatment time the water loss, rehydration ratio were increased and solid gain, texture were decreased. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.