We have previously shown that lipophilic components (LPC) of the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum (ANE) improved freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, the mechanism(s) of this induced ...freezing stress tolerance is largely unknown. Here, we investigated LPC induced changes in the transcriptome and metabolome of A. thaliana undergoing freezing stress.
Gene expression studies revealed that the accumulation of proline was mediated by an increase in the expression of the proline synthesis genes P5CS1 and P5CS2 and a marginal reduction in the expression of the proline dehydrogenase (ProDH) gene. Moreover, LPC application significantly increased the concentration of total soluble sugars in the cytosol in response to freezing stress. Arabidopsis sfr4 mutant plants, defective in the accumulation of free sugars, treated with LPC, exhibited freezing sensitivity similar to that of untreated controls. The 1H NMR metabolite profile of LPC-treated Arabidopsis plants exposed to freezing stress revealed a spectrum dominated by chemical shifts (δ) representing soluble sugars, sugar alcohols, organic acids and lipophilic components like fatty acids, as compared to control plants. Additionally, 2D NMR spectra suggested an increase in the degree of unsaturation of fatty acids in LPC treated plants under freezing stress. These results were supported by global transcriptome analysis. Transcriptome analysis revealed that LPC treatment altered the expression of 1113 genes (5%) in comparison with untreated plants. A total of 463 genes (2%) were up regulated while 650 genes (3%) were down regulated.
Taken together, the results of the experiments presented in this paper provide evidence to support LPC mediated freezing tolerance enhancement through a combination of the priming of plants for the increased accumulation of osmoprotectants and alteration of cellular fatty acid composition.
Marine algal seaweed species are often regarded as an underutilized bioresource, many have been used as a source of food, industrial raw materials, and in therapeutic and botanical applications for ...centuries. Moreover, seaweed and seaweed-derived products have been widely used as amendments in crop production systems due to the presence of a number of plant growth-stimulating compounds. However, the biostimulatory potential of many of these products has not been fully exploited due to the lack of scientific data on growth factors present in seaweeds and their mode of action in affecting plant growth. This article provides a comprehensive review of the effect of various seaweed species and seaweed products on plant growth and development with an emphasis on the use of this renewable bioresource in sustainable agricultural systems.
There is considerable interest to enhance the nutritional quality of fresh produce especially vegetables. The effects of root treatment of spinach with commercial extracts of the brown macro alga,
...Ascophyllum nodosum (ANE) on antioxidant level of spinach were studied. At the concentration of 1.0
g/L, ANE treatment significantly increased the total phenolics and flavonoids content, total antioxidant activity (as measured by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging capacity) and Fe
2+ chelating ability in spinach leaves. The
1H NMR and LC-MS analyses of spinach extract suggests that the increased antioxidant activity is largely associated with flavonoids. The biological effect of ANE-enhanced polyphenols was tested using the
Caenorhabditis elegans nematode model. The extracts from ANE-treated spinach significantly improved the survival of the animals under oxidative stress by 50% and high temperature stress by 61% as compared to the extracts from untreated plants (0% and 38%, respectively). Taken together, the results suggest that ANE stimulate flavonoid synthesis in spinach leaf thus enhancing its nutritional quality. Furthermore, the increased flavonoid content exerts beneficial effects in
C. elegans against oxidative and heat stress.
Abstract
The stellar population environments that are associated with fast radio burst (FRB) sources provide important insights for developing their progenitor theories. We expand the diversity of ...known FRB host environments by reporting two FRBs in massive galaxy clusters that were discovered by the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA-110) during its commissioning observations. FRB 20220914A has been localized to a star-forming, late-type galaxy at a redshift of 0.1139 with multiple starbursts at lookback times less than ∼3.5 Gyr in the A2310 galaxy cluster. Although the host galaxy of FRB 20220914A is similar to typical FRB hosts, the FRB 20220509G host stands out as a quiescent, early-type galaxy at a redshift of 0.0894 in the A2311 galaxy cluster. The discovery of FRBs in both late- and early-type galaxies adds to the body of evidence that the FRB sources have multiple formation channels. Therefore, even though FRB hosts are typically star-forming, there must exist formation channels that are consistent with old stellar population in galaxies. The varied star formation histories of the two FRB hosts that we report here indicate a wide delay-time distribution of FRB progenitors. Future work in constraining the FRB delay-time distribution, using the methods that we develop herein, will prove crucial in determining the evolutionary histories of FRB sources.
Comparison of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) cultivars Lazio and Samish grown during the summer solstice in the subarctic versus the winter solstice in the subtropics provided insight into ...interactions between production environment (light intensity), cultivar, and leaf age/maturity/position affecting bionutrient concentrations of vitamins (C, E, folate, K1, provitamin A), lutein, phenolics, and antioxidants. Growing spinach during the winter solstice in the subtropics resulted in increased leaf dry matter %, oxidized (dehydro) ascorbic acid (AsA), α- and γ-tocopherol, and total phenols but lower reduced (free) AsA, α-carotene, folate, and antioxidant capacity compared to summer solstice-grown spinach in the subarctic. Both cultivars had similar bionutrients, except for higher dehydroAsA, and lower α- and γ-tocopherol in ‘Samish’ compared to ‘Lazio’. For most bionutrients measured, there was a linear, and sometimes quadratic, increase in concentrations from bottom to top canopy leaves. However, total phenolics and antioxidant capacity increased basipetally. The current study has thus demonstrated that dehydroAsA, α-tocopherol, and γ-tocopherol were substantially lower in subarctic compared to subtropical-grown spinach, whereas the opposite relationship was found for antioxidant capacity, α-carotene, and folates (vitamin B9). The observations are consistent with previously reported isolated effects of growth environment on bionutrient status of crops. The current results clearly highlight the effect of production environment (predominantly radiation capture), interacting with genetics and plant phenology to alter the bionutrient status of crops. While reflecting the effects of changing growing conditions, these results also indicate potential alterations in the nutritive value of foods with anticipated shifts in global climatic conditions.
Abstract Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are a powerful and mysterious new class of transients that are luminous enough to be detected at cosmological distances. By associating FRBs to host galaxies, we can ...measure intrinsic and environmental properties that test FRB origin models, in addition to using them as precise probes of distant cosmic gas. The Deep Synoptic Array (DSA-110) is a radio interferometer built to maximize the rate at which it can simultaneously detect and localize FRBs. Here, we present the first sample of FRBs and host galaxies discovered by the DSA-110. This sample of 11 FRBs is the largest, most uniform sample of localized FRBs to date, as it is selected based on association with host galaxies identified in optical imaging by Pan-STARRS1. These FRBs have not been observed to repeat, and their radio properties (dispersion, temporal scattering, energy) are similar to that of the known nonrepeating FRB population. Most host galaxies have ongoing star formation, as has been identified before for FRB hosts. Two hosts of the new sample are massive, quiescent galaxies. The distribution of star formation history across this host-galaxy sample shows that the delay time distribution is wide, with a power-law model that spans from ∼100 Myr to ≳2 Gyr. This requires the existence of one or more progenitor formation channels associated with old stellar populations, such as the binary evolution of compact objects.
Extracts of the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum enhance plant tolerance against environmental stresses such as drought, salinity, and frost. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this ...improved stress tolerance and the nature of the bioactive compounds present in the seaweed extracts that elicits stress tolerance remain largely unknown. We investigated the effect of A. nodosum extracts and its organic sub-fractions on freezing tolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana. Ascophyllum nodosum extracts and its lipophilic fraction significantly increased tolerance to freezing temperatures in in vitro and in vivo assays. Untreated plants exhibited severe chlorosis, tissue damage, and failed to recover from freezing treatments while the extract-treated plants recovered from freezing temperature of -7.5°C in in vitro and -5.5°C in in vivo assays. Electrolyte leakage measurements revealed that the LT₅₀ value was lowered by 3°C while cell viability staining demonstrated a 30-40% reduction in area of damaged tissue in extract treated plants as compared to water controls. Moreover, histological observations of leaf sections revealed that extracts have a significant effect on maintaining membrane integrity during freezing stress. Treated plants exhibited 70% less chlorophyll damage during freezing recovery as compared to the controls, and this correlated with reduced expression of the chlorphyllase genes AtCHL1 and AtCHL2. Further, the A. nodosum extract treatment modulated the expression of the cold response genes, COR15A, RD29A, and CBF3, resulting in enhanced tolerance to freezing temperatures. More than 2.6-fold increase in expression of RD29A, 1.8-fold increase of CBF3 and two-fold increase in the transcript level of COR15A was observed in plants treated with lipophilic fraction of A. nodosum at -2°C. Taken together, the results suggest that chemical components in A. nodosum extracts protect membrane integrity and affect the expression of stress response genes leading to freezing stress tolerance in A. thaliana.
Abstract We report on a full-polarization analysis of the first 25 as yet nonrepeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected at 1.4 GHz by the 110-antenna Deep Synoptic Array (DSA-110) during ...commissioning observations. We present details of the data-reduction, calibration, and analysis procedures developed for this novel instrument. Faraday rotation measures (RMs) are searched between ±10 6 rad m −2 and detected for 20 FRBs, with magnitudes ranging from 4 to 4670 rad m −2 . Fifteen out of 25 FRBs are consistent with 100% polarization, 10 of which have high (≥70%) linear-polarization fractions and two of which have high (≥30%) circular-polarization fractions. Our results disfavor multipath RM scattering as a dominant depolarization mechanism. Polarization-state and possible RM variations are observed in the four FRBs with multiple subcomponents. We combine the DSA-110 sample with polarimetry of previously published FRBs, and compare the polarization properties of FRB subpopulations and FRBs with Galactic pulsars. Although FRB polarization fractions are typically higher than those of Galactic pulsars, and cover a wider range than those of pulsar single pulses, they resemble those of the youngest (characteristic ages <10 5 yr) pulsars. Our results support a scenario wherein FRB emission is intrinsically highly linearly polarized, and propagation effects can result in conversion to circular polarization and depolarization. Young pulsar emission and magnetospheric propagation geometries may form a useful analogy for the origin of FRB polarization.
Current retail marketing conditions allow produce to receive artificial light 24 h per day during its displayed shelf life. Essential human-health vitamins ascorbic acid (vit C), folate (vit B9), ...phylloquinone (vit K1), α-tocopherol (vit E), and the carotenoids lutein, violaxanthin, zeaxanthin, and β-carotene (provit A) also are essential for photosynthesis and are biosynthesized in plants by light conditions even under chilling temperatures. Spinach leaves, notably abundant in the aforementioned human-health compounds, were harvested from flat-leaf 'Lazio' and crinkle-leafed 'Samish' cultivars at peak whole-plant maturity as baby (top- and midcanopy) and larger (lower-canopy) leaves. Leaves were placed as a single layer in commercial, clear-polymer retail boxes and stored at 4 °C for up to 9 days under continuous light (26.9 μmol·m2 ·s) or dark. Top-canopy, baby-leaf spinach generally had higher concentrations of all bioactive compounds, on a dry weight basis, with the exception of carotenoids, than bottom-canopy leaves. All leaves stored under continuous light generally had higher levels of all bioactive compounds, except β-carotene and violaxanthin, and were more prone to wilting, especially the flat-leafed cultivar. All leaves stored under continuous darkness had declining or unchanged levels of the aforementioned bioactive compounds. Findings from this study revealed that spinach leaves exposed to simulated retail continuous light at 4 °C, in clear plastic containers, were overall more nutritionally dense (enriched) than leaves exposed to continuous darkness.
Abstract
We report the detection and interferometric localization of the repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source FRB 20220912A during commissioning observations with the Deep Synoptic Array ...(DSA-110). Two bursts were detected from FRB 20220912A, one each on 2022 October 18 and 2022 October 25. The best-fit position is (R.A. J2000, decl. J2000) = (23:09:04.9, +48:42:25.4), with a 90% confidence error ellipse with radii ±2″ and ±1″ in R.A. and decl., respectively. The two bursts are polarized, and we find a Faraday rotation measure that is consistent with the low value of +0.6 rad m
−2
reported by CHIME/FRB. The DSA-110 localization overlaps with the galaxy PSO J347.2702+48.7066 at a redshift
z
= 0.0771, which we identify as the likely host. PSO J347.2702+48.7066 has a stellar mass of approximately 10
10
M
⊙
, modest internal dust extinction, and a star formation rate likely in excess of 0.1
M
⊙
yr
−1
. The host-galaxy contribution to the dispersion measure is likely ≲50 pc cm
−3
. The FRB 20220912A source is therefore likely viewed along a tenuous plasma column through the host galaxy.
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