The Jacalin-Related Lectin HvHorcH Is Involved in the Physiological Response of Barley Roots to Salt Stress

Salt stress tolerance of crop plants is a trait with increasing value for future food production. In an attempt to identify proteins that participate in the salt stress response of barley, we have used a cDNA library from salt-stressed seedling roots of the relatively salt-stress-tolerant cv. Morex for the transfection of a salt-stress-sensitive yeast strain (Saccharomyces cerevisiae YSH818 Δhog1 mutant). From the retrieved cDNA sequences conferring salt tolerance to the yeast mutant, eleven contained the coding sequence of a jacalin-related lectin (JRL) that shows homology to the previously identified JRL horcolin from barley coleoptiles that we therefore named the gene HvHorcH. The detection of HvHorcH protein in root extracellular fluid suggests a secretion under stress conditions. Furthermore, HvHorcH exhibited specificity towards mannose. Protein abundance of HvHorcH in roots of salt-sensitive or salt-tolerant barley cultivars were not trait-specific to salinity treatment, but protein levels increased in response to the treatment, particularly in the root tip. Expression of HvHorcH in Arabidopsis thaliana root tips increased salt tolerance. Hence, we conclude that this protein is involved in the adaptation of plants to salinity.     

Die Isolierung der Sulfide aus unlegierten Stählen

Möglichkeiten zur Sulfidisolierung. Isolierung durch elektrolytische Auflösung der Stahlmatrix. Fehlerquellen durch leichte Oxidierbarkeit von Mangansulfid und Verlust kleinster Teilchen. Arbeitsvorschrift zur quantitativen elektrolytischen Isolierung und Sammlung der Isolate. Untersuchung der Sulfidzusammensetzung.     

Evaluation and validation of a novel Arxula adeninivorans estrogen screen (nAES) assay and its application in analysis of wastewater, seawater, brackish water and urine

A novel Arxula adeninivorans yeast estrogen screen (nAES) assay has been developed for detection of estrogenic activity in various liquid samples such as wastewater, seawater, brackish water and swine urine. Two bio-components were engineered to co-express the human estrogen receptor α (hERα) and an inducible reporter gene; either the non-conventional phytase gene (phyK, derived from Klebsiella sp. ASR1) or the non-conventional tannase gene (ATAN1, derived from Arxula). Both reporters were put under the control of an Arxula derived glucoamylase (GAA) promoter, which was modified by the insertion of two estrogen-responsive elements (EREs). The Arxula transformation/expression platform Xplor® 2, which lacks resistance markers and E. coli elements, was used to select stable mitotic transformants. They were then analyzed for robustness and suitability as the bio-component for the nAES assay. Two types of the nAES assay based on the reporter proteins phytase and tannase (nAES-P, nAES-T) were used in this work. The nAES-P type is more suitable for the analysis of seawater, brackish water and urine whereas the nAES-T type exhibited higher robustness to NaCl. Both assay types have similar characteristics for the determination of estrogen in sewage and urine samples e.g. 6-25 h assay period with detection and determination limits and EC₅₀ values for 17β-estradiol of 2.8 ng L^− 1, 5.9 ng L^− 1, 33.2 ng L^− 1 (nAES-P) and 3.1 ng L^− 1, 6.7 ng L^− 1 and 39.4 ng L^− 1 (nAES-T). Substrate specificity and analytical measurement range (AMR) for both assay types are also similar. These characteristics show that the nAES assay based on non-conventional salt tolerant yeast is applicable for a high throughput estrogen analysis in the environmental and regulatory control sectors.     

Investigation of the Formation of Iron-Rich Intermetallic Phases in Al–Si Alloys via Thermal Analysis Cooling Curves,Including a Real-Time Detection for Filtration Process

The formation of iron (Fe)-containing intermetallics during solidification is challenging due to the influences of cooling rate and chemical composition. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is an accurate analysis method but merely replicates adjustable cooling conditions. Thereby, the solidification range is traversed several times before DSC measurement. For this purpose, thermal analysis cooling curves with double thermocouple are conducted to investigate the formation temperature of Fe-rich intermetallics in different AlSi casting alloys. In addition, the influence of chemical composition is examined by increasing the initial contents of iron, manganese, and chromium to 0.8 wt% each. The double thermocouple setup allows determining feeding points and solid fractions of the alloy compounds. To evaluate the data sets, the statistical program R is used to improve data processing and smoothing. The signature of Fe-rich intermetallics in the temperature–time plots corresponds to the detected phases in optical micrographs. In addition, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy and electron backscattering diffraction are used to measure the local chemical composition and identify the iron-rich intermetallics. Real-time evaluation (differential calculation, first derivative, incl. smoothing) for an applicable filtration process can be performed using thermocouples with analog-to-digital converter and Python programs with an interactive graphical interface.