Protoplasma最新文献

Intelligence is a fundamental property for all life enabling an increased probability of survival and reproduction under wild circumstances. Kingsland and Taiz (2024) think that plants are not intelligent but seem unaware of the extensive literature about intelligence, memory, learning and chromatin topology in plants. Their views are consequently rejected. Their claim of fake quotations is shown to result from faulty reasoning and lack of understanding of practical biology. Their use of social media as scholarly evidence is unacceptable. Darwin's views on intelligence are described, and their pertinence to the adaptive responses of plants is discussed. Justifications for comments I have made concerning McClintock and her "thoughtful" cell, von Sachs writings as indicating purpose (teleonomy) to plant behaviour, Went and Thimann's allusions to plant intelligence and Bose legacy as the father of plant electrophysiology are described. These scientists were usually first in their field of knowledge, and their understanding was consequently deeper. The article finishes with a brief critical analysis of the 36 scientists who were used to condemn plant neurobiology as of no use. It is concluded that participants signed up to a false prospectus because contrary evidence was omitted.

Cyclotrichium origanifolium, a plant widely used in Eastern and Southern Anatolia for culinary purposes, was subject of this study, which aimed to comprehensively evaluate its potential therapeutic applications. This research stands out due to its holistic approach, combining morpho-anatomical studies, chemical, and biological analyses to explore antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticholinesterase, genotoxic, and anti-genotoxic effects of methanolic and aqueous extracts, as well as flowering aerial part essential oil. It is a perennial plant, typically ranging from 10 to 40 cm in height, with a suffrutescent and highly branched growth habit. Essential oils are produced within glandular trichomes. Oil, analyzed via GC-MS/MS, revealed 24 compounds accounting for 96.4% of oil, with isomenthone (52.4%), pulegone (23.4%), and β-pinene (9.5%) as predominant components. These findings are significant as they provide new insights into chemical composition of oils, particularly highlighting pharmacologically active compounds. Methanol extract exhibited superior antioxidant activity, correlated with high phenol and tannin content. Essential oil showed moderate inhibition of α-amylase (49.54%) and mild inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (11.84%) and butyrylcholinesterase (16.93%), suggesting potential in managing oxidative stress and neurodegenerative diseases. Study also conducted biosafety evaluations using Ames/Salmonella and Allium tests, essential for assessing genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of natural products. Notably, significant antimicrobial effects were identified, particularly against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis. Comprehensive analysis and discovery of significant bioactivities position this research as a valuable contribution to field, distinguishing it from previous studies on similar species. This study provides a foundational understanding of morpho-anatomical, pharmacological, biological properties of plant, opening avenues for future research.

Pancreatic cell dynamics have important contributions to the development of type 2 diabetes and related diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty pancreas disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of prolonged excessive glucose exposure on the functions of pancreatic beta cells and duct cells in single and co-culture conditions. In this study, we focused on the effects of glucotoxicity on insulin secretion which is the main function of beta cells and on progenitor functions of duct cells. Rat primary INS1 beta cells and ARIP duct cells were exposed to glucose (25 mM) for 72 h under single or indirect co-culture conditions. Glucotoxicity stimuli increased insulin secretion and decreased insulin expression in single beta cells while stimulating beta-cell differentiation and adipogenesis in single duct cells. On the other hand, glucotoxicity caused functional loss and increased proliferation and apoptosis in beta cells while increasing proliferation but suppressed beta-cell differentiation and adipogenesis in duct cells under co-culture conditions. The expression level of miR-335, a microRNA known to be upregulated by leptin and target Runx2, was measured. As a result, unlike single-cell culture, glucotoxicity upregulated miR-335, downregulated Runx2, and decreased insulin signaling in beta cells while downregulating miR-335 and upregulating Runx2, and decreased insulin signaling in duct cells under co-culture conditions. When the results of single and co-culture experiments are compared, insulin and miR-335 may be seen as important mediators for setting up the relation between beta and duct cells. Our findings are important for preventing the development of type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty pancreas disease, even developing new diagnosis and treatment strategies.

We reply to the response by P Calvo, V Raja, and M Segundo-Ortin to our article titled "Plant 'intelligence' and the misuse of historical sources as evidence." Their response draws on the authority of psychologist Edward C. Tolman in support of their suggestion that the study of plant intelligence requires an interdisciplinary approach, including cognitive science and other disciplines. We argue that there is no justification for using Tolman as an authority in support of the study of plant intelligence. For Tolman, psychology was confined to the study of organisms with brains, and therefore his comment, when taken in context, has no bearing on the subject of plant intelligence. Calvo et al.'s use of this quotation is a further example of the misuse of a historical authority to support their claim that disciplines such as cognitive science can be applied to the study of those plant behaviors that they consider to be "intelligent."

I present here a rebuttal to an article in this volume wherein Kingsland and Taiz (2024) cast aspersions about an article I have written concerning Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose (Minorsky PV, in Plant Signal Behav 16:1818030, 2021) a brilliant Bengali scientist who was a pioneer not only in physics (microwaves and semi-conductors), but also in elucidating the electrophysiological responses of plants to environmental stimuli. The charge of racism that I have levelled at Bose's most powerful and well-connected botanical adversary in the 1920s, Daniel T. MacDougal, is irrefutable: MacDougal was a racist, his racism extended to South Asians, and he used racist epithets in referring to Bose. MacDougal offered no cogent arguments against Bose's electrophysiological measurements but attacked Bose with the racist trope that South Asians were "mystics." MacDougal wielded his political and editorial clout to publicize faulty research in opposition to Bose while ignoring a sizable body of contemporaneous evidence in support of Bose's ideas. Unfortunately, given MacDougal's stature as the General Secretary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the racist tenor of the time, many Western scientists were too ready to accept uncritically MacDougal's proclamations that Bose was a fraud, an incompetent, and a "Hindoo" mystic. Bose was one of the greatest minds to ever contemplate plant function. It is high time that we, in the West, redress this historical wrong, and acknowledge Bose's enormous and revolutionary contributions to plant physiology.

High-affinity K⁺ (HKT) transporters which mediate Na⁺-specific transport or Na⁺-K⁺ co-transport play a key role in plant salt tolerance. In our previous functional study in Xenopus oocytes, we demonstrated that the durum wheat TdHKT1;4-1 acts as a Na⁺-selective transporter. Here, we investigated the function of TdHKT1;4-1 and its contribution in salt stress tolerance in the Arabidopsis athkt1 mutant background. Our results revealed that TdHKT1;4-1 partially complements the salt sensitivity phenotype of the athkt1 transgenic lines. Comparative physiological analyses and oxidative stress status under moderate salt stress (50 mM NaCl) showed that both transgenic lines SH3 and SH5 restored the salt stress tolerance comparable to the level observed in Wt plants. Whereas, under severe salt stress treatment (100 mM NaCl), the athkt1 transgenic lines exhibited an intermediate salt stress tolerance between Wt and athkt1 mutant. Moreover, TdHKT1;4-1 was highly expressed in leaves under moderate and severe salt stress, while in roots, it was largely expressed only under severe salt stress. In addition, antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly expressed in SH3 and SH5 lines compared to athkt1 and Wt under moderate stress. Therefore, TdHKT1;4-1 seems to differ from its Arabidopsis homologous counterpart, as it contributes to salt stress tolerance up to a specific threshold, above which the TdHKT1;4-1 expression may lead to higher root Na⁺ influx, hence increasing its toxicity during salt stress.

Paramecium bursaria is a ciliate species that has a symbiotic relationship with Chlorella spp. This study aimed to elucidate the dynamics of digestive vacuole (DV) differentiation in P. bursaria, using yeast stained with a pH indicator. Previously, DV differentiation in P. bursaria has been classified into eight periods based on fixed-cell observations. However, to understand the behavior and physiology of P. bursaria in its natural state, it is essential to observe living cells. This study presented a novel method using Cornig® Cell-Tak™ to immobilize living P. bursaria cells, which enabled long-term observation of the same cell from the same direction. This technique allowed for real-time observation of DV differentiation, including the relationship between changes in the internal pH of DV and the diameter of DV, yeast budding from the DV membrane by a single cell into the cytoplasm, and separation of a DV containing multiple yeasts into two DVs. This study provides new insights into the dynamic process of DV differentiation in P. bursaria. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the cellular mechanisms underlying the symbiotic relationship between the two organisms and shed light on the complex process of intracellular digestion in ciliates.

The cell walls of green algae Scenedesmus obliquus are complex, polymeric structures including an inner cellulose layer surrounded by an algaenan-containing trilaminar sheath. The process of autosporulation leads to the formation of sporangial (maternal) cell walls, which are released into the medium after sporangial autolysis. In this study, a fraction of maternal cell wall material (CWM) was isolated from the stationary phase cultures of Scenedesmus obliquus 633 and subjected to immunofluorescence microscopy using polyclonal anti-ubiquitin antibodies. The water-extracted polypeptide fraction from the maternal cell walls was then analyzed using immunoblotting and LC-MS/MS. An immunoanalysis showed the presence of several peptides reactive with polyclonal anti-ubiquitin serum, with apparent molecular masses of c. 12, 70, 120, 200, and > 250 kDa. Cell wall-associated peptides were identified on the basis of LC-MS/MS spectra across NCBI databases, including the Scenedesmaceae family (58 records), the Chlorophyceae class (37 records), and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (18 records) corresponding to the signatures of 95 identified proteins. In particular, three signatures identified ubiquitin and ubiquitin-related proteins. In the maternal cell walls, immunoblotting analysis, immunofluorescence microscopy, and LC-MS/MS proteomics collectively demonstrated the presence of ubiquitin-like epitopes, ubiquitin-specific peptide signatures, and several putative ubiquitin conjugates of a higher molecular mass. These results support the presence of ubiquitin-like proteins in the extramembranous compartment of Scenedesmus obliquus 633 and suggest that protein ubiquitination plays a significant role in the formation and functional integrity of the maternal cell walls in green algae.

In the cells of Chara corallina, permeant monohydric alcohols including methanol, ethanol and 1-propanol increased the hydraulic resistance of the membrane (Lp_m^-1). We found that the relative value of the hydraulic resistance (^rLp_m^-1) was linearly dependent on the concentration (C_s) of the alcohol. The relationship is expressed in the equation: ^rLp_m^-1 = ρ_mC_s + 1, where ρ_m is the hydraulic resistance modifier coefficient of the membrane. Ye et al. (2004) showed that membrane-permeant glycol ethers also increased Lp^-1. We used their data to estimate Lp_m^-1 and ^rLp_m^-1. The values of ^rLp_m^-1 fit the above relation we found for alcohols. When we plotted the ρ_m values of all the permeant alcohols and glycol ethers against their molecular weights (MW), we obtained a linear curve with a slope of 0.014 M^-1/MW and with a correlation coefficient of 0.99. We analyzed the influence of the permeant solutes on the relative hydraulic resistance of the membrane (^rLp_m^-1) as a function of the external (π₀) and internal (π_i) osmotic pressures. The analysis showed that the hydraulic resistance modifier coefficients (ρ_m) were linearly related to the MW of the permeant solutes with a slope of 0.012 M^-1/MW and with a correlation coefficient of 0.84. The linear relationship between the effects of permeating solutes on the hydraulic resistance modifier coefficient (ρ_m) and the MW can be explained in terms of the effect of the effective osmotic pressure on the hydraulic conductivity of water channels. The result of the analysis suggests that the osmotic pressure and not the size of the permeant solute as proposed by (Ye et al., J Exp Bot 55:449-461, 2004) is the decisive factor in a solute's influence on hydraulic conductivity. Thus, characean water channels (aquaporins) respond to permeant solutes with essentially the same mechanism as to impermeant solutes.