Unidirectional influx and efflux of nutrients and toxicants, and their resultant net fluxes, are central to the nutrition and toxicology of plants. Radioisotope tracing is a major technique used to measure such fluxes, both within plants, and between plants and their environments. Flux data obtained with radiotracer protocols can help elucidate the capacity, mechanism, regulation, and energetics of transport systems for specific mineral nutrients or toxicants, and can provide insight into compartmentation and turnover rates of subcellular mineral and metabolite pools. Here, we describe two major radioisotope protocols used in plant biology: direct influx (DI) and compartmental analysis by tracer efflux (CATE). We focus on flux measurement of potassium (K+) as a nutrient, and ammonia/ammonium (NH3/NH4+) as a toxicant, in intact seedlings of the model species barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). These protocols can be readily adapted to other experimental systems (e.g., different species, excised plant material, and other nutrients/toxicants). Advantages and limitations of these protocols are discussed.
23 Related JoVE Articles!
Annotation of Plant Gene Function via Combined Genomics, Metabolomics and Informatics
Given the ever expanding number of model plant species for which complete genome sequences are available and the abundance of bio-resources such as knockout mutants, wild accessions and advanced breeding populations, there is a rising burden for gene functional annotation. In this protocol, annotation of plant gene function using combined co-expression gene analysis, metabolomics and informatics is provided (Figure 1
). This approach is based on the theory of using target genes of known function to allow the identification of non-annotated genes likely to be involved in a certain metabolic process, with the identification of target compounds via metabolomics. Strategies are put forward for applying this information on populations generated by both forward and reverse genetics approaches in spite of none of these are effortless. By corollary this approach can also be used as an approach to characterise unknown peaks representing new or specific secondary metabolites in the limited tissues, plant species or stress treatment, which is currently the important trial to understanding plant metabolism.
Plant Biology, Issue 64, Genetics, Bioinformatics, Metabolomics, Plant metabolism, Transcriptome analysis, Functional annotation, Computational biology, Plant biology, Theoretical biology, Spectroscopy and structural analysis
Gibberella zeae Ascospore Production and Collection for Microarray Experiments.
Institutions: USDA, University of Minnesota/ Agroinnova, University of Torino, University of Minnesota.
Fusarium graminearum Schwabe (teleomorph Gibberella zeae) is a plant pathogen causing scab disease on wheat and barley that reduces crop yield and grain quality. F. graminearum also causes stalk and ear rots of maize and is a producer of mycotoxins such as the trichothecenes that contaminate grain and are harmful to humans and livestock (Goswami and Kistler, 2004).
The fungus produces two types of spores. Ascospores, the propagules resulting from sexual reproduction, are the main source of primary infection. These spores are forcibly discharged from mature perithecia and dispersed by wind (Francl et al 1999). Secondary infections are mainly caused by macroconidia which are produced by asexual means on the plant surface. To study the developmental processes of ascospores in this fungus, a procedure for their collection in large quantity under sterile conditions was required. Our protocol was filmed in order to generate the highest level of information for understanding and reproducibility; crucial aspects when full genome gene expression profiles are generated and interpreted. In particular, the variability of ascospore germination and biological activity are dependent on the prior manipulation of the material. The use of video for documenting every step in ascospore production is proposed in order to increase standardization, complying with the increasingly stringent requirements for microarray analysis. The procedure requires only standard laboratory equipment. Steps are shown to prevent contamination and favor time synchronization of ascospores.
Plant Biology, Issue 1, sexual cross, spore separation, MIAME standards
Collection and Analysis of Arabidopsis Phloem Exudates Using the EDTA-facilitated Method
Institutions: Michigan State Universtiy.
The plant phloem is essential for the long-distance transport of (photo-) assimilates as well as of signals conveying biotic or abiotic stress. It contains sugars, amino acids, proteins, RNA, lipids and other metabolites. While there is a large interest in understanding the composition and function of the phloem, the role of many of these molecules and thus, their importance in plant development and stress response has yet to be determined. One barrier to phloem analysis lies in the fact that the phloem seals itself upon wounding. As a result, the number of plants from which phloem sap can be obtained is limited. One method that allows collection of phloem exudates from several plant species without added equipment is the EDTA-facilitated phloem exudate collection described here. While it is easy to use, it does lead to the wounding of cells and care has to be taken to remove contents of damaged cells. In addition, several controls to prove purity of the exudate are necessary. Because it is an exudation rather than a direct collection of the phloem sap (not possible in many species) only relative quantification of its contents can occur. The advantage of this method over others is that it can be used in many herbaceous or woody plant species (Perilla
) and requires minimal equipment and training. It leads to reasonably large amounts of exudates that can be used for subsequent analysis of proteins, sugars, lipids, RNA, viruses and metabolites. It is simple enough that it can be used in both a research as well as in a teaching laboratory.
Plant Biology, Issue 80, plant, long-distance transport, long-distance signaling, phloem, phloem exudate collection, assimilate transport, protein, RNA, lipids
Optimization and Utilization of Agrobacterium-mediated Transient Protein Production in Nicotiana
Institutions: Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology.
-mediated transient protein production in plants is a promising approach to produce vaccine antigens and therapeutic proteins within a short period of time. However, this technology is only just beginning to be applied to large-scale production as many technological obstacles to scale up are now being overcome. Here, we demonstrate a simple and reproducible method for industrial-scale transient protein production based on vacuum infiltration of Nicotiana
plants with Agrobacteria
carrying launch vectors. Optimization of Agrobacterium
cultivation in AB medium allows direct dilution of the bacterial culture in Milli-Q water, simplifying the infiltration process. Among three tested species of Nicotiana
, N. excelsiana
× N. excelsior
) was selected as the most promising host due to the ease of infiltration, high level of reporter protein production, and about two-fold higher biomass production under controlled environmental conditions. Induction of Agrobacterium
harboring pBID4-GFP (Tobacco mosaic virus
-based) using chemicals such as acetosyringone and monosaccharide had no effect on the protein production level. Infiltrating plant under 50 to 100 mbar for 30 or 60 sec resulted in about 95% infiltration of plant leaf tissues. Infiltration with Agrobacterium
laboratory strain GV3101 showed the highest protein production compared to Agrobacteria
laboratory strains LBA4404 and C58C1 and wild-type Agrobacteria
strains at6, at10, at77 and A4. Co-expression of a viral RNA silencing suppressor, p23 or p19, in N. benthamiana
resulted in earlier accumulation and increased production (15-25%) of target protein (influenza virus hemagglutinin).
Plant Biology, Issue 86, Agroinfiltration, Nicotiana benthamiana, transient protein production, plant-based expression, viral vector, Agrobacteria
Characterization of Complex Systems Using the Design of Experiments Approach: Transient Protein Expression in Tobacco as a Case Study
Institutions: RWTH Aachen University, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.
Plants provide multiple benefits for the production of biopharmaceuticals including low costs, scalability, and safety. Transient expression offers the additional advantage of short development and production times, but expression levels can vary significantly between batches thus giving rise to regulatory concerns in the context of good manufacturing practice. We used a design of experiments (DoE) approach to determine the impact of major factors such as regulatory elements in the expression construct, plant growth and development parameters, and the incubation conditions during expression, on the variability of expression between batches. We tested plants expressing a model anti-HIV monoclonal antibody (2G12) and a fluorescent marker protein (DsRed). We discuss the rationale for selecting certain properties of the model and identify its potential limitations. The general approach can easily be transferred to other problems because the principles of the model are broadly applicable: knowledge-based parameter selection, complexity reduction by splitting the initial problem into smaller modules, software-guided setup of optimal experiment combinations and step-wise design augmentation. Therefore, the methodology is not only useful for characterizing protein expression in plants but also for the investigation of other complex systems lacking a mechanistic description. The predictive equations describing the interconnectivity between parameters can be used to establish mechanistic models for other complex systems.
Bioengineering, Issue 83, design of experiments (DoE), transient protein expression, plant-derived biopharmaceuticals, promoter, 5'UTR, fluorescent reporter protein, model building, incubation conditions, monoclonal antibody
Assessment of Morphine-induced Hyperalgesia and Analgesic Tolerance in Mice Using Thermal and Mechanical Nociceptive Modalities
Institutions: Université de Strasbourg.
Opioid-induced hyperalgesia and tolerance severely impact the clinical efficacy of opiates as pain relievers in animals and humans. The molecular mechanisms underlying both phenomena are not well understood and their elucidation should benefit from the study of animal models and from the design of appropriate experimental protocols.
We describe here a methodological approach for inducing, recording and quantifying morphine-induced hyperalgesia as well as for evidencing analgesic tolerance, using the tail-immersion and tail pressure tests in wild-type mice. As shown in the video, the protocol is divided into five sequential steps. Handling and habituation phases allow a safe determination of the basal nociceptive response of the animals. Chronic morphine administration induces significant hyperalgesia as shown by an increase in both thermal and mechanical sensitivity, whereas the comparison of analgesia time-courses after acute or repeated morphine treatment clearly indicates the development of tolerance manifested by a decline in analgesic response amplitude. This protocol may be similarly adapted to genetically modified mice in order to evaluate the role of individual genes in the modulation of nociception and morphine analgesia. It also provides a model system to investigate the effectiveness of potential therapeutic agents to improve opiate analgesic efficacy.
Neuroscience, Issue 89, mice, nociception, tail immersion test, tail pressure test, morphine, analgesia, opioid-induced hyperalgesia, tolerance
Analysis of Oxidative Stress in Zebrafish Embryos
Institutions: University of Torino, Vesalius Research Center, VIB.
High levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) may cause a change of cellular redox state towards oxidative stress condition. This situation causes oxidation of molecules (lipid, DNA, protein) and leads to cell death. Oxidative stress also impacts the progression of several pathological conditions such as diabetes, retinopathies, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Thus, it is important to define tools to investigate oxidative stress conditions not only at the level of single cells but also in the context of whole organisms. Here, we consider the zebrafish embryo as a useful in vivo
system to perform such studies and present a protocol to measure in vivo
oxidative stress. Taking advantage of fluorescent ROS probes and zebrafish transgenic fluorescent lines, we develop two different methods to measure oxidative stress in vivo
: i) a “whole embryo ROS-detection method” for qualitative measurement of oxidative stress and ii) a “single-cell ROS detection method” for quantitative measurements of oxidative stress. Herein, we demonstrate the efficacy of these procedures by increasing oxidative stress in tissues by oxidant agents and physiological or genetic methods. This protocol is amenable for forward genetic screens and it will help address cause-effect relationships of ROS in animal models of oxidative stress-related pathologies such as neurological disorders and cancer.
Developmental Biology, Issue 89, Danio rerio, zebrafish embryos, endothelial cells, redox state analysis, oxidative stress detection, in vivo ROS measurements, FACS (fluorescence activated cell sorter), molecular probes
A Restriction Enzyme Based Cloning Method to Assess the In vitro Replication Capacity of HIV-1 Subtype C Gag-MJ4 Chimeric Viruses
Institutions: Emory University, Emory University.
The protective effect of many HLA class I alleles on HIV-1 pathogenesis and disease progression is, in part, attributed to their ability to target conserved portions of the HIV-1 genome that escape with difficulty. Sequence changes attributed to cellular immune pressure arise across the genome during infection, and if found within conserved regions of the genome such as Gag, can affect the ability of the virus to replicate in vitro
. Transmission of HLA-linked polymorphisms in Gag to HLA-mismatched recipients has been associated with reduced set point viral loads. We hypothesized this may be due to a reduced replication capacity of the virus. Here we present a novel method for assessing the in vitro
replication of HIV-1 as influenced by the gag
gene isolated from acute time points from subtype C infected Zambians. This method uses restriction enzyme based cloning to insert the gag
gene into a common subtype C HIV-1 proviral backbone, MJ4. This makes it more appropriate to the study of subtype C sequences than previous recombination based methods that have assessed the in vitro
replication of chronically derived gag-pro
sequences. Nevertheless, the protocol could be readily modified for studies of viruses from other subtypes. Moreover, this protocol details a robust and reproducible method for assessing the replication capacity of the Gag-MJ4 chimeric viruses on a CEM-based T cell line. This method was utilized for the study of Gag-MJ4 chimeric viruses derived from 149 subtype C acutely infected Zambians, and has allowed for the identification of residues in Gag that affect replication. More importantly, the implementation of this technique has facilitated a deeper understanding of how viral replication defines parameters of early HIV-1 pathogenesis such as set point viral load and longitudinal CD4+ T cell decline.
Infectious Diseases, Issue 90, HIV-1, Gag, viral replication, replication capacity, viral fitness, MJ4, CEM, GXR25
Measuring the Osmotic Water Permeability Coefficient (Pf) of Spherical Cells: Isolated Plant Protoplasts as an Example
Institutions: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Université catholique de Louvain, Université catholique de Louvain.
Studying AQP regulation mechanisms is crucial for the understanding of water relations at both the cellular and the whole plant levels. Presented here is a simple and very efficient method for the determination of the osmotic water permeability coefficient (Pf
) in plant protoplasts, applicable in principle also to other spherical cells such as frog oocytes. The first step of the assay is the isolation of protoplasts from the plant tissue of interest by enzymatic digestion into a chamber with an appropriate isotonic solution. The second step consists of an osmotic challenge assay: protoplasts immobilized on the bottom of the chamber are submitted to a constant perfusion starting with an isotonic solution and followed by a hypotonic solution. The cell swelling is video recorded. In the third step, the images are processed offline to yield volume changes, and the time course of the volume changes is correlated with the time course of the change in osmolarity of the chamber perfusion medium, using a curve fitting procedure written in Matlab (the ‘PfFit’), to yield Pf
Plant Biology, Issue 92, Osmotic water permeability coefficient, aquaporins, protoplasts, curve fitting, non-instantaneous osmolarity change, volume change time course
Measuring Spatial and Temporal Ca2+ Signals in Arabidopsis Plants
Institutions: Purdue University, Purdue University, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Developmental and environmental cues induce Ca2+
fluctuations in plant cells. Stimulus-specific spatial-temporal Ca2+
patterns are sensed by cellular Ca2+
binding proteins that initiate Ca2+
signaling cascades. However, we still know little about how stimulus specific Ca2+
signals are generated. The specificity of a Ca2+
signal may be attributed to the sophisticated regulation of the activities of Ca2+
channels and/or transporters in response to a given stimulus. To identify these cellular components and understand their functions, it is crucial to use systems that allow a sensitive and robust recording of Ca2+
signals at both the tissue and cellular levels. Genetically encoded Ca2+
indicators that are targeted to different cellular compartments have provided a platform for live cell confocal imaging of cellular Ca2+
signals. Here we describe instructions for the use of two Ca2+
detection systems: aequorin based FAS (film adhesive seedlings) luminescence Ca2+
imaging and case12 based live cell confocal fluorescence Ca2+
imaging. Luminescence imaging using the FAS system provides a simple, robust and sensitive detection of spatial and temporal Ca2+
signals at the tissue level, while live cell confocal imaging using Case12 provides simultaneous detection of cytosolic and nuclear Ca2+
signals at a high resolution.
Plant Biology, Issue 91, Aequorin, Case12, abiotic stress, heavy metal stress, copper ion, calcium imaging, Arabidopsis
A New Approach for the Comparative Analysis of Multiprotein Complexes Based on 15N Metabolic Labeling and Quantitative Mass Spectrometry
Institutions: University of Münster, Carnegie Institution for Science.
The introduced protocol provides a tool for the analysis of multiprotein complexes in the thylakoid membrane, by revealing insights into complex composition under different conditions. In this protocol the approach is demonstrated by comparing the composition of the protein complex responsible for cyclic electron flow (CEF) in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
, isolated from genetically different strains. The procedure comprises the isolation of thylakoid membranes, followed by their separation into multiprotein complexes by sucrose density gradient centrifugation, SDS-PAGE, immunodetection and comparative, quantitative mass spectrometry (MS) based on differential metabolic labeling (14
N) of the analyzed strains. Detergent solubilized thylakoid membranes are loaded on sucrose density gradients at equal chlorophyll concentration. After ultracentrifugation, the gradients are separated into fractions, which are analyzed by mass-spectrometry based on equal volume. This approach allows the investigation of the composition within the gradient fractions and moreover to analyze the migration behavior of different proteins, especially focusing on ANR1, CAS, and PGRL1. Furthermore, this method is demonstrated by confirming the results with immunoblotting and additionally by supporting the findings from previous studies (the identification and PSI-dependent migration of proteins that were previously described to be part of the CEF-supercomplex such as PGRL1, FNR, and cyt f
). Notably, this approach is applicable to address a broad range of questions for which this protocol can be adopted and e.g.
used for comparative analyses of multiprotein complex composition isolated from distinct environmental conditions.
Microbiology, Issue 85, Sucrose density gradients, Chlamydomonas, multiprotein complexes, 15N metabolic labeling, thylakoids
Single-plant, Sterile Microcosms for Nodulation and Growth of the Legume Plant Medicago truncatula with the Rhizobial Symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti
Institutions: Florida State University.
Rhizobial bacteria form symbiotic, nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots of compatible host legume plants. One of the most well-developed model systems for studying these interactions is the plant Medicago truncatula
cv. Jemalong A17 and the rhizobial bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti
1021. Repeated imaging of plant roots and scoring of symbiotic phenotypes requires methods that are non-destructive to either plants or bacteria. The symbiotic phenotypes of some plant and bacterial mutants become apparent after relatively short periods of growth, and do not require long-term observation of the host/symbiont interaction. However, subtle differences in symbiotic efficiency and nodule senescence phenotypes that are not apparent in the early stages of the nodulation process require relatively long growth periods before they can be scored. Several methods have been developed for long-term growth and observation of this host/symbiont pair. However, many of these methods require repeated watering, which increases the possibility of contamination by other microbes. Other methods require a relatively large space for growth of large numbers of plants. The method described here, symbiotic growth of M. truncatula/S. meliloti
in sterile, single-plant microcosms, has several advantages. Plants in these microcosms have sufficient moisture and nutrients to ensure that watering is not required for up to 9 weeks, preventing cross-contamination during watering. This allows phenotypes to be quantified that might be missed in short-term growth systems, such as subtle delays in nodule development and early nodule senescence. Also, the roots and nodules in the microcosm are easily viewed through the plate lid, so up-rooting of the plants for observation is not required.
Environmental Sciences, Issue 80, Plant Roots, Medicago, Gram-Negative Bacteria, Nitrogen, Microbiological Techniques, Bacterial Processes, Symbiosis, botany, microbiology, Medicago truncatula, Sinorhizobium meliloti, nodule, nitrogen fixation, legume, rhizobia, bacteria
Metabolic Labeling and Membrane Fractionation for Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Suspension Cell Cultures
Institutions: Max Plank Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, University of Hohenheim.
Plasma membrane microdomains are features based on the physical properties of the lipid and sterol environment and have particular roles in signaling processes. Extracting sterol-enriched membrane microdomains from plant cells for proteomic analysis is a difficult task mainly due to multiple preparation steps and sources for contaminations from other cellular compartments. The plasma membrane constitutes only about 5-20% of all the membranes in a plant cell, and therefore isolation of highly purified plasma membrane fraction is challenging. A frequently used method involves aqueous two-phase partitioning in polyethylene glycol and dextran, which yields plasma membrane vesicles with a purity of 95% 1
. Sterol-rich membrane microdomains within the plasma membrane are insoluble upon treatment with cold nonionic detergents at alkaline pH. This detergent-resistant membrane fraction can be separated from the bulk plasma membrane by ultracentrifugation in a sucrose gradient 2
. Subsequently, proteins can be extracted from the low density band of the sucrose gradient by methanol/chloroform precipitation. Extracted protein will then be trypsin digested, desalted and finally analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Our extraction protocol for sterol-rich microdomains is optimized for the preparation of clean detergent-resistant membrane fractions from Arabidopsis thaliana
We use full metabolic labeling of Arabidopsis thaliana
suspension cell cultures with K15
as the only nitrogen source for quantitative comparative proteomic studies following biological treatment of interest 3
. By mixing equal ratios of labeled and unlabeled cell cultures for joint protein extraction the influence of preparation steps on final quantitative result is kept at a minimum. Also loss of material during extraction will affect both control and treatment samples in the same way, and therefore the ratio of light and heave peptide will remain constant. In the proposed method either labeled or unlabeled cell culture undergoes a biological treatment, while the other serves as control 4
Empty Value, Issue 79, Cellular Structures, Plants, Genetically Modified, Arabidopsis, Membrane Lipids, Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins, Membrane Proteins, Isotope Labeling, Proteomics, plants, Arabidopsis thaliana, metabolic labeling, stable isotope labeling, suspension cell cultures, plasma membrane fractionation, two phase system, detergent resistant membranes (DRM), mass spectrometry, membrane microdomains, quantitative proteomics
Heterotopic Heart Transplantation in Mice
Institutions: University of California, San Francisco - UCSF.
The mouse heterotopic heart transplantation has been used widely since it was introduced by Drs. Corry and Russell in 1973. It is particularly valuable for studying rejection and immune response now that newer transgenic and gene knockout mice are available, and a large number of immunologic reagents have been developed. The heart transplant model is less stringent than the skin transplant models, although technically more challenging. We have developed a modified technique and have completed over 1000 successful cases of heterotopic heart transplantation in mice. When making anastomosis of the ascending aorta and abdominal aorta, two stay sutures are placed at the proximal and distal apexes of recipient abdominal aorta with the donor s ascending aorta, then using 11-0 suture for anastomosis on both side of aorta with continuing sutures. The stay sutures make the anastomosis easier and 11-0 is an ideal suture size to avoid bleeding and thrombosis.
When making anastomosis of pulmonary artery and inferior vena cava, two stay sutures are made at the proximal apex and distal apex of the recipient s inferior vena cava with the donor s pulmonary artery. The left wall of the inferior vena cava and donor s pulmonary artery is closed with continuing sutures in the inside of the inferior vena cava after, one knot with the proximal apex stay suture the right wall of the inferior vena cava and the donor s pulmonary artery are closed with continuing sutures outside the inferior vena cave with 10-0 sutures. This method is easier to perform because anastomosis is made just on the one side of the inferior vena cava and 10-0 sutures is the right size to avoid bleeding and thrombosis. In this article, we provide details of the technique to supplement the video.
Developmental Biology, Issue 6, Microsurgical Techniques, Heart Transplant, Allograft Rejection Model
Strategies for Study of Neuroprotection from Cold-preconditioning
Institutions: The University of Chicago Medical Center.
Neurological injury is a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality from general anesthesia and related surgical procedures that could be alleviated by development of effective, easy to administer and safe preconditioning treatments. We seek to define the neural immune signaling responsible for cold-preconditioning as means to identify novel targets for therapeutics development to protect brain before injury onset. Low-level pro-inflammatory mediator signaling changes over time are essential for cold-preconditioning neuroprotection. This signaling is consistent with the basic tenets of physiological conditioning hormesis, which require that irritative stimuli reach a threshold magnitude with sufficient time for adaptation to the stimuli for protection to become evident.
Accordingly, delineation of the immune signaling involved in cold-preconditioning neuroprotection requires that biological systems and experimental manipulations plus technical capacities are highly reproducible and sensitive. Our approach is to use hippocampal slice cultures as an in vitro
model that closely reflects their in vivo
counterparts with multi-synaptic neural networks influenced by mature and quiescent macroglia / microglia. This glial state is particularly important for microglia since they are the principal source of cytokines, which are operative in the femtomolar range. Also, slice cultures can be maintained in vitro
for several weeks, which is sufficient time to evoke activating stimuli and assess adaptive responses. Finally, environmental conditions can be accurately controlled using slice cultures so that cytokine signaling of cold-preconditioning can be measured, mimicked, and modulated to dissect the critical node aspects. Cytokine signaling system analyses require the use of sensitive and reproducible multiplexed techniques. We use quantitative PCR for TNF-α to screen for microglial activation followed by quantitative real-time qPCR array screening to assess tissue-wide cytokine changes. The latter is a most sensitive and reproducible means to measure multiple cytokine system signaling changes simultaneously. Significant changes are confirmed with targeted qPCR and then protein detection. We probe for tissue-based cytokine protein changes using multiplexed microsphere flow cytometric assays using Luminex technology. Cell-specific cytokine production is determined with double-label immunohistochemistry. Taken together, this brain tissue preparation and style of use, coupled to the suggested investigative strategies, may be an optimal approach for identifying potential targets for the development of novel therapeutics that could mimic the advantages of cold-preconditioning.
Neuroscience, Issue 43, innate immunity, hormesis, microglia, hippocampus, slice culture, immunohistochemistry, neural-immune, gene expression, real-time PCR
Training Rats to Voluntarily Dive Underwater: Investigations of the Mammalian Diving Response
Institutions: Midwestern University.
Underwater submergence produces autonomic changes that are observed in virtually all diving animals. This reflexly-induced response consists of apnea, a parasympathetically-induced bradycardia and a sympathetically-induced alteration of vascular resistance that maintains blood flow to the heart, brain and exercising muscles. While many of the metabolic and cardiorespiratory aspects of the diving response have been studied in marine animals, investigations of the central integrative aspects of this brainstem reflex have been relatively lacking. Because the physiology and neuroanatomy of the rat are well characterized, the rat can be used to help ascertain the central pathways of the mammalian diving response. Detailed instructions are provided on how to train rats to swim and voluntarily dive underwater through a 5 m long Plexiglas maze. Considerations regarding tank design and procedure room requirements are also given. The behavioral training is conducted in such a way as to reduce the stressfulness that could otherwise be associated with forced underwater submergence, thus minimizing activation of central stress pathways. The training procedures are not technically difficult, but they can be time-consuming. Since behavioral training of animals can only provide a model to be used with other experimental techniques, examples of how voluntarily diving rats have been used in conjunction with other physiological and neuroanatomical research techniques, and how the basic training procedures may need to be modified to accommodate these techniques, are also provided. These experiments show that voluntarily diving rats exhibit the same cardiorespiratory changes typically seen in other diving animals. The ease with which rats can be trained to voluntarily dive underwater, and the already available data from rats collected in other neurophysiological studies, makes voluntarily diving rats a good behavioral model to be used in studies investigating the central aspects of the mammalian diving response.
Behavior, Issue 93, Rat, Rattus norvegicus, voluntary diving, diving response, diving reflex, autonomic reflex, central integration
Agrobacterium-Mediated Virus-Induced Gene Silencing Assay In Cotton
Institutions: Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University.
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum
) is one of the most important crops worldwide. Considerable efforts have been made on molecular breeding of new varieties. The large-scale gene functional analysis in cotton has been lagged behind most of the modern plant species, likely due to its large size of genome, gene duplication and polyploidy, long growth cycle and recalcitrance to genetic transformation1
. To facilitate high throughput functional genetic/genomic study in cotton, we attempt to develop rapid and efficient transient assays to assess cotton gene functions.
Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) is a powerful technique that was developed based on the host Post-Transcriptional Gene Silencing (PTGS) to repress viral proliferation2,3
. Agrobacterium-mediated VIGS has been successfully applied in a wide range of dicots species such as Solanaceae, Arabidopsis
and legume species, and monocots species including barley, wheat and maize, for various functional genomic studies3,4
. As this rapid and efficient approach avoids plant transformation and overcomes functional redundancy, it is particularly attractive and suitable for functional genomic study in crop species like cotton not amenable for transformation.
In this study, we report the detailed protocol of Agrobacterium-mediated VIGS system in cotton. Among the several viral VIGS vectors, the tobacco rattle virus (TRV) invades a wide range of hosts and is able to spread vigorously throughout the entire plant yet produce mild symptoms on the hosts5. To monitor the silencing efficiency, GrCLA1, a homolog gene of Arabidopsis Cloroplastos alterados 1
) in cotton, has been cloned and inserted into the VIGS binary vector pYL156. CLA1
gene is involved in chloroplast development6
, and previous studies have shown that loss-of-function of AtCLA1
resulted in an albino phenotype on true leaves7
, providing an excellent visual marker for silencing efficiency. At approximately two weeks post Agrobacterium
infiltration, the albino phenotype started to appear on the true leaves, with 100% silencing efficiency in all replicated experiments. The silencing of endogenous gene expression was also confirmed by RT-PCR analysis. Significantly, silencing could potently occur in all the cultivars we tested, including various commercially grown varieties in Texas. This rapid and efficient Agrobacterium-mediated VIGS assay provides a very powerful tool for rapid large-scale analysis of gene functions at genome-wide level in cotton.
Plant Biology, Issue 54, Agrobacterium, Cotton, Functional Genomics, Virus-Induced Gene Silencing
A Toolkit to Enable Hydrocarbon Conversion in Aqueous Environments
Institutions: Delft University of Technology, Delft University of Technology.
This work puts forward a toolkit that enables the conversion of alkanes by Escherichia coli
and presents a proof of principle of its applicability. The toolkit consists of multiple standard interchangeable parts (BioBricks)9
addressing the conversion of alkanes, regulation of gene expression and survival in toxic hydrocarbon-rich environments.
A three-step pathway for alkane degradation was implemented in E. coli
to enable the conversion of medium- and long-chain alkanes to their respective alkanols, alkanals and ultimately alkanoic-acids. The latter were metabolized via the native β-oxidation pathway. To facilitate the oxidation of medium-chain alkanes (C5-C13) and cycloalkanes (C5-C8), four genes (alkB2
) of the alkane hydroxylase system from Gordonia
were transformed into E. coli
. For the conversion of long-chain alkanes (C15-C36), theladA
gene from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans
was implemented. For the required further steps of the degradation process, ADH
and ALDH (
originating from G. thermodenitrificans
) were introduced10,11
. The activity was measured by resting cell assays. For each oxidative step, enzyme activity was observed.
To optimize the process efficiency, the expression was only induced under low glucose conditions: a substrate-regulated promoter, pCaiF, was used. pCaiF is present in E. coli
K12 and regulates the expression of the genes involved in the degradation of non-glucose carbon sources.
The last part of the toolkit - targeting survival - was implemented using solvent tolerance genes, PhPFDα and β, both from Pyrococcus horikoshii
OT3. Organic solvents can induce cell stress and decreased survivability by negatively affecting protein folding. As chaperones, PhPFDα and β improve the protein folding process e.g.
under the presence of alkanes. The expression of these genes led to an improved hydrocarbon tolerance shown by an increased growth rate (up to 50%) in the presences of 10% n
-hexane in the culture medium were observed.
Summarizing, the results indicate that the toolkit enables E. coli
to convert and tolerate hydrocarbons in aqueous environments. As such, it represents an initial step towards a sustainable solution for oil-remediation using a synthetic biology approach.
Bioengineering, Issue 68, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Oil remediation, alkane metabolism, alkane hydroxylase system, resting cell assay, prefoldin, Escherichia coli, synthetic biology, homologous interaction mapping, mathematical model, BioBrick, iGEM
The FlyBar: Administering Alcohol to Flies
Institutions: Florida State University, University of Houston.
Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster
) are an established model for both alcohol research and circadian biology. Recently, we showed that the circadian clock modulates alcohol sensitivity, but not the formation of tolerance. Here, we describe our protocol in detail. Alcohol is administered to the flies using the FlyBar. In this setup, saturated alcohol vapor is mixed with humidified air in set proportions, and administered to the flies in four tubes simultaneously. Flies are reared under standardized conditions in order to minimize variation between the replicates. Three-day old flies of different genotypes or treatments are used for the experiments, preferably by matching flies of two different time points (e.g.
, CT 5 and CT 17) making direct comparisons possible. During the experiment, flies are exposed for 1 hr to the pre-determined percentage of alcohol vapor and the number of flies that exhibit the Loss of Righting reflex (LoRR) or sedation are counted every 5 min. The data can be analyzed using three different statistical approaches. The first is to determine the time at which 50% of the flies have lost their righting reflex and use an Analysis of the Variance (ANOVA) to determine whether significant differences exist between time points. The second is to determine the percentage flies that show LoRR after a specified number of minutes, followed by an ANOVA analysis. The last method is to analyze the whole times series using multivariate statistics. The protocol can also be used for non-circadian experiments or comparisons between genotypes.
Neuroscience, Issue 87, neuroscience, alcohol sensitivity, Drosophila, Circadian, sedation, biological rhythms, undergraduate research
Characterizing Herbivore Resistance Mechanisms: Spittlebugs on Brachiaria spp. as an Example
Plants can resist herbivore damage through three broad mechanisms: antixenosis, antibiosis and tolerance1
. Antixenosis is the degree to which the plant is avoided when the herbivore is able to select other plants2
. Antibiosis is the degree to which the plant affects the fitness of the herbivore feeding on it1
.Tolerance is the degree to which the plant can withstand or repair damage caused by the herbivore, without compromising the herbivore's growth and reproduction1
. The durability of herbivore resistance in an agricultural setting depends to a great extent on the resistance mechanism favored during crop breeding efforts3
We demonstrate a no-choice experiment designed to estimate the relative contributions of antibiosis and tolerance to spittlebug resistance in Brachiaria
spp. Several species of African grasses of the genus Brachiaria
are valuable forage and pasture plants in the Neotropics, but they can be severely challenged by several native species of spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Cercopidae)4
.To assess their resistance to spittlebugs, plants are vegetatively-propagated by stem cuttings and allowed to grow for approximately one month, allowing the growth of superficial roots on which spittlebugs can feed. At that point, each test plant is individually challenged with six spittlebug eggs near hatching. Infestations are allowed to progress for one month before evaluating plant damage and insect survival. Scoring plant damage provides an estimate of tolerance while scoring insect survival provides an estimate of antibiosis. This protocol has facilitated our plant breeding objective to enhance spittlebug resistance in commercial brachiariagrases5
Plant Biology, Issue 52, host plant resistance, antibiosis, antixenosis, tolerance, Brachiaria, spittlebugs
Biocontained Carcass Composting for Control of Infectious Disease Outbreak in Livestock
Institutions: Lethbridge Research Centre, Dalian University of Technology, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.
Intensive livestock production systems are particularly vulnerable to natural or intentional (bioterrorist) infectious disease outbreaks. Large numbers of animals housed within a confined area enables rapid dissemination of most infectious agents throughout a herd. Rapid containment is key to controlling any infectious disease outbreak, thus depopulation is often undertaken to prevent spread of a pathogen to the larger livestock population. In that circumstance, a large number of livestock carcasses and contaminated manure are generated that require rapid disposal.
Composting lends itself as a rapid-response disposal method for infected carcasses as well as manure and soil that may harbor infectious agents. We designed a bio-contained mortality composting procedure and tested its efficacy for bovine tissue degradation and microbial deactivation. We used materials available on-farm or purchasable from local farm supply stores in order that the system can be implemented at the site of a disease outbreak. In this study, temperatures exceeded 55°C for more than one month and infectious agents implanted in beef cattle carcasses and manure were inactivated within 14 days of composting. After 147 days, carcasses were almost completely degraded. The few long bones remaining were further degraded with an additional composting cycle in open windrows and the final mature compost was suitable for land application.
Duplicate compost structures (final dimensions 25 m x 5 m x 2.4 m; L x W x H) were constructed using barley straw bales and lined with heavy black silage plastic sheeting. Each was loaded with loose straw, carcasses and manure totaling ~95,000 kg. A 40-cm base layer of loose barley straw was placed in each bunker, onto which were placed 16 feedlot cattle mortalities (average weight 343 kg) aligned transversely at a spacing of approximately 0.5 m. For passive aeration, lengths of flexible, perforated plastic drainage tubing (15 cm diameter) were placed between adjacent carcasses, extending vertically along both inside walls, and with the ends passed though the plastic to the exterior. The carcasses were overlaid with moist aerated feedlot manure (~1.6 m deep) to the top of the bunker. Plastic was folded over the top and sealed with tape to establish a containment barrier and eight aeration vents (50 x 50 x 15 cm) were placed on the top of each structure to promote passive aeration. After 147 days, losses of volume and mass of composted materials averaged 39.8% and 23.7%, respectively, in each structure.
JoVE Infectious Diseases, Issue 39, compost, livestock, infectious disease, biocontainment
Testing Nicotine Tolerance in Aphids Using an Artificial Diet Experiment
Institutions: Cornell University.
Plants may upregulate the production of many different seconday metabolites in response to insect feeding. One of these metabolites, nicotine, is well know to have insecticidal properties. One response of tobacco plants to herbivory, or being gnawed upon by insects, is to increase the production of this neurotoxic alkaloid. Here, we will demonstrate how to set up an experiment to address this question of whether a tobacco-adapted strain of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, can tolerate higher levels of nicotine than the a strain of this insect that does not infest tobacco in the field.
Plant Biology, Issue 15, Annual Review, Nicotine, Aphids, Plant Feeding Resistance, Tobacco
A Simple Way to Measure Ethanol Sensitivity in Flies
Institutions: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Low doses of ethanol cause flies to become hyperactive, while high doses are sedating. The sensitivity to ethanol-induced sedation of a given fly strain is correlated with that strain s ethanol preference, and therefore sedation is a highly relevant measure to study the genetics of alcohol responses and drinking. We demonstrate a simple way to expose flies to ethanol and measure its intoxicating effects. The assay we describe can determine acute sensitivity, as well as ethanol tolerance induced by repeat exposure. It does not require a technically involved setup, and can therefore be applied in any laboratory with basic fly culture tools.
Neuroscience, Issue 48, Drosophila, behavior, alcohol, addiction