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PubMed2005

Determination of Cu, Pb, Fe, and Zn in plant component polymers of a hyperaccumulating plant.

Phytoremediation is an innovative technology that utilizes the natural properties of plants to remediate hazardous waste sites. For more cost-effective phytoremediation, it is important to utilize a hyperaccumulating plant after phytoremediation, i.e. the recovery of valuable metals and the production of useful materials. In this work, the determination of metals in plant component polymers in a fern, Athyrium yokoscense, as a hyper-accumulating plant was established using steam explosion, Wayman's extraction method, and ICP emission spectrometry. After A. yokoscense plants were treated by steam explosion, the steam-exploded A. yokoscense were separated into four plant component polymers, ie. water-soluble material fraction, holocellulose fraction, methanol-soluble lignin fraction, and residual lignin fraction. The concentrations of Cu, Pb, Fe, and Zn in these plant component polymers and the dry weights of plant component polymers were measured. These analytical process determining metals in the plants will contribute to not only the evaluation and the efforts of phytoremediation using a hyperaccumulating plant, but also to the development of more effective phytoremediation.

Biopolymers↗
PubMed2004

Effects of air velocity on photosynthesis of plant canopies under elevated CO2 levels in a plant culture system.

To obtain basic data for adequate air circulation for promoting plant growth in closed plant production modules in bioregenerative life support systems in space, effects of air velocities ranging from 0.1 to 0.8 m s-1 on photosynthesis in tomato seedlings canopies were investigated under atmospheric CO2 concentrations of 0.4 and 0.8 mmol mol-1. The canopy of tomato seedlings on a plug tray (0.4 x 0.4 m2) was set in a wind-tunnel-type chamber (0.6 x 0.4 x 0.3 m3) installed in a semi-closed-type assimilation chamber (0.9 x 0.5 x 0.4 m3). The net photosynthetic rate in the plant canopy was determined with the differences in CO2 concentrations between the inlet and outlet of the assimilation chamber multiplied by the volumetric air exchange rate of the chamber. Photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) on the plant canopy was kept at 0.25 mmol m-2 s-1, air temperature at 23 degrees C and relative humidity at 55%. The leaf area indices (LAIs) of the plant canopies were 0.6-2.5 and plant heights were 0.05-0.2 m. The net photosynthetic rate of the plant canopy increased with increasing air velocities inside plant canopies and saturated at 0.2 m s-1. The net photosynthetic rate at the air velocity of 0.4 m s-1 was 1.3 times that at 0.1 m s-1 under CO2 concentrations of 0.4 and 0.8 mmol mol-1. The net photosynthetic rate under CO2 concentrations of 0.8 mmol mol-1 was 1.2 times that under 0.4 mmol mol-1 at the air velocity ranging from 0.1 to 0.8 m s-1. The results confirmed the importance of controlling air movement for enhancing the canopy photosynthesis under an elevated CO2 level as well as under a normal CO2 level in the closed plant production modules.

Air Conditioning↗
PubMed2006

Mitosis, stature and evolution of plant mating systems: low-Phi and high-Phi plants.

There is a long-recognized association in plants between small stature and selfing, and large stature and outcrossing. Inbreeding depression is central to several hypotheses for this association, but differences in the evolutionary dynamics of inbreeding depression associated with differences in stature are rarely considered. Here, we propose and test the Phi model of plant mating system evolution, which assumes that the per-generation mutation rate of a plant is a function of the number of mitoses (Phi) that occur from zygote to gamete, and predicts fundamental differences between low-Phi (small-statured) and high-Phi (large-statured) plants in the outcomes of the joint evolution of outcrossing rate and inbreeding depression. Using a large dataset of published population genetic studies of angiosperms and conifers, we compute fitted values of inbreeding depression and deleterious mutation rates for small- and large-statured plants. Consistent with our Phi model, we find that populations of small-statured plants exhibit a range of mating systems, significantly lower mutation rates, and intermediate inbreeding depression, while large-statured plants exhibit very high mutation rates and the maximum inbreeding depression of unity. These results indicate that (i) inbred progeny typically observed in large-statured plant populations are completely lost prior to maturity in nearly all populations; (ii) evolutionary shifts from outcrossing to selfing are generally not possible in large-statured species, rather, large-statured species are more likely to evolve mating systems that avoid selfing such as self-incompatibility and dioecy; (iii) destabilization of the mating system-high selfing rate with high-inbreeding depression-might be a common occurrence in large-statured species; and (iv) large-statured species in fragmented populations might be at higher risk of extinction than previously thought. Our results help to unify and simplify a large and diverse field of research, and serve to emphasize the importance that developmental and genetic constraints play in the evolution of plant mating systems.

Evolution, Molecular↗
PubMed2000

Evidence that resistance in squash mosaic comovirus coat protein-transgenic plants is affected by plant developmental stage and enhanced by combination of transgenes from different lines.

Three transgenic lines of squash hemizygous for the coat protein genes of squash mosaic virus (SqMV) were shown previously to have resistant (SqMV-127), susceptible (SqMV-22) or recovery (SqMV-3) phenotypes. Post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) was the underlying mechanism for resistance of SqMV-127. Here, experiments conducted to determine the mechanism of the recovery phenotype and whether enhanced resistance could be obtained by combining transgenes from susceptible and recovery plants are reported. Upper leaves of SqMV-3 plants were sampled for Northern analysis at 17, 31 and 45 days after germination (DAG) and a proportion of plants were inoculated with SqMV. SqMV-3 plants inoculated at a young stage (17 DAG) showed susceptible or recovery phenotypes. However, a number of plants inoculated at later developmental stages (31 or 45 DAG) were resistant to infection. Resistance of recovery plants was due to PTGS that was activated at a later developmental stage, independent of virus infection. Similar results were observed with plants grown under field conditions. To investigate the interactions of transgenes, progeny of crosses between SqMV-127, -3 and -22 were inoculated with SqMV. Progeny with the transgene of line 127 were resistant. However, a number of plants with transgenes from the recovery and susceptible lines or the self-pollinated recovery line were resistant even when inoculated at a young stage. Northern analysis suggested that resistance was due to PTGS. The results reveal that the timing of PTGS and consequent resistance of the transgenic plants were affected by their developmental stage and the interaction of transgene inserts.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed2005

Unwounded plants elicit Agrobacterium vir gene induction and T-DNA transfer: transformed plant cells produce opines yet are tumour free.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is well known to cause crown gall tumours at plant wound sites and to benefit from this plant association by obtaining nutrients called opines that are produced by these tumours. Tumourigenesis requires expression of the vir regulon in response to chemical signals that are thought to be released from wound sites. Here, we examine chemical interactions between A. tumefaciens and unwounded plants. To determine whether unwounded plants can release significant amounts of vir gene inducers, we constructed an A. tumefaciens strain carrying a PvirB-gfp fusion. This fusion was strongly induced by co-culture with tobacco seedlings that have been germinated without any intentional wounding. The release of phenolic vir gene inducers was confirmed by GC/MS analysis. We also constructed a strain containing the gfp reporter located on an artificial T-DNA and expressed from a plant promoter. A. tumefaciens efficiently transferred this T-DNA into cells of unwounded plants in the absence of exogenous vir gene inducers. Many cells of seedlings colonized by the bacteria also produced octopine, which was detected using a Pocc-gfp reporter strain. This indicates transfer of the native T-DNA. However, these transformed plant cells did not form tumours. These results suggest that successful colonization of plants by A. tumefaciens, including T-DNA transfer and opine production, does not require wounding and does not necessarily cause cell proliferation. Transformation of plant cells without inciting tumours may represent a colonization strategy for this pathogen that has largely been overlooked.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Machine vision extracted plant movement for early detection of plant water stress.

A methodology was established for early, non-contact, and quantitative detection of plant water stress with machine vision extracted plant features. Top-projected canopy area (TPCA) of the plants was extracted from plant images using image-processing techniques. Water stress induced plant movement was decoupled from plant diurnal movement and plant growth using coefficient of relative variation of TPCA (CRV[TPCA)] and was found to be an effective marker for water stress detection. Threshold value of CRV(TPCA) as an indicator of water stress was determined by a parametric approach. The effectiveness of the sensing technique was evaluated against the timing of stress detection by an operator. Results of this study suggested that plant water stress detection using projected canopy area based features of the plants was feasible.

Ecological Systems, Closed↗
PubMed2002

Control of petal and pollen development by the plant cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor ICK1 in transgenic Brassica plants.

The cyclin-dependent protein kinases (CDKs) have a central role in cell cycle regulation and can be inhibited by the binding of small protein CDK inhibitors. The first plant CDK inhibitor gene ICK1 was previously identified in Arabidopsis thaliana. In comparison to known animal CDK inhibitors, ICK1 protein exhibits unique structural and functional properties. The expression of ICK1 directed by the constitutive CaMV 35S promoter was shown to inhibit cell division and plant growth. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of ICK1 overexpression on particular organs and cells. ICK1 was expressed in specific tissues or cells of Brassica napus L. plants using two tissue-specific promoters, Arabidopsis AP3 and Brassica Bgp1. Transgenic AP3-ICK1 plants were morphologically normal except for some modified flowers either without petals or with petals of reduced size. Surprisingly, petals of novel shapes such as tubular petals were also observed, indicating a profound effect of cell division inhibition on morphogenesis. The cell size in the smaller modified petals was similar to that in control petals, suggesting that the reduction of petal size is mainly due to the reduction of cell numbers and that the inhibition of cell division does not necessarily lead to an increase in cell size. Transgenic Bgp1-ICK1 plants were normal morphologically; however, dramatic decreases in seed production were observed in some plants. In those plants, the ability of pollen to germinate and pollen nuclear number were affected. These results are discussed in relation to the cell cycle and plant development.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed2007

Plant architecture: a dynamic, multilevel and comprehensive approach to plant form, structure and ontogeny.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The architecture of a plant depends on the nature and relative arrangement of each of its parts; it is, at any given time, the expression of an equilibrium between endogenous growth processes and exogenous constraints exerted by the environment. The aim of architectural analysis is, by means of observation and sometimes experimentation, to identify and understand these endogenous processes and to separate them from the plasticity of their expression resulting from external influences. SCOPE: Using the identification of several morphological criteria and considering the plant as a whole, from germination to death, architectural analysis is essentially a detailed, multilevel, comprehensive and dynamic approach to plant development. Despite their recent origin, architectural concepts and analysis methods provide a powerful tool for studying plant form and ontogeny. Completed by precise morphological observations and appropriated quantitative methods of analysis, recent researches in this field have greatly increased our understanding of plant structure and development and have led to the establishment of a real conceptual and methodological framework for plant form and structure analysis and representation. This paper is a summarized update of current knowledge on plant architecture and morphology; its implication and possible role in various aspects of modern plant biology is also discussed.

Body Patterning↗
PubMed1992

Monitoring and assessment of mercury pollution in the vicinity of a chloralkali plant. IV. Bioconcentration of mercury in in situ aquatic and terrestrial plants at Ganjam, India.

In situ aquatic and terrestrial plants including a few vegetable and crop plants growing in and around a chloralkali plant at Ganjam, India were analyzed for concentrations of root and shoot mercury. The aquatic plants found to bioconcentrate mercury to different degrees included Marsilea spp., Spirodela polyrhiza, Jussiea repens, Paspalum scrobiculatam, Pistia stratiotes, Eichhornia crassipes, Hygrophila schulli, Monochoria hastata and Bacopa monniera. Among wild terrestrial plants Chloris barbata, Cynodon dactylon, Cyperus rotundus and Croton bonplandianum were found growing on heavily contaminated soil containing mercury as high as 557 mg/kg. Analysis of mercury in root and shoot of these plants in relation to the mercury levels in soil indicated a significant correlation between soil and plant mercury with the exception of C. bonplandianum. Furthermore, the tolerance to mercury toxicity was highest with C. barbata followed by C. dactylon and C. rotundus, in that order. The rice plants analyzed from the surrounding agricultural fields did not show any significant levels of bioconcentrated mercury. Of the different vegetables grown in a contaminated kitchen garden with mercury level at 8.91 mg/kg, the two leafy vegetables, namely cabbage (Brassica oleracea) and amaranthus (Amaranthus oleraceous), were found to bioconcentrate mercury at statistically significant levels. The overall study indicates that the mercury pollution is very much localized to the specific sites in the vicinity of the chloralkali plant.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed2005

Foliar pH as a new plant trait: can it explain variation in foliar chemistry and carbon cycling processes among subarctic plant species and types?

Plant traits have become popular as predictors of interspecific variation in important ecosystem properties and processes. Here we introduce foliar pH as a possible new plant trait, and tested whether (1) green leaf pH or leaf litter pH correlates with biochemical and structural foliar traits that are linked to biogeochemical cycling; (2) there is consistent variation in green leaf pH or leaf litter pH among plant types as defined by nutrient uptake mode and higher taxonomy; (3) green leaf pH can predict a significant proportion of variation in leaf digestibility among plant species and types; (4) leaf litter pH can predict a significant proportion of variation in leaf litter decomposability among plant species and types. We found some evidence in support of all four hypotheses for a wide range of species in a subarctic flora, although cryptogams (fern allies and a moss) tended to weaken the patterns by showing relatively poor leaf digestibility or litter decomposability at a given pH. Among seed plant species, green leaf pH itself explained only up to a third of the interspecific variation in leaf digestibility and leaf litter up to a quarter of the interspecific variation in leaf litter decomposability. However, foliar pH substantially improved the power of foliar lignin and/or cellulose concentrations as predictors of these processes when added to regression models as a second variable. When species were aggregated into plant types as defined by higher taxonomy and nutrient uptake mode, green-specific leaf area was a more powerful predictor of digestibility or decomposability than any of the biochemical traits including pH. The usefulness of foliar pH as a new predictive trait, whether or not in combination with other traits, remains to be tested across more plant species, types and biomes, and also in relation to other plant or ecosystem traits and processes.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Effect of a novel chemical mixture on senescence processes and plant--fungus interaction in Solanaceae plants.

The effects of exogenous application of a chemical mixture consisting of adipic acid monoethyl ester, furfurylamine, and 1,2,3,4-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranose (FGA) on various metabolic pathways and the plant-fungus interaction have been studied in Solanaceae plants. Tomato and pepper plants were sprayed with the FGA mixture, and different biochemical parameters such as gas exchange, chlorophyll concentration, protein, cell wall sugar and phenolics contents, and peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activities were measured. FGA-treated plants showed, in general, an increase in cell wall sugar content and decreases in the chlorophyll degrading rate and the peroxidase activity. These results suggest that FGA (a possible synthetic regulator) could act as a retardant--antisenescence agent in Solanaceae plants. The FGA mixture increased the PAL activity and promoted an overall rise in the concentration of flavonoids and phenolic compounds. Therefore, FGA induced the synthesis of compounds that could give protection to plants against pathogens or insects. To further verify this putative protection, several fungi were inoculated in intact plants. Exogenous FGA applications on intact plants delayed fungus-provoked lesion development. In addition, data also showed that applications of 1,2,3,4-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranose inhibited fungal growth in vitro. These results confirm that FGA can activate protective mechanisms in plants upon contact with invaders such as fungi.

Adipates↗
PubMed2003

Stress memory in plants: a negative regulation of stomatal response and transient induction of rd22 gene to light in abscisic acid-entrained Arabidopsis plants.

All organisms, including plants, perceive environmental stress, and they use this information to modify their behavior or development. Here, we demonstrate that Arabidopsis plants have memory functions related to repeated exposure to stressful concentrations of the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA), which acts as a chemical signal. Repeated exposure of plants to ABA (40 micro m for 2 h) impaired light-induced stomatal opening or inhibited the response to a light stimulus after ABA-entrainment under both dark/light cycle and continuous light. Moreover, there were transient expressions of the rd22 gene during the same periods under both the growing conditions. Such acquired information in ABA-entrained plants produced a long-term sensitization. When the time of light application was changed, a transient induction of the rd22 gene in plants after ABA-entrainment indicated that these were light-associated responses. These transient effects were also observed in kin1, rab18, and rd29B. The transient expression of AtNCED3, causing the accumulation of endogenous ABA, indicated a possible regulation by ABA-dependent pathways in ABA-entrained plants. An ABA immunoassay supported this hypothesis: ABA-entrained plants showed a transient increase in endogenous ABA level from 220 to 250 pmol g-1 fresh mass at 1-2 h of the training period, whereas ABA-deficient (aba2) mutants did not. Taking into account these results, we propose that plants have the ability to memorize stressful environmental experiences, and discuss the molecular events in ABA-entrained plants.

Abscisic Acid↗
PubMed2006

Accumulation of recombinant SARS-CoV spike protein in plant cytosol and chloroplasts indicate potential for development of plant-derived oral vaccines.

Plants are promising candidates as bioreactors for the production of oral recombinant proteins in the biopharmaceutical industry. As an initial step toward provision of an oral vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), we have expressed a partial spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV in the cytosol of nuclear-transformed plants and in the chloroplasts of plastid-transformed plants. In the construction of both nuclear and plastid transformation vectors, a 2-kilobase nucleotide sequence encoding amino acids 1-658 of the SARS-CoV spike protein (S1) was modified with nucleotide changes, but not amino acid changes, to optimize codon usage for expression in plants. To investigate the subcellular localization of S1 during transient expression in tobacco leaves, a translational fusion consisting of S1 and the green fluorescent protein (GFP) was generated. Following agroinfiltration of tobacco leaves, analysis by laser confocal scanning microscopy revealed that the S1:GFP fusion protein was localized to the cytosol. In stable transgenic tobacco plants and lettuce plants generated by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, tobacco and lettuce leaves were observed to express the S1 at high levels from the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S promoter with Northern blot analysis. When the S1 was expressed in transplastomic tobacco, S1 messenger RNA and its corresponding protein were detected on Northern and Western blot analyses, respectively. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of producing S1 in nuclear- and chloroplast-transformed plants, indicating its potential in subsequent development of a plant-derived and safe oral recombinant subunit vaccine against the SARS-CoV in edible plants.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed2006

Functional diversity of plant-pollinator interaction webs enhances the persistence of plant communities.

Pollination is exclusively or mainly animal mediated for 70% to 90% of angiosperm species. Thus, pollinators provide an essential ecosystem service to humankind. However, the impact of human-induced biodiversity loss on the functioning of plant-pollinator interactions has not been tested experimentally. To understand how plant communities respond to diversity changes in their pollinating fauna, we manipulated the functional diversity of both plants and pollinators under natural conditions. Increasing the functional diversity of both plants and pollinators led to the recruitment of more diverse plant communities. After two years the plant communities pollinated by the most functionally diverse pollinator assemblage contained about 50% more plant species than did plant communities pollinated by less-diverse pollinator assemblages. Moreover, the positive effect of functional diversity was explained by a complementarity between functional groups of pollinators and plants. Thus, the functional diversity of pollination networks may be critical to ecosystem sustainability.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Impact of reflective mulch on yield of strawberry plants and incidence of damage by tarnished plant bug (Heteroptera: Miridae).

The current study investigated the impact of reflective mulch on yield of strawberry plants and incidence of damage by tarnished plant bugs, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), for three strawberry cultivars: 'Honeoye', 'Earliglow', and two sibling Dayneutrals ('Tribute' and 'Tristar', herein considered as one cultivar). Of all cultivars tested, Honeoye was the most productive and least susceptible to tarnished plant bug. For Earliglow and Honeoye, reflective mulch enhanced productivity of strawberry plants and suppressed density of nymphs per flower cluster and proportion of damaged fruits, but did not significantly impact numbers of nymphs or damaged fruits per hectare, Results with Dayneutrals were not consistently significant. Both in the presence or absence of reflective mulch, proportion of damaged fruits increased with increasing density of nymphs per flower cluster and with decreasing number of fruits harvested per row section, suggesting that planting productive strawberry cultivars or maintaining cultural practices that promote high yield may provide an effective line of defense against tarnished plant bug. These results also suggest that reflective mulch may suppress incidence of damage by tarnished plant bug both directly, by reducing number of nymphs per flower cluster, and indirectly, by enhancing productivity of strawberry plants. Economic analyses evaluating costs and benefits of using reflective mulch, as well as studies investigating mechanisms that underlie the impact of reflective mulch on yield and incidence of damage by tarnished plant bug, are still needed before reflective mulch can be implemented as a management strategy in commercial strawberry fields.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2002

Plant-related factors influence the effectiveness of Neoseiulus fallacis (Acari: Phytoseiidae), a biological control agent of spider mites on landscape ornamental plants.

The predatory mite Neoseiulus fallacis (Garman) was evaluated as a biological control agent of herbivorous mites on outdoor-grown ornamental landscape plants. To elucidate factors that may affect predator efficiency, replicated tests were conducted on 30 ornamental plant cultivars that varied in relationship to their generalized morphology (e.g., conifers, shade trees, evergreen shrubs, deciduous shrubs, and herbaceous perennials), production method (potted or field grown), canopy density, and the prey species present on each. Plant morphological grouping and foliar density appeared to be the most influential factors in predicting successful biological control. Among plant morphological groups, N. fallacis was most effective on shrubs and herbaceous perennials and less effective on conifers and shade trees. N. fallacis was equally effective at controlling spider mites on containerized (potted) and field grown plants, and there was no difference in control of mites on plants with Tetranychus spp. versus those with Oligonychus or Schizotetranychus spp. Moderate to unsuccessful control of spider mites by N. fallacis occurred mostly on tall, vertical plants with sparse canopies. Acceptable spider mite control occurred in four large-scale releases of N. fallacis into production plantings of Abies procera, Thuja occidentalis 'Emerald', Malus rootstock, and Viburnum plicatum 'Newport'. These data suggest that N. fallacis can be an effective biological control agent of multiple spider mite species in a range of low-growing and selected higher growing ornamental plants.

Acari↗
PubMed2002

Water treatment plants assessment at Talkha power plant.

Talkha power plant is the only power plant located in El-Mansoura. It generates electricity using two different methods by steam turbine and gas turbine. Both plants drew water from River Nile (208 m3 /h). The Nile raw water passes through different treatment processes to be suitable for drinking and operational uses. At Talkha power plant, there are two purification plants used for drinking water supply (100 m3/h) and for water demineralization supply (108 m3/h). This study aimed at studying the efficiency of the water purification plants. For drinking water purification plant, the annual River Nile water characterized by slightly alkaline pH (7.4-8), high annual mean values of turbidity (10.06 NTU), Standard Plate Count (SPC) (313.3 CFU/1 ml), total coliform (2717/100 ml), fecal coliform (0-2400/100 ml), and total algae (3 x 10(4) org/I). The dominant group of algae all over the study period was green algae. The blue green algae was abundant in Summer and Autumn seasons. The pH range, and the annual mean values of turbidity, TDS, total hardness, sulfates, chlorides, nitrates, nitrites, fluoride, and residual chlorine for purified water were in compliance with Egyptian drinking water standards. All the SPC recorded values with an annual mean value of 10.13 CFU/1 ml indicated that chlorine dose and contact time were not enough to kill the bacteria. However, they were in compliance with Egyptian decree (should not exceed 50 CFU/1 ml). Although the removal efficiency of the plant for total coliform and blue green algae was high (98.5% and 99.2%, respectively), the limits of the obtained results with an annual mean values of 40/100 ml and 15.6 org/l were not in compliance with the Egyptian decree (should be free from total coliform, fecal coliform and blue green algae). For water demineralization treatment plant, the raw water was characterized by slightly alkaline pH. The annual mean values of conductivity, turbidity, and TDS were 354.6 microS/cm, 10.84 NTU, and 214.6 mg/I, respectively. There was an increase in the results of conductivity, turbidity, total hardness, and TDS in carbon filter effluent which was attributed to the desorption of adsorbed ions on the carbon media. The removal efficiencies of turbidity, total hardness, and TDS indicated the high efficiency of the cationic filter. The annual removal efficiencies of conductivity, turbidity, chloride, and TDS proved the efficiency of the anionic filter for removing the dissolved and suspended ions. All of the recorded values of the pH, conductivity, turbidity, chlorides, hardness, and TDS of the mixed bed effluent indicated that the water at this stage was of high quality for boiler feed. The study recommended adjustment of coagulant and residual chlorine doses as well as contact time, and continuous monitoring and maintenance of the different units.

Egypt↗
PubMed2000

A murine monoclonal antibody produced in transgenic plants with plant-specific glycans is not immunogenic in mice.

Previous studies have shown that the production of recombinant antibodies in plants is highly efficient and presents numerous therapeutic applications. It is, however, known that plant glycoproteins display different glycosylation patterns to those exhibited by mammalian glycoproteins. Thus, it is important to know if these plant recombinant antibodies could induce undesirable immune responses in mammals; and to date no report has documented the potential immunogenicity of parenterally administered plant recombinant antibodies in animals. In order to answer this question, mice were immunised subcutaneously with a recombinant mouse monoclonal antibody produced in tobacco plants, together with alum as adjuvant. Two control groups were immunised in the same way with either the original murine monoclonal antibody or horseradish peroxidase (a plant glycoprotein). Analyses by direct immunoassay, competition immunoassay and real-time surface plasmon resonance, showed undetectable levels of antibody directed against both the protein and the glycan part of the plant recombinant antibody. These results have a direct relevance for the application of plant recombinant proteins as therapeutic agents and vaccines in humans.

Animals↗