SEARCH · Search PubMed
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
In two cases, occupational contact dermatitis was found to be due to chicory (Cichorium) used as a salad plant. In one of the two cases, contact sensitivity to letuce (Lactuca) was also observed. The sesquiterpene lactones of the plant may be the allergens.
Asclepias curassavica and Lactuca sativa latex saps inhibit the growth of Candida albicans because they degrade a great number of yeasts. This was confirmed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy observations. After a contact of 4 h and 6 h yeasts are deformed and emptied of their cytoplasmic content. Moreover, it appears that these saps, particularly Asclepias, also act on the cell wall: the substances presumed to be responsible for these effects were probably terpens and cardenolids but also enzymes, in particular glucanases.
Microbial-based approaches offer a promising strategy to decrease the use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture. Among them, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which extend root surface area and enhance phosphate uptake, and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) are particularly relevant. However, their effectiveness depends strongly on plant genetic diversity. To identify genetic markers underlying plant responses to beneficial soil microbes, we studied a panel of 128 fully sequenced Lactuca sativa varieties under controlled phosphate-starvation conditions and treated with AMF and PSB. Lettuce genetic variation showed a strong effect on physiological and morphological responses to microbial inoculation. Genome-wide association studies identified specific genomic regions associated with changes in leaf phosphate content and shoot biomass following treatment. Beyond genetic factors, we observed shifts in fungal β-diversity and increased bacterial α-diversity associated with phenotypic variation. We also identified 44 amplicon sequence variants associated with agriculturally relevant traits. Among these, six bacterial strains were experimentally validated through in vitro and pot experiments for their effects on leaf phosphate concentration and shoot biomass. Overall, we highlighted key genetic, microbial, and physiological mechanisms that may enhance microbial treatments for improved plant phosphate management in lettuce.
Eyespot membranes in zoospores, and male and female gametes of the green alga Ulva lactuca, were studied comparatively by the freeze-fracture technique. The plasmalemma and the outer chloroplast envelope membrane overlying the eyespot lipid globules are specialized in all 3 types of reproductive cells. In the eyespot region the protoplasmic face (PF) of the outer chloroplast envelope membrane contains significantly more intramembraneous particles (IMP) compared to membrane areas outside the eyespot: in female gametes there are 2.5 times more IMP/micrometers 2, in zoospores 3 and in male gametes about 4. Small size-class IMP (4--6 nm diameter) are particularly abundant on both fracture faces of the outer chloroplast membrane, but size-class distribution is not significantly different between membrane areas inside and outside the eyespot region. The total number of IMP/eyespot on the PF of the outer chloroplast membrane was calculated to be 4900 in male gametes, 5500 in female gametes and 11 200 in zoospores. The results are discussed in accordance with the view that these membrane specializations participate in photoreception relating to green algal phototaxis. Evidence is presented that there is a correlation between IMP numbers per eyespot in the outer chloroplast envelope membrane and the different phototactic behaviour of gametes compared to zoospores in Ulva.
The water-soluble, sulfated polysaccharide isolated from Ulva lactuca, forms a soft gel when dialysed against sea-water, provided the polysaccharide concentration is 1% or higher and the pH above 7.5. The components of sea-water needed for this gel formation are boric acid and calcium ions. At concentration normally found in sea-water, neither borate nor calcium ions alone produce a gel. It is assumed that the gel formation involves the formation of borate-polysaccharide complexes leading to intermolecular linkages which are stabilized by calcium ions in an unknown manner. This assumption is supported by experiments with extraction of this polysaccharide from the dry seaweed and by the results obtained with the isolated polysaccharide. Agreement between these experiments leads to the conclusion that the sulfated polysaccharide (in vivo) most probably occurs as a gel stabilized by the borate and calcium ions in sea-water.
A total of 30 specimens of Boops boops marine fishes were collected from Alexandria fish market. The fishes were dissected out for parasites. Phyllobothrium lactuca (Cestoda: Phyllobothriidae) was isolated from the intestine and Philometra salgadoi (Nematoda: Philimetridae) was isolated from the ovary. Both were identified using standard keys, and examined by Scan Electron Microscopy (SEM). Some morphological features reported were unique. The two parasites represent new hosts record of B. boops.
The effect of cosmic radiation on air-dry lettuce (Lactuca sativa) seeds was investigated. It was attempted to discriminate the effects of cosmic ionizing radiation per se and its combination with solar light radiation. It was found that the number of aberrant cells in the seeds exposed to solar light was smaller than that of cells chielded with 0.0008 to 0.0035 g/cm2 foil which could be attributed to photoreactivity.
This paper presents the results of measuring single heavy ions (HI) of galactic cosmic rays during 40- to 457-day flights of manned orbital stations Salyut-6 and Salyut-7. Cytogenetic analysis of Lactuca sativa seeds showed a significant increase of aberrant cells and cells with multiple chromosome aberrations in seeds hit with HI compared to non-hit++ seeds during flights of 123 to 457 days in duration. There was a good correlation between curves showing aberrant cells as a function of flight of the dose absorbed, viz. 16.0 to 63.4 mGy. These findings suggest a high biological effectiveness of heavy ions of galactic cosmic rays.
The effect of shock wave (SW) and beta-radiation (beta) on Lactuca sativa L. seeds was investigated. Exposure to SW at an amplitude of 200 and 600 MPa in various combinations with beta caused a lower survival rate and development of abnormal plants. At an amplitude of 600 MPa, when the SW + beta protocol was used, the maximum amount of abnormalities was seen after 220-240 hours of wetting and when the beta + SW protocol was used the maximum amount of abnormalities was seen after 80-100 hours of wetting. At an amplitude of 600 MPa, the most significant changes in the germination of seeds at different SW and beta combinations were observed. When seeds were first exposed to beta and then to SW, most significant changes were recorded suggesting synergism of the above factors. These observations can be considered as indirect evidence in support of the hypothesis that SW may also occur around the track of a heavy charged particle.
An agglutinin has been isolated from leaves of the prickly lettuce plant (Lactuca scariole). The prickly lettuce agglutinin (PLA) agglutinates erythrocytes of the mouse and rat, and binds to, but does not agglutinate erythrocytes of other species. PLA can be precipitated from crude plant extracts by cold acetone and ammonium sulfate treatment, is sensitive to proteolytic enzyme activity, and contains carbohydrate residues, suggesting that it is a glycoprotein. The agglutinin has a molecular weight of approximately 84,000 as determined by SDS-PAGE studies. The receptor for PLA has not been elucidated but may involve, in part, sialic acid residues.
Two isoenzymes of carbonate dehydratase were identified in green leaf tissue of Lactuca sativa. Their molecular weights were found to be 195 000 and 250 000. The lighter isoenzyme (I) was further characterized. It is localized in the chloroplast fraction. With polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of dodecyl sulphate, subunits with a molecular weight of 34 000 and higher aggregates of this size could be detected. This is interpreted as an indication of an hexameric enzyme structure. The 900-fold purified polymer contained 5 - 6 atoms of zinc. Amino acid composition and inhibition by acetazolamide (Diamox), cyanide, nitrate, azide and ferricyanide are described.
We investigated whether low-pH-induced manganese (Mn) deficiency causes low-pH-induced root hair formation in lettuce seedlings. Both the number and length of root hairs increased in 0 microM Mn (Mn-free) at pH 6 and decreased in 3 mM Mn (excess Mn) at pH 4 compared with the values in 10 microM Mn (normal Mn). These results indicate an inhibitory effect of Mn on both root hair initiation and elongation. The time dependency of root hair induction caused by Mn deficiency corresponded to that caused by low pH. Within 1 h after the pH of the culture medium was reduced from pH 6 to pH 4, the Mn uptake by roots decreased to 43% of that at pH 6. These results suggest that low-pH-induced Mn deficiency promotes root hair formation. At low pH, the rate of Mn uptake was reduced in areas >2 mm from the root tip. Roots with low-pH-induced root hairs still showed low Mn uptake during 3 h of incubation at pH 6. Therefore, the additional root hairs induced by low pH did not compensate for the low-pH-induced decrease in Mn uptake.
Although the discovery of aquaporins in plants has resulted in a paradigm shift in the understanding of plant water relations, the relationship between aquaporins and plant responses to drought still remains elusive. Moreover, the contribution of aquaporin genes to the enhanced tolerance to drought in arbuscular mycorrhisal (AM) plants has never been investigated. Therefore, we studied, at a molecular level, whether the expression of aquaporin-encoding genes in roots is altered by the AM symbiosis as a mechanism to enhance host plant tolerance to water deficit. In this study, genes encoding plasma membrane aquaporins (PIPs) from soybean and lettuce were cloned and their expression pattern studied in AM and nonAM plants cultivated under well-watered or drought stressed conditions. Results showed that AM plants responded to drought stress by down-regulating the expression of the PIP genes studied and anticipating its down-regulation as compared to nonAM plants. The possible physiological implications of this down-regulation of PIP genes as a mechanism to decrease membrane water permeability and to allow cellular water conservation is further discussed.
Although plastid transformation in higher plants was first demonstrated in the early 1990s it is only recently that the technology is being extended to a broader range of species. To date, the production of fertile transplastomic plants has been reported for tobacco, tomato, petunia, soybean, cotton and Lesquerella fendleri (Brassicaceae). In this study we demonstrate a polyethylene glycol-mediated plastid transformation system for lettuce that generates fertile, homoplasmic, plastid-transformed lines. Transformation was achieved using a vector that targets genes to the trnA/trnI intergenic region of the lettuce plastid genome employing the aadA gene as a selectable marker against spectinomycin. Spectinomycin resistance and heterologous gene transcription were shown in T(1) plants derived from self-pollinated primary regenerants demonstrating transmission of the plastid-encoded transgene to the first seed generation. Crossing with male sterile wild-type lettuce showed that spectinomycin resistance was not transmitted via pollen. Constructs containing the gfp gene showed plastid-based expression of green fluorescent protein. The lettuce plastid could have potential both as a production and a delivery system for edible human therapeutic proteins.
The setup has been elaborated for the simultaneous measurements of dioxygen uptake, pH changes, and chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters of an isolated thylakoid suspension. Using this equipment we have found at least three kinetically distinguishable components in the response of dioxygen uptake and pH increase to light intensity in the range of 0-1600 microE m(-2) s(-1). The pH changes were not observed in the presence of uncouplers (2 microM valinomycin plus 2 microM nigericin) while O(2) uptake increased by about 10% and F (v)/F (m) ratio appeared to be unaffected by this treatment. Treatment with DNP-INT, an inhibitor of plastoquinol oxidation, led to a significant reduction of pH increase and O(2) consumption whereas F (v) /F (m) was impaired only to 71% of the control. Incubation with catalase (580 U/ml) caused a total inhibition of oxygen uptake, while the pH increased and the F (v) /F (m) ratio decreased to about 60% and 85% of the control, respectively. The addition of catalase after the irradiation period led to an evolution of the same amount of dioxygen as was consumed during the light period. These results show that hydrogen peroxide was formed in the investigated system and accumulated during illumination. On the basis of the obtained data, three sites of dioxygen reduction within isolated thylakoid membranes and the dependence of dioxygen uptake on the photosystem activities were discussed.
This study evaluated the influence of three variables in the effectiveness of an in vitro digestion protocol used to determine bioaccessibility of cadmium from the diet. The percentage of solubilized metal was measured in relation to digestion time, pH of each digestion phase and the dietary source of the metal in the diet. Because it would be convenient to add the metal to the diet before digestion instead of growing contaminated vegetables, the importance of metal incorporation in the plant in comparison to amendment through foliar spraying was also studied. From our results we conclude that the dietary source of metal in the protocols tested doesn't seem to be a significant factor when comparing the lettuce sprayed with cadmium with the lettuce that had cadmium incorporated in it, although the difference was barely significant (P=0.057). Time affects the digestion in different ways depending on the dietary source of cadmium. pH is a relevant factor in both intestinal and gastric phases and should be taken into consideration when analyzing the results from in vitro digestions. Since the intestinal phase in our experiments decreased the amount of cadmium solubilized during the digestion, we investigated the effect of pH on the adsorption of this metal to lettuce and found that there is an increased binding of cadmium at pH values above 3. Therefore we suggest that part of the reduction in bioaccessibility following intestinal digestion could be explained by an increase in adsorption of metal to the plant material at higher pH values.
Colonies and single cells of Microcystis aeruginosa and the hepatotoxin microcystin were retained by salad lettuce after growth with spray irrigation water containing the microcystin-producing cyanobacteria. These findings are discussed in terms of crop spray irrigation with water containing cyanobacteria and potential human exposure to cyanobacterial toxins via plant foods grown in such circumstances.
Although lettuce may provide relatively low levels of antioxidative phytochemicals which may contribute to human health, lettuce leaf extracts in fact contained compounds with high specific peroxyl radical scavenging activities. After determining the extraction conditions that minimized phenolic oxidation and produced the highest oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) values, the phenolic compounds from red leaf lettuce were separated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The primary phenolic compounds in the leaf tissue extracts were mono- and dicaffeoyltartaric acid (CTA and DCTA), mono- and dicaffeoylquinic acid (CQA and DCQA), quercetin 3-malonylglucoside (QMG), quercetin 3-glucoside (QG), cyanidin 3-malonylglucoside (CMG), and an unknown phenolic ester (UPE). Significant levels of DCQA were only found after wounding. Using the new fluorescein-based ORAC assay procedures, fractions from the HPLC analyses were assayed for peroxyl radical absorbance capacity. Using absorbance to estimate concentration, the decreasing order of contribution to the total ORAC value of an extract from wounded tissue was QMG > DCQA > CMG > DCTA > UPE > QG > CTA. The decreasing order of the specific peroxyl radical scavenging activities was CMG > QG > DCTA > DCQA > QMG > UPE > CQA > CTA. Since the concentrations of plant flavonoid and phenolic acid esters are sensitive to environmental factors, this information may be used to develop pre- and postharvest conditions which increase the dietary benefits of leaf lettuce.