Humans living at high altitude (≥ 2,500 meters above sea level) have acquired unique abilities to survive the associated extreme environmental conditions, including hypoxia, cold temperature, limited food availability and high levels of free radicals and oxidants. Long-term inhabitants of the most elevated regions of the world have undergone extensive physiological and/or genetic changes, parti...

Pathogens secrete effector proteins to establish a successful interaction with their host. Here, we describe two barley (Hordeum vulgare) powdery mildew candidate secreted effector proteins, CSEP0105 and CSEP0162, which contribute to pathogen success and appear to be required during or after haustorial formation. Silencing of either CSEP using host-induced gene silencing significantly reduced t...

ALD1 (ABERRANT GROWTH AND DEATH2 [AGD2]-LIKE DEFENSE1) is one of the key defense regulators in Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana. In these model plants, ALD1 is responsible for triggering basal defense response and systemic resistance against bacterial infection. As well ALD1 is involved in the production of pipecolic acid and an unidentified compound(s) for systemic resistance and...

Lack of resistance to pink snow mould (Microdochium nivale) is a major constraint for adaptation of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) to continental regions with long-lasting snow cover at higher latitudes. Almost all investigations of genetic variation in resistance have been performed using cold acclimated plants. However, there may be variation in resistance mechanisms that are function...

Pinus massoniaia Lamb has gained more and more attention as the most important tree species for timber and forestation in South China. Gene expression studies are of great importance to identify new and elite cultivars. Real-time quantitative PCR, a highly sensitive and specific method, is commonly used in the analysis of gene expression. The appropriate reference genes must be employed to norm...

Algae are a large group of aquatic, typically photosynthetic, eukaryotes that include species from very diverse phylogenetic lineages, from those similar to land plants to those related to protist parasites. The recent sequencing of several algal genomes has provided insights into the great complexity of these organisms. Genomic information has also emphasized our lack of knowledge of the funct...

There is good evidence that telomere shortening acts as a biological clock in human fibroblasts, limiting the number of population doublings a culture can achieve. Oxidative stress also limits the growth potential of human cells, and recent data show that the effect of mild oxidative stress is mediated by a stress-related increased rate of telomere shortening. Thus, fibroblast strains have dono...

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a plant defense state that is induced, for example, after previous pathogen infection or by chemicals that mimic natural signaling compounds. SAR is associated with the ability to induce cellular defense responses more rapidly and to a greater degree than in noninduced plants, a process called "priming." Arabidopsis plants were treated with the synthetic SA...

The study of the role of serotonin in anxiety has led to the view that this neurotransmitter enhances anxiety, but inhibits panic. Validation of this hypothesis has been made using two experimental procedures that increase anxiety in human volunteers. One is classical conditioning of the skin electrical conductance response, which is assumed to represent anxiety. The other is simulated public s...