Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is widely utilized as a major forage and turfgrass species in the temperate regions of the world and is a valuable plant material for studying molecular mechanisms of grass stress tolerance due to its superior drought and heat tolerance among cool-season species. Selection of suitable reference genes for quantification of target gene expression is impor...

We report here our studies on the inhibitional effect of 45 degrees C heat shock on transcriptional and translational activity and their subsequent recovery at 37 degrees C in Rat-1 cells, thermotolerant Rat-1 cells (TT Rat-1), and Rat-1 cells transfected with human hsp70 gene (HR24, M21). Specifically, we ask whether overexpression of hsp70 protects cells from heat-induced inhibition in RNA an...

A number of abiotic shocks (e.g. heat-shock) applied before chilling have previously been shown to increase the chilling tolerance of cucumber and rice seedlings and of tomato fruit. The subsequent rate of radicle growth after chilling of these seedlings is a sensitive measure of chilling injury as is the subsequent increase in ion leakage from chilled discs of tomato pericarp fruit tissue. Dat...

In wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) high temperature (≥30°C) during grain filling leads to considerable reduction in grain yield. We studied 400 multiple synthetic derivatives (MSD) lines to examine the genetic variability of heat stress-adaptive traits and to identify new sources of heat tolerance to be used in wheat breeding programs. The experiment was arranged in an augmented randomized complet...

Adult-onset, long-term caloric restriction (CR) prolongs maximum life span in laboratory rodents. However, the effect of this intervention on an organism's ability to cope with a physical challenge has not been explored. We investigated the influence of CR and aging on stress tolerance in old rats exposed to an environmental heating protocol on two consecutive days. We hypothesized that CR woul...

γ-Aminobutyric acid is a non-protein amino acid involved in various metabolic processes. The objectives of this study were to examine whether increased GABA could improve heat tolerance in cool-season creeping bentgrass through physiological analysis, and to determine major metabolic pathways regulated by GABA through metabolic profiling. Plants were pretreated with 0.5 mM GABA or water before ...

How environmental change affects species abundances depends on both the food web within which species interact and their potential to evolve. Using field experiments, we investigated both ecological and evolutionary responses of pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum), a common agricultural pest, to increased frequency of episodic heat shocks. One predator species ameliorated the decrease in aphid pop...

INTRODUCTION Exertional heat stroke (EHS) is the most dangerous heat-related injury. EHS may be followed by a state of heat intolerance. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) performs heat tolerance tests (HTT) to all heat injury victims 6-8 wk following injury as part of the "return to duty" process. The HTT protocol and normal values are based on vast experience with young healthy men. Over the la...