Here, multiple functions of jasmonic acid (JA) in maize (Zea mays) are revealed by comprehensive analyses of JA-deficient mutants of the two oxo-phytodienoate reductase genes, OPR7 and OPR8. Single mutants produce wild-type levels of JA in most tissues, but the double mutant opr7 opr8 has dramatically reduced JA in all organs tested. opr7 opr8 displayed strong developmental defects, including formation of a feminized tassel, initiation of female reproductive buds at each node, and extreme elongation of ear shanks; these defects were rescued by exogenous JA. These data provide evidence that JA is required for male sex determination and suppression of female reproductive organ biogenesis. Moreover, opr7 opr8 exhibited delayed leaf senescence accompanied by reduced ethylene and abscisic acid levels and lack of anthocyanin pigmentation of brace roots. Remarkably, opr7 opr8 is nonviable in nonsterile soil and under field conditions due to extreme susceptibility to a root-rotting oomycete (Pythium spp), demonstrating that these genes are necessary for maize survival in nature. Supporting the importance of JA in insect defense, opr7 opr8 is susceptible to beet armyworm. Overall, this study provides strong genetic evidence for the global roles of JA in maize development and immunity to pathogens and insects.

A comprehensive range of cytokinins (CK) was identified and quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in tissues of and in xylem and phloem serving developing white lupine (Lupinus albus) fruits. Analyses were initiated at anthesis and included stages of podset, embryogenesis, and seed filling up to physiological maturation 77 d post anthesis (DPA). In the first 10 DPA, fertilized ovaries destined to set pods accumulated CK. The proportion of cis-CK:trans-CK isomers was initially 10:1 but declined to less than 1:1. In ovaries destined to abort, the ratio of cis-isomers to trans-isomers remained high. During early podset, accumulation of CK (30-40 pmol ovary Ϫ1 ) was accounted for by xylem and phloem translocation, both containing more than 90% cis-isomers. During embryogenesis and early seed filling (40-46 DPA), translocation accounted for 1% to 14% of the increases of CK in endosperm (20 nmol fruit Ϫ1 ) and seed coat (15 nmol fruit Ϫ1 ), indicating synthesis in situ. High CK concentrations in seeds (0.6 mol g Ϫ1 fresh weight) were transient, declining rapidly to less than 1% of maximum levels by physiological maturity. These data pose new questions about the localization and timing of CK synthesis, the significance of translocation, and the role(s) of CK forms in reproductive development.

Trans-isomers of cytokinins (CK) are thought to predominate and have greater biological activity than corresponding cis-isomers in higher plants. However, this study demonstrates a system within which the predominant CK are cis-isomers. CK were measured at four developmental stages in developing chickpea (Cicer arietinum L. cultivar Kaniva) seeds by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Concentrations were highest at an early endospermic fluid stage and fell considerably when the cotyledons expanded. Seed tissues were the source for isolation of the first naturally occurring CK, trans-Z (Miller, 1961;Letham, 1963). Seeds have turned out to be a rich source of CK, and in the past 30 years investigators have described a range of different CK from seed tissues (van Staden et al., 1982). This may reflect their relatively high levels in seeds (van Staden et al., 1982), a status that is believed to indicate a role for CK in establishing developing seeds as strong assimilate sinks (Brenner and Cheikh, 1995). Despite a vast literature concerning the occurrence, form, and significance of CK in plant development, the nature and site(s) of their synthesis is yet to be established. In fact, Holland (1997) recently proposed that CK are not formed by plants at all but rather by bacterial symbionts that colonize plant tissues. Although there is good evidence for the transfer of CK synthesized by Rhizobium in legume nodules (Upadhyaya et al., 1991), a role for bacteria in providing CK to roots or shoot organs needs to be investigated more thoroughly. Because unequivocal evidence for a plant isopentenyl transferase is lacking, a persistent hypothesis, which has recently been reviewed (Prinsen et al., 1997), is that the free CK in plants are not synthesized de novo but are released during tRNA turnover.Z, [9R-MP]Z, and [9R]Z have an unsaturated isopentenyl side chain that can exist in the cis or trans conformation. The cis-isomer occurs when the hydroxyl group of the isopentenyl side chain is oriented toward the N-1 position of the purine ring, whereas in the trans-isomer the hydroxyl group is oriented away from the purine ring (Korszun et al., 1989; Fig. 1). The trans-isomers of [9R]Z and Z are by far the more commonly reported forms and are considered the predominant isomers in higher plants (McGaw and Burch, 1995;Prinsen et al., 1997). Systems in which the existence of cis-CK can be demonstrated unequivocally would be significant for two reasons. First, because cis-CK show much lower activity than trans-CK in bioassays (Kaminek, 1982) and their interconversion may constitute a mechanism for reducing CK bioactivity in vivo. Second, cis-CK provide evidence for the hypothesis that the free CK pool in higher plants may be at least partially derived from the breakdown of tRNA. The major criticism of this hypothesis has been the structural distinctness between tRNA-bound CK and free-pool CK (Letham and Palni, 1983;McGaw and Burch, 1995;Prinsen et al., 1997

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Glycosylation is a topic of intense current interest in the development of biopharmaceuticals because it is related to drug safety and efficacy. This work describes results of an interlaboratory study on the glycosylation of the Primary Sample (PS) of NISTmAb, a monoclonal antibody reference material. Seventy-six laboratories from industry, university, research, government, and hospital sectors in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia submitted a total of 103 reports on glycan distributions. The principal objective of this study was to report and compare results for the full range of analytical methods presently used in the glycosylation analysis of mAbs. Therefore, participation was unrestricted, with laboratories choosing their own measurement techniques. Protein glycosylation was determined in various ways, including at the level of intact mAb, protein fragments, glycopeptides, or released glycans, using a wide variety of methods for derivatization, separation, identification, and quantification. Consequently, the diversity of results was enormous, with the number of glycan compositions identified by each laboratory ranging from 4 to 48. In total, one hundred sixteen glycan compositions were reported, of which 57 compositions could be assigned consensus abundance values. These consensus medians provide community-derived values for NISTmAb PS. Agreement with the consensus medians did not depend on the specific method or laboratory type. The study provides a view of the current state-of-the-art for biologic glycosylation measurement and suggests a clear need for harmonization of glycosylation analysis methods.

Objective Cell based angiogenic therapy for ischemic heart failure has had limited clinical impact, likely related to very low cell retention (<1%) and dispersion. We developed a novel, tissue engineered, hydrogel based cell delivery strategy to overcome these limitations and provide prolonged regional retention of myocardial endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) at high cell dosage. Methods EPCs were isolated from Wistar Rats and encapsulated in fibrin gels. In vitro viability was quantified using a fluorescent live-dead stain of transgenic eGFP+ EPCs. EPC-laden constructs were implanted onto ischemic rat myocardium in a model of acute myocardial infarction (LAD ligation) for 4 weeks. Intramyocardial cell injection (IC, 2×106 EPCs), empty fibrin, and isolated LAD ligation groups served as controls. Hemodynamics were quantified using echocardiography, Doppler flow analysis, and intraventricular pressure-volume analysis. Vasculogenesis and ventricular geometry were quantified. EPC migration was analyzed by utilizing EPCs from transgenic eGFP+ rodents. Results EPCs demonstrated an overall 88.7% viability for all matrix and cell conditions investigated after 48 hours. Histologic assessment of 1-wk implants demonstrated significant migration of transgenic eGFP+ EPCs from the fibrin matrix to the infarcted myocardium as compared to IC (28±12.3 vs. 2.4±2.1cells/hpf, p=0.0001). We also observed a marked increase in vasculogenesis at the implant site. Significant improvements in ventricular hemodynamics and geometry were present following EPC-hydrogel therapy as compared to control. Conclusion We present a tissue engineered hydrogel-based EPC mediated therapy to enhance cell delivery, cell retention, vasculogenesis, and preservation of myocardial structure and function.

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Heavy metals can represent a threat to the health of aquatic ecosystems. Unlike organic chemicals, heavy metals cannot be eliminated by natural processes such as their degradation into less toxic compounds, and this creates unique challenges for their remediation from soil, water, and air. Phytoremediation, defined as the use of plants for the removal of environmental contaminants, has many benefits compared to other pollution-reducing methods. Phytoremediation is simple, efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly because it can be carried out at the polluted site, which simplifies logistics and minimizes exposure to humans and wildlife. Macrophytes represent a unique tool to remediate diverse environmental media since they can accumulate heavy metals from contaminated sediment via roots, from water via submerged leaves, and from air via emergent shoots. In this review, a synopsis is presented about how plants, especially macrophytes, respond to heavy metal stress and we propose potential roles that phytohormones can play in the alleviation of metal toxicity in the aquatic environment. We focus on the uptake, translocation, and accumulation mechanisms of heavy metals in organs of macrophytes and give examples of how phytohormones interact with plant defense systems under heavy metal exposure. We advocate for a more in-depth understanding of these processes to inform more effective metal remediation techniques from metal-polluted waterbodies.