A contribution to the classification of evergreen azalea cultivars located in the Lake Maggiore area (Italy) by means of AFLP markers     

Valentina Scariot  Takashi Handa  Jan De Riek 《Euphytica》2007,158(1-2):47-66

The amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique was employed to assess the genetic conformity within a gene pool of evergreen azaleas. Ninety-three genotypes grown in historical gardens and nurseries of the Lake Maggiore area (Northern Italy), locally classified in the groups Indica, Japonica and Amoena, 44 reference cultivars of the four more or less universally recognized groups Belgian, Hirado, Kurume and Satsuki, and 40 species and species accessions that most concurred in the origin of the reference groups were included. Aims of the study were to define the genetic profiles of the Italian accessions and to provide useful information for their classification and pedigree reconstruction. Ordination analyses were used to evaluate if the AFLP technique can be applied to establish phylogenetic relationships and to investigate the DNA-based relatedness within the Italian gene pool and between the latter and the reference one. The results regarding the Italian accessions were compared with morphological data by means of Mantel’s test. Assignment tests both on the level of the groups and on individual plant level for the reference and Italian genotypes were applied to further evaluate the relatedness of the groups or individual accessions. Results demonstrated that the AFLP technique together with morphological characterization can contribute to depict the phylogeny of the evergreen azalea. Comparing the reference and Italian genotypes, conclusions about the classification of the evergreen azalea cultivars located in the Lake Maggiore area were drawn.  相似文献   

From Farmers to Loggers: The Role of Shifting Cultivation Landscapes in Timber Production in Cameroon     

Valentina Robiglio  Guillaume Lescuyer  Paolo Omar Cerutti 《Small-Scale Forestry》2013,12(1):67-85

This article focuses on timber sourced from the agricultural areas in the shifting cultivation landscapes of the Central Region of Cameroon. Data about volumes marketed in urban centres, harvesting operations and on-farm timber management are used to discuss the ecological impact of small-scale logging and its sustainability in the long term. An opportunistic association exists between small-scale logging and agricultural land uses, determined mostly by the abundance of valuable species in fallows and on cocoa farms, their easy accessibility and the low price of farmland timber. Farmers apply various strategies to the management of tree resources in fallows and cocoa agroforests, with most felling authorized in fallows and most trees preserved on the cocoa farms. With current agricultural expansion and intensification trends associated with small-scale logging, timber resources on rural land are at risk of depletion with direct consequences for domestic timber supply and the thousands of livelihoods it sustains. Marketing and regulatory changes are needed to encourage the integration of timber production in agricultural management systems.  相似文献   

Effects of conventionally bred and <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Bacillus thuringiensis</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Bt</Emphasis>) maize varieties on soil microbial biomass and activity     

Andreas Fließbach  Monika Messmer  Bruno Nietlispach  Valentina Infante  Paul Mäder 《Biology and Fertility of Soils》2012,48(3):315-324

Genetically modified (GM) maize containing genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) was cultivated on 29% of the total maize production area worldwide in 2009. Most studies to date compare Bt-maize varieties with their near isogenic lines; however, there is little information on the variability of conventional maize breeding lines and how the effects of Bt varieties are ranked within. In our study on the potential risks of Bt-maize varieties, we analyzed tissue quality and compared the effects of ten conventional and GM maize varieties on soil microbiological properties in a replicated climate chamber experiment. All maize varieties were cultivated twice in the same soil microcosm. Shoot yields and soluble C in leaf tissue of Bt varieties were higher than the ones of non-Bt. Soil dehydrogenase activity was reduced by 5% under Bt varieties compared to non-Bt, while most of the other soil microbial properties (soil microbial biomass, basal respiration) showed no significant differences between Bt and non-Bt varieties. The leaves and roots of one Bt variety were decomposed to a greater extent than the ones of its near isogenic line; the conventional breeding lines also showed higher values. Changes in crop and soil parameters were found when comparing the first and the second crops, but the effects of repeated cropping were the same for all tested varieties. For the studied parameters, the variation among non-Bt-maize varieties was similar to the difference between Bt and non-Bt varieties.  相似文献   

Phallusiasterols A and B: Two New Sulfated Sterols from the Mediterranean Tunicate Phallusia fumigata and Their Effects as Modulators of the PXR Receptor     

Concetta Imperatore  Filomena D’Aniello  Anna Aiello  Stefano Fiorucci  Claudio D’Amore  Valentina Sepe  Marialuisa Menna 《Marine drugs》2014,12(4):2066-2078

Purification of the apolar extracts of the marine ascidian Phallusia fumigata, afforded two new sulfated sterols, phallusiasterols A (1) and B (2). The structures of the new compounds have been elucidated using mass spectrometry and NMR experiments. The effects of phallusiasterols A and B as modulators of pregnane-X-receptor (PXR) have been investigated. These studies revealed that phallusiasterol A induces PXR transactivation in HepG2 cells and stimulates the expression of the PXR target genes CYP3A4 and MDR1 in the same cell line. Molecular docking calculations suggested the theoretical binding mode of phallusiasterol A with hPXR and revealed that phallusiasterol A fitted well in the LBD of PXR.  相似文献   

Marine and Semi-Synthetic Hydroxysteroids as New Scaffolds for Pregnane X Receptor Modulation     

Valentina Sepe  Francesco Saverio Di Leva  Claudio D’Amore  Carmen Festa  Simona De Marino  Barbara Renga  Maria Valeria D’Auria  Ettore Novellino  Vittorio Limongelli  Lisette D’Souza  Mahesh Majik  Angela Zampella  Stefano Fiorucci 《Marine drugs》2014,12(6):3091-3115

In recent years many sterols with unusual structures and promising biological profiles have been identified from marine sources. Here we report the isolation of a series of 24-alkylated-hydroxysteroids from the soft coral Sinularia kavarattiensis, acting as pregnane X receptor (PXR) modulators. Starting from this scaffold a number of derivatives were prepared and evaluated for their ability to activate the PXR by assessing transactivation and quantifying gene expression. Our study reveals that ergost-5-en-3β-ol (4) induces PXR transactivation in HepG2 cells and stimulates the expression of the PXR target gene CYP3A4. To shed light on the molecular basis of the interaction between these ligands and PXR, we investigated, through docking simulations, the binding mechanism of the most potent compound of the series, 4, to the PXR. Our findings provide useful functional and structural information to guide further investigations and drug design.  相似文献   

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can lower amyloidogenic Abeta42 by inhibiting Rho     

Zhou Y  Su Y  Li B  Liu F  Ryder JW  Wu X  Gonzalez-DeWhitt PA  Gelfanova V  Hale JE  May PC  Paul SM  Ni B 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2003,302(5648):1215-1217

A subset of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has been shown to preferentially reduce the secretion of the highly amyloidogenic, 42-residue amyloid-beta peptide Abeta42. We found that Rho and its effector, Rho-associated kinase, preferentially regulated the amount of Abeta42 produced in vitro and that only those NSAIDs effective as Rho inhibitors lowered Abeta42. Administration of Y-27632, a selective Rock inhibitor, also preferentially lowered brain levels of Abeta42 in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Thus, the Rho-Rock pathway may regulate amyloid precursor protein processing, and a subset of NSAIDs can reduce Abeta42 through inhibition of Rho activity.  相似文献   

Sinonasal tumor in 3 dogs after successful topical treatment for frontal sinus aspergillosis     

Valentina Greci  Damiano Stefanello  Mauro Di Giancamillo  Carlo M. Mortellaro 《The Canadian veterinary journal. La revue veterinaire canadienne》2009,50(11):1191-1194

Three dogs diagnosed with aspergillosis developed sinonasal tumors several months after successful treatment with topical clotrimazole solution. Chronic rhinosinusitis was also detected in all cases prior to diagnosis of sinonasal tumors. The inflammatory response to Aspergillus, clotrimazole treatment, and chronic inflammation after treatment are discussed as possible neoplastic promoting factors.  相似文献