Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

About: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences is a education organization based out in Uppsala, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Soil water. The organization has 13510 authors who have published 35241 publications receiving 1414458 citations. The organization is also known as: Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet & SLU.

Mast Cells Can Enhance Resistance to Snake and Honeybee Venoms

Abstract: Snake or honeybee envenomation can cause substantial morbidity and mortality, and it has been proposed that the activation of mast cells by snake or insect venoms can contribute to these effects. We show, in contrast, that mast cells can significantly reduce snake-venom-induced pathology in mice, at least in part by releasing carboxypeptidase A and possibly other proteases, which can degrade venom components. Mast cells also significantly reduced the morbidity and mortality induced by honeybee venom. These findings identify a new biological function for mast cells in enhancing resistance to the morbidity and mortality induced by animal venoms.

Contemporary carbon accumulation in a boreal oligotrophic minerogenic mire – a significant sink after accounting for all C‐fluxes

Abstract: Based on theories of mire development and responses to a changing climate, the current role of mires as a net carbon sink has been questioned. A rigorous evaluation of the current net C-exchange in mires requires measurements of all relevant fluxes. Estimates of annual total carbon budgets in mires are still very limited. Here, we present a full carbon budget over 2 years for a boreal minerogenic oligotrophic mire in northern Sweden (64 degrees 11'N, 19 degrees 33'E). Data on the following fluxes were collected: land-atmosphere CO2 exchange (continuous Eddy covariance measurements) and CH4 exchange (static chambers during the snow free period); TOC (total organic carbon) in precipitation; loss of TOC, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and CH4 through stream water runoff (continuous discharge measurements and regular C-concentration measurements). The mire constituted a net sink of 27 +/- 3.4 (+/- SD) g C m(-2) yr(-1) during 2004 and 20 +/- 3.4 g C m(-2) yr(-1) during 2005. This could be partitioned into an annual surface-atmosphere CO2 net uptake of 55 +/- 1.9 g C m(-2) yr(-1) during 2004 and 48 +/- 1.6 g C m(-2) yr(-1) during 2005. The annual NEE was further separated into a net uptake season, with an uptake of 92 g C m(-2) yr(-1) during 2004 and 86 g C m(-2) yr(-1) during 2005, and a net loss season with a loss of 37 g C m(-2) yr(-1) during 2004 and 38 g C m(-2) yr(-1) during 2005. Of the annual net CO2-C uptake, 37% and 31% was lost through runoff (with runoff TOC > DIC >> CH4) and 16% and 29% through methane emission during 2004 and 2005, respectively. This mire is still a significant C-sink, with carbon accumulation rates comparable to the long-term Holocene C-accumulation, and higher than the C-accumulation during the late Holocene in the region.

Adaptiveness to enhance the sustainability of farming systems : A review

Abstract: During the last decade the context in which farmers must manage their farm has changed rapidly, and often with little warning. Dramatic price swings for agricultural commodities, more stringent quality requirements, new environmental regulations, the debates surrounding genetically modified crops, extreme climatic events, the demand for energy crops, the revision of the Common Agricultural Policy and the consequences of the financial crisis all create uncertainty regarding future threats and potentials. During such turbulent times, a one-sided focus on efficient production is no longer enough. Farmers also need to be able to cope with unexpected events and to adapt to new developments. Based on a literature review, we identify three strategies that strengthen the adaptive capacity of a farm: learning through experimenting and monitoring its outcomes, ensuring a flexible farm organisation to increase the options for new activities by the farm family, and diversifying to spread risks and create buffers. Implementing these strategies enlarges the farmer’s room to manoeuvre and allows identifying transition options. These options do not depend only on the farm itself, but also on the farmer’s ability to mobilise external resources and to engage in collective action. Change is then no longer seen as a disturbance, but as a trigger for the reorganisation of resources, and for the renewal of the farm organisation and activities. Implementing these strategies comes at a cost, so that farmers need to tackle the inevitable trade-offs between efficiency and adaptability. However, unless farmers master this challenge they cannot ensure the sustainability of their farms.

Endodermal ABA Signaling Promotes Lateral Root Quiescence during Salt Stress in Arabidopsis Seedlings

Abstract: The endodermal tissue layer is found in the roots of vascular plants and functions as a semipermeable barrier, regulating the transport of solutes from the soil into the vascular stream. As a gateway for solutes, the endodermis may also serve as an important site for sensing and responding to useful or toxic substances in the environment. Here, we show that high salinity, an environmental stress widely impacting agricultural land, regulates growth of the seedling root system through a signaling network operating primarily in the endodermis. We report that salt stress induces an extended quiescent phase in postemergence lateral roots (LRs) whereby the rate of growth is suppressed for several days before recovery begins. Quiescence is correlated with sustained abscisic acid (ABA) response in LRs and is dependent upon genes necessary for ABA biosynthesis, signaling, and transcriptional regulation. We use a tissue-specific strategy to identify the key cell layers where ABA signaling acts to regulate growth. In the endodermis, misexpression of the ABA insensitive1-1 mutant protein, which dominantly inhibits ABA signaling, leads to a substantial recovery in LR growth under salt stress conditions. Gibberellic acid signaling, which antagonizes the ABA pathway, also acts primarily in the endodermis, and we define the crosstalk between these two hormones. Our results identify the endodermis as a gateway with an ABA-dependent guard, which prevents root growth into saline environments.