University of Hohenheim

About: University of Hohenheim is a education organization based out in Stuttgart, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Soil water. The organization has 8585 authors who have published 16406 publications receiving 567377 citations.

Salt tolerance of maize (Zea mays L.): the role of sodium exclusion

Abstract: The influence of NaCl and Na 2 SO 4 on growth of two maize cultivars (Zea mays cv. Pioneer 3906 and cv. Across 8023) differing in Na + uptake was investigated in two greenhouse experiments. Na + treatment with different accompanying anions (Cl - /SO 4 2- ) showed that ion toxicity was caused by Na + . While shoot growth of the two cultivars was markedly affected by salt in comparison to the control during the first 2-3 weeks, there were only slight differences between the cultivars. The shoot Ca 2+ concentration was reduced in both cultivars, and the youngest leaves contained an even lower concentration compared with the rest of the shoot. During this first phase, Across 8023 tended to have higher concentrations of Ca 2+ than Pioneer 3906. The Na + -excluding cultivar Pioneer 3906 showed continuous, although reduced, growth compared with the control, while the Na + concentration in the shoot decreased until flowering. Cultivar Across 8023 accumulated Na + until flowering: the reduction in the growth of stressed plants was greater than that for Pioneer 3906. Leaves of cultivar Across 8023 showed clear toxic symptoms, while those of the more salt-tolerant cultivar Pioneer 3906 did not. It is concluded that Na + exclusion contributes to the salt tolerance of maize.

Genes encoding candidate pheromone receptors in a moth (Heliothis virescens)

Abstract: The remarkable responsiveness of male moths to female released pheromones is based on the extremely sensitive and selective reaction of highly specialized sensory cells in the male antennae. These cells are supposed to be equipped with male-specific receptors for pheromonal compounds, however, the nature of these receptors is still elusive. By using a combination of genomic sequence analysis and cDNA-library screening, we have cloned various cDNAs of the tobacco budworm Heliothis virescens encoding candidate olfactory receptors. A comparison of all identified receptor types not only highlighted their overall high degree of sequence diversity but also led to the identification of a small group of receptors sharing >40% identity. In RT-PCR analysis it was found that distinct members of this group were expressed exclusively in the antennae of male moths. In situ hybridization experiments revealed that the male-specific expression of these receptor types was confined to antennal cells located beneath sensillar hair structures (sensilla triochoidea), which have been shown to contain pheromone-sensitive neurons. Moreover, two-color double in situ-hybridization approaches uncovered that cells expressing one of these receptor types were surrounded by cells expressing pheromone-binding proteins, as expected for a pheromone-sensitive sensillum. These findings suggest that receptors like Heliothis receptor 14–16 (HR14–HR16) may render antennal cells responsive to pheromones.