Pretreatments with different protein kinase inhibitors also reduced the water stress-induced H(2)O(2) production and the water stress-enhanced activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase. The data suggest

that protein phosphorylation and H(2)O(2) generation are required for water stress-induced antioxidant defense in maize leaves and that crosstalk between protein phosphorylation and H(2)O(2) generation may occur.”
“Manduca sexta (Ms) larvae are known to efficiently excrete ingested nicotine when feeding on their nicotine-producing native hostplant, Nicotiana attenuata. Here

we describe how ingested nicotine is co-opted for larval defense by a unique mechanism. Plant-mediated RNAi was used to silence a midgut-expressed, Selleck SBE-β-CD nicotine-induced cytochrome P450 6B46 (CYP6B46) in larvae consuming transgenic N. attenuata plants producing MsCYP6B46 dsRNA. These and transgenic nicotine-deficient plants were planted into native habitats to study the phenotypes of LDK378 nmr larvae feeding on these plants and the behavior of their predators. The attack-behavior of a native wolf spider (Camptocosa parallela), a major nocturnal predator, provided the key to understanding MsCYP6B46′s function: spiders clearly preferred CYP6B46-silenced larvae, just as they had preferred larvae fed nicotine-deficient plants. MsCYP6B46 redirects a small amount (0.65%) of ingested nicotine from the midgut into hemolymph, from which nicotine is exhaled through the spiracles as an antispider signal. CYP6B46-silenced larvae were more susceptible to spider-attack because they exhaled less nicotine because of lower hemolymph nicotine concentrations. CYP6B46-silenced larvae were impaired in distributing mTOR target ingested nicotine from midgut to

hemolymph, but not in the clearing of hemolymph nicotine or in the exhalation of nicotine from hemolymph. MsCYP6B46 could be a component of a previously hypothesized pump that converts nicotine to a short-lived, transportable, metabolite. Other predators, big-eyed bugs, and antlion larvae were insensitive to this defense. Thus, chemical defenses, too toxic to sequester, can be repurposed for defensive functions through respiration as a form of defensive halitosis, and predators can assist the functional elucidation of herbivore genes.”
“Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Surgery remains the primary curative treatment but nearly 50% of patients relapse as consequence of micrometastatic or minimal residual disease (MRD) at the time of surgery.