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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2020

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Abstract

As the periodic emission of light pulses by light emitting diodes (LEDs) is known to stimulate growth or induce high value biocompounds in microalgae, this flashing light regime was tested on growth and biochemical composition of the microalgae Nannochloropsis gaditana, Koliella antarctica and Tetraselmis chui. At low flashing light frequencies (e.g., 5 and 50 Hz, Duty cycle = 0.05), a strain-dependent growth inhibition and an accumulation of protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, chlorophyll or carotenoids (lutein, β-carotene, violaxanthin and neoxanthin) was observed. In addition, a 4-day application of low-frequency flashing light to concentrated cultures increased productivities of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and specific carotenoids up to three-fold compared to continuous or high frequency flashing light (500 Hz, Duty cycle = 0.05). Therefore, applying low-frequency flashing light as finishing step in industrial production can increase protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids or pigment contents in biomass, leading to high-value algal products.

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Abstract

Growth cessation and floral initiation in black currant and red raspberry are jointly controlled by the interaction of temperature and short-day (SD) conditions, and the processes coincide in time in both natural and controlled environments. The critical photoperiods for the two successional responses were found to be approximately 15 and 16 h, respectively, for a range of Western-European black currant cultivars. Both cessation of growth and floral initiation are promoted and enhanced by increasing temperature in the 9 to 24°C range. In contrast, biennial-fruiting red raspberry has a maximum temperature limit for growth cessation and floral initiation. At temperatures above 16°C, most cultivars grow and remain vegetative regardless of day length conditions, at 12 to 16°C they cease growing and initiate flower primordia in photoperiods <15 h, while at temperatures ≤12°C they cease growing and initiate floral primordia regardless of day length. In the annual-fruiting (primocane) types of red raspberry on the other hand, floral initiation is not constrained by high temperature, but readily takes place at temperatures up to 30°C. In addition, floral initiation is also enhanced by long day (LD) conditions in most of these cultivars. Another fundamental physiological difference is that while floral primordia of the biennial types become dormant after initiation, they proceed directly to anthesis in the annual-fruiting types. Chilling at -5°C, and in the -5 to +5°C temperature range were found to be optimal for breaking of bud dormancy and promotion of flowering in black currant and red raspberry, respectively. In black currant, 14 weeks of chilling were optimal, while for raspberry, 20 or more weeks were required for full dormancy release and promotion of flowering along the entire length of the raspberry cane. The consequences of climate warming for the production of these species in different climatic regions are discussed.

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Abstract

Powdery mildews can be controlled by brief exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation with devastating effect on their developmental stages including conidia germination. The treatment effect can be impaired by subsequent exposure to UV-A/blue light. UV-A/blue light-activated photolyase may be responsible for this and therefore we tested the function of three cryptochrome/photolyase family (CPF)-like genes (OINE01015670_T110144, OINE01000912_T103440, and OINE01005061_T102555) identified in the obligate biotrophic fungus Pseudoidium neolycopersici, the cause of tomato powdery mildew. A photolyase-deficient mutant of Escherichia coli transformed with coding sequence of OINE01000912_T103440 and exposed to brief (UV)-C treatment (peak emission at 254 nm) showed photoreactivation and cell survival when exposed to subsequent blue light, indicating complementation of photolyase activity. In contrast, the same photolyase-deficient E. coli transformed with the coding sequences of other two CPF-like genes did not survive this treatment, even though their expression were confirmed at protein level. This confirmed that OINE01000912_T103440 is a gene encoding photolyase, here named PnPHR1, with functionality similar to the native photolyase in E. coli, and classified as a class I cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) photolyase. Modeling of the 634-amino acid sequence of PnPHR1 suggested that it is capable of binding flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and methenyltetrahydrofolate (MTHF). However, spectroscopic data of the protein produced in an E. coli expression system could only reveal the presence of a reduced form of FAD, i.e., FADH– as an intrinsic chromophore. Within the tested wavelength range of 365–525 nm, the survival of photolyase-deficient mutant E. coli transformed with PnPHR1 showed a broad action spectrum from 365 to 454 nm. This was very similar to the previously characterized action spectrum for survival of P. neolycopersici conidia that had been treated with UV-C. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that the expression of PnPHR1 in P. neolycopersici conidia was induced by UV-C, and peak expression occurred 4 h after brief UV-C treatment. The expression of PnPHR1 was repressed when incubated in red light after the UV-C treatment, but not when incubated in UV-A/blue light. The results may explain why the disease-reducing effect of short wavelength UV is impaired by exposure to UV-A and blue light.