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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.

2006

Abstract

Zearalenones are produced by several Fusarium species and can cause reproductive problems in animals. Some aurofusarin mutants of Fusarium pseudograminearum produce elevated levels of zearalenone (ZON), one of the estrogenic mycotoxins comprising the zearalenones. An analysis of transcripts from polyketide synthase genes identified in the Fusarium graminearum database was carried out for these mutants. PKS4 was the only gene with an enoyl reductase domain that had a higher level of transcription in the aurofusarin mutants than in the wild type. An Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation protocol was used to replace the central part of the PKS4 gene with a hygB resistance gene through double homologous recombination in an F. graminearum strain producing a high level of ZON. PCR and Southern analysis of transformants were used to identify isolates with single insertional replacements of PKS4. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis showed that the PKS4 replacement mutant did not produce ZON. Thus, PKS4 encodes an enzyme required for the production of ZON in F. graminearum. Barley root infection studies revealed no alteration in the pathogenicity of the PKS4 mutant compared to the pathogenicity of the wild type. The expression of PKS13, which is located in the same cluster as PKS4, decreased dramatically in the mutant, while transcription of PKS4 was unchanged. This differential expression may indicate that ZON or its derivatives do not regulate expression of PKS4 and that the PKS4-encoded protein or its product stimulates expression of PKS13. Furthermore, both the lack of aurofusarin and ZON influenced the expression of other polyketide synthases, demonstrating that one polyketide can influence the expression of others.

Abstract

Pulpwood has been imported to Norway since the beginning of the 20th century. However, exotic plant species hitchhiking with pulpwood were not observed before c.1985. Prior to this the imported timber was debarked, and the chances that diaspores would have attached to a debarked log (compared to a log with bark) are very small.A greenhouse germination experiment based on 385 dm2 of sifted bark from the holds of nine Estonian pulpwood ships yielded 3187 seeds of 201 species of vascular plants, few of which were typical of coniferous forests. Approximately 39% of the hitchhiking seeds did not germinate until after a period of cold treatment.Most of the species germinated in low densities, and those occurring in greater numbers are common and widespread in Norway. Six species were new to Norway: Agrostis clavata, Androsace filiformis, Bidens radiata, Carex montana, Melica picta, and Ranunculus cassubicus.During the last 20 years, pulpwood has been imported to Norway from many countries around the world, e.g. Russia, Scotland, Canada, and Zaire. While the present data do not indicate any immediate threat from aggressively invasive exotics, in order to avoid the introduction of non-native species and reduce the potential for biological invasion, timber should ideally be debarked prior to importation.

Abstract

Most (all?) equipment waste timber by turning 10% of valuable solid wood into sawdust and allowance. The presentation discusses the problem and suggests a technology project to splitting blocks of modest size with new, strong materials for thin kerfs and optimised in yield and product quality rather than in speed.

Abstract

Most phenomena in ecosystem research are assessed via repeated measurements of environmental variables. The dynamics of these time series is investigated with a variety of statistical techniques; in this article, we focus on modern nonlinear methods. They enable separation of short- and long-term components, show all types of trends and quantify the information contained and the complexity of the data sets.