Low-temperature photothermal-induced alkyl radical release facilitates dihydroartemisinin-triggered“valve-off”starvation therapy

The high nutrient and energy demand of tumor cells compared to normal cells to sustain rapid proliferation offer a potentially auspicious avenue for implementing starvation therapy.However,conventional starvation therapy,such as glucose exhaustion and vascular thrombosis,can lead to systemic toxicity and exacerbate tumor hypoxia.Herein,we developed a new“valve-off”starvation tactic,which was accomplished by closing the valve of glucose transporter protein 1(GLUT1).Specifically,dihydroartemisinin(DHA),2,20-azobis[2-(2-imidazolin-2-yl)propane]dihydrochloride(AI),and Ink were co-encapsulated in a sodium alginate(ALG)hydrogel.Upon irradiation with the 1064 nm laser,AI rapidly disintegrated into alkyl radicals(R·),which exacerbated the DHA-induced mitochondrial damage through the generation of reactive oxygen species and further reduced the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate(ATP).Simultaneously,the production of R·facilitated DHA-induced starvation therapy by suppressing GLUT1,which in turn reduced glucose uptake.Systematic in vivo and in vitro results suggested that this radical-enhanced“valveoff”strategy for inducing tumor cell starvation was effective in reducing glucose uptake and ATP levels.This integrated strategy induces tumor starvation with efficient tumor suppression,creating a new avenue for controlled,precise,and concerted tumor therapy.

Expression Characteristics of AaHsp90 Gene in Antheraea assamensis under Different Temperature and Starvation Stress

[Objectives]To investigate the effects of different temperature and starvation stress on the expression of AaHsp90 and reveal the molecular mechanism of adaptation to environment in Antheraea assama.[Methods]Taking the normal feeding group at 26℃as the control,the expression change of AaHsp90 was detected by real-time PCR in midgut,fat body and hemlymph after high temperature stress at 38℃,low temperature stress at 4℃and starvation stress separately for different time on the third day of the fifth larvae.[Results]The expression of AaHsp90 in midgut,fat body and hemlymph of Antheraea assama were increased obviously at first and then decreased sharply with the prolongation of treatment time at 38℃.There has a certain inhibitory effect on the expression of AaHsp90 in midgut,fat body and hemolymph after treatment with 4℃for different time.After treatment with starvation,the AaHsp90 expression were increased at 12 and 18 h and decreased sharply at 24 h in midgut,fat body and hemolymph of A.assama.[Conclusions]Comprehensive analysis showed that high temperature and starvation stress can induce the expression of AaHsp90,while low temperature stress mainly suppressed its expression.It was suggested that the AaHsp90 protein may play an important role in the process of adaptation to high temperature and starvation stress in A.assama.

草地早熟禾Phosphate Starvation Response 2基因的克隆及表达分析

磷饥饿响应(Phosphate starvation response PHR2)家族基因在植物磷(Pi)信号调节网络中发挥重要指示作用。为了解该基因在逆境胁迫中的反应机制,本研究从草地早熟禾(Poa pratensis L.)中克隆了PHR2基因,对其进行生物信息学和基因表达模式分析,并分析PHR2基因在草地早熟禾逆境胁迫中的作用。结果表明:草地早熟禾PHR2属于MYB-CC型转录因子,与节节麦氨基酸序列高度同源,该基因主要定位在细胞核。PHR2基因在草地早熟禾的根、茎、叶、穗中均有表达,其中根和穗中表达高于茎和叶;低磷诱导叶中PHR2基因表达低于适磷下该基因表达;干旱胁迫抑制该基因在根、叶的表达,但根与叶的转录调控模式存在差异。本研究为探究PHR家族基因在逆境胁迫中的功能提供一定的理论依据。

TaARR1, a cytokinin response regulator gene in Triticum aestivum, is essential in plant N starvation tolerance via regulating the N acquisition and N assimilation

Plant N starvation response is closely associated with the N signaling components that involve transduction of the low-N cues. In this study, we functionally characterized Ta ARR1, a cytokinin(CK) response regulator gene in Triticum aestivum, in mediating the N starvation adaptation in plants. Ta ARR1 harbors two conserved domains specified by plant ARR family members;subcellular localization analysis indicated its target onto nucleus after endoplasmic reticulum assortment. Ta ARR1 displayed modified expression upon the N starvation stressor, showing upregulated expression in roots and leaves over a 27-h N starvation treatment and whose induced transcripts were gradually recovered along with progression of the N recovery treatment. The tobacco lines overexpressing Ta ARR1 displayed improved low-N stress tolerance, displaying enlarged phenotype, increased biomass and N accumulation, and enhanced glutamine synthetase(GS) activities compared with wild type(WT) following the N starvation treatment. Expression analysis on genes encoding the nitrate transporter(NRT) and GS proteins in Nicotiana tabacum revealed that Nt NRT2.2 and Nt GS3 are upregulated in expression in the N-deprived transgenic lines, whose expression patterns were contrasted to other above family genes that were unaltered on transcripts between the transgenic lines and WT. Transgene analysis validated the function of Nt NRT2.2 and Nt GS3 in regulating N accumulation, GS activity, growth traits, and N use efficiency in plants. These results suggested the internal connection between the Ta ARR1-mediated N starvation tolerance and the modified transcription of distinct N acquisitionand assimilation-associated genes. Our investigation together indicates that Ta ARR1 is essential in plant N starvation adaptation due to the gene function in transcriptionally regulating distinct NRT and GS genes that affect plant N uptake and assimilation under the N starvation condition.

Sugar Starvation Enhances Leaf Senescence and Genes Involved in Sugar Signaling Pathways Regulate Early Leaf Senescence in Mutant Rice

To clarify the complex regulatory relationship between changes in sugar content and leaf senescence during the grain-filling stage of rice,genotype-dependent differences in sugar content and the temporal transcriptional patterns of genes involved in sugar signaling pathways were determined in mutant rice exhibiting early leaf senescence and its wild type Zhefu 142.The effects of exogenous glucose or sucrose on the senescence of detached leaves under dark conditions were also investigated.Chlorophyll,soluble sugar,sucrose and fructose contents decreased,whereas electrolytic leakage and malondialdehyde levels increased in mutant leaves at the grain-filling stage.These results suggested that sugar starvation is positively correlated with the early leaf senescence of mutant plants.Detached leaf segments incubated in exogenous sugar solutions under dark conditions exhibited delayed senescence.The high expression of Hxk1 in leaves of mutant plants at the initial grain-filling stage suggested that Hxk1 is involved in the hexose-sensing process at the early stage of leaf senescence.The low expression levels of Hxk2 and Frk1 in the senescing leaves of mutant rice during the grain-filling stage are indicative of weakened hexose phosphorylation.In addition,the high expression levels of Su Sy1,Su Sy2 and Su Sy4 in leaves of mutant plants at the initial grain-filling stage are accompanied by the high transcript levels of SUT1,which favor sucrose translocation and remobilization from the early senescing leaves of mutant rice.The relatively reduced transcript levels of ch FBP,cy FBP,SPS1,SPS2 and SPS6 indicated that during the grain-filling stage,sucrose biosynthesis is weakened in the senescing leaves of mutant rice.

The point of no return and pectoral angle of Japanese anchovy(Engraulis japonicus) larvae during growth and starvation

At a temperature of 23.0 - 24.8℃, the mixed feeding of Japanese anchovy larvae was initiated 24 h before the yolk-sac was exhausted. The point of no return （PNR） was reached on the 6th day after hatching. On the 4th day after hatching, the pectoral angle appeared in both fed and unfed anchovy larvae although it was more evident and sharper in the starved and the PNR stage larvae than in the fed ones. According to observations of larvae collected in the sea, the pectoral angles were evident not only in the larvae of 3.62 - 7.44 mm in standard length, but also in the larvae of 2.70 mm in standard length with remnants of yolk. The pectoral angles became diffuse when the larvae reached 7.84 mm and vanished at 9.86 mm. The pectoral angle cannot be used as a criterion to distinguish healthy from starving larvae.

GmPHR1, a Novel Homolog of the AtPHR1 Transcription Factor, Plays a Role in Plant Tolerance to Phosphate Starvation

GmPHR1 from soybean （Glycine max） was isolated and characterized. This novel homolog of the AtPHR1 transcription factor confers tolerance to inorganic phosphate （Pi）-starvation. The gene is 2 751 bp long, with an 819-bp open reading frame and ifve introns. Analysis of transcription activity in yeast revealed that the full-length GmPHR1 and its C-terminal activate the reporter genes for His, Ade and Ura, suggesting that the C-terminal peptide functions as a transcriptional activator. Quantitative real-time PCR indicated that patterns of GmPHR1 expression differed. For example, under low-Pi stress, this gene was quickly induced in the tolerant JD11 after 0.5 h, with expression then decreasing slowly before peaking at 12-24 h. By contrast, induction in the sensitive Niumaohuang （NMH） was slow, peaking at 6 h before decreasing quickly at 9 h. GmPHR1 showed sub-cellular localization in the nuclei of onion epidermal cells and Arabidopsis roots. Growth parameters in wild-type （WT） Arabidopsis plants as well as in overexpression （OE） transgenic lines were examined. Under low-Pi conditions, values for shoot, root and whole-plant dry weights, root to shoot ratios, and lengths of primary roots were signiifcantly greater in OE lines than in the WT. These data demonstrate that GmPHR1 has an important role in conferring tolerance to phosphate starvation.

Physiological Responses of Two Wheat Cultivars to Nitrogen Starvation

Plants need to be efficient in nutrient management, especially when they face the temporal nutrient defficiencies. Understanding how crops respond to nitrogen （N） starvation would help in the selection of crop cultivars more tolerant to N deficiency. In the present work, the physiological responses of two wheat cultivars, Yannong 19 （YN） and Qinmai 11 （QM）, to N starvation conditions were investigated. The two cultivars differed in biomass and N rearrangement between shoots and roots during N starvation. QM allocated more N to roots and exhibited higher root/shoot biomass ratio than YN. However, tissue measurement indicated that both cultivars had similar nitrate content in leaves and roots and similar remobilization rate in roots. Microelectrode measurement showed that vacuolar nitrate activity （concentration） in roots of QM was lower than that in roots of YN, especially in epidermal cells. Nitrate remobilization rates from root vacuoles of two cultivars were also identical. Moreover, vacuolar nitrate remobilization rate was proportional to vacuolar nitrate activity. During N starvation, nitrate reductase activity （NRA） was decreased but there were no significant differences between the two cultivars. Nitrate efflux from roots reduced after external N removal and QM seemed to have higher nitrate efflux rate.

Side Effects of Chemotherapy in Cancer Patients and Evaluation of Patients Opinion about Starvation Based Differential Chemotherapy

Side-effects associated with the cancer chemotherapy limit the scope of chemotherapeutic drugs and no data was available about these side effects in Pakistan. Moreover starvation based differential chemotherapy has been proved to greatly reduce the side effects of chemotherapy depending on starvation time. The current study was conducted to survey the common side effects of the chemotherapeutic drugs and the role of starvation to reduce them. The study included total 100 subjects with multiple carcinomas. A comprehensive questionnaire about starvation inquiry, chemotherapy side effects and their basic information was filled by interviewers as told by patients. There were 48% patients with breast cancer and 11% with uterine cancer. Out of these patients 30%, 28%, 9% and 9% patients were agreed to starve for 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours respectively. The survey regarding the side effects of chemotherapy showed that 43% patients were suffering from headache, fatigue 90%, weakness 95%, hair loss 76%, nausea 77%, vomiting 75%, diarrhea 31%, abdominal cramps 40%, mouth sores 47%, dry mouth 74%, memory impairment 14%?and numbness 49%. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Pakistan. Only 18% of the total patients were agreed to starve for more than one day. Chemotherapy-associated side effects vary greatly and it does not depend upon cancer type. But these side effects depend on multiple factors such as the type and dose of chemotherapeutic drug, patient’s health status and stage of cancer.

Effect of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Starvations on <i>Chlorella vulgaris</i>Lipids Productivity and Quality under Different Trophic Regimens for Biodiesel Production

In this work the effects of nutrients starvations on Chlorella vulgaris were investigated in different trophic regimens. For all the tested conditions, the cellular response to nutrient starvation and trophic regimen was evaluated on specific growth rate, biomass and lipids productivity, lipids content and quality. These parameters are all crucial for microalgae biodiesel production, but in literature the lipids quality, in terms of polar and nonpolar lipids, is often neglected. Thus the typical high content of polar lipids, a class of molecules that negatively affects the biodiesel production process, of microalgae crude oil is generally not analyzed. In the tested conditions the triggering effect of nitrogen starvation on total lipids productivity is confirmed only in autotrophic regimen, while in mixotrophic and heterotrophic conditions the total lipids productivity is reduced, as a consequence of the lowered biomass productivity, but with an evident compositional shift towards nonpolar lipids production (from 0.5 mg/Ld to 41.6 mg/Ld in mixotrophic regimen). Nitrogen and phosphorus co-starvation induced the highest nonpolar lipids productivity in all trophic regimens. Maximum nonpolar lipids productivity was obtained in nitrogen limited and phosphorus deprived condition during mixotrophic growth, equal to 118.2 mg/Ld, representing the 80% of produced lipids. On the basis of the obtained results, the possibility of a short pre-harvesting cultural step to maximize the nonpolar lipids yield of the crop could be envisaged.

Physiological Regulation of Valve-Opening Degree Enables Mussels Mytilus edulis to Overcome Starvation Periods by Reducing the Oxygen Uptake

During periods of starvation, the blue mussel Mytilus edulis reduces its valve gape and thus the filtration rate whereby the oxygen uptake becomes reduced. Considering the frequency with which M. edulis in the field experience shorter or longer periods with low phytoplankton concentrations it is of great importance to understand the bioenergetic implications the valve opening-closing mechanism. Here, we tested the hypothesis that M. edulis during starvation regulates the opening degree of its valves in such a way that the oxygen concentration in the mantle cavity is reduced in order to minimize the respiration and at the same time prevent anaerobic metabolism which is energetically expensive. This was experimentally done by measuring the oxygen-concentration changes in the mantle cavity of both starved and fed mussels using a fibre-optic oxygen meter with a small sensor inserted into the mantle cavity through a hole drilled in the valve. It was observed that when there were no algal cells in the ambient water, the mussels gradually closed their valves resulting in a decline of the filtration rate along with a simultaneous decrease in the oxygen concentration in the mantle cavity and subsequently a remarkable decrease in the respiration rate. Typically, a starved M. edulisclosed its valves for a certain period of time followed by a short period when it re-opened and this resulted in an alternating fall and rise of the oxygen concentration in the mantle cavity. Therefore, the low oxygen consumption rate of M. edulis in phytoplankton depleted water can be interpreted as an efficient physiologically regulated mechanism that allows the mussel to save energy during a starvation period.

Starvation effects on pathogenic Vibrio alginolyticus in natural seawater

To get a better understanding of the starvation survival strategy of pathogenic Vibrio alginolyticus, log-phase cells were inoculated into sterile natural seawater for starvation studies. The results showed that all of total bacteria number, viable bacteria number and CFU number of V. alginolyticus increased remarkably at the initial starvation stage; after reaching their peaks at 5 d, both total bacteria number and viable bacteria number of V. alginolyticus fell slowly, while the CFU number fell more quickly after reaching its peak at 10 d; V. alginolyticus elongated their cells at the prophase of starvation, and then shrunk their volume and turned their shapes into ovals from rods at the anaphase of starvation; starved cells showed more sensitivity to heating and UV; starved cells showed no significant difference from unstarved ones at the lowest detection limit determined by indirect enzyme-linked immu- nosorbent assay （ELISA） ; starved cells＇ ability to adhere to the skin mucus of large yellow croaker （ Pseudosciaena crocea） showed a sharp decline as the starvation time increases; the cellular protein of V. alginolyticus increased remarkably at the ariaphase of starvation. The results indicated that pathogenic V. alginolyticus could survive in starvation for relatively long periods of time （ ≥2 months） in 28℃ natural seawater due to the morphological and physiological changes; however, starved V. alginolyticus cells showed less virulence and higher sensitivity under environmental stresses.

Transcriptional responses to starvation of pathogenic Vibrio harveyi strain DY1

Vibrio harveyi is a pathogen of various aquatic organisms that has been recently associated with massive mortality episodes in the aquaculture industry.Recurrent outbreaks of vibriosis are closely correlated with the capacity of this bacterial species to survive long-term starvation conditions.To study the regulation mechanism of gene expression at the transcriptional level in V.harveyi under starvation conditions,the transcriptomic response profiles were determined of the Portunus trituberculatus pathogen V.harveyi strain DY1 under normal conditions and after four weeks of starvation.A total of 4679 and 4661 genes were expressed in the non-starved and starved cells,respectively.The significantly differentially expressed genes(DEGs)between non-starved and starved groups were identified,in which 255 genes were up-regulated and 411 genes were down-regulated.GO analysis and KEGG enrichment analysis were used to analyze the DEGs and revealed the involvement of these DEGs in many pathways,including ABC transporters,flagellum assembly,and fatty acid metabolism.Several DEGs were randomly selected and their expression levels were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR).This is the first comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of starvation ef fects in V.harveyi.Our findings will facilitate future study on stress adaptation and survival mechanisms of V.harveyi.

TaMADS2-3D,a MADS transcription factor gene,regulates phosphate starvation responses in plants

Soil inorganic phosphate(Pi)levels are frequently suboptimal for the growth and development of crop plants.Although MADS-box genes participate in diverse plant developmental processes,their involvement in phosphate starvation responses(PSRs)remains unclear.We identified a type I MADS-box transcription factor gene,Ta MADS2-3 D,which was rapidly induced under low-Pi stress in roots of wheat(Triticum aestivum).A Ta MADS2-3 D-GFP fusion protein was found located in the nucleus.Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing Ta MADS2-3 D(Ta MADS2-3 DOE)showed shortened primary roots,increased lateral root density,and retarded seedling growth under high-Pi(HP)conditions,accompanied by increased Pi contents in their shoots and roots.The Arabidopsis Ta MADS2-3 DOE plants showed similar PSR phenotypes under low Pi(LP)conditions.These results indicate constitutive activation of PSRs by overexpression of Ta MADS2-3 D in Arabidopsis.Reactive oxygen species(ROS),H_(2)O_(2)and O_(2)^(-),levels were increased in root tips of Arabidopsis Ta MADS2-3 DOE plants under HP conditions.Transcriptome analysis of Arabidopsis Ta MADS2-3 DOE plants under different Pi regimes revealed expression changes for a variety of PSR genes including At ZAT6.Overexpression of Ta MADS2-3 D in wheat also led to constitutive activation of PSRs.We propose that Ta MADS2-3 D regulates plant PSRs probably by modulating ROS homeostasis,root development,PSR gene expression,and Pi uptake.This study increases our understanding of plant PSR regulation and provides a valuable gene for improving phosphorus-use efficiency in wheat and other crops.

Vital Parameters Assessments of Starvation Tolerance of in vitro Populus alba Culture

Populus alba is a large woody deciduous plant.The plant has been introduced to shooting,then multiplication of rooting on Murashige and Skoog(MS)medium.This work was designed to estimate the effect of two factors(low levels of 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid NAA and sucrose)on P.alba response resulting in 6 treatments compared to the control,with twelve measured responses.There was a significant difference in some measurements in morphology,like plantlets fresh-weight,shoot-,root-length,and leaf number.In the physiological measurements,there were significant differences in all the measured parameters.The low concentrations of sucrose and media composition/power(MS grams/L)led to starvation in plants;however,these conditions led to enhancement in some morphological and physiological parameters to overcome the starvation effect,compared to the control.The RAPD-PCR molecular marker(four decamers)was used to evaluate the new individuals’genetic variation(instability),resulting in a total polymorphism percentage of 50.83%.It was formerly known that the plantlets were identical to each other and to the mother plant.In this study,however,the use of distinct media power,hormonal and sucrose levels resulted in molecular variation reflected in P.alba’s morphological and physiological responses.

Study of the Compensatory Growth Following Starvation of Juvenile Golden Pompano Trachinotus ovatus

A starvation trial was conducted to determine compensatory growth of the juvenile golden pompano Trachinotus ovatus which were deprived of food for 1, 2, 5 and 7 days respectively. The results of tests in outdoor cement pools and net pens showed that, in the first 15 days and 30 days, the growth of 1 day and 2 days-deprived groups was probably the same with that of control group, which accorded with fully compensatory description. However, the weight of 5 days and 7 days-deprived fingerlings were lower than that of the control group, which accorded with the description of the partial compensatory growth. As the starvation prolonged, feed conversion efficiency of the starved groups increased and was higher than the control group. Meanwhile, feeding rate also increased, but the fish of 1 day and 2 days-deprived groups was lower than that of the control group, and feeding quantity reduced and was lower than that of the control group. It suggested that the mechanism of compensatory growth was mainly due to improving feed conversion efficiency. Fish biochemical composition was analyzed： the water content and ash of fish sample increased due to starvation, while the lipid and protein decreased. The loss of lipid was greater than that of the protein, and the biochemical composition of fish in each group was restored to the control level by the end of the experiment. It suggested that Trachinotus ovatus may mainly consume lipid during the period of starvation.

EoPHR2,a Phosphate Starvation Response Transcription Factor,Is Involved in Improving Low-Phosphorus Stress Resistance in Eremochloa ophiuroides

As a macronutrient,Phosphorus(P)takes many roles in plant growth and development.It should be significant to explore the molecular mechanism of low-phosphorus stress response of plants.Phosphate starvation response(PHR)transcription factors play important roles in response to phosphorus deficiency stress in plants.In this study,we isolated a gene related to the plant phosphorus signaling system from the acid-soil-resistant centipedegrass(Eremochloa ophiuroides[Munro]Hack.),termed EoPHR2.The subcellular localization of EoPHR2 protein was observed to be nuclear located.The expression patterns of EoPHR2 in different tissues and Al/Pi-stress conditions were analyzed by qRT-PCR,they suggested a potential role in response to the multiple-stress under acid soil adversity.Based on the functional identification through transgenic plants,we found that(1)EoPHR2 is involved in the Pi-signaling pathway,and(2)overexpression of EoPHR2 mimics Pi-starvation signalling resulting on enhanced roots whether under Pi-deficiency stress or not.In conclusion,EoPHR2 transcription factor plays a role in response to the multiple stresses under acid soil conditions,improving the low-phosphorus stress resistance of Eremochloa ophiuroides.

Solving the Task Starvation and Resources Problem Using Optimized SMPIA in Cloud

In this study,a new feature is added to the smart message passing interface(SMPI)approach(SMPIA)based on the prioritization method,which cancompletely eliminate the task starvation and lack of sufficient resources problemsthrough prioritizing the tasks.The proposed approach is based on prioritizing thetasks and the urgency of implementation.Tasks are prioritized based on executiontime,workload,the task with a more sensitive priority is executed earlier by thefree source.The idea of demand-bound functions(DBFs)was extended to theSMPIA setting based on partitions and caps.For each task,two DBFs are constructed,DBFLO and DBFHI,for the LO and HI criticality modes,respectively.The simulation results returned by MATLAB showed that with the optimizedSMPIA(O-SMPIA),the parameters of maximum service execution time,response time,delay time,and throughput improved in this work.In addition,the results confirmed that the reduction of execution time,completion time,andresource consumption time did not affect the response time and throughput ofworkflow tasks and did not cause inefficient use of resources in virtual machines(VMs)and data centers(DCs).The evaluation of performance metrics showedthat the delay,response time of the Greedy algorithm was less than that ofMax-Min and Min-Min.At the same time,the execution time of Max-Min wasless than the others and the throughput of the Greedy was longer.The effectand throughput of O-SMPIA became more obvious as change to the job countand the number of cloud workloads increased.It is also worth mentioning thatone of the main advantages of the O-SMPIA to other methods is the efficientuse of time to execute all the defined tasks by CPU.

The Sucrose Starvation Signal Mediates Induction of Autophagy- and Amino Acid Catabolism-Related Genes in Cowpea Seedling

In higher plants, autophagy is bulk degradation process in vacuole necessary for survival under nutrient-limited conditions and plays important roles in senescence, development and pathogenic response, etc. Cowpea is one of the most important legume crops in semi-aride region, which is highly tolerant to drought stress. Changes of photoassimilate status by drought stress and/or sink-source balance appeared to affect autophagy and senescence of leaf in cowpea. Accordingly, we focused on roles of sucrose signal in autophagy and amino acid recycling in cowpea. Effects of starvation stress on the expression of autophagy-related genes (ATGs) and amino acid catabolism-related genes in cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] were examined by Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and anti-ATG8i specific antibody. Sucrose starvation stress enhanced the expression levels of VuATG8i, VuATG8c and VuATG4 incowpea seedlings. The expressions of amino acid catabolism related genes, such as asparagine synthase (VuASN1), proline dehydrogenase1 (VuProDH) and branched chain amino acid transaminase (VuBCAT2), are also up-regulated under the sucrose starvation. In contrast, high sucrose condition suppressed autophagy and the expressions of ATGs. These results indicate that sucrose starvation stress stimulates both autophagy and amino acid catabolism by regulation of ATGs and VuBCAT2. It is conceivable that sucrose starvation stress enhances autophagy in cowpea, possibly via branched chain amino acid level regulated by the starvation-induced BCAT.

The Effect of Starvation on the Biochemical Composition of the Digestive Gland, the Gonads and the Adductor Muscle of the Scallop <i>Flexopecten</i><i>glaber</i>

The effects of the starvation trial on the biochemical composition and the fatty acid dynamics in the triacylglycerol fraction of the digestive gland, gonads and adductor muscle of the scallop Flexopecten glaber were assessed. Results show that three weeks of food deprivation induce depletion of carbohydrates and a significant decrease in proteins and lipids. The noteworthy patterns recorded for the various classes of lipids were the increase of the amount of phosphatidylethanolamine against a strong decline of mono-diacylglycerols, triacylglycerol and phosphatidylserine classes in gonads. These results reflect the ability of Flexopecten glaber to remodel endogenous lipid classes in order to avoid the gonads deterioration. In the starved specimens, severe declines of the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid group were recorded in the triacylglycerol fraction of digestive gland and adductor muscle against the increase of this group in gonads. These results confirm the role of triacylglycerol as a polyunsaturated fatty acids reservoir and pointed out to their mobilization from storage organs to the developing gonads during the food shortage trial. Examination of fatty acid data revealed that food deprivation lead Flexopecten glaber to invest in saving and accumulation of highly unsaturated fatty acids in gonads. This applies mainly to the arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) and the docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3).