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Nitric oxide (NO) regulates plant growth and development as well as responses to stress that enhanced its endogenous production. Arabidopsis plants exposed to a pulse of exogenous NO gas were used for untargeted global metabolomic analyses thus allowing the identification of metabolic processes affected by NO. At early time points after treatment, NO scavenged superoxide anion and induced the nitration and the S-nitrosylation of proteins. These events preceded an extensive though transient metabolic reprogramming at 6 h after NO treatment, which included enhanced levels of polyamines, lipid catabolism and accumulation of phospholipids, chlorophyll breakdown, protein and nucleic acid turnover and increased content of sugars. Accordingly, lipid-related structures such as root cell membranes and leaf cuticle altered their permeability upon NO treatment. Besides, NO-treated plants displayed degradation of starch granules, which is consistent with the increased sugar content observed in the metabolomic survey. The metabolic profile was restored to baseline levels at 24 h post-treatment, thus pointing up the plasticity of plant metabolism in response to nitroxidative stress conditions.

BackgroundThelazia callipaeda eyeworms are transmitted by the non-biting insect vector Phortica variegata in Europe and infest the conjunctiva(s) of several mammalians, including dogs and humans. Infested hosts might remain asymptomatic or display clinical manifestations characterized by variable degrees of severity.MethodsFrom July to November 2011, nine dogs were detected with eyeworms at two veterinary clinics in Chaves and Bragança (North of Portugal). Nematodes collected from dogs were morphologically and molecularly characterized at species level.ResultsNematodes were identified as T. callipaeda. The number of worms collected from each dog ranged from three to 76 (average = 17.9 ± 26.8) and was not associated with the severity of clinical signs. Ocular discharge and conjunctivitis were observed in all dogs and ocular pruritus occurred in six of them. Polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of a portion of target cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene further identified all nematodes as haplotype 1.ConclusionsThis is the first report of T. callipaeda and associated ocular disease in dogs from Portugal, suggesting that thelaziosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of canine ocular affections. The risk of the infestation spreading from Spain and France to Portugal, through domestic dogs or wild mammals, is realistic.