Summary 12-Oxophytodienoate reductases (OPRs) belong to a family of¯avin-dependent oxidoreductases. With two new tomato isoforms reported here, three OPRs have now been characterized in both tomato and Arabidopsis. Only one of these isoforms (OPR3) participates directly in the octadecanoid pathway for jasmonic acid biosynthesis, as only OPR3 reduces the 9S,13S-stereoisomer of 12-oxophytodienoic acid, the biological precursor of jasmonic acid. The subcellular localization of OPRs was analyzed in tomato and Arabidopsis. The OPR3 protein and activity were consistently found in peroxisomes where they co-localize with the enzymes of b-oxidation which catalyze the ®nal steps in the formation of jasmonic acid. The octadecanoid pathway is thus con®ned to plastids and peroxisomes and, in contrast to previous assumptions, does not involve the cytosolic compartment. The expression of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum, Le) OPR3 was analyzed in the context of defense-related genes using a microarray comprising 233 cDNA probes. LeOPR3 was found to be up-regulated after wounding with induction kinetics resembling those of other octadecanoid pathway enzymes. In contrast to the induction of genes for wound response proteins (e.g. proteinase inhibitors), the accumulation of octadecanoid pathway transcripts was found to be more rapid and transient in wounded leaves, but hardly detectable in unwounded, systemic leaves. Consistent with the expression data, OPDA and JA were found to accumulate locally but not systemically in the leaves of wounded tomato plants. The transcriptional activation of the octadecanoid pathway and the accumulation of JA to high levels are, thus not required for the activation of defense gene expression in systemic tissues.

The aim of the study was to compare the effects of two different models of altering the frequency of strength training sessions of females. The "regular training" (RT) consisted of one training unit every third day over the whole menstrual cycle. The "menstrual cycle triggered training" (MCTT) was characterized by workouts every second day in the follicular and about once per week during the luteal phase. In order to increase maximal strength (MS) the participants performed 3 sets with 12 reps each. Endogenous processes were controlled by measurements of body-temperature, control of the luteinizing-hormone peak, and by analysing serum hormone (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol) and sexual hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels. MS and muscle cross-sectional area (MCA) of the quadriceps femoris were investigated. The result of the MCTT showed a clear increase in the MS of 32.6% compared to 13.1% by the RT. Significant MCTT-induced MS increase was observed during the second menstrual cycle. The ratio of MS/MCA increased by 10.5% (RT) and 27.6% (MCTT). Despite a wide interindividual variability, all subjects showed higher strength adaptations by MCTT. Additionally, we found significant correlations between different force parameters and the accumulation of estradiol. It was concluded that the MCTT seems to be more efficient compared to RT.

The effects of the fungal toxin fusicoccin (FC) on the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) transcriptome were analyzed in the context of defense-related genes using a spotted microarray of 235 cDNAs. Pronounced changes in transcript abundance were observed for 64 (27%) of the represented genes. FC appears to have an antagonistic effect on wound and pathogen defense responses, in that it causes the induction of pathogenesis-related and the down-regulation of wound response genes. The transcripts for many proteins involved in photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism were strongly repressed. Genes related to the biosynthesis of jasmonic acid and aromatic amino acids, on the other hand, were found to be up-regulated. In addition to these expression changes, which occurred rather late after FC treatment, rapid and transient induction kinetics were observed for a small group of genes encoding a calcium-dependent protein kinase, two mitogen-activated protein kinases, a matrix metalloproteinase and a homologue of the respiratory burst oxidase. These genes have not been described previously in tomato, nor has their regulation by FC been reported. Salicylic acid was shown not to be required for the induction of these transcripts and a function for the respective proteins in the FC-induced, salicylic acid-independent activation of pathogenesis-related genes is discussed.

The systems/filters assessed in this study do not improve quality of blood drained from the surgical field. Retransfusion of such blood can not be recommended.

The quality of blood products obtained from two different autotransfusion devices (CATS- Fresenius and Sequestra 1000 - Medtronic) was tested in 27 patients undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery. Blood products provided from our institutional blood bank (n = 16) served as controls. Hemodiluted blood was separated into platelet poor plasma (PPP), platelet rich plasma (PRP), and packed red cells (PRC) and analysed for blood cell count, fibrinogen concentration, thromboplastin time, partial thromboplastin time, platelet aggregation and platelet recovery rate. Coagulation variables showed no differences between the CATS-group (n = 14) and the Sequestra 1000-group (n = 13). The volume of PRP was lower in the Sequestra 1000-group (45+/-3 ml vs. 89+/-1 ml, p<0.05), but hematocrit was higher (14.4+/-7.8% vs. 8.5+/-2.8%, p<0.05). PPP produced with CATS contained a higher concentration of white blood cells (0.6+/-0.2 Gpt/l vs. 0.1+/-0.01 Gpt/l, p<0.05) and thrombocytes (163+/-74 Gpt/l vs. 11+/-12 Gpt/l, p<0.05). Hematocrit of PRC was significantly higher in the CATS-group (73.8+/-2.0% vs. 69.0+/-6.5%, p<0.05). Blood products were of high quality in both groups and comparable to or superior than blood products provided from our institutional blood bank.