Imaging dragons in the Old Testament: Were Leviathan and Behemoth Mesozoic monsters?

ABSTRACT For much of the nineteenth century, the majority of respected stratigraphers were serial creationists who read the rocks as recording successive extinctions followed by new creations, a process that generated progress in vertebrate structure. Beginning after World War I, Leviathan and Behemoth were cited by Young Earth Creationists—a minority among anti-Darwinians—as Mesozoic species observed by humans. This view spread rapidly after World War II. However, the anatomy and behavior of these beings, as portrayed in Ugaritic and Hebrew literature, leads to a firmer identification. The Leviathan of Job has powerful jaws armed with great teeth; skull armor renders hooks impotent; body armor of scales set so close together that they repel spears; water is thrashed into foam by twisting death rolls; this is altogether an accurate rendition of the Nile Crocodile. The Behemoth is a young, adult male African Elephant distinguished by grass-eating habits and an enormous, uncontrolled male organ: “tail like a cedar tree.”

Drought stress-induced irregularities in male organ development cause stage-specific morpho-physiological and transcriptome changes in tomato

Drought limits the growth and productivity of plants. Reproductive development is sensitive to drought but the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms remain unclear in tomato. Here, we investigated drought effect on tomato floral development using morpho-physiological and transcriptome analyses. Drought induced bud and flower abortions, and reduced fruit set/yield, triggered by male sterility due to abnormal anther and pollen development. Under drought stress (DS), anthers at pollen mother cell to meiotic (PMC-MEI) stage survived while anthers at tetrad to uninucleate microspore (TED-VUM) stage aborted. PMC-MEI stage had lower ABA increase, reduced IAA and higher sugar contents under DS relative to well-watered. However, TED-VUM stage had higher ABA increase, higher IAA level and no accumulation of soluble sugars, indicating abnormal carbohydrate and hormone metabolisms. Moreover, RNA-Seq analysis identified altogether ˃15,000 differentially expressed genes that were assigned to multiple pathways, suggesting tomato anthers utilize complicated mechanisms to cope with drought. Major genes involved in tapetum/microspore development and ABA homeostasis were drought-induced while those involved in sugar utilization and IAA metabolism were repressed at PMC-MEI stage. Our results suggest crosstalks between phytohormones and carbohydrate metabolism at different anther stages under DS and provide novel insight into molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance in tomato.

Comparative Transcriptomics Analysis and Functional Study Reveal Important Role of High-Temperature Stress Response Gene GmHSFA2 During Flower Bud Development of CMS-Based F1 in Soybean

High-temperature (HT) is one of the most important environmental factors that negatively impact the yield of some soybean cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS)-based hybrid (F1) combinations. The response of soybean to HT, especially at the male organ development stage, is poorly understood. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of the response from soybean CMS-based F1 male organ to HT, a detailed transcriptomics analysis was performed during flower bud development of soybean HT-tolerant and HT-sensitive CMS-based F1 combinations (NF1 and YF1) under normal-temperature and HT conditions. Obvious HT damage was observed by subjecting YF1 with HT, such as indehiscent anthers and decreased pollen fertility, whereas the male fertility of NF1 was normal. In total, 8,784 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found to respond to HT stress, which were mainly associated with anther/pollen wall development, carbohydrate metabolism and sugar transport, and auxin signaling. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis and substance content detection also revealed that HT caused male fertility defects in YF1 by altering pectin metabolism, auxin, and sugar signaling pathways. Most importantly, the sugar signaling-PIF-auxin signaling pathway may underlie the instability of male fertility in YF1 under HT. Furthermore, HT induced the expression of heat shock factor (HSF) and heat shock protein (HSP) gene families. Overexpression of GmHSFA2 in Arabidopsis can promote the expression of HT protective genes (such as HSP20) by binding to the HSE motifs in their promoters, so as to improve the HT tolerance during flowering. Our results indicated that GmHSFA2 acted as a positive regulator, conferring HT tolerance improvement in soybean CMS-based F1. GmHSFA2 may be directly involved in the activation of male fertility protection mechanism in the soybean CMS-based F1 under HT stress.

Reproductive Biology of the Arborescent Seed-Fern Linopteris obliqua: Implications for Taxonomy (Medullosales, Late Pennsylvanian Sydney Coalfield, Canada)

A shaley slab (65 x 45 x 7 cm) from the Sydney Coalfield, Canada, Cantabrian age, on splitting apart revealed 2 – 3 layers each entombing thousands of abscised pinnules of Linopteris obliqua and eight dispersed compound-synangial structures. The campanulary-ventral-sporal micromorphology of the best preserved structure of these compares sufficiently well with previously reported structures from the Sydney Coalfield named Potoniea krisiae. Earlier studies involving larger sampling suites furthermore contributed to the observation that Hexagonocarpus sp. (female organ) and P. krisiae (male organ) usually co-occur with abscised L. obliqua pinnules; however, these two organs do not co-occur on isochronous bedding planes. In the absence of confirmatory organic attachments, the presented data provide as yet the strongest support for the hypothesis of the organs’ connectivity, but whether female-male trees existed or not, and the mode of attachment of the organs remain unknown. Hypothesized for the latter is pinnate attachment.

Novel preservation state of Dolerotheca (medullosalean male organ) from the Late Pennsylvanian of the Sydney Coalfield, Nova Scotia, Canada

A new preservation state for the medullosalean male organ Dolerotheca is exemplified by a detached 31-mm sideritic mold with intact coalified compression from shale from the roof of a coal seam in the Sydney Coalfield, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Clearly recognizable in the specimen is the quadripartite campanulum. Furthermore, maceration yielded significant internal information on acellular, cuticular, stomatiferous and pubescent surfaces, and prepollen sacs with grains. Stomata are rare and of the cyclocytic type. The rectangular prepollen sacs occur as doubly paired rows of sporangia that are radially arranged, and contain ellipsoidal prepollen grains 400−520 μm long and circular prepollen grains 330−460 μm in diameter. The approximate ratio of circular to ellipsoidal grains is 1:2. Regardless of shape, the prepollen grains are attributable to the genus Monoletes. The circular grains bear vestigial trilete marks. Infrared-based functional-group chemistry distinguishes between the cover-type compression state and prepollen grains on the basis of higher aliphatic and oxygenated group contents in the grains. In summary, the specimen represents a novel state of nodular preservation with intact compression. Although the specimen is attributed to the genus Dolerotheca, specific assignment is not possible because of limited preservation and material.

Persistent Mullerian duct syndrome: Report of two cases with phenotypical immunohistochemical profiling

Introduction: Persistent Mullerian duct syndrome is a rare disorder of male organ development characterized by internal male pseudohermaphroditism. Persistent Mullerian duct syndrome is usually an incidental finding in patients presenting cryptorchidism, inguinal hernia, or a previous story of undescended testes. Case description: We report on two cases of persistent Mullerian duct syndrome: an adult fertile male with uterus and ectopic prostate occurring as pelvic mass and a 75-year-old organ donor with uterus and two fallopian tubes, discovered in course of organ recruitment. We performed routine histological analysis and immunohistochemical profiling of the different tissue components. Examined tissues were all benign, and the living patient is well after surgery. Conclusion: In order to prevent further complications such as infertility and potential malignant change, surgeons and surgical pathologists must be aware of this condition and should consider excision of the Mullerian remnant where possible.

POLLEN ATAU SERBUK SARI : ASPEK MORFOLOGI, SISTEMATIKA DAN APLIKASINYA PADA TUMBUHAN KELUARGA MENTOL

Pollen Powder or Sari : Aspects of Morphology, Systematics and Application on Menthol Family Plant Pollen is the important component of plant to develop through reproductive. Pollen is the male organ of plants that plays an important role in the process of the evolution of plants. Menthol family plants (the Family Lamiaceae) is one of biggest families after Asteraceae. The process of the cross breeding often dominates the process of the evolution to the ment al Family. The research on the menthol Family's pollen aimed to know the affinity and the process of his pollination. The form of pollen of the Family Lamiaceae, was round and hexacolpate, the form was the same as the species member with their relatives. In the process of pollination often helped by the bee where pollen that clung to the abdomen part and the chest of the bee and moved to the other flower where the cross-pollination happen. The process of the cross-pollination happened also because of the same of maturity time between pollen of male and the stigma surface of female. The seed was still being the dominant factor in the reproductive in the Family Lamiaceae. Key words : Pollen, Pollination, Lamiaceae, the Mint family, the bee, the seed Abstrak Serbuk sari atau dikenal dengan pollen merupakan komponen penting tanaman untuk berkembang melalui reproduktif. Serbuk sari merupakan organ jantan pada tumbuhan yang berperan penting dalam proses evolusi tumbuhan. Tumbuhan Keluarga Mentol (Famili Lamiaceae) merupakan salah satu Famili yang terbesar setelah Asteraceae. Proses perkawinan silang banyak mendominasi proses evolusi pada Keluarga Mentol. Penelitian terhadap serbuk sari Keluarga Mentol bertujuan untuk mengetahui kekerabatan dan proses penyerbukannya. Bentuk morfologi serbuk sari pada Famili Lamiaceae, yaitu bulat dan heksakolpat (hexacolpate), bentuk yang sama dengan jenis – jenis anggota Famili Lamiaceae. Pada proses penyerbukan banyak dibantu oleh lebah dimana pollen yang menempel pada bagian perut dan dada lebah penyerbuk dan berpindah pada bunga yang lain sehingga terjadi penyerbukan silang. Proses penyerbukan silang terjadi juga karena adanya waktu pemasakan yang sama antara serbuk sari sebagai organ jantan dan kepala putik sebagai organ betina. Biji masih merupakan faktor yang dominan pada perbanyakan Famili Lamiaceae.Kata kunci : Serbuk sari, Pollen, Lamiaceae, Keluarga Mentol, Lebah, biji.