AN ECONOMIC OUTLOOK OF THE NUT TREES SECTOR IN GREECE
EDITORIAL of the Walnut Subnetwork, is in charge of its publication. As both publications are species germplasm related, the Subnet-work on Genetic Resources has been closely involved in the editing. We, as Coordination Centre of the Nut Network, are very grateful to all institutions and researchers who contributed by sending useful information and encouraging curators to complete it. The Inventory on Chestnut Germplasm, Research and References is being produced by G. Bounous, Liaison During 1999 a number of planned activities were carried out within the FAO-CIHEAM Interregional Cooperative Research Network on Nuts following the agreed programme (1997-2002). National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) under the auspices of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) and supported by the Centre technique interprofessionnele des fruites et légumes (Ctifl), FAO and CIHEAM. In each case, corresponding Subnetwork meetings took place. However, an International Congress on Stone Pine, planned to be held in Valladolid, Spain, was rescheduled for February 2000. Officer of the Chestnut Subnetwork. The Inventory on Pistachio Germplasm, Research and References, which will be produced jointly with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), was relaunched during the XI GREMPA Meeting on Pistachio and Almond held in San-liurfa, Turkey and now N. Kaska, Liaison Officer of the Pistachio Subnetwork and B.E. Ak are compiling the information requested via internet. All these catalogues are being funded by FAO's Regional Office for Europe (REU), the Seed and Plant Genetic Resources Service (AGPS) together with CIHEAM-IAMZ. In addition, a special volume of Options Méditerranéennes containing the papers presented at the Economics Subnetwork Meeting held in late 1996 in CIHEAM-IAMZ, Zaragoza, to review the economic situation of the nut sector in different Me-diterranean countries, has been edited. This volume will be used as a base document for calling a new meeting of the Economics Subnetwork during 2000 in Reggio Calabria, Italy. The approach of the next century has generated many discussions and uncertainties about the future. The trend to a global economy and the new trade agreements have originated significant changes in most aspects of horticultural production and thus also on nut tree production. It seems clear that the ability to predict new trends and to adjust them to the future market efficiently will afford new opportunities for nut tree growers. It is necessary to quickly adopt changes for global competition while covering customer demands. Changes are needed at all levels: training, research and industry. Research …
Inflorescence bud proteins of Pistacia vera
Abstract The Pistacia vera L. (common name pistachio) is a unique dioecious and deciduous tree species, which is productive under harsh desert climates. We have identified and purified an Inflorescence Bud Protein of 32 kDa (IBP32) from male pistachio trees. There is a close correlation between its accumulation and inflorescence bud development and its disappearance and flowering. Using antibodies raised against this protein, we have identified in female trees the IBP32 and in addition a 27 kDa protein (IBP27), which appears to be specific to female inflorescence buds. The accumulation and disappearance of IBP27 follows the same pattern as that of IBP32. These proteins are glycoproteins rich in glycine and alanine and are highly hydrophilic. Based on the analytical results and immunological cross-reactivity between dehydrin antibodies and the IBPs, it is assumed that the latter are dehydrin-like and may protect inflorescence bud meristems against cold injury during dormancy. The IBPs are the major proteins of the pistachio bud, therefore they may also serve as nitrogen storage during winter for inflorescence bud growth in spring.
Molecular diversity of skin mucus lectins in fish.
Among lectins in the skin mucus of fish, primary structures of four different types of lectin have been determined. Congerin from the conger eel Conger myriaster and AJL-1 from the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica were identified as galectin, characterized by its specific binding to beta-galactoside. Eel has additionally a unique lectin, AJL-2, which has a highly conserved sequence of C-type lectins but displays Ca(2+)-independent activity. This is rational because the lectin exerts its function on the cutaneous surface, which is exposed to a Ca(2+) scarce environment when the eel is in fresh water. The third type lectin is pufflectin, a mannose specific lectin in the skin mucus of pufferfish Takifugu rubripes. This lectin showed no sequence similarity with any known animal lectins but, surprisingly, shares sequence homology with mannose-binding lectins of monocotyledonous plants. The fourth lectin was found in the ponyfish Leiognathus nuchalis and exhibits homology with rhamnose-binding lectins known in eggs of some fish species. These lectins, except ponyfish lectin, showed agglutination of certain bacteria. In addition, pufflectin was found to bind to a parasitic trematode, Heterobothrium okamotoi. Taken together, these results demonstrate that skin mucus lectins in fish have wide molecular diversity.