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Involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in plant metabolism and its connection with phytohormones has not been fully described, thus information about the role of this molecule in signalling pathways remains fragmented. In this study, the effects of NO on calmodulin (CAM), calcium protein kinase (CPK), content of phytohormones and secondary metabolites in canola plants under salinity stress were investigated.We applied 100 μM sodium nitroprusside as an NO source to canola plants grown under saline (100 mM NaCl) and non‐saline conditions at the vegetative stage.Plant growth was negatively affected by salinity, but exogenous NO treatment improved growth. NO caused a significant increase in activity of CAT, SOD and POX through their enhanced gene expression in stressed canola. Salinity‐responsive genes, namely CAM and CPK, were induced by NO in plants grown under salinity. NO application enhanced phenolic compounds, such as gallic acid and coumaric acid and flavonoid compound,s catechin, diadzein and kaempferol, in plants subjected to salinity. NO treatment enhanced abscisic acid and brassinosteroids but decreased auxin and gibberellin in stressed canola plants.The impacts of NO in improving stress tolerance in canola required CAM and CPK. Also, NO signalling re‐established the phytohormone balance and resulted in enhanced tolerance to salt stress. Furthermore, NO improved salinity tolerance in canola by increasing enzymatic and non‐enzymatic antioxidant content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentils provide a rich plant‐based protein source and staple food in many parts of the world. Despite numerous nutritional benefits, lentil seeds also possess undesirable elements, such as anti‐nutritional factors. Understanding the genetic networks of seed metabolism is of great importance for improving the seed nutritional profile.We applied RNA sequencing analysis to survey the transcriptome of developing lentil seeds and compared this with that of the pod shells and leaves. In total, we identified 2622 genes differentially expressed among the tissues examined. Genes preferentially expressed in seeds were enriched in the Gene Ontology (GO) terms associated with development, nitrogen and carbon (N/C) metabolism and lipid synthesis.We further categorized seed preferentially expressed genes based on their involvement in storage protein production, starch accumulation, lipid and suberin metabolism, phytate, saponin and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.The availability of transcript profile datasets on lentil seed metabolism and a roadmap of candidate genes presented here will be of great value for breeding strategies towards further improvement of lentil seed quality traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within-patient HIV evolution reflects the strong selection pressure driving viral escape from cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) recognition. Whether this intrapatient accumulation of escape mutations translates into HIV evolution at the population level has not been evaluated. We studied over 300 patients drawn from the B- and C-clade epidemics, focusing on human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles HLA-B57 and HLA-B5801, which are associated with long-term HIV control and are therefore likely to exert strong selection pressure on the virus. The CTL response dominating acute infection in HLA-B57/5801-positive subjects drove positive selection of an escape mutation that reverted to wild-type after transmission to HLA-B57/5801-negative individuals. A second escape mutation within the epitope, by contrast, was maintained after transmission. These data show that the process of accumulation of escape mutations within HIV is not inevitable. Complex epitope- and residue-specific selection forces, including CTL-mediated positive selection pressure and virus-mediated purifying selection, operate in tandem to shape HIV evolution at the population level., Author(s): A J Leslie [1, 12]; K J Pfafferott [1, 12]; P Chetty [2]; R Draenert [3]; M M Addo [3]; M Feeney [3]; Y Tang [3]; E C Holmes [...]