Genotype-Specific Expression of Selected Candidate Genes Conferring Resistance to Leaf Rust of Rye (Secale cereale L.).

Leaf rust (LR) caused by Puccinia recondita f. sp. secalis (Prs) is a highly destructive disease in rye. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying the rye immune response to this disease remain relatively uncharacterised. In this study, we analysed the expression of four genes in 12 rye inbred lines inoculated with Prs at 20 and 36 h post-treatment (hpt): DXS (1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase), Glu (ß-1,3-glucanase), GT (UDP-glycosyltransferase) and PR-1 (pathogenesis-related protein 1). The RT-qPCR analysis revealed the upregulated expression of the four genes in response to Prs in all inbred lines and at both time-points. The gene expression data were supported by microscopic and macroscopic examinations, which revealed that eight lines were susceptible to LR and four lines were highly resistant to LR. A relationship between the infection profiles and the expression of the analysed genes was observed: in the resistant lines, the expression level fold changes were usually higher at 20 hpt than at 36 hpt, while the opposite trend was observed in the susceptible lines. The study results indicate that DXS, Glu, GT and PR-1 may encode proteins crucial for the rye defence response to the LR pathogen.

Identification and characteristics of wheat Lr orthologs in three rye inbred lines.

The genetic background of the immune response of rye to leaf rust (LR), although extensively studied, is still not well understood. The recent publication of the genome of rye line Lo7 and the development of efficient transcriptomic methods has aided the search for genes that confer resistance to this disease. In this study, we investigated the potential role of rye orthologs of wheat Lr genes (Lr1, Lr10, Lr21, Lr22a, and RGA2/T10rga2-1A) in the LR seedling-stage resistance of inbred rye lines D33, D39, and L318. Bioinformatics analysis uncovered numerous Lr orthologs in the Lo7 genome, namely, 14 ScLr1, 15 ScRga2, and 2 ScLr21 paralogs, and 1 each of ScLr10 and ScLr22a genes. The paralogs of ScLr1, ScRga2, and ScLr21 were structurally different from one another and their wheat counterparts. According to an RNA sequencing analysis, only four wheat Lr gene orthologs identified in the Lo7 genome (ScLr1_3, ScLr1_4, ScLr1_8, and ScRga2_6) were differentially expressed; all four were downregulated after infection with compatible or incompatible isolates of Puccinia recondita f. sp. secalis (Prs). Using a more precise tool, RT-qPCR, we found that two genes were upregulated at 20 h post-infection, namely, ScLr1_4 and ScLr1_8 in lines D33 and D39, respectively, both of which have been found to be resistant to LR under field conditions and after treatment with a semi-compatible Prs strain. We were unable to discern any universal pattern of gene expression after Prs infection; on the contrary, all detected relationships were plant genotype-, Prs isolate-, or time-specific. Nevertheless, at least some Lr orthologs in rye (namely, ScLr1_3 ScLr1_4, ScLr1_8, and ScRga2_6), even though mainly downregulated, may play an important role in the response of rye to LR.

Personal control decreases narcissistic but increases non-narcissistic in-group positivity.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the effects of control motivation on in-group positivity. Past research suggests that people compensate for low personal control by increasing support for social in-groups. We predicted that the effect of personal control on in-group positivity would depend on the type of in-group positivity. Low personal control should increase compensatory, narcissistic in-group positivity, whereas high personal control should increase secure, non-narcissistic in-group positivity. METHOD: These hypotheses were tested in a cross-sectional survey (Study 1 N = 1,083, 54% female, Mage = 47.68), two experiments (Study 2 N = 105, 50% female, Mage = 32.05; Study 3 N = 154, 40% female, Mage = 29.93), and a longitudinal survey (Study 4 N = 398, 51% female, Mage = 32.05). RESULTS: In all studies, personal control was negatively associated with narcissistic in-group positivity but positively associated with non-narcissistic in-group positivity. The longitudinal survey additionally showed that the positive relationship between personal control and non-narcissistic in-group positivity was reciprocal. Moreover, both types of in-group positivity differentially mediated between personal control and out-group attitudes: Narcissistic in-group positivity predicted negative attitudes, and non-narcissistic positivity predicted positive attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the role of individual motivation in fostering different types of in-group positivity and intergroup outcomes.

Minimal humanity cues induce neural empathic reactions towards non-human entities.

The present study tested whether the attribution of humanness by means of a minimal humanity cue is sufficient for the occurrence of empathic neural reactions towards non-human entities that are painfully stimulated. Vegetables have been used as a control condition to explore empathy towards humans' pain before. In the context of the present study, they were given a minimal humanity cue (i.e., a human name) or not (i.e., an adjective). Human associations with these different types of vegetables were measured and where either represented: pricked by a needle (painful condition) or touched by a Q-tip (touch condition) while recording electroencephalographic activity from a sample of 18 healthy students. Event-related potentials (ERP) indicated that those participants classified as high humanizers, showed an increased neural reaction when vegetables with a name were painfully rather than neutrally stimulated compared to vegetables without a name. These reactions occurred both in an early (P2: 130-180 ms) and a later (P3: 360-540 ms) ERP time-window. Moreover, this differential reaction on the P3 significantly correlated with participants' explicit empathic tendencies. Overall, these findings suggest that empathy can be triggered for non-human entities as long as they are seen as minimally human.

'They will not control us': Ingroup positivity and belief in intergroup conspiracies.

This research examined the role of different forms of positive regard for the ingroup in predicting beliefs in intergroup conspiracies. Collective narcissism reflects a belief in ingroup greatness contingent on others' recognition. We hypothesized that collective narcissism should be especially likely to foster outgroup conspiracy beliefs. Non-narcissistic ingroup positivity, on the other hand, should predict a weaker tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. In Study 1, the endorsement of conspiratorial explanations of outgroup actions was positively predicted by collective narcissism but negatively by non-narcissistic ingroup positivity. Study 2 showed that the opposite effects of collective narcissism and non-narcissistic ingroup positivity on conspiracy beliefs were mediated via differential perceptions of threat. Study 3 manipulated whether conspiracy theories implicated ingroup or outgroup members. Collective narcissism predicted belief in outgroup conspiracies but not in ingroup conspiracies, while non-narcissistic ingroup positivity predicted lower conspiracy beliefs, regardless of them being ascribed to the ingroup or the outgroup.