Assimilates strategy

Once assimilated by the cell, the exogenous nucleic acid must now travel/be delivered to the nucleus. In some cases, the mechanism by which this transfer occurs is understood, at least in part (e.g. in the case of retroviral vectors). In other cases (e.g. use of liposome vectors or naked DNA), this process is less well understood. At a practical level, gene therapy protocols may entail one of three different strategies (Figure 14.3). 

Figure 5. Digestion strategies in molluscs. Modified from [68] Decho, A. W. and Luoma, S. N. (1996) Flexible digestion strategies and trace metal assimilation in marine bivalves in Limnol. Oceanogr., 41, 568-572. Reproduced with permission...

The acquisition and assimilation of bioelements are the most fundamental processes in an organism s struggle for life. It is therefore obvious that in complex natural systems the competition between thousands of species for limited quantities of a small number of elements is a major evolutionary factor. However, the individual contributions of the physical and biochemical aspects of nutrition to the fitness of an organism are widely unknown. The frequent observation that biodegradation processes, e.g. in soil remediation, are limited by physical obstacles to substrate acquisition, rather than by biochemical incapacities, points at the importance of substrate mobilisation strategies. 

Another strategy in the manipulation of production is to consider the whole crop as an engine for assimilation. Fundamentally, yield is... 

M.J. Chadwick and J. Nilsson, Environmental Quality Objective - Assimilative Capacity and Critical Load Concepts in Environmental Management, Clean Production Strategies, Developing Preventative Environmental Management in... 

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