Pistachios and Poison Ivy

My daughter knows of my interest in all things agriculture and sent to me this image of a Pistachio orchard in New Mexico which she took on a recent trip there.  Pistacia vera is the primary cultivar of Pistachio grown in the United States.  The tree is a native of Central Asia and Iran still accounts for over half of the world's production.  The U.S. is the second largest producer with about half what is produced by Iran.

Like a number of other fruit and nut trees, Pistachios are vulnerable to many diseases so, they are frequently grafted onto root stocks from species that are more resistant.  Oak and Mesquite are commonly used to provide the root stock for many of the Pistachio orchards in the U.S.  Since Pistachios do best in dry climates, drought tolerance is also a consideration.  In the image above, there appears to be an irrigation system.

Pistachios are members of the Anacardiaceae Family which also includes poison ivy, sumac, mango and cashew.  Plants of that Family produce an oily substance called urushiol which is an irritant.  I am very familiar with this particular irritant since I am currently recovering from a recent brush with poison ivy.  Apparently there is varying sensitivity among people to the urushiol and I seem to be among the more sensitive.  The concentration of urushiol on the leaf surface of the poison ivy is often highest in the fall.  Silly me, I figured spring was the time to most fear the plant.

Urushiol is an oleoresin that is absorbed very quickly by the skin.  The toxin is recognized by the dendridic cells (Langerhans cells) which then migrate to the lymph nodes where they present the template for the toxin to the T-lymphocytes (aka "killer" T-cells), stimulating them to travel to the site of contact and begin production of cytokines and cytotoxins that seek out and destroy the urushiol.  This reaction is what causes the blistering and eventual death of the skin cells at the point of contact.  The T-cells literally kill the infected cells to rid the body of the toxin.

I have never been a big fan of Pistachios.  Others in my family absolutely love them.  I wonder if the affinity/adversity to them is related to susceptibility to the effects of the urushiol?  Something to ponder on this fine Monday morning....

Building Blocks and Questions

This morning as I look forward to the week, my mind keeps turning toward things about which I wish I knew more.  One area that intrigues me is molecular biology.  Ultimately, what makes each of us unique is encoded in or DNA.  Not only does it make us unique as individuals, but it makes us unique as a species.

I recall many years ago an individual who worked for me discussing evolution and how there was only 1% difference in the genetic makeup between man, chimpanzees and gorillas.  He used that as an argument that it is "obvious" that we (humans) evolved from apes.  From a certain point of view his reasoning makes sense, but it certainly isn't conclusive.

If you think about it, we have many basic body features in common with apes such as the way our arms move (brachiation) and the relationship between our upper and lower bodies.  It would make sense that the genes which build such structures would be essentially the same between the species.  Structurally, we are much alike.

That 1% difference could also be explained by creationism.  If I build something that works in a certain way, it would only make sense that I reproduce those features which function as I desire into the next project that may be different.  In other words, I may use the same frame in 2 different models of cars, but the body I put on that frame may be very different.

The concept of time is also brought into play when discussing evolution.  The various rock strata on earth are frequently used to establish a timeline for the evolution of different species.  The layer of rock which holds fossil remains provides a type of measure to determine "when" something occurred.

Time is a slippery concept -- especially if you place a Creator outside of our perceived time which you must inevitably do since a Creator is not part of the created.  Therefore, time as we perceive it is irrelevant to that Creator.  What to him might be a day, could equate to millions of years to us.

Changes in species over what we might perceive as millions of years may in fact have happened minutes apart when perceived from outside our present timeline.  What instigated those changes?  The common explanation is genetic mutation caused by transcription errors.  It could as easily be explained by deliberate altering, much as man has learned to do through what to us is new technology to manipulate genes such as CRISPR.

I suppose my whole point in this brief commentary is that I wish I better understood all of the processes and links at the molecular level.  The whole thing starts with base pairs of molecules called purines and pyrimidines.  These, in groups of 3 base pairs, form codons which in turn determine the structure of amino acids which are strung together into proteins.  In other words, the order of the base pairs determines which proteins are produced. 

What I have described is an extreme simplification.  What intrigues me is that we now have the technology to "clip out" sections of the DNA strand and "splice" in a replacement.  Just suppose the Creator has been doing that as well....