SEASONAL PATTERNS OF LEAF PHOTOSYNTHETIC CAPACITY IN SUCCESSIONAL NORTHERN HARDWOOD TREE SPECIES

Seasonal patterns of leaf photosynthetic capacity and conductance were determined for deciduous hardwood tree species in natural habitats in northern lower Michigan. Leaves of bigtooth aspen and red oak at the top of the canopy had higher maximum CO₂ Exchange Rate (CER) (10–15 μmol m ² s ¹) than leaves of sugar maple, red maple, red oak, and beech growing in the understory (4–5 μmol m ² s ¹). In all leaves, CER measured at light-saturation increased to a maximum near the completion of leaf expansion in early June, was constant until mid-September, and then rapidly declined until leaf death. A similar pattern was seen for CER measured in low light (1.5% full sun). Respiration rate in the dark was highest in young leaves and decreased during leaf expansion; a relatively constant rate was then maintained for the rest of leaf lifespan. The seasonal pattern of the initial slope of the light response of CER paralleled the pattern of light-saturated CER. The initial slope in midsummer ranged from values of 37 to 44 μmol/mol for species in the understory to 51 and 56 μmol/mol for red oak and bigtooth aspen, respectively, at the top of the canopy. Leaf conductance was constant throughout most of leaf lifespan, with some decline occurring in autumn. Leaves at the top of the canopy had higher conductances for water vapor (2–5 mm/s) than leaves in the understory (1–2 mm/s). All species maintained leaf intercellular CO, mole fractions (c,) near 200 uML/L until autumn, when c, increased during leaf senescence.     

THE GENETIC STRUCTURE OF HOST PLANT ADAPTATION IN A SPATIAL PATCHWORK: DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABILITY AMONG RECIPROCALLY TRANSPLANTED PEA APHID CLONES

Populations of insect herbivores that feed on several host plant species may experience different selective forces on each host. When the hosts cooccur in a local area, herbivore populations can provide useful models for the study of evolutionary mechanisms in patchy environments. A first step in such a study involves determination of the genetic structure of host adaptation in the region: how is genetic variation for host use structured within and between subpopulations of herbivores on each host? The structure of genetic variation for host use reveals patterns of local adaptation, probable selective consequences of migration between hosts, and the potential for further evolution. To estimate the population structure of host adaptation in a patchwork, 7–11 pea aphid clones were collected at the beginning of the summer from each of two alfalfa and two red clover fields within a very localized area (about 15–20 km²). Using a reciprocal transplant in the field, replicates of these 35 clones were allowed to develop individually on each of the two crops. A complete life table was made for each replicate. Individual fitness was calculated from the life tables as the expected rate of population increase; longevity, age at first reproduction, and total fecundity were also measured for each clonal replicate. Currently, experimental estimates of genetic variation in complete life tables are virtually nonexistent for natural populations, even for single environments (Charlesworth, 1987); field studies are even less common. Because clones from each of two source crops were tested reciprocally on both hosts, variation in relative genotypic fitness on alfalfa and clover could be partitioned among clones within source crops, between fields of the same crop, and between source crops (alfalfa or red clover), providing a view of population structure. Significant clonal variation in relative performance on alfalfa and red clover was found: clones tended to have higher fitness on the crop from which they had been collected (the “home” crop) than they did on the “away” crop, suggesting local adaptation in response to patchy patterns of selection. Clonal variability within collections from the two crops suggests the potential for changes in the genetic constitution of these aphid populations within established fields as a result of clonal selection during the summer season. Significantly negative genetic correlations across crops were found for fitness and its major components. The possibility that these negative cross-environment correlations could act as evolutionary constraints on adaptation to the patchwork is considered.     

光下无CO_2气体处理对叶片光合强度的影响

小麦等C_3植物的叶片在光下经无CO_2或低CO_2气体处理后,通入高CO_2气体,光合强度出现“升、降、升”的波动,而玉米等C_4植物无此现象。不同植物的光合波动幅度不同。强光、高CO_2、低O_2等能缩短第一次光合上升时间,增大光合下降幅度;而低CO_2、高O_2等则减少光合下降幅度。此现象与RuBP及ATP的含量变化有关。     

抗真菌植物基因工程的策略和进展

所有高等植物都受多种真菌的侵害,水稻的240多种病害中真菌性痫害占90％。,可见真菌病害是世界范围内危害作物产蘑的主要因素之一,是长期以来作物育种学家一直在努力攻克的难题。目前国     

高产水稻光合速率的变化

1998年早季于广州,测定了水稻两系高产杂交组合培矮64s/E32、地矮64s/93、粤杂122,高产品种粤香占和特三矮2号在四个主要生育期顶叶光合速率及叶绿素含量。（1）在人工气候箱的弱光下测得的分蘖期盆栽植株的非饱和光合速率在5个品种/组合间差异不大。（2）4个品种/组合的大田植株在四个生育期中以分蘖盛期到幼穗分化初期的光合速率最大,其值已达到或接近水稻品种最大光合速率30μmol　m-2s-1的上限;品种/组合间差异不大。抽穗期和黄熟期光合速率较前期下降很大,但两期间变化不大。收割期光合速率进一步大幅下降。（3）4个品种/组合抽穗期叶绿素含量较前期下降或不变,黄熟期叶绿素含量又升高,收割期则大幅下降。（4）讨论了叶片光合速率在抽穗后下降的原因,并据此提出了光合保持能力的概念。认为在形态性状改良的基础上,提高群体整体光合能力,是提高水稻光合生产力和实现超高产育种目标的有效途径。     

BIOCHEMICAL ADAPTATION AND LOSS OF GENETIC CAPACITY IN HELMINTH PARASITES

1. Adaptation and loss of genetic capacity differ chiefly in that adaptation is goal- directed whereas loss of genetic capacity is not. Given sufficient information about an individual organism and its environment, adaptations are recognizable without reference to historical events extending beyond a single generation. This is not true of loss of genetic capacity, which requires a preliminary judgement that genetic information now absent was present in ancestral organisms. Together, adaptation and loss of genetic capacity are the major contributors to overall reproductive fitness. Accidental selection is genetically associated with adaptation, but is not goal-directed. 2. Adaptations arevariant or invariant; invariant adaptations comprising biochemical unity, and variant adaptations contributing to biochemical diversity. Variant adaptations may be either exploitive or epigenetic. Exploitive adaptations are a measure of thegenetic capacity for phenotypic response to an altered environment, which the individual may not in fact encounter. Epigenetic adaptations are more rigidly programmed and are responsive to altered environments only insofar as these are a constant feature of the life cycle. 3. Selected observations in the biochemistry of helminth parasites are examined with respect to their interpretation in terms of adaptation, loss of genetic capacity and accidental selection. Secure judgements concerning adaptation are often possible at the most general level, i.e. when the physicochemical properties of the environment, such as temperature or oxygen supply, are clearly defined. I t is more difficult to make judgements concerning the specific mechanisms used in achieving these goals. Conclusions concerning loss of genetic capacity require knowledge of the specific function through-out the life cycle. In many cases loss of genetic capacity is only apparent, as the function appears in another part of the life cycle. Such apparent losses are in reality epigenetic adaptations. These concepts are helpful in interpreting past work and in devising new experiments. 4. Development in helminth parasites includes a pronounced capacity for the orderly release of information to be used in the next stage. As each stage may require a radically different environment, programming for it may lead to phenomena which are superficially puzzling, such as the existence of aerobic electron transport systems in a stage whose energy metabolism is fermentative. The concept of epigenetic adaptation is especially useful for interpreting such observations. 5. Although possible adaptations are most readily apparent in biochemically complex mechanisms, these mechanisms are an expression of the orderly effects of many different primary gene products which have not been much studied. There are indications that organisms possessing relatively complex life cycles may provide opportunities for relating primary gene products, such as isozymes, to their physiological functions.     

增强UV—B辐射对高山植物麻花艽净光合速率的影响

在高寒矮嵩草（Kobresia humilis)草甸地区以太阳短波辐射为背景,建立了人工增强UV－B辐射的实验装置,每天增补15．8kJ.m^-2的辐射剂量,模拟平流层臭氧破坏约5％时近地表面太阳UV－B辐射的增强。观测表明：UV－B辐射的增强对麻花艽（Gentiana stramianea)植物的光合作用无明显的抑制或伤害作用。相反,在早晨补充UV－B辐射的短时间内,叶片的Pn随Gs的增大而有所提高。随着UV－B辐射时间的延长,在11：30－12：30,Pn和Gs有所降低。UV－B辐射时间进一步延长后（约14：00以后）,处理和对照组叶片Pn和Gs的差异趋向不明显,增强太阳UV－B辐射后,麻花艽叶片的光合色素并无明显变化,UV－B吸收物质的含量无明显变化,麻花艽叶片厚度的直接测量表明,增强UV－B辐射能明显提高叶片的厚度。叶片厚度的增加可补偿增强UV－B辐射辐后引起的光合色素的光降解,改善单位叶面积为基础的光合速率,是高原植物对强UV－B辐射的一种适应方式。     

龙牙木天然种群遗传多样性及遗传分化

采用水平切片淀粉凝胶电泳测定东北地区分布的4 个龙牙木种群的遗传结构。统计分析了10 个酶系统的11 个位点, 结果表明:龙牙木种群内存在着丰富的遗传变异, 多态位点百分率72.73%, 等位基因平均数为1.72, 期望杂合度为0.5617, 遗传一致度和遗传距离为0.9865和0.0133。这个结果与前文对其形态特征和薄层色谱特征分析所得结果基本一致, 充分说明区域龙牙木属于同一种物种的两个变种。     

华东地区青冈种群的遗传多样性及遗传分化

采用垂直板型聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳测定了华东地区6个青冈(Cyclobalanopsis glauca(Thunb.)Oerst.)种群的遗传多样性和遗传分化程度以及基因流。青冈种和种群水平都维持有较高的遗传多样性,期望杂合度分别为0.2252和0.2126,观察杂合度分别为0.1661和0.1771。种群间的遗传分化程度较低,分化度仅为5.6％,种群间的遗传一致度和遗传距离的均值分别为0.9729和0.0276。种群间的分化时间为1.4～27万年。基因流分别为4.21和20.49。     

源库关系改变对小麦灌浆期植株光合速率及~(14)C同化物运转分配的影响

选用千粒重大小不同的小麦品种,研究了去除顶端两个小穗对两类品种（大粒品种和小粒品种）千粒重、穗粒数、穗粒重、籽粒平均灌浆速率、单穗平均增重速率、植株光合速率及１４Ｃ同化物运转分配的影响。试验结果表明,去除顶端两个小穗后,两类品种的千粒重提高,穗粒数降低或基本不受影响,但降低比例明显低于去除小穗数的比例。籽粒平均灌浆速率和单穗平均增重速率（分别表征籽粒库容活性和穗粒库容活性）相应提高。结果,两类品种的穗粒重表现为补偿性增长。两类品种比较,小粒品种的增长幅度大于大粒品种。穗粒库容活性增强使得小粒品种灌浆中后期的植株光合速率提高,使两类品种分配到籽粒中的１４Ｃ同化物比例增加。从而表明,无论是植株光合速率还是同化物的运转分配皆受穗粒库容活性的调控,调控方式和幅度因品种类型而不同。但提高其穗粒重的着眼点都应当是提高穗粒库容活性。     

八面山银杉林的遗传多样性和群体分化

采用水平淀粉凝胶电泳技术对分布于湖南八面山的濒危植物银杉(cathaya argyrophylla Chun etKuang)的遗传多样性和群体分化进行了初步研究。对13个酶系统25个等位酶位点的检测表明,该地区的银杉林群体遗传变异水平很低,多态位点比率 P=0.28,等位基因平均数 A=1.36,平均期望杂合度He=0.100;但3个小群体间存在着明显的遗传分化,基因分化系数高达G_ST=0.26,明显不同于其它裸子植物的报道。八面山银杉林低水平的遗传变异和明显的群体分化,一方面反映了银杉的古老性和残遗性,另一方面也说明在银杉的进化过程中可能发生了严重的遗传漂变,而且群体之间的基因流明显受阻。     

ENVIRONMENTAL AND GENETIC DETERMINANTS OF PLANT SIZE IN VIOLA SORORIA

Survivorship and fecundity in the forest herb, Viola sororia, are size-dependent. The basis of size variation among individuals of Viola sororia was investigated with a uniform environment experiment. Plants collected from natural populations were vegetatively reproduced and grown under two light regimes in a greenhouse. Analysis of quantitative variation showed: 1) significant differences between light treatments for characters related to plant shape and relative growth rate; 2) significant among-genet variation for plant size, plant shape and relative growth rate but none for physiological characters; and 3) a size threshold for cleistogamous seed production and rhizome production. Heritability estimates for the characters associated with plant size and shape ranged from 0.09 to 0.39, indicating significant genetic determination for these traits. In addition, among-genet differences in relative growth rate were substantial. The results of this study suggest that the size variation found in natural populations is not solely a function of environmental heterogeneity but is significantly influenced by the genotypes composing the population.     

ADAPTIVE RADIATION AND GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION IN HAWAIIAN BIDENS

The genus Bidens (Asteraceae) has undergone extensive adaptive radiation on the Hawaiian Islands. The 19 species and eight subspecies endemic to Hawaii exhibit much more morphological and ecological differentiation than the continental members of the genus. However, the Hawaiian taxa have the same chromosome number and retain the capacity to interbreed in all possible combinations. Twenty-two populations of 15 Hawaiian taxa and four populations of American taxa were compared at 21 loci controlling eight enzyme systems. Populations of Hawaiian taxa are highly polymorphic. However, little genetic differentiation has occurred among taxa in spite of the high levels of genetic variability. Genetic identities calculated for pairs of populations show that populations of the same taxon are genetically more similar than are populations belonging to different taxa, but all values are high. The level of genetic differentiation that has occurred among the species of Hawaiian Bidens is comparable to the level of genetic differences found among populations within single continental plant species. Moreover, there is no correlation between the isozyme data and morphological data. No groups of taxa are evident in the genetic data, although morphological groups exist. Genetic differentiation at isozyme loci has not occurred at the same rate as the acquisition of presumably adaptive morphological and ecological characters in Hawaiian Bidens. Adaptive radiation may be limited to a few genes controlling morphological and ecological characters.     

VARIATION IN LEAF DISSECTION AND LEAF ENERGY BUDGETS AMONG POPULATIONS OF ACHILLEA FROM AN ALTITUDINAL GRADIENT

The degree of leaf dissection differs dramatically among populations of the Achillea millefolium complex along an altitudinal gradient in the Sierra Nevada. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a genetic basis to differences in leaf shape among populations, and also to determine the importance of genetic variability within populations, plastic responses of leaf shape to the growth environment, and genetic differences among populations in plastic response to the environment. A second major goal of the research was to investigate the effects of differences in leaf dissection on the capacity for leaf temperatures to become uncoupled from air temperatures. Greenhouse experiments using clonal replicates of plants collected at different altitudes revealed that there were genetic differences among populations in the degree of dissection, and that other sources of phenotypic variation, such as plasticity, were also significant. Leaves from the highest altitude population had the most compact shape under all conditions, while those from lower altitude populations were always more open and highly dissected. In both simulations and actual measurements the dissected leaves of low altitude plants remained close to air temperatures, while the compact leaves of high altitude plants had the capacity to warm up substantially above air temperatures.