Vegetation complexity—The influence of plant species diversity and plant structures on plant chemical complexity and arthropods

Vegetation complexity is characterized by two major traits, i.e., plant chemical and plant structural complexity. Plant species diversity strongly determines these traits. Furthermore, plant structures affect microclimatic conditions, which in turn influence the emission and dispersion of plant volatiles (e.g., chemical complexity). Plant volatile chemical complexity may significantly affect orientation of herbivorous and carnivorous arthropods. Therefore, the way in which plant chemical and plant structural complexity act “in concert” may influence foraging and mating success of arthropods, and thus, finally, community composition. This review emphasizes an integrative view on the relationship between plant species diversity, plant structural complexity, plant volatiles (chemical complexity) and their effects on arthropods. Three new hypotheses are raised, which predict possible relations between plant volatile complexity and plant species diversity: (1) saturation-, (2) step-by-step, (3) incoherence-hypothesis. We conclude that arthropod orientation in natural environments is strongly determined by the relationship between plant volatile diversity and plant species diversity. Furthermore, we emphasize that structural complexity of the vegetation affects plant volatile diversity and thus, arthropod orientation.We review available information on how insects actually respond to complexity during olfactory and visual search and ask for both laboratory and field studies to further unravel the mechanisms of interactions between vegetation traits and their impact on arthropod orientation.     

The plant endosomal system—its structure and role in signal transduction and plant development

Endosomes are highly dynamic membrane systems that receive endocytosed plasma membrane proteins and sort them for either degradation or recycling back to the cell surface. In addition, they receive newly synthesised proteins destined for vacuolar/lysosomal compartments. Sorting in the endosomes is necessary for the establishment and maintenance of cell polarity and it is needed to control levels and function of receptors and transporters at the cellular surface. Both processes are crucial for correct cell behaviour during tissue and organ development and for intercellular communication in general. It has therefore become an imperative to investigate structure and function of the endosomal system if we want to obtain a deeper mechanistic understanding of signal transduction and development. This review will compare our current understanding of endosomal trafficking in animals and yeast with what is known in plants, and will highlight some important breakthroughs in our understanding of the role of endosomes in signal transduction and multicellular development in Drosophila, as well as in Arabidopsis.Abbreviations ARF ADP ribosylation factor - BFA Brefeldin A - EGF Epidermal growth factor - GEF GDP/GTP exchange factor - MVB Multi-vesicular body - PCR Partially-coated reticulum - PI-3P Phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate - TGN Trans-Golgi network     

How do extreme drought and plant community composition affect host plant metabolites and herbivore performance?

Water availability and plant community composition alter plant nutrient availability and the accumulation of plant defence compounds therefore having an impact on herbivore performance. Combined effects of drought stress and plant community composition on leaf chemicals and herbivore performance are largely unexplored. The objective of our study was, therefore, to find out the impact of extreme drought and of plant community composition on plant–herbivore interactions. Larvae of the generalist butterfly Spodoptera littoralis were reared on leaves of the grass Holcus lanatus which was grown in experimental communities, differing in species- and functional group richness. These communities were either subjected to extreme drought or remained under ambient climatic conditions. Drought decreased relative water content, soluble protein content, nitrogen and total phenol content and increased the content of carbohydrates in the grass. As a consequence, the larvae feeding on drought-exposed plants revealed a longer larval stage, increased pupal weight and higher adult eclosion rates. Plant community composition mainly caused changes to the defensive compounds of the grass, but also marginally affected protein and carbohydrate content. Larvae feeding on species-richest communities without legumes showed the highest mortality. Our findings imply that climate change that is projected to increase the frequency of severe droughts, as well as alter plant community compositions, is likely to affect arthropod–plant interactions through an alteration of leaf chemicals.     

Using functional–structural plant models to study, understand and integrate plant development and ecophysiology

Functional–structural plant models (FSPMs) explore and integrate relationships between a plant’s structure and processes that underlie its growth and development. In recent years, the range of topics being addressed by scientists interested in functional–structural plant modelling has expanded greatly. FSPM techniques are now being used to dynamically simulate growth and development occurring at the microscopic scale involving cell division in plant meristems to the macroscopic scales of whole plants and plant communities. The plant types studied also cover a broad spectrum from algae to trees. FSPM is highly interdisciplinary and involves scientists with backgrounds in plant physiology, plant anatomy, plant morphology, mathematics, computer science, cellular biology, ecology and agronomy. This special issue of Annals of Botany features selected papers that provide examples of comprehensive functional–structural models, models of key processes such as partitioning of resources, software for modelling plants and plant environments, data acquisition and processing techniques and applications of functional–structural plant models for agronomic purposes.     

Tissue culture and plant propagation of Gomphrena officinalis — a Brazilian medicinal plant

Leaf and stem segments of Gomphrena officinalis originated from aseptically grown seedlings were used to initiate cultures. Callus production was obtained on gelled Murashige & Skoog medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine alone (1.0, 5.0 or 10.0 mgl^-1) or combined with -naphthalene acetic acid (0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mgl^-1) after 10 to 15 days of culture, and can be transferred to fresh medium every 30 days. The combinations of 5.0 or 10.0 mgl^-1 of 6-benzylaminopurine with 0.1 mgl^-1 of -naphthalene acetic acid were found to be the best for shoot regeneration. Adventitious shoot formation occurred after 50 to 60 days of culture in leaf and internode stem explants. Nodal segments developed actively growing lateral buds after 30 days of culture. Gelled Murashige & Skoog medium containing 10 mgl^-1 of indole-3-butyric acid was considered optimal for the rooting of shoots. Rooted plants transferred to potting soil could be successfully established.Abbreviations BA 6-benzylaminopurine - IAA indole-3-acetic acid - IBA indole-3-butyric acid - MS Murashige & Skoog - NAA -naphthalene acetic acid     

Additive effects of exotic plant abundance and land-use intensity on plant–pollinator interactions

The continuing spread of exotic plants and increasing human land-use are two major drivers of global change threatening ecosystems, species and their interactions. Separate effects of these two drivers on plant–pollinator interactions have been thoroughly studied, but we still lack an understanding of combined and potential interactive effects. In a subtropical South African landscape, we studied 17 plant–pollinator networks along two gradients of relative abundance of exotics and land-use intensity. In general, pollinator visitation rates were lower on exotic plants than on native ones. Surprisingly, while visitation rates on native plants increased with relative abundance of exotics and land-use intensity, pollinator visitation on exotic plants decreased along the same gradients. There was a decrease in the specialization of plants on pollinators and vice versa with both drivers, regardless of plant origin. Decreases in pollinator specialization thereby seemed to be mediated by a species turnover towards habitat generalists. However, contrary to expectations, we detected no interactive effects between the two drivers. Our results suggest that exotic plants and land-use promote generalist plants and pollinators, while negatively affecting specialized plant–pollinator interactions. Weak integration and high specialization of exotic plants may have prevented interactive effects between exotic plants and land-use. Still, the additive effects of exotic plants and land-use on specialized plant–pollinator interactions would have been overlooked in a single-factor study. We therefore highlight the need to consider multiple drivers of global change in ecological research and conservation management.     

Mechanisms of plant and microbial adaptation to heavy metals in plant–microbial systems

The data on heavy metal (HM) accumulation and detoxification by plants and bacteria in plant–microbial systems (PMS) are reviewed. Bacteria are shown to be the labile component of the system, responsible for a considerable amelioration of HM stress impact on plants and for improved PMS adaptation to heavy metals. Simulation of plant–microbial interactions under conditions of soil contamination by HM revealed the protective role of bacterial migration from the rhizoplane to the rhizosphere.     

Causal soil—plant relationships and path coefficients

Summary Data obtained from uncontrolled experiments are often fitted to regression models, in which the dependent variable is assumed to be affected by a number of independent factors. The regression coefficient then gives the rate of a change of an effect caused by unit change in the independent variable on the assumption that this change in the causal factor does not result in a change in another independent factor (partial regression coefficient). In many cases however, this assumption is not valid; this is particularly the case with investigations into the quantitative relationships of plants.The principle of path coefficients introduced by Wright and used up till now mainly in genetics, allows among other things for the possibility of making allowance for these indirect influences. For this purpose the investigator has to formulate a closed causal linear system withm primary causes (x) andn effects (y). By a closed linear system is understood a network in which each variable is a linear combination of one or more other variables of this system or is one of the variables that is determined by none of the variables in this system; the latter are the primary causes,x. The parameters which give the extents of the influences are called path coefficients. The derivation of path coefficients is demonstrated by the equations 1–5 of the example of the simple system in Figure 2.The potentialities of the method of path coefficients are illustrated by its application to an investigation into the effects of soil and other factors on the MgO and K₂O content of herbage. The conventional regression model is given in Figure 1. Figure 3 presents a more realistic model which has been constructed that the variables, proportion of weeds and crude-protein content, are treated as cause as well as effect. The path coefficients of this model are soluble and are given in Table 2. For comparison, the regression coefficients estimated according to the model in Figure 1 are given in Table 3. In the model in Figure 4 the influence of the K₂O content of the soil on the MgO content of the herbage is shown to be of a plant-physiological and not of a soil-chemical nature.The method of path coefficients has greater potentialities than the regression merhod for the solution of certain problems. In the model of Figure 5 a synthesis between soil factors, chemical and botanical composition of the herbage, and Mg content of the blood is demonstrated; this model is soluble.

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Kausale Boden—Pflanze-Zusammenhänge und Pfad-Koeffizienten

Zusammenfassung Die in einem Experiment ohne Eingriff erzielten Ergebnisse werden oft mit einer Regressionsgleichung ausgewertet. Im Model dieser Gleichung wird eine Variabele durch die sonstigen sog. unabhängigen Variabelen erklärt. Die Regressionskoeffizienten geben dann die Zunahme des Effektes an wenn eine Ursache um 1 wächst, unter Annahme dass die sonstigen erklärenden Variabelen durch die Änderung dieser Ursache selbst nicht geändert werden (partielle oder Teilregression). In vielen Fällen entspricht diese Annahme nicht der Wirklichkeit. Die von Wright entwickelte Methode mit den Pfad-Koeffizienten gibt die Möglichkeit diese Schwierigkeiten bisweilen zu beseitigen. Hierzu muss der Forscher ein geschlossen kausales, lineares System mitm primären Ursachenx undn Effekteny aufsetzen. Unter einem geschlossen kausalen System wird ein Netzwerk verstanden in dem jede Variabele entweder eine lineare Kombination einer oder mehrerer Variabelen dieses Systems oder eine der Variabelen ist, welche durch keine der Variabelen des Systems bestimmt ist. Die letzten Variabelen sind darin die primären Ursachenx. Die Grösse eines Einflusses wird durch den Pfad-Koeffizient gegeben. Ein Beispiel der Auswertung der Pfad-Koeffizienten des einfachen Systems aus Figur 2 wird durch die Gleichungen 1–5 gegeben.Die Möglichkeiten der Methode mit den Pfad-Koeffizienten werden vorgeführt an Hande einer Untersuchung nach den Einflüssen von Boden- und anderen Faktoren auf den MgO- und K₂O-Gehalt des Weidegrases in Bezug auf die Wichtigkeit dieser Zusammensetzung für das Auftreten von Hypomagnesaemie. Das Regressionsmodell dieser Untersuchung wird in Figur 1 gegeben. Figur 3 gibt ein mehr reelles Modell, worin die Variabelen Prozentsatz an Kräutern und Roheiweissgehalt des Grasses Ursache sowohl wie Effekt sind. Die Pfad-Koeffizienten dieses Modelles sind lösbar und werden in Tabelle 2 gegeben. Zur Vergleich werden in Tabelle 3 die Regressionskoeffizienten des Modelles aus Figur 1 gegeben. Im Modell von Figur 4 wird der Einfluss von Kali im Boden mit Hilfe des Kaligehaltes vom Gras physiologisch gedeutet.Die Methode mit den Pfad-Koeffizienten hat viele Vorzüge vor dem Regressionsmodell. Die Methode gibt weiter grosse Möglichkeiten für eine synthetische Auswertung der Ergebnisse. Im Modell von Figur 5 wird eine Synthese zwischen Bodenfaktoren, Zusammensetzung des Weidegrases und Mg-Gehalt des Blutes gegeben. Die Pfad-Koeffizienten dieses Modelles sind lösbar.

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Relations causales sol—plante et coefficients path

Résumé Les résultats d'un essai sans intervention sont souvent analysés par une équation de régression. Dans le modèle de cette équation une des variables est expliquée par les autres, nommées variables independantes. Les coëfficients de régression formulent alors l'accroissement de l'effet pour chaque augmentation de la cause d'une unité en admettant que les autres variables explicatives ne sont pas influencées par ce changement de la cause (régression partielle). Dans beaucoup de cas cependant cette admission est inexacte.La méthode des coëfficients path développée par Wright fournit la possibilité de surmonter ces difficultés. À cet effet le chercheur doit ébraucher un système causal linéair fermé avecm causes primairesx etn effetsy. Un système causal fermé est un réseau, dans lequel chaque variable est, soit une combination linéaire d'une ou plusieurs variables de ce système, soit une variable, qui est indépendante des variables de ce système. Ces dernières sont là-dedans les causes primairesx. L'intensité des influences est exprimée par les coefficients paths. Un exemple des calculs des coefficients path du système simple de la figure 2 est donné par les équations 1–5.Les possibilités de la méthode avec les coefficients path sont démontrées à l'aide des résultats d'une recherche sur les influences des facteurs pédologiques et autres sur la teneur en MgO et K₂O dans l'herbe de pâturage, vue l'importance de ces teneurs sur l'apparation de l'hypomagnesaemie. Le modèle de regression de cette recherche est donné dans la figure 1. La figure 3 présente un modèle plus réel, dans lequel les variables: teneur en mauvaises herbes et teneur en proteïne brute de l'herbe sont aussi bien cause qu'effet. Les coefficients path ce de modèle sont résolubles et mentionnés dans la tabelle 2. Pour comparaison la tabelle 3 mentionne les coefficients de régression du modèle de la figure 1. Le modèle de la figure 4 exprime par voie physiologique l'influence de la potasse du sol au moyen de la teneur en potasse de l'herbe.La méthode des coefficients path a plus de possibilités que le modèle de régression. Elle présente de grosses possibilités pour une analyse synthétique des résultats. Le modèle de la figure 5 donne la synthèse entre les facteurs pédologiques, composition de l'herbe et teneur en Mg du sang. Les coefficients path de ce modèle sont résolubles.

     

Ecology and evolution of plant�Cpollinator interactions

Background

Some of the most exciting advances in pollination biology have resulted from interdisciplinary research combining ecological and evolutionary perspectives. For example, these two approaches have been essential for understanding the functional ecology of floral traits, the dynamics of pollen transport, competition for pollinator services, and patterns of specialization and generalization in plant–pollinator interactions. However, as research in these and other areas has progressed, many pollination biologists have become more specialized in their research interests, focusing their attention on either evolutionary or ecological questions. We believe that the continuing vigour of a synthetic and interdisciplinary field like pollination biology depends on renewed connections between ecological and evolutionary approaches.

Scope

In this Viewpoint paper we highlight the application of ecological and evolutionary approaches to two themes in pollination biology: (1) links between pollinator behaviour and plant mating systems, and (2) generalization and specialization in pollination systems. We also describe how mathematical models and synthetic analyses have broadened our understanding of pollination biology, especially in human-modified landscapes. We conclude with several suggestions that we hope will stimulate future research. This Viewpoint also serves as the introduction to this Special Issue on the Ecology and Evolution of Plant–Pollinator Interactions. These papers provide inspiring examples of the synergy between evolutionary and ecological approaches, and offer glimpses of great accomplishments yet to come.Key words: Floral traits, generalization and specialization, global change, male fitness, mating systems, multiple paternity, plant–pollinator networks, pollen and gene dispersal, pollinator behaviour, pollination syndromes, pollination webs, self-fertilization     

Do species evenness and plant density influence the magnitude of selection and complementarity effects in annual plant species mixtures?

Abstract Plant species richness influences primary productivity via mechanisms that (1) favour species with particular traits (selection effect) and (2) promote niche differentiation between species (complementarity). Influences of species evenness, plant density and other properties of plant communities on productivity are poorly defined, but may depend on whether selection or complementarity prevails in species mixtures. We predicted that selection effects are insensitive to species evenness but increase with plant density, and that the converse is true for complementarity. To test predictions, we grew three species of annuals in monocultures and in three‐species mixtures in which evenness of established plants was varied at each of three plant densities in a cultivated field in Texas, USA. Above‐ground biomass was smaller in mixtures than expected from monocultures because of negative ‘complementarity’ and a negative selection effect. Neither selection nor complementarity varied with species evenness, but selection effects increased at the greatest plant density as predicted.     

Comparing the conservatism of ecological interactions in plant–pollinator and plant–herbivore networks

Conservatism in species interaction, meaning that related species tend to interact with similar partners, is an important feature of ecological interactions. Studies at community scale highlight variations in conservatism strength depending on the characteristics of the ecological interaction studied. However, the heterogeneity of datasets and methods used prevent to compare results between mutualistic and antagonistic networks. Here we perform such a comparison by taking plant–insect communities as a study case, with data on plant–herbivore and plant–pollinator networks. Our analysis reveals that plants acting as resources for herbivores exhibit the strongest conservatism in species interaction among the four interacting groups. Conservatism levels are similar for insect pollinators, insect herbivores and plants as interacting partners of pollinators, although insect pollinators tend to have a slightly higher conservatism than the two others. Our results thus clearly support the current view that within antagonistic networks, conservatism is stronger for species as resources than for species as consumer. Although the pattern tends to be opposite for plant–pollinator networks, our results suggest that asymmetry in conservatism is much less pronounced between the pollinators and the plant they interact with. We discuss these differences in conservatism strength in relation with the processes structuring plant–insect communities.     

Plant–plant interactions and local patterns of diversity from semi-arid to subalpine Mediterranean plant communities

An understanding of the diversity spatial organization in plant communities provides essential information for management and conservation planning. In this study we investigated, using a multi-species approach, how plant–plant interactions determine the local structure and composition of diversity in a set of Mediterranean plant communities, ranging from semi-arid to subalpine habitats. Specifically, we evaluated the spatial pattern of diversity (i.e., diversity aggregation or segregation) in the local neighborhood of perennial plant species using the ISAR (individual species–area relationship) method. We also assessed the local pattern of beta-diversity (i.e., the spatial heterogeneity in species composition among local assemblages), including the contribution of species turnover (i.e., species replacement) and nestedness (i.e., differences in species richness) to the overall local beta-diversity. Our results showed that local diversity segregation decreased in the less productive plant communities. Also, we found that graminoids largely acted as diversity segregators, while forbs showed more diverse neighborhoods than expected in less productive study sites. Interestingly, not all shrub and dwarf shrub species aggregated diversity in their surroundings. Finally, an increase in nestedness was associated with less segregated diversity patterns in the local neighborhood of shrub species, underlining their role in creating diversity islands in less productive environmental conditions. Our results provide further insights into the effect of plant–plant interactions in shaping the structure and composition of diversity in Mediterranean plant communities, and highlight the species and groups of species that management and conservation strategies should focus on in order to prevent a loss of biodiversity.

     

Pollination interactions reveal direct costs and indirect benefits of plant–plant facilitation for ecosystem engineers

作为生态系统工程师的植物通过对非生物条件和生物区系的影响而显著地改变环境,从而促进了原本在这些环境下无法存活的伴生物种的生长。然而,很多研究缺乏对互惠效应的了解,因为对植物-植物相互作用的研究通常只估计了对伴生物种的益处,而很少考虑一个营养水平如何直接和间接调节植物的反馈作用。我们对两个植物物种(Arenaria tetraquetra 和 Hormathophylla spinosa,他们或单独开花,或与伴生植物一起开花)进行了一项田间试验用以分解净效应并验证以下假设：授粉者介导的相互作用提供益处用来平衡植物产生促进作用的成本。我们发现,促进作用的净成本伴随授粉介导的益处而存在。尽管两种植物单株植物上的产花更少,但与单独开花相比,他们在与伴生植物一起开花时,每朵花上的授粉者多样性增强。尽管这两种植物单独开花时,单株种子产量较高,但坐果和结实的产量存在种间差异。四叶蕨属的植物(Arenaria tetraquetra),伴生植物对其坐果和结实有负面效应,而刺山蕨属的植物(Hormathophylla spinose),当其与伴生植物一起开花时,坐果更高,结实则不受影响。我们的研究表明,除了承受直接成本外,植物还可以从伴生物种的促进作用中受益,通过提高其对传粉者的可见性。因此,我们强调授粉的相互作用可以补偿物种促进作用的成本,这些促进作用依赖于作为生态系统工程师的植物。本研究阐明了植物-植物间直接相互作用的结果如何被包括第三方在内的间接相互作用来调节的     

Plant–plant interactions,environmental gradients and plant diversity: A global synthesis of community-level studies

Previous syntheses on the effects of environmental conditions on the outcome of plant–plant interactions summarize results from pairwise studies. However, the upscaling to the community-level of such studies is problematic because of the existence of multiple species assemblages and species-specific responses to both the environmental conditions and the presence of neighbors. We conducted the first global synthesis of community-level studies from harsh environments, which included data from 71 alpine and 137 dryland communities to: (i) test how important are facilitative interactions as a driver of community structure, (ii) evaluate whether we can predict the frequency of positive plant–plant interactions across differing environmental conditions and habitats, and (iii) assess whether thresholds in the response of plant–plant interactions to environmental gradients exists between “moderate” and “extreme” environments. We also used those community-level studies performed across gradients of at least three points to evaluate how the average environmental conditions, the length of the gradient studied, and the number of points sampled across such gradient affect the form and strength of the facilitation-environmental conditions relationship. Over 25% of the species present were more spatially associated to nurse plants than expected by chance in both alpine and dryland areas, illustrating the high importance of positive plant–plant interactions for the maintenance of plant diversity in these environments. Facilitative interactions were more frequent, and more related to environmental conditions, in alpine than in dryland areas, perhaps because drylands are generally characterized by a larger variety of environmental stress factors and plant functional traits. The frequency of facilitative interactions in alpine communities peaked at 1000 mm of annual rainfall, and globally decreased with elevation. The frequency of positive interactions in dryland communities decreased globally with water scarcity or temperature annual range. Positive facilitation-drought stress relationships are more likely in shorter regional gradients, but these relationships are obscured in regions with a greater species turnover or with complex environmental gradients. By showing the different climatic drivers and behaviors of plant–plant interactions in dryland and alpine areas, our results will improve predictions regarding the effect of facilitation on the assembly of plant communities and their response to changes in environmental conditions.     

Types, evolution and significance of plant – animal interactions

Abstract  Interactions between plants and animals are analyzed starting from the advantages gained by animals and proceeding to those gained exclusively by plants. These interactions are essentially of five types: 1. predation of plants by animals; 2. benevolence of plants towards certain animals to prevent or reduce predation; 3. predation by plants (carnivorous plants); 4. symbiosis and mutualism; 5. seduction and deception of animals by plants for dispersal of plant reproductive structures. All types of plants are preyed on by animals, though from as far back in evolution as algae, certain plant molecules reduce or prevent predation. In the most primitive land plants, other types of interactions beneficial for plants are encountered. More evolved land plants (angiosperms) show all facets of the five types of interaction, whereas in prokaryotic and eukaryotic algae there is only predation and in some cases countermeasures to avoid it. An evolutionary path leading from predation, the original condition, to seduction, deception and carnivory, is also postulated. Keywords Plants, Animals, Predation, Benevolence, Symbiosis, Mutualism, Pollination, Seed dispersal Subject codes: Animal Ecology, Plant Ecology, Evolutionary Biology     

Climate change and plant invasions: restoration opportunities ahead?

Rather than simply enhancing invasion risk, climate change may also reduce invasive plant competitiveness if conditions become climatically unsuitable. Using bioclimatic envelope modeling, we show that climate change could result in both range expansion and contraction for five widespread and dominant invasive plants in the western United States. Yellow starthistle ( Centaurea solstitialis ) and tamarisk ( Tamarix spp.) are likely to expand with climate change. Cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum ) and spotted knapweed ( Centaurea biebersteinii ) are likely to shift in range, leading to both expansion and contraction. Leafy spurge ( Euphorbia esula ) is likely to contract. The retreat of once-intractable invasive species could create restoration opportunities across millions of hectares. Identifying and establishing native or novel species in places where invasive species contract will pose a considerable challenge for ecologists and land managers. This challenge must be addressed before other undesirable species invade and eliminate restoration opportunities.     

Strigolactones: Internal and external signals in plant symbioses?

As the newest plant hormone, strigolactone research is undergoing an exciting expansion. In less than five years, roles for strigolactones have been defined in shoot branching, secondary growth, root growth and nodulation, to add to the growing understanding of their role in arbuscular mycorrhizae and parasitic weed interactions.¹ Strigolactones are particularly fascinating as signaling molecules as they can act both inside the plant as an endogenous hormone and in the soil as a rhizosphere signal.^2-4 Our recent research has highlighted such a dual role for strigolactones, potentially acting as both an endogenous and exogenous signal for arbuscular mycorrhizal development.⁵ There is also significant interest in examining strigolactones as putative regulators of responses to environmental stimuli, especially the response to nutrient availability, given the strong regulation of strigolactone production by nitrate and phosphate observed in many species.^5,6 In particular, the potential for strigolactones to mediate the ecologically important response of mycorrhizal colonization to phosphate has been widely discussed. However, using a mutant approach we found that strigolactones are not essential for phosphate regulation of mycorrhizal colonization or nodulation.⁵ This is consistent with the relatively mild impairment of phosphate control of seedling root growth observed in Arabidopsis strigolactone mutants.⁷ This contrasts with the major role for strigolactones in phosphate control of shoot branching of rice and Arabidopsis^8,9 and indicates that the integration of strigolactones into our understanding of nutrient response will be complex. New data presented here, along with the recent discovery of phosphate specific CLE peptides,¹⁰ indicates a potential role for PsNARK, a component of the autoregulation of nodulation pathway, in phosphate control of nodulation.     

β-Glucanases and non-cellulosic glucans in the developing oat plant

Summary The changes in the levels of various -glucan hydrolase activities in the second internode of the stem of the developing oat plant have been examined. Concurrent changes in the non-cellulosic -glucans contained in the corresponding total hemicelluloses were also studied. Possible relationships between the observed changes and the growth and development of the plant tissue are discussed.