Autotoxicity in cucumber (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis sativus</Emphasis> L.) seedlings is alleviated by silicon through an increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes and by mitigating lipid peroxidation

Autotoxicity in plants limits their growth and that of nearby plants of the same species, which has obvious implications in crop yield and quality. Silicon (Si) has been shown to increase plant tolerance to autotoxic stress. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying the effects of Si in alleviating autotoxicity during germination in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) are unknown. Cinnamic acid derivatives, such as 3-phenylpropionic acid (PA), are a class of autotoxins present in cucumber root exudates. Our objective was to investigate Si-induced autotoxic stress tolerance in cucumber seedlings by focusing on the effects of Si on the induction of antioxidant defense pathways. We found that PA treatment significantly reduced seed germination, radicle length, lateral root number, fresh weight, AsA and GSH contents, and the activities of SOD, CAT, and APX in cucumber seedlings, while it increased membrane permeability and levels of MDA, proline, O₂^-, and H₂O₂. Application of Si enhanced growth of PA-treated plants and significantly increased germination rate, radicle length, lateral root number, fresh weight, AsA and GSH levels, and SOD, CAT, POD, and APX activities. These results suggest that exogenous Si alleviates autotoxicity caused by PA during seed germination by increasing antioxidant enzyme activities and mitigating lipid peroxidation.     

淋巴细胞分离液在植物细胞原生质体分离纯化中的应用

本文报道了用淋巴细胞分离液分离纯化植物原生质体的实例,并就其方法原理和运用技巧进行了讨论。     

Enhanced production of harringtonine and homoharringtonine in Cephalotaxus fortunei callus culture by periodic temperature oscillation

Total production of harringtonine, homoharringtonine and isoharringtonine in solid cultures of Cephalotaxus fortunei was 1.22 mg/l by periodic oscillation in temperature between 10 and 25°C every 12 h for 45 days. Production was enhanced 1.8 and 1.3-fold compared to the controls at constant temperatures of 10 or 25°C. For suspension cultures subjected to such an oscillation every 24 h for 30 days, total alkaloid production of 0.18 mg/l was achieved, a 2.0 and 1.1-fold improvement compared to the suspension culture controls, correspondingly.     

Assessment of Sensitivities to Anilinopyrimidine- and Strobilurin-fungicides in Populations of the Apple Scab Fungus Venturia inaequalis

The sensitivity of Venturia inaequalis populations to the anilinopyrimidine fungicides pyrimethanil and cyprodinil was analysed by microscopic in vivo analysis of conidiophore formation. The sensitivity to the strobilurin kresoxim-methyl was analysed using an in vitro germination assay and by determination of the diseased leaf area and conidia produced in vivo. Baseline sensitivities were determined with V. inaequalis populations from control orchards that had never been treated with fungicides. Comparison of the baseline sensitivities with sensitivities of populations obtained from orchards that had received 43 anilinopyrimidine treatments over 4 years, or from an orchard with 54 kresoxim-methyl treatments over 6 years indicated that no resistance to these fungicides has developed at the sites sampled.     

Fluorescein Diacetate Uptake to Determine the Viability of Human Fetal Cerebral Cortical Cells

We investigated the accuracy of fluorescein diacetate uptake as an indicator of the viability of human fetal cerebral cortical cells. Cortical cells from 16-26-week-old normal fetuses were studied. The cortices were dissociated mechanically with normal saline to make a suspension. Fluorescein diacetate uptake and trypan blue exclusion were compared as methods for examining cell viability. Our results show that fluorescein diacetate uptake is a simple and sensitive method for examining human fetal cortical cell viability.     

Digital image analysis of chromatin fibre phenotype after "in situ" digestion with restriction endonucleases

Restriction Endonucleases (REs) may recognize, cleave and remove DNA from fixed chromatin producing specific chromosome banding patterns. However, the modifications produced in the chromatin fibre are not easy to evaluate and compare. The aim of the present investigation was to visualize differences resulting in the texture of the chromatin fibre from metaphase chromosomes after each digestion using digital image analysis (DIA) facilities. To this purpose, metaphase chromosomes derived from a L-929 mouse cell line were digested with different REs (AluI, HpaII and HaeIII). Since light microscopy does not permit the observation of the chromatin fibre, DIA was performed on digitalized images of metaphase chromosomes under electron microscopy. The application of a LUT (Look Up Table) within the DIA software assigns a colour to each grey level of a digital image. The results obtained using a particular LUT, which permits the discrimination of specific chromatin fibre phenotypes resulting from each digestion, are reported and compared with those obtained under the light microscope.     

猴脾脏内NPY、CGRP、SP 和 VIP免疫反应神经纤维的分布

本文应用 ABC 免疫组织化学染色法结合葡萄糖氧化酶-DAB-硫酸镍铵(GDN)显色技术,观察了神经肽 Y(NPY)降钙素基因相关肽(CGRP)、P 物质(SP)和血管活性肠肽(VIP)免疫反应(Immunoreactire,IR)阳性神经纤维在猴脾脏的分布。结果发现,NPY-IR 神经纤维沿脾的动脉、静脉及其分支走行,在被膜、小梁、白髓、红髓和边缘区亦有分布。CGRP-IR 和SP-IR 神经纤维在脾脏的分布相同,主要沿脾动脉走行,中央动脉周围尤为丰富,白髓和红髓的淋巴组织中有少许分布。VIP-IR 神经纤维主要分布在中央动脉周围,白髓和边缘区有零星分布。猴脾脏肽能神经纤维末梢与免疫细胞接触密切,揭示它们对免疫细胞的发育和活性具有调节作用。本研究为神经免疫调节机制提供了形态学依据。     

西藏麦地卡湿地大型土壤动物群落特征与环境因子关系

为了探究西藏麦地卡湿地国家级自然保护区大型土壤动物群落特征与环境因子的关系,于2020年7月和2021年8月根据其地理环境特征在其三个核心区共设置了3个样地（100 m×100 m）,每个样地设置2个样点作为重复;采用手检法收集大型土壤动物,并保存于75%乙醇的收集管中,圆筒式环刀（高30 cm,直径5 cm）取0~10 cm土样,测定相关环境因子。共捕获大型土壤动物336头,经鉴定隶属于3门5纲11目15科,优势类群为石蜈蚣科（Lithobiidae）、芫菁科（Meloidae）、拟步甲科（Tenebrionidae）;单因素方差分析显示,三个样地中,大型土壤动物个体数（F=0.194,P=0.833）、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数（H）（F=0.304,P=0.758）、Pielou均匀度指数（E）（F=0.346,P=0.732）和Simpson优势度指数（C）（F=0.245,P=0.797）均无显著性差异（P>0.05）。三个样地的Jaccard相似性系数（J）在0.56~0.65,为中等相似;功能类群以植食性为主,腐食性最少。Pearson相关性分析表明,Pielou均匀度指数（E）分别与海拔（Alt）和速效钾（RAK）呈极显著正相关（P<0.01）,Pielou均匀度指数（E）分别与土壤含水量（SWC）和全氮（TN）呈显著正相关（P<0.05）,个体数（N）与土壤盐度（SAL）呈极显著负相关（P<0.01）。