Chemical agents that inhibit pollen development: effects of the phenyl-cinnoline carboxylates SC-1058 and SC-1271 on the ultrastructure of developing wheat anthers (Triticum aestivum L. var Yecora rojò)

Summary Phenylcinnoline carboxylate compounds SC-1058 and SC-1271 cause complete male sterility in wheat when applied at suitable dosages at the pre-meiotic stage of anther development. Anthers from treated and untreated plants were compared using light and electron microscopy from the pre-meiotic stage through the formation of nearly mature pollen. Overall anther development is gradually slowed in treated plants and pollen development is generally arrested in the late prevacuolate or early vacuolate microspore stage, although the first pollen mitosis does sometimes occur. The sporopollenin-containing exine walls are thinner, and show abnormally developed foot and tectum layers with sparse connecting baculi. Microspore cytoplasm degenerates and the cells eventually collapse. At the early, prevacuolate, free microspore stage treated tapetal cells hypertrophy, expanding into the locule. They contain abnormally large vacuoles that appear to form from the fusion of secretory vesicles, and some vacuoles contain electrondense deposits. The sporopollenin-containing orbicular wall and Ubisch bodies are retarded in their development and are structurally deformed. Acetolysis of whole anthers and of thick sections shows that the sporopollen-in-containing structures of treated materials are greatly reduced in thickness and are less rigid than in the control. We conclude that application of these compounds causes interference with the secretory function of tapetal cells which supplies sporopollenin cell-wall polymers to the exine of the microspores and to the tapetal orbicular wall and associated Ubisch bodies. Interference with the tapetal secretion of other nutrients required for microspore development is strongly suggested.     

Enhancing estimation methods for integrating probability and nonprobability survey samples with machine-learning techniques. An application to a Survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

Web surveys have replaced Face-to-Face and computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) as the main mode of data collection in most countries. This trend was reinforced as a consequence of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions. However, this mode still faces significant limitations in obtaining probability-based samples of the general population. For this reason, most web surveys rely on nonprobability survey designs. Whereas probability-based designs continue to be the gold standard in survey sampling, nonprobability web surveys may still prove useful in some situations. For instance, when small subpopulations are the group under study and probability sampling is unlikely to meet sample size requirements, complementing a small probability sample with a larger nonprobability one may improve the efficiency of the estimates. Nonprobability samples may also be designed as a mean for compensating for known biases in probability-based web survey samples by purposely targeting respondent profiles that tend to be underrepresented in these surveys. This is the case in the Survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain (ESPACOV) that motivates this paper. In this paper, we propose a methodology for combining probability and nonprobability web-based survey samples with the help of machine-learning techniques. We then assess the efficiency of the resulting estimates by comparing them with other strategies that have been used before. Our simulation study and the application of the proposed estimation method to the second wave of the ESPACOV Survey allow us to conclude that this is the best option for reducing the biases observed in our data.     

Quality Assessment of Bee Pollen-Honey Mixtures Using Thin-Layer Chromatography in Combination with Chemometrics

The aim of this study is to develop a rapid, effect-directed screening method for quality assessment of bee pollen-honey mixtures. The comparative antioxidant potential and phenolic content of honey, bee pollen, and the bee pollen-honey mixtures, was performed using spectrophotometry. The total phenolic content and antioxidative activity of bee pollen-honey mixtures with 20 % bee pollen share were in the range 3.03–3.11 mg GAE/g, and 6.02–6.96 mmol TE/kg, respectively, while mixtures with 30 % bee pollen share contained 3.92–4.18 mg GAE/g, and 9.69–10.11 mmol TE/kg. Chromatographic fingerprint of bee pollen-honey mixtures was performed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography with conditions developed by authors and reported for the first time. Fingerprint analysis hyphenated with chemometrics enabled authenticity assessments of honey in mixtures. Results indicate that bee pollen-honey mixtures represent a food with highly, both, nutritious characteristics and health-promoting effect.     

RELATIVE SUCCESS OF SELF AND OUTCROSS POLLEN COMPARING MIXED- AND SINGLE-DONOR POLLINATIONS IN AQUILEGIA CAERULEA

Flowers frequently receive both self (S) and outcross (OC) pollen, but S pollen often sires proportionally fewer seeds. Failure of S pollen can reflect evolved mechanisms that promote outcrossing and/or inbreeding depression expressed during seed development. The relative importance of these two processes was investigated in Aquilegia caerulea, a self-compatible perennial herb. In the field I performed single-donor (S or OC) and mixed-donor (S plus OC) pollinations to compare the relative success of both pollen types at various stages from pollen germination to seed maturity. Single-donor S pollinations produced significantly fewer and lighter seeds (x decrease = 12% and 3%, respectively) than OC pollinations. Abortion rates differed by an average of 38% whereas fertilization rates differed by only 5%, indicating that most differences in seed number arose postzygotically. This suggests that inbreeding depression was responsible for most failure of S pollen. One prezygotic effect measured was that 10% fewer S than OC pollen tubes reached ovaries after 42 hr, suggesting S pollen might fertilize proportionately fewer ovules after mixed pollination. Using allozyme markers, I found mixed-donor pollinations produced significantly more and heavier outcrossed than selfed seeds. However, the proportion of selfed seed, fertilized ovules, and aborted seeds for mixed-donor fruits were each predictable from pollen performance in single-donor fruits, suggesting that differential paternity is best explained by inbreeding depression during seed development. Even given these similarities between mixed- and single-donor fruits in the relative performance of S and OC pollen, both individual seed weight and seed set were significantly higher in multiply-sired fruits.     

ESTIMATING PUP PRODUCTION OF HARP SEALS, PAGOPHILUS GROENLANDICUS, IN THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC

Photographic and visual aerial surveys to determine current pup production of Northwest Atlantic harp seals were conducted off Newfoundland and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during March 1999-Photographic surveys were conducted on all whelping concentrations between 14 and 24 March, whereas a visual survey was made of the southern Gulf concentrations on 14 March. Pup production was estimated to be 739,100 (SE = 96,300, CV = 13.0%) at the Front, 82,600 (SE = 22,500, CV = 27.2%) in the northern Gulf, and 176,200 (SE = 25,400, CV = 14.4%) in the southern Gulf (Magdalen Island) for a total of 997,900 (SE = 102,100, 10.2%). Changes in aerial survey estimates indicate that pup production has increased since 1994. A new method to correct for the temporal change in the proportion of pups present on the ice was examined by fitting the percentage of pups observed in three age-dependent stages to a Normal distribution. The results were compared to those obtained from a more complex model used previously. The Simple model produced slightly higher, and hence more conservative, estimates of the proportion of births that had occurred before the time of the survey than the Complex model. When using the Simple model fewer assumptions regarding the start date of pupping and the proportion of older pups remaining on the ice were required, the herd had to be followed for a shorter period, and a more convenient means of calculating confidence limits was available.     

STABILITY IN THE PROPORTION OF HARBOR SEALS HAULED OUT UNDER LOCALLY IDEAL CONDITIONS

We monitored the haul-out behavior of 68 radio-tagged harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ) during the molt season at two Alaskan haul-out sites (Grand Island, August-September 1994; Nanvak Bay, August-September 2000). For each site, we created a statistical model of the proportion of seals hauled out as a function of date, time of day, tide, and weather covariates. Using these models, we identified the conditions that would result in the greatest proportion of seals hauled out. Although those "ideal conditions" differed between sites, the proportion of seals predicted to be hauled out under those conditions was very similar (81.3% for Grand Island and 85.7% for Nanvak Bay). The similar estimates for both sites suggest that haul-out proportions under locally ideal conditions may be constant between years and geographic regions, at least during the molt season.     

Holocene vegetation and water level history in two bogs of the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica

Pollen records of Holocene sediment cores from the Costa Rican Cordillera de Talamanca (La Chonta bog, 2310 m and La Trinidad bog, 2700 m) show the postglacial development of the montane oak forest zone from ca. 9500 to 1500 yr BP. During the early Holocene (ca. 9500–700 yr BP), alder vegetation covered the La Chonta and La Trinidad bogs and their adjacent hills. The upper forest line is inferred to be at 2800–3000 m elevation. A Podocarpus-Quercus forest characterised the middle Holocene (ca. 7000–4500 yr BP). The upper forest line is located at >3000 m reaching the present-day altitudinal distribution. A Quercus forest characterised the late Holocene (ca. 4500–1500 yr BP). Compared to modern conditions, the early Holocene has similar average temperatures, but the moisture level was probably higher. Pollen evidence for the late Holocene indicates drier environmental conditions than today. In order to improve the paleoecological interpretation, we described the local vegetation and used moss samples as pollen traps at both montane bogs along strong soil moisture gradients.The Netherlands Centre for Geo-ecological Research, ICG     

The Role of the Cytoskeleton and Dictyosome Activity in the Pulsatory Growth of Nicotiana tabacum and Petunia hybrida Pollen Tubes

Pollen tubes of Nicotiana tabacum and Petunia hybrida show pulsatory growth. Phases of slow growth lasting minutes are interrupted by pulse-like elongations lasting 10–20 seconds involving an increase of growth rate by up to 24-fold. Inhibition of dictyosome activity with brefeldin A or monensin did not result in an inhibition of pulsatory growth but eventually stopped pollen tube elongation. In contrast to this the inhibition of the cytoskeletal elements with cytochalasin D and colchicine caused the pollen tubes to abandon the pulse-like elongations. It was concluded that the activity of the dictyosomes does not have a controlling function in the mechanism of pulsatory growth, even though it is necessary for pollen tube elongation, since cell wall material is provided by secretory vesicles deriving from the Golgi apparatus. In contrast the cytoskeletal elements, actin and microtubules, seem to play an important regulatory role in the pulse-like elongations. In addition, it was observed that during the experiments several pollen tubes burst upon the completion of a pulse-like expansion, indicating on the one hand that the internal turgor is the driving force of the pulse-like expansions. On the other hand, the bursting shows that the pollen tube cell wall is rather weak at the end of a pulse, indicating that at this point of time it is either thinner or less stable than during the slow growth phase or at the beginning of a pulse.     

Gaertnera and Pagamea: Genera Within the Psychotrieae or Constituting the Tribe Gaertnereae? A Wood Anatomical and Palynological Approach

The possible alliance between Gaertnera and Pagamea (Rubiaceae-Rubioideae), two genera from the Old and New World, respectively, is investigated on the basis of wood anatomy and pollen morphology. Nowadays, the main point of discussion about the taxonomic position of these genera is whether they belong to the Psychotrieae or constitute a tribe Gaertnereae characterised by their secondarily superior ovary and sheathing stipules. Both the wood and pollen of the genus pair are found to show specific features absent in other genera of the Psychotrieae, e.g. parenchyma bands in the xylem and endexine thickenings on the polar sites of the pollen apertures. Nevertheless Gaertnera and Pagamea share many other characters with the Psychotrieae. Wood and pollen convincingly demonstrate the very close affinity of the two genera. The sister pair differs in so many features from other Psychotrieae, that Gaertnera and Pagamea should constitute at least a subtribe Gaertnerinae, formally recognized here. The general lack of profound studies on the affinities within the very large tribe Psychotrieae makes further comments on the taxonomic relationships of the Gaertnerinae difficult.     

西门错地区2000年来的花粉组合与古气候

通过花粉分析,划分出４个花粉组合带,讨论了２０００年来西门错地区古气候变迁特点。研究表明,２０００年来,该区总体上处于偏冷湿的气候背景,但仍存在４次相对冷暖波动旋回。中世纪暖期,增温幅度较小;距今５００年来,该区进入小冰期,气候有逐渐变干的趋势。孢粉结果与敦德冰心氧同位素曲线比较对应,但变化不如其明显,一方面与高寒地区植被生长状况有关,另一方面与湖盆位置选择有关。