Protein Kinase Activity of in vitro Cultured Plant Cells in Relation to Growth and Starch Metabolism

Taking tetcyclacis, a norbornenodiazentine derivative, as an example, the influence of a growth retardant on the shoot growth of sunflower, soybean, and maize seedlings grown and treated in hydroculture was investigated. In detail, the reduction in the length of various shoot sections {epicotyl, 1st internode, leaf blade) caused by the retardant was studied. At low concentrations of the retardant (\lt10^-6 M) the shortening effects are substantially attributable to an influence on cell elongation, whereas cell division is inhibited as the concentration increases (τ10^-6 M). A comparison of the effects of tetcyclacis in cell suspension cultures of appropriate plant species showed that also in this system concentrations τ 10^-6 M inhibited cell division growth, i. e. there is comparability of plant/ cell culture regarding the retardant effect on cell division. In contrast to the intact plants, however, cell elongation appears to be of only subordinate importance for the growth of cell cultures, as it has been shown using parsley cell suspension cultures.It is discussed to what extent influencing the gibberellin or sterol biosynthesis by means of tetcyclacis provides an explanation for the concentration-dependent effect on the cell division and cell elongation processes.     

Photosynthetic carbon partitioning and lipid production in the oleaginous microalga Pseudochlorococcum sp. (Chlorophyceae) under nitrogen-limited conditions

Photosynthetic carbon partitioning into starch and neutral lipid was investigated in the oleaginous green microalga Pseudochlorococcum sp. When grown under low light and nitrogen-replete conditions, the algal cells possessed a basal level of starch. When grown under high light and nitrogen-limited conditions, starch synthesis was transiently up-regulated. After nitrogen depletion, starch content decreased while neutral lipid rapidly increased to 52.1% of cell dry weight, with a maximum neutral lipid productivity of 0.35 g L⁻¹ D⁻¹. These results suggest that Pseudochlorococcum used starch as a primary carbon and energy storage product. As nitrogen was depleted for an extended period of time, cells shift the carbon partitioning into neutral lipid as a secondary storage product. Partial inhibition of starch synthesis and degradation enzymes resulted in a decrease in neutral lipid content, indicating that conversion of starch to neutral lipid may contribute to overall neutral lipid accumulation. Biotechnological application of Pseudochlorococcum sp. as a production strain for biofuel was assessed.     

多次采血对Wistar大鼠脏器系数的影响

目的研究不同时间间隔经眼眶静脉丛多次采血后,对雄性Wistar大鼠重要脏器系数的影响。方法实验组分别间隔3 d、7 d、10 d,经眼眶静脉丛采血,每次采血1 mL,共采3次。对照组于实验组最后一次采血时采血一次,采血1 mL。每次采血前称量体重,于最后一次采血后将大鼠处死,取心脏、肝脏、肾脏、脾脏、胸腺,称量脏器重量,计算脏器系数。结果间隔3 d多次采血,大鼠的肝、肾系数差异具有显著性（P〈0.05）,间隔7 d、10 d多次采血,大鼠的各脏器系数差异无显著性。结论间隔3 d多次采血对大鼠的肝、肾系数有影响,间隔7 d、10 d多次采血对各脏器系数均无影响。     

The relative impact of lichen symbiotic partners to repeated copper uptake

The relative impact of lichen photobiont and mycobiont was evaluated by submitting nine lichen species with: (i) different photobiont types; (ii) different lichen growth forms; and (iii) different nutrients, pH, humidity preferences; to a range of Cu concentrations (μM) supplied in repeated cycles to simulate the natural process of uptake under field conditions. The physiological performance of the photosystem II photochemical reactions was measured using F_v/F_m and the metabolic activity of the mycobiont was evaluated using ergosterol and intracellular K-loss as indicators. Lichens with higher cation exchange capacity showed higher intracellular Cu uptake and their ecology seemed to be associated with low-nutrient environments. Thus the wall and external matrix, mainly characteristic of the mycobiont partner, cannot be ignored as the first site of interaction of metals with lichens. No common intracellular Cu concentration threshold was found for the physiological impacts observed in the different species. Most physiological effects of Cu uptake in sensitive lichens occurred for intracellular Cu below 200 μg/g dw whereas more tolerant species were able to cope with intracellular Cu at least 3 times higher. Cyanobacterial lichens showed to be more sensitive to Cu uptake than green-algal lichens. Within the Trebouxia lichens, different species showed different sensitivities to Cu uptake, suggesting that the mycobiont may change the microenvironment close to the photobiont partner providing different degrees of protection. Despite the fact that the photobiont is the productive partner, the metabolic activity of the mycobiont of lichen species adapted to environments rich in nutrients, showed to be more sensitive to Cu uptake than the photochemical performance of the photobiont.     

番石榴实蝇寄主选择性试验

番石榴实蝇Bactrocera correcta(Bezzi)是一种为害多种水果的害虫,近年来在云南的元江暴发成灾。本试验选择番石榴实蝇的常见寄主:梨、芒果、苹果、桃、橙及芒果的不同品种进行室内试验,比较番石榴实蝇雌虫产卵对寄主的选择性及不同寄主对番石榴实蝇生长发育的影响。结果显示,番石榴实蝇雌虫对5种供试水果的寄生选择性大小依次为桃>梨>芒果>橙>苹果;番石榴实蝇对芒果不同品种的寄生选择性为三年芒>台农行1号>虎豹牙>胭脂芒>鹰嘴芒;番石榴实蝇在不同寄主上的蛀果期(卵及幼虫的历期)具有极显著的差异,以寄生桃和芒果的最短;从梨和苹果上饲养出的蛹最轻,且极显著低于其它寄主上饲养出来的蛹重;苹果上寄生的番石榴实蝇蛹重与蛀果期呈显著的正相关,而寄生梨的番石榴实蝇蛹重与蛀果期呈极显著的负相关。结果表明,番石榴实蝇雌虫产卵对不同寄主或同一寄主不同品种有明显的选择性,且该选择行为与其后代的生长发育有关。     

Diurnal courses of net photosynthesis and photosystem II quantum efficiency of submerged Lagarosiphon major under natural light conditions

An optode device for net-photosynthesis measurements, based on oxygen-depending quenching of fluorescence from O₂-specific sensors, and PAM fluorometry have been used to study diurnal courses of net-photosynthesis and the F_v/F_m ratio of the submerged plant Lagarosiphon major. Plants were pre-cultivated and studied in large mesocosm flow-through outdoor tanks under 50% and 80% shade cloth, respectively. Growth under the different shade cloths resulted in similar light compensation points (∼20 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹), but strongly different light saturation levels, with about 150 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ for plants grown under 80% shade cloth and about 350 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ for plants grown under 50% shade cloth. Plants under both growth conditions showed a transient reduction of the maximum F_v/F_m value in the afternoon (down to 70% of the morning control values under 80% shade cloth and down to 85% under 50% shade cloth), which was not accompanied by a reduction of the net photosynthetic rate. This indicated that the fluorescence parameter F_v/F_m must not be a reliable indicator of the rate of photosynthesis under all conditions. The new photo-optical device became evidenced as a valuable tool not only for laboratory experiments, but also for field studies of gas exchange of submerged plants.     

同名小麦地方品种小红芒和小红芒麦形态学和HMW-GS组成的演变分析

为了研究来自不同麦区的61份同名小麦地方品种小红芒和6份小红芒麦的遗传演变趋势,对与6个产量相关的农艺性状和高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基(high molecular weight glutenin subunits,HMW-GS)组成的变异进行了分析.结果表明,无论是在形态学水平还是蛋白质水平,小红芒和小红芒麦均存在丰富的遗传变异.在形态学水平上,供试材料的变异系数在株高、稳长、有效分蘖数、小穗数、穗粒数和千粒重等农艺性状上的变化范围分别为0.03～0.11、0.06～0.22、0.20～0.65、0.04～0.18、0.14～0.44和0.05～0.29.通过形态学数据计算小红芒和小红芒麦品种内多样性指数和品种间多样性指数,发现前者(0.804)占总多样性指数(0.842)的95.5%,而后者仅占4.5%,可见形态学变异主要来源于品种内而非品种闻,说明这些同名材料是由一个品种演变而来.在HMW-GS组成上,共发现了20种亚基组合类型,其中null,7+8,2+12和null,7+8,2+102种亚基组合出现的频率最高,分别为64.48%和20.00%.比较不同麦区种植的小红芒和小红芒麦的遗传多样性水平,发现无论是在形态学水平还是在蛋白质水平,春麦区材料的遗传多样性均普遍高于冬麦区,并且来自西北春麦区和北部春麦区的材料不仅遗传多样性较高,而且变异来源丰富,其中来自西北春麦区的甘肃天祝一带材料多样性最高,且其所处地理位置便于农作物的传播,故甘肃天祝地区有可能是小红芒的最初种植地点,然后再引种到其他种植区.     

Cause‐Specific Cumulative Incidence Estimation and the Fine and Gray Model Under Both Left Truncation and Right Censoring

Summary The standard estimator for the cause‐specific cumulative incidence function in a competing risks setting with left truncated and/or right censored data can be written in two alternative forms. One is a weighted empirical cumulative distribution function and the other a product‐limit estimator. This equivalence suggests an alternative view of the analysis of time‐to‐event data with left truncation and right censoring: individuals who are still at risk or experienced an earlier competing event receive weights from the censoring and truncation mechanisms. As a consequence, inference on the cumulative scale can be performed using weighted versions of standard procedures. This holds for estimation of the cause‐specific cumulative incidence function as well as for estimation of the regression parameters in the Fine and Gray proportional subdistribution hazards model. We show that, with the appropriate filtration, a martingale property holds that allows deriving asymptotic results for the proportional subdistribution hazards model in the same way as for the standard Cox proportional hazards model. Estimation of the cause‐specific cumulative incidence function and regression on the subdistribution hazard can be performed using standard software for survival analysis if the software allows for inclusion of time‐dependent weights. We show the implementation in the R statistical package. The proportional subdistribution hazards model is used to investigate the effect of calendar period as a deterministic external time varying covariate, which can be seen as a special case of left truncation, on AIDS related and non‐AIDS related cumulative mortality.     

Influence of urea calcium mixture supplementation on ruminal fermentation characteristics of beef cattle fed on concentrates containing high levels of cassava chips and rice straw

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of various N sources in concentrates containing high levels of cassava chips, with rice straw as the basal forage, on rumen ecology, rumen microbial counts, microbial crude (CP) protein synthesis, and digestibility of nutrients. Four ruminally fistulated crossbred (Brahman × native) beef steers with initial body weight (BW) of 400 ± 40.2 kg were randomly assigned according to a 4 × 4 Latin square design. The dietary treatments were different sources of N in the concentrates and were: T1 = urea (control; urea); T2 = soybean meal (SBM); T3 = urea CaCl₂ mixture (U-Cal); T4 = urea CaSO₄ mixture (U-Cas). All steers were kept in individual pens and supplemented with concentrate at 5 g/kg of BW daily. The experiment was 4 periods, and each lasted 21 d. During the first 14 d, all steers were fed their respective diets ad libitum and for during the last 7 d, they were moved to metabolism crates for total urine and fecal collection. Dry matter intake ranged from 9.8 to 10.5 kg daily and was not altered by diet, while digestibility of NDF differed among treatments and was highest with U-Cas supplementation (P<0.05). Ruminal NH₃ N and plasma urea N with U-Cal, U-Cas, and SBM diets were lower compared with the urea supplemented group (P<0.05). Ruminal volatile fatty acid concentrations were not altered by treatments. Total viable, and cellulolytic bacteria, differed among treatments and were highest with U-Cas (9.1 × 10¹¹, and 4.0 × 10⁹ cfu/mL, respectively). In addition, efficiency of rumen microbial CP synthesis based on organic matter (OM) truly digested in the rumen was increased by SBM or U-Cal supplementation, and was highest with U-Cas supplementation (18.2 g of N/kg of OM truly digested in the rumen). Supplementation of U-Cas to a concentrate containing a high level of cassava chips improved rumen ecology and microbial CP synthesis in beef cattle, suggesting that urea calcium mixtures can replace soybean meal or urea in beef cattle diets without adverse affects on rumen fermentation and other rumen parameters.     

The effect of flow turbulence on plant growth and several growth regulators in Egeria densa Planchon

The effects of turbulence velocity on Egeria densa Planchon was studied for 12 weeks using mechanically oscillating grid-generated turbulence without mean flow. The root-mean-square of the turbulence velocity fluctuations (u′) ranged from 1.62 ± 0.44 to 2.86 ± 0.8 cm s⁻¹ (high turbulence), 1.36 ± 0.2 to 1.86 ± 0.78 cm s⁻¹ (medium turbulence) and 0.67 ± 0.12 to 0.81 ± 0.16 cm s⁻¹ (low turbulence). The control was subjected to gentle manual mixing once a day. Shoot elongation was significantly reduced with increasing turbulence intensity, and the endogenous indole acetic acid (IAA) concentration was significantly decreased with increasing turbulence intensity and exposure time. The plants exposed to high turbulence showed a 64.6% decrease in endogenous IAA concentration compared to the control, while it was decreased only 26.9% in plants exposed to low turbulence. IAA and cytokinin catabolism was increased, and there was an increase in the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the tissues, which triggered peroxidase activity. The total chlorophyll and chlorophyll a content decreased with the time of exposure. Although the flow turbulence negatively affected plant growth and metabolism, all of the plants survived for the experimental period.