播种深度对夏玉米幼苗性状和根系特性的影响

选用郑单958(ZD958)和先玉335(XY335)为试验材料,在砂培和大田条件下设置3、5、7和9 cm 4个播种深度,并在大田条件下以不同播种深度混播作为对照(CK),研究播种深度对夏玉米幼苗性状和根系特性的影响.结果表明： 随着播种深度的增加,夏玉米的出苗率下降,出苗时间延长.ZD958和XY335播深9 cm的出苗率较3 cm的分别降低9.4%和11.8%,出苗时间较3 cm的均延长1.5 d.随着播种深度的增加,幼苗长度及幼苗整齐度显著降低,中胚轴长度显著增加,胚芽鞘长度差异不显著;初生胚根长度逐渐减小,次生胚根总长度逐渐增加,总根长度差异不显著;幼苗与中胚轴的总干质量增加,总根干质量差异不显著.随播种深度的增加,种子萌发时幼苗各部位可溶性糖含量增加,营养物质消耗量增加,幼苗根系生长速度增加,根系活力降低,总节根数及节根层数增加.播深增加后出苗率及幼苗活力的降低导致收获穗数的显著降低,最终影响产量形成.此外,播深一致有利于群体整齐度的提高和群体性状的改善,从而提高产量.     

施钙对干旱胁迫下花生生理特性、产量和品质的影响

以花生品种606为试材,在旱棚池栽人工控水条件下,研究了钙肥不同用量对花针期和结荚期干旱胁迫下花生的营养生长、生理特性、产量及品质的影响.结果表明:干旱胁迫下施钙,可以促进花生的营养生长,提高叶片的叶绿素含量、净光合速率和根系活力,提高干旱后复水过程中花生的恢复能力,缓解干旱对花生的不利影响;增加了花生荚果和籽仁的产量,尤其是增加了单株结果数和出仁率.施钙提高了籽仁中的脂肪和蛋白质含量,改善了干旱胁迫下花生的籽仁品质.在本试验条件下,施钙量为300 kg·hm-2时效果最佳.     

灌水量和滴灌施肥方式对温室黄瓜产量和品质的影响

以黄瓜为试验材料,研究灌水量和滴灌施肥方式对日光温室黄瓜生长、产量和品质的影响.设两个水分水平(100％ET0,W1;75％ET0,W2)和4种滴灌施肥方式处理,不同滴灌施肥方式处理按推荐施肥量(N∶P2 O5∶K2 O分别为360∶180∶540 kg·hm-2)的100％、66.6％、33.3％、0％(Z100、Z66、Z33、Z0)分8次滴灌施肥,剩余肥料一次性基施;另设不施肥处理为对照(CK).结果表明:滴灌施肥比例和水分与黄瓜的株高、叶面积、干物质量、产量和品质均呈正相关关系.W1 Z100处理的产量最高(67760 kg·hm-2);W2处理的平均水分利用效率比W1处理高9.4％,其中W2Z100处理的水分利用效率最高(47.71 kg·m-3),其产量比最高产量低3.4％却节水25％.与Z0相比,Z100的黄瓜产量和干物质量分别增加15.3％和16.8％;同时,黄瓜果实中维生素C、可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖含量增加;水分利用效率增加19.1％.W2Z100处理为温室黄瓜高产、优质、节水的最佳处理.     

石榴种皮总木质素含量及PgCOMT基因的克隆与表达

为探讨石榴(Punica granatumL.)籽粒硬度与种皮总木质素含量的相关性及种皮COMT基因的表达方式,利用Texture Analyser质构仪和巯基乙酸法测定6个品种的成熟籽粒硬度及种皮总木质素含量。结果表明,6个石榴品种的籽粒硬度与种皮总木质素含量呈正相关,相关系数为0.9246。采用RACE技术从石榴种皮中克隆得到1条长度为1456 bp的PgCOMT基因cDNA序列(GenBank登录号为KJ713968)。实时荧光定量PCR分析表明,PgCOMT在‘红玉石籽’、‘粉皮’、‘会理软籽’、‘蒙自甜’和‘突尼斯软籽’石榴种皮中的相对表达量与石榴籽粒硬度较为一致;随着石榴种皮的发育其表达量先下降后上升。这为深入了解石榴软籽性状的产生机理奠定了基础。     

Temporal Dynamics of Powdery Mildew (Oidium neolycopersici) and its Effects on the Host Growth Dynamics of Tomato

Controlled glasshouse experiments were conducted to investigate the temporal progress of powdery mildew and its effects on host dynamics of tomato, without and with one fungicide application. Healthy tomato transplants (5‐ to 6‐week old) were artificially inoculated with powdery mildew, and disease progress as well as host growth were monitored in both fungicide sprayed and unsprayed treatments and compared with non‐inoculated plants. Actual disease severity on a plant basis increased in unsprayed plants reaching maximum severity in the proportionate range of 0.53–0.83. One fungicide spray significantly reduced the maximum disease severity by two‐ to fourfolds. Despite adjustments for defoliation, declines in the proportion of disease severity between successive assessments were evident. Whereas the estimated growth rates of diseased plants were significantly lower than that of healthy plants, no significant differences were observed in the maximum leaf area formed of inoculated and non‐inoculated plants. A considerable effect of the powdery mildew epidemics was manifested through hastened shrivelling and defoliation of diseased leaves within the tomato canopy. An average of 18–29% and 40–52% of leaves had abscised from the plant canopy at the last date of assessment in sprayed and non‐sprayed plants, respectively. Accordingly, defoliation accounted for 14–33.3% and 58.3–63.1% losses in leaf area of sprayed and non‐sprayed plants, respectively. Duration of healthy leaf area and yield of inoculated plants were also significantly reduced by powdery mildew epidemics.     

Lack of fructose 2,6‐bisphosphate compromises photosynthesis and growth in Arabidopsis in fluctuating environments

The balance between carbon assimilation, storage and utilisation during photosynthesis is dependent on partitioning of photoassimilate between starch and sucrose, and varies in response to changes in the environment. However, the extent to which the capacity to modulate carbon partitioning rapidly through short‐term allosteric regulation may contribute to plant performance is unknown. Here we examine the physiological role of fructose 2,6‐bisphosphate (Fru‐2,6‐P₂) during photosynthesis, growth and reproduction in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.). In leaves this signal metabolite contributes to coordination of carbon assimilation and partitioning during photosynthesis by allosterically modulating the activity of cytosolic fructose‐1,6‐bisphosphatase. Three independent T‐DNA insertional mutant lines deficient in 6‐phosphofructo‐2‐kinase/fructose‐2,6‐bisphosphatase (F2KP), the bifunctional enzyme responsible for both the synthesis and degradation of Fru‐2,6‐P₂, lack Fru‐2,6‐P₂. These plants have normal steady‐state rates of photosynthesis, but exhibit increased partitioning of photoassimilate into sucrose and have delayed photosynthetic induction kinetics. The F2KP‐deficient plants grow normally in constant environments, but show reduced growth and seed yields relative to wildtype plants in fluctuating light and/or temperature. We conclude that Fru‐2,6‐P₂ is required for optimum regulation of photosynthetic carbon metabolism under variable growth conditions. These analyses suggest that the capacity of Fru‐2,6‐P₂ to modulate partitioning of photoassimilate is an important determinant of growth and fitness in natural environments.     

Improvement of pea biomass and seed productivity by simultaneous increase of phloem and embryo loading with amino acids

The development of sink organs such as fruits and seeds strongly depends on the amount of nitrogen that is moved within the phloem from photosynthetic‐active source leaves to the reproductive sinks. In many plant species nitrogen is transported as amino acids. In pea (Pisum sativum L.), source to sink partitioning of amino acids requires at least two active transport events mediated by plasma membrane‐localized proteins, and these are: (i) amino acid phloem loading; and (ii) import of amino acids into the seed cotyledons via epidermal transfer cells. As each of these transport steps might potentially be limiting to efficient nitrogen delivery to the pea embryo, we manipulated both simultaneously. Additional copies of the pea amino acid permease PsAAP1 were introduced into the pea genome and expression of the transporter was targeted to the sieve element‐companion cell complexes of the leaf phloem and to the epidermis of the seed cotyledons. The transgenic pea plants showed increased phloem loading and embryo loading of amino acids resulting in improved long distance transport of nitrogen, sink development and seed protein accumulation. Analyses of root and leaf tissues further revealed that genetic manipulation positively affected root nitrogen uptake, as well as primary source and sink metabolism. Overall, the results suggest that amino acid phloem loading exerts regulatory control over pea biomass production and seed yield, and that import of amino acids into the cotyledons limits seed protein levels.     

Crystal Structure of Barley Limit Dextrinase-Limit Dextrinase Inhibitor (LD-LDI) Complex Reveals Insights into Mechanism and Diversity of Cereal Type Inhibitors

Molecular details underlying regulation of starch mobilization in cereal seed endosperm remain unknown despite the paramount role of this process in plant growth. The structure of the complex between the starch debranching enzyme barley limit dextrinase (LD), hydrolyzing α-1,6-glucosidic linkages, and its endogenous inhibitor (LDI) was solved at 2.7 Å. The structure reveals an entirely new and unexpected binding mode of LDI as compared with previously solved complex structures of related cereal type family inhibitors (CTIs) bound to glycoside hydrolases but is structurally analogous to binding of dual specificity CTIs to proteases. Site-directed mutagenesis establishes that a hydrophobic cluster flanked by ionic interactions in the protein-protein interface is vital for the picomolar affinity of LDI to LD as assessed by analysis of binding by using surface plasmon resonance and also supported by LDI inhibition of the enzyme activity. A phylogenetic analysis identified four LDI-like proteins in cereals among the 45 sequences from monocot databases that could be classified as unique CTI sequences. The unprecedented binding mechanism shown here for LDI has likely evolved in cereals from a need for effective inhibition of debranching enzymes having characteristic open active site architecture. The findings give a mechanistic rationale for the potency of LD activity regulation and provide a molecular understanding of the debranching events associated with optimal starch mobilization and utilization during germination. This study unveils a hitherto not recognized structural basis for the features endowing diversity to CTIs.     

弥勒苣苔种子的休眠萌发特性

弥勒苣苔为中国特有的濒危植物,一度被认为灭绝后又被重新发现,引起了学界及公众的广泛关注.种子库是保护珍稀濒危物种的一种有效手段,对物种开展种子保存需要较为深入的了解其种子休眠及萌发特性;但对于弥勒苣苔,现有资料十分有限,本研究系统地探讨了弥勒苣苔种子的休眠状态及萌发习性.在对其种子进行X光透视后,发现其种子的胚发育完全,且基本充满整个种子,因此认为该种子不具有形态休眠.在多个变温及恒温条件下对新鲜种子进行萌发测试,发现在较高温度(高于20℃)下萌发率很高且萌发迅速,赤霉素及低温层积处理能够显著提高种子在较低温度下(低于20℃)的萌发率,因此可以判定其种子存在浅的生理休眠.种子在恒温下的萌发率比相应的变温下萌发率要高,可能是其对所处荫蔽环境的一种适应.硝酸钾对种子萌发有显著的促进作用,在野外环境下,硝酸钾有对生境空窗及较少竞争的指示作用.     

Artificial asymmetric warming reduces nectar yield in a Tibetan alpine species of Asteraceae

Background and Aims Asymmetric warming is one of the distinguishing features of global climate change, in which winter and night-time temperatures are predicted to increase more than summer and diurnal temperatures. Winter warming weakens vernalization and hence decreases the potential to flower for some perennial herbs, and night warming can reduce carbohydrate concentrations in storage organs. This study therefore hypothesized that asymmetric warming should act to reduce flower number and nectar production per flower in a perennial herb, Saussurea nigrescens, a key nectar plant for pollinators in Tibetan alpine meadows.Methods A long-term (6 years) warming experiment was conducted using open-top chambers placed in a natural meadow and manipulated to achieve asymmetric increases in temperature, as follows: a mean annual increase of 0·7 and 2·7 °C during the growing and non-growing seasons, respectively, combined with an increase of 1·6 and 2·8 °C in the daytime and night-time, respectively, from June to August. Measurements were taken of nectar volume and concentration (sucrose content), and also of leaf non-structural carbohydrate content and plant morphology.Key Results Six years of experimental warming resulted in reductions in nectar volume per floret (64·7 % of control), floret number per capitulum (8·7 %) and capitulum number per plant (32·5 %), whereas nectar concentration remained unchanged. Depletion of leaf non-structural carbohydrates was significantly higher in the warmed than in the ambient condition. Overall plant density was also reduced by warming, which, when combined with reductions in flower development and nectar volumes, led to a reduction of ∼90 % in nectar production per unit area.Conclusions The negative effect of asymmetric warming on nectar yields in S. nigrescens may be explained by a concomitant depletion of leaf non-structural carbohydrates. The results thus highlight a novel aspect of how climate change might affect plant–pollinator interactions and plant reproduction via induction of allocation shifts for plants growing in communities subject to asymmetric warming.