Photostimulation by femtosecond laser triggers restorable fragmentation in single mitochondrion

Mitochondrial research is important to the study of ageing, apoptosis, and metabolic diseases. Over the years, mitochondria have been studied with stimulation by chemical agents in a global manner for basic and applied research. This approach lacks of precision and accuracy in terms of spatial and temporal resolution. Here we demonstrate a direct and well‐defined photostimulation targeting on single mitochondrial tubular structure using a tightly‐focused femtosecond (fs) laser that could precisely activate mitochondria at single tubule level to show restorable fragmentation and subsequent recovery after tens of seconds. In these two processes, a series of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) flashes was observed and found critical to the mitochondrial fragmentation. Meanwhile, transient openings of mitochondrial permeability transition pores (mPTP) were seen with oscillations of mitochondrial membrane potential. These activities were crucial for the recovery through scavenging the mROS. Without the feedback mechanisms, the fragmented mitochondria could not return back to their original tubular structure. These interesting observations show that photostimulation by fs laser is an active, precise, clean and well‐defined approach to dissect the role of mitochondria in normal physiology and different kinds of diseases.

     

光周期和光刺激对雄性灰文鸟行为及生理状况的影响

光周期变化是导致动物行为发生变化的重要因素之一。为揭示不同光周期条件下鸟类对光刺激的生理和行为反应,本文通过比较雄性灰文鸟(Lonchura oryzivora)在经长(16L︰8D)、中(12L︰12D)、短(8L︰16D)3个光周期条件驯化后,再给予72 h的光刺激,研究其行为、血清皮质酮含量和血清蛋白的变化特征。结果表明,光周期改变直接影响雄性灰文鸟的行为。雄性灰文鸟的血清皮质酮含量受光周期和光刺激的影响,中光照周期条件下雄性灰文鸟皮质酮激素对光刺激的响应与长、短光照周期条件下明显不同。不同光周期条件下灰文鸟α-球蛋白区、β-球蛋白区和γ-球蛋白区血清蛋白的成分存在差异。上述结果表明,光周期显著影响雄性灰文鸟对光刺激的生理应激反应方式。     

Effect of light environment during soil disturbance on germination and emergence pattern of weeds

This paper describes results from experiments which investigated the effects of light intensity during soil disturbance on germination and emergence pattern of weeds. Different emergence patterns were demonstrated for seeds which are instantly flash induced compared to seeds which are induced to germinate by integrating a weak light signal over a period of time. A reduced and delayed emergence is achieved after a disturbance in darkness compared to a soil disturbance in daylight. The increased emergence after soil disturbance in daylight is due to additional plants originating from seeds placed at a soil depth in the pots where daylight cannot penetrate and induce seeds to germinate, but which are induced during the short exposure period. A close relationship between soil disturbance intensity and number of weed plants emerging was found in field experiments with shallow harrowings. It was also shown that a portion of the increased number of seedlings arising when soil disturbance is carried out in daylight, compared to soil cultivation in darkness, originates from seeds germinating from deeper soil layers, resulting in a deeper average germination depth.