Effect of 1,2-benzisoxazole-3-acetic acid on adventitious shoot regeneration and in vitro rooting in apple

 The effect of 1,2-benzisoxazole-3-acetic acid (BOA), compared to 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), on adventitious shoot formation in leaf portions and compared to indolebutyric acid (IBA), on in vitro rooting in the apple (Malus domestica Borkh) cultivars McIntosh and Gala, and one rootstock, Jork 9, was investigated. BOA at 43.0 μm or 2.7 μm at NAA in combination with 17.8 μm benzyladenine (BA), induced the highest number of explants to produce adventitious shoots in Jork 9. In Gala, the combination of 21.5 μm BOA with 1.0 μm thidiazuron (TDZ) or with 22.0 μm BA induced the highest regeneration percentages, 58 and 54%, respectively, giving more satisfactory results than NAA (where only 42% of leaf explants exhibited shoot formation). In McIntosh, the highest percentage of regeneration was obtained with 1.3 μm NAA and 22.0 μm BA, while 51% was the highest response obtained with the BOA treatment. The combination of BOA with TDZ completely inhibited regeneration activity in leaf portions of this cultivar. The shoots of all the genotypes obtained with the most morphogenetic NAA or BOA treatments were excised, multiplied and successfully rooted and hardened. The results demonstrate that the synthetic auxin BOA is active in inducing shoot regeneration from leaf explants of apple and that the activity of BOA in plant regeneration is genotype dependent. When BOA was used to induce rooting in apple microcuttings, lower rooting percentages were obtained than with IBA, showing that the effect of BOA in inducing root formation is very low and that it cannot be used routinely to replace IBA in the in vitro rooting of microcuttings. Received: 18 June 1998 / Revision received: 4 January 1999 / Accepted: 29 January 1999     

光叶楮扦插生根的吲哚乙酸氧化酶、多酚氧化酶、过氧化物酶活性变化研究

对光叶楮扦插生根过程中吲哚乙酸氧化酶（IAAO）、多酚氧化酶（PPO）、过氧化物酶（POD）3种酶进行了动态跟踪分析。结果表明：IAAO活性在扦插初期逐渐上升,第10d上升到高峰,之后下降再上升,第30d达到新高峰,然后迅速下降;前25d POD活性变化规律与IAAO相似,但30d以后活性一直上升;PPO活性在扦插前期缓慢上升,第20d上升到了最高点,此后变化不大。还研究了IAAO、PPO、POD与不定根的发生和发展关系,认为光叶楮扦插生根可分为愈伤组织形成期、根诱导期和根的伸长期3个阶段,愈伤组织形成期3种酶活性都呈上升趋势,根诱导期IAAO和POD的活性达到高峰;而根伸长期IAAO和POD活性下降,PPO活性上升。     

Root and stem partitioning of Pinus taeda

We measured root and stem mass at three sites (Piedmont (P), Coastal Plain (C), and Sandhills (S)) in the southeastern United States. Stand density, soil texture and drainage, genetic makeup and environmental conditions varied with site while differences in tree size at each site were induced with fertilizer additions. Across sites, root mass was about one half of stem mass when estimated on a per hectare basis. Stem mass per hectare explained 91% of the variation in root mass per hectare, while mean tree diameter at breast height (D), site, and site by measurement year were significant variables explaining an additional 6% of the variation in root mass per hectare. At the S site, the root:stem ratio decreased from 0.7 to 0.5 when mean tree D increased from 10 to 22 cm. At the P and C sites, where mean root:stem ratios were 0.40 and 0.47, respectively, no significant slope in the root:stem to mean tree D relationship was found over a more narrow range in mean tree D (12–15 and 12–18 cm, respectively). Roots were observed in the deepest layers measured (190, 190, and 290 cm for the P, C, and S sites, respectively); however, the asymptotically decreasing root mass per layer indicated the bulk of roots were measured. Root growth relative to stem growth would need to change with increased mean tree D to explain the results observed here. While these changes in growth rate among plant components may differ across sites, stem mass alone does a good job of estimating root mass across sites.     

In vitro propagation of the neotropical giant bamboo, Guadua angustifolia Kunth, through axillary shoot proliferation

Guadua angustifolia Kunth was successfully propagated in vitro from axillary buds. Culture initiation, bud sprouting, shoot and plant multiplication, rooting and acclimatization, were evaluated. Best results were obtained using explants from greenhouse-cultivated plants, following a disinfection procedure that comprised the sequential use of an alkaline detergent, a mixture of the fungicide Benomyl and the bactericide Agri-mycin, followed by immersion in sodium hypochlorite (1.5% w/v) for 10 min, and culturing on Murashige and Skoog medium containing 2 ml l^?1 of Plant Preservative Mixture^®. Highest bud sprouting in original explants was observed when 3 mg l^?1 N⁶-benzylaminopurine (BAP) was incorporated into the culture medium. Production of lateral shoots in in vitro growing plants increased with BAP concentration in culture medium, up to 5 mg l^?1, the highest concentration assessed. After six subcultures, clumps of 8–12 axes were obtained, and their division in groups of 3–5 axes allowed multiplication of the plants. Rooting occurred in vitro spontaneously in 100% of the explants that produced lateral shoots. Successful acclimatization of well-rooted clumps of 5–6 axes was achieved in the greenhouse under mist watering in a mixture of soil, sand and rice hulls (1:1:1).     

A multigene framework for polychaete phylogenetic studies

Producing a robust phylogenetic reconstruction for Polychaeta using either morphological or molecular data sets has proven very difficult. There remain many conflicts between morphological analyses and hypotheses based on DNA data, the latter principally derived from 18S rRNA sequences. For the present study a data set covering a broad range of polychaete diversity was assembled, including 38 new sequences from 21 species. Besides available 18S rRNA data, five additional gene segments were examined: the D1 and D9-10 expansion regions of 28S rRNA, histone H3, snU2 RNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I. Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses were conducted.Annelida and Mollusca were reciprocally monophyletic in maximum likelihood analyses, but Polychaeta included a cephalopod in maximum parsimony analyses, and a patellogastropod in Bayesian analyses. When rooted on the Mollusca, optimal topologies from maximum likelihood analyses showed a recognisable basal group of taxa, including Oweniidae, Chaetopteridae and Amphinomidae. The six studied phyllodocidan families plus Orbiniidae (as the sister group of the scale-worms) formed the next most basal group. All analyses support the inclusion of Echiura, Clitellata and Siboglinidae within polychaetes. Bayesian analyses show Echiura as the sister group of Capitellidae, in agreement with previous 18S rRNA results, In contrast, Echiura formed the sister group to Trichobranchidae in maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony analyses.Supra-familial groupings consistently recovered within Polychaeta in the analyses are: (i) Terebellida without Ampharetidae; (ii) Scolecida (excepting Orbiniidae); (iii) Eunicidae, Lumbrineridae and Clitellata; and (iv) “Cirratuliformia” (including Sternaspidae) plus Sabellidae, Serpulidae and Spionidae.     

海水盐度对两种红树植物胚轴萌发的影响

 对采自广西海岸的木榄(Bruguiera gymnorrhiza)和红海榄(Rhizophora stylosa)胚轴进行品质检测,相关数据可作为该地区胚轴评价的参考指标。不同盐度海水水培和淡水沙培试验的结果表明：较之海水盐度为20‰和30‰的高盐度海水,10‰以下的低盐度海水对木榄胚轴萌根和发芽有明显促进作用,使始萌根日缩短一半时日(6d),平均萌根日数快7.1～4.8d,萌根率提高20％～30％,并且较早开始发芽。红海榄胚轴萌根的最佳盐度条件为20‰左右的高盐度,此时的萌根率和平均萌根率分别达到90％和68％,淡水条件下红海榄的萌根率只有40％。试验还发现木榄胚轴连续萌根率具有双峰值现象,红海榄胚轴顶端的发芽可能会受下胚轴曝光的抑制。     

Ubiquitous and tissue-specific gus expression in transgenic roots conferred by six different promoters in one coniferous and three angiosperm species

The activity of six different promoter-gus (uidA) binary plasmid constructs has been analysed in transgenic roots of Pinus contorta, Nicotiana tabacum, Lycopersicon esculentum and Arabidopsis thaliana. Transgenic roots were induced by infection with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain LBA9402, harbouring a binary plasmid construct that contained one of the following promoters: Ubi-1 from Zea mays, 35S from CaMV, cdc2a and sam-1 from A. thaliana, HRGPnt3 from N. tabacum and RSI-1 from L. esculentum. Promoters of broad tissue specificity (cdc2a, Ubi-1 and 35S) showed GUS staining in most cell types of all the species. The other three promoters were expressed specifically in lateral root primordia. The studies of gene activity in primary transgenic roots allowed the screening of candidate promoters related to lateral and adventitious root formation within 3–6 weeks after inoculation in the angiosperm species and 2–3 months in P. contorta. Received: 30 September 1998 / Revision recieved: 10 November 1998 / Accepted: 30 November 1998     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In vitro</Emphasis> adventitious shoot organogenesis and plant regeneration from seedling explants of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Albizia odoratissima</Emphasis> L.f. (Benth.)

Epicotyl, petiole, and cotyledon explants derived from 14-d-old seedlings of Albizia odoratissima were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with different concentrations of either 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) solely or in combination with 0.5 μM naphthalene-3-acetic acid (NAA). The percentage of shoot regeneration and the number of shoots regenerated varied significantly depending on the type of explants used, the concentration of plant growth regulators, and the orientation of explants on the culture medium. The best response in terms of the percentage of shoot regeneration was obtained from epicotyls cultured horizontally on MS medium supplemented with 5 μM BAP, whereas the highest number of shoots per responding explant was recorded on medium containing 2.5 μM BAP and 0.5 μM NAA. Successful rooting was achieved by placing the microshoots onto MS medium containing 25 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) for 24 h first, then transferring to the same medium without IBA. Of the various substrates tested, vermiculite was the best for plant acclimatization, as 75% of the plants survived and became established.     

Auxin-like activity of extract from hypertrophied tissue of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acacia eburnea</Emphasis> infected with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ravenelia esculenta</Emphasis>

Ravenelia esculenta Naras. and Thirum. is a rust, pathogenic to Acacia eburnea Willd. The infection leads to hypertrophy changing the morphology with bizarre shapes of plant organs. Healthy and infected tissues were subjected to extraction of IAA and indole derivatives and were estimated by spectrophotometric methods. The hypertrophy produced was presumed to be due to increase in the indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) content in the infected tissue, however, the amount of IAA in infected tissues decreased with the progression of disease. Concomitantly, the infected tissue showed the presence of a novel, slow migrating, indole derivative on TLC. Cultured shoot tips of Withania somnifera were dosed with the methanolic extract of the infected hypertrophied tissue (MEHT) (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25 mg/l). The stimulation in shoot growth along with profuse rooting was observed in a dose dependent manner with maximum at 1.00 and 1.25 mg/l concentration.     

Pigs’ preferences for rooting materials measured in a three-choice maze-test

The aim of this experiment was to investigate pigs’ preferences for rooting materials. Eighteen materials were allocated to six categories each of which consisted of three similar materials based on characteristics such as structure, size of particles, complexity, destructibility and digestibility. Twelve pairs of pigs chose among the three materials of each of the six categories in a balanced design. Within each category each pair was given four instantaneous choices among the three materials in a three-armed maze. ‘No choice’ was scored if the pigs did not enter one of the maze-arms within 90 s. Thus there were four options in each choice situation. The results were analysed using a random utility model incorporating random intercepts to account for the repeated testing of the same animals. The pigs expressed clear preferences within the category EARTH, where compost and peat were preferred to wood-shavings and no choice. In the category CHIP the most probable rank-order was spruce chip, willow chip, fir chip and no choice, while in the category ROUGH the most probable rank-order was maize-silage, grass silage, sugar beets and no choice. However, in these two categories none of the probabilities were sufficiently large to signify a preference for any of the three materials although the probabilities of the ‘no choice’ option were low. The pigs expressed no preferences among any of the four options including ‘no choice’ in the categories TOY (sisal robe, Bite-Rite, wooden beam), HAY (alfalfa hay mixed with straw, seed grass hay, barley straw with under-seed), and STRAW (long straw, chopped straw and straw pellets).