Tansley Review No. 110.

S UMMARY 367
I. I NTRODUCTION 367
II. N UMBER 368
III. S IZE 379
IV. A IR SPACE IN THE SEEDS 381
V. F LOATATION AND DISPERSAL 383
1. Air 383
(a) Physical considerations 383
(b) Dispersal 387
(c) Birds 415
2. Water 416
(a) Physical considerations 416
(b) Dispersal 416
VI. C ONCLUSIONS 417
Acknowledgements 417
References 418
Orchid seeds are very small, extremely light and produced in great numbers. Most range in length from c . 0.05 to 6.0 mm, with the difference between the longest and shortest known seeds in the family being 120-fold. The 'widest' seed at 0.9 mm is 90-fold wider than the 'thinnest' one, which measures 0.01 mm (because orchid seeds are tubular or balloon-like, 'wide' and 'thin' actually refer to diameter). Known seed weights extend from 0.31 lg to 24 μg (a 78-fold difference). Recorded numbers of seeds per fruit are as high as 4000000 and as low as 20–50 (80000–200000-fold difference). Testae are usually transparent, with outer cell walls that may be smooth or reticulated. Ultrasonic treatments enhance germination, which suggests that the testae can be restrictive. Embryos are even smaller: their volume is substantially smaller than that of the testa. As a result, orchid seeds have large internal air spaces that render them balloon-like. They can float in the air for long periods, a property that facilitates long-distance dispersal. The difficult-to-wet outer surfaces of the testa and large internal air spaces enable the seeds to float on water for prolonged periods. This facilitates distribution through tree effluates and/or small run-off rivulets that may follow rains. Due to their size and characteristics, orchid seeds may also be transported in and on land animals and birds (in fur, feathers or hair, mud on feet, and perhaps also following ingestion).     

Eimeria tenella: Local Antibodies and Interactions with the Sporozoite Surface

.Using fixed sporozoites in a 3-layer immunofluorescence assay (TLIFA), class-specific, parasite-specific antibody responses in chicks to single-pulse infection with Eimeria tenella have been studied in gut contents and bile as well as plasma and feces. After infection with 10³ oocysts, IgA antibody was first detected in the duodenal lumen, then in bile, plasma, cecum, and the distal small intestine. The kinetics of the bile IgA response correlated with that in plasma and peaked 9 days post-infection (d.p.i.); IgM was detected in gut contents and bile as well as plasma, and IgG was occasionally detected in gut contents, especially in the duodenum. In some experiments, IgA was detected in gut contents and bile to at least 21 d.p.i. Infection with 10³ oocysts resulted in an earlier and increased response and relatively high IgG titers in cecal contents. Coproantibody was detected inconsistently and at low titer. When sporozoites that excysted in vitro were incubated in specific, antibody-positive (9 d.p.i.) cecal contents, some complement-mediated IgG-associated anti-sporozoite effects were observed; however, the major effect of cecal contents and the only effect of bile was a non-lethal agglutination of living sporozoites. By fractionation of cecal contents and imtnunoblotting this was confirmed to be IgA mediated; IgA antibodies in cecal contents and bile after infection were shown to bind to sporozoite membrane antigens by surface fluorescence as well as agglutination. Agglutination detected anti-sporozoite antibody in gut contents and bile up to 21 d.p.i., peaking between 7 and 13 d.p.i., corresponding with TLIFA results. The immunofluorescence studies reveal the extremely labile nature of the sporozoite surface antigens and support the hypothesis that naturally elaborated IgA antibodies are involved in the modulation of complexed sporozoite surface antigens.     

NaCl胁迫对阿月浑子实生苗活性氧代谢与细胞膜稳定性的影响

为研究阿月浑子(Pistacia vera)的耐盐性,对新疆两个主栽品种‘长果’和`Kerman'的1年生实生苗进行了控制条件下的NaCl胁迫实验,实验浓度为50、150、250和500 mmol·L<sup>-1</sup>,NaCl胁迫5、10和20 d后取叶片测定其细胞膜透性、丙二醛(MDA)含量以及超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)和过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性的变化。实验结果显示,在NaCl胁迫下,‘长果’和`Kerman'的膜透性和MDA含量均随NaCl浓度的升高而增加,表明NaCl胁迫致使阿月浑子膜脂过氧化程度加强,细胞膜稳定性受到破坏,其中‘长果’品种的膜透性和MDA含量增加幅度较大,受到的盐害较大。而SOD、CAT和POD活性则随NaCl浓度的升高先增加后下降,抗氧化酶活性(SOD、POD和CAT)之间协调变化有利于清除活性氧,维持活性氧代谢平衡,保护膜结构。实验结果也显示,随着NaCl胁迫时间的延长,两个品种的细胞膜结构和功能受损害程度有所缓解。这些指标中,‘长果’和`Kerman'品种的膜透性和MDA含量与SOD活性呈显著相关,表明植物细胞的质膜透性与脂质过氧化产物(MDA)含量有关,也与组织中自由基含量和保护酶活性密切相关。综合各项生理指标,`Kerman'品种相对‘长果’品种显示了较强的抗氧化能力,具有较强的耐盐能力。     

Remote sensing of sun-induced fluorescence to improve modeling of diurnal courses of gross primary production (GPP)

Terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) is an important parameter to explore and quantify carbon fixation by plant ecosystems at various scales. Remote sensing (RS) offers a unique possibility to investigate GPP in a spatially explicit fashion; however, budgeting of terrestrial carbon cycles based on this approach still remains uncertain. To improve calculations, spatio-temporal variability of GPP must be investigated in more detail on local and regional scales. The overarching goal of this study is to enhance our knowledge on how environmentally induced changes of photosynthetic light-use efficiency (LUE) are linked with optical RS parameters. Diurnal courses of sun-induced fluorescence yield ( F _Syield) and the photochemical reflectance index of corn were derived from high-resolution spectrometric measurements and their potential as proxies for LUE was investigated. GPP was modeled using Monteith's LUE-concept and optical-based GPP and LUE values were compared with synoptically acquired eddy covariance data. It is shown that the diurnal response of complex physiological regulation of photosynthesis can be tracked reliably with the sun-induced fluorescence. Considering structural and physiological effects, this research shows for the first time that including sun-induced fluorescence into modeling approaches improves their results in predicting diurnal courses of GPP. Our results support the hypothesis that air- or spaceborne quantification of sun-induced fluorescence yield may become a powerful tool to better understand spatio-temporal variations of fluorescence yield, photosynthetic efficiency and plant stress on a global scale.     

Influence of flooding with diluted sea water on morphological and physiological characteristics in hexaploid triticale

The influence of flooding with tap water, and with 10 and 20% sea water on the growth, yield and physiological characteristics in hexaploid triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) were analysed. The plants were grown in a glasshouse and flooded at the booting stage for 19 d. Flooding seriously affected the growth, yield and physiological activities of the plants. However, the growth and yield were greater in plants flooded with diluted sea water than in plants flooded with tap water. The amount of newly developed roots, photosynthetic rate and accumulation of mineral nutrients in the leaves was greater in sea water-flooded plants as compared to tap water-flooded plants. Oxygen concentrations in the diluted sea water were lower than in the tap water 6 d from the beginning of flooding. Leaf water potentials in the plants flooded with diluted sea water were lower than in the plants flooded with tap water until 7 d from the beginning of flooding when the position reversed. Transpiration was slower and stomatal resistance was greater in flooded plants, and were similar irrespective of water quality.