Plant Morphological and Biochemical Responses to Field Water Deficits : II. Responses of Leaf Glycerolipid Composition in Cotton

The effects of water deficits on leaf glycerolipid composition were analyzed in two photoperiodic strains of field grown cotton (Gossypium kirsutum L.) that differ in sensitivity to drought. Leaves from plants grown under dryland conditions exhibited increased dry weight and specific leaf weight. The average midday leaf water potential in the dryland treatment decreased to −1.9 and −2.4 megapascals, respectively, for the T25 and T185 genotypes. Total leaf lipid content of plants exposed to dryland conditions was 5.9 and 7.5% of leaf dry weight for strain T25 and T185, respectively. The difference in leaf lipid content between these genotypes was caused by water deficits and was attributed to loss of both phospholipids and glycolipids in strain T25. There was no apparent loss of phospholipids due to water deficits in the T185 genotype; however, a significant loss of glycolipids was partially compensated by a 2-fold increase in triacylglycerol. No change in triacylglycerol was found between treatments in T25 leaves. Water deficit caused a significant decline in the relative degree of acylunsaturation in phospholipids and glycolipids from both genotypes; however, the double bond index for triacylglycerol increased in both genotypes. It is believed that the observed responses of leaf lipid composition to dryland conditions may be an additional criterion for characterization and selection of new drought-tolerant cotton genotypes.     

Engineering 2,4-D resistance into cotton

Summary To reduce damage by drift-levels of the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, we have engineered the 2,4-D resistance trait into cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). The 2,4-D monooxygenase gene tfdA from Alcaligenes eutrophus plasmid pJP5 was isolated, modified and expressed in transgenic tobacco and cotton plants. Analyses of the transgenic progeny showed stable transmission of the chimeric tfdA gene and production of active 2,4-D monooxygenase. Cotton plants obtained were tolerant to 3 times the field level of 2,4-D used for wheat, corn, sorghum and pasture crops.     

Comparison of chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations among Russian wheat aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae)-infested wheat isolines

Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), feeding injury on 'Betta' wheat isolines with the Dn1 and Dn2 genes was compared by assessing chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations, and aphid fecundity. The resistant Betta isolines (i.e., Betta-Dn1 and Betta-Dn2) supported similar numbers of aphids, but had significantly fewer than the susceptible Betta wheat, indicating these lines are resistant to aphid feeding. Diuraphis noxia feeding resulted in different responses in total chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations among the Betta wheat isolines. The infested Betta-Dn2 plants had higher levels of chlorophylls and carotenoids in comparison with uninfested plants. In contrast, infested Betta-Dn1 plants had the same level of chlorophyll and carotenoid in comparison with uninfested plants. Our data provide essential information on the effect of D. noxia feeding on chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations for Betta wheat and its isolines with D. noxia-resistant Dn1 and Dn2 genes.     

Diuraphis noxia and Rhopalosiphum padi (Hemiptera: Aphididae) interactions and their injury on resistant and susceptible cereal seedlings

Interspecific interactions between the symptomatic (chlorosis-eliciting) Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), and the asymptomatic (nonchlorosis-eliciting) bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), on four cereal genotypes were examined by simultaneous infestations. Four cereals (i.e., Diuraphis noxia-susceptible 'Arapahoe' wheat and 'Morex' barley, and D. noxia-resistant 'Halt' wheat and 'Border' oat) and four infestations (i.e., control, D. noxia, R. padi, and D. noxia/R. padi) were used in the research. Whereas D. noxia biomass confirmed D. noxia resistance among the cereals, R. padi biomass indicated that the D. noxia-resistant cereals did not confer R. padi resistance. D. noxia biomass was significantly lower in D. noxia/R. padi infestation than that in D. noxia infestation on all cereals, except Border oat, which indicated an antagonistic effect of R. padi on D. noxia. All aphid infestations caused a significant plant biomass reduction in comparison with the control. In comparison with D. noxia infestation, D. noxia/R. padi caused a significant plant biomass reduction on all cereals, except Morex barley. Although D. noxia biomass in D. noxia/R. padi infestation was significantly less than that in D. noxia infestation, leaf chlorophyll reduction was the same between D. noxia/R. padi and D. noxia infestations, which suggested that the asymptomatic R. padi enhanced the D. noxia-elicited leaf chlorophyll loss. The regression between chlorophyll content and aphid biomass indicated that the asymptomatic R. padi in the D. noxia/R. padi infestation enhanced chlorophyll loss, but interspecific aphid interaction on plant biomass varied among the cereals.     

Metal accumulation in two contiguous eutrophic peri-urban lakes,Chivero and Manyame,Zimbabwe

Concentrations of aluminium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, nickel and zinc were determined in surface water, benthic sediments, and the gills, liver and stomach muscle tissues of Oreochromis niloticus and Clarias gariepinus in peri-urban lakes Chivero and Manyame, Zimbabwe. Five sites were sampled in each lake once per month in November 2015, February, May, August and November 2016. Pollution load index detected no metal contamination, whereas the geo-accumulation index reflected heavy to extreme sediment pollution, with Fe, Cd, Zn, Cr, Ni and Cu present in both lakes. Significant spatial temporal variations were detected for Al, Cr, Cu and Pb across sites within and between the two lakes. High Fe, Al and Cr concentrations in water and sediments in lakes Chivero and Manyame derive from geogenic background sources in addition to anthropogenic loads and intensity. Elevated concentrations of Al, Pb, Cu, Cd, Fe and Zn detected in gills, liver and stomach tissue of catfish corroborate concentrations in water and sediments, and pose the highest ecological and health risk for hydrobionts in lakes Chivero and Manyame. Contiguity of peri-urban lakes exposes them to similar threats, necessitating creative water management strategies, which ensure ecological continuity.     

Possible roles of esterase, glutathione S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase activities in understanding aphid–cereal interactions

Activities of the detoxification enzymes esterase, glutathione S‐transferase, and of superoxide dismutase in aphids and aphid‐infested cereal leaves were assayed using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and a spectrophotometer to elucidate the enzymatic mechanisms of aphid resistance in cereal plants. A chlorosis‐eliciting Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), and non‐chlorosis‐eliciting bird cherry‐oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), and four cereals were used in this study. The four cereal genotypes were ‘Arapahoe’ (susceptible) and ‘Halt’ (resistant) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), ‘Morex’ (susceptible) barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and ‘Border’ (resistant) oat (Avena sativa L.). Esterase isozymes differed between the two aphid species, although glutathione S‐transferase and superoxide dismutase did not. Esterase, glutathione S‐transferase, and superoxide dismutase activities in either aphid species were not affected by the level of resistance of a cereal to D. noxia. The assays of cereal leaf samples showed that D. noxia feeding elicited an increase in esterase activity in all four cereal genotypes, although R. padi feeding did not. The increase of esterase activity in cereals, however, was not correlated to aphid resistance in the cereals. The time‐series assays of aphid‐infested cereal leaves showed that D. noxia‐infested Morex barley had a significant increase in esterase activity on all sampling dates (3, 6, and 9 days) in comparison with either uninfested or R. padi‐infested barley. No difference in glutathione S‐transferase activity was detected among either aphid infestations or sampling dates. The electrophoretic assays, however, revealed that aphid feeding elicited a significant increase in superoxide dismutase activity, which served as the control of glutathione S‐transferase activity assays. The increase in esterase and superoxide dismutase activities suggested that D. noxia feeding imposes not only toxic, but also oxidative stresses on the cereals. The ramification of using these enzyme activity data to understand the etiology of D. noxia‐elicited chlorosis is discussed.