Ionic balance,proton efflux,nitrate reductase activity and growth ofHippophaë rhamnoides L. ssp.rhamnoides as influenced by combined-N nutrition or N2 fixation

Growth of 2-month-old nonnodulatedHippophaë rhamnoides seedlings supplied with combined N was compared with that of nodulated seedlings grown on zero N. Plant growth was significantly better with combined N than with N₂ fixation and, although not statistically significant for individual harvests, tended to be highest in the presence of NH ₄ ⁺ , a mixture of NH ₄ ⁺ and NO ₃ ^? producing the highest yields. Growth was severely reduced when solely dependent on N₂ fixation and, unlike the combined-N plants, shoot to root ratios had only slightly increased after an initial decrease. An apparently insufficient nodule mass (nodule weight ratio <5 per cent) during the greater part of the experimental period is suggested as the main cause of the growth reduction in N₂-fixing plants. Thein vivo nitrate reductase activity (NRA) of NO ₃ ^? dependent plants was almost entirely located in the roots. However, when grown with a combination of NO ₃ ^? and NH ₄ ⁺ , root NRA was decreased by approximately 85 per cent.H. rhamnoides demonstrated in the mixed supply a strong preference for uptake of N as NH ₄ ⁺ , NO ₃ ^? contributing only for approximately 20 per cent to the total N assimilation. Specific rates of N acquisition and ion uptake were generally highest in NO ₃ ^? +NH ₄ ⁺ plants. The generation of organic anions per unit total plant dry weight was approximately 40 per cent less in the NH ₄ ⁺ plants than in the NO ₃ ^? plants. Measured extrusions of H⁺ or OH^? (HCO ₃ ^? ) were generally in good agreement with calculated values on the basis of plant composition, and the acidity generated with N₂ fixation amounted to 0.45–0.55 meq H⁺. (mmol N_org)^?1. Without acidity control and in the presence of NH ₄ ⁺ , specific rates of ion uptake and carboxylate generation were strongly depressed and growth was reduced by 30–35 per cent. Growth of nonnodulatedH. rhamnoides plants ceased at the lower pH limit of 3.1–3.2 and deterioration set in; in the case of N₂-fixing plants the nutrient solution pH stabilized at a value of 3.8–3.9 without any apparent adverse effects upon plant performance. The chemical composition of experimental and field-growing plants is being compared and some comments are made on the nitrogen supply characteristics of their natural sites.     

Interaction of iodinated vinculin, metavinculin and α-actinin with cytoskeletal proteins

Iodinated vinculin, metavinculin and α-actinin were used to probe the interaction of these proteins with electrophoretically separated cytoskeletal proteins. Using the gel overlay technique, we detected strong binding of ¹²⁵I-vinculin and ¹²⁵I-metavinculin to α-actinin, 175 kDa polypeptide, talin, vinculin and metavinculin themselves, and moderate binding to actin.¹²⁵I-α-actinin was capable of interacting with vinculin and metavinculin. The specific binding of ¹²⁵-I-α-actinin to vinculin and metavinculin immobilized on a polysterene surface was also demonstrated. We suggest that the ability of vinculin and α-actinin to form a complex may be realized in microfilament-membrane linkages.     

Salinity and germination of annual Melilotus from the Guadalquivir delta (SW Spain)

The germination response to NaCl treatments has been studied in Melilotus seed populations collected from saline and non-saline soils in the Guadalquivir delta. The rank orders for salt tolerance and seed weight were the same in the threeMelilotus species living in this area:Melilotus messanensis>M. segetalis>M. indica. Within the species, differences in germination response to salinity were found inM. indica (6 populations) andM. segetalis (8 populations). The relationship between salt tolerance during germination and salinity of maternal habitat is discussed.     

Acclimatation sur la côte d'azur et en corse deSerangium parcesetosum [Col.: Coccinellidae] prédateur de l'aleurode des citrus,Dialeurodes citri [Hom.: Aleyrodidae]

Résumé La CoccinelleSerangium parcesetosum Sicard originaire de l'Inde a été importée en France en 1985 de Géorgie soviétique où elle avait été introduite pour lutter contre l'Aleurode des CitrusDialeurodes citri Ashmead. Les premiers lachers ont été effectués sur la C?te d'Azur et en Corse où elle semble désormais bien acclimatée.      

Paradise lost: Mitochondrial eve refuted

Being based solely on neontological data, all «unique parent» evolutionary hypotheses, of which «Mitochondrial Eve» is one, fall into the category ofscala naturae. Mathematical treatment of neontological data bases, using cladistic approaches does not confer the status of scientific hypotheses onto such scenarios. Apart from these fundamental problems, such hypotheses are flawed on a number of other bases, including the fact that there is a proportion of parental contribution to mitochondrial lineages, despite widely publicised statements that mithocondrial DNA in mammals is «strictly» maternally inherited. Other weaknesses of «unique mother» hypotheses on that their proponents endeavour to describe the evolution of diploid organisms on the basis of variability in extant haploid organelles, the evolution of which is delinked from that of the diploid organism. A further difficulty is that it is not possible to reconstruct interspecific relationships on the basis of intraspecific variability. There is a general ignorance among proponents of «unique mother» hypotheses regarding the distribution of biological variability on the surface of the globe, a fact which renders the molecular clock inaccurate, and which upsets the simplistic proposal that molecular diversity equates with time. «Unique mother» scenarios are also invalidated by the presence of shared chromosome and other polymorphisms in african great apes and humans at similar percentages in the different lineages, a fact which indicates that these evolving populations did not experience «bottlenecks». These and other difficulties effectively refute the «Mitochondrial Eve» hypothesis, which in any case much resembles creationism of a special kind, in which the offspring of a breeding pair are visualised as belonging to a species different from its parents. Such extreme examples of the punctuational mode of evolution are highly likely to be incorrect.     

2,4-D和6-BA对向日葵下胚轴愈伤组织生长及钙调蛋白的影响

自 Anderson和 Cormier(1979)从植物中分离提取钙调蛋白(简称 CaM)后,对它的结构功能进行了广泛的研究,发现 CaM在光合作用(Barr等 1980)、酶的激活(Matsumoto等 1983)、蛋白磷酸化(Gideon等1982)等方面均起着重要作用。还证明CaM与生长素、细胞分裂素以及α-淀粉酶的分泌等有密切关系(Elliott 1983,Raghothama等1983;Saunders等1982)Elliott认为植物激素的促     

Electron paramagnetic resonance of single crystal deoxycobaltohemoglobin

Single crystals of horse ^CoHb were obtained by reduction of ^CoHb⁺ crystals with dithionite. Epr measurements showed that the g? and ^Coà tensors are both axial and share the same principal axis systems. Of the four subunits, the “heme” normals of C? and d? subunits ãb?plane 29 ± 1° from b?; they have the same orientation as the hemes in methemoglobin. The normals of “hemes” à and B? are 47 above the ãb? plane as compared to 16° in methemoglobin.     

小麦颖果果皮绿色层内同化物的合成与分配

小麦幼嫩颖果中,果皮内侧发育出由内表皮与亚表皮组成的一薄层绿色组织。显微与亚显微结构观察表明,虽绿色层只接受到自然光照的1/4～1/8,叶绿体仍能正常发育,叶绿素含量与叶绿体数量均高出旗叶。大量胞间连丝联接相邻的绿色细胞,并在一定时期形成开放的胞间通道,显然有利于同化物的快速胞间运输。离体颖果饲喂~14CO_2试验证明,新合成的同化物从绿色细胞输向胚珠。绿色层产生的同化物可能通过合点端的珠心进入胚乳或通过珠孔直接汇聚到胚珠和分化中的原胚。     

分子氮影响下的蓝藻Anabaena7120乙炔还原

经分子氮预处理的蓝藻乙炔还原活性下降。分子氮对乙炔还原的抑制作用可因CO_2的加入而削弱,氮浓度增高时,CO_2的此种有益作用即消失。在5％ CO_2条件下:(1)光照强度大时,经分子氮预处理的蓝藻乙炔还原活性比未经处理的(氮气中)高些,弱光下则削弱,暗中削弱更大;(2)它受到光合抑制剂的抑制较大;(3)对CO_2和O_2的敏感度比未经氮预处理者小;(4)分子氢对其支持与来经氮预处理的相差甚微,但对其受O_2损伤时的保护作用则大些;(5)MSX对分子氮预处理的蓝藻乙炔还原也有明显的抑制,且比单加CO_2的大。