Control of hypocotyl phototropism by phytochrome in a dicotyledonous seedling (Sesamum indicum L.)

Abstract The phototropic response in stems of higher plants is brought about by blue/UV light. The problem studied here is to what extent long-wavelength light, which is absorbed by phytochrome, affects the phototropic response. A refined measurement of phototropism — a curvature index — was applied to the hypocotyl of the sesame seedling (Sesamum indicum L.). The time course of the phototropic response was followed in continuous unilateral weak blue light (B, 460 nm, 8 mW m^?2). Long term red light (R) pretreatments, operating through phytochrome, strongly increase the rate and extent of the phototropic response once it is elicited by unilateral B, while the pretreatments decrease the sensitivity towards B. If a R pulse is given immediately prior to the onset of unilateral B, the rate of the response is strongly reduced compared to the time course of curvature observed when the pretreatment was terminated with a long wavelength far-red light (FR) pulse. R and FR were then applied simultaneously with unilateral B to manipulate the status of the phytochrome system during actual curvature. It was found that a low Pfr/P ratio (established by FR) stimulates the phototropic response far above the control (B alone), while a high Pfr/P ratio (established by R) reduces the response below the control. During bending a positive effect of phytochrome on the rate and extent of the phototropic response, which is saturated at a low level of Pfr, appears to be counteracted by an inhibitory effect which dominates at higher levels of Pfr, such as established by omnilateral R. However, if R is applied unilaterally from the same direction as B, R increases the rate of curvature. Apparently the sesame seedling is capable of detecting the direction of R relative to the direction of B. While a mechanistic explanation of these effects cannot be advanced at present, it is clear that the seedling is capable of super-imposing information about the actual light conditions during bending on a ‘memory’ of the light conditions prior to the onset of bending. Thus, the previous as well as the actual light conditions determine its phototropic responsiveness.     

黑芝麻多酚氧化酶的重组表达及其酶学特性

为明确黑芝麻多酚氧化酶的酶学性质,利用大肠杆菌Escherichia coli原核表达了黑芝麻多酚氧化酶 (Black sesame polyphenol oxidase,BsPPO)。将合成的基因构建至pMAL-c5x载体,并在大肠杆菌中进行表达,对重组蛋白进行分离纯化及融合标签切除,获得的BsPPO蛋白用于酶学性质探究。结果表明,合成的Bsppo基因1 752 bp,编码585个氨基酸,理论蛋白分子量为65.3 kDa;构建的pMAL-c5x-Bsppo重组质粒在大肠杆菌Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) 中可溶表达了MBP-BsPPO蛋白;酶切去除MBP融合标签后对BsPPO进行了酶学性质研究,结果表明BsPPO的最适温度和pH分别为25 ℃和4.0,在低温和弱酸性环境中有较好的稳定性。短时间低强度的光照和Cu2+可激活BsPPO的活性,Zn2+和Ca2+能抑制其活性。BsPPO可催化单酚、二酚以及三酚类化合物,对l-酪氨酸以及香草酸表现出较高的催化活性,此外BsPPO还对黑芝麻中含有的2-甲氧基肉桂酸、吲哚3-羧酸和根皮素表现出良好的催化活性。研究结果为黑芝麻多酚氧化酶酶学特性的明确奠定了理论基础。     

Temperature response,pathogenicity, seed infection and mutant evaluation against Macrophomina phaseolina causing charcoal rot disease of sesame

Charcoal rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina is a serious disease of sesame in Pakistan. M. phaseolina sesame isolate was subjected to growth rate test at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40°C. The optimum temperature for fungal growth and microsclerotia production was found to be 30–35°C. Gray to black, radial fungal colonies with intermediate mycelial growth and jet black oval to round microsclerotia were observed at this optimum range. M. phaseolina was found to be pathogenic against all the 18 tested plant species and this pathogenicity proved its necrophytic behavior. Seed infection efficiency of M. phaseolina was 100% with significant reduction in seed index. For two consecutive years 21 mutants/varieties were screened in the field for their reactions to charcoal rot disease. During 2007 three mutants NS11704S1, NS11304S2 and NS26004 were ranked as resistant while others were moderately resistant to highly susceptible. During 2008 all mutants showed a susceptible to highly susceptible reaction with variable disease reactions. All over screening results revealed that four mutants viz, NS13P1, NS163-1, NS270P1 and NS26004 showed about 50% stand with consistent performance during both years under optimum disease conditions and can be used to manage the disease following the disease management strategies, however in the future improvement for high seed yield along with resistance is a prerequisite for sustainable high production.     

Direct effect of biocontrol agents on wilt and root-rot diseases of sesame

In Egypt, sesame cultivation is subject to attack by wilt and root-rot diseases caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. sesami (Zap) Cast. and Macrophomina phaseolina (Maubl) Ashby causing losses in quality and quantity of sesame seed yield. Bacillus subtilis and Trichoderma viride isolates which were isolated from sesame rhizosphere were the most effective to antagonise fungal pathogens, causing high reduction of hyphal fungal growth. Trichoderma viride was found to be mycoparasitic on Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. sesami and M. phaseolina causing morphological atternation of fungal cells and sclerotial formation. In general, Bacillus subtilis, T. viride, avirulent Fusarium oxysporum isolate and Glomus spp. (Amycorrhizae) significantly reduced wilt and root-rot incidence of sesame plants at artificially infested potted soil by each one or two pathogens. Data obtained indicate that Glomus spp significantly reduced wilt and disease severity development on sesame plants followed by T. viride. Meanwhile, avirulent Fusarium oxysporum isolate followed by Glomus spp. were effective against root-rot disease incidence caused by M. phaseolina. Glomus spp. followed by B. subtilis significantly reduced wilt and root-rot disease of sesame plants. All biotic agents significantly reduced F. oxysporum f.sp. sesami and M. phaseolina counts in sesame rhizosphere at the lowest level. Glomus spp. and the avirulent isolate of F. oxysporum eliminated M. phaseolina in sesame rhizosphere. Meanwhile T. viride was the best agent at reducing F. oxysporum at a lower level than other treatments. Application of VA mycorrhizae (Glomus spp.) in fields naturally infested by pathogens significantly reduced wilt and root-rot incidence and it significantly colonised sesame root systems and rhizospheres compared to untreated sesame transplantings.     

Antihypertensive Effect of Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme Inhibitory Peptides from a Sesame Protein Hydrolysate in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Sesame peptide powder (SPP) exhibited angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity, and significantly and temporarily decreased the systolic blood pressure (SBP) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) by a single administration (1 and 10 mg/kg). Six peptide ACE inhibitors were isolated and identified from SPP. The representative peptides, Leu-Val-Tyr, Leu-Gln-Pro and Leu-Lys-Tyr, could competitively inhibit ACE activity at respective Ki values of 0.92 μM, 0.50 μM, and 0.48 μM. A reconstituted sesame peptide mixture of Leu-Ser-Ala, Leu-Gln-Pro, Leu-Lys-Tyr, Ile-Val-Tyr, Val-Ile-Tyr, Leu-Val-Tyr, and Met-Leu-Pro-Ala-Tyr according to their content ratio in SPP showed a strong antihypertensive effect on SHR at doses of 3.63 and 36.3 μg/kg, which accounted for more than 70% of the corresponding dosage for the SPP-induced hypotensive effect. Repeated oral administration of SPP also lowered both SBP and the aortic ACE activity in SHR. These results demonstrate that SPP would be a beneficial ingredient for preventing and providing therapy against hypertension and its related diseases.     

Identification of a characteristic antioxidant,anthrasesamone F,in black sesame seeds and its accumulation at different seed developmental stages

Assay-guided fractionation of the methanol extract from black seeds of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) led to the isolation of an active compound that had a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity. This antioxidant was confirmed to be anthrasesamone F, an anthraquinone derivative previously isolated from different black sesame seeds and biogenetically related to other anthrasesamones in sesame roots. The radical scavenging assay showed that anthrasesamone F had more potent activity than Trolox. The content of anthrasesamone F in different parts and at different developmental stages of black sesame seeds was investigated to clarify the accumulation pattern of this antioxidant in the black seeds. Anthrasesamone F was localized in the seed coat of black seeds and accumulated after the seed coat color changed to black. The content of anthrasesamone F increased gradually with seed maturation and drastically on air-drying, the final stage in sesame cultivation.     

Biological effects of low-energy C ion implantation on sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

Field cultivation experiments on white sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)seeds implanted with low-energy C ion showed that different dosages of C ion implantation produce different biological effects.Sesame plants in 6 different dosage groups with C ion density respectively at 1×1011,1×1012,1×1015,5×1015,1×1016,5×1016 ion/cm2 were superior to the control group in plant height,leaf number,stalk diameter and leaf size.Further,sesame plants in these groups flower and seed earlier than those in the control group,and single plant yield also increased.Of all the groups,the 5×1015 ion/cm2 dosage group yielded the best effect,whereas the 1×1017/cm2 dosage group showed an evident inhibitory effect of ion implantation on the germination and growth of the sesame seeds.     

Comparative analysis of expressed sequence tags from Sesamum indicum and Arabidopsis thaliana developing seeds

Sesame (Sesamum indicum) is an important oilseed crop which produces seeds with 50% oil that have a distinct flavor and contains antioxidant lignans. Because sesame lignans are known to have antioxidant and health-protecting properties, metabolic pathways for lignans have been of interest in developing sesame seeds. As an initial approach to identify genes involved in accumulation of storage products and in the biosynthesis of antioxidant lignans, 3328 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were obtained from a cDNA library of immature seeds 5-25 days old. ESTs were clustered and analyzed by the BLASTX or FASTAX program against the GenBank NR and Arabidopsis proteome databases. To compare gene expression profiles during development of green and non-green seeds, a comparative analysis was carried out between developing sesame and Arabidopsis seed ESTs. Analyses of these two seed EST sets have helped to identify similar and different gene expression profiles during seed development, and to identify a large number of sesame seed-specific genes. In particular, we have identified EST candidates for genes possibly involved in biosynthesis of sesame lignans, sesamin and sesamolin, and also suggest a possible metabolic pathway for the generation of cofactors required for synthesis of storage lipid in non-green oilseeds. Seed-specific expression of several candidate genes has been confirmed by northern blot analysis.     

河南芝麻授粉昆虫初步调查

为了清楚了解芝麻花授粉昆虫种类、昆虫的授粉规律和授粉时间,2009年对河南省平舆县高杨店乡的13个样点芝麻花授粉昆虫进行调查,采集到授粉昆虫标本65份.经过整理鉴定,芝麻花授粉昆虫共计5目14科25种.其中,蜜蜂占授粉昆虫的92%,是大田芝麻主要的授粉昆虫.蜜蜂授粉出勤高峰出现在8:00～8:50和18:00～18:50.