The control of flower initiation by gibberellin in Helianthus annuus L. (sunflower), a non-photoperiodic plant

The involvement of gibberellins in the control of flowering of sunflower was studied by direct application of GA₃ to the apex of the plants, analysis of the endogenous levels of gibberellin-like substances at different plant ages, and indirectly by the application of paclobutrazol, an inhibitor of gibberellin synthesis. GA₃ speeded-up flower initiation and floral apex development. The time of GA₃ application was more critical than the amount of GA₃ applied. The endogenous levels of gibberellin-like compounds increased significantly by day 15 after sowing. The application of paclobutrazol markedly delayed floral initiation and this effect was also depedent on plant age. Both GA₃ and paclobutrazol had their greatest effects between 10 and 20 days after sowing suggesting that an increase in gibberellins in that time period plays a role in floral initiation.     

An automatic device to record the force necessary to compensate plant movements

A device, which automatically and continuously keeps moving plants in fixed positions, has been constructed. The apparatus is based on optical detection of any movements of the plant organ under study. The plant organ is kept in the desired position by means of wires, and the force necessary to apply to the wires to achieve this is recorded. The force reflects any tendency of the plant organ to move. The system is controlled by an Apple II computer. The device can work in one or two dimensions and record compensation forces in a wide range. In the experiments mentioned below, the magnitude of the forces necessary to keep the plants in a fixed position was of the order of 10^-4N.
Circadian leaf movements of Oxalis regnellii Mig. were studied in the device. The leaf rhythm continued, although the leaflets were clamped and the light input on the leaf therefore constant. Circumnutation of hypocotyls of Helianthus annus L. cv. Californicus were drastically reduced in amplitude when the hypocotyls were kept in vertical position by the wires. Since the gravitropic input signal to this system was zeroed by the equipment, the results demonstrated that in the absence of gravitropic inputs the circumnutation reactions drastically diminish. This confirmed that circumnutations of these hypocotyls are influenced by gravity. Finally, the apparatus was used to study phototropic reactions: By clamping phototropically stimulated coleoptiles of Avena sativa L. cv. Seger no gravitational stimulations were involved and the phototropic reaction without interference from gravity could be studied.     

Tests of the accuracy of cladograms in Gilia (Polemoniaceae) and some other angiosperm genera

 This paper deals with the use of cladistic methods and cladograms in phylogeny reconstruction in plant groups containing numerous taxa. How accurate are the cladograms as to details? Accuracy tests at the level of details require an independently known phylogeny, which excludes most plant groups, but such tests can be carried out in domesticated and experimental plant groups which have documented pedigrees. Four such tests are known and are presented here: a new case in Gilia and three previously published cases in Avena, Hordeum, and Helianthus. The four cases include domesticated and experimental plants, use of morphological and molecular evidence, and presence of dichotomous as well as reticulate phylogenies. The cladograms of the four plant groups all differ in significant details from the known pedigrees. These results are discussed in relation to problems of interpretation of cladograms. Received March 21, 2000 Accepted August 16, 2001     

Auswirkungen des Anbaus einer Wirts- und einer Nichtwirtspflanze unter wechselnden ökologischen Bedingungen auf die Populationsdynamik von Rhizoctonia solani Kühn und Fusarium solani f. pisi (Jones) Snyd. et Hans

An isometric virus was isolated from Helianthus annuus L. plants showing a yellow leaf spot mosaic on affected leaves. Infected plants were found in different ecological regions of Ukraine. A procedure of virus purification is described. The diametres of the virus particles were nonuniform and ranged from 50 to 120 nm. The sedimentation coefficient of the virus was 518–540 S and the floating density in the CsCl gradient was 1.22 g/cm³. The MW of proteins separated by electrophoresis amounted to 78±0.9, 58±0.8, 52±0.2, and 27±0.8 kDa, respectively. The virus was assigned to the tospoviruses for which sunflower is a new previously undescribed natural host plant.     

菊芋HtCCR1基因的克隆与表达分析

肉桂酰辅酶A还原酶(cinnamoyl-CoA reductase,CCR)是木质素合成代谢的关键酶。该研究以菊芋(Helianthus tuberosus L.)‘廊芋8号’为材料,克隆到1个菊芋的CCR基因,命名为HtCCR1(GenBank登录号为MN205540),其开放阅读框(ORF)长975bp,编码324个氨基酸,其中含有FR_SDR_e保守结构域。系统进化分析表明,HtCCR1与向日葵CCR蛋白(XP_021989763.1)共聚于一支,二者亲缘关系最近。实时定量PCR分析表明,HtCCR1基因在菊芋茎和叶中的表达量显著高于在根和块茎中;盐(150mmol·L-1 NaCl)胁迫处理6、12和24h后,处理组HtCCR1基因的表达量均显著高于对照组;干旱(20%PEG6000)胁迫6和12h后,处理组HtCCR1基因的表达较对照组均显著上调。成功构建pET-28a-HtCCR1原核表达载体,转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)并诱导出了符合预期大小的蛋白,表明HtCCR1重组蛋白已成功表达。该研究结果为进一步研究HtCCR1基因的功能及利用基因工程手段调节菊芋中木质素的生物合成奠定了基础。     

盐渍化胁迫下油葵对土壤原油污染的适应性及其改良措施

为了探究植物在盐渍化胁迫下对原油污染的适应性及改良措施,本研究以油葵作为研究对象,进行了原油-氯化钠-脱硫石膏盆栽正交试验和煤渣-沸石-脱硫石膏-锯沫盆栽正交试验.结果表明: 在盐渍化条件下,随着原油浓度的增大,油葵幼苗株高相对生长率(RGR)、地上生物量RGR、根氮磷比均显著减小,超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性呈先增加后显著降低的趋势;随着锯沫体积分数的加大,油葵株高RGR和地上生物量RGR均显著增加,SOD活性逐渐降低,说明锯沫在改良盐渍化原油污染土壤方面比煤渣、沸石和脱硫石膏效果显著.在盐渍化条件下,原油污染能够降低油葵幼苗的生长率,锯沫对改良原油污染有较好的效果.     

Multiple chromosomal inversions contribute to adaptive divergence of a dune sunflower ecotype

Both models and case studies suggest that chromosomal inversions can facilitate adaptation and speciation in the presence of gene flow by suppressing recombination between locally adapted alleles. Until recently, however, it has been laborious and time‐consuming to identify and genotype inversions in natural populations. Here we apply RAD sequencing data and newly developed population genomic approaches to identify putative inversions that differentiate a sand dune ecotype of the prairie sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris) from populations found on the adjacent sand sheet. We detected seven large genomic regions that exhibit a different population structure than the rest of the genome and that vary in frequency between dune and nondune populations. These regions also show high linkage disequilibrium and high heterozygosity between, but not within, arrangements, consistent with the behaviour of large inversions, an inference subsequently validated in part by comparative genetic mapping. Genome–environment association analyses show that key environmental variables, including vegetation cover and soil nitrogen, are significantly associated with inversions. The inversions colocate with previously described “islands of differentiation,” and appear to play an important role in adaptive divergence and incipient speciation within H. petiolaris.     

Characterization of glycolytic initial metabolites and enzyme activities in developing sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seeds

Unlike other oilseeds (e.g. Arabidopsis), developing sunflower seeds do not accumulate a lot of starch and they rely on the sucrose that comes from the mother plant to synthesise lipid precursors. Between 10 and 25 days after flowering (DAF), when sunflower seeds form and complete the main period of storage lipid synthesis, the sucrose content of seeds is relatively constant. By contrast, the glucose and fructose content falls from day 20 after flowering and it is always lower than that of sucrose, with glucose being the minor sugar at the end of the seed formation. By studying the apparent kinetic parameters and the activity of glycolytic enzymes in vitro, it is evident that all the components of the glycolytic pathway are present in the crude seed extract. However, in isolated plastids important enzymatic activities are missing, such as the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, involved in the conversion of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate into 1,3-biphospho-glycerate, or the enolase that converts 2-phosphoglycerate into phosphoenolpyruvate. Hence, phosphoenolpyruvate or one of its derivatives, like pyruvate and malate from the cytosol, may be the primary carbon sources for lipid biosynthesis. Accordingly, the glucose-6-P imported into the plastid is likely to be used in the pentose phosphate pathway to produce the reducing power for lipid biosynthesis in the form of NADPH. Data from crude seed extracts indicate that enolase activity increased during seed formation, from 16 days after flowering, and that this activity was well correlated with the period of storage lipid synthesis. In addition, while the presence of some glycolytic enzymes increased during lipid synthesis, others decreased, remained constant, or displayed irregular temporal behaviour.