Distinct expression patterns for two Xenopus Bar homeobox genes

The BarH1 and BarH2 homeobox genes are coexpressed in cells of the fly retina and in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The fly Bar genes are required for normal development of the eye and external sensory organs. In Xenopus we have identified two distinct vertebrate Bar-related homeobox genes, XBH1 and XBH2. XBH1 is highly related in sequence and expression pattern to a mammalian gene, MBH1, suggesting that they are orthologues. XBH2 has not previously been identified but is clearly related to the Drosophila Bar genes. During early Xenopus embryogenesis XBH1 and XBH2 are expressed in overlapping regions of the central nervous system. XBH1, but not XBH2, is expressed in the developing retina. By comparing the expression of XBH1 with that of hermes, a marker of differentiated retinal ganglion cells, we show that XBH1 is expressed in retinal ganglion cells during the differentiation process, but is down-regulated as cells become terminally differentiated. Received: 12 August 1999 / Accepted: 5 October 1999     

Isolation and functional analysis of cotton universal stress protein promoter in response to phytohormones and abiotic stresses

The 949 bp promoter fragment upstream from the translation initiation site of the GUSP gene encoding a universal stress protein was isolated from the genomic DNA of Gossypium arboreum. Some putative cis-acting elements involved in stress responses including E-box, ABRE, DPBF-box, and MYB-core elements were found in the promoter region. In an Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression assay, strong activation of the GUSP full promoter region occurred in tobacco leaves following dehydration, abscisic acid, salt, heavy metal, gibberellic acid and dark treatments. Deletion analysis of the promoter revealed that the dehydration, abscisic acid and salt responses were affected by the deletion between −208 and −949 bp and showed 2–4-fold induction. However, in response to dark, gibberellic acid and heavy metals the induction was only 2-fold. These findings further our understanding of the regulation of GUSP expression. This is an important study as no report of this universal stress protein promoter is available in literature.     

Pyridoxine is required for post-embryonic root development and tolerance to osmotic and oxidative stresses

Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) is a cofactor required by numerous enzymes in all cellular organisms. Plants are the major source of vitamin B6 for animals, yet the biosynthesis pathway and the function of vitamin B6 in plants are not well elucidated. In this study, an Arabidopsis pyridoxine synthase gene PDX1 was characterized and its in vivo functions were investigated. The PDX1 gene was expressed in all plant parts examined and its expression level was not significantly regulated by abiotic stress or the phytohormone abscisic acid. In roots, PDX1 was highly expressed in a defined region behind the root tips that undergoes rapid cell division. The PDX1 protein was mainly associated with the plasma membrane and endomembranes, implying a potential involvement of vitamin B6 in membrane function. To reveal the in vivo role of PDX1, Arabidopsis insertional mutants were isolated. Strikingly, the pdx1 knockout mutants were impaired in root growth and early seedling development. The stunted roots resulted from both reduced cell division and elongation. Supplementation of the growth media with pyridoxine or reintroduction of the wild-type PDX1 gene into the mutants completely restored the mutant growth, demonstrating that PDX1 is required for pyridoxine biosynthesis in planta. In addition to the developmental defects, pdx1 mutants are hypersensitive to osmotic stress and oxidative stress. These mutant seedlings had increased peroxidation of membrane lipids following UV treatment. Our study establishes a critical role of vitamin B6 in plant development and stress tolerance and suggests that vitamin B6 may represent a new class of antioxidant in plants.     

液体地膜覆盖对棉花根系生长发育的影响

基于棉田可持续发展的思想,利用茚三酮法、钼蓝法及土壤双向切片法,研究了液体地膜覆盖对棉花根系生长发育的影响。结果表明,覆盖棉花前期根系生长发育加快,表现为根系活力增强,根系干重较大,但覆盖不利于棉花根系下扎,土壤深层根系衰减较快。与塑料地膜覆盖相比,液体地膜覆盖增强根系吸收与合成能力的效应在棉花各生育阶段均较明显,根系在土壤内分布较为合理,土壤深层根系衰减较慢,更有利于棉株均衡生长发育,防止棉花早衰。在棉花生产上,采用液体地膜覆盖栽培是一项可行技术．     

影响棉纤维分化和发育的因素

影响棉纤维生长发育的主要因素是：基因型、激素、温度、水分、光照、授粉受精状况等。基因型决定棉纤维分化发育方式，内源或外源激素调控纤维分化、伸长、次生壁形成等发育过程。温度对纤维分化发育也有很大程度的影响。离体纤维生长发育除了受上述因素影响外，还受微量元素、维生素、ＮＨ４＾＋、ＣＯ２浓度等影响。     

Comprehensive expression analysis of rice phospholipase D gene family during abiotic stresses and development

Phospholipase D is one of the crucial enzymes involved in lipid mediated signaling, triggered during various developmental and physiological processes. Different members of PLD gene family have been known to be induced under different abiotic stresses and during developmental processes in various plant species. In this report, we are presenting a detailed microarray based expression analysis and expression profiles of entire set of PLD genes in rice genome, under three abiotic stresses (salt, cold and drought) and different developmental stages (3-vegetative stages and 11-reproductive stages). Seven and nine PLD genes were identified, which were expressed differentially under abiotic stresses and during reproductive developmental stages, respectively. PLD genes, which were expressed significantly under abiotic stresses exhibited an overlapping expression pattern and were also differentially expressed during developmental stages. Moreover, expression pattern for a set of stress induced genes was validated by real time PCR and it supported the microarray expression data. These findings emphasize the role of PLDs in abiotic stress signaling and development in rice. In addition, expression profiling for duplicated PLD genes revealed a functional divergence between the duplicated genes and signify the role of gene duplication in the evolution of this gene family in rice. This expressional study will provide an important platform in future for the functional characterization of PLDs in crop plants.     

夏套棉对棉花生态环境及生长发育影响的研究

研究了夏套棉的环境因子及其对棉株生长发育的影响 .结果表明 ,麦棉共生期 ,麦田畦埂棉苗冠层光照强度为单作棉苗的 30 %左右 ,麦套棉行棉苗大部分时间处在光补偿点以下 ,光照是影响夏套棉生长发育诸因子中的首要因子 ;0、5、1 0、1 5、2 0cm深度土壤的日平均温度 ,麦田畦埂比单作棉田分别降低 5.1、4.0、4.6、5.0、4.9℃ ,比麦套棉行分别提高 2 .1、1 .8、1 .1、0 .6、0 .6℃ ;其它环境因子 ,麦田畦埂一般均优于麦套棉行而次于单作棉田 .棉株性状 ,麦田畦埂的优于麦套棉行次于单作夏棉 ;生育期 ,麦田畦埂的早于麦套棉行晚于单作夏棉 ;经济性状 ,麦田畦埂的好于麦套棉行次于单作夏棉 .     

转Bt基因棉花国抗62对棉铃虫生长发育的影响及田间抗虫效果

为了明确新疆第一个自主转Bt基因棉花品种国抗62对棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera生长发育影响及田间抗虫效果,2005年进行了室内生物测定和田间小区试验。在室内以国抗62（转Cry1Ac基因棉花）和中棉35（对照常规棉花）的叶片饲喂棉铃虫幼虫,从幼虫发育历期、体重、存活率、化蛹等方面,分析了棉铃虫生长发育动态。结果表明,国抗62对棉铃虫生长发育的抑制作用非常显著。与对照相比,取食国抗62的棉铃虫幼虫1～6龄龄期分别延长了1.0,7.8,8.2,17.8,20.3和＞21.3天;幼虫发育到6龄时存活率仅为2.6%,最终无一化蛹,而对照幼虫发育到6龄时存活率为91.8%,最终化蛹率为89.8%。田间小区调查结果显示国抗62对第2代棉铃虫有非常好的抗虫效果：两个品种棉田棉铃虫落卵量无显著差异,但国抗62棉田比对照棉田虫口数量降低85.7%,顶尖被害率降低94.4%,蕾铃被害率降低95.1%,差异达到显著和极显著水平。但国抗62对第3代棉铃虫的田间抗虫效果欠佳。棉铃虫在新疆棉田以第2代为害为主,因此,国抗62能够起到有效的控制作用。     

Knots in the family tree: evolutionary relationships and functions of knox homeobox genes

Knotted-like homeobox (knox) genes constitute a gene family in plants. Class I knox genes are expressed in shoot apical meristems, and (with notable exceptions) not in lateral organ primordia. Class II genes have more diverse expression patterns. Loss and gain of function mutations indicate that knox genes are important regulators of meristem function. Gene duplication has contributed to the evolution of families of homeodomain proteins in metazoans. We believe that similar mechanisms have contributed to the diversity of knox gene function in plants. Knox genes may have contributed to the evolution of compound leaves in tomato and could be involved in the evolution of morphological traits in other species. Alterations in cis-regulatory regions in some knox genes correlate with novel patterns of gene expression and distinctive morphologies. Preliminary data from the analysis of class I knox gene expression illustrates the evolution of complex patterns of knox expression is likely to have occurred through loss and gain of domains of gene expression.     

赤霉素信号转导与棉纤维的分子发育

赤霉素(Gas)作为一种高效能的植物生长调节物质对棉纤维的分化和发育有着非常重要的影响, 但是, 一直以来有关赤霉素与棉纤维分化和发育的分子机制的研究还很少。文章论述了近年来GA信号组分、转导途径的分子生物学研究进展以及GA与棉纤维分子发育的相关研究成果, 旨在为揭示赤霉素调控棉纤维分化和发育的分子机制以及改善棉纤维品质的棉花育种工作提供新的思路。