Benzyladenine-Induced Increase in DNA Content per Cell, Chloroplast Size, and Chloroplast Number per Cell in Intact Bean Leaves

Primary leaves of intact bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)were treated with benzyladenine (BA) at different stages oftheir growth. BA induced a marked increase in DNA content percell in growing leaves where no cell division occurred. BA stimulatedthe chloroplast replication compared with untreated leaves.After the replication period, chloroplast size continued toincrease in BA- treated leaves, but not in untreated controls.     

Resistance to Water Loss from the Mesophyll Cell Surface in Plant Leaves

A method is described for the accurate measurement of the apparentresistance to water loss from the mesophyll cell walls of plantleaves (r_w), and for studying the mechanism underlying thisresistance. The method for distinguishing possible mechanismsinvolves a comparison of the calculated values of r_w at differentrates of evaporation. The value of r_w remained below 50 s m^–1at relative water contents greater than 11 ± 3% and 7± 2% for Pelargonium hortorum Bailey and Vicia faba L.respectively. Therefore r_w is relatively insignificant at normalphysiological water contents in these species. When r_w did increaseit was not sensitive to evaporation rate, suggesting that alowering of the vapour pressure at the evaporating sites wasnot involved. This contrasted with the results for cellulosefilter paper, where r_w was more sensitive to evaporative flux.     

Cytokinin-Regulated Mesophyll Cell Division and Expansion during Development of Cucurbita pepo Leaves

The role of cytokinins in the development of mesophyll structure was studied in developing pumpkin Cucurbita pepo L. leaves. Leaves were treated with cytokinins at different stages of growth: when they reached 25 or 50% of their final size (S _max), immediately after leaf growth ceased, and during senescence. At the early stages of leaf development, treatment with exogenous benzyladenine accelerated division of mesophyll cells. At the later stages of development, BA treatment activated expansion of growing cells and those, which have just accomplished their growth. The exogenous cytokinin did not affect the senescent leaf cells. The content of endogenous cytokinins changed during mesophyll development. The juvenile leaves (25% of S _max) were characterized by low level of these phytohormones. In the expanding leaves (50% of S _max), the content of phytohormones increased and decreased when leaf growth ceased. In the senescent leaves, the cytokinin content decreased markedly. It was concluded that the response of mesophyll cells to cytokinin depended on the cell growth phase at the moment of hormone action. Furthermore, in the young leaves, lower cytokinin concentrations were required for division of mesophyll cells in vivo than for cell expansion at the final stage of leaf development.     

Models of Cell Number Increase in Developing Leaves

Negative logistic and negative exponential models to accountfor cell number changes in primary leaves of Phaseolus are considered.The negative exponential model gives a close fit to observeddata for cell number when the average division time is 12 h.From this model it is considered that about 20 per cent of thecells in the leaf are capable of continued division at the timewhen divisions actually cease.     

Changes in the Number and Size of Chloroplasts during Senescence of Primary Leaves of Wheat Grown under Different Conditions

Changes in the number and size of chloroplasts in mesophyllcells were investigated in primary leaves of wheat from fullexpansion to yellowing under different growth conditions. Thenumber of chloroplasts per cell decreased slowly, although thedecrease was steady and statistically significant, until thelast stage of leaf senescence, when rapid degradation of chloroplaststook place. Rates of leaf senescence, or the decline in thenumber of chloroplasts, varied greatly among plants grown atdifferent seasons of the year, but about 20% of chloroplastsalways disappeared during the phase when steady loss of chloroplastsoccurred. The area of chloroplast disks also decreased graduallybut significantly, with a rapid decrease late in senescence.Thus, the total quantity of chloroplasts per mesophyll celldecreased substantially during leaf senescence. Yellowed leavescontained numerous structures that resemble oil drops but nochloroplasts. Decreases in rates of photosynthesis that occurduring senescence may, therefore, be largely due to decreasesin the quantity of chloroplasts. However, a better correlationwas found between the decrease in the maximum capacity for photosynthesisand the degradation of RuBP carboxylase. When plants had beengrown with a sufficient supply of nutrients, the number of chloroplastsdecreased steadily but at a reduced rate and the reduction inthe area of chloroplast disks was strongly suppressed. Thus,the quantitative decrease in chloroplasts in senescing leavesappears to be regulated by the requirements for nutrients (nitrogen)of other part of the plant. ³Present address: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science,Toho University, Miyama, Funabashi, Chiba, 274 Japan     

Cellular Levels of Ribulose 1,5 Bisphosphate Carboxylase and Chloroplast Compartment Size in Wheat Mesophyll Cells

Pyke, K. A. and Leech, R. M. 1987. Cellular levels of ribulose1,5 bisphosphate carboxylase and chloroplast compartment sizein wheat mesophyll cells.—J. exp. Bot. 38: 1949–1956. The amount of the photosynthetic enzyme ribulose 1,5 bisphosphatecarboxylase (RUBISCO),as determined in mesophyll cells in primarywheat leaves was related to the size of the chloroplast compartmentwithin the cell for wheat species of three ploidy levels. Asimilar comparison was made for several genotypes of the hexaploidbreadwheat Triticum aestivum. Estimation of total chloroplastvolume per mesophyll cell was made assuming chloroplasts tobe oblate spheroid in shape. A significant correlation was found between the amount of RUBISCOper cell and the total chloroplast volume per cell for diploid,tetraploid and hexaploid wheat species. A significant correlationbetween cellular RUBISCO level and total chloroplast volumeper cell was also observed for a range of genotypes of the hexaploidT. aestivum but these genotypes of T. aestivutn accumulate agreater amount of RUBISCO per unit chloroplast volume than doany other wheat species. For these genotypes of T. aestivumthe stromal concentration of RUBISCO was estimated at 0·5mol m^–3 with a ribulose Msphosphate binding site concentrationof 4·0 mol m^–3. These results are discussed with respect to a gene dosage hypothesisto explain the accumulation of RUBISCO in leaf mesophyll cells. Key words: Ribulose, bisphosphate carboxylase, wheat chloroplasts, mesophyll cells     

Variation in Chlorophyll A Content and Stability in Wheat Flag Leaves

Chlorophyll a content in segments of flag leaves from 19 wheatvarieties excised at ear emergence was shown to vary by a factorof 2.3. Chlorophyll stability (expressed as the percentage ofchlorophyll remaining in the segments after 4 days senescencein moist boxes at 20 °C in the dark) varied by a factorof 8.5. Variation in these parameters between varieties appearedto be independent. Five of these varieties, representing the extremes, were furthertested at three nutrient levels, and under three light/temperatureregimes. Whilst lower leaf canopy senescence was greater atlow nutrient levels, flag leaf chlorophyll content actuallyincreased slightly, stability remaining fairly constant. Incontrast, as light intensity improved, chlorophyll content increasedmarkedly, with a consequent slight non-significant decreasein stability. Testing the F₁ progeny of a partial diallel involving four ofthe above varieties showed that the mean chlorophyll content,and stability, of the parents followed the same ranking as theprogeny to which they contributed. This suggests heritable controlof the parameters measured. Some implications of these resultsin breeding for resistance to senescence are discussed.     

Changes in the Number and Composition of Chloroplasts during Senescence of Mesophyll Cells of Attached and Detached Primary Leaves of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Changes in the number and composition of chloroplasts of mesophyll cells were followed during senescence of the primary leaf of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Senescence was due to the natural pattern of leaf ontogeny or was either induced by leaf detachment and incubation in darkness, or incubation of attached leaves in the dark. In each case discrete sections (1 centimeter) of the leaf, representing mesophyll cells of the basal, middle, and tip regions, were examined. For all treatments, senescence was characterized by a loss of chlorophyll and the protein ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase). Chloroplast number per mesophyll cell remained essentially constant during senescence. It was not until more than 80% of the plastid chlorophyll and RuBPCase was degraded that some reduction (22%) in chloroplast number per mesophyll cell was recorded and this was invariably in the mesophyll cells of the leaf tip. We conclude that these data are consistent with the idea that degradation occurs within the chloroplast and that all chloroplasts in a mesophyll cell senesce with a high degree of synchrony rather than each chloroplast senescing sequentially.     

接种叶锈菌的小麦叶片胞间洗脱液对叶肉细胞原生质体微丝骨架的影响

用异硫氰酸 鬼笔环肽 (FITC Ph)标记和共聚焦激光扫描显微镜 (CLSM )观察发现 ,以具有激发子活性的接种叶锈菌的小麦叶片的胞间洗脱液 (IWF)处理叶肉细胞原生质体一定时间后 ,抗病小麦品种洛夫林 10的原生质体内微丝骨架保持完整的网络状结构 ,而感病品种 5 389的大部分微丝骨架处于解聚状态。同时 ,抗病品种因IWF处理诱发的防卫反应———H2 O2 突发和HR反应的程度 (用原生质体活力下降的程度表示 )也大大高于感病品种。用细胞松弛素D(CD)预处理抗病品种原生质体可以明显抑制IWF处理诱发的H2 O2突发和HR反应 ,表明微丝骨架的状态可能与抗病性有密切的关系 ,完整的微丝骨架是H2 O2 突发和HR反应的一个重要条件。     

Effect of Salinity on the Composition, Number and Size of Epidermal Cells along the Mature Blade of Wheat Leaves

Salinity inhibits leaf growth in association with changes in cell size. The objective of this study was to determine the spatial distributions of the composition, number and dimensions of epidermal cells in the mature blades of leaf four of wheat seedlings under saline conditions. Plants were grown in loamy soil either with or without 120 mmol/L NaCl in a growth chamber, and harvested after leaf four was fully developed. The results of the spatial distribution analyses of width along the blade showed that salinity not only reduced the width of the leaf blade, but that it also altered the distribution pattern of blade width along the leaf axis. The reduction in the final size of the leaf blade was associated with a reduction in the total number of epidermal cells and in their widths and lengths. This study also revealed the spatial effects of salinity on the blade and epidermal cell dimensions along the leaf axis. In particular, salinity inhibited the total cell number for interstomatal, sister and elongated cells, implying that cell division in wheat leaves is inhibited by salinity. However, the lengths of interstomatal cells were not affected by salinity （unlike those for the sister and elongated cells）, suggesting the relative contributions of cell length and numbers to the reduction in the final length of the blade under salinity is dependent on cell type.     

Heat Shock Induces Programmed Cell Death in Wheat Leaves

Programmed cell death (PCD) was triggered in wheat leaves by a heat treatment (42 °C). This treatment caused DNA fragmentation as shown in DNA laddering analysis and in terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine-5-triphosphate (dUTP) nick end labeling (TUNEL) analysis. Methanol and acetone treatment of leaves significantly blocked PCD. Western analysis indicated that a 65 kDa poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-like protein was degraded during the treatment. However, high temperature (80 °C) treatment caused necrosis but not PCD.     

A Genetic Framework for Grain Size and Shape Variation in Wheat

Grain morphology in wheat (Triticum aestivum) has been selected and manipulated even in very early agrarian societies and remains a major breeding target. We undertook a large-scale quantitative analysis to determine the genetic basis of the phenotypic diversity in wheat grain morphology. A high-throughput method was used to capture grain size and shape variation in multiple mapping populations, elite varieties, and a broad collection of ancestral wheat species. This analysis reveals that grain size and shape are largely independent traits in both primitive wheat and in modern varieties. This phenotypic structure was retained across the mapping populations studied, suggesting that these traits are under the control of a limited number of discrete genetic components. We identified the underlying genes as quantitative trait loci that are distinct for grain size and shape and are largely shared between the different mapping populations. Moreover, our results show a significant reduction of phenotypic variation in grain shape in the modern germplasm pool compared with the ancestral wheat species, probably as a result of a relatively recent bottleneck. Therefore, this study provides the genetic underpinnings of an emerging phenotypic model where wheat domestication has transformed a long thin primitive grain to a wider and shorter modern grain.     

遮荫对香果树叶片生理特性及叶肉细胞超微结构的影响

设置全光照（L₀）、透光率60%（L₁）、透光率25%（L₂）、透光率10%（L₃）4种光环境,通过遮荫试验研究不同光照条件对香果树幼苗生理特性及叶肉细胞超微结构的影响。结果表明：遮荫影响叶片含水量及叶片形态。随着遮荫强度的加大,叶片含水量（LWC）递增,单叶面积（SLA）增加,单叶干重（SLW_d）和比叶重（LAM）减小,比叶面积（LAM）增大。遮荫条件下幼苗光合作用效率呈现显著变化。全光和L₁处理的P_n和T_r日变化呈明显的双峰曲线,出现了明显的"午休",其余处理的变化相对缓和,双峰和"午休"现象不明显;G_s的日变化与P_n类似。P_n和T_r的日均大小排序为L₁ > L₀ > L₂ > L₃。轻度遮光有利于香果树光合作用效率的提高。遮荫条件下叶片叶绿素和类胡萝卜素含量均有一定程度增加,且随着遮荫强度的加大其含量递增,提高了叶片的捕光能力。遮荫条件下MDA变化较为缓和,SOD、POD活性呈现先升后降的变化,但遮荫下的MDA含量始终小于全光照,可溶性糖也呈现类似的变化。全光下叶绿体与细胞壁平行分布,呈梭形,类囊体排列均匀,淀粉粒和嗜锇颗粒较少;遮荫条件下细胞内叶绿体数量有所增加,在整个细胞中占有比例显著增大,淀粉粒含量增多,类囊体排列紧密,堆叠程度增高,提高了弱光下的光合效率。适度遮荫香果树幼苗能维持正常的生理活动,但有效辐射光强须为自然光强的60%以上。     

Electronic Measurement of Plant Cell Number and Size in Suspension Culture

The rapid and accurate determination of cell number and sizeis very desirable for obtaining data on growth kinetics andchanges in the physiological state of a culture. The CoulterCounter has been widely applied to bacterial and animal cellsuspension cultures to determine electronically cell numberand cell size. The application of such techniques to plant cellsuspension cultures is discussed in the following paper anddemonstrated for cultures of Pauls Scarlet Rose (Rosa sp.) andsoybean (Glycine max L.). A new formula for coincidence correctionsis suggested.     

Changes in Size and Number of Mesophyll Cells, Nitrogen Content and Photosynthesis with Leaf Order in Brassica spp.

Numbers of mesophyll cells per unit leaf area decreased progressivelyfrom an upper leaf with a width of 3 cm towards the lower leaves.Enlargement of mesophyll cell size with leaf order accountedfor an increase or maintenance of mesophyll cell surface areaper unit leaf area. Increase of photosynthetic rates was correlatedwith increases of mesophyll cell surface area and nitrogen contentper unit leaf area. Therefore, in spite of an increase in cellsurface area to volume ratio with increase of mesophyll cellsize, it appears that increase of mesophyll cell surface areaand nitrogen content per unit leaf area enables a high rateof photosynthesis to be maintained. Brassica, photosynthesis, mesophyll surface area, nitrogen content, cell size, mesophyll resistance, leaf age     

Genetic Dissection of Grain Size and Grain Number Trade-Offs in CIMMYT Wheat Germplasm

Grain weight (GW) and number per unit area of land (GN) are the primary components of grain yield in wheat. In segregating populations both yield components often show a negative correlation among themselves. Here we use a recombinant doubled haploid population of 105 individuals developed from the CIMMYT varieties Weebill and Bacanora to understand the relative contribution of these components to grain yield and their interaction with each other. Weebill was chosen for its high GW and Bacanora for high GN. The population was phenotyped in Mexico, Argentina, Chile and the UK. Two loci influencing grain yield were indicated on 1B and 7B after QTL analysis. Weebill contributed the increasing alleles. The 1B effect, which is probably caused by to the 1BL.1RS rye introgression in Bacanora, was a result of increased GN, whereas, the 7B QTL controls GW. We concluded that increased in GW from Weebill 7B allele is not accompanied by a significant reduction in grain number. The extent of the GW and GN trade-off is reduced. This makes this locus an attractive target for marker assisted selection to develop high yielding bold grain varieties like Weebill. AMMI analysis was used to show that the 7B Weebill allele appears to contribute to yield stability.     

Cell Number and Cell Size in Parthenocarpicvs. Pollinated Blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) Fruits

Gibberellic acid (GA₃) promotes parthenocarpic fruit developmentand is used commercially to increase fruit set in many crops.However, fruit size is usually smaller than that of pollinatedfruit. The purpose of this work was to determine the anatomicalbasis for differences in fruit size between pollinated and GA₃-inducedparthenocarpic blueberry (Vaccinium asheiReade) fruits. Freshweights at ripening averaged 1.6 and 2.5 g for GA₃-treatedvs.pollinated fruits, respectively. In both pollinated and GA₃-treatedfruits, mesocarp cell number comprised about 75% of the totalpericarp cell number, and increased from     

渗透胁迫诱导的小麦叶片细胞程序性死亡

用20%PEG6000（-0.63MPa）溶液对小麦（Triticumaestivum）根系进行渗透胁迫,在DNA琼脂糖凝胶电泳图谱上观察到明显的梯状DNA条带,表明PEG处理诱发了DNA核小体间的断裂,从而表现出典型的细胞程序性死亡的生化特征;末端脱氧核糖核酸转移酶介导的3′-OH末端标记法（terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase(TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end     

Some Observations on the Effects of Salinity on Ion Distributions and Cell Ultrastructure in Wheat Leaf Mesophyll Cells

The distribution of ions within wheat leaf mesophyll cells fromplants grown in the presence of 100 mol m^–3 NaCl werestudied by X-ray micro-analysis, and the volume fractions occupiedby the analysed compartments were determined stereologically.Generally, the cells did not accumulate high ion concentrationsin their vacuoles, and the much higher Na⁺ and Cl^– concentrationsin the cell walls would produce an imbalance of cell water relations.The Na⁺, K⁺ and Cl^– concentrations in the cytoplasm wereoften too high to be compatible with biochemical activity. Inresponse to saline growth conditions, the volume fractions occupiedby the cytoplasm and chloroplasts increased. Correspondence to: Institut für Botanik, Fachbereich Biologie,Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, 3–5 Schnittspahnstr.F.R.G. Key words: Salinity sensitivity, X-ray micro-analysis, stereology