Comparative physiological responses of Solanum nigrum and Solanum torvum to cadmium stress

? Under cadmium (Cd) stress, Solanum nigrum accumulated threefold more Cd in its leaves and was tolerant to Cd, whereas its low Cd-accumulating relative, Solanum torvum, suffered reduced growth and marked oxidative damage. However, the physiological mechanisms that are responsible for differential Cd accumulation and tolerance between the two Solanum species are largely unknown. ? Here, the involvement of antioxidative capacity and the accumulation of organic and amino acids in response to Cd stress in the two Solanum species were assessed. ? Solanum nigrum contains higher antioxidative capacity than does S.?torvum under Cd toxicity. Metabolomics analysis indicated that Cd treatment also markedly increased the production of several organic and amino acids in S.?nigrum. Pretreatment with proline and histidine increased Cd accumulation; moreover, pretreatment with citric acid increased Cd accumulation in leaves but decreased Cd accumulation in roots, which indicates that its biosynthesis could be linked to Cd long-distance transport and accumulation in leaves. ? Our data provide novel metabolite evidence regarding the enhancement of citric acid and amino acid biosynthesis in Cd-treated S.?nigrum, support the role of these metabolites in improving Cd tolerance and accumulation, and may help to provide a better understanding of stress adaptation in other Solanum species.     

Chemical-assisted phytoremediation of CD-PAHs contaminated soils using Solanum nigrum L

A well-characterized cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulating plant Solanum nigrum was grown in Cd and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) co-contaminated soil that was repeatedly amended with chemicals, including EDTA, cysteine (CY), salicylic acid (Sa), and Tween 80 (TW80), to test individual and combined treatment effects on phytoremediation of Cd-PAHs contaminated soils. Plant growth was negatively affected by exogenous chemicals except for EDTA. S. nigrum could accumulate Cd in tissues without assistant chemicals, while there was no visible effect on the degradation of PAHs. Cysteine had significant effects on phytoextraction of Cd and the highest metal extraction ratio (1.27%) was observed in 0.9 mmol/kg CY treatment. Both salicylic acid and Tween 80 had stimulative effects on the degradation of PAHs and there was the maximal degradation rate (52.6%) of total PAHs while 0.9 mmol/kg Sa was applied. Furthermore, the combined treatment T(0.1EDTA+0.9CY+0.5TW80) and T(0.5EDTA+0.9CY+03Sa) could not only increase the accumulation of Cd in plant tissues, but also promote the degradation of PAHs. These results indicated that S. nigrum might be effective in phytoextracting Cd and enhancing the biodegradation of PAHs in the co-contaminated soils with assistant chemicals.     

强化龙葵富集镉根际促生菌的分离、筛选与鉴定

【背景】植物-微生物联合修复土壤重金属污染日渐兴起,获取与超富集植物高效互作的微生物是实现联合修复技术进步的关键。龙葵在镉农田污染修复中广泛应用。【目的】筛选可促进龙葵生长及富集镉的耐镉根际促生菌。【方法】从龙葵根际土分离耐镉菌株,筛选具有良好促生特性的菌株,水培试验考察镉胁迫下菌株对植物生长及镉富集能力的影响,确定可促进龙葵生长及富集镉的微生物菌株,通过生理生化特性和16S rRNA基因序列分析进行菌株的初步鉴定。【结果】分离得到NT1、AXY1、AW2和AW1四株强化龙葵富集镉促生菌,经鉴定分别为Lysinibacillus sp.、Beijerinckia fluminensis、Achromobacter animicus和Herbaspirillum huttiense。上述菌株均可有效促进龙葵生长,增加其株高和干物质积累,提高地上部镉富集量。其中,NT1可使株高、地上部干重分别增加31.33%和62.65%,AW2可使地上部镉富集量增加37.29%。【结论】筛选所得菌株可为提高植物修复效率提供实践依据,为研制田间施用生态功能菌剂做铺垫,用于农田镉污染的微生物-龙葵联合原位修复。     

黄萎病菌胁迫下野生茄子托鲁巴姆防卫反应的生理生化分析

以野生茄子托鲁巴姆(Solanum torvum Swartz)和苏崎茄(Solanum melongena L.)为主要材料,通过比较两种茄子在大丽轮枝菌(Verticillium dahliae Kleb)侵染过程中体内的生理生化指标变化,分析托鲁巴姆对黄萎病的抗性响应机制。结果表明:(1)与苏崎茄植株相比,托鲁巴姆植株表现出很强的自我防御和自我修复能力。(2)托鲁巴姆体内存在的活性氧清除系统(如SOD、POD、CAT等酶的活性)高于苏崎茄;在侵染后,托鲁巴姆体内各种酶的活性快速增加,其幅度高于苏崎茄;MDA的变化则恰恰相反。这个结果提示,黄萎病菌胁迫可能激活了托鲁巴姆体内活性氧清除系统,从而加快了某些防御物质(如木质素和抗菌物质绿原酸等)的形成,同时减缓或降低MDA等有害物质在植株体内的积累。(3)黄萎病菌侵染后各生理指标的响应时间表现出差异。托鲁巴姆中POD、PAL的活性和可溶性蛋白含量在侵染后的12h内就迅速作出响应(POD增加、PAL和可溶性蛋白减少);而SOD、PPO、CAT的活性和MDA的含量则在处理后初始阶段(至少12h)进行了一些调整,随后才进入持续性的增加或减少阶段。由此可见,托鲁巴姆对黄萎病病菌侵染的响应具有时序性,其体内POD酶、PAL酶和可溶性蛋白首先参与植物的防卫反应以应对黄萎病的胁迫,其它酶随后参与响应,它们的共同作用形成对黄萎病菌的有效防卫。     

中国龙葵复合种三类型的染色体数目研究

用三种类型龙葵幼果为材料 ,通过常规染色体制片技术 ,获得细胞有丝分裂中期染色体装片。实验结果证实中国龙葵复合种内存在染色体倍性差异 :少花龙葵是二倍体 ( 2x=2 4) ;黄果龙葵是四倍体 ( 4x=48) ;龙葵是六倍体( 6x=72 )。为中国龙葵的系统分类与进化趋势的研究、遗传育种和开发利用提供了可靠的细胞学依据     

Virus-induced gene silencing in Solanum species

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has been used routinely in Nicotiana benthamiana to assess functions of candidate genes and as a way to discover new genes required for diverse pathways, especially disease resistance signalling. VIGS has recently been shown to work in Arabidopsis thaliana and in tomato. Here, we report that VIGS using the tobacco rattle virus (TRV) viral vector can be used in several Solanum species, although the choice of vector and experimental conditions vary depending on the species under study. We have successfully silenced the phytoene desaturase (PDS) gene in the diploid wild species Solanum bulbocastanum and S. okadae, in the cultivated tetraploid S. tuberosum and in the distant hexaploid relative S. nigrum (commonly known as deadly nightshade). To test whether the system could be utilised as a rapid way to assess gene function of candidate resistance (R) genes in potato and its wild relatives, we silenced R1 and Rx in S. tuberosum and RB in S. bulbocastanum. Silencing of R1, Rx and RB successfully attenuated R-gene-mediated disease resistance and resulted in susceptible phenotypes in detached leaf assays. Thus, the VIGS system is an effective method of rapidly assessing gene function in potato.     

Effects of cadmium and arsenic on growth and metal accumulation of Cd-hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L

Remediation of heavy metal contaminated sites using hyperaccumulators presents a promising alternative to current environmental methodologies. In the pot-culture experiment, the effects of Cd, and Cd-As on the growth and its accumulation in the Cd-hyperaccumulator (Solanum nigrum L.) were determined. No reduction in plant height and shoot dry biomass was noted when the plants were grown at Cd concentration of 1.0. The plant can be classified as a Cd-hyperaccumulator. Growing in the presence of 10 mg/kg Cd and 50 mg/kg As, the plant height and shoot dry matter yields did not decrease significantly (p>0.05) compared to that at 10 mg/kg Cd, however the stem Cd content increased by 28%. It was also observed that S. nigrum used exclusion strategy to reduce As uptake in the roots and restricted translocation into the shoots, resulting in As contents of the plant being root>leaf>stem>seed. The Cd accumulation capacity coupled with its relatively high As tolerance ability could make it useful for phytoremediation of sites co-contaminated by Cd and As.     

Development of intron targeting (IT) markers for potato and cross-species amplification in Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)

? Premise of the study: Intron Targeting (IT) primers were developed for potato using expressed sequence tags (EST) and NCBI database records to study genetic diversity. ? Methods and Results: Twenty-nine polymorphic intron targeting (IT) markers were generated and characterized from 30 samples of potato and 22 samples of Solanum nigrum to detect polymorphism. The number of alleles (A) per locus ranged from 2 to 7 in the analyzed populations, and the observed heterozygosity (H(O)) and expected heterozygosity (H(E)) from 0 to 0.833 and 0.750, respectively. All of the primers also amplified in the related species S. nigrum. ? Conclusions: The developed markers will provide valuable tools for genetic diversity analysis, genetic mapping, and marker-assisted breeding of potato and related Solanum species.     

Cadmium accumulation in relation to organic acids in leaves of Solanum nigrum L. as a newly found cadmium hyperaccumulator

The influence of various cadmium concentrations on organic acid levels in leaves of the Cd hyperaccumulator, Solanum nigrum L. and a closely related species, Solanum melongena L., were investigated. In particular, the relationship of organic acids with Cd accumulation in the two plants was investigated. The results showed that Cd accumulation in the shoots of S. nigrum was significantly higher than that of S. melongena. The accumulation of Cd in the leaves of S. nigrum ranged from 2.0 to 167.8 μg g⁻¹ dry weight (DW), but only from 1.2 to 64.0 μg g⁻¹ DW in S. melongena. Solanum melongena was considerably less tolerant to Cd than S. nigrum. Approximately 20% of the total Cd in S. nigrum leaves was water-soluble, suggesting that some accumulated Cd was associated with water-soluble compounds such as organic acids. Malic acid in the leaves of S. nigrum was the most abundant organic acid [up to 115.6–145.7 μmol g⁻¹ fresh weight (FW)], but this acid was not significantly affected by the Cd concentration in soil. However, the level of malic acid in S. melongena plants was much lower, only 16.3–75.4 μmol g⁻¹ FW. The significant positive correlations between total Cd and water-soluble Cd concentrations and both acetic and citric acid concentrations in the leaves of S. nigrum were observed. In contrast, there was no correlation between concentrations of the two acids and Cd concentrations in the leaves of S. melongena. These results indicated that acetic and citric acids in the leaves of S. nigrum might be related to its Cd hyperaccumulation.     

Iron uptake system mediates nitrate-facilitated cadmium accumulation in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants

Nitrogen (N) management is a promising agronomic strategy to minimize cadmium (Cd) contamination in crops. However, it is unclear how N affects Cd uptake by plants. Wild-type and iron uptake-inefficient tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) mutant (T3238fer) plants were grown in pH-buffered hydroponic culture to investigate the direct effect of N-form on Cd uptake. Wild-type plants fed NO?? accumulated more Cd than plants fed NH??. Iron uptake and LeIRT1 expression in roots were also greater in plants fed NO??. However, in mutant T3238fer which loses FER function, LeIRT1 expression in roots was almost completely terminated, and the difference between NO?? and NH?? treatments vanished. As a result, the N-form had no effect on Cd uptake in this mutant. Furthermore, suppression of LeIRT1 expression by NO synthesis inhibition with either tungstate or L-NAME, also substantially inhibited Cd uptake in roots, and the difference between N-form treatments was diminished. Considering all of these findings, it was concluded that the up-regulation of the Fe uptake system was responsible for NO??-facilitated Cd accumulation in plants.     

Salt affects plant Cd-stress responses by modulating growth and Cd accumulation

Cadmium contamination is a serious environmental problem for modern agriculture and human health. Salinity affects plant growth and development, and interactions between salt and cadmium have been reported. However, the molecular mechanisms of salinity–cadmium interactions are not fully understood. Here, we show that a low concentration of salt alleviates Cd-induced growth inhibition and increases Cd accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Supplementation with low concentrations of salt reduced the reactive oxygen species level in Cd-stressed roots by increasing the contents of proline and glutathione and down-regulating the expression of RCD1, thereby protecting the plasma membrane integrity of roots under cadmium stress. Salt supplementation substantially reduces the Cd-induced elevation of IAA oxidase activity, thereby maintaining auxin levels in Cd-stressed plants, as indicated by DR5::GUS expression. Salt supply increased Cd absorption in roots and increased Cd accumulation in leaves, implying that salt enhances both Cd uptake in roots and the root-to-shoot translocation of Cd. The elevated Cd accumulation in plants in response to salt was found to be correlated with the elevated levels of phytochelatin the expression of heavy metal transporters AtHMA1-4, especially AtHMA4. Salt alleviated growth inhibition caused by Cd and increased Cd accumulation also was observed in Cd accumulator Solanum nigrum.     

In-situ cadmium phytoremediation using Solanum nigrum L.: the bio-accumulation characteristics trail

In this study, Solanum nigrum L. was used in-situ for Cdphytoremediation in Cd polluted soil on Shenyang Zhangshi Irrigation area (SZIA) in 2008. The performance of the plant over the whole growth stage was assessed. Results showed, during the whole experimental stage, the aboveground biomass of single Solanum nigrum L. grew by a factor of 190, from 1.6 +/- 0.4 g to 300.3 +/- 30.2 g with 141.2 times extracted Cd increase from 0.025 +/- 0.001 to 3.53 +/- 0.16 mg. Both the distribution of biomass and amount of extracted Cd in the above-ground part of the plant changed according to the growth of the plant. Particularly, the percentage of biomass and extracted Cd in the stem increased from 20% to 80% and from 11% to 69%, respectively. The bioconcentration factor and transfer factor both varied significantly during the growth of the plant and the lowest values were measured at the flowering stage (0.94 +/- 0.31 and 3.48 +/- 1.14 respectively). The results in this paper provide reference values for the future research on the application of Solanum nigrum L. in phytoremediation and on chemical or/and agricultural strategies for phytoextraction efficiency enhancement.     

Resistance to Phytophthora infestans in somatic hybrids of Solanum nigrum L. and diploid potato

In breeding for resistance to late blight, ( Phytophthora infestans Mont. de Bary), an economically important disease affecting potatoes, the search for new sources of durable resistance includes the non-host wild Solanum species. The aim of this work was to evaluate the resistance to P. infestans in the somatic hybrids between S. nigrum L. and diploid potato clone ZEL-1136. Sixteen somatic hybrids, their fusion parents, and three standard potato cultivars were screened for resistance to P. infestans in two types of tests-on whole plants and detached leaves-with two highly aggressive and virulent isolates of P. infestans, US8 and MP322. In the whole plant assay, the foliage of the somatic hybrids showed no symptoms of infection, while the foliage of the potato fusion parent and the standard cultivars was infected with P. infestans. In the detached leaflet assay, the breaking-down of resistance of the S. nigrum L. parent and the variable response of individual hybrid clones were noted. Nine S. nigrum L. (+) ZEL-1136 hybrids showed a resistance that was significantly higher than that of S. nigrum, while six clones expressed a resistance to P. infestans similar to that of S. nigrum. The results confirm the effective transfer of late blight resistance of S. nigrum into its somatic hybrids with potato.     

Cd Hyperaccumulative Characteristics of Australia Ecotype Solanum Nigrum L. and Its Implication in Screening Hyperaccumulator

A pot culture experiment was used to determine the differences in uptake characteristics of a cadmium hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. discovered in China, an ecotype from Melbourne, Australia and a non-hyperaccumulator Solanum melogena. Australian ecotype was not significantly different to the China ecotype. In particular, Cd concentration in leaves and shoots of S. nigrum collected from Australia were 166.0 and 146.3 mg kg^?1 respectively when 20 mg kg^?1 Cd spiked, and were not significantly different to the ecotype imported from China which had 109.8 and 85.3 mg kg^?1 respectively, in the stems and leaves. In contrast, the tolerance of the eggplant to Cd was significantly less than the two S. nigrum ecotypes. Although some morphological properties of S. nigrum collected from Australia were different from that of the plants collected from China, Cd hyperaccumulator characteristics of two ecotypes were similar. The results suggested that the tolerance and uptake of Cd may be a constitutive trait of this species.     

Effects of mutual grafting on the cadmium accumulation characteristics of two ecotypes of Solanum photeinocarpum

Abstract

The effects of mutual grafting on the cadmium (Cd) accumulation characteristics of two ecotypes (farmland and mining) of the potential Cd-hyperaccumulator Solanum photeinocarpum were studied through a pot experiment for one month. Four treatments were used in the experiment: ungrafted farmland ecotype (F-CK), ungrafted mining ecotype (M-CK), the farmland ecotype as the scion grafted onto rootstocks of the mining ecotype (F-Scion), and the mining ecotype as the scion grafted onto rootstocks of the farmland ecotype (M-Scion). Mutual grafting increased the rootstock biomass of both S. photeinocarpum ecotypes. However, mutual grafting decreased the scion biomass of F-Scion compared with F-CK and M-CK, and the scion biomass of M-Scion was higher than that of M-CK and lower than that of F-CK. The Cd content in the rootstock of M-Scion increased compared with F-CK, and the Cd content in the rootstock of F-Scion increased compared with M-CK, but mutual grafting decreased the Cd content in scions of both S. photeinocarpum ecotypes. Mutual grafting increased Cd extraction by rootstocks of both S. photeinocarpum ecotypes, but decreased extraction by scions. Therefore, mutual grafting can increase Cd accumulation in S. photeinocarpum rootstocks but not increase Cd accumulation in S. photeinocarpum scions in a short period.     

Evolution of bract development and B-class MADS box gene expression in petaloid bracts of Cornus s. l. (Cornaceae)

? Despite increasing interest in the molecular mechanisms of floral diversity, few studies have investigated the developmental and genetic bases of petaloid bracts. This study examined morphological patterns of bract initiation and expression patterns of B-class MADS-box genes in bracts of several Cornus species. We suggest that petaloid bracts in this genus may not share a single evolutionary origin. ? Developmental pathways of bracts and spatiotemporal expression of B-class genes in bracts and flowers were examined for four closely related dogwood species. ? Divergent morphological progressions and gene expression patterns were found in the two sister lineages with petaloid bracts, represented by Cornus florida and Cornus canadensis. Phylogeny-based analysis identified developmental and gene expression changes that are correlated with the evolution of petaloid bracts in C.?florida and C.?canadensis. ? Our data support the existence of independent evolutionary origins of petaloid bracts in C.?canadensis and C.?florida. Additionally, we suggest that functional transference within B-class gene families may have contributed to the origin of bract petaloidy in C.?florida. However, the underlying mechanisms of petaloid bract development likely differ between C.?florida and C.?canadensis. In the future this hypothesis can be tested by functional analyses of Cornus B-class genes.     

Observations on stylar heteromorphism in Solanum torvum Sw. (Solanaceae)

In several species of Solanum L. two forms of flower are noticeable in each inflorescence. In one form, the style is long and distinctly exserted; in the other, it is short and included within the conically connivent anthers, so that it is not visible from outside in an open flower. To this kind of difference in style length the term stylar heteromorphism has been applied here, just to distinguish it from heterostyly in the traditional sense. The phenomenon does not seem to have received much attention from botanists so far, and consequently rather little is known about its biological significance and possible evolutionary importance. The present report consists mainly of some observations made on stylar heteromorphism in one of these species, Solanum torvum , a shrubby weed widely distributed in the humid tropics.