Peculiarities [correction of Pfculiarities] of lipid accumulation in Brassica rapa L. embryos on different stages development under altered gravity

Accumulation of lipid inclusions in Brassica rapa embryos generated under slow horizontal clinorotation and in the laboratory control were analyzed by histochemical methods. The research of lipid accumulation was carried out on consecutive stages of the embryo development, from the moment of two-cellular proembryo formation up to the stages of their full differentiation (21-22-day-old embryos). Accumulation of lipid drops was revealed for the first time at early stages of embryogenesis in this species, beginning from 3-day-old embryos (ball-like stage of embryo development) under clinorotation and in the laboratory control. The quantity of lipid inclusion was estimated by morphometrical analysis. Statistically significant differences between the clinorotation and laboratory control variants in quantity of lipid drops per cell were revealed from 6-day-old embryos (heart-shaped stage). Especially pronounced differences were noted in differentiated embryos (beginning from 12-day-old embryos) under horizontal clinorotation in comparison with the laboratory control. The registered differences testify about influence of altered gravity conditions on lipid accumulation in Brassica rapa embryos.     

津田芜菁MYB77蛋白的原核表达及纯化

目的:建立津田芜菁转录因子MYB77的原核表达系统,并在大肠杆菌中获得表达。方法:RT-PCR获得MYB77的编码序列,将其克隆至pGEM-T载体中,在上下游引物中分别引入HindⅢ和EcoRⅠ酶切位点,PCR获得带酶切位点的目的片段并将其连接到重组表达载体pGEX-KG中,转化大肠杆菌DE3工程菌株,IPTG诱导重组质粒pGEX-KG-MYB77在大肠杆菌DE3中表达带有GST标签的融合蛋白,超声裂解大肠杆菌,用MagneGST ProteinPurification System纯化目的蛋白,通过SDS-PAGE和Western印迹验证GST-MYB77融合蛋白的表达。结果:重组菌株可以表达GST-MYB77融合蛋白,用Western印迹鉴定纯化的融合蛋白,在相对分子质量为55.56×103处检测到目的条带。结论:利用大肠杆菌表达系统获得了较高纯度的GST-MYB77融合蛋白,为进一步研究津田芜菁MYB77蛋白的功能奠定了基础。     

Bacteria within ovules and seeds.

Surface-sterilized ovules and seeds of 27 species of plants were cultured in the water of syneresis of a nutrient medium low in agar content. Bacteria were obtained from 30% of the ovules, 15% of the seeds of herbaceous plants, 16% of the seeds of woody plants, 5.4% of the overwintered noncereal seeds, and 13.5% of overwintered cereal seeds. In no instance did every ovule or seed of a plant species contain bacteria. No bacteria were obtained from the hard, waxy seeds of mimosa or yellowwood. They were not obtained from ovules with unbroken coats or from seeds with coats that were not ruptured during the swelling of the seed. Only one species of bacteria was recovered in 93% of the instances in which bacteria were obtained. Bacteria were obtained from seeds that were embedded in the acidic parenchyma of the lemon or surrounded by the thickened flesh of the cucurbits. The bacteria were distributed among 19 genera and 46 species. The species isolated in greatest numbers were Bacillus megaterium, B. cereus, Erwinia herbicola, Flavobacterium devorans, and Pseudomonas fluorescens. Bacteria recovered less frequently were in the genera Achromobacter, Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Brevibacterium, Corynebacterium, Cytophaga, Leuconostoc, Micrococcus, Nocardia, Proteus, Streptococcus, Streptomyces, and Xanthomonas. Members of 11 genera and 15 species of bacteria were isolated once.     

Comparative structure of ovules and seeds inRafflesiaceae

The genera of theRafflesiaceae show a marked diversity in the structure of their ovules and seeds. Evolutionary trends are recognizable in ovule orientation and number of integuments. A change from anatropous ovules inApodantheae andMitrastemoideae towards incomplete anatropy inRafflesieae and orthotropy inCytineae occurs, next to a change from bitegmic ovules inApodantheae towards unitegmy with rudimentary outer integuments inRafflesieae andCytineae and full unitegmy inMitrastemoideae.—The differences in ovule structure are clearly reflected in the seeds. The seeds are essentially exotegmic, have very small embryos and an oily endosperm.—Seed structure strongly confirms the existing subfamilial classification and supports additional arguments for the generic status ofApodanthes. It does not support a separate status of the genusBerlinianche. InRafflesiaceae, seed micromorphology is only of limited use at the species level. As far as known seed dispersal is endo- or exozoochorous in all genera.     

Influence of microgravity on ultrastructure and storage reserves in seeds of Brassica rapa L.

Successful plant reproduction under spaceflight conditions has been problematic in the past. During a 122 d opportunity on the Mir space station, full life cycles of Brassica rapa L. were completed in microgravity in a series of three experiments in the Svet greenhouse. Ultrastructural and cytochemical analyses of storage reserves in mature dry seeds produced in these experiments were compared with those of seeds produced during a high-fidelity ground control. Additional analyses were performed on developing Brassica embryos, 15 d post pollination, which were produced during a separate experiment on the Shuttle (STS-87). Seeds produced on Mir had less than 20% of the cotyledon cell number found in seeds harvested from the ground control. Cytochemical localization of storage reserves in mature cotyledons showed that starch was retained in the spaceflight material, whereas protein and lipid were the primary storage reserves in ground control seeds. Protein bodies in mature cotyledons produced in space were 44% smaller than those in the ground control seeds. Fifteen days after pollination, cotyledon cells from mature embryos formed in space had large numbers of starch grains, and protein bodies were absent, while in developing ground control seeds at the same stage, protein bodies had already formed and fewer starch grains were evident. These data suggest that both the late stage of seed development and maturation are changed in Brassica by growth in a microgravity environment. While gravity is not absolutely required for any step in the plant life cycle, seed quality in Brassica is compromised by development in microgravity.     

Quantitative trait loci analysis of phytate and phosphate concentrations in seeds and leaves of Brassica rapa

Phytate, being the major storage form of phosphorus in plants, is considered to be an anti-nutritional substance for human, because of its ability to complex essential micronutrients. In the present study, we describe the genetic analysis of phytate and phosphate concentrations in Brassica rapa using five segregating populations, involving eight parental accessions representing different cultivar groups. A total of 25 quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting phytate and phosphate concentrations in seeds and leaves were detected, most of them located in linkage groups R01, R03, R06 and R07. Two QTL affecting seed phytate (SPHY), two QTL affecting seed phosphate (SPHO), one QTL affecting leaf phosphate and one major QTL affecting leaf phytate (LPHY) were detected in at least two populations. Co-localization of QTL suggested single or linked loci to be involved in the accumulation of phytate or phosphate in seeds or leaves. Some co-localizing QTL for SPHY and SPHO had parental alleles with effects in the same direction suggesting that they control the total phosphorus concentration. For other QTL, the allelic effect was opposite for phosphate and phytate, suggesting that these QTL are specific for the phytate pathway.     

白菜型油菜自交亲和性变异分析

对不同来源的85份白菜型油菜品种的自交亲和指数研究表明,白菜型油菜的自交亲和性存在较大幅度的变异,自交亲和指数在0．00～9．28之间,这种变异不仅存在于品种间,而且存在于品种内不同个体间。85份参试材料中,自交亲和指数小于1的有50个品种;35个品种自交亲和指数大于1,自交亲和指数在1．00～9．28之间,其中亲和指数大于4的材料有28、44、45、55x、75、119、123、139号品种等。依据自交亲和指数,可将参试材料分为4种类型:高自交亲和类型(自交亲和指数>4．00);自交亲和类型(自交亲和指数1．00～3．99);自交不亲和类型(0．00< 自交亲和指数<1．00);高自交不亲和类型(自交亲和指数=0．00)。自交亲和性因地区而异,一般西部地区的品种自交亲和性高于其它地区的品种。     

Microtubules spatial alterations in root cells of Brassica rapa under clinorotation

Organization of tubulin cytoskeleton in epidermis and cortex cells in different root growth zones in Brassica rapa L. 6-day-old seedlings under clinorotation has been investigated. It was shown that changes in cortical microtubules orientation occur only in the distal elongation zone. In control, cortical microtubule arrays oriented transversely to the root long axis. Whereas under clinorotation an appearance of shorter randomly organized cortical microtubules was observed. Simultaneously, a significant decrease in a cell length in the central elongation zone under clinorotation was revealed. It is suggested that the decline of anisotropic growth, typical for central elongation zone cells, is connected with cortical microtubules disorientation under clinorotation.     

芜菁原生质体的分离及绿色荧光蛋白的瞬时表达

目的：分离芜菁叶片原生质体,建立蛋白质在芜菁原生质体的瞬时表达系统。方法：以津田芜菁成叶为试材,酶解分离原生质体;通过PEG介导的转化,将编码绿色荧光蛋白（GFP）的瞬时表达载体转入原生质体中,用激光扫描共聚焦显微镜检测原生质体中GFP的表达情况。结果：分离出大量的津田芜菁原生质体,并获得了较高的转化效率,GFP在整个原生质体中都有表达。结论：建立了津田芜菁原生质体瞬时表达系统。     

Pre-fertilization degeneration of both synergids in Brassica campestris ovules

Summary In Brassica campestris, both synergids of the ovule degenerate before the arrival of the pollen tube. Synergid degeneration does not depend on pollination. At the non-degenerated stage, the synergids are completely filled with a complexly organized cytoplasm containing numerous mitochondria with many cristae, a large number of dictyosomes with many associated vesicles, and a very extensive rough endoplasmic reticulum. The degenerative changes that occur in the cytoplasm of the synergids are characterized by a loss of visibility of the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum and the simultaneous formation of dense deposits on the surrounding membranes of the mitochondria. Locally, the plasma membranes of the synergids disappear, and some ground plasma of the synergids penetrates into the space between the plasma membranes of the egg cell and the central cell.     

Toward unraveling the structure of Brassica rapa genome

Genomic research in any organism encompasses understanding structure of the target genome and genes, their function, and evolution. Brassica rapa , which is phylogenetically related to Arabidopsis thaliana , is an important species with respect to its uses as vegetable, oil, and fodder. The availability of suitable genetic and genomic resources is a prerequisite to undertake genomic research in B. rapa . We have developed reference mapping populations of Chinese cabbage ( B. rapa ssp. pekinensis ) comprising 78 doubled haploid lines and over 250 recombinant inbred lines. Two Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) libraries, generated by restriction enzymes Hin dIII (KBrH) and Bam HI (KBrB), comprise 56 592 and 50 688 clones, respectively. We have also constructed 22 cDNA libraries from different plant tissues consisting of 104 914 clones with an average length of 575 bp. Initial BAC-end sequence analysis of 1473 clones of the KBrH library led us to understand the structure of B. rapa genome with respect to extent of genic sequences and their annotation, and relative abundance of different types of repetitive DNAs. Full-length sequence analysis of BAC clones revealed extensive triplication of B. rapa DNA segments coupled with variable gene losses within the segments. The formulation of the 'Multinational Brassica Genome Project' has laid the foundation to sequence the complete genome of B. rapa ssp. pekinensis by the international Brassica research community. It has been proposed to undertake BAC-to-BAC sequencing of genetically mapped seed BACs. In recent years, development of bioinformatics tools in Brassica has given a boost to structural genomics research in Brassica species. The research undertaken with the availability of various genomic resources in the public domain has added to our understanding of the structure of B. rapa .     

Altered patterns of fractionation and exon deletions in Brassica rapa support a two-step model of paleohexaploidy

The genome sequence of the paleohexaploid Brassica rapa shows that fractionation is biased among the three subgenomes and that the least fractionated subgenome has approximately twice as many orthologs as its close (and relatively unduplicated) relative Arabidopsis than had either of the other two subgenomes. One evolutionary scenario is that the two subgenomes with heavy gene losses (I and II) were in the same nucleus for a longer period of time than the third subgenome (III) with the fewest gene losses. This "two-step" hypothesis is essentially the same as that proposed previously for the eudicot paleohexaploidy; however, the more recent nature of the B. rapa paleohexaploidy makes this model more testable. We found that subgenome II suffered recent small deletions within exons more frequently than subgenome I, as would be expected if the genes in subgenome I had already been near maximally fractionated before subgenome III was introduced. We observed that some sequences, before these deletions, were flanked by short direct repeats, a unique signature of intrachromosomal illegitimate recombination. We also found, through simulations, that short--single or two-gene--deletions appear to dominate the fractionation patterns in B. rapa. We conclude that the observed patterns of the triplicated regions in the Brassica genome are best explained by a two-step fractionation model. The triplication and subsequent mode of fractionation could influence the potential to generate morphological diversity--a hallmark of the Brassica genus.     

Recognition specificity of self-incompatibility maintained after the divergence of Brassica oleracea and Brassica rapa

The determinants of recognition specificity of self-incompatibility in Brassica are SRK in the stigma and SP11/SCR in the pollen, respectively. In the pair of S haplotypes BrS46 (S46 in B. rapa) and BoS7 (S7 in B. oleracea), which have highly similar SRK alleles, the SP11 alleles were found to be similar, with 96.1% identity in the deduced amino acid sequence. Two other pairs of S haplotypes, BrS47 and BoS12, and BrS8 and BoS32, having highly similar SRK and SP11 alleles between the two species were also found. The haplotypes in each pair are considered to have been derived from a single S haplotype in the ancestral species. The allotetraploid produced by interspecific hybridization between homozygotes of BrS46 and BoS15 showed incompatibility with a BoS7 homozygote and compatibility with other B. oleracea S haplotypes in reciprocal crossings. This result indicates that BrS46 and BoS7 have maintained the same recognition specificity after the divergence of the two species and that amino acid substitutions found in such cases in both SRK alleles and SP11 alleles do not alter the recognition specificity. DNA blot analysis of SRK, SP11, SLG and other S-locus genes showed different DNA fragment sizes between the interspecific pairs of S haplotypes. A much lower level of sequence similarity was observed outside the genes of SRK and SP11 between BrS46 and BoS7. These results suggest that the DNA sequences of the regions intervening between the S-locus genes were diversified after or at the time of speciation. This is the first report demonstrating the presence of common S haplotypes in different plant species and presenting definite evidence of the trans-specific evolution of self-incompatibility genes.     

Fatty acid content and the functional state of pea chloroplasts under altered gravity

The results of the study of the fatty acid content and the functional state of chloroplasts isolated from leaves of pea plants grown during 7 and 14 days in the stationary conditions and under clinorotation (2 rpm) are presented. An increase in the unsaturated fatty acid content occurred after 7-day clinorotation while it insignificantly decreased after more prolonged 14-day clinorotation. A study of the functional state of chloroplasts (the rate of electron transport in photosystems II [PSII] and in photosystem I [PSI] and in the whole photosynthetic electron transport chain) showed its decrease under both terms of clinorotation in comparison with control ones. In addition, 14-day clinorotation caused more significant lowering of the electron transport rate, particularly in PSI. Changes in both the fatty acid content and the electron transport rate are discussed in relation to the activation of lipid peroxidation and the increased production of activated oxygen species in chloroplasts under clinorotation.     

白菜型油菜黄子资源的初步遗传研究

对随机选取的国内外22份黄子白菜型油菜和22份褐子白菜型油菜进行了种皮色泽的显隐性关系鉴定、黄子性状的等位性测验以及遗传多样性分析。结果表明,黄子白菜型油菜与褐子白菜型油菜配组的杂交组合中,部分组合的F1种皮色泽呈现父本的种皮色泽,表现出花粉直感现象;自然界中存在多种白菜型油菜黄子类型,鉴定出的3种黄子白菜型油菜与褐色白菜型油菜的F2种皮色泽均为褐色,表明黄子性状对于褐子性状为隐性;分子标记方差分析结果显示,白菜型油菜的生长习性所解释的遗传变异大于种皮颜色所解释的遗传变异,表明国外不同生长习性的黄子白菜型油菜资源可用于国内黄子白菜型油菜遗传基础的拓宽。