Environmentally Induced Heritable Changes in Flax

Some flax varieties respond to nutrient stress by modifying their genome and these modifications can be inherited through many generations. Also associated with these genomic changes are heritable phenotypic variations ^1,2. The flax variety Stormont Cirrus (Pl) when grown under three different nutrient conditions can either remain inducible (under the control conditions), or become stably modified to either the large or small genotroph by growth under high or low nutrient conditions respectively. The lines resulting from the initial growth under each of these conditions appear to grow better when grown under the same conditions in subsequent generations, notably the Pl line grows best under the control treatment indicating that the plants growing under both the high and low nutrients are under stress. One of the genomic changes that are associated with the induction of heritable changes is the appearance of an insertion element (LIS-1) ^{3, 4} while the plants are growing under the nutrient stress. With respect to this insertion event, the flax variety Stormont Cirrus (Pl) when grown under three different nutrient conditions can either remain unchanged (under the control conditions), have the insertion appear in all the plants (under low nutrients) and have this transmitted to the next generation, or have the insertion (or parts of it) appear but not be transmitted through generations (under high nutrients) ⁴. The frequency of the appearance of this insertion indicates that it is under positive selection, which is also consistent with the growth response in subsequent generations. Leaves or meristems harvested at various stages of growth are used for DNA and RNA isolation. The RNA is used to identify variation in expression associated with the various growth environments and/or t he presence/absence of LIS-1. The isolated DNA is used to identify those plants in which the insertion has occurred.     

Why Chloroplasts in Apical Cell of Funaria Hygrometrica Protonemata Treated with Lead are Distributed in Different Way than in Control

Two-day-old protonemata of Funaria hygrometrica Hedw. growing in vitro were treated with 4 M Pb (given as PbCl₂) for 48 h. After this time chloroplasts of apical cell were distributed in different way than in control. In the middle part of the cell they formed one line while in the top one, usually swollen, they were crowded and formed irregular group. The reasons of such chloroplast distribution were: 1) increase of plastid size, probably the effect of intensive accumulation of starch and appearance of characteristic protuberances, 2) decrease of cell inner space additionally intensified by thickenings of lateral walls, and 3) disturbances of microtubule number and array.     

Monoplastidic mitosis in the mossTimmiella barbuloides (Bryophyta)

Summary Mitotic cell division of monoplastidic sporogones was investigated in the mossTimmiella barbuloides (Brid.) Moenk. (Pottiales, Bryophyta) by TEM. Division polarity of sporogones is established by the interphase position of the single oblong cup-shaped plastid, which is orientated with its long axis parallel to one of the cell walls. In preprophase the plastid elongates and its extremities bend at right angles. Plastid growth is directed by microtubules and accompanied by plastid tubules. The plastid begins the process of duplication by constricting centrally in the plane of the future cytokinetic septum. There is no preprophase band of microtubules at the division site. The large central nucleus becomes fusiform and aligned parallel to the main plastid axis. By the end of prophase the daughter plastids are positioned at the opposite poles of the nucleus where they probably function as nucleating or organizing centres for the spindle microtubules. Metaphase and anaphase spindles contain long sheets of ER. Cytokinesis involves the formation of a well developed phragmoplast.Abbreviations TEM transmission electron microscopy - PPB preprophase band of microtubules - ER endoplasmic reticulum     

中国青藓科新资料

通过对青藓科模式标本的研究,结合中科院华南植物园标本馆（IBSC）及云南高黎贡山的青藓科标本,报道中国青藓科新记录1种：阔叶美喙藓Eurhynchium latifolium Cardot。对于曾有文献记载但缺少描述的4个种：粗肋毛尖藓Cirriphyllum crassinerum（Taylor） Loeske ＆M.Fleisch.、锐尖细喙藓Rhynchostegiella menadensis（Sande Lac.） E.B.Bartram、毛尖细喙藓Rhynchostegiella sakuraiiTakaki和西里伯长喙藓Rhynchostegium celebicum（Sande Lac.） A.Jaeger,在经过模式标本的检阅后重新确定了其在中国的分布,并提供了详细的描述及图片。     

中国青藓科新资料

通过对模式标本、国外借阅标本及采自新疆维吾尔自治区的青藓科植物的研究,报道青藓科中国新记录1种:糙柄青藓[Brachythecium trachypodium(Funck ex Brid.)Schimp.],重新确定了曾有文献记载但缺少图文描述的高山青藓[Brachythecium collinum(Schleich.ex Müll.Hal.)Schimp.]和直枝同蒴藓[Homalothecium philip-peanum(Spruce)Schimp.]在中国的分布,并提供了详细的形态描述及图版。为中国青藓科植物提供新资料。     

Effect of Vaccination in Environmentally Induced Diseases

Along with the constant improvement in hygiene in the last few decades there has been a continuous increase in the incidence of particular diseases, mainly of autoimmune or allergic etiology, but also of diseases caused by infectious agents, such as listeriosis. We here present a model for the effect of exposure to agents causing or inducing the disease on the incidence of morbidity. The proposed model is an expansion of the SIR model to non-contagious diseases and aims to estimate the balance between immunization and disease probability. The model results indicate that, paradoxically in a wide range of parameters, a decrease in exposure to the disease inducing agent results in an increase in disease incidence. This can occur if: (a) the probability of developing disease, given an exposure to the agent increases with age, (b) immunity to the agent is long. The inverse relation between exposure and disease incidence results from a decrease in the adult immunized population following a previous decrease in the exposure rate. Therefore, a lower exposure can lead to lower incidence in the short term but to higher incidence in the long term.     

Evaluation of 10 plant barcodes in Bryophyta (Mosses)

DNA barcoding is a molecular tool that uses a standardized DNA region to identify species. Our preliminary study reported here is the first attempt to specifically focus on universality and attributes of candidate barcodes across a wide systematic range of mosses. We tested eight previously proposed plant barcoding regions (atpF-atpH, ITS2, marK, psbK-psbI, rbcL, rpoB, rpoC1, and trnH-psbA) and two popular phylogenetic markers (rps4 and trnL-trnF of cpDNA) in 49 moss species and 9 liverwort species, representing half of the orders in moss lineages. The ITS2, rbcL, rpoC1, rps4, trnH-psbA and trnL-trnF regions showed good universality, and therefore the efficacy of these loci as DNA barcodes was further evaluated in 36 mosses and 2 liverworts, each of which included two to three individuals per taxa. The five loci, viz. rbcL, rpoC1, rps4, trnH-psbA and trnL-trnF, were easy to amplify and sequence and showed significant inter-specific genetic variability, making them potentially useful DNA barcodes for mosses. The best performing single loci were the rbcL and rpoC1 coding regions. Several loci showed equivalent performance and combinations of them did not greatly increase their discrimination capacity. In addition, phylogenies generated from each of the separate regions and multi-locus combinations by using best-fit and Kimura 2-parameter models were compared, but no significant difference was found.     

Global phylogeography in Sanionia uncinata (Amblystegiaceae: Bryophyta)

Global phylogeographic patterns in Sanionia uncinata are addressed based on information in internal transcribed spacer (ITS) (214 specimens) and the plastid markers trnL‐trnF (221) and rpl16 (217). ITS suggests a monophyletic Sanionia and a paraphyletic S. uncinata; this was neither supported nor rejected by plastid data. Northern or Eastern Eurasia and Alaska appear important in the early evolution of Sanionia and some populations dispersed into the Southern Hemisphere relatively early. Some haplotypes or groups of haplotypes are morphologically and ecologically distinct, biologically meaningful units that correspond with S. orthothecioides, S. symmetrica and S. georgicouncinata s.l. The latter includes two species that are indistinguishable by morphology, S. georgicouncinata s.s. (Southern Hemisphere) and S. nivalis (Northern Hemisphere). Tropical African and South American S. uncinata populations have separate origins and the Southern Hemisphere was colonized at least twice. In the northern circum‐Arctic region, the haplotype composition differs between the North Atlantic and Beringian areas. Eastern Eurasia has a higher S. uncinata haplotype diversity than other Holarctic regions, implying less devastating effects of recurrent glacial periods. For Eastern and Western Eurasia, North America and the Southern Hemisphere, most of the haplotype variation was found within the regions, but 14–18% can be referred to among region variation. Plastid haplotype diversity was lower in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Arctic to subarctic, possibly attributable to founder effects. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 168 , 19–42.     

Evaluation of ten plant barcodes in Bryophyta (Mosses)

DNA barcoding is a molecular tool that uses a standardized DNA region to identify species. Our preliminary study reported here is the first attempt to specifically focus on universality and attributes of candidate barcodes across a wide systematic range of mosses. We tested eight previously proposed plant barcoding regions (atpF-atpH, ITS2, matK, psbK-psbI, rbcL, rpoB, rpoC1, trnH-psbA) and two popular phylogenetic markers (rps4 and trnL-trnF of cpDNA) in 49 moss species and 9 liverwort species, representing half of the orders in moss lineages. The ITS2, rbcL, rpoC1, rps4, trnH-psbA and trnL-trnF regions showed good universality, and therefore the efficacy of these loci as DNA barcodes was further evaluated in 36 mosses and 2 liverworts, each of which included two to three individuals per taxa. The five loci, viz. rbcL, rpoC1, rps4, trnH-psbA and trnL-trnF, were easy to amplify and sequence and showed significant interspecific genetic variability, making them potentially useful DNA barcodes for mosses. The best performing single loci were the rbcL and rpoC1 coding regions. Several loci showed equivalent performance and combinations of them did not greatly increase their discrimination capacity. In addition, phylogenies generated from each of the separate regions and multi-locus combinations by using best-fit and Kimura 2-parameter models were compared, but no significant difference was found.     

Environmentally Induced Changes in the Cell Walls of Tomato Leaves in Relation to Cell and Protoplast Release

Factors involved in the isolation of protoplasts from the leaves of tomato plants grown over a wide range of environmental conditions have been studied. Increases in calcium pectate in summer grown (“hard”) plants are suggested as a barrier to cell wall degradation. A one-step method involving the addition of sodium citrate to pectinase plus cellulase gives high yield of protoplasts from hard plants. Attempts to convert isolated palisade cells to protoplasts have failed. The plant culture conditions are described such that protoplasts may be isolated throughout the year using low enzyme concentrations.     

cis-Dichlorodiammineplatinum(II): Cytological Changes Induced in Escherichia coli

Filamentous forms of Escherichia coli, induced by growth in the presence of cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II), contain amorphous inclusion aggregates, possibly ribosomal, with an affinity for uranium ion.     

青藓科（Brachytheciaceae）植物假鳞毛形态及其分类学意义

青藓科是侧蒴藓类植物中种类最为丰富、分类学问题较多的类群之一。以青藓科19属、44种,594份标本为研究对象,对其假鳞毛特征进行了系统研究。结果表明：①青藓科假鳞毛均为三角形至半圆形的叶状假鳞毛;根据其顶端特征又可划分为两种类型：顶端平截或钝,顶端具毛尖;②除青藓属（Brachythecium）外,其余18属内不同种间的假鳞毛形态基本一致;③假鳞毛形态特征在青藓科植物属级水平分类上具有一定的分类学价值。     

中国灰石藓属研究新资料

中国灰石藓属长期缺乏系统的形态特征描述和种间区分特征研究,分类鉴定较为困难。该研究采用经典分类学方法,通过查阅灰石藓属内相关物种的原始文献,借阅该属在中国有记载的3个物种的相关模式标本,同时搜集和观察来自美国、加拿大、俄罗斯、瑞典、瑞士、挪威、尼泊尔的标本以及中国内蒙古、四川、新疆等地的地方标本,确认了该属物种在中国的分布,增加了直叶灰石藓在内蒙古和新疆以及灰石藓在四川的新分布记录,并提供了详细的形态描述和图版,编制了中国灰石藓属植物的分种检索表。这3个物种在植物大小、叶是否具褶皱、茎叶和枝叶是否同形等特征上具有区别。该文增补的分布信息及种间区分特征可为中国灰石藓属及棉藓科相关类群的鉴定工作提供依据。     

Salinity Induced Changes in Zea mays L. (Ganga-2)

Histochemical studies of shoot-tips have been carried out withZea mays L. plants grown under the influence of sodium chloridesalinity. Qualitative studies of the shoot-tips alter NaCl treatmentshowed a low concentration of starch grains in the cells. Changesin nucleolar and cytoplasmic RNA were assessed and are discussed. Key words: Salinity, Polysaccharides, RNA, Shoot apex, Zea mays L.     

Molecular and morphological incongruence in European species of Isothecium (Bryophyta)

During the identification of Moroccan samples a plant belonging to Isothecium with characteristics of I. alopecuroides (Dubois) Isov. and, to a smaller degree, I. algarvicum W.E. Nicholson and Dixon was found. Problems with attributing the plant to any of the European Isothecium species and the known large morphological variation in I. alopecuroides suggested that molecular studies were needed to evaluate patterns of relationships in this complex. We investigated one nuclear and one chloroplast marker from 66 samples (gametophytes) of Isothecium alopecuroides and from 18 samples of other Isothecium species. Parsimony and likelihood (via Bayesian analysis) were used as optimality criteria to compute phylogenetic trees. Bootstrapping and posterior probabilities were used, not only to quantify support, but also to evaluate competing phylogenetic alternatives in consensus networks. Finally, split decomposition and neighbour net analysis were used to compute distance based split networks, in order to avoid systematic error. The observed discrepancy among morphological and molecular data suggests that none of the European species Isothecium alopecuroides, I. holtii and I. myosuroides are monophyletic as defined by traditional morphological characters. Convergent morphological evolution cannot explain the discrepancy in this particular case; instead exchange of genetic material among Isothecium species is considered a potential explanation for the molecular diversity within morphospecies.