Patenting of plant varieties and plant breeding methods

This article considers the relationship between patenting and plant variety rights protection, through a detailed analysis of the recent determination by the Extended Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office that methods for breeding broccoli and tomatoes were not patentable. It concludes that the right to patent agricultural innovations is increasingly located within a political context.     

Uptake of isolated plant chromosomes by plant protoplasts

For mass isolation of plant metaphase chromosomes, cultured cells of wheat (Triticum monococcum) and parsley (Petroselinum hortense) were synchronized by hydroxyurea and colchicine treatment. This synchronization procedure resulted in high mitotic synchrony, especially in suspension cultures of parsley in which 80% of the cells were found to be at the metaphase stage. Mitotic protoplasts isolated from these synchronized cell cultures served as a source for isolation of chromosomes. The described isolation and purification method yielded relatively pure chromosome suspension. The uptake of the isolated plant chromosomes into recipient wheat, parsley, and maize protoplasts was induced by polyethylene-glycol treatment. Cytological studies provided evidences for uptake of plant chromosomes into plant protoplasts.Abbreviations PEG polyethylene glycol - HU hydroxyruea - C colchicine - HUC hydroxyurea and colchicine - CIM chromosome isolation medium - TCM Tris chromosome medium     

Role of plant hormones in plant defence responses

Plant hormones play important roles in regulating developmental processes and signaling networks involved in plant responses to a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses. Significant progress has been made in identifying the key components and understanding the role of salicylic acid (SA), jasmonates (JA) and ethylene (ET) in plant responses to biotic stresses. Recent studies indicate that other hormones such as abscisic acid (ABA), auxin, gibberellic acid (GA), cytokinin (CK), brassinosteroids (BR) and peptide hormones are also implicated in plant defence signaling pathways but their role in plant defence is less well studied. Here, we review recent advances made in understanding the role of these hormones in modulating plant defence responses against various diseases and pests.     

Fluorescence emission spectra of plant leaves and plant constituents

Summary The UV-B radiation (e.g. 337 nm) induced blue fluorescence (BF) and red chlorophyll fluorescence spectra (RF) of green leaves from plants with different leaf structure were determined and the possible nature and candidates of the blue fluorescence emission investigated. The blue fluorescence BF is characterized by a main maximum in the 450 nm region and in most cases by a second maximum/shoulder in the 530 nm region. The latter has been termed green fluorescence GF. The red chlorophyll fluorescence RF, in turn, exhibits two maxima in the 690 and 730 nm region. In general, the intensity of BF, GF and RF emission is significantly higher in the lower than the upper leaf side. The ratio of BF to RF emission (F450/F690) seems to vary from plant species to plant species. BF and GF emission spectra appear to be a mixed signal composed of the fluorescence emission of several substances of the plant vacuole and cell wall, which may primarily arise in the epidermis. Leaves with removed epidermis and chlorophyll-free leaves, however, still exhibit a BF and GF emission. Candidates for the blue fluorescence emission ( max near 450 nm) are phenolic substances such as chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, coumarins (aesculetin, scopoletin), stilbenes (t-stilbene, rhaponticin), the spectra of which are shown. GF emission ( max near 530 nm) seems to be caused by substances like the alkaloid berberine and quercetin. Riboflavine, NADPH and phyllohydroquinoneK ₁ seem to contribute little to the BF and GF emission as compared to the other plant compounds. Purified natural-carotene does not exhibit any blue fluorescence.     

Organismal view of a plant and a plant cell.

Cell walls are at the basis of a structural, four-dimensional framework of plant form and growth time. Recent rapid progress of cell wall research has led to the situation where the old, long-lasting juxtaposition: "living" protoplast--"dead" cell wall, had to be dropped. Various attempts of re-interpretation cast, however, some doubts over the very nature of plant cell and the status of the walls within such a cell. Following a comparison of exocellular matrices of plants and animals, their position in relation to cells and organisms is analysed. A multitude of perspectives of the biological organisation of living beings is presented with particular attention paid to the cellular and organismal theories. Basic tenets and resulting corollaries of both theories are compared, and evolutionary and developmental implications are considered. Based on these data, "The Plant Body"--an organismal concept of plants and plant cells is described.     

中国进境植物及植物产品携带蚧虫疫情分析

【背景】蚧虫是半翅目胸喙亚目蚧总科下的一类昆虫的总称。蚧虫个体小、食性广,极易随货物扩散传播。【方法】分别从疫情概况、截获种类、产地、截获载体、截获年份等方面对10年来我国各口岸截获蚧虫的信息数据进行了比对和统计,并对之前容易被忽视的非检疫性蚧虫疫情进行了统计和分析。【结果】2005年以来,我国从进口植物和植物产品中截获蚧虫共计171978批次,其中,检疫性蚧虫12种共7071批次;南洋臀纹粉蚧截获量最大,达2848批次,大洋臀纹粉蚧次之,为2442批次,第3是新菠萝灰粉蚧,为1714批次。东南亚是蚧虫的主要来源地,截获量居前3位的蚧类几乎都来自该地区;水果是截获蚧虫的主要载体,占所有植物及植物产品总截获量的99.0%;总体来看,蚧虫截获量从2006年开始逐年下降,到2010年后又呈暴发性上升趋势。比较3种截获量较大的蚧虫发现,2005~2008年,截获主要以南洋臀纹粉蚧为主;自2009年起,大洋臀纹粉蚧截获量逐年上升,成为截获量最多的蚧虫;2011年以来,新菠萝灰粉蚧截获量激增。2005年至今,我国口岸共截获其他非检疫性蚧类68797批次,鉴定到种的有46个属105种共68712批次,其中,在我国内陆地区尚未报道的有23个种,入侵风险高,需要引起重视。【结论与意义】了解我国口岸蚧类害虫截获情况,有利于针对性地开展疫情检疫与监测,有效防范蚧类害虫的传入与扩散。     

稀有植物裸果木的组织培养及植株再生

对稀有植物裸果木进行组织培养研究,在MS培养基上裸果木的下胚轴脱分化形成愈伤组织,并进一步分化形成再生植株。激素种类及其浓度是器官脱分化与植株再生的决定因素。诱导下胚轴形成愈伤组织的最适培养基为MS 1mg／L 6-BA 0．5mg／L NAA;芽分化诱导的最适培养基为MS 1 mg／L6-BA;生根的最适培养基为不含任何激素的1／2MS培养基。     

Top 10 plant viruses in molecular plant pathology

Many scientists, if not all, feel that their particular plant virus should appear in any list of the most important plant viruses. However, to our knowledge, no such list exists. The aim of this review was to survey all plant virologists with an association with Molecular Plant Pathology and ask them to nominate which plant viruses they would place in a 'Top 10' based on scientific/economic importance. The survey generated more than 250 votes from the international community, and allowed the generation of a Top 10 plant virus list for Molecular Plant Pathology. The Top 10 list includes, in rank order, (1) Tobacco mosaic virus, (2) Tomato spotted wilt virus, (3) Tomato yellow leaf curl virus, (4) Cucumber mosaic virus, (5) Potato virus Y, (6) Cauliflower mosaic virus, (7) African cassava mosaic virus, (8) Plum pox virus, (9) Brome mosaic virus and (10) Potato virus X, with honourable mentions for viruses just missing out on the Top 10, including Citrus tristeza virus, Barley yellow dwarf virus, Potato leafroll virus and Tomato bushy stunt virus. This review article presents a short review on each virus of the Top 10 list and its importance, with the intent of initiating discussion and debate amongst the plant virology community, as well as laying down a benchmark, as it will be interesting to see in future years how perceptions change and which viruses enter and leave the Top 10.     

Contributions of domesticated plant studies to our understanding of plant evolution

BACKGROUND: Plant evolutionary theory has been greatly enriched by studies on crop species. Over the last century, important information has been generated on many aspects of population biology, speciation and polyploid genetics. SCOPE: Searches for quantitative trait loci (QTL) in crop species have uncovered numerous blocks of genes that have dramatic effects on adaptation, particularly during the domestication process. Many of these QTL have epistatic and pleiotropic effects making rapid evolutionary change possible. Most of the pioneering work on the molecular basis of self-incompatibility has been conducted on crop species, along with the sequencing of the phytopathogenic resistance genes (R genes) responsible for the 'gene-to-gene' relations of coevolution observed in host-pathogen relationships. Some of the better examples of co-adaptation and early acting inbreeding depression have also been elucidated in crops. Crop-wild progenitor interactions have provided rich opportunities to study the evolution of novel adaptations subsequent to hybridization. Most crop/wild F1 hybrids have reduced fitness, but in some instances the crop relatives have acquired genes that make them more efficient weeds through crop mimicry. Studies on autopolyploid alfalfa and potato have uncovered the means by which polyploid gametes are formed and have led to hypotheses about how multiallelic interactions are associated with fitness and self-fertility. Research on the cole crops and wheat has discovered that newly formed polyploids can undergo dramatic genome rearrangements that could lead to rapid evolutionary change. CONCLUSIONS: Many more important evolutionary discoveries are on the horizon, now that the whole genome sequence is available of the two major subspecies of rice Oryza sativa ssp. japonica and O. sativa ssp. indica. The rice sequence data can be used to study the origin of genes and gene families, track rates of sequence divergence over time, and provide hints about how genes evolve and generate products with novel biological properties. The rice sequence data has already been mined to show that transposable elements often carry fragments of cellular genes. This type of genome shuffling could play a role in creating novel, reorganized genes with new adaptive properties.     

Effect of plant species richness on invasibility of experimental plant communities

Invasion of unsown species to artificially created assemblages of grassland species was investigated in a 3-year field experiment. In the experiment, assemblages varying in species richness (1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 species) and functional group richness (1–4, grasses, legumes, rosette forbs, and creeping forbs) were grown in control and fertilized plots, without any attempt to prevent the invasion of unsown species or to weed them. The relationship between species and functional group diversity and above-ground biomass was positive for sown species in all study years (2003, 2004 and 2005). In the latter 2 years, weed invader biomass decreased significantly with increasing biomass of sown species and their functional group richness, but not with number of species. However, no suppressive effect of species or functional group richness beyond that by increased biomass of residents was found. In fact, slight but significant positive partial effect of species richness was found, suggesting that the negative effect of the same amount of resident biomass on invaders is stronger when the biomass is composed of fewer species. The negative relationship between the number of functional groups of residents and invader biomass suggested that better coverage of functional trait space could be a mechanism promoting the resistance to invasion. In Addition, species composition of invaders were significantly related to initial composition of sown residents.     

Manuring,plant production and the chemical composition of the plant

Summary The paper deals with some of the consequences of an S-shaped yield curve with special reference 1) to the chemical composition of the plant and 2) to the distribution of fertilizers.     

Hairy root induction and plant regeneration of medicinal plant Dracocephalum kotschyi

An efficient hairy root induction system for an important endangered medicinal plant, Dracocephalum kotschyi, was developed through Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation by modifying the co-cultivation medium using five bacterial strains, A4, ATCC15834, LBA9402, MSU440, and A13 (MAFF-02-10266). A drastic increase in transformation frequency was observed when a Murashige and Skoog medium lacking NH₄NO₃ KH₂PO_4, KNO₃ and CaCl₂ was used, resulting in hairy root induction frequencies of 52.3 %, 69.6 %, 48.6 %, 89.0 %, and 80.0 % by A4, A13, LBA9402, MSU440, and ATCC15834 strains, respectively. For shoot induction, hairy roots and unorganized tumors induced by strain ATCC15834 were placed on an MS media supplemented with 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg/l BA plus 0.1 mg/l NAA. The high frequency of shoot regeneration and number of shoot were obtained in the medium containing 0.25 mg/l BA and 0.1 mg/l NAA. Root induction occurred from the base of regenerated shoots on the MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l IBA after 10 days.     

安徽宿州大方寺林区植物种类及其资源的初步调查

大方寺位于淮北平原萄丘陵地带,天然次生林属于暖温带叶阔叶林。由于自然条件复杂,植物种类丰富,木本植物130余种,草本植物100余种;植被类型多种多样,主要群落为：青檀（Pterooeltis tatarinowii）、牡荆（Witex negundo）、华隐子草（Cleistogenes chinensis）群落,栓皮栎（Quercus wvriabilis）、五角枫（Acer mono）、牡荆（Vitex negundo）裂稃草（Schizachyrium brevifolium）群落和黄连木（Pistacia chinensis）、五角枫（Acer mono）、扁担杆（Creuia biloba）、沿阶草（Ophiopogon bodinievi）群落等三种。大方寺植物资源丰富,具有用材经济植物的约60余种,药用植物200余种,香料及密源植物10余种,纤维植物30余种,庭园观赏植物40余种。     

植物钾营养性状的遗传潜力v

钾是植物生长发育所必需的大量元素,是与氮、磷并列的植物营养的“三大要素”之一。不同植物种类或同种类植物的不同品种之间钾营养效率的差异非常显著,这为植物钾营养性状的遗传改良提供了科学依据     

Comparison of plant uptake and plant toxicity of various ions in wheat

The effects of varying solution concentrations of manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), boron (B), iron (Fe), gallium (Ga) and lanthanum (La) on plant chemical concentrations, plant uptake and plant toxicity were determined in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in a low ionic strength (2.7×10^–3 M solution culture). Increasing the solution concentration of Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Fe, Ga and La increased plant concentrations of that ion. Asymptotic maximum plant concentrations were reached for Zn (10 mg kg DM^–1 in the roots), Ga (2 mg kg DM^–1 in the tops and 18 mg kg DM^–1 in the roots) and La (0.4 mg kg DM^–1 in the tops and 4 mg kg DM^–1 in the roots). Plant ion concentrations were, on average, 3 times higher in the roots than the tops for Mn and Zn, 7 times for Cu, 9 times for Fe, 12 times for Ga and 15 times for La. In contrast, B concentrations were higher in the tops than the roots by, on average, 2 times. The estimated toxicity threshold (plant concentration at which a rapid decrease in yield occurred) in the tops was 0.4 mg g DM^–1 for B, 2 for Zn, 0.075 for Cu and 0.09 for La and in the roots 0.2 mg g DM^–1 for B, 5 for Zn, 0.3 for Cu and 3 for La. Plant uptake rates of the ions (as estimated by the slope of the relationship between solution ion concentrations and plant ion concentrations) was in the order B 250 mg kg DM^–1 M ^–1). Plant toxicity was estimated as the reciprocal of the plant concentration that reduced yield by 50% (change in relative yield per mg ion kg DM^–1). The plant toxicity of the ions tested was in the order Mn相似文献   

Use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria to control stress responses of plant roots

Ethylene is a key gaseous hormone that controls various physiological processes in plants including growth, senescence, fruit ripening, and responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. In spite of some of these positive effects, the gas usually inhibits plant growth. While chemical fertilizers help plants grow better by providing soil-limited nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate, over-usage often results in growth inhibition by soil contamination and subsequent stress responses in plants. Therefore, controlling ethylene production in plants becomes one of the attractive challenges to increase crop yields. Some soil bacteria among plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) can stimulate plant growth even under stressful conditions by reducing ethylene levels in plants, hence the term “stress controllers” for these bacteria. Thus, manipulation of relevant genes or gene products might not only help clear polluted soil of contaminants but contribute to elevating the crop productivity. In this article, the beneficial soil bacteria and the mechanisms of reduced ethylene production in plants by stress controllers are discussed.