Suppression of somatic crossing over in Glycine max (L.) merrill by deoxyribose cytidine

Summary The incidence of somatic crossing over on the leaves ofGlycine max var L65-1237 is reduced when seeds are treated with 1 to 2×10^-4M solutions of deoxyribose cytidine. The major effect is seen after about 16 hours of soaking the seeds in water followed by nucleoside treatment. Suggestion is made regarding the positioning of heterochromatic regions of homologous chromosomes adjacent to each other and joined with the annuli of nuclear membrane (see Comings, 1968). It is hypothesized that nucleosides degrade the connecting microtubular remnants of spindle fibers and hence reduce the chances of somatic crossing over by disturbing the inter-chromosomal arrangements.This work was supported by a grant from the Research Advisory Board of the University of Nevada at Reno.     

Increase induced by colchicine in the incidence of somatic crossing over in Glycine max

Summary The frequency of somatic crossing over in Glycine max has been significantly increased by soaking the dry seeds in aqueous solutions of 0.0025, 0.005 and 0.01% colchicine. This increase was quite consistent for several treatments involving time × concentration interaction as well as in cases where post-treatment with mitomycin C was given. Results indicate that colchicine is inefficient in disturbing the arrangements of segments of homologous chromosomes involved in the process of somatic exchanges before the onset of the process of somatic crossing over.     

Studies on Fertilization in Glycine max

This work studies the whole process of fertilization in Glycine max. The results are summarized as follows: 1. The type of ripened pollen grain of soybean was two-cell type. The generative cell was divided mitotically into two spermatids within the pollen tube. 2. In the 6th hour after self-pollination, the pollen tube entered into the embryo sac and released two sperms. Before the fusion of the male and female nuclei, the cytoplasmic sheath of the spermatids falled off. The cytoplasm of the male gamete did not fuse with that of the egg cell. 3. In the 6th hour after self-pollination, one spermatid nucleus come in contact with the egg nucleus and the other with the secondary nucleus, The contact of the sperimatid nucleus with the egg nucleus was a little earlier than that with the secondary nucleus. 4. The spermatid nucleus entered into the egg nucleus; the chromatic granules of the spermatid despiralized. After the complete fusion of the spermatid nucleus with the egg nucleus, the egg nucleus was darkly stained and the chromonemata increased, afterward the male nucleus appeared. 5. In the 28th hour after self-pollination, the zygote begun the first mitotic division. It took about 20 hours to fuse the male and female gametes, and to form the zygote untile before first mitotic division. It means that the zygote dormancy stage of soybean was about twenty hours. 6. In the 7th hour after self-pollination, the spermatid nucleus fused with the secondary nucleus. The process was similar to that of the spermatid nucleus with the egg nucleus. The chromatic granules gradually despiralized within the secondary nucleus, and the male nucleoli appeared. The velocity of the fusion of the spermatid nucleus with the secondary nucleus was faster than that of the other spermatid nucleus with the egg nucleus. 7. In the 10th hour after self-pollination, the secondary nucleus begun the first mitotic division. 8. The fertilization of soybean was the premitotic type.     

Induction of somatic embryos in cotyledonary tissue of soybean,Glycine max L. Merr

A method for the induction of somatic embryos in soybean tissue cultures is described. Cotyledons from immature embryos were utilized as explant source. Supplementing the culture medium with auxins (2,4-D, MCPA, 2,4,5-T, NAA, IAA, IBA) caused formation of meristematic tissue on cotyledon explants. The extent of meristematic tissue formed depended on the kind and concentration of auxin in the culture medium. With 2,4-D and MCPA, embryoids originated from meristematic tissue. Embryoid formation rates were influenced by the developmental stage of the embryos serving as explant source and auxin concentration. Addition of cytokinins to the medium containing 2,4-D or supplementing it with high sugar concentrations inhibited the formation of meristematic tissue and of embryoids on cotyledon explants.Abbreviations BA 6-benzyladenin - 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorphenoxyacetic acid - IAA indoleacetic acid - IBA indolebutyric acid - MCPA 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid - NAA -naphthaleneacetic acid - 2,4,5-T 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid - L2 Phillips and Collins (1979) medium Present and correspondence address: Akademie der Landwirtschaftswissenschaften der DDR, Institut für Pflanzenernährung, DDR-6909, Jena     

Fatty acid composition of soybean (Glycine max (L.) merr.) somatic embryos

Summary Somatic embryos from four soybean cultivars were matured for 30 and 45 d. Success of embryo germination was evaluated for each length of maturation. The percentage of somatic embryos undergoing successful germination, as defined by rooting and shoot emergence, was greater for embryos matured 45 d than for embryos matured 30 d. Therefore, embryos matured for 45 d are probably physiologically more mature than embryos matured for 30 d. Relative percentages of fatty acids comprising oils and lipids of somatic embryos were determined for each length of maturation and for each cultivar. Variation in relative percentages of palmitic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid was affected by length of maturation. However, these changes were genotype dependent. A significant interaction between the cultivars Clark and Maple Arrow and stage of maturation was observed for levels of oleic acid. No other interactions were observed. These data suggest that if changes in relative percentages of certain fatty acids are associated with soybean somatic embryo maturation the changes are genotype dependent. This is journal paper No. J-12870 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. Project No. 2763. Mention of a trademark or proprietary product does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by the United States Department of Agriculture and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products that also may be suitable. This research was supported in part by grants from the American Soybean Association Development Foundation and the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board.     

Some factors affecting somatic embryogenesis efficiency in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)

Selected factors affecting somatic embryogenesis efficiency have been studied, namely genotype, explant type and its orientation in the medium, different basal media, different auxins for somatic embryo induction, and two ways of donor plant cultivation. The key role is played by genotype and auxin used, the minimum effect was observed due to basal media. In the series of subsequent experiments we have found the best combination of individual factors as follows: cv. Altona, 10 uM 2,4-D, L2 basal medium, central part of immature cotyledon as initial expiant oriented by adaxial side down on the agar medium, and field grown donor plants. This combination exhibited 100 % embryogenic explants with 5.43 ± 0.65 somatic embryos per expiant,i.e. somatic embryogenesis efficiency 5.43.     

苏云金芽孢杆菌杀虫晶体蛋白基因导入大豆的研究

用苏云金芽孢杆菌(BacillusthuringiensisBerliner)杀虫晶体蛋白(Bt)基因和葡糖苷酸酶(GUS)基因通过基因枪轰击和根癌土壤杆菌(Agrobacteriumtumefaciens(SmithetTownsend)Conn)介导转入大豆(Glycinemax(L.)Merr.),诱导大豆转基因植株再生。大豆主栽品种“中黄4号”和品系8502未成熟子叶有较强体细胞胚分化能力。体细胞胚的脱水处理显著促进“中黄4号”体细胞胚的萌发。未成熟子叶的预培养有利于根癌土壤杆菌感染子叶外植体体细胞胚的分化。基因型和受体的选择,转基因体系的改进,体细胞胚的脱水处理等是提高大豆转基因效率的重要因素。     

Translocation of Sulfate in Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr)

Sulfate translocation in soybean (Glycine max L. Merr) was investigated. More than 90% of the sulfate entering the shoot system was recoverable in one or two developing trifoliate leaves. In young plants, the first trifoliate leaf contained between 10 to 20 times as much sulfate as the primary leaves, even though both types of leaf had similar rates of transpiration and photosynthesis. We conclude that most of the sulfate entering mature leaves is rapidly loaded into the phloem and translocated to sinks elsewhere in the plant. This loading was inhibited by carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone and selenate. At sulfate concentrations below 0.1 millimolar, more than 95% of the sulfate entering primary leaves was exported. At higher concentrations the rate of export increased but so did the amount of sulfate remaining in the leaves. Removal of the first trifoliate leaf increased two-fold the transport of sulfate to the apex, indicating that these are competing sinks for sulfate translocated from the primary leaves. The small amount of sulfate transported into the mesophyll cells of primary leaves is a result of feedback regulation by the intracellular sulfate pool, not a consequence of their metabolic inactivity. For example, treatment of plants with 2 millimolar aminotriazole caused a 700 nanomoles per gram fresh weight increase in the glutathione content of primary leaves, but had no effect on sulfate aquisition.     

Maturation and germination of somatic embryos as affected by sucrose and plant growth regulators in soybeans Glycine gracilis Skvortz and Glycine max (L.) Merr.

The effects of sucrose on maturation and of plant growth regulators on germination of soybean somatic embryos were investigated for the purpose of developing an efficient culture method for plant recovery. Somatic embryos produced on medium with a low sucrose concentration (5 gl^-1), less than 1 mm in length, 0.6 mg in fresh weight, and green in color, were grown for 2 weeks on MS medium containing 5 gl^-1 or 30 gl^-1 sucrose and then for another 5 weeks on MS medium containing 5–90 gl^-1 sucrose. The highest increase in fresh weight of somatic embryos was obtained in the treatment of transferring from 30 gl^-1 sucrose (2 weeks) to 60 gl^-1 (5 weeks). With the increase in fresh weight, the somatic embryos gradually changed color from green to yellow, and finally to white, when they stopped growth. Soybean seed storage proteins (-conglycinin and glycinin) were accumulated in somatic embryos under tissue specific and stage specific control analogous to that in zygotic embryos. Exogenous gibberellic acid was effective in promoting precocious germination of premature soybean somatic embryos, but was not necessary for the germination of mature somatic embryos. The efficiency of somatic embryo germination was as high as 77% from semi-wild soybean and 60–64% from cultivated soybeans, showing that the plant regeneration system developed in this study was efficient and practical.Abbreviations 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - BR brassinolide - GA₃ gibberellic acid - IBA indolebutyric acid - NAA -naphthaleneacetic acid - PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - SDS Sodium Lauryl Sulfate     

Correlation of cotyledonary node shoot proliferation and somatic embryoid development in suspension cultures of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.)

Suspension cultures of soybean were initiated from hypocotyl or cotyledon callus tissue of several soybean genotypes. When these were grown on L2 medium with 0.4 mg/liter 2,4-D several genotypes produced numerous embryoids while others produced only a few such structures. Due to internal anatomy, no embryoid developed into a complete plant. A genotype's propensity to form normal appearing embryoids was correlated with the ability to proliferate shoots at the cotyledonary node on a medium with benzylaminopurine as determined in previous testing.Abbreviations 2,4-D 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - BAP Benzylaminopurine - L2 Phillips and Collins (1979) legume medium     

ATP Sulfurylase Activity in the Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.

ATP sulfurylase activity was assayed in soybean leaf extracts. A simple, rapid assay system using molybdate as an analogue of sulfate was developed. The assay was coupled to inorganic pyrophosphatase. The high pyrophosphatase level in soybean leaf extracts obviated the necessity of adding this enzyme to the assay system. ATP sulfurylase has a pH maximum above 7.5, uses molybdate and ATP as substrates, and requires magnesium ions for activity.     

Physiological Site of Ethylene Effects on Carbon Dioxide Assimilation in Glycine max L. Merr

The physiological site of ethylene action on CO₂ assimilation was investigated in intact plants of Glycine max L., using a whole-plant, open exposure system equipped witha remotely operated single-leaf cuvette. The objective of the study was met by investigating in control and ethylene-treated plants the (a) synchrony in response of CO₂ assimilation, stomatal conductance to water vapor, and substomatal CO₂ partial pressure; (b) response of CO₂ assimilation as a function of a range of substomatal CO₂ partial pressures; and (c) response of CO₂ assimilation as a function of a range of photon flux densities. After exposure to 410 micromoles per cubic meter of ethylene for 2.0 hours, CO₂ assimilation and stomatal conductance declined in synchrony, while substomatal CO₂ partial pressure remained unchanged until exposure times equaled and exceeded 3.0 hours. Because incipient changes in CO₂ assimilation occurred without a change in the CO₂ partial pressure in the leaf interior, it is concluded that both stomatal physiology and the chloroplast's CO₂ assimilatory capacity were initial sites of ethylene action. After 3.5 hours the effect of ethylene on stomatal conductance and CO₂ assimilation exhibited saturation kinetics, and the effect was substantially more pronounced for stomatal conductance than for CO₂ assimilation. Based on the response of CO₂ assimilation to a range of substomatal CO₂ partial pressures, ethylene did not affect either the CO₂ compensation point or carboxylation efficiency at subsaturating CO₂ partial pressures. Above-ambient supplies of CO₂ did not alleviate the diminished rates of CO₂ assimilation. In partitioning the limitations imposed on CO₂ assimilation in control and ethylene-treated plants, the stomatal component accounted for only 16 and 4%, respectively. The response of CO₂ assimilation to a range of photon flux densities suggests that ethylene reduced apparent quantum yield by nearly 50%. Thus, the pronounced decline in net photosynthetic CO₂ assimilation in the presence of ethylene was due more to a loss in the mesophyll tissue's intrinsic capacity to assimilate CO₂ than to a reduction in stomatal conductance.     

Dehydration Injury in Germinating Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) Seeds

The sensitivity of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr. cv Maple Arrow) seeds to dehydration changed during germination. Seeds were tolerant of dehydration to 10% moisture if dried at 6 hours of imbibition, but were susceptible to dehydration injury if dried at 36 hours of imbibition. Dehydration injury appeared as loss of germination, slower growth rates of isolated axes, hypocotyl and root curling, and altered membrane permeability. Increased electrolyte leakage due to dehydration treatment was observed only from isolated axes but not from cotyledons, suggesting that cotyledons are more tolerant of dehydration. The transition from a dehydration-tolerant to a dehydration-susceptible state coincided with radicle elongation. However, the prevention of cell elongation by osmotic treatment in polyethylene glycol (−6 bars) or imbibition in 20 micrograms per milliliter cycloheximide did not prevent the loss of dehydration tolerance suggesting that neither cell elongation nor cytoplasmic protein synthesis was responsible for the change in sensitivity of soybean seeds to dehydration. Furthermore, the rate of dehydration or rate of rehydration did not alter the response to the dehydration stress.     

Efficiency of the prediction of carcinogenic activities of chemical substances based on scoring somatic mutations in the soybean Glycine max (L.) Merrill

The efficiency of scoring somatic mutations in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) leaves as a test for carcinogenic activity of chemical substances in rodents has been evaluated. The efficiency of the test used alone or as part of a battery of tests has been estimated. The mutagenic activities of some chemical substances estimated using the soybean test are presented. Selective information on the carcinogenic activities of substances obtained in special carcinogenicity tests has been used as a quantitative measure of the efficiency of the tests with soybean leaves. To estimate the weight of evidence for the presence of this activity in the tested substances, a special function has been used whose values are uniquely related to the complete information, which is the sum of a priori information and the information obtained after testing. In general, the results have shown that the somatic mutation score test using soybean leaves is at least as efficient as the well-known tests that are generally used now, such as the Ames test and the chromosome aberration score test using mammalian cells in vitro. This test may be promising for the formation of efficient short-term test batteries.