Gene expression profiling during gland morphogenesis of a mutant and a glandless upland cotton

To identify genes involved in pigment gland morphogenesis in cotton, gene expression was profiled using genechip (Affymetrix) during pigment gland morphogenesis in cotton variety Xiangmian-18, which has glandless seeds but glanded plants, and a glandless line, N5. The results showed that 303 genes were differentially expressed by a factor greater than two during gland morphogenesis; 59% (180) of these genes shared similarity with known genes in GenBank. These genes play roles in defense response, response to oxidative stress, peroxidase activity, and other metabolic pathways. KOBAS (KEGG Orthology-Based Annotation System) indicate that these genes are involved in 68 biochemical pathways. These findings suggest that the related defense response, gossypol biosynthesis pathway and other complex regulation may be associated with pigment gland morphogenesis in cotton. The results may provide a basis for further study and serve as a guide for related research.     

Specificity of constitutive and induced resistance: pigment glands influence mites and caterpillars on cotton plants

Cotton plants contain suites of phytochemicals thought to be important in defense against herbivores, some of which are localized in pigment glands which contain gossypol and other terpenoid aldehydes. The simple genetic basis for the expression of these glands has led to the development of near-isogenic glanded and glandless genotypes. Glands may also be phenotypically induced by herbivory. We determined the consequences of constitutive and induced gland expression on two types of herbivores, spider mites (cell content feeders) and noctuid caterpillars (leaf chewers).Induction of glands was strongly dependent on the density of attackers. Spider mite herbivory on cotyledons (1) increased the density (but not total number) of glands on cotyledons linearly, (2) increased the density and total number of glands on the first true leaf linearly, and (3) affected the density and total number of glands on the second true leaf non-linearly, compared to controls. Neither constitutive nor induced expression of glands affected mite population growth. An equal reduction of mite population size on induced glanded and glandless plants (50%) relative to uninduced controls indicated that factors other than glands were associated with induced resistance to mites. Constitutive gland expression had a strong negative impact on caterpillar performance, reducing growth by 45%. Induced resistance to caterpillars was three times stronger in glanded genotypes than in glandless genotypes, indicating that factors associated with induced resistance to caterpillars are strongly associated with glands. Three cotton varieties were highly variable in their constitutive and induced resistance to mites and caterpillars.Thus, defense of cotton plants against herbivores can be roughly categorized as constitutive and inducible factors associated with terpenoid aldehyde containing pigment glands that are effective against caterpillars, and factors not associated with glands that are effective against mites.     

EFFECTS OF GOSSYPOL ON GROWTH OF THE COTTON BOLLWORM AND DEVELOPMENT OF ITS PARASITOID CAMPOLETIS CHLORIDEAE*

Abstract The effects of gossypol, an important allelochemical in cotton, on growth of the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) and development of its endoparasitoid Campoletis chlorideae (Uchida) in Huanghe River Valley were studied. Growth of H. armigera larvae was accelerated by adding 0.1% gossypol in the artificial diet, causing 10.75% reduction of the vulnerable period to C. chlorideae while the suppression activity of 0. 5 % gossypol to H. armigera larvae prolonged the vulnerable period by 28.15%. Negative effects of gossypol on the development of the parasitoid were demonstrated by using the artificial diet and cotton varieties WD-151 (glandless) and HG-BR-8 (glanded). Gossypol at 0.1% concentration in artificial diet did not remarkably increase the body weight of adult wasp, but significantly extended the egg-larval time and shortened the pupal time; 0. 5% gossypol and HG-BR-8 remarkably reduced the body weight of adult wasp, also significantly prolonged the egg-larval period and decreased the pupal period. Finally, the coordinate application of high gossypol resistant cotton varieties and C. chlorideae in H. armigera control is discussed.     

The surface of the leaf in normal and glossy maize seedlings

Summary The wettability of leaf surface in maize seedlings may vary according to the genotypes,Gl orgl. Techniques in electron microscopy have made it possible to resolve the fine structure of theGl—surface as contrasted with those ofgl ₁,gl ₂,gl ₃, andgl ^H . The normal surface, shows minute projections which are almost absent in the glossy surface of young seedlingsgl ₁; thegl ₂,gl ₃ andgl ^H seedlings present a somewhat intermediate situation.With 1 Figure in the Text     

Effects of temperature and medium composition on inhibitory activities of gossypol‐related compounds against aflatoxigenic fungi

Aims

To investigate the effects of temperature and medium composition on growth/aflatoxin inhibitory activities of terpenoids gossypol, gossypolone and apogossypolone against Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus.

Methods and Results

The compounds were tested at a concentration of 100 μg ml^?1 in a Czapek Dox (Czapek) agar medium at 25, 31 and 37°C. Increased incubation temperature marginally increased growth inhibition caused by these compounds, but reduced the aflatoxin inhibition effected by gossypol. Gossypolone and apogossypolone retained good aflatoxin inhibitory activity against A. flavus and A. parasiticus at higher incubation temperatures. However, increased temperature also significantly reduced aflatoxin production in control cultures. The effects of the terpenoids on fungal growth and aflatoxin production against the same fungi were also determined in Czapek, Czapek with a protein/amino acid addendum and yeast extract sucrose (YES) media. Growth of these fungi in the protein‐supplemented Czapek medium or in the YES medium greatly reduced the growth inhibition effects of the terpenoids. Apogossypolone displayed strong anti‐aflatoxigenic activity in the Czapek medium, but this activity was significantly reduced in the protein‐amended Czapek and YES media. Gossypol, which displayed little to no aflatoxin inhibitory activity in the Czapek medium, did yield significant anti‐aflatoxigenic activity in the YES medium.

Conclusions

Incubation temperature and media composition are important parameters involved in the regulation of aflatoxin production in A. flavus and A. parasiticus. These parameters also affect the potency of growth and aflatoxin inhibitory activities of these gossypol‐related compounds against aflatoxigenic fungi.

Significance and Impact of the Study

Studies utilizing gossypol‐related compounds as inhibitory agents of biological activities should be interpreted with caution due to compound interaction with multiple components of the test system, especially serum proteins.     

Effects of elevated CO2 and plant genotype on interactions among cotton,aphids and parasitoids

Abstract Effects of CO₂ level (ambient vs. elevated) on the interactions among three cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) genotypes, the cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii Glover), and its hymenoptera parasitoid (Lysiphlebia japonica Ashrnead) were quantified. It was hypothesized that aphid‐parasitoid interactions in crop systems may be altered by elevated CO₂, and that the degree of change is influenced by plant genotype. The cotton genotypes had high (M9101), medium (HZ401) and low (ZMS13) gossypol contents, and the response to elevated CO₂ was genotype‐specific. Elevated CO₂ increased the ratio of total non‐structural carbohydrates to nitrogen (TNC: N) in the high‐gossypol genotype and the medium‐gossypol genotype. For all three genotypes, elevated CO₂ had no effect on concentrations of gossypol and condensed tannins. A. gossypii fitness declined when aphids were reared on the high‐gossypol genotype versus the low‐gossypol genotype under elevated CO₂. Furthermore, elevated CO₂ decreased the developmental time of L. japonica associated with the high‐gossypol genotype and the low‐gossypol genotype, but did not affect parasitism or emergence rates. Our study suggests that the abundance of A. gossypii on cotton will not be directly affected by increases in atmospheric CO₂. We speculate that A. gossypii may diminish in pest status in elevated CO₂ and high‐gossypol genotype environments because of reduced fitness to the high‐gossypol genotype and shorter developmental time of L. japonica.     

棉酚对棉铃虫生长及其寄生物齿唇姬蜂发育的影响(英文)

以中国北方棉区的主要害虫棉铃虫Helicoverpaarmigera（Hbner）及其内寄生蜂棉铃虫齿唇姬蜂Campoletischlorideae（Uchida）为试虫,研究了棉花重要抗虫次生性物质棉酚对棉铃虫生长和齿唇姬蜂发育的影响。0．1％的棉酚对棉铃虫幼虫有生长刺激作用,0．5％的棉酚则对棉铃虫幼虫生长有抑制作用。齿唇姬蜂成虫在寄生时对寄主大小有较严格的选择性,92％的被寄生幼虫体重小于18mg。0．1％的棉酚使寄主适合寄生期缩短10．75％;0．5％棉酚使寄主适合寄生期延长28．15％。棉酚对齿唇姬蜂发育有负效应。0．1％棉酚对寄主的生长刺激作用,不能使蜂成虫体重显著增加,但可显著延长蜂卵和幼虫期,缩短蛹期;高浓度的生长抑制作用,导致蜂成虫体重显著减轻,蛹期缩短,蜂卵和幼虫期亦显著延长。据此,对棉花抗虫性与生物防治在害虫综合防治实践中应用的协调性进行了讨论。     

Formation and cell lineage patterns of the shoot apex of maize

In maize, glossy (gl) mutants lack the wax layer normally present on the epidermis of young leaves. By insertion mutagenesis, unstable alleles (gl₁-m) have been induced at the Gl₁ locus. In the gl₁-m8 strain, somatic reversions to wild-type frequently result in the formation of large sectors occupying predictable positions in all seedlings' leaves. In studies of 230 gl₁-m8 seedlings with large reverted sectors covering around 50% of the first leaf, four patterns of sectoring were recognized: one large sector ending in all leaves at the main midrib (32.6% of cases); one central sector on leaves 1, 3 and 5 (or 2 and 4), corresponding to lateral stripes of Gl₁ tissue on the other leaves (7.9%); a sector decreasing or increasing in successive leaves (9.1%); other types with one sector covering a leaf surface between 33 and 50% (19.1%) or with complex variegations (31.3%). Based on leaf sectoring, the pattern and stability of cell lineages during shoot apex establishment and embryonic activity leading to leaf primordia, are inferred from the genetic state (Gl or gl₁-m) of leaf founder cells present in the apex at the ring of primordia insertion. A genetic experiment indicates that the large somatic reversions considered derived from both the LI and the LII layers of the apex. A large majority of the observed patterns of reversion can be interpreted as due to a single event of transposition. The data are discussed and relevant conclusions proposed in relation to the age of the proembryo at the time of apex formation, the permanent or impermanent state of initial cells of the apex, the polarization of cell divisions and the plane of early apex cell division as a mechanism leading to the bilateral symmetry of the maize seedling.     

Oxidative and phosphorylative activities of mitochondria isolated from cotton hypocotyls

Mitochondria isolated from 2 strains of cotton plant hypocotyls (Gossypium hirsutum L. var. Rex smooth leaf and Rex glandless) were examined for their oxidative phosphorylation activities. Bovine serum albumin at a relatively high concentration was essential in the extraction medium for the isolation of oxidatively active mitochondria from both strains of cotton. Phosphorylation was obtained only with Rex glandless cotton mitochondria. This activity was low in comparison to the mitochondria isolated from soybeans (Glycine max L. var. Lee). The endogenous gossypol content was found to be much higher in the Rex smooth leaf tissue than in the Rex glandless tissue. In turn, comparable gossypol differences were found associated with their respective mitochondrial fractions. Exogenous gossypol uncoupled succinate oxidation with active mitochondria isolated from soybeans. Gossypol as a possible uncoupler is discussed and compared to carbonyl cyanide, m-chlorophenyl hydrazone and 2,4-dinitrophenol.     

Impacts of elevated CO2 on expression of plant defensive compounds in Bt‐transgenic cotton in response to infestation by cotton bollworm

• 1 The allocation of defensive compounds of transgenic Bt (cv. GK‐12) and nontransgenic cotton (cv. Simian‐3) grown in elevated CO₂ in response to infestation by cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) was studied in closed‐dynamics CO₂ chambers.
• 2 A significant reduction in foliar nitrogen content and Bt toxin protein occurred when transgenic Bt cotton grew under elevated CO₂. A significantly higher carbon/nitrogen ratio as well as condensed tannin and gossypol contents was observed for transgenic Bt (cv. GK‐12) and nontransgenic cotton in elevated CO₂, in partial support of the carbon nutrient balance hypothesis as a result of limiting nitrogen and excess carbon in cotton plants in response to elevated CO₂.
• 3 The CO₂ level and infestation time significantly affected the foliar nitrogen, condensed tannin, gossypol and Bt toxin protein contents of cotton plants after feeding by H. armigera. The interaction between CO₂ levels × cotton variety had a significant effect on foliar nitrogen content after injury by H. armigera.

     

Effects of elevated CO2 and transgenic Bt cotton on plant chemistry, performance, and feeding of an insect herbivore, the cotton bollworm

Effects of elevated atmospheric CO₂ (double‐ambient CO₂) on the growth and metabolism of cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), fed on transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) (Bt) cotton [Cry1A(c)], grown in open‐top chambers, were studied. Two levels of CO₂ (ambient and double‐ambient) and two cotton cultivars (non‐transgenic Simian‐3 and transgenic GK‐12) were deployed in a completely randomized design with four treatment combinations, and the cotton bollworm was reared on each treatment simultaneously. Plants of both cotton cultivars had lower nitrogen and higher total non‐structural carbohydrates (TNC), TNC:Nitrogen ratio, condensed tannin, and gossypol under elevated CO₂. Elevated CO₂ further resulted in a significant decrease in Bt toxin level in GK‐12. The changes in chemical components in the host plants due to increased CO₂ significantly affected the growth parameters of H. armigera. Both transgenic Bt cotton and elevated CO₂ resulted in a reduced body mass, lower fecundity, decreased relative growth rate (RGR), and decreased mean relative growth rate in the bollworms. Larval life‐span was significantly longer for H. armigera fed transgenic Bt cotton. Significantly reduced larval, pupal, and adult moth weights were observed in the bollworms fed elevated CO₂‐grown transgenic Bt cotton compared with those of bollworms reared on non‐transgenic cotton, regardless of the CO₂ level. The efficiency of conversion of ingested food and of digested food of the bollworm were significantly reduced when fed transgenic Bt cotton, but there was no significant CO₂ or CO₂× cotton cultivar interaction. Approximate digestibility of larvae reared on transgenic cotton grown in elevated CO₂ was higher compared to that of larvae fed non‐transgenic cotton grown at ambient CO₂. The damage inflicted by cotton bollworm on cotton, regardless of the presence or absence of insecticidal genes, is predicted to be more serious under elevated CO₂ conditions because of individual compensatory feeding on host plants caused by nitrogen deficiency.     

Chemical Composition of Defatted Cottonseed and Soy Meal Products

Chemical composition is critical information for product quality and exploration of new use. Hence defatted cottonseed meals from both glanded (with gossypol) and glandless (without gossypol) cotton seeds were separated into water soluble and insoluble fractions, or water soluble, alkali soluble as well as total protein isolates. The contents of gossypol, total protein and amino acids, fiber and carbohydrates, and selected macro and trace elements in these products were determined and compared with each other and with those of soy meal products. Data reported in this work improved our understanding on the chemical composition of different cottonseed meal products that is helpful for more economical utilization of these products. These data would also provide a basic reference for product standards and quality control when the production of the cottonseed meal products comes to pilot and industrial scales.