Cadmium,copper, and zinc levels in the rice and rice field soil of Houston,Texas

Fifty-one pairs of hulled rice samples and the soil from which each rice sample was grown were analyzed for heavy metals in August, 1979, in order to estimate the background contamination of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) in rice grown in the Houston, Texas area. Both samples were divided into three groups by soil types and colors. The cadmium concentration in Texas rice was only one-half to one-quarter lower than that of Asian rice. However, the levels of Cu and Zn in rice in Texas were similar to those reported. Soil heavy metals were lower than ever reported, but these values were consistent with the geochemical characteristics of the Texas Houston area. No particular relationship was found between the three metals in rice and the metals in soil where the sampled rice was grown.     

Effect of Xanthobacter,isolated and characterized from rice roots,on growth of wetland rice

With an autotrophic, N-free medium, Xanthobacter populations were isolated from the roots of wetland rice grown under field conditions. Xanthobacter populations ranged from 3.2×10⁴ to 5.1×10⁵ colony-forming units (cfu) g^-1 of root and averaged 47-fold higher on the root or rhizoplane than in the neighbouring nonrhizosphere. Characterization studies indicated dissimilarities in carbon utilization and motility among the isolated Xanthobacter strains and other recognized Xanthobacter species. Under gnotobiotic conditions, the population of one isolate, Xanthobacter sp. JW-KR1, increased from 10⁵ to 10⁷ cfu plant^-1 1 d after inoculation when a rice plant was present, but declined to numbers below the limit of detection (<10⁴ cfu assembly^-1) after 3 d in the absence of a plant. Scanning electron microscopy revealed Xanthobacter as pleomorphic forms on the rhizoplane. To assess the effect of Xanthobacter on plant growth, rice plants were grown under greenhouse conditions in plant assemblies containing sand and half-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution with and without nitrogen. Plants were either inoculated with 10⁵ cfu Xanthobacter g^-1 of sand or left uninoculated. After 40 d, plants without nitrogen showed no significant differences in top or root dry weight, plant height, root length, or number of tillers or leaves, whether the plants were inoculated or uninoculated. However, when nitrogen was added, inoculated plants had a significantly larger top dry weight (15%) and number of leaves (19%) than uninoculated plants. Under conditions of added and no added nitrogen, acetylene reduction assays showed Xanthobacter sp. JW-KR1 produced <0.1 (below detection limit) and 7 nmol C₂H₄ plant^-1 h^-1, respectively. Under the conditions studied, the results suggest that both Xanthobacter and wetland rice derive some benefits from their association.     

Fractionation of the rice bran layer and quantification of vitamin E, oryzanol, protein, and rice bran saccharide

Value-added processing with respect to rice milling has traditionally treated the rice bran layer as a homogenous material that contains significant concentrations of high-value components of interest for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications. Investigators have shown that high-value components in the rice bran layer vary from differences in kernel-thickness, bran fraction, rice variety, and environmental conditions during the growing season. The objectives of this study were to quantify the amount of rice bran removed at pre-selected milling times and to correlate the amount of rice bran removed at each milling time with the concentration of vitamin E, gamma-oryzanol, rice bran saccharide, and protein obtained. The ultimate goal of this research is to show that rice bran fractionation is a useful method to obtain targeted, nutrient-rich bran samples for value-added processing. Two long grain rice cultivars, Cheniere and Cypress, were milled at discrete times between 3 and 40 seconds using a McGill mill to obtain bran samples for analysis. Results showed that the highest oryzanol and protein concentrations were found in the outer portion of the rice bran layer, while the highest rice bran saccharide concentration was found in the inner portion of the bran layer. Vitamin E concentration showed no significant difference across the bran layer within a variety, though the highest magnitude of concentration occurs within the first 10 seconds of milling for both varieties. To extract the higher concentration of oryzanol and protein only the outer portion of the bran layer requires processing, while to extract the higher concentration of rice bran saccharide, only the inner portion of the bran layer requires processing. Rice bran fractionation allows for the selective use of portions of the bran layer and is advantageous for two reasons: (1) bran fractions contain higher concentrations of components of interest with respect to the overall bran layer average, and (2) less bran needs to be processed to obtain components of interest.     

Ammonium, calcium, and leaf senescence in rice

The possible involvement of calcium in the regulation of ammonium-promoted senescence of detached rice leaves was investigated. Calcium effectively reduced ammonium-promoted senescence of detached rice leaves. The effect of ammonium on the senescence was also significantly reduced by the calcium ionophore A23187. Ammonium-promoted senescence of detached rice leaves may be mediated through blocking the entrance of calcium ions into the cytosol.     

二化螟与稻纵卷叶螟幼虫取食诱导的水稻挥发物比较

前期研究结果表明,二化螟和稻纵卷叶螟幼虫为害所诱导的水稻挥发物能对二化螟绒茧蜂Apanteles chilonis Munakata、二化螟Chilo suppressalis(Walker)和稻纵卷叶螟Cnaphalocrocis medinalis(Guene)雌成虫的行为产生影响,并且两者的影响效应存在明显差异,但至今仍不清楚2种害虫危害后水稻挥发物的变化情况。利用动态吸附法对健康水稻苗、二化螟或稻纵卷叶螟幼虫为害苗的挥发物进行捕集与鉴定。在3种处理水稻苗中,共捕集到28种挥发物组分,包括萜类化合物、烷烃类化合物、酮类、醇类、水杨酸甲酯和一些未知化合物。二化螟和稻纵卷叶螟为害均能导致水稻挥发物总量和大多挥发物组分释放量的上升;同时,二化螟幼虫危害能诱导水稻新释放2-heptanonol,(E)-linalooloxide和2种未知挥发物组分,稻纵卷叶螟为害则可诱导水稻产生2-heptanonol,(E)-linalooloxide,MeSA和β-caryophyllene4种新化合物。2种虫害稻株间的比较表明,β-caryophyllene和MeSA是稻纵卷叶螟危害水稻后诱导产生的特有挥发物组分,并且linalool,α-copaene,(+)-cedrol,n-heptadecane和n-nonadecane在二化螟为害苗与稻纵卷叶螟为害苗之间差异显著。这一结果也许可以解释2种害虫诱导水稻挥发物对天敌和害虫行为影响不同的原因。     

Origin,dispersal, cultivation and variation of rice

There are two cultivated and twenty-one wild species of genus Oryza. O. sativa, the Asian cultivated rice is grown all over the world. The African cultivated rice, O. glaberrima is grown on a small scale in West Africa. The genus Oryza probably originated about 130 million years ago in Gondwanaland and different species got distributed into different continents with the breakup of Gondwanaland. The cultivated species originated from a common ancestor with AA genome. Perennial and annual ancestors of O. sativa are O. rufipogon and O. nivara and those of O. glaberrima are O. longistaminata/, O. breviligulata and O. glaberrima probably domesticated in Niger river delta. Varieties of O. sativa are classified into six groups on the basis of genetic affinity. Widely known indica rices correspond to group I and japonicas to group VI. The so called javanica rices also belong to group VI and are designated as tropical japonicas in contrast to temperate japonicas grown in temperate climate. Indica and japonica rices had a polyphyletic origin. Indicas were probably domesticated in the foothills of Himalayas in Eastern India and japonicas somewhere in South China. The indica rices dispersed throughout the tropics and subtropics from India. The japonica rices moved northward from South China and became the temperate ecotype. They also moved southward to Southeast Asia and from there to West Africa and Brazil and became tropical ecotype. Rice is now grown between 55°N and 36°S latitudes. It is grown under diverse growing conditions such as irrigated, rainfed lowland, rainfed upland and floodprone ecosystems. Human selection and adaptation to diverse environments has resulted in numerous cultivars. It is estimated that about 120000 varieties of rice exist in the world. After the establishment of International Rice Research Institute in 1960, rice varietal improvement was intensified and high yielding varieties were developed. These varieties are now planted to 70% of world's riceland. Rice production doubled between 1966 and 1990 due to large scale adoption of these improved varieties. Rice production must increase by 60% by 2025 to feed the additional rice consumers. New tools of molecular and cellular biology such as anther culture, molecular marker aided selection and genetic engineering will play increasing role in rice improvement.     

Molecular characterization of a heat inducible rice gene,OsHSP1, and implications for rice thermotolerance

Higher plants have acquired complex molecular mechanisms to withstand heat stress through years of natural evolutionary processes. Although physiological responses to elevated temperatures have been well studied, thermotolerance mechanisms at the molecular level are poorly understood in rice plants. In order to identify the genes involved in the thermotolerance of rice, we used a publicly available microarray dataset and identified a number of heat stress-responsive genes. Herein, we report details of the rice gene OsHSP1, which is upregulated by heat stress. In addition, OsHSP1 is highly expressed when exposed to salt and osmotic treatments but not cold treatment. Sequence analysis indicated that OsHSP1 belongs to the heat shock protein 90 family of genes. The biological function of OsHSP1 was investigated by heterologous overexpression in Arabidopsis. Transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing the OsHSP1 gene exhibited enhanced thermotolerance but was hypersensitive under salt and osmotic stresses. Subcellular localization analysis indicated that the OsHSP1 protein is predominantly targeted to the cytosol and nucleus under heat stress. The coexpression network showed 39 interactions for the functionally interacting genes of OsHSP1. Taken together, these findings suggest that OsHSP1 is a heat-inducible gene that may play an important role in the thermotolerance of rice.     

Effect of rice plants on CH4 production,transport, oxidation and emission in rice paddy soil

To understand the integrated effects of rice plants (variety Wuyugeng 2) on CH₄ emission during the typical rice growth stage, the production, oxidation and emission of methane related to rice plants were investigated simultaneously through laboratory and greenhouse experiments. CH₄ emission was significantly higher from the rice planted treatment than from the unplanted treatment. In the rice planted treatment, CH₄ emission was higher at tillering stage than at panicle initiation stage. An average of 36.3% and 54.7% of CH₄ produced was oxidized in the rhizosphere at rice tillering stage and panicle initiation stage, respectively, measured by using methyl fluoride (MF) technique. In the meantime, CH₄ production in the planted treatments incubated under O₂-free N₂ condition was reduced by 44.9 and 22.3%, respectively, compared to unplanted treatment. On the contrary, the presence of rice plants strongly stimulated CH₄ production by approximately 72.3% at rice ripening stage. CH₄ emission through rice plants averaged 95% at the tillering stage and 89% at the panicle initiation stage. Based on these results, conclusions are drawn that higher CH₄ emission from the planted treatment than from unplanted treatment could be attributed to the function of rice plants for transporting CH₄ from belowground to the atmosphere at tillering and panicle initiation stage, and that a higher CH₄ emission at tillering stage than at panicle initiation stage is due to the lower rhizospheric CH₄ oxidation and more effective transport mediated by rice plants.     

FPC Web tools for rice, maize, and distribution

Many clone-based physical maps have been built with the FingerPrinted Contig (FPC) software, which is written in C and runs locally for fast and flexible analysis. If the maps were viewable only from FPC, they would not be as useful to the whole community since FPC must be installed on the user machine and the database downloaded. Hence, we have created a set of Web tools so users can easily view the FPC data and perform salient queries with standard browsers. This set includes the following four programs: WebFPC, a view of the contigs; WebChrom, the location of the contigs and genetic markers along the chromosome; WebBSS, locating user-supplied sequence on the map; and WebFCmp, comparing fingerprints. For additional FPC support, we have developed an FPC module for BioPerl and an FPC browser using the Generic Model Organism Project (GMOD) genome browser (GBrowse), where the FPC BioPerl module generates the data files for input into GBrowse. This provides an alternative to the WebChrom/WebFPC view. These tools are available to download along with documentation. The tools have been implemented for both the rice (Oryza sativa) and maize (Zea mays) FPC maps, which both contain the locations of clones, markers, genetic markers, and sequenced clone (along with links to sites that contain additional information).     

Rejuvenating rice proteomics: facts, challenges, and visions

Proteomics is progressing at an unprecedented pace, as can be exemplified by the progress in model organisms such as yeast, bacteria, and mammals. Proteomics research in plants, however, has not progressed at the same pace. Unscrambling of the genome sequences of the dicotyledoneous Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) and monocotyledoneous rice (Oryza sativa L.) plant species, respectively, has made them accessible reference organisms to study plant proteomics. Study of these two reference plants is expected to unravel the mystery of plant biology. Rice, a critically important food crop on the earth, has been termed a "cornerstone" and the "Rosetta stone" for functional genomics of cereal crops. Here, we look at the progress in unraveling rice proteomes and present the facts, challenges, and vision. The text is divided into two major parts: the first part presents the facts and the second part discusses the challenges and vision. The facts include the technology and its use in developing proteomes, which have been critically and constructively reviewed. The challenges and vision deal with the establishment of technologies to exhaustively investigate the protein components of a proteome, to generate high-resolution gel-based reference maps, and to give rice proteomics a functional dimension by studying PTMs and isolation of multiprotein complexes. Finally, we direct a vision on rice proteomics. This is our third review in series on rice proteomics, which aims to stimulate an objective discussion among rice researchers and to understand the necessity and impact of unraveling rice proteomes to their full potential.     

A rice isoflavone reductase-like gene, OsIRL, is induced by rice blast fungal elicitor

We have isolated and characterized a rice isoflavone reductase-like gene, OsIRL, whose expression is induced by a fungal elicitor. The OsIRL cDNA contains 1203 bp with an open reading frame of 942 nucleotides encoding 314 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of OsIRL has a putative pyridine nucleotide binding domain and is 68% homologous with the maize isoflavone reductase-like gene. Southern blot analysis revealed that OsIRL belongs to a small multigene family. Expression of OsIRL was induced by treatment with a fungal elicitor and jasmonic acid as well as by inoculation with rice blast fungus. Cycloheximide (1 microM), strongly inhibited the induction of OsIRL by the fungal elicitor, indicating that new protein synthesis is required. The protein kinase inhibitor, staurosporine (1 microM), had little effect, but the phosphatase inhibitor, calyculin A (1 microM), strongly inhibited induction. Treatment with salicylic acid (SA, 5 mM) strongly inhibited expression of OsIRL in response to fungal elicitor and JA, while abscisic acid (ABA, 200 microM) also strongly antagonized OsIRL induction by JA, but had only a weak effect on induction by the fungal elicitor. These results suggest that the expression of OsIRL is positively regulated by phytohormones such as JA, and negatively by phytohormones such as SA, ABA.     

水稻铁吸收、转运及调控的分子机制研究进展

铁是水稻生长和发育所必需的营养元素之一。研究表明,水稻既可以以螯合物的形式从土壤中吸收Fe³⁺、Fe²⁺,又可以直接转运根际土壤中游离的Fe²⁺。科研人员已经鉴定了很多参与铁离子吸收和转运的重要分子元件,包括转运蛋白、酶、螯合物等,同时也挖掘了部分调控这些分子元件表达的上游基因。碱性土壤的高pH值影响水稻对铁离子的吸收和利用,因此,科研人员通过改良碱性土壤中铁离子的利用效率来改良水稻的耐碱性,并取得了一定的成效。本文主要对上述内容进行了综述,并对该领域未来的研究方向进行了展望。     

Water management,rice varieties and mycorrhizal inoculation influence arsenic concentration and speciation in rice grains

A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of water management and mycorrhizal inoculation on arsenic (As) uptake by two rice varieties, the As-resistant BRRI dhan 47 (B47) and As-sensitive BRRI dhan 29 (B29). Grain As concentration of B47 plants was significantly lower than that of B29, and grain As concentration of B47 was higher under flooding conditions than that under aerobic conditions. In general, mycorrhizal inoculation (Rhizophagus irregularis) had no significant effect on grain As concentrations, but decreased the proportion of inorganic arsenic (iAs) in grains of B47. The proportion of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in the total grain As was dramatically higher under flooding conditions. Results demonstrate that rice variety selection and appropriate water management along with mycorrhizal inoculation could be practical countermeasures to As accumulation and toxicity in rice grains, thus reducing health risks of As exposure in rice diets.     

Methyl jasmonate, calcium, and leaf senescence in rice

The possible involvement of calcium in the regulation of methyl jasmonate-promoted senescence of detached rice (Oryza sativa) leaves was investigated. Calcium effectively reduced methyl jasmonate-promoted senescence of detached rice leaves. The effect of methyl jasmonate on the senescence was also significantly reduced by calcium ionophore A23187. Methyl jasmonate-promoted senescence of detached rice leaves may be mediated through blocking the entrance of calcium ions into the cytosol.     

施氮和肥料添加剂对水稻产量、氮素吸收转运及利用的影响

在苏南太湖地区开展田间试验,研究了施氮和肥料添加剂对水稻产量、氮素吸收转运及利用的影响.结果表明:施氮对水稻产量、各生育时期植株累积吸氮量、阶段氮累积量和花后氮素转运量具有显著的促进作用(P＜0.01),当施氮量高于200 kg·hm-2时,增施氮肥的增产效应不显著(P＞0.05);花后氮素转运率和氮肥利用率均随施氮量的增加而降低.施用肥料添加剂可进一步提高水稻产量、累积吸氮量、花后氮素转运量和氮肥利用率,且该效应在高施氮量( ≥200 kg·hm-2)条件下表现更明显.本试验条件下不施用肥料添加剂时,施氮150kg·hm-2可同时获得较高的产量和氮肥利用率.