成年沙田柚树试管嫁接及微繁殖的研究

分别以两类沙田柚侧芽为接穗、酸柚为砧木进行了试管嫁接,结果表明:不同嫁接方式、接穗大小以及不同激素处理均直接影响到试管嫁接成活率.对大田侧芽而言,接穗大小以茎尖为宜,1.0mg/LGA3或0.5mg/L6-BA处理效果较佳,嫁接成活率分别达50%和30%;对侧枝沙培萌发的侧芽而言,接穗大小以茎尖 1个节间为宜,2.0mg/LGA3或0.5mg/L6-BA处理效果较佳,嫁接成活率分别达90%和80%.在相同条件下,后者的嫁接成活率一般明显高于前者.两种沙田柚嫁接苗的试管微繁殖没有明显区别,在MS 6-BA0.1mg/L培养基上均可分化不定芽,继代的嫁接成活率可达90%以上.     

Adaptation and Moral Realism

Conventional wisdom has it that evolution makes a sham of morality, even if morality is an adaptation. I disagree. I argue that our best current adaptationist theory of meaning offers objective truth conditionsfor signaling systems of all sorts. The objectivity is, however, relative to species – specifically to the adaptive history of the signaling system in question. While evolution may not provide the kind of species independent objective standards that (e.g.) Kantians desire, this should be enough for the practical work of justifying our confidence in the objectivity of moral standards. If you believe morality is an adaptation, you should be a moral realist.     

Moral Realism and Teleosemantics

William Harms has argued that if human morality is the product ofnatural selection, moral realism will follow. The thesis that hethinks allows this bridge is teleosemantics. This argument ismistaken. Even granting both premises, forms of radical moralnon-realism remain viable, since the utterance of mistaken statements(or commands) may enhance reproductive fitness.     

Studies on Mature Seeds of Cuscuta pedicellata and C. campestris by Electron Microscopy

The seeds of Cuscuta pedicellata have been investigated by transmissionand scanning electron microscopy. Additional observations havebeen made on seeds of C. campestris by SEM only. The seed coatconsists of an outer single epidermis, two different palisadelayers, and an inner multiparenchyma layer. The outer epidermalwall in C. pedicellata has a thick cuticle and zones rich inpectic substances. The thicker ‘U-shaped’ cell wallsin the outer palisade layer are strengthened by a wall layerof hemicellulose. The inner palisade layer has thick walledcells with a ‘light line’. The inner cell wall ofthe compressed multiparenchyma layer has a thin cuticle. A fairlythick cuticle is positioned directly on the endosperm surface.The aleurone cell walls are different from the remaining endospermwalls. The latter are thick and believed to be of galactomannans.There is a ‘clear’ zone between the plasmalemmaand the cell wall in the aleurone cells. The embryo cells arepacked with lipids and proteins. In Cuscuta campestris mostendosperm has been absorbed during the seed development. Theembryo apex has two minute leaf primordia. The features of theCuscuta seeds are discussed in relation to functional and environmentalconditions. Cuscuta pedicellata, Cuscuta campestris, seed, seed coat, cuticle, cell walls, endosperm, aleurone cells, galactomannan, embryo, TEM, SEM     

Ultrastructural Studies of Somatic Embryos of Eucalyptus nitens and Comparisons with Zygotic Embryos Found in Mature Seeds

Although somatic embryogenesis has been observed in tissuesfrom a limited number of Eucalyptus species cultured in vitro,no comparisons have been made of the morphology and structureof eucalypt somatic embryos and zygotic embryos found in matureseeds. We used scanning and transmission electron microscopy,in conjunction with histological analysis, to compare maturezygotic embryos with somatic embryos of the commercially-importanttemperate eucalypt Eucalyptus nitens. Apart from differencesin the nature of the outer coating enclosing both embryo types,somatic embryos of E. nitens were observed to have strong similaritieswith zygotic embryos in seeds in terms of their overall size,morphology and internal cellular organization. Many cells inboth sexually-produced and somatic embryos contained numerouslipid-rich globular bodies. The wider significance of theseobservations is discussed with regard to their potential applicationsin eucalypt plantation biotechnology programmes. Copyright 2000Annals of Botany Company Eucalyptus nitens, shining gum, somatic embryo, tissue culture, ultrastructure, zygotic embryo     

Probiotic Microbes Sustain Youthful Serum Testosterone Levels and Testicular Size in Aging Mice

The decline of circulating testosterone levels in aging men is associated with adverse health effects. During studies of probiotic bacteria and obesity, we discovered that male mice routinely consuming purified lactic acid bacteria originally isolated from human milk had larger testicles and increased serum testosterone levels compared to their age-matched controls. Further investigation using microscopy-assisted histomorphometry of testicular tissue showed that mice consuming Lactobacillus reuteri in their drinking water had significantly increased seminiferous tubule cross-sectional profiles and increased spermatogenesis and Leydig cell numbers per testis when compared with matched diet counterparts This showed that criteria of gonadal aging were reduced after routinely consuming a purified microbe such as L. reuteri. We tested whether these features typical of sustained reproductive fitness may be due to anti-inflammatory properties of L. reuteri, and found that testicular mass and other indicators typical of old age were similarly restored to youthful levels using systemic administration of antibodies blocking pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-17A. This indicated that uncontrolled host inflammatory responses contributed to the testicular atrophy phenotype in aged mice. Reduced circulating testosterone levels have been implicated in many adverse effects; dietary L. reuteri or other probiotic supplementation may provide a viable natural approach to prevention of male hypogonadism, absent the controversy and side-effects of traditional therapies, and yield practical options for management of disorders typically associated with normal aging. These novel findings suggest a potential high impact for microbe therapy in public health by imparting hormonal and gonad features of reproductive fitness typical of much younger healthy individuals.     

Studies on mRNA Electroporation of Immature and Mature Dendritic Cells: Effects on their Immunogenic Potential

Previous studies have shown that mRNA-electroporated dendritic cells (DCs) are able to process and present tumor-associated antigens, leading to the activation of tumor-specific T cells in vitro and in vivo. However, the optimal maturation state of antigen loading and half-life of the mRNA-translated protein product and its immunogenic epitopes are significant parameters, which needs to be clarified in order to establish an effective electroporation protocol. In addition, despite extensive experimental investigations and their widespread application in research and clinical environments, little is known of the extent to which the immunological properties of DCs are influenced by electrical fields of critical strengths. We found that the mRNA transfection of DCs after maturation with short and low-voltage square-wave electrical pulses resulted in higher level of antigen expression and viability in addition to higher T-cell stimulatory ability compared to transfection of DCs prior to maturation. Mature mRNA-electroporated DCs showed long-lived expression of EGFP and were able to stimulate influenza matrix protein M1 (M1)-specific T cells up to 24 h after electroporation. However, when DCs were subjected to increasing electrical pulses the level of transgene expression was four-fold upregulated, equipping these DCs to be more potent in inducing M1-specific T cells. Also, the application of long electrical pulses induced further upregulation of HLA-DR, CD80, and CD86 expression in mature DCs, but did not promote phenotypic or functional maturation in immature DCs. These findings support the concept of mRNA transfection of DCs after maturation and also highlight the possibility to use long electrical pulses for further improvement of the immune responses by mRNA-transfected DCs.     

Vigor in an interspecific hybrid of sansevieria

F₁ hybrids of S. trifasciata x S. deserti were distinctly superior to either parent species in terms of total green yield, percent fiber leaves, fiber leaf yield and fiber yield in tests conducted on Everglades peat and Immokalee fine sand in south Florida. Apparently the hybrid vigor in the F₁’s can be accounted for by a combination of favorable growth factors from the 2 diverse parent species. Generally the fiber quality of the hybrids was equal to or better than the parents.     

Two-Dimensional Electrophoretic Studies of the Proteins and Polypeptides in Mature Pollen Grains and the Male Germ Unit of Plumbago zeylanica

Three fractions (male germ unit [MGU]-rich, cytoplasmic-particulate and water-soluble proteins) were isolated from pollen of Plumbago zeylanica L. Proteins were extracted using a phenol procedure and polypeptide patterns were compared on one- and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gels. The MGU-rich fraction contains the sperm and vegetative nucleus of the pollen grain and yielded 427 spots >33 kilodaltons. The cyto-plasmic-particulate fraction contained 515 spots >33 kilodaltons. The third fraction consisted of water-soluble proteins and polypeptides from the pollen cytoplasm, in which 285 spots (>33 kilodaltons) were identified. Of 133 polypeptide spots suitable for comparison, 18 were unique to the MGU-rich fraction, 3 to the cytoplasmic-particulate fraction, 14 to the water-soluble fraction, 65 were common to two different fractions (and absent in one), and 33 were common to all three of the fractions examined.     

Vigor and salt tolerance in 3 lines of tall wheatgrass

The F₁ progeny of the cross of two salt-tolerant lines of Thinopyrum elongatum [Host] D. R. Dewey grew better than either parent under non-saline and saline growth conditions. Under non-saline conditions, the hybrid produced 1.8 times as much vegetative tissue as one parent and 3.2 times more than the other parent in the same length of time. The relative growth rates of the 2 parental lines decreased equally as media osmotic potentials decreased. The relative growth rate of the hybrid did not decrease as rapidly as that of the parents; therefore, it was concluded that the greater growth of the hybrid was due to increased salt tolerance. Carbohydrate reserves and water-soluble solutes believed to be involved in osmotic adjustment were assayed to determine if there were any differences between the hybrid and its parents in their abilities to accumulate these compounds. The concentrations of these constituents were measured at dawn and at dusk of the same day in plants grown in media at osmotic potentials ranging from –0.1 to –1.2 MPa. There were no differences in pool sizes of the organic compounds in the 3 lines. Starch increased 10–40 fold in leaves from dawn to dusk and sucrose increased 100-fold. However, this pattern was unaffected by salinity. Conversely, betaine concentrations increased with increasing salinity but were the same at dawn and dusk. Na⁺ and K⁺ were affected by both light and salinity. Cl was one-half (Na⁺+ K⁺) on a molar basis under all conditions. Proline accumulated when (Na⁺+ K⁺) exceeded 200 μmol (g fresh weight)^?1. Since this amount of (Na⁺+ K⁺) existed only in tissues harvested at dusk from severely saline-stressed plants, only leaves from such plants harvested at dusk contained proline.     

种子活力与生物膜的研究现状

种子活力与生物膜的结构和功能密切相关.活力高的种子,膜结构比较完整,在吸水时,膜系统恢复的速度较快,并且修复的较完善.研究表明,超干和引发处理可使膜结构得到保持与修复,很多种类的物质参与了膜结构的保护,例如可溶性糖、蛋白质(包括酶)、两性分子、Ca2 、多胺及其他非酶促自由基清除系统等,保护物质协同作用,稳定膜脂及膜蛋白的结构,保持膜系统的完整性,使膜功能得以正常发挥,强化了种子活力.     

种子活力与蛋白质关系的研究进展

对种子活力的研究是目前种子生理学研究的热点,近年来对种子活力的机理的研究有了新的突破。本文主要叙了种子活力与蛋白的关系研究进展,包括种子活力与贮藏蛋白的关系、种子种力与热激蛋白等逆激蛋白的关系、种子活力与泛肽、钙调蛋白的关系等,并探讨了与种子活力有关的逆激蛋白之间的同源性。     

Complexity and Verisimilitude: Realism for Ecology

When data are limited, simple models of complex ecological systems tend to wind up closer to the truth than more complex models of the same systems. This greater proximity to the truth, or verisimilitude, leads to greater predictive success. When more data are available, the advantage of simplicity decreases, and more complex models may gain the upper hand. In ecology, holistic models are usually simpler than reductionistic models. Thus, when data are limited, holistic models have an advantage over reductionistic models, with respect to verisimilitude and predictive success. I illustrate these points with models designed to explain and predict the numbers of species on islands.