Metabolism and Excretion of Caffeine during Germination of Coffea arabica L.

To investigate the physiological role of the purine alkaloidsduring germination, seeds of Coffea arabica were allowed togerminate under aseptic conditions on agar at 26?C, either inthe dark or in the light. After imbibition for 7 days less than1% of the seed caffeine is found in the agar, indicating a strongdiffusion barrier at the surface of the coffee bean. After 56days, when the radicle has grown deep into the agar support,a considerable amount (22%) of caffeine is excreted. The totalcaffeine content increases during germination for 56 days by83% in the dark and by 51% in the light, whereas the solubleprotein falls drastically. We propose that caffeine is not anitrogen reserve for germination and acts against competitors(release into the soil) and against predators (concentrationincrease in the tissue). (Received June 5, 1984; Accepted August 29, 1984)     

Effects of Pratylenchus brachyurus and P. coffeae on Seedlings of Coffea arabica

Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of Pratylenchus brachyurus and P. coffeae on Coffea arabica. The first experiment was conducted in a greenhouse to determine the effects of Pratylenchus brachyurus and P. coffeae on seedlings of Coffea arabica cv. Mundo Novo. Both Pratylenchus spp. reduced the growth of coffee seedlings. Higher contents of soluble sugars were detected in the leaves of infected plants. The reproduction rate of P. brachyurus was very low on cv. Mundo Novo, indicating an intolerance to this nematode. In a second experiment, C. arabica cultivars Mundo Novo and Catuaf both were intolerant hosts of P. brachyurus.     

Germination of Coffee Seeds (Coffea arabica L. cv. Mundo Novo)

The life-span of coffee seeds is extended when seeds are storedwith high moisture content. Germination in darkness is alwayshigher than in the light. Exogenous gibberellic acid and abscisicacid inhibit germination while kinetin reverses this inhibitoryeffect. Low levels of endogenous gibberellin- and abscisic acid-likeand high levels of cytokinin-like substances favour germinationwhile the opposite combination of regulators delays germination.     

Identification of novel and conserved microRNAs in Coffea canephora and Coffea arabica

As microRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of many biological processes, a series of small RNAomes from plants have been produced in the last decade. However, miRNA data from several groups of plants are still lacking, including some economically important crops. Here microRNAs from Coffea canephora leaves were profiled and 58 unique sequences belonging to 33 families were found, including two novel microRNAs that have never been described before in plants. Some of the microRNA sequences were also identified in Coffea arabica that, together with C. canephora, correspond to the two major sources of coffee production in the world. The targets of almost all miRNAs were also predicted on coffee expressed sequences. This is the first report of novel miRNAs in the genus Coffea, and also the first in the plant order Gentianales. The data obtained establishes the basis for the understanding of the complex miRNA-target network on those two important crops.     

施肥对小粒咖啡生长、光合特性和产量的影响

采用田间实验,研究了不同N、P、K匹配对3年生小粒咖啡生长、光合特性以及产量的影响．结果表明,N的缺乏对小粒咖啡生长、光合特性和产量的影响最大,其次为K,而P的影响相对较小．叶面喷施适量的微量元素(B、Zn)可明显增加产量．N、P、K不同水平的匹配对小粒咖啡有不同的影响,N：P2O5：K2O的最佳匹配比例为1：0．5：1．小粒咖啡需要高营养的投入,而从投入．产出的效益分析表明,N、P,O5、K2O的合适用量分别为100、50和100g／株．小粒咖啡产量与单株分枝数和单株叶面积密切相关,与最大净光合速率呈显著正相关,但与苗高、地茎的相关性不显著．不同施肥处理对小粒咖啡黎明光化学效率影响不大,但高的施肥量明显减轻咖啡的日间光抑制．     

模拟酸雨对农作物种子萌发和幼苗生长的影响

研究模拟酸雨对3种农作物种子萌发年和幼苗生长的影响。结果表明：不同pH值(2．5,4．5,5．6)的模拟酸雨对水稻和小麦的种子萌发没有影响,但明显抑制了玉米种子萌发。模拟酸雨条件下,3种农作物幼苗的生长受到抑制,生物量减少,叶绿素和类胡萝卜素含量下降,而叶绿素a/b的变化却不明显。pH4．5和5．6的模拟酸雨对玉米Fv／Fm、光化学猝灭(qP)的影响较小,非光化学猝灭(NPQ)却明显下降,表明酸雨伤害了植物PSⅡ天线对激发能的非辐射耗散能力。     

2种杂草水提液对小麦种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响

以2种麦田伴生杂草播娘蒿(Descurainiasophia)和猪殃殃(Galiumtricorne)为供体,以关中地区15个主要的小麦(Triticumaestivum)栽培品种为受体,采用室内生物测定法,比较了2种杂草水提液对不同小麦品种种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响.结果表明:(1)播娘蒿水提液对所有小麦品种的发芽率、发芽势和发芽指数均具有显著的抑制作用,猪殃殃水提液对这3项指标的抑制作用相对较弱,甚至对某些品种的这3项指标没有影响或具有促进作用.(2)2种杂草水提液对供试15个小麦品种的活力指数,以及根长、苗高、根鲜重、苗鲜重等生长指标均表现出抑制作用,且同一种杂草水提液对不同小麦品种的影响程度存在差异.(3)以播娘蒿和猪殃殃的响应指数值(RI)为指标分别将15个小麦品种聚类为强、中、弱三组,并发现2种杂草水提液分别对小偃22和西农979的化感作用均较弱,即这2个品种对播娘蒿和猪殃殃的化感作用均具有较强抗性.     

磁化水对小麦种子萌发、幼苗生长和生理特性的生物学效应

为研究磁化水对作物的生物学效应,本文详细分析了磁化水处理对小麦种子萌发、幼苗生长和生理特性的影响。研究结果显示：磁化水处理小麦的种子发芽参数与对照相比无显著差异;磁化水处理对小麦的株高、根长、地上部和根部鲜重等生长参数也无显著影响;同样,磁化水处理在叶片色素含量、可溶性糖、可溶性蛋白质含量、含水量、细胞汁液渗透势等重要生理特征参数方面也未显示出显著差异。此外,磁化水并未显著影响小麦叶片的光合作用。综上所述,磁化水处理对小麦种子萌发和幼苗生长无明显的生物学效应。     

Fungal Epiphytes and Endophytes of Coffee Leaves (Coffea arabica)

Plants harbor diverse communities of fungi and other microorganisms. Fungi are known to occur both on plant surfaces (epiphytes) and inside plant tissues (endophytes), but the two communities have rarely been compared. We compared epiphytic and endophytic fungal communities associated with leaves of coffee (Coffea arabica) in Puerto Rico. We asked whether the dominant fungi are the same in both communities, whether endophyte and epiphyte communities are equally diverse, and whether epiphytes and endophytes exhibit similar patterns of spatial heterogeneity among sites. Leaves of naturalized coffee plants were collected from six sites in Puerto Rico. Epiphytic and endophytic fungi were isolated by placing leaf pieces on potato dextrose agar without and with surface sterilization, respectively. A total of 821 colonies were isolated and grouped into 131 morphospecies. The taxonomic affinities of the four most common nonsporulating fungi were determined by sequencing the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region: two grouped with Xylaria and one each with Botryosphaeria and Guignardia. Of the most common genera, Pestalotia and Botryosphaeria were significantly more common as epiphytes; Colletotrichum, Xylaria, and Guignardia were significantly more common as endophytes. Suprisingly, more morphospecies occurred as endophytes than as epiphytes. Differences among sites in number of fungi per plant were significant. Thus epiphytic and endophytic communities differed greatly on a single leaf, despite living only millimeters apart, and both communities differed from site to site. Significant correlations between occurrence of fungal morphospecies suggested that fungi may have positive or negative effects on their neighbors. This is the first quantitative comparison of epiphytic and endophytic fungal floras in any plant, and the first to examine endophytic fungi or epiphytic fungi in leaves of coffee, one of the world’s most valuable crops.     

AFLP analysis of genetic diversity within and among Coffea arabica cultivars

Genetic diversity of Coffea arabica cultivars was estimated using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Sixty one Coffea accessions composed of six arabica cultivars, including Typica, Bourbon, Catimor, Catuai, Caturra and Mokka Hybrid, plus two diploid Coffea species, were analyzed with six EcoRI- MseI primer combinations. A total of 274 informative AFLP markers were generated and scored as binary data. These data were analyzed using cluster methods in the software package NTSYSpc. The differences among cultivars at the DNA level were small, with an average genetic similarity of 0.933. Most accessions within a cultivar formed a cluster, although deviant samples occurred in five of the six cultivars examined due to residual heterozygosity from ancestral materials. Among the six cultivars fingerprinted, the highest level of genetic diversity was found within the cultivar Catimor, with an average genetic similarity of 0.880. The lowest level was found within Caturra accessions, with an average genetic similarity of 0.993. Diversity between C. arabica and two other Coffea species, Coffea canephora and Coffea liberica, was also estimated with average genetic similarities of 0.540 and 0.413, respectively, suggesting that C. canephora is more closely related to C. arabica than is C. liberica. The genetic variation among arabica cultivars was similar to the variation within cultivars, and no cultivar-specific DNA marker was detected. Although arabica cultivars appear to have a narrow genetic base, our results show that sufficient polymorphism can be found among some arabica cultivars with a genetic similarity as low as 0.767 for genetic/QTL mapping and breeding. The assessment of genetic diversity among arabica cultivars provided the necessary information to estimate the potential for using marker-assisted breeding for coffee improvement.     

The Influence of Seed Size Variation on Seed Germination and Seedling Vigour in Diploid and Tetraploid Dactylis glomerata L.

In this study the effects of seed size variation on germinationand seedling vigour have been investigated within and betweenploidy levels of diploid and related autotetraploid Dactylixglomerata. Rates of seed germination and seedling growth werecompared in two contrasting environments using diploid and tetraploidseeds of equal and also different biomass. Within each ploidylevel, seed biomass had no effect on either the overall percentagenor the rate of germination. In contrast, the comparison ofseeds of equal biomass but differing in ploidy level showedthat seeds from tetraploid plants germinated faster and to ahigher percentage than those from diploid plants. With respectto seedling growth, heavier seeds from the tetraploid genotypesgave seedlings of significantly higher biomass than those fromlighter tetraploid and diploid seeds throughout the 2 monthsof study. Interestingly, seeds of equal biomass but from differentploidy levels produced seedlings more similar than those fromthe extreme seed weight categories. These differences were maintainedin two different environmental conditions. These results suggestthat there is a complex interdependance of seed size and ploidyon seed germination and seedling growth but is not a simpleconsequence of differences in seed size between diploids andtheir related tetraploids.Copyright 1995, 1999 Academic Press Dactylis glomerata, polyploidy, seed size, germination, seedling