森林植物的一些特殊环境功能

本文从植物对大气、水体和土壤化角度分析了森林的特殊环境功能,有些植物能吸收空气中各种有害气体,如SO₂、Cl₂、HF以及放射性物质,可用于治理大气污染,或用于环境污染监测;许多森林植物对各种污染物有一定的吸收、积累和分解作用,因而,可以用于污染环境的修复治理;植物通过蒸腾作用向大气中释放大量的水分,带走了热量,降低了大气的温度;森林还能保持水土、防风固沙、涵养水源.因而,森林具有美化环境,清理环境污染物,稳定气候等重大的环境功能.     

Interplant communication of tomato plants through underground common mycorrhizal networks

Plants can defend themselves to pathogen and herbivore attack by responding to chemical signals that are emitted by attacked plants. It is well established that such signals can be transferred through the air. In theory, plants can also communicate with each other through underground common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) that interconnect roots of multiple plants. However, until now research focused on plant-to-plant carbon nutrient movement and there is no evidence that defense signals can be exchanged through such mycorrhizal hyphal networks. Here, we show that CMNs mediate plant-plant communication between healthy plants and pathogen-infected tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). After establishment of CMNs with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae between tomato plants, inoculation of 'donor' plants with the pathogen Alternaria solani led to increases in disease resistance and activities of the putative defensive enzymes, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and lipoxygenase in healthy neighbouring 'receiver' plants. The uninfected 'receiver' plants also activated six defence-related genes when CMNs connected 'donor' plants challenged with A. solani. This finding indicates that CMNs may function as a plant-plant underground communication conduit whereby disease resistance and induced defence signals can be transferred between the healthy and pathogen-infected neighbouring plants, suggesting that plants can 'eavesdrop' on defence signals from the pathogen-challenged neighbours through CMNs to activate defences before being attacked themselves.     

植物与手性化合物的对映体选择性相互作用

植物与手性化合物存在着非常密切的联系.一方面,植物分泌、合成的一些手性化合物,如糖甙、酶、萜类化合物、有机酸及植物激素等,在植物的生理生化过程中起着重要的作用;另一方面,人工合成的手性化合物尤其是农药等环境污染物与植物具有对映体选择性相互作用,它们或是选择性地抑制植物的生长和生理过程,或是被植物选择性地吸收和代谢.因此,在开发、生产和使用手性化合物时需要考虑植物与对映体之间的选择性因素;同时,合理利用植物对手性污染物进行环境修复也具有重要意义.本文对植物与手性化合物相互作用中的对映体选择性进行了综述,并对手性污染物的植物修复进行了展望.     

铝对植物毒害及植物抗铝作用机理

综述了有关铝对植物的毒害及植物耐铝机理的研究成果。铝可以从植物的不同生物水平上影响植物的生长;不同植物耐受铝的能力不同,耐受性植物可在机体内形成各种耐受机制,以抵抗环境中铝的压力。这在受损土壤环境中的生态系统恢复具有应用前景。     

植物寄生对生态系统结构和功能的影响

寄生植物是生态系统中的特殊类群之一。植物寄生可以驱动生态系统中生物与非生物因子的变化,在生态系统结构与功能中起关键作用。寄生植物可以通过对寄主营养的集聚、改变凋落物的质量与数量、改变根的周转与分泌物格局、改变土壤水势,从而影响土壤理化特性。寄生植物会改变寄主的行为,改变寄主与非寄主植物之间的相互作用,从而影响植物群落的结构、多样性和动态,进而影响植被演替和植被生产力等。寄生植物与寄主均可被消费者取食,可直接或间接地影响生态系统的食草动物,包括草食昆虫等。寄生植物与寄主的其它寄生物存在竞争关系,可以直接或间接地影响寄主的其它寄生植物或病原真菌。寄生植物可以明显地改变土壤地球化学循环,将固有的不可动的成分转变为可利用的营养成分,改变土壤生物群落的结构与功能,从而显著影响地下生物群落。这些表明,植物寄生对生态系统的结构和功能有重要影响。针对特殊的被入侵的植物群落,该地寄生植物可以通过影响入侵植物寄主的生长、繁殖、生物量分配格局,改变土壤的理化特性,促进非寄主的非优势本地植物的生长,从而改变被入侵植物群落结构与多样性,达到生物防治及生态恢复的目的。     

入侵植物筛选方法在我国口岸防控中的应用建议

入侵植物是生物入侵中数量最多的类群,给全世界造成了重大的经济和环境影响。植物入侵的预测研究是口岸防控工作中的重要技术环节之一。本文介绍了入侵植物筛选方法的概念,简述了与之相关的基础理论、研究情况以及3种植物入侵的预测方法。综合来看,入侵植物筛选方法主要采用植物自身的生物生态学特性作为评估指标来筛选外来植物,能快速可靠地将外来植物评判为严重入侵植物、非入侵植物以及介于二者之间的一般入侵植物,因此该方法能为我国口岸防范外来植物入侵的管理提供基础技术支撑。当前我国入侵植物筛选方法的研究和应用尚处起步阶段,通过本文的简述期望引起相关人员对此问题进行探讨,并为我国口岸入侵植物防控工作提供理论参考。     

The Systemic Infection by Tobacco Mosaic Virus of Tobacco Plants Coutaining the N Gene at Temperatures Below 28°C

Tobacco plants containing the N-gene are occasionally systemically infected with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) at tempreratures below 28°C, but contain low concentrations of virus: they often fail to set seed, and can outlive healthy control plants. Infection is thus similar to that induced when N-gene tobacco plants are grafted onto systemically infected tobacco lacking the N-gene. Shoots from systemically infected N-gene plants can induce systemic infection in other graft-inoculated N-gene plants. Stem sections of N-gene tobacco plants act as good conduits for TMV between plants lacking the N-gene, and girdling experiments suggest that virus movement probably occurs in the phloern.     

入侵植物与丛枝菌根真菌的相互作用

入侵植物的入侵改变了入侵地生物群落的结构,导致生物多样性的丧失.丛枝菌根真菌(AMF)作为陆地生态系统中土壤微生物普遍的组成部分,它的种类和组成能够影响入侵植物的生长表现.这种真菌与寄主(入侵植物)特殊的关系也暗示了AMF能够影响入侵植物的入侵.反之,入侵植物的入侵同样也会影响AMF的群落结构和功能.本文在简要总结我国入侵植物种类及其危害的基础上,着重探讨了AMF与入侵植物入侵之间的关系,即AMF对入侵植物入侵过程中的作用、入侵植物入侵后如何影响AMF以及两者之间的相互作用机制.     

植物在水产养殖废水处理中的研究进展

植物在生长繁殖过程中能吸收利用、富集、吸附和固定水产养殖水体中的有机物、无机物和重金属,降低养殖水体中的TP、TN、TSS、COD和BOD。同时,植物在水体中可通过其发达的通气组织和根系传输氧气,为微生物和其他生物的代谢活动提供适宜的条件。选择合适的植物构建人工湿地,通过人工湿地中植物、微生物和基质的物理作用、化学作用和生物作用处理水产养殖废水,可建立循环的水产养殖模式。将植物应用于水产养殖废水的处理,是实现可持续发展的生态型水产养殖的基础。本文综述了近年来藻类和高等植物在水产养殖废水处理中的研究进展。     

A novel cost of R gene resistance in the presence of disease

Resistance responses can impose fitness costs when pests are absent. Here, we test whether the induction of resistance can decrease fitness even in plants under attack; we call this potential outcome a net cost with attack. Using lines in which genetic background was controlled, we investigated whether susceptible Arabidopsis thaliana plants can outperform R gene resistant plants when infected with pathogens. For the R gene RPS2, there was a fitness benefit of resistance in the presence of intraspecific competition, but there was a net cost in the absence of competition: resistant plants produced less seed than susceptible plants even though infected with Pseudomonas syringae. This net cost was primarily due to overcompensation by susceptible plants, which occurred because of a developmental response to infection. For the R gene RPP5, there was no fitness effect of resistance without competition but a net cost when plants were infected with Peronospora parasitica in the presence of competition. This net cost was due to a reduction in the fitness of infected, resistant plants and complete compensation in susceptible plants. A spatially variable model suggests that a trade-off between net benefits and net costs with attack may help explain the persistence of individuals lacking R gene resistance to disease.     

Underground signals carried through common mycelial networks warn neighbouring plants of aphid attack

The roots of most land plants are colonised by mycorrhizal fungi that provide mineral nutrients in exchange for carbon. Here, we show that mycorrhizal mycelia can also act as a conduit for signalling between plants, acting as an early warning system for herbivore attack. Insect herbivory causes systemic changes in the production of plant volatiles, particularly methyl salicylate, making bean plants, Vicia faba, repellent to aphids but attractive to aphid enemies such as parasitoids. We demonstrate that these effects can also occur in aphid‐free plants but only when they are connected to aphid‐infested plants via a common mycorrhizal mycelial network. This underground messaging system allows neighbouring plants to invoke herbivore defences before attack. Our findings demonstrate that common mycorrhizal mycelial networks can determine the outcome of multitrophic interactions by communicating information on herbivore attack between plants, thereby influencing the behaviour of both herbivores and their natural enemies.     

THE INCIDENCE AND CONTROL OF CAULIFLOWER MOSAIC IN BROCCOLI IN SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND

Cauliflower mosaic in south-west England is most prevalent where there is a sequence of brassica crops that overlap in time. Broccoli yields can be increased by using plants raised in seed-beds separated by half a mile from old infected plants. Surrounding seed-beds with crops of kale or barley decreased the incidence of mosaic even when the seed-beds were only 5 yd. from infected plants.
Most plants infected at harvest contract infection after transplanting. A plant infected in the seed-bed or early in the growing season can produce a group of infected plants immediately around it, and almost as many farther away. Spread can occur in the same pattern from these secondarily infected plants.
Loss of yield is correlated with the time plants are infected. Plants infected as seedlings produce little or no curd or seed, whereas those infected when nearing maturity yield almost as well as uninfected plants.
The movement of alate aphids is positively correlated with the numbers of infectedplants, and symptoms in field plants generally appear 8–9 weeks after infection.
Cauliflower mosaic virus occurs in strains distinguishable by the severity of symptoms they cause.     

Molecular farming of recombinant antibodies in plants.

'Molecular farming' is the production of recombinant proteins in plants. It is intended to harness the power of agriculture to cultivate and harvest transgenic plants producing recombinant therapeutics. Molecular farming has the potential to provide virtually unlimited quantities of recombinant antibodies for use as diagnostic and therapeutic tools in both health care and the life sciences. Importantly, recombinant antibody expression can be used to modify the inherent properties of plants, for example by using expressed antipathogen antibodies to increase disease resistance. Plant transformation is technically straightforward for model plant species and some cereals, and the functional expression of recombinant proteins can be rapidly analyzed using transient expression systems in intact or virally infected plants. Protein production can then be increased using plant suspension cell production in fermenters, or by the propagation of stably transformed plant lines in the field. Transgenic plants can be exploited to produce organs rich in a recombinant protein for its long-term storage. This demonstrates the promise of using transgenic plants as bioreactors for the 'molecular farming' of recombinant therapeutics, blood substitutes and diagnostics, such as recombinant antibodies.     

Physiological and molecular mechanisms of heavy metal accumulation in nonmycorrhizal versus mycorrhizal plants

Uptake, translocation, detoxification, and sequestration of heavy metals (HMs) are key processes in plants to deal with excess amounts of HM. Under natural conditions, plant roots often establish ecto‐ and/or arbuscular‐mycorrhizae with their fungal partners, thereby altering HM accumulation in host plants. This review considers the progress in understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in HM accumulation in nonmycorrhizal versus mycorrhizal plants. In nonmycorrhizal plants, HM ions in the cells can be detoxified with the aid of several chelators. Furthermore, HMs can be sequestered in cell walls, vacuoles, and the Golgi apparatus of plants. The uptake and translocation of HMs are mediated by members of ZIPs, NRAMPs, and HMAs, and HM detoxification and sequestration are mainly modulated by members of ABCs and MTPs in nonmycorrhizal plants. Mycorrhizal‐induced changes in HM accumulation in plants are mainly due to HM sequestration by fungal partners and improvements in the nutritional and antioxidative status of host plants. Furthermore, mycorrhizal fungi can trigger the differential expression of genes involved in HM accumulation in both partners. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie HM accumulation in mycorrhizal plants is crucial for the utilization of fungi and their host plants to remediate HM‐contaminated soils.     

花卉植物应用于污染土壤修复的可行性研究

植物修复是解决污染土壤问题的有效途径之一,而已报道的超积累植物的种类非常有限.如果能从物种繁多的花卉植物中筛选出修复植物,不但能够弥补这一不足,而且还能在美化环境的同时,产生一定的经济效益.从植物修复的重要性和修复植物的筛选出发,概括了修复植物的判断标准及基本特征.通过描述花卉植物资源及其在环境保护中的作用,列举花卉植物与其它植物相比的优势,分析花卉植物的耐性、积累性和修复类型,探讨花卉植物应用于污染土壤修复实践的可行性.从花卉中筛选超积累植物,将为污染土壤的修复工作提供的生物材料.     

离体受精作为技术平台在被子植物有性生殖研究中的应用

被子植物的离体受精10a前在玉米中已获得成功,尽管目前只在玉米获得完全成功和小麦获得部分成功,但离体受精技术的研究成果非常显著。目前离体受精技术已被用于其他的研究,如用分离的精细胞和卵细胞筛选配子细胞的特异基因和蛋白质：研究合子细胞被激活的机理：用不同种植物的精、卵细胞体外融合进行新的远缘杂交尝试;利用合子细胞易分裂和胚胎发生特征探索用其作为转基因研究的受体细胞等。以离体受精技术为基础在高等植物发育生物学和生殖生物学领域的基础研究和应用探索显示了巨大潜力。介绍了离体受精技术在被子植物有性生殖的研究成果和应用前景,为研究和利用被子植物有性生殖过程中的生殖细胞特征提供线索。     

A fungal endophyte of an annual weed reduces host competitive ability and confers associational protection to wheat

Epichloid fungal endophytes (Epichloë spp., Ascomycota: Clavicipitaceae) inhabit aerial tissues of several cool-season grasses, and enhance host growth and defence against herbivores. The presence of these symbionts can also affect interactions between the host and other non-epichloid plants. The role of an epichloid endophyte on interspecific competition has been tested using perennial grasses with contrasting results, but it has been scarcely tested using annual species in agroecosystems. We evaluated the impact of Epichloë-grass symbiosis on the competitive interaction between a non-host cereal crop (Triticum aestivum, wheat) and a host weed (Lolium multiflorum, ryegrass), growing in the presence of invertebrate herbivores (aphids) under no resource limitation. We conducted an outdoor mesocosm experiment with wheat plants growing in monoculture or in mixture with low or high proportions of ryegrass plants. Ryegrass plants presented either low (E-) or high (E+) incidence of Epichloë occultans (i.e. frequency of epichloid endophytic plants). We measured wheat vegetative and reproductive yield and its natural aphid infestation. Although epichloid endophyte incidence did not affect ryegrass biomass, wheat reproductive yield in mixtures (relative to wheat monocultures) was 45% higher when grown with E+ ryegrass plants than E- conspecific plants. Aphids preferred wheat plants grown with E- plants rather than wheat plants grown with E+ plants, but only in mixtures with high proportion of ryegrass. Our results demonstrate that epichloid endophyte incidence can decrease host competitive ability and confers associational protection to the non-endophytic neighbouring plants. Thus, ryegrass-endophyte symbiosis can increase crop yield by positive neighbourhood effects through different mechanisms probably related to the density of the weed. The benefits of this endosymbiont cannot be considered host-exclusive since they can be disseminated to non-endophytic plants. Furthermore, our results suggest that the epichloid endophyte incidence on annual weeds can contribute to agroecosystem sustainability by influencing pest management and increasing crop yield.     

The Use of High-resolution Infrared Thermography (HRIT) for the Study of Ice Nucleation and Ice Propagation in Plants

Freezing events that occur when plants are actively growing can be a lethal event, particularly if the plant has no freezing tolerance. Such frost events often have devastating effects on agricultural production and can also play an important role in shaping community structure in natural populations of plants, especially in alpine, sub-arctic, and arctic ecosystems. Therefore, a better understanding of the freezing process in plants can play an important role in the development of methods of frost protection and understanding mechanisms of freeze avoidance. Here, we describe a protocol to visualize the freezing process in plants using high-resolution infrared thermography (HRIT). The use of this technology allows one to determine the primary sites of ice formation in plants, how ice propagates, and the presence of ice barriers. Furthermore, it allows one to examine the role of extrinsic and intrinsic nucleators in determining the temperature at which plants freeze and evaluate the ability of various compounds to either affect the freezing process or increase freezing tolerance. The use of HRIT allows one to visualize the many adaptations that have evolved in plants, which directly or indirectly impact the freezing process and ultimately enables plants to survive frost events.     

Arabidopsis SDIR1 enhances drought tolerance in crop plants

Arabidopsis E3 ligase salt- and drought-induced RING-finger 1 (SDIR1) has been found to be involved in abscisic acid (ABA)-related stress signaling. SDIR1-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants exhibit improved tolerance to drought. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and rice (Oryza sativa) are two important agronomic crop plants. To determine whether SDIR1 enhances drought resistance in crop plants, SDIR1 transgenic tobacco and rice plants were generated. Ectopic expression of SDIR1 in both plants conferred improved drought tolerance ability. These results suggest that SDIR1 can function as a drought-tolerance gene in both dicotyledons and monocotyledons, and that it can serve as a drought-tolerance engineering candidate gene in crop plants.     

外源茉莉酸诱导植物反应对菜蛾绒茧蜂寄生选择行为的影响

茉莉酸是植物体内重要的伤信号分子,向植物施用外源茉莉酸后, 可诱导植物产生各种防卫反应, 如挥发物组成发生改变等, 进而影响植食性昆虫及其天敌。该文报道用不同浓度外源茉莉酸处理白菜和甘蓝后,诱导植物反应所产生的挥发物对菜蛾绒茧蜂搜索及寄生选择行为的影响。外源茉莉酸处理白菜和甘蓝后,处理植株的挥发物对菜蛾绒茧蜂的引诱力增强;与在对照植株上相比,该蜂对经茉莉酸处理后白菜植株上的小菜蛾幼虫的寄生数显著要高。表明茉莉酸处理白菜及甘蓝后,植物诱导反应导致其挥发物的作用发生变化,进而可提高该蜂的搜索和寄生效率。