Corn Stunt Spiroplasma in Dicotyledonous Plants

Corn stunt spiroplasma (CSS) was transmitted by the leafhopper vector Euscelidius variegatus (Kirschbaum) and produced symptoms on four dicotyledonous plant species, Sinapis alba L. (mustard), Pisum sativitm L. (pea), Raphanus sativus L. (radish) and Spinacia oleracea L. (spinach). The vectors became infective by microinjection with a broth culture of CSS. This insect also acquired CSS from infected mustard plants and transmitted it to healthy ones.     

Genome-Wide Chromatin Landscape Transitions Identify Novel Pathways in Early Commitment to Osteoblast Differentiation

Bone continuously undergoes remodeling by a tightly regulated process that involves osteoblast differentiation from Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC). However, commitment of MSC to osteoblastic lineage is a poorly understood process. Chromatin organization functions as a molecular gatekeeper of DNA functions. Detection of sites that are hypersensitive to Dnase I has been used for detailed examination of changes in response to hormones and differentiation cues. To investigate the early steps in commitment of MSC to osteoblasts, we used a model human temperature-sensitive cell line, hFOB. When shifted to non-permissive temperature, these cells undergo "spontaneous" differentiation that takes several weeks, a process that is greatly accelerated by osteogenic induction media. We performed Dnase I hypersensitivity assays combined with deep sequencing to identify genome-wide potential regulatory events in cells undergoing early steps of commitment to osteoblasts. Massive reorganization of chromatin occurred within hours of differentiation. Whereas ~30% of unique DHS sites were located in the promoters, the majority was outside of the promoters, designated as enhancers. Many of them were at novel genomic sites and need to be confirmed experimentally. We developed a novel method for identification of cellular networks based solely on DHS enhancers signature correlated to gene expression. The analysis of enhancers that were unique to differentiating cells led to identification of bone developmental program encompassing 147 genes that directly or indirectly participate in osteogenesis. Identification of these pathways provided an unprecedented view of genomic regulation during early steps of differentiation and changes related to WNT, AP-1 and other pathways may have therapeutic implications.     

单、双子叶植物的代谢物调节农杆菌Vir区基因表达的研究

本文研究了六种植物（三种单子叶植物,三种双子叶植物）愈伤组织的 渗出物和抽提物对农杆菌Vir基因表达的调节作用,其调节水平植物的不同而明显不同,但单,双子叶植物的代谢物对Vir基因表达的调节作用并非截然分开,即使在双子叶植物（如大豆）的抽提物与渗出物中也存在着抑制Vir基因表达的因子,而在单子叶植物（如玉米等）的抽提物与渗出物中也存在着促进Vir基因表达的调节因子,Vir位点的调节反应随渗出物与抽提物的种类不同而明显不同,不同Vir位点对同类渗出物或抽提物的反应也不同,渗出物对Vir基因表达的正调节效应优于抽提物,植物渗出物与AS对Vir区基因表达的调节并不表现简单的累加效应或协同作用,相反,在渗出物中还存在着不同程度阻抑AS对Vir基因表达正调节的因子。     

青藏高原草地双子叶植物叶片的气孔特征研究

利用光学显微镜对青藏高原29种草地双子叶植物叶片的气孔形态与数量特征进行观察及差异显著性分析,为揭示青藏高原草地双子叶植物对高原环境的适应机制及探索气孔作为辅助分类的依据奠定理论基础。结果表明:(1)青藏高原草地双子叶植物大多数种类在叶片上、下表皮均分布有气孔,气孔随机排列,气孔器多为无规则型。(2)气孔长度(SL)较小,上、下表皮的气孔平均长度分别为26.20μm与25.56μm,且气孔密度(SD)与气孔指数(SI)相对较大。(3)不同科、属、种间叶片上、下表皮的SL、SD、SI差异均极显著。(4)叶片上、下表皮的6个气孔数量特征之间具有显著相关关系。(5)上表皮的SL、SD与不同科、属、种间显著相关,下表皮除SI与物种间相关不显著外,其他指标与科、属、种间显著相关。研究认为,青藏高原草地双子叶植物独特的气孔形态与数量特征是对高寒极端环境长期适应的结果,且气孔数量特征对植物辅助分类具有重要价值。     

An Immunocytochemical Technique for Analysis of Regulation of Genes Encoding Early Differentiation Marker Antigens in an Oocyte Translation System

Monoclonal antibodies are useful probes for analyzing cells at the molecular level at various developmental stages. Although identification of the genes encoding tissue- and stage-specific antigens could be informative for further molecular analysis, gene cloning is usually a time-consuming step, particularly when a monoclonal antibody is the only probe available. We describe here an immunocytochemical method for preliminary and immediate analysis of the regulation of antigen-coding genes. mRNAs purified from stage 27 and 38 Xenopus tadpoles were fractionated by size and injected into newt oocytes, from which frozen sections were prepared for immunostaining with tissue-specific monoclonal antibodies. Both of the antigens we tested, which are early markers for differentiating epidermal cells of Xenopus tadpoles, were detected in mRNA injected oocytes, but not in control oocytes. Immunostaining for each of the antigens showed that their relative levels in stage 27 and 38 tadpole tissue were reflected in those oocytes injected with mRNA purified from tadpoles of the respective stages. We suggest that this oocyte translation system combined with immuaostaining provides for rapid analysis of changes in levels of antigen coding mRNAs throughout development.     

Differential Detergent Stability of the Major Light-Harvesting Complex II in Thylakoids Isolated from Monocotyledonous and Dicotyledonous Plants

A survey of isolated thylakoids from 11 different higher plant species (Spinacia oleracea L., Pisum sativum L., Vicia faba L., Brassica napus L., Vigna sinensis L., Vinca minor L., Secale cereale L., Triticum aestivum L., Triticosecale Wittn., Hordeum vulgare L., Zea mays L.) indicated that the ratio of the oligomeric:monomeric form of the light-harvesting complex II was twofold higher for the dicots (3.16 ± 0.35) than the monocots (1.64 ± 0.25) examined under identical separation procedures. Under conditions specifically designed to stabilize the oligomeric form in vitro, we show that the oligomeric form of dicot light-harvesting complex II is twice as stable to solubilization in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) than that observed for monocots. This decreased stability of monocot light-harvesting complex II is associated with a twofold increase in the trienoic fatty acid level of thylakoid phosphatidylglycerol but with no significant changes in the trienoic fatty acid levels in the major galactolipids. In addition, SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and western blot analyses with monoclonal antibodies indicated that monocots exhibited greater heterogeneity in the polypeptide complements associated with subfractions of light-harvesting complex II than the dicots examined. The data indicate that the oligomeric form of the light-harvesting complex II is not the result of a simple oligomerization of a common monomeric unit. We suggest that the difference in stability of the oligomeric form of light-harvesting complex II in isolated thylakoids of monocots and dicots is probably due to a differential accessibility to SDS. The differential SDS accessibility may be due to differences in thylakoid protein-protein and/or protein-lipid interactions.     

Differences in Nitrogen Metabolism During Growth of Plants from Aged Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Meristems

The effect of advanced meristem age on growth and accumulationof plant nitrogen (N) in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) was studied.Etiolated plantlets, excised from sprouted, single-eye-containingcores from 7 and 19-month-old seed-tubers, were transplantedinto aerated nutrient culture. Rates of shoot and root dry matterand shoot soluble-N (which included nitrate-N) accumulationwere similar for plants from both meristem ages over a 30 dinterval of log-linear growth. The rate at which nitrate-N accumulatedwas consistently 17 per cent higher in shoots from 19-month-oldcompared to those from 7-month-old meristems. However, accumulationof free amino-N and soluble protein-N were 21 and 15 per centlower, respectively in shoots from 19-month-old meristems. Abuild-up of shoot nitrate, along with lower rates of accumulationof amino-N and soluble protein-N, suggests a lower capacityfor nitrate reduction during early growth of plants from oldermeristems. Furthermore, these effects can be attributed to age-inducedchanges in the meristem or bud tissue as the plants were separatedfrom the tuber tissue initially in the study. Long-term ageingof seed-potatoes apparently affects changes within meristemsthat translate into a lower capacity to accumulate reduced formsof nitrogen during early plant growth. Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.), meristem age, nitrogen metabolism, plant growth potential     

Low Temperature Treatment of Barley Plants causes Altered Gene Expression in Shoot Meristems

We have examined whether acclimation to cold may involve alteredgene expression by testing for the appearance of new mRNA, capableof in vitro translation, in shoot meristems of the temperatecereal, barley, grown at 6 ?C day/2? C night. New mRNA is foundafter only 2 d in the cold, when acclimation is detectable butnot complete. The altered pattern of gene expression persistsduring subsequent growth in the cold and is associated witha number of new mRNA molecules including a major mRNA whichencodes a polypeptide Mt 77000. Key words: Hordeum vulgare cv. Igri (barley), low temperature, acclimation, gene expression     

cDNA Cloning of Squalene Synthase Genes from Mono- and Dicotyledonous Plants, and Expression of the Gene in Rice

cDNA clones encoding squalene synthases were isolated from rice,maize and soybeans. A phylogenetic tree showed that the enzymesof monocots and dicots form distinct subgroups. In rice, squalenesynthase mRNA was detected in tissues containing dividing cellsand its level was repressed by illumination. (Received July 9, 1997; Accepted October 7, 1997)     

Aminotransferase Activity in Relation to Floral Differentiation in Wheat Plants

The present investigation was carried out to study the transamination reaction in relation to floral differentiation in wheat (cv. NP 876) under three photoperiodic conditions. Three selected aminotransferases namely glutamic-glyoxylate, glutamic-pyruvate, and alanine-glyoxylate were studied in the top young leaves at various growth and developmental stages. The activity of all the three systems increased progressively during the vegetative phase till the plants produced reproductive buds. When flower primordia started differentiating, there was a sharp decrease in the aminotransferase activity followed by an increase during anthesis period. Photoperiodic treatments clearly show that even when the vegetative period of the plant is shortened considerably by long day or extended by short day, the aminotransferase activity remains closely associated with different developmental processes.     

Clonal Analysis Provides Evidence for Transient Initial Cells in Shoot Apical Meristems of Seed Plants

Abstract Drift of mutated sectors in sectorial or mericlinal plant chimeras has been interpreted as indirect evidence of initial impermanence at the apex. However, the same effect may result from mutation in noninitial cells positioned close to the vertex of the apical dome. Clonal analysis of the cell packets present in the superficial layer of spruce and magnolia apices provided the library of patterns suggesting that the position and the number of initial cells, and in some cases also the meristem axis inclination, may change over time. Multicellular clones originating from a single cell have been found in the geometric center of some apices, whereas in other apices the cellular center (where three or four clonal borders meet) did not correspond to the geometric center of the apex. Such effects may result only from initial impermanence.     

The Promoter of a Metallothionein-Like Gene from the Tropical Tree Casuarina Glauca is Active in Both Annual Dicotyledonous and Monocotyledonous Plants

A chimeric gene consisting of the -glucuronidase (gusA) reporter gene under the control of the metallothionein-like promoter cgMT1 from the tropical tree Casuarina glauca was introduced into Nicotiana tabacum via Agrobacterium tumefaciens and into Oryza sativa by particle bombardment. The strongest histochemical staining for GUS activity was observed in the root system of the transgenic plants, and especially in lateral roots. In contrast, a relatively low level of reporter gene expression was seen in the aerial tissues and GUS staining was located mainly in the plant vascular system. The average ratio of GUS activity between root and leaf was found to be 13:1 in tobacco and 1.5:1 in rice. The pattern of cgMT1 promoter activity in floral organs was found to be different in tobacco and rice. High levels of gusA gene expression were detected in the ovules, pollen grains and tapetum, whereas in rice PcgMT1 directs expression to the vascular system of the floral organs. These results suggest that PcgMT1 is potentially useful in molecular breeding to express genes of interest whose products are preferentially needed in roots.     

Pith Autolysis in Herbaceous, Dicotyledonous Plants: Experimental Manipulation of Pith Autolysis in Several Cultivated Species

Pith autolysis, a condition in which dicotyledonous herbaceousplants have a hollow stem, results from the autolysis of a plant'sstorage pith. Our central hypothesis concerning the aetiologyof pith autolysis states that the carbon from the pith is transportedto the growth regions of the plant and used at times when theplant cannot meet its carbon needs by photosynthesis alone.According to this hypothesis, accelerated growth should increasepith autolysis. We here provide supporting evidence for thecentral hypothesis. More pith autolysis was found in fastergrowing tomato varieties than in dwarf varieties. More pithautolysis was found in both beans and tomatoes treated withGA₃ than in controls. More pith autolysis was found in leggybean plants grown in low light than in normal plants grown undernormal light conditions. Pith autolysis decreased in both beansand tomatoes when mechanically perturbed or sprayed with paclobutrazol,both treatments that reduced growth. The stems of buckwheatplants that were flowering showed greater pith autolysis andtherefore were more hollow than plants which were not floweringor which had the incipient flowers pinched off. This indicatedthat carbon from the storage pith may also be used in the formationof reproductive structures which require extra carbon. Alsoin support of the central hypothesis is the prevention of pithautolysis by the addition of extra carbon to the plant, in theform of an increased CO₂ concentration of the surrounding air.Copyright1995, 1999 Academic Press Bean, tomato, buckwheat, pith autolysis, CO₂, GA, thigmomorphogenesis, packobutrazol     

小麦异交群体选择分化的RAPD分析

用RAPD分子标记技术及数量遗传分析手段对小麦异交群体趋异选择4代得到的各子群体的遗传关系进行了分析,并对两种结果进行了相关分析。采用11个引物扩增出134个位点,RAPD分析结果表明,群体具有丰富的遗传变异,整个群体的多态位点百分率达0.8134,杂合度达0.3006;子群体间遗传分化较小,相对基因分化系数Gst为0.2310,固定指数平均0.2120,标准遗传距离为0.1044±0.048,表明遗传变异多数来自群体之内。而数量遗传分析发现,选择性状进展都与预期方向相符,主成分遗传距离大部分达显著水平,说明选择使群体发生了相当程度的分化。对两种遗传距离进行聚类分析表明,二种信息间关系各类群成员多不一致。其原因可能在于：数量性状是人工选择的目标,RAPD是基因组随机序列的扩增,二者之间的相关与引物选择有关。 Abstract：The genetic relations of some subpopulations in the fourth generation of selection in outbreeding population of winter wheat were examined by RAPD techniques and quantitative analysis. The correlations of the two results were examined.For RAPD analysis, 11 primers were adopted, and 134 sites were amplified. The results showed that abundant genetic variations existed in the populations. In the whole population, the percentage of polymorphic sites (P) is 0.8134, and the averaged heterozygosity is 0.3006. However,genetic differentiation among subpopulations is small. The relative gene differentiation (Gst) is 0.2310,fixed index averages 0.2120, and the standard genetic distance between subpopulations is 0.1044±0.048.All above shows that most of the genetic variations existed within populations.The cluster results from RAPD analysis and principal component distances showed that similarity relations were only found in small part of the subpopulations. The reason for the results may be that the genes concerned for quantitative traits are selected directly,while the genes involved in RAPD analysis are only random samples of the whole genomes.     

用绿色荧光蛋白监测转基因植物中选择标记基因的消除

绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)可直接进行活体观察,它的这个优点可被用于监测转基因植物中选择标记基因的消除。为此,构建了植物表达载体pGNG,将绿色荧光蛋白基因(gfp)和卡那霉素抗性基因表达盒(NosP-nptll-NosT)一起克隆在两个同向的lox位点间,在第一个lox位点上游置有CaMV 35S启动子以驱动GFP表达,第二个lox位点下游置有不含启动子的大肠杆菌β-葡萄糖醛酸酶(GUS)基因。首先在含卡那霉素(Kan)的培养基上筛选出转pGNG的烟草,借助绿色荧光可容易地检出表达GFP的转化体。然后用另一转化载体pCambia1300Cre二次转化表达GFP的转基因植物,利用另一选择标记基因潮霉素抗性基因(hpt)进行筛选,在获得的再生植株中,Cre重组酶的表达消除了转化体中两lox位点间的gfp和nptll。实验结果表明可借助GFP荧光的消失,快速选出nptII被消除的二次转化体,同时GUS(作为目的蛋白) 在CaMV 35S启动子驱动下获得表达。最后利用后代的分离将hpt和cre除去。     

Role of Phytohormones in Sex Differentiation in Plants

The role of phytohormones in sex expression in plants is briefly surveyed. The interaction of hereditary and environmental factors in sex expression is considered. A major role of gibberellins and cytokinins in the regulation of sex expression in dioecious and monoecious flowering plants and in some muscoids is demonstrated. The evidence for the effect of other phytohormones and physiologically active compounds on sex expression in plants is examined.