Sugar uptake by the grape berry: A note on the absorption pathway

Summary ³H-glucose was fed to excised Sultana grape berries via their pedicels for up to 5 hours. Autoradigraphy showed that the label was distributed throughout the fruit within 1 hour. Microautoradiography of tissue sections taken at a number of points showed that within the pedicel the walls of cortical cells had become heavily labelled, suggesting that the cortical cell walls offered a diffusion pathway for the solutes entering the vascular system from the external aqueous solution. Transport along the pedicel was confined to the central vascular tissue with little radioactivity occurring in the cortical cells. Within the pericarp, the vascular bundles and walls of nearby parenchyma cells had become heavily labelled, indicating that the labelled solute was present within the vicinity of cell walls. The general pattern of ³H-glucose accumulation by excised berries was similar to the deposition pattern of ²⁴C-labelled photosynthate within attached fruit.     

Dendrobium Hybrid Flower Number and Pedicel Curvature is Influenced by the Application of Gibberellic Acid and Indole-3-acetic Acid

Biology Bulletin - Mostly, orchid flowers undergo a process of resupination before blooming because of twisting or rotation of the pedicel at the bud stage, positioning the lip below all other...     

Gene expression profiling and shared promoter motif for cell wall-modifying proteins expressed in soybean cyst nematode-infected roots

We hypothesized that soybean cyst nematode (SCN; Heterodera glycines) co-opts part or all of one or more innate developmental process in soybean (Glycine max) to establish its feeding structure, syncytium, in soybean roots. The syncytium is formed within the vascular bundle by partial degradation of cell walls and membranes between adjacent parenchyma cells. A mature syncytium incorporates as many as 200 cells into one large multinucleated cell. Gene expression patterns for several cell wall-modifying proteins were compared in multiple tissues undergoing major shifts in cell wall integrity. These included SCN-colonized roots, root tips where vascular differentiation occurs, flooded roots (aerenchyma), adventitious rooting in hypocotyls, and leaf abscission zones. A search in the 5' upstream promoters of these genes identified a motif (SCNbox1: WGCATGTG) common to several genes that were up-regulated in several different tissues. The polygalacturonase 11 promoters (GmPG11a/b) include the SCNbox1 motif. The expression pattern for GmPG11a was examined further in transgenic soybean containing a PG11a promoter fused to a β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. GUS expression was highest in cells undergoing radial expansion in the stele and/or cell wall dissolution. GUS staining was not observed in cortical cells where a lateral root tip or a growing nematode emerged through the root cortex.     

Arrangement of Cellulose Microfibrils in Walls of Elongating Parenchyma Cells

The arrangement of cellulose microfibrils in walls of elongating parenchyma cells of Avena coleoptiles, onion roots, and celery petioles was studied in polarizing and electron microscopes by examining whole cell walls and sections. Walls of these cells consist firstly of regions containing the primary pit fields and composed of microfibrils oriented predominantly transversely. The transverse microfibrils show a progressive disorientation from the inside to the outside of the wall which is consistent with the multinet model of wall growth. Between the pit-field regions and running the length of the cells are ribs composed of longitudinally oriented microfibrils. Two types of rib have been found at all stages of cell elongation. In some regions, the wall appears to consist entirely of longitudinal microfibrils so that the rib forms an integral part of the wall. At the edges of such ribs the microfibrils can be seen to change direction from longitudinal in the rib to transverse in the pit-field region. Often, however, the rib appears to consist of an extra separate layer of longitudinal microfibrils outside a continuous wall of transverse microfibrils. These ribs are quite distinct from secondary wall, which consists of longitudinal microfibrils deposited within the primary wall after elongation has ceased. It is evident that the arrangement of cellulose microfibrils in a primary wall can be complex and is probably an expression of specific cellular differentiation.     

Relationship between microtubule orientation and patterns of cell expansion in developing cortical cells of Lemna minor roots

In actively growing cortical cells in the elongation zone of Lemna minor L. roots, both longitudinal (radial and tangential) and transverse walls expand in both length and width. The longitudinal walls of the three types of cortical cells in the root (i.e. outer, middle and inner) showed the largest expansion in the longitudinal axis. In contrast, the inner cortical cells exhibited the least expansion in width, whereas the middle cortical cells displayed the largest expansion in width. Thus, the profiles of the expansion of longitudinal walls were characteristic for the three types of cortical cells. In this study, both the orientation of cortical microtubule (MT) arrays and their dynamic reorientation, and the density of cortical MTs, were documented and correlated to the patterns of cell wall expansion. Significantly, transverse arrays of cortical MTs were most prominent in the radial walls of the inner cortical cells, and least so in those of the middle cortical cells. Toward the base of roots, beyond the elongation zone, the orientation of cortical MTs shifted continuously from transverse to oblique and then to longitudinal. In this case, the rate of shift in the orientation of cortical MTs along the root axis was appreciably faster in the middle cortical cells than in the other two types of cortical cells. Interestingly, the continuous change in cortical MT orientation was not confirmed in the transverse walls which showed much smaller two-dimensional expansion than the radial walls. Additionally, the presence of fragmented or shortened cortical MTs rapidly increased concomitantly with the decrease of transversely oriented cortical MTs. This relationship was especially prominent in the transverse walls of the inner cortical cells, which displayed the least expansion among the three types of cortical cells investigated. In the root elongation zone, the density of cortical MTs in the inner cortical cells was about three times higher than that in the other two cortical cell types. These results indicate that in the early stage of cell expansion, the orientation of cortical MTs determines a preferential direction of cell expansion and both the shifting orientation and density of cortical MTs affect the magnitude of expansion in width of the cell wall.     

酢浆草叶片及花朵感夜运动的结构机制

为了解酢浆草(Oxalis corniculata)叶片和花朵的感夜性,采用半薄切片方法对其叶枕和花托进行形态解剖学观察。结果表明,黑暗处理酢浆草后叶片完全闭合,3枚叶片以叶轴为轴线向下紧贴闭合。黑暗处理8 h花瓣完全闭合并螺旋成束状,花萼紧贴螺旋的花瓣但不发生螺旋。叶片张开时屈肌侧皮层薄壁细胞收缩,伸肌侧皮层薄壁细胞膨大。叶片闭合时屈肌侧皮层细胞膨胀,伸肌侧表皮细胞和3～5层外皮层薄壁细胞收缩。花朵闭合时,花托基部的5个维管束收缩合并成2束明显分离的维管束群,且存在细胞壁加厚的现象;花托角隅处细胞膨胀。叶枕中的屈肌和伸肌细胞的收缩或膨胀控制酢浆草叶片的感夜运动,酢浆草花朵的感夜运动主要与花托基部的维管束群和花托角隅处细胞的膨大和收缩有关。     

伞形科植物芫荽果实发育过程中的解剖结构变化

采用常规石蜡切片法对伞形科(Apiaceae)芹亚科(Apioideae Drude)芫荽属(Coriandrum Linn.)种类芫荽(Coriandrum sativum Linn.)花后幼果发育阶段和果熟发育阶段的果实横切面解剖结构及其变化进行了观察和比较。观察结果表明:芫荽果实的幼果和果熟发育阶段均分为前期、中期和后期3个时期,不同时期果实横切面的形状和大小、果壁厚度和结构以及合生面、果棱、维管束、油管、胚乳和结晶等特征均有明显变化。在芫荽果实发育过程中,果实横切面由近椭圆形逐渐变为近圆形,且分生果长度从1 630μm增加至3 290μm、宽度从860μm增加至1 580μm。合生面长度与分生果长度相等,但合生面逐渐分离,成熟的2个分生果仅由心皮柄维管束和合生面两端的外果壁及中果壁最外侧数层细胞相连,从外形看2个分生果不分离。果壁由薄变厚、再由厚变薄,明显分为4个层次;成熟果实的中果壁大部分由木化细胞构成。果棱可分为主棱和次棱2种,且均不发达;次棱呈角状突起、主棱呈波状弯曲,次棱较主棱明显。维管束包括果壁维管束、心皮柄维管束和种脊维管束3类,其中,果壁维管束不发达且散布于中果壁木化细胞层中。油管仅存在于合生面并被逐渐压扁,而果壁油管消失并转变成大空腔。胚乳逐渐膨大,其形状由元宝形逐渐转变为船形或肾形。此外,在幼果发育阶段,中果壁薄壁细胞、合生面和胚乳细胞中或多或少都含有结晶,胚乳细胞中还含有大量糊粉粒结晶;但在果熟发育阶段结晶消失,仅胚乳细胞中存有糊粉粒结晶。分析结果显示:芫荽果实属隐性双悬果类型且果棱属微果棱型,其部分解剖结构与伞形科芹亚科多数种类的果实有差异。     

Patterns of Cell Division,Cell Differentiation and Cell Elongation in Epidermis and Cortex of Arabidopsis pedicels in the Wild Type and in erecta

Plant organ shape and size are established during growth by a predictable, controlled sequence of cell proliferation, differentiation, and elongation. To understand the regulation and coordination of these processes, we studied the temporal behavior of epidermal and cortex cells in Arabidopsis pedicels and used computational modeling to analyze cell behavior in tissues. Pedicels offer multiple advantages for such a study, as their growth is determinate, mostly one dimensional, and epidermis differentiation is uniform along the proximodistal axis. Three developmental stages were distinguished during pedicel growth: a proliferative stage, a stomata differentiation stage, and a cell elongation stage. Throughout the first two stages pedicel growth is exponential, while during the final stage growth becomes linear and depends on flower fertilization. During the first stage, the average cell cycle duration in the cortex and during symmetric divisions of epidermal cells was constant and cells divided at a fairly specific size. We also examined the mutant of ERECTA, a gene with strong influence on pedicel growth. We demonstrate that during the first two stages of pedicel development ERECTA is important for the rate of cell growth along the proximodistal axis and for cell cycle duration in epidermis and cortex. The second function of ERECTA is to prolong the proliferative phase and inhibit premature cell differentiation in the epidermis. Comparison of epidermis development in the wild type and erecta suggests that differentiation is a synchronized event in which the stomata differentiation and the transition of pavement cells from proliferation to expansion are intimately connected.     

The SPIRAL genes are required for directional control of cell elongation in Aarabidopsis thaliana

Cells at the elongation zone expand longitudinally to form the straight central axis of plant stems, hypocotyls and roots, and transverse cortical microtubule arrays are generally recognized to be important for the anisotropic growth. Recessive mutations in either of two Arabidopsis thaliana SPIRAL loci, SPR1 or SPR2, reduce anisotropic growth of endodermal and cortical cells in roots and etiolated hypocotyls, and induce right-handed helical growth in epidermal cell files of these organs. spr2 mutants additionally show right-handed twisting in petioles and petals. The spr1spr2 double mutant's phenotype is synergistic, suggesting that SPR1 and SPR2 act on a similar process but in separate pathways in controlling cell elongation. Interestingly, addition of a low dose of either of the microtubule-interacting drugs propyzamide or taxol in the agar medium was found to reduce anisotropic expansion of endodermal and cortical cells at the root elongation zone of wild-type seedlings, resulting in left-handed helical growth. In both spiral mutants, exogenous application of these drugs reverted the direction of the epidermal helix, in a dose-dependent manner, from right-handed to left-handed; propyzamide at 1 microM and taxol at 0.2-0.3 microM effectively suppressed the cell elongation defects of spiral seedlings. The spr1 phenotype is more pronounced at low temperatures and is nearly suppressed at high temperatures. Cortical microtubules in elongating epidermal cells of spr1 roots were arranged in left-handed helical arrays, whereas the highly isotropic cortical cells of etiolated spr1 hypocotyls showed microtubule arrays with irregular orientations. We propose that a microtubule-dependent process and SPR1/SPR2 act antagonistically to control directional cell elongation by preventing elongating cells from potential twisting. Our model may have implicit bearing on the circumnutation mechanism.     

Thigmomorphogenesis: Changes in Cell Division and Elongation in the Internodes of Mechanically-perturbed or Ethrel-treated Bean Plants

Examination of first internodes of young Phaseolus vulgarisL. plants which have been subjected to mechanical perturbationshows decreased elongation and increased radial growth. Thedecreased elongation can be attributed to both reduced cellelongation of epidermal and cortical cells and a reduced numberof cells in the vascular and pith tissues. The increased radialenlargement is due to increased cortical cell expansion andincreased secondary xylem production resulting from increasedcambial activity. All of these responses are observable withina few hours of a single mechanical perturbation. Treatment ofplants with ethrel mimics all of these effects of mechanicalperturbation. Phaseolus vulgarisL, Kidney bean, thigmomorphogenesis, mechanical perturbation, ethrel, (2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid), cell division, internode elongation     

Plasmodesmatal frequency in relation to short-distance transport and phloem loading in leaves of barley (Hordeum vulgare). Phloem is not loaded directly from the symplast

We investigated the phloem loading pathway in barley, by determining plasmodesmatal frequencies at the electron microscope level for both intermediate and small blade bundles of mature barley leaves. Lucifer yellow was injected intercellularly into bundle sheath, vascular parenchyma, and thin-walled sieve tubes. Passage of this symplastically transported dye was monitored with an epifluorescence microscope under blue light. Low plasmodesmatal frequencies endarch to the bundle sheath cells are relatively low for most interfaces terminating at the thin- and thick-walled sieve tubes within this C₃ species. Lack of connections between vascular parenchyma and sieve tubes, and low frequencies (0.5% plasmodesmata per μm cell wall interface) of connections between vascular parenchyma and companion cells, as well as the very low frequency of pore-plasmodesmatal connections between companion cells and sieve tubes in small bundles (0.2% plasmodesmata per μm cell wall interface), suggest that the companion cell-sieve tube complex is symplastically isolated from other vascular parenchyma cells in small bundles. The degree of cellular connectivity and the potential isolation of the companion cell-sieve tube complex was determined electrophysiologically, using an electrometer coupled to microcapillary electrodes. The less negative cell potential (average –52 mV) from mesophyll to the vascular parenchyma cells contrasted sharply with the more negative potential (–122.5 mV) recorded for the companion cell-thin-walled sieve tube complex. Although intercellular injection of lucifer yellow clearly demonstrated rapid (0.75 μm s^-1) longitudinal and radial transport in the bundle sheath-vascular parenchyma complex, as well as from the bundle sheath through transverse veins to adjacent longitudinal veins, we were neither able to detect nor present unequivocal evidence in support of the symplastic connectivity of the sieve tubes to the vascular parenchyma. Injection of the companion cell-sieve tube complex, did not demonstrate backward connectivity to the bundle sheath. We conclude that the low plasmodesmatal frequencies, coupled with a two-domain electropotential zonation configuration, and the negative transport experiments using lucifer yellow, precludes symplastic phloem loading in barley leaves.     

Vascular endothelial cells promote cortical neurite outgrowth via an integrin β3-dependent mechanism

The interaction of neurons with their non-neuronal milieu plays a crucial role in the formation of neural networks, and wide variety of cell-contact-dependent signals that promote neurite elongation have been identified. In this study, we found that vascular endothelial cells promote neurite elongation in an integrin β3-dependent manner. Vascular endothelial cells from the cerebral cortex promoted neurite elongation of cortical neurons in a cell contact-dependent manner. This effect was mediated by arginine–glycine–aspartic acid (RGD), a major recognition sequence for integrins. Pharmacological blockade of integrin β3 abolished the neurite elongation effect induced by the endothelial cells. Immunocytochemical analysis revealed that integrin β3 was expressed on cultured cortical neurons. These results demonstrate that the neurite elongation promoted by vascular endothelial cells requires integrin β3. Vascular endothelial cells may therefore play a role in the development and repair of neural networks in the central nervous system.     

拐枣果序梗的发育解剖学研究

拐枣肉质膨大果序梗的发育过程可划分为前、中、后、末４个时期,前期为初生生长时期,内部结构类似一般双子叶植物茎的初生构造;中期为维管形成层活动时期,产生了不同其茎的次生木质部,由成片木质化的厚壁纤维细胞、一定量的木射线及星散在其中极少数的导管组成;后期为异常分生组织活动时期,初生木质部木薄壁组织及邻近少量髓细胞及邻近少量髓细胞转化为异常分生组织,向外产生切向排列的薄壁细胞,经扩大的切向伸长,使原导管     

Basement membrane attachment is dispensable for radial glial cell fate and for proliferation, but affects positioning of neuronal subtypes

Radial glial cells have been shown to act as neuronal precursors in the developing cortex and to maintain their radial processes attached to the basement membrane (BM) during cell division. Here, we examined a potential role of direct signalling from the BM to radial glial cells in three mouse mutants where radial glia attachment to the BM is disrupted. This is the case if the nidogen-binding site of the laminin gamma1 chain is mutated, in the absence of alpha6 integrin or of perlecan, an essential BM component. Surprisingly, cortical radial glial cells lacking contact to the BM were not affected in their proliferation, interkinetic nuclear migration, orientation of cell division and neurogenesis. Only a small subset of precursors was located ectopically within the cortical parenchyma. Notably, however, neuronal subtype composition was severely disturbed at late developmental stages (E18) in the cortex of the laminin gamma1III4-/- mice. Thus, although BM attachment seems dispensable for precursor cells, an intact BM is required for adequate neuronal composition of the cerebral cortex.     

DEVELOPMENTAL ANATOMY OF THE STEM OF WELFIA GEORGII,IRIARTEA GIGANTEA,AND OTHER ARBORESCENT PALMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR MECHANICAL SUPPORT

Changes in stem anatomy with radial position and height were studied for the arborescent palms Welfia georgii, Iriartea gigantea, Socratea durissima, Euterpe macrospadix, Prestoea decurrens, and Cryosophila albida. Vascular bundles are concentrated toward the stem periphery and peripheral bundles contain more fibers than central bundles. Expansion and cell wall thickening of fibers within vascular bundles continues throughout the life of a palm, even in the oldest tissue. Within individual vascular bundles, the fibers nearest the phloem expand first and fiber cell walls become heavily thickened. A front of expanding fibers moves outward from the phloem until all fibers within a vascular bundle are fully expanded and have thick cell walls. Peripheral vascular bundles differentiate first and inner bundles later. In the stem beneath the crown, vascular bundles and ground tissue cells show little or no size increase, but marked cell wall thickening during development for Welfia georgii. Beneath the crown, diameters of peripheral vascular bundles increase more than twofold for Iriartea gigantea, while diameters of central bundles do not increase. In Iriartea stems, ground tissue cells at the periphery elongate to accommodate expanding vascular bundles and cell walls become thickened to a lesser degree than in fibers; central ground tissue cells elongate markedly, but cell walls do not become thickened; and large lacunae form between central parenchyma cells. For Iriartea, Socratea, and Euterpe, sustained cell expansion results in limited, but significant increases in stem diameter. For all species, sustained cell wall thickening results in dramatic increases in stem stiffness and strength.     

Localization and Pattern of Graviresponse across the Pulvinus of Barley Hordeum vulgare

Pulvini of excised stem segments from barley (Hordeum vulgare cv `Larker') were pretreated with 1 millimolar coumarin before gravistimulation to reduce longitudinal cell expansion and exaggerate radial cell enlargement. The cellular localization and pattern of graviresponse across individual pulvini were then evaluated by cutting the organ in cross-section, photographing the cross-section, and then measuring pulvinus thickness and the radial width of cortical and epidermal cells in enlargements of the photomicrographs. With respect to orientation during gravistimulation, we designated the uppermost point of the cross-section 0° and the lowermost point 180°. A gravity-induced increase in pulvinus thickness was observable within 40° of the vertical in coumarin-treated pulvini. In upper halves of coumarin-treated gravistimulated pulvini, cells in the inner cortex and inner epidermis had increased radial widths, relative to untreated gravistimulated pulvini. In lower halves of coumarin-treated pulvini, cells in the central and outer cortex and in the outer epidermis showed the greatest increase in radial width. Cells comprising the vascular bundles also increased in radial width, with this pattern following that of the central cortex. These results indicate (a) that all cell types are capable of showing a graviresponse, (b) that the graviresponse occurs in both the top and the bottom of the responding organ, and (c) that the magnitude of the response increases approximately linearly from the uppermost point to the lowermost. These results are also consistent with models of gravitropism that link the pattern and magnitude of the graviresponse to graviperception via statolith sedimentation.     

Sites of accumulation in excised Phloem and vascular tissues

Excised pieces of vascular bundle and phloem tissue were allowed to accumulate radioactive phosphate and sulfate, and were then sectioned and autoradiographed so as to detect the sites of accumulation. Special methods were needed to prevent any diffusion of the radioisotope. Some autoradiographs obtained are presented. In excised celery vascular bundles, the most radioactive area and hence the most actively accumulating tissue was the young secondary phloem at the sides of the bundle. In intact plants, the same tissue was the most active in translocating. In excised apple phloem there was some variation in behavior, but again the young secondary phloem was generally the most actively accumulating tissue. Accumulation activities of individual cells in the phloem and vascular tissue were compared. It appeared that all cell types, ray, phloem and xylem parenchyma, cambial cells and sieve tubes, accumulated at least 5 times more actively than did the cortical parenchyma cells. The sieve tubes were among the most actively accumulating cells present, accumulating 20 times more actively than the cortical parenchyma cells. It is concluded that accumulation processes have a primary role to play in the mechanism of phloem transport.     

The structure and development of the haustorium in parasitic Scrophulariaceae*

The structure and development of roots and haustoria in 37 species of parasitic Scrophulariaceae was studied using light microscopy. The mature haustorium consists of two regions: the swollen “body” and the parent root, which resembles non-haustorial roots in structure. The body arises from the parent root and is composed of an epidermis, cortex, central region of xylem (the vascular core), a region of parenchyma (the central parenchymatous core), and the portion of the haustorium contained in the host tissue (the endophyte). The xylem of the vascular core is composed predominately of vessel elements. The central parenchymatous core is composed of parenchyma and col-lenchyma. Vessels extend from the vascular core through the central parenchymatous core to the endophyte. The endophyte is composed of parenchyma cells and vessel elements. No phloem is present in the body of the haustorium. Early stages in the development of the haustorium are exogenous. Initial periclinal divisions in the epidermis or outer cortex are followed by hypertrophy of cortical parenchyma. These events are followed by development of the vascular core from the pericycle, attachment of haustorium to the host by a specialized layer of cementing cells or root hairs, and penetration of the host by dissolution of host cells.