HORMONAL CONTROL OF ORGANOGENESIS IN OPUNTIA POLYACANTHA (CACTACEAE)

An axillary bud (areole) of Opuntia polyacantha is composed of an extremely short axis which bears highly modified leaves (spines). After producing the spines, the bud apical meristem becomes quiescent. When the axillary bud is excised and cultured with benzylaminopurine (BAP), the apical meristem increases in complexity and produces leaves on an elongated axis. Gibberellic acid (GA) induces spine production with no elongation of the axis. Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) causes no structural change in the meristem but induces root formation in adjacent tissue. The initiation of roots, spines, or leaves is visible within three days. Explants on medium lacking hormones show no structural change, but by the tenth day are insensitive to BAP or NAA. These aged explants can be made to respond to BAP or NAA by merely rewounding them at the time of hormone application. With concentrations previously found to be optimal for single hormone responses, NAA in combination with BAP prevents shoot formation, or in combination with GA prevents spine production. When all three hormones are combined, spines are produced, indicating that GA is active morphologically while BAP and NAA counteract each other. If the level of NAA is decreased, BAP counteracts the NAA and also overrides the GA and leafy shoots are produced. By varying the proportions of BAP and GA, in the absence of NAA, four types of lateral appendage can be produced: leaves, mildly altered leaves, leaf-spine transition forms, and spines.     

EFFECT OF GROWTH RATE,MORPHOGENIC ACTIVITY,AND PHYLOGENY ON SHOOT APICAL ULTRASTRUCTURE IN OPUNTIA POLYACANTHA (CACTACEAE)

Dormant short shoot apices of Opuntia polyacantha were cultured under three conditions: cytokinin and high sucrose to stimulate the formation and rapid growth of a leafy long shoot; cytokinin and no sucrose (slow growth of a leafy long shoot); gibberellic acid and high sucrose (rapid growth of a spiny short shoot). These meristems, and also dormant (uncultured) ones, were analyzed by stereological, ultrastructural techniques. By comparing meristems growing with cytokinin but with or without sucrose, correlations between metabolic rate and apical ultrastructure were studied; comparison of leaf-producing and spine-producing meristems permitted examination of correlations with morphogenic role; comparison with published data for four other species permitted study of phylogenetic effects, and comparison with dormant apices revealed information about meristem activation. Ultrastructure varied according to each condition: metabolic rate, morphogenic activity and species can be distinguished by quantitative methods. Apical ultrastructure is most strongly correlated with rate of growth such that apices of differing species resemble each other if growing at similar rates, whereas apices of a single species differ markedly if growing at differing rates or if performing different morphogenic activities. Hyaloplasm is an excellent indicator of metabolic rate; mitochondria, nuclei, and vacuoles are not.     

THE FUNCTION OF EXTRAFLORAL NECTARIES IN OPUNTIA ACANTHOCARPA (CACTACEAE)

Opuntia acanthocarpa (Cactaceae) possesses extrafloral nectaries embedded in the areoles of new reproductive and vegetative growth. The nectar secreted by these glands attracts ants and is a nutritional food source. Members of one attracted ant species, Crematogaster opuntiae (Myrmicinae), are aggressive and efficient defenders of the plants against cactus-feeding insects. The results of our study are consistent with the ant-guard hypothesis for the role of extrafloral nectaries in O. acanthocarpa. Additionally, individuals of O. acanthocarpa are well protected in comparison with those of O. phaeacantha. The latter generally possess ephemeral extrafloral nectaries and consistently maintain fewer ants.     

A MORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF ECHINOCEREUS ENGELMANNII (CACTACEAE). IV. LEAF AND SPINE PRIMORDIA

A stereological morphometric study of leaf primordia (P1 and P2) of Echinocereus engelmannii indicated that primordia are significantly different ultrastructurally from the shoot apical meristem tissues (tunica and peripheral zone) that produce the primordia. Leaf initiation involves readjustments of rates of synthesis and growth of cytoplasm, vacuoles, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and dictyosomes, such that leaf initiation must be a complex process in which different cell components are affected individually. Furthermore, leaf primordia are ultrastructurally distinct from spine primordia. Leaf and spine primordia as young as these are not yet irrevocably determined, thus different types of primordia, from the time of their inception and before their determination, have distinctly unique metabolisms; primordia are not merely generalized, uncommitted outgrowths whose developmental fate is set at some time later than inception.     

SEEDLING DEVELOPMENT OF OPUNTIA BRADTIANA (CACTACEAE)

Seedling development in Opuntia bradtiana, a north-central Mexican endemic, is similar to that of other opuntias, except for the absence of glochids and the fact that germination is extremely slow and germination percentage low. Hypocotyl and root elongation and epicotyl development are rapid for two weeks after rupture of the seed coat. However at this point hypocotyl elongation nearly ceases, while stem and root development continue at a reduced rate. An eight-month seedling is usually not more than 25 mm tall but has numerous areoles with spines and occasionally one subtending leaf. At this time tubercles have begun to coalesce into the vertical rows of ribs characteristic of the section Grusonia.     

BIOMECHANICS OF CLADODES AND CLADODE-CLADODE JUNCTIONS FOR OPUNTIA FICUS-INDICA (CACTACEAE)

Shoots of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Miller consist of a sequence of flattened stem segments (cladodes) in contact over only a small portion of their periphery. The maximum angular deflection for an upper terminal cladode under a weight equal to its own fresh mass applied perpendicular to its face increased from 5° to 9° as cladode length increased from 20 cm to 60 cm, consistent with an increase in mass proportional to length^2.83. Just over half of the angular deflection of an upper cladode represented flexure of the cladode-cladode junction; the angular deflections averaged fourfold more for mass loadings perpendicular to the cladode face compared with those parallel to it. Compared with such static loading by mass, dynamic loading by wind for a 31-cm-long cladode led to a maximum angular deflection of only 0.13° at a wind speed of 1 m sec⁻¹ and 2.3° at 10 m sec⁻¹. Drought caused the angular deflections to increase 9% for 21-cm-long cladodes over a 90-day period and to decrease 45% for 44-cm-long cladodes. Increases in stem temperature from 0 C to 20 C increased angular deflections of a 27-cm-long cladode about 10%, with little further increase up to 50 C. Even though the cladodes were thin compared with stems of many perennials and the cladode-cladode junction comprised only about 3.5% of their peripheral area, the shoots of O. ficus-indica proved to be quite rigid, as angular deflections of cladodes were only slightly influenced by temperature and wind, were not markedly enhanced by drought, and were less than 10° under loading by a cladode's mass.     

烟草叶组织培养中光与激素对形态发生的调节作用

我们在烟草叶的组织培养中,研究了光与激素对形态发生所起调节作用的相互关系。在培养基中细胞分裂素与生长素的浓度比例都取得最佳值,而浓度绝对值则取两组不同数值。在这两组实验条件下,分别考察了不同波段,不同强度的光照射对于不定芽的发生和愈伤组织增重的影响。用不同波段的光照射,改变光强,光促进生长的效应都有一极大值。用蓝光照射,极大值的数值最高。激素浓度低时光的效应较大;浓度高时,除蓝光外,其他波段的光效应都很微弱。     

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO RAINFALL IN OPUNTIA BASILARIS (CACTACEAE)

An immediate, marked response to small amounts of rainfall occurs in Opuntia basilaris, despite previous drought conditions. The effect of rainfall is upon plant water potential, which is the single most important parameter influencing stomatal opening, CO₂ assimilation, and organic acid synthesis. Nocturnal stomatal opening is initiated following rainfall, and stomata remain open during the daytime. Decreasing stomatal and mesophyll resistances correlate with increasing rates of nocturnal assimilation of ¹⁴CO₂. Photosynthetic rates of ¹⁴CO₂ assimilation are low, despite high plant water potentials and low stomatal diffusion resistances. The decreased mesophyll resistances and increased rates of nocturnal ¹⁴CO₂ assimilation correlate with the increases of nocturnal efficiency of water use and CO₂ assimilation. The diurnal efficiency of water use and CO₂ assimilation is lower than the nocturnal gas exchange efficiency values.     

THE EFFECTS OF GIBBERELLIC ACID AND KINETIN ON THE GROWTH OF MAJESTIC POTATO

The effects of spraying potato plants (var. Majestic) with gibberellic acid and kinetin were investigated. Gibberellic acid increased both leaf area and dry-matter production over the short period of the experiment, but there were indications that this would not persist at maturity. Kinetin alone depressed leaf area and dry-matter production, but this did not occur in the presence of gibberellic acid. The mean net assimilation rate measured over a 2-week period was not significantly reduced by gibberellic acid.     

INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF GIBBERELLIC ACID AND SALINITY ON THE GROWTH OF BEANS

Nieman , R. H., and Leon Bernstein . (U. S. Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, Calif.) Interactive effects of gibberellic acid and salinity on the growth of beans. Amer. Jour. Bot. 46(9): 667–670. 1959.—Dwarf red kidney bean plants, grown from the primary leaf stage to maturity on a graded salt series (0, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 atm. O.P. NaCl added to a base nutrient solution), showed a progressive and highly significant growth depression with increasing concentration of NaCl. At low levels of salinity (0 and 1.5 atm. O.P.), gibberellic acid applied as a spray to primary leaves, in concentrations of 10 and 100 p.p.m. in distilled water, increased the stem length, fresh and dry wt. of both the top and the root, the yield of green beans, area per leaf, and the total leaf area per plant. At high levels of salinity (3.0 and 4.5 atm. O.P.) growth was so severely suppressed that the expression of all gibberellin effects, except the increase in stem length, was essentially prevented. Gibberellin was, therefore, ineffective in overcoming the salt-induced suppression of growth. An increased rate of water use per unit leaf area was quite consistently observed with the gibberellin-treated plants. This may be simply the result of the increased exposure to light and to air movement of leaves on an elongated stem.     

EFFECTS OF CARBON DIOXIDE ON THE GROWTH AND MORPHOGENESIS OF MARSILEA

Increased concentrations of CO₂ in air (1–50%) cause young plants of Marsilea vestita to exhibit many characteristics of the water form when they are grown on a solid substrate under sterile conditions. Thus these plants have longer internodes, shorter petioles, more rectangular-shaped epidermal cells and fewer stomata on the lower leaf epidermis than controls grown in 0.03% CO₂. Over a 2-week period, dry weight increase is considerably greater in 12.5% and 25% CO₂ than in 0.03% CO₂. Fifty percent CO₂ is inhibitory to growth. CO₂-enriched air has the same morphogenetic effect when supplied in the light or the dark. Possible explanations for this effect are discussed.     

蚕豆气孔运动中脱落酸对周质微管排列的影响

气孔由一对保卫细胞组成,且其壁具有不均一加厚的特性(图1),并能敏感地感受内、外环境信号而调节K~ 等渗透调节物质进出保卫细胞引起膨压变化,从而控制气孔的大小、调节植物体与外界环境所进行的水分和气体交换。进一步研究发现,以K~ 为主的渗透调节物质引起的膨压变化受到许多因子的调控,如ABA可以中介Ca~(2 )作用抑制K~ 内向通道或直接作用于K~ 外向通道使K~ 外流,但ABA影响K~ 通道的信号转导途径仍是一个有待进一步探索的课题。大量研究表明,细胞运动与细胞骨架有关。如丝瓜卷须的卷曲运动、胞质环流、花粉管萌发与伸长、含羞草的感震性运动,以及细胞器的运动等都与细胞骨架有关。我们用植物微管特异性解聚剂——甲基胺草磷(APM)以及微丝专一性抑制剂——细胞松驰素B(CB)预处理蚕豆开放或关闭气孔后可明显地抑制Ca~(2 )、ABA、光、K~ 等引起的气孔运动,表明微管、微丝可能参与调节气孔的运动过程。Couot-Gastelier和Louguet经电镜观察证     

GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION OF LEAF EPIDERMAL ANATOMY IN PUCCINELLIA (POACEAE)

Phenotypic plasticity of anatomical leaf epidermal characters was assessed in the halophytic grass genus Puccinellia, to identify those of potential taxonomic utility. Characters with the greatest taxonomic potential are those that exhibit genetic variation and low plasticity. For the analysis, field-collected clones were divided and grown under a series of moisture and salinity regimes. Genetic variation and plasticity in response to environmental variation were assessed for 39 anatomical characters by analysis of among-clone and among-treatment variation, respectively. Both genetic variation and plasticity are widespread among the characters, and both are detected in greater frequency among continuously variable characters than among discretestate characters. Among continuously variable traits, average cell dimensions exhibit more plasticity than do maximum cell dimensions or ratios that reflect shapes and relative sizes. Among discrete-state characters, plasticity in the occurrence of papillae is found in nonstomatal intercostal cellular ranks, but not in costal or stomatal intercostal ranks. In Puccinellia, anatomical characters are, in general, neither more nor less plastic than those of macromorphology.     

Tca1元件的转录调控及其对白色念珠菌形态发生的影响

我们从白色念珠菌SC5314中分离到两个逆转录转座子样元件Tcal-1和Tcal-2,它们的物理图谱非常相近,两者都能转录成6kb长的RNA,该转录产物的转录受温度调控,25℃条件下的转录产物多于37℃的,Tcal-1元件内侧部分序列或全部序列的缺失引起白色念珠菌形态的改变,这种形态发生的变化与URA3基因的表达有协同作用。     

EFFECTS OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT ON SOME LIPOPROTEIN LAYER SYSTEMS AND OBSERVATIONS ON THEIR MORPHOGENESIS

Lipoprotein membrane systems such as chloroplasts and the endoplasmic reticulum exhibit a generalized swelling response. The initial effect is an increase in interlamellar spacing, but as swelling proceeds, the membranes are transformed into closed thin-walled spherical vesicles. Available evidence suggests that morphogenesis of the endoplasmic reticulum of Nitella and the lamellar system of the Zea chloroplasts involves fusion of small spherical vesicles to yield closed double membrane structures, which subsequently undergo further differentiation. It is suggested that the vesicles comprise a convenient "micellar" form by which lipides may be transported within the cell from the sites of lipide synthesis to regions of lamellar growth. The characteristic formation of vesicles in swelling and the apparent fusion of vesicles in morphogenesis appear to represent two aspects of a fundamental plasticity of lipoprotein layer systems.