Reproductive biology of Boswellia serrata, the source of salai guggul, an important gum-resin

Detailed studies were carried out on the phenology, floral biology, pollination ecology and breeding system of Boswellia serrata Roxb. (Burseraceae) the source of 'salai guggul'. The trees remain leafless during the entire period of flowering and fruiting. The inflorescence is a terminal raceme and produces up to 90 bisexual, actinomorphic flowers. On average a flower produces 10 044 ± 1259 starch-filled pollen grains. About 85% of the fresh pollen grains are viable; the pollen to ovule ratio is 3348 : 1. The stigma is of the wet papillate type. The style is hollow with three flattened stylar canals filled with a secretion product. The stylar canals are bordered by a layer of glandular canal cells. The inner tangential wall of the canal cells shows cellulose thickenings. The ovary is trilocular and bears three ovules, one in each locule. Flowers offer nectar and pollen as rewards to floral visitors. The giant Asian honey bee ( Apis dorsata ) and A. cerana var. indica (Indian honey bee) are the effective pollinators. The species is self-incompatible and the selfed pollen tubes are inhibited soon after their entry into the stigma. Self-pollen tubes develop a characteristic 'isthmus' as a result of enlargement of the tube soon after emergence through the narrow germ pore. Cross-pollinated flowers allowed normal pollen germination and pollen tube growth, and resulted in fruit- and seed-set. Under open pollination fruit-set was only about 10%. Although manual cross-pollinations increased fruit set, it was only up to about 20%. Low fruit set appears to be the result of inadequate cross-pollination and other constraints, presumably limitation of available nutrients.  © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 147 , 73–82.     

Occurrence of Endosperm Haustorium in Cannabis sativa L.: With thirteen Figures in the Text

The development and structure of the chalazal endosperm haustoriumin Cannabis sativa are described. The endosperm is nuclear anda haustorium is formed at the chalazal end. The latter remainsfree nuclear throughout. Enucleate vesicles appear in the upperpart of the endosperm but finally they merge with the cytoplasmof the haustorium. As the embryo reaches maturity it occupiesthe whole seed cavity, the haustorium collapses and the endospermpersists only as a thin layer.     

Methane production by microbial mats under low sulphate concentrations

Cyanobacterial mats collected in hypersaline salterns were incubated in a greenhouse under low sulphate concentrations ([]) and examined for their primary productivity and emissions of methane and other major carbon species. Atmospheric greenhouse warming by gases such as carbon dioxide and methane must have been greater during the Archean than today in order to account for a record of moderate to warm palaeoclimates, despite a less luminous early sun. It has been suggested that decreased levels of oxygen and sulphate in Archean oceans could have significantly stimulated microbial methanogenesis relative to present marine rates, with a resultant increase in the relative importance of methane in maintaining the early greenhouse. We maintained modern microbial mats, models of ancient coastal marine communities, in artificial brine mixtures containing both modern [] (c. 70 mm ) and ‘Archean’[] (<0.2 mm ). At low [], primary production in the mats was essentially unaffected, while rates of sulphate reduction decreased by a factor of three, and methane fluxes increased by up to 10‐fold. However, remineralization by methanogenesis still amounted to less than 0.4% of the total carbon released by the mats. The relatively low efficiency of conversion of photosynthate to methane is suggested to reflect the particular geometry and chemical microenvironment of hypersaline cyanobacterial mats. Therefore, such mats were probably relatively weak net sources of methane throughout their 3.5 Ga history, even during periods of low environmental levels oxygen and sulphate.     

High Frequency of Plant Production via Somatic Embryogenesis from Callus or Cell Suspension Cultures inEleutherococcus senticosus

Hypocotyl segments ofEleutherococcus senticosuscultured on Murashigeand Skoog's (MS) medium with 4.5 µM2,4-D produced somaticembryos directly from the surface of explants without interveningcallus formation. When these somatic embryos were subculturedto the same MS medium with 4.5 µM2,4-D, friable embryogeniccalli were formed mainly from radicle tips of somatic embryos,but at a low frequency (5%). Selected embryogenic calli weremaintained on MS agar or liquid medium with 4.5 µM2,4-D.To induce somatic embryo development, embryogenic calli andcell clumps were transferred to MS medium lacking 2,4-D. Thefrequency of somatic embryo formation differed between culturetypes with 1570 embryos formed per Petri dish from callus cultureand 5514 embryos formed per flask from cell suspension cultures.Somatic embryos formed on agar medium had larger cotyledonsthan those of embryos formed in liquid medium. GA₃treatmentwas necessary to induce germination from somatic embryos. Therate of plant conversion was 97% in somatic embryos from callusculture and 76% in embryos from liquid culture. Regeneratedplantlets were successfully acclimatized in the glasshouse.Copyright1999 Annals of Botany Company Eleutherococcus senticosus, micro propagation, somatic embryogenesis.     

Growth and Development of the Banana Plant: 3. A. The Origin of the Inflorescence and the Development of the Flowers: B. The Structure and Development of the Fruit

In this paper, which is presented in two parts, the growth anddevelopment of the banana plant have been examined from thestandpoint of the origin of the inflorescence and the developmentof the flowers (Part A) and the structure and development ofthe fruit (Part B). First the main centres of growth in thesestructures are located and the manner of their development ispresented. Thereafter, attention is focused upon the salientevents which determine the alternative courses of developmentwith a view to designating the chemical and physiological stimulithat may be required.     

高灵敏焦测序结合生物发光分析仪检测甲型H1N1流感病毒

目的:建立基于核酸序列分析的快速、准确、低成本的甲型H1N1流感病毒检测方法。方法:通过优化焦测序反应体系中ATP硫酸化酶和荧光素酶的浓度,建立高灵敏的焦测序反应体系;将该体系应用于低成本、小型化的便携式生物发光分析仪,焦测序分析流感病毒M、NP、HA基因片段的核酸序列。结果:优化后的焦测序反应体系可检测低至10 fmol的DNA样本,检测灵敏度较传统焦测序提高了10倍以上。对两例样本进行检测,根据所测得的M、NP、HA基因特异性片段序列,可以确认其均为甲型H1N1感染;另外,对M2蛋白阻断剂耐药性标志位点(S31N突变)的测定结果显示该病毒存在S31N突变,为M2蛋白阻断剂耐药型。结论:高灵敏焦测序体系结合便携式生物发光分析仪成功实现了对甲型H1N1流感病毒快速、准确的低成本检测。     

热激蛋白90在植物发育和疾病抗性中的作用

相对分子质量90000的热激蛋白（heatshock protein,HSP90）是真核细胞必需的分子伴侣。拟南芥中HSP90有7个成员,其中AtHSP90-1、AtHSP90-2、AtHSP90-3和AtHSP90-4组成细胞质亚族;AtHSP90-5、AtHSP90-6、AtHSP90-7分别位于叶绿体、线粒体和内质网。HSP90分子伴侣复合物在植物发育和对外部刺激应答中非常重要,尤其是在抗性（resistance R）蛋白介导的抵抗病毒侵入的过程中起重要作用。     

外源突变基因AGM3过表达对烟草开花的抑制和花器官发育的影响

为了解AGM3基因在异源植物中对开花及花器官发育的影响,采用农杆菌介导法将dominant negative mutation(DNM)结构基因35S-AGM3-E9导入烟草(Nicotiana tabacum),经PCR和Southern检测获得了一批阳性转化植株.荧光定量分析结果显示,AGM3在各个转基因株系中均有...