Physiological Responses of Spring Durum Wheat Cultivars to Early-season Drought in a Mediterranean Environment

The Mediterranean climate of North Africa is characterized byuncertain rainfall immediately after seedling emergence, leadingto drought early in the growing season which depresses durumwheat production. However, there is limited understanding ofthe physiological basis of resistance of spring durum wheatto drought in rainfed Mediterranean regions. The objectivesof this study were to examine differences in some physiologicalcharacters among spring durum wheat cultivars in response toduration of early-season drought, and to determine the relationshipof these characters to drought resistance. In two field experiments(1995 and 1996 growing seasons) and a glasshouse experiment(1996), six spring sown durum wheat cultivars were evaluatedunder four water regimes: well irrigated and three differentwater deficits from emergence until the onset of tillering,mid-tillering or at the end of tillering. Cultivars differedin their response. Decreases in photosynthesis soon after droughtstress was imposed resulted mainly from reduced stomatal conductance.Continued water deficits also reduced mesophyll photosyntheticactivity. Possible factors determining the drought-resistanceof a cultivar are lower sensitivity of CO₂exchange rate, netCO₂uptake to water loss ratio, stomatal resistance, relativewater content and greater osmotic adjustment under stress. Furthermore,there is sufficient intraspecific variation in these physiologicalattributes to suggest their use as selection tools.Copyright1998 Annals of Botany Company Wheat;Triticum durumDesf.; early-season drought; physiological responses.     

Alternative seed defence mechanisms in a palo verde (Fabaceae) hybrid zone: effects on bruchid beetle abundance

Abstract.

• 1 We asked three questions about the patterns of relative abundance of insect herbivores across host plant taxa at a palo verde hybrid zone. (1) What is the morphological structure of the hybrid zone and does this suggest a certain pattern of introgression? (2) How are putative parental seed defence mechanisms expressed in hybrid plants? (3) Do ovipositing females prefer host plant taxa on which their offspring have best survivorship?
• 2 Morphologically, hybrids were either intermediate or tended to resemble one parental species. Previous studies have suggested that unidirectional introgression results in loss of parental defence mechanisms against herbivores. Hybrid plants in general lacked seed coat resistance and early pod abscission which are known to act as plant defence mechanisms against bruchid beetles in the parental palo verde trees.
• 3 All other sources of bruchid mortality that we examined did not vary across parental and hybrid taxa, with the possible exception of egg parasitism which occurred at a lower frequency on one parental palo verde species.
• 4 Thus, survivorship of bruchid offspring should be greater on hybrid palo verdes.
• 5 Patterns of egg densities suggested that females may prefer hybrid hosts in some years but not others. An oviposition choice experiment conducted in the field, however, showed bruchids have no preference for hybrids over one of the parental species.
• 6 These results suggest that some insect herbivores may have higher densities on hybrid host plants because they are less resistant.

     

Behavioural and chemical mechanisms of plant‐mediated deterrence and attraction among frugivorous insects

1. Herbivory often induces systemic plant responses that affect the host choice of subsequent herbivores, either deterring or attracting them, with implications for the performance of both herbivore and host plant. Combining measures of herbivore movement and consumption can efficiently provide insights into the induced plant responses that are most important for determining choice behaviour. 2. The preferences of two frugivorous stink bug species, Nezara viridula and Euschistus servus between cotton plants left undamaged or damaged by Helicoverpa zea and Heliothis virescens larvae were investigated. A novel consumer movement model was used to investigate if attraction rates or leaving rates determined preferences. Stink bug consumption rates were measured using salivary sheath flanges. Finally, the systemic induction of selected phenolic‐based and terpenoid secondary metabolites were measured from heliothine herbivory on developing cotton bolls, to investigate if they explained stink bug feeding responses. 3. Heliothine herbivory did not affect the N. viridula feeding preference. However, we found opposing effects of H. zea and H. virescens herbivory on the behaviour of E. servus. Avoidance of H. zea‐damaged plants is not obviously related to phenolic or terpenoid induction in cotton bolls; whereas a preference for H. virescens‐damaged plants may be related to reductions in chlorogenic acid in boll carpel walls. 4. The present results highlight the inferential power of measuring both consumer movement and consumption in preference experiments and combining behavioural responses with phytochemical responses. Furthermore, while plant‐mediated interactions among herbivorous insects are well studied, interactions among frugivorous species specifically have been poorly documented.     

珍稀濒危植物矮牡丹体内矿质元素的研究

采用原子吸收分光光度法测定了矮牡丹体内的10种矿质元素,即K、Mg、Mn、Fe、Ni、Zn、Cu、Cd、Cr、Pb。分析了矿质元素在矮牡丹体内的分布规律及矮牡丹对各种元素的富集能力。结果表明:在不同器官中的矿质元素含量有显著差异, K、Mg、Mn、Ni、Cd、Cr、Pb以叶中为高, Fe、Zn、Cu分别以根、茎、叶柄中含量最高;大多数元素在叶柄中含量最低。矮牡丹对K、Mg、Mn、Fe、Zn有较强的吸收富集能力,一般叶的富集系数较其它器官为高。元素间相关分析表明:Zn、Cd、Cr、Pb、Mn、Fe、Ni、Cu之间有显著的相关性, K、Mg之间的相关性显著。此外,土壤与植物体内元素含量表现出显著的相关性。     

黄颡鱼性别连锁标记Pf62-Y的染色体定位简

正黄颡鱼(Pelteobagrus fulvidraco)隶属鲇形目、科、黄颡属,广泛分布于我国各大水域,是我国重要经济鱼类之一。桂建芳等[1]进行了黄颡鱼银染核型研究,沈俊宝等[2]也报道了黄颡鱼的核型,其核型为2n=52。刘汉勤等[3]利用人工雌核发育等技术开展了全雄黄颡鱼研究,认为黄颡鱼的遗传性别决定类型为XY雄性异配型,Wang,et al.在黄颡鱼中开展了性别连锁的DNA标记分离研究,     

Assessing the impact of Entry Level Stewardship on lowland farmland birds in England

Agri‐environment schemes (AES) are central to the conservation of Europe’s farmland biodiversity. The UK Government’s Public Service Agreement target seeks to reverse the decline of farmland birds in England by 2020 through the use of AES. The Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) scheme, introduced in 2005, is the first non‐competitive, broad‐uptake stewardship scheme designed to deliver simple but effective environmental management on farms throughout England. Approximately 5 million hectares of farmland are currently entered into Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreements, and given the scale of this investment it is important to verify the efficacy of ELS as a mechanism for delivering biodiversity benefits. We used spatially referenced ES agreement data to assess the influence of specific management options and combinations of options on farmland bird population changes between 2005 and 2008 derived from standardized surveys carried out on over 2000 lowland farmland 1‐km squares in England. The results showed only limited evidence for short‐term effects of ES. Only Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra and Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris showed some landscape‐specific positive associations with area under ELS management. There was also limited evidence for positive associations between specific management options and the population changes of the species at which they were aimed. The current pattern of option uptake may be limiting benefits of ELS, with boundary management accounting for over 50% of scheme compensation value. However, the time required for option maturation and the time lags in bird population responses to environmental change mean that it is too early to reach definitive conclusions about the success or failure of the scheme. The findings of this study will assist in the development of ELS by feeding into the 5‐year review scheduled for 2010 and have implications for the development of similar schemes elsewhere in Europe.     

经基磷灰石(H A )的制备方法及其研究进展

HA生物材料作为最有发展前途的生物硬组织替代材料之一。已经成为生物医用材料研究的重点内容。本文在综合了大量的国内外文献的基础上,对羟基磷灰石的不同制备方法及国内外研究现状进行了总结及评论。并提出了相应的设想与展望。     

引入西藏高原家兔的血清生化指标测定

目的了解和掌握引入西藏高原家兔的生理生化指标,以便为实践教学、临床诊疗和科学研究提供参数。方法采用朗道全自动生化分析仪对引入西藏高原20年的加利福尼亚兔(Californian rabbit)和中国白兔(Chinese white rabbit)的12项血清生化指标进行了测定。结果加利福尼亚兔在品种内比较发现TP、ALB、A/G、CRE、CHOL、LDH指标表现极强的雄兔特征(P0.01),而ALT、GLU测定值雌兔明显高于雄兔(P0.05);中国白兔在品种内比较发现CRE、LDH指标显示差异有显著性(P0.01),CRE指标是雄兔高于雌兔,LDH参数是雌兔高于雄兔。加利福尼亚雄兔与中国白雄兔的参数比较中发现AST、TP、ALB、GLO、A/G、GLU、CRE、LDH指标显示差异有显著性(P0.01),而TG、BUN指标显示差异有显著性(P0.05);加尼福利亚母兔与中国白母兔的参数比较中发现ALT、GLO、CRE、TG指标显示差异有显著性(P0.05),AST、TP、BUN、LDH指标显示差异有显著性(P0.01)。结论实验结果将为西藏高原的教学、临床诊疗和科学研究提供生理数据参考。