Effects of Ultrasonic Seed Treatment on Rice Performances under the Seawater Irrigation

Irrigation with desalinated seawater is an effective way to use ocean resources and save freshwater resources. However, seawater irrigation would cause yield loss of rice. In order to explore the effects of ultrasonic seed treatment on rice performances under seawater irrigation, the present study was conducted with three irrigation treatments (fresh water (SW0), ten times diluted seawater (SW1%, 0.34% salinity), and five times diluted seawater (SW2%, 0.68% salinity)) and two seed treatments (ultrasonic treated seeds (UT) and untreated seeds (CK)). Compared with SW0 + CK treatment, SW1 + CK and SW2 + CK treatments significantly decreased grain yield by 56.19% and 66.69%, spikelets per panicle by 30.11% and 55.80%, seed-setting rate by 23.05% and 18.87%, and 1000-grain weight by 4.55% and 14.50%, respectively. Seawater irrigation also significantly increased malonaldehyde (MDA) and proline contents and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD). Ultrasonic seed treatment significantly increased the grain number per panicle, seed-setting rate, and grain yield of rice under seawater irrigation. Compared with CK, UT treatment substantially reduced MDA content, SOD activity, and POD activity in SW1 and SW2 conditions. Furthermore, UT treatment significantly increased proline content and down-regulated proline dehydrogenase activity under seawater irrigation. We deduced that ultrasonic seed treatment enhanced the salinity tolerance of rice by inducing the proline accmulation. Our findings indicated that ultrasonic seed treatment could an effective strategy to promote rice productivity under seawater irrigation.     

Investigation of <i>GhFAT</i> Genes Related to Seed Oil Content and Fatty Acid Composition in <i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> L.

Fatty Acyl-ACP thioesterase (FAT) is a key enzyme controlling oil biosynthesis in plant seeds. FATs can be divided into two subfamilies, FATA and FATB according to their amino acid sequences and substrate specificity. The Upland cotton genome contains 20 GhFAT genes, amongst which 6 genes were of the GhFATA subfamily and 14 of the GhFATB subfamily. The 20 GhFAT genes are unevenly distributed on 14 chromosomes. The GhFATA genes have 5 or 7 exons and the GhFATB genes have 6 or 7 exons. All GhFAT proteins have the conserved Acyl-ACP_TE domain and PLN02370 super family, the typical characteristics of plant thioesterases. Analyses of the expression level of GhFATs and the compositions of fatty acid in 5–60 days-post-anthesis seeds showed that the ratio of saturated fatty acids to unsaturated fatty acids was consistent with the expression profile of GhFATB12, GhFATB3, and GhFATB10; the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acid to polyunsaturated fatty acids was consistent with the expression profile of GhFATA3. The oil contents of mature cottonseeds were positively correlated with the contents of palmitic acid and linolenic acid as well as seed vigor. These results provide essential information for further exploring the role(s) of the specific GhFATs in determining oil biosynthesis and cottonseed compositions.     

Successful application of microspore culture in pakchoi (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis Makino var. communis Tsen et Lee) for hybrid breeding

Protoplasma - Microspore embryogenesis is an effective method of obtaining double haploid (DH) lines in only 1&nbsp;year. However, the microspore embryogenesis protocol was not efficient in...     

Melatonin Promotes Rice Seed Germination under Drought Stress by Regulating Antioxidant Capacity

Drought stress is a serious threat to the germination of plant seeds and the growth of seedlings. Melatonin has been proven to play an important role in alleviating plant stress. However, its effect on seed germination under drought conditions is still poorly understood. Therefore, we studied the effects of melatonin on rice seed germination and physiological characteristics under drought stress. Rice seeds were treated with different concentrations of melatonin (i.e., 0, 20, 100, and 500 μM) and drought stress was simulated with 5% polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG6000). The results showed that 100 μM melatonin can effectively improve the germination potential, rate and index; the vigor index of rice seeds; and the length of the shoot and root. In addition, that treatment also increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), and reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA). The grey relational grade between the shoot MDA content and the melatonin seed-soaking treatment was the highest, which could be useful for evaluating the effect of melatonin on drought tolerance. Two-way analysis of variance showed that the effect of single melatonin treatment on rice seeds was more significant than that of single drought stress and interaction treatment of drought and melatonin (p < 0.05). The subordinate function results showed that 100 μM melatonin significantly improved the germination and physiological indexes of rice seeds and effectively alleviated the adverse effects of drought stress on rice seedlings. The results helped to improve the understanding of the morphological and physiological involvement of melatonin in promoting seed germination and seedling development under drought stress.     

Subcellular Distribution and Chemical Forms of Cadmium in the Medicine Food Homology Plant <i>Platycodon grandiflorum</i> (Jacq.) A.DC.

Although Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq.) A.DC. is a renowned medicine food homology plant, reports of excessive cadmium (Cd) levels are common, which affects its safety for clinical use and food consumption. To enable its Cd levels to be regulated or reduced, it is necessary to first elucidate the mechanism of Cd uptake and accumulation in the plant, in addition to its detoxification mechanisms. This present study used inductively couple plasma-mass-spectrometry to analyze the subcellular distribution and chemical forms of Cd in different tissues of P. grandiflorum. The experimental results showed that Cd was mainly accumulated in the roots [predominantly in the cell wall (50.96%–61.42%)], and it was found primarily in hypomobile and hypotoxic forms. The proportion of Cd in the soluble fraction increased after Cd exposure, and the proportion of insoluble phosphate Cd and oxalate Cd increased in roots and leaves, with a higher increase in oxalate Cd. Therefore, it is likely that root retention mechanisms, cell wall deposition, vacuole sequestration, and the formation of low mobility and low toxicity forms are tolerance strategies for Cd detoxification used by P. grandiflorum. The results of this study provide a theoretical grounding for the study of Cd accumulation and detoxification mechanisms in P. grandiflorum, and they can be used as a reference for developing Cd limits and standards for other medicine food homology plants.     

基于植物-土壤反馈的不同绿肥驯化微生物对玉米生长的影响

【背景】在农田生态系统中,土壤微生物与植物互作的机制仍不清楚。【目的】进一步加强对植物-微生物互作的认识,筛选出引起不同反馈作用的关键微生物或微生物类群。【方法】采集豆科绿肥救荒野豌豆(Vicia sativa, V)、十字花科绿肥油菜(Brassica napus, N)和荒坡土壤(remnant prairie, R)驯化的田块土壤0-20 cm作为菌剂在温室进行植物-土壤反馈(plant-soil feedback,PSF)试验。土壤菌剂的接种量为10%,即有90%理化性质一致的灭菌土壤作为背景土,同时设置灭菌土壤菌剂作为对照(CK),种植玉米。每组土壤菌剂处理均分为50 mg/kg高磷(high phosphorus,HP)和5 mg/kg低磷(low phosphorus, LP)两个磷浓度处理。玉米收获后,测定产量和植株地上部磷含量,并取土壤样品进行高通量测序,解析不同养分供给情况下微生物对作物生长的反馈效应。【结果】高磷和土壤反馈效应均促进了玉米的生长。在低磷水平下,V、N和R处理的玉米地上部生物量均高于CK处理,但N处理的玉米地上部生物量增加最多(38%),且增幅显著高...     

大球盖菇的生物学基础、活性成分及其应用

大球盖菇是联合国粮农组织向发展中国家推荐栽培的食用菌之一,对农作物秸秆及林木枝条、落叶等有较强的降解能力。通过人工种植可培养营养丰富、美味可口的大球盖菇子实体产品,其菌渣还能够改善土壤环境,在生态农林产业及循环经济等方面具有重要作用。本文从大球盖菇的生物学基础、子实体营养、生物活性成分及其在农林生态和环境修复应用等角度进行综述,为大球盖菇的进一步开发利用及其相关产业发展提供参考。     

Production and Fungitoxicity of the Terpenoid Phytoalexins in Cotton Inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum

Four terpenoid phytoalexins, desoxyhemigossypol (dHG), hemigossypol (HG), desoxyhemigossypol- 6-methyl ether (dMHG) and hemigossypol-6-methyl ether (MHG), were identified with HPLC analysis of extracts from the moderately Fusarium wilt resistant cotton var. TAMCOT CAMD-E ( Gossypium hirsutum ) inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum (F. o. v.). Concentrations of dHG, HG, dMHG and MG in stem steles at 10 days after inoculation were 45.1, 175. 0, 38. 3 and 1. 6 (g g^–1 fresh tissue, respectively. The bioassays demonstrated that all four phytoalexins were toxic to F. o. v. The ED₅₀'s of dHG, dMHG and HG were calculated as 8. 8, 13. 4 and 29. 3 (g ml⁻¹, respectively. The very low solubility of MHG in the standard assay medium prevented the determination of its ED₅₀ value. Only dHG is water soluble at levels that appear necessary to act as an effective phytoalexin. At 30 μg ml⁻¹, dHG kills all conidia and mycelia of F. o. v . Viable propagules of F. o. v. were recovered from the steles of inoculated plants 10 days after inoculation; however, the pathogen was restricted to a zone 15 cm above the hypocotyl inoculation site. Thus, the fungistatic action of dHG appears to contribute to the resistance of cotton to Fusarium wilt by preventing the systemic distribution of F. o. v . propagules.