A Large-scale Isolation Procedure for Cereal Mesophyll Protoplasts

A method suitable for the large-scale isolation of cereal protoplastsfrom up to 50 g of leaf material is described. Surface-sterilizedleaves from cultivars of wheat, barley, maize, sorghum, andTriticale were diced and vacuum infiltrated with enzyme mixturecomposed of cellulysin (1 per cent w/v), hemicellulase (1 percent w/v), and macerozyme (0.5 per cent w/v). With this procedure,yields of between 10⁶ to 10⁷ protoplasts per gram of leavescan be reproducibly obtained after only 1.5–3 h of enzymatictreatment. These protoplasts were almost 100 per cent viable(as determined by fluorescein diacetate staining) and incorporationof ³H-uridine and ¹⁴C-leucine into an acid-insoluble fractionwas demonstrated. Almost one-third of the ribosomes of theseisolated protoplasts were present as polysomes. cereals, leaf mesophyll, protoplast isolation     

Effect of Seed Damage on Growth and Development in Pea (Pisum sativum L.) and Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The effect of damage to the food storage of the seed on theensuing plant was compared in cultivars of two species differingin seed structure, the Greenfeast pea with cotyledons and theGabo wheat with endosperm. Partial removal of storage tissue slightly retarded growth ratein both species and slowed development rate in wheat. Completeremoval lowered the germination rate, drastically slowed thegrowth rate of the survivors for the first 20 d after sowingand lowered the development rate throughout the life cycle. This treatment doubled the time to flower initiation (20 d later)compared with the control, thus indicating the promotive roleof both cotyledon and endosperm in the progress of the shoottowards the reproductive state. The number of vegetative nodes in the pea was lowered by twonodes whereas it was raised by one in the wheat.     

Studies on the Formation of Roots and Shoots in Wheat Callus Cultures

Callus tissues were initiated from root, embryo and inflorescenceexplants of wheat. These callus cultures were used to studythe formation of roots and shoots in the absence and presenceof selected plant hormones. On a basal medium alone, only newly-initiatedembryo callus formed both roots and shoots while root callusonly formed roots. Inflorescence callus showed no signs of differentiation.The regenerative capacity of root and embryo callus tissueson medium lacking hormones decreased with increasing periodsof culture. Calluses which failed to differentiate in the absenceof hormones were selected for studies on hormone-mediated differentiation.NAA (1 mg 1^–1) was effective in inducing roots from allcalluses irrespective of their origin or age. In contrast, shootformation was elicited by incubating newly-formed callus onbasal medium supplemented with kinetin (5 mg 1^–1) andNAA (1 mg 1^–1) but rapidly decreased with longer periodsof culture. The differences observed in differentiation of thecallus in the absence and presence of hormones is discussed.     

The Effects of Cotyledon Excision on Growth and Leaf Senescence in Soya-bean Plants

One effect of the removal of cotyledons of soya-beans 24 h afterimbibition was to reduce subsequent growth, especially in thefirst 10 weeks after planting. The longevity of treated plantswas increased by 30 days and the onset of leaf senescence delayed,as judged by the time-course of leaf chlorophyll and solubleprotein content, and also by the time-course of net photosynthesisand respiration rates. These effects are similar to those reportedto result from partial defoliation of more mature plants.     

我国吸虱一新种——中华管虱

我们于1957年12月在贵阳附近捕获的一成年小虎(Muntiacus reevesi Ogilby)上采到一些吸虱标本,经鉴定,认为是新种,订名为中华管虱Solenopotes sinensis sp.nov.。现记述如下。 中华管虱Solenopotes sinensis sp.nov. 雌性 体长1.7毫米。头长约为宽之倍,侧缘自触角向后渐窄。后侧角显著。无触角突及眼突。无眼。亦无色素,但具短刚毛一根。全头部仅沿前缘背面硬化成带状,而以