Impacts of iron on phosphate starvation-induced root hair growth in Arabidopsis

In Arabidopsis, phosphate starvation (-Pi)-induced responses of primary root and lateral root growth are documented to be correlated with ambient iron (Fe) status. However, whether and how Fe participates in -Pi-induced root hair growth (RHG) remains unclear. Here, responses of RHG to different Fe concentrations under Pi sufficiency/deficiency were verified. Generally, distinct dosage effects of Fe on RHG appeared at both Pi levels, due to the generation of reactive oxygen species. Following analyses using auxin mutants and the phr1 mutant revealed that auxin and the central regulator PHR1 are required for Fe-triggered RHG under −Pi. A further proteomic study indicated that processes of vesicle trafficking and auxin synthesis and transport were affected by Fe under −Pi, which were subsequently validated by using a vesicle trafficking inhibitor, brefeldin A, and an auxin reporter, R2D2. Moreover, vesicle trafficking-mediated recycling of PIN2, an auxin efflux transporter, was notably affected by Fe under -Pi. Correspondingly, root hairs of pin2 mutant displayed attenuated responses to Fe under -Pi. Together, we propose that Fe affects auxin signalling probably by modulating vesicle trafficking, chiefly the PIN2 recycling, which might work jointly with PHR1 on modulating -Pi-induced RHG.     

Effects of Allelochemicals on Root Growth and Pod Yield in Response to Continuous Cropping Obstacle of Peanut

Continuous cropping (CC) obstacle is a major threat in legume crops production; however, the underlying mechanisms concerning the roles allelochemicals play in CC obstacle are poorly understood. The current 2-year study was conducted to investigate the effects of different kinds and concentrations of allelochemicals, p-hydroxybenzoic acid (H), cinnamic acid (C), phthalic acid (P), and their mixtures (M) on peanut root growth and productivity in response to CC obstacle. Treatment with H, C, P, and M significantly decreased the plant height, dry weight of the leaves and stems, number of branches, and length of the lateral stem compared with control. Exogenous application of H, C, P, and M inhibited the peanut root growth as indicated by the decreased root morphological characters. The allelochemicals also induced the cell membrane oxidation even though the antioxidant enzymes activities were significantly increased in peanut roots. Meanwhile, treatment with H, C, P, and M reduced the contents of total soluble sugar and total soluble protein. Analysis of ATPase activity, nitrate reductase activity, and root system activity revealed that the inhibition effects of allelochemicals on peanut roots might be due to the decrease in activities of ATPase and NR, and the inhibition of root system. Consequently, allelochemicals significantly decreased the pod yield of peanut compared with control. Our results demonstrate that allelochemicals play a dominant role in CC obstacle-induced peanut growth inhibition and yield reduction through damaging the root antioxidant system, unbalancing the osmolytes accumulation, and decreasing the activities of root-related enzymes.

     

青天葵的人工栽培技术研究

本文报道青天葵的栽培研究结果。采用较大的种苗种植可获得较大的种茎;选用大中种茎,适当密植,在60—70%的荫蔽度条件下产量较高;适当推迟收获期,不但产量高,而且形成的球茎较大,有利于青天蔡的繁殖和生长。     

定量分析调控人类免疫缺陷病毒潜伏与激活的动力学机制

目的 治疗艾滋病最大的障碍在于无法根除人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）潜伏于人体细胞所形成的病毒存储库。构建描述病毒存储库建立分子机制的动力学模型需考虑生物体内的噪声环境和多重影响因素,本文通过一种全新的动力学结构分解方法将随机微分方程的确定性部分与随机性噪声分开,从而在仅需分析常微分方程不动点的情况下即可判断不同药物靶点的作用效果。方法 使用连续的随机微分方程构建了HIV转录过程的动力学模型,简化了描述系统所需方程的维度,增大了模型的可探索空间,在此基础上,通过计算得到的势能函数和概率分布函数直观表示病毒潜伏与激活的不同表达状态以及它们之间的关系。结果 定量分析了不同动力学参数对系统稳态和势函数的影响程度,分别得到了系统处于双稳态和单稳态时的参数范围,并将不同因素对动力系统分岔的影响程度与生物学实验结果对比,验证了本工作的理论基础。结论 本文突破了以往离散、随机的方法,可以通过常微分方程定量分析HIV转录调控的动力学机制,有利于推广到处理高维情况,进一步研究艾滋病在生物体内的发生发展,从而指导设计实验寻找临床上的治疗方案。     

钾对兰州百合鳞茎中多酚类物质积累代谢及其抗氧化活性的影响

为探究施钾对兰州百合鳞茎中多酚类物质的积累、抗氧化能力及差异代谢物的影响,该研究以兰州百合鳞茎为试材,通过固定氮素(N)和磷素(P)用量,设置不同钾(K)浓度处理,即K_(0)(不施肥)、K_(1)(447.6 mg·L^(-1))、K_(2)(671.4 mg·L^(-1))、K_(3)(895.2 mg·L^(-1)),采用福林-肖卡法、溴甲酚绿比色法、香草醛比色法、DPPH法、铜离子还原能力(CUPRAC)法测定不同K浓度处理下兰州百合鳞茎中多酚类物质含量及其抗氧化活性,并采用LC-MS法分析多酚类物质的差异代谢物,并进行差异代谢物筛选,功能注释及富集分析,为兰州百合的优质栽培提供理论依据。结果表明:(1)不同K浓度处理下兰州百合鳞茎中多酚类物质的含量及其抗氧化活性存在显著差异(P<0.05),与K_(0)相比,K_(1)、K_(2)、K_(3)均能促进鳞茎多酚类物质的积累及其抗氧化能力的提高,其中以K_(2)(671.4 mg·L^(-1))效果最佳。(2)相关性分析表明,兰州百合鳞茎多酚类物质含量与抗氧化活性指标呈极显著(P<0.01)相关关系,相关系数为0.451~0.959。(3)K_(0)、K_(2)浓度处理下兰州百合鳞茎中存在89种多酚类及相关化合物,其中52种相对含量显著上调,37种相对含量显著下调,且显著富集到黄酮类及苯丙类化合物生物合成的通路上。研究认为,兰州百合的最佳施钾量(671.4 mg·L^(-1))能有效促进鳞茎中多酚类物质的积累并提高其抗氧化能力。     

ARK2 stabilizes the plus-end of microtubules and promotes microtubule bundling in Arabidopsis

Microtubule dynamics and organization are important for plant cell morphogenesis and development. The microtubule-based motor protein kinesins are mainly responsible for the transport of some organelles and vesicles, although several have also been shown to regulate microtubule organization. The ARMADILLO REPEAT KINESIN (ARK) family is a plant-specific motor protein subfamily that consists of three members (ARK1, ARK2, and ARK3) in Arabidopsis thaliana. ARK2 has been shown to participate in root epidermal cell morphogenesis. However, whether and how ARK2 associates with microtubules needs further elucidation. Here, we demonstrated that ARK2 co-localizes with microtubules and facilitates microtubule bundling in vitro and in vivo. Pharmacological assays and microtubule dynamics analyses indicated that ARK2 stabilizes cortical microtubules. Live-cell imaging revealed that ARK2 moves along cortical microtubules in a processive mode and localizes both at the plus-end and the sidewall of microtubules. ARK2 therefore tracks and stabilizes the growing plus-ends of microtubules, which facilitates the formation of parallel microtubule bundles.     

Dose dependent accretion of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in cardiac membranes of rats fed egg yolk powder enriched in DHA.

We tested the hypothesis that enrichment of the diet with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) enriched egg yolk powder could modify specifically the (n-3) fatty acids content of rat plasma, red blood cells and heart membranes. Dose-dependent effect of DHA was studied in rats supplemented during 4 weeks. Three groups of adult male rats, DHA10, DHA35 and DHA60 (n = 5 each), had their diet supplemented with 10 mg, 35 mg or 60 mg DHA/kg body weight/day, respectively. Fatty acid composition of membranes and plasma lipids were determined. A significant dose-dependent increase in DHA was observed in all three types of samples. Arachidonic acid (AA) levels did not change in heart and red blood cell membranes whereas it increased significantly in plasma with the DHA35 diet. These results contrast with that previously reported for fish oil supplementation where a decrease in AA levels was reported. Hence, DHA enriched egg yolk supplementation leads to a specific accretion of DHA without competition on AA status.     

小麦Kr基因在小麦与玉米或鸭茅状摩擦禾杂交中的失活

用３７个小麦（Ｔｒｉｔｉｃｕｍａｅｓｔｉｖｕｍ）品种（系）为母本,分别与黑麦（Ｓｅｃａｌｅｃｅｒｅａｌｅ）、球茎大麦（Ｈｏｒｄｅｕｍｂｕｌｂｏｓｕｍ）、玉米（Ｚｅａｍａｙｓ）和鸭茅状摩擦禾（Ｔｒｉｐｓａｃｕｍｄａｃｔｙｌｏｉｄｅｓ）杂交,比较其亲和性,小麦和玉米或鸭茅状摩擦禾杂交比小麦与黑麦或球茎大麦杂交的亲和性显著提高。携带着显性Ｋｒ１和Ｋｒ２基因的小麦品种Ｈｏｐｅ与黑麦杂交,不能形成胚,而与玉米及鸭茅状摩擦禾杂交时,成胚率分别达１６．００％和３２．５０％。表明控制小麦与黑麦及球茎大麦杂交亲和性的Ｋｒ基因系统在小麦与玉米及小麦与鸭茅状摩擦禾属间杂交中失活。讨论了还存在有其它控制小麦属间杂交亲和性的遗传调控系统的可能性。