DESCRIPTION OF THE SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF SPANISH UNIFLORAL HONEYS BY FREE CHOICE PROFILING

Different Spanish unifloral honeys (eucalyptus, sunflower, rosemary, thyme, lavender, citrus, anise, quercus, and lemon blossom) and one multifloral honey were studied by Free-Choice Profiling (FCP) analysis. Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA) applied to the FCP data allowed discrimination between samples and provided information on the attributes responsible for the differences observed. The honeys had significantly different sensory characteristics. Textural attributes were the predominant factor in discriminating between samples, and appearance (color included) was also correlated with GPA dimensions to a lesser extent.     

Reproductive ecology of Rhododendron ponticum (Ericaceae) in relict Mediterranean populations

In the southern Iberian Peninsula, Rhododendron ponticum occurs in restricted and vulnerable populations as a Tertiary relict. Population structure and the main phases of the reproductive process were examined in order to shed light on recruitment patterns and limitations. Rhododendron ponticum flowers are self-compatible and attract a diverse array of insects, which are responsible for a considerable number of seeds set in the populations. Nevertheless, only adults form populations, whilst seedlings are scarce and saplings virtually absent (only two juveniles out of 2489 adults sampled). Non-specialized vegetative multiplication by layering was observed. Recruitment failure seems to depend on the scarcity of safe microsites, which are free from drought, for seedling establishment. The observations contrast with R. ponticum 's reputation as an aggressive invader in temperate Atlantic areas. It is proposed that the species shows a variable balance between sexual reproduction and vegetative multiplication depending on environmental conditions. At present, only the latter seems to be prevailing in relict populations in the Iberian Peninsula. This flexible reproductive strategy is also discussed as a mechanism allowing persistence during geological climatic oscillations.  © The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 140 , 297–311.     

Lead-induced oxidative stress and metabolic alterations in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cassia angustifolia</Emphasis> Vahl.

Forty-five-days old plants of Indian senna (Cassia angustifolia Vahl.) were subjected to 0–500 μM lead acetate (Pb-Ac) in pot culture. Changes in contents of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), ascorbate, glutathione, proline, sennosides (a+b), and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), and catalase (CAT) were studied at pre-flowering (60 d after sawing, DAS), flowering (90 DAS) and post-flowering (120 DAS) stages of plant development. Compared with the controls, the Pb-Ac treated plants showed an increase in contents of TBARS, dehydroascorbate, oxidized and total glutathione at all stages of growth. However, sennoside yield and contents of ascorbate and reduced form of glutathione declined. Proline content increased at 60 DAS but declined thereafter. Activities of SOD, APX, GR and CAT were markedly increased. Sennoside content was higher at 60 and 90 DAS but lower at 120 DAS, compared to the control.     

Structural biology: Paper alert

A selection of interesting papers that were published in the two months before our press date in major journals most likely to report significant results in structural biology.     

13C labeling of plant assimilates using a simple canopy-scale open air system

A simple system based on web-FACE technology was designed and implemented as an approach to label plant-assimilated carbon (C) with ¹³C. The labeling system avoids the use of a chamber or other enclosure, instead distributing CO₂ heavily enriched in ¹³C at near atmospheric concentrations to the tree foliage through the use of porous tubing. The system was applied to three plantation grown juvenile larch (Larix spp.) trees during the daylight hours over the course of five days in the middle of the growing season. Relative to control trees, fumigation with enriched CO₂ resulted in significantly ¹³C-enriched foliar respiration and nighttime soil respiration. Enrichment was also created in the foliar tissue, but differences between labeled and control trees were not statistically significant. Temporal and spatial variation in the strength of the isotopic label did occur, and modifications to the system are suggested to limit the variation. The approach should enable the implementation of pulse-chase experiments designed to understand plant source-sink relationships or experiments designed to understand the flux of C from plant roots into the soil food web. Responsible Editor: Angela Hodge.     

硅钾肥配施对水稻茎秆理化性状及抗倒伏能力的影响

该研究以易倒伏品种‘B优827’为试验材料,通过分析硅钾肥配合施用对水稻茎秆的弯曲力矩、抗折力以及倒伏指数的影响,探索通过肥料调控提高水稻抗倒伏能力的方法与技术措施。结果显示:(1)硅钾肥配施能显著增加水稻基部节间茎秆直径和壁厚,缩短节间长度,并在低硅中钾处理(T2,硅肥300kg/hm2、钾肥400kg/hm2)下基部各节间长度缩短幅度最大(12.44%~20.80%),直径和壁厚增加幅度分别为2.82%~5.76%、22.95%~28.57%。(2)硅钾肥配施处理后,水稻基部各节间纤维素、木质素及灰分含量显著变化,并以低硅中钾处理(T2)差异较显著,且基部节间木质素含量分别比对照显著提高14.55%、8.67%、7.73%。(3)硅钾肥配施处理能显著增加水稻基部节间抗折力,降低倒伏指数,同时仍以低硅中钾处理(T2)的抗折力最大、倒伏指数最小,对提高‘B优827’植株抗倒伏能力效果最好。研究表明,合理的硅钾肥配比(硅肥300kg/hm2、钾肥400kg/hm2)能显著增加易倒伏水稻品种‘B优827’的茎秆壁厚和直径,缩短基部节间长度,提高抗折力,同时还能增加其基部节间木质化程度,最终增强植株抗倒伏能力;硅钾肥配合施用可通过改善茎秆物理化学特性有效增强易倒伏水稻植株的抗倒伏能力。     

Sex and rank in competitive brood hierarchies influence stress levels in nestlings of a sexually dimorphic bird

Studies of sibling competition within brood hierarchies have rarely assessed simultaneously the effects of sex and rank in the brood hierarchy on traits other than offspring mortality and differential growth. We studied the expression of heat-shock proteins (Hsps) to assess the physiological stress response to different combinations of sex and position within competitive brood hierarchies in the black kite Milvus migrans (Bodd.), a sexually dimorphic raptor showing facultative siblicide. Senior males showed higher stress levels than did senior females and younger siblings of each sex as revealed by Hsp60 values. The analysis of Hsp70 levels indicated that nestlings from broods in which the senior chick was a male showed higher stress levels than did nestlings from broods in which the senior chick was a female. In addition, levels of Hsp60 were related negatively to nutritional condition expressed as levels of plasmatic albumin. This suggests that the sex of senior chicks may be key in determining their stress level and that of their siblings, which is probably associated with sibling competition by fighting within brood hierarchies. The comparatively higher stress levels of senior males (and their siblings) may be a consequence of their ability to exploit their potential advantage from being the head start while avoiding a possible competitive disadvantage from being the smaller sex, independent of environmental conditions determining the probability of brood reduction. Differential stress levels depending on sex and rank in the brood hierarchy may be a consequence of parental control of offspring behaviour through differential resource allocation (e.g. yolk androgens) or it may reflect adaptations of particular chicks (senior males) to enhance their competitive ability within brood hierarchies.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 88 , 383–390.