Polarity of Xylem Formation in Isolated Stem Segments of Pinus silvestris

The culture of isolated stem sogments was used as a technique to study polarity of xylem formation in Pinus silvestris L. Cambial activity was greatest at the apical or the basal end, whichever received the complete fresh medium, but decreased more abruptly with increasing distance when the basal end was so supplied. Whether gradients of activity increased basipetally or acropetally also depended upon the end to which the auxin and the sugar components were supplied. Ring-barking of segments, then cultur-ing them with apical supply of medium to the xylem, resulted in inhibition of xylem production below, and above, the ring. Cambial activity at the apical ends of such segments was expressible as a logarithmic function of the uninterrupted length of contiguous extraxylary tissues. The involvement of polarity phenomena in control of cambial activity in isolated stem segments is confirmed.     

The Tommotian goes international

Rozanov, A. Yu. et al . (Raaben, M. E., ed.) 1981: The Tommotian Stuge and the Cambrian Loner Boundary Problem . 359 pp. (Tranalated from Russian by S. Guha.) Amerind Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, Price $US 35.00.     

Review of Ptycholaimellus Cobb (Nematoda, Chromadoridae), with descriptions of three species

Nematodes of the genus Ptycholaimellus Cobb, 1920 are unique in possessing a collar by which the head is separated from the body. The collar is raised from a groove at the border between the neck and the remainder of the body. The contents of the ventral gland cell are emptied in the groove in at least 9 out of 14 species. It is suggested that the amphids are located in the groove. Fourteen species are considered to belong to Ptycholaimellus . Two Ptycholaimellus species are described as new to science, that is, P. jacobi sp.n. and P. vincxae sp.n.; P. ponticus (Fihpjev, 1922) is redescribed. Ptycholaimellus ponticus sensu Stekhoven (1950) and Boucher (1972) from the Mediterranean off France differs from the other Ptycholaimellus species by its subcuticular ornamentation and shape of spicules, hence these specimens are regarded as belonging to a new species: Ptycholaimellus boucheri sp.n. Chromadorissa inaequibulba Aminova & Galtsova, 1978 is transferred to Ptycholai- mellus as P. inaequibulbus. Ptycholaimellus ponticus from Europe and P pandispiculatus (Hopper, 1961) from the east coast of North America are assumed to have colonized brackish waters independently.     

From Storage Compartment to Lytic Organelle: The Metamorphosis of the Aleurone Protein Storage Vacuole

Protein storage vacuoles are found in a variety of tissues butare especially abundant in the storage organs of fruits andseeds. In this review, we focus on the protein storage vacuolesof cereal aleurone. In the mature grain, these organelles arerepositories for reserve nitrogen, carbon and minerals. Followingimbibition, protein storage vacuoles of cereal aleurone changefrom storage compartments to lytic organelles. Changes in proteinstorage vacuole structure and enzymatic activity during thistransition are discussed. It is emphasized that protein storagevacuoles are poised for reserve mobilization, and that gibberellinperception by the aleurone cell initiates a signalling cascadethat promotes acidification of the vacuole lumen and activationof enzymes and transporters.Copyright 1998 Annals of BotanyCompany Protein storage vacuole, cereal aleurone, gibberellin, abscisic acid, protein body, endosperm reserves.     

Influence of suburban edges on invasion of Pittosporum undulatum into the bushland of northern Sydney,Australia

Abstract Suburban edges are shown to exert a major influence on invasion of the native Pittosporum undulatum Vent, in dry sclerophyll bushland of northern Sydney. Transect data from fifteen urban bushland sites spanning approximately 90 years of development indicate significant increases of P. undulatum with time. Basal area, density and frequencies of plants in all size-classes increased significantly with age of adjoining development. Mean basal area at edges of old sites was 5700 times greater than in comparable bushland in larger reserve interiors. The effect of age was compounded by the greater impact of edge effects in narrower reserves of older suburbs. Basal areas and proportion of reproductive plants decreased significantly with distance into the reserve. Older sites contained larger but fewer individuals at the edge, compared with high densities of smaller plants further into the reserve, suggesting an advanced successional stage. The overall relationship of density with distance was not significant. The observed clumping of seedlings beneath canopies is consistent with previous work on seed dispersal by vectors, and enhanced seedling recruitment in safe sites. Pittosporum basal area and density reached no maximum levels with age, implying ongoing invasion. The study indicated some factors which appeared to promote the establishment of P. undulatum in the study area. Signs of fire were negatively correlated across all sites with basal area and density of P. undulatum. Human disturbance was positively correlated with the same variables. On the basis of findings in this study, some broad priorities for management of Pittosporum in urban bushland are suggested.