Forced flowering of pineapple (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ananas comosus</Emphasis> cv. Tainon 17) in response to cold stress,ethephon and calcium carbide with or without activated charcoal

Ethylene, a gaseous plant hormone, is responsible for the initiation of reproductive development in pineapple. Reproductive development can be forced in pineapple (Ananas comosus var. comosus) throughout the year with ethylene. Inhibition of natural flowering initiation with aviglycine [(S)-trans-2-amino-4-(2-aminoethoxy)-3-butenoic acid hydrochloride], an inhibitor of ethylene biosynthesis, provides evidence that reproductive development in response to cold stress and short daylength is also in response to ethylene production. We studied the effect of cold treatment of pineapple on ethylene production and flower induction by applying a short-term cold stress to stem apices. Shoot apices of pineapple treated with ice crystals also produced twice as much ethylene as did those of control plants and significantly more than was produced by “D” leaf basal tissue. Moreover, pineapple plants treated four times with ice crystals or ice water were induced to flower under field conditions and the forcing efficiency, as evaluated by the percentages of inflorescence emergence and fruit harvest, was comparable to forcing with calcium carbide (CaC₂) and ethephon. In another field experiment two applications of a 1.0% solution of CaC₂ or 0.15% ethephon applied at 48 h intervals was sufficient to force reproductive development of ‘Tainon 17’. Furthermore, 0.5 or 1.0% solutions of CaC₂ supplemented with 0.5% activated charcoal (AC) significantly improved the forcing effectiveness of CaC₂. This could/would make it possible to reduce the number or concentration, or both, of CaC₂ required to effect forcing in pineapple.     

捕捞对长山群岛海域渔业生态系统的影响

为了评价捕捞对渔业生态系统的综合影响程度,建立渔业生态系统保护管理决策支持系统,本文基于状态、压力和生物群落响应PSR模型、利用层次分析法构建了捕捞对渔业生态系统的影响评价模型,包含渔船数量、捕捞压力指数、渔获量、底层鱼类比重、营养级、优势种单体重量、经济鱼类渔获量、多样性指数、均匀度指数3个层次9个指标,并选择1987—1988年和2006—2007年长山群岛游泳生物调查数据对其进行了定量评价。结果表明:近20年来,在捕捞强度不断增加的压力下,渔业生态系统的结构和功能发生显著变化,长寿命、高营养级的肉食性鱼类生物量下降明显,系统以短寿命、小型鱼类占优势;鱼类资源量、底层鱼类比重、营养级、优势种单体重量、经济鱼类渔获量、多样性指数、均匀度指数年退化率分别为4.75%、3.64%、0.31%、4.28%、2.32%、0.39%、1.14%;通过模型评价,渔业生态系统健康指数为0.34,低于评价等级Ⅲ级,说明近20年捕捞导致长山群岛渔业生态系统处于不健康状态。     

蔗糖对紫色土豆微型薯形成及花青素含量的影响

为深入探讨蔗糖在植物花青素生物合成过程中的调节作用,以紫色土豆为材料,分析不同蔗糖浓度对紫色土豆外植体生长、花青素含量、微型薯形成以及花青素生物合成相关基因表达的影响。结果表明,紫色土豆外植体在蔗糖浓度为15 g/L时生长情况最好,平均长度最长,平均重量最重,但高浓度蔗糖对外植体生长起抑制作用;蔗糖能促进紫色土豆花青素含量的积累及微型薯的形成,随着蔗糖浓度的增加,花青素含量随之增加,紫色土豆花青素含量在蔗糖浓度为120 g/L时最高,为5.11 mg/g FW,是对照组的8.89倍;蔗糖浓度为60 g/L时,微型薯重量最重,为0.34 g,结实率最高,达到22.50%。RT-PCR结果显示,蔗糖能促进St F3’5’H、St UFGT以及St DFR的表达,蔗糖通过调控此类花青素合成相关基因的表达影响紫色土豆花青素含量。     

Metabolomic profiling to identify potential serum biomarkers for schizophrenia and risperidone action

Despite recent advances in understanding the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and the mechanisms of antipsychotic drug action, the development of biomarkers for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring in schizophrenia remains challenging. Metabolomics provides a powerful approach to discover diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers by analyzing global changes in an individual's metabolic profile in response to pathophysiological stimuli or drug intervention. In this study, we performed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry based metabolomic profiling in serum of unmedicated schizophrenic patients before and after an 8-week risperidone monotherapy, to detect potential biomarkers associated with schizophrenia and risperidone treatment. Twenty-two marker metabolites contributing to the complete separation of schizophrenic patients from matched healthy controls were identified, with citrate, palmitic acid, myo-inositol, and allantoin exhibiting the best combined classification performance. Twenty marker metabolites contributing to the complete separation between posttreatment and pretreatment patients were identified, with myo-inositol, uric acid, and tryptophan showing the maximum combined classification performance. Metabolic pathways including energy metabolism, antioxidant defense systems, neurotransmitter metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and phospholipid metabolism were found to be disturbed in schizophrenic patients and partially normalized following risperidone therapy. Further study of these metabolites may facilitate the development of noninvasive biomarkers and more efficient therapeutic strategies for schizophrenia.     

Are Tritrichomonas foetus and Tritrichomonas suis synonyms?

Tritrichomonas suis, a tritrichomonad of pigs, and the related species Tritrichomonas foetus, a tritrichomonad of cattle, are morphologically identical. The taxonomic relationship between these two tritrichomonads has been questioned ever since they were established as distinct species in 1843 and 1928, respectively. Here, we compare the similarities of morphology, ultrastructure, distribution, host specificity, characteristics of in vitro cultivation, immunology, biochemistry and analysis of molecular data from published sources between these two species. All data indicate that these two tritrichomonad species are identical. Thus, we propose that T. foetus and T. suis are synonyms.     

Quantitative kinetic analysis of nucleolar breakdown and reassembly during mitosis in live human cells

One of the great mysteries of the nucleolus surrounds its disappearance during mitosis and subsequent reassembly at late mitosis. Here, the relative dynamics of nucleolar disassembly and reformation were dissected using quantitative 4D microscopy with fluorescent protein-tagged proteins in human stable cell lines. The data provide a novel insight into the fates of the three distinct nucleolar subcompartments and their associated protein machineries in a single dividing cell. Before the onset of nuclear envelope (NE) breakdown, nucleolar disassembly started with the loss of RNA polymerase I subunits from the fibrillar centers. Dissociation of proteins from the other subcompartments occurred with faster kinetics but commenced later, coincident with the process of NE breakdown. The reformation pathway also follows a reproducible and defined temporal sequence but the order of reassembly is shown not to be dictated by the order in which individual nucleolar components reaccumulate within the nucleus after mitosis.     

谷子种质资源抗黑穗病鉴定与过氧化物酶研究

对全国2050份谷子种质资源进行了抗黑穗病鉴定,对不同抗、感黑穗病的谷子种质资源进行了过氧化物酶活性、过氧化物酶同工酶的比较研究。结果表明,谷子不同种质资源对黑穗病的抗性存在着明显的差异。谷子种质资源对黑穗病的抗性比较稳定。谷子感染黑穗病后,抗病品种的过氧化物酶活性明显高于感病品种。过氧化物酶同工酶可以作为一种遗传标记。     

Constitutive expression of a fungal glucose oxidase gene in transgenic tobacco confers chilling tolerance through the activation of antioxidative defence system

Scientific evidences in the literature have shown that plants treated exogenously with micromole concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) acquire abiotic stress tolerance potential, without substantial disturbances in the endogenous H₂O₂ pool. In this study, we enhanced the endogenous H₂O₂ content of tobacco (Nicotiana tabaccum L. cv. SR1) plants by the constitutive expression of a glucose oxidase (GO; EC 1.1.3.4) gene of Aspergillus niger and studied their cold tolerance level. Stable integration and expression of GO gene in the transgenic (T₀–T₂) tobacco lines were ascertained by molecular and biochemical tests. Production of functionally competent GO in transgenic plants was confirmed by the elevated levels of H₂O₂ in the transformed tissues. When three homozygous transgenic lines were exposed to different chilling temperatures for 12 h, the electrolyte conductivity was significantly lower in GO-expressing tobacco plants than the control plants; in particular, chilling protection was more prominent at −1°C. In addition, most transgenic lines recovered within a week when returned to normal culture conditions after −1°C–12 h cold stress. However, control plants displayed symptoms of chilling injuries such as necrosis of shoot tip, shoots and leaves, consequently plant death. The protective effect realized in the transgenic plants was comparable to cold-acclimatized wild tobacco. The chilling tolerance of transgenic lines was found associated, at least in part, with elevated levels of total antioxidant content, CAT and APX activities. Based on our findings, we predict that the transgenic expression of GO may be deployed to improve cold tolerance potential of higher plants.