长穗偃麦草中E和E1基因组高分子量麦谷蛋白基因启动子部分序列的进化分析

通过PCR克隆的方法,获得了分别来自二倍体长穗偃麦草的E基因组和四倍体长穗偃麦草的E_1基因组的4个高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基(HMW-GS)基因启动子的部分序列。序列分析表明,它们之间的同源性较高,两个x型亚基启动子序列之间只有1个碱基的差异,而两个y型亚基启动子序列完全相同,x和y型亚基启动子序列之间的长度和部分碱基位点都有差异。推测四倍体长穗偃麦草中的E_1基因组可能起源于二倍体的E基因组。与来自小麦族的A、B、D和G基因组部分亚基基因的启动子序列比较表明,小麦族的这一区域在进化上是相当保守的,不同基因组来源的序列同源性都在90％以上。经过对这些序列的聚类分析,表明长穗偃麦草的y型HMW-GS基因与其他亚基基因的进化关系较远,而x型亚基基因与一个来自小麦1B染色体的亚基基因关系最近。     

蒙古冰草Actin基因片段的克隆及序列分析

旨在利用同源序列法分离蒙古冰草(Agropyron mongolicum Keng)Actin基因同源片段,为研究其他基因在蒙古冰草中的表达和调控提供内标参照.根据禾本科植物小麦Actin基因(AB181991)的保守序列设计2对引物A4和A5,采用RT-PCR扩增蒙古冰草的Actin基因片段,分别得到656 bp和848 bp的片段,使用DNAman和DNAuser等分子生物学软件进行序列分析,将2个片段的重复序列合并后获得一段长度为962 bp的基因片段,编码237个氨基酸,将克隆的Actin基因片段命名为MwACT.该序列与其它植物Actin基因核苷酸序列的同源性均在80%以上,其中与小麦、大麦的同源性达到94%;与氨基酸序列的同源性均在90%以上.     

Factors affecting the induction of pollen plants of intergeneric hybrids of Triticum aestivum X Triticum-Agropyron

Summary Experimental results showed that the use of potato extract as a basic component of culture medium had a promoting effect on producing calli in anther culture of the intergeneric hybrids of Triticum aestivum × Triticum-Agropyron (intermediate type). The induction frequencies of pollen callus on the Potato-II medium containing potato extract as the main component was much higher than that found on N₆ and W₅ media. The induction frequencies of pollen callus and green plantlets in four intergeneric hybrid material inoculated at the late-uninucleate pollen stage were all higher than those inoculated at the mid-uninucleate stage. Appropriate increases in culture temperature significantly increased pollen callus induction frequencies of the intergeneric hybrids. The genotype and physiological state of anther donor plants also influenced pollen callus and green plantlet induction frequencies.     

毛乌素沙地4种植物叶水势变化及其影响因素分析

对毛乌素沙地旱柳( Salix matsudana Koidz.)、小叶杨( Populus simonii Carr.)、北沙柳( Salix psammophila C. Wang et Chang Y. Yang)和沙蒿(Artemisia desertorum Spreng.)4种植物叶水势的月变化和日变化规律以及不同冠层叶水势的差异进行了研究,并分析了4种植物叶水势与气候因子及树干液流速度的相关性。结果表明：在5月份至8月份,旱柳、小叶杨和北沙柳清晨(5：00)的叶水势波动不明显;但3种植物正午(13：00)的叶水势有一定差异,其中旱柳和小叶杨正午的叶水势差异不明显,而北沙柳7月份和8月份的叶水势则明显小于其5月份和6月份;总体上看,各月份3种植物正午的叶水势均明显小于清晨叶水势。供试4种植物的叶水势日变化曲线均以“单峰型”为主,最高值出现在5：00至6：00,最低值出现在12：00至16：00;日间北沙柳的平均叶水势最低,而其他3种植物的平均叶水势差异不明显,5月份和8月份,北沙柳的平均叶水势分别为-11.9和-17.1 MPa,而旱柳、小叶杨和沙蒿的平均叶水势分别为-6.2和-7.1、-7.7和-7.3、-6.8和-8.4 MPa;但夜间4种植物的平均叶水势无明显变化。4种植物日间均表现出树冠下层叶水势高、上层叶水势低的趋势,而夜间则树冠上层和下层的叶水势几乎一致。相关性分析结果表明：4种植物的叶水势与气温、净辐射量以及树干液流速度负相关、与空气相对湿度正相关,其中,不同月份4种植物的叶水势与净辐射量和树干液流速度均极显著相关(P<0.01)。研究结果显示：毛乌素沙地不同植物叶水势的变化因种类、季节、气候条件的不同而异,但总体上看净辐射量是影响4种植物叶水势变化的最主要气象因子。     

四倍体长穗偃麦草(Agropyron elongatum 4x)染色体组构成的生化和SSR标记分析

应用等电聚焦(IEF)和SDS PAGE方法分析了二倍体长穗偃麦草(Agropyronelongatum2x)和四倍体长穗偃麦草(Ag.elongatum4x)的16种同工酶和3种贮藏蛋白的电泳图谱。结果表明,只有两种同工酶在四倍体和二倍体长穗偃麦草之间表现相同的酶谱,该类型仅占分析标记总数的10.5%;而10种同工酶和3种贮藏蛋白的电泳图谱在四倍体中除了具有全部二倍体的谱带以外,还有自己独特的条带,该类型最多,占分析标记总数的63.2%;另外5种同工酶在二倍体和四倍体之间只有部分条带相同,同时具有各自特异的条带,该类型占分析标记总数的26.3%。由此推测,四倍体长穗偃麦草可能是一个异源四倍体,即只含有一个起源于二倍体类型的染色体组Ee,而另一个染色体组在所分析的生化标记上明显不同于近缘种中的St、J和N染色体组,其起源尚待进一步研究。进一步用小麦的SSR引物对二倍体和四倍体长穗偃麦草进行扩增,结果表明大多数SSR引物在四倍体中既能扩出与二倍体相同的条带,同时还有其特异的条带,这一结果验证了由生化标记得出的四倍体长穗偃麦草是异源四倍体的初步结论。     

Nitrogen and water addition reduce leaf longevity of steppe species

Background and aims

Changes in supplies of resources will modify plant functional traits. However, few experimental studies have addressed the effects of nitrogen and water variations, either singly or in combination, on functional traits.

Methods

A 2-year field experiment was conducted to test the effects of nitrogen and water addition on leaf longevity and other functional traits of the two dominant (Agropyron cristatum and Stipa krylovii) and three most common species (Cleistogenes squarrosa, Melilotoides ruthenica and Potentilla tanacetifolia) in a temperate steppe in northern China.

Key Results

Additional nitrogen and water increased leaf nitrogen content and net photosynthetic rate, and changed other measured functional traits. Leaf longevity decreased significantly with both nitrogen addition (–6 days in 2007 and –5·4 days in 2008; both P < 0·001) and watering (–13 days in 2007 and –9·9 days in 2008; both P < 0·001), and significant differences in leaf longevity were also found among species. Nitrogen and water interacted to affect leaf longevity and other functional traits. Soil water content explained approx. 70 % of the shifts in leaf longevity. Biomass at both species and community level increased under water and nitrogen addition because of the increase in leaf biomass production per individual plant.

Conclusions

The results suggest that additional nitrogen and water supplies reduce plant leaf longevity. Soil water availability might play a fundamental role in determining leaf longevity and other leaf functional traits, and its effects can be modified by soil nitrogen availability in semi-arid areas. The different responses of species to resource alterations may cause different global change ramifications under future climate change scenarios.     

A large ephemeral release of nitrogen upon wetting of dry soil and corresponding root responses in the field

To assess changes in soil nutrients, root growth and mycrorrhizal infection in response to rain events, a water pulse was applied to a very dry soil. Wetting of a dry soil in the Great Basin of the Western United States led to a striking pulse of available soil nitrate in a field plot, but available phosphate was not affected. This is the first field demonstration of this phenomenon in the Great Basin as far as we are aware. This pulse was only apparent for a few days, probably due to microbial immobilization of the nitrogen. Root ammonium uptake capacity increased within one day of the water pulse, but new root growth was not apparent until 3 days after the water pulse. Thus, to capture this ephemeral release of nitrogen, enhanced uptake capacity of existing roots was probably more important than development of new roots. Mycorrhizal infection was not affected by the water pulse treatments. However, since the water pulse only affected nitrogen availability and mycorrhizae are generally most effective in facilitating acquisition of less mobile nutrients such as phosphate, mycorrhizae likely do not play an important role in taking advantage of this opportunity provided by the pulse of water.     

Morphological plasticity following species-specific recognition and competition in two perennial grasses

Morphological characteristics and biomass allocation of two perennial grasses, Pseudoroegneria spicata (Pursh) A. Löve ssp. spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass) and Agropyron desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) Schult. (crested wheatgrass), were compared under different competition and nutrient treatments. The competitive responses of two plants grown in containers under field conditions were assessed in monocultures and mixtures in two experiments using different scales of nutrient application. In the Small-Scale Experiment, a localized fertilization was applied in the rooting zone between two plants; in the Large-Scale Experiment the entire container was supplied with nutrients. Agropyron responded more vigorously to fertilization than did Pseudoroegneria, but based on the relative performance of Agropyron in monoculture and mixture, it was not superior to Pseudoroegneria in resource competition. Pseudoroegneria was apparently able to recognize neighboring plants as either conspecifics or individuals of the other species. The responses included changes in shoot architecture, root morphology, and allocation between roots and shoots. Agropyron generally did not exhibit such morphological flexibility. In field plot plantings of 4-yr-old tussocks similar shoot differences were seen in Pseudoroegneria. There was, however, no indication of superior resource competition for Agropyron. Thus, any early advantage of Agropyron in vigorous growth of young plants in response to nutrients was apparently lost by the time the plants had reached this stage of development. Morphological and allocation flexibility of Pseudoroegneria may have compensated for slower, less vigorous growth. If species-specific recognition and morphological plasticity are common in nature, this complicates our attempts to understand mechanisms of competition.     

Effect of Single and Interplantings on Pathogenicity of Pratyenchus penetrans and P. neglectus to Alfalfa and Crested Wheatgrass

Alfalfa is a host of Pratylenchus penetrans and P. neglectus, whereas crested wheatgrass is a host of P. neglectus but not of P. penetrans. In a 120-day greenhouse experiment at 24 ñ 3 C, P. neglectus inhibited the growth of ''Lahontan'' alfalfa and ''Fairway'' crested wheatgrass. There were no differences in persistence and plant growth of alfalfa and crested wheatgrass, or reproduction of P. neglectus, in single plantings of alfalfa (AO) or crested wheatgrass (CWO), or in interplanted alfalfa and crested wheatgrass (ACW) treatments. On alfalfa, P. penetrans inhibited growth and reproduced more than did P. neglectus. Inhibition of plant growth and reproduction of P. penetrans was greater on alfalfa in AO than in ACW treatments. Pratylenchus penetrans did not reproduce on crested wheatgrass, but inhibited growth of crested wheatgrass in interplanted treatments and was avirulent in single planted treatments. Results were similar in a controlled growth chamber experiment at 15, 20, 25, and 30 C. Both nematode species inhibited alfalfa growth at all temperatures, and P. penetrans was more virulent than was P. neglectus to alfalfa at all temperatures and treatments. Plant growth inhibition and reproduction of P. penetrans on alfalfa in single and interplanted treatments were similar at 15-20 C, but were greater in single than in interplanted treatments at 25-30 C. Pratylenchus penetrans was avirulent to crested wheatgrass in the single planted treatments at all temperatures, but inhibited growth of crested wheatgrass in interplanted treatments at 20-30 C. Plant growth and reproduction of P. neglectus on crested wheatgrass was similar in single and interplanted treatments at 20-30 C and 15-30 C, respectively.