Do selenium hyperaccumulators affect selenium speciation in neighboring plants and soil? An X-Ray Microprobe Analysis

Neighbors of Se hyperaccumulators Stanleya pinnata and Astragalus bisulcatus were found earlier to have elevated Se levels. Here we investigate whether Se hyperaccumulators affect Se localization and speciation in surrounding soil and neighboring plants. X-ray fluorescence mapping and X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy were used to analyze Se localization and speciation in leaves of Artemisia ludoviciana, Symphyotrichum ericoides and Chenopodium album growing next to Se hyperaccumulators or non-accumulators at a seleniferous site. Regardless of neighbors, A. ludoviciana, S. ericoides and C. album accumulated predominantly (73–92%) reduced selenocompounds with XANES spectra similar to the C-Se-C compounds selenomethionine and methyl-selenocysteine. Preliminary data indicate that the largest Se fraction (65–75%), both in soil next to hyperaccumulator S. pinnata and next to nonaccumulator species was reduced Se with spectra similar to C-Se-C standards. These same C-Se-C forms are found in hyperaccumulators. Thus, hyperaccumulator litter may be a source of organic soil Se, but soil microorganisms may also contribute. These findings are relevant for phytoremediation and biofortification since organic Se is more readily accumulated by plants, and more effective for dietary Se supplementation.     

Kinetics in metabolic control of time measurement in photoperiodism

Abstract

The period length of the locomotor activity rhythm of Drosophila melanogaster wild form is under conditions of continuous weak red light 23.38 h, whereas die eye mutants Ly3 with a 23.71 h mean period and JK 84 with 23.14 h differ significantly. This might be due to a changed perception of light and not the result of a change in the circadian pacemaker by the mutation.

The mutant sine oculis exhibits a normal activity rhythm if the complex eyes are not completely reduced. If this is the case, the activity pattern is either less rhythmic, composed of several rhythms with different periods or truely arrhythmic depending on the individual fly.

Since the mutation in sine oculis affects in addition to the complex eye the distal part of die medulla and the lamina of the optic lobe, it is suggested that the circadian pacemakers for the locomotor activity rhythm is localized in these parts.     

Population structure in relation to host-plant ecology and Wolbachia infestation in the comma butterfly

Experimental work on Polygonia c‐album, a temperate polyphagous butterfly species, has shown that Swedish, Belgian, Norwegian and Estonian females are generalists with respect to host‐plant preference, whereas females from UK and Spain are specialized on Urticaceae. Female preference is known to have a strong genetic component. We test whether the specialist and generalist populations form respective genetic clusters using data from mitochondrial sequences and 10 microsatellite loci. Results do not support this hypothesis, suggesting that the specialist and generalist traits have evolved more than once independently. Mitochondrial DNA variation suggests a rapid expansion scenario, with a single widespread haplotype occurring in high frequency, whereas microsatellite data indicate strong differentiation of the Moroccan population. Based on a comparison of polymorphism in the mitochondrial data and sequences from a nuclear gene, we show that the diversity in the former is significantly less than that expected under neutral evolution. Furthermore, we found that almost all butterfly samples were infected with a single strain of Wolbachia, a maternally inherited bacterium. We reason that indirect selection on the mitochondrial genome mediated by a recent sweep of Wolbachia infection has depleted variability in the mitochondrial sequences. We also surmise that P. c‐album could have expanded out of a single glacial refugium and colonized Morocco recently.     

藜麦在张家口地区试种的表现与评价

本研究对在张家口地区进行试种的4份藜麦材料进行了农艺性状与品质性状评价。试种藜麦株高范围为119.27~180.51 cm,生育期范围为103~118 d。子粒饱满,产量可达3 637.32 kg/hm2,蛋白质含量为14.79±0.72%,脂肪含量为7.57±1.17%,天冬氨酸、赖氨酸和精氨酸含量分别为1.37±0.06%、1.00±0.03%、1.47±0.08%,皂苷含量为2.12±0.50%。以上结果与文献对比结果表明,藜麦富含多种营养成分,且蛋白质含量丰富、氨基酸比例平衡、增产潜力大等特点能够充分表现,适宜在张家口地区以及生态条件类似的地区种植。     

Phytochrome-mediated long-term memory of seeds

The question is how long phytochrome, stored within the cytoplasm of plant diaspores, may stimulate their germination. This question arose from the observation that soil cultivations in darkness for weed control gave inconsistent results. Namely, after a single nighttime or daytime cultivation during spring and summer, differences in weed emergence became hardly detectable after a period of six weeks. However, after nighttime and daytime cultivations in late autumn, emergence differences persisted for up to nine months. To examine whether this differing memory effect is phytochrome-mediated, seeds of Chenopodium album and Stellaria media were sown in pots with wet peat, either in daylight or after sunset. In the latter, seeds were irradiated with far-red light for one day prior to being covered and buried. For more than two years the far-red irradiated seeds produced significantly reduced emergence, indicating that germination and emergence of weeds in the field may be supported by maternal far-red absorbing seed phytochrome B(fr) over several months or even years. This conclusion allows refining of the strategy of lightless tillage.     

橄榄(Canarium album)种子形态结构与数量性状分析

以福建主栽的橄榄（Canarium album（Lour.）Rauesch.）品种‘长营’种子为材料,观察其成熟种子及不同发育时期种子的形态结构,对数量性状进行测量与统计分析,并运用概率分级建立形态指标的正态分布分级标准。结果显示,橄榄种子表型性状和形态结构变异较大,各数量性状变异系数为6.77%~19.04%,具有丰富的遗传多样性;橄榄种子心室类型有12种,其中三心室占比最高（97.80%）;胚数量0~4个不等;经K-S检验,各数量性状符合正态分布,依据各性状可划分为5级分级标准。本研究为橄榄种质的系统学研究提供了种子形态方面的新内容,可为橄榄资源描述的标准化及遗传育种研究提供一定的参考。     

Assays for three enzymes involved in mevalonic acid metabolism

Enzyme assays have been developed for mevalonate (MVA) kinase, mevalonate phosphate (MVAP) kinase and mevalonate pyrophosphate (MVAPP) anhydrodecar-boxylase. The procedures involve radioactively labelled substrates and separation of the reaction products by anion exchange chromatography. The separation on Dowex 1-X2 in self-packed microcolumns is simple, inexpensive and results in good separation of the MVA derivatives from each other. Because separation of MVAPP from isopenteny] pyrophosphate (IPP) was not possible directly, samples or column fractions containing MVAPP and IPP simultaneously were dephosphorylated by alkaline phosphatase. The resulting MVA and isopentenol are then easily separated in the same system. The assays for all three enzymes not onlv allows the determination of activities in crude enzyme preparations but is also applicable to the in vitro determination of intermediate pools in the reaction sequence from MVA to IPP after using ¹⁴C-MVA as substrate. The major advantage is accuracy and ease of use. The utility of the methods was demonstrated for enzyme extracts from the higher plants Chenopodium and spinach as well as for the fungus Phycomyces .     

Ethylene regulation of apoplastic invertase expression in autotrophic cells of Chenopodium rubrum

Physiological concentrations of ethylene in the growth medium of autotropic suspension culture Chenopodium rubrum L. cells reduced the activity of cell wall bound invertase by 25 – 47%, compared to controls. Northern blot analysis using homologous probe binding to total RNA preparations revealed that reduction in specific activity was paralleled by repression of the corresponding gene.     

Ultrastructural alterations to chloroplasts in triazine-resistant weed biotypes

Ultrastructural, morphometric and physiological techniques were used to determine the consistent chloroplast differences between triazine-resistant (R) and triazine-susceptible (S) biotypes of Amaranthus hybridus L., Chenopodium album L., and Brassica campestris L. All R biotypes had a larger proportion of the chloroplast volume as grana lamellae and a lower proportion of starch and stroma lamellae than S biotypes. In the R biotypes, a greater percentage of grana contain larger numbers of thylakoids per granum. A greater proportion of chlorophyll associated with the light-harvesting chlorophyll alb protein and a lower chlorophyll alb ratio, traits associated with an increase in grana lamellae, were noted in R biotypes. Chloroplasts of S biotypes could be modified to ultrastructural phenocopies of those in R biotypes by treatment with sublethal levels of the PSII inhibiting herbicides, bentazon, diuron, atrazine and prometon. Despite the structural similarities to R biotypes, the modified S biotypes were not resistant to atrazine as determined by fluorescence measurements. Thus, the structural alterations observed are apparently secondary effects of impaired photosynthetic electron transport in R biotypes, and are not the cause of triazine resistance.