Biological Control of the Bulb Mite, Rhizoglyphus robini , by the Predatory Mite, Hypoaspis aculeifer , on Lilies: Predator-Prey Dynamics in the Soil, under Greenhouse and Field Conditions

We tested the capacity of the soil-dwelling predatory mite, Hypoapsis aculeifer , to control mites attacking lily bulbs. Experiments in the greenhouse and in the field showed that in the absence of predatory mites populations of the bulb mite, Rhizoglyphus robini , on lily bulbs increased, whereas the release of predatory mites either slowed down the increase - as observed in the field - or caused the bulb mites populations to decrease - as observed in the greenhouse. In all cases the population of predatory mites increased as long as bulb mite densities were not too low. However, within the first week after predator release there was usually a sharp decline to 10-40% of the original number released. Greenhouse experiments on intact lily bulbs in pots, boxes and 1 m 2 plots with peat soil showed that when released in a ratio of 1 predator to 2 or 5 prey, the predatory mite, Hypoaspis aculeifer , suppressed populations of bulb mites to less than 10 individual per bulb within 6 weeks. Elimination of bulb mites was observed only when the predator-to-prey ratio at release was equal to 3:1. Field experiments in 2 m 2 plots with intact bulbs in rather compact sandy soil showed that when released in ratio of 1 predator to 1 or 2 prey, the predatory mite, H. aculeifer , did not cause the population of bulb mites to decrease, but it did reduce their population growth. The initial predator-to-prey ratios required to achieve suppression (ca 1:2) or elimination (3:1) in the soil environment are much higher than those required for bulb mite elimination when lily bulb scales were embedded in a medium of vermiculite (ca 1:20). Among the possible causes are: (1) the initial losses of predators in the greenhouse and even more so in the field due to mortality and/or emigration from the experimental plots; (2) the lower temperatures in the greenhouse and especially in the field, which slow down the growth and predation processes and thereby delay prey extinction; and (3) the spatial complexity of the soil environment which creates refuges for the bulb mites.     

几种作物的生理指标对土壤水分变动的阈值反应

 在生长盛期,谷子、高梁、冬小麦的气孔导度、叶水势和光合速率在一定土壤含水量范围内并不随着土壤含水量的降低而发生明显变化,只有当土壤含水量低于一定程度时,才随着土壤湿度的降低而减少,表现为对土壤水分有明显的阈值反应。不同作物此阈值下限存在差异,高粱在大于田间持水量42％～45％的根层土壤湿度条件下,气孔阻力和叶水势基本维持恒定;谷子的这个指标在50％左右,冬小麦在60％左右。而夏玉米在所试土壤湿度范围内(20％～30％土壤体积含水量),气孔阻力和叶水势基本维持不变,而光合作用随着土壤含水量的增高而出现增加趋势。表明在这4种作物中,只有玉米需要充足的水分供应才能维持其良好的生长发育,而高粱具有比其它3种作物更强的适应土壤水分变动能力,从而比其它作物更抗旱和耐旱。     

植物生物反应器研究进展

植物生物反应器是近年来生物技术领域新的研究方向,利用农作物进行疫苗、药用蛋白的生产,具有广阔的市场前景和商业价值。研究证明,用各种农作物为载体的植物生物反应器产品可通过种子、果实或块茎表达,便于贮藏、运输和利用。它拓宽了传统农业概念,成为现代生物农业重要的研究方向之一,推动了生物经济快速健康的前进,促进农业可持续发展。综述植物生物反应器的研究与应用现状,并对转基因作物作为植物生物反应器的发展前景作分析和展望。     

In vitro regeneration of wild pear (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pyrus pyraster</Emphasis> Burgsd) clones tolerant to Fe-chlorosis and somaclonal variation analysis by RAPD markers

An in vitro adventitious regeneration system under selective pressure was established in Pyrus pyraster Burgsd to obtain somaclones with higher adaptability to calcareous soils. P. pyraster is important species, both for its relative closeness to cultivated pear and for reforestation of marginal farmland and for the production of timber. Shoot regeneration was induced from leaves and vegetative apices of in vitro-grown shoots on a modified LP medium supplemented with naphtaleneacetic acid (1.07 μM) and benziladenine (BA, 8.9 μM). After 30 days, explants were transferred to an expression medium consisting of the same basal medium with only BA present. Selective treatments utilized MS medium with Fe-EDTA replaced by equimolar amount of FeSO4 with either KHCO₃ or NaHCO₃. Through the selection process 11 putatively tolerant lines were obtained from vegetative shoot apices. RAPD analysis was performed on these lines to allow comparison to the mother clone. A total of seven 10-mer primers were used to amplify all the genotypes and 74 scorable fragments were produced. These were analysed using the Dice similarity index, showing genetic variability among the 11 regenerated clones and between them and the mother clone.     

Continuously-stirred anaerobic digester to convert organic wastes into biogas: system setup and basic operation

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a bioprocess that is commonly used to convert complex organic wastes into a useful biogas with methane as the energy carrier. Increasingly, AD is being used in industrial, agricultural, and municipal waste(water) treatment applications. The use of AD technology allows plant operators to reduce waste disposal costs and offset energy utility expenses. In addition to treating organic wastes, energy crops are being converted into the energy carrier methane. As the application of AD technology broadens for the treatment of new substrates and co-substrate mixtures, so does the demand for a reliable testing methodology at the pilot- and laboratory-scale. Anaerobic digestion systems have a variety of configurations, including the continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR), plug flow (PF), and anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) configurations. The CSTR is frequently used in research due to its simplicity in design and operation, but also for its advantages in experimentation. Compared to other configurations, the CSTR provides greater uniformity of system parameters, such as temperature, mixing, chemical concentration, and substrate concentration. Ultimately, when designing a full-scale reactor, the optimum reactor configuration will depend on the character of a given substrate among many other nontechnical considerations. However, all configurations share fundamental design features and operating parameters that render the CSTR appropriate for most preliminary assessments. If researchers and engineers use an influent stream with relatively high concentrations of solids, then lab-scale bioreactor configurations cannot be fed continuously due to plugging problems of lab-scale pumps with solids or settling of solids in tubing. For that scenario with continuous mixing requirements, lab-scale bioreactors are fed periodically and we refer to such configurations as continuously stirred anaerobic digesters (CSADs). This article presents a general methodology for constructing, inoculating, operating, and monitoring a CSAD system for the purpose of testing the suitability of a given organic substrate for long-term anaerobic digestion. The construction section of this article will cover building the lab-scale reactor system. The inoculation section will explain how to create an anaerobic environment suitable for seeding with an active methanogenic inoculum. The operating section will cover operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting. The monitoring section will introduce testing protocols using standard analyses. The use of these measures is necessary for reliable experimental assessments of substrate suitability for AD. This protocol should provide greater protection against a common mistake made in AD studies, which is to conclude that reactor failure was caused by the substrate in use, when really it was improper user operation.     

荧假单胞杆菌化感作用的初步研究

1　引　　言化感作用 (Allelopathy)是指一种植物或微生物通过产生化学物质而对其它生物产生的直接或间接的刺激或抑制作用[7] .虽然有关高等植物之间化感作用的研究已有大量报道 ,但微生物对高等植物的化感作用研究报道却较少 ,尤其是细菌在生态系统中的化感作用往往被忽视[1] .荧光假单胞杆菌 (P .fluorescens)是定殖于植物根际的优势细菌种群 ,此类细菌以其分布广、适应能力强、繁殖速度快、易于人工培养等特点 ,成为最具生防潜力和应用价值的生防菌[5] .对陕西农田土壤有益微生物的筛选研究中发现 ,一株荧光假单胞杆菌培养液对番茄灰霉…     

云南省作物种质资源的研究现状及利用前景

云南是中国作物种质资源最为丰富的省份之一,已收集保存各类作物种质资源2万余份,并在水稻、小麦、玉米、甘蔗、茶叶、油料、花卉等资源的利用方面开展了一系列的研究,取得了丰硕的成果。本文将在分析云南作物种质资源利用研究的基础上,论述云南作物种质资源在育种、科研、国际交流等方面的利用途径与发展前景。     

A role for sialic acid containing substrates in the exocytosis-like in vitro interaction between adrenal medullary plasma membranes and chromaffin granules

The “in vitro” interaction between bovine adrenal medullary plasma membranes and chromaffin granules has recently been proposed as a putative cell-free model for exocytosis because calcium ions specifically control the plasma membrane-induced release of 10^?7 and 10^?5 M. Addition of ruthenium red or pretreatment with neuraminidase gradually blocks this interaction indicating that sialic acid containing substrates may be of major importance. These observations and similar results obtained by other authors working on different systems suggest a role for sialic acid containing moieties in exocytosis.     

The primary structure of the human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor: Amino acid sequence of the reduced S-aminoethylated protein

The amino acid sequence of human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor [Pubols, M. H., Bartelt, D. C., and Greene, L. J. (1974) J. Biol. Chem., 249, 2235–2242] was determined by a combination of selective trypsin and chymotrypsin hydrolysis reactions on the S-2-aminoethylcysteinyl inhibitor and conventional methods (subtractive Edman degradation and exopeptidase hydrolysis) for sequence determination of small peptides. The peptides were ordered on the basis of the identification of the amino- and carboxyterminal residues of the products at each stage of the degradation procedure. The sequence determination was carried out on a mixture of chromatographic forms present in both tissue and pancreatic juice which are identical in amino acid composition, aminoterminal residues, molecular weight, and specific activity, but differ only in asparagine content and susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis. The amino acid sequence of the human inhibitor corresponding to chromatographic form A₃ has been shown to be NH₂

.