Influence of intraovular reserves on ovule fate in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.)

 In many plant species with multiovulate ovaries, a considerable reduction in the number of ovules takes place. However, the underlying physiological causes are not clear. In Prunus spp., although flowers present two ovules, usually only one seed is produced. We have followed the development and degeneration of the two ovules in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) and examined the extent to which carbohydrates within the ovule might be involved in determining the fate of the ovule. While the primary ovule grows in the days following anthesis, growth of the secondary ovule is arrested. Starch distribution along the different ovular tissues exhibits several changes that are different in the two ovules. Primary ovule growth is inversely related to starch content and this growth takes place independently of pollination since it occurs in the same way in pollinated and unpollinated flowers. In the secondary ovule, starch disappears simultaneously from all ovular structures and callose is layered at the chalazal end of the nucellus. The size of the secondary ovule does not change significantly from anthesis to degeneration, and callose starts to accumulate 5 days after anthesis. Likewise, this process occurs independently of pollination. These results are discussed in terms of the implications of the starch content of ovules in fertilization success and ovule fate. Received: 26 August 1997 / Revision accepted: 17 December 1997     

梅PGIP基因的启动子克隆及生物信息学分析

根据梅PGIP基因(GenBank登录号:DQ364056.1)5′端序列设计特异反向引物,利用染色体步行法获得了该基因上游1 037 bp的启动子序列.启动子结构分析表明,梅PGIP基因启动子序列与中国李PGIP基因启动子显著相似,相似度达89%~96%,较中国李PGIP基因启动子多一个100 bp的区段,与水稻和豆的启动子序列均无Blast比对结果.转录调控元件预测结果表明,克隆序列与豆相应序列的保守区存在着能调控抗病基因转录的GT1结合位点.     

来源于西梅的(R)-醇腈酶促立体选择性转氰合成(R)-酮醇腈

在水/有机溶剂双相反应体系中,研究了来源于西梅的(R)-醇腈酶催化酮与丙酮醇腈合成(R)-酮醇腈的立体选择性转氰反应．系统探讨了不同酶源、酶粉颗粒大小、底物浓度、两底物配比、酶浓度和底物结构对转氰反应的影响．结果发现西梅醇腈酶能高效催化三甲基硅酮与丙酮醇腈的立体选择性转氰．酶粉颗粒大小以直径0.3～0.45 mm为优,底物浓度以21 mmol/L左右为佳,底物丙酮醇腈与三甲基硅酮摩尔浓度比以2∶1为宜,酶浓度以60.9 g/L左右为好．西梅醇腈酶对3, 3-二甲基-2-丁酮几乎没有催化活性,而对其硅结构类似物三甲基硅酮却具有非常高的立体选择性和催化活性,在上述优化反应条件下反应24 h的底物转化率和产物光学纯度均高达99%以上,表明底物中的硅原子对西梅醇腈酶的催化活性有非常显著的促进作用．     

珍珠李炭疽菌对三种杀菌剂的敏感性测定

由胶孢炭疽菌复合种(Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex)引起的炭疽病是珍珠李(Prunus salicina Lind1)产业生产上的主要病害，为明确珍珠李炭疽菌对吡唑醚菌酯、苯醚甲环唑和咪鲜胺的敏感性，比较不同地理来源及不同种炭疽菌对三种药剂敏感性差异。采用菌丝生长速率法分别测定三种杀菌剂对采自不同地区26株珍珠李炭疽菌的药剂敏感性。结果表明，供试的26株珍珠李炭疽菌对咪鲜胺的敏感性最高，EC₅₀值介于0.010 8～0.645 2μg/mL之间，平均值为(0.191 2±0.03)μg/mL;苯醚甲环唑次之，EC₅₀值介于0.165 8～2.168 0μg/mL之间，平均值为(0.725 8±0.088 0)μg/mL;吡唑醚菌酯最低，EC₅₀值介于0.058 3～84.566 0μg/mL之间，平均值为(6.276 3±3.525 5)μg/mL。供试的26株珍珠李炭疽菌整体对以上三种杀菌剂敏感，且对咪鲜胺的敏感性最高，苯醚甲环唑次之，对吡唑醚菌酯的敏感性最...     

Composition of the cuticle of developing sweet cherry fruit

The composition of wax and cutin from developing sweet cherry (Prunus avium) fruit was studied by GC-MS between 22 and 85 days after full bloom (DAFB). In this and our previous study, fruit mass and surface area increased in a sigmoidal pattern with time, but mass of the cuticular membrane (CM) per unit fruit surface area decreased. On a whole fruit basis, mass of CM increased up to 36 DAFB and remained constant thereafter. At maturity, triterpenes, alkanes and alcohols accounted for 75.6%, 19.1% and 1.2% of total wax, respectively. The most abundant constituents were the triterpenes ursolic (60.0%) and oleanolic acid (7.5%), the alkanes nonacosane (13.0%) and heptacosane (3.0%), and the secondary alcohol nonacosan-10-ol (1.1%). In developing fruit triterpenes per unit area decreased, but alkanes and alcohols remained essentially constant. The cutin fraction of mature fruit consisted of mostly C16 (69.5%) and, to a lower extent, C18 monomers (19.4%) comprising alkanoic, omega-hydroxyacids, alpha,omega-dicarboxylic and midchain hydroxylated acids. The most abundant constituents were 9(10),16-dihydroxy-hexadecanoic acid (53.6%) and 9,10,18-trihydroxy-octadecanoic acid (7.8%). Amounts of C16 and C18 monomers per unit area decreased in developing fruit, but remained approximately constant on a whole fruit basis. Within both classes of monomers, opposing changes occurred. Amounts of hexadecandioic, 16-hydroxy-hexadecanoic, 9(10)-hydroxy-hexadecane-1,16-dioic and 9,10-epoxy-octadecane-1,18-dioic acids increased, but 9,10,18-trihydroxy-octadecanoic and 9,10,18-trihydroxy-octadecenoic acids decreased. There were no qualitative and minor quantitative differences in wax and cutin composition between cultivars at maturity. Our data indicate that deposition of some constituents of wax and cutin ceased during early fruit development.     

Factors affecting plantlet regeneration from in vitro cultured immature embryos and cotyledons of Prunus mume “Xue mei”

Using immature embryos and cotyledons as explants, a successful immature embryo culture and efficient plant direct regeneration via organogenesis from cotyledons, which showed different patterns, was established for the “Xuemei” cultivar of Prunus mume. For immature embryo culture, high frequency plantlet forming (89.5%) from embryo axis was obtained on half-strength Murashige and Skoog (½MS) medium supplemented with 13.2 μM 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 2.7 μM 1-naphthaleneacetic (NAA). At the same time, shoots direct differentiation from cotyledons with the embryo axis development was also observed on ½MS medium containing 2.2 μM BA together with different combinations of NAA (2.7, 5.4 μM) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (0, 2.5, 5.0 μM). Better results were achieved when embryo axes were removed from cotyledons and cultured on ½MS medium supplement with 13.2 μM BA, 2.7 μM NAA (72.9%) or 2.2 μM BA, 2.2 μM thidiazuron (TDZ), and 2.7 μM NAA (84.2%), respectively. Regenerated shoots were successfully rooted on ½MS or Woody Plant medium (WPM) supplemented with 2.5–5.0 μM IBA. The effect of embryo axes, BA and TDZ, on cotyledons’ regeneration were investigated in detail. The rooted plantlets were transferred to soil successfully with normal morphology.     

Identification of <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis>-haplotype-specific F-box gene in Japanese plum (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Prunus salicina</Emphasis> Lindl.)

Self-incompatibility has been studied extensively at the molecular level in Solanaceae, Rosaceae and Scrophulariaceae, all of which exhibit gametophytic self-incompatibility controlled by a single polymorphic locus containing at least two linked genes, i.e., the S-RNase gene and the pollen-expressed SFB/SLF (S-haplotype-specific F-box/S-locus F-box) gene. However, the SFB gene in Japanese plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) has not yet been identified. We determined eight novel sequences homologous to the SFB genes of other Prunus species and named these sequences PsSFB. The gene structure of the SFB genes and the characteristic domains in deduced amino acid sequences were conserved. Three sequences from 410 to 2,800 bp of the intergenic region between the PsSFB sequences and the S-RNase alleles were obtained. The eight identified PsSFB sequences showed S-haplotype-specific polymorphism, with 74–83% amino acid identity. These alleles were exclusively expressed in the pollen. These results suggest that the PsSFB alleles are the pollen S-determinants of GSI in Japanese plum. Nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the NCBI database under the accession numbers DQ849084–DQ849090 and DQ849118.     

梅与山桃远缘杂交亲和性初步研究

为培育早花抗寒梅花新品种,以梅(Prunus mume)品种‘江梅’(P.mume‘Jiangmei’)、‘淡丰后’(P.mume‘Dan Fenghou’)与山桃(P.davidiana)、‘白花’山桃(P.davidiana‘Alba’)为亲本进行杂交试验,记录种间杂交结实率,观察花粉管生长,对未成熟胚进行培养。结果表明:(1)梅与山桃、‘白花’山桃杂交结实率很低,‘江梅’ב白花’山桃未结果,结实率最高的组合为‘淡丰后’×山桃,也仅有7.4%,且杂交果实的果核内部分胚干瘪、败育。(2)山桃和‘白花’山桃的花粉在梅柱头上都能正常萌发,但花粉管生长受抑制,多数花粉管到达花柱中部即弯曲、缠绕、断裂,花粉管生长过程中有大量的胼胝质产生,表现较低的杂交亲和性,但不同种间杂交亲和程度又有所不同。(3)通过未成熟胚培养获得了杂种苗。研究表明,梅与同属种杂交存在不亲和性,幼胚拯救是获得梅与李属其他种远缘杂交杂种苗的有效途径。     

Influence of native and alien Prunus species and light conditions on performance of the leaf beetle Gonioctena quinquepunctata

The polyphagous beetle Gonioctena quinquepunctata Fabricius (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a serious leaf pest of the native European bird cherry, Prunus padus L., and the invasive alien black cherry, Prunus serotina Ehrh. (Rosaceae). In the shade, leaf damage is extensive in both species, whereas in full light, it is extensive in P. padus, but very low in P. serotina. We determined the influence of Prunus species and light conditions on differences in performance of both sexes of this folivore. In a laboratory experiment in which larvae were fed with leaves of a single species grown under particular light conditions, we measured larval, pupal, and adult mass, efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI), duration of development, total food eaten, and relative growth rate. In the field, we observed differences in beetle mass on shrubs of the two species growing under various light conditions. From the field observations, we hypothesised that leaves of the invasive P. serotina are not an equally good food source as leaves of P. padus for G. quinquepunctata, and the preference of these beetles for shaded shrubs is most favourable for their growth and development. Under laboratory conditions, we found that the beetle growth rate was not affected significantly by Prunus species or light conditions, despite the significant effect of light condition on the structure and chemical composition of Prunus seedlings. The lower ECI value for larvae feeding on sunlit leaves was compensated for by their higher level of consumption. In the field, adult insect mass was higher on P. padus than on P. serotina, and higher on sunlit shrubs of both species than on shaded ones. Under natural conditions, the mass of adult insects is probably also affected by other factors, such as predators and competition among folivores.