A novel and high-throughput approach to assess photosynthetic thermal tolerance of kelp using chlorophyll α fluorometry

Foundation seaweed species are experiencing widespread declines and localized extinctions due to increased instability of sea surface temperature. Characterizing temperature thresholds are useful for predicting patterns of change and identifying species most vulnerable to extremes. Existing methods for characterizing seaweed thermal tolerance produce diverse metrics and are often time-consuming, making comparisons between species and techniques difficult, hindering insight into global patterns of change. Using three kelp species, we adapted a high-throughput method – previously used in terrestrial plant thermal biology – for use on kelps. This method employs temperature-dependent fluorescence (T–F₀) curves under heating or cooling regimes to determine the critical temperature (T_crit) of photosystem II (PSII), i.e., the breakpoint between slow and fast rise fluorescence response to changing temperature, enabling rapid assays of photosynthetic thermal tolerance using a standardized metric. This method enables characterization of T_crit for up to 48 samples per two-hour assay, demonstrating the capacity of T–F₀ curves for high-throughput assays of thermal tolerance. Temperature-dependent fluorescence curves and their derived metric, T_crit, may offer a timely and powerful new method for the field of phycology, enabling characterization and comparison of photosynthetic thermal tolerance of seaweeds across many populations, species, and biomes.     

人为噪声对动物的非听觉影响

噪声在环境中广泛存在,城市化的迅速发展也使野生动物接触到人为噪声的机会增大。越来越多的证据表明,人为噪声在许多方面影响着人类的健康以及野生动物的生存。对这些研究进行总结发现,噪声会改变动物的生理状态,使其处在较高的应激水平,进而影响动物的抗氧化能力和免疫能力,甚至使雏鸟的端粒缩短。人为噪声的存在还会影响动物的学习和认知能力,干扰动物觅食、交流等行为。这些因素累积就可能会降低动物后代的存活率,改变物种丰度,对动物的生存造成威胁。对人为噪声带来的非听觉影响的研究,有助于更全面地了解噪声的潜在危害,采取更为积极的缓解应对措施。     

Light, temperature and nutrients as factors in photosynthetic adjustment to an elevated concentration of carbon dioxide

The short-term stimulation of the net rate of carbon dioxide exchange of leaves by elevated concentrations of CO₂ usually observed in C₃ plants sometimes does not persist. Experiments were conducted to test whether the patterns of response to the environment during growth were consistent with the hypotheses that photosynthetic adjustment to elevated CO₂ concentration is due to (1) feedback inhibition or (2) nutrient stress. Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Williams] and sugar beet (Best vulgaris L. cv. Mono Hye-4) were grown from seed at 350 and 700 μl^? CO₂, at 20 and 25°C, at a photon flux density of 0.5 and 1.0 mmol m^?2 S^?1 and with three nutrient regimes until the third trifoliolate leaf of soybean or the sixth leaf of sugar beet had finished expanding. Net rates of CO₂ exchange of the most recently expanded leaves were then measured at both 350 and 700 μl 1^?1 CO₂. Plants grown at the elevated CO₂ concentration had net rates of leaf CO₂ exchange which were reduced by 33% in sugar beet and 23% in soybean when measured at 350 μl 1^?1 CO₂ and when averaged over all treatments. Negative photosynthetic adjustment to elevated CO₂ concentration was not greater at 20 than at 25°C, was not greater at a photon flux density of 1.0 than at 0.5 mmol m^?2 S^?1 and was not greater with limiting nutrients. Furthermore, in soybean, negative photosynthetic adjustment could be induced by a single night at elevated CO₂ concentration, with net rates of CO₂ exchange the next day equal to those of leaves of plants grown from seed at the elevated concentration of CO₂. These patterns do not support either the feedback-inhibition or the nutrient-stress hypothesis of photosynthetic adjustment to elevated concentrations of CO₂.     

Stress-induced assortative mating and the evolution of stress resistance

We show with a model that variation in environmental stress between generations facilitates the evolution of stress resistance through assortative mating. Stress induces delayed maturation of susceptible phenotypes, segregating their fertile period from resistant phenotypes. Assortment of mates enhances the responsiveness of populations to natural selection by inflating genetic variance. Thus, positive selection and inflated genetic variance in stressful environments can cause a strong evolutionary increase in resistance. By contrast, benign environments do not segregate phenotypes, and the random mating among phenotypes deflates genetic variance, leading to a weaker response to selection against resistance, assuming that resistance is costly. When environments vary randomly from benign to stressful, populations respond asymmetrically to negative and positive selection. This asymmetry (1) accelerates fixation of a resistance allele if resistance is generally favoured (stressful generations more frequent) but delays the loss of the allele if it is generally disfavoured (benign generations more frequent), and (2) it can push a resistance allele to fixation even when long‐term costs modestly exceed benefits. When resistance alleles pleiotropically delay mating, stress‐induced random mating has complementary effects. Serial autocorrelation in the stressor amplifies these effects. These results suggest a novel mechanism for the persistence of resistance polymorphisms.     

盐或低温胁迫对花生幼苗下胚轴ATP酶和质膜中PIP2含量的影响

经６％－１２％Ｄｅｘｔｒａｎ Ｔ７０密度梯度离心,获得了纯度较高的７ｄ龄花生幼苗下胚轴质膜和液泡膜制剂。１５０ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ ＮａＣｌ或１０℃低温处理花生幼苗２４ｈ,其下胚轴质膜上的Ｍｇ＾２＋激活的ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性分别提高了３７．６％和１７．２％;Ｃａ＾２＋－ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性分别提高４５．８％和３３．６％。上述盐或低温处理也提高了液泡膜上Ｍｇ＾２＋激活的ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性,分别为对照的１４１．２％和１     

胁迫处理对林生山黧豆蛋白质多肽及其含量的影响

应用二维电泳技术,分析了经水分胁迫（ＰＥＧ）、盐分胁迫（ＮａＣｌ）和热激（４０℃）处理后林生山黧豆（ＬａｔｈｙｒｕｓｓｙｌｖｅｓｔｒｉｓＬ．）体内蛋白质多肽及其含量的变化。有些蛋白质经ＰＥＧ、ＮａＣｌ和热激处理后可以产生相同的变化。两种不同的胁迫因子对某些蛋白质的影响有一定的共同性。特定的胁迫条件可以造成特定的影响。不同胁迫因子对同一蛋白质多肽可以造成不同的影响。胁迫下蛋白质的变化可能与林生山黧豆抵抗和适应胁迫条件的能力以及体内非蛋白质氨基酸的代谢有关     

The role of active oxygen in iron tolerance of rice (Oryza sauva L.)

Summary Iron tolerance of rice (Oryza sativa L.) was investigated using an oxygen depleted hydroculture system. Treatment with high concentrations of Fe²⁺ induced yellowing and bronzing symptoms as well as iron coatings at the root surface. Root and shoot growth were inhibited by increasing iron concentration in the medium. All symptoms were more pronounced in an iron sensitive cultivar (IR 64) compared to an iron tolerant one (IR 9764-45-2). Superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activity of root extracts of IR 97 were about twice that of IR 64 in untreated control plants. No significant increase of peroxidase activity was detected with increasing iron concentration in the medium. Catalase activity of IR 64 was slightly higher than that of IR 97, independent of iron concentration.Abbreviations SOD Superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1) - POD peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7) - EDTA ethylenediamintetraacetic acid - fwt fresh weight - Hepes (N-[2-hydroxyethyl]piperazine-N-[2-ethanesulfonic acid]) - BSA bovine serum albumin - IR 97 IR 9764-45-2 an iron tolerant rice cultivar - IR 64 iron sensitive rice cultivar - PM plasma membrane     

Seasonal changes in photosystem II organisation and pigment composition in Pinus sylvestris

Conifers of the boreal zone encounter considerable combined stress of low temperature and high light during winter, when photosynthetic consumption of excitation energy is blocked. In the evergreen Pinus sylvestris L. these stresses coincided with major seasonal changes in photosystem II (PSII) organisation and pigment composition. The earliest changes occurred in September, before any freezing stress, with initial losses of chlorophyll, the D1-protein of the PSII reaction centre and of PSII light-harvesting-complex (LHC II) proteins. In October there was a transient increase in F₀, resulting from detachment of the light-harvesting antennae as reaction centres lost D1. The D1-protein content eventually decreased to 90%, reaching a minimum by December, but PSII photochemical efficiency [variable fluorescence (F_v)/maximum fluorescence (F_m)] did not reach the winter minimum until mid-February. The carotenoid composition varied seasonally with a twofold increase in lutein and the carotenoids of the xanthophyll cycle during winter, while the epoxidation state of the xanthophylls decreased from 0.9 to 0.1 from October to January. The loss of chlorophyll was complete by October and during winter much of the remaining chlorophyll was reorganised in aggregates of specific polypeptide composition, which apparently efficiently quench excitation energy through non-radiative dissipation. The timing of the autumn and winter changes indicated that xanthophyll de-epoxidation correlates with winter quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence while the drop in photochemical efficiency relates more to loss of D1-protein. In April and May recovery of the photochemistry of PSII, protein synthesis, pigment rearrangements and zeaxanthin epoxidation occurred concomitantly. Indoor recovery of photosynthesis in winter-stressed branches under favourable conditions was completed within 3 d, with rapid increases in F₀, the epoxidation state of the xanthophylls and in light-harvesting polypeptides, followed by recovery of D1-protein content and F_v/F_m, all without net increase in chlorophyll. The fall and winter reorganisation allow Pinus sylvestris to maintain a large stock of chlorophyll in a quenched, photoprotected state, allowing rapid recovery of photosynthesis in spring.Abbreviations Elips early light-induced proteins - EPS epoxidation state - F₀ instantaneous fluorescence - F_m maximum fluorescence - F_v variable fluorescence - LHC II light-harvesting complex of PSII - LiDS lithium dodecyl sulfate This research was supported by the Swedish Natural Science Research Council. We wish to thank Dr. Adrian Clarke¹ (Department of Plant Physiology, University of Umeå, Sweden) for advice on electrophoresis, valuable discussion and providing antibodies. Dr. Stefan Jansson¹ and Dr. Torill Hundal (Department for Biochemistry, University of Stockholm, Sweden) provided antibodies. Jan Karlsson¹ helped with the HPLC, Dr. Marianna Krol gave advice on green gels and Dr. Vaughan Hurry (Cooperative Research Centre for Plant Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia) provided valuable discussion.     

A gene encoding a truncated large subunit of Rubisco is transcribed and salt-inducible in rice

Using the rice salt-tolerant mutant 20 as material, a cDNA library was constructed and two salt-inducible clones, SIR5.5 and SIR8.1, were isolated by differential screening. Homology analysis revealed that the two clones together constituted a chimeric rbcL which encoded a truncated large subunit of Rubisco with 337 amino-acids, plus 64 amino-acids of unknown origin. The expressions of both the normal and the chimeric locus appeared to be developmentally regulated and salt-inducible in shoots of the salt-tolerant mutant 20 and its original variety 77–170. In roots, their expressions were salt-inducible in the salt-tolerant mutant 20 whereas no, or only premature, forms were present in the salt-treated original variety 77–170. Higher concentrations of salt reduced the expressions of both normal rbcL and the chimeric locus. ABA showed no effect on their expression.     

Effects of plant nutrition on the balance of insect relevant cardenolides and glucosinolates in Erysimum cheiranthoides

The possible effects of environmental stress on plant chemistry that are important to herbivorous insects were examined by growing a wild crucifer, Erysimum cheiranthoides, under different nutrient regimes. Oviposition by the cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae, is thought to be affected by the balance of glucosinolates (stimulants) and cardenolides (deterrents) at the surface of leaves. E. cheiranthoides seedlings were provided with three levels of nitrogen and two levels of sulfur for a period of 15 days before analysis of semiochemicals in whole leaf tissue and at the surface of the foliage. The ratio of cardenolides to glucosinolates in the plants at elevated C/N ratios followed the carbon/nutrient balance hypothesis. However, a high nitrogen supply enhanced biomass production to the extent that concentrations of secondary compounds were unchanged or reduced. The concentration of glucosinolates (glucoiberin and glucocheirolin) at the surface was positively related to whole tissue levels. However, cardenolide (erysimoside and erychroside) concentrations, which were highest in leaf tissue of nitrogen-deficient plants, had the lowest surface levels on foliage of these plants. Possible reasons for differential expression of cardenolides and glucosinolates in a plant as a result of nutrient deficiency are discussed.