桉树幼苗对难溶性磷的吸收及其根系对低磷胁迫的响应

以‘广林9号’桉树幼苗为试验材料,采用水培和土培试验方法研究了桉树幼苗对难溶性磷酸盐的吸收及其在低磷胁迫下的根构型和根系的生理反应,以揭示桉树高效吸收磷素的机制。结果显示:(1)桉树幼苗在含磷酸铝的缺磷培养液中吸收的磷达4.24mg/株,与供应水溶性磷和磷酸钙处理的相当。(2)土壤缺磷或仅在上土层(0~20cm)施磷肥处理均有利于桉树幼苗浅层根的分布,使根表面积及根数在上土层与下层(20~40cm)比值明显增高。(3)桉树幼苗根尖的H+-ATPase活性在缺磷处理15d后显著提高,其根尖周围的溴甲酚紫指示剂变黄,根基环境明显酸化;根尖分泌的酸性磷酸酶活性在低磷胁迫也显著提升,且随着处理时间(10、15、20d)的延长而进一步提高;铝和低磷胁迫能明显诱导桉树根系分泌草酸,其分泌量显著高于对照和缺磷处理。研究结果表明,桉树幼苗具有较强的难溶性磷吸收能力,而在缺磷及磷铝胁迫下根系的浅层化、根尖酸化及根分泌的酸性磷酸酶及草酸量增加可能是桉树幼苗适应酸性土壤铝毒和缺磷环境的重要机制。     

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.     

磷对海水胁迫下芦荟幼苗离子分布的影响

研究了磷对海水胁迫下库拉索芦荟(A loe vera)幼苗干物质积累、植株含水量、在器官和组织水平上离子分布的影响。增磷显著缓解海水胁迫对芦荟生长的抑制,明显提高海水胁迫下芦荟幼苗的干物质积累和含水量。器官离子含量和X射线微区分析结果都表明,30%浓度海水胁迫下,外源磷水平的提高能显著降低芦荟幼苗根系N a 、C l-的吸收,增强K 、C a2 向地上部的运输和分配,从而维持叶片较高的K /N a 、C a2 /N a 比率,而这很可能是增磷提高芦荟对海水胁迫抗性的主要原因之一。     

Relative importance of osmotic-stress and ion-specific effects on ABA-mediated inhibition of leaf expansion growth in Phaseolus vulgaris

The osmotic and ion-specific components of salt-induced inhibition of leaf expansion growth were investigated in beans grown from 12 h to several days in either NaCl-containing solution cultures, an isosmotic concentrated macronutrient solution, or a vermiculite–compost mixture with low Na⁺ but high Cl^– availability. Inhibition of leaf expansion and leaf ABA increase was more intense in the NaCl than in the isosmotic macronutrient treatment. Root Na⁺ was highly correlated to inhibition of leaf expansion and leaf or xylem sap ABA. When Na⁺ was sequestered in soil, salinized plants showed no reduction in leaf expansion or ABA increase, regardless of the presence of high leaf Cl^– concentrations. Stomatal conductance exhibited an exponential relationship with the reciprocal value of xylem sap ABA. Our results indicate that an ion-specific effect caused by Na⁺ in roots may account for an ABA-mediated reponse of both stomatal closure and leaf expansion inhibition.     

Allometric and nonallometric components of Drosophila wing shape respond differently to developmental temperature

Phenotypic plasticity of wing size and shape of Drosophila simulans was analyzed across the entire range of viable developmental temperatures with Procrustes geometric morphometric method. In agreement with previous studies, size clearly decreases when temperature increases. Wing shape variation was decomposed into its allometric (24%) and nonallometric (76%) components, and both were shown to involve landmarks located throughout the entire wing blade. The allometric component basically revealed a progressive, monotonous variation along the temperature. Surprisingly, nonallometric shape changes were highly similar at both extremes of the thermal range, suggesting that stress, rather than temperature per se, is the key developmental factor affecting wing shape.     

Exposure of colonic epithelial cells to oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress causes rapid potassium efflux and calcium influx

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress have recently been linked to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases. Under physiological conditions, intestinal epithelial cells are exposed to ER and oxidative stress affecting the cellular ionic homeostasis. However, these altered ion flux ‘signatures’ during these stress conditions are poorly characterized. We investigated the kinetics of K⁺, Ca²⁺ and H⁺ ion fluxes during ER and oxidative stress in a colonic epithelial cell line LS174T using a non‐invasive microelectrode ion flux estimation technique. ER and oxidative stress were induced by cell exposure to tunicamycin (TM) and copper ascorbate (CuAsc), respectively, from 1 to 24 h. Dramatic K⁺ efflux was observed following acute ER stress with peak K⁺ efflux being ?30·6 and ?138·7 nmolm^?2 s^?1 for 10 and 50 µg ml^?1, respectively (p < 0·01). TM‐dependent Ca²⁺ uptake was more prolonged with peak values of 0·85 and 2·68 nmol m^?2 s^?1 for 10 and 50 µg ml^?1 TM, respectively (p < 0·02). Ion homeostasis was also affected by the duration of ER stress. Increased duration of TM treatment from 0 to 18 h led to increases in both K⁺ efflux and Ca²⁺ uptake. While K⁺ changes were significantly higher at each time point tested, Ca²⁺ uptake was significantly higher only after prolonged treatment (18 h). CuAsc also led to an increased K⁺ efflux and Ca²⁺ uptake. Functional assays to investigate the effect of inhibiting K⁺ efflux with tetraethylammonium resulted in increased cell viability. We conclude that ER/oxidative stress in colonic epithelial cells cause dramatic K⁺, Ca²⁺ and H⁺ ion flux changes, which may predispose this lineage to poor stress recovery reminiscent of that seen in inflammatory bowel diseases. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

cGMP/Protein Kinase G Signaling Suppresses Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor Phosphorylation and Promotes Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Photoreceptors of Cyclic Nucleotide-gated Channel-deficient Mice

Photoreceptor cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels play a pivotal role in phototransduction. Mutations in the cone CNG channel subunits CNGA3 and CNGB3 are associated with achromatopsia and cone dystrophies. We have shown endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-associated apoptotic cone death and increased phosphorylation of the ER Ca²⁺ channel inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor 1 (IP₃R1) in CNG channel-deficient mice. We also presented a remarkable elevation of cGMP and an increased activity of the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase G, PKG) in CNG channel deficiency. This work investigated whether cGMP/PKG signaling regulates ER stress and IP₃R1 phosphorylation in CNG channel-deficient cones. Treatment with PKG inhibitor and deletion of guanylate cyclase-1 (GC1), the enzyme producing cGMP in cones, were used to suppress cGMP/PKG signaling in cone-dominant Cnga3^−/−/Nrl^−/− mice. We found that treatment with PKG inhibitor or deletion of GC1 effectively reduced apoptotic cone death, increased expression levels of cone proteins, and decreased activation of Müller glial cells. Furthermore, we observed significantly increased phosphorylation of IP₃R1 and reduced ER stress. Our findings demonstrate a role of cGMP/PKG signaling in ER stress and ER Ca²⁺ channel regulation and provide insights into the mechanism of cone degeneration in CNG channel deficiency.