Role of FtsH2 in the repair of Photosystem II in mutants of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 with impaired assembly or stability of the CaMn4 cluster

The FtsH2 protease, encoded by the slr0228 gene, plays a key role in the selective degradation of photodamaged D1 protein during the repair of Photosystem II (PSII) in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. To test whether additional proteases might be involved in D1 degradation during high rates of photodamage, we have studied the synthesis and degradation of the D1 protein in ΔPsbO and ΔPsbV mutants, in which the CaMn₄ cluster catalyzing oxygen evolution is less stable, and in the D1 processing mutants, D1-S345P and ΔCtpA, which are unable to assemble a functional cluster. All four mutants exhibited a dramatically increased rate of D1 degradation in high light compared to the wild-type. Additional inactivation of the ftsH2 gene slowed the rate of D1 degradation dramatically and increased the level of PSII complexes. We conclude that FtsH2 plays a major role in the degradation of both precursor and mature forms of D1 following donor-side photoinhibition. However, this conclusion concerned only D1 assembled into larger complexes containing at least D2 and CP47. In the ΔpsbEFLJ deletion mutant blocked at an early stage in PSII assembly, unassembled D1 protein was efficiently degraded in the absence of FtsH2 pointing to the involvement of other protease(s). Significantly, the ΔPsbO mutant displayed unusually low levels of cellular chlorophyll at extremely low-light intensities. The possibilities that PSII repair may limit the availability of chlorophyll for the biogenesis of other chlorophyll-binding proteins and that PsbO might have a regulatory role in PSII repair are discussed.     

Root discoloration and shoot symptoms in silver birch after Phytophthora infection in vitro

• There are no records of established plant pathogenic Phytophthora species in Finnish forests, but they are likely in the future. Therefore, the effects of Phytophthora inoculations on young, ca. 2‐month‐old silver birch (Betula pendula) seedling roots and shoots were investigated.
• Visual inspection of dark discoloration, direct PCR and re‐isolation, and detailed root morphology analyses were used to evaluate the effects of Phytophthora inoculation on roots. Symptoms in leaves and stems were also recorded.
• Phytophthora was successfully re‐isolated from 67% of the surface‐sterilized roots of inoculated seedlings, but not from the non‐inoculated control seedlings. Dark discolorations were found more often in the root segments of inoculated seedlings than in control seedlings. In the Phytophthora‐treated seedlings, discoloured root segments were usually linked and found primarily in the main root or lateral roots attached to it, whereas in the control seedlings a few single discoloured root segments were scattered throughout the root systems. The number of root segments was lower in the inoculated than in the control seedlings, indicating root loss after Phytophthora inoculation. In the shoots of inoculated birches, leaf and shoot wilting was observed.
• The appearance of wilting in shoots without visible dark discoloration in the base of stems indicated that symptoms originated from roots inoculated with Phytophthora.

     

三倍体芒草自然杂交后代数量性状遗传多样性研究

以三倍体芒草奇岗的自然杂交后代为研究对象,对后代群体的16个数量性状分别进行变异分析、主成分分析和聚类分析。研究结果表明:(1)该杂交群体的变异系数在14.41%~151.85%之间,平均变异系数为51.22%,说明杂交后代变异广泛。(2)主成分分析结果表明,前4个主成分反映原变量的80.206%的信息。第1主成分贡献率为48.74%,较大载荷性状有分蘖数、丛径、基部周长、单株鲜重和单株干重;第2主成分贡献率为16.313%,较大载荷性状有外径、内径、单茎干重、单茎鲜重和含水量;第3主成分贡献率为7.775%,仅有腋芽数一个较大载荷性状;第4主成分贡献率为7.378%,仅叶片数一个较大载荷。(3)聚类分析结果表明,将66份奇岗自然杂交后代和6份母本奇岗种质分为4大类。第Ⅰ类材料因本身各性状不足,产量很低,不适合筛选高产种质;第Ⅱ类材料各性状变异系数普遍较小,性状稳定,适合作为育种的备选类群;第Ⅲ类材料因枯黄较少,更适合做发酵类能源草或青贮牧草;第Ⅳ类材料生物产量因子及其产量构成因子都明显优于母本,是较好的育种材料。以上研究结果对筛选芒属植物优良种质、创新芒属植物种质资源有积极意义,并为芒属植物多倍体育种提供理论依据和材料基础。     

The pleiotropic nature of <Emphasis Type="Italic">rib80, hit1</Emphasis>, and <Emphasis Type="Italic">red6</Emphasis> mutations affecting riboflavin biosynthesis in the yeast <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pichia guilliermondii</Emphasis>

The yeast Pichia guilliermondii is capable of riboflavin overproduction under iron deficiency. The rib80, hit1, and red6 mutants of this species, which exhibit impaired riboflavin regulation, are also distinguished by increased iron concentrations in the cells and mitochondria, morphological changes in the mitochondria, as well as decreased growth rates (except for red6) and respiratory activity. With sufficient iron supply, the rib80 and red6 mutations cause a 1.5–1.8-fold decrease in the activity of such Fe-S cluster proteins as aconitase and flavocytochrome b ₂, whereas the hit1 mutation causes a six-fold decrease. Under iron deficiency, the activity of these enzymes was equally low in all of the studied strains.     

喜树毛状根的诱导及其喜树碱含量分析

研究了不同外植体类型(包括真叶、茎段、子叶及胚轴)、胚轴年龄和不同发根农杆菌菌株(包括A4、15834、R1601、C58C1)等因素对喜树毛状根诱导频率的影响,并用PCR对诱导出的毛状根进行了分子鉴定.结果表明:(1)最佳外植体为胚轴,5~10 d是胚轴最佳诱导年龄段,最佳诱导菌株为15834.(2)PCR鉴定结果表明,发根农杆菌的rolB基因已整合到喜树毛状根基因组中.(3)对不同菌株诱导的毛状根进行HPLC检测表明,C58C1菌株诱导的毛状根的喜树碱和羟基喜树碱含量最高,分别为1.219 mg/g和0.305 mg/g.研究结果为喜树碱的药源开发提供了一条新途径,并为进一步利用基因工程技术调控喜树碱的代谢合成奠定了基础.     

Hyphomycetes in the River Kelvin

Summary

The hyphomycete spora of the River Kelvin and its tributary, the Allander Water, was sampled during October 1986 to January 1987. Twenty spore types were found, the commonest being Flagellospora curvula and Lemonniera aquatica. Spore numbers were high in October and declined during the autumn to an undetectable level by the end of December, but leaves collected in December and January yielded spores on incubation in water.     

Luxury uptake of magnesium by peas,Pisum sativum

Increasing the magnesium (Mg) concentration of vegetables (biofortification) will often require ‘luxury’ uptake where the whole‐plant concentration of Mg (c_p) is greater than required for maximum yield. Our aim was to quantify some of the physiological factors influencing luxury uptake of Mg to aid subsequent development of agronomic techniques for biofortification. Peas, Pisum sativum, were used as a test species. A sand culture experiment related vegetative growth and c_p for plants grown with a range of Mg and potassium (K) supply rates. We developed a model of Mg uptake including feedback control exerted by c_p. The model was parameterised with results from a solution culture experiment and then used to explore ways to increase luxury uptake of Mg. Feedback control of Mg uptake by c_p was weak. Biomass did not increase if the Mg concentration exceeded 0.11% in the whole plant or 0.13% in the shoots. Values obtained in the field are often larger than this. Our results indicate that luxury uptake of Mg by peas is readily achieved, provided that there is ample supply of Mg²⁺ to the root surfaces. In field soils though, transport of Mg²⁺ to the roots may limit uptake and cation exchange processes restrict the ability of Mg fertilisers to substantially increase Mg uptake. Increasing root growth will usually increase Mg uptake, but c_p may not rise if biomass is also increased.     

Arabidopsis AtIscA-I is affected by deficiency of Fe-S cluster biosynthetic scaffold AtCnfU-V

IscA has been proposed to be a scaffold protein of the iron-sulfur cluster biosynthetic machinery. We have identified the IscA homolog to be localized to plastids, termed AtIscA-I, in Arabidopsis thaliana. The AtIscA-I protein was apparently constitutively expressed in all tissues analyzed in Arabidopsis. The AtIscA-I protein exists in the stroma as a soluble protein which tends to form a homo-dimer and can host a [2Fe-2S]-like cluster. Complete loss of the protein from plastids did not cause any significant defect either in normal plant growth or in biogenesis of major iron-sulfur proteins, indicating this protein is not essential or redundant for these functions. In contrast, loss of one of the three plastid-localized CnfU scaffold proteins, AtCnfU-V, caused significant reduction in the level of AtIscA-I. These data suggest that efficient biogenesis of AtIscA-I scaffold requires function of another essential scaffold protein CnfU.     

Spatial event cluster detection using a compound Poisson distribution

Geographic disease surveillance methods identify regions that have higher disease rates than expected. These approaches are generally applied to incident or prevalent cases of disease. In some contexts, disease-related events rather than individuals are the appropriate units of analysis for geographic surveillance. We propose a compound Poisson approach that detects event clusters by testing individual areas that may be combined with their nearest neighbors. The method is applicable to situations where the population sizes are diverse and the population distribution by important strata may differ by area. For example, a geographical region might have sparse population in the northern areas, and other areas which are predominantly retirement communities. The approach requires a coarse geographical relationship and administrative data for the numbers of population, cases, and events in each area. Pediatric self-inflicted injuries requiring presentation to Alberta emergency departments provide an illustration.     

15份多花黑麦草优良引进种质的表型变异分析

多花黑麦草(Lolium multiflorum Lam.)是世界栽培牧草中的优良禾本科牧草。为更好地利用多花黑麦草种质资源,本研究对引自国外的15份多花黑麦草种质的15个形态性状和农艺性状进行了变异系数、相关性分析、主成分分析和聚类分析。结果表明:15份材料间存在较大变异,除单株干重外,其余性状在供试材料间均表现出显著性差异,变异系数范围为10.28%~39.15%,变异系数平均值为19.49%,从小到大依次为小穗数小穗长株高分蘖数千粒重花序长倒二叶长小花数茎粗第一节间长倒二叶宽旗叶宽旗叶长单株干重单株鲜重。主成分结果表明,前5个主成分累积贡献率达到84.51%,第1主成分以株高为主要特征;第2主成分以旗叶和倒二叶长、宽为主要特征;第3主成分以花序长和小花数为主要特征;第4主成分以千粒重为主要特征;第5主成分以产草量为主要特征。15份种质材料经基于欧氏距离的UPGMA聚类分析被划分为3大类,类别间存在较显著的差异,其中第2类因其植株高大、叶片宽大的特点,具备选育高产种质的潜力。