Development and function of central cell in angiosperm female gametophyte

The central cell characterizes the angiosperm female gametophyte (embryo sac or megagametophyte) in that it directly participates in “double fertilization” to initiate endosperm development, a feature distinguishing angiosperm from all other plant taxa. Polygonum‐type central cell is a binucleate cell that, upon fertilization with one of the two sperm cells, forms triploid endosperm to nourish embryo development. Although the formation and the structure of central cell have well been elucidated, the molecular mechanisms for its specification and development remain largely unknown. The central cell plays a critical role in pollen tube guidance during pollination and in endosperm initiation after fertilization. Recently, a group of mutants affecting specific steps of central cell development and function have been identified, providing some clues in understanding these questions. This review summarizes our current knowledge about central cell development and function, and presents overview about hypotheses for its evolution. genesis 48:466–478, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Balance between maternal and paternal alleles sets the timing of resource accumulation in the maize endosperm

Key aspects of seed development in flowering plants are held to be under epigenetic control and to have evolved as a result of conflict between the interests of the male and female gametes (kinship theory). Attempts to identify the genes involved have focused on imprinted sequences, although imprinting is only one mechanism by which male or female parental alleles may be exclusively expressed immediately post-fertilization. We have studied the expression of a subset of endosperm gene classes immediately following interploidy crosses in maize and show that departure from the normal 2 : 1 ratio between female and male genomes exerts a dramatic effect on the timing of expression of some, but not all, genes investigated. Paternal genomic excess prolongs the expression of early genes and delays accumulation of reserves, while maternal genomic excess foreshortens the expression period of early genes and dramatically brings forward endosperm maturation. Our data point to a striking interdependence between the phases of endosperm development, and are consonant with previous work from maize showing progression from cell proliferation to endoreduplication is regulated by the balance between maternal and paternal genomes, and from Arabidopsis suggesting that this ‘phasing’ is regulated by maternally expressed imprinted genes. Our findings are discussed in context of the kinship theory.     

Monitoring of Gene Expression Profiles and Isolation of Candidate Genes Involved in Pollination and Fertilization in Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) with a 10K cDNA Microarray

To monitor gene expression profiles during pollination and fertilization in rice at a genome scale, we generated 73,424 high-quality expressed sequence tags (ESTs) derived from the green/etiolated shoot and pistil (0-5 h after pollination, 5hP) of rice, which were subsequently used to construct a cDNA microarray containing ca. 10 000 unique rice genes. This microarray was used to analyze gene expression in pistil unpollinated (UP), 5hP and 5DAP(5 days after pollination), anther, shoot, root, 10-day-old embryo (10EM) and 10-day-old endosperm (10EN). Clustering analysis revealed that the anther has a gene-expression profile more similar to root than to pistil and most pistil-preferentially expressed genes respond to pollination and/or fertilization. There are 253 ESTs exhibiting differential expression (e +/- 2-fold changes) during pollination and fertilization, and about 70% of them can be assigned a putative function. We also recovered 20 genes similar to pollination-related and/or fertility-related genes previously identified as well as genes that were not implicated previously. Microarray and real-time PCR analyses showed that the array sensitivity was estimated at 1-5 copies of mRNA per cell, and the differentially expressed genes showed a high correlation between the two methods. Our results indicated that this cDNA microarray constructed here is reliable and can be used for monitoring gene expression profiles in rice. In addition, the genes that differentially expressed during pollination represent candidate genes for dissecting molecular mechanism of this important biological process in rice.     

添加氮肥对沙地樟子松幼苗生物量分配与叶片生理特性的影响

设计5个氮肥(NH4NO3)添加水平(g.m-2):0(CK)、10.0(N1)、20.0(N2)、40.0(N3)和50.0(N4),研究了沙地樟子松幼苗生长与生理学指标的季节变化。结果表明,添加氮肥促进了幼苗的高生长、相对生长速率、单株总生物量的增加,对叶片相对含水量没有影响;N4水平促进了叶片脯氨酸含量的积累。单叶重、株高、地径、叶重比、叶绿素(a b)、叶绿素a以及叶绿素b含量等均在N3水平下达到最大值。在1个生长季的观测中,添加氮肥主要促进了樟子松幼苗在5~7月份的生长,其中N3水平对樟子松幼苗生长发育的促进作用最大。     

气候变暖对东北三省春玉米严重低温冷害及种植布局的影响

以我国对气候变化较为敏感的东北三省为例,利用1961～2007年78个气象站的资料,结合玉米生长季温度距平冷害指标,分析了气候变暖对东北三省春玉米严重低温冷害及种植布局的影响.结果表明:(1)气候变暖背景下,从20世纪60年代到21世纪初,东北三省各地区春玉米严重冷害受害程度总体表现为减少趋势,但由于不同地方温度波动幅度较大,区域性的严重冷害发生频率也随之加大;就平均发生频率空间分布而言,1961～2007年严重冷害的平均发生频率表现为东北部高于西南部,最大值出现在黑龙江北部(38%),最低值在辽宁南部(4%).(2)气候变暖背景下,不同熟性玉米品种可种植界线明显北移东延,早熟品种逐渐被中、晚熟品种取代,中、晚熟品种可种植面积不断扩大.(3)随着不同熟性玉米品种种植区域北移东延,严重低温冷害出现频率明显增加,种植风险也在增大.     

Functional traits as indicators of fodder provision over a short time scale in species-rich grasslands

Background and Aims: Fodder provision in species-rich grasslands, i.e. herbage growth,proportion of leaf, and leaf and stem digestibility, is difficultto predict for short periods of time, such as between two defoliationsor less. The value of two methods based on plant traits forevaluating these agronomic properties was examined. Methods: One method is based on plant trait measurements on the plantcommunity (leaf dry matter content, plant height, floweringdate); the other is on vegetation composition expressed as plantfunctional types (acquisitive versus conservative PFTs) establishedby measuring leaf dry matter content on pure grass stands. Theexperiment consisted of 18 fields with three different defoliationregimes (combinations of cutting and grazing) and two levelsof fertilization. To establish a growth curve over the firstgrowth cycle, herbage was sampled about 10 times in spring. Key Results: Coefficients of correlation between agronomic properties ofthe vegetation and its functional composition were higher whenthe latter was assessed through PFT and an indicator of theplant nutrient status (Ni) instead of measured plant traits.The date at which the ceiling yield occurred for the standingherbage mass or only the leaf component, which varied by upto 500 degree-days between treatments, and the leaf proportion,depended entirely on the PFT, and largely so for the leaf digestibility.The standing herbage mass at the time of ceiling yield dependedonly on Ni, or mainly so in the case of the daily herbage growthrate. Similar plant digestibility between plant communitieswas found at flowering time, although there were big differencesin PFT composition. The shape of the growth curve was flatterwhen there was great functional diversity in the plant community. Conclusions: The PFT composition and the Ni were more reliable than the plantfunctional traits measured in the field for evaluating herbagegrowth pattern and digestibility in spring.     

太白山巴山冷杉林主要树种与开花秦岭箭竹的空间点格局分析

采用单变量和双变量O-ring函数对太白山大熊猫栖息地巴山冷杉林主要树种的空间分布格局、种间关联性及其与林下开花箭竹的空间关联性进行了多尺度分析.结果表明: 巴山冷杉林中,巴山冷杉数量最多,但种群结构衰退,白桦种群相对年轻,种群结构稳定,红桦种群也呈衰退趋势;3个主要树种在小尺度上呈聚集分布,随尺度增加,逐渐表现为随机分布.3个树种的空间关联性主要表现在小尺度范围内,随尺度增加,空间分布格局逐渐表现为不关联;巴山冷杉和白桦与开花秦岭箭竹在大、中尺度内呈现正相关,而红桦与开花秦岭箭竹在大、中尺度上表现出负相关.大熊猫栖息地内乔木和林下秦岭箭竹共同推动森林的动态演替和发展,进而影响秦岭大熊猫栖息地的环境变化.     

滦河流域景观格局变化对水沙过程的影响

以滦河流域为研究区域,基于SWAT模型模拟1976—2012年滦河流域的水沙过程,分析2000年京津风沙源治理项目实施前后流域产水产沙时空格局变化;研究1980—2010年流域景观格局变化特征,揭示景观格局变化的水沙响应;应用Spearman相关分析法分析流域景观格局变化对水沙过程的影响。结果表明:与20世纪80年代相比,2010年流域林地和建设用地增加,其他用地类型减小;流域景观集中程度提高、连通性变优、优势斑块显著、形状趋于规则、多样性减少、破碎化程度降低、景观类型向非均衡方向发展;流域年均地表径流减少9mm,产水量增加5.44mm,产沙减小1.59t/hm~2;地表径流减少区域占全流域89.32%,产水量增加区域占76.71%,产沙量减少区域占93.89%;地表径流、产水、产沙与林地面积呈负相关,产水与草地面积呈正相关,地表径流、产沙与农业用地面积呈正相关;地表径流、产水、产沙与景观形状、Shannon′s均匀度、景观分离度呈正相关,与蔓延度、最大斑块指数呈负相关;产水、产沙与斑块密度和Shannon′s多样性指数呈正相关;工程治理后,流域年均径流量与产沙量显著下降,产水产沙高值区显著缩小,产沙关键区域仍需治理。     

艾比湖区域景观格局空间特征与地表水质的关联分析

为进一步明确区域土地利用/覆被—景观格局对河流水质影响的空间尺度。选择新疆艾比湖区域为研究对象,以25个水质采样点为中心,建立5种尺度的河流缓冲区并提取不同尺度下的土地利用/覆被-景观格局数据。首先,通过主成分分析获得水环境的主要水质变量。其次,利用冗余分析(RDA)方法探讨研究区不同宽度缓冲区土地利用/覆被—景观格局对河流水质的影响,获得水质管理的有效缓冲区。最后,引入突变点分析方法进一步寻找导致水质变量沿景观梯度突变的特定位置。结果表明:(1)土地利用/覆被—景观格局在不同宽度缓冲区内对河流水质的影响不同。4 km缓冲区土地利用/覆被—景观格局对区域水质有较强的分异解释能力,因此4 km缓冲区的景观格局合理配置对河流水质管理尤为重要。(2)通过偏RDA分析发现4 km缓冲区中,影响区域水质的主要环境变量为景观水平斑块密度、类型水平耕地斑块密度和森林聚集度。(3)在偏RDA分析的基础上,对4 km缓冲区内的景观指数进行突变点分析研究,发现区域景观水平斑块密度为90—105 m/hm~2,类型水平耕地的斑块密度ED值在90—110 m/hm~2、林草地的AI值在70%—90%,是艾比湖区域水质保护的最佳突变值,该值为艾比湖区域水质保护的阈值。本研究从多个角度对新疆艾比区域的土地利用/覆被—景观格局对区域水质的影响进行定量分析,揭示该地区景观生态变化的规律,为区域景观格局优化和土地合理规划提供理论依据,并对改善"丝绸之路经济带"生态环境、实现资源可持续利用具有重要的现实意义和理论价值。