Indirect effect of abscisic acid on the induction of secondary dormancy in lettuce seeds

During temporary incubation at 25°C in buffered solutions (pH 4.0) of abscisic acid (ABA) seeds of lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L. cv. Olof) lost the red-light initiated ability to germinate in buffer. The development of secondary dormancy required an inhibitory ABA content in the seeds during a number of days. A temporary incubation in ABA during 24 h met these requirements only if the solution was about 100-fold more concentrated than during continuous incubation. Studies with 2-¹⁴C-ABA showed that the amount of ABA which had penetrated in 24 h was reduced by a factor 100 within 3 to 4 days during subsequent incubation in buffer. Both leaching and metabolic changes were involved in the reduction process. The nature of the metabolic products remained obscure. A shift to 2°C after incubation in ABA prevented the induction of secondary dormancy, but inhibited ABA metabolism. ABA did not interfere with the induction rate of secondary dormancy, and it was not required to maintain the state of dormancy. The sole function of ABA was the non-specific inhibition of germination, which indirectly facilitated the development of an ABA independent secondary dormancy. – The level of endogenous ABA was compared to the amount of ABA found in the embryo during and after incubation in ABA solutions marked with 2-¹⁴C-ABA. The level of endogenous ABA in air-dry seeds (0.11 ng/mg dry weight) corresponded to the minimal level at which penetrated ABA inhibited germination. This level had to be present at least during 4 to 5 days to inhibit the effect of red light. Since endogenous ABA was quickly reduced upon imbibition, a regulatory function of endogenous ABA in the inhibition of red light induced germination can be ruled out. A function in the temporary inhibition of dark germination and, consequently, in the development of secondary light irresponsiveness cannot be excluded, however.     

Some Dinophycean Red Tide Plankton Species Generate a Superoxide Scavenging Substance

Recent studies indicate that some raphidophycean red tide flagellates produce substances able to scavenge superoxide, whereas there have been no reports on superoxide scavenger production by dinophycean red tide flagellates. In this study, we examined the superoxide-scavenging activity of aqueous extracts from dinophycean red tide flagellates, Gymnodinium spp., Scrippsiella trochoidea, and Karenia sp., by a luminol analog L-012-dependent chemiluminescence (CL) method and an electron spin resonance (ESR)-spin trapping method, and compared the activity to that of raphidophycean red tide flagellates, Chattonella spp., Heterosigma akashiwo, and Fibrocapsa japonica. In the experiment applying the L-012-dependent CL method, only the aqueous extracts from raphidophycean red tide flagellates showed superoxide-scavenging activity. On the other hand, applying the ESR-spin trapping method, we found that the aqueous extracts from dinophycean red tide flagellates also showed superoxide-scavenging activity. This is the first report on the production of a superoxide-scavenger by dinophycean red tide flagellates.     

δ-Aminolevulinate dehydratase from Raphanus sativus cotyledons

Phytochrome induces δ-aminolevulinate dehydratase (ALAD) activity in radish seedling cotyledons under continuous far red light. Analysis of the enzymatic activity in etioplasts vs total activity shows a constant ALAD level in these organelles (10 %) in etiolated seedlings. In far red irradiated seedlings, the percentage of enzyme detected into etioplasts increases up to 45 % of the total. Comparative kinetic studies of ALAD activity detected in the cytoplasm and the etioplasts indicate an increase in both compartments with a maximum value reached respectively at 96 and 120 hr from sowing. Treatment with cycloheximide shows a very fast abolition of cytoplasmic ALAD activity which is always correlated to an etioplast decrease with a time shift of ca 24 hr. Erythromycin acts only on the cytoplasmic level of ALAD, and only for far red irradiated seedlings, with an increase of activity twice the level detected in untreated ones. This unexpected effect is discussed.     

Endozoochory of a dry‐fruited tree aids quarry passive restoration and seed soaking further increases seedling emergence

As practitioners promote passive restoration as a complementary approach to technical reclamation, it is imperative to know its drivers. Although the consequences of endozoochory can be crucial to passive restoration success, few experimental studies assess the use of heavily disturbed sites by seed dispersers such as carnivores and how the seeds they bring in emerge and survive. Using an indoor sowing experiment conducted in a quarry located within a natural park in Portugal, we examined for the first time how carnivore endozoochorous seeds collected in the quarry potentially influence its passive restoration, through effects on plant emergence and survival. Also, we tested whether sowing date and water soaking, relevant factors when sowings are to be carried out, would affect seedling emergence and mortality rates when compared with the effect of endozoochory. Our target species were included in the revegetation plan of the quarry, of which endozoochorous seeds of Carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) were collected in sufficient number for analysis. Irrespective of the carnivore species, endozoochorous carob seeds performed similarly to untreated seeds regarding emergence rates. Endozoochorous carob seedlings showed greater mortality rates but the net result for the plant can still be the colonization of recently vacant habitats by a large proportion of viable seeds. Concerning sowing date, the later carob seeds were sown over the fruit‐ripening season the faster seedlings emerged. Water soaking increased emergence rate by 6.5 times. Broadly, sowings with previous soaking and carnivore‐mediated seed dispersal of this dry‐fruited tree can jointly enhance quarry restoration.     

中国地衣的濒危等级评估

地衣是大型真菌的重要组成部分, 是中国大型真菌红色名录评估的主要对象之一。本次评估的地衣共2,164种, 其中子囊菌地衣2,145种, 担子菌地衣19种, 分属于2门9纲34目92科352属。评估结果显示, 地衣受威胁物种共28种, 占被评估地衣物种总数的1.29%, 其中极危3种, 濒危7种, 易危18种; 近危6种, 无危657种, 而数据不足的物种达1,473种。这类因为缺乏足够的数据资料而未能进一步评估其生存状态和红色名录等级的物种占评估地衣总数的68.07%, 凸显了我国地衣学研究的严峻形势及对地衣分类学人才的迫切需要。对受威胁物种的分析表明, 地衣由于自身生长缓慢和对环境污染敏感, 并且绝大多数分布区域狭窄, 种群数量少, 对生境退化的适应和恢复生长的能力弱, 人类活动和气候变化导致的栖息地破坏和碎片化使得这些地衣的生存受到严重威胁。值得注意的是, 评为易危的一些地衣, 因具有较大的食药用价值而被过度采挖利用, 如不采取有效保护措施, 其受威胁程度将进一步加剧。     

Carbonic anhydrases: hematologic relevance and a biosensing perspective

Carbonic anhydrases were first identified in red blood cells and have been thus traditionally addressed in a hematological context. However, recently there has been a shift of research interest to therapeutic areas, notably in solid cancers, relegating the impact of carbonic anhydrase function and pathological dysfunction in blood related physiology to secondary importance. This review addresses this paradigm and emphasizes the potential impact of recent studies on blood related carbonic anhydrase isotype expression and modulation in diverse areas such as physiology and pathology, biosensing, their use as biomarkers, and in the development of synthetic blood. A special emphasis is placed on reviewing new dynamic and quantitative studies that allow for the efficient tracking and quantitation of various carbonic anhydrase isozymes within the blood and more generally within the human body, that give new perspectives on the biochemical and physiological role of blood associated carbonic anhydrase in health and pathology.     

Effects of caffeine on mating behavior and sperm precedence in Tribolium castaneum

Biogenic amines such as dopamine are physiologically neuroactive substances that affect behavioral and physiological traits in invertebrates, and it has long been known that these substances affect mating behavior in insects. Caffeine is a dopamine activator and thus enhances dopamine receptor activity. However, the effects of caffeine intake on insect mating behavior have been largely unexplored. Therefore, we examined the effect of caffeine on mating behavior in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Caffeine, which activates dopamine, affected the mating behavior of T. castaneum males. Males who orally ingested caffeine courted faster than males who did not, resulting in faster mounting of females and less time to a male's external aedeagus protrusion. However, the present results showed no difference in sperm precedence measured as a P2 value between males fed caffeine and males not fed caffeine. We discuss the effects of caffeine on insect mating and the possibility that caffeine consumption may cause males to mate with more females in the laboratory.     

南方红壤区生态系统服务权衡与协同关系演变对退耕还林的响应

我国南方红壤区具有丰富的水热资源和优越的社会区位条件,是重要的农业生产基地。由于长期高强度的农业开发,同时山地丘陵的坡度较大,降水集中且强度大,导致该区生态功能退化、环境问题突出,威胁粮食安全和生态安全。以南方红壤区为研究对象,利用估算区域植被净生产力（Carnegie Ames-Stanford Approach,CASA）模型、InVEST模型及修正通用土壤流失方程（RUSLE）定量评估了该区退耕还林前后植被净初级生产力（Net Primary Production,NPP）、农作物生产（Crop Production,CP）、土壤保持（Soil Conservation,SC）和产水（Water Yield,WY）四种生态系统服务;采用偏相关分析和空间自相关分析探讨了各项生态系统服务间权衡与协同关系的时空变化特征和集聚特征,揭示了退耕还林对南方红壤区的多种生态系统服务间相互关系的影响。结果表明：（1）退耕还林后,南方红壤区的NPP、CP、SC和WY总体增强,但部分区域呈现减弱趋势。其中,NPP在南部呈现减弱趋势,SC在东北部减弱,CP与WY均在东南沿海减弱;（2）退耕还林后,NPP与WY间由极显著协同关系（r=0.315,P=0.025）转变为显著权衡关系（r=-0.279,P=0.059）：而SC与WY间由无显著相关转变为极显著权衡关系（r=-0.427,P=0.024）;（3）退耕还林前后,南方红壤区的NPP、CP和SC的空间分布格局均未发生显著变化,而WY的空间分布发生较大变化;（4）四种生态系统服务间的权衡与协同关系空间异质性显著,CP-SC关系的Moran''s I指数最小（0.012）,NPP-SC和NPP-WY关系的Moran''s I指数均大于0.7。研究结果有利于深入理解退耕还林对南方红壤区生态系统服务时空变化的影响,并为确定生态脆弱区的生态农林牧业的发展方向与面向可持续发展目标的生态系统服务优化调控提供科学依据。