Radiative properties of hardwood leaves to ultraviolet irradiation

Spectral reflectance and transmittance of leaves to ultraviolet irradiation were determined under laboratory conditions for seven species of hardwood trees, namely red oak (Quercus rubra, L), black oak (Q. velutina, Lamarch), white oak (Q. alba, L.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), Norway maple (A. plantanoides), hickory (Carya tomemtosa), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and black oak litter. The experimental system consisted of a solar simulator, an integrating sphere, and a spectroradiometer. Experiments were repeated three to five times for both adaxial and abaxial surfaces of fresh leaves chosen at randomly. The spectral distributions and simple averages of the radiative properties in the wavelength ranges of ultraviolet-B (UV-B, 280–320 nm) and ultraviolet-A (UV-A, 320–400 nm) were determined. The spectral distributions of reflectance were similar between adaxial and abaxial surfaces, although the magnitude varied among tree species. Leaf reflectance was very low for the ultraviolet spectrum in general and varied among species and between adaxial and abaxial surfaces. It was generally higher over the UV-A waveband compared to UV-B, and higher on the abaxial than adaxial surface. The broadband reflectance in the UV-A range (over all species) was 5.0 and 3.9% for abaxial and adaxial surface, respectively, compared to 3.5 and 2.8% in UV-B. The transmittance through leaves was extremely small in the UV-B (<0.1%) and nearly zero in the UV-A spectral range. Consequently, the absorptance of ultraviolet radiation by leaves, as determined from the measured reflectance and transmittance, was quite high, being more than 90% for all the combinations of species and wavebands examined. The reported results are useful for studies requiring spectral radiative properties of the examined leaves with respect to ultraviolet irradiation.     

Isozymes and DNA markers in gene conservation of forest trees

For long-lived plants that have to cope with high temporal and spatial environmental heterogeneity, genetic diversity is of prime importance for species persistence. Detrimental anthropogenic impact on the gene pool of forest trees calls for conservation of genetic resources. Potentials and limitations of isozymes and DNA markers in forest genetic conservation are reviewed. These markers can contribute to conservation with respect to the delimitations of species and hybrid zones, as well as the assessment of genetic diversity within and among populations. Markers are valuable to identify resource populations, since today‘s genetic diversity in forest trees is predominantly the result of plant history (e.g. glacial refuges, migration). Several suggestions have been put forward to optimize sampling of in situ or ex situ populations on the grounds of marker data. Restraint in this area is recommended. Different types of genetic markers (terpenes, isozymes, nuclear and extrachromosomal DNA polymorphisms) and quantitative traits yield different information about genetic diversity and population differentiation. Hence identification of resource populations should not solely be based upon a certain marker type or on quantitative traits alone. The capability of available markers to predict or assess adaptive potentials in forest tree populations is still very limited. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Molecular Evolutionary Analysis of the Thiamine-Diphosphate-Dependent Enzyme,Transketolase

Members of the transketolase group of thiamine-diphosphate-dependent enzymes from 17 different organisms including mammals, yeast, bacteria, and plants have been used for phylogenetic reconstruction. Alignment of the amino acid and DNA sequences for 21 transketolase enzymes and one putative transketolase reveals a number of highly conserved regions and invariant residues that are of predicted importance for enzyme activity, based on the crystal structure of yeast transketolase. One particular sequence of 36 residues has some similarities to the nucleotide-binding motif and we designate it as the transketolase motif. We report further evidence that the recP protein from Streptococcus pneumoniae might be a transketolase and we list a number of invariant residues which might be involved in substrate binding. Phylogenies derived from the nucleotide and the amino acid sequences by various methods show a conventional clustering for mammalian, plant, and gram-negative bacterial transketolases. The branching order of the gram-positive bacteria could not be inferred reliably. The formaldehyde transketolase (sometimes known as dihydroxyacetone synthase) of the yeast Hansenula polymorpha appears to be orthologous to the mammalian enzymes but paralogous to the other yeast transketolases. The occurrence of more than one transketolase gene in some organisms is consistent with several gene duplications. The high degree of similarity in functionally important residues and the fact that the same kinetic mechanism is applicable to all characterized transketolase enzymes is consistent with the proposition that they are all derived from one common ancestral gene. Transketolase appears to be an ancient enzyme that has evolved slowly and might serve as a model for a molecular clock, at least within the mammalian clade. Received: 13 September 1995 / Accepted: 14 November 1996     

Growth patterns of early versus late successional multipurpose trees of the western Himalaya

In the mid-western Himalaya (altitude 1350 m, rainfall 1100 mm), multipurpose trees found as escapees in agricultural fields or naturally growing in the forests, play an important role in providing fuel, fooder and small timber to the farmers. Shoot elogation, and tree architecture of 4 year old trees of Grewia optiva, Robinia pseudoacacia and Celtis australis (early successionals), and Quercus leucotrichophora, Q. glauca and Ilex odorata (late successionals), were analyzed. All the late successional species showed a proleptic type of bud and branch production, while the early successional trees made growth through syllepsis. The shoot elongation differed significantly (P <0.05) with the crown position, and ranged from 11 to 30 cm in different species. Early successional species tended to maintain a comparatively narrow crown and showed a significantly (P <0.05) higher ramification ratio, and multilayered canopy. The late successionals, in contrast, showed a wide crown with monolayered canopy, adapted to the weak light intensity. There was only one flush of leaves in Q. leucotrichophora and Q. glauca while in the rest of the species there were two distinct flush periods. The results are important for the management of agroforestry trees.     

A phylogenetic study of the free-living amoeba

Immunological distances were determined for four strains of the free-living amoeba classified as Amoeba proteus, two strains classified as Polychaos dubia and a single strain classified as Chaos carolinensis. The data show that the _ShP strain does not belong to the proteus group; that A. proteus is more closely related to C. carolinensis and is derived from Chaos as is the _ShP strain; that P. dubia and C. carolinensis are the more distantly related species and appear to be the first of the above to have diverged from a common ancestor; and that the amoebae have a long evolutionary history. The accuracy of the phylogenetic tree and the distance Wagner network was discussed. Since the amoebae may be polyphyletic in origin, the latter was assumed to be a more accurate representation of the immunological distance data.     

Resistenzphysiologische Grundlagen der evolutiven Kälteakklimatisation von Sproßpflanzen

Gradations in cold resistance of plants with different latitudinal and altitudinal distribution, and the various categories of chilling and freezing resistance are hypothesized to be evolutionary steps of adaptive responses to increasing low temperature stress and annual seasonality. The gradual lowering of the critical phase transition temperature of biomembrane lipids, the capacity of persistent supercooling of tissues, and the development of a dormancy linked freezing-tolerance are considered to be essential mechanisms resulting in improved acclimatation to low temperature climates.

     

A measure of the denseness of a phylogenetic network

Summary The concept of phylogenetic denseness bears critically on the accuracy of evolutionary pathways inferred from experimentally sequenced proteins isolated from extant species. In this paper I develop an objective measure,, of denseness to supplement previous intuitive concepts and which permits one to use this concept in comparing the quality of different evolutionary reconstructions. This measure is used to examine several published phylogenetic trees: insulin, a-hemoglobin,-hemoglobin, myoglobin, cytochromec, and the parvalbumin family. The paper emphasizes 1) the importance of denseness in accurately estimating the number of nucleotide replacements which separate homologous sequences when this estimation is made by the method of parsimony, 2) the value of this concept in assessing the quality of those estimates, and 3) the use of this concept as a biologically practical heuristic method for identifying poorly studied regions in a phylogenetic tree, whether or not the tree was obtained by the parsimony method.     

真正柑桔果树群植物的分支学研究

本文用相容性分析方法(Compatability snalysis)分析了真正柑桔果树群(芸香科Rutaceae-柑桔亚科Aurantioideae-柑桔族(Citreae)-柑桔亚族(Citrinae)植物内各属间的分支学关系。给出了建立在7个相容性性状组成的最大族所决定的分支图。性状极性的确定使用了外群法。结果表明,柑桔属(Citrus L.)和多蕊桔属(Clymenia Swing)构成一个单系类群,他们的姐妹群是金柑属(Fortunella Swing.)。被认为起源于中国的3个属,柑桔属(Citrus)、金柑属(Fortunella)和积属(Poncirus Raf.)并未构成一个单系类群。本文还利用分支关系分析和讨论了真正柑桔果树群的种系发生关系。     

Studies on epiphytic flora of a tropical rain forest in Southwestern Nigeria

Bark microflora of 12 rainforest trees were examined. Crustose, foliose, and fruticose forms of lichens were observed. Bacillus sp., Erwinia sp., Micrococcus sp., Proteus sp., and Pseudomonas sp. were the five genera of bacteria recorded while three genera of Cyanobacteria; Entophysalis, Gleocapsa and Stigonema were observed. In the algal division, three genera of Chlorophyta found are Chlorococcum, Pleurococcus and Physolinum. Only one diatom, Cocconeis sp. was present on just one tree. Most of the epiphytic microflora found are mainly terrestrial and their spores might have been deposited on the barks by air, or dust-currents. While moisture is regarded as the most critical factor in growth of bark microflora, other factors like texture of the bark, insolation and especially chemical characteristics of the barks may play a key role in occurrence and distribution of micro-organisms on them.     

Effects of chemical composition on nitrogen mineralization from green manures of seven tropical leguminous trees

Green manures from seven tropical leguminous trees were incubated with soil to determine the rates and controls of net nitrogen release. Fresh green manure (leaves and succulent twigs) was mixed with moist soil and incubated in polyethylene bags. Net N mineralization from green manures was estimated by the accumulation of extractable ammonium and nitrate minus the accumulation in soil alone. Patterns of N mineralization were complex, differed among species, and at 12 weeks ranged from 10 to 65 percent of original green-manure N. Cumulative net N mineralization was negatively correlated with initial soluble polyphenol content in the early phases of decomposition (1 through 8 weeks) and with initial lignin content in later phases (4 through 12 weeks). Neither initial percent N nor lignin: N ratio were strongly correlated with N mineralization. The best chemical index of N release was the initial polyphenol: N ratio. This study confirms previous findings that N mineralization from tropical legumes is controlled more by soluble polyphenols than by lignin or N content.