Subcellular Localization and Possible Functions of γ-Glutamyltransferase in the Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) Plant

Previously we reported the purification of soluble γ-glutamyltransferases (GGTs) from radish cotyledon. Subcellular fractionation of radish cells revealed that soluble GGT is a vacuolar enzyme. Acivicin, a GGT inhibitor, mediated the in vivo catabolism inhibition of the glutathione S-conjugate generated from endogenous glutathione and exogenously supplied monochlorobimane. Thus soluble GGT is possibly involved in the catabolism of glutathione S-conjugates.     

Patterns of intraspecific trait variation along an aridity gradient suggest both drought escape and drought tolerance strategies in an invasive herb

Background and AimsIn water-limited landscapes, some plants build structures that enable them to survive with minimal water (drought resistance). Instead of making structures that allow survival through times of water limitation, annual plants may invoke a drought escape strategy where they complete growth and reproduction when water is available. Drought escape and resistance each require a unique combination of traits and therefore plants are likely to have a suite of trait values that are consistent with a single drought response strategy. In environments where conditions are variable, plants may additionally evolve phenotypically plastic trait responses to water availability. Invasive annual species commonly occur in arid and semi-arid environments and many will be subject to reduced water availability associated with climate change. Assessing intraspecific trait variation across environmental gradients is a valuable tool for understanding how invasive plants establish and persist in arid environments.MethodsIn this study, we used a common garden experiment with two levels of water availability to determine how traits related to carbon assimilation, water use, biomass allocation and flowering phenology vary in California wild radish populations across an aridity gradient.Key ResultsWe found that populations from arid environments have rapid flowering and increased allocation to root biomass, traits associated with both drought escape and tolerance. Early flowering was associated with higher leaf nitrogen concentration and lower leaf mass per area, traits associated with high resource acquisition. While trait values varied across low- and high-water treatments, these shifts were consistent across populations, indicating no differential plasticity across the aridity gradient.ConclusionsWhile previous studies have suggested that drought escape and drought resistance are mutually exclusive drought response strategies, our findings suggest that invasive annuals may employ both strategies to succeed in novel semi-arid environments. As many regions are expected to become more arid in the future, investigations of intraspecific trait variation within low water environments help to inform our understanding of potential evolutionary responses to increased aridity in invasive species.     

Heavy Metal Phytotoxicity to Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) in a Digested Sludge-amended Gangetic Alluvium

A limiting factor in land application of sewage sludge is the resultant heavy metal accumulation in soils followed by biomagnification in the food chain, posing a potential hazard to animal and human health. In view of this fact, pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of digested sludge application to soil on phytotoxicity of heavy metals such as Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb to radish (Raphanus sativus L.) plants. Increasing sludge levels resulted in increased levels of DTPA-extractable heavy metals in the soil. Cadmium was the dominant metal extracted by DTPA followed by Ni, Pb, and Cr. The extractability of metals by DTPA tended to decrease from the first to the second crop. Dry matter yield of radish increased significantly as a function of increasing sludge treatments. Soil application of sludge raised the concentration of one or more heavy metals in plants. Shoots contained higher concentrations of Cd, Cr, and Ni than the roots of radish plants. Shoot concentrations of Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb were within the tolerance levels of this crop at all rates of sludge application. Shoot as well as root concentration of Cd was above 0.5 mg kg^?1, considered toxic for human and animal consumption. The levels of DTPA-extractable Cd and Ni were less correlated while those of Cr and Pb were more correlated with their respective shoot and root contents. The results emphasize that accumulation of potentially toxic heavy metals in soil and their build-up in vegetable crops should not be ignored when sludge is applied as an amendment to land.     

养分专家系统推荐施肥在萝卜上的应用效果

通过布置两季萝卜田间试验,研究了基于产量反应和农学效率推荐施肥方法建立的养分专家系统在萝卜上的应用效果,为方便快捷地进行萝卜科学施肥管理提供理论和技术支撑。试验设置7个处理,分别为农民习惯施肥处理(FP)、基于养分专家系统的推荐施肥处理(TE)、当地测土推荐施肥处理(TS)、TE基础上有机肥替代30%化肥氮处理(TE+OM)以及与TE处理对应的减氮处理(TE-N)、减磷处理(TE-P)和减钾处理(TE-K),比较了不同施肥管理措施对萝卜产量、养分吸收量、肥料利用率和施肥效益的影响。结果表明: 基于产量反应和农学效率的专家推荐施肥方法确定的萝卜上半年N、P₂O₅、K₂O施用量分别为200、132和215 kg·hm^-2;下半年分别为171、204和251 kg·hm^-2。专家推荐施肥调整了氮、磷、钾肥的施用量,与FP处理相比,两季萝卜经济产量分别显著提高了14.8%和18.4%,施肥效益分别提高了20115和14905元·hm^-2;与TS处理相比,两季萝卜经济产量分别显著提高了9.8%和16.8%,施肥效益分别提高了9076和9987元·hm^-2。专家系统推荐施肥提高了萝卜的农学效率和养分回收率,促进了养分的高效利用。同时,萝卜生产中合理比例的有机肥替代化肥可在一定程度上促进植株养分向根部转移。综合考虑,专家推荐施肥在萝卜上的应用具有可行性,该方法在萝卜实际生产中充分利用了土壤的基础养分供应,考虑了养分的平衡与可持续性,合理调控了氮磷钾养分供应量,促进了萝卜生产的高产高效和可持续发展。     

Exudates from Rice Callus Tissues Resulting from the Lack of Cuticle and Wax Layers

Nondialyzable melanoidins prepared from a glucose-glycine system were investigated as to their decolorization and degradation products on ozone treatment. Melanoidins were decolorized to degrees of 84 and 97% after ozonolysis at — 1°C for lOmin and 90min, respectively, and the mean molecular weight of melanoidins decreased from 7000 to 3000 after ozonolysis for 40 min. The major components of electrofocused melanoidins before and after ozone treatment had pis of 3.00 and 2.86, respectively, the pI 3.00 band being significantly affected.

IR measurement showed that the absorption at 1290 cm^?1 disappeared and that at 1720 cm^?1 newly appeared on ozonolysis, respectively, and the absorption at 1620 cm^?1 disappeared on acid hydrolysis after ozonolysis.

Furthermore, the major degradation products in the ether-soluble fractions obtained from ozone-treated melanoidins were identified as butanedioic acid, glycolic acid, 2-hydroxybutanoic acid and so on.

In the aqueous fraction, one of the major products was glycine, which was produced to the level of 1.05% on ozonolysis which increased to 5.75% per melanoidin on acid hydrolysis after ozonolysis. From these findings and the IR results, it is postulated that glycine was considerably incorporated into melanoidin molecules as the amide form.     

Occurrence of Stereoisomers of 1-(2′-Pyrrolidinethione-3′-yl)-1,2,3,4- tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic Acid in Fermented Radish Roots and Their Different Mutagenic Properties

Stereoisomers of the tetrahydro-β-carboline derivative, 1-(2′-pyrrolidinethione-3′-yl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (PTCC), were formed from L-tryptophan with 4-methylthio-3-butenyl isothiocyanate, and their mutagenic properties and contents in different types of the radish products were studied. The isomers were identified as (1S ^*, 3S ^*, 3′R ^*)- and (1R ^*, 3S ^*, 3′R ^*)-PTCCs; the former was found as the major compound but had no mutagenic activity, while the latter was mutagenic toward Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 in the presence of a rat microsomal fraction. Both (1S ^*, 3S ^*, 3′R ^*)- and (1R ^*, 3S ^*, 3′R ^*)-PTCC were detected in a ratio of about 4:1 in a product fermented for 8 months, but only a trace was apparent in products manufactured within a few weeks.     

Reduction of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on radish seeds by sequential application of aqueous chlorine dioxide and dry‐heat treatment

Aims: To assess the effectiveness of sequential treatments of radish seeds with aqueous chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) and dry heat in reducing the number of Escherichia coli O157:H7. Methods and Results: Radish seeds containing E. coli O157:H7 at 5·5 log CFU g^?1 were treated with 500 μg ml^?1 ClO₂ for 5 min and subsequently heated at 60°C and 23% relative humidity for up to 48 h. Escherichia coli O157:H7 decreased by more than 4·8 log CFU g^?1 after 12 h dry‐heat treatment. The pathogen was inactivated after 48 h dry‐heat treatment, but the germination rate of treated seeds was substantially reduced from 91·2 ± 5·0% to 68·7 ± 12·3%. Conclusions: Escherichia coli O157:H7 on radish seeds can be effectively reduced by sequential treatments with ClO₂ and dry heat. To eliminate E. coli O157:H7 on radish seeds without decreasing the germination rate, partial drying of seeds at ambient temperature before dry‐heat treatment should be investigated, and conditions for drying and dry‐heat treatment should be optimized. Significance and Impact of the study: This study showed that sequential treatment with ClO₂ and dry‐heat was effective in inactivating large numbers of E. coli O157:H7 on radish seeds. These findings will be useful when developing sanitizing strategies for seeds without compromising germination rates.     

Competition alters life history and increases the relative fecundity of crop-wild radish hybrids (Raphanus spp.)

The evolutionary impact of crop-to-wild gene flow depends on the fitness of hybrids under natural, competitive conditions. Here, we measured the performance of third-generation (F3) radish hybrids (Raphanus raphanistrum x Raphanus sativus) and weedy R. raphanistrum to understand how competitive interactions affect life history and relative fecundity. Three wild and three F1 crop-wild hybrid radish populations were established in semi-natural, agricultural conditions in Michigan, USA. The effects of competition on life-history traits and fecundity of F3 progeny were measured 2 yr later in a common garden experiment. Third-generation hybrid plants generally produced fewer seeds per fruit and set fewer fruits per flower than wild plants, resulting in lower lifetime fecundity. With increasing competition, age at reproduction was delayed, the relative number of seeds per fruit was reduced in wild plants and differences between hybrid and wild fecundity diminished. Competition may enhance the fecundity of advanced-generation hybrids relative to wild plants by reducing differences in life history, potentially promoting the introgression of crop alleles into weed populations.     

Differential sialylation regulates the apoptotic activity of glycodelin A

Glycodelin A (GdA), a dimeric lipocalin, expressed by the uterine endometrium, is an immunomodulatory agent and induces apoptosis in T-cells. In this study we demonstrate that two populations of GdA with subtle differences in their net ionic charge are present in the amniotic fluid and that, apoptotic activity is exhibited only by the population with more sialic acid residues. Significantly, removal of sialic acid residues from the active populations of GdA abrogates the activity of the molecule, suggesting that the extent of sialylation might be a factor regulating the activity of GdA.