Clonal dynamics in western North American aspen (Populus tremuloides)

Clonality is a common phenomenon in plants, allowing genets to persist asexually for much longer periods of time than ramets. The relative frequency of sexual vs. asexual reproduction determines long‐term dominance and persistence of clonal plants at the landscape scale. One of the most familiar and valued clonal plants in North America is aspen (Populus tremuloides). Previous researchers have suggested that aspen in xeric landscapes of the intermountain west represent genets of great chronological age, maintained via clonal expansion in the near absence of sexual reproduction. We synthesized microsatellite data from 1371 ramets in two large sampling grids in Utah. We found a surprisingly large number of distinct genets, some covering large spatial areas, but most represented by only one to a few individual ramets at a sampling scale of 50 m. In general, multi‐ramet genets were spatially cohesive, although some genets appear to be fragmented remnants of much larger clones. We conclude that recent sexual reproduction in these landscapes is a stronger contributor to standing genetic variation at the population level than the accumulation of somatic mutations, and that even some of the spatially large clones may not be as ancient as previously supposed. Further, a striking majority of the largest genets in both study areas had three alleles at one or more loci, suggesting triploidy or aneuploidy. These genets tended to be spatially clustered but not closely related. Together, these findings substantially advance our understanding of clonal dynamics in western North American aspen, and set the stage for a broad range of future studies.     

植物与手性化合物的对映体选择性相互作用

植物与手性化合物存在着非常密切的联系.一方面,植物分泌、合成的一些手性化合物,如糖甙、酶、萜类化合物、有机酸及植物激素等,在植物的生理生化过程中起着重要的作用;另一方面,人工合成的手性化合物尤其是农药等环境污染物与植物具有对映体选择性相互作用,它们或是选择性地抑制植物的生长和生理过程,或是被植物选择性地吸收和代谢.因此,在开发、生产和使用手性化合物时需要考虑植物与对映体之间的选择性因素;同时,合理利用植物对手性污染物进行环境修复也具有重要意义.本文对植物与手性化合物相互作用中的对映体选择性进行了综述,并对手性污染物的植物修复进行了展望.     

A Simple and Rapid PCR-based Procedure for Identifying Homozygous Transgenic Rice Plants

We present a simple and rapid method for screening second-generation transgenic rice plants (T₁) to identify homozygous plants. The plasmid (pfd11) used for rice transformation contains a partially deleted cytochrome c gene (cyc) for comparing with the endogenous cyc for copy number. After polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a segment of the cyc in transgenic rice DNA followed by agarose gel electrophoresis, two specific bands are obtained. The upper band represents the endogenous cyc, and the lower band represents the partially deleted cyc in the transgene. The first-generation plants (T₀) that harbor a single copy of the transgene are selected based on the fact that the density of the lower band is half as dense as the upper band. Next, only plants harboring a single copy of the transgene are advanced to the second generation (T₁). The same PCR procedure is used again, and homozygous T₁ plants are easily identified from samples in which the intensity of the two bands is the same.     

Dormancy of alpine and subalpine perennial forbs

Depth of dormancy of alpine and subalpine perennial forbs in autumn was investigated, which was judged by the number of days required for growth initiation at 24 °C. The depth of dormancy differed depending on Raunkiaer’s life-form and shoot habits. Chamaephytes with perennial shoot-axes showed shallower dormancy than hemicryptophytes with annual shoot-axes, and geophytes with annual shoot-axes showed the deepest dormancy. The results strongly suggest that the dormancy is more endogenously controlled in forbs less hardy to freezing stress. Potential growth ability of alpine herbaceous chamaephytes in autumn is an adaptive advantage, since they utilize the short vegetative period as long as possible. All of the species with annual shoot-axes had winter buds covered with scales. In plants with perennial shoot-axes, percentage of winter buds covered with scales increased with increasing depth of dormancy. The results indicate that the shoot apices are well protected by bud scales in forbs with a long endogeneous-dormant period.     

Ampelozyziphus amazonicus Ducke (Rhamnaceae), a medicinal plant used to prevent malaria in the Amazon Region, hampers the development of Plasmodium berghei sporozoites

Most medicinal plants used against malaria in endemic areas aim to treat the acute symptoms of the disease such as high temperature fevers with periodicity and chills. In some endemic areas of the Brazilian Amazon region one medicinal plant seems to be an exception: Ampelozyziphus amazonicus, locally named “Indian beer” or “Saracura-mira”, used to prevent the disease when taken daily as a cold suspension of powdered dried roots. In previous work we found no activity of the plant extracts against malaria blood parasites in experimentally infected animals (mice and chickens) or in cultures of Plasmodium falciparum. However, in infections induced by sporozoites, chickens treated with plant extracts were partially protected against Plasmodium gallinaceum and showed reduced numbers of exoerythrocytic forms in the brain. We now present stronger evidence that the ethanolic extract of “Indian beer” roots hampers in vitro and in vivo development of Plasmodium berghei sporozoites, a rodent malaria parasite. Some mice treated with high doses of the plant extract did not become infected after sporozoite inoculation, whereas others had a delayed prepatent period and lower parasitemia. Our data validates the use of “Indian beer” as a remedy for malaria prophylaxis in the Amazon, where the plant exists and the disease represents an important problem which is difficult to control. Studies aiming to identify the active compounds responsible for the herein described causal prophylactic activity are needed and may lead to a new antimalarial prophylactic.     

Soybean GmbZIP44, GmbZIP62 and GmbZIP78 genes function as negative regulator of ABA signaling and confer salt and freezing tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis

From soybean plant, 131 bZIP genes were identified and named as GmbZIPs. The GmbZIPs can be classified into ten groups and more than one third of these GmbZIPs are responsive to at least one of the four treatments including ABA, salt, drought and cold stresses. Previous studies have shown that group A bZIP proteins are involved in ABA and stress signaling. We now chose four non-group A genes to study their features. The four proteins GmbZIP44, GmbZIP46, GmbZIP62 and GmbZIP78 belong to the group S, I, C and G, respectively, and can bind to GLM (GTGAGTCAT), ABRE (CCACGTGG) and PB-like (TGAAAA) elements with differential affinity in both the yeast one-hybrid assay and in vitro gel-shift analysis. GmbZIP46 can form homodimer or heterodimer with GmbZIP62 or GmMYB76. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing the GmbZIP44, GmbZIP62 or GmbZIP78 showed reduced ABA sensitivity. However, all the transgenic plants were more tolerant to salt and freezing stresses when compared with the Col plants. The GmbZIP44, GmbZIP62 and GmbZIP78 may function in ABA signaling through upregulation of ABI1 and ABI2 and play roles in stress tolerance through regulation of various stress-responsive genes. These results indicate that GmbZIP44, GmbZIP62 and GmbZIP78 are negative regulators of ABA signaling and function in salt and freezing tolerance.     

Ultrastructure of some Cambrian palynomorphs from the Bright Angel Shale, Arizona, USA

Palynomorphs with complex resistant walls have been recovered from several Cambrian deposits in the continental United States. Those recovered from the Bright Angel Shale of Arizona typically preserve both a primary wall, and an outer envelope (synoecosporal wall) that encloses multiple spore-like bodies within. At least three distinct types of primary walls, are recognized with the TEM: 1) a unilaminate wall with a smooth inner surface and a sculptured outer surface, 2) a wall of three unornamented laminae of very uniform thickness, and, 3) a thicker wall with multiple thin, lightly-staining layers embedded in a darker matrix. This third type of primary wall bears a strong resemblance to those of certain Lower Devonian hilate cryptospore monads from the Welsh Borderlands. No extant algae produce spores with walls as thick or as complex, suggesting that these Cambrian palynomorphs were the desiccation-resistant spores of cryptogams belonging to the charophyte–embryophyte lineage. Multilaminate spore walls, which are characteristic of some extant liverworts and Paleozoic cryptospores, may have evolved via the fusion of separate, multiple laminae. This appears to be the primitive plant sporoderm type, but it may have evolved asynchronously with respect to the evolution of the embryophytic development of the sporophyte in land plants.     

林木花药培养研究进展及展望

多数林木在遗传上高度杂合,给育种和遗传研究带来很多不便。与农作物相比,林木花药培养的意义更为重大。对国内外林木花药培养的现状及影响花药培养的主要因素进行了概述,讨论了其在21世纪分子生物技术时代的应用前景,旨在促进林木花药培养技术的完善并开拓其应用领域。