Early Effects of Excess Boron on Photosynthesis and Growth of Cucurbita pepo

Summer squash plants {Cucurbita pepo L., cv. ‘Early ProlificStraightneck’) hydroponically cultured under optimal boronnutrition (+ B)³ until age 5 d were transferred to hydroponicsolutions supplemented with excess boron (+ + B)³. As boronaccumulated in the leaves with time, leaf conductance to watervapour, ¹⁴CO₂ fixation, and chlorophyll content of the oldestleaf became significantly less than in the + B-control plantsof the same age; shoot growth essentially ceased. Boron alsoaccumulated in the roots; concomitant inhibition of root elongationand lateral root development resulted. These metabolic changesall occurred prior to the accumulation of sufficient boron tocause the appearance of any symptoms characteristic of borontoxicity. Key words: Boron toxicity, Stomatal conductance, Photosynthesis, Transpiration, Shoot and root growth, Cucurbita pepo     

Stimulation of root hair elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana by low phosphorus availability

Low phosphorus availability stimulates root hair elongation in many plants, which may have adaptive significance in soil phosphorus acquisition. We investigated the effect of low phosphorus on the elongation of Arabidopsis thaliana root hairs. Arabidopsis thaliana plants were grown in plant culture containing high (1000 mmol m^?3) or low (1 mmol m^?3) phosphorus concentrations, and root hair elongation was analysed by image analysis. After 15d of growth, low-phosphorus plants developed root hairs averaging 0.9 mm in length while high-phosphorus plants of the same age developed root hairs averaging 0.3 mm in length. Increased root hair length in low-phosphorus plants was a result of both increased growth duration and increased growth rate. Root hair length decreased logarithmically in response to increasing phosphorus concentration. Local changes in phosphorus availability influenced root hair growth regardless of the phosphorus status of the plant. Low phosphorus stimulated root hair elongation in the hairless axr2 mutant, exogenously applied IAA stimulated root hair elongation in wild-type high-phosphorus plants and the auxin antagonist CM PA inhibited root hair elongation in low-phosphorus plants. These results indicate that auxin may be involved in the low-phosphorus response in root hairs.     

Ecological Consequences of Altering the Timing Mechanism for Metamorphosis in Anural Ascidians

SYNOPSIS. In the present study the timing of metamorphosis inan anural ascidian, Molgula pacifica, was compared to metamorphosisin a urodele species Boltenia villosa. Metamorphosis in M. pacificawas triggered at a fixed time in development (32–36 hoursafter fertilization), just prior to hatching. In contrast, metamorphosiswas triggered in B. villosa after the hatched larvae respondedto substrate cues. The timing of metamorphosisin B. villosawas often delayed for up to four days, whereas delays in M.pacifica were not observed. An antibody, termed Epi-3, was foundto cross-react exclusively with epidermal cells in both species.The binding of FITC-labelled Epi-3 was very low prior to metamorphosisand then it increased dramatically after metamorphosis was triggered.The cytoplasm of ampulla tip cells and the tunic immediatelysurrounding each ampulla showed the highest levels of Epi-3fluorescence. The histological and ultrastructural featuresof the ampulla cells suggest that Epi-3 antibody recognizesgranules localized in the apical cytoplasm. How the evolution of an internal "clock" mechanism responsiblefor initiating metamorphosis may be beneficial to anural speciesis discussed. One possibility is that the anural type of timingmechanism reduces mortality rates during this critical phaseof its life cycle.     

A highly conserved nuclear gene for low-level phylogenetics: elongation factor-1 alpha recovers morphology-based tree for heliothine moths

Molecular systematists need increased access to nuclear genes. Highly conserved, low copy number protein-encoding nuclear genes have attractive features for phylogenetic inference but have heretofore been applied mostly to very ancient divergences. By virtue of their synonymous substitutions, such genes should contain a wealth of information about lower-level taxonomic relationships as well, with the advantage that amino acid conservatism makes both alignment and primer definition straightforward. We tested this postulate for the elongation factor-1 alpha (EF-1 alpha) gene in the noctuid moth subfamily Heliothinae, which has probably diversified since the middle Tertiary. We sequenced 1,240 bp in 18 taxa representing heliothine groupings strongly supported by previous morphological and allozyme studies. The single most parsimonious gene tree and the neighbor-joining tree for all nucleotides show almost complete concordance with the morphological tree. Homoplasy and pairwise divergence levels are low, transition/transversion ratios are high, and phylogenetic information is spread evenly across gene regions. The EF-1 alpha gene and presumably other highly conserved genes hold much promise for phylogenetics of Tertiary age eukaryote groups.      

Chick embryo fibroblasts produce two forms of hyaluronidase

Cultured chick embryo fibroblasts derived from skin and skeletal muscle exhibit hyaluronidase activity both associated with the cell layer and secreted into the medium. Although both forms of the enzyme have a number of similar characteristics (R.W. Orkin and B.P. Toole, 1980, J. Biol. CHem. 255), they differ in thermal stability at neutral pH and in behavior on ion-exchange chromatography. Both forms of the enzyme are equally stable at acidic pH for long intervals, but the cell-associated hyaluronidase is significantly less stable than the secreted froms at neutral pH and at temperatures more than or equal to 30 degrees C. Neither the presence of proteases nor inhibitors of hyaluronidase appear to be involved in the cell-asspcoated enzyme. Chromatography of the two forms of hyaluronidase on carboxymethyl cellulose reveals that most (60-90 percent) of the secreted form of the enzyme elutes at a lower ionic strength than the cell- associated enzyme. Treatment of the secreted form of hyaluronidase with neuraminidase shifts its elution profile on carboxymethyl cellulose toward that of the cell-associated form, and also decreases its thermal stability at neutral pH. In contrast, treatment of the secreted form of hyaluronidase with alkaline phosphatase has no detectable effect. These data suggest that the secreted hyaluronidase differs from the cellular form in possessing additional sialic acid residues which endow the former with increased stability in the extracellular milieu.     

The abundance of an invasive freshwater snail Tarebia granifera (Lamarck, 1822) in the Nseleni River,South Africa

The invasive freshwater snail Tarebia granifera (Lamarck, 1822) was first reported in South Africa in 1999 and it has become widespread across the country, with some evidence to suggest that it reduces benthic macroinvertebrate biodiversity. The current study aimed to identify the primary abiotic drivers behind abundance patterns of T. granifera, by comparing the current abundance of the snail in three different regions, and at three depths, of the highly modified Nseleni River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Tarebia granifera was well established throughout the Nseleni River system, with an overall preference for shallow waters and seasonal temporal patterns of abundance. Although it is uncertain what the ecological impacts of the snail in this system are, its high abundances suggest that it should be controlled where possible and prevented from invading other systems in the region.     

Effects of Intermittent Desiccation on Nutrient Economy and Growth of Two Ecologically Contrasted Mosses

The mossesBrachythecium rutabulum (Hedw.) B., S. & G. andPseudoscleropodiumpurum (Hedw.) Fleisch. were cultivated for more than 50 d ina growth cabinet with or without weekly drying interludes of24 h. Some plants also received applications of a dilute NPKnutrient solution at weekly intervals. The continuously hydratedplants showed appreciably more biomass production than thosereceiving intermittent desiccation. Desiccation led to somebleaching of the green tissues inB. rutabulum but not inP. purumwhich appeared more desiccation-tolerant. NPK addition causeda further significant growth stimulation in continuously hydratedplants, but not in intermittently desiccatedB. rutabulum. Pseudoscleropodiumpurum showed NPK-induced growth stimulation even when intermittentlydesiccated. Net uptake of N was similar in desiccated and hydratedplants in both species. Considerable net uptake of P and K⁺occurredin continuously wetB. rutabulum , but uptake was much reducedin intermittently desiccated plants. Net uptake of P and K⁺byP.purum was similar in desiccated and hydrated samples. IntracellularK⁺, leaked from the cells during the desiccation treatment,was retained by cation exchange on the negatively charged cellwalls in both species. Levels of intracellular K⁺and Mg²⁺inthe new growth were maintained at the expense of the pool ofexchangeable cations. The growth stimulation and the net uptakeof nutrients under intermittent desiccation was greatest whenthe NPK application was made at the start of rehydration, possiblybecause of accentuated uptake in the early stages of recovery.The results support the hypothesis thatP. purum has a lowernutrient requirement thanB. rutabulum and highlight the importanceof continuous hydration for the latter's more productive plantlife strategy. The data also show that considerable new growthof bryophyte tissues is possible without additional nutrientabsorption. Brachythecium rutabulum ; Pseudoscleropodium purum ; mineral nutrition; desiccation; solute leakage; plant life strategies