Effects of global environmental change on carbon partitioning in vegetative plants of Triticum aestivum and closely related Aegilops species

The use of fossil fuel is predicted to cause an increase of the atmospheric CO₂ concentration, which will affect the global pattern of temperature and precipitation. It is therefore essential to incorporate effects of temperature and water supply on carbon partitioning of plants to predict effects of elevated [CO₂] on growth and yield of Triticum aestivum. Although earlier papers have emphasized that elevated [CO₂] favours investment of biomass in roots relative to that in leaves, it has now become clear that these are indirect effects, due to the more rapid depletion of nutrients in the root environment as a consequence of enhanced growth. Broadly generalized, the effect of temperature on biomass allocation in the vegetative stage is that the relative investment of biomass in roots is lowest at a certain optimum temperature and increases at both higher and lower temperatures. This is found not only when the temperature of the entire plant is varied, but also when only root temperature is changed whilst shoot temperature is kept constant. Effects of temperature on the allocation pattern can be explained largely by the effect of root temperature on the roots' capacity to transport water. Effects of a shortage in water supply on carbon partitioning are unambiguous: roots receive relatively more carbon. The pattern of biomass allocation in the vegetative stage and variation in water-use efficiency are prime factors determining a plant's potential for early growth and yield in different environments. In a comparison of a range of T. aestivum cultivars, a high water-use efficiency at the plant level correlates positively with a large investment in both leaf and root biomass, a low stomatal conductance and a large investment in photosynthetic capacity. We also present evidence that a lower investment of biomass in roots is not only associated with lower respiratory costs for root growth, but also with lower specific costs for ion uptake. We suggest the combination of a number of traits in future wheat cultivars, i.e. a high investment of biomass in leaves, which have a low stomatal conductance and a high photosynthetic capacity, and a low investment of biomass in roots, which have low respiratory costs. Such cultivars are considered highly appropriate in a future world, especially in the dryer regions. Although variation for the desired traits already exists among wheat cultivars, it is much larger among wild Aegilops species, which can readily be crossed with T. aestivum. Such wild relatives may be exploited to develop new wheat cultivars well-adapted to changed climatic conditions.     

Tissue 11In vitro Bud Formation on Explants from the Inflorescence of Nicotiana tabacum L.

Croes, A. F., Creemers-Molenaar, T., van den Ende, G., Kemp,A. and Barendse, G. W. M. 1985. Tissue age as an endogenousfactor controlling in vitro bud formation on explants from theinflorescence of Nicotiana tabacum L.—J. exp. Bot. 36:1771–1779. The in vitro formation of generative buds was studied on explantsfrom flower and fruit stalks and from internodes of the floralramifications of tobacco. A floral gradient was found to existalong the axis of the branch. The gradient concerns the numberof flower buds formed in vitro and is present in both typesof tissues. The number of flower buds is greater on tissuesfrom the apical than from the basal portion of the branch. Thecapacity to generate these buds is largely determined by tissueage at the moment of the excision. Consequently, the gradientmoves along the axis during the outgrowth of the inflorescence. The alternative possibility that some apex-derived stimuluspredetermines the morphogenetic capacity of the tissue priorto excision is excluded by the observation that the gradientremains virtually unaltered if the apex is removed one weekbefore the onset of culturing. Auxin affects the floral gradient Increasing the auxin concentrationin internode tissue culture causes a steeper gradient of flowerbud generation by almost completely abolishing bud formationon older tissues. Key words: Auxin, flower buds, gradient, tissue culture, tobacco     

Evaluation of PAPNET-assisted cervical rescreening

Evaluation of PAPNET-assisted cervical rescreening
We have compared the results of targeted manual rescreening of 1211 randomly selected smears with the results of PAPNET-assisted rescreening of 1613 cervical smears, containing at least 6.3% low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL). PAPNET diagnosis and the targeted rescreening diagnosis were compared with the initial report, issued on the corresponding smear. Reproducibility scores for inadequacy, presence of endocervical and endometrial cells, specific infections and squamous cell abnormalities were determined. The reproducibility scores for the diagnosis of inadequate smears and specific infections were lower with the PAPNET-assisted rescreening. The detection of squamous cell abnormalities was excellent for both methods (>0.95), with a higher detection rate for false-negative smears with the PAPNET testing system.     

重金属（铜、镉、锌和铅）对海水无机碳体系影响的模拟研究

通过室内模拟实验,研究了孔石莼和重金属(铜、镉、锌和铅)共同作用下,海水无机碳体系及碳源汇格局的变化.结果表明,t=7d时,无机碳体系各参数的变化幅度(Δ)与重金属种类和浓度有关.与对照相比,低浓度(<1μmol · L-1)的重金属添加组中,DIC、HCO-3 和PCO2的下降幅度都很明显(P<0.01* *).当铜、镉浓度大于"转折浓度"后, DIC、HCO-3和Pco2 均要大于初始值,其增幅随着重金属浓度的增加而增大.对于锌和铅,二者浓度高达50μmol · L-1时,水体中无机碳各参数与初始值相比仍呈现下降趋势.此外,当重金属浓度和种类不同时,水体中的碳源汇格局亦做不同的变化.当铜和镉浓度小于转折浓度时,水体表现为大气CO2的汇;而当铜和镉超出转折浓度时,水体会由大气CO2的汇过渡到源,并且当水体成为CO2的源后,其CO2的释放量是随着铜、镉浓度的增加而增大.在本实验设计的各浓度锌、铅添加组水体始终表现为碳汇,但当锌、铅浓度分别高于15μmol · L-1和20μmol · L-1时,其碳汇强度开始小于对照组(P<0.05*).     

有机磷农药对滇池微囊藻生长和摄磷效应的影响

采集滇池水体作为铜绿微囊藻培养基,研究了两种有机磷农药(甲胺磷和辛硫磷)对微囊藻生长和摄磷效应的动力学规律。结果表明,在滇池水体中添加较低浓度的甲胺磷(0.8、1.6、3.2mg/L)和辛硫磷(0.02、0.06、0.1mg/L)均能不同程度地促进微囊藻的生长,且在HGZ培养基中抑制微囊藻生长的浓度在滇池水体中却能促进微囊藻的生长。微囊藻的生长取决于细胞内磷的浓度且对磷的吸收利用存在积累性,在微囊藻生长初期,摄取各形态磷的速率较快;随后微囊藻摄取各形态磷的速率较慢。总溶解磷(TSP)和溶解反应磷(SRP)是微囊藻优先摄取的磷形态,在生长过程中微囊藻利用了大量的溶解有机磷(DOP)作为磷源加速生长。这一特点对于微囊藻成为淡水湖泊富营养化发展过程中的一种重要优势种具有极为重要的作用。