Sugar Content and Metabolic Activities in Cold-Stored Fragmented Xylopodium of Ocimum nudicaule Benth. var. anisifolia Giul. (Labiatae)

Sugar content and hydrolytic activities were measured in fragmentsof xylopodia of Ocimum nudicaule Benth. stored for one weekat 5 °C and 5.28 °C. At 5 °C the soluble carbohydratecontent first decreased and at 5.28 °C it increased duringstorage and then declined drastically during cultivation afterplanting. Galactose, glucose and fructose levels also rose at5–28 °C whereas at 5 °C only glucose increased.These changes in sugar level were found to be correlated withchanges in the activity of certain hydrolytic enzymes: at 5–28°C there was a rapid rise in the activities of -galactosidaseand hemicellulase followed by an increase in the activity ofinvertase and ß-galactosidase. The rapid changes inenzymes and carbohydrate levels are discussed in terms of adaptationof the plant to tropical and subtropical environments. Key words: Carbohydrates, Carbohydrate hydrolases, Underground organ (xylopodium), Cold storage     

Histological Aspects of Root Formation in Petioles of Detached Leaves of Pereskia grandifolia (Cactaceae): Natural Conditions and Effects of GA3 and Dark

Adventitious roots arise naturally on petioles of Pereskia grandifoliaHaw. held in light. At about the 12th day after the beginningof the experiment, the root primordia arise in a callus tissuedeveloped from the basal portion of the petiole. Associatedwith the development of the callus, noticeable structural changesoccur in the originating organ. Petioles maintained in darkalso form callus; however, they die in a few days. On the otherhand, petioles treated with GA,, maintained in light, developcallus and survive; but they do not give rise to roots. Someaspects are discussed, such as: the kind of origin observedfor the roots, and the possible physiological basis for theirformation, as wdl as for the inhibition of their appearance Pereskia grandifolia, adventitious root formation, gibberelljc acid, petiole structure, rooting     

Prehistoric Transpacific Contact and the Theory of Culture Change

Employing genetic theory as an analog, the paper argues that when the concept of culture is separated from the concept of society, anthropology can be shown to have depended for culture-change theory on a genetic model, which predicts pre-Columbian contact between the Old and New World, a prediction which is supported by a growing list of cultural parallels . [prehistoric transpacific contact, culture, society, culture change, scientific explanation]