蓟属两种植物的染色体研究

本文对蓟属（Ｃｉｒｓｉｕｍ）的两个形态相似的近缘种大刺儿菜和小刺儿菜进行了染色体研究,其中后者为首次报道。观察结果表明：两个种的染色体数目均为２ｎ＝２ｘ＝３４：它们的核型是：大刺儿菜．２ｎ＝２ｘ＝３４＝２０ｍ＋１２ｓｍ＋２ｓｔ：小刺儿菜．２ｎ＝２ｘ＝３４＝２２ｍ＋１０ｋｍ（２ＳＡＴ）＋２ｓｔ。通过核型比较,认为它们是两个独立的种．而且后者比前者进化。     

Host-plant specificity limits the geographic distribution of thistle feeding ladybird beetles

The relationships between two phytophagous ladybird beetle species, Epilachna pustulosa K^ono and E. niponica Lewis (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), and their main host plants, thistles (Cirsium spp., Asteraceae) were investigated in Oshima Peninsula, southern Hokkaido, northern Japan. Epilachna pustulosa was found feeding on Cirsium kamtschaticum in the northernmost part of the peninsula, whereas E. niponica was confined to the Ohno Plain and adjacent areas in the southernmost part, and occurred mainly on C. alpicola. No thistle feeding epilachnines were found in the middle part of the peninsula despite the abundance of another thistle species, C. grayanum. Both beetle species showed lower adult preference and reduced growth performance on C. grayanum compared to their respective host plants under laboratory conditions. We concluded that the distribution of thistle feeding epilachnines in Oshima Peninsula was principally determined by the availability of appropriate host plants.     

Safety zones for a Sclerotinia sclerotiorum-based mycoherbicide: Accounting for regional and yearly variation in climate

Variation in the width of 'safety zones' for sheep and dairy pasture treated with a Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary-based mycoherbicide was quantified using 10 years of climate data from each of five regions in New Zealand. Acceptable and risk-averse zones were defined as the maximum distances in any direction from a treated pasture where 'added:natural' ratios of air-borne S. sclerotiorum spores are 1:1 and 1:10, respectively. The 10-year mean 1:1 safety zone had zero width for sheep pasture at all locations, and was at most, 50 m wide for dairy pasture. The width of the 10-year mean 1:10 zone varied regionally from 314 to 443 m for sheep and from 175 to 280 m for dairy pasture, and the 90th percentile 1:10 zones were up to 41% wider. Linear relationships between safety zone width and mean wind speed were evident and these could be used to derive region-specific safety zones.     

Effect of Herbivore Density, Timing of Attack and Plant Community on Performance of Creeping Thistle Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. (Asteraceae)

Creeping thistle, Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. (Asteraceae), is one of the most serious weeds in ecological compensation areas (within-field or border refugia) in Europe. Since conventional weed control measures are restricted in compensation areas, augmenting indigenous agents for biological control of the weed may be a feasible alternative. In this paper, we studied the effect of density of the shield beetle, Cassida rubiginosa Muller (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae), and two vegetation types typical for ecological compensation areas, on the performance of creeping thistle plants in an open field experiment. Early-season larval feeding had no measurable effect on creeping thistle growth, while late-season feeding significantly reduced shoot growth. These findings were attributed to higher feeding rates of the herbivores at higher ambient temperatures late in the season. Defoliation had a strong effect on the above-ground performance of C. arvense plants, but not on the below-ground performance. In contrast, the plant community affected all below-ground performance parameters measured, but only some of the above-ground performance parameters of creeping thistle. A combination of high levels of plant competition and herbivory by C. rubiginosa larvae led to 50% mortality in C. arvense plants during the growing season. We conclude that augmentation of indigenous herbivores of C. arvense in combination with breaking up the root system by tillage and the establishment of a highly competitive plant community of beneficial herbs may be a feasible way to control this problematic weed in ecological compensation areas.     

Xylem feeding by spittlebug nymphs: some observations by optical and cryo-scanning electron microscopy

The feeding of spittlebug nymphs (Philaenus spumarius) from mature xylem vessels was studied by optical and cryo-analytical scanning electron microscopy. Feeding did not produce xylem embolisms and vessels remained liquid-filled during the day. Saliva secreted by the insect forms a hardened lining (salivary sheath) between the stylet bundle and the plant tissues. This sheath is continuous through the hole made by the stylets as they enter a vessel, and it extends into the vessel and along its periphery beyond the breach. The sheath is heterogeneous, with a thin outer layer adjoining the plant tissues and a thicker layer that contacts the stylet bundle. Both layers give positive histochemical reactions for proteins and, in fresh tissues, contain a red, strongly autofluorescent pigment, possibly condensed tannin derived from the plant (which is lost during tissue preparation), and other phenyl propanoid compounds, which are retained and which may produce the intense reaction of the periodic-acid-Schiff's-positive inner layer. It is concluded that the salivary sheath allows the insects to feed from functioning vessels without embolizing them or losing xylem fluid to the surrounding tissues. These findings and others in the entomological literature indicate low daytime tensions in the xylem conduits of the host plants.     

鄂西大蓟根的化学成分的研究

本题对菊科蓟属植物鄂西大蓟根Cirsium henryi的化学成分进行系统研究。采用硅胶柱色谱法分离了五个单体成分并以光谱分析法鉴定它们的结构:乙酰丁香酸(p-Hydroxycinnamic acid,1),原儿茶酸(protocate-chuic acid,2),香草酸(vanillic acid,3),二羟丙基软脂酸酯(2,3-dihydroxypropyl hexadecanoate,4)和胡萝卜苷(glucoraphenin,5)。这些化合物均为首次从该植物中分离得到。     

Demographic and Biomass Production Consequences of Inundative Treatment of Cirsium arvense with Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

The adventitious shoots in three populations of Cirsium arvense in sheep-grazed pastures were treated in October (spring) 1991 with a mycelium/wheat formulation of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and the fates of mapped shoots were followed over the growing season. In untreated plots, deaths through natural causes were compensated for by births (emergence of new shoots above the soil) throughout the growing season, but, on plots treated with S. sclerotiorum, deaths from the induced disease exceeded births for 35 days following treatment, causing the shoot population to decline markedly. Disease-induced deaths occurred only among shoots present at the time of treatment; there was no evidence of transfer of the pathogen to shoots emerging after the treatment was applied. A life-table analysis showed that only 8% of the adventitious shoots emerging during the growing season survived to seeding on treated plots, compared with 28% on the untreated plots; most mortalities occurred in shoots at the vegetative stage of development. The dry mass of propagative roots in autumn was reduced to 35% of that on the untreated plots by the pathogen and the density of shoots emerging the following spring was reduced to a similar extent. The results of this study indicate that S. sclerotiorum has potential as a mycoherbicide for C. arvense in sheep-grazed pasture in New Zealand.