Effects of genes increasing the number of spikelets per panicle,TAW1 and APO1, on yield and yield-related traits in rice

The genes TAWAWA1 (TAW1) and ABERRANT PANICLE ORGANIZATION1 (APO1) increase the number of spikelets per panicle (SN). In the present study, we examined the effects of these genes on morphological traits, yield, and yield-related traits including yield components using the near-isogenic lines (NILs) in the genetic background of a japonica rice variety, Koshihikari – NIL-taw1, NIL-apo1-D3, and NIL-apo1-D4 – in a field experiment. The SN and total number of spikelets per area of the three NILs were larger than those of Koshihikari. However, the yield of the three NILs did not exceed that of Koshihikari due to their low filling ability. Interestingly, our field experiments indicated that TAW1 did not affect the diameter of internodes and the PN, whereas APO1 decreased the PN and increased the diameter of internodes. These results suggest that TAW1 and APO1 differently affect yield-related traits.     

Changes in photosynthesis,growth, and sugar content of commercial sugarcane cultivars and Erianthus under flood conditions

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is an economical crop in the tropical and subtropical countries. However, because of global climate change, flooding has become problematic, particularly during the rainy season, in Thailand. We investigated the effects of floods on three commercial sugarcane cultivars, namely NiF8, U-thong 6 (UT6), and U-thong 9 (UT9), as well as Erianthus spp. Growth was assessed using a pot experiment in a glasshouse with two treatments: (1) control and (2) 60 d of flooding followed by 30 d of normal conditions. In comparison with control, during prolonged flooding, Erianthus showed greatly decreased CO₂ assimilation, whereas NiF8, UT6, and UT9 showed slightly declined CO₂ assimilation. Growth in plants subjected to 60 d of flooding was less influenced by floods while sucrose content was not affected except in UT6. During flooding, some roots died, resulting in plants compensating adventitious roots to offset the negative effects of root death and to assist them in maintaining their growth, which appeared from the submerged nodes, with different characteristics for each cultivar. However, 30 d after draining, roots remained damaged, while adventitious roots died, resulting in lesser growth as compared with the control, but it did not significantly affect sucrose content and sugar yield. This study suggests that sugarcane plants need to produce the adventitious roots to compensate their roots’ death during flooding and require time to recover their root system after flooding for obtaining the optimum yield and quality at harvest.     

不同施肥处理对枳及柠檬容器苗生长的影响

研究9个不同施肥处理对枳及柠檬容器苗生长的影响。结果表明:不同施肥处理对枳容器苗的苗高、地径、分枝高度及嫁接后柠檬苗的发芽率、株高、茎粗、分枝数及生物量都存在显著差异;不同施肥处理对枳及柠檬容器苗综合表现最好的为T4(撒施柠檬专用肥1.6 g)处理,其次是T2(撒施尿素0.6 g)、T3(撒施柠檬专用肥0.8 g)处理,表现最差的是T8(浇施5%柠檬专用肥)和T7(浇施3%柠檬专用肥)处理。在一定施肥浓度范围内,施肥对嫁接后柠檬容器苗的生物量积累有明显促进作用。柠檬容器苗培育时建议采用在基质中撒施柠檬专用肥1.6 g。     

青霉菌发酵液对大豆幼苗生长及生理特性的影响

采用室内生理检测及生物化学方法,研究了青霉菌发酵液对大豆幼苗生长及生理特性的影响。结果表明:用一定浓度的青霉菌发酵液对大豆浸种和茎叶处理,大豆幼苗的生长呈明显上升趋势,处理后大豆的株高、根长、株鲜重和根鲜重均明显得到了提高,且生长状态好于对照,不同浓度处理间具有明显差异,在发酵液浓度为5 g·L-1时,效果最佳。尤其是对根鲜重的影响,促进率最高可达56.21%,同时增强了幼苗根系活力,最大可以提高57.82%,浸种和茎叶处理后,分别提高了叶绿素含量41.25%和15.40%;超氧化物歧化酶活性12.20%和11.70%;过氧化物酶31.33%和29.95%;过氧化氢酶活性42.8%和20.0%,这为发酵液在大豆田推广应用、提高大豆产量提供了重要理论依据。     

Mapping the spatial distribution of shade provision of street trees in Boston using Google Street View panoramas

Street trees provide shade and increase human thermal comfort during hot summer. In this study, we investigated the spatial distribution of shade provision of street trees in Boston, Massachusetts. The sky view factor (SVF), which influences the solar radiation to the ground and affects human thermal comfort, was used to indicate the contribution of street trees on shade provision. Google Street View (GSV) panoramas were used to calculate the photographic method based SVF (SVF_P), with the consideration of all kinds of obstructions within street canyons. A building height model was used to calculate the simulation based SVF (SVFs), with consideration of obstruction of building blocks only. Considering the fact that street trees and building blocks are the two major obstructions of radiation within street canyons, therefore, the difference between the two SVF estimation results can be considered as the shade provision of street trees. The results show that street trees help to decrease the SVF by 24.61% in Boston, Massachusetts. The shading level varies spatially in the study area. Generally, the southwestern area has much higher shading level than the north and the east. We further explored the shading variation among different socioeconomic groups in the study area. Result shows that Hispanics tend to live in neighborhoods with lower shading level. This study can help to provide a reference for future urban greening projects for global climate change adaption.     

养猪场沼渣制备包膜缓释肥理化性质表征

文章以分散式养猪场沼渣为应用研究对象,以8%聚乙烯醇为包膜材料,改性斜发沸石为肥料载体和缓控释材料调理剂,通过添加不同沸石量制备3种复混包膜缓释肥。利用红外光谱、扫描电镜及三维荧光对3种缓释肥的进行表征。结果表明:添加改性沸石的复混包膜肥除了增加显著的沸石红外特征谱外,其余红外光谱图差异不明显,表明添加沸石对有机质(富里酸和腐殖酸)结构和化学键型并未产生明显的影响,即不影响沼渣理化性质;添加改性沸石可以使聚乙烯醇完整的覆盖在肥料表面,膜壳更加平整光滑,膜层更加致密;三维荧光光谱显示复混包膜肥Ⅰ浸出富里酸和腐殖酸浓度最大,复混包膜肥Ⅲ浓度最低,表明添加沸石有减缓肥料养分释放的效果。该研究对于利用养猪场沼渣制备包膜缓释肥有一定的参考价值。     

Effects of elevated CO2 concentration on bulbil germination and early seedling growth in Chinese yam under different air temperatures

The present study investigated the effects of elevated carbon dioxide concentration ([CO₂]) and air temperature on the germination of seed bulbils and the seedling vigour of two Chinese yam lines. Plants were grown under two [CO₂] levels, ambient and elevated (ambient + 200 μmol mol^?1), and two mean air temperature regimes, 22.2 °C (ambient + 1.4 °C) and 25.6 °C (ambient + 5.2 °C). Elevated [CO₂] did not affect bulbil germination under both air temperature regimes. During the early growth stage, the dry weight (DW) of leaves, vines, shoots, roots, belowground parts (roots + tubers) and whole plants were higher under elevated [CO₂] than ambient [CO₂] for both lines under the low- and high-temperature regimes. The values of vigour indexes (index I = germination % × seedling length and index II = germination % × seedling DW) were also higher under elevated [CO₂] than ambient [CO₂] for both lines. These results indicated that Chinese yam seedlings respond positively to elevated [CO₂] during the early growth stage. The above:belowground DW ratios were lower under elevated [CO₂] than ambient [CO₂] in seedlings with very small new tubers for both yam lines, indicating that elevated [CO₂] strongly affected the root growth in the early growth stage. The DWs of post-treatment seed bulbils were higher in the elevated [CO₂] under both air temperature regimes. The results showed that Chinese yam used a smaller amount of the reserves in seed bulbils under elevated [CO₂] than under ambient [CO₂].     

马铃薯AP2/ERF转录因子的克隆及植物表达载体构建

AP2/ERF基因家族转录因子普遍存在于植物中,参与植物体内的各种生物学过程,包括植物的生长发育、生物和非生物胁迫响应等。前期转录组测序的结果发现马铃薯‘加湘1号’一个AP2/ERF家族基因(PGSC0003DMG400012154)在接种晚疫病菌(Phytophthora infestans)24 h后被显著激活。从接种P.infestans 24 h的‘加湘1号’的总RNA中通过RT-PCR获得了该基因CDS序列为885 bp,BLAST分析显示该基因编码一个295个氨基酸残基的蛋白,并且含有1个AP2/ERF结构域,是AP2/ERF转录因子家族中的ERF亚家族的一员。本研究将该基因与XcmⅠ酶切的表达载体pCXSN连接,转化大肠杆菌,通过测序挑选插入正确克隆酶切验证,并成功转化农杆菌。本研究结果为进一步研究该基因的功能提供了帮助。