Slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) somatic embryogenesis I. Initiation of embryogenic cultures from immature zygotic embryos

Immature female gametophytes and enclosed zygotic embryos of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) collected at various developmental stages were cultured either on eight initiation media supplemented with different plant growth regulator (PGR) combinations or on LPM medium solidified with two brands of agar. Embryonal-suspensor cell masses extruded from gametophyte explants infrequently produced white or translucent mucilaginous embryogenic cultures. Variation in extrusion frequency was observed across seed sources (families), explant collection dates, agar types and culture media. Increased explant maturity (as related to collection dates) reduced cell extrusion rates. Four types of extrusions were grouped according to their morphology. One type of extrusion produced the greatest number of established and long-surviving embryogenic cultures. This extrusion type (type I) was associated with an extrusion condition termed empty in which the entirety of the embryonal-suspensor mass was extruded out of the gametophyte. Three other extrusion types (types II, III and IV) showed less culture establishment and survival.     

A review of the effect of stresses between lifting and planting on nursery stock quality and performance

This paper presents the experimental evidence on the effects of desiccation, low and high temperatures, rough handling, root loss and storage between lifting and planting on plant quality and performance. The review concentrates on the impact of these stresses on outplanting performance; their effect on seedling properties, such as root growth potential and root electrolyte leakage, is also described. Stresses most often happen in combination but there is relatively little information on their interactions. Examples of desiccation plus rough handling, cold storage plus desiccation, frost damage plus freeze storage and the triple stress of desiccation, heating and rough handling are presented. The limited evidence on the cumulative effect of stresses suggests tentatively that damage from rough handling does not accumulate in the same way as damage from desiccation and prolonged storage. Factors affecting stress resistance are briefly reviewed.There are three impediments to producing a critical review of the literature: experimental treatments, particularly of desiccation and rough handling, can rarely be directly compared; the impact of stress treatments can be modified by a large number of factors, and the levels of stress have seldom been quantified in normal forestry practice. The first two problems also make it difficult to formulate general statements concerning critical thresholds for the stresses. However, instruments are now available for measuring and monitoring stresses between lifting and planting and it is, in theory, possible to model the effects of these stresses to take account of the many factors that modify their impact on seedling survival and growth. This offers the possibility of significant improvements in our ability to predict the effect of stresses between lifting and planting on seedling performance.     

Progress of ELMO family on malignant tumor invasion and metastasis

It is one of the main characters of malignant tumors that malignant tumor cells invade surrounding tissues and metastasize to distant tissues. Multiple factors are involved in this complicated dynamic process. Metastasis is the major factor influencing recurrence and prognosis. Therefore, it is important to explore the mechanism of invasion and metastasis for reducing recurrence rate and mortality of malignant tumors. Engulfment and cell mobility (ELMO) family is one kind of conserved protein in evolutional process. It includes 3 members, ELMO1, ELMO2 and ELMO3. The members of ELMO family play an important role in cell phagocytosis and cell migration, and they also have close correlation with malignant tumor cell invasion and metastasis. In this paper, we review the progress of the relationship between ELMO family and malignant tumor invasion and metastasis.     

Expression and clinical significance of PAK4 in non-small cell lung cancer

AIM: To investigate the expression and clinical significance of PAK4 in the cell lines and tissues of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: PAK4 expression in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells, NSCLC cell lines, NSCLC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues were assessed by immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR and Western blot. Prognostic value of PAK4 expression was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression. RESULTS: PAK4 was over-expressed in the NSCLC cell lines at both mRNA and protein levels compared with HBE cells (P<0.05). PAK4 was over-expressed in the NSCLC tissues at both mRNA and protein levels compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues (P<0.05). PAK4 was over-expressed in the metastatic NSCLC tissues compared with the primary NSCLC tissues (P<0.05). Higher PAK4 staining scores were positively correlated with differentiation, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and clinical stage. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test showed that overall survival was significantly different between the patients with up-regulated PAK4 and the patients with down-regulated PAK4(P<0.05). PAK4 over-expression was associated with NSCLC progression.CONCLUSION: Increased PAK4 expression was associated with tumor invasion, metastasis and prognosis in the patients with NSCLC. PAK4 is an important prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target in NSCLC.     

Promoting effect of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A heavy chain on neuritogenesis in cultured Neuro-2a cells

AIM: To observe the neuritogenic actions of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A heavy chain (BoNT/A HC) on cultured Neuro-2a cells and to investigate the related signaling mechanisms for the effect of BoNT/A HC. METHODS: Neuro-2a cells were treated with different doses of BoNT/A HC (0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 nmol/L), and then the cells were harvested at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h of BoNT/A HC exposure for detecting the neurite length and the percen-tage of the cells with neuronal processes by immunofluorescence staining. The most efficient dose of BoNT/A HC was chosen for exposure to Neuro-2a cells as the above. Whole cell protein was harvested at different time points for detecting the protein levels of phosphorylated ERK1/2 (p-ERK1/2) and phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) by Western blot. RESULTS: Low doses of BoNT/A HC stimulated the neurite outgrowth, and increased the percentage of the cells with neurites compared with the negative controls (P<0.05), especially in the group with 1 nmol/L of BoNT/A HC treatment. Meanwhile, the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and Akt was increased after treated with BoNT/A HC. There was an increasing tendency for the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 after the exposure of the cells to BoNT/A HC. The obvious increase in p-ERK1/2 was seen from 60 min to 5 h with 1 nmol/L of BoNT/A HC treatment (P< 0.05), and the increased protein level of p-Akt was mainly observed at 15 min and 60 min (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: BoNT/A HC stimulates the neuritogenesis. The neuritogenic mechanism of BoNT/A HC on Neuro-2a cells might be realized by activation of the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and Akt.     

纵坑切梢小蠹对加勒比松的为害

对纵坑切梢小蠹在白云山不同变种加勒比松的为害状况进行了初步调查，掌握了该虫为害松树的特征如：侵入孔部位、侵入孔直径、侵入孔道长度、为害梢直径、为害梢长度等，发现纵坑切梢小蠹对疏叶型本种加勒比松的春梢为害较严重。     

低浓度SO2对油桐叶片细胞膜脂肪酸含量的影响

膜系统是细胞内光合和呼吸等生理活动的重要场所之一,SO2对光合系统的破坏首先会引起细胞膜系统的变化.气相色谱测定表明,体积分数为0.3×10-6的SO2对油桐叶片处理10d以上,会使不饱和脂肪酸含量UFA、不饱和脂肪酸指数IUFA、C18:3、C18:3/IUFA上升,使饱和脂肪酸含量、C16:1trans、C16:1trans/IUFA下降;但随着SO2熏气时间的延长,会使不饱和脂肪酸含量UFA、不饱和脂肪指数IUFA、C18:3、C18:3/IUFA下降,饱和脂肪酸含量上升,熏气111d后,处理的UFA、IUFA、C18:3、C18:3/IUFA分别是对照的94.74%、92.52%、87.87%、94.97%;处理的饱和脂肪酸、C16:1trans、C16:1/IUFA分别是对照的1.16、1.15、1.24倍.熏气112d后,会使极性脂和中性脂中的不饱和脂肪酸C18∶3含量,不饱和脂肪酸含量UFA和不饱和脂肪酸指数IUFA及C18:3/IUFA值下降.因此,长期低体积分数SO2处理会使细胞膜的脂肪酸组成发生变化,使不饱和脂肪酸含量下降,饱和脂肪酸含量上升,从而使细胞膜的功能发生变化.     

基于细胞数字特征的板材材种识别技术

木材识别是合理利用木材最基本的前提。为了解决人工鉴定失误率高的问题,本文提出基于细胞数学描述理论的板材识别方法,采用木材端面细胞的显微数字图像,利用板材材种的数学仿真技术、图像处理技术、数据库管理和系统辨识方法,提取细胞轮廓形态和尺寸等参数建立基准细胞和材种识别数字化参数库。减少传统的依赖图像像素特征识别比较方法的不确定性,创新材种识别的数字化理论体系,推动板材材种识别的实用化。     

Effects of a severe typhoon on forest dynamics in a warm-temperate evergreen broad-leaved forest in southwestern Japan

The effects of a typhoon on forest dynamics and the response of major tree species were studied in a warm-temperate evergreen broad-leaved forest in southwestern Japan. The strongest typhoon on record (T9313) passed through this region in 1993. Return periods of typhoons over 30 ms⁻¹ in instantaneous wind velocity and T9313 were estimated to be 2.2 and 104.5 years, respectively. Approximately 10% of all stems suffered some damage from T9313 and annual stem mortality rose from 1.3 to 2.7%. The estimated period that the number of stems would fall below 10% of the initial was four years shorter with T9313-class typhoons than without them. Thus, the disturbance by T9313 was not catastrophic at the site although T9313 was an episodic typhoon. The short-term responses of major tree species to T9313 were classified into four types: 1) blunt-response type with little decrease and recruitment of stems in the DBH ≥ 5 cm class (Distylium racemosum), 2) retreat type with larger decrease than recruitment (e.g. Quercus acuta), 3) sharp-response type with a large decrease and much recruitment (e.g. Cinnamomum japonicum), and 4) advance type with less decrease than recruitment (Eurya japonica). Among the four regeneration types classified by previous studies (climax, light-demanding, subcanopy, and few-sapling), the climax and few-sapling types each showed a specific short-term response, the blunt-response and retreat types, respectively, that explains one aspect of the regeneration strategies of each type. On the other hand, the light-demanding or sub-canopy type showed multiple short-term responses, indicating that each regeneration type contains species with various regeneration strategies. In this paper, I analyzed data from the database that was compiled by the Aya Research Team.     

不同光质对长鞭红景天悬浮细胞生长及苯丙氨酸解氨酶活性的影响

对不同光质条件下长鞭红景天悬浮细胞生物量及苯丙氨酸解氨酶(PAL)的活性水平进行检测,探讨长鞭红景天次生代谢和环境调节之间的相关性.结果表明:1)长鞭红景天悬浮培养细胞生物量变化为S型曲线,6～9 d进入直线生长期,PAL活性也表现出一定的规律性,在细胞指数生长期急剧上升,至细胞干质量最大时,活性最大,生长停止期时急速下降至初始水平;2)不同光质在较长时间辐射处理下,长鞭红景天悬浮细胞生物量表现出一定的差异,PAL活性也随之不同,其中长时间的红光处理有利于酶活性的提高,但生物量显著低于白光处理.