棉籽壳中除草活性物质提取及鉴定

为了开发利用棉籽壳中的除草活性物质，分别以无水乙醇、正丁醇、石油醚和乙酸乙酯为溶剂，采用索氏提取法对棉籽壳中的活性物质进行了提取，并对各溶剂粗提物进行了除草活性测定。结果发现:用无水乙醇提取的粗提物对稗草生长的抑制活性最高，经气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)联用分析，发现该粗提物中主要含有甘油、三环己基3-烯-6-辛酮、4-乙烯基-2-甲氧基苯酚、(邻甲基苯酚)-2-溴-2氯-乙酰酯、十四酸、十四酸乙酯、十六烷酸、辛酸异戊酯和亚油酸9种化合物。进一步的除草活性测定结果表明，亚油酸、辛酸异戊酯、4-乙烯基-2-甲氧基苯酚和(邻甲基苯酚)-2-溴-2氯-乙酰酯4种化合物对稗草表现出一定的除草活性，其中亚油酸活性最强，其IC₅₀值为14.5 mg/L。     

施钙对瘠薄红壤旱地花生土壤理化性质的影响

为探讨钙肥对瘠薄红壤旱地花生土壤理化性质影响，同时为优化花生生长环境提供理论依据，本研究在 湖南长沙选取红壤瘠薄旱地以及3个不同粒型大小花生品种（大粒湘花2008、中粒湘花55、小粒蓝山小籽），运用土 柱试验栽培法，设置施钙肥（CaO）和不施钙2个处理，对花生主要生育期的根际、0~20cm土壤理化性质进行测试与 分析。结果表明：在缺钙酸性土壤下，施钙能提高所有品种、各时期（成熟期略有不同）、各土层花生土壤的pH值， 调节土壤过酸强度；提升土壤有机质含量（蓝山小籽＞湘花2008＞湘花55）；显著增加土壤碱解氮含量（湘花55＞湘 花2008＞蓝山小籽）；更好地提高大、中粒型品种土壤有效钾含量；降低大、中粒型品种土壤有效磷含量。因此，在 氮、磷、钾营养元素充足，钙元素缺失的土壤下，增施石灰钙肥，既可降低土壤酸度，又能提高有机质、碱解氮、有效 钾含量，却降低速效磷含量，在缺钙酸性土壤花生生产中施用石灰时应增施磷肥，从而保障花生高产高效栽培。     

Chemical management of Fusarium wilt of watermelon

Watermelon yield loss due to Fusarium wilt is increasing in the U.S., due in part to the emergence of the virulent race 2 of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum, and to the shift in production to triploid cultivars, which generally have less host resistance than previously grown diploid cultivars. One potential management strategy is the use of soil-applied fungicides to reduce Fusarium wilt. The U.S. national program, interregional project 4 (IR-4) supported multistate trials of soil-applied chemicals to manage Fusarium wilt of watermelon. Greenhouse trials were conducted in Maryland, Indiana and Georgia to test the efficacy of 14 chemicals on Fusarium wilt. Based on the performance of these chemicals in the greenhouse, six in Maryland and Delaware and eight in Indiana were selected for subsequent field evaluations. These chemicals were applied once, as a drench at planting, in field trials in Maryland, Indiana, and Delaware in 2008. The fungicides prothioconazole, acibenzolar-S-methyl, and thiophanate-methyl resulted in the greatest reduction in Fusarium wilt, and caused no phytotoxicity. In Maryland and Indiana in 2009, these chemicals were applied through the drip irrigation line alone and in combination, at 0, 2 and 4 weeks after planting. The experiment was repeated in 2010 in Maryland. Prothioconazole alone and in combination with acibenzolar-S-methyl or/and thiophanate-methyl resulted in the greatest decrease in the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) of Fusarium wilt of watermelon in Maryland in 2009. The same trend was observed in 2010 in Maryland where three of the prothioconazole treatments ranked the lowest of all treatments and prothioconazole in combination with thiophanate-methyl had significantly lower Fusarium wilt AUDPC compared to the non-treated control. All chemical applications except for acibenzolar-S-methyl in combination with prothioconazole reduced Fusarium wilt AUDPC in Indiana in 2009. Prothioconazole alone and prothioconazole in combination with thiophanate-methyl ranked lowest in Fusarium wilt AUDPC, although not significantly lower than most other treatments. These studies are the first to demonstrate that the soil-applied fungicides prothioconazole and thiophanate-methyl may provide an additional field management option for Fusarium wilt of watermelon.     

转基因西瓜研究进展

综述了西瓜转基因常用的方法、目前已获得的转基因西瓜性状以及转基因西瓜安全性等方面的研究进展，并提出了今后进一步的研究方向。西瓜转基因常用方法为叶盘转化法；将外源基因导入到西瓜基因组中常用的方法主要有农杆菌介导法和花粉管介导法；常采用PCR、Southern和Western等方法来检测和鉴定外源基因是否成功整合到西瓜基因组中；目前利用转基因技术改良的西瓜性状主要集中在培育抗病毒、抗枯萎病和耐旱、耐盐碱等方面；对转基因西瓜的安全性研究主要包括生态安全性和食品安全性2个方面。今后应利用转基因技术进一步提高西瓜营养品质、耐贮性和抗冻性等性状，并进一步加强对转基因西瓜安全性的研究。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">OsLAP6/OsPKS1</Emphasis>, an orthologue of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis PKSA/LAP6</Emphasis>, is critical for proper pollen exine formation

Background

Male fertility is crucial for rice yield, and the improvement of rice yield requires hybrid production that depends on male sterile lines. Although recent studies have revealed several important genes in male reproductive development, our understanding of the mechanisms of rice pollen development remains unclear.

Results

We identified a rice mutant oslap6 with complete male sterile phenotype caused by defects in pollen exine formation. By using the MutMap method, we found that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variation located in the second exon of OsLAP6/OsPKS1 was responsible for the mutant phenotype. OsLAP6/OsPKS1 is an orthologous gene of Arabidopsis PKSA/LAP6, which functions in sporopollenin metabolism. Several other loss-of-function mutants of OsLAP6/OsPKS1 generated by the CRISPR/Cas9 genomic editing tool also exhibited the same phenotype of male sterility. Our cellular analysis suggested that OsLAP6/OsPKS1 might regulate pollen exine formation by affecting bacula elongation. Expression examination indicated that OsLAP6/OsPKS1 is specifically expressed in tapetum, and its product is localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Protein sequence analysis indicated that OsLAP6/OsPKS1 is conserved in land plants.

Conclusions

OsLAP6/OsPKS1 is a critical molecular switch for rice male fertility by participating in a conserved sporopollenin precursor biosynthetic pathway in land plants. Manipulation of OsLAP6/OsPKS1 has potential for application in hybrid rice breeding.

     

Interaction of Cd-hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. and functional endophyte Pseudomonas sp. Lk9 on soil heavy metals uptake

Bioaugmentation is a promising method for assisting phytoextraction of heavy metals from contaminated soil, and the development of bioaugmentation-assisted phytoextraction requires the understanding of the mechanism involved in the interaction between plants and inocula. In this study, a pot study was conducted to evaluate the effect of bacterial endophyte Pseudomonas sp. Lk9 which can produce biosurfactants, siderophores and organic acids on the growth and metal uptake of Cd-hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. growing in multi-metal-contaminated soil. The results revealed that Lk9 inoculation could improve soil Fe and P mineral nutrition supplies, enhance soil heavy metal availability, and affect host-mediated low-molecular-weight organic acids secretion, thereby significantly increasing S. nigrum shoot dry biomass by 14% and the total of Cd by 46.6%, Zn by 16.4% and Cu by 16.0% accumulated in aerial parts, compared to those of non-inoculated control. The assessment of phytoextraction showed that Lk9 inoculation elevated the bioaccumulation factor of Cd (28.9%) and phytoextraction rates of all metals (17.4%, 48.6% and 104.6% for Cd, Zn and Cu, respectively), while the translocation factors had negligible difference between Lk9 inoculation (3.30, 0.50 and 0.40 for Cd, Zn and Cu, respectively) and non-inoculated control (2.95, 0.53 and 0.42 for Cd, Zn and Cu, respectively). It was also found that the symbiotic association between S. nigrum and Lk9 significantly increased the soil microbial biomass C by 39.2% and acid phosphatase activity by 28.6% compared to those in S. nigrum without Lk9. This study would provide a new insight into the bioaugmentation-assisted phytoextraction of heavy metal-contaminated soils.     

Growth and weed suppression ability of common and new cover crops in Germany

Cover crops have a wide-ranging influence on the agroecosystem and create multiple benefits for farmers. A major benefit of cover crops is the suppression of weeds during fall and winter, which can help to reduce soil tillage and herbicide use. However, only a small number of cover crop species are currently grown in Germany. To enlarge this number, four new cover crop species including tartary buckwheat, forage radish, red oat and grain amaranth were tested in comparison with common cover crop species such as white mustard, oilseed radish and phacelia. Emergence, soil coverage, dry matter production and weed suppression ability was assessed for all cover crop species. White mustard emerged faster than all other cover crops and produced the highest amount of shoot dry matter at both locations in southwest Germany twelve weeks after planting (WAP). Oilseed radish was the only cover crop that reduced the weed dry matter in all experiments eight WAP. Phacelia was able to reduce weed density by 77% at Meiereihof twelve WAP. Tartary buckwheat offered the highest soil coverage four WAP, produced the greatest shoot dry matter eight WAP and reduced weed dry matter by more than 96% at Meiereihof and Ihinger Hof twelve WAP. Forage radish produced the highest root dry matter and reduced spring weed density by more than 81% in all experiments. Red oat and grain amaranth emerged slowly, produced less biomass than other cover crops and did not suppress weed growth. The results show that tartary buckwheat and forage radish are well suited as new cover crops in Germany due to their fast growth and good weed suppression ability.     

Biology,impact, and management of Echinochloa colona (L.) Link

Echinochloa colona (L.) Link. is one of the most problematic weeds across the world. It is an annual C₄ summer grass, native to tropical and subtropical Asia, emerged as a serious and persistent threat in 35 cropping systems in more than 60 countries. E. colona is reported as an important associated weed species in transplanted and direct-seeded rice. Diverse ecotypes, high seed production, short seed dormancy, rapid growth, competitive potential, allelopathic interaction, and resistance against several herbicides makes it a more adaptable and persistent challenge in various agro-ecosystems. Development of resistance to recommended or higher doses of numerous herbicides, including ametryn, atrazine, bispyribac-sodium, clefoxidym, cyhalofop-butyl, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl, glyphosate, metribuzin, propanil, and triazine, is a serious concern for the farming and scientific community. Crop infestation with resistant E. colona biotypes may ultimately increase the weed control cost. Unfortunately, investigations on seed dormancy release, genetic diversity, allelopathic interference, and competitive ability of this weed are inadequate in accomplishing its appropriate control in different environments. Therefore, a comprehensive review is presented here to gather the existing information, to pin point key findings, and to highlight the research gaps in the biology, interference, and management of E. colona. Different management options have been discussed in relation with eco-biology of this noxious weed. The potential research endeavours have also been highlighted in order to provide an insight of its existing scenario and to facilitate the future management strategies.     

The inheritance of two novel subgynoecious genes in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), which is a vegetable crop, has served as the model system for sex expression in flowering plants, and the inheritance of sex expression in cucumber is well documented. However, the genetics of subgynoecism expression in cucumber had rarely been described. In this study, we investigated the inheritance of subgynoecious traits in cucumber plants with the inbred cucumber lines of subgynoecious (C. sativus L. var sativus cv 97-17 and S-2-98) as the materials. Genetic analysis had showed the two subgynoecious inbred lines were controlled by one pair of recessive gene and one pair of incompletely dominant gene, which were designated presently as mod-F2 and Mod-F1, respectively. Furthermore, the mod-F2 and Mod-F1 loci, which enhance the intensity of femaleness, also inherited independently with F and M genes.