去雄对睡莲花瓣开放角度及生理生化特征的影响

为揭示睡莲(基部被子植物)的开花特性,探究雄蕊在睡莲花瓣节律性开放过程中的作用.本研究以蓝鸟睡莲(Nymphaea 'Blue Bird')为实验材料,在去雄(摘除雄蕊)后记录花瓣开放角度和萎蔫时间,并于去雄后第6、24、48及72小时测定花瓣的生理生化指标变化.结果 显示,去雄后睡莲花瓣的开放角度小于对照组,在第48小时与对照组开放角度差异最大,达到49.31°,而去雄后花瓣萎蔫的时间与对照组相同,均出现在第72小时;去雄引起了花瓣多项生理生化指标发生变化,其中,含水量在第24小时与72小时显著低于对照组,比对照组分别低0.7％与0.9％;可溶性糖含量变化显著,在第24小时和48小时比对照组分别高出0.48与0.68 mg/g;脯氨酸(Pro)含量在第72小时显著高于对照组;过氧化物酶(POD)活性从第24小时起比对照组显著升高;而丙二醛(MDA)含量则与对照组无明显差异.以上结果说明,去雄导致了睡莲花瓣开放角度及生理状态发生改变,该发现进一步地揭示了睡莲的开花特性,首次证明了雄蕊对于花瓣节律性开放具有调节作用,为花瓣开放闭合及切花保鲜等领域的研究提供了新的思路.     

Exogenous application of allelopathic water extracts helps improving tolerance against terminal heat and drought stresses in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Em. Thell.)

The allelopathic water extracts (AWEs) may help improve the tolerance of crop plants against abiotic stresses owing to the presence of the secondary metabolites (i.e., allelochemicals). We conducted four independent experiments to evaluate the influence of exogenous application of AWEs (applied through seed priming or foliage spray) in improving the terminal heat and drought tolerance in bread wheat. In all the experiments, two wheat cultivars, viz. Mairaj‐2008 (drought and heat tolerant) and Faisalabad‐2008 (drought and heat sensitive), were raised in pots. Both wheat cultivars were raised under ambient conditions in the wire house till leaf boot stage (booting) by maintaining the pots at 75% water‐holding capacity (WHC). Then, managed drought and heat stresses were imposed by maintaining the pots at 35% WHC, or shifting the pots inside the glass canopies (at 75% WHC), at booting, anthesis and the grain filling stages. Drought stress reduced the grain yield of wheat by 39%–49%. Foliar application of AWEs improved the grain yield of wheat by 26%–31%, while seed priming with AWEs improved the grain yield by 18%–26%, respectively, than drought stress. Terminal heat stress reduced the grain yield of wheat by 38%. Seed priming with AWEs improved the grain yield by 21%–27%; while foliar application of AWEs improved the grain yield by 25%–29% than the heat stress treatment. In conclusion, the exogenous application of AWEs improved the stay green, accumulation of proline, soluble phenolics and glycine betaine, which helped to stabilize the biological membranes and improved the tolerance against terminal drought and heat stresses.     

Vole abundance and reindeer carcasses determine breeding activity of Arctic foxes in low Arctic Yamal,Russia

Background

High latitude ecosystems are at present changing rapidly under the influence of climate warming, and specialized Arctic species at the southern margin of the Arctic may be particularly affected. The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), a small mammalian predator endemic to northern tundra areas, is able to exploit different resources in the context of varying tundra ecosystems. Although generally widespread, it is critically endangered in subarctic Fennoscandia, where a fading out of the characteristic lemming cycles and competition with abundant red foxes have been identified as main threats. We studied an Arctic fox population at the Erkuta Tundra Monitoring site in low Arctic Yamal (Russia) during 10 years in order to determine which resources support the breeding activity in this population. In the study area, lemmings have been rare during the last 15 years and red foxes are nearly absent, creating an interesting contrast to the situation in Fennoscandia.

Results

Arctic fox was breeding in nine of the 10 years of the study. The number of active dens was on average 2.6 (range 0–6) per 100 km² and increased with small rodent abundance. It was also higher after winters with many reindeer carcasses, which occurred when mortality was unusually high due to icy pastures following rain-on-snow events. Average litter size was 5.2 (SD = 2.1). Scat dissection suggested that small rodents (mostly Microtus spp.) were the most important prey category. Prey remains observed at dens show that birds, notably waterfowl, were also an important resource in summer.

Conclusions

The Arctic fox in southern Yamal, which is part of a species-rich low Arctic food web, seems at present able to cope with a state shift of the small rodent community from high amplitude cyclicity with lemming dominated peaks, to a vole community with low amplitude fluctuations. The estimated breeding parameters characterized the population as intermediate between the lemming fox and the coastal fox ecotype. Only continued ecosystem-based monitoring will reveal their fate in a changing tundra ecosystem.

     

Impact of grassland contract policy on soil organic carbon losses from alpine grassland on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Carbon storage in the soils on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau plays a very important role in the global carbon budget. In the 1990s, a policy of contracting collective grasslands to smaller units was implemented, resulting in a change from the traditional collective grassland management to two new management patterns: a multi‐household management pattern (MMP: grassland shared by several households without enclosures) and a single‐household management pattern (SMP: grassland enclosed and used by only one household). In 2016, 50 MMP and 54 SMP winter pastures on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau were sampled to assess the differences in soil organic carbon (SOC) between the two management patterns. Results showed that average SOC was significantly greater under MMP than under SMP, with an estimated 0.41 Mg C/ha/yr lost due to SMP following the new grassland contract. Based on the government's grassland policy, four grassland utilization scenarios were developed for both summer and winter pastures. We found that if the grassland were managed under SMP, likely C losses ranged between 0.31 × 10⁷ and 6.15 × 10⁷ Mg C/yr across the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau relative to MMP, which more closely resembles pre‐1990s grassland management. Previous estimates of C losses have only considered land use change (with cover change) and ignored the impacts driven by land management pattern changes (without cover change). The new data suggest that C losses from the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau are greater than previously estimated, and therefore that the grassland contract policy should be reviewed and SMP households should be encouraged to reunite into the MMP. These findings have potential implications for land management strategies not only on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau but also other grazing regions globally where such practices may exist.     

油菜覆膜打孔穴播机打孔装置设计与试验

为实现油菜等小粒径作物覆膜种植中膜上均匀打孔的功能,针对传统膜上成穴装置结构庞大复杂、工作时易黏土挑种及撕挑地膜等问题,设计了一种法兰式滚轮与螺纹式圆锥型锥钉组合式结构的打孔装置,确定了其主要结构参数范围;构建了打孔装置运动学模型,分析了打孔锥钉关键点的运动轨迹,确定了膜上打孔过程,并基于轨迹方程分析了膜孔尺寸参数;运用ADAMS运动学仿真,采用四因素三水平正交试验方法,以打孔锥钉顶角、打孔锥钉直径、打孔滚轮半径、机组前进速度为试验因素,以膜孔长度、膜孔间距偏差为试验考核指标,进行了打孔装置结构和运动参数的仿真试验。仿真结果表明:影响膜孔长度的因素主次顺序为打孔滚轮半径、打孔锥钉顶角、打孔锥钉直径、机组前进速度;影响膜孔间距偏差的因素主次顺序为打孔滚轮半径、机组前进速度、打孔锥钉顶角、打孔锥钉直径;基于参数优化,获得较优参数组合为:打孔锥钉顶角53°、打孔锥钉直径16 mm、打孔滚轮半径65 mm、机组前进速度4 km/h。以打孔装置较优结构参数组合进行了田间验证试验,结果表明:打孔装置所打膜孔形状较规则,普遍呈类圆形状,膜孔长度均在18 mm以上,膜孔间距较为均匀,与仿真结果基本一致;各行膜孔长度一致性变异系数为4.98%,各行膜孔间距均匀性变异系数为3.44%。结果表明试验参数组合选取合理,打孔装置符合设计要求。     

矾根主要品种的叶色表型性状分析

通过目测进行分类的方式很难准确界定矾根品种叶色。为建立一套更为科学的基于叶色表型的矾根品种分类体系,笔者利用色差仪对72个矾根品种共计432个样品的叶色进行测定,对获得的L、a、b 3个色度值进行聚类分析,将72个矾根品种分为褐色系、深绿色系、黄色系、灰绿色系、浅绿色系5类色系。对矾根品种各色系的L、a、b值进行相关性分析,发现叶片正面的L值与a值、a值与b值呈负相关,L值与b值呈正相关,但相关性不明显;叶片背面的L值与a值、a值与b值呈负相关,L值与b值呈显著正相关。从多重比较的结果中可以看出,矾根品种各色系之间的L、a、b色度值差异显著,尤其是各色系间叶正面的颜色差异较大,在矾根品种选育工作中,叶片正面的颜色将作为主要参考。     

白屈菜CmFAD2基因的克隆及植物转化载体构建

通过对白屈菜低温应答过程的转录组分析发现膜脂不饱和化相关基因的表达在一定过程中发生变化,脂肪酸去饱和酶基因FAD2在随温度的变化趋势为正"V"型,且表达量变化显著。利用NCBI等在线软件对序列进行相关生物学信息分析,并对白屈菜FAD家族成员FAD2基因的完整开放阅读框(ORF)进行克隆,并命名为CmFAD2。选用克隆载体pMD-19-T,转化大肠杆菌DH5α,测序验证序列正确性及完整性。将目的基因与植物表达载体pRI-201-AN连接构建重组DNA pRI-201-AN-Cm FAD2,电击法转化农杆菌LBA4404,利用菌液PCR法验证成功。该基因可作为药用植物抗寒品种创制的候选基因。     

Synchytrium endobioticum – risk from biogas plants?

Synchytrium endobioticum is one of the most important pathogens of potato and is known for its persistent propagation structures. Under favourable conditions, infection of highly susceptible potato cultivars leads to clearly visible cauliflower‐like tissue warts, the typical symptom of potato wart disease. However, unfavourable infection conditions or low infection pressure may result in symptoms being overlooked. Thus, the introduction of pathogen structures into stages of the processing industry cannot be ruled out. As the amounts of processed potato products continue to rise, phytosanitary risks from processing discarded potatoes and potato waste in biogas plants have to be considered. Hence, the resilience of resting spores against mesophilic anaerobic digestion was analysed in stirred tank reactors. Laboratory‐scale results show that S. endobioticum not only withstands mesophilic anaerobic digestion but also subsequent storage of the digestate for at least 4 weeks. Large numbers of viable resting spores were detectable by microscopic assessment in all samples. Viability was proved and verified additionally by bioassay. Consequently, potatoes, potato waste and processing water from potato processing industries used in biogas plants pose a phytosanitary risk if the accruing digestates are returned as fertilizer to arable land.