Characteristics of initial growth of hypernodulation soybean mutants,NOD1-3, NOD2-4 and NOD3-7, affected by inoculation of bradyrhizobia and nitrate supply

Abstract

The characteristics of plant growth of hypernodulation soybean mutant lines NOD1-3, NOD2-4 and NOD3-7 were compared with their parent cv. Williams. The plants were grown using hydroponics in an illuminated growth chamber with or without seed inoculation of bradyrhizobia, and in the absence or presence of nitrate in the culture solution. When the plants were grown without inoculation, the total dry weight of all mutant lines was not different statistically from Williams, both in the absence and presence of nitrate. When they were grown with inoculation of bradyrhizobia, however, the total dry weight of each mutant line was significantly lower than that of Williams, both in the absence and presence of nitrate. These results indicate that the reduced accumulation of total dry matter of hypernodulation mutant lines compared with the wild type may be a secondary effect passively resulting from the large number of nodules, while the hypernodulation trait is a primary effect of the mutated gene. When the plants were grown with inoculation, the nodule number was decreased by the presence of nitrate in Williams, NOD1-3 and NOD2-4, but not in NOD3-7. NOD3-7 may be the most tolerant to nitrate inhibition of nodulation among the NOD mutant lines. In contrast, leaf growth of NOD3-7 and NOD1-3 was different from the wild type; the expanded leaf was smaller, but the leaf emergence rate was faster compared with Williams under all conditions. This indicates that NOD3-7 and NOD1-3 might decrease the ability for leaf expansion or may have a faster leaf emergence rate.     

Improved synthesis and deployment of (2S,3R)-2-(2Z,5Z-octadienyl)-3-nonyloxirane, a pheromone of the pink moth, Lymantria mathura

We report two new syntheses of (2S,3R)-2-(2Z,5Z-octadienyl)-3-nonyloxirane, the main sex pheromone component of the pink moth, Lymantria mathura. The key step in the first route was the construction of (Z,Z)-1-bromo-1,4-heptadiene (6), which was coupled in the final step with 2-iodomethyl-3-nonyloxirane 4 via a Grignard reaction. The second approach employed alkylation of 1,4-heptadiynyllithium with epoxy triflates 7 in ether/hexane and provided the pheromone in >/=37% overall yield from alcohol 2. The 4:1 ratio of pheromone enantiomers, reportedly the most attractive to pink moth males, can be directly crafted from appropriately selected Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation conditions.     

根瘤菌中的nodD基因及其与弗兰克氏菌（Frankia）中的类nodD基因的功能互补

根瘤菌可在几种豆科植物上成瘤,结瘤基因（ｎｏｄ基因）赋予这些细菌以寄主专一性的方式诱导瘤的形成。目前,已被鉴定的三类主要结瘤基因是：＂公共＂结瘤基因,如ｎｏｄＡＢＣ,这类基因是结瘤不可缺少的,并具有高度的结构和功能上的保守性;另一类是寄主专一性基因,这类基因具有种属或菌株的专一性,它们决定了细菌的寄主范围;最后一类是结瘤基因Ｄ（ｎｏｄＤ）,这类基因编码一类调节蛋白,并和植物分泌的酚类化合物一道起动其他结瘤操纵子的转录。一些根瘤菌种属只有一个拷贝的ｎｏｄＤ基因,而另一些则可拥有三个拷贝之多。苜蓿根瘤菌（Ｒ．ｍｅｌｉｌｏｔｉ）中存在三个拷贝的ｎｏｄＤ基因,其中的任何一个发生突变都以依赖于寄主的方式影响结瘤效果。在慢生型大豆根瘤菌（Ｂ．ｊａｐｏｎｉｃｕｍ）中,ｎｏｄＤ１突变菌株还可在大豆或其他豆科植物寄主上结瘤,只是稍往后推迟而已,ｎｏｄＤ２基因对ｎｏｄＹＡＢＣＳＵＩＪ操纵子诱导的影响却很小,两个ｎｏｄＤ拷贝突变后尚表现出结瘤活性。在只有一个ｎｏｄＤ基因拷贝的根瘤菌种属中,如豌豆根瘤菌（Ｒ．ｌｅｇｕｍｉｎｏｓａｒｕｍ）和茎瘤固氮菌（Ａ．ｃａｕｌｉｎｏｄａｎｓ）中,ｎｏｄＤ突变后会导致菌株丧失结瘤能力。一般说来,不     

Photoassimilate partitioning in hypernodulation mutant of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) NOD1-3 and its parent williams in relation to nitrate inhibition of nodule growth

Nodule growth of a hypernodulating soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) mutant line NOD1-3 was compared to that of its wild-type parent cv. Williams from 14 to 18 days after planting (DAP) in the absence of nitrate treatment (hereafter referred to as “0 mM treatment”) or with 5 mM nitrate treatment. The growth rate determined by increase in the diameter of the nodules was relatively lower in the mutant NOD1-3 than that of the parent Williams under nitrogen-free conditions (0 mM nitrate). The inhibition of nodule growth by 5 mM nitrate started at 1 d after the onset of the nitrate treatment in Williams, while the inhibition did not occur before the application of the nitrate treatment for 2 d in NOD1-3. The nodule growth was completely inhibited after 2 d in Williams and after 3 d in NOD1-3 during the 5 mM nitrate treatment period. After 4 d of 5 mM nitrate treatment, the nodule dry weight decreased by 22% in NOD1-3 and by 58% in Williams, respectively. The treatment with 5 mM nitrate decreased the acetylene reduction activity (ARA) in NOD1-3 by 60% per plant and by 50% per nodule g DW and these parameters were less sensitive to the treatment than those in Williams in which the inhibition rate was 90% per plant and 80% per nodule g DW. These results indicate that NOD1-3 is partially nitrate-tolerant in terms of individual nodule growth as well as total nodule dry weight and Nz fixation activity. A whole shoot of Williams and NOD1-3 plants was exposed to ¹⁴CO₂ for 120 min followed by 0 or 5 mM nitrate treatment for 2 d, and the partitioning of the photoassimilates among the organs was analyzed. Under 0 mM nitrate treatment, the percentages of the distribution of ¹⁴C radioactivity between the nodules and roots were 63 and 37% in Williams and 89 and 11% in NOD1-3. Under the 5 mM nitrate conditions, the percentages of the distribution of ¹⁴C between the nodules and roots changed to 14 and 86% in Williams and 39 and 61% in NOD1-3, respectively. These results indicated that the hypernodulating mutant NOD1-3 supplied a larger amount of photoassimilates to the nodules than to the roots under nitrogen-free conditions, and that the nitrate depression of photoassimilate transport to the nodules was less sensitive than that of the parent line.     

Synthesis and herbicidal activity of N,N-diethyl-3-(arylselenonyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-1-carboxamide

Based on the carbamoyl triazole herbicide Cafenstrole, 12 novel selenium-containing compounds were designed and synthesized. All of the compounds were characterized and confirmed by IR, 1H NMR, and high-resolution mass spectroscopy. The bioassay tests showed that some of the compounds (C2, C4, C(7-8), and C12) exhibited good inhibitory activity against cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and semen euphorbiae (Leptochloa chinensis N.). Especially, compound C6 inhibited the growth of cucumber and semen euphorbiae by >90% at a concentration of 1.875 microg/mL, and the inhibition of the compound on the rice (Oryza sativa L.) was only 8.3% at a concentration of 7.5 microg/mL, which indicated a higher selectivity between weed and rice than that shown by Cafenstrole.     

14-3-3 protein down-regulates key enzyme activities of nitrate and carbohydrate metabolism in potato plants

The 14-3-3 protein is one of the best candidates for coordinating all plant metabolic pathways. To verify this suggestion transgenic potato plants with repression of one (J4 and J5 plants), two (G1 plants), and six (G3 plants) constitutive 14-3-3 protein isoforms as well as plants overexpressing the 14-3-3 protein were studied. Reduction in the 14-3-3 protein level in the J4 and J5 transformants, the G1 transformants, and the G3 transformants was close to 29, 41.5, 38, and 55%, respectively. In the case of the 14-3-3 overexpressing plants (J2), a 30% increase in protein content was detected. Changes in nitrate reductase (NR), sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and starch synthase (SS) activities in the transgenic plants perfectly reflect the overall 14-3-3 protein level. The highest increase in enzyme activities was observed for the G3 plants and the lowest for the J4 transformants. The same was detected for the measured metabolites. The highest increase in the protein, starch, and sucrose levels was detected in the tubers from the G3 transgenic plants. Because there was almost no change in the isoform ratio in the transgenic plants when compared to the control, it is suggested that it is the overall content of the 14-3-3 protein, rather than the content of particular isoforms, which plays a crucial role in the regulation of enzyme activities and thus in metabolite synthesis. The properties of the 14-3-3 overexpressing plants are very similar to those of the control ones, suggesting that the protein is in excess in the nontransformants and a further increase in its content is not recognized by cell metabolism. A considerable influence of the 14-3-3 protein level on potato plant metabolism was demonstrated. This effect was observed in key metabolic enzyme activities and metabolite content as well. A high variability between mean values, representing individual transgenes, with respect to nitrate reductase, sucrose phosphate synthase, and starch synthase activities in the examined genotypes was noted. These changes were closely correlated with metabolite levels, among them protein, starch, reducing sugars, and sucrose. The results obtained for the five types of transgenic potato plants in comparison with the control were statistically assessed using discriminate function and cluster analyses.