Evaluation of Cold Tolerance in NERICAs Compared with Japanese Standard Rice Varieties at the Reproductive Stage

New Rice for Africa (NERICA) is a general name for interspecific rice varieties derived from a cross between the high‐yielding Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) between locally adapted African rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.). Eight NERICAs were evaluated for cold tolerance (CT) at the reproductive stage and compared with their O. sativa parents and three Japanese standard rice varieties over 3 years. Cold tolerance was evaluated based on the filled grain ratio (FGR) after cold water irrigation. The FGR was greatly reduced by cold water irrigation. NERICA 1, 2 and 7 had higher FGR (51.9–57.9 %), while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 had lower FGR (6.2–14.5 %). NERICA 1, 2 and 7 were less affected by cold stress, with a 31 % mean reduction in FGR, while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 were greatly affected, with their FGRs being reduced by more than 80 %. NERICA 3 and 4 were moderately affected by cold stress, with about 45 % reduction rate in FGR. FGR significantly influenced the grain weights of the varieties with strong positive correlations (r = 0.83–0.91; P < 0.001), and thus, similar trends in grain weights were observed. Grain weights were reduced by 61.7–96.4 % under cold stress. NERICA 1, 2 and 7 showed significantly better performance than NERICA 3 and 4, while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 performed poorly under cold water irrigation. The Japanese varieties Koshihikari (very tolerant) and Ozora (moderately tolerant) were more affected by cold water irrigation than NERICA 1, 2 and 7. On the basis of the mean reduction rate (%) in FGR under cold stress, the varieties were classified as follows: NERICA 1, 2 and 7 as tolerant; NERICA 3 and 4 as moderately tolerant; and NERICA 6, 15 and 16 as susceptible to cold stress. However, NERICA 7 grain yields were lower under cold stress due to both greatly reduced number of panicles per plant and number of spikelets per panicle. Therefore, NERICA 1 and 2 are suitable candidates for production in the highland regions of East Africa and should be promoted for production.     

Copper‐Induced Oxidative Stress and Responses of the Antioxidant System in Roots of Medicago sativa

The effects of various copper (Cu) concentrations on the antioxidative system in the roots of Medicago sativa were explored. The results indicated that the Cu content of the roots reached a value of 854 μg g^?1 DW at 10 μm Cu and a value of 4415 μg g^?1 DW at 100 μm Cu, suggesting that M. sativa has better ability to tolerate and accumulate Cu than other Cu‐bioaccumulators, and is a potential plant for phytoremediation. Treatment with Cu resulted in a significant increment in the levels of H₂O₂, O₂˙^? and OH˙. The reduced form of ascorbate and glutathione reached a peak at 30 μm Cu, and was followed by a sharp depletion to a lower level than that of the control. In contrast, the levels of the oxidised forms of ascorbate and glutathione showed a progressive increment with increasing Cu concentrations, suggesting that the antioxidant system was unable to cope with Cu stress at higher Cu levels. Under the Cu concentrations tested, the activity of catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6), ascorbate peroxidase (APX, EC 1.11.1.11) and glutathione reductase (GR, EC 1.6.4.2) increased at lower Cu concentrations, and then decreased, reaching a maximum at 30 μm of Cu for APX and GR, at 10 μm for CAT, whereas the activities of guaiacol peroxidase (POD, EC 1.11.1.7) were gradually increased with increasing Cu concentrations. PAGE analysis of superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.1.5.1.1) revealed that one band is a Mn‐SOD and five bands are identified as Cu, Zn‐SOD, whereas Fe‐SOD isoforms were not found in the roots of alfalfa. Cu at 10–100 μm increased the intensity of constitutive isozymes of CAT, APX and POD, whereas it decreased the intensity of isozymes of glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH, EC 1.1.1.49) significantly. The activities of lipoxygenases (LOX, EC 1.13.11.12) were gradually augmented with increasing Cu concentrations, demonstrating that LOXs are probably involved in production of lipid hydroperoxides and superoxide anion. There was a continuous and pronounced enhancement in the activity of esterase (EST, EC 3.1.1.1) in roots treated with 10–30 Cu μm , whereas EST activity in roots exposed to above 30 μm Cu declined, suggesting that EST plays a protective role under lower Cu concentrations stress.     

Abscisic Acid May Alter the Salicylic Acid‐Related Abiotic Stress Response in Maize

The effect of 0, 0.05 or 0.1 mm abscisic acid treatment on chilling tolerance and salicylic acid‐related responses was investigated in young maize seedlings (Zea mays L., hybrid Norma). Although the pre‐treatment of maize seedlings with abscisic acid slightly decreased the chlorophyll content, it also reduced the level of chilling injury caused by 6 days of cold treatment at 5 °C. Under normal growth conditions, increased levels of bound salicylic acid and of bound ortho‐hydroxycinnamic acid were observed in the leaves during abscisic acid treatment. In the roots, abscisic acid did not affect the free and bound salicylic acid levels, but increased the amount of free and bound ortho‐hydroxycinnamic acid. The activity of glutathione‐S‐transferase increased on the 3rd day of abscisic acid treatment, whereas it did not change when followed by cold stress, compared with the control leaves. In the roots, the activities of glutathione reductase, glutathione‐S‐transferase and ascorbate peroxidase increased during the abscisic acid treatment, and those of glutathione‐S‐transferase and ascorbate peroxidase were also stimulated when abscisic acid pre‐treatment was followed by cold stress, compared with the control roots. Our results suggest that an overlap may exist between the abscisic acid‐induced cold acclimation and the salicylic acid‐related stress response.     

Predation on native sculpin by exotic brown trout exceeds that by native cutthroat trout within a mountain watershed (Logan,UT, USA)

We explored potential negative effects of exotic brown trout (Salmo trutta) on native sculpin (Cottus sp.) on the Logan River, Utah, USA by (i) examining factors most strongly correlated with sculpin abundance (e.g., abiotic conditions or piscivory?), (ii) contrasting the extent of brown trout predation on sculpin with that by native cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah) and (iii) estimating the number of sculpin consumed by brown trout along an elevational gradient using bioenergetics. Abundance of sculpin across reaches showed a strong (r ≥ 0.40) and significant (P < 0.05) correlation with physical variables describing width (positive) and gradient (negative), but not with abundance of piscivorous brown trout or cutthroat trout. In mainstem reaches containing sculpin, we found fish in 0% of age‐1, 10% of age‐2 and 33% of age‐3 and older brown trout diets. Approximately 81% of fish consumed by brown trout were sculpin. Despite a similar length–gape relationship for native cutthroat trout, we found only two fish (one sculpin and one unknown) in the diets of native cutthroat trout similar in size to age‐3 brown trout. Based on bioenergetics, we estimate that an average large (> 260 mm) brown trout consumes as many as 34 sculpin per year. Nevertheless, results suggest that sculpin abundance in this system is controlled by abiotic factors and not brown trout predation. Additional research is needed to better understand how piscivory influences brown trout invasion success, including in‐stream experiments exploring trophic dynamics and interactions between brown trout and native prey under different environmental conditions.     

Limited effects of land use on soil dissolved organic matter chemistry as assessed by excitation–emission fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular weight fractionation

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soil solution represents a complex mixture of organic molecules and plays a central role in carbon and nitrogen cycling in plant–microbial–soil systems. We tested whether excitation–emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy can be used to characterize DOM and support previous findings that the majority of DOM is of high molecular weight (MW). EEM fluorescence spectroscopy was used in conjunction with MW fractionation to characterize DOM in soil solution from a grassland soil land management gradient in North Wales, UK. Data analysis suggested that three distinct fluorescence components could be separated and identified from the EEM data. These components were identified as being of humic‐like or fulvic‐like origin. Contrary to expectations, the majority of the fluorescence signal occurred in the small MW (<1 kDa) fraction, although differences between soils from the differently managed grasslands were more apparent in larger MW fractions. We conclude that following further characterization of the chemical composition of the fluorophores, EEM has potential as a sensitive technique for characterizing the small MW phenolic fraction of DOM in soils.     

Morphological and Physiological Responses of Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and Chicory (Cichorium intybus) to Water Stress and Defoliation Frequency

Plants are often subjected to periods of water stress. There are little data examining the effect of water stress on the forage species Plantago lanceolata and Cichorium intybus. In two pot experiments with P. lanceolata and C. intybus, morphological responses under optimum, dry, and very‐dry water treatments with weekly, fortnightly and 3‐weekly defoliation intervals and physiological responses under optimum and very‐dry water treatments were measured. A third experiment compared the rooting depths of P. lanceolata and C. intybus under field conditions. These findings suggest that both P. lanceolata and C. intybus can survive and continue to grow under water stress conditions with the main differences between the two species being attributable to morphological characteristics (root mass, taproot diameter and shoot mass fraction) rather than differences at a physiological level. Overall, the results suggest plantain may be more productive under moderate drought due to its greater shoot mass fraction, whereas chicory may be more productive and persistent under severe drought due to its greater root mass, taproot diameter and root depth under field conditions.