Anaerobiosis in soybean root nodules under water stress

Soybean nodules subjected to water stress showed lowered C₂H₂ reducing activity and O₂ uptake, but enhanced CO₂ and ethanol evolution. Similar results were obtained with waterlogged nodules. The effects of stress could be partially or completely overcome by increaseing the O₂ supply. It is concluded that both water deficiency and excess may depress nitrogenase activity (C₂H₂ reduction) by restricting supplies of intermediates from aerobic pathways. At the same time fermentative pathways are stimulated and could lead to inhibitory concentrations of ethanol being produced. Both symbionts possess systems for ethanol production.     

荻草谷网蚜ABCG1基因的克隆及表达模式分析

荻草谷网蚜Sitobion miscanthi是严重威胁我国小麦生产安全的迁飞性害虫。蜕皮激素是参与蚜虫翅型分化调控的内激素, 在有翅成蚜体内保持高滴度, 且诱导后代产生更高比例的无翅蚜, 其进出靶细胞需要经过细胞膜上特定蛋白的转运。ATP结合盒转运蛋白家族G亚家族(ATP-binding cassette transporter G, ABCG)中的 ABCG1是通过跨膜转运昆虫类固醇、对蜕皮激素信号进行负调控的功能蛋白之一, 在蚜虫中尚未见报道。本文克隆了荻草谷网蚜ABCG1(SmisABCG1)基因, 并进行了序列比对、系统进化分析以及不同组织部位和发育时期表达模式分析。结果显示, SmisABCG1基因的开放阅读框全长为1 851 bp, 编码616个氨基酸, 含7个跨膜结构域, 符合ABCG蛋白家族典型结构特性, 基因登录ID:OP626323。昆虫间ABCG1较保守, 该蛋白系统进化关系与各自物种间亲缘关系的远近保持一致。其中, SmisABCG1与来自豌豆蚜、禾谷缢管蚜、棉蚜、花生蚜和雪松长足大蚜等的ABCG1氨基酸序列高度一致(>87%), 以上蚜虫聚为一支。与SmisABCG1亲缘关系最近的是豌豆蚜的ABCG1, 其次是半翅目的褐飞虱、白背飞虱和灰飞虱, 与膜翅目的新疆菜叶蜂、阿里山潜蝇茧蜂以及鞘翅目的赤拟谷盗、蜂箱小甲虫亲缘关系较远。该基因在伪胚胎和成蚜阶段高表达。包含伪胚胎的有翅、无翅成蚜整蚜SmisABCG1的转录水平无显著差异, 但其在来自有翅成蚜的伪胚胎中的转录水平高于无翅成蚜伪胚胎, 证实无翅成蚜自身的转录水平较高, 而有翅成蚜较低。进一步分析显示这一差异主要是无翅蚜胸部显著高表达所导致。基于该蛋白对蜕皮激素负调控, 与有翅成蚜转录水平低, 但蜕皮激素水平更高相符合。     

Snow damages on trees of an uneven age in mixed broadleaf forests:effects of topographical conditions and tree characteristics

Snow damage on natural stands is an important problem concerning mountainous forest management.In the present research,the frequency and intensity of heavy snow damage on natural stands and the relationship of damages with characteristics of trees,stand and topography were studied in mountainous forests of northern Iran.A systematic sampling design was applied to the study area(140 ha),with 122 circular plots.The grid dimension was100 m and each plot area was 1000 m^2.The four types of snow damage to trees include:crown damage(8.6%),stem breakage(5.4%),uprooting(3.2%),and bending(1.4%).The frequency of crown damage grew with an increase inthe diameter at breast height(DBH),while the frequency of stem breakage,uprooting and bending decreased with an increase the DBH.The frequency of crown damage,stem breakage,and total damages was related to tree species(p<0.01).Not all tree species were equally susceptible to snow damage.The amount of damage grew with increasing elevation and slope angle and decreased with increasing soil depth.Young trees(DBH<25 cm)were more susceptible to snow damage than other trees.Snow damage decreased by as the trees in the stand became more mixed in age.The susceptibility of trees to snow damage increased by height and slenderness coefficient.With adequate silvicultural operation,snow damage can be reduced to a minimum level in these natural forests.     

An artificial inoculation protocol for Uromycladium acaciae,cause of a serious disease of Acacia mearnsii in southern Africa

Uromycladium acaciae is the cause of a severe wattle rust epidemic in plantations of Acacia mearnsii (black wattle) in southern Africa. Research on the biology of this damaging rust is assisting in the development of control strategies. One strategy under investigation is the identification and deployment of resistant lines of A. mearnsii. Selection of resistant families currently relies on large-scale, time-consuming and expensive field trials. In this study, we present a detailed artificial inoculation protocol for U. acaciae, which can be used to screen for resistance. The results of an experiment that used the protocol to screen the relative resistance of 12 families of A. mearnsii to U. acaciae are also presented. The developed artificial inoculation protocol can also be used to investigate several other aspects of this host–pathogen system.     

Evidence that the negative relationship between seed mass and relative growth rate is not physiological but linked to species identity: a within-family analysis of Scots pine

Seed mass and relative growth rate (RGR) are important determinants of early seedling growth, and hence seedling establishment. Although a positive interspecific relationship between seed mass and seedling dry mass is well established, much less is known about the relationships among seed mass, seedling mass and RGR within species. We examined relationships among seed mass, seedling mass and RGR within and among maternal plant lines of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). To assess the effects of seed mass and maternal origin on RGR, individual seeds from two seed crops (years 2004 and 2005) of ten maternal plants growing under nursery conditions were weighed and then germinated. Seed mass was strongly determined by maternal plant, and seedling mass was largely determined by seed mass, with a positive correlation between these variables both across and within maternal plants. In contrast, RGR was weakly related to seed mass, with no consistent pattern in the sign of the relationship. It is well known that species differ in RGR and that RGR is related to seed mass across species. Lack of consistent evidence for this relationship within maternal lines, and for Scots pine overall, suggests that the relationship is not directly causal, but reflects consistent evolutionary covariation in these two physiologically independent traits.     

Water use and carbon exchange of red oak- and eastern hemlock-dominated forests in the northeastern USA: implications for ecosystem-level effects of hemlock woolly adelgid

Water use and carbon exchange of a red oak-dominated (Quercus rubra L.) forest and an eastern hemlock-dominated (Tsuga canadensis L.) forest, each located within the Harvard Forest in north-central Massachusetts, were measured for 2 years by the eddy flux method. Water use by the red oak forest reached 4 mm day(-1), compared to a maximum of 2 mm day(-1) by the eastern hemlock forest. Maximal carbon (C) uptake rate was also higher in the red oak forest than in the eastern hemlock forest (about 25 versus 15 micromol m(-2) s(-1)). Sap flux measurements indicated that transpiration of red oak, and also of black birch (Betula lenta L.), which frequently replaces eastern hemlock killed by hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand.), were almost twice that of eastern hemlock. Despite the difference between species in maximum summertime C assimilation rate, annual C storage of the eastern hemlock forest almost equaled that of the red oak forest because of net C uptake by eastern hemlock during unusually warm fall and spring weather, and a near-zero C balance during the winter. Thus, the effect on C storage of replacing eastern hemlock forest with a forest dominated by deciduous species is unclear. Carbon storage by eastern hemlock forests during fall, winter and spring is likely to increase in the event of climate warming, although this may be offset by C loss during hotter summers. Our results indicate that, although forest water use will decrease immediately following eastern hemlock mortality due to the hemlock woolly adelgid, the replacement of eastern hemlock by deciduous species such as red oak will likely increase summertime water use over current rates in areas where hemlock is a major forest species.     

Transgenic expression of Pinellia ternata agglutinin (PTA) and Arisaema heterophyllum agglutinin (AHA) in wheat confers resistance against the grain aphid,Sitobion miscanthi

Journal of Pest Science - The present study investigated the feeding behaviour and life-table parameters of the grain aphid Sitobion miscanthi in response to being fed on transgenic wheat lines...     

Damage caused by the American grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) to agricultural crops, poplar plantations and semi-natural woodland in Piedmont, Italy

The incidence of damage caused by grey squirrels in the Turinplain was studied to assess the impact this alien species ishaving on the highly fragmented Piedmont environment, in particularon profitable cereals, poplar plantations and semi-natural woodlands.The survey of damage was conducted both by interviews to localfarmers and growers and by direct assessment using the NearestNeighbour Method on plantations and woodlands, studying randomlychosen plots in the Turin plain to gain a general overview ofthe situation. The results show a low incidence of damage causedby grey squirrels in the area: little or none was found in semi-naturalwoodlands and in agricultural crops, apart from maize whereless than 1 per cent of fields showed damage, and poplar plantationswhere 5 per cent had signs of bark stripping. Damage on maizecrops was random across the plain, but debarking damage to poplarswas mostly concentrated on the western side of the plain, andtended to occur only in particular years. Damage was concentratedclose to streams and rivers surrounding fields and plantations.The introduction of the grey squirrel in Italy has already causedecological damage such as the extinction of the red squirrelin some areas. Nevertheless, little or no information is availableon the damage this species is causing on woodlands or agriculturalareas. This study is a preliminary survey in order to fill thisgap.     

Antiproliferative steroidal glycosides from Digitalis ciliata

Two new compounds, a furostanol glycoside (1) and a pregnane glycoside (4), along with eight known compounds, belonging to the classes of spirostane (2,3), pregnane (5–7) and cardenolide (8–10) glycosides, were isolated from the seeds of Digitalis ciliata. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D-NMR experiments as well as ESI-MS analysis. For the first time pregnane glycosides of the diginigenin series have been isolated from D. ciliata. The cytotoxic effects of compounds 1–10 on cell viability of several cancer cell lines, namely human breast cancer (MCF-7), human glioblastoma (T98G), human lung adenocarcinoma (A549), human colon carcinoma (HT-29), and human prostate cancer (PC-3) cell lines were evaluated. Compounds 1, 4, 7 and 8 showed antiproliferative effects against MCF-7, HT-29 and A549 cancer cells with IC₅₀ values ranging from 8.3 to 20 μM. The effects of compounds 1–10 on cell proliferation were evaluated on these three cancer cell lines by cell cycle analysis of DNA content using flow cytometry. Compounds 7, 8 and 10 induced significant changes in G₂/M cell cycle phase of all analyzed cells. The obtained results indicate that compounds 7, 8 and 10 are cytostatic compounds effective in reducing cell proliferation by inducing accumulation of the cells in the G₂/M phase of the cell cycle.