Joint action of natural and synthetic photosystem II inhibitors

The inhibitory action on photosystem II of four sorgoleone analogues, isolated from Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench, and two synthetic inhibitors, diuron and bentazone, was tested by measuring oxygen evolution of thylakoid membranes. The inhibition of oxygen evolution for mixtures of inhibitors was compared with the Additive Dose Model (ADM). ADM assumes that, at a defined response level, the effect of a mixture of inhibitors can be unambiguously expressed by the potency of either of the inhibitors applied separately. The slope of the logistic dose-response curves differed between the inhibitors; sorgoleone analogues had the steepest and bentazone the shallowest slope. The difference in slopes makes the interpretation of the isoboles less general and may reflect the differences in the interaction between the natural and the synthetic inhibitors with the binding site. The results suggest that there may be some limitation to ADM, namely that compounds with the same site of action might have different response curves if their mechanism of binding is different. The joint action of inhibitors follows ADM at I₅₀ . Therefore, the inhibitors can replace each other in any mixture ratio, based on the relative potencies of the pure inhibitors, without changing each other's effect on oxygen evolution. The joint action at I₂₀ and I₈₀ sometimes diverged from ADM. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

Speciation of heavy metals in garden soils: evidences from selective and sequential chemical leaching

Purpose  

Gardening (especially food growing) in urban areas is becoming popular, but urban soils are often very contaminated for historical reasons. There is lack of sufficient information as to the bioavailability of soil heavy metals to plants and human in urban environments. This study examines the relative leachability of Cr, Ni, As, Cd, Zn, and Pb for soils with varying characteristics. The speciation and mobility of these metals can be qualitatively inferred from the leaching experiments. The goal is to use the data to shed some light on their bioavailability to plant and human, as well as the basis for soil remediation.     

Natural products as sources for new mechanisms of herbicidal action

New mechanisms of action for herbicides are highly desirable to fight evolution of resistance in weeds, to create or exploit unique market niches, and to cope with new regulatory legislation. Comparison of the known molecular target sites of synthetic herbicides and natural phytotoxins reveals that there is little redundancy. Comparatively little effort has been expended on determination of the sites of action of phytotoxins from natural sources, suggesting that intensive study of these molecules will reveal many more novel mechanisms of action. Examples of natural products that inhibit unexploited steps in the amino acid, nucleic acid, and other biosynthetic pathways are given. AAL-toxin, hydantocidin, and various plant-derived terpenoids are discussed. Strategies and potential pitfalls of using natural products as leads for new herbicide classes are summarized.     

17种报春苣苔属植物的组培苗移栽季节研究

探讨不同季节对报春苣苔属植物组培苗移栽成活的影响,为其今后组培苗工厂化、规模化生产提供技术支持.以17种报春苣台属植物的组培生根苗为材料,研究季节对移栽成活的影响,分析不同物种间在同一季节的移栽成活差异以及同一物种在4个不同季节的移栽成活差异.大部分种类在春季移栽具有较高的成活率;成活率最高与最低的种类为三苞报春苣苔和...     

马尾松人工幼林枯枝落叶层的水文特性及养分贮量

为了探明不同林龄马尾松人工林枯枝落叶层现存量、贮水量以及养分贮量的变化规律及其互相之间的关系,在桂西北乐里林场选择3种林龄段马尾松人工林分别建立标准地,对林地枯枝落叶物进行取样测定。结果表明:1)该区9～14a生马尾松人工林枯枝落叶层现存量为3.31～5.64t/hm2,最大净贮水量为4.48～10.19t/hm2,并随林龄的增大而递增。2)林地枯枝落叶层元素养分含量以N,Ca为最大,大约各占10种元素养分总含量的1/3～1/2;Mg,K元素含量次之;Mn,Fe,P,Zn,Cu,B元素含量微小。林地枯枝落叶层养分总贮量为70.66～98.82kg/hm2,随林龄的增大而递增。3)林地枯枝落叶层现存量、最大净贮水量以及元素养分总贮量分别与林龄存在密切的相关性,其回归方程各异。因此,可以根据不同林龄段来预测枯枝落叶层现存量、最大净贮水量和元素养分总贮量。     

Rationale for a natural products approach to herbicide discovery

Weeds continue to evolve resistance to all the known modes of herbicidal action, but no herbicide with a new target site has been commercialized in nearly 20 years. The so-called 'new chemistries' are simply molecules belonging to new chemical classes that have the same mechanisms of action as older herbicides (e.g. the protoporphyrinogen-oxidase-inhibiting pyrimidinedione saflufenacil or the very-long-chain fatty acid elongase targeting sulfonylisoxazoline herbicide pyroxasulfone). Therefore, the number of tools to manage weeds, and in particular those that can control herbicide-resistant weeds, is diminishing rapidly. There is an imminent need for truly innovative classes of herbicides that explore chemical spaces and interact with target sites not previously exploited by older active ingredients. This review proposes a rationale for a natural-products-centered approach to herbicide discovery that capitalizes on the structural diversity and ingenuity afforded by these biologically active compounds. The natural process of extended-throughput screening (high number of compounds tested on many potential target sites over long periods of times) that has shaped the evolution of natural products tends to generate molecules tailored to interact with specific target sites. As this review shows, there is generally little overlap between the mode of action of natural and synthetic phytotoxins, and more emphasis should be placed on applying methods that have proved beneficial to the pharmaceutical industry to solve problems in the agrochemical industry.     

EPSPS gene amplification in glyphosate-resistant Italian ryegrass (Lolium perenne ssp. multiflorum) from Arkansas

BACKGROUND: Resistance to glyphosate in weed species is a major challenge for the sustainability of glyphosate use in crop and non‐crop systems. A glyphosate‐resistant Italian ryegrass population has been identified in Arkansas. This research was conducted to elucidate its resistance mechanism. RESULTS: The investigation was conducted on resistant and susceptible plants from a population in Desha County, Arkansas (Des03). The amounts of glyphosate that caused 50% overall visual injury were 7 to 13 times greater than those for susceptible plants from the same population. The EPSPS gene did not contain any point mutation that has previously been associated with resistance to glyphosate, nor were there any other mutations on the EPSPS gene unique to the Des03 resistant plants. The resistant plants had 6‐fold higher basal EPSPS enzyme activities than the susceptible plants, but their I₅₀ values in response to glyphosate were similar. The resistant plants contained up to 25 more copies of EPSPS gene than the susceptible plants. The level of resistance to glyphosate correlated with increases in EPSPS enzyme activity and EPSPS copy number. CONCLUSION: Increased EPSPS gene amplification and EPSPS enzyme activity confer resistance to glyphosate in the Des03 population. This is the first report of EPSPS gene amplification in glyphosate‐resistant Italian ryegrass. Other resistance mechanism(s) may also be involved. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Generation of reactive oxygen species by a novel anthraquinone derivative in the cyanobacterium Planktothrix perornata (Skuja)

A water-soluble anthraquinone derivative (2-[methylamino-N-(1′-methylethyl)]-9,10-anthraquinone monophosphate), previously found to be selectively toxic towards Planktothrix perornata at submicromolar concentrations, was studied to determine its toxic mode of action towards this cyanobacterium. Chlorophyll fluorescence was monitored as an indicator of photosynthetic efficiency, and measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was performed using the ROS-sensitive probe 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate. The effects of the herbicide paraquat (a ROS generator) as well as ascorbate and α-tocopherol (ROS scavengers) on ROS formation by P. perornata were studied. Also, the effects of different concentrations of ascorbate, α-tocopherol, and the herbicide diuron on reducing the toxicity of the water-soluble anthraquinone derivative towards P. perornata were determined. Our results indicate that the water-soluble anthraquinone derivative does not inhibit photosynthetic electron transport directly, but does generate ROS at levels that may cause toxicity towards P. perornata.     

三维测量中相机镜头畸变修正算法的研究

作为逆向工程技术的必要手段,三维测量技术在工业和农业领域有着广泛的应用。利用图像识别技术捕捉曲面特征点三维坐标是三维测量的一种有效方法,而相机的镜头畸变是造成数字相机影像误差的主要原因之一。为了保证测量精度,必须对镜头畸变进行修正。在阐述镜头畸变类型的基础上,对相机镜头畸变的修正模型进行理论推导,并提出一种简单快捷的修正参数求解方法。