Characterisation of starch during germination and seedling development of a rice mutant with a high content of resistant starch

To acquire a better understanding of whether RS influences the dynamics of in vivo starch digestion and seed vigour, the high-RS rice mutant RS4 (RS ca. 10%) and the wild type R7954 were used to investigate total amylase activity, seedling vigour, starch content and starch granule structure during germination. RS4 exhibited similar seed vigour to R7954. Amylose and amylopectin in R7954 showed synchronous degradation throughout the whole process, while amylopectin was hydrolysed significantly faster than amylose in RS4 during the earlier germination stages. The starch residues of RS4 after germination (GD) lost endotherm peaks and showed a special X-ray diffraction pattern with only two peaks at around 16.90° and 21.62°, probably due to remnants of amylopectin and its tight crosslinking with the cell wall. The remaining starch after 10 GD, primarily amylopectin may make a critical contribution to total resistant starch content. These results indicated that RS had no negative impact on seed vigour in rice lines, although RS cannot be hydrolysed by α-amylase from human and animal in vitro. By appropriately increasing the special amylopectin fraction, a new breeding programme of high RS crops and improvement in the eating quality of high RS rice varieties might be achieved.     

不同林分及农田土壤中球囊霉素蛋白组成特征差异研究

球囊霉素相关土壤蛋白(GRSP)是由丛枝菌根真菌产生的一种不易溶于水的糖蛋白,对GRSP化学结构特征认知的匮乏,很大程度上限制了GRSP的生态学地位及其应用前景。本文选取东北林业大学实验林场5种林分及其毗邻农田为研究对象,通过多种技术手段,来揭示GRSP的特征及其在不同林型和农田中的差异。研究发现GRSP含有O—H和N—H伸缩振动带、C—H伸缩振动带、CO和COO—伸缩振动带、COO—伸缩振动带和C—H 弯曲收缩带、C—O和Si—O—Si伸缩振动带5种官能团。紫外吸收峰位置在225~248 nm之间,OD值在0.9~2.0之间。X射线衍射结果显示GRSP含有石英、蒙脱石、伊利石、斜长石、伊利石蒙脱石混层和未知的a物质及b物质等多种矿物质,相对结晶度均较低,平均晶粒尺寸分别为25.83、17.93、14.50、21.45、28.45、28.10和17.40 nm。此外,通过X光电子能谱发现GRSP含有C1s、Al2p、O1s、Si2p、P2p、Ca2p、K2p、N1s、Fe2p、Mg1s和Na1s 11种元素,平均所占百分比为28.9%、7.0%、43.4%、9.8%、0.4%、1.0%、0.6%、1.4%、2.1%、0.7%和7.8%。GRSP的化学特征在不同林型及农田中也存在着一定的差异,其中官能团差异最大的是蒙古栎和白桦林的C—H伸缩振动带(5.5倍),差异最小的是水曲柳和白桦林的O—H和N—H伸缩振动带(1.3倍),胡桃楸林GRSP的OD值最大。GRSP矿物质种类也有所不同,其中只有水曲柳和蒙古栎林中包含斜长石、伊利石蒙脱石混层、a物质、b物质,其余矿物质在所有林型和农田的GRSP中均有发现。石英的晶粒尺寸差异最大,达到5.2倍,最小的为斜长石仅相差17%。落叶松林中的蒙脱石相对结晶度是水曲柳林的5.1倍,而b物质在水曲柳林和蒙古栎林中的相对结晶度仅相差4%。同样,C1s、O1s、Si2p、N1s和Na1s等元素在所有林型和农田中都可被检测到,其中GRSP各元素在不同林型及农田中的差异在1.1~31.6倍之间。我们的研究结果显示不同植被类型中GRSP组成特征可能具有很大的差异,同时GRSP中含有不同土壤矿物说明土壤组成对GRSP也有一定影响,本文对GRSP的化学结构特征的客观揭示,有助于探索GRSP对农田及森林土壤生态功能影响方面的深层机制。      

小麦茎秆抗倒伏性能研究

为了研究小麦茎秆纤维素与小麦茎秆抗倒伏性之间的关系,采用微波辅助加热酸浸提法提取了小麦茎秆纤维素,通过光学显微镜、扫描电子纤维镜(SEM)、傅里叶红外光谱(FTIR)、X-射线衍射光谱法(XRD)等方法对小麦茎秆纤维素光谱性能和形貌结构进行了表征。结果表明:抗倒伏小麦百农矮抗58茎秆纤维素含量为22.51%,结晶度高达74.47%;微波辅助加热酸浸提法所提取的小麦茎秆纤维素纯度高,具有典型的纤维素特征,小麦茎秆纤维素结晶体具有典型的纤维素Ⅰ的结构;小麦茎秆纤维素结构属结晶度高、大分子排列非常紧密的纤维;小麦茎秆纤维素的结晶度和小麦茎秆的倒伏指数具有一定的相关性,结晶度高,倒伏指数小,抗倒伏性能强;结晶度可以用来表征小麦茎秆纤维素的强度,有望作为衡量小麦茎秆质量的重要指标之一。     

Impact of pre-germination on amylopectin molecular structures,crystallinity, and thermal properties of pre-germinated brown rice starches

Ungerminated brown rice (UGBR) and pre-germinated brown rice (PGBR) obtained from different pre-germination durations were studied to investigate the changes in total starch contents of flour, amylopectin molecular structures, crystallinity, and thermal properties of starches as affected by pre-germination. Each paddy of three rice cultivars with different amylose contents (RD6, waxy; KDML105, low amylose; and RD31, high amylose) was soaked in water at 30°C for 12 h and incubated over different periods until the three stages of embryonic growth length (EGL) were achieved. The total starch contents of three-stage PGBR flour from all rice cultivars decreased when pre-germination durations were increased. The three-stage PGBR starches from the three rice cultivars had lower weight-average molecular weight (Mw) and number-average molecular weight (Mn) than UGBR starches. All starches from the three rice cultivars displayed an A-type X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD). Isolated UGBR starch from RD6 had the highest (31.33%) relative crystallinity (RC), while RD31 showed the lowest RC (26.79%). The slight increases in the RC of three-stage PGBR starches from three rice cultivars were found after pre-germination. Isolated PGBR starches from the three rice cultivars had higher gelatinization temperatures and enthalpy, but lower retrogradation enthalpy and %retrogradation than UGBR starches.     

Effects of gamma irradiation on starch granule structure and physicochemical properties of brown rice starch

In the present research effects of gamma irradiation (5–20 kGy) on the physicochemical, antioxidant and thermal properties of brown rice starch were studied. Scanning electron microscopy displayed mostly polyhedral shapes with no surface fractures. XRD displayed characteristic A type pattern and decrease in per cent crystallinity (22.53–20.41%) was observed as the dose increased from 5 to 20 kGy. DPPH % inhibition and FRAP values were increased in a dose dependent manner. Pasting properties (peak, final and setback viscosity) decreased with irradiation. Pasting temperature also significantly decreased with irradiation for all the irradiated starches. The transition temperatures, enthalpy of gelatinization, pH and apparent amylose content of starch decreased significantly with increase in irradiation dose.     

Structure of Liquid Mercury by the Method of Peak Separation of X-ray Diffraction Profile

The structure of liquid mercury is determined by 0 -20 type powder diffractometer. A new simple method is proposed to analy the structure of non-atom liquid by using the intensity diffraction profiles. It is found that the space between two nearest neighbor Hg atoms is 3.00 A and the second near neighbor atoms is 3.38 A. The method of peak separation for X-ray diffraction profile is proved to be effective by applying to non-atom liquid system.     

Cambisols developed from cover-beds in the Pieniny Mts. (southern Poland) and their mineral composition

The occurrence of Eutric Cambisols in the study area has been usually attributed to specific characteristics of bedrock. Their basic properties include significant contrasts of pH and the content of carbonates within their profiles. Analysis of soil texture and the content and lithology of rock fragments indicate discontinuities in the parent material of the upper and lower sections of the investigated profiles. The observations have been confirmed by the analysis of XRD diffractograms of unseparated < 2 mm samples and of the > 2 μm fraction. The properties of the lowermost horizons are naturally related to the characteristics of bedrock, while cover-beds with a dominance of quartz and a lack of calcite should be recognized as parent material of the upper sections of the profiles. The XRD diffractograms of the clay fractions show a continuous, uniform process of soil development imposed on the originally heterogeneous profile.     

Chemical kinetics of Japanese cedar,cypress, fir,and spruce and characterization of charcoal

 Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses techniques have been applied to investigate the thermal degradation characteristics and chemical kinetics of Japanese cedar, cypress, fir, and spruce. The decomposition of the components could be modeled by an Arrhenius kinetic expression. The kinetic parameters were extracted from the thermogravimetric data using least-squares techniques. The heating rates used for the analyses were 10°, 5°, and 0.33°C/min; and the activation energy and reaction order of the above woods were 7.54, 8.39, 2.87, and 7.88 kJ/mol and 0.71, 0.64, 0.44, and 0.63, respectively. Finally, carbonization was done to produce charcoal from these woods under various operating conditions, and the charcoal was characterized in respect to yield, heating value, electrical conductivity, and X-ray diffraction. The quality of the charcoal from fir was the best among the four types of wood. The charcoal produced is inferior to binchotan (white charcoal) in respect to electrical conductivity and crystalline structure. Received: February 13, 2002 / Accepted: July 12, 2002 Acknowledgment The authors express their gratitude to Professor Yoshida of Applied Chemistry in Tokyo Metropolitan University for performing the TG/DTA in his laboratory and for his valuable suggestions about the analyses.     

Study Crystallinity of the Developing Cotton Fibers by Micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)

[Objective] The change of crystalline index (CI) of two different cultivated cotton fibers at the development stage was studied by micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (micro-FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The feasibility was verified by measuring CI in developing cotton fibers with micro-FTIR method. And it was utilized to estimate the CI of mature cotton fibers. [Method] Upland cotton 0-153 and sea island cotton S-6 were selected as examined materials. The cotton fibers of 2 varieties were obtained at 5-30 d post anthesis respectively, with a sampling interval of 5 d. After obtaining the fiber, it was washed several times with distilled water and then placed in an oven at 40℃ for 48 hours. After drying, the FTIR and XRD spectra of each sample were obtained. The CI is calculated according to 4 different FTIR-CI calculation methods, the crystallinity changes of different cotton varieties in the developing period were compared, and the correlation between the FTIR-CI and XRD-CI was studied. [Result] Only FTIR-CI calculated by the Carrillo-Colom index(FTIR-CCI) had a good correlation with XRD-CI method, with higher R2 than 0.9 of both varieties. The fitting model (IR-CI) between the FTIR-CCI and XRD-CI was used to calculate the CI of the twenty-three randomly selected mature fibers. The results showed that the accuracy of IR-CI was good, and the XRD-CI results were within the error range of the calculated results according to the IR-CI model, while the precision of IR-CI could not reach anticipation. [Conclusion] Micro-FTIR can be used to study the change of cellulose in cotton fiber during the developing period. The model of IR-CI established by the correlation between the FTIR-CCI and XRD-CI, can be used to evaluate the crystallinity of developing period in cotton fiber. However, for the study of the crystallinity of mature fibers, it is necessary to use a large number of samples in the later experiment to establish an optimized model.