Root biomass and distribution of five agroforestry tree species

Knowledge of the quantitative assessment and structural development of root systems is essential to improve and optimize productivity of agroforestry systems. Studies on root biomass recovery by sieves of different mesh sizes (2.0, 1.0, 0.5 and 0.25 mm) and root distribution for four-year-old individuals of five agroforestry tree species viz.; Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Benth, Azadirachta indica A. Juss, Bauhinia variegata L., Bombax ceiba L. and Wendlandia exserta Roxb. were conducted at the research farm of Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar, India. The results indicated that the 0.5 mm sieve was adequate for recovery of the majority of roots. All the tree species exhibited a large variation in root depth and horizontal root spread four years after planting. The maximum root depth was recorded in W. exserta (2.10 m) and minimum in B. variegata (1.00 m). Horizontal root spread was 2.05 m in B. ceiba and 8.05 m in A. auriculiformis. Root spread exceeded crown cover for all species. The primary roots were more horizontal than the secondary roots. The length and diameter of the main root were highest in A. indica (108.3 cm) and B. ceiba (23.2 cm), respectively. Highest length and diameter of lateral roots were recorded in B. variegata (201.6 cm) and A. indica (1.8 cm), respectively. Total root biomass among different species accounted for 18.2–37.9% of the total tree biomass. Results of this study infer that although all the species have potential to conserve moisture and improve fertility status of the soil, A. auriculiformis is the most effective for promoting soil fertility. The deep rooted W. exserta and A. auriculiformis will be preferred for cultivation under agroforestry systems and could reduce competition for nutrients and moisture with crops by pumping from deeper layers of soil.     

Protection of spruce from colonization by the bark beetle, Ips perturbatus, in Alaska

Field bioassays were conducted in south-central Alaska in a stand of Lutz spruce, Picea × lutzii, to determine whether a semiochemical interruptant (verbenone and trans-conophthorin) and/or a defense-inducing plant hormone (methyl jasmonate, MJ) could be used to protect individual standing trees from bark beetle attack. During two experiments (initiated in May 2004 and 2005, respectively), attacks by Ips perturbatus on standing trees were induced by using a three-component aggregation pheromone (ipsenol, cis-verbenol, and ipsdienol) and prevented by using the interruptant. In 2005, treatments from 2004 were repeated and additional treatments were evaluated by using MJ spray or injection with and without the interruptant. Aggregation began before 3 or 7 June, and attack density was monitored through 3 or 16 August. During both years, tree mortality caused by I. perturbatus was recorded twice (in August, and in May of the following year). In both experiments, attack density was greatest on trees baited with the three-component attractive pheromone, but was significantly reduced by addition of the semiochemical interruptant to trees baited with the attractant. There were no significant differences in attack density between attractant + interruptant-treated trees and unbaited trees. In 2004, mortality was highest among attractant-baited trees, whereas addition of the interruptant significantly reduced the level of initial (10 week post-treatment) and final (54 week post-treatment) mortality. In 2005, no significant reduction in attack density occurred on trees baited with the attractant when MJ was sprayed or injected. The highest initial (10.6 week post-treatment) and final (49.4 week post-treatment) mortality was observed among trees that had been injected with MJ and baited with the attractant. Mortality at the final assessment was significantly lower in all other treatment groups. As in 2004, addition of the interruptant to attractant-baited trees significantly reduced the level of final mortality compared to attractant-baited trees. MJ was not attractive or interruptive to I. perturbatus or associated bark beetles in a flight trapping study. However, MJ-treated trees (sprayed or injected) exuded copious amounts of resin on the bark surface. Anatomical analyses of felled trees from four treatment groups [Tween (solvent)-sprayed, MJ-sprayed, Tween-injected, and MJ-injected + attractant baited] showed that treatment with MJ increased the number and size of resin ducts produced following treatment. These analyses also revealed a reduction in radial growth in MJ-treated trees. Our results show that during both years, treatment with a simple, two-component interruptant system of verbenone and trans-conophthorin significantly reduced I. perturbatus attack density and tree mortality on attractant-baited trees and provided a full year of protection from bark beetle attack.     

Expression and homology modelling of sterol 14α‐demethylase of Magnaporthe grisea and its interaction with azoles

BACKGROUND: Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) ME Barr infection is one of the most serious diseases for cultivated rice in the world. Sterol 14α‐demethylase (CYP51) is an important drug target for microbial pathogenic infections. To exploit specific and effective fungicides for M. grisea better, the authors have analysed the characteristics of interaction between sterol 14α‐demethylase from M. grisea (MGCYP51) and azoles. MGCYP51 with truncation of N‐terminal residues was cloned and expressed in E. coli, difference binding spectra of MGCYP51 induced by addition of four commercial azoles were determined and molecular modelling of MGCYP51 based on the crystal structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Lehmann & Newman and docking with the azoles were performed. RESULTS: The affinity of the azoles for MGCYP51 was positively correlated with their hydrophobicity. Amino acid residues Tyr112, Phe120, Phe220, His308 and Phe497 of MGCYP51, forming a large hydrophobic cavity, are the key residues interacting with azole fungicides. Furthermore, Phe220 and Phe497 are fungus and species specific respectively. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the more potent azole fungicides for MGCYP51 should possess more hydrophobic groups interacting with residues Phe220 and Phe497. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

The Structure and Sequence Analysis of TLR4 Gene in Cattle

Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4） is essential for initiating the innate response to lipopolysaccharide （LPS） from Gram-negative bacteria by acting as a signal transducting receptor. In order to help in investigating TLR4 as a candidate disease-resistance gene in cows, we isolated the cDNA （GenBank accession no. DQ839566） by RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends （RACE） experiments and analyzed the sequence characters by bioinformatics. The results showed that cattle TLR4 gene about 3 739 bp contains an open reading frame of 2 526 bp encoded 841 amino acids （aa）, 470 bp 5′ untranslated region （UTR）, and 743 bp 3′ UTR. Tissue expression profile by RT-PCR indicated that TLR4 gene expresses in mammary glands, liver, muscle, duodenum, fats, uterus, kidneys, hearts, lungs, pancreas, and ovary. TLR4 protein domain predicted by bioinformatics consists of signal peptide, transmembrane helices domain, 3 sorts of leucine-rich repeat domains （LRR, LRR-TYP, and LRRCT）, and a toll-interleukinl-resistance domain （TIR）. Leucine-rich repeat domains were related with recognizing a broad of pathogen-associated molecular patterns （PAMP） from pathogen, and TIR domain for downstream signaling transduction was most conservative （98% identify） than other domains after alignment of protein from ovine, porcine, human, and mouse. In addition, a 470 bp 5′-flanking region sequence was amplified by PCR, and 15 putative DNA binding sites were predicted, but this sequence lacks TATA box, CCAAT character, and GC-rich regions.     

Cloning and Characterization of Full Length cDNA of a CC-NBS-LRR Resistance Gene in Sweetpotato

Conserved domain such as nucleotide binding site （NBS） was found in several cloned plant disease resistance genes. Based on the NBS domain, resistance gene analogues （RGAs） have been isolated. A full-length cDNA, SPR1 was obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends （RACE） method. Sequence analysis indicated that the length of SPR1 was 3 066 bp, including a complete open reading frame of 2 667 bp encoding SPR1 protein of 888 amino acids. Compared with known NBS-LRR genes, it presented relatively high amino acid sequence identity. The polypeptide has a typical structure of nonT1R-NBS-LRR genes, with NB-ARC, CC, and LRR domains. The SPR1-related sequences belonged to multicopy gene family in sweetpotato genome according to the result of Southern blotting. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed SPR1 expressed in all tested tissues. The cloning of putative resistance gene from sweetpotato provides a basis for studying the structure and function of sweetpotato disease-resistance relating genes and disease resistant genetic breeding in sweetpotato. The gene has been submitted to the GenBank database, and the accession number is EF428453.     

A new aromatic alkine from the tuber of Sparganium stoloniferum

A new aromatic alkine was isolated from the tuber of Sparganium stoloniferum . Its structure was assigned to be methyl 3,6-dihydroxy-2-[2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-ethynyl]benzoate (1) by spectroscopic methods.     

人雄激素受体的雄激素结合区cDNA在E.coli中的高效表达

将编码人雄激素受体（ｈＡＲ）的雄素结合区（ＬＢＤ）的ｃＤＮＡ片段（１００５ｂｐ）克隆到由Ｐ１启动子控制的硫氧还蛋白表达载体ｐＴｒｘＦｕｓ上,构建了表达质粒ｐＴｒｘＡＲ,并转化到大肠杆菌Ｇ１７２４中,经色氨酸诱导表达后,ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ分析,可观察到一高效表达的融合蛋白产物,此融合蛋白 分子了量与理论值相吻合,氨基酸组分分析证明了ＬＢＤ目的基因的表达。     

柑橘大实蝇气味结合蛋白BminOBP6与其气味配体的互作机制

【目的】通过构建柑橘大实蝇(Bactrocera minax)BminOBP6的C末端截短突变体(TOBP6),比较野生型BminOBP6和突变体TOBP6对气味配体的结合能力,检测在不同pH条件下二者对气味配体结合能力的差异,为揭示BminOBP6与配体的互作机制提供参考。【方法】通过在线工具SWISS MODEL对BminOBP6进行同源建模,根据构建的3D模型确定将被切除的BminOBP6第6个α螺旋(α6)之后的C末端序列;设计特异性引物扩增BminOBP6的C末端截短突变体(TOBP6)的编码序列,即TOBP6;构建重组表达载体pET32a/TOBP6,将此重组载体与实验室保存的重组载体pET32a/BminOBP6分别转入原核细胞BL21(DE3)中,异源表达野生型BminOBP6及其突变体TOBP6;以1-NPN为荧光探针进行荧光竞争结合试验,检测BminOBP6和TOBP6在两种pH环境(pH 7.4和pH 5.0)下对1-十一醇和(+)-柠檬烯的结合能力。【结果】序列比对结果显示,BminOBP6与致倦库蚊(Culex quinquefasciatus)CquiOBP...     

有关序列特异性DNA结合蛋白的一些最新研究进展

本文对有关序列特异性DNA结合蛋白的最新研究情况作了叙述。在其结构研究中 ,介绍了同源结构域的拓扑学结构 ,同源结构域上的氨基酸基序 ,共价和非共价二聚结构域。在其作用研究中 ,介绍了非放射标记的凝胶阻滞分析法 ,C/EBP调节启动子活性的机制 ,雌激素受体在前转录起始复合物形成中的作用以及一种新的人SPI激活转录必需的共激活因子———CRSP复合物。在编码基因与其DNA序列上的结合位点研究中 ,介绍了荧光原位杂交技术进行染色体定位 ,C/EBP家族在小鼠的乳腺泌乳期和回复期的表达 ,HNF— 1结合位点对SI基因启动子上葡萄糖阻遏作用的操纵 ,看家基因人S6核糖体蛋白基因的转录调节元件的功能     

外源茉莉酸甲酯对BNS366雄性育性的影响

为探究外源茉莉酸甲酯(methyl jasmonate, MeJA)对小麦温敏雄性不育系BNS366雄性育性的影响,以BNS366及其近等基因系郑麦366为试验材料,在正常秋季播种(2020年10月12日)和晚播(2020年12月2日)条件下,分别于2021年3月22日和3月31日开始至开花期前,设置0(清水,对照)、50、100、200、300、400和500μmol·L^-1 MeJA(水溶液,喷施)7个处理,比较分析了不同处理间花粉可育率和自交结实率的差异。结果表明：在正常秋季播种条件下,郑麦366花粉可育率、国内法自交结实率和国际法自交结实率分别为86.31%、70.36%和112.22%,在晚播条件下分别为82.53%、92.53%和166.18%,均正常可育;在正常秋季播种条件下,200μmol·L^-1 MeJA处理的国际法自交结实率为70.15%,比对照显著降低了42.07个百分点;在晚播条件下,200、300和500μmol·L^-1 MeJA处理的国内法自交结实率分别为74.71%、74.01%和73.45...