Barley mutants with increased tolerance to aluminium toxicity

Acid soil and associated aluminium toxicity are considered as the number one abiotic factor limiting crop production. Over 2 billion hectares of acid soils exist world-wide, both in tropical and moderate climatic zones. In Poland acid soils represent up to60% of arable land. At soil pH < 5.0 Al ions become soluble in water and toxic to plants. Genetic improvement of Al tolerance in crops is the only alternative to soil liming, a traditional but short term and expensive agricultural cure to raise soil pH. Of the various cereals, barley is the most sensitive to Al toxicity. The known sources of Al tolerance in barley are limited to old cultivars and landraces. While they represent multiple alleles of a single locus, there is no potential to improve Al tolerance through recombination of non-allelic additive genes. In the Department of Genetics, Silesian University we have employed induced mutations for rapid creation of variability for Al tolerance in barley. Thirteen mutants with increased levels of tolerance to Al toxicity have been selected in M₃ generation after mutagenic treatment of four barley varieties with N-methyl-N-nitroso urea (MNH) and sodium azide. Six further Al tolerant mutants were identified in the collection of semi-dwarf mutants of the Department. All selected mutants confirmed Al tolerance with the use of three different methods of screening, i.e., root re-growth, root tolerance index and hematoxylin staining. Fourteen mutants exhibited significant root re-growth after 48 hour incubation with 3 ppm Al⁺³ and two of them, namely RL819/2 and RL820/6 were tolerant even to 6 ppm Al⁺³. Crosses of two selected mutants with their respective parent varieties indicated that Al tolerance in each mutant was controlled by a single recessive gene. Out of three methods tested, the root re-growth method facilitated by hematoxylin staining proved to be the most reliable technique for large scale testing. Double treatment with MNH or combined treatment with sodium azide and MNH and 6hinter-incubation germination between treatments were the most successful treatment combinations for induction of aluminium tolerance in barley. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Artificial Neural Networks Models for Flow Stress during High Temperature Plastic Deformation of Al-Li Alloy

Using gained experimental data to develop the models of stable flow stresses at high temperature plastic deformation by statistical methods for alloy materials, precision of the models is poor and at the same time the processes of modeling are complicated with great workload. On the basis of the data obtained on Gleeble-1500 Thermal Simulator,the predicting models for the relation between stable flow stress during high temperature plastic deformation and deformation strain, strain rate and temperature for 1420 Al-Li alloy have been developed with BP Artificial Neural Network method. The results show that the model on basis of BPNN is practical and it reflects the real feature of the deforming process. It states that the difference between the real value and the output of the model is in order of 5 percent.     

Employment

The 1990s began with unprecedented market conditions for labour: unemployment rates were reaching their highest level in over 50 years, participation in the labour market had fallen to historically low levels and net emigration was widespread across all occupations. It seemed that things could only get better. While some did benefit from the limited growth that took place in the nineties, many did not. The greater inequality generated during the 1980s was fanned by the deregulation of the labour market and remained undiminished throughout the following decade. The marked reduction in manufacturing employment in the 1980s continued into the early 1990s negatively impacting Maori and Pacific Island men and women in particular. Increasingly post‐secondary school education became necessary to gain entry into regular work and those with little formal education and few work skills fell further down the queue. These changes are closely allied to the processes of globalisation which is already exercising considerable influence on the employment opportunities of New Zealanders.     

Determination of Moisture Deficit and Heat Stress Tolerance in Corn Using Physiological Measurements and a Low‐Cost Microcontroller‐Based Monitoring System

In the southern United States, corn production encounters moisture deficit coupled with high‐temperature stress, particularly during the reproductive stage of the plant. In evaluating plants for environmental stress tolerance, it is important to monitor changes in their physical environment under natural conditions, especially when there are multiple stress factors, and integrate this information with their physiological responses. A low‐cost microcontroller‐based monitoring system was developed to automate measurement of canopy, soil and air temperatures, and soil moisture status in field plots. The purpose of this study was to examine how this system, in combination with physiological measurements, could assist in detecting differences among corn genotypes in response to moisture deficit and heat stress. Three commercial hybrids and two inbred germplasm lines were grown in the field under irrigated and non‐irrigated conditions. Leaf water potential, photosynthetic pigments, cell membrane thermostability (CMT) and maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) were determined on these genotypes under field and greenhouse conditions. Variations observed in air and soil temperatures, and soil moisture in plots of the individual corn genotypes helped explain their differences in canopy temperature (CT), and these variations were reflected in the physiological responses. One of the commercial hybrids, having the lowest CT and the highest CMT, was the most tolerant among the genotypes under moisture deficit and heat stress conditions. These results demonstrated that the low‐cost microcontroller‐based monitoring system, in combination with physiological measurements, was effective in evaluating corn genotypes for drought and heat stress tolerance.     

水分胁迫对白羊草光合生理特性的影响

测定了白羊草(Bothriochloa ischaemum)在黄土高原丘陵沟壑区大田干旱条件下叶片光合速率、叶片水势、叶绿素含量、气孔阻力、蒸腾强度、细胞膜透性和脯氨酸积累指标。结果表明：土壤干旱条件下,降低了白羊草叶水势、气孔蒸腾强度、光合速率和叶绿素含量,增加了叶片气孔阻力、细胞膜透性和脯氨酸的积累。解除水分胁迫、恢复供水48h后,上述各项指标可以恢复到正常供水值的50%以上,说明了白羊草自身调节能力强,对干旱有良好的适应性和忍耐性。     

外源甜菜碱对盐胁迫下大麦幼苗体内多胺和离子含量的影响

外源甜菜碱对200 mmol/L NaCl胁迫下大麦幼苗的伤害有显著的缓解效应,0.5～10.0 mmol/L的甜菜碱均可以有效抑制盐胁迫导致的叶片中MDA含量的上升,增加根系含水量与幼苗鲜重,降低植株体内Na+/K+比,尤以1 mmol/L甜菜碱的效应最明显。甜菜碱可以显著地提高盐胁迫下大麦幼苗根系多胺含量,促进叶片内腐胺与亚精胺向精胺的转化     

磁化NaCl胁迫溶液对水稻种子萌发的影响

研究磁化强度对NaCl胁迫下水稻种子萌发和幼苗生理的影响。方法：用不同强度的磁化NaCl胁迫溶液浸种并喷洒水稻种子及幼苗,测定种子的发芽指标和幼苗的生理指标。实验结果表明：经0.05T的磁化强度处理后,与对照相比,水稻种子萌发的发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数和幼苗中可溶性糖含量有明显提高,达到显著性差异水平;溶液经不同磁化处理后,过氧化物酶活性增强,表现为酶带增多,酶带加粗;对酯酶同工酶影响不太明显。结论：研究表明一定强度的磁化处理可以提高盐胁迫下水稻种子的萌发能力和幼苗的抗盐能力。     

两种不同耐热性菜豆品种在高温胁迫下叶绿素a荧光参数的差异

以两个耐热性不同的菜豆品种85-CT（耐热）和BBL-47（热敏感）为试材,研究其在不同高温胁迫强度下叶绿素a荧光参数的差异,结果表明：两个品种的叶绿素荧光Fv/Fm及Fv/Fo、电子传递速率（ETR）、均随高温胁迫时间延长呈下降趋势,但耐热品种85-CT下降幅度较热敏感品种BBL-47平缓,BBL-47随高温胁迫时间延长,其叶绿素a荧光诱导动力学曲线中的第二峰（M峰）消失。     

水分胁迫对苹果属植物叶片超微结构的影响

水分胁迫使苹果属植物Chl、Car含量下降,叶肉细胞叶绿体遭到破坏,抗旱性较弱的平邑甜茶受损的程度明显大于抗旱性较强的新疆野苹果。     

外源物质处理对高温胁迫下苹果果实抗氧化能力的影响

高温胁迫下,果实表皮组织抗氧化代谢变化的总趋势是O2-和MDA含量升高,当胁迫在一定范围内,SOD和POD活性上升;超过一定限度,SOD和POD活性下降。外源自由基产生剂能够增加内源O2-的含量,同时极显著提高SOD的活性。试验结果表明,在45℃温度胁迫下,果实表皮组织O2-含量增加14.52％~61.70％;SOD活性提高1.07~1.66倍。不同种类外源活性氧产生剂对内源O2-含量的影响效能有所不同。碱性二亚硫酸钠可直接产生O2-,所以诱导内源O2-合成的效果更大一些。不同种类外源物质均可显著或极显著提高果实表皮组织SOD和POD活性,提高果实的抗热性。