Authors:Aiguo Chen; Li Gu; Mingjie Li; Na Xu; Fajie Feng; Guangliang Liu; Bao Zhang; Daping Gong; Junyi Zhang; Hongyan Liu; Zhongyi Zhang Abstract: NB-ARC proteins are critical to effector-triggered immunity and play important roles in effector recognition and signal transduction in healthy plant growth. However, their primary protein traits, functions and roles remain incompletely understood in Rehmannia glutinosa. Here, we identified 45 NB-ARC protein sequences from the protein sequence sets and transcriptome of R. glutinosa. The CC type was the main one, accounting for 84.44% of these sequences. The most conserved motif was a 288 aa ADP-binding sequence. This motif belongs to the disease-resistance proteins. Differential expression of 36 expressed NB-ARC genes revealed that NB-ARC genes were rarely expressed 30 days after planting and were frequently expressed approximately 60 days after planting. To further understand the function of NB-ARC in replanted R. glutinosa, the genes encoding NB-ARC domains were profiled using qRT-PCR under the different stress states involved in the formation of consecutive monoculture problems. The results showed that NB-ARC genes might play a role in the formation of R. glutinosa consecutive monoculture problems. This study is the first to identify NB-ARC genes in R. glutinosa and to reveal their roles in consecutive monoculture problems in R. glutinosa. These findings provide insights into the mechanism of formation of consecutive monoculture problems. PubDate: 2018-04-27 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2672-1 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Panfei Chen; Lihui Zuo; Xiaoyue Yu; Yan Dong; Shuang Zhang; Minsheng Yang Abstract: Populus spp., had the characteristics of rapid growth and high biological yield, is one of the major tree species in the world’s afforestation and shelterbelt. But the growing soil salinization has become an important limited factor in the application of poplar planting. High-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the transcriptome of Populus × euramericana cv. ‘74/76’ under treatments with different NaCl concentrations to determine the formation pathway of the poplar response to salt stress and further reveal the mechanism of resistance to salt stress, so providing theoretical guidance for the salt tolerant breeding of poplar. Sequencing obtained 31.5G sequencing data and generated a total of 263 million reads, which were mapped to 32,840 non-repeatable genes with a sequencing quality value of Q30 > 96.70%. After filtering, 292 and 3284 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained from 3 and 6‰ NaCl treatments, respectively. There were a large number of stress-induced genes differentially expressed under the 6‰ NaCl treatment. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis results showed that the salt resistance mechanism of poplar 107 was different under different NaCl treatments. Poplar 107, under a high NaCl concentration treatment had a more salt resistant metabolic pathway, which included the citric acid cycle [tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle], terpenoid backbone biosynthesis, flavone and flavonol biosynthesis, carotenoid biosynthesis, zeatin biosynthesis, calcium signaling pathway, and other important salt-related pathways. We excavated the genes that affected the electron transport involved in the process of photosynthesis under salt stress and the key enzyme genes in response to salt stress involved in glutathione and terpenoid backbone metabolism. A total of 52 transcription factors (TFs), including 24 new TFs closely related to the salt stress response mechanism, were identified in the co-expression genes. This result provided important theoretical guidance for the establishment of the poplar salt resistance database, excavation of salt tolerant genes, and breeding of new species of poplar by means of molecular biology. PubDate: 2018-04-27 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2676-x Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Jing Cai; Xiaoqing Meng; Ge Li; Tingting Dong; Jian Sun; Tao Xu; Zongyun Li; Yonghua Han; Mingku Zhu Abstract: DEAD-box RNA helicases play pivotal roles in almost all processes in RNA metabolisms, associated with various cellular functions including plant development and the response to abiotic stress. Previously, although DEAD-box genes were identified in tomato genome, specific molecular characterizations regarding development- and/or stress-related tomato DEAD-box genes are still rudimentary. In this study, a systematic expression analysis and function evaluation of 42 DEAD-box RNA helicase genes was conducted in the growth development and stress response of tomato using qRT-PCR. The results revealed that these SlDEAD genes showed discrepant tissue-/organ-specific (such as leaf, flower and fruit) expression levels, indicating that they might play important and different roles in tomato development. Variant expression profiles of many SlDEAD genes were observed when treated with different hormones including ABA, ACC, GA3, IAA, and SA. Moreover, the transcription of multiple tomato SlDEAD genes was also upregulated by multiple abiotic stresses, such as salinity, dehydration, and heat and cold stresses. Cumulatively, the data will be valuable to comprehensive functional characterization of SlDEAD genes, and to support the thesis that DEAD-box RNA helicases may represent one of the main components that mediate hormone signaling and stress responses in tomato. PubDate: 2018-04-26 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2665-0 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Marzena Warchoł; Ilona Czyczyło-Mysza; Izabela Marcińska; Kinga Dziurka; Angelika Noga; Edyta Skrzypek Abstract: Doubled haploid (DH) technology in oat has not reached the same stage as in other cereals leading to its application in plant breeding. The objective of this investigation was to increase the effectiveness of Avena sativa L. haploid embryo germination obtained by the distant crosses with maize. Developed embryos (obtained from 22 genotypes) were transferred on five germination media: MS (Murashige and Skoog, Physiol Plant 15:473–497, 1962) with 3% sucrose, pH 5.8 (control medium), and 190-2 supplemented with 6 and 9% maltose. The pH of 190-2 was adjusted to 5.5 and 6.0. Of all tested genotypes, 591 haploid embryos were obtained, almost half of them (279) germinated. The rate of haploid embryo germination induced on 190-2 was 6.92%, while in MS it was 3.25%. The sugar and its concentration significantly affected the germination of haploid embryos. The highest percentage of haploid embryo germination (9.11%) and DH lines production (1.64%) was achieved on 190-2 with 9% maltose and pH 6.0. All DH lines are incorporated to breeding programs for the development of new cultivars. PubDate: 2018-04-25 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2669-9 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Jafar Ahmadi; Alireza Pour-Aboughadareh; Sedigheh Fabriki Ourang; Ali Ashraf Mehrabi; Kadambot H. M. Siddique Abstract: Wild relatives of wheat are an outstanding source of resistance to both abiotic and biotic stresses. In the present study, we evaluated the activity of four antioxidant enzymes—superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and guaiacol peroxidase (GPX)—along with photosynthetic pigments and shoot biomass in 12 Aegilops–Triticum accessions with different genomic constitutions and two tolerant and sensitive control varieties under well-watered (WW; 90% FC), moderate (MS; 50% FC) and severe (SS; 25% FC) water stress treatments. The analysis of variance for measured traits indicated highly significant effects of the water stress treatments, accessions, and their interactions. The 12 domesticated and wild relatives of wheat exhibited more variability and greater activity in the expression of antioxidative enzymes than cultivated wheats. While domesticated forms of wheat, T. aestivum (AABBDD) and T. durum (AABB) seem to have a functionally active antioxidant mechanism, other accessions with alien genomes—Ae. umbellulata (UU), Ae. crassa (MMDD), Ae. caudata (CC), Ae. cylindrica (DDCC) and T. boeoticum (AbAb)—respond to water stress by increasing enzymatic antioxidants as the dominant mechanism that contributes to the retention of oxidative balance in the cell. Furthermore, abovementioned accessions with alien genomes had higher photosynthetic pigment contents (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid) under water stress than well-watered conditions. Hence, these accessions could be used in future breeding programs to combine beneficial stress-adaptive characters of alien genomes into synthetic hexaploid wheat varieties in the field, even at limited water supply. PubDate: 2018-04-25 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2673-0 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Aditya Abha Singh; Meenakshi Chaurasia; Vaishali Gupta; Madhoolika Agrawal; S. B. Agrawal Abstract: Increase in surface level of ozone (O3) in last 30 years is one of the major problems for global agriculture. Field experiment was conducted using open top chambers on two Indian maize cultivars (Buland and Prakash) grown under ambient (AO) and elevated (EO) O3 concentrations to evaluate the effect of an antiozonant ethylene diurea (EDU) given as soil drench. EDU application reduced the ROS production with concomitant decrease in lipid peroxidation. Inductions in activities of enzymatic antioxidants along with increased content of non-enzymatic antioxidants were observed in EDU-treated plants, though the response varied between the cultivars. Photosynthetic proteins (PEP carboxylase and RuBisCO large and small subunits) detected through SDS–PAGE analysis increased with EDU treatment. EDU also led to an increase in jasmonic acid and a decline in salicylic acid contents. The protective effect of EDU was further accompanied by increased pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoids), foliar carbohydrates (starch and total soluble sugars), enhanced biomass, and economic yield. Effectiveness of EDU was more evident at higher O3 concentration and cultivar Prakash exhibited a more positive response with EDU as compared to Buland. PubDate: 2018-04-25 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2666-z Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Mahmoud Akrami; Ahmad Arzani Abstract: This study was aimed to assess physiological responses of melon (Cucumis melo L.) cultivars to salinity stress under field conditions. Seventeen melon cultivars including 16 widely distributed native and one exotic (‘Galia’) were subjected to 2-year (2014–2015) field salinity stress. Leaf relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), pigments [chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll (TChl), carotenoid (Car) and their ratios], malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2 content, proline content (Pro), total soluble sugar content (TSC), salinity tolerance and susceptibility indices as well as yield were evaluated. The results of combined analysis of variance showed significant genotypic variation for all the traits and significant effect of salinity stress on all the traits with the exception of Chla/Chlb and TChl/Car ratios. Overall, field salinity stress caused an increase in leaf MDA, H2O2, Chla, Chlb, TChl, Car, Pro and TSC and caused a reduction in leaf MSI and RWC as well as yield. The results of correlation coefficients showed that accumulation of osmolytes (proline and TSC) led to an increase in RWC and a decrease in MDA contents. In addition, the results of multiple regression analysis showed that leaf MDA, TSC, MSI and Chla contents were the most important predictors of yield justifying 72% total variation of yield under saline conditions. These results may highlight a dynamic interplay among biomarkers for lipid peroxidation (MDA), sugar osmolytes (TSC) and photosynthetic pigment (Chla) to maintain cell viability and cell wall integrity under salinity stress conditions in melon. PubDate: 2018-04-25 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2657-0 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Long Li; Qianqian Shi; Dan Hou; Zhanchao Cheng; Juan Li; Yanjun Ma; Xueping Li; Shaohua Mu; Jian Gao Abstract: Alternative splicing (AS) is a key regulatory mechanism associated with proteome and transcriptome diversity. However, the prevalence of AS in the moso bamboo genome is still unclear. Transcriptome sequencing of four different tissues indicated that 36.17% of the genes in the moso bamboo genome undergo AS. The predominant type of AS found in moso bamboo was intron retention (38.70%), followed by alternative 5′ (31.86%) and 3′ (16.68%) splice sites and exon skipping (11.46%). The number of AS events in every gene was relevant to gene characteristics and gene expression. We also observed that the alternative 5′ and 3′ splice sites were significantly enriched in the fourth nucleotide downstream or upstream of the dominant splice sites. Furthermore, the frequency of AS types as well as the quantity of AS events significantly varied among different tissues. The findings of the present study provide a comprehensive view of AS events in moso bamboo. PubDate: 2018-04-19 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2661-4 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Jun Xie; Xianchong Wan Abstract: There are conflicting reports on the accuracy of the thermal dissipation probe (TDP, the Granier method) measurement using the original formula, which is widely used to estimate the transpiration of individual trees and forest stands. In this article, six woody species of three wood types were used to study a possible association between TDP measurement accuracy and wood anatomical characteristics, including the vessel diameter and density, as well as sapwood depth. We found that TDP technique with Granier’s original equation underestimated the sap flux density in six species to various degrees, dependent on conduit size and sap flux. Our calibration using two conifers with small diameters and a high density of tracheids was relatively consistent with Granier’s calibration; however, because there were larger diameters and lower densities of vessels in the two diffuse-porous species, the original calibration significantly underestimated sap flow. Two ring-porous species had the largest diameters and lowest densities of vessels. In particular, Robinia pseudoacacia possessed the shallowest sap wood depth, less than a probe length. Our calibration for the ring-porous species, especially R. pseudoacacia, deviated far from the original calibration, which mostly underestimated the sap flow. The degree of underestimation was well associated with sap wood depth and the radial diameter and density distribution of conduits. Our results demonstrated that a new calibration must be operated for each species together with the sapwood depth determination and more probes may be applied for one stem in the field to obtain the more accurate sap flux. In addition, we investigated the effects of different environmental temperature and perfusing fluid composition on the TDP-based sap flux measurement. We found that an environmental temperature reduction from 25 to 0 °C did not alter the values of the maximum temperature difference (ΔTm) between a heated probe and a reference probe when there was no sap flow, verifying that ΔTm measured at night can be used as a reference in daytime. PubDate: 2018-04-18 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2659-y Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Jan Kępczyński Abstract: Plant-derived smoke, its water extract—the smoke water (SW), and karrikin (KAR1) present in the smoke stimulate seed germination in plants from fire-prone and fire-free areas, including weeds and cultivated plants. There are also plants, the seeds of which can respond only to smoke, but not to KAR1, and vice versa. Smoke and/or KAR1 can be applied in horticulture, agriculture, and revegetation. This review describes effects of smoke and KAR1 on weed seed germination and focuses mainly on the recent knowledge about the physiological role of these factors in dormancy release and germination of Avena fatua caryopses. The involvement of gibberellins, ethylene, and abscisic acid (ABA) in the response to smoke or KAR1 is discussed. Effects of smoke or KAR1 on the contents of reactive oxygen species (ROS), non-enzymatic antioxidants, and activity of the enzymes participating in ROS removal are presented. Cell cycle activity in the response to SW and KAR1 is also considered. Effects of KAR1 on thermodormancy release in A. fatua caryopses are highlighted, as well. PubDate: 2018-04-16 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2663-2 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Y. L. Zhang; W. Z. Guo; X. P. Li; F. Luo; J. B. Mo; S. C. Feng Abstract: Cluster-flowering camellias are among the most promising types of camellia due to both their ornamental characteristics and their resistance capacity, especially to heat and alkaline soils. Because of global climate change, researchers at the Shanghai Botanical Garden are attempting to identify more heat tolerant plants; camellia is such a plant, and it has been promoted for more than 20 years. Morphological and physiological approaches were used in this study to evaluate the heat tolerance of two new cultivars, and new methods were also explored. The results indicate that the heat tolerance of the new cultivar Camellia hybrid ‘Pink Cascade’ is higher than that of Camellia hybrid ‘Sweet Gem’. In addition, infrared thermography can further be used to evaluate the heat resistance of plants in combination with their stomatal and photosynthetic characteristics. PubDate: 2018-04-13 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2662-3 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Lingyue Qin; Yuanxia Xue; Ying Fei; Lingfeng Zeng; Shushen Yang; Xiping Deng Abstract: Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) serves as a plentiful leaf protein which functions in both eukaryote and prokaryote photosynthesis. The small subunits of Rubisco (RBCS) exist as a multigene family which regulates the catalytic efficiency of holoenzyme. Here, 20 RBCS family genes were identified in Triticum aestivum genome, and were clustered into 4 clades according to phylogenetic analysis. On the basis of the identified 9 and 8 RBCSs in Triticum urartu and Aegilops tauschii, homology analysis revealed some TaRBCS genes were orthologous to TuRBCSs and AetRBCSs, and the number of in-paralog pairs between RBCSs in wheat were much more than that in T. urartu or A. tauschii. Gene structure, protein motif and cis-acting element analysis exhibited that TaRBCSs in each clade shared some identity. The in silico expression of RBCS genes showed that RBCSs mainly expressed in leaf, flower and caryopsis. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that TaRBCSs were remarkably responsive to drought, salt, ABA and darkness stresses. The work comprehensively studies the RBCS family genes in wheat, and lays the foundation for subsequent functional research of TaRBCSs. PubDate: 2018-04-13 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2658-z Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Aditya Banerjee; Aryadeep Roychoudhury Abstract: Strigolactones (SLs) are a small class of diverse metabolites derived from the carotenoid pathway. These active biomolecules are a recent inclusion to the list of non-traditional phytohormones or plant growth regulators. Previous reports and articles have discussed their pro-regulatory roles in plant growth, development, signaling and delay of senescence. However, the multi-level control of SL biosynthesis is less known. The anabolic genes are strictly regulated through synchronized co-operation between crucial phytohormones. Epigenetic and microRNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation fine tunes the cellular accumulation of these putative phytohormones. The question now arises that why such multi-level intricate regulation at all is required for SLs, which were originally detected as under-rated germination and rhizosphere stimulants. This review answers the question in the backdrop of the positive roles of SLs in promoting abiotic stress resilience across diverse plant species. SLs reportedly accumulate in the plant tissues in response to environmental sub-optimal conditions like drought, salinity, temperature, nutrient deprivation and oxidative stresses. Fluctuations in the light quality and intensity also trigger variable accumulation of SLs, indicating their potential in regulating light stress as well. Though the exact roles of SLs have not yet been characterized, it is predicted that they possibly induce the expression of downstream osmolytes to maintain metabolic homeostasis in the stressed cells. Thus, exogenous treatments or transgenic approaches for higher SL bioaccumulation can be potential strategies for developing multiple abiotic stress tolerance in crops and plants. PubDate: 2018-04-13 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2660-5 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Nastaran Hemmati; Azim Ghasemnezhad; Javad Fattahi Moghaddam; Pouneh Ebrahimi Abstract: Fruits of citrus cultivars contain bioflavonoids and some other important secondary metabolites in pharmaceutical and nutritional industries. The present experiment was designed to investigate the correlation between the content of flavonoid components like naringin, hesperidin, and neohesperidin of the scions fruits and the same parameters in rootstocks fruits. Six-year-old trees including four citrus cultivars of ‘Moro’, ‘Mars’, ‘Salustiana’, and ‘Italian’ which were previously grafted on the four different rootstocks including ‘Yuzu’, ‘Shelmahalleh’, ‘Citromelo’, and ‘Sour orange’ were selected as experimental trees. The content of the mentioned flavonoids was investigated in the peel and pulp of the fruits of both scions and rootstocks. The results showed that the measured parameters were significantly influenced by scions, rootstocks, and tissues. Based on the obtained results, it can be suggested that the accumulation of chemicals in citrus fruit depends on genetic and inherent abilities of the scion, more than what was previously believed, while the rootstock can also play an important role in the accumulation of these substances. PubDate: 2018-04-12 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2648-1 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Jana Henzelyová; Eva Čellárová Abstract: The results of the current study represent the first report on an efficient regeneration protocol for Hypericum tomentosum L. hairy root cultures. Six out of ten hairy root clones of H. tomentosum obtained by Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation differentiated shoots on Murashige and Skoog medium containing a urea-based cytokinin thidiazuron in combination with the auxin inhibitor p-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid. The whole plant regeneration of this species in vitro was achieved by further cultivation of shoots on medium containing benzyladenine. All transformed plants were successfully acclimated to ex vitro conditions. Most of the adapted clones exhibited typical hairy root phenotype with stunted growth, small wrinkly leaves and shortened internodes. Increased number of dark nodules, the sites of hypericins accumulation, was observed in the leaves of all transgenic clones. The capability of naphthodianthrone production was also modulated leading to a significant 28- and 5-fold increase of total hypericin content in two transgenic clones. The qPCR analysis revealed seven rolC integrations in two transgenic clones and one integration in four clones. The clones with multiple rolC copies synthesized the highest and the lowest amount of naphthodianthrones, respectively. The chromosome number in all analysed samples was determined as 2n = 18 suggesting a revision of the cytogenetic characterization of H. tomentosum. PubDate: 2018-04-11 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2664-1 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 5 (2018)
Authors:Zahoor Ahmad; Ejaz Ahmad Waraich; Sajjad Akhtar; Shazia Anjum; Tanveer Ahmad; Wajid Mahboob; Osama Bin Abdul Hafeez; Terence Tapera; Maryke Labuschagne; Muhammad Rizwan Abstract: Drought is a polygenically controlled stress and a major agricultural risk that reduces crop productivity and limits the successful insight of land potential throughout the world. This review article has been divided into two parts, i.e., effect of drought stress on physiology of wheat and potential drought mitigation approaches. In the first part, physiological responses of wheat to stress were discussed. Cell membrane stability, relative water content, early maturity, decreased leaf area, small plant size, increased dry weight and root–shoot ratio, and the whole-plant transpiration rate response to enhanced atmospheric vapor pressure deficit are physiological traits associated with drought tolerance in wheat. Reduction of relative water content closes stomata and thereby reduces stomatal conductance. Osmotic adjustment improves drought tolerance by allowing cell enlargement, plant growth, and stomata to stay partially open and by maintaining CO2 fixation under severe water deficit. The wheat plant accumulates several organic and inorganic solutes in its cytosol to lessen its osmotic potential for maintenance of cell turgor. Drought affects photosynthesis negatively by changing the inner structure of chloroplasts, mitochondria, and chlorophyll content and minerals. Destruction of the photosystem II (PSII) oxygen releasing complex and reaction center can disturb production and use of electrons, causing lipid peroxidation of cell membrane through the production of reactive oxygen species. In the second part, drought mitigation approaches were discussed. Seed, drought, bacterial, and hormonal priming are common approaches used to lessen the effects of water deficit. Physiological trait-based breeding, molecular breeding, marker-assisted backcrossing, aerial phenotyping, water budgeting, and resource allocation are modern approaches used to develop drought tolerant wheat cultivars. Wheat genotypes produced as a result of a combination of all these methodologies will increase food security regarding the currently changing climate. PubDate: 2018-04-03 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2651-6 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 4 (2018)
Authors:Xiao Guo; Xiao-Huang Ren; Franziska Eller; Ming-Yan Li; Ren-Qing Wang; Ning Du; Wei-Hua Guo Abstract: A greenhouse experiment was conducted in which two leguminous species commonly used in the Yellow River Delta for vegetation restoration, Robinia pseudoacacia and Amorpha fruticosa, were subjected to five salt treatments: 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mmol L−1. We aimed to determine which of the two species would be better suited for growth in a saline environment, and whether the acclimation capacity to salinity resulted from an inherently higher phenotypic plasticity. The results showed that salinity affected most growth and biomass parameters but had no effects on most leaf traits and physiological parameters of the two species. Height, relative growth rate of crown area, root biomass, and leaf mass ratio of R. pseudoacacia were reduced by higher salinity, while A. fruticosa was not affected. Chlorophyll a-to-chlorophyll b ratio and total antioxidative capacity of A. fruticosa increased with higher salinity, whereas those of R. pseudoacacia remained unchanged. Root mass ratio and vitamin C concentration of both species were not affected by salinity, whereas vitamin C concentration of A. fruticosa was higher than that of R. pseudoacacia. The root-to-shoot ratio of A. fruticosa was higher than that of R. pseudoacacia in most salt treatments. Of all leaf traits, only leaf area differed between treatments. R. pseudoacacia generally exhibited a greater plasticity than A. fruticosa in response to salinity, but A. fruticosa was more resistant to the higher salinities than R. pseudoacacia, and was thus a better candidate for vegetation restoration in saline areas. PubDate: 2018-03-30 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2654-3 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 4 (2018)
Authors:Manli Li; Wensheng Li; Yan Sun; Peisheng Mao; Xiao Qi; Yunwen Wang Abstract: The differences of leaf anatomic structures between rust-susceptible and -resistant zoysia (Zoysia japonica) were compared to reveal the physical defense mechanism of rust-resistant zoysia against Puccinia zoysiae. Zoysias were screened in greenhouse and fields of Beijing, Qingdao and Yangzhou from 2009 to 2012. After identified by inoculation test, rust-susceptible and rust-resistant zoysias were transplanted to flowerpots in Shangzhuang test field (Beijing, China) and were divided into indoor and outdoor groups. Leaves in the same position and formed in the same growth period of both rust-susceptible and rust-resistant zoysia strains were chosen for the current study. Wax content, the number and size of stomata, and the thickness of palisade tissue, spongy tissue, upper epidermis and lower epidermis were analyzed. All the anatomic structures of leaves stained with toluidine blue were observed under microscope. Leaf epidermis wax contents of rust-susceptible zoysia in indoor and outdoor groups were 30 and 39% lower than that of rust-resistant zoysia (p < 0.05), respectively. The number of stomata in rust-resistant zoysia was 68% more than that in susceptible ones (p < 0.05). Stomata of rust-resistant zoysia were 45% shorter and 65% narrower than those of rust-susceptible zoysia (p < 0.05). The thickness of spongy parenchyma and palisade tissue in rust-resistant zoysia was significantly higher than that of the susceptible samples (p < 0.05). Cell structure tightness and cell structure looseness of rust-resistant zoysia were tighter than that of rust-susceptible zoysia. Our study provides a histological understanding of the resistance mechanism of rust-resistant zoysia and might be useful for the identification of resistant varieties. PubDate: 2018-03-29 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2643-6 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 4 (2018)
Authors:Gulnara Vafina; Ruslan Ivanov; Evilina Ivanova Abstract: The investigation of the nuclear proteins has always been relevant, because they are involved in the expression, replication, storage, reparation and transmission of genetic information. It is known that sodium butyrate, as an inhibitor of protein deacetylation, leads to acetylation of histones and activates the transcriptional function of chromatin, and also it can effectively inhibit cell proliferation at low concentrations. However, it has been shown that the supplement or deletion of acetyl groups on lysine residues near the cleavage sites can regulate the sensibility of histones to proteolysis in chromatin. In the present work, the differences between 24-h seedlings of spring wheat and winter wheat in allocation of Arg-X proteolytic activity in trypsin-like complexes extracted from the fractions of non-histones and histones isolated from the nuclear structures (nucleoplasm, chromatin loosely and tightly bound and nuclear matrix) were shown. It is possible that the appearance of additional Arg-X proteolytic activity which we found in the non-histone and histone fractions that we were isolated primarily from the chromatin loosely bound and from the nuclear matrix are linked to increased histone acetylation under conditions of deacetylation inhibition of nuclear proteins. We suggest the revealed changes of Arg-X proteolysis may be associated with assembly of nucleosomes and possibly nucleosome control of gene expression. PubDate: 2018-03-29 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2652-5 Issue No:Vol. 40, No. 4 (2018)
Abstract: The aim of the present study is to investigate the contribution of mycorrhization to the resilience of olive trees to drought. One-year-old olive plants were inoculated (Myc+) or not (Myc−) with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and subjected to a 40-day-drought period. At regular intervals of the watering-off period and after rehydration period, water relations and gas exchanges parameters were measured. Similarly, the total soluble sugars, proline, and mineral nutrients concentrations were determined. The results revealed that Myc+ plants were less affected by drought than Myc− plants proving the involvement of the AMF in the alleviation of drought impact on olive tree. In fact, the turgor potential (Ψp) in Myc+ plants exhibited positive values during the whole treatment period, while Ψp in Myc− plants was negative mainly under severe stress intensity. Moreover, the stomatal function of Myc+ plants was less affected by drought compared to Myc− plants. The maximum of mycorrhizas relative drought alleviation rate (RDAR) was estimated to be 40% for Ψpd and RWC, 36% for the osmotic potential (ΨS), 86% for Ψp, 16% for gs, and 27% for E. The osmotic adjustment by proline was earlier in Myc+ plants than in Myc− ones. The inoculation with AMF also improved mineral uptake (K, N, Zn, and Fe). After 40 days of drought, Myc+ plants survive but not Myc− ones. In addition, the restoration of the irrigation permitted the Myc+ plants to recuperate from severe drought stress. To sum up, inoculation of young olive trees with the AMF improved their resilience to drought. PubDate: 2018-04-06 DOI: 10.1007/s11738-018-2656-1
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