Structural components of the nuclear body in nuclei of Allium cepa cells

Nuclear bodies have long been noted in interphase nuclei of plant cells, but their structural component, origin and function are still unclear by now. The present work showed in onion cells the nuclear bodies appeared as a spherical structure about 0.3 to 0.8 microm in diameter. They possibly were formed in nucleolus and subsequently released, and entered into nucleoplasm. Observation through cytochemical staining method at the ultrastructural level confirmed that nuclear bodies consisted of ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) and silver-stainable proteins. Immunocytochemical results revealed that nuclear bodies contained no DNA and ribosomal gene transcription factor (UBF). Based on these data, we suggested that nuclear bodies are not related to the ribosome or other gene transcription activities, instead they may act as subnuclear structures for RNPs transport from nucleolus to cytoplasm, and may also be involved in splicing of pre-mRNAs.

Characteristics of plant calcium fractions for 25 species in Tengger Desert

Little attention has been paid to plant calcium fractions in the desert.To address the characteristic of the calcium fractions of desert plants,we collected 25 plant species in Tengger Desert,observed the calcium crystals using an optical microscope and determined water soluble calcium,acetic acid soluble calcium,and hydrochloric acid soluble calcium.To do so,we used sequential fractionation procedures to probe the relationships among different functional groups,different growth forms,or different successional stages.The results showed that the psammophyte,the late successional plants,and the drought-resistant shrub and semi-shrub all held considerable calcium oxalate crystal compared to the grassland plants,the early successional plants,and the perennial herb.With the proceeding succession,the acetic acid soluble calcium decreased gradually,and the hydrochloric acid soluble calcium increased gradually.The perennial herb had more water soluble calcium,while shrub held greater hydrochloric acid soluble calcium.The grassland plants held more water soluble calcium,while psammophyte had greater hydrochloric acid soluble calcium.This implies that the plants that are relatively sensitive to drought hold more calcium ion,while the drought-resistance plants hold more calcium oxalate.Thus,the plant calcium components are in close relation to plant drought-resistance,and of important significance in plant physiology of the desert.

Circadian clock component, LHY, tells a plant when to respond photosynthetically to light in nature

The circadian clock is known to increase plant growth and fitness, and is thought to prepare plants for photosynthesis at dawn and dusk; whether this happens in nature was unknown. We transformed the native tobacco, Nicotiana attenuata to silence two core clock components, NaLHY （irLHY） and NaTOC1 （irTOC1）. We characterized growth and light- and dark-adapted photosynthetic rates （Ac） throughout a 24 h clay in empty vector-transformed （EV）, irLHY, and irTOC1 plants in the field, and in NaPhyA-and NaPhyB1-silenced plants in the glasshouse. The growth rates of irLHY plants were lower than those of EV plants in the field. While irLHY plants reduced Ac earlier at dusk, no differences between irLHY and EV plants were observed at dawn in the field, irLHY, but not EV plants, responded to light in the night by rapidly increasing Ac. Under controlled conditions, EV plants rapidly increased Ac in the day compared to dark-adapted plants at night; irLHY plants lost these time-dependent responses. The role of NaLHY in gating photosynthesis is independent of the light-depen- dent reactions and red light perceived by NaPhyA, but not NaPhyB1. In summary, the circadian clock allows plants not to respond photosynthetically to light at night by anticipating and gating red light-mediated in native tobacco.

Occurrence,distribution,and potential influencing factors of sewage sludge components derived from nine full-scale wastewater treatment plants of Beijing,China

Millions of tons of waste activated sludge（WAS） produced from biological wastewater treatment processes cause severe adverse environmental consequences. A better understanding of WAS composition is thus very critical for sustainable sludge management. In this work, the occurrence and distribution of several fundamental sludge constituents were explored in WAS samples from nine full-scale wastewater treatment plants（WWTPs） of Beijing, China. Among all the components investigated, active heterotrophic biomass was dominant in the samples（up to 9478 mg/L）, followed by endogenous residues（6736 mg/L）,extracellular polymeric substances（2088 mg/L）, and intracellular storage products（464 mg/L）among others. Moreover, significant differences（p 〈 0.05） were observed in composition profiles of sludge samples among the studied WWTPs. To identify the potential parameters affecting the variable fractions of sludge components, wastewater source as well as design and operational parameters of WWTPs were studied using statistical methods. The findings indicated that the component fraction of sewage sludge depends more on wastewater treatment alternatives than on wastewater characteristics among other parameters. A principal component analysis was conducted, which further indicated that there was a greater proportion of residual inert biomass in the sludge produced by the combined system of the conventional anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process and a membrane bioreactor. Additionally, a much longer solids retention time was also found to influence the sludge composition and induce an increase in both endogenous inert residues and extracellular polymeric substances in the sludge.