Sex Determination and Sexual Organ Differentiation in Flowering Plants

The research in the genetics of sex determination and the differentiation of reproductive organs in flowering plants has long been a topic in recent years. Understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms that control sex determination in flower- ing plants relies on detailed studies of the differentiation of sexual organs. Current theories about sex chromosomes have illuminated the mechanisms of plant sex determination. In addition, recent progress in cloning floral homeotic genes which regulate the identity of the floral organs has generated molecular markers to compare the developmental programs of male, female and hermaphrodite flowers in several species. In this review, the authors focus attention on these recent findings and provide a brief overview of the genetics of plant sex determination and the mechanism of sex determination gene expression and gene programs.

Plant Developmental Biology in China: Past, Present and Future

Plant development is a process from germination of seed to vegetative growth, flower initiation and development, fertilization and finally to the next generation seed formation. A lot of achievements have been obtained in plant developmental biology in China. Since the 1990's, those young generation scientists returned to China from abroad to use molecular and genetic techniques to study morphological, physiological and biochemical process of plant development. The present paper reviews the progress in some research area of plant developmental biology in the past decades and also prospects the chance and future of plant developmental studies, due to the recent advances of plant genome sequencing and functional genomics in China under the international research background.

Wrinkled petals and stamens 1,is required for the morphogenesis of petals and stamens in Lotus japonicus

Although much progress has been made in understanding how floral organ identity is determined during the floral development, less is known about how floral organ is elaborated in the late floral developmental stages. Here we describe a novel floral mutant, wrinkled petals and stamens1 （wps1）, which shows defects in the development of petals and stamens. Genetic analysis indicates that wpsl mutant is corresponding to a single recessive locus at the long arm of chromosome 3. The early development of floral organs in wpsl mutant is similar to that in wild type, and the malfunction of the mutant commences in late developmental stages, displaying a defect on the appearance of petals and stamens. In the mature flower, petals and stamen filaments in the mutant are wrinkled or folded, and the cellular morphology under L1 layer of petals and stamen filaments is abnormal. It is found that the expression patterns of floral organ identity genes are not affected in wpsl mutants compared with that of wild type, consistent with the unaltered development of all floral organs. Furthermore, the identities of epidermal cells in different type of petals are maintained. The histological analysis shows that in wpsl flowers all petals are irregularly folded, and there are knotted structures in the petals, while the shape and arrangement of inner cells are malformed and unorganized. Based on these results, we propose that Wpsl acts downstream to the class B floral organ identity genes, and functions to modulate the cellular differentiation during the late flower developmental stages.

Effect of Different Plant Growth Regulators on Callus Induction and in vitro Rapid Propagation of Wild Petunia Juss.

In this study,the seeds of wild Petunia Juss.were used as explants to investigate the optimal condition for tissue culture.Several different kinds and concentrations of growth regulators were adopted to produce more multiple bud clumps,callus or roots in this study.The experiments may provide experimental foundation for the rapid propagation technology and establishment of tissue culture system for wild Petunia Juss.

An integrative study of larval organogenesis of American shad Alosa sapidissima in histological aspects

We describe organogenesis at a histological level in American shad( Alosa sapidissima) larvae from 0 until 45 days after hatching(DAH). Larval development was divided into four stages based on the feeding mode,external morphological features,and structural changes in the organs: stage 1(0–2 DAH),stage 2(3–5 DAH),stage 3(6–26 DAH) and stage 4(27–45 DAH). At early stage 2(3 DAH),American shad larvae developed the initial digestive and absorptive tissues,including the mouth and anal opening,buccopharyngeal cavity,oesophagus,incipient stomach,anterior and posterior intestine,differentiated hepatocytes,and exocrine pancreas. The digestive and absorptive capacity developed further in stages 2 to 3,at which time the pharyngeal teeth,taste buds,gut mucosa folds,differentiated stomach,and gastric glands could be observed. Four defined compartments were discernible in the heart at 4 DAH. From 3 to 13 DAH,the excretory systems started to develop,accompanied by urinary bladder opening,the appearance and development of primordial pronephros,and the proliferation and convolution of renal tubules. Primordial gills were detected at 2 DAH,the pseudobranch was visible at 6 DAH,and the filaments and lamellae proliferated rapidly during stage 3. The primordial swim bladder was first observed at 2 DAH and started to inflate at 9 DAH; from then on,it expanded constantly. The spleen was first observed at 8 DAH and the thymus was evident at 12 DAH. From stage 4 onwards,most organs essentially manifested an increase in size,number,and complexity of tissue structure.

Room-Temperature Organic Negative Differential Resistance Device Using CdSe Quantum Dots as the ITO Modification Layer

Room-temperature negative differential resistance （NDR） has been observed in different types of organic materials. However, detailed study on the influence of the organic material on NDR performance is still scarce. In this work, room-temperature NDR ＆ observed when CdSe quantum dot （QD） modified ITO is used as the electrode. Furthermore, material dependence of the NDR performance is observed by selecting materials with different charge transporting properties as the active layer, respectively. A peak-to-valley current ratio up to 9 is observed. It is demonstrated that the injection barrier between ITO and the organic active layer plays a decisive role for the device NDR performance. The influence of the aggregation state of CdSe QDs on the NDR performance is also studied, which indicates that the NDR is caused by the resonant tunneling process in the ITO/CdSe QD/organic active layer structure.

Primary study on anther culture of balsum pear for callus and organ formation

The balsum pear （Momordica charantia L. ） anthers in the monokaryotic stage of microspore development were cultured in this experiment. Different Plant growth regulators＇ combinations, base media and carbon sources were studied for callus formation and organ differentiation from balsum pear anthers. The result showed that the best media for callus inducement was： MS＋BA 0.5 mg/L＋NAA 0.2 mg/L＋ 2, 4-D 0.5 mg/L＋KT 2.0 mg/L, with 3% sugar and 0.8% agar. The best media to induce roots from balsum pear anther callus was： MS＋NAA 0.05 rag/L＋ KT 0.5 rag/L, with 3% sugar and 0.8% agar. Most of adventitious roots from callus were triploid（2N=3X=33）

Genome-Wide Analysis of DNA Methylation in Soybean

Cytosine methylation is an important mechanism for dynamical regulation of gene expression and trans- posable element （TE） mobility during plant developmental processes. Here, we identified the transcription start sites of genes using high-throughput sequencing and then analyzed the DNA methylation status in soybean roots, stems, leaves, and cotyledons of developing seeds at single-base resolution. Profiling of DNA methylation in different organs revealed 2162 differentially methylated regions among organs, and a portion of hypomethylated regions were correlated with high expression of neighboring genes. Because of the different distribution of class I TEs （retrotransposons） and class II TEs （DNA transposons）, the promoters of the lowest-expressed genes showed higher levels of CG and CHG methyla- tion but a lower level of CHH methylation. We further found that the CHH methylation level of class II TEs was higher than class I TEs, possibly due to the presence of more smRNAs in class II TEs. In cotyledons of developing seeds, smRNA abundance was roughly positively correlated with hypermethylated regions but negatively related to hypomethylated regions. These studies provide significant insights into the complicated interplays among DNA methylation, smRNA abundance, TE distribution, and gene expression in soybean.