Agricultural productivity may be raised in a sustainable way by many different technologies such as biological fertilizers, soil and water conservation, biodiversity conservation, improved pest control, and changes in...Agricultural productivity may be raised in a sustainable way by many different technologies such as biological fertilizers, soil and water conservation, biodiversity conservation, improved pest control, and changes in land ownership and distribution. Of these measures, biotechnology applications probably hold the most promise in augmenting conventional agricultural productivity, because biotechnology applications give not only the need to increase production, but also protect the environment and conserving natural resources for future generations. Biotechnology applications will have the possibilities to increase productivity and food availability through better agronomic performance of new varieties, including resistance to pests; rapid multiplication of disease-free plants; ability to obtain natural plant products using tissue culture; diagnosis of diseases of plants and livestock; manipulation of reproduction methods increasing the efficiency of breeding; and the provision of incentives for greater participation by the private sector through investments. Insect resistance through the transfer of a gene for resistance fromBacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is one of the most advanced biotechnology applications already being commercialized in many parts of the world. This paper reviews the development and the status ofBt technology and application ofBt transgenic plants in current agriculture, and discusses specific issues related to the transfer of the technology to the future of genetic engineered trees with emphasis on conifers. Key words Agricultural productivity - Bacillus thuringiensis - Genetic engineering - Insect resistance - Trees CLC number Q812 - S763.306 Document code A Biography: Tang Wei (1964-), male, Ph. Doctor, Research associate, Department of Biology, Howell Science Complex, East Carelina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353, USA.Responsible editor: Chal Ruihai展开更多
Aims In plant eco-physiology,less negative(enriched)carbon 13(^(13)C)in the leaves indicates conditions of reducing leaf gas exchange through stomata,e.g.under drought.In addition,^(13)C is expected to be less negativ...Aims In plant eco-physiology,less negative(enriched)carbon 13(^(13)C)in the leaves indicates conditions of reducing leaf gas exchange through stomata,e.g.under drought.In addition,^(13)C is expected to be less negative in non-photosynthetic tissues as compared with leaves.However,these relationships inδ^(13)C from leaves(photosynthetic organs)to branches,stems and roots(non-photosynthetic organs)are rarely tested across multiple closely related tree species,multiple compartments,or in trees growing under extreme heat and drought.Methods We measured leaf-to-root^(13)C in three closely related desert acacia species(Acacia tortilis,A.raddiana and A.pachyceras).We measuredδ^(13)C in leaf tissues from mature trees in southern Israel.In parallel,a 7-year irrigation experiment with 0.5,1.0 or 4.0 L day1 was conducted in an experimental orchard.At the end of the experiment,growth parameters andδ^(13)C were measured in leaves,branches,stems and roots.Important Findings Theδ^(13)C in leaf tissues sampled from mature trees was ca.-27‰,far more depleted than expected from a desert tree growing in one of the Earth's driest and hottest environments.Across acacia species and compartments,δ^(13)C was not enriched at all irrigation levels(-28‰to ca.-27‰),confirming our measurements in the mature trees.Among compartments,leafδ^(13)C was unexpectedly similar to branch and rootδ^(13)C,and surprisingly,even less negative than stemδ^(13)C.The highly depleted leafδ^(13)C suggests that these trees have high stomatai gas exchange,despite growing in extremely dry habitats.The lack ofδ^(13)C enrichment in nonphotosynthetic tissues might be related to the seasonal coupling of growth of leaves and heterotrophic tissues.展开更多
文摘Agricultural productivity may be raised in a sustainable way by many different technologies such as biological fertilizers, soil and water conservation, biodiversity conservation, improved pest control, and changes in land ownership and distribution. Of these measures, biotechnology applications probably hold the most promise in augmenting conventional agricultural productivity, because biotechnology applications give not only the need to increase production, but also protect the environment and conserving natural resources for future generations. Biotechnology applications will have the possibilities to increase productivity and food availability through better agronomic performance of new varieties, including resistance to pests; rapid multiplication of disease-free plants; ability to obtain natural plant products using tissue culture; diagnosis of diseases of plants and livestock; manipulation of reproduction methods increasing the efficiency of breeding; and the provision of incentives for greater participation by the private sector through investments. Insect resistance through the transfer of a gene for resistance fromBacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is one of the most advanced biotechnology applications already being commercialized in many parts of the world. This paper reviews the development and the status ofBt technology and application ofBt transgenic plants in current agriculture, and discusses specific issues related to the transfer of the technology to the future of genetic engineered trees with emphasis on conifers. Key words Agricultural productivity - Bacillus thuringiensis - Genetic engineering - Insect resistance - Trees CLC number Q812 - S763.306 Document code A Biography: Tang Wei (1964-), male, Ph. Doctor, Research associate, Department of Biology, Howell Science Complex, East Carelina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353, USA.Responsible editor: Chal Ruihai
基金funded by the Benoziyo Fund for the Advancement of ScienceMr and Mrs Norman Reiser,together with the Weizmann Center for New Scientists+1 种基金the Edith&Nathan Goldberg Career Development Chair.D.U.was funded by Ariovich scholarship and by the scholarship of the environmental science school of the Hebrew University.G.W.thanks the Arava Drainage Authority and the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology(MOST)for their continued support.The study used data available through the TRY initiative on plant traits(http://www.try-db.org,data request 8968).The TRY initiative and database is hosted,developed and maintained by J.Kattge and G.Bonisch(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry,Jena,Germany)TRY is currently supported by DIVERSITAS/Future Earth and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research(iDiv)Halle-Jena-Leipzig.
文摘Aims In plant eco-physiology,less negative(enriched)carbon 13(^(13)C)in the leaves indicates conditions of reducing leaf gas exchange through stomata,e.g.under drought.In addition,^(13)C is expected to be less negative in non-photosynthetic tissues as compared with leaves.However,these relationships inδ^(13)C from leaves(photosynthetic organs)to branches,stems and roots(non-photosynthetic organs)are rarely tested across multiple closely related tree species,multiple compartments,or in trees growing under extreme heat and drought.Methods We measured leaf-to-root^(13)C in three closely related desert acacia species(Acacia tortilis,A.raddiana and A.pachyceras).We measuredδ^(13)C in leaf tissues from mature trees in southern Israel.In parallel,a 7-year irrigation experiment with 0.5,1.0 or 4.0 L day1 was conducted in an experimental orchard.At the end of the experiment,growth parameters andδ^(13)C were measured in leaves,branches,stems and roots.Important Findings Theδ^(13)C in leaf tissues sampled from mature trees was ca.-27‰,far more depleted than expected from a desert tree growing in one of the Earth's driest and hottest environments.Across acacia species and compartments,δ^(13)C was not enriched at all irrigation levels(-28‰to ca.-27‰),confirming our measurements in the mature trees.Among compartments,leafδ^(13)C was unexpectedly similar to branch and rootδ^(13)C,and surprisingly,even less negative than stemδ^(13)C.The highly depleted leafδ^(13)C suggests that these trees have high stomatai gas exchange,despite growing in extremely dry habitats.The lack ofδ^(13)C enrichment in nonphotosynthetic tissues might be related to the seasonal coupling of growth of leaves and heterotrophic tissues.
