Biological soil crusts(BSCs) are the important components of alpine meadow ecosystems.The extent and morphology of BSCs vary greatly with alpine meadow retrogressive succession due to grazing pressure.There is signifi...Biological soil crusts(BSCs) are the important components of alpine meadow ecosystems.The extent and morphology of BSCs vary greatly with alpine meadow retrogressive succession due to grazing pressure.There is significant interest in impacts of crust composition on plant seed germination,especial l y in(semi-) arid environments.However,little is known about the influences of BSCs,and their associations with alpine meadow succession,on germination of typical alpine meadow vascular plant species.In a full factorial common-gardenexperiment,we studied effects of:(1) crust type,(2) seed position,and(3) surface texture on seed germination.We chose three typical alpine meadow plant species(i.e.Poa pratensis,Tibetia himalaica and Potentillen nivea),which belonged to different functional groups(graminoids,legumes,and forbs) and play important roles in all alpine meadow succession stages.Crust type and seed position influenced seed germination,and the inhibitory effects of BSCs depended on the crust type and seed species tested.The major factors influencing seed germination were BSC type,seed position,soil texture,and the interactions between BSC type and seed position; species and seed position; species andsurface texture; and species,crust type,and surface texture.Cyanobacteria crust significantly inhibited germination of all seeds.Seed position also had a significant effect on seed germination(p < 0.001).Fewer seedlings germinated on the surface than below the surface,this was especially true for P.nivea.seeds within cyanobacteria and lichen crusts.Only germination rates of T.himalaica on the soil surface were significantly correlated with plant occurrence frequency within the alpine meadow community.The poor correlation for the other two species is possibly that they are perennials.Our results clearly demonstrated that BSCs can be biological filters during seed germination,depending on the BSC succession stage.Through their influences on seed germination,BSCs can strongly influence community assemblages throughout alpine meadow retrogressive succession.展开更多
Rice(Oryza sativa)spikelets are a unique inflorescence structure and their development directly determines grain size and yield.Although many genes related to spikelet development have been reported,the molecular mech...Rice(Oryza sativa)spikelets are a unique inflorescence structure and their development directly determines grain size and yield.Although many genes related to spikelet development have been reported,the molecular mechanisms underlying this process have not been fully elucidated.In this study,we identified a new recessive rice mutant,lacking rudimentary glume 1(lrg1).The lrg1 spikelets only formed one rudimentary glume,which,along with the sterile lemmas,was homeotically transformed into lemma-like organs and acquired lemma identity.The transition from the spikelet to the floral meristem was delayed in the lrg1 mutant,resulting in the formation of an ectopic lemma-like organ between the sterile lemma and the terminal floret.In addition,we found that the abnormal lrg1 grain phenotype resulted from the alteration of cell numbers and the hull size.LRG1 encodes a ZOS4-06-C2H2 zinc-finger protein with the typical EAR motifs,and is expressed in all organs and tissues.LRG1 localizes to the nucleus and can interact with the TOPLESS-RELATED PROTEINs(TPRs)to repress the expressions of their downstream target genes.Taken together,our results reveal that LRG1 plays an important role in the regulation of spikelet organ identity and grain size.展开更多
基金funded by the Chinese National Natural Scientific Foundation(Grant No.31270576)by the grant(Grant No.2016-ZJ-710)from Qinghai Province and Key laboratory of crop molecular breeding of Qinghai Province
文摘Biological soil crusts(BSCs) are the important components of alpine meadow ecosystems.The extent and morphology of BSCs vary greatly with alpine meadow retrogressive succession due to grazing pressure.There is significant interest in impacts of crust composition on plant seed germination,especial l y in(semi-) arid environments.However,little is known about the influences of BSCs,and their associations with alpine meadow succession,on germination of typical alpine meadow vascular plant species.In a full factorial common-gardenexperiment,we studied effects of:(1) crust type,(2) seed position,and(3) surface texture on seed germination.We chose three typical alpine meadow plant species(i.e.Poa pratensis,Tibetia himalaica and Potentillen nivea),which belonged to different functional groups(graminoids,legumes,and forbs) and play important roles in all alpine meadow succession stages.Crust type and seed position influenced seed germination,and the inhibitory effects of BSCs depended on the crust type and seed species tested.The major factors influencing seed germination were BSC type,seed position,soil texture,and the interactions between BSC type and seed position; species and seed position; species andsurface texture; and species,crust type,and surface texture.Cyanobacteria crust significantly inhibited germination of all seeds.Seed position also had a significant effect on seed germination(p < 0.001).Fewer seedlings germinated on the surface than below the surface,this was especially true for P.nivea.seeds within cyanobacteria and lichen crusts.Only germination rates of T.himalaica on the soil surface were significantly correlated with plant occurrence frequency within the alpine meadow community.The poor correlation for the other two species is possibly that they are perennials.Our results clearly demonstrated that BSCs can be biological filters during seed germination,depending on the BSC succession stage.Through their influences on seed germination,BSCs can strongly influence community assemblages throughout alpine meadow retrogressive succession.
基金supported by the Zhejiang Natural Science Foundation(LY18C130007)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(91735304)+1 种基金the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund of China National Rice Research Institute(2017RG001-4)the National Science and Technology Major Project(2016ZX08009003-003-008)。
文摘Rice(Oryza sativa)spikelets are a unique inflorescence structure and their development directly determines grain size and yield.Although many genes related to spikelet development have been reported,the molecular mechanisms underlying this process have not been fully elucidated.In this study,we identified a new recessive rice mutant,lacking rudimentary glume 1(lrg1).The lrg1 spikelets only formed one rudimentary glume,which,along with the sterile lemmas,was homeotically transformed into lemma-like organs and acquired lemma identity.The transition from the spikelet to the floral meristem was delayed in the lrg1 mutant,resulting in the formation of an ectopic lemma-like organ between the sterile lemma and the terminal floret.In addition,we found that the abnormal lrg1 grain phenotype resulted from the alteration of cell numbers and the hull size.LRG1 encodes a ZOS4-06-C2H2 zinc-finger protein with the typical EAR motifs,and is expressed in all organs and tissues.LRG1 localizes to the nucleus and can interact with the TOPLESS-RELATED PROTEINs(TPRs)to repress the expressions of their downstream target genes.Taken together,our results reveal that LRG1 plays an important role in the regulation of spikelet organ identity and grain size.
