Dormancy of Amaranthus retroflexus L. Seeds and Physiological Response Seedlings to Acifluorfen Sodium

Amaranthus retroflexus L. is a serious and widespread malignant weed in soybean fields in Heilongjiang Province. Exploring the dormancy characteristics of A. retroflexus L. seeds and the physiological response of its seedlings to acifluorfen sodium can provide a basis for further researches on its resistance mechanism. Using newly harvested and stored A. retroflexus L. seeds for one year as experimental materials, the effects of different concentrations of HCl, NaOH, water temperature, gibberellic acid(GA) and polyethylene glycol(PEG) on the dormancy and germination of A. retroflexus L. seeds were studied. The sensitivity of A. retroflexus L.to acifluorfen sodium was determined using bioassay. The effects on leaf chlorophyll content and target enzyme activity were studied at a normal dosage of 360 g a.i. hm^(-2) and a doubling dosage of 720 g a.i. hm^(-2) of acifluorfen sodium. Newly harvested seeds exhibiting dormancy were soaked in water of various temperatures and in different concentrations of NaOH and HCl, which were ineffective in breaking the seed dormancy. GA could break seed dormancy, and the highest seed germination rate reached 93.33% when they were soaked at 3 000 mg·L^(-1) for 72 h and 4 000 mg·L^(-1) for 48 h. The drought stress was simulated with a 15%-25% polyethylene glycol solution, which had no significant effect on the seed germination rate. The GR_(50) value of acifluorfen sodium for A. retroflexus L. was 705.7 g a.i. hm^(-2), which was 1.96 times the recommended dose in the field. After the application of different doses of acifluorfen sodium, the chlorophyll content of A. retroflexus L. reached its minimum value 3 days after treatment(DAT), and then gradually increased. The activity of the target enzyme protoporphyrinogen oxidase(PPO) reached the highest value at 7 DAT under different dosages, and gradually returned to normal levels thereafter. Soaking with gibberellin was an effective method to break seed dormancy. A. retroflexus L. seeds had certain drought resistance during the germination process. A. retroflexus L. was not sensitive to acifluorfen sodium and acifluorfen sodium ether, and could not effectively inhibit the PPO activity, indicating that A. retroflexus L. had target resistance to acifluorfen sodium.

An ABAGE-Like Metabolite of Botrytis cinerea Isolate BC4 Inhibited the Growth of Hypocotyls and Roots of Amaranthus retroflexus Seedlings

A metabolite, which had an inhibitory effect on plant growth, was isolated from cultural filtrate of Botrytis cinerea isolate BC4 by column chromatography on silica gel and preparative HPLC. Its structure was determined from HPLC-ESI MS, GC, IR, ^1H NMR and ^13C NMR spectral data, as well as chemical hydrolysis. The results showed that this metabolite was quite similar to abscisic acid-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester（ABAGE） in structure. The inhibitory effect of the ABAGE-like metabolite on plant growth was investigated using a weed Amaranthus retroflexus L. as a bioassay material. The results showed that it inhibited hypocotyls and roots growth of A. retroflexus （Amaranthus retroflexus L.） seedlings when its concentration was over 0.5 μM. The concentrations for 50% inhibition of hypocotyls and roots growth of A. retroflexus seedlings were 2.8 and 1.4 μM, respectively.

An ABAGS-Like Metabolite of Botrytis cinerea Isolate BC4 and Its Inhibitory Activity to Seed Germination of Weeds

Aimed at finding out natural compounds to kill weeds, a plant pathogenic fungus, Botrytis cinerea isolate BC4, was chosen as a source. A significantly polar metabolite, which was different in chromatographic behavior from ABAGE-like metabolite, was isolated from cultural filtrate of the fungus by column chromatography on silica gel, preparative LC, TLC and HPLC. The structure of the metabolite was determined by HPLC-ESI MS, g.l.c, IR, ^1H NMR and hydrolysis. The results showed that this metabolite was quite similar with ABAGS. The bioassay showed the metabolite had inhibition to seed germination of both broadleaf weeds [Amaranthus retroflerus L. and Chenopodium album L.] and gramineae weeds [Digitaria sanguinalis L. Scop and Echinochloa crusgalii L. Beauv]. It also had inhibitory activity to the seedling growth of broadleaf weeds. The bioassay, using Amaranthus retroflexus L. as an indicator, showed that the lowest concentration of the metabolite to inhibit root＋sprout growth of A. retroflexus was 0.6 μM, and the concentration for 50% inhibition was 1.3μM.

Physiological and Growth Responses of C_3 and C_4 Plants to Reduced Temperature When Grown at Low CO_2 of the Last Ice Age

During the last ice age, CO2 concentration （[CO2]） was 180-200 umol/mol compared with the modern value of 380 umol/mol, and global temperatures were -8 ℃ cooler. Relatively little is known about the responses of C3 and C4 species to longterm exposure to glacial conditions. Here Abutilon theophrasti Medik. （C3） and Amaranthus retroflexus L. （C4） were grown at 200 umol/mol CO2 with current （30/24℃） and glacial （22/16℃） temperatures for 22d. Overall, the C4 species exhibited a large growth advantage over the C3 species at low [CO2]. However, this advantage was reduced at low temperature, where the C4 species produced 5x the total mass of the C3 species versus 14x at the high temperature. This difference was due to a reduction in C4 growth at low temperature, since the C3 species exhibited similar growth between temperatures. Physiological differences between temperatures were not detected for either species, although photorespiration/net photosynthesis was reduced in the C3 species grown at low temperature, suggesting evidence of improved carbon balance at this treatment. This system suggests that C4 species had a growth advantage over C3 species during low [CO2] of the last ice age, although concurrent reductions in temperatures may have reduced this advantage.