Ultrastructural Studies on the Development of Oil Cells in Litsea pungens

The developmental process of oil cells in the shoot of Litsea pungens Hemsl. has been studied with transmission electron microscopy. According to the development of the three layers of cell wall, the developmental process could be divided into 4 stages. In stage 1, the cell wall consisted only of a primary (the outmost) cellulose layer, which might further be divided into two substages, the oil cell initial, and the vacuolizing oil cell. During this stage, there were some small electron translucent vesicles and dark osmiophilic droplets of variant sizes in the different-shaped plastids. It was observed that some dark and gray osmiophilic materials coalesced to vacuoles in the cytoplasm. In stage 2, a lamellated suberin layer accumulated inside the primary cellulose layer. In stage 3, a thicker and looser inner cellulose wall layer was formed gradually inside the suberin layer. Some dark osmiophilic droplets have been observed in this loose inner cellulose wall layer. The plasmodesmata were blocked up and became a special structure. Then, the big vacuole, which is the oil sac, was full of osmiophilic oil. In stage 4, the oil cell became matured and the cytoplasm disintegrated. The oil sac enveloped from plasmalemma was attached to the cupule, which was formed by the protuberance of the inner cellulose wall layer into the lumen. After the maturity of oil cell, the ground cytoplasm began to disintegrate and became electron opaque or exhibited in a disordered state, and the osmiophilic oil appeared light gray.

Expressions of TGF-β2, bFGF and ICAM-1 in lens epithelial cells of complicated cataract with silicone oil tamponade

AIM： To investigate the expression differences of transforming growth factor-β2（TGF-β2）, basic fibroblast growth factor（b FGF） and intercellular cell-adhesion molecule-1（ICAM-1） in lens epithelial cells（LECs） of complicated cataract with silicone oil tamponade and agerelated cataract. METHODS： Totally 150 eyes of 150 patients（aged 35 to 77y） were investigated, including 75 patients with complicated cataract after silicone oil tamponade and 75 patients with age-related cataract. The central piece of anterior capsules was collected during cataract surgery. TGF-β2, b FGF and ICAM-1 were detected in the 60 specimens of the two groups by immunohistochemistry. The expression levels of the three kinds of messenger ribonucleic acid（m RNA） were determined by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction in the 90 specimens of the two groups.RESULTS： TGF-β2 was detected in the cytomembrane and cytoplasm of the LECs and b FGF was detected in the nucleus. ICAM-1 was positive in the cytomembrane of the LECs and the distribution of positive cells was uneven. The m RNA genes expression of the TGF-β2, b FGF and ICAM-1 was significant differences between the two groups and markedly increased in complicated cataract group（P〈0.05）.CONCLUSION： The up-regulated TGF-β2, b FGF and ICAM-1 maybe associate with the occurrence and development of complicated cataract with silicone oil tamponade.

Valorization of durian peel as a carbon feedstock for a sustainable production of heterogeneous base catalyst,single cell oil and yeast-based biodiesel

The present study reports a successful attempt to produce single cell oil(SCO),heterogeneous base catalyst and yeast-based biodiesel from durian peel as a promising carbon feedstock by means of the waste-to-energy concept.For this purpose,first,durian peel(DP)was hydrolyzed by dilute sulfuric acid to obtain xylose-rich DP hydrolysate(XDPH)and post-hydrolysis DP solid residue(DPS).Candida viswanathii PSY8,a newly isolated oleaginous yeast,showed high SCO accumulation(5.1±0.1 g/L)and SCO content(35.3±0.13%)on undetoxified XDPH medium.A novel heterogeneous base catalyst(DPS-K)prepared from DPS by wet impregnation technique with KOH,exhibited considerable catalytic activity to convert SCO-rich wet yeast of C.viswanathii PSY8 into yeast-based biodiesel(FAME)via direct transesterification with a maximum FAME yield of 94.3%under optimal conditions(6 wt%catalyst,10:1 methanol to wet yeast ratio,75℃,and 2 h).Moreover,most of the yeast-based biodiesel properties obtained from the FAME profiles were correlated well with the biodiesel standards limit of Thai,ASTM D6751 and EN 14214.Additionally,the energy output of FAME produced about 37.5 MJ/kg was estimated.Thus,this present finding demonstrated the favorable strategy for sustainable and eco-friendly production of new generation biodiesel.

Structures,Components and Functions of Secretory Tissues in Houttuynia cordata

Houttuynia cordata Thunb., traditionally used as a therapeutic plant in folk medicine, has shown antioxidant and anticancer activities. The species, as a core component of paleoherbs, is normally characterized based on the presence of different types of secretory tissue： oil cells, three types of secretory cells and glandular hairs. The aim of this work was to study the structural, componential, and the functional characteristics of the secretory tissues in both the floral and vegetative parts. The results indicate that oil cells and secretory cells are distributed in all organs of the plant, while glandular hairs are situated on the aerial stems and leaves. Both oil cells and glandular hairs initiate from the protoderm, but their developmental processes are different. Although three types of secretory cells initiate from different primary meristems, the developmental patterns of different secretory cells are the same. Also, although the origins of secretory cells are different from oil cells, their early developmental processes are the same. Histochemical results show that oil cells, secretory cells and glandular hairs produce flavonoids, phenolic compounds, tannins, lipids, aldehyde and ketone-compounds. In addition, there are terpenoids and pectic-like substances in oil cells, alkaloids in secretory cells of aerial stems, and terpenoids and alkaloids in glandular hairs. These compounds play very important roles in protecting plants from being eaten by herbivores （herbivory） and infected by microbial pathogens. The oil cell and secretory cell, as unicellular secretory tissues, are intermediates between the primitive surface glandular and secretory cavity and canal during the evolution of secretory structures.