Assessment of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) for Phytoremediation of Heavy Metal Polluted Mine Tailings—A Case Study of Nampundwe Mine Tailings Dam, Zambia

Mining activities have led to a generation of large quantities of heavy metals laden wastes which are released into the environment in an unsustainable way causing the contamination of the ecosystems and posing a risk to human health. Most mining companies have not employed any rehabilitation or remediation program of the heavy metal laden waste. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of sunflower for phytoremediation of heavy metal polluted mine tailings. Phytoremediation is an emerging technology in the remediation of mine tailings that uses tolerant plant species to clean up contaminated sites. It uses plants with high biomass and sunflower has been identified as such. These plants can extract, transfer, sequester and stabilize a variety of metals through mechanisms such as phytoextraction, phytostabilization, phytoaccumulation and phytovolatilization. Pot experiments were conducted by growing sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in pyrite mine tailings and in agricultural soil as a control. The study showed that the concentration of Cu reduced from 40.76 mg/kg to 36.59 mg/kg, Zn reduced from 3.58 mg/kg to 3.49 mg/kg and Fe reduced from 23.70 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg respectively in the mine tailings after 6 weeks. Analysis of harvested sunflower (roots, stems, leaves) showed that sunflower could remove heavy metals from the tailings and the highest removal efficiency was 53.7% and the highest translocation factor was 0.25. It was concluded that sunflower has the potential to remediate contaminated mine tailings and that phytoremediation is a viable and efficient technology to treat soils contaminated with heavy metals.

Identification, characterization and full-length sequence analysis of a novel endornavirus in common sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

To identify the possible quarantine viruses in seven common sunflower varieties imported from the United States of America and the Netherlands, we tested total RNAs extracted from the leaf tissues using next-generation sequencing of small RNAs. After analysis of small RNA sequencing data, no any quarantine virus was found, but a double-stranded RNA（dsRNA） molecule showing typical genomic features of endornavirus was detected in two varieties, X3939 and SH1108. Full-length sequence and phylogenetic analysis showed that it is a novel endornavirus, temporarily named as Helianthus annuus alphaendornavirus（HaEV）. Its full genome corresponds to a 14 662-bp dsRNA segment, including a 21-nt 5′ untranslated region（UTR）, 3＇ UTR ending with the unique sequence CCCCCCCC and lacking a poly（A） tail. An open reading frame（ORF） that encodes a deduced 4 867 amino acids（aa） polyprotein with three domains： RdRP, Hel and UGT（UDP-glycosyltransferase）. HaEV mainly distributed in the cytoplasm but less in the nucleus of leaf cells by fluorescence in situ hybridization（FISH） experiment. This virus has a high seed infection rate in the five varieties, X3907, X3939, A231, SH1108 and SR1320. To our knowledge, this is the first report about the virus of the family Endornaviridae in the common sunflower.

Effect of chromium on growth attributes in sunflower(Helianthus annuus L.)

Heavy metal soil pollution takes place when the metal concentration of soil exceeds natural background level and causes ecological destruction and deterioration of the environment.In the present study,a pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of chromium-contaminated soil in sunflower(Helianthus annuus L.)growth attributes.Three different levels of chromium(Cr)i.e.,20, 40,and 60 mg/kg were applied to three varieties of sunflower(G-3,G-9,and G-59).The results of morphological,chemical,and yield p...

Effect of Nitrogen on Yield and Oil Quality of Sunflower (<i>Helianthus Annuus</i>L.) Hybrids under Sub Humid Conditions of Pakistan

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) has emerged as an economically important crop in Pakistan due to its significant share in vegetable oil production. The plant metabolic processes require protein to increase the vegetative, reproductive growth and yield of the crop. The protein is wholly dependent upon the amount of nitrogen fertilization available for plant use. A two-year field study was conducted in 2008 and 2009. The objective was to determine the effect of different nitrogen (N) levels (N1 = 0 kg·ha–1, N2 = 60 kg·ha–1, N3 = 120 kg·ha–1, N4 = 180 kg·ha–1 and N5 = 240 kg·ha–1) on three sunflower hybrids (Hysun-33, Hysun-38 and Poineer-64A93) in agro-climatic conditions of Gujranwala, a sub-humid region in the centre of the Punjab province of Pakistan. A randomized complete block design split plot experiment was set-up with cultivars in the main plots and N levels in the subplots. Results showed that Hysun-38 gave maximum TDM (15815 kg·ha–1) and maximum grain yield (3389 kg·ha–1), while minimum TDM (14640 kg·ha–1) and grain yield (3125 kg·ha–1) was observed in Hysun-33. Among different N rates evaluated, N4 gave maximum TDM (17890 kg·ha–1) and grain yield (3809 kg·ha–1) compared to the other N rates. The maximum oil content (46.2%) was observed in Hysun-38 without application of N fertilizer (N1), while the minimum oil content (40.6%) was observed from N5 treatment. In conclusion, the application of 180 kg·ha–1 N to Hysun-38 provided the best combination for good yield in sunflower crop under the prevailing sub-humid conditions of Pakistan.

Research Progress on the Invasion Mechanism of Erigeron annuus

Erigeron annuus(L.)Pers.,an alien species,is widely distributed in most areas of China.It was included in the third batch of invasive alien species list by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China,and it is a first-level malignant invasive plant.Due to its great reproducibility with a mass of seeds,power adaptability to the external environment and strong allelopathy,it has highly invasive and adaptability,and has affected the development of the agriculture and forestry,the diversity of local species and the ecosystem.In this paper,we summarized the current invasion situation,invasion and adaptation mechanism of E.annuus,and prospected further research on E.annuus invasion mechanism,hoping to provide a reference for realizing its effective management.

Acute and chronic toxicity studies of hydromethanol leaf extract of Helianthus annuus Linn.in rats

Objective:To investigate the safety levels of hydromethanol leaf extract of Helianthus annuus Linn.(H.annuus) in rat.Methods:Acute oral toxicity test of hydromethanol leaf extract of H.annuus was conducted through up and down method at 2.00 g/kg dose limit in rats.The chronic toxicity study was conducted by administering different concentrations(0.25,0.50 and 1.00 g/kg) of hydromethanol extract of H.annuus in feed,for 90 consecutive days.On days 30,60 and 90,blood samples were collected from the retro-orbital plexus of the rats for determination of serum biochemical parameters.Histopathological examination of the pancreas,livers,kidneys and testis were also conducted.Results:The LD_(50) of the hydromethanol extract of H.annuuswas greater than 2.00 g/kg and it significantly(P < 0.05) reduced serum cholesterol.On days 60 and 90,the serum urea and creatinine levels of hydromethanol extract of H.annuustreated groups were elevated when compared with the control group.There were fibrosis in the kidneys and livers;degeneration and necrosis in the testis and significant dose-dependent increases in number and size of pancreatic islet of langerhans.Conclusions:The findings suggest that hydromethanol extract of H.annuus is tolerated in short term administration,but long term(up to 90 days) administration at high doses,may elicit hepatic,testicular and nephrotic disorder.

A new lipophilic monosaccharide from Erigeron annuus

A new lipophilic monosaccharide, erigearide A （1）, was isolated from the aerial parts of Erigeron annuus （Lima.） Pers. Its structure was elucidated by analysis of spectroscopic evidence.

In vitro Pharmacological Activity of Chromenes in Disk of Helianthus annuus

[Objectives]The anti-tumor,anti-bacterial,anti-acetylcholinesterase and anti-α-glucosidase activity in vitro of five chromenes isolated from Helianthus annuus disk was studied,in order to provide reference for the development and utilization of H.annuus disk resources.[Methods]The effect of different concentrations of chromenes on the survival rate of leukemia HL-60 cells,lung cancer A549 cells,liver cancer SMMC-7721 cells,breast cancer MCF-7 cells and colon cancer SW480 cells was detected by MTS method,and the IC50 was calculated.The inhibitory activity of chromenes against Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus aureus subsp.aureus,Salmonella enterica subsp.enterica,Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans was detected by microdilution method.The DTNB substrate method was used to detect the inhibitory activity of chromenes on acetylcholine.The PNPG substrate method was used to detect the inhibitory activity of chromenes onα-glucosidase.[Results]The five chromenes had no obvious in vitro inhibitory activity on the five kinds of tumor cells,with IC50 greater than 40μM.The five chromenes had no obvious in vitro inhibitory activity against the four kinds of bacteria and C.albicans.The five chromenes had certain inhibitory activity on acetylcholinesterase,and among them,6-acetyl-2,2-dimethylchromene and 6-acetyl-7-hydroxy-2,3-dimethylchromene showed strong inhibitory activity on acetylcholinesterase,with IC50 of 28.253 and 16.945μM,respectively,both smaller than that(0.275μM)of the positive control tacrine(P<0.01).The five chromenes showed good inhibitory effect onα-glucosidase,and among them,7-hydroxy-6-hydroxyacetyl-2,2-dimethylchromene and 6-acetyl-7-hydroxy-2,3-dimethylchromene had stronger inhibitory activity,with IC50 of 20.240 and 21.052μM,respectively,significantly better than that(169.780μM)of the positive control acarbose(P<0.01).[Conclusions]The five chromenes in H.annuus disk have certain in vitro inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase andα-glucosidase and certain potential in fighting neurodegenerative diseases and diabetes.

Study on Petal-Sepal Mutant of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) after Space Mutation

In this paper, we studied the morphological, histological and photosynthetic characteristics of the stably inherited sunflower petal-sepal mutant, and it was obtained by the space radiation-induced mutagenesis. Afterwards, we got following results: 1) The morphological characteristics represented that the inflorescence of petal-sepal mutant maintained the appearance and structure of capitulum, whereas no explicit tubular flower or ligulate flower was differentiated. 2) The histological characteristics revealed that the petal-sepal mutant only completed the inflorescence development and the differentiation of sepal primordia and inflorescence primordia, without entering the differentiation stage of tubular flower primordia, ligulate flower primordia, stamen primordia or pistil primordia. 3) The photosynthetic characteristics showed that the photosynthetic rate, transpiration and stomatal conductance of petal-sepal mutant were relatively weaker than the control plants. In the end, we concluded that the petal-sepal mutant of sunflower had only inflorescence differentiation, while several mutant genes were caused by radiation-induced mutation, which entered an infinitely recurrent development process rather than the floral differentiation stage. We also observed a few chloroplast structures in the paraffin section, combined with the results of photosynthetic characteristics of petal-sepal mutant, and then we believed that the inflorescence of petal-sepal mutant was involved in photosynthesis to accumulate energy for plant growth.

向日葵(H.annuus)瘦果类型分类方法及标准的探讨

本文通过对国内外700余份品种资源瘦果类型结构的分析,指出:向日葵瘦果,不论其形状如何都由长、宽、厚三大要素构成。瘦果之所以是多态的,就是由于长、宽、厚三大构成要素间比例不同所至。本文依长度要素作为分类的依据,依宽长比值作为型的区分标准。首次明确提出了4类4型叶160种类型的分类标准。该分类标准,已被确定为编写全国向日葵品种资源目录该项目的统一分类标准。

不同植物生长延缓剂对切花向日葵农艺性状的影响

以切花向日葵(Helianthus annuus L.)品种圣骑士为试验材料,使用80 mg/L多效唑、200 mg/L矮壮素、100 mg/L缩节胺、20 mg/L烯效唑和800 mg/L丁酰肼进行叶面喷施,以清水作为对照,在达到采收成熟度后,对不同处理条件下切花向日葵茎、叶、花性状进行测定。结果表明,与CK相比,各处理在不同程度上降低了株高、重心、叶面积和叶柄长度,提高了茎干比、叶片厚度、叶绿素含量和花盘比重。80 mg/L多效唑处理的花盘直径增加13.4%,茎粗增加37.4%,20 mg/L烯效唑处理的花盘直径增加7.3%,茎粗增加17.3%,提升了切花品质。植物生长延缓剂可使切花向日葵植株高降低,重心下降,茎干比增大,叶柄缩短,叶片缩小增厚,叶绿素含量增加,切花品质提升,其中以多效唑和烯效唑处理综合效果较好。

向日葵非倍半萜成分及生物活性研究进展

向日葵(Helianthus annuus L.)为菊科向日葵属植物,是一种食用和药用的经济作物。其主要含有倍半萜、二萜、三萜、木脂素、黄酮、苯丙素、甾体等化学成分,具有抗菌、抗肿瘤、抗氧化、化感等生物活性。对向日葵中的非倍半萜类成分和生物活性进行系统综述,为进一步开发利用向日葵提供科学依据。

重金属胁迫对向日葵种子萌发特征影响评价及花海品种筛选

为了研究重金属胁迫对向日葵(Helianthus annuus L.)种子萌发影响及花海品种筛选,以32种常见向日葵观花品种为试材,采用培养皿发芽试验方法,用含Pb^(2+)、Cr^(6+)、Cd^(2+)、Ni^(2+)、Cu^(2+)和Zn^(2+)离子的溶液模拟重金属胁迫,研究重金属胁迫对发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数和平均发芽日数的影响,用隶属函数法和聚类分析法筛选耐重金属胁迫品种。结果表明,重金属胁迫对多数向日葵品种种子萌发产生低浓度促进高浓度抑制的作用,并延长种子的平均发芽日数,不同品种间耐重金属胁迫能力差异较大,耐重金属胁迫性较强的品种为金富贵、魔术回旋、满天星、金庸碧翠、醉云长和活力,耐重金属胁迫中等的品种为黄钻、宝石红芳、红柠檬等10个品种,耐重金属胁迫较弱的品种为出水芙蓉、帕蒂小葵、金太阳等16个品种。

In-Silico Identification and Differential Analysis of Mitochondrial RNA Editing Events in Helianthus Genotypes/Species and Powdery Mildew Infected Variants

Sunflower is one of the most used commercial oilseed crops and suffers due to Powdery mildew. RNA sequence alteration occurs due to RNA editing which is a post transcriptional modification. It causes a deviation from the genomic DNA sequence resulting in RNA-DNA differences. Accurate study of RNA editing events in diverse species is possible by NGS based methods. Here, we performed RNA sequencing of 12 leaf transcriptomes, which include three genotypes of Helianthus annuus (2023B, TX16R and ID25), H. debilis, H. niveus, and H. praecox along with their respective powdery mildew pathogen infected variants and systematically analysed the mitochondrial RNA editing events using computational reference-based mapping approach. We discovered 687 editing sites, 220 editing events in the protein-coding regions, among all species and genotypes considered in this study. These included “C to U” and “U to C” RNA editing events. On further analysis, we observed that these editing events include 14 different types of amino acid changes that involve the creation of two stop codon events. The conserved editing sites identified were 247 accounting for ~36% of all the editing sites identified. This study provides a detailed picture of the Helianthus species’ mitochondrial RNA editing status. We have identified and characterized for the first time, genotype-specific, species-specific, and stress-specific RNA editing events which may be useful as a potential source for stress-responsive studies in the future.

Helianthus-annuus assisted synthesis of ZrO_(2) nanoparticles:Enhanced electrochemical,photoluminescent,and optical properties

Cubic-phase ZrO_(2) nanoparticle(NPs)were synthesized using a cost-effective single-pot green combustion method and Helianthus annuus extract,and their properties were evaluated.Powder X-ray diffraction was used to inves-tigate the purity,crystal structure,and size of the NPs,and the average size of the NPs was determined to be∼25 nm.The internal surface morphology of the NPs with distinct voids and pores were observed using scanning electron microscopy(SEM)Ultraviolet-visible(UV-vis)absorption spectroscopy was used to analyze the optical properties of the as-synthesized ZrO_(2) NPs,and their energy bandgap was determined to be 4.5 eV.The photo-luminescence(PL)spectrum of the cubic-phase ZrO_(2) NPs presented a broad band in the UV-vis region.The PL emission properties of the ZrO_(2) NPs were studied by analyzing their emission wavelength at∼490 nm,and the results revealed that the NPs can be efficiently used for display applications.The electrochemical properties of a graphite-ZrO_(2) NP electrode was qualitatively analyzed by performing cyclic voltammetry(CV)and electrochem-ical impedance spectroscopy experiments in a three-electrode system with a 0.1 M KCl solution as the electrolyte.Our results suggested that the NPs can be used to evaluate the thermodynamics of the redox reaction,and their capacitance was determined using the CV curves of a graphite-ZrO_(2) working electrode at different scan rates in the range of 0.01∼0.05 V/s at room temperature.Furthermore,the photodegradation rate of Reactive Blue 4 textile dye over the as-prepared ZrO_(2) NPs reached 97%under UV-vis light irradiation.

不同盐溶液浸种对向日葵种子萌发的影响

分别用适当浓度的不同盐溶液(NaCl、NaHCO3、混合盐)对向日葵(Helianthus annuus)种子进行浸种预处理;将浸种后的种子经低温回干,再用不同浓度的混合盐溶液(NaCl∶NaH-CO3=1∶1)进行胁迫处理。通过向日葵种子发芽率(GP)、活力指数(VI)和发芽指数(GI)等指标的测试,分析不同盐溶液浸种对向日葵种子萌发的影响。结果表明:经过不同盐溶液浸种处理后,缩短了向日葵种子的发芽时间,促进了幼苗的生长,提高了种子的活力指数、发芽指数。未经盐浸种处理的种子即使是在蒸馏水中培养,其发芽率、活力指数、发芽指数等指标均不如经过盐溶液预处理种子。种子经不同盐溶液浸种、回干后,在蒸馏水中萌发的各种指标最好,而后随着处理的混合盐浓度的增大,向日葵的发芽率、发芽指数、活力指数逐步降低。各种盐溶液浸种对向日葵种子萌发的影响依次是:NaHCO3>混合盐>NaCl。

3种油葵光合光响应曲线模型拟合及其光合参数与产量的关系

采用2种典型的光响应模型对3个油葵品种KWS203、TH320及矮大头667DW叶片的光合-光响应曲线进行拟合,并分析其光合参数与油葵生物产量、籽粒产量的关系。结果表明:直角双曲线修正模型和非直角双曲线模型对3个油葵品种的光合-光响应曲线的拟合精度较高,拟合方程的决定系数均为R2≥0.997。其中直角双曲线修正模型可以更好地拟合KWS203和矮大头667DW光系统Ⅱ动力学下调或光抑制部分的光合-光响应曲线,可准确计算其饱和光照度及最大净光合速率,且与实际测量值相当接近。直角双曲线修正模型拟合3种油葵光合-光响应曲线所得的光合参数与产量关系表明,油葵产量与最大净光合速率和饱和光照度具有相关性,饱和光照度与其生物产量(r=0.971**)、籽粒产量(r=0.982**)的相关系数均为极显著差异水平,但最大净光合速率与其生物产量(r=0.309)、籽粒产量(r=0.344)的相关系数都未达到显著水平;TH320的最大净光合速率、饱和光照度均最大,为36.926μmol/(m2·s),CO2、2 286.884μmol/(m2·s),其生物产量、籽粒产量也最高,分别为13 664.25kg/hm2、4 711.81 kg/hm2。综上所述,直角双曲线修正模型更符合油葵的光合生理特征,是研究油葵光合-光响应曲线的首选模型;TH320相对于其他2个油葵品种,具有更高的光饱和点和最大净光合速率,更低的暗呼吸速率和光合产物消耗。

不同处理对荞麦和向日葵芽苗菜生长和产量的影响

文章研究了浸种时间、栽培温度、基质、播种密度和采收时间等因素对荞麦和向日葵芽苗菜的生长和产量的影响。荞麦芽苗菜在播种密度为1.3 kg.m-2,浸种24 h,温度15～20℃的条件下,以细沙为培养基质,培养8 d后即可采收;向日葵芽苗菜在播种密度为1.4 kg.m-2,浸种24 h,温度25～30℃的条件下,以细沙为培养基质,培养10 d后采收较为理想。

油葵葵盘多糖的提取及优化

通过单因素、双因素和正交试验,研究了油葵(Helianthus annuus Linn.)葵盘多糖提取过程中不同因素对多糖得率的影响。结果表明,水提温度、固液比、水提时间与多糖得率在一定范围内有关,适量的滤液/乙醇比例有利于多糖的获取。油葵葵盘多糖的最佳提取工艺为固液比1∶80(m∶m)、水提温度80℃、水提时间2.5 h、滤液/乙醇比1∶5(V∶V)。在此条件下多糖得率为23.28%。