Low Doses of Ionized Radiation and Hypomagnetic Field Alter Redox Properties of Water and Physiological Characteristics of Seeds of the Highest Plants

The influence of a 40-fold attenuated geomagnetic field and its combined action with low doses of α- and γ-irradiation on the physiological characteristics of seeds of the highest plants and redox properties of water was investigated. It established the reduction of seed germination both under direct and indirect effects due to water action of attenuated geomagnetic field. A negative effect of hypomagnetic field on grown characteristics of seeds under indirect effect via water was decreased by the low doses of γ-irradiation, and was increased by low doses of α-irradiation, i.e. ionized radiation was the dominant factor in their combined action. It was revealed the increasing of the value of the oxidation-reduction potential of water under the influence of low-intensive α-ir-radiation (239Pu), γ-irradiation (137Cs) and also that the magnetic induction attenuated pointing to a natural decline. The increasing of the oxidation-reduction potential value testifies about “the regular decreasing of internal energy of water molecules” and the increasing of its oxidative properties, which, in our opinion, is caused the inhibition of the germination of seeds. It is supposed that namely water is the main component in the effects of studying factors on bio-objects, which acts due to the alterations of the properties and structural content of water.

Application of New Slope Greening Technology——Reinforced Organic-Material and Plant Seeds Spraying

The research introduced the flowchart of organic-material and plant seeds spraying and a case of ＆quot;Dasi＆quot; Highway, the highway from Daxing to Sinan in Guizhou Province, a part of a National Highway from Hangzhou to Ruili, cal ed Hangrui Highway, slope protection. The flowchart included slope cleaning, net preparation, anchor fixation, adding vegetation-growth plate, spraying organic materi-als, coverage of non-woven fabrics, and maintenance. The technique is proved much efficient in protecting and greening road sideslopes consisting of weathered rocks or hard rocks, which provides a solution for abrupt slope greening technology.

A phylogenetic approach identifies patterns of beta diversity and floristic subregions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity and their relationships with environmental correlates can help reveal the origin and evolutionary history of regional biota.The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)harbors an exceptionally diverse flora,however,a phylogenetic perspective has rarely been used to investigate its beta diversity and floristic regions.In this study,we used a phylogenetic approach to identify patterns of beta diversity and quantitatively delimit floristic regions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.We also examined the relationships between multifaceted beta diversity,geographical distance,and climatic difference,and evaluated the relative importance of various factors(i.e.,climate,topography and history)in shaping patterns of beta diversity.Sørensen dissimilarity indices indicated that patterns of species turnover among sites dominated the QTP.We also found that patterns of both taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity were significantly related to geographical distance and climatic difference.The environmental factors that contributed most to these patterns of beta diversity include annual precipitation,mean annual temperature,climatic gradients and climatic instability.Hierarchical dendrograms of dissimilarity and non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination based on phylogenetic beta diversity data identified ten floristic subregions in the QTP.Our results suggest that the contemporary environment and historical climate changes have filtered species composition among sites and eventually determined beta diversity patterns of plants in the QTP.

Patterns of synonymous codon usage bias in chloroplast genomes of seed plants

Codon usage in chloroplast genome of six seed plants （Arabidopsis thaliana, Populus alba, Zea mays, Triticum aestivum, Pinus koraiensis and Cycas taitungensis） was analyzed to find general patterns of codon usage in chloroplast genomes of seed plants. The results show that chloroplast genomes of the six seed plants had similar codon usage patterns, with a strong bias towards a high representation of NNA and NNT codons. In chloroplast genomes of the six seed plants, the effective number of codons （ENC） for most genes was similar to that of the expected ENC based on the GC content at the third codon position, but several genes with low ENC values were laying below the expected curve. All of these data indicate that codon usage was dominated by a mutational bias in chloroplast genomes of seed plants and that selection appeared to be limited to a subset of genes and to only subtly affect codon usage. Meantime, four, six, eight, nine, ten and 12 codons were defined as the optimal codons in chloroplast genomes of the six seed plants.

Planting Seeds of Hope

A fragile political pact in Zimbabwe allows for a glimmer of optimism in agricultura and economic growth KNOWN,in the past,as the bread basket of Southern Africa, Zimbabwe’s economic stability and agricultural strength was a reference point for most people involved in Africa.For over 10 years the situation changed.President Robert Mugabe’s decision in 2000 to redistribute the land to the black population saw the country lose about $12 billion in agricultural output. The Commercial Farmer’s Union said that previous to the

Planting the Seeds of Development

ON a farm in Marirangwe in suburban Harare, an octogenarian dairy farmer watched Chinese agricultural expert Liu Xiaohui spellbound as he operated a mobile milking machine.

Asymmetric migration dynamics of the tropical Asian and Australasian floras

The tropical Asian and Australasian floras have a close relationship,and is a vital distribution pattern of seed plants worldwide.As estimated,more than 81 families and 225 genera of seed plants distributed between tropical Asia and Australasia.However,the evolutionary dynamics of two floras were still vague.Here,a total of 29 plant lineages,represented the main clades of seed plants and different habits,were selected to investigate the biotic interchange between tropical Asia and Australasia by integrated dated phylogenies,biogeography,and ancestral state reconstructions.Our statistics indicated that 68 migrations have occurred between tropical Asia and Australasia since the middle Eocene except terminal migrations,and the migration events from tropical Asia to Australasia is more than 2 times of the reverse.Only 12 migrations occurred before 15 Ma,whereas the remaining56 migrations occurred after 15 Ma.Maximal number of potential dispersal events(MDE) analysis also shows obvious asymmetry,with southward migration as the main feature,and indicates the climax of bi-directional migrations occurred after 15 Ma.We speculate that the formation of island chains after the Australian-Sundaland collision and climate changes have driven seed plant migrations since the middle Miocene.Furthermore,biotic dispersal and stable habitat may be crucial for floristic interchange between tropical Asia and Australasia.

Plant Genomic Imprinting and Its Effect on Seed Development

Genomic imprinting is the epigenetic phenomenon by which certain genes are expressed in a parent-of-origin-specific manner, and was first discovered in mammalian embryos. Recent studies have shown that it also occurs in developing plant seeds, and is now becoming a hot topic of biology of plant seed development. According to the previous studies on imprinted genes, imprinting mechanism and their roles in plant seed development, the current progress of genomic imprinting in plant seed development was summarized and possible strategies were proposed to deal with the problems, which could provide helpful information for further research.

Study on Seed Plant Flora of Yunfeng Mountain,an Offshoot of Gaoligong Mountain Range

In this paper, the flora in an area of 35 km2 of Yunfeng Mountain, an off- shoot of Gaoligong mountain range, were sampled and analyzed. The results showed that Yunfeng Mountain had a high diversity in seed plants, which covered 92 families, 247 genera and 431 species. Among the seed plants, the gymnosperms covered 4 families, 5 genera and 7 species, while the angiosperms covered 88 families, 242 genera and 424 species. The seed plants in Yunfeng Mountain had rich distribution types, and they formed a flora dominated by tropical and subtropical plants.

Performance and High-yielding Cultural Techniques of Hunyou No.2 in Myanmar

Hunyou No. 2 is a three-line hybrid rice suitable for mechanical seed pro- duction and developed by Rice Research Institute of Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences. It performs well in yielding, lodging resistance, disease resistance, with a short duration of growth. Therefore, it is suitable to be grown in tropical areas and countries such as Myanmar and Indonesia. The male parent contains herbicide susceptible lethality gene and it is possible for mechanical mixed planting. The research analyzed performance of Hunyou No. 2 growth in Myanmar and the results showed that Hunyou No. 2 performed better in yield, panicle length, the number of seed per panicle, setting percentage, and thousand-seed weight than She thwe yin, as well as lodging resistance, disease resistance and quality. Some high-yielding cultivation measures have been concluded including sparsely sowing, densely planting, highlighting base fertilizers, and avoiding early water breaking.

Current patterns of plant diversity and phylogenetic structure on the Kunlun Mountains

Large-scale patterns of biodiversity and the underlying mechanisms that regulate these patterns are central topics in biogeography and macroecology.The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau serves as a natural laboratory for studying these issues.However,most previous studies have focused on the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,leaving independent physical geographic subunits in the region less well understood.We studied the current plant diversity of the Kunlun Mountains,an independent physical geographic subunit located in northwestern China on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.We integrated measures of species distribution,geological history,and phylogeography,and analyzed the taxonomic richness,phylogenetic diversity,and community phylogenetic structure of the current plant diversity in the area.The distribution patterns of 1911 seed plants showed that species were distributed mainly in the eastern regions of the Kunlun Mountains.The taxonomic richness,phylogenetic diversity,and genera richness showed that the eastern regions of the Kunlun Mountains should be the priority area of biodiversity conservation,particularly the southeastern regions.The proportion of Chinese endemic species inhabiting the Kunlun Mountains and their floristic similarity may indicate that the current patterns of species diversity were favored via species colonization.The Hengduan Mountains,a biodiversity hotspot,is likely the largest source of species colonization of the Kunlun Mountains after the Quaternary.The net relatedness index indicated that 20 of the 28 communities examined were phylo-genetically dispersed,while the remaining communities were phylogenetically clustered.The nearest taxon index indicated that 27 of the 28 communities were phylogenetically clustered.These results suggest that species colonization and habitat filtering may have contributed to the current plant diversity of the Kunlun Mountains via ecological and evolutionary processes,and habitat filtering may play an important role in this ecological process.

A Whole Plant Herbaceous Angiosperm from the Middle Jurassic of China

In contrast to woody habit with secondary growth, truthful herbaceous habit lacking secondary growth is restricted to angiosperms among seed plants. Although angiosperms might have occurred as early as in the Triassic and herbaceous habit theoretically may have been well adopted by pioneer angiosperms, pre-Cretaceous herbs are missing hitherto, leaving the origin of herbs and evolution of herbaceous angiosperms mysterious. Here we report Juraherba bodae gen. et sp. nov, a whole plant herbaceous angiosperm, from the Middle Jurassic （〉164 Ma） at Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China, a fossil Lagerst^itten that is worldwide famous for various fossil finds. The angiospermous affinity of Juraherba is ensured by its enclosed ovules/seeds. The plant is small but complete, with physically connected hairy root, stem, leaves, and fructifications. The Middle Jurassic age recommends Juraherba as the earliest record of herbaceous seed plants, demanding a refresh look at the evolutionary history of angiosperms.

A novel technique for making open-cell Al_2O_3-ZrO_2 ceramic foam with plant seed template

The aim of the present research is to provide a technique for preparing open-cell Al2O3-ZrO2 ceramic foams with uniform cell size.This technique used plant seeds to array templates and centrifugal slip casting to obtain cell struts with high packing density.Aqueous Al2O3-ZrO2 slurries with up to 50 vol.% solid contents were prepared and the rheological characteristic of the slurries was investigated.Consolidation was performed at an acceleration of 2,860 g for 60 min.The effect of the characteristic of plant seeds on the drying behavior of Al2O3-ZrO2 green compact was analyzed.The effects of the solid contents of slurries on segregation phenomena of Al2O3 and ZrO2 particles and green compact uniformity were investigated.The compressive stress-strain curve and deformation behavior of Al2O3-ZrO2 ceramic foams prepared using plant seed template were analyzed.The results showed segregation phenomenon is negligible for highly stable slurry with 50 vol.% solid loading.The prepared cell struts of Al2O3-ZrO2 foams have high green density (61.9% TD), sintered density (99.1% TD) and homogeneous microstructure.When sintered at 1,550 ℃ for 2 h, the cell size of Al2O3-ZrO2 foam is approximately uniform and the diameter is about 1.1 mm.The porosity and compressive strength of sintered products is 66.2% and 5.86 MPa, respectively.

QTL mapping of drought tolerance traits in soybean with SLAF sequencing

Drought stress is an important factor affecting soybean yield.Improving drought tolerance of soybean varieties can increase yield and yield stability when the stress occurs.Identifying QTL related to drought tolerance using molecular marker-assisted selection is able to facilitate the development of drought-tolerant soybean varieties.In this study,we used a high-yielding and drought-sensitive cultivar‘Zhonghuang 35’and a drought-tolerant cultivar‘Jindou 21’to establish F6:9 recombinant inbred lines.We constructed a highdensity genetic map using specific locus amplified fragment sequencing(SLAF-Seq)technology.The genetic map contained 8078 SLAF markers distributing across 20 soybean chromosomes with a total genetic distance of 3780.98 c M and an average genetic distance of0.59 c M between adjacent markers.Two treatments(irrigation and drought)were used in the field tests,the Additive-Inclusive Composite Interval Mapping(ICIM-ADD)was used to call QTL,and plant height and seed weight per plant were used as the indicators of drought tolerance.We identified a total of 23 QTL related to drought tolerance.Among them,seven QTL(q PH2,q PH6,q PH7,q PH17,q PH19-1,q PH19-2,and q PH19-3)on chromosomes 2,6,7,17,and 19 were related to plant height,and five QTL(q SWPP2,q SWPP6,q SWPP13,q SWPP17,and q SWPP19)on chromosomes 2,6,13,17,and 19 were related to seed weight and could be considered as the major QTL.In addition,three common QTL(q PH6/q SWPP6,q PH17/q SWPP17,and q PH19-3/q SWPP19)for both plant height and seed weight per plant were located in the same genomic regions on the same chromosomes.Three(q PH2,q PH17,and q PH19-2)and four novel QTL(q SWPP2,q SWPP13,q SWPP17,and q SWPP19)were identified for plant height and seed weight per plant,respectively.Two pairs of QTL(q PH2/q SWPP2 and q PH17/q SWPP17)were also common for both plant height and seed weight per plant.These QTL and closely linked SLAF markers could be used to accelerate breeding for drought tolerant cultivars via MAS.

Book Review on the Illustrated Seeds of Chinese Medicinal Plants

Medicinal plants are important source for Oriental and Western medicines.There are more than 500 herbs commonly used today in China,in which near 30% of them are seed medicines and over

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities of cold-pressed seed oil

Ten cold-pressed oil from 6 herb plant seeds （sesame, fax, saffower, pumpkin, tomato and hemp） and 4 woody plant seeds （camellia, almond, walnut and peony） were analyzed to determine bioactive compounds content, including tocopherols, phytosterols and phenolics, as well as their antioxidant activities. Total tocopherols content ranged from 161.11 mg/kg in camellia seed oil to 1,072.51 mg/kg in tomato seed oil. Tomato seed oil had the highest total phytosterols （708.89 mg/100 g） and phenolics content （20.27 mg SAE/100 g）,whereas, saffower seed oil has the lowest total phytosterols （173.75 mg/100g） and walnut kernel oil contained the lowest phenolics （2.32 mg SAE/100 g）, respectively. Tomato seed oil exhibited the strongest ferric-reducing antioxidant power （FARP, 311.36 μmol/100 g） and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl （DPPH） radical scavenging activity （56.40 μmol/100 g）, while camellia seed oil had the lowest FRAP value （34.83 μmol/100 g） and fax seed oil had the lowest DPPH value （2.75 μmol/100 g）. Correlation coeffcient was determined as 0.647 and 0.863 between FRAP value and total tocopherols and phenolics, and 0.673 and 0.711 between DPPH value and total tocopherols and phenolics （p 〈 0.05）, respectively. This result indicated the antioxidant activities （FRAP and DPPH） were highly correlated with total tocopherols and phenolics content of oil. This study will be very useful for comprehensive utilization of all 10 cold-press oils.

Overexpression of micro RNA_(40)8 enhances photosynthesis, growth, and seed yield in diverse plants

The ability of a plant to produce grain, fruit, or forage depends ultimately on photosynthesis. There have been few attempts, however, to study microRNAs, which are a class of endogenous small RNAs post-transcription- ally programming gene expression, in relation to photosynthetic traits. We focused on miR408, one of the most conserved plant miRNAs, and overexpressed it in parallel in Arabidopsis, tobacco, and rice. The transgenic plants all exhibited increased copper content in the chloroplast, elevated abundance of plastocyanin, and an induction of photosynthetic genes. By means of gas exchange and optical spectroscopy analyses, we showed that higher expression of miR408 leads to enhanced photosynthesis through improving efficiency of irradiation utilization and the capacity for carbon dioxide fixation. Consequently, miR408 hyper-accumulat- ing plants exhibited higher rate of vegetative growth. An enlargement of seed size was also observed in all three species overproducing miR408. Moreover, we conducted a 2-year-two-location field trial and observed miR408 overexpression in rice significantly increased yield, which was primarily attributed to an elevation in grain weight. Taken together, these results demonstrate that miR408 is a positive regulator of photosynthesis and that its genetic engineering is a promising route for enhancing photosynthetic performance and yield in diverse plants.

Mapping QTLs for seed yield and drought susceptibility index in soybean (Glycine max L.) across different environments

Drought stress has long been a major constraint in maintaining yield stability of soybean （Glycine max （L.） Merr.） in rainfed ecosystems. The identification of consistent quantitative trait loci （QTL） involving seed yield per plant （YP） and drought susceptibility index （DSI） in a population across different environments would therefore be important in molecular marker-assisted breeding of soybean cultivars suitable for rainfed regions. The YP of a recombinant line population of 184 F2：7：11 lines from a cross of Kefengl and Nannong1138-2 was studied under water-stressed （WS） and well-watered （WW） conditions in field （F） and greenhouse （G） trials, and DSI for yield was calculated in two trials. Nineteen QTLs associated with YP-WS and YP-WW, and 10 QTLs associated with DSI, were identi- fied. Comparison of these QTL locations with previous findings showed that the majority of these regions control one or more traits re- lated to yield and other agronomic traits. One QTL on molecular linkage group （MLG） K for YP-F, and two QTLs on MLG C2 for YP-G, remained constant across different water regimes. The regions on MLG C2 for YP-WW-F and MLG H for YP-WS-F had a pleiotropic effect on DSI-F, and MLG A1 for YP-WS-G had a pleiotropic effect on DSI-G. The identification of consistent QTLs for YP and DSI across different environments will significantly improve the efficiency of selecting for drought tolerance in soybean.