Plasticity of photorespiratory carbon concentration mechanism in Sedobassia sedoides(Pall.)Freitag&G.Kadereit under elevated CO_(2)concentration and salinity

Rising atmospheric CO_(2)(carbon dioxide)concentrations and salinization are manifestations of climate change that affect plant growth and productivity.Species with an intermediate C_(3)-C_(4)type of photosynthesis live in a wide range of precipitation,temperature,and soil quality,but are more often found in warm and dry habitats.One of the intermediate C_(3)-C_(4)photosynthetic type is C_(2)photosynthesis with a carbon concentration mechanism(CCM)that reassimilates CO_(2)released via photorespiration.However,the ecological significance under which C_(2)photosynthesis has advantages over C_(3)and C_(4)plants remains largely unexplored.Salt tolerance and functioning of CCM were studied in plants from two populations(P1 and P2)of Sedobassia sedoides(Pall.)Freitag&G.Kadereit Asch.species with C_(2)photosynthesis exposed to 4 d and 10 d salinity(200 mM NaCl)at ambient(785.7 mg/m^(3),aCO_(2)and elevated(1571.4 mg/m^(3),eCO_(2))CO_(2).On the fourth day of salinity,an increase in Na+content,activity catalase,and superoxide dismutase was observed in both populations.P2 plants showed an increase in proline content and a decrease in photosynthetic enzyme content:rubisco,phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase(PEPC),and glycine decarboxylase(GDC),which indicated a weakening of C_(2)and C_(4)characteristics under salinity.Treatment under 10 d salinity led to an increased Na^(+)content and activity of cyclic electron flow around photosystem I(PSI CEF),a decreased content of K^(+)and GDC in both populations.P1 plants showed greater salt tolerance,which was assessed by the degree of reduction in photosynthetic enzyme content,PSI CEF activity,and changes in relative growth rate(RGR).Differences between populations were evident under the combination of eCO_(2)and salinity.Under long-term salinity and eCO_(2),more salt-tolerant P1 plants had a higher dry biomass(DW),which was positively correlated with PSI CEF activity.In less salt-tolerant P2 plants,DW correlated with transpiration and dark respiration.Thus,S.sedoides showed a high degree of photosynthetic plasticity under the influence of salinity and eCO_(2)through strengthening(P1 plants)and weakening C_(4)characteristics(P2 plants).

Establishment of Rhodiola quadrifida Hairy Roots and Callus Culture to Produce Bioactive Compounds

Rhodiola quadrifida is a rare mountain medicinal plant whose root extracts are used in traditional Chinese medicine as a hemostatic,antitussive,and tonic in the treatment of gynecological diseases.The aim of the study was to obtain R.quadrifida cultures at different degrees of differentiation in vitro and compare their growth characteristics and the content of salidroside and rosavin.Hairy roots were obtained by incubating cotyledons and hypocotyls in a suspension of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4.The presence of the rolB and rolC genes was proven by polymerase chain reaction.The obtained roots were cultivated in Murashige-Skoog medium(MS).Calluses were obtained from the hairy roots in MS medium with the addition of hormones:3 mg/L 2,4 D and 0.5 mg/L BAP.The presence of the main secondary metabolites of R.quadrifida,salidroside and rosavin,in calluses and salidroside in hairy roots by HPLC/MS was confirmed.The content of salidroside in callus culture was significantly higher than in hairy roots,0.158 and 0.047%,respectively.The content of rosavin in callus culture was 0.07%.The content of rosavin and salidroside in callus culture was close to the level of these substances in the rhizomes of R.quadrifida plants growing in vivo,making this culture promising for its possible biotechnological use.

Regulation of Petunia Pollen Tube Growth by Phytohormones： Identification of Their Potential Targets

It is known that cytoskeleton-dependent trafficking of cell wall and membrane components to apical plasma membrane （PM） coupled with ion transport across pollen PM is crucial for maintaining polar pollen tube growth. To elucidate whether plant hormones are involved in these processes, the effects of exogenous phytohormones, indole-3-acetic acid （IAA）, abscisic acid （ABA）, gibberellin A3 （GA3） and cytokinin （kinetin） on the growth, PM polarization, actin cytoskeleton （AC） organization and cytoplasmic pH （pile） of in vitro 4 h-growing petunia pollen tubes were investigated. IAA, ABA and GA3 displayed the growth-stimulating effects and these were accompanied by orthovanadate-sensitive hyperpolarization of the PM. Fluorescent labeling the enzyme with H＋-ATPase antibodies exhibited IAA- and ABA-induced lateral PM redistribution of it into the subapical zone of pollen tube PM. Pollen cultivation on the medium with latrunculin B, the inhibitor of actin polymerization, resulted in inhibition of pollen tube growth and simultaneously in the drop of endogenous IAA content. The IAA-growth stimulating effect was correlated with increased content of actin filaments （AF） in both apical and subapical zones of tubes, while ABA and GA3 exerted the same effect but it was accompanied by redistributing F-actin only to apical zone. In contrast, kinetin decreased the total F-actin content and inhibited pollen tube growth. It has been shown that the pHe of growing pollen tubes is sensitive to the plant hormones. In the case of male gametophyte growing for 1, 2 and 4 h, IAA induced alkalinization of the cytosol, while ABA and GA3 exerted qualitatively similar effect only after its growth for 1 h and 4 h, respectively. Kinetin, in contrast, resulted in acidification of the cytosol. All these results, taken together, indicate, for the first time, potential targets of the phytohormone action in pollen tubes.

Response of Two Brassica Species to the Toxic Effect of Different Copper Concentration

One of the most important challenges in the ecosystem nowadays is the adaptation of plants to damaged environmental factors. Among them, an important attention is paid to the toxic effects of high concentrations of heavy metals (HM). Copper is essentially but highly toxic HM. In the work, first we established, plant's resistance comparison of the two studied Brassica species Brassica—B. alba, and B. napus—in higher concentrations of copper in the environment, and demonstrated that the two plants were potentially useful for phytoremediation of moderately polluted areas with copper. In plants of the genus Brassica grow in a hydroponic culture, experiments showed that the tested species referred to indicator plants. Results show the stability of the studied plants to the toxic effects of excessive copper levels, due to their proline accumulation ability. Studied plants, B. alba, and B. napus, can be used in selection practice as baselines to generate new plant varieties with increased resistance to heavy metals salts.

Qinia gen.nov.(Bacillariophyceae:Cymbellales)from Yunnan Province,China

An interesting group of cymbelloid diatoms was collected from lakes in Yunnan Province,China,and observations on their valve morphology made using light and scanning electron microscopy.These cymbelloid species all have apical pore fields,slit-like areolae,and areolar occlusions,and they all lack of stigmata.In this paper we propose the new genus Qinia gen.nov.for these taxa and describe them as new:Q.lashii sp.nov.,Q.aequalis sp.nov.,and Q.daliensis sp.nov.The genus Qinia gen.nov.has lanceolate valves asymmetrical about their apical axes,raphe located in the middle of valve,distal raphe ends bent to the dorsal margin that bisects the apical pore fields(APFs),no stigmata,areolae with slit-like external openings and projections occluding the areolar openings internally.This genus resembles the genus Cymbella in the presence of APFs,but differs from Cymbella by a lack of stigmata,and by having external distal raphe ends that bisect the apical pore fields.Like Reimeria,the external distal raphe ends bisect the lobes of the APF,but Qinia species differ from Reimeria in that they have no stigmata and the distal raphe ends are deflected dorsally,not ventrally.Comparisons were made between Qinia and other cymbelloid genera whose members possess apical pore fields.Features that distinguish each species of the new genus are also discussed.

A Contribution to Identification of Novel Regulators of Plant Response to Sulfur Deficiency： Characteristics of a Tobacco Gene UP9C, Its Protein Product and the Effects of UP9C Silencing

Extensive changes in plant transcriptome and metabolome have been observed by numerous research groups after transferring plants from optimal conditions to sulfur （S） deficiency. Despite intensive studies and recent important achievements, like identification of SLIM1/EIL3 as a major transcriptional regulator of the response to S-deficiency, many questions concerning other elements of the regulatory network remain unanswered. Investigations of genes with expres- sion regulated by S-deficiency stress encoding proteins of unknown function might help to clarify these problems. This study is focused on the UP9C gene and the UP9-1ike family in tobacco. Homologs of these genes exist in other plant species, including a family of four genes of unknown function in Arabidopsis thaliana （LSUI-4）, of which two were reported as strongly induced by S-deficit and to a lesser extent by salt stress and nitrate limitation. Conservation of the predicted structural features, such as coiled coil region or nuclear localization signal, suggests that these proteins might have ira- portant functions possibly mediated by interactions with other proteins. Analysis of transgenic tobacco plants with si- lenced expression of UP9-1ike genes strongly argues for their significant role in regulation of plant response to S-deficit. Although our study shows that the UP9-1ike proteins are important components of such response and they might be also required during other stresses, their molecular functions remain a mystery.

Expression of auxin synthesis gene tms1 under control of tuber-specific promoter enhances potato tuberization in vitro

Phytohormones, auxins in particular, play an important role in plant development and productivity. Earlier data showed positive impact of exogenous auxin on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuberization. The aim of this study was to generate potato plants with increased auxin level predominantly in tubers. To this end, a pBinB33-tms1 vector was constructed harboring the Agrobacterium auxin biosynthesis gene tms1 fused to tuber-specific promoter of the class I patatin gene (B33-promoter) of potato. Among numerous independently generated B33:tms1 lines, those without visible differences from control were selected for detailed studies. In the majority of transgenic lines, tms1 gene transcription was detected, mostly in tubers rather than in shoots. Indoleacetic acid (IAA) content in tubers and the auxin tuber-to-shoot ratio were increased in tms1-expressing transformants. The organ-specific increase in auxin synthesis in B33:tms1-transformants accelerated and intensified the process of tuber formation, reduced the dose of carbohydrate supply required for in vitro tuberization, and decreased the photoperiodic dependence of tuber initiation. Overall, a positive correlation was observed between tms1 expression, IAA content in tubers, and stimulation of tuber formation. The revealed properties of B33:tms1 transformants imply an important role for auxin in potato tuberization and offer prospects to magnify potato productivity by a moderate organ-specific enhancement of auxin content.

Expression of Acyl-lipid 12-desaturase Gene in Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells and Its Effect on Cold Stress Tolerance of Potato

We report the expression profile of acyl-lipid △12-desaturase （desA） gene from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and its effect on cell membrane lipid composition and cold tolerance in prokaryotic （Escherichia coil） and eukaryotic （Solanum tuberosum） cells. For this purpose, a hybrid of desA and reporter gene encoding thermostable lichenase （licBM3） was constructed and used to transform these cells. The expression of this hybrid gene was measured using qualitative （Petri dish test, electrophoregram and zymogram） and quantitative methods （spectrometry and gas liquid chromatography assays）. The maximum level of linoleic acid in the bacterial cells containing hybrid gene was 1.9% of total fatty acids. Cold stress tolerance assays using plant damage index and growth parameters showed that cold tolerance was enhanced in primary transgenic lines because of increased unsaturated fatty acid concentration in their lipids. The greatest content of 18：2 and 18：3 fatty acids in primary transgenic plants was observed for lines 2 （73%） and 3 （41%）. Finally, our results showed that desaturase could enhance tolerance to cold stress in potato, and desaturase and lichenase retain their functionality in the structure of the hybrid protein where the enzymatic activity of target gene product was higher than in the case of reporter lichenase gene absence in the construction.