The aim of this work was to determine two types of photosynthetic water-use efficiency in order to examine their utility as selection criteria for tolerance of energy crops to soil water deficit. Furthermore, effects of crop cultivation on soil water content and storage were investigated. Seven energy crops were examined: miscanthus, prairie cordgrass, willow, thorn-free rose, Virginia mallow, Bohemian knotweed, and topinambour. The highest values of instantaneous (WUE) and intrinsic (WUEi) water-use efficiencies were found for miscanthus and prairie cordgrass. The reduction of WUE and/or WUEi was caused mainly by a rapid rise in the transpiration rate and a greater stomatal conductance, respectively. Principal component analysis showed that neither WUE nor WUEi could be recommended as universal selection criteria for the drought tolerance in different energy crops. The proper localization of soil with a good supply of water is most the important condition for energy crop plantations., S. Podlaski, S. Pietkiewicz, D. Chołuj, T. Horaczek, G. Wiśniewski, D. Gozdowski, H. M. Kalaji., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The effects of various concentrations of bensulfuron-methyl residues (BSM, 0-500 μg kg-1) on the growth and photosynthesis of soybean and peanut were studied. Shoot length, root length, root-to-shoot ratio, and biomass of soybean and peanut seedlings declined with the increase of BSM residue concentrations. As the concentration of BSM increased, SPAD value, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal limitation, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate also declined with varying extent, but dark respiration rate and intercellular CO2 concentration increased gradually. PSII maximum quantum yield, actual quantum yield, and electron transport rate were significantly reduced by the BSM residues in soil, and the reduction was mostly attributed to the decrease in photochemical quenching coefficient. The results showed that photosynthesis in both crops was limited by nonstomatal factors. The residues of BSM caused reversible damage in PSII reaction centers and decrease the proportion of available excitation energy used for photochemistry., W. C. Su, L. L. Sun, Y. H. Ge, R. H. Wu, H. L. Xu, C. T. Lu., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The photosynthetic parameters in leaves of three-year-old seedlings of Fraxinus rhynchophylla L. were studied under different soil water conditions and CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) with a
LI-COR 6400 portable photosynthesis system. The objective was to investigate the response of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance (gs) to various [CO2] and soil water conditions, and to understand the adaptability of F. rhynchophylla to such conditions. The results showed that the soil water content (RWC) required to maintain high photosynthetic productivity in F. rhynchophylla was 49.5-84.3%; in this range, net photosynthetic rate (PN) rose with [CO2] increasing from 500 to 1,400 μmol mol-1. Outside this RWC range, PN decreased significantly. The apparent maximum photosynthetic rate (Pmax,c) and carboxylation velocity (Vc) increased with increasing RWC and remained relatively high, when RWC was between 49.5 and 96.2%. CO2 compensation points and photorespiration rate exhibited a trend opposite to that of Pmax,c and Vc, indicating that moderate water stress was beneficial for increasing plant assimilation, decreasing photorespiration, and increasing production of photosynthates. gs declined significantly with increasing [CO2] under different water supplies, but the RWC range maintaining high gs increased. gs reached its maximum, when RWC was approximately 73% and then decreased with declining RWC. The maximal gs was found with increasing RWC. Thus, based on photosynthetic characteristics in artificial, vegetation construction in semiarid loess hill and gully area, F. rhynchophylla could be planted in habitats of low soil water content. and S. Y. Zhang ... [et al.].
From 2000 to 2006 a total of 52 CPUE samples of spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) were collected in the mosaic landscape of the Kampinos National Park (Poland), which is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The hypothesis tested was that both pompilid species richness and abundance is positively associated with spatial heterogeneity. The patterns in spider wasp assemblages were identified using a Kohonen artificial neural network (i.e., self-organizing map). The highest numbers and greatest species richness of pompilids were recorded at sites in open habitats, especially those located on dry soils that are the preferred nesting sites of ground nesting (endogeic) spider wasps. However, pompilid distribution depended not only on the character of a sampling site, but also its location in a mosaic of habitats. The highest values of pompilid abundance and species richness were also recorded at sites surrounded by several different habitats. Both parameters were lower at sites in more homogenous areas, where there were fewer habitats within the flight ranges of spider wasps. A group of three “cultural species” (Agenioideus cinctellus, A. sericeus and Auplopus carbonarius) was identified that is significantly associated with wooden buildings. The results of this study are thus consistent with the concept that habitat heterogeneity enhances faunal diversity, as each type of habitat, including anthropogenic ones, potentially contributes to a wider range of available resources., Kartarzyna Szczepko, Andrzej Kruk, Maciej Bartos., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The Stegana undulata species group is revised and eight new species described: S. (Steganina) flaviclypeata Chen & Chen, sp. n., S. (S.) flavipalpata Chen & Chen, sp. n., S. (S.) leucothorax Chen & Chen, sp. n., S. (S.) melanocheilota Chen & Chen, sp. n. and S. (S.) melanothorax Chen & Chen, sp. n. from southern China, and S. (S.) flaviscutellata Chen & Chen, sp. n., S. (S.) nigriclypeata Chen & Chen, sp. n. and S. (S.) nigripalpata Chen & Chen, sp. n. from eastern Malaysia. A key to all the species examined based on morphological data is provided. Based on DNA sequence data of the mitochondrial ND2 and COI genes, the relationship among six Chinese species of the undulata group and that of the S. coleoptrata and S. nigrolimbata species groups of the same subgenus is investigated, using S. emeiensis of the subgenus Stegana s. str. as an out-group. and Jin-Ming LU, Jian-Jun GAO, Xi-Peng CHEN, Hong-Wei CHEN.
The present study analysed the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships of two species of xiphidiocercariae of the ʻmicrocotylaeʼ group, Cercaria pugnax La Valette St. George, 1855, from Viviparus viviparus (Linnaeus) in the Ukraine and Cercaria helvetica XII Dubois, 1928 from Bithynia tentaculata (Linnaeus) in Lithuania. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of the ITS2 region and partial 28S gene of the nuclear rDNA revealed that both these xiphidiocercariae belong to the Lecithodendriidae Lühe, 1901 and represent larval stages of lecithodendriids parasitic in bats. Cercaria helvetica XII clustered with the typical representatives of the genus Lecithodendrium Looss, 1896, being very close, but not identical, to Lecithodendrium linstowi Dollfus, 1931. Sequences of C. pugnax matched exactly the sequences of adult Paralecithodendrium chilostomum (Mehlis, 1831). Morphological descriptions of the cercariae are included; these represent the first report of non-virgulate xiphidiocercariae belonging to the family Lecithodendriidae. Until now, the presence of glandular virgula organ in the region of the oral sucker was considered a robust synapomorphy for the Lecithodendriidae and several closely related families. Our results have shown that the relative importance of this character is in need of a re-assessment., Olena Kudlai, Virmantas Stunžėnas, Vasyl Tkach., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Molecular modeling of the H4-H5-loop of the α2 isoform of Na+/K+-ATPase in the E1 and E2 conformations revealed that twisting of the nucleotide (N) domain toward the phosphorylation (P) domain is connected with the formation of a short π-helix between Asp369 and Thr375. This conformational change close to the hinge region between the N-domain and the P-domain could be an important event leading to a bending of the N-domain by 64.7° and to a shortening of the distance between the ATP binding site and the phosphorylation site (Asp369) by 1.22 nm from 3.22 nm to 2.00 nm. It is hypothesized that this shortening mechanism is involved in the Na+-dependent formation of the Asp369 phospho-intermediate as part of the overall Na+/K+-ATPase activity., G. Tejral ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Changes in the temperature dependence of the maximum carboxylation capacity (VCmax) of Rubisco during thermal acclimation of PN remain controversial. I tested for acclimation of the temperature dependence of VCmax in quinoa, wheat, and alfalfa. Plants were grown with day/night temperatures of 12/6, 20/14, and 28/22°C. Responses of PN to substomatal CO2 (Ci) and CO2 at Rubisco (Cc) were measured at leaf temperatures of 10-30°C. VCmax was determined from the initial slope of the PNvs. Ci or Cc curve. Slopes of linear regressions of 1/VCmaxvs. 1/T [K] provided estimates the activation energy. In wheat and alfalfa the increases in activation energy with growth temperature calculated using Ci did not always occur when using Cc, indicating the importance of mesophyll conductance when estimating the activation energy. However, in quinoa, the mean activation energy approximately doubled between the lowest and highest growth temperatures, whether based on Ci or Cc., J. A. Bunce., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Measurements of body temperature in the field demonstrate that Cicada orni Linnaeus regulates body temperature through behavioral mechanisms. Behavior is used to regulate body temperature to a range necessary for calling. As predicted, results showed a general decrease of echeme duration and an increase in inter-echeme interval with rising body temperature. However, no statistically significant correlations of body temperature for any of the variables studied were found, giving evidence that there is more variability in call parameters between individuals than any effect of body temperature. and Allen F. Sanborn, Paula C. Simões, Polly K. Phillips, José A. Quartau.