Alkali stress is an important agricultural problem that affects plant metabolism, specifically root physiology. In this study, using two rice cultivars differing in alkali resistance, we investigated the physiological and molecular responses of rice plants to alkali stress. Compared to the alkali-sensitive cultivar (SC), the alkali-tolerant cultivar (TC) maintained higher photosynthesis and root system activity under alkali stress. Correspondingly, the Na+ content in its shoots was much lower, and the contents of mineral ions (e.g., K+, NO3-, and H2PO4-) in its roots was higher than those of the SC. These data showed that the metabolic regulation of roots might play a central role in rice alkali tolerance. Gene expression differences between the cultivars were much greater in roots than in shoots. In roots, 46.5% (20 of 43) of selected genes indicated over fivefold expression differences between cultivars under alkali stress. The TC had higher root system activity that might protect shoots from Na+ injury and maintain normal metabolic processes. During adaptation of TC to alkali stress, OsSOS1 (salt overly sensitive protein 1) may mediate Na+ exclusion from shoots or roots. Under alkali stress, SC could accumulate Na+ up to toxic concentrations due to relatively low expression of OsSOS1 in shoots. It possibly harmed chloroplasts and influenced photorespiration processes, thus reducing NH4+ production from photorespiration. Under alkali stress, TC was able to maintain normal nitrogen metabolism, which might be important for resisting alkali stress., H. Wang, X. Lin, S. Cao, Z. Wu., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings were grown in nutrient solution culture containing 0, 5, and 20 μM cadmium (Cd) and the effects on various aspects of photosynthesis were investigated after 24, 48, 96 and 168 h of Cd treatments. Photosynthetic rate (PN) decreased after 48 h of 20 μM Cd and 96 h of 5μM Cd addition, respectively. Chl a and total Chl content in leaves declined under 48 h of Cd exposure. Chl b content decreased on extending the period of Cd exposure to 96 h. The maximum quantum efficiency and potential photosynthetic capacity of PSII, indicated by Fv/Fm and Fv/Fo, respectively, were depressed after 96 h onset of Cd exposure. After 48 h of 5μM Cd and 24 h of 20 μM Cd treatments, the activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco, EC 4.1.39) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC, EC 4.1.1.31) in the leaves started to decrease, respectively. We found that the limitation of photosynthetic capacity in Cd stressed maize leaves was associated with Cd toxicity on the light and the dark stages. However, Cd stress initially reduced the activities of Rubisco and PEPC and subsequently affected the PSII electron transfer, suggesting that the Calvin cycle reactions in maize plants are the primary target of the Cd toxic effect rather than PSII. and H. Wang ... [et al.].
We have studied the role of external current stimuli in a four-dimensional Hodgkin-Huxley-type model of cold receptor in this paper. Firstly, we researched its firing patterns from direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) stimuli. Under different values of DC stimulus intensity, interspike intervals (ISIs) with period-doubling bifurcation phenomena appeared. Second, research has shown that neurons are extremely sensitive to changes in the frequency and amplitude of the current used to stimulate them. As the stimulus frequency increased, discharge rhythms emerged ranging from burst firing to chaotic firing and spiking firing. Meanwhile, various phase-locking patterns have been studied in this paper, such as p : 1 (p > 1), 1 : q (q > 1), 2 : q (q > 1) and p : q (p; q > 1), etc. Finally, based on the fast-slow dynamics analysis, codimension-two bifurcation analysis of the fast subsystem was performed in the parameter (asr;B)-plane. We mainly investigated cusp bifurcation, fold-Hopf bifurcation, Bogdanov-Takens bifurcation and generalized Hopf bifurcation. These results revealed the effect of external current stimuli on the neuronal discharge rhythm and were instructive for further understanding the dynamical properties and mechanisms of the Huber-Braun model.
We carried out a field experiment in order to study effects of fertilization in juvenile plants of three coffee (Coffea arabica) cultivars in Yunnan, SW China. Fertilization treatments included a control without fertilizer (CK), combinations of three NPK fertilization rates [high fertilization (FH), medium fertilization (FM), and low fertilization (FL) with 135, 90, and 45 g per plant per year, respectively], and at two N:P2O5:K2O ratios (R1, 1:0.5:0.8; R2, 1:0.8:0.5). The growth in juvenile plants was not altered by fertilization, with two clear growth peaks being observed in both the height and stem growth rates (RGRs) throughout a year. Both FM and FH resulted in significantly higher RGRs in both height and stem diameter compared to FL and CK in all three cultivars. At the same fertilization rate, the leaf area, branch number, longest branch length, internode number, and biomass of R2 were higher than those of R1, and P significantly affected the root biomass and root to shoot ratio. Compared to the FL treatment, both FM and FH treatments resulted in higher net photosynthetic rates and stomatal conductance across seasons, and in higher intrinsic water-use efficiency during the dry season and at the middle of the wet season. Photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency at R2 was higher than that at R1, but no significant differences were observed between the different fertilization rates. Among the three coffee cultivars, Caturra exhibited the highest height, stem diameter, longest branch length, and internode number. Our results indicated that the optimal N:P2O5:K2O ratio was 1:0.8:0.5 for the juvenile growth of coffee plants. Both FM and FH could help optimize the growth and photosynthetic rate of coffee plants, but FM is suitable for the ecological friendly agriculture and economic sustainability at coffee plantations., Z. X. Zhang, Z. Q. Cai, G. Z. Liu, H. Wang, L. Huang, C. T. Cai., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Although plant performance under elevated CO2 (EC) and drought has been extensively studied, little is known about the leaf traits and photosynthetic performance of Stipa bungeana under EC and a water deficiency gradient. In order to investigate the effects of EC, watering, and their combination, S. bungeana seedlings were exposed to two CO2 regimes (ambient, CA: 390 ppm; elevated, EC: 550 ppm) and five levels of watering (-30%, -15%, control, +15%, +30%) from 1 June to 31 August in 2011, where the control water level was 240 mm. Gas exchange and leaf traits were measured after 90-d treatments. Gas-exchange characteristics, measured at the growth CA, indicated that EC significantly decreased the net photosynthetic rate (PN), water-use efficiency, nitrogen concentration based on mass, chlorophyll and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, while increased stomatal conductance (gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), dark respiration, photorespiration, carbon concentration based on mass, C/N ratio, and leaf water potential. Compared to the effect of EC, watering showed an opposite trend only in case of PN. The combination of both factors showed little influence on these physiological indicators, except for gs, Ci, and MDA content. Photosynthetic acclimation to EC was attributed to the N limitation, C sink/source imbalance, and the decline of photosynthetic activity. The watering regulated photosynthesis through both stomatal and nonstomatal mechanisms. Our study also revealed that the effects of EC on photosynthesis were larger than those on respiration and did not compensate for the adverse effects of drought, suggesting that a future warm and dry climate might be unfavorable to S. bungeana. However, the depression of the growth of S. bungeana caused by EC was time-dependent at a smaller temporal scale., H. Wang, G. S. Zhou, Y. L. Jiang, Y. H. Shi, Z. Z. Xu., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Pot trial in greenhouse was conducted using cumulic cinnamon soil from North China to study the effects of zinc deficiency on CO2 exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, the intensity of lipid peroxidation, and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in leaves of maize seedlings. Zn deficiency resulted in a reduction of net photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance to H2O. The maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem 2 (PS2) and the PS2 activity were depressed, while the pool size of the plastoquinone molecules was not affected by Zn deficiency. The content of super oxygen anion radical (O2.-) and the intensity of lipid peroxidation as assessed by malonyldialdehyde content in Zn-deficient leaves were higher than those in Zn-sufficient leaves. The activity of SOD increased with Zn application. The adverse influence of Zn-deficiency on the light stage of photosynthesis is probably one of possible reasons for the limitation of photosynthetic capacity in maize leaves. and H. Wang, J. Y. Jin.
Two cultivars (Katy and Erhuacao) of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) were evaluated under open-field and solar-heated greenhouse conditions in northwest China, to determine the effect of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), leaf temperature, and CO2 concentration on the net photosynthetic rate (PN). In greenhouse, Katy registered 28.3 µmol m-2 s-1 for compensation irradiance and 823 µmol m-2 s-1 for saturation irradiance, which were 73 and 117 % of those required by Erhuacao, respectively. The optimum temperatures for cvs. Katy and Erhuacao were 25 and 35 °C in open-field and 22 and 30 °C in greenhouse, respectively. At optimal temperatures, PN of the field-grown Katy was 16.5 µmol m-2 s-1, 21 % less than for a greenhouse-grown apricot. Both cultivars responded positively to CO2 concentrations below the CO2 saturation concentration, whereas Katy exhibited greater PN (18 %) and higher carboxylation efficiency (91 %) than Erhuacao at optimal CO2 concentration. Both cultivars exhibited greater photosynthesis in solar-heated greenhouses than in open-field, but Katy performed better than Erhuacao under greenhouse conditions. and F. L. Wang, H. Wang, G. Wang.
During the last century, the world soybean yield has been constantly enhancing at a remarkable rate. Factors limiting the soybean yield may be multiple. It is widely acknowledged that changes of root metabolism can influence aboveground characteristics, such as the seed yield and photosynthesis. In this study, we considered root bleeding sap mass (BSM) and root activity (RA) as indicators of the root growth vigour. We used 27 soybean cultivars, spanning from 1923 to 2009, to evaluate the contribution of root characteristic improvement to efficient photosynthesis and dry matter production. The BSM, RA, net photosynthetic rate (P N), and organ biomass were measured at different growth stages, such as the fourth leaf node, flowering, podding, and seed-filling stage. Our results showed that the soybean cultivars increased their biomass and P N thanks to genetic improvement. At the same time, BSM and RA also increased in dependence on a year of cultivar release. However, both P N and biomass were positively correlated with root characteristics only at the podding stage. Our data revealed that the improved root characteristic may have contributed to the enhanced photosynthesis, biomass, and yield of soybean cultivars during last 87 years of genetic improvement. We suggest that BSM and RA could be used as important indexes for further practice in soybean production improvement., X. Cui, Y. Dong, P. Gi, H. Wang, K. Xu, Z. Zhang., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
We have found that short-term statin treatment plus stem cell transplantation in acutely infarcted hearts improves cardiac function because statins promote the efficacy of cellular cardiomyoplasty. Autologous Sca-1+ LinCD45- (CXCR+ ) very small embryonic-like stem cell (VSEL) mobilization in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) correlates with the preservation of cardiac function. Whether short-term atorvastatin (Ator) can enhance the mobilization or recruitment of VSELs in AMI is still unclear. We divided mice into 4 groups: 1) sham; 2) AMI; 3) AMI+resveratrol (RSV) as a positive control; and 4) AMI+Ator. There was an increase in the circulating VSEL/full population of leukocytes (FPL) ratio 48 hours after AMI, and AMI+RSV increased it further. Ator administration did not increase the VSEL/FPL ratio. The cardiac stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and SDF-1α levels were in agreement with the results of VSEL mobilization. One week after AMI, more Sca-1+ CXCR+ cells were recruited to the myocardium of AMI+RSV mice but not AMI+Ator mice. Short-term Ator administration failed to upregulate cardiac SDF-1 and could not enhance the recruitment of VSELs early after AMI., H. Wang ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury