Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology (J Plant Physiol Mol Biol)

Publications in this journal

• Article: [Species-dependence of the pattern of plant photosynthetic rate response to light intensity transition from saturating to limiting one].

  Yue Chen, Da-Quan Xu
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  ABSTRACT: By observing the photosynthetic responses of leaves to changes in light intensity and CO(2) concentration it was found that among the more than 50 plant species examined 32 species and 25 species showed respectively the V pattern and L pattern of the photosynthetic response to light intensity transition from saturating to limiting one (Figs.1 and 2 and Table 1). The pattern of photosynthetic response to light intensity transition is species-dependent but not leaf developmental stage-dependent (Fig.3). The species-dependence was not related to classification in taxonomy because the photosynthetic response might display the two different patterns (V and L) in plants of the same family, for example, rice and wheat (Gramineae), soybean and peanut (Leguminosae). It seemed to be related to the pathway of photosynthetic carbon assimilation because all of the C(4) plants examined (maize, green bristlegrass and thorny amaranth) displayed the L pattern. It might be related to light environment where the plants originated. The V pattern of photosynthetic response to light intensity transition was often observed in some plants grown in shade habitats, for example, sweet viburnum and Japan fatsia, while the L pattern was frequently observed in those plants grown in sunny habitats, for example, ginkgo and cotton. Furthermore, the ratio of electron transport rate to carboxylation rate in vivo measured at limiting light was far higher in the V pattern plants (mostly higher than 10) than in the L pattern plants (mostly lower than 5), but the ratio measured at saturating light had no significant difference between the two kinds of plants (Table 2). These results can be explained in part by that the V pattern plant species have larger light-harvesting complex (LHCII) and at saturating light the reversible dissociation of some LHCIIs from PSII reaction center complex occurs. The pattern of photosynthetic response to light intensity transition and the ratio of electron transport rate to carboxylation rate in vivo measured at limiting light can probably be used as a criterion to distinguish sun plants from shade plants. In the observation of photosynthetic response to light intensity transition the use of saturating light is very important because using non-saturating light can form an artifact, which leads to incorrect conclusion (Fig.4).
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):538-46.
• Article: Low-energy ion beam promotes the transcription and transposition of the Copia-retrotransposons in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

  Hui-Yuan Ya, Yun-Hong Gu, Zhen Jiao, Wei-Dong Wang, Guang-Yong Qin, Yu-Ping Huo
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  ABSTRACT: LTR-retrotransposons are genetic elements having the direct long terminal repeats (LTRs). It can move via an RNA intermediate within genomes and is an important fraction of eukaryote genomes. Low-energy N(+) ion beam promoted the transcription of the copia-retransposons in those wheat (cv. 'Zhoumai 16', which were radiated and allowed to grow for 24 h and 48 h from the planting. Relative expression ratio of the copia-retransposons was elevated in different degrees (with a max 40 fold) in wheat plants treated with different doses of N(+) beam, comparing to that in the controls. The molecule markers of the IRAP and REMAP to the DNA isolated from the 14-d leaves of wheat plants treated with the low-energy N(+) beam showed that the transposition of some copia-retransposons was re-activated. The enhanced transcription of the copia-retransposons in wheat could weaken or enhance the expression of their nearby genes. The transposition of the retrotransposon in genome can change the primary structure of the functional DNA fragments of chromosomes, and it can also be visualized as the appearance of a new phenotype of plants. In the mid 1980s, the biological effects of low-energy ion beam were recognized and demonstrated experimentally. Hence, it suggests that the enhanced transcription and the re-activated transposition of the retrotransposons are partially attributed to the biological effect of low-energy ion beam.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):507-16.
• Article: Photosynthesis of the flag leaf blade and its sheath in high-yielding hybrid rice 'Liangyoupeijiu'.

  Zhao-Wu Guo, He-Song Li, Ruo-Zhong Wang, Lang-Tao Xiao
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  ABSTRACT: Using high-yielding hybrid rice 'Liangyoupeijiu' (LYP9) and hybrid rice 'Shanyou 63' (SY63) as the experimental materials and using (14)C radio-autography, the photosynthetic capacities and distribution of photosynthates in flag leaf blades and sheaths of LYP9 were studied. The results showed that net photosynthetic rates (Pn) of the flag leaf blades and sheaths of LYP9 were much higher than those of SY63; the light transmissivity rates (LT) measured at the medium height of the flag leaf sheaths and the penultimate leaf sheaths were also significantly higher than those of SY63. The incipient activities, total activities and activation percentages of Rubisco in the flag leaf blade and sheath of LYP9 were all higher than those of SY63. The photosynthate transport rate in the sheaths of LYP9, and the quantity of photosynthate transported to the spikes and transformed to economic yield of LYP9 were all higher than those of SY63. The photosynthates produced by the sheaths were mainly transported to spike to make a certain contribution (about 15%) to yield.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):531-7.
• Article: A rice blast-resistance genetic resource from wild rice in Yunnan, China.

  Ming-Zhi Yang, Zai-Quan Cheng, Shan-Na Chen, Jun Qian, Ling-Ling Xu, Xing-Qi Huang
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  ABSTRACT: Compared to Pi-ta(-) alleles, Pi-ta(+) alleles can cause blast resistance response. In this work, Pi-ta gene in multiple rice materials, including local rice cultivars, different types of O. rufipogon and O. longistaminata was detected by molecular cloning and sequence analysis. Results indicated that Pi-ta(+) alleles were rare alleles, because in all the tested materials, only the 'Erect' type of O. rufipogon (ETOR) from Jinghong county in Yunnan province contains a Pi-ta(+) allele. Another rice blast resistance gene, Pib, confers resistance to the Japanese strain of M. grisea, was also confirmed to be functional in this type of O. rufipogon. The results of pathogen inoculation test show that ETOR is more strongly resistant to the tested blast pathogen races than other types of O. rufipogon. The resistance of ETOR may at least partially depend upon the functioning of Pi-ta and Pib gene. As O. rufipogon has the same type of genome with the cultivated rice (O. sativa), Pi-ta(+) and Pib gene in Erect type of O. rufipogon can be used to improve the tolerance of cultivated rice to blast, either by traditional hybridization or by genetic engineering.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):589-95.
• Article: Role of nitric oxide in abscisic acid-induced subcellular antioxidant defense of maize leaves.

  Jian-Rong Sang, Ming-Yi Jiang, Fan Lin, Jing Li, Shu-Cheng Xu
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  ABSTRACT: The sources of nitric oxide (NO) production in response to abscisic acid (ABA) and the role of NO in ABA-induced hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) accumulation and subcellular antioxidant defense in leaves of maize (Zea mays L.) plants were investigated. ABA induced increases in generation of NO and activity of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in maize leaves. Such increases were blocked by pretreatment with each of the two NOS inhibitors. Pretreatments with a NO scavenger or NR inhibitors inhibited ABA-induced increase in production of NO, but did not affect the ABA-induced increases in activity of NOS, indicating that ABA-induced NO production originated from sources of NOS and NR. ABA- and H(2)O(2)-induced increases in expression of the antioxidant genes superoxide dismutase 4 (SOD4), cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase (cAPX), and glutathione reductase 1 (GR1) and the activities of the chloroplastic and cytosolic antioxidant enzymes were arrested by pretreatments with the NO scavenger, inhibitors of NOS and NR, indicating that NO is involved in the ABA- and H(2)O(2)-induced subcellular antioxidant defense reactions. On the other hand, NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) reduced accumulation of H(2)O(2) induced by ABA, and c-PTIO reversed the effect of SNP in decreasing the accumulation of H(2)O(2). SNP induced increases in activities of subcellular antioxidant enzymes, and the increases were substantially prevented from occurring by the pretreatment with c-PTIO. These results suggest that ABA induces production of H(2)O(2) and NO, which can up-regulate activities of the subcellular antioxidant enzymes, to prevent overproduction of H(2)O(2) in maize plants. There is a negative feedback loop between NO and H(2)O(2) in ABA signal transduction in maize plants.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):553-66.
• Article: Identification of drought-responsive genes from maize inbred lines.

  Fu-Hua Li, Feng-Ling Fu, Li-Na Sha, Wan-Chen Li
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  ABSTRACT: To provide a useful piece of information for the choice of molecular markers to be used in selection of drought tolerance, mRNA differential display was used to isolate genes from a drought-tolerant maize inbred line '81565'. After drought stress, two down-regulated expression gene fragments (MD1 and MD2) and one up-regulated expression fragment (MD3) were obtained. Results of sequence and homology analysis show that MD1 has 97% similarity with matK in maize chloroplast genome, a gene encoding RNA maturase involved in group II intron splicing of RNA transcript; MD2 has 99% similarity with the gene serine/threonine phosphorylase 2C in Sporobolus stapfianus; and MD3 has 99% similarity with rice the gene encoding metacaspase, an arginine/lysine-specific cysteine protease. Based on the sequence of fragment MD2, a new member of maize PP2C gene family, ZmPP2Ca, was cloned by in silicon cloning and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) showed that expression of the gene was down-regulated in the three drought-tolerant lines ('81565', 'N87-1' and 'R09') and up-regulated in the two drought-sensitive lines ('200B' and 'ES40') under drought stress.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):607-11.
• Article: [Metabolic engineering of edible plant oils].

  Ai-Qin Yue, Xi-Ping Sun, Run-Zhi Li
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  ABSTRACT: Plant seed oil is the major source of many fatty acids for human nutrition, and also one of industrial feedstocks. Recent advances in understanding of the basic biochemistry of seed oil biosynthesis, coupled with cloning of the genes encoding the enzymes involved in fatty acid modification and oil accumulation, have set the stage for the metabolic engineering of oilseed crops that produce "designer" plant seed oils with the improved nutritional values for human being. In this review we provide an overview of seed oil biosynthesis/regulation and highlight the key enzymatic steps that are targets for gene manipulation. The strategies of metabolic engineering of fatty acids in oilseeds, including overexpression or suppression of genes encoding single or multi-step biosynthetic pathways and assembling the complete pathway for the synthesis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g. arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) are described in detail. The current "bottlenecks" in using common oilseeds as "bioreactors" for commercial production of high-value fatty acids are analyzed. It is also discussed that the future research focuses of oilseed metabolic engineering and the prospects in creating renewable sources and promoting the sustainable development of human society and economy.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):489-98.
• Article: Repression of AtCLH1 expression results in a decrease in the ratio of chlorophyll a/b but doesnot affect the rate of chlorophyll degradation during leaf senescence.

  Xiao Zhou, Yang Liao, Guo-Dong Ren, Yan-Yan Zhang, Wen-Jun Chen, Ben-Ke Kuai
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  ABSTRACT: To explore the possible regulatory role of chlorophyllase (Chlase) in chlorophyll (Chl) degradation during leaf senescence, RNAi Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants were constructed to repress the expressions of AtCLH1 and/or AtCLH2. Transcript levels of AtCLH1 and/or AtCLH2 were dramatically lowered and Chlase activity was correspondingly inhibited, but the Chl degradation kinetics was not affected in the RNAi plants. Results of further analysis indicated that the Chl a/b ratio decreased in AtCLH1 RNAi lines, in comparison with the increasing Chl a/b ratio in the wide type during leaf senescence. In addition, an induced Chlase activity was consistently detected at the initial stage of senescence in all the plants examined. In contrast, transcript levels of both AtCLH1 and AtCLH2 decreased dramatically upon the initiation of senescence in both the wide-type and the RNAi plants. Interestingly, compared with the wide type, lower but still significant transcript levels of the RNAi targeted Chlase gene(s) were sustained during the whole period of dark incubation in all the three RNAi lines examined, indicating the functioning of some compensatively regulating mechanism. Based on these results, along with related reports, we conclude that Chlase might be required at the initial stage of leaf senescence, quite likely playing a role in converting Chl b to a.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):596-606.
• Article: [Maize transformation using xylose isomerase gene as a selection marker].

  Xin-Mei Guo, Xiao-Dong Zhang, Rong-Qi Liang, Li-Quan Zhang, Yao-Feng Chen
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  ABSTRACT: The xylA gene, encoding xylose isomerase, was cloned as a 1342-bp BamHI/SacI fragment from the E. coli. As a selection marker, the xylA gene was fused between the enhanced CaMV 35S promoter (E35S) and terminator (35St) in pBAC413 (Fig.2). pBAC413 was constructed to prevent the expression of sbeIIb in maize. PDS1000/He was used to bombard maize calli, which were induced to form by the elite inbred lines. The selection was carried out on the media containing concentrations of xylose from 0 to 100%. The results showed that the media containing 50% to 100% D-xylose were better, but differed with the genotype of maize (Tables 1 and 2). Successful integration of xylA gene into the maize genome was confirmed by DNA dot blotting, PCR and PCR-Southern hybridization (Figs.4 to 6). A method was established in which transformed maize cells were successively screened on a medium containing xylose instead of antibiotic and herbicide for bio-safety.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):547-52.
• Article: [Aluminum lightens the adverse effects of excessive Mn on growth of soybean (Glycine max)].

  Zhong-Bao Yang, Jiang-Feng You, Zhen-Ming Yang
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  ABSTRACT: The influence of aluminum (Al) on physiological and biological characteristics of soybean under manganese (Mn) stress was investigated. The results showed that Al suppressed the transport of Mn to shoots (Fig.2B, C), and subsequently alleviated the inhibition of shoot growth (Fig.1), decreased the chlorophyll content (Fig.4). Addition of Al diminished the increase in O(-*)(2) producing rate, the hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) content and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in soybean leaves caused by excessive Mn (Fig.5), and prevented the dropping of CAT activity to a low level under excessive Mn stress (Fig.6). Results of fractional analysis indicated that high levels of Al supply deduced mainly accumulation of Mn both in cell walls and organelles, but had no effect on it in soluble fractions (Fig.3).
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):574-80.
• Article: [The mechanisms of plant photosynthetic acclimation to elevated CO2 concentration].

  Dao-Yun Zhang, Da-Quan Xu
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  ABSTRACT: When measured at a same CO(2) concentration, net photosynthetic rate is often significantly lower in long-term high CO(2)-grown plants than the ambient CO(2)-grown ones. This phenomenon is termed photosynthetic acclimation or down-regulation. Although there have been many reports and reviews, the mechanism(s) of the photosynthetic acclimation is not very clear. Combining the work of the authors' group, this paper briefly reviews the progress in studies on the mechanism(s) of the photosynthetic acclimation to elevated CO(2). It is suggested that besides the possible effects of respiration enhancement and excessive photosynthate accumulation, RuBP carboxylation limitation and RuBP regeneration limitation are probably the main factors leading to the photosynthetic acclimation.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):463-70.
• Article: [Exogenous nitric oxide accelerates soluble sugar, proline and secondary metabolite synthesis in Ginkgo biloba under drought stress].

  Gang-Ping Hao, Xi-Hua Du, Ren-Jiu Shi
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  ABSTRACT: The effects of exogenous nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on substance metabolism of Ginkgo biloba leaves under drought stress were studied. The results showed that 250 micromol/L SNP (Fig.2) treatment under 35% relative soil water content (RSWC) stress (Fig.1) raised remarkably soluble sugar content (Fig.3), proline content (Fig.4), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity (Fig.5), flavonoids (Fig.6) and ginkgolides content (Fig.7) of G. biloba leaves. Hemoglobin, used as NO scavenger, counteracted the effects of SNP in raising the soluble sugar (Fig.3), proline (Fig.4), flavonoid (Fig.6), ginkgolide content (Fig.7) and PAL activities (Fig.5), which indicates that the effects of sodium nitroprusside were through the nitric oxide released from sodium nitroprusside. We propose from these results that the roles of flavonoids and ginkgolides are the same as those of soluble sugars and proline under drought stress. NO may alleviate the damage caused by drought stress through raising soluble sugar, proline, flavonoid and ginkgolide content.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):499-506.
• Article: Analysis of probenazole-responsiveness of rice RPR1 upstream fragments.

  Xiang-Hui Zhao, Jin-Xiao Yang, Jiong Gao, Qian Zhou, Ben-Ke Kuai
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  ABSTRACT: RPR1 (rice probenazole-responsive) is a rice gene, the expression of which is responsive to probenazole (PBZ), a synthetic compound that may act as a plant defense activator. It has been shown that RPR1 gene may be involved in disease resistance responses. In this study, a series of amplified fragments from the rice RPR1 promoter region, including 2,416 bp, 1,574 bp, 819 bp, 568 bp and 208 bp fragments upstream to the ATG translation start site, were prepared and linked to the coding region of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. Analysis of GUS gene transient expression in rice calli demonstrated that the 568 bp fragment was sufficient for probenazole responsiveness. Analysis of GUS gene stable expression in Arabidopsis thaliana indicated that the 2,416 bp and 1,574 bp fragments drove GUS expression only in shoot apical meristem and petiole. Identification of these PBZ-responsive fragments provides a basis on which PBZ-inducible gene regulatory systems can be constructed for experimental analysis of gene expression and for field application.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):524-30.
• Article: [Application of pressure probe techniques in studies of plant water relations].

  Xian-Chong Wan, Sui-Qi Zhang, Wen-Hao Zhang
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  ABSTRACT: This review introduces the pressure probe technique that was originally designed to detect the turgor of a giant algal cell, then adapted to measure the turgor and other water-relations parameters of higher plants, and now has developed into a diverse tool on researches of plant physiology and eco-physiology. This technique can be used to measure in situ the permeability of cell membranes to water and solutes at the resolution of single cells, and hence is a useful tool to study function and regulation of water channels (aquaporins) of intact plant cells. The recently developed xylem-pressure probe technique is the only way to directly measure the negative pressure in xylem conduits. In this review we introduce the basic principles and the theoretical backgrounds underlying the pressure probe. Finally some important achievements and applications of the pressure probe in studies of plant water relations are reviewed and discussed.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):471-9.
• Article: [Intercellular 27 kD protein is a chitinase induced by water stress or Pseudoperonospora cubensis in cucumber leaves].

  Peng Chen, Yu-Hong Li, Zhi-Hui Cheng, Tao Chen
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  ABSTRACT: Cucumber seedlings were drought-stressed or inoculated with Pseudoperonospora cubensis. After 3 or 6 d the intercellular fluids of treated cucumber leaves were extracted and analyzed. Protein contents increased after pathogen inoculation and a 27-kD protein was found in intercellular fluids (Figs.1, 7). Both 27 kD proteins were purified from the intercellular fluids of cucumber leaves after drought stress or pathogen inoculation by SDS-PAGE and electro-elution protocol respectively (Fig.2, 3). Purified proteins from drought-stressed and P. cubensis infected seedlings were analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS and their peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) results were obtained (Figs.4, 5). The PMF results were compared with protein database using the software Profound. The results show that the 27 kD proteins from seedlings after drought stress and after P. cubensis infection were the same protein, i.e. an acidic chitinase (Tables 1, 2; Fig.6). The activities of chitinase in the intercellular fluids of cucumber leaves after pathogen inoculation and in those drought stress were also analyzed. Results showed that both treatments induced the increase in chitinase activity (Fig.8), which indicated that chitinase may be involved in the protection of cucumber plant against both pathogen attack and water stress.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):581-8.
• Article: [Transgenic tobacco plants with ribosome inactivating protein gene cassin from Cassia occidentalis and their resistance to tobacco mosaic virus].

  Xiao-Lei Ruan, Li-Fang Liu, Hua-Ping Li
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  ABSTRACT: Cassin, the new gene of ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) isolated from Cassia occidentalis, was inserted into expression vector pBI121 to produce plant expression vector pBI121-cassin (Figs.1, 2). pBI121-cassin was introduced into tobacco cultivar 'K326' by the Agrobacteriurm tumefaciens transformation method and more than 100 independent transformants were obtained. Southern blot hybridization analysis showed that a single gene locus was inserted into the chromosome of the transgenic tobacco lines (Fig.5) and PCR analysis of segregation population of progeny indicated that the inheritance of transgene was dominant in transgenic lines (Fig.4, Table 1). Results of RT-PCR and Northern blot hybridization analysis showed that transgene could be transcribed correctly (Figs.5, 6) . Three self-pollination lines of transgenic T(1) and T(2) were challenged with TMV at different concentration titers by mechanical inoculation. The transgenic lines exhibited different levels of resistance to TMV with the nontransgenic plants. After both titers of TMV concentration were inoculated, transgenic lines were considered as the highly resistant type with a delay of 4-13 d in development of symptoms and 10%-25% of test plants were infected, while nontransgenic control plants were susceptible typical symptoms on the newly emerged leaves (Table 2). One T(2) line, T(2)-8-2-1, was regarded as an immune type because it did not show any symptoms during 70 d and all plants were shown to be virus free by ELISA tests.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):517-23.
• Article: [Manganese uptake and transportation as well as antioxidant response to excess manganese in plants].

  Zhong-Bao Yang, Jiang-Feng You, Zhen-Ming Yang
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  ABSTRACT: Manganese (Mn) is an essential micronutrient throughout all stages of plant development. Mn plays an important role in many metabolic processes in plants. It is of particular importance to photosynthetic organisms in the chloroplast of which a cluster of Mn atoms at the catalytic centre function in the light-induced water oxidation by photosystem II, and also function as a cofactor for a variety of enzymes, such as Mn-SOD. But excessive Mn is toxic to plants which is one of the most toxic metals in acid soils. The knowledge of Mn(2+) uptake and transport mechanisms, especially the genes responsible for transition metal transport, could facilitate the understanding of both Mn tolerance and toxicity in plants. Recently, several plant genes were identified to encode transporters with Mn(2+) transport activity, such as zinc-regulated transporter/iron-regulated transporter (ZRT/IRT1)-related protein (ZIP) transporters, natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (Nramp) transporters, cation/H(+) antiporters, the cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) transporter family, and P-type ATPase. In addition, excessive Mn frequently induces oxidative stress, then several defense enzymes and antioxidants are stimulated to scavenge the superoxide and hydrogen peroxide formed under stress. Mn-induced oxidative stress and anti-oxidative reaction are very important mechanisms of Mn toxicity and Mn tolerance respectively in plants. This article reviewed the transporters identified as or proposed to be functioning in Mn(2+) transport, Mn toxicity-induced oxidative stress, and the response of antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes in plants to excessive Mn to facilitate further study. Meanwhile, basing on our research results, new problems and views are brought forward.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 01/2008; 33(6):480-8.
• Article: Isolation and functional analysis of sulfite oxidase gene AtSO promoter from Arabidopsis thaliana.

  Zong-Liang Xia, Mei-Ping Wang, Quan-Jun Liu
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  ABSTRACT: Sulfite oxidase (SO), one of the known molybdenum co-factor-containing enzymes, plays important roles in diverse metabolic processes such as sulfur detoxification and purine catabolism in mammals. But much less is known about the expression and regulatory characterization of sulfite oxidase gene in higher plants. In this report, expression of Arabidopsis SO is characterized in detail by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and histochemical staining. The results showed that the transcripts of AtSO were predominantly detected in Arabidopsis aerial tissues including stems, young leaves, young inflorescences and immature siliques at higher level, but in roots with a lower level. To monitor AtSO expression in plant, the promoter region containing a 1 562-bp genomic sequence from AtSO was isolated and analyzed using methods of bioinformatics. Basing on the distribution of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activities shown by histochemical staining in transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring the promoter-uidA fusion construct, it can be concluded that AtSO is expressed mainly in the green tissues/organs in a light-dependent way. In addition, its expression is up-regulated during sulfite treatment. The information from this study may provide useful clue for further functional analysis of plant SO homologs during light-induced development of leaf tissue and/or excessive sulfite/SO(2) gas stresses in higher plants.
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 11/2007; 33(5):369-74.
• Article: [Changes in H2O2 and salicylic acid contents as well as plasma membrane H+-ATPase activity and their relations in pea leaves during thermotolerance induction].

  Qiu-Hong Pan, Yan-Jun Zhang, Yan-Yan Liu, Yan-Fang Zhang, Wei-Dong Huang
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  ABSTRACT: H(2)O(2), plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase (PM H(+)-ATPase) and salicylic acid (SA) play important roles in sensing external stimulation and activating defense responses in plants. However, it remains uncertain whether they are involved and interrelated in response to heat acclimation. Experiments were performed by pharmacological methods, and the relationship and the connection between endogenous H(2)O(2), free SA and PM H(+)-ATPase were investigated in pea plants (Pisum sativum L.) during heat acclimation. The results showed that an accumulation peaks of H(2)O(2), free SA and PM H(+)-ATPase, were detected during heat acclimation at 37 degrees C for 2 h and H(2)O(2) burst appeared before SA accumulation that followed by increase of PM H(+)-ATPase activity (Fig.1). Pretreatments with either scavengers of active oxygen species (dimethyl sulfoxide and ascorbic acid) or antioxidant (reduced glutathione) inhibited the increases in both H(2)O(2) and free SA contents as a part of heat acclimation (Fig.2). Additionally, changes in activity of plasma membrane NADPH oxidase paralleled with H(2)O(2) level during heat acclimation (Figs.1 and 3), implicating that H(2)O(2) might be generated by plasma membrane NADPH oxidase. Moreover, pretreatments with either diphenylene iodonium (DPI), a suicide substrate inhibitor of plasma membrane NADPH oxidase, or dimethylthiourea (DMTU), a quencher of H(2)O(2), could block the increase in free SA content and activity of plasma membrane NADPH oxidase as a part of heat acclimation (Fig.4). According to the assay described above, it is suggested that both H(2)O(2) and PM H(+)-ATPase participate in SA signaling that leads to the development of thermotolerance in pea plant, and H(2)O(2) functions upstream and PM H(+)-ATPase functions downstream of the SA signal. Also, the regulation mechanism of PM H(+)-ATPase activity was investigated, which showed that during heat acclimation, increase of PM H(+)-ATPase activity was independent of PM H(+)-ATPase amount and the enzyme activity may be modulated at post-translational level that may involve in reversible protein phosphorylation (Fig.5).
  Zhi wu sheng li yu fen zi sheng wu xue xue bao = Journal of plant physiology and molecular biology 11/2007; 33(5):425-34.