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The pollen morphology of 40 specimens of 15 species belonging to eight genera in the subfamily Salicornioideae (Chenopodiaceae) was studied using light and scanning electron microscopy to evaluate the taxonomic importance of pollen characters. Pollen grains were characteristically pantopolyporate, with 31–51 evenly distributed pores on the surface. The tectum and operculum are covered with minute spinules, typical of other members of the Chenopodiaceae, with minor differences among genera and species. Perforation was seen only in Halostachys belangeriana at high magnification. Pollen characters studied here include pollen and pore diameters, number and density of apertures, interporal distance (chord), chord/pollen diameter ratio, pore diameter/pollen diameter ratio and spinule density on the tectum and operculum. Despite extreme uniformity in pollen morphology, there is good evidence supporting currently known phylogenetic relationships and generic delimitations within the subfamily Salicornioideae. The significant differences in pollen characters among populations of Halostachys belangeriana and Halocnemum strobilaceum may indicate genetic diversity or polyploidy in different populations. The pollen characters provide limited taxonomic value in the subfamily Salicornioideae, which may come from habitat homogeneity of all species growing in hypersaline marshes and inland hygrohalophytic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palynological and geochemical analyses provide valuable information about modern and past climatic regimes and vegetation. The impact of climate and humans on past vegetation in the semi‐arid areas of northwestern Iran has received increased interest in the wake of warming temperatures in the Middle East. Palynological and down‐core XRF elemental abundances from a peat core from Lake Neor enabled a reconstruction of vegetational changes of the past 7000 years over the highlands of northwestern Iran. Periods of increased arboreal pollen (AP) types and high (Artemisia + Poaceae)/Chenopodiaceae ratios along with low titanium abundances, high percentages of total organic carbon, more negative δD values, and higher carbon accumulation rates suggest a relatively wet climate. These conditions have persisted during the periods 6700–6200, 5200–4450 and 3200–2200 cal a bp. The overall low AP values, substantial rise of Chenopodiaceae, high Ti abundances and low values of palaeo‐redox proxies, are all evidences of a drier climate, as has been reconstructed for the periods 6200–5200 and 4030–3150 cal a bp and the last 2200 years. An important feature of the last centuries is the increase of anthropogenic and pastoral indicator pollen types. Our results may provide basic data to predict future trends in vegetation dynamics under future climate change in western Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atriplex amnicola was grown at 25, 200 or 400 mol m-3 NaCl. Root tissues at different stages of development were investigated for concentrations of K+, Na+ and Mg2+, and in some cases for Cl-. Sugar and starch concentrations were measured for plants grown at 25 or 400 mol m-3 NaCl. In the 'slightly vacuolated' root tips, Na+ was only 40 mol m-3 at an external concentration of 400 mol m-3 NaCl. The concentrations of K+ were not affected substantially by external NaCl between 25 mol m-3 and 400 mol m-3. The 'highly vacuolated' root tissues had substantially higher concentrations of K+, Na+ and Cl- in plants grown at 200 and 400 mol m-3 NaCl than in plants grown at 25 mol m-3 NaCl. Concentrations of Cl- and of the sum of the cations in recently expanded tissue were similar to those in the bulk of the roots, consisting mainly of old cells. However, the K+:Na+ decreased with age; at 400 mol m-3 external NaCl with a K+:Na+ of 0.012, the K+:Na+ in recently expanded 12 mm root tips was as high as 1.6, compared with 0.7 for the bulk of the roots. These ion data were used to estimate cytoplasmic and vacuolar concentrations of K+ and Na+. Such calculations indicated that between 25 mol m-3 and 400 mol m-3 external NaCl the concentration of the sum of (Na+ + K+) in the cytoplasm was maintained at about 180-200 mol m-3 (cell water basis). In contrast, the (Na+ + K+) concentration in the vacuole was 170 mol m-3 for plants grown at 25 mol m-3 NaCl and 420 mol m-3 for plants grown at 400 mol m-3 NaCl. The expanding root tissues exhibited greatly decreased solu... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response to salt spray and soil salinity of two sand dune strandline species (Cakile maritima Scop. and Salsola kali L.) and two salt marsh strand‐line species (Atriplex hastata L. and A. littoralis L.) was compared in sand‐compost cultures. The growth of the salt‐marsh species remained unaffected, while the growth of the sand dune species Cakile maritima was strongly reduced by NaCl (150 and 300 mM) absorbed via the root system. All four species were resistant to airborne salinity, and under conditions of low soil fertility, salt spray increased the dry matter production, especially of the sand dune species. Mineral analysis revealed foliar uptake of Na, K, Cl, Ca and Mg. Na and Cl ions absorbed from seawater droplets induced succulence. Both salt spray and soil salt increased the methylated quaternary ammonium compound content in the shoot tissue. Under non‐saline conditions a considerable amount of these osmotic solutes was still present, while turgor pressure potential in these plants was rather low. The relation between salt, compatible osmotic solutes, turgor pressure potential and growth is discussed. Next to the major constituents of seawater, Na and Cl, especially magnesium and to a lesser extent, calcium, accumulated in the shoot tissue. Based on the positive growth response of the sand dune species to airborne salt, they should be termed ‘aerohalophytes’, whereas ‘soil halophytes’ should be used when referring to the Atriplex species, which are more specifically adapted to the increased salinity of salt marsh soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three endemic species of the genus Chenopodiastrum occur on remote Atlantic islands: C. coronopus on the Canary Islands (El Hierro, Gran Canaria, La Palma and Tenerife), C. helenense (Aellen) Uotila, comb. nova on Saint Helena, and C. selvagense Uotila, sp. nova on the Selvagens Islands (Selvagem Grande and Selvagem Pequena) and the Desertas Islands (Ilhéu Chão). The closest relative to all of them is widespread C. murale, which is more or less common on many Atlantic islands. Variation in C. murale is discussed, morphological descriptions of all the species are given, and their chorological histories on the Atlantic islands are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new species of Dzhanokmenia Kostjukov (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae), D. stefaniolae Li, Wang & Hu, sp. nov. and D. yuxuannis Li, Wang & Hu, sp. nov., are described and illustrated from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. D. stefaniolae was reared from stem-galls made by Stefaniola sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on black saxaul, Haloxylon ammodendron (Chenopodiaceae); D. yuxuannis was collected by sweeping from both black saxaul and white saxaul, H. persicum, in Beishawo Desert near Fukang. A key to females of all known species of Dzhanokmenia is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the distribution patterns of pollen and spore assemblages in modern surface sediments recovered from the bottom of the San Jorge Gulf (SJG) and from offshore sites, in relation to the location of different phytogeographic provinces surrounding the SJG, including the distant forest from southwestern Patagonia. Results reveal that pollen spectra are dominated by Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae, Poaceae, Asteraceae subf. Asteroideae, Colliguaja integerrima and Ephedra sp.; which represents the vegetation adjacent to the SJG. Overall, the pollen distribution in surface sediments reflects the location of the different phytogeographic provinces and will be used as modern-analogues to document vegetation history around the SJG. Pollen assemblages also reveal the latitudinal variation of vegetation taxa in the Patagonian steppe, which is characterized by a slight increase in herbaceous pollen and a decrease in high shrubs (e.g. Colliguaja integerrima) towards the southern-central part of the SJG. Furthermore, we identified two pollen taxa from the southwestern Patagonian forest, Nothofagus and Podocarpus that could be used as indicators of past dynamics and variations of the Southern Westerly Wind Belt (SWWB) in the SJG during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. High pollen concentrations are recorded at the central part of the SJG (480–8080 grains/g), while low concentrations are measured in the northern and southern parts of the Gulf, as well as at offshore sites (26–1806 grains/g). The pollen distribution in the study area is most likely governed by the SWWB in combination with the marine sediment composition and surface currents flowing through the SJG. • Pollen and spore surface distribution patterns from the San Jorge Gulf. • Pollen assemblages echo different phytogeographic provinces surrounding the gulf. • Nothofagus and Podocarpus reflect long distance transport by westerly winds. • Pollen distribution results from transport by westerly winds and surface currents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southwest Asia is climatically and topographically a highly diverse region in the xeric belt of the Old World. Its diversity of arid habitats and climatic conditions acted as an important area for the evolution and diversification of up to 20 (of 38 known) independent Eudicot C4 origins. Some of these lineages present unique evolutionary strategies like single-cell functioning C4 and C3–C4 switching mechanisms. The high diversity of C4 taxa in Southwest (SW) Asia is also related to the presence of seven phytogeographic zones including the Irano-Turanian region as a center of diversification of many Caryophyllales lineages and the Somali-Masai region (Southern Oman and Yemen) as a center of diversification for C4 Monocots. Nevertheless, the C4 flora of SW Asia has not received detailed attention. This paper presents a comprehensive review of all known C4 species in the area based on a literature survey, own floristic observations, as well as taxonomic, phylogenetic and herbarium data, and δ13C-isotope ratio analysis. The resulting checklist includes a total number of 923 (861 native, of which 141 endemic, and 62 introduced) C4 species, composed of 350 Eudicots and 509 Monocots, most of which are therophytic and hemicryptophytic xerophytes with pluriregional and Irano-Turanian distribution. Two hundred thirty-nine new δ13C-isotope ratios of C4 and C3 plants, as well as some taxonomic changes are presented. An analysis of the distribution of the three main C4 plant families (Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae, and Cyperaceae) in the region in relation to climatic variables indicates that the increase of C4 species follows more or less a latitudinal gradient similar to global patterns, while separate taxonomic groups seem to depend on specific factors as continentality (Chenopodiaceae), average annual temperature (Cyperaceae), and the presence of summer precipitation (Poaceae). An increase of C4 Eudicots in W-E direction even in similar longitudinal belts is explained by a combination of edaphic and climatic conditions. The provided data should encourage a deeper interest in the evolution of C4 lineages in SW Asia and their adaptation to ecological and climatical conditions and awaken interest in the importance of local C4 crops, the conservation of threatened C4 taxa, and awareness of human impacts on the rapid environmental changes in the region.

The genus Gomphrena comprises about 120 species in the Americas and 35 in Australia. Previous research revealed that Gossypianthus, Lithophila and Philoxerus are closely related but the monophyly of Gomphrena remained unresolved. Our aim was to clarify phylogenetic relationships in Gomphrena and allies based on a thorough sampling of species and to reconstruct the evolution of morphological characters including C4 photosynthesis, and to explore the disjunction of the Australian taxa. We generated datasets of plastid (matK-trnK, trnL-F, rpl16) and nrITS representing 45 taxa of Gomphrena plus relatives and analysed them with parsimony, likelihood and Bayesian methods. Ancestral states of phenotypic characters were reconstructed with BayesTraits. BEAST was employed for divergence time estimates using an extended Amaranthaceae–Chenopodiaceae dataset to place fossil calibration points. Gossypianthus is closely related to a Gomphrena radiata–G. umbellata–G. tomentosa clade and G. meyeniana, whereas Lithophila and Philoxerus appear as successive sisters of the Australian species of Gomphrena. The majority of Andean species appears in a large clade including annual and perennial species. The Cerrado species Gomphrena mollis and G. rupestris, which are C3, constitute an early-branching lineage, whereas the core Gomphrena clade is C4 and has the inner two sepals strongly compressed as synapomorphy. A major subclade evolved inflorescences with subglobose paracladia in a whorl, supported by pseudanthial leaves. Whereas the core Gomphrena clade started to diversify around 11.4 Ma (8.45–14.5 95% highest posterior density [HPD]) the Australian lineage split at only 4.8 Ma (2.61–7.18 HPD). Our detailed phylogenetic analysis of Gomphrena depicts 10 major lineages including segregate genera. We hypothesize that an adaptation to costal habitats was followed by long-distance dispersal to Australia. We also propose a revised genus concept of Gomphrena including Gossypianthus, Lithophila and Philoxerus, considering that these small segregate genera were based on states of vegetative characters exhibiting adaptations to specific habitats rather than phylogeny and overall morphology. Citation: Ortuño Limarino T. & Borsch Th. 2020: Gomphrena (Amaranthaceae, Gomphrenoideae) diversified as a C4 lineage in the New World tropics with specializations in floral and inflorescence morphology, and an escape to Australia. – Willdenowia 50: 345–381. doi: https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50301 Version of record first published online on 31 August 2020 ahead of inclusion in December 2020 issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its contribution to plant drought tolerance, arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) may play an important role in the revegetation of degraded pastures in semi-arid and arid regions. Salsola laricina, an important forage plant in Iran, belongs to predominantly non-mycotrophic Chenopodiaceae, but field observations suggest that it forms functional mycorrhizae. We therefore, established a greenhouse experiment to test the mycorrhizal response of this species at four levels of soil moisture and to determine the contribution of AM to the drought tolerance of this species. The plants were grown in sterilized soil and either left non-inoculated or inoculated with four AM fungal isolates originating from an S. laricina field site to investigate also the functional variability of sympatric AM fungal species. Root colonization of S. laricina by AM fungi was found in all the inoculated treatments, and mycorrhizae clearly improved the plants' growth and P uptake. The mycorrhizal responses, i.e., the differences between mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants, were most pronounced at the lowest soil moisture level of 25% field capacity, which strongly suggests that mycorrhiza contributes to the drought tolerance of S. laricina. Differential effects of the four inoculated AM fungal isolates, independent of their root colonization levels, indicate differential compatibility of the isolates with this host plant species. The findings of the study have important implications for the revegetation of degraded pastures with S. laricina, as they show that AM should be considered in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive and complex links exist between transposable elements (TEs) and satellite DNA (satDNA), which are the two largest fractions of eukaryotic genome. These relationships have a crucial effect on genome structure, function and evolution. Here, we report a novel case of mutual relationships between TEs and satDNA. In the genomes of Chenopodium s. str. species, the deletion derivatives of tnp2 conserved domain of the newly discovered CACTA-like TE Jozin are involved in generating monomers of the most abundant satDNA family of the Chenopodium satellitome. The analysis of the relative positions of satDNA and different TEs utilizing assembled Illumina reads revealed several associations between satDNA arrays and the transposases of putative CACTA-like elements when an ~ 40 bp fragment of tnp2 served as the start monomer of the satDNA array. The high degree of identity of the consensus satDNA monomers of the investigated species and the tnp2 fragment (from 82.1 to 94.9%) provides evidence of the genesis of CficCl-61-40 satDNA family monomers from analogous regions of their respective parental elements. The results were confirmed via molecular genetic methods and Oxford Nanopore sequencing. The discovered phenomenon leads to the continuous replenishment of species genomes with new identical satDNA monomers, which in turn may increase species satellitomes similarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land surface models are essential parts of climate and weather models. The widely used Noah-MP land surface model requires information on the leaf area index (LAI) and green vegetation fraction (GVF) as key inputs of its evapotranspiration scheme. The model aggregates all agricultural areas into a land use class termed "cropland and pasture". In a previous study we showed that, on a regional scale, the GVF has a bimodal distribution formed by two crop groups differing in phenology and growth dynamics: early-covering crops (ECC; e.g., winter wheat, winter rapeseed, winter barley) and late-covering crops (LCC; e.g., corn, silage maize, sugar beet). That result can be generalized for central Europe. The present study quantifies the effect of splitting the land use class cropland and pasture of Noah-MP into ECC and LCC on surface energy fluxes and temperature. We further studied the influence of increasing the LCC share, which in the study area (the Kraichgau region, southwest Germany) is mainly the result of heavily subsidized biomass production, on energy partitioning at the land surface. We used the GVF dynamics derived from high-resolution (5 m × 5 m) RapidEye satellite data and measured LAI data for the simulations. Our results confirm that the GVF and LAI strongly influence the partitioning of surface energy fluxes, resulting in pronounced differences between simulations of ECC and LCC. Splitting up the generic crop into ECC and LCC had the strongest effect on land surface exchange processes in July–August. During this period, ECC are at the senescence growth stage or already harvested, while LCC have a well-developed ground-covering canopy. The generic crop resulted in humid bias, i.e., an increase in evapotranspiration by + 0.5 mm d -1 (latent heat flux is 1.3 MJ m -2 d -1), decrease in sensible heat flux (H) by 1.2 MJ m -2 d -1 and decrease in surface temperature by - 1 ∘ C. The bias increased as the shares of ECC and LCC became similar. The observed differences will impact the simulations of processes in the planetary boundary layer. Increasing the LCC share from 28 % to 38 % in the Kraichgau region led to a decrease in latent heat flux (LE) and a heating up of the land surface in the early growing season. Over the second part of the season, LE increased and the land surface cooled down by up to 1 ∘ C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis of few-layer graphene from graphite typically uses N, N methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) or dimethylformamide (DMF) due to the strong affinity of both solvents for graphite. However, NMP and DMF are known as carcinogens and a long-time exposure to these substances may subject users to potential risk of major health issue later. Therefore, a replacement with dispersing solvent that is not only harmless but also able to exfoliate graphite at an excellent concentration yield must be outlined for a sustainable mass-production of graphene. In this work, we have successfully exfoliated graphite to few-layer graphene with a recorded yield concentration of up to 0.75°mg/ml (2.5°h) just by using extracted red spinach/water mixture as an exfoliating medium. The prepared graphene was found to possess less structural defect (I D /I G : 0.5) and high C/O ratio (6.8) and can be used further as an electrical conductive ink for smart "Sticky Note" sensor. The fabricated device was able to detect strain and temperature with gauge factor and temperature coefficient resistance of 23.5 and −32.14 × 10-4°Ω/°;C, respectively. We believe that this study would be useful for the preparation of environmental-friendly graphene that is not only strain and thermally sensitive but also producible at low -cost. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Efforts are currently directed towards improving the quality of vegetables after freezing and thawing. One of the methods under investigation is isochoric freezing. In this study, we evaluated isochoric freezing for preserving the quality of baby‐leaf spinach. We compared the properties of thawed spinach frozen to −4°C in an isochoric system with those of fresh spinach, thawed spinach frozen to −4°C in an isobaric system and thawed spinach that were commercially frozen. Spinach leaves frozen under isobaric conditions lost mass and thickness, making them softer and translucent. They also lost much of their nutrient content. In comparison, isochoric freezing maintained cell integrity and turgidity. Thawed leaves remained crunchy with characteristics similar to fresh leaves. Isochoric freezing also preserved nutritional content better than isobaric freezing, although significant nutrient losses still occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rust disease was observed on populations of Suaeda californica near Morro Bay, California. The pathogen was identified as a species of Uromyces based on teliospore and urediniospore morphology and nuc 28S rDNA sequence analysis. The isolate was compared with previously described species of Uromyces that infect members of Chenopodiaceae, prompting a taxonomic reevaluation of Uromyces species on Suaeda. Herein, Uromyces rebeccae is described. It can be differentiated from the closely related U. chenopodii (syn.: Aecidium chenopodii-fruticosi; U. giganteus) based on host range, teliospore morphology, and 28S sequence data. The new combination, Uromyces chenopodii-fruticosi, is made for Aecidium chenopodii-fruticosi, the oldest name for Eurasian Suaeda rust. Finally, it was determined that U. giganteus likely does not occur in the United States and that the rust of S. taxifolia in the United States likely comprises a third, yet unnamed taxon, different from both U. rebeccae and U. chenopodii-fruticosi. This is the first record of a rust fungus on S. californica. An identification key for Uromyces species reported on Chenopodiaceae is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Convolvulus sepium (hedge bindweed) detection in sugar beet fields remains a challenging problem due to variation in appearance of plants, illumination changes, foliage occlusions, and different growth stages under field conditions. Current approaches for weed and crop recognition, segmentation and detection rely predominantly on conventional machine-learning techniques that require a large set of hand-crafted features for modelling. These might fail to generalize over different fields and environments. Results: Here, we present an approach that develops a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) based on the tiny YOLOv3 architecture for C. sepium and sugar beet detection. We generated 2271 synthetic images, before combining these images with 452 field images to train the developed model. YOLO anchor box sizes were calculated from the training dataset using a k-means clustering approach. The resulting model was tested on 100 field images, showing that the combination of synthetic and original field images to train the developed model could improve the mean average precision (mAP) metric from 0.751 to 0.829 compared to using collected field images alone. We also compared the performance of the developed model with the YOLOv3 and Tiny YOLO models. The developed model achieved a better trade-off between accuracy and speed. Specifically, the average precisions (APs@IoU0.5) of C. sepium and sugar beet were 0.761 and 0.897 respectively with 6.48 ms inference time per image (800 × 1200) on a NVIDIA Titan X GPU environment. Conclusion: The developed model has the potential to be deployed on an embedded mobile platform like the Jetson TX for online weed detection and management due to its high-speed inference. It is recommendable to use synthetic images and empirical field images together in training stage to improve the performance of models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One new aryldihydronaphthalene-type lignan (1) together with eight known lignans (2-4, 7–11) as well as two caffeic-acid dimers (5, 6) were isolated from an ethanol extract of the whole plant of Corispermum mongolicum Iljin (Chenopodiaceae). The chemical structures of these compounds were determined from 1D and 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS spectra, and results were compared with data from the literature. This study is the first demonstration of nine compounds (2 and 4–11) isolated from the Chenopodiaceae family, with one of these (3) from the genus Corispermum. Anti-inflammatory effects of the isolated compounds were evaluated in terms of inhibition of production of nitric oxide, tumour necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6 in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flowers with more petals are of more ornamental value. It is well known that AGAMOUS (AG) is the core member of the C-class gene which plays an essential role in double flower formation and identification of stamens and carpels in Arabidopsis thaliana. We searched C-class genes in the genome of the carnation, and found two AG orthologs (DcaAGa, DcaAGb). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the two genes were closely related to the euAG subclade. Then we searched the genomes of other Caryophyllales plants (Beta vulgaris, Spinacia oleracea, Chenopodium quinoa) for C-class genes, and found that their C-class genes all belonged to the euAG subclade. Semi-quantitative PCR (sq-PCR) analysis indicated that the expression of DcaAG genes in the single flower phenotype was higher than that in the double flower phenotype. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the expressions of DcaAG genes in the flower bud were significantly different from those in the root, stem, and leaf between the single and double flower phenotype carnations, and that DcaAG genes were specifically expressed in the stamen and carpel of carnation. Moreover, the expression of other floral organ identity genes (AP1 and AP2, PI and AP3, SEP1 and SEP3 corresponding to the A-, B-, and E-class of genes, respectively) showed no significant difference in all floral organs between the single and double flower phenotype carnations, suggesting that C-class (DcaAG) genes might play an important role in the double flower phenotype in carnation. Petal loss or decrease, precocious flowering, silique shortening, and seed sterility were observed in 35S::DcaAGa and 35S::DcaAGb transgenic Arabidopsis plants. All these results show that DcaAG genes might affect the petal number negatively and have a specific function in stamen and carpel development in carnation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present communication deals with the new record of Spoladea recurvalis (Fabricius, 1775) the Beet Webworm moth, from Forest Research Institute Campus and Vijay Park, Western Dehra Dun (Uttarakhand), Aligarh Muslim University Campus (Uttar Pradesh)and Beldih Club area, Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) with systemactics, distribution, host plants and biological control. It is an invasive species attacking the host plants, mostly Amaranthus spp. and is naturally controlled to some extent bywaps, flies, nematodes, bacteriaand fungi, parasitizing larvae/eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to climate change, sustainability has become the keyword for exploring alternative ways of cultivation in different parts of the world. However, local farmers still understand these sustainable alternatives in terms of soil nutrients and their absorption by crops. I examine how sugar beet farmers in western Poland read the condition of crops and field conditions, and accordingly try to cope with agricultural droughts in spring and early summer. While they maintain a practical position that is extremely inductivist, they simultaneously allow for symbolic, indexical meanings. These meanings of farming practices are multilayered and evoke relationships, local histories, and traditions. The farmers accept the reality of climate change only hesitantly, and their aspiration of gaining recognition in Europe has only started to penetrate the multilayered indexical meanings of farming practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In peri-urban areas, the use of wastewater for crop production is a common practice due to water scarcity. Moreover, in the recent years, large quantity of wastewater generation and discharge as industrial effluent in water resources is another issue for reduction of water quality. The leather industries are significantly contributing chromium (Cr) in effluent, whereas, other industries may have salt and cationic load in their discharges are mixed up. Therefore, it is mandatory to study the interactive effect of different effluent constituents on crop plants. In this connection, a pot culture experiment was conducted at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal to compute the effect of application of calcium (Ca) and sodium (Na) ions on Cr uptake by spinach crop in Vertisol of central India. Three levels of Cr (0, 50, 100 mg kg−1), calcium (0, 2, 4 mM), and sodium (0, 40, 80 mM) were applied in combinations. The spinach variety All Green was used as a test crop and harvested at full maturity. Results showed that application of Ca and Na reduced the Cr uptake in spinach crop. The reduction of Cr uptake was more in the root than shoot. Applied calcium acted as an essential plant nutrient and enhanced the crop biomass. Sole applications of Na adversely affected the crop biomass and Cr uptake in both root and shoot of spinach. In conclusion, application of Ca fertilizers reduced the Cr toxicity in spinach and could be used as a strategy for the safe utilization of tannery industrial effluents for crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chenopodiaceae is one of the families including C4 species among eudicots. In this family, the genus Chenopodium is considered to include only C3 species. However, we report here a transition from C3 photosynthesis to proto-Kranz to C3–C4 intermediate type in Chenopodium. We investigated leaf anatomical and photosynthetic traits of 15 species, of which 8 species showed non-Kranz anatomy and a CO2 compensation point (Γ) typical of C3 plants. However, 5 species showed proto-Kranz anatomy and a C3-like Γ, whereas C. strictum showed leaf anatomy and a Γ typical of C3–C4 intermediates. Chenopodium album accessions examined included both proto-Kranz and C3–C4 intermediate types, depending on locality. Glycine decarboxylase, a key photorespiratory enzyme that is involved in the decarboxylation of glycine, was located predominantly in the mesophyll (M) cells of C3 species, in both M and bundle-sheath (BS) cells in proto-Kranz species, and exclusively in BS cells in C3–C4 intermediate species. The M/BS tissue area ratio, number of chloroplasts and mitochondria per BS cell, distribution of these organelles to the centripetal region of BS cells, the degree of inner positioning (vacuolar side of chloroplasts) of mitochondria in M cells, and the size of BS mitochondria also changed with the change in glycine decarboxylase localization. All Chenopodium species examined were C3-like regarding activities and amounts of C3 and C4 photosynthetic enzymes and δ13C values, suggesting that these species perform photosynthesis without contribution of the C4 cycle. This study demonstrates that Chenopodium is not a C3 genus and is valuable for studying evolution of C3–C4 intermediates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic activities have resulted in severe environmental degradation. Untreated wastewater from tanneries is hazardous to all kinds of life on earth. Effluent from tanning industries, containing large amount of Cr, is used to irrigate the crops in Pakistan. The current experiment was carried out to study the effects of tannery wastewater on spinach and the role of lysine-Zn in mitigating the severity of stress. The plants were grown in soil and the following treatments were used: irrigation with 0%, 33%, 66%, and 100% wastewater (ww) along with two doses (0 mM, 10 mM) of Zn-lysine. Foliar application of zinc-lysine enhanced the plant growth, biomass, Zn contents, photosynthesis, and enzyme activities in different tissues of plant. Zinc-lysine (10 mM) considerably decreased the Cr content in roots and shoots, along with ameliorating the oxidative stress by enhancing the activities of antioxidant enzymes in plants. Addition of Zn-lys (10 mM) improved the plant height by 19%, root length by 57%, leaf dry weight by 19%, and root dry weight by33% under 100% Cr treatment. Zn-lys significantly reduces the oxidative stress and concentration of Cr as compared with the Cr treatments alone. Application of Zn-lys (10 mM) reduced the Cr contents in roots by 27 and 22 under 33 and 66% Cr treatment, respectively. Taken together, Zn-lys chelates efficiently ameliorated the toxic effects of chromium. Zn-lysine has the extravagant potential of mitigating the heavy metal toxicity without harming the normal growth and development of the plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Biochemistry & Cell Biology is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The peculiarities of the prevalence of C4 species in the relief of the Kyzylkum Desert were revealed based on botanical and geographical descriptions. In the lowlands (0–50 m above sea level), a predominance of C3 halophytes was found, while halophytes with C4 photosynthesis began to predominate at medium elevations (50–200 m above sea level). Above 200 m above sea level, a sharp decline in the contribution of halophilic flora to the biodiversity of native vegetation was detected. Thus, the penetration of halophytes above 200 m is limited by the presence of C4 photosynthesis as an adaptive characteristic to soil desalinization. A decrease in the succulence of leaf morphology in edificatory perennial plants of the Kyzylkum Desert (tamarix, saxaul, and camel thorn) was noted with a decrease in soil salinization. In the summer dry period, C4 photosynthesis provides a competitive advantage over C3 halophytes for survival on desalinated soils of elevated parts of the terrain desiccated during the summer. It was concluded that the acquisition of C4 photosynthesis by halophilic species is an adaptation of the photosynthesis of halophilic flora to seasonal desalinization and drying of the soil of the elevated parts of the Kyzylkum Desert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of the sugar beet in the Republic of Moldova (RM) in the last ten years decreased considerably. The world and Moldovan sugar consumption is increasing, therefore making sugar beet an important crop for sugar production. Sugar beet production, as one of the main industrial crops with a significant share in earnings, has an impact on the manufacturing sector of the country. Based on the crop significance, the scope of this research is to forecast the sugar beet production. Five years of forecast were computed for sugar beet production (Yt) in the RM. The research was conducted by the help of data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics. Six time series models were run to find the best solution for Yt forecast. Three of the models were considered the most appropriate. These are: Exponential function trend, Quadratic function trend and Holt's method. The AIC (Akaike Information Criterion), SBC (Schwarz Bayesian Criterion) and R2 (coefficient of determination) explained that 77,5% of data showed to be optimal for Yt forecast in Holt's method. As a result, the forecast was based on Holt's methodology for time series with trend. Consequently, it was found that Yt will decrease by approximately 15 thousand tonnes by 2022. However, as the data is based on past assumptions, there still exists hope that the production of sugar beet will increase. The same is considered for the average yield, which at the moment is twice lower than in the European Union countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unknown whether phenotypic plasticity in fitness‐related traits is associated with salinity–sodicity tolerance. This study compared growth and allocation phenotypic plasticity in two species with low salinity–sodicity tolerance (Chenopodium acuminatum and C. stenophyllum) and two species with high salinity–sodicity tolerance (Suaeda glauca and S. salsa) in a pot experiment in the Songnen grassland, China. While the species with low tolerance had higher growth and allocation plasticity than the highly tolerant species, the highly tolerant species only adjusted their growth traits and maintained higher fitness (e.g., plant height and total biomass) in response to increased soil salinity–sodicity, with low biomass allocation plasticity. Most plasticity is "apparent" plasticity (ontogenetic change), and only a few traits, for example, plant height:stem diameter ratio and root:shoot biomass ratio, represent "real" plasticity (real change in response to the environment). Our results show that phenotypic plasticity was negatively correlated with saline–sodic tolerance and could be used as an index of species sensitivity to soil salinity–sodicity. The phenotypic plasticity of fitness‐related traits was found negatively associated with saline–sodic tolerance of plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural and molecular parameters of photosynthetic apparatus in plants with different strategies for the accumulation of salts were investigated. The objects of the study were euhalophytes (Salicornia perennans, Suaeda salsa, Halocnemum strobilaceum), a crynohalophyte (Limonium gmelinii) and a glycohalophyte (Artemisia santonica). The euhalophytes S. perennans and S. salsa belong to plants of the halosucculent type, while the other three species represent the xerophilic type. Larger cells with a great number of chloroplasts, a high content of membrane glycerolipids and unsaturated C18:3 fatty acid and smaller pigment and light-harvesting complexes characterize the features of euhalophytes with a succulent leaf type. Therefore, the features of the halophyte photosynthetic apparatus structure are closely related to its functional indicators and are defined by a strategy in both the accumulation of salts and the method of water regime regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 4.2 ka BP event has been widely investigated since it was suggested to be a possible cause for the collapse of ancient civilizations. With the growth of proxy records for decades, however, both its nature and its spatial pattern have become controversial. Here we examined multi-proxy data of the grain-size distribution, ostracode assemblage, pollen assemblage, and the pollen-reconstructed mean annual precipitation from a sediment core at Hulun Lake in northeastern Inner Mongolia spanning the period between 5000 and 3000 cal. yr BP to identify the nature and the associated mechanism of the 4.2 ka BP event occurring in the monsoonal region of eastern Asia. Higher sand fraction contents, littoral ostracode abundances, and Chenopodiaceae pollen percentages together with lower mean annual precipitation reveal a significant dry event at the interval of 4210-3840 cal. yr BP that could be a regional manifestation of the 4.2 ka BP event in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). We suggest that the drought would be caused by a decline in the intensity of the EASM on millennial-to-centennial scales that could be physically related to persistent cooling of surface waters in the western tropical Pacific and the North Atlantic. The cooling of western tropical Pacific surface waters could reduce moisture production over the source area of the EASM, while the cooling of North Atlantic surface waters could suppress northward migrations of the EASM rain belt, both leading to a weakened EASM and thus decreased rainfall in the northern margin of the EASM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Models of vegetation dynamics framed as testable hypotheses provide powerful tools for predicting vegetation change in response to contemporary disturbances or climate change. Synthesizing existing information and applying new data, we develop a conceptual model of vegetation states and transitions for the previously overlooked woodlands dominated by obligate‐seeder eucalypts of dry to semi‐arid south‐western Australia. These comprise the largest extant temperate woodland globally, are uniquely dominated by a high diversity of obligate‐seeder eucalypts (55 taxa), but are under threat from wildfire. Our conceptual model incorporates four critical ecological processes that also distinguish obligate‐seeder woodlands from temperate woodlands dominated by resprouting eucalypts: (i) a lack of well‐protected epicormic buds results in major disturbances (prominently fire) being stand‐replacing. The pre‐disturbance tree cohort is killed, followed by dense post‐disturbance recruitment from seed shed from a serotinous seed bank; (ii) competition between saplings leads to self‐thinning over a multi‐century timeframe, with surviving individuals having great longevity (regularly >400 years); (iii) multiple processes limit recruitment in the absence of stand‐replacement disturbances, leading to frequent single‐cohort stands. However, unlike the few other obligate‐seeder eucalypt communities, trickle recruitment in very long‐unburnt stands can facilitate indefinite community persistence in the absence of stand‐replacement disturbances; and (iv) discontinuous fuels, relatively low understorey flammability (low grass and often high chenopod cover) and topographic barriers to fire (salt lakes) allow mature woodlands to persist for centuries without burning. Notably though, evidence suggests that flammability peaks at intermediate times since fire, establishing a ‘flammability bottleneck’ (or landscape fire trap) through which regenerating woodlands must pass. Our model provides a framework to support management to conserve obligate‐seeder eucalypt woodlands. Research into reasons for exceptional tree heights relative to ecosystem productivity, the evolution of diverse and dominant obligate‐seeder eucalypts, the paucity of grass, and the recent spatial distribution of fires, will further inform conservation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haplothrips navvabi sp. n. is described from two Chenopodiaceae plants from southern Iran. The new species is close to the Australian and New Zealand species, H. salicorniae and is the second member of subgenus Haplothrips ( Trybomiella) in Iran. Illustrations are provided and H. navvabi is compared with related species in the genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-ordination between the primary carboxylating enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) and the further decarboxylating enzymes is crucial to the efficiency of the CO2-concentrating mechanism in C4 plants, and investigations on more types of C4 plants are needed to fully understand their adaptation mechanisms. In this study we investigated the effect of drought on carboxylating enzyme PEPC, and the further decarboxylating NAD-malic enzyme (NAD-ME) of Salsola lanata Pall. (Chenopodiaceae) - an annual succulent C4-NAD-ME subtype desert plant. We investigated enzyme activity at the transcriptional level with real-time quantitative PCR and at the translational level by immunochemical methods, and compared S. lanata with other forms of studied C4 plants under drought stress. Results showed that only severe stress limited PEPC enzyme activity (at pH 8.0) of S. lanata significantly. Considering that PEPC enzyme activity (at pH 8.0) was not significantly affected by phosphorylation, the decrease of PEPC enzyme activity (at pH 8.0) of S. lanata under severe stress may be related with decreased PEPC mRNA. The suggestion of increased phosphorylation of the PEPC enzyme in plants under moderate stress was supported by the ratio of PEPC enzyme activity at pH 7.3/8.0, as PEPC enzyme is inhibited by L-malate and the evidence of the 50% inhibiting concentration of L-malate. NAD-ME activity decreased significantly under moderate and severe stress, and coincided with a change of leaf water content rather than the amount of α-NAD-ME mRNA and protein. Leaf dehydration may cause the decrease of NAD-ME activity under water stress. Compared with other C4 plants, the activities of PEPC and NAD-ME of S. lanata under drought stress showed distinct features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context:Salsola imbricataForssk. (Chenopodiaceae) has folkloric repute for the treatment of various gastrointestinal and respiratory ailments. Objective:The present study investigates spasmolytic and bronchorelaxant effects ofS. imbricata. Materials and methods:The crude aqueous-ethanol extract of the aerial parts ofS. imbricataand its fractions, in cumulative concentrations (0.01–10 mg/mL), were tested on contractions of isolated rabbit jejunum and tracheal preparations. Furthermore, concentration response curves (CRCs) of Ca+2and carbachol were constructed in the absence and presence of the extract. Standard organ bath methods were used. Results:The crude extract relaxed spontaneous, K+ (80 mM) and carbachol (1 μM)-induced contractions in jejunum preparations with respective EC50values of 0.40 (0.35–0.46), 0.69 (0.60–0.79) and 0.66 (0.57–0.75) mg/mL. It shifted Ca+2CRCs rightward in nonparallel manner. In isolated tracheal preparations, the crude extract caused relaxation of K+ (80 mM) and carbachol (1 μM)-induced contractions with EC50values of 0.86 (0.75–0.98) and 0.74 (0.66–0.84) mg/mL, respectively. It displaced carbachol CRCs rightward with suppression of maximal response. In both tissues, pretreatment with propranolol (1 μM) caused rightward shift in inhibitory CRCs of the extract against carbachol-induced contractions. The ethyl acetate fraction was found more potent in relaxing smooth muscle contractions than the parent extract and its aqueous fraction. Discussion and conclusion:The results suggest that the spasmolytic and bronchorelaxant activities ofS. imbricataare related to Ca+2antagonistic and β-adrenergic agonistic effects, thus justifying some of the traditional uses of the plant. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

C4 photosynthesis is a carbon-concentrating mechanism that evolved independently more than 60 times in a wide range of angiosperm lineages. Among other alterations, the evolution of C4 from ancestral C3 photosynthesis requires changes in the expression of a vast number of genes. Differential gene expression analyses between closely related C3 and C4 species have significantly increased our understanding of C4 functioning and evolution. In Chenopodiaceae, a family that is rich in C4 origins and photosynthetic types, the anatomy, physiology and phylogeny of C4, C2, and C3 species of Salsoleae has been studied in great detail, which facilitated the choice of six samples of five representative species with different photosynthetic types for transcriptome comparisons. mRNA from assimilating organs of each species was sequenced in triplicates, and sequence reads were de novo assembled. These novel genetic resources were then analyzed to provide a better understanding of differential gene expression between C3, C2 and C4 species. All three analyzed C4 species belong to the NADP-ME type as most genes encoding core enzymes of this C4 cycle are highly expressed. The abundance of photorespiratory transcripts is decreased compared to the C3 and C2 species. Like in other C4 lineages of Caryophyllales, our results suggest that PEPC1 is the C4-specific isoform in Salsoleae. Two recently identified transporters from the PHT4 protein family may not only be related to the C4 syndrome, but also active in C2 photosynthesis in Salsoleae. In the two populations of the C2 species S. divaricata transcript abundance of several C4 genes are slightly increased, however, a C4 cycle is not detectable in the carbon isotope values. Most of the core enzymes of photorespiration are highly increased in the C2 species compared to both C3 and C4 species, confirming a successful establishment of the C2 photosynthetic pathway. Furthermore, a function of PEP-CK in C2 photosynthesis appears likely, since PEP-CK gene expression is not only increased in S. divaricata but also in C2 species of other groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emended description of Chenopodiastrum S. Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch, a small segregate genus of the heterogeneous Linnaean genus Chenopodium, is provided and morphological characters used in the generic description are evaluated. Two species are transferred from Chenopodium to Chenopodiastrum for which two new combinations, Chenopodiastrum erosum (R. Br.) Uotila and C. gracilispicum (H.W. Kung) Uotila, are made. The descriptions of these species are emended and their relationships within the genus discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental conditions in coastal salt marsh habitats have led to the development of specialist genetic adaptations. We evaluated six DNA barcode loci of the 53 species of Poaceae and 15 species of Chenopodiaceae from China's coastal salt marsh area and inland area. Our results indicate that the optimum DNA barcode was ITS for coastal salt-tolerant Poaceae and matK for the Chenopodiaceae. Sampling strategies for ten common species of Poaceae and Chenopodiaceae were analyzed according to optimum barcode. We found that by increasing the number of samples collected from the coastal salt marsh area on the basis of inland samples, the number of haplotypes of Arundinella hirta, Digitaria ciliaris, Eleusine indica, Imperata cylindrica, Setaria viridis, and Chenopodium glaucum increased, with a principal coordinate plot clearly showing increased distribution points. The results of a Mann-Whitney test showed that for Digitaria ciliaris, Eleusine indica, Imperata cylindrica, and Setaria viridis, the distribution of intraspecific genetic distances was significantly different when samples from the coastal salt marsh area were included (P < 0.01). These results suggest that increasing the sample size in specialist habitats can improve measurements of intraspecific genetic diversity, and will have a positive effect on the application of the DNA barcodes in widely distributed species. The results of random sampling showed that when sample size reached 11 for Chloris virgata, Chenopodium glaucum, and Dysphania ambrosioides, 13 for Setaria viridis, and 15 for Eleusine indica, Imperata cylindrica and Chenopodium album, average intraspecific distance tended to reach stability. These results indicate that the sample size for DNA barcode of globally distributed species should be increased to 11–15. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This work describes the phytochemical and biological investigation of the Tunisian Atriplex inflata F. Muell (Chenopodiaceae). Methods Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D NMR and 2D NMR, ESI- HRMS and comparison with available literature data. The isolates were evaluated for their antioxidant activity by the DPPH•, ABTS+•, Fe3+ and catalase assays and also for their antibacterial and anticholinesterase activity. Key findings The chemical study of Atriplex inflata F. Muell led to the isolation of two fatty acids (9 E)-methyl-8,11,12-trihydroxyoctadec-9-enoate 1 and (9 E)-8,11,12-trihydroxyoctadecenoic acid 2 together with ( Z)-litchiol B 3 and 20-hydroxyecdysone 4. Three of which are reported here for the first time in Atriplex genus. Based on the biosynthesis of hydroxylated arachidonic acid and derivatives, a plausible biogenesis pathway of the two fatty acids ( 1 and 2) was proposed. (Z)-litchiol B ( 3) was found to be the most active against Staphylococcus aureus. According to the literature, this is the first time that compounds 1, 2 and 3 were tested for their eventual biological activity. Conclusions In the results of the present work, we have proposed the biogenesis pathway of unsaturated fatty acid and described the structure-activity relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Thi-Qar Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Salicornioideae (Amaranthaceae/Chenopodiaceae) comprise 11 genera and ca. 100 species of succulent halophytes distributed worldwide in coastal and inland saline habitats. Most species have peculiar articulated, seemingly leafless stems and spike-like sessile thyrses with highly reduced flowers hidden by fleshy bracts. We analysed sequence data of four markers (ETS, ITS, atpB-rbcL, matK-trnK) from 57 species, 9 subspecies, 1 variety and 2 hybrids representing all curently accepted genera using maximum likelihood, Bayesian analysis, fossil-calibrated molecular dating and ancestral area analysis. All molecular markers gave similar phylogenet ic signals. Salicornioideae probably or iginated in Eurasia during the late Eocene--early Oligocene. The divergence of the early main clades took place in the middle Oligocene with the separation of Allenrolfea/Heterostachys, Halocnemum/Halopeplis/Halostachys/Kalidium and Arthrocnemum/Microcnemum/Tecticornia/Salicornia/ Sarcocornia lineages. The latter lineage diversified most and comprises 3/4 of the species of the subfamily. The Arthrocnemum macrostachyum/Microcnemum lineage diverged at the turn of the Oligocene/ Miocene -- while the Arthrocnemum subterminale, Tecticornia and Salicornia/Sarcocornia lineages were all present by the middle Miocene. Long-distance dispersal has taken place several t imes to the Amer icas (Allenrolfea/Heterostachys, Arthrocnemum subterminale, Salicornia/Sarcocornia), South Africa (Halopeplis, Salicornia/Sarcocornia) and Australia (Tecticornia, Salicornia/Sarcocornia). Most currently accepted genera were resolved as monophyletic. However, Sarcocornia is paraphyletic in relation to Salicornia, and Arthrocnemum proved to be polyphyletic. In addition, the name Arthrocnemum is a nomenclatural synonym of Salicornia. As a consequence, we propose the merging of Sarcocornia under Salicornia and provide 19 new nomenclatural combinations and one replacement name. For Salicornia (incl. Sarcocornia) we propose a new infrageneric classification to accommodate the four phylogenetically and geographically well-supported sublineages of the genus. We also propose abandoning the name Arthrocnemum in its current use, and describe two new genera, Arthrocaulon (Eurasia, Africa) and Arthroceras (North America), and provide three new nomenclatural combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some species of Salsoleae (Chenopodiaceae) convert from C3 photosynthesis during the seedling stage to the C4 pathway in adult leaves. This unique developmental transition of photosynthetic pathways offers the exceptional opportunity to follow the development of the derived C4 syndrome from the C3 condition within individual plants, avoiding phylogenetic noise. Here we investigate Salsola soda, a little-studied species from tribe Salsoleae, using an ontogenetic approach. Anatomical sections, carbon isotope (δ13C) values, transcriptome analysis by means of mRNA sequencing, and protein levels of the key C4 enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) were examined from seed to adult plant stages. Despite a previous report, our results based on δ13C values, anatomy and transcriptomics clearly indicate a C3 phase during the cotyledon stage. During this stage, the entire transcriptional repertoire of the C4 NADP-malic enzyme type is detected at low levels compared to a significant increase in true leaves. In contrast, abundance of transcripts encoding most of the major photorespiratory enzymes is not significantly decreased in leaves compared to cotyledons. PEPC polypeptide was detected only in leaves, correlating with increased PEPC transcript abundance from the cotyledon to leaf stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tremendous interspecific genome size variation is a well known phenomenon, whereas genome size within a species is supposed to be exceptionally stable and thus useful as a taxonomic trait. Using DAPI flow cytometry, we tested the stability of genome size in various representatives of Chenopodium s.s. (Amaranthaceae) across a broad geographical range (from Portugal to eastern Russia) in Eurasia. We sampled 1977 Chenopodium individuals of four different ploidies (di-, tetra-, hexa- and decaploids) from 347 populations. Intraspecific relative genome size variation was low, ranging from 2.0% in C. probstii to 7.7% in C. album, even in the species with broad distributions. We distinguished 12 homogeneous relative genome size groups among the 17 Chenopodium spp. tested. Genome size is useful for distinguishing certain morphologically similar groups of species such as C. suecicum/ C. album, C. vulvaria/ C. pamiricum- C. iljinii/ C. sosnowskyi/ C. karoi. Due to its genome size stability, the cosmopolitan species C. album can be used as an alternative internal standard in flow-cytometric analyses with the additional advantages of annual life cycle, self-compatibility and common occurrence all over the world. Finally, we did not detect any sign of hybridization between Chenopodium spp. of different ploidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]