Cycling Dof Factors: Molecular and functional characterization of Arabidopsis thaliana AtCDF3 and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) SlCDF3 in response to abiotic stress

El tomate (Solanum lycopersicum L.) es considerado uno de los cultivos hortícolas de mayor importancia económica en el territorio Español. Sin embargo, su producción está seriamente afectada por condiciones ambientales adversas como, salinidad, sequía y temperaturas extremas. Para resolver los problemas que se presentan en condiciones de estrés, se han empleado una serie de técnicas culturales que disminuyen sus efectos negativos, siendo de gran interés el desarrollo de variedades tolerantes. En este sentido la obtención y análisis de plantas transgénicas, ha supuesto un avance tecnológico, que ha facilitado el estudio y la evaluación de genes seleccionados en relación con la tolerancia al estrés. Estudios recientes han mostrado que el uso de genes reguladores como factores de transcripción (FTs) es una gran herramienta para obtener nuevas variedades de tomate con mayor tolerancia a estreses abióticos. Las proteínas DOF (DNA binding with One Finger) son una familia de FTs específica de plantas (Yangisawa, 2002), que están involucrados en procesos fisiológicos exclusivos de plantas como: asimilación del nitrógeno y fijación del carbono fotosintético, germinación de semilla, metabolismo secundario y respuesta al fotoperiodo pero su preciso rol en la tolerancia a estrés abiótico se desconoce en gran parte. El trabajo descrito en esta tesis tiene como objetivo estudiar genes reguladores tipo DOF para incrementar la tolerancia a estrés abiotico tanto en especies modelo como en tomate. En el primer capítulo de esta tesis se muestra la caracterización funcional del gen CDF3 de Arabidopsis, así como su papel en la respuesta a estrés abiótico y otros procesos del desarrollo. La expresión del gen AtCDF3 es altamente inducido por sequía, temperaturas extremas, salinidad y tratamientos con ácido abscísico (ABA). La línea de inserción T-DNA cdf3-1 es más sensible al estrés por sequía y bajas temperaturas, mientras que líneas transgénicas de Arabidopsis 35S::AtCDF3 aumentan la tolerancia al estrés por sequía, osmótico y bajas temperaturas en comparación con plantas wild-type (WT). Además, estas plantas presentan un incremento en la tasa fotosintética y apertura estomática. El gen AtCDF3 se localiza en el núcleo y que muestran una unión específica al ADN con diferente afinidad a secuencias diana y presentan diversas capacidades de activación transcripcional en ensayos de protoplastos de Arabidopsis. El dominio C-terminal de AtCDF3 es esencial para esta localización y su capacidad activación, la delección de este dominio reduce la tolerancia a sequía en plantas transgénicas 35S::AtCDF3. Análisis por microarray revelan que el AtCDF3 regula un set de genes involucrados en el metabolismo del carbono y nitrógeno. Nuestros resultados demuestran que el gen AtCDF3 juega un doble papel en la regulación de la respuesta a estrés por sequía y bajas temperaturas y en el control del tiempo de floración. En el segundo capítulo de este trabajo se lleva a cabo la identificación de 34 genes Dof en tomate que se pueden clasificar en base a homología de secuencia en cuatro grupos A-D, similares a los descritos en Arabidopsis. Dentro del grupo D se han identificado cinco genes DOF que presentan características similares a los Cycling Dof Factors (CDFs) de Arabidopsis. Estos genes son considerados ortólogos de Arabidopsis CDF1-5, y han sido nombrados como Solanum lycopersicum CDFs o SlCDFs. Los SlCDF1-5 son proteínas nucleares que muestran una unión específica al ADN con diferente afinidad a secuencias diana y presentan diversas capacidades de activación transcripcional in vivo. Análisis de expresión de los genes SlCDF1-5 muestran diferentes patrones de expresión durante el día y son inducidos de forma diferente en respuesta a estrés osmótico, salino, y de altas y bajas temperaturas. Plantas de Arabidopsis que sobre-expresan SlCDF1 y SlCDF3 muestran un incremento de la tolerancia a la sequía y salinidad. Además, de la expresión de varios genes de respuesta estrés como AtCOR15, AtRD29A y AtERD10, son expresados de forma diferente en estas líneas. La sobre-expresión de SlCDF3 en Arabidopsis promueve un retardo en el tiempo de floración a través de la modulación de la expresión de genes que controlan la floración como CONSTANS (CO) y FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT). En general, nuestros datos demuestran que los SlCDFs están asociados a funciones aun no descritas, relacionadas con la tolerancia a estrés abiótico y el control del tiempo de floración a través de la regulación de genes específicos y a un aumento de metabolitos particulares. ABSTRACT Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the horticultural crops of major economic importance in the Spanish territory. However, its production is being affected by adverse environmental conditions such as salinity, drought and extreme temperatures. To resolve the problems triggered by stress conditions, a number of agricultural techniques that reduce the negative effects of stress are being frequently applied. However, the development of stress tolerant varieties is of a great interest. In this direction, the technological progress in obtaining and analysis of transgenic plants facilitated the study and evaluation of selected genes in relation to stress tolerance. Recent studies have shown that a use of regulatory genes such as transcription factors (TFs) is a great tool to obtain new tomato varieties with greater tolerance to abiotic stresses. The DOF (DNA binding with One Finger) proteins form a family of plant-specific TFs (Yangisawa, 2002) that are involved in the regulation of particular plant processes such as nitrogen assimilation, photosynthetic carbon fixation, seed germination, secondary metabolism and flowering time bur their precise roles in abiotic stress tolerance are largely unknown. The work described in this thesis aims at the study of the DOF type regulatory genes to increase tolerance to abiotic stress in both model species and the tomato. In the first chapter of this thesis, we present molecular characterization of the Arabidopsis CDF3 gene as well as its role in the response to abiotic stress and in other developmental processes. AtCDF3 is highly induced by drought, extreme temperatures, salt and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. The cdf3-1 T-DNA insertion mutant was more sensitive to drought and low temperature stresses, whereas the AtCDF3 overexpression enhanced the tolerance of transgenic plants to drought, cold and osmotic stress comparing to the wild-type (WT) plants. In addition, these plants exhibit increased photosynthesis rates and stomatal aperture. AtCDF3 is localized in the nuclear region, displays specific binding to the canonical DNA target sequences and has a transcriptional activation activity in Arabidopsis protoplast assays. In addition, the C-terminal domain of AtCDF3 is essential for its localization and activation capabilities and the deletion of this domain significantly reduces the tolerance to drought in transgenic 35S::AtCDF3 overexpressing plants. Microarray analysis revealed that AtCDF3 regulated a set of genes involved in nitrogen and carbon metabolism. Our results demonstrate that AtCDF3 plays dual roles in regulating plant responses to drought and low temperature stress and in control of flowering time in vegetative tissues. In the second chapter this work, we carried out to identification of 34 tomato DOF genes that were classified by sequence similarity into four groups A-D, similar to the situation in Arabidopsis. In the D group we have identified five DOF genes that show similar characteristics to the Cycling Dof Factors (CDFs) of Arabidopsis. These genes were considered orthologous to the Arabidopsis CDF1 - 5 and were named Solanum lycopersicum CDFs or SlCDFs. SlCDF1-5 are nuclear proteins that display specific binding to canonical DNA target sequences and have transcriptional activation capacities in vivo. Expression analysis of SlCDF1-5 genes showed distinct diurnal expression patterns and were differentially induced in response to osmotic, salt and low and high temperature stresses. Arabidopsis plants overexpressing SlCDF1 and SlCDF3 showed increased drought and salt tolerance. In addition, various stress-responsive genes, such as AtCOR15, AtRD29A and AtERD10, were expressed differently in these lines. The overexpression of SlCDF3 in Arabidopsis also results in the late flowering phenotype through the modulation of the expression of flowering control genes such CONSTANS (CO) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT). Overall, our data connet SlCDFs to undescribed functions related to abiotic stress tolerance and flowering time through the regulation of specific target genes and an increase in particular metabolites.

Ras Regulates the Polarity of the Yeast Actin Cytoskeleton through the Stress Response Pathway

Polarized growth in yeast requires cooperation between the polarized actin cytoskeleton and delivery of post-Golgi secretory vesicles. We have previously reported that loss of the major tropomyosin isoform, Tpm1p, results in cells sensitive to perturbations in cell polarity. To identify components that bridge these processes, we sought mutations with both a conditional defect in secretion and a partial defect in polarity. Thus, we set up a genetic screen for mutations that conferred a conditional growth defect, showed synthetic lethality with tpm1Δ, and simultaneously became denser at the restrictive temperature, a hallmark of secretion-defective cells. Of the 10 complementation groups recovered, the group with the largest number of independent isolates was functionally null alleles of RAS2. Consistent with this, ras2Δ and tpm1Δ are synthetically lethal at 35°C. We show that ras2Δ confers temperature-sensitive growth and temperature-dependent depolarization of the actin cytoskeleton. Furthermore, we show that at elevated temperatures ras2Δ cells are partially defective in endocytosis and show a delocalization of two key polarity markers, Myo2p and Cdc42p. However, the conditional enhanced density phenotype of ras2Δ cells is not a defect in secretion. All the phenotypes of ras2Δ cells can be fully suppressed by expression of yeast RAS1 or RAS2 genes, human Ha-ras, or the double disruption of the stress response genes msn2Δmsn4Δ. Although the best characterized pathway of Ras function in yeast involves activation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A pathway, activation of the protein kinase A pathway does not fully suppress the actin polarity defects, suggesting that there is an additional pathway from Ras2p to Msn2/4p. Thus, Ras2p regulates cytoskeletal polarity in yeast under conditions of mild temperature stress through the stress response pathway.

The Mechanics of the drawing of polygonal sections from round at elevated temperature

Economic factors such as the rise in cost of raw materials, labour and power, are compelling manufacturers of cold-drawn polygonal sections, to seek new production routes which will enable the expansion in the varieties of metals used and the inclusion of difficult-to-draw materials. One such method generating considerable industrial interest is the drawing of polygonal sections from round at elevated temperature. The technique of drawing mild steel, medium carbon steel and boron steel wire into octagonal, hexagonal and square sections from round at up to 850 deg C and 50% reduction of area in one pass has been established. The main objective was to provide a basic understanding of the process, with particular emphasis being placed on modelling using both experimental and theoretical considerations. Elevated temperature stress-strain data was obtained using a modified torsion testing machine. Data were used in the upper bound solution derived and solved numerically to predict drawing stress strain, strain-rate, temperature and flow stress distribution in the deforming zone for a range of variables. The success of this warm working process will, of course, depend on the use of a satisfactory elevated temperature lubricant, an efficient cooling system, a suitable tool material having good wear and thermal shock resistance and an efficient die profile design which incorporates the principle of least work. The merits and demerits of die materials such as tungsten carbide, chromium carbide, Syalon and Stellite are discussed, principally from the standpoint of minimising drawing force and die wear. Generally, the experimental and theoretical results were in good agreement, the drawing stress could be predicted within close limits and the process proved to be technically feasible. Finite element analysis has been carried out on the various die geometries and die materials, to gain a greater understanding of the behaviour of these dies under the process of elevated temperature drawing, and to establish the temperature distribution and thermal distortion in the deforming zone, thus establishing the optimum die design and die material for the process. It is now possible to predict, for the materials already tested, (i) the optimum drawing temperature range, (ii) the maximum possible reduction of area per pass, (iii) the optimum drawing die profiles and die materials, (iv) the most efficient lubricant in terms of reducing the drawing force and die wear.

Effects of an extreme temperature event on the behavior and age structure of an estuarine top predator, Carcharhinus leucas

The frequency of extreme environmental events is predicted to increase in the future. Understanding the short- and long-term impacts of these extreme events on large-bodied predators will provide insight into the spatial and temporal scales at which acute environmental disturbances in top-down processes may persist within and across ecosystems. Here, we use long-term studies of movements and age structure of an estuarine top predator—juvenile bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas—to identify the effects of an extreme ‘cold snap’ from 2 to 13 January 2010 over short (weeks) to intermediate (months) time scales. Juvenile bull sharks are typically year-round residents of the Shark River Estuary until they reach 3 to 5 yr of age. However, acoustic telemetry revealed that almost all sharks either permanently left the system or died during the cold snap. For 116 d after the cold snap, no sharks were detected in the system with telemetry or captured during longline sampling. Once sharks returned, both the size structure and abundance of the individuals present in the nursery had changed considerably. During 2010, individual longlines were 70% less likely to capture any sharks, and catch rates on successful longlines were 40% lower than during 2006−2009. Also, all sharks caught after the cold snap were young-of-the-year or neonates, suggesting that the majority of sharks in the estuary were new recruits and several cohorts had been largely lost from the nursery. The longer-term impacts of this change in bull shark abundance to the trophic dynamics of the estuary and the importance of episodic disturbances to bull shark population dynamics will require continued monitoring, but are of considerable interest because of the ecological roles of bull sharks within coastal estuaries and oceans.

Exploring Mechanisms of Bacterial Adaptation to Seasonal Temperature Change

This research examines three potential mechanisms by which bacteria can adapt to different temperatures: changes in strain-level population structure, gene regulation and particle colonization. For the first two mechanisms, I utilize bacterial strains from the Vibrionaceae family due to their ease of culturability, ubiquity in coastal environments and status as a model system for marine bacteria. I first examine vibrio seasonal dynamics in temperate, coastal water and compare the thermal performance of strains that occupy different thermal environments. Our results suggest that there are tradeoffs in adaptation to specific temperatures and that thermal specialization can occur at a very fine phylogenetic scale. The observed thermal specialization over relatively short evolutionary time-scales indicates that few genes or cellular processes may limit expansion to a different thermal niche. I then compare the genomic and transcriptional changes associated with thermal adaptation in closely-related vibrio strains under heat and cold stress. The two vibrio strains have very similar genomes and overall exhibit similar transcriptional profiles in response to temperature stress but their temperature preferences are determined by differential transcriptional responses in shared genes as well as temperature-dependent regulation of unique genes. Finally, I investigate the temporal dynamics of particle-attached and free-living bacterial community in coastal seawater and find that microhabitats exert a stronger forcing on microbial communities than environmental variability, suggesting that particle-attachment could buffer the impacts of environmental changes and particle-associated communities likely respond to the presence of distinct eukaryotes rather than commonly-measured environmental parameters. Integrating these results will offer new perspectives on the mechanisms by which bacteria respond to seasonal temperature changes as well as potential adaptations to climate change-driven warming of the surface oceans.

A simulation-based large deflection and inelastic analysis of steel frames under fire

This paper presents an accurate and robust geometric and material nonlinear formulation to predict structural behaviour of unprotected steel members at elevated temperatures. A fire analysis including large displacement effects for frame structures is presented. This finite element formulation of beam-column elements is based on the plastic hinge approach to model the elasto-plastic strain-hardening material behaviour. The Newton-Raphson method allowing for the thermal-time dependent effect was employed for the solution of the non-linear governing equations for large deflection in thermal history. A combined incremental and total formulation for determining member resistance is employed in this nonlinear solution procedure for the efficient modeling of nonlinear effects. Degradation of material strength with increasing temperature is simulated by a set of temperature-stress-strain curves according to both ECCS and BS5950 Part 8, which implicitly allows for creep deformation. The effects of uniform or non-uniform temperature distribution over the section of the structural steel member are also considered. Several numerical and experimental verifications are presented.

Performance-based structural fire design of steel frames using conventional computer software

Fire incident in buildings is common, so the fire safety design of the framed structure is imperative, especially for the unprotected or partly protected bare steel frames. However, software for structural fire analysis is not widely available. As a result, the performance-based structural fire design is urged on the basis of using user-friendly and conventional nonlinear computer analysis programs so that engineers do not need to acquire new structural analysis software for structural fire analysis and design. The tool is desired to have the capacity of simulating the different fire scenarios and associated detrimental effects efficiently, which includes second-order P-D and P-d effects and material yielding. Also the nonlinear behaviour of large-scale structure becomes complicated when under fire, and thus its simulation relies on an efficient and effective numerical analysis to cope with intricate nonlinear effects due to fire. To this end, the present fire study utilizes a second order elastic/plastic analysis software NIDA to predict structural behaviour of bare steel framed structures at elevated temperatures. This fire study considers thermal expansion and material degradation due to heating. Degradation of material strength with increasing temperature is included by a set of temperature-stress-strain curves according to BS5950 Part 8 mainly, which implicitly allows for creep deformation. This finite element stiffness formulation of beam-column elements is derived from the fifth-order PEP element which facilitates the computer modeling by one member per element. The Newton-Raphson method is used in the nonlinear solution procedure in order to trace the nonlinear equilibrium path at specified elevated temperatures. Several numerical and experimental verifications of framed structures are presented and compared against solutions in literature. The proposed method permits engineers to adopt the performance-based structural fire analysis and design using typical second-order nonlinear structural analysis software.

Performance-based structural fire design and testing of structures

Fire incident in buildings is common in Hong Kong and this could lead to heavy casualties due to its high population density, so the fire safety design of the framed structure is an important research topic. This paper describes a computer tool for determination of capacity of structural safety against various fire scenarios and the well-accepted second-order direct plastic analysis is adopted for simulation of material yielding and buckling. A computer method is developed to predict structural behaviour of bare steel framed structures at elevated temperatures but the work can be applied to structures made of other materials. These effects of thermal expansion and material degradation due to heating are required to be considered in order to capture the actual behavior of the structure under fire. Degradation of material strength with increasing temperature is included by a set of temperature-stress-strain curves according to BS5950 Part 8 mainly, which implicitly allows for creep deformation. Several numerical and experimental verifications of framed structures are presented and compared against solutions by other researchers. The proposed method allows us to adopt the truly performance-based structural fire analysis and design with significant saving in cost and time.

Assessing the threshold temperatures among different age and cause-of-deaths

The relationship between temperature and mortality is non-linear and the effect estimates depend on the threshold temperatures selected. However, little is known about whether threshold temperatures differ with age or cause of deaths in the Southern Hemisphere. We conducted polynomial distributed lag non-linear models to assess the threshold temperatures for mortality from all ages (Dall), aged from 15 to 64 (D15-64), 65- 84(D65-84), ≥85 years (D85+), respiratory (RD) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Brisbane, Australia, 1996–2004. We examined both hot and cold thresholds, and the lags of up to 15 days for cold effects and 3 days for hot effects. Results show that for the current day, the cold threshold was 20°C and the hot threshold was 28°C for the groups of Dall, D15-64 and D85+. The cold threshold was higher (23°C) for the group of D65-84 and lower (21°C) for the group of CVD. The hot threshold was higher (29°C) for the group of D65-84 and lower (27°C) for the group of RD. Compared to the current day, for the cold effects of up to 15-day lags, the threshold was lower for the group of D15-64, and the thresholds were higher for the groups of D65-84, D85+, RD and CVD; while for the hot effects of 3-day lags, the threshold was higher for the group of D15-64 and the thresholds were lower for the groups of D65-84 and RD. Temperature thresholds appeared to differ with age and death categories. The elderly and deaths from RD and CVD were more sensitive to temperature stress than the adult group. These findings may have implications in the assessment of temperature-related mortality and development of weather/health warning systems.

Importance of non-conserved distal carboxyl terminal amino acids in two peptidases belonging to the M1 family: Thermoplasma acidophilum Tricorn interacting factor F2 and Escherichia coli Peptidase N

Enzymes belonging to the M1 family play important cellular roles and the key amino acids (aa) in the catalytic domain are conserved. However, C-terminal domain aa are highly variable and demonstrate distinct differences in organization. To address a functional role for the C-terminal domain, progressive deletions were generated in Tricorn interacting factor F2 from Thermoplasma acidophilum (F2) and Peptidase N from Escherichia coli (PepN). Catalytic activity was partially reduced in PepN lacking 4 C-terminal residues (PepNΔC4) whereas it was greatly reduced in F2 lacking 10 C-terminal residues (F2ΔC10) or PepN lacking eleven C-terminal residues (PepNΔC11). Notably, expression of PepNΔC4, but not PepNΔC11, in E. coliΔpepN increased its ability to resist nutritional and high temperature stress, demonstrating physiological significance. Purified C-terminal deleted proteins demonstrated greater sensitivity to trypsin and bound stronger to 8-amino 1-napthalene sulphonic acid (ANS), revealing greater numbers of surface exposed hydrophobic aa. Also, F2 or PepN containing large aa deletions in the C-termini, but not smaller deletions, were present in high amounts in the insoluble fraction of cell extracts probably due to reduced protein solubility. Modeling studies, using the crystal structure of E. coli PepN, demonstrated increase in hydrophobic surface area and change in accessibility of several aa from buried to exposed upon deletion of C-terminal aa. Together, these studies revealed that non-conserved distal C-terminal aa repress the surface exposure of apolar aa, enhance protein solubility, and catalytic activity in two soluble and distinct members of the M1 family.

低温胁迫下果实组织结构和生理变化及化学调控机理研究

低温贮藏是延缓园艺产品采后成熟、抑制病原菌生长和保持品质的常规方法。然而，许多园艺产品对低温(一般低于10 ºC~12 ºC)相当敏感，如果贮藏温度过低，就易产生冷害，降低其商业价值。所以研究采后园艺产品的冷害机制及如何提高其抗冷性是具有潜在经济价值的科学问题。水杨酸甲酯和茉莉酸甲酯是植物产生的信号物质，有研究表明这两种物质能够缓解低温贮藏下果实的冷害程度或提高果实的抗冷性，但是相关的作用机理并不清晰。本论文以芒果、桃和黄瓜为材料，研究水杨酸甲酯或茉莉酸甲酯处理的果实在冷害或非冷害贮藏条件下的抗氧化代谢、酚类物质代谢、细胞膜完整性以及细胞壁成分和结构等方面的变化，进一步证实了水杨酸甲酯和茉莉酸甲酯能够缓解果实的冷害，同时还探讨了提高抗冷性的机制。 　　本论文采用扫描电子显微镜研究果实表皮蜡层的变化，用光学显微镜、透射电子显微镜和傅里叶变换红外光谱仪研究果实细胞壁结构和成分的变化，用原子吸收分光光度计测定细胞壁钙离子的变化，用电导率仪检测果实细胞的完整性。同时测定了果实酚类物质含量、多酚氧化酶(EC 1.10.3.1)活性、过氧化物酶(EC 1.11.1.7)活性，并分析了果实硬度、糖和酸含量等品质指标。试验结果表明：适宜浓度的水杨酸甲酯和茉莉酸甲酯均能缓解果实的冷害症状，提高果实的抗冷性。其中，水杨酸甲酯处理能够改变果实表皮蜡层结构;降低表皮脂类物质和细胞壁酚类物质积累;抑制细胞壁纤维物质的降解，调节果胶物质的溶解，保护细胞壁结构。茉莉酸甲酯处理可以保护细胞膜的完整性;调节果实的酚类物质代谢，缓解果实的酶促褐变;抑制细胞壁果胶物质和纤维物质的降解，维持细胞壁结构和果实的硬度，有利于提高果实的抗冷性和缓解果实冷害。 　　虽然不同的果实表现的冷害症状不完全相同，但是低温胁迫对植物组织结构(膜系统和细胞壁结构)的破坏是造成果实冷害的根本原因。提高果实抗冷性的各种调节机制归根结底是通过保护细胞正常结构而发挥作用的。水杨酸甲酯与茉莉酸甲酯处理保护了果实的组织结构，缓解了低温胁迫对果实的伤害，提高了果实的抗冷性。然而，果实自身物质成分的差异是造成冷害症状表现不同的主要原因。 　　

高温胁迫诱导光系统Ⅱ及其异质性的变化

近年来有证据证明，光系统II(PS II)反应中心在结构与功能上存在着异质性，它与光舍原初过程、激发能的分配和调节、胁迫因子导致的光合单位的损伤与修复等密切相关。本论文主要研究了高温胁迫诱导PS II及其异质性的变化，以及人工电子受体与PS II还原侧异质性电子传递的关系．根据研究需要，建立了精确测定无活性PS II中心相时含量的软件和方法，圆满完成了本研究任务。此外，也参加了新的非调制式动力学荧光计的研制及其软件的编写． 以下是本论文的主要结果： 1．用N80-BASIC语言结合汇编语言重新编写了本室快速（ms级）叶绿素动力学荧光计的测控程序，使快速荧光上升曲线的采样速度提高了一个数量级（达到100μS/点），可对Fo、Fi等关键荧光参数进行精确测定，为无活性PS II中心相对含量的准确测定奠定了基础．新研制的荧光计的软件用C语言编写，可在IBM PC兼容机上运行，采样速度最快可达25μs/点，对Fo和Fi等参数的测定更加可靠和精确．新荧光计从软、硬件两方面进行了彻底地更新，具有高信噪比、高响应、高精度、低功耗等优点，其性能己达到国际同类产品的先进水平． 2．高温胁迫诱导小麦类囊体膜吸收光谱的变化，结果显示40℃-50℃20分钟以内的高温胁迫导致681nm的吸收峰下降，同时引起663nm的吸收峰增加，表明高温胁迫引起部分叶绿素蛋白复合体的破坏和游离的叶绿素分子的增多．在更严重的高温胁迫下（55℃5分钟以上），体内游离的叶绿素分子(△A663)本身也遭到进一步的降解． 3．小麦类囊体膜低温( 77K)荧光光谱的分析。结果证实温和的高温胁迫(40℃20分钟以内)可导致激发能更多地从PS II向光系统IcPsi)分配，而更严重的高温胁迫（45℃- 55℃20分钟以内）对PS II和PS I的叶绿素蛋白复合体（F684和F736）均有破坏作用． 4．高温胁迫诱导小麦叶片荧光诱导动力学、荧光猝灭及其荧光参数的变化的研究．结果表明，高温胁迫首先导致有效量子产量(E．Y．)的下降，胁迫作用进一步加强导致最适量子产量(0．Y．)下降，而对光化学猝灭qP的影响较晚．这说明和PS II电子受体侧的电子传递和与二氧化碳固定有关的酶系统对高温胁迫极为敏感．其次，PS II放氧系统的损伤也早于PS II原初反应中心的失活．同时，在自然界条件下，存在着高温和高光强对植物的加强协同的光抑制和破坏作用． 5．在研究高温胁迫诱导荧光动力学及其参数变化的基础上，提出测定和计算高温胁迫的植物样品中无活性PS II中心相对含量的合理方法．认为在高温胁迫导致可变荧光( Fv)猝灭的情况下，应以Fvi(Fvi=Fi-Fo)对室温对照的可变荧光(FVCK)的比值作为计算无活性PS II中心相对含量的指标(Fvi/FVCK)．我们在弱激发光下测得正常的小麦和菠菜的无活性PS II中心的相对含量分别为0.155±0.011和0.094士0.010． 6．高温胁迫诱导有活性和无活性PS II中心异质性的相互转化的研究。结果发现50℃以下小于10分钟的处理，对PS II有活性和无活性中心的比值无明显影响：而经过50℃和55℃高温处理5-10分钟，有活性PS II中心才明显向无活性中心转化并发现这一转化过程发生在Fo己明显增加和Fv明显猝灭之后，也就是说它迟于高温胁迫对PS II天线色素蛋白复合体( LHCII)与PS II反应中心结合的破坏以及对放氧侧的损伤． 7．高温胁迫后的室温恢复期中有活性和无活性PS II中心相互转化的研究．发现在高温胁迫不太严重时（如50℃1分钟），无活性PS II中心的含量降至对照的70%，在随后室温60分钟恢复过程中继续降为50%。而Psn氧化侧的活性在此过程中可以得到部分恢复。高温胁迫进一步加强（如55℃5分钟和55℃10分钟）后，无活性PS II中心数目在随后的60分钟室温恢复期中，从恢复开始时为对照的130%和150%继续增加到240%和290%，且有加速转化的趋势。这说明高温胁迫诱导PS II还原侧异质性中心的转化除包含一个快速、直接的机制外，还启动了某种间接转化的机制． 8．对DMQ和DCBQ两种人工电子受体对有活性和无活性PS II中心的作用提出了不同见解。Cao和Govindjee(1990)认为DMQ(>20μmoI.L-1)只接受有活性PS II中心的电子，而DCBQ（>15, μmoLL-1）可完全接受有活性和无活性两种PS II中心的电子。但Lavergne等(1993)认为DCBQ不能接受无活性Psn中心的电子．我们用Stern-Volmer猝灭公式对我们的实验结果进行了分析，结果表明DMQ在较高浓度下（如120μmoI.L-1）才可完全接受有活性PS II中心的电子．但DCBQ的浓度在比Cao等几乎高出一个数量级( 120μmoI.L-1)的情况下，也只接受部分无活性PS II中心的电子( 40%)。另外我们发现，DMQ和DCBQ对Fm的猝灭不是随猝灭剂浓度的增加呈线性关系，而是一条近似饱和曲线，说明它至少包括两种以上不同的猝灭机制． 9．Mg2+诱导PS II异质性(Cα/Cβ)的研究。我们小组发现Mg2+诱导的chl a荧光增强动力学曲线包含Cα和Cβ两个指数成分，说明Mg2+在抑制激发能满溢，调节激发能向有利于PS I1分配的过程中存在异质性。其中Cβ比Cα具有更长的迁移寿命、更低的活化能和Mg2+半饱和浓度．这些说明Cβ比Cα更有可能在体内生理条件下发生迁移，从而在两个光系统之间起调节激发能分配的作用． 10.提出了高温胁迫诱导PS II异质性中心相互转换的可能模型．高温胁迫导致PS II异质性的转化包括几个步骤：有活性的α型PS II专荧光猝灭态的PS II专有活性的β型PS II专无活性的β型PS II专破坏了的PSⅡ．前两种转化一般具有可逆性．当高温胁迫进一步加强后，转化失去可逆性，在胁迫去除后，有活性PS II中心可继续向无活性中心转化，后者还有可能进一步受到破坏。

甜菜碱提高植物光合作用对逆境抗性机理的研究

从菠菜中克隆甜菜碱醛脱氢酶( betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase，BADH)基因并转化烟草， 研究转基因烟草光合作用对高温和盐胁迫等环境胁迫的抗性机理，利用外源甜菜碱研究在正常条件下对植物光合作用的影响以及在盐胁迫下外源甜菜碱对玉米幼曲光合作刚的保护机理。主要结果如下： 转BADH基因烟草中能合成甘氨酸甜菜碱，合成的甜菜碱主要积累于叶绿体中。转BADH 基因烟草提高了对高温胁迫的抗性，在中度高温胁迫下，转基冈烟草生长利光合作用对高温 的抗性增强。中度高温胁迫下，转基冈烟草光合作用的维持是由于甜菜碱对Rubisco活化酶的保护作用。在中度高温胁迫下甜菜碱通过维持Rubisco活化酶的活化态以及阻止Rubisco 活化酶山可溶性问质向类囊体的聚集，从而维持了Rubisco活化酶的活性，进而维持了C02 的同化。在严重高温胁迫下，烟草光系统II受到影响，转BADH基冈烟草通过提高体内抗氧化酶系统的功能，减轻了高温胁迫对光合机构造成的活性氧伤害，高温胁迫下转基因烟草体内抗氧化酶如SOD、APX、GR等酶活性明显高于野生型。在高温胁迫下，证明了甜菜碱对光系统II的保护作用主要在氧化侧，严重高温胁迫下，转基因烟草维持较高的PSII活性。 转BADH基因烟草提高了对盐胁迫的抗性，盐胁迫下转基因烟草光合作用的维持与盐胁迫下转基因烟草较高的气孔导度和抗氧化酶活性的提高有关。 外源甜菜碱在正常的非胁迫条件下对植物的生长有促进作用，而这一作用与光合速率的提高有关。通过对气孔导度、光合碳同化关键酶以及叶绿素荧光分析证明，甜菜碱对光合作用的促进与气孔导度的提高有关，同时甜菜碱提高了光系统ll的实际光化学效率。 外源甜菜碱提高了盐胁迫条件下植物的抗性，抗盐性的提高与盐胁迫下甜菜碱对气孔导度的提高以及维持较高的光系统II光化学活性有关。

Dual gate photo-thin film transistor with high photoconductive gain for high reliability, and low noise flat panel transparent imager

In this presentation, we report excellent electrical and optical characteristics of a dual gate photo thin film transistor (TFT) with bi-layer oxide channel, which was designed to provide virgin threshold voltage (V T) control, improve the negative bias illumination temperature stress (NBITS) reliability, and offer high photoconductive gain. In order to address the photo-sensitivity of phototransistor for the incoming light, top transparent InZnO (IZO) gate was employed, which enables the independent gate control of dual gate photo-TFT without having any degradation of its photosensitivity. Considering optimum initial V T and NBITS reliability for the device operation, the top gate bias was judiciously chosen. In addition, the speed and noise performance of the photo-TFT is competitive with silicon photo-transistors, and more importantly, its superiority lies in optical transparency. © 2011 IEEE.

聚乙二醇和低温胁迫对红豆草种子萌发影响的研究

在植物生长箱通过种子萌发试验,从种子发芽进程、发芽率和吸水量等方面研究了水分和低温胁迫对红豆草种子萌发的影响。用10%,15%,20%,25%,30%的聚乙二醇(PEG)溶液和5℃左右低温预处理红豆草种子,结果表明,不同浓度的聚乙二醇和5℃左右低温预处理可以缩短种子的平均发芽时间,提高发芽率;比较发现,聚乙二醇浓度30%和低温处理时间4 d时可促进红豆草种子的萌发。