Carbendazim (methyl-2-benzimidazole carbamate) promoted root growth of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) seedlings subjected to polyethylene glycol (PEG, osmotic potential -0.5 MPa) induced water stress. The relative water content, membrane stability index, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride reduction and contents of some osmolytes (proline, sucrose, glucose and fructose) enhanced significantly while the contents of lipid peroxides and hydrogen peroxide diminished effectively by addition of 0.05 % carbendazim into PEG solution.

Seed protein profiles of 40 cultivated and wild taxa of Chenopodium have been compared by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The relative similarity between various taxa, estimated by Jaccard's similarity index and clustered in UPGMA dendrogram, is generally in accordance with taxonomic position, crossability relationships and other biochemical characters. Eight accessions of C. quinoa studied are clustered together and show genetic similarity with closely related C. bushianum and C. berlandieri subsp. nuttalliae. The taxa included under C. album complex are clustered in two groups which show that these taxa are a heterogenous assemblage and their taxonomic affinities need a reassessment. Other wild species studied are placed in the dendrogram more or less according to their taxonomic position.

Abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) were sprayed on leaves of wheat genotypes C 306 and Hira at 25 and 40 d after sowing under moderate water stress (-0.8 MPa) imposed by adding PEG-6000 in nutrient solution. ABA and SA increased the activities of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and catalase in comparison to unsprayed control plants. Both ABA and SA treatments decreased the contents of hydrogen peroxide and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, a measure of lipid peroxidation, compared to unsprayed plants. The beneficial effect of increase in antioxidant enzymes activity and decrease in oxidative stress was reflected in increase in chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, relative water content, membrane stability index, leaf area and total biomass over control plants. The lower concentrations of ABA (0.5 mM) and SA (1.0 mM) were generally more effective than higher concentrations.

This study was conducted to examine the response of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L., cvs. Barhee and Hillali) calli to water stress. Callus derived from shoot tip explants was inoculated in liquid Murashige and Skoog medium containing 10 mg dm^-3α-naphthaleneacetic acid, 1.5 mg dm^-3 2-isopentenyladenine, and 0 to 30 % (m/v) polyethylene glycol (PEG 8000) to examine the effect of water stress. After 2 weeks, callus growth, water content, and proline accumulation were assessed. Increasing water stress caused a progressive reduction in growth as expressed in callus fresh mass, relative growth rate, and index of tolerance. Both genotypes tested followed this general trend, however, cv. Barhee was more tolerant to drought stress than cv. Hillali. Increasing PEG concentration was also associated with a progressive reduction in water content and increased content of endogenous free proline.

Transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L. subsp. indica cv. White Ponni) constitutively expressing the rice thaumatin-like protein gene (tlp-D34, PR-5) individually or in combination with the rice chitinase gene (chi11, PR-3) was generated using an Agrobacterium vir helper strain with multiple copies of pTiBo542 virB and virG. Transformation with the tlp-D34 gene alone and tlp-D34 + chi11 genes yielded five and seven single-copy transgenic lines, respectively. Southern blot analysis with two probes, one flanking the right T-DNA border and the second flanking the left T-DNA border, confirmed that all transgenic plants harboured single and complete T-DNA copies. Homozygous transgenic lines were first identified in the T₁ generation by Southern blot analysis and were subsequently confirmed by segregation analysis of T₂ plants. Accumulation of transcripts encoded by the transgenes was confirmed in T0 plants and homozygous T₂ plants by Northern blot analysis. The homozygous T2 plants harbouring tlp-D34 + chi11 genes showed 2.8- to 4.2-fold higher chitinase activity. Western blot analysis revealed the accumulation of thaumatin-like protein and chitinase in the respective transgenic plants. Upon infection with Rhizoctonia solani, the disease index reduced from 100 % in control plants to 65 % in a T₃ homozygous transgenic line T4 expressing the tlp-D34 gene alone. In a T2 homozygous transgenic line CT22 co-expressing tlp-D34 and chi11 genes, the disease index reduced to 39 %.

Aquaporins (AQPs) are proteinaceous channels known to regulate transmembrane water transport, and therefore may be important component of imbibition during osmopriming and germination. To explore the association between AQPs and osmopriming-led enhanced germination performance, we studied the expression patterns of four spinach (Spinacia oleracea) AQP coding genes (SoPIP1;1, SoPIP1;2, SoPIP2;1, and SoδTIP) during osmopriming and subsequent germination under optimal conditions, chilling and drought. All these genes were up-regulated within 2-4 d of priming (phase II-imbibition). We hypothesize such up-regulation to facilitate the pressure potential-driven cell expansion and increase germination potential of primed seeds. Our data during post-priming germination suggest that SoPIP1;1 and SoδTIP were more closely associated with enhanced germination performance. In general, all AQPs were downregulated under chilling and drought. However, under chilling, SoPIP2;1 was expressed at relatively higher level in primed seeds that also exhibited greater chilling tolerance, while SoPIP1;2 and SoδTIP exhibited opposite pattern. Similarly, SoPIP1;1, SoPIP2;1, and SoδTIP exhibited higher expression in primed seeds that also had greater drought tolerance.

A quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach was applied to dissect the genetic control of the common wheat seedling response to osmotic stress. A set of 114 recombinant inbred lines was subjected to osmotic stress from the onset of germination to the 8^th day of seedling development, induced by the presence of 12 % polyethylene glycol. Root, coleoptile and shoot length, and root/shoot length ratio were compared under stress and control conditions. In all, 35 QTL mapping to ten chromosomes, were identified. Sixteen QTL were detected in controls, 17 under stressed conditions, and two tolerance index QTL were determined. The majority of the QTL were not stress-specific. In regions on five chromosome arms (1AS, 1BL, 2DS, 5BL and 6BL) the QTL identified under stress co-mapped with QTL affecting the same trait in controls, and these were classified as seedling vigour QTL, in addition to those expressed in controls. Tolerance-related QTL were detected on four chromosome arms. A broad region on chromosome 1AL, including five QTL, with a major impact of the gene Glu-A1 (LOD 3.93) and marker locus Xksuh9d (LOD 2.91), positively affected root length under stress and tolerance index for root length, respectively. A major QTL (LOD 3.60), associated with marker locus Xcdo456a (distal part of chromosome arm 2BS) determined a tolerance index for shoot length. Three minor QTL (LOD < 3.0) for root length and root/shoot length ratio under osmotic stress were identified in the distal parts of chromosome arms 6DL (marker locus Xksud27a) and 7DL (marker locus Xksue3b). Selecting for the favourable alleles at marker loci associated with the detected QTL for growth traits may represent an efficient approach to enhance the plants' ability to maintain the growth of roots, coleoptile and shoots in drought-prone soils at the critical early developmental stages.

X-rays at doses between 2.5 and 20 Gy were applied to Allium cepa L. bulbs containing either dormant root primordia (before water imbibition) or actively proliferating meristems. Irradiation of the primordia that were enriched in G₀ cells neither delayed proliferation onset nor root sprouting. Under both protocols, irradiation decreased the final length of the roots to about 60 % (at 20 Gy) of that reached by the unirradiated controls. Irradiation of the proliferating meristems increased the mitotic index at some fixation times. This could not be due to a rise in the cell entry into mitosis, as the rate of root growth decreased simultaneously. The increased mitotic index should be the consequence of a delay in the relative time taken by mitosis in the whole cycle time. Lengthened mitosis probably allows the post-replicative repair of most DNA lesions, as the frequency of interphases with micronuclei was higher in the cells which were irradiated when still dormant than in those irradiated when cycling. Thus, the mitotic delays should be the consequence of a checkpoint pathway activated by the presence of DNA damage. This feedback mechanism seems only to develop after cell proliferation is restored.

Marker-free transgenic cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cv. Poinsett 76 SR plants were produced by Agrobacterium mediated transformation. A transformation efficiency of 1.62 was observed on using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harbouring Arabidopsis cbf1 gene driven by the inducible promoter RD29A in a binary vector system pCAMBIA. Transgene integration and single copy insert in transgenic cucumber was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blot analysis in T₀ lines and also confirmed marker-free status in T₁ generation. Transgene expression was confirmed by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR in T₁ generation transgenic cucumber and advanced to T₂ generation. Upon exposure to chilling stress (4 °C), the T₂ generation transgenic plants survived up to 36 h; however, wild-type plants could not survive and gradually died. A significant decrease in membrane injury index (MII), increase in activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT), free proline content and relative water content (RWC) in the leaves were observed in transgenic cucumber as compared to wild-type under chilling stress. Thus, the transgenic cucumber plants expressing Arabidopsis cbf1 gene conferred protection against chilling stress.

The effects of inhibition of mitochondrial alternative oxidase (AOX) respiratory pathway on photosynthetic apparatus in Rumex K-1 leaves were studied. Under high irradiance, the inhibition of AOX pathway caused over-reduction of photosystem (PS) 2 acceptor side, a decrease in the energy transfer in the PS 2 units, damage of donor side of PS 2 and decrease in pool size of electron acceptors. The inhibition of AOX pathway also decreased photosynthetic performance index (PI_ABS), actual photochemical efficiency (Φ_PS2), photochemical quenching (qP) and photosynthetic O₂ evolution rate. The results demonstrate that mitochondrial AOX pathway plays a vital role in photoprotection of photosynthetic apparatus.

Rooted cuttings of Populus nigra L. clone Poli and Salix alba L. clone SS5 were treated for three weeks with 50 μM CdSO₄ in nutrient solution. The willow showed a far higher Cd tolerance, expressed as tolerance index (Ti), than the poplar in both roots and leaves. The root Cd content was higher in poplar than in willow, whereas in leaves the opposite was found. As a consequence, the translocation factor (Tf) revealed a greater ability of Cd transport in willow than in poplar. Cd treatment enhanced cysteine, γ-glutamylcysteine and reduced glutathione contents in roots of both species, whereas in leaves they were only enhanced in poplar. Furthermore, only poplar leaves showed an enhanced content of phytochelatins, whereas malic and citric acids rose in response to Cd only in the willow leaves. Cd treatment increased putrescine, spermidine and spermine contents in both roots and leaves of the willow, whereas in poplar only the putrescine content was enhanced in roots.

This article describes the complete microsporogenesis and pollen formation in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) at the various developmental stages (pollen mother cell, meiosis, tetrads, early free spore, mid uninucleate, late uninucleate, binucleate and mature pollen grain). Light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used for the study. Floral bud size and other inflorescence characteristics were correlated with specific stages of the microspore development. This association allows a rapid selection of floral buds with similar microspore developmental stages, useful when a large number of homogeneous cells are needed for analysis and for in vitro induction of androgenesis. This article also compares methods for digestion the exine wall in microspores.

The present study describes the assessment of genetic diversity and relationships among 79 Job's tears (Coix lacrymajobi L.) accessions collected from China and Korea using 17 microsatellite markers. A total of 57 alleles were detected with an average of 3.4 alleles per locus. A high frequency of rare alleles (36.3 %) was observed within the collection. Values for observed (H_O), expected heterozygosity (H_E) and Shannon's information index (I) within the analysis ranged from 0.00 (GBssrJT183) to 0.81 (GBssrJT130), from 0.01 (GBssrJT170) to 0.65 (GBssrJT130) and from 0.034 (GBssrJt170) to 1.13 (GBssrJT130), respectively. The locus GBJT130 was the most informative marker with the highest values for observed and effective alleles as well as for H_O, H_E and I. Based on the UPGMA algorithm, the majority of the Chinese accessions grouped in one cluster, whereas all the Korean accessions grouped together in a separate cluster, indicating that Chinese accessions are genetically quite distinct from Korean accessions. No relation between genetic relatedness among Job's tears accessions and their place of collection was observed. Chinese accessions exhibited greater within population polymorphism (P = 95 %, H_E = 0.30, I = 0.52) than the accessions from Korea (P = 68 %, H_E = 0.13, I =0.24), indicating their potentiality as a reservoir of novel alleles for crop improvement. However, in general the low diversity within each population indicates a narrow genetic base within our collection.

We studied the effect of water stress imposed at anthesis and pre-anthesis stages on oxidative stress and antioxidant activity in four wheat cultivars, two hexaploid Triticum aestivum cultivars, drought resistant cv. C 306 and drought susceptible cv. Hira, and two tetraploid cultivars, T. durum cv. A 9-30-1 and T. dicoccum cv. HW 24. Water stress decreased relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), and increased H₂O₂ and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents as well as activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (Cat) and peroxidase (POX) in all the genotypes at all the stages. Both the tetraploid cultivars showed higher RWC, MSI and SOD activity, and lower H₂O₂ and MDA contents under water stress than hexaploid ones. Cat and POX activities were highest in C 306.

Oxidative injury and antioxidant responses were investigated in two banana genotypes (Musa AAA 'Berangan' and Musa AA 'Mas') subjected to 40 % PEG-induced water stress. PEG treatment resulted in oxidative injury, as expressed in increased lipid peroxidation and reduced membrane stability index, in both cultivars; however, greater oxidative injury was detected in 'Mas'. Under PEG treatment, catalase activity and glutathione reductase activity were enhanced in both cultivars, but were higher in 'Mas'. Ascorbate peroxidase activity was enhanced in 'Berangan' under water stress, but was unaffected in 'Mas'. Meanwhile, superoxide dismutase activity was inhibited in both cultivars under water stress, but higher activity was detected in 'Berangan'. Higher ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities were associated with greater protection against water stress-induced oxidative injury.

Effects of long-term sodium chloride salinity (100 and 200 mM NaCl; ECe = 6.85 and 12.3 dS m^-1) were studied in tolerant (Kharchia 65, KRL 19) and susceptible (HD 2009, HD 2687) wheat genotypes. NaCl decreased relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content (Chl), membrane stability index (MSI) and ascorbic acid (AA) content, and increased the contents of hydrogen peroxide, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APOX) and glutathione reductase (GR). Kharchia 65 showed lowest decline in RWC, Chl, MSI and AA content, lowest increase in H₂O₂ and TBARS contents and higher increase in SOD and its isozymes, APOX and GR, while HD2687 showed the highest decrease in AA content, highest increase in H₂O₂ and TBARS contents and smallest increase in activities of antioxidant enzymes. KRL 19 and HD 2009 showed intermediate response both in terms of oxidative stress and antioxidant activity.

The objective of this study was to examine the role of antioxidant enzymes in waterlogging tolerance of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Halls) genotypes ICP 301 (tolerant) and Pusa 207 (susceptible). Waterlogging resulted in visible yellowing and senescence of leaves, decrease in leaf area, dry matter, relative water content and chlorophyll content in leaves, and membrane stability index in roots and leaves. The decline in all parameters was greater in Pusa 207 than ICP 301. Oxidative stress in the form of superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) contents initially decreased, however at 4 and 6 d of waterlogging it increased over control plants, probably due to activation of DPI-sensitive NADPH-oxidase. Antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase and catalase also increased under waterlogging. The comparatively greater antioxidant enzyme activities resulting in less oxidative stress in ICP 301 could be one of the factor determining its higher tolerance to flooding as compared to Pusa 207. This study is the first to conclusively prove that waterlogging induced increase in ROS is via NADPH oxidase.

We used a random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) amplification method to identify molecular markers associated with high quercetin accumulation in the leaves of Psidium guajava L. trees, selected from four different Mexican agronomic regions. We identified six polymorphic RAPD fragments of 620, 590, 370, 690, 480 and 460 bp among individuals of P. guajava. Genetic linkage disequilibrium analysis revealed that three RAPD profiles considered as DNA markers (620/590 bp, 370 bp and 480/460 bp) had a positive, direct association with quercetin content. These informative molecular markers can be used for selective identification of plants with the highest accumulation of flavonoids.

Study of the effects of air pollution caused by thermal power plant emissions on some foliar traits of Ruellia tuberosa L. has shown that length and width of stomata, length of stomatal pore, stomatal density, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and chlerophyll content were reduced in the polluted plants in pre-flowering, flowering as well as post-flowering phases of plant growth. Intercellular carbon dioxide concentration in the palisade tissue was increased at each stage of plant development. Stomatal index remained almost unchanged at the polluted site, except on the adaxial surface during the preflowering stage where it was higher as compared to the non-polluted plants.

Effect of long term soil salinity (control-S₀ and three levels S₁ to S₃) was studied in two maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes, PEHM 3 (comparatively tolerant) and Navjot (susceptible) at vegetative and anthesis stages during summer-rainy season. Salinity stress decreased relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoid (Car) contents, membrane stability index (MSI), potassium and calcium contents, and increased the contents of superoxide radical (O₂ ^.-), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), proline, glycinebetaine, total soluble sugars, and sodium, and Na⁺/K⁺ and Na⁺/Ca²⁺ ratios in both the genotypes. Contents of zinc, copper, manganese and iron increased up to S₂. Though under S₀ PEHM 3 had higher content of all the metals, Navjot recorded higher content of Zn at all salinity levels and contents of all metal ions at S₂ and S₃. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductase (GR) increased upto S₂ in both the genotypes, and upto S₃ in PEHM 3 at the two stages. Salinity induced decrease in RWC, Chl, Car, MSI, K⁺ and Ca²⁺ was significantly greater in Navjot, which also recorded higher Na⁺ content and Na⁺/K⁺ and Na⁺/Ca²⁺ ratios than PEHM-3. PEHM-3 recorded higher contents of proline, glycine-betaine, total soluble sugars, K⁺, Ca²⁺, activity of SOD, APX, CAT, GR, and comparatively lower O^{2 .-}, H₂O₂ and TBARS contents compared to Navjot.

We have investigated the effects of cadmium on the microtubular (MT) cytoskeleton in the root tip cells of Allium sativum L. using indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Cd affected the mechanisms controlling the organization of MT cytoskeleton, as well as tubulin assembly/disassembly processes. Cd induced the formation of abnormal MT arrays, consisting of discontinuous wavy MTs or short MT fragments at the cell periphery. Cadmium caused irregular nuclear disorder in cells where the MT organization and function was disturbed. Furthermore, with increased Cd concentration and duration of treatment the MTs depolymerized more severely, the frequency of abnormal cell increased and the mitotic index decreased progressively. The above findings showed that MT cytoskeleton is one of target sites of Cd toxicity in root tip cells.

The accuracy of LAI-2000 Plant Canopy Analyzer for leaf (LAI) and plant (PAI) area indexes measurements was tested in 20-year-old Norway spruce stand using the reduction of canopy biomass. Needle and branch areas were reduced progressively upward every one meter. Values of effective leaf area index (LAI_e), as an uncorrected product of LAI-2000, were compared with directly estimated LAI and PAI values after each reduction step. LAI-2000 underestimates PAI and LAI values according to LAI-2000 rings readings, and varied proportions between leaf and wood areas. The values of LAI_c have been increased with decreasing of the view angle of the relevant LAI-2000 rings. Therefore, the underestimation of LAI becomes smaller when the readings near the horizon are masked. More accurate results, for projected LAI (LAI_p) calculation, are produced by LAI-2000 when some dense grids of measurement points and the most vertical ring readings (0 -13 °) are used. Correction factor 1.6 is possible to use for unreduced canopy hemi-surface LAI estimation, when the last rings (i.e. 5^th and 4^th rings, 47 -74 °) are excluded. Correction factor of 1.25 can be used to compute LAI_p if the angle readings under 43 °are also masked.

An experiment was conducted with two contrasting pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) genotypes, ICPL 84023 (tolerant) and ICP 7035 (susceptible), to study the physiological and molecular basis of waterlogging tolerance in relation to oxidative stress and antioxidant enzyme activities. Waterlogging resulted in visible yellowing and premature senescence of leaves, and greater decline in relative water content, chlorophyll content, and membrane stability index in ICP 7035 than in ICPL 84023. Superoxide radical and hydrogen peroxide contents increased at day 4 and 6 of waterlogging probably due to activation of NADPH-oxidase. O₂ ^.- production was inhibited, by diphenylene iodonium chloride, a specific inhibitor of NADPH oxidase and expression of NADPH oxidase-mRNA was increased under waterlogging condition in ICPL 84023. ICP 7035 showed higher contents of ROS in control condition and after recovery, however, during waterlogging the O₂ ^.- production was higher in ICPL 84023. Activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase and catalase increased under waterlogging more in ICPL 84023 than in ICP 7035. Cu/Zn-SOD and APX-mRNA expression in 24-h waterlogged plants showed enhanced expression in ICPL 84023 compared to ICP 7035. The cloning and sequencing of APX gene of tolerant and susceptible genotypes yielded cDNAs of 622 and 623 bp, having 95 % homology with each other and 92 % with the corresponding sequences of Vigna unguiculate APX-gene.

Proline accumulation and mobilization in roots of 7-d-old seedlings of wheat genotypes varying in sensitivity towards water stress were compared. Water stress was induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000; osmotic potential -1.5 MPa) in the presence of 0.1 mM abscisic acid (ABA), 1 mM calcium chloride, 0.5 mM verapamil (Ca²⁺ channel blocker), 0.5 mM fluridone (inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis). While both the genotypes did not differ in total proline accumulation, rate of proline accumulation and utilization was higher in tolerant genotype C 306 as compared to susceptible genotype HD 2380. The treatment with ABA and CaCl₂ caused further increase in proline accumulation during stress and reduced its mobilization during recovery. The membrane stability and elongation rate of roots was observed to be higher at ABA and calcium treatment in both the genotypes under stress. As was evident from inhibitor studies, the tolerant genotype was more responsive to ABA and the susceptible one to calcium.

Temporal and spatial variations of shoot structural parameters, including shoot silhouette to projected needle area ratio, are very important, e.g., for the correction of leaf area index estimated by indirect methods. Here we bring few examples of their evolution within mountain spruce monoculture planted in two different densities.

Withanolides-steroidal lactones, isolated from various Solanaceous plants have received considerable attention due to their potential biological activities. Five selected withanolides (withanone, withaferin A, withanolide A, withanolide B, withanolide E) were identified by HPLC-UV (DAD) - positive ion electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy in Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal cv. WSR plants and tissues cultured in vitro at different developmental phases. Cultures were established from five explants on Murashige and Skoog's medium supplemented with different plant growth regulators. Results suggest that production of withanolides is closely associated with morphological differentiation.

Procedures were developed for flow cytometric analysis and sorting of mitotic chromosomes (flow cytogenetics) of common vetch (Vicia sativa L., 2n=12). Suspensions of intact chromosomes were prepared from root tips after cell cycle synchronization, formaldehyde fixation, and mechanical homogenization. On average, 3 × 10⁵ morphologically intact chromosomes could be isolated from 25 root tips. Flow cytometric analysis of DAPI-stained chromosomes resulted in histograms of relative fluorescence intensity (flow karyotypes) containing four peaks, representing particular chromosomes and/or pairs of chromosomes with similar relative DNA content. Peaks I and II were assigned to chromosomes 6 and 5, respectively. These chromosomes could be sorted with a purity exceeding 90 %. The two remaining peaks on the flow karyotype were composite, each of them representing a pair of chromosomes. Chromosomes 1 and 3 were assigned to composite peak III while chromosomes 2 and 4 were assigned to composite peak IV. The chromosomes could be sorted with a purity of 99 % from both composite peaks. Bivariate flow karyotyping after simultaneous staining of chromosomes with DAPI and mithramycin was not found helpful in discriminating additional chromosomes. This study extends the number of legume species for which flow cytogenetics is available and provides a new tool for targeted and effective analysis and mapping of common vetch genome.

Deterioration of membranes caused by lipoxygenase (LOX) activity under 10 µM PbCl₂ or 10 µM HgCl₂ was partially alleviated by the exogenous application of 100 µM salicylic acid (SA). In two cultivars of rice (Oryza sativa L. cvs. Ratna and IR 36), the presence of SA ameliorated the increased leakage of electrolytes, injury index, and the content of malondialdehyde caused by these heavy metals. Lead decreased H₂O₂ content whereas Hg increased it in both cultivars. Application of SA increased H₂O₂ in presence of Pb, while decreased it in presence of Hg. Both Pb and Hg decreased superoxide dismutase activity, while increased peroxidase activity. The activity of catalase was decreased by Hg but increased by Pb and SA reversed their effects. Thus, SA ameliorated the damaging effects of Pb and Hg on membranes.

Fourteen efficient inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers were screened and optimized for detecting the genetic diversity in wild populations of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. By using these primers, 249 polymorphic bands out of a total of 270 (92.2 %) were generated from 70 individuals of 4 wild G. uralensis populations sampled from Inner Mongolia Province of China. Nei's gene diversity (h) and Shannon index (I) calculated from the data matrix of the ISSR phenotypes revealed a high level of genetic diversity with h = 0.268 and I = 0.415 within this plant. Analysis of molecular variation (AMOVA) showed that most of the genetic variation (81 %) occurred within the populations, whereas the variance among populations was only 19 %. The UPGMA tree based on Nei's unbiased genetic diversity illustrated that populations from Bulage and Bayanwusu were genetically close related, while the population from Shanghaimiao was found to be the most diverse from the other three. The high genetic diversity implies that the wild resources of this species could be restored soon if an appropriate and efficient protection strategy was employed. Our results also provided an optimized method for evaluating genetic diversity of G. uralensis using ISSR markers which was useful for further investigation.

Trigonelline (TRG) is known as a compatible solute in response to stress as well as a cell cycle regulator, and is more concentrated in legumes than other non-legume dicots. Four Glycine max L. genotypes (Essex, ExF 67, Forrest and Stressland) were used to examine TRG concentration in seeds and seedlings exposed to 30 or 100 mM NaCl, and to determine the association of TRG concentrations in seedlings with seedling growth. Seed germination across genotypes was inhibited by elevated salinity (71-91 %) in ExF 67 and Forrest and by accelerated aging (77-92 %) in Forrest. Length of seedlings in most genotypes stressed with NaCl apparently decreased. The TRG content in mature seeds of four genotypes was 44.4-74.6 µg g^-1(d.m.). TRG content significantly increased during early young seedling development, but remained or significantly reduced in some genotypes stressed with NaCl.