In this review, the author summarized the current status, challenges, and strategies in China in the development of transgenic plants and its commercialization. Based on sets of successful examples and data achieved from execution of the National Special Project for Transgenic Plant Research and Commercialization in the last five years, the priorities and key directions were put forward for the future development of transgenic plants in China.

Seed dispersal is a key process within community dynamics. The spatial and temporal variations of seed dispersal and the interspecific differences are crucial for understanding species coexistence and community dynamics. This might also hold for the mixed evergreen broadleaved and deciduous forests in the mountains of subtropical China, but until now little existing knowledge is available for this question. In 2001, we chose tomonitor the seed rain process of our mixed evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous forest communities in Mount Dalaoling National Forest Park, Yichang, Hubei Province, China. The preliminary analyses show obvious variations in seed rain density, species compositions and timing of seed rain among four communities. The average seed rain densities of the four communities are 2.43±5.15, 54.13±182.75, 10.05±19.30 and 24.91±58.86 inds./m2, respectively; about one tenth the values in other studies in subtropical forests of China. In each community, the seed production is dominated by a limited number of species, and the contributions from the others are generally minor. Fecundity of evergreen broadleaved tree species is weaker than deciduous species. The seed rain of four communities begins earlier than September, and stops before December, peaking from early September to late October.The beginning date, ending date and peak times of seed rain are extensively varied among the species, indicating different types of dispersal strategies. According to the existing data, the timing of seed rain is not determined by the climate conditions in the same period, while the density of seed rain may be affected by the disturbances of weather variations at a finer temporal resolution.

There has been a great deal of interest in studying the crown of trees using remote sensing data. In this study, crown width was extracted from high-resolution QuickBird images for open Populus xiaohei plantations. Regression models for predicting the individual stem volumes of Populus xiaohei were established using extracted crown width, as well as estimated tree parameters (i.e. diameter at breast height [DBH] and tree height) as predictors. Our results indicated that crown width could be accurately extracted from QuickBird images using a multi-scale segmentation approach with a mean relative error of 5.74%, especially for wide-spacing stands. Using either extracted crown width alone or with estimated DBH and tree height can successfully estimate individual stem volume of Populus xiaohei with the R2 value ranging from 0.87 to 0.92 depending on different model forms. In particular, the two second-order polynomial models (model 2 and model 6), based on QuickBird image-derived crown widths and estimated DBH and tree heights, respectively, were the best at describing the relationship between stem volume and tree characteristics.

Salt cress (Thellungiella halophila), a close relative of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana L., is an extremophile that is adapted to harsh saline environments. Tomine salt-tolerance genes from this species, we constructed an entry cDNA library from the salt cress plant treated with salt-stress by using a modified cDNA synthesis and an improved recombinationassisted cDNA library construction method that is completely free of manipulations involving restriction enzymes and DNA ligase. This cDNA library construction procedure is significantly simplified and the quality of the cDNA library is improved. This entry cDNA library was subsequently shuttled into the destination binary vector pCB406 designed for plant transformation and expression via recombination-assisted cloning. The library is plant transformation ready and is used to transform Arabidopsis on a large scale in order to create a large collection of transgenic lines for functional gene mining.

An increase in ultraviolet (UV) B radiation on the earth’s surface is a feature of current global climate changes. It has been reported that alternative oxidase (AOX) may have a protective role against oxidative stress induced by environmental stresses, such as UV-B. To better understand the characteristic tolerance of plants to UV-B radiation, the effects of enhanced UV-B radiation on the activity and expression of AOX in red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) leaves were investigated in the present study. The results show that the total respiration rate and AOX activity in red kidney bean leaves increased significantly during treatment with enhanced UV-B. However, cytochrome oxidase (COX) activity did not change significantly. The H2O2 content was also markedly increased and reached amaximum of 4.45 mmol·L−1·g−1 DW (dry weight) at 24 h of UV-B treatment, before dropping rapidly. Both alternative pathway content and alternative pathway activity were increased in the presence of exogenous H2O2. Immunoblotting analysis with anti-AOX monoclonal antibody revealed that expression of the AOX protein increased in red kidney bean leaves under enhanced UV-B radiation, reaching a peak at 72 h. In addition, AOX expression in red kidney bean leaves was induced by exogenous H2O2. These data indicate that the increase in AOX activity in red kidney bean leaves under enhanced UV-B radiation was mainly due to H2O2-induced AOX expression.

A new ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) with a molecular weight of 31 kDa induced by Cinchonaglycoside C (1) designated CIP31, was isolated from tobacco leaves. Analysis of this protein sequence indicated that it belongs to the RIP family and it was distinct from the other plant RIPs reported previously at its N-terminal amino acid sequence. CIP31 can directly impair synthesis of coat protein (CP) of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), which resulted in inhibition of TMV long distance movement and multiplication in tobacco plants at concentrations of ng/mL. Furthermore, no toxicity was shown to the growth and fertility of the plants. CIP31 was synthesized only in the presence of Cinchonaglycoside C (1) and was independent of the salicylic acid (SA) signal pathway. We provided evidence for the SA-independent biological induction of resistance.

The response of halophyte arrowleaf saltbush (Atriplex triangularis Willd) plants to a gradient of salt stress were investigated with hydroponically cultured seedlings. Under salt stress, both the Na+ uptake into root xylem and negative pressures in xylem vessels increased with the elevation of salinity (up to 500 mol/m3) in the root environment. However, the increment in negative pressures in root xylem far from matches the decrease in the osmotic potential of the root bathing solutions, even when the osmotic potential of xylem sap is taken into consideration. The total water potential of xylem sap in arrowleaf saltbush roots was close to the osmotic potential of root bathing solutions when the salt stress was low, but a progressively increased gap between the water potential of xylem sap and the osmotic potential of root bathing solutions was observed when the salinity in the root environment was enhanced. The maximum gap was 1.4MPa at a salinity level of 500 mol/m3 without apparent dehydration of the tested plants. This discrepancy could not be explained with the current theories in plant physiology. The radial reflection coefficient of root in arrowleaf saltbush decreased with the enhanced salt stress was and accompanied by an increase in the Na+ uptake into xylem sap. However, the relative Na+ in xylem exudates based on the corresponding NaCl concentration in the root bathing solutions showed a tendency of decrease. The results showed that the reduction in the radial reflection coefficient of roots in the arrowleaf saltbush did not lead to a mass influx of NaCl into xylem when the radial reflection coefficient of the root was considerably small; and that arrowleaf saltbush could use small xylem pressures to counterbalance the salt stresses, either with the uptake of large amounts of salt, or with the development of xylem pressures dangerously negative. This strategy could be one of the mechanisms behind the high resistance of arrowleaf saltbush plants to salt stress.

Chlorophyll fluorescence and antioxidative capability in detached leaves of the wild type Arabidopsis thaliana L. ecotype Landsberg erecta (Ler) and three mutants deficient in anthocyanins biosynthesis (tt3, tt4, and tt3tt4) were investigated during treatment with temperatures ranging 25–45 ◦C. In comparison with thewild type, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters Fv/Fm, PSII, electron transport rate (ETR), Fv/Fo and qP in three anthocyanin-deficient mutants showed a more rapidly decreasing rate when the temperature was over 35 ◦C. Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) in these mutants was almost completely lost at 44 ◦C, whereas the content of heat stable protein dropped and the rate of the membrane leakage increased.Fo-temperature curves were obtained by monitoring Fo levels with gradually elevated temperatures from 22 ◦C to 72◦C at 0.5 ◦C/min. The inflexion temperatures of Fo were 45.8 ◦C in Ler, 45.1 ◦C in tt3, 44.1 ◦C in tt4 and 42.3 ◦C in tt3tt4, respectively. The temperatures of maximal Fo in three mutants were 1.9–3.8 ◦C lower than the wild type plants. Meanwhile, three mutants had lower activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and an inferior scavenging capability to DPPH (1.1-diphenyl-2-picrylhy.drazyl) radical under heat stress, and in particular tt3tt4 had the lowest antioxidative potential. The results of the diaminobenzidine-H2O2 histochemical staining showed that H2O2 was accumulated in the leaf vein and mesophyll cells of mutants under treatment at 40 ◦C, and it was significantly presented in leaf cells of tt3tt4.The sensitivity of Arabidopsis anthocyanins-deficient mutants to high temperatures has revealed that anthocyanins in normal plants might provide protection from high temperature injury, by enhancing its ntioxidative capability under high temperature stress.

Success of improving the salt tolerance of genotypes requires effective and reliable screening traits in breeding programs.The objective was to assess the suitability of various physiological traits to screen wheat genotypes for salt tolerance.Thirteen wheat genotypes from Egypt, Germany, Australia and India were grown in soil with two salinity levels (control and 150 mmol/L NaCl) in a greenhouse. The physiological traits (ion contents in leaves and stems, i.e. Na+, Cl−, K+, Ca2+), the ratios of K+/Na+ and Ca+/Na+ in the leaves and stems, net photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, chlorophyll content (SPAD value), and leaf water relations, were measured at different growth stages. The physiological traits except for Na+ and Cl− in stems and the leaf transpiration rate at 150 mmol/L NaCl showed a significant genotypic variation, indicating that the traits that have a significant genotypic variation may be possibly used as screening criteria.According to the analysis of linear regression of the scores of the physiological traits against those of grain yield, however,the physiological traits of Ca2+ and Ca2+/Na+ at 45 d and final harvest with the greatest genotypic variation were ranked at the top. From a practical and economic point of view, SPAD value should be considered to be used as screening criteria and/or there is a need to develop a quick and practical approach to determine Ca2+ in plant tissues.

A field study was carried out to quantify plant growth and the foliar chemistry of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton (cv. GK-12) exposed to ambient CO2 and elevated (double-ambient) CO2 for different lengths of time (1, 2 and 3 months) in 2004 and 2005. The results indicated that CO2 levels significantly affected plant height, leaf area per plant and leaf chemistry of transgenic Bt cotton. Significantly, higher plant height and leaf area per plant were observed after cotton plants that were grown in elevated CO2 were compared with plants grown in ambient CO2 for 1, 2 and 3 months in the investigation. Simultaneously, significant interaction between CO2 level × investigating year was observed in leaf area per plant. Moreover, foliar total amino acids were increased by 14%, 13%, 11% and 12%, 14%, 10% in transgenic Bt cotton after exposed to elevated CO2 for 1, 2 or 3months compared with ambient CO2 in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Condensed tannin occurrence increased by 17%, 11%, 9% in 2004 and 12%, 11%, 9% in 2005 in transgenic Bt cotton after being exposed to elevated CO2 for 1, 2 or 3months compared with ambient CO2 for the same time. However, Bt toxin decreased by 3.0%,2.9%, 3.1% and 2.4%, 2.5%, 2.9% in transgenic Bt cotton after exposed to elevated CO2 for 1, 2 or 3months compared with ambient CO2 for same time in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Furthermore, there was prominent interaction on the foliar total amino acids between the CO2 level and the time of cotton plant being exposed to elevated CO2. It is presumed that elevated CO2 can alter the plant growth and hence ultimately the phenotype allocation to foliar chemistical components of transgenic Bt cotton, which may in turn, affect the plant-herbivore interactions.

The C3 halophyte Suaeda salsa was used to investigate the roles of Ca2+, Ca2+ channels, and calmodulin (CaM) in betacyanin metabolism. Seeds of S. salsa were cultured in both the dark and light for 3 days. The fresh weight and betacyanin content were much higher in S. salsa seedlings formed in the dark than in seedlings formed in the light. The addition of Ca2+ to the half-strength MS nutrient solution promoted betacyanin accumulation in the dark, whereas Ca2+ depletion by EGTA suppressed the dark-induced betacyanin accumulation in shoots of S. salsa. The Ca2+ channel blocker LaCl3 also inhibited dark-induced betacyanin accumulation. The highest activity of CaM and the maximum betacyanin content decreased by 51% and 45%, respectively, in shoots of S. salsa seedlings treated with the potent CaM antagonist chlorpromazine in the dark. Furthermore, the other CaM antagonist N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide (W-7) also inhibited the activity of CaM and dark-dependent betacyanin accumulation, whereas its less active structural analog N-(6-aminohexyl)-1-naphthalenesulfonamide (W-5) had little effect on the responses to dark of S. salsa seedlings. These results suggest that Ca2+, Ca2+-regulated ion channels, and CaM play an important role in dark-induced betacyanin accumulation in the shoots of the C3 halophyte S. salsa.

The pollen morphology of six taxa of the genus Acinos Miller has been examined under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a description of each taxon has been given. Acinos pollen is stephanocolpate (hexacolpate). Two main exine sculpturing types, foveolate-reticulate (only in subspecies of A. troodi) and reticulate have been defined. The dimension for the polar length ranges between 25.8–47.4µm, equatorial width 24.5–34.4µm, colpus length 20.0–40.5µm and colpus width 1.2–2.5µm. The shape is mostly subprolate to prolate, seldomly prolate-spheroidal. The results reveal rather uniform morphological features, however fine details are characteristic to differentiate the pollen taxa. Acinos pollen also share some common morphological features with the other Lamiaceae pollen.

Cereal genes are classified into two distinct classes according to the guanine-cytosine (GC) content at the third codon sites (GC3). Natural selection and mutation bias have been proposed to affect the GC content. However, there has been controversy about the cause of GC variation. Here, we characterized the GC content of 1 092 paralogs and other single-copy genes in the duplicated chromosomal regions of the rice genome (ssp. indica) and classified the paralogs into GC3-rich and GC3-poor groups. By referring to out-group sequences from Arabidopsis and maize, we confirmed that the average synonymous substitution rate of the GC3-rich genes is significantly lower than that of the GC3-poor genes. Furthermore,we explored the other possible factors corresponding to the GC variation including the length of coding sequences, the number of exons in each gene, the number of genes in each family, the location of genes on chromosomes and the protein functions. Consequently, we propose that natural selection rather than mutation bias was the primary cause of the GC variation.

Floral morphogenesis and the development of Cercidiphyllum japonicum Sieb. et Zucc. were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the pistillate inflorescences were congested spikes with the flowers arranged opposite. Great differences between the so-called “bract” and the vegetative leaf were observed both inmorphogenesis and morphology. In morphogenesis, the “bract” primordium is crescent-shaped, truncated at the apex and not conduplicate,has no stipule primordium at the base but does have some inconspicuous teeth in the margin that are not glandular. The leaf primordium is triangular, cycloidal at the apex, conduplicate, has two stipule primordia at the base, has one gland-tooth at the apex occurring at first and some gland-teeth in the margin that occur later. Inmorphology, the “bract” is also different to the vegetative leaf in some characteristics that were also illustrated in the present paper. Based on the hypothesis that the bract is more similar to the vegetative leaf than the tepal, we considered that the so-called “bract” of C. japonicum might be the tepal of the pistillate flower in morphological nature. Therefore, each pistillate flower contains a tepal and a carpel.We did not find any trace of other floral organs in the morphogenesis of the pistillate flower. Therefore we considered that the unicarpellate status of extant Cercidiphyllum might be to highly reduce and advance characteristics that make the extant Cercidiphyllum isolated from both fossil Cercidiphyllum-like plants and its extant affinities.