Spaceflight-induced variation on biological traits and effective components of Cassia obtusifolia.

The dry seeds of Cassia obtusifolia were carried by the "ShenZhou 8" satellite and sowed after landing. Based on our pri- or study on SP1, the characteristics of plants growth, physiological index and content of effective components were examined. The results showed that the QC10, QC29 strains matured 5 d earlier compared with control. The plant height, across diameter and ground diameter of QC10, QC29, QC46 strains was superior to the control at whole growth period. The branch number increased ranging from 4 to 11 and the number of pods reached 321, 313,281, respectively, which was dramatically higher than the control (246). The yield of QC10, QC29, QC46 strains increased noticeably from 31.4 to 63.2 g. The 1000-seed-weight of QC10, QC29, QC46 strains was 25.86, 25.88, 24.06 g, while the control was 23.69 g. Compared to the control, the mass fraction of chlorophyll was enhanced 1.098, 1.016, 0.297 mg. There was no significant difference in aurantio-obtusin and chrysophanol content of seeds. Through two years research, three high-yield mutant strains were obtained. This study indicates that spaceflight-induced mutants could provide new germplasm for C. obtusifolia breeding and offers the theoretical basis for further utilization of spaceflight-induced mutation to breed high-quality C. obtusifolia strains.

Comprehensive evaluation of wild Cordyceps cicadae from different geographical origins by TOPSIS method based on the macroscopic infrared spectroscopy (IR) fingerprint.

Cordyceps cicadae is an entomogenous fungus that has been used as a valuable traditional Chinese herbal tonic, however, it can be difficult to discern the false from the genuine. In this study, the macroscopic IR fingerprint methods containing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and second derivative infrared spectroscopy (SD-IR) were used to elucidate wild C. cicadae. The TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) method was used to comprehensively evaluate C. cicadae from different geographical origins based on the macroscopic infrared spectroscopy (IR) fingerprint. The FT-IR spectra of C. cicadae exhibited the major characteristics of the absorptive peaks of carbohydrates, lipids and nucleosides at the position of 3291, 2925, 2845, 1651, 1547, 1455, 1080 and 950 cm-1. The high resolution of SD-IR further amplified the difference and revealed the potentially characteristic IR absorption spectrum. TOPSIS evaluation showed that C. cicadae from Anhui possess the strongest intensity of absorption bands among all the samples. Notably, FT-IR combined with SD-IR can effectively reveal the overall chemical components without damaging medicinal materials, and TOPSIS methods can provide a novel scientific evidence for comprehensively assessing different origins of wild C. cicadae.

Isaria cicadae conidia possess antiproliferative and inducing apoptosis properties in gynaecological carcinoma cells.

Isaria cicadae is an entomogenous fungus that has been used as a traditional Chinese medicinal materials to treat different diseases, including cancer. However, Isaria cicadae conidia for inhibitory activity against breast cancer cells growth are still not systematically studied. The present aim was to elucidate the phytochemical composition of Isaria cicadae conidia and to explore relevant anti-cancer potential in gynaecological carcinoma MCF-7 and Hela cells. Isaria cicadae conidia were identified by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS: high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray/quadrupole time of flight tandem mass spectrometry technology. Eight main compounds were identified which are nucleosides, cordycepic acid, cordycepin, beauvericin and myriocin by MS fragmentation ions. The nuclear morphology indicated the typical characteristics of apoptosis by Hoechst staining. Annexin V/PI staining revealed that the number of apoptotic cells was increased by Isaria cicadae conidia treatment. Furthermore, Isaria cicadae conidia also induced the caspase-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. The findings suggest that the full-scale active ingredients highlight the significance of Isaria cicadae conidia as potential anti-cancer agent in China.

[Effects of drying and re-watering on the photosynthesis and active oxygen metabolism of Periploca sepium seedlings].

Taking two-year-old Periploca sepium seedlings as test materials, an experiment with controlled soil water contents was conducted to study the effects of repeated drying and re-watering on the leaf photosynthetic characteristics and the lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system in young leaves, mature leaves, old leaves, new stems, and fine roots. The seedlings were subjected to three cycles of drying and re-watering, with regular irrigation to maintain the soil water content at around 80% of field capacity as the control (CK). Under drying, the leaf relative water content (RWC) and net photosynthesis rate (Pn) decreased significantly, while the leaf photosynthetic pigments content increased. When the seedlings were re-watered, their leaf RWC recovered to the CK level, showing a strong repair capacity after drying. Both the leaf chlorophyll content and the Pn after repeated drying and re-watering presented a higher level than those of the CK, indicating a compensatory effect appeared and an appropriate drought stress being able to induce the adaptability of P. sepium to drought stress. Stomatal closure was the main factor limiting P. sepium photosynthesis under drought stress, while non-stomatal limitation only worked at noon. Under drying, the superoxide anion radical (O2-*) production rate in young leaves, new stems, and fine roots increased while the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents decreased, suggesting that these young tissues were not suffered from the oxidative stress. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) in different organs had different variation trends, with those in fine roots changed actively, suggesting the important role of fine roots in the acclimation of P. sepium to drought environment. It was the cooperation and coordination among plant organs that made P. sepium more adaptive to the repeated drying and wetting conditions in drought-prone regions.

Investigation on water consumption characteristics and water use efficiency of poplar under soil water deficits on the Loess Plateau.

The water consumption characteristics and water use efficiency (WUE) of poplar (Populus simonii) were investigated under the condition of three different soil water regimes, which were 70%, 55% and 40% of field capacity (FC), respectively. The results showed that water potential, water content, photosynthetic rate, WUE of leaves, and plant growth rate decreased significantly with reduction in soil water content. At the level of adequate and medium soil water content, rapid growth and biomass accumulation in poplar occurred during May and June, whereas this phenomenon occurred only during May under severe soil drought condition. Total water consumption and biomass growth were the greatest under adequate soil water condition, decreased under medium soil drought condition, and lowest under severe soil drought condition. Total WUE was the highest under medium soil water condition and lowest under severe soil condition. Changing patterns of water consumption for daily rate, every 10-day rate, and month rate were quite different under these three soil water regimes. For all these three treatments, the highest monthly water consumption rate occurred during July and June. The highest water consumption over a 10-day period was during in the second 10 days of July, the first 10 days of July, and the last 10 days of June for these three treatments, respectively. The day for the highest water consumption in the medium and severe drought treatments occurred 1 or 2 months earlier than the adequate soil water treatment. The daily time for the greatest water consumption was different throughout the life span of poplar under these soil water levels. According to these results, we concluded that poplar did not have the characteristics of drought-resistance plants, and we do not recommend that this tree species be planted over a wider range of the Loess Plateau in China.