Response of photosynthetic characteristics and antioxidant system in the leaves of safflower to NaCl and NaHCO3.

KEY MESSAGE: Compared with NaCl, NaHCO3 caused more serious oxidative damage and photosynthesis inhibition in safflower by down-regulating the expression of related genes. Salt-alkali stress is one of the important factors that limit plant growth. NaCl and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) are neutral and alkaline salts, respectively. This study investigated the physiological characteristics and molecular responses of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) leaves treated with 200 mmol L-1 of NaCl or NaHCO3. The plants treated with NaCl treatment were less effective at inhibiting the growth of safflower, but increased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in leaves. Meanwhile, safflower alleviated stress damage by increasing proline (Pro), soluble protein (SP), and soluble sugar (SS). Both fresh weight and dry weight of safflower was severely decreased when it was subjected to NaHCO3 stress, and there was a significant increase in the permeability of cell membranes and the contents of osmotic regulatory substances. An enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes identified significant enrichment of photosynthesis and pathways related to oxidative stress. Furthermore, a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) showed that the darkgreen module had the highest correlation with photosynthesis and oxidative stress traits. Large numbers of transcription factors, primarily from the MYB, GRAS, WRKY, and C2H2 families, were predicted from the genes within the darkgreen module. An analysis of physiological indicators and DEGs, it was found that under saline-alkali stress, genes related to chlorophyll synthesis enzymes were downregulated, while those related to degradation were upregulated, resulting in inhibited chlorophyll biosynthesis and decreased chlorophyll content. Additionally, NaCl and NaHCO3 stress downregulated the expression of genes related to the Calvin cycle, photosynthetic antenna proteins, and the activity of photosynthetic reaction centers to varying degrees, hindering the photosynthetic electron transfer process, suppressing photosynthesis, with NaHCO3 stress causing more pronounced adverse effects. In terms of oxidative stress, the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) did not change significantly under the NaCl treatment, but the contents of hydrogen peroxide and the rate of production of superoxide anions increased significantly under NaHCO3 stress. In addition, treatment with NaCl upregulated the levels of expression of the key genes for superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), the ascorbate-glutathione cycle, and the thioredoxin-peroxiredoxin pathway, and increased the activity of these enzymes, thus, reducing oxidative damage. Similarly, NaHCO3 stress increased the activities of SOD, CAT, and POD and the content of ascorbic acid and initiated the glutathione-S-transferase pathway to remove excess ROS but suppressed the regeneration of glutathione and the activity of peroxiredoxin. Overall, both neutral and alkaline salts inhibited the photosynthetic process of safflower, although alkaline salt caused a higher level of stress than neutral salt. Safflower alleviated the oxidative damage induced by stress by regulating its antioxidant system.

Enriched biochars with silicon and calcium nanoparticles mitigated salt toxicity and improved safflower plant performance.

Modifying biochar with nano-nutrients is one of the most effective methods in improving the efficiency of biochar in reducing the adverse effects of environmental stresses such as salinity on plant growth and productivity. The possible effects of solid biochar, nano-silicon dioxide enriched biochar, nano-calcium carbonate enriched biochar, and combined application of these enriched biochars on physiological performance of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) were evaluated under different levels of salt stress (non-saline, 6 and 12 dSm-1). Salt stress increased sodium content, reactive oxygen species generation, and antioxidant enzymes activity, but decreased potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, silicon, photosynthetic pigments, leaf water content, and seed yield (by about 36%) of safflower plants. The addition of biochar forms to the saline soil improved growth (up to 24.6%) and seed yield (up to 37%) of safflower by reducing sodium accumulation (by about 32%) and ROS generation and enhancing nutrient uptake, photosynthetic pigments, and water contents of leaves. The combined forms of enriched biochars were the best treatment on reducing salt stress effects on safflower plants. Therefore, application of enriched biochars has a high potential to reduce the harmful effects of salt stress on plants.

Enriching biochar with calcium and silicon nanoparticles is a practical method to improve the ability of biochar to adsorb and immobilize harmful elements such as sodium in the rhizosphere. This enrichment enhanced safflower plant growth and physiological efficiency under salt stress by reducing sodium absorption and increasing the availability of beneficial nutrients.

Accelerated aging test in the determination of safflower seeds vigor

In assessing the quality of seed lots, the vigor tests are complementary to the germination test and they identify differences in the degree of deterioration of the lots. For safflower, there is little information regarding these tests. In this way, the intention of this study was to adapt the accelerated aging test methodology to assess the physiological potential of safflower seeds (Carthamus tinctorius). For this purpose, 12 seed lots were evaluated for thousand-seed weight, germination, first germination count, seedling emergence test (emergence percentage, emergence speed index, relative emergence frequency and the initial, final and mean times) and accelerated aging. For the accelerated aging test, the traditional and saline methods were used. For this, the samples were conditioned in periods of 0, 8, 16, 24, 32 and 48 hours at 42 °C. Afterwards, they were submitted to the germination test, with evaluation of normal seedlings on the 3rd day. The 12 lots were evaluated within each period, in independent experiments. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared using the Scott-Knott clustering method at 5% probability. In the traditional accelerated aging test the periods of 16, 24, 32 and 48 hours were more efficient in differentiating the lots in vigor levels, as they stratified the lots in three classes and the time of 8 hour classified the lots in two levels of vigor. In the accelerated saline aging method the time 32 hours were more efficient since it ranked seed lots at three levels of vigor and the periods of 8, 16 and 24 hour stratified the lots in two levels. In results obtained by the principal component analysis it was verified. The variables traditional accelerated aging for 24 and 32 hours correlated with emergence in the field. Therefore, the traditional accelerated aging test at 42 °C for 24 hours are promising for evaluating the physiological quality of safflower seeds.

High-throughput phenotyping to dissect genotypic differences in safflower for drought tolerance.

Drought is one of the most severe and unpredictable abiotic stresses, occurring at any growth stage and affecting crop yields worldwide. Therefore, it is essential to develop drought tolerant varieties to ensure sustainable crop production in an ever-changing climate. High-throughput digital phenotyping technologies in tandem with robust screening methods enable precise and faster selection of genotypes for breeding. To investigate the use of digital imaging to reliably phenotype for drought tolerance, a genetically diverse safflower population was screened under different drought stresses at Agriculture Victoria's high-throughput, automated phenotyping platform, Plant Phenomics Victoria, Horsham. In the first experiment, four treatments, control (90% field capacity; FC), 40% FC at initial branching, 40% FC at flowering and 50% FC at initial branching and flowering, were applied to assess the performance of four safflower genotypes. Based on these results, drought stress using 50% FC at initial branching and flowering stages was chosen to further screen 200 diverse safflower genotypes. Measured plant traits and dry biomass showed high correlations with derived digital traits including estimated shoot biomass, convex hull area, caliper length and minimum area rectangle, indicating the viability of using digital traits as proxy measures for plant growth. Estimated shoot biomass showed close association having moderately high correlation with drought indices yield index, stress tolerance index, geometric mean productivity, and mean productivity. Diverse genotypes were classified into four clusters of drought tolerance based on their performance (seed yield and digitally estimated shoot biomass) under stress. Overall, results show that rapid and precise image-based, high-throughput phenotyping in controlled environments can be used to effectively differentiate response to drought stress in a large numbers of safflower genotypes.

How can biochar-based metal oxide nanocomposites counter salt toxicity in plants?

Application of biochar-based metal oxide nanocomposites can acquire new composites and combine the benefits of biochar with nanomaterials. For the first time, this research was conducted to evaluate the possible effects of solid biochar (25 g biochar kg-1 soil) and biochar-based nanocomposites (BNCs) of magnesium oxide (25 g BNC-MgO kg-1 soil), manganese oxide (25 g BNC-MnO biochar kg-1 soil) and combined use of these nanocomposites (12.5 g BNC-MgO + 12.5 g BNC-MnO kg-1 soil) on salt (non-saline, 6 and 12 dSm-1 NaCl salinities) tolerance of safflower plants (Carthamus tinctorius L.). Salinity reduced potassium, magnesium and manganese contents in root and leaf tissues, chlorophyll content index, photosynthetic pigments, maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) and relative photosynthetic electron transport rate (RETR), leaf water content and plant biomass, but increased the sodium content, reactive oxygen species generation (ROS), oxidative stress and antioxidants and ROS detoxification potential of safflower roots and leaves. Application of biochar and BNCs increased the contents of potassium, manganese and magnesium in plant tissues, photosynthetic pigments, Fv/Fm and RETR, leaf water content and reduced sodium accumulation, ROS generation and oxidative stress under saline conditions, leading to a higher plant biomass in comparison with control. The BNC-MgO + BNC-MnO was the superior treatment on reducing salt toxicity. This treatment reduced oxidative stress by enhancing photosynthetic pigments, Fv/Fm and RETR of safflower under salt stress. These results revealed that BNCs have a great potential for improving salt tolerance of plants through increasing RETR and decreasing sodium accumulation and ROS generation.

Study on the correlation between soil microbial diversity and ambient environmental factors influencing the safflower distribution in Xinjiang.

The effects of soil microbial properties and physiographical factors on safflower distributions in the main safflower plantations of Xinjiang province in China were studied. This study may help determine the basis of the environmental factors for evaluating the geoherbalism of this medicinal plant. The soil microbial biodiversity in the bulk soil and rhizosphere of safflower at different growth stages and from different sampling plots were characterized by analyzing the environmental DNAs in the samples. With general primers targeting the 16S ribosomal DNA for bacteria and the internal transcribed spacer 1 gene for fungi, the study was performed using marker gene amplification coupled with Illumina HiSeq high-throughput sequencing technologies. Correlation analysis and a distance-based redundancy analysis were performed to determine the dominant factors affecting the distribution of the microorganism in safflower soils. A total of 16517 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained from all the 108 soil samples of nine safflower sampling plots. At the phylum level, 48 phyla have been identified with Actinobacteria (32.9%) and proteobacteria (28.7%) being predominant. For fungi, 8746 OTUs were obtained, which belonged to seven phyla with Ascomycota overwhelmingly superior in relative abundance. A significant positive correlation was found between soil microbe quantity and ASL (above sea level). Safflower was sensitive to changes in elevation, growing more abundantly in the mountainous regions at heights of around 1,200 m above sea level. It is concluded that the dominant factors affecting the distribution of microorganisms in safflower soils were soil moisture, available N, and ASL.

Melatonin alleviates lead-induced oxidative damage in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seedlings.

Application of signaling molecules has gained immense importance in improving the phytoremediative capacity of plants. This study investigated the possible role of melatonin (MEL) as a signaling molecule in ameliorating lead (Pb)-induced oxidative injury in safflower seedlings. Pot grown 10-day-old safflower seedlings were exposed to 50 µM Pb (NO3)2 alone and in combination with different MEL concentrations (0-300 µM). Exposure to Pb, resulted in a severe oxidative stress, which was indicated by reducing biomass production and enhancing the level of oxidative stress markers (e.g. MDA and H2O2). Addition of exogenous MEL considerably decreased Pb uptake and its root-to-shoot translocation while, biomass production of roots, stems and leaves increased significantly. With MEL application a marked increase in reduced glutathione (GSH) content in leaves and roots was noted as compared with Pb treatment alone. In leaves the activity of enzymes involved in glyoxalase system increased markedly by adding MEL to Pb-sressed plants. In response to increasing MEL treatments, the phytochelatin content of leaves increased substantially in comparison with Pb treatment alone. These findings confirmed that MEL can alleviate Pb toxicity by reducing Pb uptake and its root-to-shoot translocation along with modulating different antioxidant systems. The results also showed that despite the insignificant effect of melatonin on the improvement of Pb phytoremediation potential, the application of this signaling molecule can improve the survival of safflower in Pb-contaminated soils by stimulating antioxidant defense mechanisms.

Effect of salinity stress on phenotypic plasticity, yield stability, and signature of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in safflower.

Salinity is one of the major factors contributing in land degradation, disturbance of soil biology, a structure that leads to unproductive land with low crop yield potential especially in arid and semiarid regions of the world. Appropriate crops with sufficient stress tolerance capacity and non-conventional water resources should have to be managed in a sustainable way to bring these marginal lands under cultivation for future food security. The goal of the present study was to evaluate salinity tolerant potential (0, 7, and 14 dS m-1) of six safflower genotypes that can be adapted to the hyper arid climate of UAE and its marginal soil. Several agro-morphological and physiological traits such as plant dry biomass (PDM), number of branches (BN), number of capitula (CN), seed yield (SY), stable isotope composition of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C), intercellular CO2 concentration from inside to ambient air (Ci/Ca), intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE), carbon (C%) and nitrogen (N %), and harvest index (HI) were evaluated as indicative of the functional performance of safflower genotypes under salt stress. Results indicated that salinity significantly affected the seed yield at all levels and varied significantly among genotypes. The BN, PDM, CN, and δ13C attributes showed clear differentiation between tolerant and susceptible genotypes. The δ13C results indicate that the tolerant genotypes suffer less from stress, may be due to better rooting. Tolerant genotypes showed lower iWUE values but possess higher yield. Safflower genotypes (PI248836 and PI167390) proved to be salt tolerant, stable, and higher seed and biomass yielder. There was no G × E interaction but the genotypes that produce higher yield under control were still best even under salt stress conditions. Although salinity reduced crop yield, some tolerant genotypes demonstrate adaptation and good yield potential under saline marginal environment.

Physiological response and productivity of safflower lines under water deficit and rehydration.

Water deficit is one of the major stresses affecting plant growth and productivity worldwide. Plants induce various morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes to adapt to the changing environment. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), a potential oil producer, is highly adaptable to various environmental conditions, such as lack of rainfall and temperatures. The objective of this work was to study the physiological and production characteristics of six safflower lines in response to water deficit followed by rehydration. The experiment was conducted in a protected environment and consisted of 30 days of water deficit followed by 18 days of rehydration. A differential response in terms of photosynthetic pigments, electrolyte leakage, water potential, relative water content, grain yield, oil content, oil yield and water use efficiency was observed in the six lines under water stress. Lines IMA 04, IMA 10, IMA 14 showed physiological characteristics of drought tolerance, with IMA 14 and IMA 16 being the most productive after water deficit. IMA 02 and IMA 21 lines displayed intermediate characteristics of drought tolerance. It was concluded that the lines responded differently to water deficit stress, showing considerable genetic variation and influence to the environment.

Physiological response and productivity of safflower lines under water deficit and rehydration

ABSTRACT Water deficit is one of the major stresses affecting plant growth and productivity worldwide. Plants induce various morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes to adapt to the changing environment. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), a potential oil producer, is highly adaptable to various environmental conditions, such as lack of rainfall and temperatures. The objective of this work was to study the physiological and production characteristics of six safflower lines in response to water deficit followed by rehydration. The experiment was conducted in a protected environment and consisted of 30 days of water deficit followed by 18 days of rehydration. A differential response in terms of photosynthetic pigments, electrolyte leakage, water potential, relative water content, grain yield, oil content, oil yield and water use efficiency was observed in the six lines under water stress. Lines IMA 04, IMA 10, IMA 14 showed physiological characteristics of drought tolerance, with IMA 14 and IMA 16 being the most productive after water deficit. IMA 02 and IMA 21 lines displayed intermediate characteristics of drought tolerance. It was concluded that the lines responded differently to water deficit stress, showing considerable genetic variation and influence to the environment.

Interactive effects of Salicylic acid and nitric oxide in alleviating zinc toxicity of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.).

The purpose of this study was to assess the possible protective role of exogenous salicylic acid (SA), sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a donor of nitric oxide, and their combination on 21-day-old safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seedlings grown under zinc (Zn) stress. The results revealed that exposure to 500 µM ZnSO4.7H2O for 10 days markedly reduced the root and shoot dry weights in Zn-treated plants, while the application of SA, SNP and specially SA + SNP significantly increased the root and shoot dry weights in seedlings subjected to Zn stress. Addition of SA, SNP and SA + SNP interestingly reduced root-to-shoot translocation of zinc and increased significantly the level of glutathione (GSH) and ascorbate (ASC) in leaves of Zn-stressed plants. The Zn-treated plants supplemented with SA and SNP revealed an improved activity of ascorbate-glutathione cycle enzymes and those enzymes which are involved in glyoxalase system as compared to the plants treated with Zn only. However, no significant relationship was found between SA or SNP supplementation and glutathione S-transferase activity in Zn-stressed plants. These findings demonstrate that exogenous application of SA or SNP could ameliorate the negative effects of Zn on safflower plants probably by stimulation of antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems.

Genetic analysis of safflower domestication.

BACKGROUND: Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an oilseed crop in the Compositae (a.k.a. Asteraceae) that is valued for its oils rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Here, we present an analysis of the genetic architecture of safflower domestication and compare our findings to those from sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), an independently domesticated oilseed crop within the same family.We mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying 24 domestication-related traits in progeny from a cross between safflower and its wild progenitor, Carthamus palaestinus Eig. Also, we compared QTL positions in safflower against those that have been previously identified in cultivated x wild sunflower crosses to identify instances of colocalization. RESULTS: We mapped 61 QTL, the vast majority of which (59) exhibited minor or moderate phenotypic effects. The two large-effect QTL corresponded to one each for flower color and leaf spininess. A total of 14 safflower QTL colocalized with previously reported sunflower QTL for the same traits. Of these, QTL for three traits (days to flower, achene length, and number of selfed seed) had cultivar alleles that conferred effects in the same direction in both species. CONCLUSIONS: As has been observed in sunflower, and unlike many other crops, our results suggest that the genetics of safflower domestication is quite complex. Moreover, our comparative mapping results indicate that safflower and sunflower exhibit numerous instances of QTL colocalization, suggesting that parallel trait transitions during domestication may have been driven, at least in part, by parallel genotypic evolution at some of the same underlying genes.

Isolation and characterization of isochorismate synthase and cinnamate 4-hydroxylase during salinity stress, wounding, and salicylic acid treatment in Carthamus tinctorius.

Salicylic acid (SA) is a prominent signaling molecule during biotic and abiotic stresses in plants biosynthesized via cinnamate and isochorismate pathways. Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) and isochorismate synthase (ICS) are the main enzymes in phenylpropanoid and isochorismate pathways, respectively. To investigate the actual roles of these genes in resistance mechanism to environmental stresses, here, the coding sequences of these enzymes in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), as an oilseed industrial medicinal plant, were partially isolated and their expression profiles during salinity stress, wounding, and salicylic acid treatment were monitored. As a result, safflower ICS (CtICS) and C4H (CtC4H) were induced in early time points after wounding (3-6 h). Upon salinity stress, CtICS and CtC4H were highly expressed for the periods of 6-24 h and 3-6 h after treatment, respectively. It seems evident that ICS expression level is SA concentration dependent as if safflower treatment with 1 mM SA could induce ICS much stronger than that with 0.1 mM, while C4H is less likely to be so. Based on phylogenetic analysis, safflower ICS has maximum similarity to its ortholog in Vitis vinifera up to 69%, while C4H shows the highest similarity to its ortholog in Echinacea angustifolia up to 96%. Overall, the isolated genes of CtICS and CtC4H in safflower could be considered in plant breeding programs for salinity tolerance as well as for pathogen resistance.

Correlation of soil microbes and soil micro-environment under long-term safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) plantation in China.

Microbial community structure and ecological functions are influenced by interactions between above and belowground biota. There is an urgent need for intensive monitoring of microbes feedback of soil micro-ecosystem for setting up a good agricultural practice. Recent researches have revealed that many soils characteristic can effect microbial community structure. In the present study factors affecting microbial community structure and soil in Carthamus tinctorius plantations in arid agricultural ecosystem of northern Xinjiang, China were identified. The result of the study revealed that soil type was the key factor in safflower yield; Unscientific field management resulted high fertility level (bacteria dominant) of soil to turn to low fertility level (fungi dominant), and Detruded Canonical Correspondence Analysis (DCCA) showed that soil water content, organic matter, available N, P and K were the dominant factors affecting distribution of microbial community. Soil water content showed a significant positive correlation with soil microbes quantity (P < 0.01), while others showed a significant quantity correlation with soil microbe quantity (P < 0.05).

Cadmium accumulation and tolerance of two safflower cultivars in relation to photosynthesis and antioxidative enzymes.

To investigate the effects of cadmium (Cd) on photosynthetic and antioxidant activities of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) plants, two cultivars (Yuming and New safflower No. 4) were used for long-term pot experiment, under 0, 25, 50 or 100 mg Cd kg(-1) (DW) soil conditions. The results showed that there is a large amount of Cd (148.6-277.2 mg kg(-1)) accumulated in the shoot of safflower, indicating this species might be a potential Cd accumulator. Exposure to 25-100 mg Cd kg(-1) soil decreased the net photosynthetic rate by 25.6%-48.9% for New safflower No. 4, and 16.7%-57.3% for Yuming, respectively. The inhibition of photosynthesis might result from the limitation of stomatal conductance, reduction in photosynthetic pigment, and destruction of photosynthetic apparatus caused by Cd stress. Cd caused an enhancement of malondialdehyde (MDA), an increase in activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and a decrease in catalase (CAT) activity for both cultivars. It seems that SOD and APX accounted for the scavenging of oxidant stress in safflower cultivars. The physiological response of safflower plants to Cd stress was cultivar- and dose-dependent. New safflower No. 4 exhibited high photosynthetic performance at high Cd stress, which may be contributed by high intercellular CO(2) concentration, APX activity and Car/Chl ratio. In contrast, Yuming is more tolerant to Cd toxicity at low Cd level, in which an efficient antioxidant system is involved.

Pollen-mediated gene flow from transgenic safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) intended for plant molecular farming to conventional safflower.

Field experiments were conducted in Chile and western Canada to measure short-distance (0 to 100 m) outcrossing from transgenic safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) intended for plant molecular farming to non-transgenic commodity safflower of the same variety. The transgenic safflower used as the pollen source was transformed with a construct for seed-specific expression of a high-value protein and constitutive expression of a gene conferring resistance to the broad-spectrum herbicide glufosinate. Progeny of non-transgenic plants grown in plots adjacent to the transgenic pollen source were screened for glufosinate resistance to measure outcrossing frequency. Outcrossing frequency differed among locations: values closest to the transgenic pollen source (0 to 3 m) ranged from 0.48 to 1.67% and rapidly declined to between 0.0024 to 0.03% at distances of 50 to 100 m. At each location, outcrossing frequency was spatially heterogeneous, indicating insects or wind moved pollen asymmetrically. A power analysis assuming a binomial distribution and a range of alpha values (type 1 error) was conducted to estimate an upper and lower confidence interval for the probable transgenic seed frequency in each sample. This facilitated interpretation when large numbers of seeds were screened from the outcrossing experiments and no transgenic seeds were found. This study should aid regulators and the plant molecular farming industry in developing confinement strategies to mitigate pollen mediated gene flow from transgenic to non-transgenic safflower.

Effects of feeding high-linoleate safflower seeds on postpartum reproduction in beef cows.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate reproductive responses to supplemental high-linoleate safflower seeds in postpartum beef cows. In Exp. 1, 18 primiparous, crossbred beef cows (411 +/- 24.3 kg of BW) were fed Foxtail millet hay starting 1 d postpartum at 1.68% of BW (DM basis) and a low-fat control (control: 63.7% cracked corn, 33.4% safflower seed meal, and 2.9% liquid molasses; DM basis) at 0.35% of BW (n = 9) or a supplement (linoleate) containing 95.3% cracked high-linoleate (79% 18:2n-6) safflower seeds and 4.7% liquid molasses (DM basis) at 0.23% of BW (n = 9). Beginning 1 d postpartum, blood was collected every 3 d for sera. Cows were slaughtered at 37 +/- 3 d postpartum for collection of hypothalami, anterior pituitary glands, liver, ovarian follicles, and uterine tissue. By 37 +/- 3 d postpartum, dietary treatment did not influence ovarian follicular development (P >or= 0.17), hypophyseal concentrations of LH (P = 0.14), or concentrations of IGF-I in liver (P = 0.15). In contrast, anterior pituitary glands from linoleate cows contained more FSH (P = 0.02) than control cows and linoleate cows had less IGF-I in the medial basal hypothalamus (P = 0.05), preoptic area (P = 0.06), and in follicular fluid (P

Dispersal of viable row-crop seeds of commercial agriculture by farmland birds: implication for genetically modified crops.

To address some concerns about the expansion of genetically engineered pharmaceutical and industrial crops to outdoor plantings and potential impacts on the human food supply, we determined whether commercial agriculture seeds of maize or corn Zea mays L., barley Hordeum vulgare L., safflower Carthamus tinctorius L. and rice Oryza sativa L. are digested or pass viably through the digestive tract, or are transported externally, by captive mallard ducks Anas platyrhynchos L., ring-necked pheasants Phasianus colchicus L., red-winged blackbirds Agelaius phoeniceus (L.) and rock pigeons Columba livia Gmelin (with the exception of whole maize seeds which were too large to feed to the blackbirds). These crop seeds, whether free-fed or force-fed, did not pass through the digestive tract of these bird species. The birds nonetheless did retain viable seeds in the esophagus/crop and gizzard for several hours. For example, after foraging for 6 h, mallards had retained an average of 228 +/- 112 barley seeds and pheasants 192 +/- 78 in the esophagus/crop, and their germination rates were 93 and 50%, respectively. Birds externally transported seeds away from the feeding location, but in only four instances were seeds found attached to their muddy feet or legs and in no case to feathers. Risk of such crop seeds germinating, establishing and reproducing off site after transport by a bird (externally or internally) or movement of a carcass by a predator, will depend greatly on the crop and bird species, location, environmental conditions (including soil characteristics), timing, and seed condition.

Yield components, leaf pigment contents, patterns of seed filling, dry matter, LAI and LAID of some safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) genotypes in Iran.

In order to assess the genotypic variation among yield components and different physiological parameters and their relationships with safflower seed yield, six safflower genotypes were grown in Pakdasht, Iran in a randomized complete block design with four replications, during 2003-2004 growing season. Among the genotypes, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll a+b, total carotenoids contents, chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b ratio and Chlorophyll a+b/total cartenoids ratio ranged from 0.78 to 1.10, from 0.54 to 0.71, from 1.37 to 1.71, from 0.09 to 0.13 mg g(-1), from 1.33 to 1.68 and from 13.52 to 14.82, respectively. Negative relationships existed between seed yield and pigment contents. There were significant yield differences among genotypes and varied from 2452.60 to 3897.20 kg ha(-1). A diverse range of capitulum diameter (24.08-28.91 mm), seed weight/capitulum (1.18-2.04 g), number of seeds/m2 (8704.5-13165.4), number of capitula/plant (16.38-23.27), number of seeds/capitulum (35.65-41.90) and 1000-seed weight (29.94-50.60 g) was recorded. Genotypes differed in HI and the HI values ranged from 21.83% (LRK-262) to 29.62% (IL.111). In the studied set of 6 safflower genotypes, total biomass and LAI peaked around after full flowering and at the beginning of flowering, respectively. Zarghan-279 (with the greatest LAID) had 25% longer LAID than LRV.51.51 (with the lowest LAID). Differences among genotypes for rate of seed filling and effective seed filling duration were significant and differences in seed yield could be attributed to differences in the rate of seed filling. The results of this experiment indicate that physiological parameters including rate of seed filling, rapid leaf formation and expansion and delayed plant senescence are the characteristics of high-yielding safflower. Also, higher dry matter accumulation, HI, seed weight/capitulum, 1000-seed weight and capitulum diameter were found to be closely related to high-yield genotypes.

Genetic evaluation of several physiological traits for screening of suitable spring safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) genotypes under stress and non-stress irrigation regimes.

Seven cultivars and one line of spring safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) were used to estimate genetic variation, heritability, genetic gain and genetic factor analysis for several physiological traits. Each experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Factor loadings in first factor were used for determination of important physiological traits for suitable genotype screening under each irrigation regimes. Under non-stress conditions, factor analysis technique extracted six factors which exploited about 93% of the total genetic variation, while 30% of the total genetic variance was associated by the first factor. Under stress conditions factor analysis extracted four factors and they totally explained 100% of the total genetic variation, while, the first factor accounted for 38% of the total genetic variation. Ultimate, leaf area index (at stem-elongation and flowering), leaf osmotic potential (at stem-elongation) and rate of water loss from excised leaves (at flowering) under non-stress conditions and also leaf area index (at flowering and grain filling) and rate of water loss from excised leaves (at grain filling) under stress conditions were the best criteria for screening of suitable genotype under explicated conditions.