Seeds and seedlings of Acacia bivenosa D.C. Prod, A. salicina Lindl., A. saligna (Labill.) H. Wendl. and A. tumida F. Muell. ex Benth were germinated and grown in NaCl solutions to investigate the relative salt tolerance among the different species, and t

Freshly collected pollens from opened and unopened flowers of two genotypes (EG45 and 1361) of Eucalyptus grandis were desiccated in oven at 30˚C and over silica gel in desiccator for various times. It was found that E. grandis pollen has a requirement of

An efficient system of rice microspore culture could contribute to the production of genetically modified rice. The microspores were isolated by mechanical or shed methods. The number of microspores per 100 anthers isolated at uninucleate stage was higher than (or similar to) those at binucleate stage in isolation method with pestle or spatular, but microspore divisions were not easily observed on both stages. On the other hand, pollen division in shed pollen culture was observed more frequently at uninuclear than at binuclear stage. Cold pretreatment at 10~circC for 10 days resulted in the best multicellular division to produce microcalli at 12.5% efficiency in shed microspores. Heat shock at 33~circC for one hour before or after pollen shedding enhanced cell division and callus formation. Out of twelve green regenerants, two were haploids and ten were diploids based on the chromosome analysis of root tips. The size of stoma was 12m m in haploids and 15 ~mu~textrmm in diploids determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Transgenic plants from hypocotyl segments of buckwheat were produced with the Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 harboring the binary vector pBI121 containing chimeric genes of neomycin phosphotransferase II (npt II) and β -glucuronidase (gus). Two weeks after co-cultivation with Agrobacterium, most of the hypocotyl segments gradually became brown and died on the selection medium containing 100mg/~ell of kanamycin. Plants regenerated from the hypocotyl explants grown on selection medium were GUS-positive in the leaf, stem and vascular tissues by histochemical assay, and varied in gus activity (440-2568 pmol, 4-MU/mg protein) by fluorimetry. The plants showing GUS activity were confirmed of containing GUS and NPT-II genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Within 3 months, transgenic buckwheat plants were able to obtained from the hypocotyl segments.

Silica bodies (phytoliths) are becoming of wide use for pedology, archaeology, paleobotany and paleoecology in botany. This study investigated morphological differences of silica bodies in the lamina of wild, indica type, and japonica type rice. Phytoliths in the epidermis of lamina showed noticeable difference among tested plants. Besides, there were also significant differences in the shape and distribution of the silica bodies around stomata and trichomes. Silica bodies in the lamina of the rice plants could be used to classify subspecies of Oryza genus.