Light Reflected from Colored Mulches to Growing Turnip Leaves Affects Glucosinolate and Sugar Contents of Edible Roots

Abstract— Plastic mulches are widely used to conserve water and control weeds with less applied herbicides in production of food crops. Both yield and quality are important and can be affected by reflected blue (B), red (R) and far-red (FR) light combinations received during growth and development. Photosynthate allocation among growing plant parts and flavor of edible roots were studied in turnip ( Brassica rapa L.) grown in trickle-irrigated field plots with blue, green and white mulches. The blue and green mulches reflected different amounts of B, but they both reflected FR/R ratios higher than the ratio in incoming sunlight. The white mulch reflected more photosyn-thetic light and a lower FR/R ratio than the blue or green mulches. Plants grown with blue and green mulches did not differ significantly in leaf length, root size and shoot/ root biomass ratio. Those grown with white had shorter leaves and larger roots. Taste testers found that plants grown with blue mulch developed roots with a sharp flavor, and roots from plants grown with green mulch had a mild flavor. Those grown with white had a less distinct flavor. Roots grown with blue mulch had the greatest concentrations of total glucosinolates (GSL) and ascorbic acid. Reducing sugar concentrations were higher in roots grown with green than in those grown with blue mulches. The comparison of chemical composition of roots from plants grown with blue versus green mulches is important because the main difference was the amount of reflected B, suggesting that B influenced an enzyme involved in the pathway from glucose to GSL. We conclude that the spectrum of light reflected from mulch on the soil surface can influence not only shoot/root biomass ratio but also flavor-related chemical composition of field-grown food crop plants.     

Light reflected from red mulch to ripening strawberries affects aroma, sugar and organic acid concentrations.

Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) fruit size and flavor are important to both growers and consumers. Plastic mulches are frequently used in raised-bed culture to conserve water, control weeds with less herbicides, keep fruit clean and produce ripe berries earlier in the season. The most commonly used plastic mulch color is black. We hypothesized that changing mulch color to reflect more far-red (FR) and red light (R) and a higher FR/R photon ratio would keep those benefits and improve berry size and flavor by altering phytochrome-mediated regulation of pathways in ripening berries. Size and chemical composition of berries developed in sunlight over a specially formulated red plastic were compared with those that developed over standard black plastic mulch. Berries that ripened over red were about 20% larger, had higher sugar to organic acid ratios and emitted higher concentrations of favorable aroma compounds. We conclude that FR and the FR/R ratio in light reflected from the red mulch on the soil surface acted through the natural phytochrome system within the growing plants to modify gene expression enough to result in increased fruit size and improved concentrations of phytonutrient, flavor and aroma compounds.     

COTTON SEEDLING MORPHOGENIC RESPONSES TO FR/R RATIO REFLECTED FROM DIFFERENT COLORED SOILS AND SOIL COVERS

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) seedlings were morphologically responsive to red (R) and far-red (FR) light (low and high FR/R photon ratios, respectively) from time of emergence. Controlled environment R and FR treatments confirmed phytochrome involvement in biomass allocation among new leaf, stem and root growth. Seedlings that received the high FR/R photon ratio developed longer and heavier stems, leaves with lower specific weights, less massive roots and higher shoot/root biomass ratios. Other cotton seedlings were grown in sunlight over different colored soils or painted panels to measure morphological effects of FR/R photon ratio in upwardly reflected light. Morphological responses to a given FR/R ratio were the same whether the reflection was from natural soil or from a painted surface. Seedlings that received the higher FR/R photon ratios in upwardly reflected light developed longer stems, leaves with lower specific weights, less massive roots and higher shoot/root biomass ratios. The potential use of colored mulches in agriculture was discussed.     

Composition of the floral waxes ofRosa gallica, Jasminum grandiflorumm, andViola odorata

The chemical compositions of the waxes of the flowers ofRosa gallica L., Jasminum grandiflorum L., andViola odorata L. have been characterized. The waxes of these plants mainly contained hydrocarbons and fatty and cyclic alcohols and their esters with fatty acids. The highest level of free fatty acids (12.4%) was found in theJ. grandiflorum wax. Depending on the plant species, the above-mentioned groups of substances differed in composition and amount, but hydrocarbons predominated.Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, fax (371) 120 64 75. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 327–333, May–June, 1999.     

Neutral Lipids of Ruta graveolens L. Grown in vivo and in vitro

The composition of neutral lipids (NL) and fatty acids of acyl-containing components in differentiated tissues ofRuta graveolensL. (Rutaceae) grown in vivo and in vitro is studied. The NL of in vitro cultures differ from NL of the intact plant by a larger content of esters of fatty acids with alcohols, fewer high-molecular-weight alkanes, alkylbenzenes, free alkanols, and linolenic acid     

LIGHT REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ENHANCED SYNTHESIS OF A PLASTID mRNA DURING SPIRODELA GREENING

A plastid mRNA (5 × 10⁵ mol wt) appears as a burst 3 h after white light greening of steady state dark grown plants of Spirodela oligorrhiza. In this species, chlorophyll synthesis begins after 12 h. The light requirement is different from the pulse of far-red reversible red light required to abolish the lag of chlorophyll synthesis in many species, including Spirodela. Continuous high energy far-red is not stimulatory. When the illumination is not continued throughout the time of incorporation, the stimulation is minimal. Low energy blue and red light are stimulatory, and green and far-red light are ineffectual. Blue light was > 5 times as effective as red light at many dose levels. Illumination with 3 × 10¹⁷ quanta/m²/s (50pEm/cm²/s) blue light at 476 nm gave about half maximum stimulation.     

Isomeric composition of the ester fraction from epicuticular waxes of Festuca arundinacea Schreb

The ester portion of epicuticular waxes of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is composed of mixtures of homologous series of fatty acids esterfied with fatty alcohols. GC analyses of natural esters gave rise to the separation of several compounds of different chain length. To identify and quantify individual components in the mixture, GC/MS analyses were carried out, and the mass spectra of each peak were recorded and analyzed for characteristic ions. This approach permitted a comparison with data obtained from classical methods using GC analysis of acid and alcohol moieties obtained by hydrolysis.     

SPECTRAL PROPERTIES,PHOTOTRANSFORMATION KINETICS AND PELLETABILITY OF PHYTOCHROME IN Pharbitis nil Chois*

Abstract— An examination has been made of the involvement of phytochrome in the circadian rhythm of flowering in Pharbitis nil Chois. The peak position of P_fr absorption changes with time after a red light pulse. The shortest absorption wavelength of P_fr occurs at the same time as flowering is inhibited by red light in dark grown, red light pretreated plants. Pelletable and supernatant phytochrome show a similar trend with lowest values found at the time of flower inhibition. Neither phototransformation kinetics nor intermediates of phytochrome which accumulate in white light show such a relationship to the circadian rhythm found in flowering of dark grown P. nil.     

Development of non-destructive methods for the determination of airborne pollutants in pine needles: identification of trace constituents in radiata pine epicuticular wax

Summary In an attempt to develop non-destructive work-up procedures for monitoring lipophilic pollutants in the air by analysis of pine needle epicuticular wax, a project was undertaken to identify substances that interfere with the normal gas-chromatographic quantitations. Epicuticular wax was extracted from needles of radiata pine and processed to remove the bulk estolides and resin and fatty acids. Fractionation of the residue on a silica gel column gave three fractions, representing less than 0.2% of the wax. The fractions contained a mixture of natural products and anthropogenic chemicals. Among the natural products were sesquiterpenes, comprising mainly amorphene, cadinenes, germacrene and cadalene; bisnor-, nor- and diterpene hydrocarbons; methyl esters of resin acids; and 9,10-secodehydroabietanes of unknown ring-A structure. Some of these compounds have not been reported from pine needle epicuticular wax previously. Anthropogenic chemicals identified include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The organochlorine compounds of environmental importance were hexachloro-cyclohexanes (including lindane), hexachlorobenzene, pentachloroanisole, chlordanes, dieldrin, p,p-DDE, p,p-DDT, and penta-, hexa- and heptachlorobiphenyls. The organochlorine compounds were present at concentration orders of magnitude lower than the interfering compounds, and therefore had to be identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry methods. By identifying the interfering compounds, non-destructive work-up procedures could be developed in order to retain the integrity of all of the anthropogenic compounds contributing to environmental pollution.     

RAPID STOMATAL RESPONSE TO RED LIGHT IN Zea mays

Gas exchange techniques were employed to study responses of stomatal conductance to pulses of red and blue light in the grass, Zea mays. Zea mays exhibited conductance increases following brief (< 1 min) pulses of either red or blue light, in contrast to other species (e.g. Commelina communis; Assmann, 1988, Plant Physiol. 87 , 226–231) that exhibit consistent conductance responses only to pulses of blue light. Red light pulses of 450 μmol m^?2s^?1 for x min or 225 μmol m^?2s^?1 for 2x min were used to probe the fluence dependence of the red light response. The red light-stimulated conductance increase was constant for a given fluence, and increased with increasing total fluence. The conductance response to red light was larger in field grown plants (maximum growth irradiance ? 1600 μmol m-²s^?l) than in plants raised in growth chambers (maximum growth irradiance ? 150 μmol m^?2s^?1).     

Fatty acid composition of neutral lipid: Classes of Citrus seed oil

The constituents of total lipids and neutral lipid classes, i.e., hydrocarbons, wax esters, sterol esters, triacylglycerols, free fatty acids, 1,3-diacylglycerols, 1,2-diacylglycerols, free sterols, alcohols, and monoacylglycerols of three species of Citrus namely Citrus sinensis, Citrus paradisi, Citrus aurantium were investigated by thin layer and gas chromatography. Palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids were the major components in all the lipids and lipid classes studied.     

Differentiation of wool and spruce waxes affected by environmental influences using fingerprinting by soft ionization mass spectrometry

Summary Wool wax from two sheep which showed different susceptibility towards fleece rot was analysed by field desorption mass spectrometry. In the mass range from m/z 360 to m/z 410 clear differences of ion abundances were found indicating lower proportions of oxidized cholesterone in the wax of the resastent sheep. This suggests that the weathering of the fleece wax could be a factor in relation to the cause of fleece rot.Epicuticular wax isolated from green and yellowish Norway spruce needles was analysed by field ionization mass spectrometry. The comparison of the both mass spectra in the range from m/z 70 to m/z 1000 demonstrates that the wax layer of conifer needles is altered by air pollution resulting in higher proportions of free n-fatty acids and estolides. This corresponds to a premature ageing of the epicuticular wax.Both examples demonstrate that soft ionization mass spectral fingerprints of raw waxes of animals and plants can be used for a rapid characterization and differentiation of untreated and complex, biological samples.

---

Unterscheidung von Woll- und Fichten-Wachsen nach Umweltschädigung mit Fingerabdruck-Massenspektren nach schonender Ionisierung

---

Field desorption mass spectrometry of lipids IV, for Part I–III, see refs. [5–7]     

HR‐MAS NMR metabolomics of ‘Swingle’ citrumelo rootstock genetically modified to overproduce proline

The accumulation of proline is a typical physiological response to abiotic stresses in higher plants. ‘Swingle’ citrumelo, an important rootstock for citrus production, has been modified with a mutated Δ¹‐pyrroline‐5‐carboxylate synthetase gene (VaP5CSF129A) linked to the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter to induce the overproduction of free proline. This paper presents a comparative metabolomic study of nontransgenic versus transgenic ‘Swingle’ citrumelo plants with high endogenous proline. ¹H high‐resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and multivariate analysis showed significant differences in some metabolites between the nontransgenic and transgenic leaves and roots. The overproduction of proline has reduced the sucrose content in transgenic leaves, revealing a metabolic cost for these plants. In roots, the high level of free proline acts for the adjustment of cation–anion balance, causing the reduction of acetic acid content. The same sucrose level in roots indicates that they can be considered as sucrose sink. Similar behavior may be waited for fruits produced on transgenic rootstock. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics of Lipids from Individual Organs of Veronica beccabunga

Lipids from various organs of the aquatic plant Veronica beccabunga were studied. It has been demonstrated that neutral and polar lipids are qualitatively typical of higher photosynthetic plants. Lipids in various organs of aquatic veronica were unevenly distributed. The most significant differences were observed in neutral lipids for the accumulation of glycerin esters, free fatty acids, alcohols, and hydrocarbons. The ratio of phospholipids varied considerably in the polar lipids.     

N-alkylpyridinium quaternization combined with liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry: A highly sensitive method to quantify fatty alcohols in thyroid tissues

A highly sensitive method was developed for the identification and quantification of fatty alcohols in biological tissues. In the presence of pyridine-d₀ and triflic anhydride (Tf₂O), fatty alcohols were converted into permanently charged N-alkylpyridinium ions. Stable isotope-labeled derivatives were generated by pyridine-d₅ and added as internal standard (IS). The mixture was analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to positive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS). This method was optimized and validated in terms of reaction time, derivatization efficiency, stability, desalting, and ion suppression effect. Besides, fatty alcohols exhibited good linear relationship (r² > 0.993) over the concentration range of 10 ng mL⁻¹–1 μg mL⁻¹. The limits of detection (LODs) were lowered from previously reported 0.1 ng mL⁻¹ to 0.25 pg mL⁻¹. Precision (RSD% < 15.6%), accuracy (93.0–107.2%), matrix effect, and recovery (in thyroid tissues) were validated as well. Finally, this method was applied for the analysis of ten even carbon-numbered fatty alcohols (C₈–C₂₄) in human thyroid carcinoma and para-carcinoma tissues, revealing a significant decrease of fatty alcohols (free and esterified) in thyroid carcinoma tissues (p < 0.05).     

BLUE AND WHITE LIGHT EFFECTS ON CHLOROPLAST DEVELOPMENT IN A SOYBEAN MUTANT

Phenotypic difference for chloroplast development between the normal green (CL1) and the Cy₉y₉ soybean mutant was observed when the plants were grown under 18W m^?2 white or blue light. Under these conditions the mutant soybean accumulated less Chi b, neoxanthin, carotene and less total pigment than the CL1 genotype. Chloroplasts of the Cy₉y₉ line were deficient in the LHP complex relative to that of chloroplasts from the normal soybean. Specific differences were noted between chloroplasts from plants grown under blue and white light. Accumulations of a 34 kD (PSII) and a 16–17 kD (PSI) membrane polypeptide were decreased by blue light in both soybean genotypes. Blue light induced a greater accumulation of a 32 kD (PSII) polypeptide than white light. Blue light reduced granal thylakoid stacking and increased the proportion of stroma thylakoids compared to those that developed under white light. PSI electron transport activity was stimulated by the blue light treatment more than that of PSII.     

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIGHT QUALITY DEPENDENCE AND IRRADIANCE ADAPTATION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN Acetabularia mediterranea*

Characteristic differences in the light intensity curves of photosynthesis after growth of cells of Acetabularia mediterranea Lamour. (A. acetabulum (L.) Silva) in weak and strong white light were similar to those for red and blue light-treated cells, respectively. This indicated that responses to white light quantity and those to light quality might be causally related. Small differences in the thylakoid polypeptide composition of cells grown in high and low intensities of white light were not significant and thus did not help to clarify whether the adaptations to blue or red light, respectively, were the same. When the red to blue-light ratio was varied, keeping the total photon fluence rate constant, the photosynthetic capacity (red light saturated O₂-production) was dependent on blue light irradiance in a logarithmic fashion. The specific influence of red light was not detectable, indicating that only blue light was effective for light irradiance adaptation in Acetabularia. The situation was different, at least for a transient period, when adaptation to light irradiance was allowed to proceed from a low photosynthetic activity after preirradiation of the cells with prolonged red light. The effect of low white light irradiances was pronounced, causing a maximum increase of photosynthetic activity within 3 days. The response to blue light was enhanced as well, and a very low photon irradiance added to continuous red light caused a change of the same order as that produced by high irradiances of blue light alone. This elevated action of low intensity white and blue light is most likely due to increased metabolite supply derived from the degradation of starch enhanced by this light quality. Therefore, photosynthetic effectiveness in Acetabularia is regulated by the irradiance of blue light and by feedback via photosynthetic products.     

KINETICS OF Pfr APPEARANCE IN Amaranthus caudatus‡

Abstract— The kinetics of the far-red absorbing form of phytochrome (P_fr) appearance from intermediates in the pathway from the red absorbing form of phytochrome (P_r) to P_fr that accumulate under high fluence rate white light have been investigated in 3-day old dark grown Amaranthus caudatus seedlings. The appearance of P_(r after a 5 s white light pulse was measured over the temperature range -8 to 25^°C in samples flushed with O₂ or N₂. Over the whole temperature range under anaerobic conditions the kinetics of the slowest component of P_fr appearance are faster than in the presence of O₂. Arrhenius plots are linear over this temperature range and indicate the activation energy for the slowest component of P_fr appearance is 44.05 ± 1.97 kJ mol^?1 for O₂ and 53.69 ± 4.86 kJ mol^?1 for N₂.     

Identification,quantification and Chrastil modelling of wheat straw wax extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide

Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) can be used as a “green” selective solvent for extractions of wheat straw waxes. For the first time, the crude extraction yields of wheat straw waxes and the yields of a single high value group of components (wax esters) using various scCO₂ conditions (305.15 to 373.15 K and 7.5 to 40 MPa) have been modelled using the Chrastil equation (Chrastil, 1982). The model accurately predicts both the crude yield and percentage of valuable wax esters within the extracts enabling maximum extraction efficiency. The key compounds within the waxes (fatty acids, sterols, fatty alcohols, wax esters, β-diketones and alkanes) have been identified and quantified. This study highlighted that, 14,16 hentriacontanedione was extracted at critical temperature and pressure in concentrations of 1000 μg.g⁻¹ straw. This molecule could demonstrate significant potential as a natural chelate for metal recovery and also in the formation of super-hydrophobic coatings.