植物學

蓮花效應是指蓮葉表面具有奈米纖毛結構，因此只要葉面稍微傾斜，水珠就會滾離葉面，在我們生活週遭，許多植物具有蓮花效應。本實驗選擇彩葉山漆莖作為研究材料，因為我們發現在同一植株上，嫩葉的蓮花效應最佳，而老葉幾乎無蓮花效應。當彩葉山漆莖的新葉轉為老葉，蓮花效應會減弱，甚至消失。我們以不同水量、土壤酸鹼值及光照作為變因，來探討蓮花效應改變的原因，結果發現水量並非主要影響蓮花效應改變的變因；土壤過酸或過鹼，會減弱新葉及嫩葉的蓮花效應；置於暗室則使整株彩葉山漆莖所有葉面皆無蓮花效應。許多植物的性狀，在老化或面臨環境改變時，會將控制性狀的基因開啟或關閉。因此，我們推論，當環境因子改變時，植物的蓮花效應可能是經由基因層次的調控，藉以增強或減弱此性狀的表現。如果不是基因的開啟或關閉，則有可能僅是葉表面的結構發生些微的改變，真正詳細的機制仍有待進一步的確認。;We choose Breynia nivosa (Bull ex W. G. Smith) Small as a model plant to study the lotus effect on the leaves for the reason that on the same chosen plant the new-born leaves have the best lotus effect while the elder ones have little lotus effect. When the new leaves turns into elder ones, the lotus effect also turns weaker or even vanishes. To explore the exact mechanisms, we take water quantity、soil pH、and light density as the experimental factors. The results show that water quantity cannot affect the lotus effect on all leaves, change in soil pH can decrease the lotus effect on the new and new-born leaves, and dark treatments can eliminate the lotus effect on all leaves. When the environments change, the phenotypes of plants could also be changed to adapt to the new conditions by turning on or off genes. Therefore, we suggest that the lotus effect on the leaves is also controlled by genes to increase or decrease its phentype so as to adapt to the changing environments. If not, it may simply be a little change of the surface structure of the leaves. The detailed mechanism remains to be confirmed further.

The objectives of this study were to investigate (1) the floral biology of Jatropha curcas Linn. as well as its possible pollinators, (2) the correlation between the number of pollen on stigma and the frequency of floral visitors, (3) the attractiveness of essential oil extracts from three species of Lamiaceae, i.e. Hyptis suaveolens, Plectranthus ambonicus and Orthosiphon aristatus, to Apis florae, (4) the repellent effect of crude extracts from three species of Graminae, i.e. Imperata cylindrica, Eleusine indica and Dactyloctenium aegyptium, on Polyphagotarsonemus latus, and (5) the effect of appropriate combination between lamiacean essential oil and graminaceous crude extract on the percentage of fruit setting and insect pest protection. \r Jatropha curcas is monoecious plants with tiny male and female flowers borne on the same paniculate cyme. One plant produces 15-30 inflorescence. Each inflorescence composes of 70-120 florets, and only 4-8 florets are successfully setting fruits. Each flower takes approximately 17 days in developing from floral bud till floral opening. The appropriate time for pollination is from 09.00 am to 10.00 am. While bees, wasps, hornets, flies and dragonflies are its potential pollinators, mites, aphids and worms are its harmful insect pests. \r Three volumetric, 1, 3, 6 and 9 ml, of each essential oil extracts were separately sprayed on each observed inflorescence. According to the experiment, 6 and 9 ml of each of the essential oil extracts give similar effective outcome, However, The H. suaveolens extract at 6 ml is the most effective attractant for A. florae. because it uses less of the oil extracts.\r Four concentrations, 0.1 %, 0.5 %, 1.0 %, 1.5 % and 2.0 % of each of the crude extracts from three graminaceous plants were sprayed on each tested plants separately. Concentations above 1.0% consistently provided an effective biocidal activity against Imperata cylindrica , however 1.0% is accecptable. because it uses a reduced level of the crude extracts\r The combination of H. suaveolens’s essential oil and I. cylindrica crude extract both significantly enhanced fruit setting of J. curcas and protected the plant from Polyphagotarsonemus latus without adverse effect on its pollinators.

本研究的目的在於探討螺旋狀剝皮對植物生存以及芭樂果實的影響。實驗的設計是將選擇的植株或其枝幹分成四組，分別施予環狀剝皮、螺旋狀剝皮一圈、螺旋狀剝皮三圈及不剝皮等處理。 研究結果顯示，螺旋狀剝皮不會導致植株死亡，且於處理部位下方會長出新的枝葉。芭樂果實經100 天的生長之後，不剝皮處理之枝幹長出的芭樂重量都在 300g 以下，而螺旋狀剝皮一圈之枝幹長出的芭樂有重達300-400g(5%)及 400-500g(5%)，最重的達 490g；螺旋狀剝皮三圈之枝幹長出的芭樂也有重達 300-400g(占 7.7%)。此外，與不剝皮處理者比較之，螺旋狀剝皮也有助於高甜度芭樂比例的提升。 本研究成果若能成功應用在其他果樹上，有助於提高果農產收的經濟價值。 The purpose of our study is to examine spiral bark-stripping’s effects on trees, and observe what will happen with this treatment, especially in the survival of trees and fruit of Guava. The experimental design is as below. First, we divided tree samples or branches into 4 groups randomly, and then treated each group differently with girdling, spiral bark-stripping a circle, spiral bark-stripping 3 circles, or non-stripping on the trunks or branches. As a result, spiral bark-stripping did not cause death of trees. Instead, new green leaves grew below treated area. After 100 days of growth, the fruit of Guava treated with non-stripping weighed below 300 grams, while some fruit weighing above 300-400 grams(5%) and 400-500 grams(5%) grew on those trees treated with spiral bark-stripping a circle, with the heaviest of 490 grams. Besides, there are some fruit weighing 300-400 grams(7.7%) growing on those trees treated with piral bark-stripping 3 circles. The result shows that spiral bark-stripping, compared to non-stripping, promoted the proportion of high-sugar fruit. This study provides a possible way to increase the economic value of fruit harvest if applied to other kinds of fruit trees.

The special life cycle of the Nymphoides indica: The veins and petioles of the pleustonic leaves can asexually reproduce adventitious buds. Pleustonic adventitious buds will change the density of the plants and sink into water. When the root of submersible plants attaches to the bottom of the pool, they will extend stems to the water surface and resume the life cycle. Reticulate sigmons and astral sclerenchyma appears in the process of transformation. Astral sclerenchyma merely appear in the species of which its leaves float above the water surface, and Nymphoides sp. are the most obvious. The cell wall thickness of astral sclerenchyma is even. The cells are hollow and full of water, and they will utilize water to change turgor between axes and spines. This is also proved in imitating experiments. The reticulate sigmons are frequently seen among aguatic plants, and the horizontal structures prevent air space from collapsing. These two structures make the thin stems of Nymphoides indica sustain the leaves instead of being crushed by the floating water. 印度莕菜 ( Nymphoides indica )獨特的生長週期：浮水型葉的葉脈和葉柄可以無性繁殖不定芽，浮水型的不定芽會改變植株的密度而沉入水中，當沉水型植株的根系在池底固著後，便會以莖延伸出水面，再次展開浮水型葉的成長週期。轉變過程中會出現網狀的橫膈和星狀厚壁細胞。星狀厚壁細胞僅出現於葉片需由水中浮出水面生長的植物種類，而莕菜屬植物更明顯。星狀厚壁細胞其細胞壁厚度均勻，細胞中空且充滿水分，會利用水分在中軸與突起的棘間移動來改變膨壓變化，在模擬的實驗中也得到證實。網狀的橫膈在水生植物中是較常見到的構造，水平方向的支撐可以讓氣室不會塌陷，兩種構造的作用下使得印度莕菜細長的莖能夠支撐葉片，不會被流水沖斷。

平原菟絲子（Cuscuta campestris）處在不穩定或養份不足的環境中，吸器（haustorium）的生成個數會明顯減少，並加速開花結果的速率。不同於其他植物的早熟，平原菟絲子早熟時會產生自我寄生（self - parasitism），且結空穗機率明顯較低，顯示其對於不穩定環境的耐受度提高，並提升子代存活機率，稱之為適應性早熟（adapted prematurity）。相對於一般寄生，自我寄生吸器生成時間較一般寄生長，吸器大小並無顯著差異，然而吸器數量較少，且較為深入宿主。起初推論自我寄生為演化中的缺陷，這樣造成其無節制的寄生，對生存有害。但是經過長期的觀察之後，發現其生長狀況並無受到影響，而是週遭環境不穩定，所促使暫時分解自體本身的養分，以度過考驗。

跳舞草(Desmodium gyrans) 屬多年生木本豆科植物，其特殊之處在於小葉會對外界的聲音有所感應。本實驗以訊號產生器固定聲音強度，發出2、4、6、8、10 KHz不同聲頻之聲波刺激跳舞草，並以每5秒為單位紀錄小葉擺動角度之變化，分析其擺動週期、擺動幅度等不同的變化。實驗結果為跳舞草小葉之擺動週期與擺動振幅是隨著聲音頻率的增加而呈現sin函數變化之圖形。Desmodium gyrans (Leguminosae) is a perennial woody plant. Acoustic waves can stimulate stipules and cause to oscillation. This experiment used the coroma to immobilize strength, emitted the frequency of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 KHz acoustic wave to stimulate stipules and recorded the changes of oscillation angle every five seconds. We calculated the oscillation cycle、oscillation span, and analyzed experiment data. The most importance result is that the experiment graphs of oscillation angle and oscillation span with different frequency of acoustic waves display sin function metamorphic diagram.

The Latin American and Caribbean regions have one of the biggest cultivable areas in the world, calculated at around 576 million hectares. Nevertheless, 16% of this land its affected by a kind of soil degradation. Previous studies have shown that the vesicular- arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) can fix phosphorus and other elements to plants, is an important micronutrients transporter, increases the water potential of plants, can bioremediate the lands affected and prevents lixivation. These effects are very convenient and can replace the chemical fertilizers which produce collateral damage to the environment. For the reasons mentioned above, this prototype for the production of vesiculararbuscular mycorrhizae, denominated as a biofertilizer, is presented. The prototype consists of an aeroponic system which disperses, in aerial form, nutrients to the host/trap plant roots where the fungus produces its mycelium web. The fungus propagation consists of an artificial union of isolated and identified spores of the mycobiont ,which we want to propagate, with the trap plant roots. The specimen identification consisted in a staining and clarification method (Phillips- Hayman), and a taxonomical identification. In order to prove the (VAM) benefits, two experiments using Sorghum spp. were carried out. One consisted of a comparison between the plants with VAM and a control without VAM. The second one consisted of a chemical comparison between control/fertilizer/ VAM plants. These two experiments were subjected to a water stress test for 10 days. The prototype achieved a production of roots mycorrhizae between 50-65% of colonization. The taxonomic identification corroborated that the mycobionts propagated and the controls were the same species. Experiment One demonstrated that the mycorrhizae treatment has more height, stem diameter, fresh/dry weight than the control which doesn't have VAM. We also conducted the Student’s t Test to check the previously mentioned hypothesis. In Experiment Two, the control and fertilizer treatments had a similar percentage of Nitrogen and Potassium, and the mycorrhizae treatment significantly increased these two elements; nevertheless, the fertilizer and mycorrhizae treatment obtained a similar percentage of Phosphorous. The water stress test was for 10 days - one month after planting. The results were: the fertilizer and mycorrhizae treatment had the same resistance to the stress, the mycorrhizae recovered faster from the stress and the control specimens presented a lower shrivel percentage than the other plants. One of the principal gains which this prototype has is that the trap plant doesn't die after collection, and the plant only needs to be inoculated once in the plant’s life because we only prune the roots. In nature 90% of plant species present some type of mycorrhizae association, hence the feasibility of this prototype for introduction, use and application of the fungus as a biofertilizer. 1 Centro de Bachillerato Tecnologico Industrial y de servicios N°24 2 Instituto Tecnologico de Ciudad Victoria

Arabidopsis thaliana bZIPs（AtbZIPs）是一群影響層面相當廣泛的轉錄因子，一半以上的 AtbZIPs 基因表現受到光的調控，且近九成的分子機制尚未明瞭，因此探討 AtbZIPs 在植物光調控機制中所扮演的角色將是個有趣的課題。AtbZIP16 與 AtbZIP17 皆被推測會參與光的調控機制，然而迄今少有文獻針對這二個轉錄因子進行更多的研究。因此，我們想藉由細菌單雜合系統（Bacterial one hybrid system）的方法，找出能與 AtbZIP16 與 AtbZIP17轉錄因子結合的 DNA 序列，以瞭解此二轉錄因子調節下游基因表現的分子機制，並探討其在光訊息傳導途徑中所扮演的角色。針對 AtbZIP16 與 AtbZIP17，本實驗分別找到了 7 與10 種可能的結合序列。首先，經由資料庫比對分析，我們發現其序列上帶有的 motifs 功能，主要參與在光調控、環境逆境反應機制、組織發育、賀爾蒙調節、病原菌防禦、鈣離子訊息傳遞等方面，其中又以光調控佔最大的比例。再者，藉由將 motifs 的功能繪製成文氏圖，並與 HY5 （AtbZIP56）做比較，結果顯示，這三個轉錄因子雖同屬於 AtbZIP family，據推測皆受到光的調控，可能參與某些相似的生理調節過程，但都各自具備不同的功能，影響植物體的發育。如此的差異，表示他們有實質上的不同，值得我們更深入的研究。整體而言，本實驗結果除了說明 AtbZIPs 的功能確實廣泛之外，也顯示AtbZIP16 與AtbZIP17 是執行光訊號傳導很重要的調控因子。Arabidopsis thaliana bZIPs (AtbZIPs) is a group of transcription factors affecting a wide range of responses in Arabidopsis. The expression of more than half of the AtbZIPs is regulated by light, and the molecular mechanism for roughly 90% of these AtbZIPs remains unknown. Therefore, the roles AtbZIPs play in Arabidopsis light signal transduction is an interesting topic to pursue. AtbZIP16 and AtbZIP17 have been suggested to participate in the regulation mechanism mediated by light. However, only limited studies for these two transcription factors have been previously performed. For this reason, we intended to determine the DNA-binding sequences for AtbZIP16 and AtbZIP17 via the bacterial one hybrid system to reveal their target binding sites in the promoter region of their downstream genes and to speculate their possible biological function especially in light signal transduction pathway. We have identified 7 and 10 possible recognition sequences for AtbZIP16 and AtbZIP17, respectively. Using motif-finding programs analyses, we found the motifs identified are mainly involved in light and stress signaling, tissue development, hormone regulation, pathogen defense and Ca2+ signaling. Among these regulation pathways, sequences involved in light regulation owns the highest proportion. Furthermore, a Venn diagram was generated to compare functions of genes regulated by AtbZIP16, AtbZIP17 and HY5. Results revealed that, although these three transcription factors all belong to the AtbZIP family and are predicted to be regulated by some similar physiological regulation process (e.g. light), they still possess distict biological functions in plant development. Further studies are thus required to put these transcription factors into their shared and unique biological context. Taken together, the results of this experiment not only indicated light is a key regulation factor for AtbZIP16 and AtbZIP17, but also showed the function of AtbZIPs could be diverse.

Mirabilis Jalapa is a wild flower, which is often seen in countryside of Taiwan. This plant blossom regularly every day around PM 3:00-6:00. Since its regular behavior, it has the potential to become a model plant for research on circadian ryhtem. According to the on spot observation, a Mirabilis Jalapa will bloom consistently, whereas a minority of flower will bloom earlier or later. First, we observe how Mirabilis Jalapa response to disparate environmental conditions. Under a short period of light(8h) and an average period of light(12), Mirabilis Jalapa acts as normal. But under a long period of light, it flowers approximately 1h ahead of time. When under a continuous light, Mirabilis Jalapa shows a regular flowering in the first four day, and after that, circadian rythem of flowering terminate. The ripe flower buds mentain unbloom for 10 days or more, finally end up withered. Meanwhile, floral meristems are also suppressed. Temperature alter seems affct the flowering slightly. Second, we use SDS-page to detect protein divergence 6h interval.But as many of the earlier attempt, the floral stimuli is not sensible for average protein qualitative analysis. So we decide to take more direct approch by genetic experiment. From supplemental material of article” Orchestrated Transcription of Key Pathways in Arabidopsis by the Circadian” we obtain a group of genes regulared by bioclock in Arabidopsis.With Bio Informatics we choose 41 single gene, and compare with sequences in other species, designing promotors to isolate similar genes in Mirabilis Jalapa. Use rt-PCR to detect the level of certain gene expression,and compare characters of those genes in Mirabilis Jalapa with those genes in Arabidopsis. We also blast those 453 genes to the database of animal, trying to recognize some genes that is widely separated between disparat species. And test these genes in Mirabilis Jalapa to confirm this result.本實驗先針對紫茉莉開花生物時鐘的特性進行觀察，並以不同的變因測試對紫茉莉開花時鐘的影響，紫茉莉個別花朵開花生物時鐘並不一致，長日照會對植株造成開花時間提早（約1 小時）的影響，全日照則會對花芽分生及開花行為造成抑制，溫度對於開花影響不明顯。而後利用蛋白質電泳對不同時間點的樣本進行分析，由於開花激素存量極微，故並電泳結果無明顯差異。再來以阿拉伯芥已知與生物時鐘有關的基因中經過生物資訊（Bio Informatics）預測在紫茉莉中存在與開花及光週期有關之基因（CAA75629 CAB56039 AAB60305 AAC49807 AAA82068），針對該基因進行表現量的測定，驗證該基因與開花生物時鐘的關聯性。針對動物界與植物界中已知與生物時鐘相關的基因進行交叉比對，希望找出跨界廣泛存在的生物時鐘基因，接著測試紫茉莉中該基因的存在與否及表現狀況與其他物種的差異，驗證該基因分布的廣泛性。

The first aim of my project is to learn more about mushrooms: their lifecycle, their structures, the nutritional value of mushrooms, the medicinal values of mushrooms as well as the biological importance of mushrooms.\r The second aim of my project was to find how mushroom are cultivated in the world and specifically how they are cultivated in Namibia, where climatic conditions are rather harsh for mushrooms. Through interviews, I aimed to understand why mushroom cultivation is not widely practiced in Namibia and what are direct economic advantages of mushroom cultivation in Namibia.\r The third aim of my project was to see whether I could find cheap and economic methods of cultivating mushrooms in Namibia, a semi arid country where humidity is so scarce.