Morphogenesis, pigment content, phytohormones and yield of tomatoes under the action of gibberellin and tebuconazole

One of the main tasks of contemporary plant physiology is regulation of growth and development of cultivated plants in order to optimize the productive process. The scientific community focuses its attention on the use of natural activators and growth inhibitors. We investigated the effect of foliar treatment with 0.005% solution of gibberellic acid and 0.025% solution of the anti-gibberellic preparation tebuconazole on morphogenesis, leaf mesostructure, content of photosynthetic pigments, balance of endogenous phytobrybrides and lymphocyte B and productivity of tomatoes. The vegetation experiment was carried out in the conditions of soil-sand culture in vessels with a 10-liter volume. The treatment was carried out in the budding phase. Morphometric parameters were measured every 10 days. The mesostructure of the middle tier leaves was studied in the fruit formation phase, and the chlorophyll content was determined in the raw material by spectrophotometric method. Analytical determination of endogenous phytohormones – indolyl-3-acetic (IAA), gibberellic acid and abscisic (ABA) acids and cytokinins – zeatin (Z), zeatin-O-glucoside (ZG), zeatinribozide (Znila) and isopentenyladenosine (iPA) was performed by high performance liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). With gibberellic acid treatment plant height increased significantly, while with tebuconazole it decreased. Gibberellic acid increased the number of leaves per plant, and tebuconazole did not change it. The preparations increased the number of leaf blades per leaf, the total number of leaf blades per plant, the weight of the raw material of leaves, the area of leaf blades and the area of the leaves at the end of the study period. The dry matter weight of stems and roots under the action of gibberellic acid increased, and during the treatment of tebuconazole decreased. Gibberellic acid increased the dry matter of the whole plant, and tebuconazole did not change it. Under the action of tebuconazole the content of chlorophyll in the leaves increased, while under the action of gibberellic acid it decreased. Both regulators increased the volume of columnar parenchyma cells. Gibberellic acid increased the size of spongy parenchyma cells, while tebuconazole did not change them. It is revealed that the action of exogenous gibberellic acid in stems and leaves increased the content of endogenous IAA and gibberellic acid, and tebuconazole decreased their content. The ABA content in stems and leaves increased with tebuconazole treatments and decreased with exogenous gibberellic acid. The total cytokinin content in the leaves was higher than in the stems in both the control and the experiment samples. Growth regulators induced an increase in the cytokinin pool in leaves and a decrease in stems. Gibberellic acid increased the content of all five forms of cytokinins in the leaves, and tebuconazole increased only two isoforms. In the stems under the action of both growth regulators the content of Z decreased and iP increased. The content of ZR and iPA in stems increased after the application of the retardant and decreased under the action of growth stimulant. The ZG content exceeded the control after gibberellic acid treatment and was in trace concentrations under the action of tebuconazole. Growth regulators optimized the productivity of tomato plants: under the action of gibberellic acid there was a considerable increase in the number of fruits per plant, and after the use of tebuconazole the average weight of one fruit significantly increased. The obtained results demonstrated that anatomical-morphological and structural-functional rearrangements in tomato plants under the action of exogenous gibberellic acid and tebuconazole occurred against the background of changes in the balance and distribution of endogenous hormones. Increased photosynthetic activity, stimulation of growth processes of some plant organs and inhibition of others increased the biological crop capacity

Redox-Driven Transformation of a Discrete Molecular Cage into an Infinite 3D Coordination Polymer

Two M12L6 redox‐active self‐assembled cages constructed from an electron‐rich ligand based on the extended tetrathiafulvalene framework (exTTF) and metal complexes with a linear geometry (PdII and AgI) are depicted. Remarkably, based on a combination of specific structural and electronic features, the polycationic self‐assembled AgI coordination cage undergoes a supramolecular transformation upon oxidation into a three‐dimensional coordination polymer, that is characterized by X‐ray crystallography. This redox‐controlled change of the molecular organization results from the drastic conformational modifications accompanying oxidation of the exTTF moiety

Self-consistent Coronal Heating and Solar Wind Acceleration from Anisotropic Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

We present a series of models for the plasma properties along open magnetic flux tubes rooted in solar coronal holes, streamers, and active regions. These models represent the first self-consistent solutions that combine: (1) chromospheric heating driven by an empirically guided acoustic wave spectrum, (2) coronal heating from Alfven waves that have been partially reflected, then damped by anisotropic turbulent cascade, and (3) solar wind acceleration from gradients of gas pressure, acoustic wave pressure, and Alfven wave pressure. The only input parameters are the photospheric lower boundary conditions for the waves and the radial dependence of the background magnetic field along the flux tube. For a single choice for the photospheric wave properties, our models produce a realistic range of slow and fast solar wind conditions by varying only the coronal magnetic field. Specifically, a 2D model of coronal holes and streamers at solar minimum reproduces the latitudinal bifurcation of slow and fast streams seen by Ulysses. The radial gradient of the Alfven speed affects where the waves are reflected and damped, and thus whether energy is deposited below or above the Parker critical point. As predicted by earlier studies, a larger coronal ``expansion factor'' gives rise to a slower and denser wind, higher temperature at the coronal base, less intense Alfven waves at 1 AU, and correlative trends for commonly measured ratios of ion charge states and FIP-sensitive abundances that are in general agreement with observations. These models offer supporting evidence for the idea that coronal heating and solar wind acceleration (in open magnetic flux tubes) can occur as a result of wave dissipation and turbulent cascade. (abridged abstract)Comment: 32 pages (emulateapj style), 18 figures, ApJ Supplement, in press (v. 171, August 2007