OBJECTIVEThe studies were carried out on the physiologic characteristics of Panax notoginseng seeds during the after--ripening process in order to understand the seed's biochemical and physiological changes and lay the foundation for the germplasm conversation and breeding research of P. notoginseng seeds.

METHODDynamic changes of storage material contents, respiratory rate and protective enzymatic activity were determined by normal biochemical and physiological measuring methods.

RESULTThe respiratory rate increased continuously during the stratification process, the contents of starch, soluble protein, crude fat decreased and the content of water-soluble saccharide increased with the embryo development, activities of CAT, POD and SOD increased with the raise of MDA content.

CONCLUSIONP. notoginseng seed's biochemical and physiological changes interacted with its embryo morphological changes to complete its after-ripening development.

Catalase ; metabolism ; Oxygen Consumption ; Panax notoginseng ; chemistry ; physiology ; Seeds ; growth & development ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

Seed morphology of 17 Dendrobium species from Yunnan were observed under light microscope and environment scanning electron microscope and 16 of them were reported first time. All seeds were yellow and fusiform, but big differences existed in sizes of seeds and embryos, which were not significantly related to the division of sections under Dendrobium. Dendrobium seed consisted of embryo and testa with flocs on its cell walls. The density and length of flocs were different among the sections under Dendrobium.
China ; Dendrobium ; anatomy & histology ; classification ; ultrastructure ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Seeds ; anatomy & histology ; classification ; ultrastructure

OBJECTIVEClone of sucrose synthase of Dendribium officinale and expression analysis, to provide the theory basis for research the relationship between polysaccharide synthesis of D. officinale and sucrose synthase activity.

METHODAccording to homologous sequence of sucrose synthase gene on GenBank, application the technology of RT-PCR and RACE, clone the full length of D. officinale. Target gene amplified with T vector was transformed into competent E. coli. BL21, IPTG induced expression, SDS-PAGE analysis.

RESULTA full length cDNA encoding sucrose synthase was isolated from the D. officinale, named DOSS1, the GenBank accession number is HQ856835, the cDNA is 2781 bp in length containing an open reading frame of 2424 bp encoding 807 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 92.3 x 10(3), the deduced amino acid sequence of D. officinale sucrose synthase shares 95% identity with Mokara yellow (AF530568); shares 90% identity with Oncidium goldiana (AF530567); shares more than 80% with other monocotyledonous plants.

CONCLUSIONCloned the sucrose synthase gene and induced an obvious band successfully.

3' Untranslated Regions ; genetics ; 5' Untranslated Regions ; genetics ; Cloning, Molecular ; Dendrobium ; enzymology ; genetics ; metabolism ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Glucosyltransferases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Phylogeny ; Polysaccharides ; biosynthesis