Academic literature on the topic 'Plant physiology, laboratory manuals'

The history of Leningrad Quarantine Laboratory, a subdivision of the Soviet and Russian phytosanitary services, is discussed. Its interaction and cooperation with the All-Union Research Institute of Plant Industry (later: N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources, VIR) are reviewed. The background of the need to organize such laboratory, its main activities, and the changes that followed are also explained.Leningrad Quarantine Laboratory has always closely collaborated with VIR. It has been accommodated within the Institute’s premises for 75 years. Such proximity has facilitated and accelerated the access to the plant germplasm received by VIR for plant protection and quarantine experts. Thus, a unique combination of phytosanitary safety and research activities was achieved. At the same time, the laboratory turned out to be an important research institution, publishing scientific works and methodological guidelines in the field of plant protection.In the course of its activities, the laboratory staff improved the existing methods and developed new ones for phytosanitary control of plant germplasm and its protection against pests, weeds, and pathogenic microorganisms. Manuals, directories, and identification guides written by the laboratory staff still remain the reference books for quarantine and plant protection experts. The laboratory was also very important as a qualification improvement facility for such experts. All these functions have become possible because of the work with plant germplasm that arrived to the VIR collection.

To help educators deliver their physiology laboratory courses remotely, we developed an inexpensive, customizable hardware kit along with freely available teaching resources. We based the course design on four principles that should allow students to conduct insightful experiments on different physiological systems. First, the experimental setup should not be constrained to laboratory environments. Second, students should be able to take this course without prior coding and electronics experience. Third, the hardware kit should be relatively inexpensive, and all other resources should be freely available. Fourth, all resources should be customizable for educators. The hardware kit consists of commercially available electronic components, with a microcontroller as its hub (Arduino friendly). All measurement systems can be assembled without soldering. The hardware kit is cost-effective (approximately the cost of a textbook) and can be customized depending upon instructional needs. All software is freely available, and we share all necessary codes in open-access online repositories for simple use and customizability. All lab manuals and additional video tutorials are also freely available online and customizable. In our particular course, we have weekly asynchronous physiology lectures and one synchronous laboratory session, where students can get help with their equipment. In this article, we only focus on the novel and open-source laboratory part of the course. The laboratory includes four units [data acquisition, ECG, electromyography (EMG), activity classification] and one final project. It is our intent that these resources will allow other educators to rapidly implement their own remote physiology laboratories or to extend our work into other pedagogical applications of wearable technology.

The principles of plant physiology are best learned in an environment where students are directly engaged in the process of scientific inquiry. Working from this assumption, we have developed a two-stage approach to laboratory instruction that fosters student-directed research within an undergraduate plant physiology course. During the first 10 weeks of a 16-week semester, students develop competency in measuring physiological variables by using an array of standard analytical techniques. A core set of 10 laboratory experiments provides structured instruction and teaches the principles of modern physiological analyses. During week 11, students observe a demonstration of a plant response, where the underlying cause of the phenomenon is not evident. Working together in groups of three or four, students hypothesize on the physiological mechanisms that may be involved. After submitting a statement of hypothesis and a plan of study, each group then requests the necessary instrumentation, plant material and greenhouse and/or growth chamber space to conduct their experiments. Results of their experimentation are presented during week 15 in both written and oral formats. The approach appears to help students to integrate and connect learnings from earlier in the semester to solve a defined problem. Further, students learn how to judge the reliability of experimental results and to evaluate whether conclusions drawn are justified by the data.

The research aims to develop a valid, effective, and practice guidance for laboratory practice of Islamic science-integrated plant anatomy-physiology. The study is development research of Plomp development model. The study consists of five phases, namely the preliminary investigation phase, design phase, realization or construction phase, test, evaluation, and revision phase, and implementation phase. Devices developed were tested to students of Biology Education Department, Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Alauddin, Makassar in the Even Semester 2017/2018 Academic Year. The research results indicate that the laboratory practice guidance developed has met valid criteria with content validation average of one practice criteria with device applicability in category three meaning that most of the devices are implemented. Effective criteria with 92% of students who performed the laboratory practice give positive responses to the overall item questioned, and 100% assistants provide positive response on 93.33% items asked.

On 25th February, 2011 the jubilee international conference "The Role of Physiology and Biochemistry for Plant Introduction and Breeding of Vegetables, Fruit and Berries Crops and Medicinal Plants» was held in All-Russian Research Institute of Vegetable Breeding and Seed Production at laboratory of plant physiology and seed research and that was dedicated to 130th anniversary of Prof. Zhegalov's birth; and 80 years since the laboratory of plant physiology and seed research was organized. The major directions of plant physiology and biochemistry research in vegetables, fruit and berries crops that were presented by scientists from the former USSR republics and far abroad were reported in this article.

Biology laboratory has an important role in the learning process. One of them is to train students' skills in understanding the biological material they have learned in class. STKIP biology laboratory PGRI West Sumatra consists of basic laboratories, botanical laboratories and zoology laboratories and hospitals. Where each laboratory has different specifics, basic laboratories that lead more to general subjects are mediocre in general biology, basic chemistry and others. While in the botany laboratory it is more directed to the subject of plants such as plant morphology, plant anatomy, low plant taxonomy and others. While the zoology laboratory is more focused on subjects such as, animal structure, animal physiology, animal development, animal taxonomy and others. While the wire house is often used for courses in agricultural cultivation, plant physiology, plant ecology and others. MAN I Padang Pariaman School is a school that works closely with biological study programs. One form of collaboration carried out with learning to laboratories in biology study programs with the guidance of lecturers and teaching assistants. The results obtained after the learning students receive a lot of what they learn from what they have seen and they get from the lecturer.

An investigation of the anatomy and gas exchange characteristics of Mariscus congestus in three different habitats was undertaken in order to establish whether M. congestus from the three different habitats displayed any ecotypic responses when placed in a new similar environment. It was hoped that the results of this investigation would yield evidence that would support the ecotype concept similar to the investigations of Milner and Hiesey (1964), Green (1969) and Slayter and Ferrar (1977). On the basis of the site leaf anatomy, M. congestus investigated at the coast (site 1) differed in many respects from the inland plants (sites 2 and 3). These differences suggest that the coastal plants may have undergone a slight ecotypic divergence from the inland plants. The anatomical investigation also suggested that the leaves of M. congestus from all three sites may either be C₄ NADP-ME or PCK and that all had typical Chlorocyperiod anatomy. The habitat microclimates at sites 1-3 had different light and water regimes. There were no significant differences between the 12 month temperature environments of the three sites. There was however, a minor difference between the coastal (high temperature) and the inland (lower temperature) sites. M. congestus at the three sites had significantly different CO₂ assimilation rates, transpiration and stomatal conductance in response to the differing habitat microclimates. The water use efficiency of the sites were however, similar. Site 1 attained the highest CO₂ assimilation rates, transpiration, stomatal conductance, and water use efficiency and site 3 the lowest. Under similar conditions the gas exchange data for the potted plants indicated that M. congestus from the different sites was typically C₄. The optimal photosynthetic temperatures of all the sites was above 30°C and they did not show significant inhibition of CO₂ assimilation by different oxygen concentrations. The results of the laboratory investigation of the potted plants suggested that the only site-specific (ecotypic) response of M. eongestus was the light intensity at which the plants from the different sites were light saturated. The light and temperature response of field plants under field conditions was not comparable to the light and temperature response of potted plants under laboratory conditions. This may have been due to the field results being obtained under differing water and soil nutrient regimes. The potted plants may also have had a reduced root mass compared to their field counterparts and the potted plants may have also have become root bound. Under field conditions the plants had differing light saturation points and optimal photosynthetic temperatures compared to the potted plants. This investigation thus did not support the hypothesis stated in this thesis. The data in this investigation thus may indicate that plants with as diverse habitats as Mariscus congestus that are removed from their natural habitats display rapid changes in gas exchange characteristics in response to their new microclimates, with few ecotypic physiological characteristics of the old habitat being retained.

The presented master thesis is focused on practical teaching of the plant anatomy, morphology ad physiology at primary schools in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part contains a summary of the basic knowledge about plant morphology anatomy and physiology including integration of the practical teaching of natural science in Framework Education Programme and its extension into the School Education Programme. This part includes also detail theoretical background of teaching methods, which are suitable for laboratory work and didactic games. The second, practical part contains a detail description of the seven author's laboratory works and seven didactic games dealing with different topics from the plant anatomy, morphology and physiology, their practical evaluation on pupils of two primary schools and one secondary school including following detailed analysis of the realized questionnaire of these didactic materials. According to the obtained research data, it is obvious that the using of practical teaching form is more attractive for the pupils than conventional teaching methods at primary school.

Laboratory methods are increasingly being used in remote field camps, or during mobile field surveys, to aid in wildlife conservation. This chapter explains how field laboratories have allowed for technological advances in sample preparation and preservation, and for both low and high-tech on-site analysis. It highlights how field samples can be used for health and physiological analyses, including measuring the nutritional content of plant foods, assessing hormones, C-peptide, and ketones from urine, examining faecal parasites, and using genetic techniques to determine individual identity, relatedness, and population genetic diversity. We explain how measurements of physiology and health promise to greatly improve our understanding of the relationship between disease prevalence in wild animals and anthropogenic disturbances. The authors’ research with critically endangered wild orangutans in Indonesia provides an illustrative case study, using field laboratories for rapid analysis of orangutan health status, such as assessing indicators of energy balance from urine and parasite prevalence from faeces. In addition, the chapter shows how new information can be gained from field-collected samples by taking advantage of technological advances in laboratory methodology and equipment to determine the nutrient content of foods, measure steroid hormones, and C-peptide and reveal genetic relationships. Understanding how these variables impact wildlife health and viability provides a critical tool for species conservation and helps make long-term research sustainable, provides capacity building opportunities, and forges relationships with local partners. Continued technological advances in the near future should bring more capability into field laboratories, providing data to aid conservation that is easier to obtain and more accessible.

Common duckweeds – Lemna – are free-floating aquatic macrophytes belonging to Lemnaceae family. They occur universally, in tropical and temperate zones and are enabled to grow in stagnant, slow-flowing, nutrient-enriched waters. They have an ability to grow over a wide range of temperatures (6 – 33 0C) and pH (optimum 5.5 – 7.5). Lemna species also manifest a characteristic macrophyte community in association with plants functioning as a dominant primary producer. Asexual mode of reproduction is exclusive and therefore, all resources are directed towards vegetative growth. Structure wise they show leaflets (frond) and root-like diffuse form. This simple morphological and physiological form offers special scientific and engineering properties – reflected in easy handling and manipulation under laboratory conditions. As a result they are regarded as a model plant system for a number of chemical and biogeochemical studies. Climate change affects plant growth and physiology. For example, increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone (O3) or increase in ultraviolet (UV) radiation (due to the thinning of the ozone layer) can have pronounced effects on the growth and development of plants. In many instances the decrease in growth rate can create disturbances in photosynthetic processes. In the recent past there has been a surge in the interest in looking for alternative remediation technologies to meet formidable demands of polluting materials and situations. One such approach is phytoremediation – the use of plants and associated microbes for environmental cleanup. Cardinal points in favour of such an approach are – cost-effectiveness, natural energy-driven and minimal capital and running costs. Potency of Lemna spp. as a phytoremediation agent as well as its limitations haven dealt with in details in literature. Moreover, Lemna spp. are accepted and highly standardized as test organisms in aquatic ecotoxicology. The authors have shown earlier that Lemna spp. can play a vital role in combating pollution burden in a glaring local situation of river pollution. However, the recent trend in research indicates that Lemna spp (duckweeds at large) can play a critical and sensitive role in being an indicator of overt and subtle climate change. The following is an attempt to take a review of such recent trends.

The present study was designed to investigate the efficacy of nutrient media on the development and mortality of the life stages of the phytophagous Gallerria mellonella. Thus, in order to study the con-ditions and factors affecting the cultivation of Galleria mellonella in laboratory conditions and the biolog-ical efficiency of its rational use, it was necessary to investigate the effect of nutrient media on the mor-phophysiological parameters of G. mellonella; a physic-chemical analysis of the ingredients of the nutri-ent media under study, etc. Thus, some authors recommend for reproduction in laboratory conditions a complex composition of media, including containing vitamins, protein, various sources of fat, carbohy-drates; but also to be, at low cost.

The resistance (sensibility) study of potato plant’s aboveground part to brown rot causative agent conducted in laboratory conditions. The used technique for infecting plants growing on artificial substrate allowed to standardize experiment conducting and to decrease the hazard of pathogen spread. The re-ceived data in such way may use in breeding for the search of resistant parents forms to disease.

This paper presents the conceptual conceptual vision a formulation technology for biopesticides in which the active ingredient (baculovirus) is an active coal. Importantly, this indgredient protects the sen-sitive viral DNA from degrading in sunlight, but dissolves in the alkaline insect gut to release the virus, which then infects and kills the pest. We show, using this ingredient, in both laboratory bioassays and field tests, that this can extend the efficacy of the biopesticide well beyond the few hours of existing virus formulations, potentially increasing the spray interval and reducing the need for high application rates. Are presented both theoretical foundations and practical applications and described the results oriented for implementation and functionality of organic agriculture in Republic of Moldova.

Most of plant development, physiological and metabolic processes are regulated by not only soluble sugars such as glucose and sucrose, but also by other signal molecules, such as phytohormones. The investigation of flowering induction, considering the influence of vernalisation duration and photoperiod on morphogenesis stages and accumulation metabolites in the new Festulolium cultivars ’Vėtra’ and ’Punia’ was carried out at the phytotron complex of the Plant Physiology Laboratory, Institute of Horticulture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry in 2011-2012. The data revealed impact of vernalisation and photoperiod on accumulation of both types of assessed metabolies, i.e. phytohormones and saccharides, and thus confirmed their substantial role. 90 short-day vernalisation induced the highest total phytohormone content in ‘Vėtra’, when plant achieved tillering stage and was going for intensive growth when growth regulators will be important in the metabolic regulation. The highest phytohormone content was recorded after long – day 130+20 day vernalization at VII and IV organogenesis stages of ‘Vėtra’ and ʽPuniaʼ respectively. Saccharides content significantly depended on photoperiod and temperature during vernalisation and was different in ’Vėtra’ and ’Punia’.

Many plants, including Festulolium, grown in temperate climates require vernalization and must experience a period of low winter temperature to initiate or accelerate the flowering process. The aim of research was to investigate impact of vernalisation thermoinduction on growth and development parameters of Festulolium varieties ‘Vėtra’ and ‘Punia DS’. Investigations were carried out in Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Institute of Horticulture, Plant Physiology Laboratory of phytotron complex in 2011–2012. Some peculiarities of growth and development of. Festulolium varieties ’Vėtra’ and ‘Punia DS’ were investigated. 5 plants were sown in each 5 litre pot in neutral peat substrate (pH 6–6.5). The plants were grown in greenhouse till the tillering phase at the temperature of 20±2 °C at daytime and 16±2 °C at night. Later plants were moved to low temperature chambers for 90, 110 and 130 days for passing of vernalisation processes, where the 8 and 16 hour photoperiod were maintained at 4 °C temperature. After vernalisation periods plants were removed to a greenhouse for additional 20 days. Biometric parameters, namely plant height, shoot number and dry mass were measured after each period in greenhouse and climatic chambers. The data revealed different response of Festulolium varieties ‘Vėtra’ and ‘Punia DS’ to vernalisation conditions. According to our data ‘Vėtra’ plant height was 6 % higher than the ‘Punia DS’ after 130+20 days of vernalisation. Nonetheless, vernalisation temperature conditions have no significant impact on shoot number. 110 and 130 long-day photoperiod significantly impacted on shoot number of Festulolium ʽVėtraʼ. Otherwise, 90 days vernalisation of both photoperiod induced significantly the highest length of ‘Punia DSʼ shoots. ‘Vėtraʼ accumulated significantly the maximum dry matter after 110 days vernalisation period, than that after 90 and 130 days.

Research objectives : Identify genetic potential and community structure of soil and rhizosphere microbial community structure as affected by treated wastewater (TWW) irrigation. This objective was achieved through the examination soil and rhizosphere microbial communities of plants irrigated with fresh water (FW) and TWW. Genomic DNA extracted from soil and rhizosphere samples (Minz laboratory) was processed for DNA-based shotgun metagenome sequencing (Green laboratory). High-throughput bioinformatics was performed to compare both taxonomic and functional gene (and pathway) differences between sample types (treatment and location). Identify metabolic pathways induced or repressed by TWW irrigation. To accomplish this objective, shotgun metatranscriptome (RNA-based) sequencing was performed. Expressed genes and pathways were compared to identify significantly differentially expressed features between rhizosphere communities of plants irrigated with FW and TWW. Identify microbial gene functions and pathways affected by TWW irrigation*. To accomplish this objective, we will perform a metaproteome comparison between rhizosphere communities of plants irrigated with FW and TWW and selected soil microbial activities. Integration and evaluation of microbial community function in relation to its structure and genetic potential, and to infer the in situ physiology and function of microbial communities in soil and rhizospere under FW and TWW irrigation regimes. This objective is ongoing due to the need for extensive bioinformatics analysis. As a result of the capabilities of the new PI, we have also been characterizing the transcriptome of the plant roots as affected by the TWW irrigation and comparing the function of the plants to that of the microbiome. *This original objective was not achieved in the course of this study due to technical issues, especially the need to replace the American PIs during the project. However, the fact we were able to analyze more than one plant system as a result of the abilities of the new American PI strengthened the power of the conclusions derived from studies for the 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ objectives. Background: As the world population grows, more urban waste is discharged to the environment, and fresh water sources are being polluted. Developing and industrial countries are increasing the use of wastewater and treated wastewater (TWW) for agriculture practice, thus turning the waste product into a valuable resource. Wastewater supplies a year- round reliable source of nutrient-rich water. Despite continuing enhancements in TWW quality, TWW irrigation can still result in unexplained and undesirable effects on crops. In part, these undesirable effects may be attributed to, among other factors, to the effects of TWW on the plant microbiome. Previous studies, including our own, have presented the TWW effect on soil microbial activity and community composition. To the best of our knowledge, however, no comprehensive study yet has been conducted on the microbial population associated BARD Report - Project 4662 Page 2 of 16 BARD Report - Project 4662 Page 3 of 16 with plant roots irrigated with TWW – a critical information gap. In this work, we characterize the effect of TWW irrigation on root-associated microbial community structure and function by using the most innovative tools available in analyzing bacterial community- a combination of microbial marker gene amplicon sequencing, microbial shotunmetagenomics (DNA-based total community and gene content characterization), microbial metatranscriptomics (RNA-based total community and gene content characterization), and plant host transcriptome response. At the core of this research, a mesocosm experiment was conducted to study and characterize the effect of TWW irrigation on tomato and lettuce plants. A focus of this study was on the plant roots, their associated microbial communities, and on the functional activities of plant root-associated microbial communities. We have found that TWW irrigation changes both the soil and root microbial community composition, and that the shift in the plant root microbiome associated with different irrigation was as significant as the changes caused by the plant host or soil type. The change in microbial community structure was accompanied by changes in the microbial community-wide functional potential (i.e., gene content of the entire microbial community, as determined through shotgun metagenome sequencing). The relative abundance of many genes was significantly different in TWW irrigated root microbiome relative to FW-irrigated root microbial communities. For example, the relative abundance of genes encoding for transporters increased in TWW-irrigated roots increased relative to FW-irrigated roots. Similarly, the relative abundance of genes linked to potassium efflux, respiratory systems and nitrogen metabolism were elevated in TWW irrigated roots when compared to FW-irrigated roots. The increased relative abundance of denitrifying genes in TWW systems relative FW systems, suggests that TWW-irrigated roots are more anaerobic compare to FW irrigated root. These gene functional data are consistent with geochemical measurements made from these systems. Specifically, the TWW irrigated soils had higher pH, total organic compound (TOC), sodium, potassium and electric conductivity values in comparison to FW soils. Thus, the root microbiome genetic functional potential can be correlated with pH, TOC and EC values and these factors must take part in the shaping the root microbiome. The expressed functions, as found by the metatranscriptome analysis, revealed many genes that increase in TWW-irrigated plant root microbial population relative to those in the FW-irrigated plants. The most substantial (and significant) were sodium-proton antiporters and Na(+)-translocatingNADH-quinoneoxidoreductase (NQR). The latter protein uses the cell respiratory machinery to harness redox force and convert the energy for efflux of sodium. As the roots and their microbiomes are exposed to the same environmental conditions, it was previously hypothesized that understanding the soil and rhizospheremicrobiome response will shed light on natural processes in these niches. This study demonstrate how newly available tools can better define complex processes and their downstream consequences, such as irrigation with water from different qualities, and to identify primary cues sensed by the plant host irrigated with TWW. From an agricultural perspective, many common practices are complicated processes with many ‘moving parts’, and are hard to characterize and predict. Multiple edaphic and microbial factors are involved, and these can react to many environmental cues. These complex systems are in turn affected by plant growth and exudation, and associated features such as irrigation, fertilization and use of pesticides. However, the combination of shotgun metagenomics, microbial shotgun metatranscriptomics, plant transcriptomics, and physical measurement of soil characteristics provides a mechanism for integrating data from highly complex agricultural systems to eventually provide for plant physiological response prediction and monitoring. BARD Report