Reproductive status influences odor preferences of the meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus, in winter day lengths

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 1748-1754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Gorman ◽  
Michael H. Ferkin ◽  
Randy J. Nelson ◽  
Irving Zucker

Sporadic winter breeding is a common occurrence in populations of arvicoline rodents. To elaborate the olfactory basis of winter breeding, odor preferences of meadow voles that did or did not develop their reproductive systems in short day lengths were compared. Voles that did not respond to short days with reproductive inhibition were reproductively mature and are termed nonresponders, while voles that did respond to short days with reproductive inhibition were reproductively immature and are termed responders. Nonresponder females preferred odors of nonresponder males over those of nonresponder females and nonresponder female over responder female odors. Nonresponder males preferred nonresponder over responder female odors. The mutual attraction between male – female and female – female nonresponders may facilitate winter breeding and female – female dyad formation for communal rearing of young, respectively. Responder females preferred odors of female responders over those of male responders and responder over nonresponder male odors. Olfactory preferences of nonresponder short-day voles were not equivalent to those of reproductively competent long-day animals. Differences in odor communication between responder and nonresponder voles are attributable only in part to differences in gonadal hormone secretion.

1983 ◽  
Vol 245 (3) ◽  
pp. R334-R338 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Dark ◽  
I. Zucker ◽  
G. N. Wade

Adult male voles were maintained for 10 wk in long or short photoperiods (14 or 10 h of light/day). A third group of animals housed in the long photoperiod was implanted with capsules containing melatonin. Body weight and food intake were measured weekly; various tissues were weighed and analyzed at the time of autopsy. After 10 wk, voles in the short photoperiod weighed 20% less and consumed 30% less food than those housed in the long photoperiod. Total body water and lean body mass were reduced in the short-day animals, although the size of the brown adipose tissue was not affected. White adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity was markedly reduced in the short-day voles who also manifested gonadal regression and suppression of spermatogenesis. Melatonin mimicked the effects of short photoperiods on LPL activity and on lean body mass; other parameters for melatonin-treated animals were intermediate between those of untreated long- and short-day voles. We hypothesize that winter weight losses experienced by meadow voles in the field are mediated by decreases in the duration of the daily photophase and that the reduction in body mass permits overwintering voles to reduce their energy requirements and the amount of time devoted to foraging. At least part of the seasonal decline in body mass appears due to a decrease in gonadal hormone secretion.


Author(s):  
Nour Nissan ◽  
Elroy R. Cober ◽  
Michael Sadowski ◽  
Martin Charette ◽  
Ashkan Golshani ◽  
...  

Abstract Key message A previously identified soybean maturity locus, E6, is discovered to be J, with the long juvenile allele in Paranagoiana now deemed j−x. Abstract Soybean grown at latitudes of ~20° or lower can produce lower grain yields due to the short days. This limitation can be overcome by using the long juvenile trait (LJ) which delays flowering under short day conditions. Two LJ loci have been mapped to the same location on Gm04, J and E6. The objective of this research was to investigate the e6 allele in ‘Paranagoiana’ and determine if E6 and J are the same locus or linked loci. KASP markers showed that e6 lines did not have the j−1 allele of LJ PI 159925. A population fixed for E1 but segregating for E6, with e6 introgressed from Paranagoiana, showed single gene control for flowering and maturity under short days. Sequencing Glyma.04G050200, the J gene, with long amplification Taq found that the e6 line ‘Paranagoiana’ contains a Ty1-copia retrotransposon of ~10,000 bp, inserted within exon 4. PCR amplification of the cDNA of Glyma.04G050200 also showed differences between the mRNA sequences (presence of insertion in j−x). Hence, we conclude that the loci E6 and J are one locus and deem this new variation found in Paranagoiana as j−x.


1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marje Molder ◽  
John N. Owens

Plants of Cosmos bipinnatus Cav. ‘Sensation’ (a quantitative short-day plant) were grown under continuous conditions favorable or unfavorable for flowering, and some plants in each group were treated with gibberellic acid (GA3). Floral apices of Cosmos are formed by the transition of previously vegetative apices. The vegetative apex shows a cytohistological zonation pattern superimposed upon a tunica–corpus organization. The vegetative apex passes into an intermediate stage presumed typical of many plants held under non-inductive conditions. This stage is marked by many cytological features characteristic of both reproductive and vegetative apices but leaves continue to be produced. The presence of the intermediate stage accounts for conflicting results obtained in physiological studies since there is great variation in response rate depending on age of plant and the stage of the apex at the start of an experiment. This stage is followed by a typical transitional stage marked by an increase in RNA content, increased mitotic activity, and a change in zonation. Elongation of the apex and internodes occurs followed by initiation of the involucral bracts and floret primordia, marking the beginning of the prefloral and inflorescence stages respectively.GA3 specifically induces Cosmos to flower under non-inductive conditions thereby influencing floral initiation in a facultative short-day plant. Microscopic examination of the rate of apical transition revealed that GA3 substituted effectively for short days but was not as efficient an inducer as were short days.


1966 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-102
Author(s):  
T.A. Hartman

In vernalization trials with winter rye, short-day treatment prior to cold treatment was capable of inducing accelerated development and early ear emergence even when the temperature during the former treatment was 25 degrees C. Short days imposed during protracted cold treatments could also accelerate development provided that the optimum duration of short-day vernalization (about 14 days) was not exceeded. Results confirmed the assumption that cold vernalization and short-day vernalization were different processes. [See also F.C.A. 18: 1236].-R.B. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malleshaiah SharathKumar ◽  
Ep Heuvelink ◽  
Leo F. M. Marcelis ◽  
Wim van Ieperen

Shorter photoperiod and lower daily light integral (DLI) limit the winter greenhouse production. Extending the photoperiod by supplemental light increases biomass production but inhibits flowering in short-day plants such as Chrysanthemum morifolium. Previously, we reported that flowering in growth-chamber grown chrysanthemum with red (R) and blue (B) LED-light could also be induced in long photoperiods by applying only blue light during the last 4h of 15h long-days. This study investigates the possibility to induce flowering by extending short-days in greenhouses with 4h of blue light. Furthermore, flower induction after 4h of red light extension was tested after short-days RB-LED light in a growth-chamber and after natural solar light in a greenhouse. Plants were grown at 11h of sole source RB light (60:40) in a growth-chamber or solar light in the greenhouse (short-days). Additionally, plants were grown under long-days, which either consisted of short-days as described above extended with 4h of B or R light to long-days or of 15h continuous RB light or natural solar light. Flower initiation and normal capitulum development occurred in the blue-extended long-days in the growth-chamber after 11h of sole source RB, similarly as in short-days. However, when the blue extension was applied after 11h of full-spectrum solar light in a greenhouse, no flower initiation occurred. With red-extended long-days after 11h RB (growth-chamber) flower initiation occurred, but capitulum development was hindered. No flower initiation occurred in red-extended long-days in the greenhouse. These results indicate that multiple components of the daylight spectrum influence different phases in photoperiodic flowering in chrysanthemum in a time-dependent manner. This research shows that smart use of LED-light can open avenues for a more efficient year-round cultivation of chrysanthemum by circumventing the short-day requirement for flowering when applied in emerging vertical farm or plant factories that operate without natural solar light. In current year-round greenhouses’ production, however, extension of the natural solar light during the first 11 h of the photoperiod with either red or blue sole LED light, did inhibit flowering.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0240390
Author(s):  
Hongxu Dong ◽  
Lindsay V. Clark ◽  
Xiaoli Jin ◽  
Kossonou Anzoua ◽  
Larisa Bagmet ◽  
...  

Miscanthus is a close relative of Saccharum and a potentially valuable genetic resource for improving sugarcane. Differences in flowering time within and between Miscanthus and Saccharum hinders intra- and interspecific hybridizations. A series of greenhouse experiments were conducted over three years to determine how to synchronize flowering time of Saccharum and Miscanthus genotypes. We found that day length was an important factor influencing when Miscanthus and Saccharum flowered. Sugarcane could be induced to flower in a central Illinois greenhouse using supplemental lighting to reduce the rate at which days shortened during the autumn and winter to 1 min d-1, which allowed us to synchronize the flowering of some sugarcane genotypes with Miscanthus genotypes primarily from low latitudes. In a complementary growth chamber experiment, we evaluated 33 Miscanthus genotypes, including 28 M. sinensis, 2 M. floridulus, and 3 M. ×giganteus collected from 20.9° S to 44.9° N for response to three day lengths (10 h, 12.5 h, and 15 h). High latitude-adapted M. sinensis flowered mainly under 15 h days, but unexpectedly, short days resulted in short, stocky plants that did not flower; in some cases, flag leaves developed under short days but heading did not occur. In contrast, for M. sinensis and M. floridulus from low latitudes, shorter day lengths typically resulted in earlier flowering, and for some low latitude genotypes, 15 h days resulted in no flowering. However, the highest ratio of reproductive shoots to total number of culms was typically observed for 12.5 h or 15 h days. Latitude of origin was significantly associated with culm length, and the shorter the days, the stronger the relationship. Nearly all entries achieved maximal culm length under the 15 h treatment, but the nearer to the equator an accession originated, the less of a difference in culm length between the short-day treatments and the 15 h day treatment. Under short days, short culms for high-latitude accessions was achieved by different physiological mechanisms for M. sinensis genetic groups from the mainland in comparison to those from Japan; for mainland accessions, the mechanism was reduced internode length, whereas for Japanese accessions the phyllochron under short days was greater than under long days. Thus, for M. sinensis, short days typically hastened floral induction, consistent with the expectations for a facultative short-day plant. However, for high latitude accessions of M. sinensis, days less than 12.5 h also signaled that plants should prepare for winter by producing many short culms with limited elongation and development; moreover, this response was also epistatic to flowering. Thus, to flower M. sinensis that originates from high latitudes synchronously with sugarcane, the former needs day lengths >12.5 h (perhaps as high as 15 h), whereas that the latter needs day lengths <12.5 h.


1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 713-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Bradshaw ◽  
L. Philip Lounibos

Wyeomyia smithii diapause in the third larval instar. Long days avert or terminate and short days promote or maintain diapause. Diapause occurs early in the third instar and may be terminated by photoperiodic stimuli without the intervention of chilling or other factors. Fifty percent termination of diapause requires about 3 long days and another [Formula: see text] days are consumed in the third instar for postdiapause development. The critical daylength is identical for both the initiation and termination of diapause, 14.75 h of light per day. But, the photoperiodic clock monitoring diapause decisions is several times as accurate during initiation as in termination, reflecting the more drastic environmental consequences of development misdirection in the fall than in the spring. This accuracy is further enhanced by a prolongation of the second instar under short-day conditions. The doubling in the duration of the second instar exhibits the same critical daylength properties as diapause determination.The third instar is divisible into four distinct developmental periods: prediapause, diapause, termination of diapause, and postdiapause. Methods for quantifying these periods are presented. Similar manipulations could be employed for other diapausing arthropods, regardless of the stage at which dormancy occurs or the cues used in its regulation.


1984 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL Ison ◽  
LR Humphreys

Seedlings of Stylosanthes guianensis var. guianensis cv. Cook and cv. Endeavour were grown in naturally lit glasshouses at Brisbane (lat. 27� 30' S.) at 35/30, 30/25 and 25/20�C (day/night), and were sown so as to emerge at 18-day intervals from 18 January to 11 June. Cook behaved as a long day-short day plant, with seedlings emerging after 5 February flowering incompletely or remaining vegetative until the experiment was terminated in mid-October. In the 25/20�C regimen flowering was incomplete in Cook; in Endeavour flowering was delayed but a conventional short-day response was observed. At 35/30�C Endeavour flowering was inhibited in the shortest days of mid-winter, suggesting a stenophotoperiodic response, but short days were confounded with low levels of irradiance. Minimum duration of the phase from emergence to floral initiation was c. 66-70 days in Cook and c. 40-45 days in Endeavour; the duration of the phase floral initiation to flower appearance was linearly and negatively related to temperature.


2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (4) ◽  
pp. R873-R879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory E. Demas ◽  
Timothy J. Bartness ◽  
Randy J. Nelson ◽  
Deborah L. Drazen

Siberian hamsters ( Phodopus sungorus) rely on photoperiod to coordinate seasonally appropriate changes in physiology, including immune function. Immunity is regulated, in part, by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), although the precise role of the SNS in regulating photoperiodic changes in immunity remains unspecified. The goal of the present study was to examine the contributions of norepinephrine (NE), the predominant neurotransmitter of the SNS, to photoperiodic changes in lymphocyte proliferation. In experiment 1, animals were maintained in long [16:8-h light-dark cycle (16:8 LD)] or short days (8:16 LD) for 10 wk, and splenic NE content was determined. In experiment 2, in vitro splenocyte proliferation in response to mitogenic stimulation (concanavalin A) was assessed in spleen cell suspensions taken from long- or short-day hamsters in which varying concentrations of NE were added to the cultures. In experiment 3, splenocyte proliferation was examined in the presence of NE and selective α- and β-noradrenergic receptor antagonists (phenoxybenzamine and propranolol, respectively) in vitro. Short-day animals had increased splenic NE content compared with long-day animals. Long-day animals had higher proliferation compared with short-day animals independent of NE. NE (1 μM) further suppressed splenocyte proliferation in short but not long days. Last, NE-induced suppression of proliferation in short-day hamsters was blocked by propranolol but not phenoxybenzamine. The present results suggest that NE plays a role in photoperiodic changes in lymphocyte proliferation. Additionally, the data suggest that the effects of NE on proliferation are specific to activation of β-adrenergic receptors located on splenic tissue. Collectively, these results provide further support that photoperiodic changes in immunity are influenced by changes in SNS activity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 108 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Rozsypal ◽  
M. Moos ◽  
S.G. Goto

AbstractThe bean bug (Riptortus pedestris) is a pest of soybeans and other legumes in Japan and other Asian countries. It enters a facultative adult diapause on exposure to short days. While photoperiodism and diapause are well understood in R. pedestris, knowledge of cold tolerance is very limited, as is information on the effect of diapause on cold tolerance. We examined the effect of photoperiod, cold acclimation, and feeding status on cold tolerance in R. pedestris. We found that cold acclimation significantly increased survival at −10°C in both long- and short-day adult R. pedestris. Since the difference in cold survival between long- and short-day cold-acclimated groups was only marginal, we conclude that entering diapause is not crucial for R. pedestris to successfully pass through cold acclimation and become cold tolerant. We observed similar effects in 5th instar nymphs, with both long- and short-day cold-acclimated groups surviving longer cold exposures compared with non-acclimated groups. Starvation, which was tested only in adult bugs, had only a negligible and negative impact on cold survival. Although cold tolerance significantly increased with cold acclimation in adult bugs, supercooling capacity unexpectedly decreased. Our results suggest that changes in supercooling capacity as well as in water content are unrelated to cold tolerance in R. pedestris. An analysis of metabolites revealed differences between the treatments, and while several metabolites markedly increased with cold acclimation, their concentrations were too low to have a significant effect on cold tolerance.


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