| Abstract:In this paper, C3H down-regulated transgenic poplar and non-transgenic poplar were selected as materials to study the effect of gene regulation on the morphology of xylem fibers. The morphological characteristics and parameters of xylem fibers at different height of two kinds of poplar were observed from the sections and the isolated fibers by means of light and electronic microscopes. The results showed that the fiber cell walls thickness of the upper, middle and lower part of transgenic poplar decreased by 13.16%, 13.47% and 10.71%, compared with that of the control group respectively, but there was no significant difference in lumen diameter. Fiber length and length /width ratio increased by 1.39%, 8.52%, 3.80% and 9.48%，16.24%，8.97% respectively, and the fiber width decreased by 7.40%, 6.64%, 4.72% respectively. It was also found that fiber morphological parameters such as wall thickness and fiber length of two kinds poplar increased with the lignification degree increasing, and the fiber morphologies of the middle and lower parts were more favorable for paper making. The results showed that the change of C3H gene activity improved the fiber morphology of poplar and made it more suitable for pulp wood utilization. |
