Aims:  The aim of this study was to screen antitumour and antimicrobial activities of endophytic actinomycetes isolated from pharmaceutical plants in rainforest in Yunnan province, China. Methods and Results:  Antitumour activity was studied by the 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and antimicrobial activity was determined by agar well diffusion method. The high bioactive endophytic isolates were identified and further investigated for the presence of polyketide synthases (PKS‐I, PKS‐II) and nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) sequences by specific amplification. The molecular identification confirmed that the 41 isolates showed significant activities were members of the genus Streptomyces. Among them, 31·7% of endophytic streptomycete cultures were cytotoxic against A549 cells, 29·3% against HL‐60 cells, 85·4% against BEL‐7404 cells, 90·2% against P388D1 cells, 65·9% were active against Escherichia coli, 24·4% against Staphylococcus aureus, 31·7% against Staphylococcus epidermidis, 12·2% against Candida albicans and no strain displayed antagonistic activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae. High frequencies of positive PCR amplification were obtained for PKS‐I (34·1%), PKS‐II (63·4%) and NRPS (61·0%) biosynthetic systems. Conclusions:  Many endophytic streptomycetes isolated from pharmaceutical plants in rainforest possess remarkable and diverse antitumour and antimicrobial bioactivities. Significance and Impact of the Study:  These endophytic streptomycetes are precious resources obtained from rainforests, and they could be a promising source for bioactive agents.

Flowers are the main sexual reproductive organs in plants. The shapes, colours and scents of corolla of plant flowers are involved in attracting insect pollinators and increasing reproductive success. The process of corolla senescence was investigated in Ipomoea purpurea (Convolvulaceae) in this study. In the research methods of plant anatomy, cytology, cell chemistry and molecular biology were used. The results showed that at the flowering stage cells already began to show distortion, chromatin condensation, mitochondrial membrane degradation and tonoplast dissolution and rupture. At this stage genomic DNA underwent massive but gradual random degradation. However, judging from the shape and structure, aging characteristics did not appear until the early flower senescence stage. The senescence process was slow, and it was completed at the late stage of flower senescence with a withering corolla. We may safely arrive at the conclusion that corolla senescence of I. purpurea was mediated by programmed cell death (PCD) that occurred at the flowering stage. The corolla senescence exhibited an obvious temporal rhythm, which demonstrated a high degree of coordination with pollination and fertilization.