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The recessive mutant allele of the opaque2 gene (o2) alters the endosperm protein pattern and increases the kernel lysine content of maize (Zea mays L.). In this study, sequencing results showed that the o2 mutant was successfully introgressed into 12 elite normal maize inbred lines by marker assisted selection (MAS). The average genetic similarity between these normal inbred lines and their o2 near-isogenic...
Epicuticular wax in plants limits non-stomatal water loss, inhibits postgenital organ fusion, protects plants against damage from UV radiation and imposes a physical barrier against pathogen infection. Here, we give a detailed description of the genetic, physiological and morphological consequences of a mutation in the rice gene WSL2, based on a comparison between the wild-type and an EMS mutant....
Gibberellins (GA) are involved in bud dormancy release in several species. We show here that GA-treatment released bud dormancy, initiated bud sprouting and promoted sprout growth of excised potato tuber bud discs (‘eyes’). Monoterpenes from peppermint oil (PMO) and S-(+)-carvone (CAR) interact with the GA-mediated bud dormancy release in a hormesis-type response: low monoterpene concentrations enhance...
Despite extensive research over the past years, regeneration from protoplasts has been observed in only a limited number of plant species. Protoplasts undergo complex metabolic modification during their isolation. The isolation of protoplasts induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in Brassica napus leaf protoplasts. The present study was conducted to provide new insight into the mechanism...
Biphenyls are unique phytoalexins produced by plants belonging to Pyrinae, a subtribe of the economically important Rosaceae family. The formation of aucuparin, a well-known biphenyl, is induced by yeast extract (YE) in cell cultures of Sorbus aucuparia. However, the molecular mechanism underlying YE-induced activation of biphenyl biosynthesis remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that the addition...
Carnitine exists in all living organisms where it plays diverse roles. In animals and yeast, it is implicated in lipid metabolism and is also associated with oxidative stress tolerance. In bacteria, it is a major player in osmotic stress tolerance. We investigate the carnitine function in plants and our present work shows that carnitine enhances the development and recovery of Arabidopsis thaliana...
The roles of ethylene, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and calcium in inducing the capacity of the alternative respiratory pathway (AP) under chilling temperature in Arabidopsis thaliana calli were investigated. Exposure of wild-type (WT) calli, but not the calli of ethylene-insensitive mutants, etr1-3 and ein2-1, to chilling led to a marked increase of the AP capacity and triggered a rapid ethylene emission...
Little is known about the light regulation of vitamin C synthesis in fruits. In contrast, previous studies in leaves revealed that VTC2 (coding for GDP-l-galactose phosphorylase) was one of the key genes up-regulated by light in leaves. Our objective was to determine how the expression of ascorbate (AsA) synthesis genes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) was modified according to light irradiance in...
The regulation of cell specification in plants is particularly important in vascular development. The vascular system is comprised two differentiated tissue types, the xylem and phloem, which form conductive elements for the transport of water, nutrients and signaling molecules. A meristematic layer, the procambium, is located between these two differentiated cell types and divides to initiate vascular...
Soybeans provide an excellent source of protein in animal feed. Soybean protein quality can be enhanced by increasing the concentration of sulfur-containing amino acids. Previous attempts to increase the concentration of sulfur-containing amino acids through the expression of heterologous proteins have met with limited success. Here, we report a successful strategy to increase the cysteine content...
Polyamines are nitrogenous compounds found in all eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells and absolutely essential for cell viability. In plants, they regulate several growth and developmental processes and the levels of polyamines are also correlated with the plant responses to various biotic and abiotic stresses. In plant cells, polyamines are synthesized in plastids and cytosol. This biosynthetic compartmentation...
The cold stability of microtubules during seasons of active and dormant cambium was analyzed in the conifers Abies firma, Abies sachalinensis and Larix leptolepis by immunofluorescence microscopy. Samples were fixed at room temperature and at a low temperature of 2–3°C to examine the effects of low temperature on the stability of microtubules. Microtubules were visible in cambium, xylem cells and...
The xanthophylls of the light-harvesting complexes of photosystem II (LHCII), zeaxanthin, and lutein are thought to be essential for non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). NPQ is a process of photoprotective energy dissipation in photosystem II (PSII). The major rapidly reversible component of NPQ, qE, is activated by the transmembrane proton gradient, and involves the quenching of antenna chlorophyll...
Pyruvate kinase (PK) catalyzes the final step of glycolysis. There are few reports on the role of PK in rice. Here, we identified a novel rice dwarf mutant, designated as ospk1, showing dwarfism, panicle enclosure, reduced seed set, and outgrowth of axillary buds from culm nodes. Sequence analyses of 5′-RACE indicated that a single T-DNA was inserted in the transcriptional regulatory region of OsPK1...
Phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) is an important lipid because it serves as a key membrane constituent and is the precursor of the inositol-containing lipids that are found in all plants and animals. It is synthesized from cytidine-diphosphodiacylglycerol (CDP-DG) and myo-inositol by PtdIns synthase (PIS). We have previously reported that two putative PIS genes from maize (Zea mays L.), ZmPIS and ZmPIS2...
Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG), the main phytoestrogenic lignan of Linum usitatissimum, is accumulated in the seed coat of flax during its development and pinoresinol–lariciresinol reductase (PLR) is a key enzyme in flax for its synthesis. The promoter of LuPLR1, a flax gene encoding a pinoresinol lariciresinol reductase, contains putative regulatory boxes related to transcription activation...
Grapevine bud fruitfulness is determined by the differentiation of uncommitted meristem (UCM) into either tendril or inflorescence. Since tendril and inflorescence differentiation have long been considered sequential steps in inflorescence development, factors that control the progression of floral meristem development may regulate the final outcome of UCM differentiation, and thus affect fruitfulness...
Koromiko [Hebe salicifolia G. Forst. (Pennell)] is a woody angiosperm native to New Zealand and Chile. Hebe spp. belong to the otherwise herbaceous family Plantaginaceae in the order Lamiales. Reaction wood exerting expansional forces was found on the lower side of leaning H. salicifolia stems. Such reaction wood is atypical for angiosperms, which commonly form contracting reaction wood on the upper...
Phenols are toxic, environmentally persistent products of the chemical industry that are capable of bioaccumulation and biomagnifications in the food chain. Little is known of how plants respond to this compound. To understand the transcriptional changes under phenol, microarray experiments on Arabidopsis thaliana were performed. Microarray results revealed numerous perturbations in signaling and...
It is still an unsolved question of fundamental biology if, and how, perennial plants senesce. Here, age- and sex-related changes in phytohormones were tested in Borderea pyrenaica, a small dioecious geophyte relict of the Tertiary with one of the longest lifespan ever recorded for any non-clonal herb (more than 300 years). Biomass allocation, together with levels of cytokinins, auxins and absicisic...
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