Identification and gene expression analysis of cytosine-5 DNA methyltransferase and demethylase genes in L. under heavy metal stress.

Amaranth has become increasingly popular due to its highly nutritious grains and ability to tolerate environmental stress. The mechanism underlying defense and adaptation to environmental stress is a complicated process involving DNA methylation and demethylation. These epigenetic features have been well documented to play an important role in plant stress response, including heavy metal-induced stress.

New Mutant Amaranth Varieties as a Potential Source of Biologically Active Substances.

Amaranth species represent a diverse group of plants. Many of them are a rich source of secondary metabolites with many positive biological effects. Total phenolic, total flavonoid and rutin content, antioxidant activity against superoxide and hydroxyl radicals, FRAP (Ferric-reducing ability of plasma) assay and DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay were determined in ethanol extracts of dried leaves of the new Slovak amaranth varieties 'Pribina' and 'Zobor'.

Differences in Seed Weight, Amino Acid, Fatty Acid, Oil, and Squalene Content in γ-Irradiation-Developed and Commercial Amaranth Varieties ( spp.).

Grain amaranth is known as an alternative crop with exclusive nutritional value and health benefits. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gamma irradiation on quantitative and qualitative amaranth seed traits, including 1000-seed weight, amino acids, fatty acids content, oil, and squalene yield. Two Slovak mutant varieties "Pribina" () and "Zobor" () were evaluated and compared to nonirradiated controls Ficha ( L.

Digital Absolute Gene Expression Analysis of Essential Starch-Related Genes in a Radiation Developed L. Variety in Comparison with Real-Time PCR.

We investigated the expression pattern of four major starch genes at different seed developmental stages in the radiation-bred amaranth variety "Pribina" ( L.) and corresponding control genotype "Ficha" ( L.).

Morphological Responses and Gene Expression of Grain Amaranth ( spp.) Growing under Cd.

Phytoremediation efficiency depends on the ability of plants to accumulate, translocate and resist high levels of metals without symptoms of toxicity. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of grain amaranth for remediation of soils contaminated with Cd. Three grain amaranth varieties, "Pribina" ( ), "Zobor" ( ) and Plainsman ( ) were tested under different level of Cd (0, 5, 10 and 15 mg/L) in a hydroponic experimental treatment.

Plastid control of abaxial-adaxial patterning.

Translational regulation, exerted by the cytosolic ribosome, has been shown to participate in the establishment of abaxial-adaxial polarity in Arabidopsis thaliana: many hypomorphic and null alleles of genes encoding proteins of the cytosolic ribosome enhance the leaf polarity defects of asymmetric leaves1 (as1) and as2 mutants. Here, we report the identification of the SCABRA1 (SCA1) nuclear gene, whose loss-of-function mutations also enhance the polarity defects of the as2 mutants. In striking contrast to other previously known enhancers of the phenotypes caused by the as1 and as2 mutations, we found that SCA1 encodes a plastid-type ribosomal protein that functions as a structural component of the 70S plastid ribosome and, therefore, its role in abaxial-adaxial patterning was not expected.

PORPHOBILINOGEN DEAMINASE deficiency alters vegetative and reproductive development and causes lesions in Arabidopsis.

The Arabidopsis rugosa1 (rug1) mutant has irregularly shaped leaves and reduced growth. In the absence of pathogens, leaves of rug1 plants have spontaneous lesions reminiscent of those seen in lesion-mimic mutants; rug1 plants also express cytological and molecular markers associated with defence against pathogens. These rug1 phenotypes are made stronger by dark/light transitions.

Arabidopsis RUGOSA2 encodes an mTERF family member required for mitochondrion, chloroplast and leaf development.

Little is known about the mechanisms that control transcription of the mitochondrial and chloroplastic genomes, and their interplay within plant cells. Here, we describe the positional cloning of the Arabidopsis RUG2 gene, which encodes a protein that is dual-targeted to mitochondria and chloroplasts, and is homologous with the metazoan mitochondrial transcription termination factors (mTERFs). In the loss-of-function rug2 mutants, most organs were pale and showed reduced growth, and the leaves exhibited both green and pale sectors, with the latter containing sparsely packed mesophyll cells.

Agricultural recovery of a formerly radioactive area: II. Systematic proteomic characterization of flax seed development in the remediated Chernobyl area.

Molecular characterization of crop plants grown in remediated, formerly radioactive, areas could establish a framework for future agricultural use of these areas. Recently, we have established a quantitative reference map for mature flax seed proteins (Linum usitatissimum L.) harvested from a remediated plot in Chernobyl town.

Visualization of gene expression by fluorescent multiplex reverse transcriptase-PCR amplification.

Many developmental and physiological analyses, population studies, and diagnostic tests can be performed by simply determining the presence or absence of a limited number of gene products. Here, we describe a rapid and sensitive procedure, based on the reverse transcription of total RNA samples followed by the co-amplification of specific complementary DNA molecules, for the simultaneous detection of different transcripts. Multiplex PCR amplification products are obtained in a single reaction mix containing several primer pairs, each of which includes a fluorescently labeled oligonucleotide; the amplification products are finally electrophoresed in an automated DNA sequencer controlled by fragment analysis software.

The SCABRA3 nuclear gene encodes the plastid RpoTp RNA polymerase, which is required for chloroplast biogenesis and mesophyll cell proliferation in Arabidopsis.

In many plant species, a subset of the genes of the chloroplast genome is transcribed by RpoTp, a nuclear-encoded plastid-targeted RNA polymerase. Here, we describe the positional cloning of the SCABRA3 (SCA3) gene, which was found to encode RpoTp in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). We studied one weak (sca3-1) and two strong (sca3-2 and sca3-3) alleles of the SCA3 gene, the latter two showing severely impaired plant growth and reduced pigmentation of the cotyledons, leaves, stem, and sepals, all of which were pale green.

The presence of a chromatin boundary appears to shield a transgene in tobacco from RNA silencing.

We present isogenic transgenic tobacco lines that carry at a given chromosomal position a beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene either with or without the presence of the matrix-associated region known as the chicken lysozyme A element. Plants were generated with the Cre-lox site-specific recombination system using heterospecific lox sites. Analysis of GUS gene expression in plant populations demonstrates that the presence of the A element can shield against RNA silencing of the GUS gene.