Multiple Ways of Nitric Oxide Production in Plants and Its Functional Activity under Abiotic Stress Conditions.

Nitric oxide (NO) is an endogenous signaling molecule that plays an important role in plant ontogenesis and responses to different stresses. The most widespread abiotic stress factors limiting significantly plant growth and crop yield are drought, salinity, hypo-, hyperthermia, and an excess of heavy metal (HM) ions. Data on the accumulation of endogenous NO under stress factors and on the alleviation of their negative effects under exogenous NO treatments indicate the perspectives of its practical application to improve stress resistance and plant productivity.

Mechanisms of Plant Tolerance to RNA Viruses Induced by Plant-Growth-Promoting Microorganisms.

Plant viruses are globally responsible for the significant crop losses of economically important plants. All common approaches are not able to eradicate viral infection. Many non-conventional strategies are currently used to control viral infection, but unfortunately, they are not always effective.

Cytokinin stimulates chloroplast transcription in detached barley leaves.

Chloroplasts are among the main targets of cytokinin action in the plant cell. We report here on the activation of transcription by cytokinin as detected by run-on assays with chloroplasts isolated from apical parts of first leaves detached from 9-d-old barley (Hordeum vulgare) seedlings and incubated for 3 h on a 2.2 x 10(-5) m solution of benzyladenine (BA).