Increased resistance to pod shatter is associated with changes in the vascular structure in pods of a resynthesized Brassica napus line.

The architecture of the pod wall and dehiscence zone (DZ) was studied in populations of a resynthesized, shatter-resistant, oilseed rape line, DK142, and the commercial cultivar Apex. The dimensions of the pod wall and its component tissues were significantly larger in DK142. However, the variation in the pod architecture of Apex, DK142 and F2 populations derived from crosses of DK142 and Apex was found to have little or no role in pod shatter.

New sequence data enable modelling of the fungal alternative oxidase and explain an absence of regulation by pyruvate.

Respiratory rates involving the alternative oxidase (AO) were studied in mitochondria from Tapesia acuformis. There was no evidence for regulation by pyruvate, in contrast with plant AO. The site of interaction of pyruvate with the plant AO is a conserved cysteine.