Soybean seeds overexpressing asparaginase exhibit reduced nitrogen concentration.

In soybean seed, a correlation has been observed between the concentration of free asparagine at mid-maturation and protein concentration at maturity. In this study, a Phaseolus vulgaris K -dependent asparaginase cDNA, PvAspG2, was expressed in transgenic soybean under the control of the embryo specific promoter of the β-subunit of β-conglycinin. Three lines were isolated having high expression of the transgene at the transcript, protein and enzyme activity levels at mid-maturation, with a 20- to 40-fold higher asparaginase activity in embryo than a control line expressing β-glucuronidase.

Seed orientation and magnetic field strength have more influence on tomato seed performance than relative humidity and duration of exposure to non-uniform static magnetic fields.

Different factors (e.g., light, humidity, and temperature) including exposure to static magnetic fields (SMFs), referred here as critical factors, can significantly affect horticultural seed performance.

Coloring genetically modified soybean grains with anthocyanins by suppression of the proanthocyanidin genes ANR1 and ANR2.

Detection and quantification of the levels of adventitious presence of genetically modified (GM) soybeans in non-GM grain shipments currently requires sophisticated tests that can have issues with their reproducibility. We show here that pigment biosynthesis in the soybean seed coat can be manipulated to provide a distinct color that would enable the simple visible detection of the GM soybean grain. We observed that a distinct red-brown grain color could be engineered by the simultaneous suppression of two proanthocyanidin (PA) genes, ANTHOCYANIDIN REDUCTASE1 (ANR1) and ANR2.

Micropropagation of ornamental Prunus spp. and GF305 peach, a Prunus viral indicator.

A micropropagation approach was developed for nine ornamental Prunus species, P. americana, P. cistena, P.

Transfection of Arabidopsis protoplasts with a Plum pox virus (PPV) infectious clone for studying early molecular events associated with PPV infection.

The development of novel strategies against plant viral diseases relies on a better understanding of molecular virus-host interactions. Here, we report an easy, efficient and reproducible protocol for Arabidopsis protoplast isolation and transfection to study the infection and replication of a potyvirus, Plum pox virus (PPV). Macerozyme and cellulose were used to release protoplasts from Arabidopsis leaf tissues, and polyethylene glycol-mediated DNA uptake was employed for transfection of a PPV infectious clone.

Analysis and use of the tobacco eIF4A-10 promoter elements for transgene expression.

The eIF4A gene family codes for proteins which unwind secondary structures of mRNA during translational initiation. The tobacco eIF4A-10 promoter is one of a few of constitutive promoters found in plants. Research was conducted to identify the proximal promoter elements and to evaluate the potential application of the promoter for regulating transgene expression in a range of crop plants.

High efficiency plant production of North American ginseng via somatic embryogenesis from cotyledon explants.

An efficient in vitro protocol for plant production of North American ginseng has been established. The pretreatment of cotyledon explants with 1.0 M sucrose at 4 degrees C resulted in an improvement of embryo quality and, combined with a higher sucrose content (7%) in induction medium, improved the embryogenesis frequency from 40% to 75% and the number of embryos per explant from 10 to 21.

Functional analysis of tomato Pti4 in Arabidopsis.

Pti4 is a tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) transcription factor that belongs to the ERF (ethylene-responsive element binding factor) family of proteins. It interacts with the Pto kinase in tomato, which confers resistance to the Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato pathogen that causes bacterial speck disease. To study the function of Pti4, transgenic Arabidopsis plants were generated that expressed tomato Pti4 driven by the strong constitutive promoters, cauliflower mosaic virus 35S and tCUP.