Publications by authors named "Elena Shklarman"

The epidermal cells of petunia (Petunia × hybrida) flowers are the main site of volatile emission. However, the mechanisms underlying the release of volatiles into the environment are still being explored. Here, using cell-layer-specific transcriptomic analysis, reverse genetics by virus-induced gene silencing and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR), and metabolomics, we identified EPIDERMIS VOLATILE EMISSION REGULATOR (EVER)-a petal adaxial epidermis-specific MYB activator that affects the emission of volatiles.

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Floral guides are patterned cues that direct the pollinator to the plant reproductive organs. The spatial distribution of showy visual and olfactory traits allows efficient plant-pollinator interactions. Data on the mechanisms underlying floral volatile patterns or their interactions with pollinators are lacking.

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Floral pigmentation is of major importance to the ornamental industry, which is constantly searching for cultivars with novel colors. Goldenrod () has monochromatic yellow carotenoid-containing flowers that cannot be modified using classical breeding approaches due to a limited gene pool. To generate Solidago with novel colors through metabolic engineering, we first developed a procedure for its regeneration and transformation.

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Flower scent is a highly dynamic trait, under developmental, spatial, and diurnal regulation. The mechanism governing scent production is only beginning to be unraveled. In petunia (Petunia hybrida), EMISSION OF BENZENOIDS II (EOBII) controls transcription of both the shikimate pathway-regulating MYB factor ODORANT1 (ODO1) and phenylpropanoid scent-related structural genes.

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• Floral scent is a complex trait of biological and applied significance. To evaluate whether scent production originating from diverse metabolic pathways (e.g.

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Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) are a powerful tool for genome editing in eukaryotic cells. ZFNs have been used for targeted mutagenesis in model and crop species. In animal and human cells, transient ZFN expression is often achieved by direct gene transfer into the target cells.

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Floral scent, which is determined by a complex mixture of low molecular weight volatile molecules, plays a major role in the plant's life cycle. Phenylpropanoid volatiles are the main determinants of floral scent in petunia (Petunia hybrida). A screen using virus-induced gene silencing for regulators of scent production in petunia flowers yielded a novel R2R3-MYB-like regulatory factor of phenylpropanoid volatile biosynthesis, EMISSION OF BENZENOIDS II (EOBII).

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The phenylpropanoid pathway gives rise to metabolites that determine floral colour and fragrance. These metabolites are one of the main means used by plants to attract pollinators, thereby ensuring plant survival. A lack of knowledge about factors regulating scent production has prevented the successful enhancement of volatile phenylpropanoid production in flowers.

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Studies on the carotenoid-overaccumulating structures in chromoplasts have led to the characterization of proteins termed plastid lipid-associated proteins (PAPs), involved in the sequestration of hydrophobic compounds. Here we characterize the PAP CHRD, which, based on sequence homology, belongs to a highly conserved group of proteins, YER057c/YjgF/UK114, involved in the regulation of basic and vital cellular processes in bacteria, yeast and animals. Two nuclear genes were characterized in tomato plants: one (LeChrDc) is constitutively expressed in various tissues and the other (LeChrDi) is induced by stress in leaves and is upregulated by developmental cues in floral tissues.

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Chromoplastogenesis during flower development and fruit ripening involves the dramatic overaccumulation of carotenoids sequestered into structures containing lipids and proteins called plastid lipid-associated proteins (PAPs). CHRC, a cucumber (Cucumis sativus) PAP, has been suggested to be transcriptionally activated in carotenoid-accumulating flowers by gibberellin (GA). Mybys, a MYB-like trans-activator identified here, may represent a chromoplastogenesis-related factor: Its expression is flower specific and parallels that of ChrC during flower development; moreover, as revealed by stable ectopic and transient-expression assays, it specifically trans-activates ChrC promoter in flowers accumulating carotenoids and flavonoids.

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