Thriving in a salty future: morpho-anatomical, physiological, and molecular adaptations to salt stress in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and other crops.

Background: With soil salinity levels rising at an alarming rate, accelerated by climate change and human interventions, there is a growing need for crop varieties that can grow on saline soils. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a cool-season perennial leguminous crop, commonly grown as forage, biofuel feedstock, and soil conditioner. It demonstrates significant potential for agricultural circularity and sustainability, for example by fixing nitrogen, sequestering carbon, and improving soil structures.

Sphagnum bleaching: Bicarbonate 'toxicity' and tolerance for seven Sphagnum species.

Growth and functioning of Sphagnum mosses are closely linked to water level and chemistry. Sphagnum mosses occur in wet, generally acidic conditions, and when buffered, alkaline water is known to negatively impact Sphagnum. The effects of time, dose and species-specific responses of buffered, alkaline water on Sphagnum are largely unknown.

Optimized fluorescent proteins for the rhizosphere-associated bacterium Bacillus mycoides with endophytic and biocontrol agent potential.

Tracking of fluorescent protein (FP)-labelled rhizobacteria is a key prerequisite to gain insights into plant-bacteria interaction mechanisms. However, the performance of FPs mostly has to be optimized for the bacterial host and for the environment of intended application. We report on the construction of mutational libraries of the superfolder green fluorescent protein sfGFP and the red fluorescent protein mKate2 in the bacterium B.

Functional optics of glossy buttercup flowers.

Buttercup ( spp.) flowers are exceptional because they feature a distinct gloss (mirror-like reflection) in addition to their matte-yellow coloration. We investigated the optical properties of yellow petals of several and related species using (micro)spectrophotometry and anatomical methods.

Roots Withstanding their Environment: Exploiting Root System Architecture Responses to Abiotic Stress to Improve Crop Tolerance.

To face future challenges in crop production dictated by global climate changes, breeders and plant researchers collaborate to develop productive crops that are able to withstand a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses. However, crop selection is often focused on shoot performance alone, as observation of root properties is more complex and asks for artificial and extensive phenotyping platforms. In addition, most root research focuses on development, while a direct link to the functionality of plasticity in root development for tolerance is often lacking.

How to colour a flower: on the optical principles of flower coloration.

The coloration of flowers is due to the wavelength-selective absorption by pigments of light backscattered by structures inside the petals. We investigated the optical properties of flowers using (micro)spectrophotometry and anatomical methods. To assess the contribution of different structures to the overall visual signal of flowers, we used an optical model, where a petal is considered as a stack of differently pigmented and structured layers and we interpreted the visual signals of the model petals with insect vision models.

Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus mycoides M2E15, a Strain Isolated from the Endosphere of Potato.

We present the draft genome sequence of Bacillus mycoides M2E15, a bacterium isolated from potato endosphere. Analysis of the 6.08-Mbp draft genome sequence identified 6,386 protein-encoding sequences, including potential plant growth promoting genes.

Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers.

Competition for pollinators occurs when, in a community of flowering plants, several simultaneously flowering plant species depend on the same pollinator. Competition for pollinators increases interspecific pollen transfer rates, thereby reducing the number of viable offspring. In order to decrease interspecific pollen transfer, plant species can distinguish themselves from competitors by having a divergent phenotype.

Iridescent flowers? Contribution of surface structures to optical signaling.

The color of natural objects depends on how they are structured and pigmented. In flowers, both the surface structure of the petals and the pigments they contain determine coloration. The aim of the present study was to assess the contribution of structural coloration, including iridescence, to overall floral coloration.

Zero methane emission bogs: extreme rhizosphere oxygenation by cushion plants in Patagonia.

• Vascular wetland plants may substantially increase methane emissions by producing root exudates and easily degradable litter, and by providing a low-resistance diffusion pathway via their aerenchyma. However, model studies have indicated that vascular plants can reduce methane emission when soil oxygen demand is exceeded by oxygen released from roots. Here, we tested whether these conditions occur in bogs dominated by cushion plants.

Light quality-mediated petiole elongation in Arabidopsis during shade avoidance involves cell wall modification by xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolases.

Some plants can avoid shaded conditions via rapid shoot elongation, thus growing into better lit areas in a canopy. Cell wall-modifying mechanisms promoting this elongation response, therefore, are important regulatory points during shade avoidance. Two major cell wall-modifying protein families are expansins and xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolases (XTHs).

Early signaling through the Arabidopsis pattern recognition receptors FLS2 and EFR involves Ca-associated opening of plasma membrane anion channels.

The perception of microbes by plants involves highly conserved molecular signatures that are absent from the host and that are collectively referred to as microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). The Arabidopsis pattern recognition receptors FLAGELLIN-SENSING 2 (FLS2) and EF-Tu receptor (EFR) represent genetically well studied paradigms that mediate defense against bacterial pathogens. Stimulation of these receptors through their cognate ligands, bacterial flagellin or bacterial elongation factor Tu, leads to a defense response and ultimately to increased resistance.

Micro-electrode flux estimation confirms that the Solanum pimpinellifolium cu3 mutant still responds to systemin.

In this study, we introduce the Micro-Electrode Ion Flux Estimation technique as a sensitive and accurate technique to study systemin-induced changes in ion fluxes from isolated nearly intact plant tissues. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness and value of the Micro-Electrode Ion Flux Estimation technique to monitor and characterize those elicitor-induced ion flux changes from intact tissues. We used the method to monitor the systemin-induced changes in ion fluxes from leaf tissue of various plant species, including wild-type and cu3 mutant tomato (Solanum pimpinellifolium) plants, and confirm previous observations, but now in intact leaf tissue.

Signal Integration by ABA in the Blue Light-Induced Acidification of Leaf Pavement Cells in Pea (Pisum sativum L. var. Argenteum).

Leaf pavement cell expansion in light depends on apoplastic acidification by a plasma membrane proton-pumping ATPase, modifying cell wall extensibility and providing the driving force for uptake of osmotically active solutes generating turgor. This paper shows that the plant hormone ABA inhibits light-induced leaf disk growth as well as the blue light-induced pavement cell growth in pea (Pisum sativum L.).

NaCl salinity affects lateral root development in Plantago maritima.

Root growth and morphology were assessed weekly in hydroponically-grown seedlings of the halophyte Plantago maritima L. during exposure to 0, 50, 100 and 200 mm NaCl for 21 d. Relative growth rate was reduced by 25% at 200 mm NaCl.

Spatial patterns of radial oxygen loss and nitrate net flux along adventitious roots of rice raised in aerated or stagnant solution.

Roots of rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown in stagnant de-oxygenated solution contain a 'tight' barrier to radial oxygen loss (ROL) in basal zones, whereas roots of plants grown in aerated solution do not. It is generally accepted that the barrier to ROL involves anatomical modifications in the apoplast of cell layers exterior to the aerenchyma.

Modulation by phytochrome of the blue light-induced extracellular acidification by leaf epidermal cells of pea (Pisum sativum l.): a kinetic analysis.

Blue light induces extracellular acidification, a prerequisite of cell expansion, in epidermis cells of young pea leaves, by stimulation of the proton pumping-ATPase activity in the plasma membrane. A transient acidification, reaching a maximum 2.5-5 min after the start of the pulse, could be induced by pulses as short as 30 msec.

Characterization of a Light-Controlled Anion Channel in the Plasma Membrane of Mesophyll Cells of Pea.

In leaf mesophyll cells of pea (Pisum sativum) light induces a transient depolarization that is at least partly due to an increased plasma membrane conductance for anions. Several channel types were identified in the plasma membrane of protoplasts from mesophyll cells using the patch-clamp technique. One of these was an anion channel with a single-channel conductance of 32 picasiemens in symmetrical 100/100 KCl solutions.

Kinetics of Ca(2+)- and ATP-dependent, voltage-controlled anion conductance in the plasma membrane of mesophyll cells of Pisum sativum.

Whole-cell patch-clamp techniques were used to measure anion currents through the plasma membrane of protoplasts of mesophyll cells of expanding pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaves. Voltage-induced changes of the currents could be modelled with single exponential activation and deactivation kinetics.

Characterization of ion channels in the plasma membrane of epidermal cells of expanding pea (Pisum sativum arg) leaves.

Ion channels in isolated patches of the plasma membrane of pea (Pisum sativum arg) epidermal cells were studied with the patch-clamp technique. One anion and one cation channel were dominantly present in most trials. The anion channel conducts nitrate, halides and malate, with a conductance in symmetrical 100 mM Cl- of 300 pS and can be blocked by SITS when applied to the cytoplasmic side of the membrane.

Stimulation of growth and ion uptake in bean leaves by red and blue light.

Red and blue light both stimulate growth and ion accumulation in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) leaves, and previous studies showed that the growth response is mediated by phytochrome and a blue-light receptor. Results of this study confirm that there is an additional photosynthetic contribution from the growing cells that supports ion uptake and growth.

Patch clamping protoplasts from vascular plants : method for the quick isolation of protoplasts having a high success rate of gigaseal formation.

A method is described for the isolation of protoplasts (Pisum sativum, Phaseolus vulgaris, Avena sativa, Arabidopsis thaliana) in preparation for ion flux studies using patch clamp electrophysiology. Protoplasts that have been exposed to hydrolytic, cell wall degrading, enzymes for as little as 5 minutes form gigaseals (seal resistance higher than 10 giga Ohm) with the patch pipette with success rates greater than 40%. Sealing of these protoplasts is fast, averaging less than 2 minutes.

Light-Induced Polar pH Changes in Leaves of Elodea canadensis: II. Effects of Ferricyanide: Evidence for Modulation by the Redox State of the Cytoplasm.

The effect of an extracellular electron acceptor, ferricyanide, on the light-induced polar leaf pH changes of the submerged angiosperm Elodea canadensis in light and in darkness was determined. The rate of transmembrane ferricyanide reduction was stimulated by increased light intensity and was inhibited by inorganic carbon, indicating that changes in the redox state of the chloroplast were reflected at the plasma membrane. The addition of ferricyanide inhibited the light-induced polar leaf pH reaction.