A proposed role for endomembrane trafficking processes in regulating tonoplast content and vacuole dynamics under ammonium stress conditions in Arabidopsis root cells.

Ammonium (NH) stress has multiple effects on plant physiology, therefore, plant responses are complex, and multiple mechanisms are involved in NH sensitivity and tolerance in plants. Root growth inhibition is an important quantitative readout of the effects of NH stress on plant physiology, and cell elongation appear as the principal growth inhibition target. We recently proposed autophagy as a relevant physiological mechanisms underlying NH sensitivity response in Arabidopsis.

Assessment of lead tolerance on Glycine max (L.) Merr. at early growth stages.

Lead (Pb) contamination of agricultural soils, and subsequently of crops, has been widely reported. Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.

Lead uptake and translocation pathways in soybean seedlings: the role of ion competition and transpiration rates.

Glycine max (L.) Merr. (soybean) crop plants have been found to have high lead (Pb) levels in aerial organs; however, knowledge about the processes involved in the incorporation, and subsequent translocation and accumulation of the metal in the plants is scarce.

Evolutionary insights into FYVE and PHOX effector proteins from the moss Physcomitrella patens.

Genome-wide identification, together with gene expression patterns and promoter region analysis of FYVE and PHOX proteins in Physcomitrella patens, emphasized their importance in regulating mainly developmental processes in P. patens. Phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns3P) is a signaling phospholipid, which regulates several aspects of plant growth and development, as well as responses to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Cell remodeling and subtilase gene expression in the actinorhizal plant Discaria trinervis highlight host orchestration of intercellular Frankia colonization.

Nitrogen-fixing filamentous Frankia colonize the root tissues of its actinorhizal host Discaria trinervis via an exclusively intercellular pathway. Here we present studies aimed at uncovering mechanisms associated with this little-researched mode of root entry, and in particular the extent to which the host plant is an active partner during this process. Detailed characterization of the expression patterns of infection-associated actinorhizal host genes has provided valuable tools to identify intercellular infection sites, thus allowing in vivo confocal microscopic studies of the early stages of Frankia colonization.

The seed-borne Southern bean mosaic virus hinders the early events of nodulation and growth in Rhizobium-inoculated Phaseolus vulgaris L.

To simulate seed-borne virus transmission, a noninvasive protocol was designed to infect the radicle of germinating seeds, with 100% effectiveness. Preinfection of 24-h-old black bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) radicles by Southern bean mosaic virus (SBMV) followed by Rhizobium inoculation 48h later caused a drastic reduction in root nodulation.

Transgenic wheat plants resistant to herbicide BASTA obtained by microprojectile bombardment.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) transgenic plants of an important commercial cv (Oasis) was obtained with an efficient and short procedure. First, the optimum conditions for the embryogenic calli generation from immature embryos with a high regeneration percentage were established. The transformation of calli was performed by high velocity microprojectile bombardment, using the pAHC25 plasmid, which contains the reporter gene beta-glucuronidase (GUS) and the selectable BAR gene which confers resistance to the herbicide Basta.