Publications by authors named "Victor Carocha"

Article Synopsis
  • Eucalypt trees are commonly planted around the world but are usually sensitive to frost; however, frost-tolerant hybrids like Eucalyptus gundal (E. gunnii × E. dalrympleana) offer new opportunities for cultivation in colder regions.
  • Researchers evaluated how cold affects the wood structure and processes behind the formation of secondary cell walls (SCW) in these hybrids using a mix of techniques including histology and transcriptomic analysis.
  • Cold exposure led to thicker, more lignified cell walls in the xylem and increased expression of most SCW-related genes, revealing potential new transcription factors that could help improve the cold tolerance of these hybrid eucalypts.
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Lignin, a major component of secondary cell walls, hinders the optimal processing of wood for industrial uses. The recent availability of the Eucalyptus grandis genome sequence allows comprehensive analysis of the genes encoding the 11 protein families specific to the lignin branch of the phenylpropanoid pathway and identification of those mainly involved in xylem developmental lignification. We performed genome-wide identification of putative members of the lignin gene families, followed by comparative phylogenetic studies focusing on bona fide clades inferred from genes functionally characterized in other species.

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The R2R3-MYB family, one of the largest transcription factor families in higher plants, controls a wide variety of plant-specific processes including, notably, phenylpropanoid metabolism and secondary cell wall formation. We performed a genome-wide analysis of this superfamily in Eucalyptus, one of the most planted hardwood trees world-wide. A total of 141 predicted R2R3-MYB sequences identified in the Eucalyptus grandis genome sequence were subjected to comparative phylogenetic analyses with Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Populus trichocarpa and Vitis vinifera.

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Eucalypts are the world's most widely planted hardwood trees. Their outstanding diversity, adaptability and growth have made them a global renewable resource of fibre and energy. We sequenced and assembled >94% of the 640-megabase genome of Eucalyptus grandis.

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Interest in the genomics of Eucalyptus has skyrocketed thanks to the recent sequencing of the genome of Eucalyptus grandis and to a growing number of large-scale transcriptomic studies. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) is the method of choice for gene expression analysis and can now also be used as a high-throughput method. The selection of appropriate internal controls is becoming of utmost importance to ensure accurate expression results in Eucalyptus.

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Background: Eucalyptus is an important genus in industrial plantations throughout the world and is grown for use as timber, pulp, paper and charcoal. Several breeding programmes have been launched worldwide to concomitantly improve growth performance and wood properties (WPs). In this study, an interspecific cross between Eucalyptus urophylla and E.

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Tension wood formed in response to gravitational force is a striking example of the plasticity of angiosperm wood. In this study our goal was to characterize the early changes in gene expression during tension wood formation in Eucalyptus. Using cDNA array technology, transcript profiling of 231 genes preferentially expressed in differentiating Eucalyptus xylem was followed from 6 h to 1 wk of a tension time course of artificially bent Eucalyptus trees.

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