The impact of 'framing' in the adoption of GM crops.

Genetically modified (GM) crops offer significant advantages in our crop improvement programs because they are created using a more targeted approach which is not possible in traditional breeding methods. Human benefit is one of the main objectives of crop improvement but the legal framework for the introduction of GM crops and the depiction and portrayal of GM crops in the media create barriers to these benefits. This article attempts to highlight the barriers to GM crop adoption particularly focusing on the idea of "framing" and the way GM technology is framed in the media.

Improving drought tolerance in maize: Tools and techniques.

Drought is an important constraint to agricultural productivity worldwide and is expected to worsen with climate change. To assist farmers, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), to adapt to climate change, continuous generation of stress-tolerant and farmer-preferred crop varieties, and their adoption by farmers, is critical to curb food insecurity. Maize is the most widely grown staple crop in SSA and plays a significant role in food security.

Maize Mutant as a Tool to Decipher the Function of Stigmasterol in Plant Metabolism.

Sterols are integral components of membrane lipid bilayers in eukaryotic organisms and serve as precursors to steroid hormones in vertebrates and brassinosteroids (BR) in plants. In vertebrates, cholesterol is the terminal sterol serving both indirect and direct roles in cell signaling. Plants synthesize a mixture of sterols including cholesterol, sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol but the signaling role for the free forms of individual plant sterols is unclear.

Why Do Plants Convert Sitosterol to Stigmasterol?

A direct role for cholesterol signaling in mammals is clearly established; yet, the direct role in signaling for a plant sterol or sterol precursor is unclear. Fluctuations in sitosterol and stigmasterol levels during development and stress conditions suggest their involvement in signaling activities essential for plant development and stress compensation. Stigmasterol may be involved in gravitropism and tolerance to abiotic stress.

Technological advances in maize breeding: past, present and future.

Maize has for many decades been both one of the most important crops worldwide and one of the primary genetic model organisms. More recently, maize breeding has been impacted by rapid technological advances in sequencing and genotyping technology, transformation including genome editing, doubled haploid technology, parallelled by progress in data sciences and the development of novel breeding approaches utilizing genomic information. Herein, we report on past, current and future developments relevant for maize breeding with regard to (1) genome analysis, (2) germplasm diversity characterization and utilization, (3) manipulation of genetic diversity by transformation and genome editing, (4) inbred line development and hybrid seed production, (5) understanding and prediction of hybrid performance, (6) breeding methodology and (7) synthesis of opportunities and challenges for future maize breeding.

Characterization of Two L-Gulono-1,4-lactone Oxidases, AtGulLO3 and AtGulLO5, Involved in Ascorbate Biosynthesis.

L-Ascorbic acid (AsA, vitamin C) is an essential antioxidant for plants and animals. There are four known ascorbate biosynthetic pathways in plants: the L-galactose, L-gulose, D-galacturonate, and -inositol routes. These pathways converge into two AsA precursors: L-galactono-1,4-lactone and L-gulono-1,4-lactone (L-GulL).

Spatial and temporal regulation of sterol biosynthesis in Nicotiana benthamiana.

Nicotiana benthamiana was used as a model to investigate the spatial and developmental relationship between sterol synthesis rates and sterol content in plants. Stigmasterol levels were approximately twice the level in roots as that found in aerial tissues, while its progenitor sterol sitosterol was the inverse. When incorporation of radiolabeled precursors into sterols was used as measure of in vivo synthesis rates, acetate incorporation was similar across all tissue types, but approximately twofold greater in roots than any other tissue.

Exploring the impact of wounding and jasmonates on ascorbate metabolism.

Vitamin C (ascorbate, AsA) is the most abundant water-soluble antioxidant in plants. Ascorbate provides the first line of defense against damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS), and helps protect plant cells from many factors that induce oxidative stress, including wounding, ozone, high salinity, and pathogen attack. Plant defenses against these stresses are also dependent upon jasmonates (JAs), a class of plant hormones that promote ROS accumulation.

A tomato enzyme synthesizes (+)-7-iso-jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine in wounded leaves.

Jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine (JA-Ile) is a key jasmonate signal that probably functions in all plant species. The JASMONATE RESISTANT 1 (JAR1) enzyme synthesizes JA-Ile in Arabidopsis [Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh.

The role of JAR1 in Jasmonoyl-L: -isoleucine production during Arabidopsis wound response.

The Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. JASMONATE RESISTANT 1( JAR1) locus is essential for pathogen defense, but its role in wound response has not been investigated.

Substrate specificity and products of side-reactions catalyzed by jasmonate:amino acid synthetase (JAR1).

Jasmonate:amino acid synthetase (JAR1) is involved in the function of jasmonic acid (JA) as a plant hormone. It catalyzes the synthesis of several JA-amido conjugates, the most important of which appears to be JA-Ile. Structurally, JAR1 is a member of the firefly luciferase superfamily that comprises enzymes that adenylate various organic acids.

Characterization of an Arabidopsis enzyme family that conjugates amino acids to indole-3-acetic acid.

Substantial evidence indicates that amino acid conjugates of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) function in auxin homeostasis, yet the plant enzymes involved in their biosynthesis have not been identified. We tested whether several Arabidopsis thaliana enzymes that are related to the auxin-induced soybean (Glycine max) GH3 gene product synthesize IAA-amino acid conjugates. In vitro reactions with six recombinant GH3 enzymes produced IAA conjugates with several amino acids, based on thin layer chromatography.