ARID1 is required to regulate and reinforce H3K9me2 in sperm cells in Arabidopsis.

Heterochromatin de-condensation in companion gametic cells is conserved in both plants and animals. In plants, microspore undergoes asymmetric pollen mitosis (PMI) to produce a vegetative cell (VC) and a generative cell (GC). Subsequently, the GC undergoes pollen mitosis (PMII) to produce two sperm cells (SC).

Improvement of the Quality of Wild Rocket () with Respect to Health-Related Compounds by Enhanced Growth Irradiance.

For healthier human nutrition, it is desirable to provide food with a high content of nutraceuticals such as polyphenolics, vitamins, and carotenoids. We investigated to what extent high growth irradiance influences the content of phenolics, α-tocopherol and carotenoids, in wild rocket (), which is increasingly used as a salad green. Potted plants were grown in a climate chamber with a 16 h day length at photosynthetic photon flux densities varying from 20 to 1250 μmol m s.

Plant Regeneration via Adventitious Shoot Formation from Immature Zygotic Embryo Explants of Camelina.

Camelina is an oil seed crop that is enjoying increasing interest because it has a particularly valuable fatty acid profile, is modest regarding its water and nutrient requirements, and is comparatively resilient to abiotic and biotic stress factors. The regeneration of plants from cells accessible to genetic manipulation is an essential prerequisite for the generation of genetically engineered plants, be it by transgenesis or genome editing. Here, immature embryos were used on the assumption that their incomplete differentiation was associated with totipotency.

Evidence that variation in root anatomy contributes to local adaptation in Mexican native maize.

Mexican native maize ( ssp. ) is adapted to a wide range of climatic and edaphic conditions. Here, we focus specifically on the potential role of root anatomical variation in this adaptation.

Awn Image Analysis and Phenotyping Using BarbNet.

Consideration of the properties of awns is important for the phenotypic description of grain crops. Awns have a number of important functions in grasses, including assimilation, mechanical protection, and seed dispersal and burial. An important feature of the awn is the presence or absence of barbs-tiny hook-like single-celled trichomes on the outer awn surface that can be visualized using microscopic imaging.

A New Fluorescence Detection Method for Tryptophan- and Tyrosine-Derived Allelopathic Compounds in Barley and Lupin.

Barley () is one of the most widely cultivated crops for feedstock and beer production, whereas lupins ( spp.) are grown as fodder and their seeds are a source of protein. Both species produce the allelopathic alkaloids gramine and hordenine.

How do barley plants with impaired photosynthetic light acclimation survive under high-light stress?

WHIRLY1 deficient barley plants surviving growth at high irradiance displayed increased non-radiative energy dissipation, enhanced contents of zeaxanthin and the flavonoid lutonarin, but no changes in α-tocopherol nor glutathione. Plants are able to acclimate to environmental conditions to optimize their functions. With the exception of obligate shade plants, they can adjust their photosynthetic apparatus and the morphology and anatomy of their leaves to irradiance.

Dissection of Developmental Programs and Regulatory Modules Directing Endosperm Transfer Cell and Aleurone Identity in the Syncytial Endosperm of Barley.

Endosperm development in barley starts with the formation of a multinucleate syncytium, followed by cellularization in the ventral part of the syncytium generating endosperm transfer cells (ETCs) as first differentiating subdomain, whereas aleurone (AL) cells will originate from the periphery of the enclosing syncytium. Positional signaling in the syncytial stage determines cell identity in the cereal endosperm. Here, we performed a morphological analysis and employed laser capture microdissection (LCM)-based RNA-seq of the ETC region and the peripheral syncytium at the onset of cellularization to dissect developmental and regulatory programs directing cell specification in the early endosperm.

Genomic and structural basis for evolution of tropane alkaloid biosynthesis.

The tropane alkaloids (TAs) cocaine and hyoscyamine have been used medicinally for thousands of years. To understand the evolutionary origins and trajectories of serial biosynthetic enzymes of TAs and especially the characteristic tropane skeletons, we generated the chromosome-level genome assemblies of cocaine-producing (Erythroxylaceae, rosids clade) and hyoscyamine-producing (Solanaceae, asterids clade). Comparative genomic and phylogenetic analysis suggested that the lack of spermidine synthase/-methyltransferase (SPMT1) in ancestral asterids species contributed to the divergence of polyamine (spermidine or putrescine) methylation in cocaine and hyoscyamine biosynthesis.

Diplodia sapinea infection reprograms foliar traits of its pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) host to death.

Infection with the necrotrophic fungus Diplodia sapinea (Fr.) Fuckel is among the economically and ecologically most devastating diseases of conifers in the northern hemisphere and is accelerated by global climate change. This study aims to characterize the changes mediated by D.

Plant synthetic biology: from inspiration to augmentation.

Although it is still in its infancy, synthetic biology has the capacity to face scientific and societal problems related to modern agriculture. Innovations in cloning toolkits and genetic parts allow increased precision over gene expression in planta. We review the vast spectrum of available technologies providing a practical list of toolkits that take advantage of combinatorial power to introduce/alter metabolic pathways.

Elucidation of tropane alkaloid biosynthesis in using a microbial pathway discovery platform.

Tropane alkaloids (TAs) are heterocyclic nitrogenous metabolites found across seven orders of angiosperms, including Malpighiales (Erythroxylaceae) and Solanales (Solanaceae). Despite the well-established euphorigenic properties of Erythroxylaceae TAs like cocaine, their biosynthetic pathway remains incomplete. Using yeast as a screening platform, we identified and characterized the missing steps of TA biosynthesis in .

United States tea: A synopsis of ongoing tea research and solutions to United States tea production issues.

Tea is a steeped beverage made from the leaves of . Globally, this healthy, caffeine-containing drink is one of the most widely consumed beverages. At least 50 countries produce tea and most of the production information and tea research is derived from international sources.

Probing the Metabolic Landscape of Plant Vascular Bundles by Infrared Fingerprint Analysis, Imaging and Mass Spectrometry.

Fingerprint analysis is a common technique in forensic and criminal investigations. Similar techniques exist in the field of infrared spectroscopy to identify biomolecules according to their characteristic spectral fingerprint features. These unique markers are located in a wavenumber range from 1800 to 600 cm in the mid infrared region.

Untargeted metabotyping to study phenylpropanoid diversity in crop plants.

Plant genebanks constitute a key resource for breeding to ensure crop yield under changing environmental conditions. Because of their roles in a range of stress responses, phenylpropanoids are promising targets. Phenylpropanoids comprise a wide array of metabolites; however, studies regarding their diversity and the underlying genes are still limited for cereals.

Systemic reprogramming of phytohormone profiles and metabolic traits by virulent Diplodia infection in its pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) host.

The widespread ascomycetous fungus Diplodia pinea is a latent, necrotrophic pathogen in Pinus species causing severe damages and world-wide economic losses. However, the interactions between pine hosts and virulent D. pinea are largely not understood.

Engineered degradation of EYFP-tagged CENH3 via the 26S proteasome pathway in plants.

Determining the function of proteins remains a key task of modern biology. Classical genetic approaches to knocking out protein function in plants still face limitations, such as the time-consuming nature of generating homozygous transgenic lines or the risk of non-viable loss-of-function phenotypes. We aimed to overcome these limitations by acting downstream of the protein level.

Function and Regulation of Chloroplast Peroxiredoxin IIE.

Peroxiredoxins (PRX) are thiol peroxidases that are highly conserved throughout all biological kingdoms. Increasing evidence suggests that their high reactivity toward peroxides has a function not only in antioxidant defense but in particular in redox regulation of the cell. Peroxiredoxin IIE (PRX-IIE) is one of three PRX types found in plastids and has previously been linked to pathogen defense and protection from protein nitration.

Corrigendum: The Defense-Related Isoleucic Acid Differentially Accumulates in Among Branched-Chain Amino Acid-Related 2-Hydroxy Carboxylic Acids.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.

Barley HISTIDINE KINASE 1 (HvHK1) coordinates transfer cell specification in the young endosperm.

Cereal endosperm represents the most important source of the world's food; nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying cell and tissue differentiation in cereal grains remain poorly understood. Endosperm cellularization commences at the maternal-filial intersection of grains and generates endosperm transfer cells (ETCs), a cell type with a prominent anatomy optimized for efficient nutrient transport. Barley HISTIDINE KINASE1 (HvHK1) was identified as a receptor component with spatially restricted expression in the syncytial endosperm where ETCs emerge.

Hydroxycinnamic acids in sunflower leaves serve as UV-A screening pigments.

Flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, which are located in the upper epidermis of plants, are well known to screen ultraviolet radiation, thus protecting the underlying tissue from these harmful wavelengths. Both classes of secondary products complement each other over the UV spectral region according to their absorption spectra: flavonoids are most efficient as UV-A attenuators while hydroxycinnamates (HCAs) screen well within the UV-B region. Analysis of epidermal transmittance revealed a substantial UV-A screen in Helianthus annuus L.

Proteomic and physiological assessment of stress sensitive and tolerant variety of tomato treated with brassinosteroids and hydrogen peroxide under low-temperature stress.

The aim of current investigation was to perform proteomics and physio-chemical studies to dissect the changes in contrasting varieties (S-22 and PKM-1) of Lycopersicon esculentum under low-temperature stress. Plant grown under variable low-temperature stress were analysed for their growth biomarkers, antioxidant enzyme activities, and other physiological parameters, which headed toward the determination of protein species responding to low-temperature and 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) concentrations. The plants grown under temperatures, 20/14, 12/7, and 10/3 °C recorded significantly lower growth biomarkers, SPAD chlorophyll, net photosynthetic rate and carbonic anhydrase activity in S-22 and PKM-1.

Gene expression changes elicited by a parasitic B chromosome in the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans are consistent with its phenotypic effects.

Parasitism evokes adaptive physiological changes in the host, many of which take place through gene expression changes. This response can be more or less local, depending on the organ or tissue affected by the parasite, or else systemic when the parasite affects the entire host body. The most extreme of the latter cases is intragenomic parasitism, where the parasite is present in all host nuclei as any other genomic element.

Nitrogen isotope signature evidences ammonium deprotonation as a common transport mechanism for the AMT-Mep-Rh protein superfamily.

Ammonium is an important nitrogen (N) source for living organisms, a key metabolite for pH control, and a potent cytotoxic compound. Ammonium is transported by the widespread AMT-Mep-Rh membrane proteins, and despite their significance in physiological processes, the nature of substrate translocation (NH/NH) by the distinct members of this family is still a matter of controversy. Using cells expressing representative AMT-Mep-Rh ammonium carriers and taking advantage of the natural chemical-physical property of the N isotopic signature linked to NH/NH conversion, this study shows that only cells expressing AMT-Mep-Rh proteins were depleted in N relative to N when compared to the external ammonium source.

The Defense-Related Isoleucic Acid Differentially Accumulates in Among Branched-Chain Amino Acid-Related 2-Hydroxy Carboxylic Acids.

The branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) related 2-hydroxy carboxylic acid isoleucic acid (ILA) enhances salicylic acid-mediated pathogen defense in . ILA has been identified in as its glucose conjugate correlated with the activity of the small-molecule glucosyltransferase UGT76B1, which can glucosylate both salicylic acid and ILA . However, endogenous levels of the ILA aglycon have not yet been determined .