scholarly journals Potential of Karrikins as Novel Plant Growth Regulators in Agriculture

Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Antala ◽  
Oksana Sytar ◽  
Anshu Rastogi ◽  
Marian Brestic

Karrikins (KARs) have been identified as molecules derived from plant material smoke, which have the capacity to enhance seed germination for a wide range of plant species. However, KARs were observed to not only impact seed germination but also observed to influence several biological processes. The plants defected in the KARs signaling pathway were observed to grow differently with several morphological changes. The observation of KARs as a growth regulator in plants leads to the search for an endogenous KAR-like molecule. Due to its simple genomic structure, Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana L.) helps to understand the signaling mechanism of KARs and phenotypic responses caused by them. However, different species have a different phenotypic response to KARs treatment. Therefore, in the current work, updated information about the KARs effect is presented. Results of research on agricultural and horticultural crops are summarized and compared with the findings of Arabidopsis studies. In this article, we suggested that KARs may be more important in coping with modern problems than one could imagine.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Suckling

Abstract E. postvittana is a small, bell-shaped moth, whose caterpillars feed on a very wide range of plants. The eggs, larvae and pupae can be associated with plant material and readily transported. The pest status of this insect in horticultural crops is very significant. It is native to Australia and was distributed to New Zealand, Hawaii, New Caledonia and the UK with apples [Malus domestica] or other plant material in the late 1800s. It has since spread throughout lowland New Zealand, and in recent years has spread through southern parts of the UK, and Ireland. In Hawaii, it appears to be confined to altitudes above 1100 m, and can largely be considered a pest of temperate regions.


Genes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susheel Sagar Bhat ◽  
Dawid Bielewicz ◽  
Artur Jarmolowski ◽  
Zofia Szweykowska-Kulinska

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is known to occur in plant and animal messenger RNAs (mRNAs) since the 1970s. However, the scope and function of this modification remained un-explored till very recently. Since the beginning of this decade, owing to major technological breakthroughs, the interest in m6A has peaked again. Similar to animal mRNAs, plant mRNAs are also m6A methylated, within a specific sequence motif which is conserved across these kingdoms. m6A has been found to be pivotal for plant development and necessary for processes ranging from seed germination to floral development. A wide range of proteins involved in methylation of adenosine have been identified alongside proteins that remove or identify m6A. This review aims to put together the current knowledge regarding m6A in Arabidopsis thaliana.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 7906
Author(s):  
Alexey A. Komissarov ◽  
Maria A. Karaseva ◽  
Marina P. Roschina ◽  
Andrey V. Shubin ◽  
Nataliya A. Lunina ◽  
...  

Regulated cell death (RCD) is a fundamental process common to nearly all living beings and essential for the development and tissue homeostasis in animals and humans. A wide range of molecules can induce RCD, including a number of viral proteolytic enzymes. To date, numerous data indicate that picornaviral 3C proteases can induce RCD. In most reported cases, these proteases induce classical caspase-dependent apoptosis. In contrast, the human hepatitis A virus 3C protease (3Cpro) has recently been shown to cause caspase-independent cell death accompanied by previously undescribed features. Here, we expressed 3Cpro in HEK293, HeLa, and A549 human cell lines to characterize 3Cpro-induced cell death morphologically and biochemically using flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. We found that dead cells demonstrated necrosis-like morphological changes including permeabilization of the plasma membrane, loss of mitochondrial potential, as well as mitochondria and nuclei swelling. Additionally, we showed that 3Cpro-induced cell death was efficiently blocked by ferroptosis inhibitors and was accompanied by intense lipid peroxidation. Taken together, these results indicate that 3Cpro induces ferroptosis upon its individual expression in human cells. This is the first demonstration that a proteolytic enzyme can induce ferroptosis, the recently discovered and actively studied type of RCD.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Rui Zhong ◽  
Dingding Han ◽  
Xiaodong Wu ◽  
Hong Wang ◽  
Wanjing Li ◽  
...  

Background: The hypoxic environment stimulates the human body to increase the levels of hemoglobin (HGB) and hematocrit and the number of red blood cells. Such enhancements have individual differences, leading to a wide range of HGB in Tibetans’ whole blood (WB). Study Design: WB of male Tibetans was divided into 3 groups according to different HGB (i.e., A: >120 but ≤185 g/L, B: >185 but ≤210 g/L, and C: >210 g/L). Suspended red blood cells (SRBC) processed by collected WB and stored in standard conditions were examined aseptically on days 1, 14, 21, and 35 after storage. The routine biochemical indexes, deformability, cell morphology, and membrane proteins were tested. Results: Mean corpuscular volume, adenosine triphosphate, pH, and deformability were not different in group A vs. those in storage (p > 0.05). The increased rate of irreversible morphology of red blood cells was different among the 3 groups, but there was no difference in the percentage of red blood cells with an irreversible morphology after 35 days of storage. Group C performed better in terms of osmotic fragility and showed a lower rigid index than group A. Furthermore, SDS-PAGE revealed similar cross-linking degrees of cell membrane protein but the band 3 protein of group C seemed to experience weaker clustering than that of group A as detected by Western Blot analysis after 35 days of storage. Conclusions: There was no difference in deformability or morphological changes in the 3 groups over the 35 days of storage. High HGB levels of plateau SRBC did not accelerate the RBC change from a biconcave disc into a spherical shape and it did not cause a reduction in deformability during 35 days of preservation in bank conditions.


Planta ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 253 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marciel Pereira Mendes ◽  
Richard Hickman ◽  
Marcel C. Van Verk ◽  
Nicole M. Nieuwendijk ◽  
Anja Reinstädler ◽  
...  

Abstract Main conclusion Overexpression of pathogen-induced cysteine-rich transmembrane proteins (PCMs) in Arabidopsis thaliana enhances resistance against biotrophic pathogens and stimulates hypocotyl growth, suggesting a potential role for PCMs in connecting both biological processes. Abstract Plants possess a sophisticated immune system to protect themselves against pathogen attack. The defense hormone salicylic acid (SA) is an important player in the plant immune gene regulatory network. Using RNA-seq time series data of Arabidopsis thaliana leaves treated with SA, we identified a largely uncharacterized SA-responsive gene family of eight members that are all activated in response to various pathogens or their immune elicitors and encode small proteins with cysteine-rich transmembrane domains. Based on their nucleotide similarity and chromosomal position, the designated Pathogen-induced Cysteine-rich transMembrane protein (PCM) genes were subdivided into three subgroups consisting of PCM1-3 (subgroup I), PCM4-6 (subgroup II), and PCM7-8 (subgroup III). Of the PCM genes, only PCM4 (also known as PCC1) has previously been implicated in plant immunity. Transient expression assays in Nicotiana benthamiana indicated that most PCM proteins localize to the plasma membrane. Ectopic overexpression of the PCMs in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in all eight cases in enhanced resistance against the biotrophic oomycete pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis Noco2. Additionally, overexpression of PCM subgroup I genes conferred enhanced resistance to the hemi-biotrophic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. The PCM-overexpression lines were found to be also affected in the expression of genes related to light signaling and development, and accordingly, PCM-overexpressing seedlings displayed elongated hypocotyl growth. These results point to a function of PCMs in both disease resistance and photomorphogenesis, connecting both biological processes, possibly via effects on membrane structure or activity of interacting proteins at the plasma membrane.


Helia ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (33) ◽  
pp. 97-104
Author(s):  
F.M. Khalifa ◽  
A.A. Schneiter ◽  
E.I. El Tayeb

SUMMARY Seed germination of six sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) hybrids was investigated across a range of eleven constant temperatures between 5°C and 45°C. Large temperature differences in germination rate 1/t (d-1), cardinal temperature (°C) and thermal time θ (°cd) were observed among hybrids. Base temperatures (Tb) varied between 3.3°C and 6.7°C whereas maximum germination temperatures (Tm) varied between 41.7°C and 48.9°C. Final germination fraction was attained at 15°C - 25°C whereas the maximum rate of germination was attained at 30.4°C - 35.6°C. The maximum germination rate of hybrid USDA 894, the cultivar with the slowest germination rate, was only 50% of that of hybrid EX 47. The low Tb and high Tm of sunflower appear to be one of the factors which explain the successful adaptation of sunflower to a wide range of temperature. These findings are discussed in relation to the origin of the crop and its wide adaptations in diverse habitats and climatic zones.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shao-Zhen Lin ◽  
Wu-Yang Zhang ◽  
Dapeng Bi ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
Xi-Qiao Feng

AbstractInvestigation of energy mechanisms at the collective cell scale is a challenge for understanding various biological processes, such as embryonic development and tumor metastasis. Here we investigate the energetics of self-sustained mesoscale turbulence in confluent two-dimensional (2D) cell monolayers. We find that the kinetic energy and enstrophy of collective cell flows in both epithelial and non-epithelial cell monolayers collapse to a family of probability density functions, which follow the q-Gaussian distribution rather than the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. The enstrophy scales linearly with the kinetic energy as the monolayer matures. The energy spectra exhibit a power-decaying law at large wavenumbers, with a scaling exponent markedly different from that in the classical 2D Kolmogorov–Kraichnan turbulence. These energetic features are demonstrated to be common for all cell types on various substrates with a wide range of stiffness. This study provides unique clues to understand active natures of cell population and tissues.


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 1012-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. N. Acharya ◽  
C. B. Chu ◽  
R. Hermesh ◽  
G. B. Schaalje

Seeds from 55 populations of native Alberta red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera Michx.) were collected over 2 years (1984 and 1985) to determine the range of variability for seed germination and the effect of ecoregion and moisture conditions in the collection sites on this trait. Each year the unscarified seeds were stored at 3 °C for 30 days, stratified at 3 °C for an additional 30 days and then incubated on an 8 h light: 16 h dark cycle at a temperature of 25:10 °C (light:dark) for germination. A wide range of germination percentages was observed among populations collected in any 1 year. However, the variability was not due to the ecoregion or moisture condition of the collection site. Germination percentage of populations collected in 1984 and 1985 formed five and seven groups, respectively. A study involving eight sites that were common to 1984, 1985, and 1986 revealed a significant effect of population on seed germination. This population effect was not obscured by the combined effects of year, precipitation, temperature, and seed size. The year effect was significant only when population was used as a covariate. Precipitation during seed formation significantly influenced germination performance even after adjustments were made for population and year. Seed germination in red-osier dogwood appears to be influenced by the population from which the seeds are collected and by yearly environmental fluctuations. Therefore, germination studies in this species must include seeds from diverse populations collected over several years. Key words: red-osier dogwood, Cornus stolonifera Michx., germination, population, environment.


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