Leaf ultrastructure, photosynthetic rate and growth of myrtle plantlets under different in vitro culture conditions

M. Lucchesini, G. Monteforti, A. Mensuali-Sodi, G. Serra

Biologia plantarum 50:161-168, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0001-9

The in vitro rooting of myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) plantlets was performed in containers with gas permeable (V) and non-permeable (C) closures characterized by a different number of gas exchanges (1.4 and 0.3 h^{- 1}, respectively). The rooting was induced on Perlite, soaked with half strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 0.5 mg dm^-3 IBA, either with and without 15 g dm^-3 of sucrose. During the rooting phase, it was demonstrated that C cultures without sucrose (C-) negatively affect the growth of myrtle plantlets. The net photosynthetic rate and the starch content showed the lowest values...

Direct somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from leaf explants of Phalaenopsis amabilis

J. T. Chen, W. C. Chang

Biologia plantarum 50:169-173, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0002-8

Leaf explants of Phalaenopsis amabilis var. formosa formed clusters of somatic embryos directly from epidermal cells without an intervening callus within 20 - 30 d when cultured on 1/2-strength modified Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.1, 1 and 3 mg dm^-3 TDZ. Repetitive production of embryos involved secondary embryogenesis could be obtained by culturing segments of embryogenic masses on TDZ-containing media. Plantlet conversion from embryos was successfully achieved on regulator-free growth medium.

Thidiazuron stimulates adventitious shoot regeneration in different safflower explants

K. Radhika, M. Sujatha, T. Nageshwar Rao

Biologia plantarum 50:174-179, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0003-7

Adventitious shoot regeneration from root, hypocotyl, cotyledon and primary leaf explants of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) was studied. Shoot regeneration was promoted by benzyladenine (BA) + naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), BA + indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), kinetin + NAA and thidiazuron (TDZ) + NAA incorporated in Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium. High frequency of shoot regeneration and high number of shoots per regenerating explant were obtained on a wide range of TDZ + NAA combinations. Proliferated shoots were elongated in MS + 0.5 mg dm^-3 kinetin and well-developed shoots were rooted in half strength MS + 0.5 mg dm^-3...

Plant development from microspore-derived embryos in oilseed rape as affected by chilling, desiccation and cotyledon excision

G. Q. Zhang, D. Q. Zhang, G. X. Tang, Y. He, W. J. Zhou

Biologia plantarum 50:180-186, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0004-6

The present study evaluated the effects of chilling, partial desiccation, cotyledon excision and successive subculture of microspore-derived embryos on plant development in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). The results showed that out of the five media, all the genotypes showed the best response when the embryos were cultured on the half-strength Murashige and Skoog medium with 2.0 mg dm^-3 benzylaminopurine. A cold treatment for 3 or 5 d further increased frequencies of embryo germination (90.0 %) and plantlet development (58.46 %). Desiccation for one day also increased the embryo germination and plantlet development in all genotypes...

Characterization of the Ferredoxin-Gogat gene (OsGog2 clone) expression in rice

M. Mattana, E. Biazzi, A. Bertani, I. Coraggio

Biologia plantarum 50:187-192, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0005-5

Ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase (Fd-Gogat; EC 1.4.7.1) in leaf and root plastids is the last enzyme involved in the pathway of nitrate assimilation in higher plants. Arabidopsis thaliana expresses two different genes: the first, light regulated, specific of green tissues and the second expressed in other tissues. In this work, we investigated whether in our clone, OsGog2 AC Y12595, this gene is up-regulated by light or it is expressed under darkness. Fd-Gogat specific activity, protein and mRNA increased after light treatment in rice shoots. In roots, the activity and the protein content remained constant, whereas the mRNA is repressed...

Shoot apical meristem structure and STM expression in has mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana

D. Janosevic, S. Budimir

Biologia plantarum 50:193-197, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0006-4

Wild-type and the handshake (has) mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana were analyzed. Compared to the wild-type, has mutants display a number of morphological alterations, which can largely be traced back to altered meristem function. Analyses of apical meristem of mutant plants showed that mutation affected meristem structure and patterns of STM expression.

Monitoring of cultivar identity in tissue culture-derived date palms using RAPD and AFLP analysis

M. M. Saker, S. S. Adawy, A. A. Mohamed, H. A. El-Itriby

Biologia plantarum 50:198-204, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0007-3

In the present study, two polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods namely, randomly amplified polymophic DNA (RAPD) and amplification fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) were employed to assess genetic variations, which may appeared, in tissue culture-derived date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) offshoots. Analysis of RAPD banding patterns generated by PCR amplification using 37 random primers gave no evidences for somaclonal variations and the percentage of polymorphic bands in a total of 259 scored bands was zero. Meanwhile, analysis of AFLP banding patterns generated using 13 primer combinations pointed to minor genetic variations in the...

Intraspecific interactions in Arabidopsis thaliana and the stomatal mutants tmm1-1 and sdd1-2

J. L. Alwerdt, D. J. Gibson, S. D. Ebbs, A. J. Wood

Biologia plantarum 50:205-209, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0008-2

Competition is a major density-dependent factor structuring plant populations and communities in both natural and agricultural systems. Seedlings of the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana cv. Columbia, and the Columbia-derived stomatal mutants sdd1 and tmm1, were grown under controlled conditions at increasing densities of 1, 10, 20, and 50 plants per pot. We demonstrate significant effects of time (days after planting), density, genotype, density and genotype, and the three-way interaction with time upon several fitness components (plant height, silique number, leaf biomass and flowering stalk biomass) in Columbia and these...

Induction of pumpkin glutathione S-transferases by different stresses and its possible mechanisms

M. Z. Hossain, M. D. Hossain, M. Fujita

Biologia plantarum 50:210-218, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0009-1

Induction of pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Duch.) glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) by different stresses and endogenous trans-2-hexenal content were determined in search of a common signal for GST induction. All of the stresses showed significant induction, As₂O₃ causing the highest induction followed by trans-2-hexenal. The trans-2-hexenal content was highest in trans-2-hexenal-treated seedlings and next-highest in methyl jasmonate-treated seedlings, whereas high temperature- and As₂O₃-treated seedlings had trans-2-hexenal contents lower than that of control...

Jasmonic acid induced changes in protein pattern, antioxidative enzyme activities and peroxidase isozymes in peanut seedlings

G. J. Kumari, A. M. Reddy, S. T. Naik, S. G. Kumar, J. Prasanthi, G. Sriranganayakulu, P. C. Reddy, Chinta Sudhakar

Biologia plantarum 50:219-226, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0010-8

Protein pattern, ammonia content, glutamine synthetase activity, lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase and peroxidase isoforms were studied in the leaves and roots of 7-d-old peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. cv. JL-24) seedlings treated by 25, 100 and 250 μM jasmonic acid (JA). SDS-PAGE protein profile of leaves and roots after JA application showed a significant increase in 18, 21, 30, 45, 47 and 97.4 kDa proteins and significant decrease in 22 and 36 kDa proteins. Pathogenesis related PR-18 was specific in leaves at 250 μM JA and PR-21 have cross reacted differently with 21 and 30 kDa proteins in leaves and roots...

Antioxidant defense mechanism under salt stress in wheat seedlings

S. Mandhania, S. Madan, V. Sawhney

Biologia plantarum 50:227-231, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0011-7

The present study was carried out to study the effect of salt stress on cell membrane damage, ion content and antioxidant enzymes in wheat (Triticum aestivum) seedlings of two cultivars salt-tolerant KRL-19 and salt-sensitive WH-542. Seedlings (4-d-old) were irrigated with 0, 50 and 100 mM NaCl. Observations were recorded on the 3^rd and 6^th day after salt treatment and 2^nd day after salt removal. The relative water content declined with induction of salt stress, more in WH-542 than in cv. KRL-19. K⁺/Na⁺ ratio in KRL-19 was higher than in WH-542. WH-542 suffered greater damage to cellular...

Further biological characteristics of galactoglucomannan oligosaccharides

K. Kollarova, D. Liskova, P. Capek

Biologia plantarum 50:232-238, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0012-6

The biological activity of cell wall-derived galactoglucomannan oligosaccharides (GGMOs) was dependent on their chemical structure. Galactosyl side chains linked to the glucomanno-core influenced their inhibition of elongation growth of pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Tyrkys) stem segments induced by 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Reduction of the number of galactosyl side chains in GGMOs caused stimulation of the endogenous growth. Modification on the glucomanno-reducing end did not affect significantly the activity of these oligosaccharides. GGMOs inhibited also the elongation induced by indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and gibberellic acid (GA₃)....

Cadmium accumulation in Medicago sativa seedlings treated with salicylic acid

G. Drazic, N. Mihailovic, M. Lojic

Biologia plantarum 50:239-244, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0013-5

Growth parameters and cadmium accumulation were investigated in alfalfa seedlings treated with 10 μM salicylic acid (SA) at the beginning of seed imbibition. Shoot and root growths were accelerated by SA treatment and suppressed by Cd both in presence and absence of SA. Cd accumulation was stimulated by SA in alfalfa seedlings in dependence of the treatment duration. K, Mg, Ca and Fe contents in roots are decreased in the presence of Cd alone, while SA induces a decrease of Mg, Ca and Fe. Shoot K, Mg and Ca concentrations are increased by Cd only in the absence of SA, while SA induces also an increase of these concentrations, but only in the absence...

Leaf structural dynamics associated with adaptation of two Ebenus cretica ecotypes

T. Syros, G. Kofidis, A. S. Economou, A. M. Bosabalidis

Biologia plantarum 50:245-250, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0014-4

Morphological and anatomical features of Ebenus cretica leaflet, such as lanceolate shape, reduced size, dense cover with non-glandular hairs, epidermis of small cells, compact mesophyll, amphipleurous presence of palisade parenchyma, thick cuticle, development of numerous mesophyll phenol-storing cells and the amphistomatic type, disclose the xeromorphic character of the plant. In the island of Crete two ecotypes of E. cretica, ecotype A and ecotype C, are greatly extended. In ecotype A leaflets, the above features are more prominent than in ecotype C. This fact accomplished by physiological data favours the suggestion that plants of...

Protein composition of Cucurbita maxima and C. moschata seeds

H. A. Castro, M. J. Galvez, S. R. Gonzalez, C. B. Villamil

Biologia plantarum 50:251-256, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0015-3

Seeds of Cucurbita maxima, C. moschata and their interspecific hybrids were used to evaluate the intrapopulational and interpopulational variation of their protein composition. Three immunoprecipitating systems common to all the studied samples were detected by the Ouchterlony technique. Fourteen protein bands were identified by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) whereas 23 bands were identified by sodiumdodecylsulfate (SDS)-PAGE. Using Western blotting (WB) also 23 bands were detected. The Jaccard's index of similarity calculated from SDS-PAGE and WB varied between 91 and 100 % for all the compared pairs of samples. These results demonstrate...

Photosynthesis of lichen symbiotic alga Trebouxia erici as affected by irradiance and osmotic stress

P. Vaczi, M. Bartak

Biologia plantarum 50:257-264, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0016-2

The relation between oxygen evolution rate (OER) and quantum yield of photochemical reactions in photosystem 2 (Φ_PS2) was examined in lichen symbiotic alga Trebouxia erici Ahmadjian (strain UTEX 911) exposed to different irradiances and osmotic stress (2 M sucrose for 60 h). Linear relationship was found between OER and Φ_PS2 in control cell suspension within irradiance range of 0 - 500 μmol m^-2 s^-1. Under osmotic stress, OER and Φ_PS2 were significantly reduced. Relation between OER and Φ_PS2 was curvilinear due to strong osmotically-induced inhibition of OER...

A late blight resistant potato plant overexpresses a gene coding for α-galactosidase upon infection by Phytophthora infestans

D. Evers, M. Ghislain, L. Hoffmann, J. F. Hausman, J. Dommes

Biologia plantarum 50:265-271, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0017-1

Late blight of potato, caused by Phytophthora infestans was studied by using a resistant clone of potato on one side and a susceptible clone on the other side. A gene coding putatively for an α-galactosidase has been isolated by mRNA reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction differential display and was shown to be differentially expressed between the resistant and the susceptible clone. α-Galactosidases catalyse the hydrolysis of α-1,6 linked α-galactose residues from oligosaccharides and it could be shown in the present work that raffinose content decreases at 30 h after infection by P. infestans in the...

Book Review

J. Gloser

Biologia plantarum 50:318, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0030-4

Book Review

I. Štětinová

Biologia plantarum 50:318, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0031-3

Book Review

J. Pospíšilová

Biologia plantarum 50:319, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0032-2

Book Review

J. Tupý

Biologia plantarum 50:319, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0033-1

Book Review

M. Sindelarova

Biologia plantarum 50:320, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0034-0

An efficient in vitro propagation of Aristolochia indica

E. V. Soniya, M. Sujitha

Biologia plantarum 50:272-274, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0018-0

A rapid and efficient in vitro plant regeneration method was developed for Aristolochia indica. Multiple shoot formation was induced from shoot tip and nodal explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 1 - 6 mg dm^-3 2-isopentenyl-adenine (2-iP) or 1 - 4 mg dm^-3 6-benzyladenine (BA). Maximum number of shoots were induced with 5 mg dm^-3 2-iP alone (about 12 - 14 shoots). Shoot differentiation occurred directly from the leaf bases as well as from the internodes when cultured on 1 - 4 mg dm^-3 BA and 0.8 - 2 mg dm^-3 α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) containing medium. Regeneration...

Stomatal characteristics during micropropagation of Wrightia tomentosa

P. Joshi, N. Joshi, S. D. Purohit

Biologia plantarum 50:275-278, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0019-z

A deviation from usually found characteristics of stomata in Wrightia tomentosa was noted during in vitro propagation. Increase in stomatal frequency in leaves of plants grown in vitro was observed with 29.4 % malformed stomata. The stomata were spherical, wide open, did not close in detached leaves even after 3 h. The leaves exhibited 93.4 % total water loss during 3-h period. Stomatal frequency, percentage of malformed stomata and rate of water loss declined in subsequent rooting phase. Nevertheless, for high survival rate plantlets were hardened under gradually decreasing air humidity either in partially opened glass bottles...

Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from leaf, root and stem-derived callus cultures of Areca catechu

H. C. Wang, J. T. Chen, W. C. Chang

Biologia plantarum 50:279-282, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0020-6

Plant regeneration through somatic embryogenesis of Areca catechu L. was established using leaf, root and stem segments as explants. Embryogenic callus was induced and maintained on medium supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) or 3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid (dicamba) at concentrations 2, 4, 6 and 8 mg dm^-3 in darkness. Somatic embryos were found on primary callus in the presence of 2 and 4 mg dm^-3 dicamba and during subculture on 2 - 8 mg dm^-3 2,4-D or 2 - 4 mg dm^-3 dicamba-containing media. Plantlet conversion from embryos was successfully achieved on growth regulator-free...

Influence of brassinosteroids on initiation of the root gravitropic response in Pisum sativum seedlings

G. N. Amzallag, J. Vaisman

Biologia plantarum 50:283-286, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0021-5

In roots of Pisum sativum seedlings, the average lag-time required for initiation of the gravitropic response was reduced proportionally to the concentration of 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) added to the root solution (range of 10^-13 to 10^-8 M concentrations). A treatment with clotrimazole, a compound inhibiting steroid synthesis, prevents initiation of the gravitropic response. This effect was partly reverted by addition of EBL. From analysis of variability in the populations, it is suggested that BR conditions the root curvature through a gravitropic-induced change in sensitivity to the PGRs regulating cell elongation.

Circumnutation of Arabidopsis thaliana inflorescence stems

N. Someya, K. Niinuma, M. Kimura, I. Yamaguchi, H. Hamamoto

Biologia plantarum 50:287-290, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0022-4

Time-lapse monitoring using infrared imaging revealed a distinct change in circumnutatory behaviour of Arabidopsis inflorescence stems by dark treatment, which drastically increased curvature and decreased nutation frequency. Re-irradiation during dark treatment had different effect on the nutation frequency and the curvature, suggesting that radiation condition controls them through different mechanism.

Rapid clonal propagation of Vitex trifolia

L. V. Hiregoudar, H. N. Murthy, J. G. Bhat, A. Nayeem, B. P. Hema, E. J. Hahn, K. Y. Paek

Biologia plantarum 50:291-294, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0023-3

This report describes in vitro shoot induction and plant regeneration from mature nodal explants of Vitex trifolia L. on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium fortified with benzylaminopurine (BAP), kinetin (KN), thidiazuron (TDZ), adenine (ADE), and 2-isopentenyladenine (2-iP) (0.25 - 10.0 μM). Multiple shoots differentiated directly without callus mediation within 3 weeks when explants were cultured on medium supplemented with cytokinins. The maximum number of shoots (9 shoots per explant) was developed on a medium supplemented with 5.0 μM BAP. Shoot cultures was established repeatedly subculturing the original nodal explant on the...

Optimization of primer screening for evaluation of genetic relationship in rose cultivars

A. Mohapatra, G. R. Rout

Biologia plantarum 50:295-299, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0024-2

Optimization of primer screening for evaluation of genetic relationship in 34 cultivars of rose through random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers was investigated. Four series of decamer primers were used for screening and optimization of RAPD analysis between which A and N series performed good amplification of fragments as compared with other series. The primers OPN-07 and OPN-15 produced maximum number of DNA fragments in Rosa hybrida cv. Anuraag. Some primer either did not produce amplification or produced very poor amplification. Further, ten selected primers were used for genetic analysis of 34 rose cultivars. The primer OPN-15 amplified...

Effect of boron and methionine on growth and ion content in kiwifruit shoots cultured in vitro

T. E. Sotiropoulos, K. N. Dimassi, V. Tsirakoglou

Biologia plantarum 50:300-302, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0025-1

The growth of kiwifruit explants was affected by boron (B) and methionine (Meth) in the culture medium. The longest shoots, the greatest number of shoots and the highest amount of fresh mass per explant were produced in Murashige and Skoog medium with 2 mM B and 2 μM Meth. Furthermore, by increasing B concentration in the culture medium from 0 to 2 mM, an increased rate of shoot proliferation was observed for the various Meth concentrations employed.

Water relations, activities of antioxidants, ethylene evolution and membrane integrity of pigeonpea roots as affected by soil moisture

M. Jain, A. S. Nandwal, B. S. Kundu, B. Kumar, I. S. Sheoran, N. Kumar, A. Mann, S. Kukreja

Biologia plantarum 50:303-306, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0026-0

The plants of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) cv. H77-216 were subjected to moderate [soil moisture content (SMC) = 7.3 ± 0.5 %] and severe (SMC = 4.3 ± 0.5 %) drought by withholding the irrigation at vegetative stage (45 d after sowing). The control plants were maintained at SMC of 11.0 ± 0.5 %. Half of the stressed plants were re-irrigated and their recovery was studied after 2 d. Leaf water potential, osmotic potential, and relative water content of leaf and root decreased significantly while a sharp rise in proline and total soluble sugars contents were noticed. Drought induced a significant increase in 1-aminocyclopropane...

Phytotoxic effects of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb on in vitro regeneration and concomitant protein changes in Holarrhena antidysenterica

V. Agrawal, K. Sharma

Biologia plantarum 50:307-310, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0027-z

The nodal explants of in vitro shoots of Holarrhena antidysenterica L. were cultured on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium augmented with 15 μM N⁶-benzyladenine (BA) alone (control) or supplemented with different concentrations (1, 5, 10 and 20 mg dm^-3) of CdCl₂, CuSO₄, Pb(NO₃)₂ and ZnSO₄. The maximum morphogenic response in terms of average shoot number (4.95 ± 0.17) was seen in control. ZnSO₄ proved to be less inhibitory in comparison to CuSO₄, Pb(NO₃)₂ and CdCl₂. None of the explants cultured...

Genetic engineering of Oryza sativa by particle bombardment

D. Grewal, R. Gill, S. S. Gosal

Biologia plantarum 50:311-314, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0028-y

Genetic engineering of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Pusa basmati 1) using synthetic Cry1Ac gene has been achieved by "particle bombardment". Scutellar tissues excised after 5 - 6 d from mature seeds cultured on induction medium were bombarded using gold particles coated with a mixture of Cry1Ac and marker genes on medium with osmoticum. Bombarded tissues were subjected to 30 mg dm^-3 hygromycin selection for two cycles. The selected calli after GUS assay were transferred to shoot regeneration medium. Regenerated shoots were rooted and plantlets (T₀) were grown to full maturity. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)...

Peroxidase activity and lignification in soybean root growth-inhibition by juglone

P. A. F. Bohm, F. M. L. Zanardo, M. L. L. Ferrarese, O. Ferrarese-Filho

Biologia plantarum 50:315-317, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0029-x

The changes in activities of soluble and cell wall-bound peroxidases and lignin contents in juglone-stressed soybean (Glycine max) seedlings and their relationships with root growth were investigated. Soybean seedlings (3-d-old) were cultivated in nutrient solution supplemented with 0.5 to 25 μM juglone for 24 h. Length and dry mass of roots decreased after 5 to 25 μM juglone treatments. Low juglone concentrations (≤ 1 μM) increased soluble peroxidase activity, while high concentrations (≥ 10 μM) inhibited activities of soluble and cell wall-bound peroxidases. Juglone (≤ 1 μM) did not affect lignin content but highly...