Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for many organisms, but is also a toxin and environmental pollutant at elevated levels. Due to its chemical similarity to sulphur, most plants readily take up and assimilate Se. Se accumulators such as Brassica juncea can accumulate Se between 0.01% and 0.1% of dry weight (DW), and Se hyperaccumulators such as Stanleya pinnata (Brassicaeae) contain be...

In this study, a copper-resistant plant growth promoting bacterial (PGPB) strain Ax10 was isolated from a Cu mine soil to assess its plant growth promotion and copper uptake in Brassica juncea. The strain Ax10 tolerated concentrations up to 600 mg CuL(-1) on a Luria-Bertani (LB) agar medium and utilized 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) as a sole N source in DF salts minimal medium. T...

Abiotic stress is one of the major factors responsible for huge yield loss in crop plants. MicroRNAs play a key role in adaptive responses of plants under abiotic stress conditions through post-transcriptional gene regulations. In present study, 95 potential miRNAs were predicted in Brassica juncea using comparative genomics approach. It was noted that these miRNAs, target several transcription...

Canola quality Brassica juncea has been under development at the Saskatoon Research Centre for several years. Breeding efforts have focused on the development of germplasm with improved seed quality characteristics including superior fatty acid profiles, low glucosinolates and high oil content. Future breeding efforts in this crop would be greatly facilitated through the development of molecula...

For determining interactive plant-bacterial effects between glucosinolates and phyllospheric colonization by a plant growth-promoting strain, Enterobacter radicincitans DSM 16656, in cruciferous vegetables, the extent of bacterial colonization was assessed in 5 cruciferous vegetables (Brassica juncea, Brassica campestris, Brassica oleracea var. capitata, Brassica rapa var. alboglabra, Nasturtiu...

Small interfering (si)RNAs isolated from Brassica juncea leaves infected by Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) were characterized by cloning and sequencing. The TuMV siRNA population was dominated by 21 and 22-nt long species originated mainly from the same siRNA hotspots, indicating operational similarity between the plant Dicer-like (DCL) enzymes. Robust GC bias was observed for TuMV siRNAs versus th...

1. General introduction 2. General consideration in choosing target genes for phytoremediation 3. Genetic engineering of metal transporters 3.1. Uptake of Metal from the Soil to the Root 3.2. Translocation from the Root to the Shoot 3.3. Vacuolar Transporters 3.4. Manipulating Metal Distribution: Some Aspects 4. Genetic engineering of metal chelation 4.1. Glutathione 4.2. Phytochelatin 4.3. Met...

The effects of gibberellic acid (GA3) on growth, physiology and yield of salt-stressed mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern & Coss) cv. Varuna plants were studied. The stress imposed by 25 or 50 mM NaCl reduced substantially leaf area, dry mass, leaf chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance and net photosynthetic rate 50 days after emergence. At harvest, although other yield components were gener...

The present work was undertaken to study the effects of 28-homobrassinolide on growth, zinc metal uptake, antioxidative enzyme [guaiacol peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7), catalase (EC 1.11.1.6), glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.2), ascorbate peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.11), superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1)] activities and protein content in 7-d-old seedlings of Brassica juncea L. treated with Zn metal at di...