agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation may offer a better alternative than the biolistic gun for genetic transformation of maize plants. this gene delivery system results in a greater proportion of stable, low-copy number transgenic events than does the biolistic gun, and is highly efficient. in the present work, we studied maize transformation using a. tumefaciens by identifying som...

Concentration levels of hexavalent chromium in contaminated soil and in Zea mays plant parts were determined and Cr(VI) bioaccumulation and bioconcentration capacity of this plant were discussed. Zea mays seeds were sown in 40 mg Cr(VI)/kg dw polluted soil. After harvesting it was observed that hexavalent chromium concentrations in plant organs decreased in the following order: roots > stems > ...

The Arabidopsis kinase OPEN STOMATA 1 (OST1) plays a key role in regulating drought stress signalling, particularly stomatal closure. We have identified and investigated the functions of the OST1 ortholog in Z. mays (ZmOST1). Ectopic expression of ZmOST1 in the Arabidopsis ost1 mutant restores the stomatal closure phenotype in response to drought. Furthermore, we have identified the transcripti...

background & aim:zea mays leaf used traditionally in ibibio ethno medicine in southern nigeria to treat malaria and other inflammatory diseases. these anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties were evaluated against experimentally induced inflammation and pains using standard models. experimental: the effects of ethanol leaf extract of zea mays (170 -510 mg/kg) on experimentally induced inflam...

During routine screens of the NCBI databases using human repetitive elements we discovered an unlikely level of nucleotide identity across a broad range of phyla. To ascertain whether databases containing DNA sequences, genome assemblies and trace archive reads were contaminated with human sequences, we performed an in depth search for sequences of human origin in non-human species. Using a pri...

Short base-paired RNA fragments, and fragments containing intra-RNA cross-links, were isolated from E. coli 23S rRNA or 50S ribosomal subunits by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The interactions thus found were used as a first basis for constructing a secondary structure model of the 23S rRNA. Sequence comparison with the 23S rDNA from Z. mays chloroplasts, as well as with the 16S (large s...

Aflatoxin contamination of corn in the field is influenced by several factors. In the southern U.S., insect populations are usually large every year. Drought caused by warmer and drier than normal weather is conducive to A. flavus infection and aflatoxin contamination of corn, Zea mays L. When loose-husked hybrids are used in the southern U.S., they accentuate insect damage and aflatoxin contam...

Use of Plantago ovata Forsk leaf (also known as blond plantain or isabgol) extract is a novel approach for ameliorating water stress in various agronomic crops such maize (Zea mays L.). To examine the potential roles P. (0, 20 and 40%) increasing seed germination, plant growth, photosynthetic measurements, stomatal properties, oxidative antioxidant response, ions uptake relationship between stu...

Genetic relationship of a newly discovered teosinte from Nicaragua, Zea nicaraguensis with waterlogging tolerance, was determined based on randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA using 14 accessions from Zea species. RAPD analysis showed that a total of 5,303 fragments were produced by 136 random decamer prim...