The antimicrobial activity of plant extracts were found in folk medicine as essential oils or isolated compounds. Some of these compounds were isolated or obtained by bio-guided isolation after previously detecting antimicrobial activity on the part of the plant. Petunia is an imporant medicinal and ornamental plant.The in vitro callus induction and antibacterial activity of Petunia leaf and ca...

We isolated and characterized two ovule-specific MADS box cDNAs from petunia, designated floral binding protein (fbp) genes 7 and 11. The putative protein products of these genes have -90% of their overall amino acid sequence in common. In situ RNA hybridization experiments revealed that both genes are expressed in the center of the developing gynoecium before ovule primordia are visible. At la...

In Petunia × hybrida cv 'Mitchell Diploid' (MD), floral volatile benzenoid/phenylpropanoid (FVBP) biosynthesis is controlled spatially, developmentally, and daily at molecular, metabolic, and biochemical levels. Multiple genes have been shown to encode proteins that either directly catalyse a biochemical reaction yielding FVBP compounds or are involved in metabolite flux prior to the formation ...

Flowering plants have developed many ways to arrange their flowers. A flower-bearing branch or system of branches is called an inflorescence. The number of flowers that an inflorescence contains ranges from a single flower to endless flower-clusters. Over the past centuries, botanists have classified inflorescences based on their morphology, which has led to an unfortunate maze of complex botan...

The molecular mechanisms responsible for postpollination changes in floral scent emission were investigated in snapdragon cv Maryland True Pink and petunia cv Mitchell flowers using a volatile ester, methylbenzoate, one of the major scent compounds emitted by these flowers, as an example. In both species, a 70 to 75% pollination-induced decrease in methylbenzoate emission begins only after poll...

Anthocyanins, a class of flavonoids, are responsible for the orange to blue coloration of flowers and act as visual attractors to aid pollination and seed dispersal. Malonyl-CoA is the precursor for the formation of flavonoids and anthocyanins. Previous studies have suggested that malonyl-CoA is formed almost exclusively by acetyl-CoA carboxylase, which catalyzes the ATP-dependent formation of ...

Carotenoids are thought to be the precursors of terpenoid volatile compounds that contribute to flavor and aroma. One such volatile, beta-ionone, is important to fragrance in many flowers, including petunia (Petunia hybrida). However, little is known about the factors regulating its synthesis in vivo. The petunia genome contains a gene encoding a 9,10(9',10') carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase, Ph...

Cyclotides are a large family of plant peptides that are structurally defined by their cyclic backbone and a trifecta of disulfide bonds, collectively known as the cyclic cystine knot (CCK) motif. Structurally similar cyclotides have been isolated from plants within the Rubiaceae, Violaceae, and Fabaceae families and share the CCK motif with trypsin-inhibitory knottins from a plant in the Cucur...

Acylsugars are synthesized in the glandular trichomes of the Solanaceae family and are implicated in protection against abiotic and biotic stress. Acylsugars are composed of either sucrose or glucose esterified with varying numbers of acyl chains of differing length. In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), acylsugar assembly requires four acylsugar acyltransferases (ASATs) of the BAHD superfamily. To...