The transformation of coffee plantlets with the cry1ac gene of Bacillus thuringiensis was achieved by biolistic using either the whole pUBC plasmid or only the ubi-cry1ac-nos genetic cassette. The cry1ac gene was inserted into coffee plants in order to confer resistance to the leaf miner Leucoptera coffeella, an insect responsible for considerable losses in coffee crops. Bearing in mind that th...

In the last eleven years, it had been proven scientifically that CO2 enrichment could speed up the growth rates of both thin-leaved (C3) and thick-leaved (CAM) orchids in tissue culture and later, in their vegetative stages leading to flowering. There were also some indications that flowers harvested from plants grown in CO2-enriched environment have a longer vase-life. However, more work is ne...

The present study was aimed to compare the photoautotrophic (PAM) and photomixotrophic micropropagation (PMM) of three potato cultivars (Hermes, Rosetta and Asterix). Cultures were initiated from single node explants and established in MS basal medium with some modifications. Potato plantlets responded in sugar-free media although sugar-containing media (PMM1 and PMM2) performed better as compa...

Macrocyclic trichothecene toxins produced by Myrothecium verrucaria (a phytopathogen of interest in biological weed control) and the non-trichothecene toxin atranone B from Stachybotiys atra were tested for phytotoxicity in duckweed (Lemna pausicostata L.) plantlet cultures and kudzu (Pueraria lobata L.) leaf disc assays, and for mammalian cytotoxicity in four cultured cell lines. Roridin E and...

A simple and efficient plantlet regeneration protocol via direct organogenesis was established for camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora L.). Stem segments with one node (SN explants) from embryo-cultured seedlings (EC seedlings) were used as explants. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2.0 mg/L 6-benzyladenine was used to induce cotyledon...

Physiological response of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) genotype R405-2000 at the youthful stage to water deficit induced by polyethylene glycol The effect of water stress induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been studied on germination and seedling growth of cotton. Five different concentrations of PEG have been tested and the results showed that PEG concentrations negatively influence se...

Micropropagation protocol of Pimpinella candolleana an important ethno medicinal herb has been developed for the first time. High frequency plantlet regeneration was achieved from shoot tip explants of P. candolleana. Effect of growth regulators in different concentrations and combination of BAP, KN, NAA, IAA and IBA on in vitro morphogenesis was tried. The highest regeneration response was obs...

Temperature-sensitive variants of Nicotiana tabacum were isolated from a liquid suspension culture of somatic cells by a negative selection procedure, using bromodeoxyuridine and light. A total of nine such variants have been recovered, with an estimated rate of 2 x 10(-7) per cell division. The appearance of the variants at the permissive temperature varied from nearly wild type, white and fri...

Structural equation modelling (SEM) is a powerful tool to explore and contrast hypotheses on causal relationships among variables using observational data. It constitutes an alternative to experimental approaches that is especially useful in the conservation of small populations where the implementation of treatments may have a negative effect on population viability. We are presently applying ...

Many publications describe cryopreservation techniques but only a few studies have focused on the biochemical and physiological changes occurring in plants regenerated from seeds exposed to liquid nitrogen. This paper aims at describing the effect of common bean seed cryostorage on mineral nutrition of young plantlets. The following elements were measured on leaves of 10-dayold plantlets from n...