Andrea Ronchi, MD; Carlo Pietrasanta, Maurizio Zavattoni, Martina Saruggia, Federico Schena, Maria Teresa Sinelli, Massimo Agosti, Chryssoula Tzialla, Felicia Filomena Varsalone, Lea Testa, Claudia Ballerini, Stefania Ferrari, Giovanna Mangili, Luisa Ventura, Simona Perniciaro, Elena Spada, PhD; Lunghi, Antonio Piralla, Fausto Baldanti, Fabio Mosca, Lorenza Pugni, MD

The flavonoid composition of various tissues throughout plant development is of biological relevance and particular interest for breeding. Arabidopsis thaliana TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA 1 (AtTTG1) is an essential regulator of late structural genes in flavonoid biosynthesis. Here, we provide a review of the regulation of the pathway's core enzymes through AtTTG1-containing R2R3-MYELOBLASTOSIS-bas...

Rice caryopsis as one of the most important food sources for humans has a complex structure that is composed of maternal tissues including the pericarp and testa and filial tissues including the endosperm and embryo. Although rice caryopsis studies have been conducted previously, a systematic characterization throughout the entire developmental process is still lacking. In this study, detailed ...

1. Thygesen K, Alpert JS, White HD. Universal definition of myocardial infarction. J Am Coll Cardiol 2007;50:2173–95. 2. Lim CCS, van Gaal WJ, Testa L, et al. With the “universal definition,” measurement of creatine kinase-myocardial band rather than troponin allows more accurate diagnosis of periprocedural necrosis and infarction after coronary intervention. J Am Coll Cardiol 2011;57:653–61. 3...

The aim of this work was to follow Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) infection in apricot reproductive tissues and transmission of the virus to the next generation. For this, an analysis of viral distribution in apricot reproductive organs was carried out at different developmental stages. PNRSV was detected in reproductive tissues during gametogenesis. The virus was always present in the ...

Flavonoids, including proanthocyanidins (PAs; also called condensed tannins), play a multitude of roles in plants (Winkel-Shirley, 2001). The presence of certain types of flavonoids in crops is associated with desirable and important agronomic traits; therefore, metabolic engineering of flavonoid biosynthesis has attracted considerable interest (Dixon, 2005). PAs are oligomers or polymers of fl...

Yellow seed colour in Brassica napus is a desired trait and has a strong impact on the quality of Canola and the processed products from the seed. The trait is accompanied with a thinner seed coat when compared to black seeds. For the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, different mutants have been characterised showing the transparent testa phenotype to be associated with light seed colour due to...

Wild apples (Malus sp.) have been a major food source in the northern Alpine region since prehistory and their use is well understood. The onset of deliberate fruit tree growing in the area is, however, less clear. It is generally assumed that horticulture was practised in Roman times, but it might be even earlier. In the archaeological record seed testa and pericarp remains are particularly fr...

The brownseed mutants (bs(1), bs(2), and bs(4)) of tomato all possess dark testae and deleteriously affect seed germination speed and/or final percentage. Poor germination performance of the bs(1) but not the bs(4) mutant, was due to greater impediment to radicle egress. Testa toughening (bs(1)) was prevented by drying in N(2). However, poor germination speed was hardly affected by drying. GA(4...

Gibberellins (GAs) are plant hormones that regulate most plant life cycle aspects, including flowering and fruit development. Here, we demonstrate the implication of GAs in ovule development. DELLA proteins, negative GA response regulators, act as positive factors for ovule integument development in a mechanism that involves transcription factor ABERRANT TESTA SHAPE (ATS). The seeds of the dell...