Many crops contain domestication genes that are generally considered to lower fitness of crop-wild hybrids in the wild environment. Transgenes placed in close linkage with such genes would be less likely to spread into a wild population. Therefore, for environmental risk assessment of GM crops, it is important to know whether genomic regions with such genes exist, and how they affect fitness. W...

Candidate effectors from lettuce downy mildew (Bremia lactucae) enable high-throughput germplasm screening for the presence of resistance (R) genes. The nonhost species Lactuca saligna comprises a source of B. lactucae R genes that has hardly been exploited in lettuce breeding. Its cross-compatibility with the host species L. sativa enables the study of inheritance of nonhost resistance (NHR). ...

Using agro-infiltration technique, we have transiently expressed human Growth Hormone (hGH) in tobacco(Nicotiana tobacum), potato (Solanum tuberosum) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) leaves. Out of three differentinoculation times used for infiltration in our study, it was seen that highest level of hGH expression wasachieved when leaves were infiltrated for 35 min. The presence o...

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa 'Salinas') seeds fail to germinate when imbibed at temperatures above 25 degrees C to 30 degrees C (termed thermoinhibition). However, seeds of an accession of Lactuca serriola (UC96US23) do not exhibit thermoinhibition up to 37 degrees C in the light. Comparative genetics, physiology, and gene expression were analyzed in these genotypes to determine the mechanisms gover...

Eight species of the genus Cercospora from different localities in Northern provinces of Iran were obtained and examined during spring-autumn 2010. Cercospora acnidae (from Amaranthus chlorostachys var. chlorostachys), C. beticola (from Beta vulgaris), C. iridis (from Iris sp.), C. lactucae-sativae (from Lactuca sativa), C. mercurialis (from Mercurialis annua), C. sorghi (from Sorghum halepense...

Agricultural soils can contain high arsenic (As) concentrations due to specific geological contexts or pollution. Fertilizer amendments could influence As speciation and mobility thus increasing its transfer crops toxicity. In the present study, field-relevant amounts of fertilizers were applied from a cultivated field that was former ammunition-burning site. Potassium phosphate (KP), ammonium ...

Plant to plant gene flow is a route of environmental exposure for GM plants specifically since crosses with wild relatives could lead to the formation of more vigorous hybrids, which could increase the rate of introgression and the environmental impact. Here, we test the first step in the process of potential transgene introgression: whether hybrid vigor can be inherited to the next generation,...