Different biotic stresses yield specific symptoms, owing to their distinct influence on a plant's physiological status. To monitor early changes in a plant's physiological status upon pathogen attack, chlorophyll fluorescence imaging (Chl-FI) and thermography, which respectively visualize photosynthetic efficiency and transpiration, were carried out in parallel for two fundamentally different p...

Plant UDP-Glc:phenylpropanoid glucosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze the transfer of Glc from UDP-Glc to numerous substrates and regulate the activity of compounds that play important roles in plant defense against pathogens. We previously characterized two tobacco salicylic acid- and pathogen-inducible UGTs (TOGTs) that act very efficiently on the hydroxycoumarin scopoletin and on hydroxycinnami...

Experience is well known to affect sensory-guided behaviors in many herbivorous insects. Here, we investigated the effects of natural feeding experiences of Helicoverpa armigera larvae on subsequent preferences of larval approaching and feeding, as well as the effect of host-contacting experiences of mated females on subsequent ovipositional preference. The results show that the extent of exper...

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoke is harmful to human health at both cellular and genetic levels. Recently, a unique bioassay for smoke cytotoxicity using air pollution-sensitive plant cells (tobacco) has been proposed. METHODS Model plant cells (tobacco Bel-W3 cells) and human cells (alveolar epithelial A549 cells) suspended in fresh culture media were exposed to cigarette smoke sampled after light...

Determining the relative contributions of diff erent ecological factors for herbivore fi tness is one key to understanding the ecology and evolution of host plant choice by herbivores. Natural enemies are increasingly being recognized as an important factor: host plants of inferior quality for development may still be used by herbivores if they provide enemy-free space (EFS). Here we used the t...

is not normally present in plants, The expression of this ubiC construct in tobacco resulted in a formation of 4HB as a new, artificial secondary metabolite in tobacco, which was accumulated in form of glucosides (Siebert et al, 1996) and also incorporated into the cell wall (Li et al. 1997), First experiments suggested that this transformation may increase plant disease resistance (Heide et al...

I the last decade, tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) has become widely distributed across Alabama on many field, vegetable, and floral crops. About 300 plant species, mainly broadleafs, are hosts of TSWV. In addition to peanut, other important crops grown in the Southeast that are susceptible to this virus include tomato, pepper, potato, cucurbits, lettuce, eggplant, and tobacco. Chrysanthemum, ...

BACKGROUND Allergen cross-reactivity between tobacco and other species of Solanaceae family (tomato, potato, aubergine and egg plant) have been reported. We have recently studied IgE response to tobacco in asthmatic patients sensitised to Lolium perenne (Perennial rye grass pollen) and have found that 30% of the tobacco responsive patients also have latex sensitisation. OBJECTIVE The aim of o...

abstractbackground and objectives: the cultivated tobacco (nicotiana tabacum) is a tropical and annual plant, consisting of a number of species or hybrids belonging to the solanaceae family. bio-chemical reaction to viral infection is different for various plants .one of the most important defensive mechanisms of the host plant against pathogen agents, is biochemical defense and their related c...