Betalains are pigments that replace anthocyanins in the majority of families of the plant order Caryophyllales. Betalamic acid is the common chromophore of betalains. The key enzyme of the betalain biosynthetic pathway is an extradiol dioxygenase that opens the cyclic ring of dihydroxy-phenylalanine (DOPA) between carbons 4 and 5, thus producing an unstable seco-DOPA that rearranges nonenzymati...

Introns may be considered as optional because they are removed from mRNA molecules, but introns are fairly preserved for unknown reasons. Previously, the mitochondrial rps3 gene of sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris L., Caryophyllales) was shown to represent a unique example of an intron loss. We have determined the distribution of the rps3 intron in 19 Caryophyllalean species. The intron was absent f...

This research evaluated the in vitro acaricidal activity of extracts from 21 plant species from the Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul. During stage I, a larval immersion test was performed using three extract concentrations (5%, 20%, and 40%). During stage II, we used only plants that showed over 95% efficiency at the 40% concentration in stage I in an amount sufficient for the adult immersion tes...

OBJECTIVE To study the epidemiology, causes, and clinical course of Chinese herbal medicine-induced anticholinergic poisoning in Hong Kong. DESIGN Case series. SETTING Hong Kong. PATIENTS All case histories of Chinese herbal medicine-induced anticholinergic poisoning (with laboratory confirmation) recorded by the Hong Kong Poison Information Centre over a 93-month period were accessed for...

Sesbania mosaic virus (SeMV) is a positive stranded RNA virus belonging to the genus Sobemovirus. Construction of an infectious clone is an essential step for deciphering the virus gene functions in vivo. Using Agrobacterium based transient expression system we show that SeMV icDNA is infectious on Sesbania grandiflora and Cyamopsis tetragonoloba plants. The efficiency of icDNA infection was fo...

Intraspecific variation in pollen deposition and number of pollen tubes per style is rarely quantified, but is essential for assessing the occurrence of pollen limitation and pollen competition and their evolutionary implications. Moreover, pollen deposition, pollen tube growth, and the fate of fertilized ovules are rarely distinguished in field studies. Here we present such a study in eight na...

Extreme temperature events are projected to increase in frequency in a future climate. As successive extremes could occur more frequently, patches of vulnerable tundra vegetation were exposed to two consecutive heat waves (HWs) of 10 d each, with a 5-d recovery period in between. Surface temperatures during the HWs were increased approximately 6 degrees C using infrared irradiation sources. In ...

Background. Sesbania grandiflora has been traditionally used as antidiabetic, antioxidant, antipyretic, and expectorant and in the management of various ailments. Materials and Methods. The study evaluates the antidiabetic activity of methanolic extract of Sesbania grandiflora (MESG) in type 2 diabetic rats induced by low dose streptozotocine and high fat diet. Diabetic rats were given vehicle,...

Population genetic theory predicts that the efficacy of natural selection in a self-fertilizing species should be lower than its outcrossing relatives because of the reduction in the effective population size (N(e)) in the former brought about by inbreeding. However, previous analyses comparing Arabidopsis thaliana (selfer) with A. lyrata (outcrosser) have not found conclusive support for this ...