The short-term effects of the herbicide glyphosate (1.25-10 mM) on the growth, nitrogen fixation, carbohydrate metabolism, and shikimate pathway were investigated in leaves and nodules of nodulated lupine plants. All glyphosate treatments decreased nitrogenase activity rapidly (24 h) after application, even at the lowest and sublethal dose used (1.25 mM). This early effect on nitrogenase could ...

To study the regulation of gene expression for enzymes in the C4 photosynthetic pathway of maize (Zea mays L.) in response to changing N status in developing photosynthetic cells, we have studied in vitro transcription of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) gene in leaf nuclei isolated from plants during recovery from N starvation. The induction was specific for the C4-type PEPC gene (C4...

Phylogenetic relationships among 28 of the 68 species of the paleotropical genus Gaertnera (Rubiaceae) and two related genera were inferred from nucleotide sequence variation in four nuclear DNA (nDNA) markers: the internal transcribed spacers of nuclear rDNA (ITS), the large and small copies of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PepC-large and PepC-small), and triose phosphate isomerase (Tpi). P...

Legumes obtain a substantial portion of their nitrogen (N) from symbiotic N2 fixation in root nodules. The glutamine synthetase (GS, EC 6.3.1.2)/glutamate synthase (GOGAT) cycle is responsible for the initial N assimilation. This report describes the analysis of a transgenic alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) line containing an antisense NADH-GOGAT (EC 1.4.1.14) under the control of the nodule-enhanc...

The process of nitrogen fIXation by the legumes imposes carbon (C) energy burden on the plant. The photosynthate translocated from the leaves provides carbon skeleton, reducing power and energy required for the symbiotic nitrogen fIXation. Sucrose from the shoot is converted to organic acids, principally dicarboxylates that are supplied to bacteroids to provide reductant for the support of key ...

Spartina densiflora is a C(4) halophytic species that has proved to have a high invasive potential which derives from its clonal growth and its physiological plasticity to environmental factors, such as salinity. A greenhouse experiment was designed to investigate the synergic effect of 380 and 700 ppm CO(2) at 0, 171, and 510 mM NaCl on the growth and the photosynthetic apparatus of S. densifl...

Protein hydrolysis and amino acid metabolism contribute to the beneficial effects of sourdough fermentation on bread quality. In this work, genes of Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis strain DSM 20451 involved in peptide uptake and hydrolysis were identified and their expression during growth in sourdough was determined. Screening of the L. sanfranciscensis genome with degenerate primers targeting ...

The potential to produce succinate aerobically in Escherichia coli would offer great advantages over anaerobic fermentation in terms of faster biomass generation, carbon throughput, and product formation. Genetic manipulations were performed on two aerobic succinate production systems to increase their succinate yield and productivity. One of the aerobic succinate production systems developed e...

BACKGROUND The potential biofuel plant Jatropha curcas L. is affected by larvae of Archips micaceanus (Walker), a moth of the family Tortricidae. The hybrid Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) δ-endotoxin protein Cry1Ab/1Ac confers resistance to lepidopteran insects in transgenic rice. RESULTS Here, we report the production of a marker-free transgenic line of J. curcas (L10) expressing Cry1Ab/1Ac usi...

Water availability is one of the major limiting factors for plant growth. Maize is particularly sensitive to water stress at reproductive stages with a strong impairment of photosynthesis and grain filling. Here, we describe the use of genetic transformation first to assess the role of a candidate gene Asr1-a putative transcription factor-as an explanation for genetically linked drought toleran...