Tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa Andrews) is an important traditional flower in China. Besides its beautiful flower, the leaf of tree peony has also good ornamental value owing to its leaf color change in spring. So far, the molecular mechanism of leaf color change in tree peony is unclear. In this study, the pigment level and transcriptome of three different color stages of tree peony leaf wer...

Vacuum microwave-assisted extraction (VMAE), in which microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) was performed in vacuum, was specially designed and applied for the extraction of polyphenolic compounds and pigments from Chinese herbs. The extraction conditions including solid/liquid ratio, extraction time, extraction temperature and degree of vacuum were optimized. Subsequently, VMAE, MAE, and convent...

Changes in the concentration of different photosynthetic pigments (Chlorophyll and carotenoids) were determined in the leaves of six tree species exposed to air pollution due to vehicular emissions. The six tree species, which are all economically important because of their being fruit bearers, used for timber fodder and as road side trees on the basis of their air pollution tolerance index. Th...

The present study deals with the effects of allelochemicals present in leachate on the drought response of maize plants. Nicotiana plumbaginifolia was selected as a donor plant. 12-d-old maize (Zea mays L. cv. Uttam) seedlings with and without leachate were subjected to water stress (WS) by withholding water supply for 6 days. Leaf water status, photosynthetic pigments, protein content, proline...

Gene expression is known to change in response to UV-B radiation. In this paper, we have investigated three factors in Arabidopsis leaves that are likely to influence these changes: development, protective pigments and the 'chloroplast signal'. During late leaf development the major change in pigment composition, after exposure to UV-B radiation, is an increase in UV-absorbing pigments. Chl and...

The effect of 10 M salicylic acid (SA) on the counteracting of the NaCl (50, 100 and 150 mM)-induced deleterious effects on maize (Zea mays L.) cultivar was studied. Effects of SA on salt tolerance of maize were determined by measuring the growth parameters: shoot and root lengths, shoot and root fresh and dry weights and leaf area. The activity of ribulose 1,5bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco)...

Due to widespread industrial use, chromium (Cr) is considered a hazardous environmental pollutant. It is known to inhibit plant growth and development. The present study provides the evidence of the phytotoxicity of this metal on the pea (Pisum sativum L. cv Azad) plants. The plants of pea (Pisum sativum L.) were grown in refined sand under different concentrations i.e. 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and ...

UV-B radiation (280-315 nm) incident on the leafy liverwort Cephaloziella varians growing at Rothera Point on the Western Antarctic Peninsula was manipulated in late austral spring 1998 by screens consisting of a novel combination of plexiglass panes and polyester sheets. The screens transmitted c. 79%, 68%, 48%, 41% and 31% of daily UV-B radiation dose. Plants from under and outside the screen...

Introduction: Giotto (1266–1337) and his workshop realized c. 1315 the large Crucifix now in the Louvre Museum. The conservation of this masterpiece in 2010–2013 in the C2RMF studios gave the opportunity for a comprehensive investigation of the execution technique through a characterization of the paint layers. The first examinations revealed an original gilding and decoration surrounding the C...

The effects of 2 concentrations of kinetin, i.e., 2 and 4 mM together with 2 levels of drought stress, i.e., moderate (35% soil saturation capacity) and severe (20% soil saturation capacity) were investigated on the growth parameters of tomato including fresh and dry leaf weight, leaf number, leaf surface area, fruit number, fruit weight, and enzymatic antioxidants. To this end, first tomato pl...