The gene regulation mechanisms underlying hormone- and light-induced signal transduction in plants rely not only on post-translational modification and protein degradation, but also on selective inclusion and exclusion of proteins from the nucleus. For example, plant cells treated with light or hormones actively transport many signalling regulatory proteins, transcription factors, and even phot...

The plant hormone auxin, which is predominantly represented by indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), is involved in the regulation of plant growth and development. Although IAA was the first plant hormone identified, the biosynthetic pathway at the genetic level has remained unclear. Two major pathways for IAA biosynthesis have been proposed: the tryptophan (Trp)-independent and Trp-dependent pathways. I...

Bacterial volatiles play a significant role in promoting plant growth by regulating the synthesis or metabolism of phytohormones. In vitro and growth chamber experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by the plant growth promoting rhizobacterium Bacillus subtilis strain SYST2 on hormone regulation and growth promotion in tomato plants. We ...

Circadian systems coordinate endogenous events with external signals. In mammals, hormone-clock feedbacks are a well-known integration system. Here, we investigated phytohormone effects on plant-circadian rhythms via the promoter:luciferase system. We report that many hormones control specific features of the plant-circadian system, and do so in distinct ways. In particular, cytokinins delay ci...

Hormone disruption is a major, underappreciated component of the plant chemical arsenal, and the historical coevolution between hormone-disrupting plants and herbivores will have both increased the susceptibility of carnivores and diversified the sensitivities of herbivores to man-made endocrine disruptors. Here I review diverse evidence of the influence of plant secondary compounds on vertebra...

In August 2006, plant biologists gathered at the FASEB ‘Mechanisms in Plant Development’ meeting in Vermont, which was organized by Laurie Smith and Ueli Grossniklaus. A variety of plant developmental mechanisms were presented at this meeting and, although many talks focused on Arabidopsis thaliana as a primary model in which to study plant development, research in maize, tomato, Chlamydomonas ...

Paenibacillus polymyxa E681, a spore-forming, low-G+C, Gram-positive bacterium isolated from the rhizosphere of winter barley grown in South Korea, has great potential for agricultural applications due to its ability to promote plant growth and suppress plant diseases. Here we present the complete genome sequence of P. polymyxa E681. Its 5.4-Mb genome encodes functions specialized to the plant-...

UNLABELLED Ancestral human populations had diets containing more indigestible plant material than present-day diets in industrialized countries. One hypothesis for the rise in prevalence of obesity is that physiological mechanisms for controlling appetite evolved to match a diet with plant fiber content higher than that of present-day diets. We investigated how diet affects gut microbiota and c...

Hormonal signalling plays a pivotal role in almost every aspect of plant development, and of high priority has been to identify the receptors that perceive these hormones. In the past seven months, the receptors for the plant hormones auxin, gibberellins and abscisic acid have been identified. These join the receptors that have previously been identified for ethylene, brassinosteroids and cytok...

The use of pesticides is becoming an indispensable technique in most agricultural practices, regardless the level development country. Currently, used are often less toxic and more specific based on insect physiology. Recent studies indicate that pesticide intoxication induces oxidative stress. This work aims to study neurobehavioral consequences administration two insecticides currently widely...