Shifts in pollination syndromes involve coordinated changes in multiple floral traits. This raises the question of how plants can cope with rapid changes in pollinator availability by the slow process of accumulation of mutations in multiple genes. Here we study the transition from bee to hawkmoth pollination in the genus Petunia. Interspecific crosses followed by single locus introgressions we...

The ability of high (6.73) and low (5.02) pH solutions of lead acetate precipitate of H. rosasinensis petal anthocyanin extract to prevent carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced lipid peroxidation in rats has been investigated using plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) level as an index of the process. Relative to its value in the plasma of CCl4 treated extract-free rats, the high pH form (pH 6.73; blue p...

Providing an analytical solution for the problem of finding Fastest Distributed Consensus (FDC) is one of the challenging problems in the field of sensor networks. Here in this work we present analytical solution for the problem of fastest distributed consensus averaging algorithm by means of stratification and semi-definite programming, for two particular types of Petal networks, namely symmet...

Senescence of carnation flowers is characterized by autocatalytic ethylene production from petals and subsequent wilting of the petals. Recent studies on the regulation of ethylene production and wilting in senescing carnation petals revealed that (1) petal senescence is triggered by ethylene evolved from the gynoecium during natural senescence, (2) ethylene production in the gynoecium is induc...

We present a method for reconstructing flower models from a single photograph. Such reconstruction is challenging since the 3D structure of a flower can appear ambiguous in projection. However, the flower head typically consists of petals embedded in 3D space that share similar shapes and form certain level of regular structure. Our technique employs these assumptions by first fitting a cone an...

The biological effects of heavy-ion beam irradiation on cultured tissues of cyclamen were investigated by establishing an irradiation-mediated mutation breeding protocol for producing a new variety of cyclamen. Initially, a callus, a somatic embryo, and a plantlet were irradiated with C ion beam at doses of 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80 Gy. Distinct mutants were not obtained in plants regenerated from...

Cyclamen persicum (cyclamen) is a commercially valuable, winter-blooming perennial plant. We cloned two cyclamen orthologues of AGAMOUS (AG), CpAG1 and CpAG2, which are mainly expressed in the stamen and carpel, respectively. Cyclamen flowers have 5 petals, but expression of a chimeric repressor of CpAG1 (CpAG1-SRDX) caused stamens to convert into petals, resulting in a flower with 10 petals. B...

The expansins comprise a family of proteins that appear to be involved in the disruption of the noncovalent bonds between cellulose microfibrils and cross-linking glycans, thereby promoting wall creep. To understand better the expansion process in Petunia hybrida (petunia) flowers, we isolated a cDNA corresponding to the PhEXP1 alpha-expansin gene of P. hybrida. Evaluation of the tissue specifi...