Recently, CRISPR/Cas9 technology has emerged as a powerful approach for targeted genome modification in eukaryotic organisms from yeast to human cell lines. Its successful application in several plant species promises enormous potential for basic and applied plant research. However, extensive studies are still needed to assess this system in other important plant species, to broaden its fields ...

Home composting (HC) is recognized by both local and national Governments for its contribution to reducing household waste disposal in landfill. However, the quantitative impact of HC on the diversion of household waste from landfill is uncertain. An overview of key results is presented from a 3-year research programme on HC in the West London area of Runnymede Borough Council (RBC), Surrey, UK...

The seasonal variation of water soluble extractive alcohol soluble extractive and ether soluble extractive have been investigated in leaves, wood and bark of Sesbania grandiflora, Sesbania bispinosa and Sesbania cannabina. Comparative account of water soluble extractive of leaves, wood and bark of Sesbania grandiflora was showed high level (range 4.2 to 5.8 %) than Sesbania bispinosa (range 3.3...

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the influence of two tropical isolates of Glomus fasciculatum and Glomus mosseae on the nutrient uptake and growth of Sesbania grandiflora. Inoculation of sterile soil with the fungi significantly improved growth and nutrient uptake by S. grandiflora, but the response of the legume was markedly better when the soil was inoculated with G. fascic...

The Lc petunia system, which displays enhanced, light-induced vegetative pigmentation, was used to investigate how high light affects anthocyanin biosynthesis, and to assess the effects of anthocyanin pigmentation upon photosynthesis. Lc petunia plants displayed intense purple anthocyanin pigmentation throughout the leaves and stems when grown under high-light conditions, yet remain acyanic whe...

Chonemorpha grandiflora, (Roth) M.R. and S.M. Almeida syn C. fragrans (Moon), Alston (Apocynaceae) has been included in the list of an endangered medicinal plants. It is used in medicinal preparations like kumaryasavam and sudarsanasavum used as tonic. Entire plant, roots and root bark are used for fever and stomach disorders. The plant is useful in treatment of skin diseases and inflammations....

In recent years Petunia has become a promising model system for studying the genetics and evolution of pollination syndromes. Here we provide a brief introduction to the issue of pollination syndromes, explain why Petunia is a suitable model for its study, present useful background information about pollinators and plants, review recent studies, and discuss questions related to the genetics and...

Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. is a soft-wooded tree belonging to the family Leguminoseae. Leaves are considered to be excellent sources of vitamin C and calcium The antioxidant activity of 70% acetone and 50% ethanol extracts of leaves of Sesbania grandiflora were determined by DPPH radical scavenging method. Among the two different extracts acetone extract was found to be more efficient.

We have mapped the transcription start sites of three petunia rbcS genes and reassayed the relative expression levels of the petunia rbcS genes using the technique of primer extension. This analysis was performed specifically to address the confusion in the literature concerning the relative expression levels of the two petunia rbcS genes, SSU301 and SSU11A. The primer extension analysis report...

Polyploidization plays an important role in plant speciation. The most recent estimates report that up to 15% of angiosperm speciation events and 31% in ferns are accompanied by changes in ploidy level. Polyploids can arise either through autopolyploidy, when the sets of chromosomes originate from a single species, or through allopolyploidy, when they originate from different species. In this s...