Symbiotic associations accompanied by gene exchange between the symbionts form the phylogenetic origin of eukaryotic cells and, therefore, had significant impact on species diversity and evolutionary novelty. Among the phylogenetically oldest metazoan animals known to form symbiotic relationships are the Cnidaria. In the Cnidarian Hydra viridis, symbiotic algae of the genus Chlorella are locate...

The L-galactose (Smirnoff-Wheeler) pathway represents the major route to L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) biosynthesis in higher plants. Arabidopsis thaliana VTC2 and its paralogue VTC5 function as GDP-L-galactose phosphorylases converting GDP-L-galactose to L-galactose-1-P, thus catalyzing the first committed step in the biosynthesis of L-ascorbate. Here we report that the L-galactose pathway of as...

We previously demonstrated that overexpression of the horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) peroxidase prxC1a gene stimulated the growth rate of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants. Here, the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S::prxC1a construct was introduced into hybrid aspen (Populus sieboldii x Populus grandidentata). The growth rate of these transformed hybrid aspen plants was substantially increased ...

Unlike lactoperoxidase and horseradish peroxidase, thyroid peroxidase catalyzed the oxidation of hydroquinone mostly by way of 2-electron transfer. This conclusion could be derived from three independent experiments: ESR measurements of p-benzosemiquinone, trapping the unpaired electron by cytochrome c, and spectrophotometric analysis of catalytic intermediates of the enzymes. The 1-electron fl...

Ramonda sp. (Gesneriaceae) is an endemic and relic plant in a very small group of poikilohydric angiosperms that are able to survive in an almost completely dehydrated state. Senescence- and drought-related changes in the activity of peroxidase (POD; EC 1.11.1.7), ascorbate peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.11), and superoxide dismutase (SOD; EC 1.15.1.1) were determined in leaves of different age and rela...