LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1), an atypical subunit of the nuclear transcription factor Y (NF-Y) CCAAT-binding transcription factor, is a central regulator that controls many aspects of seed development including the maturation phase during which seeds accumulate storage macromolecules and embryos acquire the ability to withstand desiccation. To define the gene networks and developmental processes con...

At least two kinds of lipid vesicles are present in pea and bean cotyledons which can be recognized at seed maturity on the basis of whether they do or do not interassociate into lipid vesicle sheets . Those that do interassociate into sheets are also characterized by (a) their association with plastids or plasma membranes during dormancy, and (b) the unique transformation into flattened saccul...

Calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) is expressed in sandalwood (Santalum album L.) seeds under developmental regulation, and it is localized with spherical storage organelles in the endosperm [Anil et al. (2000) Plant Physiol. 122: 1035]. This study identifies these storage organelles as oil bodies. A 55 kDa protein associated with isolated oil bodies, showed Ca(2+)-dependent autophosphoryl...

The SNARE complex composed of VAMP727, SYP22, VTI11 and SYP51 is critical for protein trafficking and PSV biogenesis in Arabidopsis. This SNARE complex directs the fusion between the prevacuolar compartment (PVC) and the vacuole, and thus mediates protein trafficking to the vacuole. In this study, we examined the role of AtNHX5 and AtNHX6 in regulating this SNARE complex and its function in pro...

Flocculation as a pre-separation method can help make production of biodiesel from microalgae economically feasible. In a previous study, Moringa oleifera seed flour (1 g.L-1) was shown to be a very efficient flocculant for Chlorella vulgaris, a microalga with high potential for biodiesel production. In this study, several aspects of C vulgaris flocculation mediated by Moringa were investigated...

Frugivorous fish play a prominent role in seed dispersal and reproductive dynamics of plant communities in riparian and floodplain habitats of tropical regions worldwide. In Neotropical wetlands, many plant species have fleshy fruits and synchronize their fruiting with the flood season, when fruit-eating fish forage in forest and savannahs for periods of up to 7 months. We conducted a comprehen...

Motivation: Seed location filtering is critical in DNA read mapping, a process where billions of DNA fragments (reads) sampled from a donor are mapped onto a reference genome to identify genomic variants of the donor. State-of-the-art read mappers 1) quickly generate possible mapping locations for seeds (i.e., smaller segments) within each read, 2) extract reference sequences at each of the map...