Vitamin B6 is an essential metabolite in all organisms. It can act as a coenzyme for numerous metabolic enzymes and has recently been shown to be a potent antioxidant. Plants and microorganisms have a de novo biosynthetic pathway for vitamin B6, but animals must obtain it from dietary sources. In Escherichia coli, it is known that the vitamin is derived from deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate (an interm...

During the last ten years or so, variation in secondary plant products between different taxa has been increasingly used in systematic and evolutionary studies. However successful this approach has been, it now needs to be tempered by a consideration of the underlying variation in the biosynthetic pathways leading to the compounds in question. In some cases cognate compounds are formed by two o...

Higher plants have evolved to be one of the predominant life forms on this planet. A great deal of this evolutionary success relies in a very short gametophytic phase which underlies the sexual reproduction cycle. Sexual plant reproduction takes place in special organs of the flower. In most species the processes of gametogenesis, pollination, syngamy and embryogenesis are sequentially coordina...

A phospholipase C which hydrolyses phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate to release inositol trisphosphate was detected in a sedimentable fraction from celery and from some other higher plants. The particulate enzyme also hydrolyses phosphatidylinositol, whereas the soluble phosphatidylinositol phosphodiesterase described previously [Irvine, Letcher & Dawson (1980) Biochem. J. 192, 279-283] act...

source. The hypothesis of the chemical cure of clinmatic lesions states in effect that unfavorable climatic conditions may cause plants to become heterotrophic for one or more essential metabolites. Experimentally the concept can be tested by applying metabolites to plants growing at different temperature levels. Data cannot be held to support the hypothesis unless it can be shown that the comp...

Since 1806, we have known that plant organs use gravity as a guide for growth (Knight, 1806). The gravity-directed growth process, called gravitropism, dictates upward shoot growth to ensure a proper positioning of the leaves for efficient photosynthesis and gas exchange. It also directs roots to grow downward in soil, where they can reach out to take up the water and mineral ions required for ...

Immunophilins were originally discovered as receptors for a family of immunosuppressive drugs including cyclosporin, FK506, and rapamycin. These drugs suppress immune reaction and are clinically used to prevent graft rejection during organ transplantation. More recently, immunophilins have been found in all eukaryotes ranging from yeast, animals, and higher plants, implicating these proteins in...

Plants monitor changes in the ambient light environment using sensory photoreceptor families: the phototropins and cryptochromes, which absorb UV-A or blue light; the phytochromes, which sense red/far-red light; and the UV-B photoreceptors, which have not yet been identified. Recent advances suggest that photoreceptor-induced signalling cascades regulate light-modulated gene expression. These r...

Shoots, roots, and seeds of corn (Zea mays L., cv. Michigan 500), oats (Avena sativa L., cv. Au Sable), and peas (Pisum sativum L., cv. Wando) were analyzed for their superoxide dismutase content using a photochemical assay system consisting of methionine, riboflavin, and p-nitro blue tetrazolium. The enzyme is present in the shoots, roots, and seeds of the three species. On a dry weight basis,...

The ability of agricultural and decorative plants to absorb and detoxify TNT and RDX has been studied. All tested 8 plants, grown hydroponically, were able to absorb these explosives from water solutions: Alfalfa > Soybean > Chickpea> Chikling vetch >Ryegrass > Mung bean> China bean > Maize. Differently from TNT, RDX did not exhibit negative influence on seed germination and plant growth. Moreo...