Commercially available Aztec marigold (Tagetes erecta) flower extract (Af.Cr) was evaluated for the in vitro antioxidant activity and in vivo analgesic effect on acetic-acid-induced abdominal writhing. The results revealed the presence of pronounced antioxidant potential in Aztec marigold flowers and a dose-dependent (100 and 300 mg/kg) analgesic effect. The antioxidant and analgesic activities...

We analyzed the natural genetic variation between Landsburg erecta (Ler) and Cape Verde Islands (Cvi) accessions by studying 105 recombinant inbred lines to search for players in the regulation of sensitivity to light signals perceived by phytochromes in etiolated seedlings of Arabidopsis. In seedlings grown under hourly pulses of far-red (FR) light, we identified three quantitative trait loci ...

Postpollination nonrandom mating among compatible mates is a widespread phenomenon in plants and is genetically undefined. In this study, we used the recombinant inbred line (RIL) population between Landsberg erecta and Columbia (Col) accessions of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) to define the genetic architecture underlying both female- and male-mediated nonrandom mating traits. To map the ...

Drought tolerance was evaluated in twelve cultivars of three ornamental Tagetes species (T. patula, T. tenuifolia and T. erecta). A stress treatment was performed by completely stopping watering of plants maintained in controlled greenhouse conditions. After three weeks, several plant growth parameters (stem length (SL), fresh weight (FW) and water content (WC)), photosynthetic pigments (chloro...

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) that control seed oil content and fatty acid composition were studied using a recombinant inbred population derived from a cross between the Arabidopsis ecotypes Landsberg erecta and Cape Verdi Islands. Multiple QTL model mapping identified two major and two minor QTL that account for 43% of the variation in oil content in the population. The most significant QTL i...

Diverse and precise control is essential for eukaryotic gene expression. This is accomplished through the recruitment of a myriad of proteins to a nascent messenger RNA (mRNA) to mediate modifications, such as capping, splicing, 3'-end processing, and export. Despite being important for every cell, however, the mechanism by which the formation of diverse messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) parti...

In plants, LRR-RLKs play central roles in regulating perception of extracellular signals and initiation of cellular responses under various environmental challenges. Arabidopsis SERK genes, including SERK1 to SERK5, constitute a LRR-RLK sub-family. SERK1, SERK2, SERK3/BAK1, and SERK4/BKK1 have been well characterized to function as crucial regulators in multiple physiological processes such as ...