There are four genetically distinct components in the developing seeds of flowering plants: maternal sporophyte, gametophyte, endosperm, and embryo. Each component can potentially influence the quantity or quality of nutrients provided to the embryo of its seed, thereby reducing the amount available to embryos in other seeds of that plant. The theory of kin selection predicts that each componen...

BACKGROUND Nigella sativa or "Kalonji" is a naturally occurring plant in Pakistan and other countries which possesses a wide range of medicinal properties, the anti-inflammatory property being one of these. Diclofenac sodium is a commonly used anti-inflammatory drug. The purpose of this study was to compare the anti-inflammatory effect of ethanolic extract of Nigella sativa seeds with that of d...

Maciej Wódkiewicz* The soil seed bank and seed germination capacity of Poa annua in the vicinity of the Polish Halina Galera* Antarctic Station (South Shetlands, Antarctica) were investigated. It was documented that Katarzyna J. Chwedorzewska† annual bluegrass can reproduce sexually and produce a functional seed bank of close to Irena Giełwanowska‡ and 5000 seeds/m under maritime Antarctic cond...

OBJECTIVE To determine the analgesic effect of ethanolic extract of Nigella sativa seeds on experimentally-induced pain in albino mice. STUDY DESIGN Randomized controlled trial (RCT). PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Physiology Department, Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), Lahore, from May to September, 2009. METHODOLOGY The study was carried out in 90 male albino mice using aceti...

The idea that herbaceous plants have higher relative growth rates (RGRs) compared with woody plants is fundamental to many of the most influential theories in plant ecology. This difference in growth rate is thought to reflect systematic variation in physiology, allocation and leaf construction. Previous studies documenting this effect have, however, ignored differences in seed mass. As woody s...

Phenolic compounds that are present in the testa interfere with the physiology of seed dormancy and germination. We isolated a recessive Arabidopsis mutant with pale brown seeds, transparent testa12 (tt12), from a reduced seed dormancy screen. Microscopic analysis of tt12 developing and mature testas revealed a strong reduction of proanthocyanidin deposition in vacuoles of endothelial cells. Do...

Hematin crystallization is an essential component of the physiology of malaria parasites. Several antimalarial drugs are believed to inhibit crystallization and expose the parasites to toxic soluble hematin. Hence, understanding the mechanisms of hematin crystal growth and inhibition is crucial for the design of new drugs. A major obstacle to microscopic, spectroscopic, and crystallographic stu...

We have studied the molecular physiology of photosynthate unloading and partitioning during seed development of fava bean (Vicia faba). During the prestorage phase, high levels of hexoses in the cotyledons and the apoplastic endospermal space are correlated with activity of cell wall-bound invertase in the seed coat. Three cDNAs were cloned. Sequence comparison revealed genes putatively encodin...

background: lead and cadmium are toxic heavy metals found as major contaminants in food products and edible oils. the aims of this study were to investigate the lead and cadmium contaminations in seeds and extracted oils from brassica napus l and carthamus tinctorius grown in the vicinity of industrial sites (isfahan zobe ahan) near isfahan province/iran. methods: in this study, the seeds of b....

Arsenic (As) pollution is a global problem, and the plant-based cleanup of contaminated soils, called phytoremediation, is therefore of great interest. Recently, transgenic approaches have been designed to develop As phytoremediation technologies. Here, we used a one-gene transgenic approach for As tolerance and accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana . PvACR3, a key arsenite [As(III)] antiporter ...