Brassica rapa displays enormous morphological diversity, with leafy vegetables, turnips and oil crops. Turnips (Brassica rapa subsp. rapa) represent one of the morphotypes, which form tubers and can be used to study the genetics underlying storage organ formation. In the present study we investigated several characteristics of an extensive turnip collection comprising 56 accessions from both As...

Gibberellin influences the rest period or dormancy of seeds (4), shoots (1), and other plant parts (2, 5, 9). In potato, Solanum tuberosum, a condition of physiological rest prevails from the time of tuber initiation until 6 to 12 weeks after harvest depending on varietal characteristics (3). The rest period has been markedly curtailed by immersing freshly harvested potato tubers in gibberellin...

Market availability and price of conventional feedstuffs are variable, making imperative to explore alternative feedstuffs. Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a starchy tuber that can be a potential feedstuff for swine. Three sample type (combinations of cassava parts): 100% tubers (T100), 50% tubers and 50% leaves (T50), and 25% tubers and 75% leaves (T25) were ensiled over three periods [fresh (M...

Isoamylases hydrolyse (1-6)-alpha-D-glucosidic linkages in starch and are involved in both starch granule formation and starch degradation. In plants, three isoamylase isoforms with distinct functions in starch synthesis (ISA1 and ISA2) and degradation (ISA3) have been described. Here, we created transgenic potato plants with simultaneously decreased expression of all three isoamylases using a ...

Rhamnogalacturonan (RG) I is a branched pectic polysaccharide in plant cell walls. Rhamnogalacturonan lyase (eRGL) from Aspergillus aculeatus is able to cleave the RG I backbone at specific sites. Transgenic potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) plants were made by the introduction of the gene encoding eRGL, under the control of the granule-bound starch synthase promoter. The eRGL protein was successfu...

Protein deficiency is the most crucial factor that affects physical growth and development and that increases morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries. Efforts have been made to improve protein quality and quantity in crop plants but with limited success. Here, we report the development of transgenic potatoes with enhanced nutritive value by tuber-specific expression of a seed...

In several vegetable species a relationship between the metabolism of active oxygen species and breakage of dormancy has been established. However, scarce information is available on the role of oxidative stress in potato tubers. The purpose of this investigation is to study the effect of CAT genetic modification on the dormancy break of potato tubers. A transgenic approach with partial repress...

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is characterized by developmental malformations of the cerebral cortex known as tubers, comprised of cells that exhibit enhanced mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. To date, there are no reports of mTORC1 and mTORC2 activation in fetal tubers or in neural progenitor cells lacking Tsc2. We demonstrate mTORC1 activation by immunohistochemical detection...

An ethnobotanical study was conducted to document local knowledge and potentials of wild edible tubers that has been reported and sighted and to investigate and record their distribution in Pulau Redang and nearby islands of Terengganu, Malaysia. Information was gathered from 42 villagers by using semi-structured questionnaire. These respondents were selected randomly and no appointment was mad...

Changes in the sugar and amino acid contents of potato tubers during short-term storage and the effect on the acrylamide level in chips after frying were investigated. The acrylamide content in chips began to increase after 3 days of storage at 2 degrees C in response to the increase of glucose and fructose contents in the tubers. There was strong correlation between the reducing sugar content ...