Sap is driven through phloem sieve tubes by an osmotically generated pressure gradient between source and sink tissues. In many plants, source pressure results from thermodynamically active loading in which energy is used to transfer sucrose (Suc) from mesophyll cells to the phloem of leaf minor veins against a concentration gradient. However, in some species, almost all trees, correlative evid...

Next-generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized the methods for studying microbial ecology by enabling high-resolution community profiling. However, the use of these technologies in unraveling the plant microbiome remains challenging. Many bacterial 16S rDNA primer pairs also exhibit high affinity for non-target DNA such as plastid (mostly chloroplast) DNA and mitochondrial DNA. The...

We identified a dwarf transgenic hybrid poplar (Populus tremula x Populus alba) after screening of 627 independent activation-tagged transgenic lines in tissue culture, greenhouse, and field environments. The cause of the phenotype was a hyperactivated gene encoding GA 2-oxidase (GA2ox), the major gibberellin (GA) catabolic enzyme in plants. The mutation resulted from insertion of a strong tran...

Mechanical cues are essential signals regulating plant growth and development. In response to wind, trees develop a thigmomorphogenetic response characterized by a reduction in longitudinal growth, an increase in diameter growth, and changes in mechanical properties. The molecular mechanisms behind these processes are poorly understood. In poplar, PtaZFP2, a C2H2 transcription factor, is rapidl...

More than one hundred species of Eriophyoidea have been recorded hitherto from Turkey. Within the last decade, a large plant survey was carried out in order to investigate the eriophyoid fauna present in Turkey, with particular emphasis on species affecting weeds and ornamental plants. In addition, the Turkish literature has been examined for previous records of eriophyoid mites. New species, P...

The depleting petroleum reserve, increasingly severe energy crisis, and global climate change are reigniting enthusiasm for seeking sustainable technologies to replace petroleum as a source of fuel and chemicals. In this paper, the efficiency of the MVA pathway on isoprene production has been improved as follows: firstly, in order to increase MVA production, the source of the "upper pathway" wh...

Cortical microtubules (MTs) are evolutionarily conserved cytoskeletal components with specialized roles in plants, including regulation of cell wall biogenesis. MT functions and dynamics are dictated by the composition of their monomeric subunits, α- (TUA) and β-tubulins (TUB), which in animals and protists are subject to both transcriptional regulation and post-translational modifications (PTM...

The growth of perennial plants in the temperate zone alternates with periods of dormancy that are typically initiated during bud development in autumn. In a systems biology approach to unravel the underlying molecular program of apical bud development in poplar (Populus tremula x Populus alba), combined transcript and metabolite profiling were applied to a high-resolution time course from short...

We studied the effects on plant growth from insertion of five cisgenes that encode proteins involved in gibberellin metabolism or signalling. Intact genomic copies of PtGA20ox7, PtGA2ox2,Pt RGL1_1, PtRGL1_2 and PtGAI1 genes from the genome-sequenced Populus trichocarpa clone Nisqually-1 were transformed into Populus tremula × alba (clone INRA 717-1B4), and growth, morphology and xylem cell size...

Trichomes are specialized epidermal cells that generally play a role in reducing transpiration and act as a deterrent to herbivory. In a screen of activation-tagged Populus tremula × Populus alba 717-1B4 trees, we identified a mutant line, fuzzy, with increased foliar trichome density. This mutant also had a 35% increase in growth rate and a 200% increase in the rate of photosynthesis as compar...