Rice caryopsis as one of the most important food sources for humans has a complex structure that is composed of maternal tissues including the pericarp and testa and filial tissues including the endosperm and embryo. Although rice caryopsis studies have been conducted previously, a systematic characterization throughout the entire developmental process is still lacking. In this study, detailed ...

The Arabidopsis genome contains three ERECTA-family genes, ERECTA (ER), ERECTA-LIKE 1 (ERL1) and ERL2 that encode leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases. This gene family acts synergistically to coordinate cell proliferation and growth during above-ground organogenesis with the major player, ER, masking the loss-of-function phenotypes of the other two members. To uncover the specific develop...

The orientation and morphology of the female cone are important for wind pollination in gymnosperms. To examine the role of female reproductive structures associated with wind pollination in Ginkgo biloba, we used scanning electron microscopy and semithin section techniques to observe the development of female short shoots and ovules in G. biloba before and during the pollination period. The ov...

1. The exuvial side of the pharate pupal integument is usually positive to the haemolymph-side, both in vivo and in vitro, during the period when the moulting fluid is being secreted. 2. The ratio of potassium flux toward the exuvial space is higher than that toward the haemolymph, under both open-circuit conditions and short-circuit conditions, demonstrating by the Flux Ratio test that potassi...

A differential screening approach was used to identify seven ovule-specific cDNAs representing genes that are expressed in a stage-specific manner during ovule development. The Phalaenopsis orchid takes 80 days to complete the sequence of ovule developmental events, making it a good system to isolate stage-specific ovule genes. We constructed cDNA libraries from orchid ovule tissue during arche...