Glycosyl hydrolases are important mediators of plant cell wall modi®cation during plant development. These enzymes catalyse the hydrolytic release of speci®c sugars, such as L-arabinose, from the polysaccharide-rich cell wall matrix. The cloning and expression analysis of two genes, AtASD1 and AtASD2, encoding putative a-L-arabinofuranosidases in Arabidopsis thaliana are reported here. AtASD1 a...

Tracheids, vessels and sieve tubes are found in the vascular tissue of the plant. • Tracheids and vessels are found in the xylem tissue and conduct water and dissolved mineral ions from the roots to the aerial parts of the plant. • Sieve tubes are found in the phloem tissue and conduct organic solutes, for example, sugars and amino acids, up and down the plant, from where they are synthesised t...

In higher plants, the plant vascular system has evolved as an inter-organ communication network essential to deliver a wide range of signaling factors among distantly separated organs. To become conductive elements, phloem and xylem cells undergo a drastic differentiation program that involves the degradation of the majority of their organelles. While the molecular mechanisms regulating such co...

Gibberellins (GAs) are phytohormones controlling major aspects of plant growth and development. Although previous studies suggested the existence of a transport of GAs in plants, the nature and properties associated with this transport were unknown. We recently showed through micrografting and biochemical approaches that the GA12 precursor is the chemical form of GA undergoing long-distance tra...

A plant-based diet is increasingly becoming recognized as a healthier alternative to a diet laden with meat. Atherosclerosis associated with high dietary intake of meat, fat, and carbohydrates remains the leading cause of mortality in the US. This condition results from progressive damage to the endothelial cells lining the vascular system, including the heart, leading to endothelial dysfunctio...

Availability of the genome sequences of more plants makes it possible to address some of the major questions regarding plants by comparative genomic analysis [1, 2]. A lot of genome sequencing projects are ongoing and one of the projects is for the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorfii, which is considered to be ancestral or primitive for vascular plants and have the impact for unraveling several...