More than 40 000 km year of water flows through the intricate hydraulic pathways inside leaves. This water not only sustains terrestrial productivity, but also constitutes nearly70%of terrestrial evapotranspiration, thereby influencing both global and local climate (Chapin et al. 2002). Thus, the central role played by leaf vascular systems in terrestrial biology provides an important context f...

Apple flea weevil, Orchestes pallicornis (Say) was a sporadic pest in the early 1900s and has reemerged as a severe pest of cultivated apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) inMichigan. Organic apple orchards inMichigan have had outbreak population levels of apple flea weevil since 2008 and damage has resulted in up to 90% losses. Apple flea weevil is a small, 2–3-mm black weevil with enlarged high leg...

The phenomenon of the etiolated hook is not restricted to the hypocotyl of the dicotyledenous plant (e.g., Phaseolus) but appears to serve a similar, adaptive function in the petioles of certain rhizomatous plants. The commonly employed regulants of hypocotyl hook opening were tested for their effect on the petiolar hook of Dentaria diphylla. The hook was found to require both light (red light ...

Anatomical structure of the common in forests and meadows Georgian subalpine zone plant - Aconitum nasutum Fisch. ex Reichenb underground aerial vegetative organs, rich diterpene alkaloids, was studied. A set diagnostic features has been established using accepted microtechnical methods. The conductive system axial organs A. nasutum, root, twig leaf stalk, a separated collateral structure. Casp...

The tissue accumulation of sucrose, glucose, and fructose has been studied in cultured cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) roots and leaf discs. Sucrose uptake by both tissues from high apoplastic concentrations was independent of pH but has a slightly acidic pH optimum from low concentrations. Like other higher plant tissues, cotton root cells accumulate sucrose via a ;saturable,' inhibitor-sensiti...

Rates of net photosynthesis were studied in soil-grown corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) plants having various leaf water potentials. Soybean was unaffected by desiccation until leaf water potentials were below -11 bars. Rates of photosynthesis in corn were inhibited whenever leaf water potentials dropped below -3.5 bars.The differences in photosynthetic behavior could be attributed sol...

We performed large-scale, quantitative analyses of the maize (Zea mays) leaf proteome and phosphoproteome at four developmental stages. Exploiting the developmental gradient of maize leaves, we analyzed protein and phosphoprotein abundance as maize leaves transition from proliferative cell division to differentiation to cell expansion and compared these developing zones to one another and the m...

BACKGROUND Herbivory reduces leaf area, disrupts the function of leaves, and ultimately alters yield and productivity. Herbivore damage to foliage typically is assessed in the field by measuring the amount of leaf tissue removed and disrupted. This approach assumes the remaining tissues are unaltered, and plant photosynthesis and water balance function normally. However, recent application of t...

Members of the Class III homeodomain leucine zipper (Class III HD-Zip) gene family are central regulators of crucial aspects of plant development. To better understand the roles of five Class III HD-Zip genes in rice (Oryza sativa) development, we investigated their expression patterns, ectopic expression phenotypes, and auxin responsiveness. Four genes, OSHB1 to OSHB4, were expressed in a loca...

Essentially chlorophyll-free mitochondria from photosynthetic (leaf) and non-photosynthetic tissue (petiole) were isolated from spinach (Spinacia oleracea). Leaf mitochondria were found to contain more phosphatidylcholine than phosphatidylethanolamine compared with petiole mitochondria. Galactolipids were found in small and equal amounts (5 mol of galactolipids/100 mol of galactolipids and phos...