The enzyme squalene synthase (EC 2.5.1.21) catalyzes a reductive dimerization of two farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) molecules into squalene, a key precursor for the sterol and triterpene biosynthesis. A full-length cDNA encoding squalene synthase (designated as TcSqS) was isolated from Taxus cuspidata, a kind of important medicinal plants producing potent anti-cancer drug, taxol. The full-length cD...

In some areas of cultivation, a lack of salt tolerance severely affects plant productivity. Apple, Malus x domestica Borkh., is sensitive to salt, and, as a perennial woody plant the mechanism of salt stress adaption will be different from that of annual herbal model plants, such as Arabidopsis. Malus zumi is a salt tolerant apple rootstock, which survives high salinity (up to 0.6% NaCl). To ex...

Carotenoid cleavage oxygenases (CCOs) are a family of dioxygenases, which specifically catalyze the cleavage of conjugated double bonds in carotenoids and apocarotenoids in plants. In this study, genome-wide analysis of CCO genes in pepper plants was performed using bioinformatic methods. At least 11 members of the CCO gene family were identified in the pepper genome. Phylogenetic analysis show...

DNA polymerase λ (DNA pol λ) is the only reported X-family DNA polymerases in plants and has been shown to play a significant role in dry quiescent seeds, growth, development and nuclear DNA repair. cDNA for DNA pol λ has been reported in Arabidopsis and japonica rice cultivar and has been characterized from E. coli expressed protein, but very little is known about its activity at protein level...

Abstract In African drylands, perennial grasses preferred by grazing livestock are disappearing at an alarming rate. This has led to recurrent feed shortages threatening pastoralist’s livelihoods. Combining native grass reseeding and rainwater harvesting offers a viable innovative solution reverse this trend. However, studies determine how biomass yields affected soil moisture availability attr...

Subclass III members of the sucrose non-fermenting-1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) play essential roles in both the abscisic acid signaling and abiotic stress responses of plants by phosphorylating the downstream ABA-responsive element (ABRE)-binding proteins (AREB/ABFs). This comprehensive study investigated the function of new candidate genes, namely SmSnRK2.3, SmSnRK2.6, and SmAREB1, with...

Metallothioneins are low-molecular-weight proteins capable of covalently binding heavy metal ions due to the presence of many cysteine residues in their sequences. We analyzed the predicted amino acid sequences of 19 metallothionein (7 from Arabidopsis thaliana and 12 from Oryza sativa) and their promoter sequences in silico in order to determine the potential regulatory cis-elements present in...