An understanding of the factors influencing colonization of the rhizosphere is essential for improved establishment of biocontrol agents. The aim of this study was to determine the origin and composition of bacterial communities in the developing barley (Hordeum vulgare) phytosphere, using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of 16S rRNA genes amplified from extracted DNA. Di...

The thermoinhibition at 35 and 32 degrees C of pregermination ethylene production and germination in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv Mesa 659) seeds was synergistically or additively alleviated by 0.05 millimolar kinetin (KIN) and 10 millimolar 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC). The synergistic effect of KIN + ACC on ethylene production and germination at 35 degrees C was inhibited by C...

Early life-history transitions are crucial determinants of lifetime survival and fecundity. Adaptive evolution in early life-history traits involves a complex interplay between the developing plant and its current and future environments. We examined the plant's earliest life-history traits, dissecting an integrated suite of pregermination processes: primary dormancy, thermal induction of secon...

Protein synthesis in gibberellin-treated lettuce (Lactuca sativa) seeds has been studied during the lag phase between the beginning of imbibition and the first signs of radicle protrusion. When compared to the water-imbibed controls, both polyribosome populations and radioactive leucine incorporation into protein increase in the embryos of GA(3)- induced seeds early in the imbibition period. Si...

Three enzymes, (a) nicotinamide adenine diphosphate-dependent glutamic dehydrogenase (NAD enzyme), (b) nictoinamide adenine triphosphate-dependent glutamic dehydrogenase (NADP enzyme), and (c) nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotidase (NADase), were measured in separate extracts of Neurospora crassa grown in Vogel's medium N and medium N + glutamate. Specific activities and total units per culture of...

Faba beans are an important source of folate and commonly consumed in Egypt. This study examined the effects of Egyptian industrial food processing (e.g., canning and freezing), germination, cultivar, and maturity stages on folate content, with the aim to develop a candidate functional canned faba bean food with increased folate content. The folate content in four cultivars of green faba beans ...