We analyzed lignin content and composition in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) lines altered in the expression of the early phenylpropanoid biosynthetic enzymes L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H). The reduction of C4H activity by antisense expression or sense suppression resulted in reduced levels of Klason lignin, accompanied by a decreased syringyl/guaiacyl ...

Stomata are important regulators of carbon dioxide uptake and transpirational water loss. They also represent points of vulnerability as bacterial and fungal pathogens utilise this natural opening as an entry portal, and thus have an increasingly complex relationship. Unlike the situation with bacterial and fungal pathogens, we know very little about the role of stomata in viral infection. Here...

Chlorophyll (Chl) b is synthesized by oxidation of a methyl group on the B ring of the porphyrin molecule to a formyl group by chlorophyllide (Chlide) a oxygenase (CAO). The overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana full length CAO (AtCAO) in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) resulted in an increased Chl synthesis and a decreased Chl a/b ratio in low-light-grown (LL) as well as in high-light-grown (HL) ...

A rubber biosynthesis stimulator protein (RBSP)from the C-serum of Hevea brasiliensis latex was purified and characterised. This proteinaceous factor stimulates the incorporation of isopentenyl diphosphate into rubber and thereby enhances the rate of rubber biosynthesis. The heat stable RBSP is shown to have a molecular weight of 13 068 Da by mass spectroscopy. Amino acid sequence of peptide fr...

Highly active mutant of NADPH-dependent acetoacetyl-CoA reductase (PhaB) was expressed in Nicotiana tabacum cv. Bright Yellow-2 cultured cells to produce poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)]. The mutated PhaB increased P(3HB) content by three-fold over the control, indicating that the mutant was a versatile tool for P(3HB) production. Additionally, the PhaB-catalyzed reaction was suggested to be a ...

Miraculin, a taste modifier, is protein that was first isolated from miracle fruit (Richadella dulcifica). It can change sour into sweet when acids are consumed, although it does not elicit response. Miraculin may have the potential in industry as substitute for sugars and artificial sweeteners. Since plant has low productivity, mass production of miraculin limited. Transgenic hairy root cultur...