Polygaiacturonase was found in pollen of the twelve monocotyledon species examined. The amount of polygaiacturonase ranged from 6.3 units/g in lily to 201 units/g in Johnsongrass. The C, species contained much more polygalacturonase than the C 8 species. The enzyme in corn (Zea mays L.) pollen was partially purified and characterized. It was optimally active at pH 5.3 and required Ca ~* for act...

Among the interesting studies published in this issue of the AABC that should be highlighted is the work on the primary and secondary thickening in the stem of a monocotyledon species by Marina B. Cattai and Nanuza L. de Menezes from the Instituto de Biociências of the Universidade de São Paulo. There is still great discussion over how this thickening occurs in this major group of flowering pla...

New analytical developments in post-genomic technologies are being introduced to the field of plant ecology. FT-IR fingerprinting coupled with chemometrics via cluster analysis is proposed as a tool for correlating global metabolic changes with abiotic or biotic perturbation and/or interactions. The current study concentrates on detecting chemical responses by inter-species competition between ...

The highly evolved flowers of orchids have colorful sepals and fused columns that offer an opportunity to discover new genes involved in floral development in monocotyledon species. In this investigation, we cloned and characterized the homologous PISTALLATA-like (PI-like) gene PhPI15 (Phalaenopsis PI STILLATA # 15), from the Phalaenopsis hybrid cultivar. The protein sequence encoded by PhPI15 ...

Series of 4H-3,1-benzoxazin-4-ones and 3H-quinazolin-4-ones with phenoxy-methyl substituents were rationally designed and easily synthesized via one-pot N-acylation/ring closure reactions of anthranilic acids with 2-phenoxyacetyl chlorides to yield the 4H-3,1-benzoxazin-4-ones, and subsequently substituted with amino derivatives to obtain the 3H-quinazolin-4-ones. The herbicidal evaluation was ...

Arecaceae Schultz-Sch. (Palmae Juss.), a member of the monocotyledon group, is considered one of the oldest extant angiosperm families on Earth. This family is highly valuable because of its species diversity, its occurrence in a wide range of habitats, and its status as an integral part of the culture and the family-based economy of many traditional and nontraditional communities. The main obj...

Water samples from the Scheldt estuary were collected in three fractions: (a) unfiltered water, (b) water filtered through a 50 ìm net and (c) water filtered through a 300 ìm net. Particles easily recognisable from the majority of the amorphous particles were isolated and their geometric dimensions measured. From the measurements, shape factors were calculated. Measurement of fractal dimensions...

The open reading frame (ORF) of RING domain ubiquitin protein ligase gene TaZFP-1 was acquired by RT-PCR methods. Then, analysis and prediction on the acquired sequences and its amino acids, physicochemical properties, hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, secondary structure, functional domains, sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree. The results showed that TaZFP-1 gene cDNA was 759 bp in length, ...

Oligogalacturonides are structural and regulatory homopolymers from the extracellular pectic matrix of plants. In vitro micromolar concentrations of oligogalacturonates and polygalacturonates were shown previously to stimulate the phosphorylation of a small plasma membrane-associated protein in potato. lmmunologically cross-reactive proteins were detected in plasma membrane-enriched fractions f...

Soil salinity problems are widespread around the globe with increased risk of spreading over the years. The fungus Piriformospora indica, identified in Indian Thar desert, colonizes the roots of monocotyledon plants and provides resistance towards biotic as well as abiotic stress conditions. We have identified a cyclophilin A-like protein from P. indica (PiCypA), which shows higher expression l...