The effects of light-limitation stress were investigated in natural stands of the seagrasses Zostera marina and Cymodocea nodosa in Ria Formosa coastal lagoon, southern Portugal. Three levels of light attenuation were imposed for 3 weeks in two adjacent meadows (2-3 m depth), each dominated by one species. The response of photosynthesis to light was determined with oxygen electrodes. Chlorophyl...

Wild-type potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) plants and their transformants harboring agrobacterial rolB or rolC genes under control of the patatin class I promoter were cultured in vitro. These plants were used as a source of single-node stem cuttings. The structure of native starch in tubers formed on cuttings was determined using methods of X-ray scattering and differential scanning microcalorime...

Rhizomes of Acorus calamus L. were able to maintain a functional alpha-amylase under anoxia, whereas a steep decrease in the enzyme protein content and activity took place in potato tubers. The stress-induced control in tubers occurred on the translational level. It is suggested that this decrease is one of the key factors with regard to anoxia intolerance.

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADPGlcPPase) controls the first committed step of starch synthesis by catalyzing the biosynthesis of ADP-glucose from glucose-phosphate and ATP. It is a tetrameric protein consisting of two small and two large subunits. The small subunits have a catalytic function, while the large subunits regulate the enzyme activity. Cyperus esculentus (yellow nutsedge) is a per...

a field investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of n and k fertilizers on qualitative and quantitative changes of potato tubers during five months of storage. this study was carried out in three replications at five levels (0, 60, 120, 180 and 240 kg/ha) of nitrogen and three levels (0, 75 and 150 kg/ha) of potassium fertilizer during 2004-2006. measurements were recorded monthly. th...

Cassava is one of the most important root crops as a reliable source of food and carbohydrates. Carbohydrate metabolism and starch accumulation in cassava storage root is a cascade process that includes large amounts of proteins and cofactors. Here, comparative proteomics were conducted in cassava root at nine developmental stages. A total of 154 identified proteins were found to be differentia...

The physical, chemical, and functional properties of starches isolated from the Andean tubers oca (Oxalis tuberosa M.), olluco (Ullucus tuberosus C.) and mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum R. & P.) were studied. The tubers were obtained from a local grocery. The morphology of the starch granules (size and shape) was studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which revealed ellipsoid, oval, coni...

BACKGROUND Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is being developed as a bioenergy crop for many temperate regions of the world. One way to increase biomass yields is to move southern adapted lowland cultivars to more northern latitudes. However, many southerly adapted switchgrass germplasm can suffer significant winter kill in northerly climes. MATERIALS AND METHODS Here, we have applied next-ge...

Living organisms utilize carbohydrates as essential energy storage molecules. Starch is the predominant carbohydrate storage molecule in plants while glycogen is utilized in animals. Starch is a water-insoluble polymer that requires the concerted activity of kinases and phosphatases to solubilize the outer surface of the glucan and mediate starch catabolism. All known plant genomes encode the g...

Isoamylases hydrolyse (1-6)-alpha-D-glucosidic linkages in starch and are involved in both starch granule formation and starch degradation. In plants, three isoamylase isoforms with distinct functions in starch synthesis (ISA1 and ISA2) and degradation (ISA3) have been described. Here, we created transgenic potato plants with simultaneously decreased expression of all three isoamylases using a ...