Maximizing NO3- uptake during seedling development is important as it has a major influence on plant growth and yield. However, little is known about the processes leading to, and involved in, the initiation of root NO3- uptake capacity in developing seedlings. This study examines the physiological processes involved in root NO3- uptake and metabolism, to gain an understanding of how the NO3- u...

To understand the mechanisms controlling vein patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana, we analyzed two phenotypically similar mutants, varicose (vcs) and trident (tdt). We had previously identified VCS, and recently, human VCS was shown to function in mRNA decapping. Here, we report that TDT encodes the mRNA-decapping enzyme. VCS and TDT function together in small cytoplasmic foci that appear to be ...

We have isolated a new class of photomorphogenic mutants in Arabidopsis. Hypocotyl elongation is not inhibited in the mutant seedlings by continuous blue light but is inhibited by far red light, indicating that these mutations are phenotypically different from the previously isolated long hypocotyl (hy) mutants. Complementation analysis indicated that recessive nuclear mutations at three geneti...

Plant root has various responses under a low phosphorus (P) status, but knowledge on enhancing root development in tobacco is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate responses of root morphology and architecture of tobacco to different P application levels (0, 0.002, 0.02, 0.2, 2 m mol L-1, at early seedling stage; 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 1.0, 10 m mol L -1 at later seedling stage). Two varie...

Soil waterlogging is one of the major abiotic stresses adversely affecting maize growth and yield. To identify dynamic expression of genes or quantitative trait loci (QTL), QTL associated with plant height, root length, root dry weight, shoot dry weight and total dry weight were identified via conditional analysis in a mixed linear model and inclusive composite interval mapping method at three ...

Journal of Plant Registrations, Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2009 99 Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a warm-season, perennial bunchgrass that is native to North America. Historically, it has been used as a forage and conservation grass, but more recently, the grass has received considerable attention as a bioenergy crop for the production of cellulosic ethanol (Vogel, 2004). Because of its poten...

The AtNRT1.1 (CHL1) transporter provides a primary mechanism for nitrate uptake in Arabidopsis and is expected to localize to the epidermis and cortex of the mature root, where the bulk of nitrate uptake occurs. Using fusions to GFP/GUS marker genes, we found CHL1 expression concentrated in the tips of primary and lateral roots, with very low signals in the epidermis and cortex. A time-course s...

This work evaluated the effect of seed size and morphology on the development and biomass of durum wheat seedlings. Three different seed-grading sizes selected by sieving were used in glasshouse experiments, and a set of three developmental and 23 biomass-related indices were measured on eight genotypes, at two moisture levels. The influence of seed size on seedling development was studied at h...