We show that seed-specific overexpression of the sunflower (Helianthus annuus) HaHSFA9 heat stress transcription factor (HSF) in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) enhances the accumulation of heat shock proteins (HSPs). Among these proteins were HSP101 and a subset of the small HSPs, including proteins that accumulate only during embryogenesis in the absence of thermal stress. Levels of late embryoge...

Seed biology is a relevant aspect of tropical forests because it is central to the understanding of processes of plant establishment, succession and natural regeneration. Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil is a timber tree from South America that produces large seeds with thin weak teguments, which is uncommon among legumes. This study describes the morphology and anatomy of the seed coat, the ...

By thermal evaporation of pure ZnO powders, high-density vertical-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays with diameter ranged in 80–250 nm were successfully synthesized on Si substrates covered with ZnO seed layers. It was revealed that the morphology, orientation, crystal, and optical quality of the ZnO nanorod arrays highly depend on the crystal quality of ZnO seed layers, which was confirmed by the char...

Pharmacological and preventive properties of Petroselinum sativum seed extracts are well known, but the anticancer activity of alcoholic extracts and oil of Petroselinum sativum seeds on human breast cancer cells have not been explored so far. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the cytotoxic activities of these extracts against MCF-7 cells. Cells were exposed to 10 to 1000...

Historically, little attention has been paid to the resemblance between seed silhouettes geometric figures. Cardioid and derivatives, ellipses, heart curves, lemniscates, lenses, lunes, ovals, superellipses, waterdrops, other figures can be used describe shape, as well models for quantification. Algebraic expressions representing average a group of seeds are available, their shape described qua...

Hierarchical metal nanostructures have attracted increasing interest due to their unique morphology-dependent properties. Here, we introduce a new and efficient method to synthesize hierarchical gold nanostructures in different shapes using the covalently capped seed-mediated growth approach.

Developing seeds are net importers of organic and inorganic nutrients. Nutrients enter seeds through the maternal vascular system at relatively high concentrations in the phloem. They exit importing sieve elements via interconnecting plasmodesmata and, during subsequent symplasmic passage, are sequestered into labile storage pools (vacuoles; starch). Transporters function to retrieve nutrients ...