The paper deals with properties of the totally distributed genetic algorithm RGA, initially designed for the PIG cellular system. We have adopted the algorithm to a mesh of processors. Simulations were performed using Transim tool in order to investigate performance of this new RGA algorithm independently of a given application. This way, characteristics such as efficiency, speedup, communicati...

Gibberellins (GAs) are a class of important phytohormones regulating a variety of physiological processes during normal plant growth and development. One of the major events during GA-mediated growth is the degradation of DELLA proteins, key negative regulators of GA signaling pathway. The stability of DELLA proteins is thought to be controlled by protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. ...

Sequences of cloned resistance genes from a wide range of plant taxa reveal significant similarities in sequence homology and structural motifs. This is observed among genes conferring resistance to viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens. In this study, oligonucleotide primers designed for conserved sequences from coding regions of disease resistance genes N (tobacco), RPS2 (Arabidopsis) and L6...

Synthetic nonsteroidal ecdysone agonists, a class of insect growth regulators (IGRs), target the ecdysone receptor (EcR), which forms a heterodimer with ultraspiracle (USP) to transactivate ecdysone response genes. These compounds have high binding affinities to the EcR-USP complexes of certain insects and their toxicity is selective for certain taxonomic orders. In the present study, we develo...

The plant hormone gibberellic acid (GA) controls many physiological processes, including cell differentiation, cell elongation, seed germination, and response to abiotic stress. In this study, we report that exogenous treatment of flowering Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants with GA specifically affects the process of male meiotic cytokinesis leading to meiotic restitution and the produc...

Nematodes are important pests of soybean throughout the world and cause high yield losses. As a control strategy, the identification of resistance genes is an important aim of breeding studies. Plants possess resistance genes (R), which are responsible for the recognition of pathogens and activation of the defense system. R genes and resistance gene analogs (RGAs) possess conserved domains, fro...

BACKGROUND Antibodies against retinal and optic nerve antigens are detectable in glaucoma patients. Recent studies using a model of experimental autoimmune glaucoma demonstrated that immunization with certain ocular antigens causes an immun-mediated retinal ganglion cell loss in rats. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Rats immunized with a retinal ganglion cell layer homogenate (RGA) had a reduc...

Freshly matured seeds exhibit primary dormancy, which prevents germination until environmental conditions are favorable. The establishment of dormancy occurs during seed development and involves both genetic and environmental factors that impact on the ratio of two antagonistic phytohormones: abscisic acid (ABA), which promotes dormancy, and gibberellic acid, which promotes germination. Althoug...