Protein disulphide isomerase (PDI) is an oxidoreductase enzyme abundant in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In plants, PDIs have been shown to assist the folding and deposition of seed storage proteins during the biogenesis of protein bodies in the endosperm. Cloning and characterization of the complete set of genes encoding PDI and PDI like proteins in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Chinese...

Carum carvi (CC) is a grassy plant which is believed to have several therapeutic effects, including anti-asthmatic properties. We have therefore studied the bronchodilatory and anticholinergic effects of this plant. The bronchodilatory effects of the aqueous extract (AE), macerated extract (ME), essential oil (EO), and 4µM theophylline (T) in comparison with saline (S) were examined by the...

B chromosomes (Bs) are dispensable components of the genome exhibiting non-Mendelian inheritance. Chromosome counts and flow cytometric analysis of the grass species Aegilops speltoides revealed a tissue-type specific distribution of the roughly 570 Mbp large B chromosomes. To address the question whether organelle-to-nucleus DNA transfer is a mechanism that drives the evolution of Bs, in situ ...

Polyploidy, the duplication of a single genome (autopolyploid) or the combination of two or more divergent genomes (allopolyploid), has occurred frequently during the evolutionary history of flowering plants . It is known that the polyploid genome displays dynamic changes in DNA sequences and gene expression patterns, which are caused by “genomic shock” . Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a he...

Cloning and phylogenetic analysis of Psy1 genes in common wheat and its relatives would help to understand the genetic diversity and evolution of Psy1 gene in common wheat and its related species. In the present study, common wheat (AABBDD) and eight relative species, including T. urartu (A(u)A(u)), T. boeoticum (A(m)A(m)), T. monococcum (A(m)A(m)), Ae. speltoides (SS), Ae. tauschii (DD), T. di...

Cercospora cf. sigesbeckiae is an ascomycete fungal pathogen that infects various plants, including important agricultural commodities, such as soybean. Here, we report the first draft genome sequence and assembly of this pathogen.

UNLABELLED Leaf rust, caused by Puccinia triticina, is the most common rust disease of wheat. The fungus is an obligate parasite capable of producing infectious urediniospores as long as infected leaf tissue remains alive. Urediniospores can be wind-disseminated and infect host plants hundreds of kilometres from their source plant, which can result in wheat leaf rust epidemics on a continental ...