BACKGROUND Despite evidence suggesting a role in plant defence, the use of plant lectins in crop protection has been hindered by their low and species-specific insecticidal activity. Snowdrop lectin (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA) is transported to the haemolymph of insects after oral ingestion, and can be used as a basis for novel insecticides. Recombinant proteins containing GNA expressed...

The activity and composition of leafhopper saliva are important in interactions with the host rice plant, and it may play a physiological role in detoxifying toxic plant substances or ingesting sap. We have characterized diphenoloxidase in the salivary glands of Nephotettix cincticeps, its activity as a laccase, and its presence in the watery saliva with the objective of understanding its funct...

Plant height is a major trait affecting yield potential in rice. Using a large-scale hybrid transcription factor approach, we identified the novel MYB-like transcription factor OsMPH1 (MYB-like gene of Plant Height 1), which is involved in the regulation of plant height in rice. Overexpression of OsMPH1 leads to increases of plant height and grain yield in rice, while knockdown of OsMPH1 leads ...

Plant lodging resistance is an important integrative agronomic trait of grain yield and quality in crops. Although extensin proteins are tightly associated with plant cell growth and cell wall construction, little has yet been reported about their impacts on plant lodging resistance. In this study, we isolated a novel extensin-like (OsEXTL) gene in rice, and selected transgenic rice plants that...

ٍearly watergrass (echinochloa oryzicola (ard) fisher) is an aggressive specie of echinochloa and have mimicry chareterstics of rice . in order to evaluate competitive effect of aggressive specie of echinochloa on rice, an experiment was conducted at the rice research institute of rasht during 2007. the experimental design was complete randomized block with three replications. the treatment incl...

Adult male pigs were fed on a diet containing (% of energy) fat 25 starch 55 from white rice and providing 20 g fibre/pig d (diet WR). In two other groups rice bran was added to the diet to provide 43 g fibre/d. One group received the diet unmodified (diet RB), but in another (diet RO) heat-stabilized unrefined rice oil replaced the palm oil. In a further group brown rice replaced white rice an...

Semiaquatic plants grow mostly in flood plains and along river beds and are adapted to survive partial submergence during periods of flooding (Blom and Voesenek, 1996). Among their adaptive features are the development of internal air channels (aerenchyma) that facilitate aeration of submerged organs and the capacity for rapid elongation when the plants become partially covered by floodwaters. ...

Improving diet is a critical component in the management of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction (MI). Most of the staple diets used worldwide, especially by Asians are high in carbohydrates. The key aim of this study was to investigate how different high carbohydrate diets (HCD) affect paraoxonase-1 (PON1) and lipogenic enzymes activity along with the lipid levels. Rats were f...

With the aim of searching for potent diazotrophic bacteria that are free of public health concerns and optimize rice cultivation, the endophytic colonization and plant growth-promoting activities of some endophytic diazotrophic bacteria isolated from rice were evaluated. Among these bacteria, the emerging diazotrophic strains of the genus Novosphingobium effectively associated with rice plant i...

The effect of five isonitrogenous diets (36.6% protein), formulated by replacing 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of fish meal (FM) with rice protein concentrate (RPC), was investigated on the growth and tail-muscle fatty acid (FA) quality of juvenile Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. The feeds were fed to shrimp (initial weight of 6.99 ± 0.08 g) five times daily to apparent satiation for 60 d...