Conifer stem pest resistance includes constitutive defenses that discourage invasion and inducible defenses, including phenolic and terpenoid resin synthesis. Recently, methyl jasmonate (MJ) was shown to induce conifer resin and phenolic defenses; however, it is not known if MJ is the direct effector or if there is a downstream signal. Exogenous applications of MJ, methyl salicylate, and ethyle...

Pseudosasa amabilis (McClure) (Poales: Gramineae) is a typical bamboo species naturally distributed in large area of south China and famous for its culm strength. Although bamboos were found to share the same development rule, the detailed internode morphology of bamboo culm was actually not fully expressed. We explored internode morphology of P. amabilis using 11 different physical parameters ...

Membrane-membrane interactions between axons and Schwann cells are required for initial myelin formation in the peripheral nervous system. However, recent studies of double myelination in sympathetic nerve have indicated that myelin sheaths continue to exist after complete loss of axonal contact (Kidd, G. J., and J. W. Heath. 1988. J. Neurocytol. 17:245-261). This suggests that myelin maintenan...

Axonal contact plays a critical role in initiating myelin formation by Schwann cells. However, recent studies of “double myelination” have indicated that myelin maintenance continues in Schwann cells completely displaced from physical contact with the axon. This raises the possibility either that diffusible trophic factors are produced by the axon, or that the axon is not required for myelin ma...

Lignin is a complex polyphenolic heteropolymer that is abundant in the secondary cell walls of plants and functions in growth and defence. It is also a major barrier to the deconstruction of plant biomass for bioenergy production, but the spatiotemporal details of how lignin is deposited in actively lignifying tissues and the precise relationships between wall lignification in different cell ty...

Application of [(14)C]fructosyl sucrose was used to determine whether sucrose cleavage was necessary for sucrose uptake by sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) internode tissue. Although approximately 25% of (14)C in the apoplast was present as fructose, indicating some sucrose cleavage, less than 15% of the label was randomized in the sucrose that remained in the tissue after a 30 minute osmoticum rinse...