Transgenic plants harboring the left transfer DNA (T(L)-DNA) of the root inducing plasmid of Agrobacterium rhizogenes show many developmental abnormalities. We observed frequent appearance of normal looking lateral (revertant) shoots from such aberrant plants. Unlike aberrant shoots of the plant, revertant shoots exhibited a very high growth rate and set viable seeds. Sexual and vegetative repr...

A mutagenesis programme was carried out using physical mutagens (gamma rays) on Cucumis melo cv. Bathasa. In irradiated seeds the number of shoots formed in the lower doses was significantly higher than the controls. Decrease in the number of shoots and shoot bud formation was observed with higher doses in all the explants studies. There was complete lethality in the 10, 15 and 20 kR doses. In ...

White lupin (Lupinus albus L.) is highly adapted to phosphorus-diminished soils. P-deficient white lupin plants modify their root architecture and physiology to acquire sparingly available soil phosphorus. We employed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for metabolic profiling of P-deficient white lupins, to investigate biochemical pathways involved in the P-acquiring strategy. After 1...

Shoots and roots are autotrophic and heterotrophic organs of plants with different physiological functions. Do they have different metabolomes? Do their metabolisms respond differently to environmental changes such as drought? We used metabolomics and elemental analyses to answer these questions. First, we show that shoots and roots have different metabolomes and nutrient and elemental stoichio...

Two field experiments were conducted at the Waimanalo research station on the island of O'ahu, Hawaii to study the effect of chicken (CM) and dairy (DM) manures on biomass and nutrient concentration in sweet corn roots and shoots. Sweet corn (super sweet 10, Zea Mays L. subsp. mays) was grown for two consecutive growing seasons under four rates of application (0, 168, 337, and 672 kg ha(-1) tot...

Rice (Oryza sativa) is characterized by having fibrous root systems; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the root development are not fully understood. Here, we isolated a rice mutant with short roots and found that the mutant had a decreased cell size of the roots and shoots compared with wild-type rice. Map-based cloning combined with whole-genome sequencing revealed that a single nu...

A hydroponic experiment was performed using Cd-sensitive (cv. Xiushui63) and tolerant (cv. Bing97252) rice cultivars to evaluate the difference in their response to Cd toxicity in the presence of exogenous glutathione (GSH). The results showed that Cd stress (5 and 50 μmol/l Cd) decreased plant fresh weight, contents of chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids, with Cd-sensitive genotype being more sev...

Arsenic (As) is posing serious health concerns in South East Asia where rice, an efficient accumulator of As, is prominent crop. Salicylic acid (SA) is an important signaling molecule and plays a crucial role in resistance against biotic and abiotic stress in plants. In present study, ameliorative effect of SA against arsenate (As(V)) toxicity has been investigated in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Ar...

Shoot tip and nodal segment explants of Holarrhena antidysenterica when cultured on MS medium containing BAP (1.0-3.0 mg/l) with NAA (0.2-1.0 mg/l) and BAP (1.0-3.0 mg/l) with Kn. (0.2-1.0 mg/l) produced multiple shoots. Maximum multiple shoots was found in MS medium supplemented with BAP (2.0 mg/l) and NAA (0.5 mg/l). Subculture on the same medium resulted in rapid shoot multiplication at an a...

Pretreatment of soybean (Glycine max L. var Ransom) root systems with abscisic acid (ABA) ameliorates the deleterious effect of low temperatures on root hydraulic conductance. ABA treatment of root systems subsequently chilled to 10 degrees C with shoots at 25 degrees C resulted in higher leaf water potentials and lower stomatal resistances. If the root systems are left at 25 degrees C, ABA cau...