0000000000021021
AUTHOR
Ana Bernardina Menéndez
The proanthocyanidin content as a tool to differentiate between Lotus tenuis and L. corniculatus individuals
Abstract Lotus tenuis Wald et Kit and Lotus corniculatus L. are conspicuous elements of the agricultural landscape for cattle production. In South America, commercial L. tenuis stocks usually present contaminations with L. corniculatus, what brings about an important economical injure to the forage producers. A way to reduce or avoid loses is to assess the purity degree of L. tenuis seed lots before seeding. Methods so far described for the diagnosis of Lotus species when flowers are not available are lengthy, time consuming, need the implementation of sophisticated laboratories and are relatively expensive. It has been shown that Lotus species accumulate variable proanthocyanidins amounts,…
Defense Responses in Two Ecotypes of Lotus japonicus against Non-Pathogenic Pseudomonas syringae
Lotus japonicus is a model legume broadly used to study many important processes as nitrogen fixing nodule formation and adaptation to salt stress. However, no studies on the defense responses occurring in this species against invading microorganisms have been carried out at the present. Understanding how this model plant protects itself against pathogens will certainly help to develop more tolerant cultivars in economically important Lotus species as well as in other legumes. In order to uncover the most important defense mechanisms activated upon bacterial attack, we explored in this work the main responses occurring in the phenotypically contrasting ecotypes MG-20 and Gifu B-129 of L. ja…
Response to long-term NaHCO3-derived alkalinity in model Lotus japonicus Ecotypes Gifu B-129 and Miyakojima MG-20: transcriptomic profiling and physiological characterization.
The current knowledge regarding transcriptomic changes induced by alkalinity on plants is scarce and limited to studieswhere plants were subjected to the alkaline salt for periods not longer than 48 h, so there is no information availableregarding the regulation of genes involved in the generation of a new homeostatic cellular condition after long-termalkaline stress.Lotus japonicusis a model legume broadly used to study many important physiological processes includingbiotic interactions and biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present study, we characterized phenotipically the response toalkaline stress of the most widely usedL. japonicusecotypes, Gifu B-129 and MG-20, and analyzed global t…
Homeostatic control of polyamine levels under long-term salt stress in Arabidopsis
Salt stress has been frequently studied in its first osmotic phase. Very often, data regarding the second ionic phase is missing. It has also been suggested that Putrescine or/and Spermine could be responsible for salt resistance. In order to test this hypothesis under long-term salt stress, we obtained Arabidopsis thaliana transgenic plants harboring pRD29A::oatADC or pRD29A::GUS construction. Although Putrescine was the only polyamine significantly increased after salt acclimation in pRD29A::oatADC transgenic lines, this rendered in no advantage to this kind of stress. The higher Spermine levels found in WT and transgenic lines when compared to control conditions along with no increment o…
Evaluation of a technical revegetation action performed on foredunes at Devesa de la Albufera, Valencia, Spain
We have evaluated the level of restoration achieved by a technical revegetation action carried out on reconstructed foredunes at the Devesa de la Albufera and compared this level with that achieved by spontaneous succession. Foredunes 1, 3, 6 and 20 y old since revegetated (1, 3, 6 and 20 y, respectively) were considered as spatially separated stages representing a successional trend in the development of the restored plant community. Lower and similar levels of diversity (richness and H´ and Pielou´s indexes) and coverage, respectively, were found on dunes corresponding to the oldest stage of technical revegetation compared with that of the reference site. Diversity and coverage parameters…
Ecological and agronomic importance of the plant genus Lotus. Its application in grassland sustainability and the amelioration of constrained and contaminated soils
The genus Lotus comprises around 100 annual and perennial species with worldwide distribution. The relevance of Lotus japonicus as a model plant has been recently demonstrated in numerous studies. In addition, some of the Lotus species show a great potential for adaptation to a number of abiotic stresses. Therefore, they are relevant components of grassland ecosystems in environmentally constrained areas of several South American countries and Australia, where they are used for livestock production. Also, the fact that the roots of these species form rhizobial and mycorrhizal associations makes the annual L. japonicus a suitable model plant for legumes, particularly in studies directed to r…