Root vacuolar sequestration and suberization are prominent responses of Pistacia spp. rootstocks during salinity stress
Abstract Understanding the mechanisms of stress tolerance in diverse species is needed to enhance crop performance under conditions such as high salinity. Plant roots, in particular in grafted agricultural crops, can function as a boundary against external stresses in order to maintain plant fitness. However, limited information exists for salinity stress responses of woody species and their rootstocks. Pistachio (Pistacia spp.) is a tree nut crop with relatively high salinity tolerance as well as high genetic heterogeneity. In this study, we used a microscopy‐based approach to investigate the cellular and structural responses to salinity stress in the roots of two pistachio rootstocks, Pis…
The Regulation of Dorsiventral Symmetry in Plants
The higher plant shoots are generally radially symmetrical; leaves produced at the shoot apex are dorsiventral while axillary shoots again show radial symmetry. Recently analyzed mutants in different plants indicate that the proper definition of adaxial and abaxial identities is necessary to generate a leaf margin and dorsiventral symmetry, Two genes important in the regulation of transsectional leaf symmetry are PHANTASTICA (a MYB (Myeloblastosis oncogene)-domain transcription factor) and KNOTTED1-like genes (homeodomain transcription factors). We review these results in light of hypotheses about the evolutionary origin of leaves and discuss similarities of mutant phenotypes to unifacial l…