Search results for "genesis"

What is Vipp1 good for?

2018

While Vipp1 (also known as IM30) clearly is essential for proper biogenesis of thylakoid membranes in chloroplasts and cyanobacteria, the exact function of Vipp1/IM30 still remains unclear. The recent in vivo study of Gutu et al. now demonstrates that Vipp1/IM30 forms localized puncta specifically at highly curved membrane regions at the cell periphery. These Vipp1/IM30 puncta were found being highly dynamic under normal growth conditions, while it has recently been shown that they stably associate with membranes under high-light conditions. These observations, together with the observation that other Vipp1/IM30 homologous proteins also form puncta under stress conditions, indicate a protec…

2019

The inner membrane-associated protein of 30 kDa (IM30, also known as Vipp1) is required for thylakoid membrane biogenesis and maintenance in cyanobacteria and chloroplasts. The protein forms large rings of ∼2 MDa and triggers membrane fusion in presence of Mg2+. Based on the here presented observations, IM30 rings are built from dimers of dimers, and formation of these tetrameric building blocks is driven by interactions of the central coiled-coil, formed by helices 2 and 3, and stabilized via additional interactions mainly involving helix 1. Furthermore, helix 1 as well as C-terminal regions of IM30 together negatively regulate ring-ring contacts. We propose that IM30 rings represent the i…

Microspore Embryogenesis Through Anther Culture in Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan.

2016

Anther culture is a biotechnological method that allows to obtain, in one step, homozygous plants, very important to plant breeding, due to their numerous applications in mutation research, selection, genome sequencing, genetic analysis, and transformation. To induce the microspores, i.e., the immature male gametes, to switch from the normal gametophytic pathway to the sporophytic one, it is necessary to submit them to a type of stress, such as high or low temperature, starvation, or magnetic field. Stress can be applied to the donor plants and/or the fl oral buds or the anthers or the isolated microspores, before or during the culture. In this chapter, the protocol to induce gametic embryo…

Ecological plant epigenetics: Evidence from model and non-model species, and the way forward

2017

Growing evidence shows that epigenetic mechanisms contribute to complex traits, with implications across many fields of biology. In plant ecology, recent studies have attempted to merge ecological experiments with epigenetic analyses to elucidate the contribution of epigenetics to plant phenotypes, stress responses, adaptation to habitat, and range distributions. While there has been some progress in revealing the role of epigenetics in ecological processes, studies with non-model species have so far been limited to describing broad patterns based on anonymous markers of DNA methylation. In contrast, studies with model species have benefited from powerful genomic resources, which contribute…

Microspore embryogenesis induced through in vitro anther culture of almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.)

2016

Anther culture is one of the most widely used methods to induce gametic embryogenesis. The aim of this investigation was to induce microspore embryogenesis in almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.), through this technique. Anthers were cultured at the vacuolated developmental stage, and seven cultivars, two culture media and two temperature treatments were assessed. Although evidence of the microspore induction was observed in all the genotypes and treatments tested (symmetrical nucleus division and multinucleated structures), calli were produced merely by anthers cultured in the medium P and the regeneration of embryos was detected only in anthers of the cultivars Filippo Ceo, Lauranne and Genco, pl…

Algerian Olive Germplasm and Its Relationships with the Central-Western Mediterranean Varieties Contributes to Clarify Cultivated Olive Diversificati…

2021

Olive tree with its main final product, olive oil, is an important element of Mediterranean history, considered the emblematic fruit of a civilization. Despite its wide diffusion and economic and cultural importance, its evolutionary and phylogenetic history is still difficult to clarify. As part of the Mediterranean basin, Algeria was indicated as a secondary diversification center. However, genetic characterization studies from Maghreb area, are currently underrepresented. In this context, we characterized 119 endemic Algerian accessions by using 12 microsatellite markers with the main goal to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure. In order to provide new insights about …

Factors affecting somatic embryogenesis in eight Italian grapevine cultivars and the genetic stability of embryo-derived regenerants as assessed by m…

2016

Abstract Embryogenic cultures have been used in cryopreservation, genetic transformation, propagation, virus elimination, induced mutagenesis and in many other biotechnological applications, providing excellent opportunities for biotechnology advances in grapevine. Unfortunately the efficiency of somatic embryogenesis (SE) is genotype-dependent in addition to showing interaction with explant type used and the plant growth regulator (PGR) composition. In order to identify the interaction of these parameters in SE, we tested eight wine grapevine cultivars, three explant types (ovary, anther/filament and stigma/style) and four PGR combinations in a statistically designed experiment. The genoty…

First report of Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus affecting zucchini squash in an important horticultural area of southern Italy

2016

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) is a bipartite begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) which infects species in the families Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae (Padidam et al., 1995; Mizutani et al., 2011). Begomoviruses are transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci in a persistent manner (Rosen et al., 2015). In October 2015, severe symptoms not previously reported by growers in the horticultural area of the Province of Trapani (Sicily, Italy) were observed on zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo) in open fields. The symptoms included yellow mosaic, severe leaf curling, swelling of veins of young leaves, shortening of internodes, roughness of the skin of fruit and reduced fruit size; the sympt…

Long-Distance Travellers: Phylogeography of a Generalist Parasite, Pholeter gastrophilus, from Cetaceans

2017

We studied the phylogeography and historical demography of the most generalist digenean from cetaceans, Pholeter gastrophilus, exploring the effects of isolation by distance, ecological barriers and hosts' dispersal ability on the population structure of this parasite. The ITS2 rDNA, and the mitochondrial COI and ND1 from 68 individual parasites were analysed. Worms were collected from seven oceanic and coastal cetacean species from the south western Atlantic (SWA), central eastern Atlantic, north eastern Atlantic (NEA), and Mediterranean Sea. Pholeter gastrophilus was considered a single lineage because reciprocal monophyly was not detected in the ML cladogram of all individuals, and seque…

Effect of substitutions of key residues on the stability and the insecticidal activity of Vip3Af from Bacillus thuringiensis

2021

Modern agriculture demands for more sustainable agrochemicals to reduce the environmental and health impact. The whole process of the discovery and development of new active substances or control agents is sorely slow and expensive. Vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vip3) from Bacillus thuringiensis are specific toxins against caterpillars with a potential capacity to broaden the range of target pests. Site-directed mutagenesis is one of the most approaches used to test hypotheses on the role of different amino acids on the structure and function of proteins. To gain a better understanding of the role of key amino acid residues of Vip3A proteins, we have generated 12 mutants of the Vip3Af1 …