1,721,105 research outputs found

    Ethylene Signaling Controls Fast Oxygen Sensing in Plants

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    When plants are submerged by water they suffer from hypoxia. Although it has long been known that ethylene accumulates in submerged plants, its role in plant tolerance to hypoxia remained elusive. Recently, Hartman et al. described a mechanism that explains the role of ethylene in oxygen sensing and signaling

    Physiological and genetic control of anthocyanin pigmentation in different species

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    Koes, R.E. [Promotor]Quattrocchio, F. [Copromotor]Perata, P. [Copromotor

    Fruit colour and novel mechanisms of genetic regulation of pigment production in tomato fruits

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    Fruit colour represents a genetic trait with ecological and nutritional value. Plants mainly use colour to attract animals and favour seed dispersion. Thus, in many species, fruit colour coevolved with frugivories and their preferences. Environmental factors, however, represented other adaptive forces and further diversification was driven by domestication. All these factors cooperated in the evolution of tomato fruit, one of the most important in human nutrition. Tomato phylogenetic history showed two main steps in colour evolution: the change from green-chlorophyll to red-carotenoid pericarp, and the loss of the anthocyanic pigmentation. These events likely occurred with the onset of domestication. Then spontaneous mutations repeatedly occurred in carotenoid and phenylpropanoid pathways, leading to colour variants which often were propagated. Introgression breeding further enriched the panel of pigmentation patterns. In recent decades, the genetic determinants underneath tomato colours were identified. Novel evidence indicates that key regulatory and biosynthetic genes undergo mechanisms of gene expression regulation that are much more complex than what was imagined before: post-transcriptional mechanisms, with RNA splicing among the most common, indeed play crucial roles to fine-tune the expression of this trait in fruits and offer new substrate for the rise of genetic variables, thus providing further evolutionary flexibility to the character

    Anthocyanins from purple tomatoes as novel antioxidants to promote human health

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    Anthocyanins are plant secondary metabolites belonging to the class of polyphenols, whose beneficial roles in the prevention and treatment of several important human diseases have been demonstrated in many epidemiological studies. Their intake through diet strictly depends on the eating habits, as anthocyanins are contained in red and purple fruit and vegetables as well as in some processed foods and beverages, such as red wine. Genetic engineering and breeding programs have been recently carried out to increase the content of anthocyanins in candidate plant species which cannot offer satisfactory levels of these precious compounds. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a vegetable commodity where these strategies have resulted in success, leading to the production of new anthocyanin-rich fruit varieties, some of which are already marketed. These varieties produce purple fruits with a high nutraceutical value, combining the health benefits of the anthocyanins to the other classical tomato phytochemicals, particularly carotenoids. The antioxidant capacity in tomato purple fruits is higher than in non-anthocyanin tomatoes and their healthy role has already been demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo studies. Recent evidence has indicated a particular capacity of tomato fruit anthocyanins to act as scavengers of harmful reactive chemical species and inhibitors of proliferating cancer cells, as well as anti-inflammatory molecules

    Effect of leaf senescence on glyoxylate cycle enzyme activities.

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    In order to elucidate the metabolism of the peroxisomes during foliar senescence of leaf beet (Beta vulgaris L., var. cicla), peroxisomal activities have been determined at various stages of senescence. Catalase and hydroxypyruvate reductase activities decreased whereas those of the β-oxidation pathway and glyoxylate cycle enzymes increased at the same time. The increased activities of malate synthase, isocitrate lyase, malate dehydrogenase and citrate synthase indicate that the glyoxylate cycle might be activated during the foliar senescence of leaf beet

    The Oxidative Paradox in Low Oxygen Stress in Plants

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    Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are part of aerobic environments, and variations in the availability of oxygen (O2) in the environment can lead to altered ROS levels. In plants, the O2 sensing machinery guides the molecular response to low O2, regulating a subset of genes involved in metabolic adaptations to hypoxia, including proteins involved in ROS homeostasis and acclimation. In addition, nitric oxide (NO) participates in signaling events that modulate the low O2 stress response. In this review, we summarize recent findings that highlight the roles of ROS and NO under environmentally or developmentally defined low O2 conditions. We conclude that ROS and NO are emerging regulators during low O2 signalling and key molecules in plant adaptation to flooding conditions
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