Lijun Zhang, Ying Liu^*, Yushou Ma^*, Xinyou Wang

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.8, pp. 1913-1941, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.052621 - 30 August 2024

Abstract Perennial grasses have developed intricate mechanisms to adapt to diverse environments, enabling their resistance to various biotic and abiotic stressors. These mechanisms arise from strong natural selection that contributes to enhancing the adaptation of forage plants to various stress conditions. Methods such as antisense RNA technology, CRISPR/Cas9 screening, virus-induced gene silencing, and transgenic technology, are commonly utilized for investigating the stress response functionalities of grass genes in both warm-season and cool-season varieties. This review focuses on the functional identification of stress-resistance genes and regulatory elements in grasses. It synthesizes recent studies on mining functional genes, regulatory More >

Yueying Liu^#, Yuqing Wang^#, Lijiao Gu^*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.11, pp. 2937-2946, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2023.043306 - 24 October 2023

Abstract WRKY transcription factors play important roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. Our previous research has shown that the GhWRKY91 gene can delay age-, abscisic acid (ABA)-, and drought-induced leaf senescence when overexpressed in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. To explore in more depth the biological functions of the GhWRKY91 gene, we further observed the root growth of overexpressing transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana under ABA and drought treatment. In this study, we transplanted the germinated seeds of wild-type (WT) and three transgenic lines (OE-12, OE-13 and OE-20) to 1/2 MS solid medium containing ABA and different concentrations of mannitol (simulated… More >

Xiaokui Huang¹, Yingbin Xue¹, Aaqil Khan¹, Hanqiao Hu¹, Naijie Feng^1,2,*, Dianfeng Zheng^1,2,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.8, pp. 2369-2382, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2023.027457 - 25 June 2023

Abstract For the purpose of functional validation, the mung bean (Vigna radiata) VrPR gene was cloned and overexpressed in Arabidopsis thaliana. The findings revealed that the ORF of VrPR contained 1200 bp, in which 399 amino acids were encoded. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the VrPR protein belonged to the NADB Rossmann superfamily, which was one of the non-transmembrane hydrophilic proteins. VrPR was assumed to have 44 amino acid phosphorylation sites and be contained in chloroplasts. The VrPR secondary structure comprised of random coil, α helix, β angle, and extended chain, all of which were quite compatible with the anticipated tertiary structure. More >

Yongjing Xi, Zhou Yang, Yukun Jin, Jing Qu, Shuyan Guan, Siyan Liu, Piwu Wang^*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.4, pp. 1257-1274, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2023.025918 - 06 January 2023

Abstract PCR detection, quantitative real-time PCR (q-RTPCR), outdoor insect resistance, and disease resistance identification were carried out for the detection of genetic stability and disease resistance through generations (T₂, T₃, and T₄) in transgenic maize germplasms (S3002 and 349) containing the bivalent genes (insect resistance gene Cry1Ab13-1 and disease resistance gene NPR1) and their corresponding wild type. Results indicated that the target genes Cry1Ab13-1 and NPR1 were successfully transferred into both germplasms through tested generations; q-PCR confirmed the expression of Cry1Ab13-1 and NPR1 genes in roots, stems, and leaves of tested maize plants. In addition, S3002 and 349 bivalent gene-transformed lines More >

Sushuang Liu^1,2,#, Yanmin Liu^1,2,#, Chundong Liu¹, Xingwang Yu^2,3, Hao Ma^2,4,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.2, pp. 577-590, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2022.023738 - 12 October 2022

Abstract Drought is a major abiotic stress limiting agricultural crops production worldwide. In our study, we isolated a novel C2H2-type zinc finger protein gene ZF2 from chickpea. ZF2 consisted of 232 amino acids with two QALGGH motifs in Cys2/His2 zinc finger domain. Transient expression analysis of ZF2:GFP fusion protein showed that ZF2 was a nuclear localized protein. In the yeast assay system, the full-length of ZF2 did not show transcriptional activation. Expression of ZF2 gene was enhanced by treatments of several abiotic stresses and phytohormones. The promoter region of ZF2 contained multiple stress- and hormone-related cis-elements. Overexpression of More >

JINXIAN LIU¹, JINGFANG FENG², CHANG ZHANG², YONGJUAN REN², WEIHUA SU², GUANGHENG WU¹, XIANYU FU¹, NING HUANG³, YOUXIONG QUE², HUI LING^3,*, JUN LUO^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.1, pp. 215-225, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.022477 - 26 September 2022

Abstract Calmodulin (CaM) proteins play a key role in signal transduction under various stresses. In the present study, the effects of a sugarcane ScCaM gene (NCBI accession number: GQ246454) on drought and salt stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana and Escherichia coli cells were evaluated. The results demonstrated a significant negative role of ScCaM in the drought and salt stress tolerance of transgenic lines of A. thaliana, as indicated by the phenotypes. In addition, the expression of AtP5CS and AtRD29A, two genes tightly related to stress resistance, was significantly lower in the overexpression lines than in the wild type. The growth More >

Yanyan Zhao^1,*, Yanpeng Ding², Bailin Duan¹, Qingzhou Xie¹

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.1, pp. 1-15, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2022.022384 - 06 September 2022

Abstract GRAS transcription factors play important roles in plant abiotic stress response, but their characteristics and functions in cotton have not been fully investigated. A cotton SCL4/7 subgroup gene in the GRAS family, GhSCL4, was found to be induced by NaCl treatments. Nuclear localization and transactivation activity of GhSCL4 indicate its potential role in transcriptional regulation. Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana over-expressing GhSCL4 showed enhanced resistance to salt and osmotic stress. What’s more, the transcript levels of salt stress-induced genes (AtNHX1 and AtSOS1) and oxidation-related genes (AtAPX3 and AtCSD2) were more highly induced in the GhSCL4 over-expression lines than in… More >

NARAYANAN NAMPOOTHIRI V. P.¹, VIGNESH SUNDARARAJAN¹, PALLAVI DAN¹, G. DEVANAND VENKATASUBBU^2,*, SAHABUDEEN SHEIK MOHIDEEN^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.5, pp. 1251-1262, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.015090 - 12 July 2021

Abstract Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common forms of dementia. Cognitive dysfunction and memory loss are the two main clinical symptoms of AD. Drosophila melanogaster models of AD, which are based on overexpression of human amyloid β (Aβ) or human tau (hTau) protein, have been used to study the mechanism underlying AD and to screen potential therapeutic compounds. Drugs that are currently available for AD provide only symptomatic relief. Huge unmet medical needs exists to slow, stop, or reverse the progression of AD. Thymoquinone (TQ) is an active ingredient isolated from Nigella sativa (NS) and… More >

Shiyang Li^1,#, Xue-Ao Liu^2,#, Lizi Zhao², Huiqing Huang³, Bei Li², Zhizhong Song², Meixia Liang², Hongxia Zhang^2,3, Limin Wang^2,*, Shenglin Zhou^1,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.90, No.3, pp. 761-772, 2021, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2021.016314 - 30 March 2021

Abstract Seven in absentia (SINA) family proteins play a central role in plant growth, development and resistance to abiotic stress. However, their biological function in plant response to cold stress is still largely unknown. In this work, a seven in absentia gene IbSINA5 was isolated from sweet potato. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analyses demonstrated that IbSINA5 was ubiquitously expressed in various tissues and organs of sweet potato, with a predominant expression in fibrous roots, and was remarkably induced by cold, drought and salt stresses. Subcellular localization assays revealed that IbSINA5-GFP fusion protein was mainly localized in cytoplasm… More >

BEEMNET MENGESHA KASSAHUN^1,#, BEUM-CHANG KANG^2,#, SU-JI BAE², YE JIN NAM¹, GRETEL FONSECA MUNDO¹, GA-HUI KANG¹, KYOUNGOOK KIM³, JEUNG-SUL HAN^1,4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.1, pp. 199-215, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.012353 - 26 January 2021

Abstract Solanum lycopersicum ‘Heinz 1706’ is a pioneer model cultivar for tomato research, whose whole genome sequence valuable for genomics studies is available. Nevertheless, a genetic transformation procedure for this cultivar has not yet been reported. Meanwhile, various genome editing technologies such as transfection of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) ribonucleoprotein complexes into cells are in the limelight. Utilizing the Cas9-expressing genotype possessing a reference genome can simplify the verification of an off-target effect, resolve the economic cost of Cas9 endonuclease preparation, and avoid the complex assembly process together with single-guide RNA (sgRNA) in… More >