植物生理

Microarray analysis is a technology that allows simultaneous measurement of the messenger RNA levels of thousands of genes. There are several different technology platforms in use, including oligo arrays synthesized directly on the underlying substrate, and spotted arrays prod ...

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a powerful RNA-silencing based technology adapted for the study of host-gene function. VIGS functions through the expression of a host gene from a virus vector. Both the virus-encoded host sequence and the homologous host target messenger RNA are des ...

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has been used as a quick and easy tool to assess gene function in plants. The virus, carrying a portion of an endogenous gene, triggers a homology-based defense mechanism when introduced into plants. Infection with the modified virus results in gene-specif ...

The RNA inference (RNAi) technique is a powerful tool to suppress gene expression and has been widely used for functional discovery of eukaryotic genes. To dissect defense-signaling pathways in rice, it is important to generate a series of rice mutant lines deficient in or insensitive to major s ...

The development of genetically engineered resistance to plant viruses is a result of efforts to understand the plant-virus interactions involved in “crossprotection,” a phenomenon observed with several plant virus diseases. Historically, expression of the coat protein gene of T ...

The use of plant protoplast transient expression system has facilitated the discovery and dissection of many signal transduction pathways in response to hormones, metabolites, and stresses. Recently, Arabidopsis protoplasts also have been used successfully to study plant inna ...

Many Gram-negative plant and animal pathogens share a common virulence strategy that relies on the specialized type III secretion system. This apparatus is used to secrete virulence factors, called effectors, into the extracellular host environment and directly into the cytoplasm of ...

This chapter describes methods for targeted knockouts using marker exchange mutagenesis and complementation of the Gram-negative bacteria Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. We have used these methods to demonstrate that type I secretion and modification systems are involved in avr ...

Each plant hormone elicits a set of characteristic physiological and biochemical responses. The primary stimulus initiating the sequence of events leading to such responses is the interaction of the hormone with its receptor protein. In general, receptors may be either membrane-ass ...

Gibberellins (GAs) are involved in a wide range of plant developmental processes. The biosynthetic pathway is discussed in Chapter 1 but it should be noted here that of all the plant hormones the GAs represent perhaps the most diverse group, with currently 125 different structures known. This di ...

The hydrocarbon ethylene (C2H4) is a plant hormone that plays an important role in the regulation of many environmentally and developmentally induced processes, such as stress resistance, seed germination, fruit ripening, senescence, and abscission (1). All tissue types and probably ...

Plant hormones are present and active in minor concentrations in plant tissue. To allow quantification in a restricted amount of material, i.e., protoplasts, chloroplasts, seedlings, seeds, buds, or apical root- and stem regions, a sensitive analytical technique is a prerequisite. Duri ...

The advent of genetic engineering has provided a means to manipulate the biosynthesis of plant hormones to the advantage of agriculture. Such manipulation is very dependent on a detailed knowledge of the biosynthetic pathways involved in the production of the hormones, and more precisely ...

Most experiments utilizing Agrobacterium tumefaciens as a vector for the introduction of genes into plant cells commence in Escherichia coli. The sheer size and complexity of the Ti-plasmids precludes their direct manipulation. Thus, insertion is usually into a comparatively small ...

Leaf disk transformation of tobacco is a very simple and robust method. It is used with success in many laboratories. The protocol presented here is a simplified version of that of Horsch et al. (1). Basically, it consists of immersing the leaf disks in a liquid culture of Agrobacterium carrying the chos ...

Numerous techniques have been developed to transfer genes into plants to create genetically engineered crops that can tolerate environmental stresses, and to improve productivity and quality. The search for easier, more efficient techniques to transfer genes continues because ...

An important step in the analysis of gene action is to determine the spatial and temporal regulation of gene expression. The patterns of gene expression can provide clues to the function of genes and facilitate the mapping of qualitative changes in steady state mRNA levels. In situ hybridization ...

The regulation of biotechnology within the member states of the European Community has developed very significantly over the last 3 yr, and a comprehensive body of legislation, guidance notes, and codes of practice have appeared in the United Kingdom in particular. The recent incident at Bir ...

Agrobacterium spp. are widely used to transform new genes into plant tissue. Transferring useful genes into bacteria in order to transform them into the target plant is an essential part of the process, which can be achieved by electroporation.

Agrobacteria are soil living Gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria. The genus includes two well-studied phytopathogenic bacteria, Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes. Their ability to cause disease is associated with the presence of a large (about 200 kb) plasmid. The plasm ...