Table of Contents

Abstract: Plants are one of the two major groups of living organisms that are an essential entity to the function of the biosphere. Plants can be found in all known parts of the earth, in all shapes and sizes. They include the green algae, mosses, ferns, vines, grasses, bushes, herbs, flowering plants and trees. Although some plants are parasitic, most produce their own food through photosynthesis. Most plants initiate from a seed. The importance of plants in the food chain dates back to ancient times. The first humans gathered wild plants for food. As settlements developed, food crops were cultivated, leading to selection of high-yielding cultivated varieties to feed the growing populations. Unlike plants, humans and other animals are unable to manufacture their own food. Therefore, they are dependent, directly or indirectly, on plants. Plants are found in natural ecosystems such as rain forests, and also in agricultural areas and urbanized settings. They are an essential part of our daily lives providing food, clean air, and important ecosystem functions. The study of plants and their function could be considered the most complex of interactions. From the time a seed germinates, it goes through a myriad of physiological processes that can be closely studied using modern tools and molecular biological methods. An open access journal such as Plants will give millions of readers access to that information around the world.

Abstract: The exudate of Cistus ladanifer L. consists mainly of two families of secondary metabolites: flavonoids and diterpenes. The amount of flavonoids present in the leaves has a marked seasonal variation, being maximum in summer and minimum in winter. In the present study, we demonstrate that the amount of diterpenes varies seasonally, but with a different pattern: maximum concentration in winter and minimum in spring-summer. The experiments under controlled conditions have shown that temperature influences diterpene production, and in particular, low temperatures. Given this pattern, the functions that these compounds perform in C. ladanifer are probably different.

Abstract: Yellow mustard (Sinapis alba L.) has been grown as an important source of condiment for the spice trade in the world. It is an obligate outcrossing species due to its sporophytic self-incompatibility (SI). To utilize heterosis for yield potential, we have attempted to develop elite component inbred lines for producing high-yielding synthetic varieties for this crop. The open-pollinated variety Andante was used as the initial population. To circumvent the SI barrier, bud-pollination for selfing was performed on the selected initial (S0) plants. Various types of inbreeding depression were observed in the S1 generation. Elite inbred lines tolerant to inbreeding were produced by purging the deleterious alleles in each inbred generation. Self-compatible (SC) lines were developed for the first time in this species. There were three types of erucic variants (high: 49.9%, median: 23.9% and low: 1.4%), three types of linolenic variants (high: 18.5%, median: 13.8% and low: 3.8%) and two types of mucliage variants (high: 164.0 cS*mL/g and low: 12.0 cS*mL/g) among the developed inbred lines. These variants are being used to investigate the genetic and molecular mechanism underpinning the phenotypic variation of the seed oil profile and SI/SC traits in yellow mustard.

Abstract: The variability of the flavonoid content of two populations of Z. noltii from different geographical zones, i.e., the Bay of Arcachon and the Bay of Cadiz, was evaluated. Samples were collected in spring and autumn at the two sites, and extracts were prepared by maceration in water. The phenolic content was fully characterized using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), UV and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), and the concentration of the individual phenolic was determined by quantitative High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode-Array Detection (HPLC-DAD). The two populations show a strong geographical differentiation in their flavonoid content. The samples from Cadiz were dominated by apigenin 7-sulfate, which represents 71% (autumn collection) and 83% (spring collection) of the total flavonoids, whereas the samples from Arcachon were characterized by diosmetin 7-sulfate (85 and 93% of the total flavonoids). Structural elucidation of the individual phenolics was assigned using the complementary information from their spectral evidence. In addition, the results were confirmed by acid hydrolysis of the flavonoid sulfates, and comparison to synthetic standards obtained by sulfation of apigenin, diosmetin and luteolin. The results represent the first experimental evidence of the existence of chemotypes within the species Z. noltii.