Special Issue "New Journal Plants - Feature Papers"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Dilantha Fernando
Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
Website: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/%7Efernando/
E-Mail: d_fernando@umanitoba.ca
Phone: +1 204 474 6072
Fax: +1 204 474 7528
Interests: canola and wheat pathology: epidemiology of plant pathogens, evolution/genetic variation of fungal pathogens, biological control of plant diseases, breeding for disease resistance microbial, ecology and microbial interactions

Plants (ISSN 2223-7747) is an Open Access journal, which is free to access and read on the Internet. MDPI guarantees that no university library or individual reader will ever have to buy a subscription or buy access through pay-per-view fees to access the articles published in the journal. Hence, MDPI does not have any income from selling subscriptions to the print or online version of this journal or from pay-per-view fees. In order to cover the costs of providing and maintaining a publication infrastructure, managing the journals, and processing the manuscripts through peer-review and the editorial procedure, the journal uses a form of conditional submission fee referred to as Article Processing Charge (APC).

Title: Genetic Variations in Morphology, Seed Quality and Self-(in)compatibility Among the Inbred Lines Developed from a Population Variety in Outcrossing Yellow Mustard (Sinapis alba)
Authors: Bifang Cheng¹, David J. Williams¹, Yan Zhang²
Affiliations: ¹ Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon Research Centre, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X2, Canada; E-Mail: Bifang.cheng@agr.gc.ca; david.williams@agr.gc.ca
² Mustard 21 Canada Inc.  Saskatoon, Canada; E-Mail: yan.zhang@agr.gc.ca
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 developed 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 cSml/g seed and low: 12.0 cSml/g seed) among the developed inbred lines. These inbred lines with great genetic variations 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.
Keywords: Condiment; yellow mustard (Sinapis alba); inbreeding; genetic variation; self-(in)compatibility; erucic acid; linolenic acid; mucilage

Title: Photobiont Relationships with Dermatocarpon luridum var. luridum and Related Dermatocarpon Species
Authors: K.M. Fontaine ¹, A. Beck ², E. Stocker-Wörgötter ³ and M.D. Piercey-Normore¹
Affiliations: ¹ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada; E-Mails: umfontak@cc.umanitoba.ca (K.M.F.); pierceyn@cc.umanitoba.ca (M.D.P.-N.)
² Department of Lichenology and Bryology, Botanische Staatssammlung München, München D-80638, Germany; E-Mail: beck@bsm.mwn.de (A.B.)
³ Department of Organismic Biology, Universität Salzburg, Salzburg A-5020, Austria; E-Mail: elfriede.stocker@sbg.ac.at (E.S.-W.)
Abstract: Dermatocarpon luridum var. luridum and other aquatic species grow along the edge of lakes, rivers and streams, and are subject to the biotic and abiotic conditions of the waters with which they are closely associated. Research on the photobiont(s) associated with aquatic and terrestrial Dermatocarpon species will shed light on the biology of D. luridum var. luridum in these habitats. The focus of our study is: (1) to determine the photobiont identity and algal sharing between species of Dermatocarpon; and (2) to determine the phylogenetic placement of Canadian and Austrian Dermatocarpon spp. Specimens were collected from four lakes in Northwestern Manitoba and three streams in Austria. Four thalli of D. luridum var. luridum were selected for algal culturing. The nuclear ITS rDNA gene of the fungal partner along with the algal ITS rDNA and Actin genes were sequenced to confirm identity and for use in phylogenetic analyses to assess algal sharing. Preliminary results suggest that D. luridum var. luridum associates with more than one photobiont species simultaneously. Phylogenetic placement of D. luridum var. decipiens and D. arnoldianum suggest re-examination of the species status. The potential for photobiont sharing suggests increased adaptive potential along the margins of lakes and streams.
Keywords: algal sharing; aquatic lichen; phylogenetics; evolution; Canada; Europe

Title: Tungsten Phytotoxicity
Authors: Ioannis-Dimosthenis S. Adamakis, Emmanuel Panteris and Eleftherios P. Eleftheriou
Affiliation: Department of Botany, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; E-Mail: eelefth@bio.auth.gr
Abstract: Tungsten (W) is a rare heavy metal, useful in a wide range of industrial, military and household applications due to its unique physical properties. These activities inevitably have accumulated W locally at high concentrations, raising concerns about its toxicity to living organisms. In plants, W is primarily used as an inhibitor in nitrate reductase (NR) research, antagonizing with molybdenum (Mo) for the Mo cofactor (MoCo) of NR. However, a preliminary morphological and ultrastructural study in Pisum sativum (pea) and Gossypium hirsutum (cotton) showed that W retarded seedling growth, stopped root elongation, disrupted cell division, hampered the completion of cytokinesis, disturbed nuclear morphology, entrapped cellular components such as mitochondria within the nucleoplasm, and affected the microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton. Immunofluorescence studies showed that cortical MTs constitute a universal target of W among land plants. Further detailed experiments combining W effects with anti-cytoskeleton inhibitors revealed that MTs are indirectly affected through the actomyosin motility, presumably depending on a mechanism involving the in vivo antagonism of W for the Mo-binding site of Cnx1 protein. Data regarding the effects of W on the expression of specific genes in the roots of P. sativum indicated that W induced a kind of programmed cell death (PCD), which was endoplasmic reticulum stress-derived. Moreover, in Arabidopsis thaliana W inhibited the activity of additional enzymes containing the MoCo, affected MT organization and induced actin microfilament bundling, impaired cell expansion and deteriorated the overall plant morphology. It is concluded that W constitutes an emerging phytotoxic pollutant that induces adverse biological effects beyond molybdoenzyme inhibition.
Keywords: actin microfilaments; microtubules; mitosis; molybdenum cofactor; programmed cell death; tungsten toxicity