Plants, Volume 3, Issue 4

Plant cells are surrounded by the primary cell wall, a rigid framework that needs to be modified in order to allow cell growth. Recent data suggest that in addition to the cellulose-hemicellulose network, the pectin matrix plays a critical role in de...

Sex expression of dioecious buffalograss [Bouteloua dactyloides Columbus (syn. Buchloë dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.)] is known to be environmentally stable with approximate 1:1, male to female, sex ratios. Here we show that infection by the pistil sm...

Plasmolysis is a typical response of plant cells exposed to hyperosmotic stress. The loss of turgor causes the violent detachment of the living protoplast from the cell wall. The plasmolytic process is mainly driven by the vacuole. Plasmolysis is rev...

Glutaredoxins (GRXs) are small ubiquitous glutathione (GSH)-dependent oxidoreductases that catalyze the reversible reduction of protein disulfide bridges or protein-GSH mixed disulfide bonds via a dithiol or monothiol mechanism, respectively. Three m...

Penium margaritaceum is a new and valuable unicellular model organism for studying plant cell wall structure and developmental dynamics. This charophyte has a cell wall composition remarkably similar to the primary cell wall of many higher plants and...

Xyloglucan (XyG) is a hemicellulose found in the cell walls of all land plants including early-divergent groups such as liverworts, hornworts and mosses. The basic structure of XyG, a xylosylated glucan, is similar in all of these plants but addition...

Techniques for in situ localization of gene products provide indispensable information for understanding biological function. In the case of enzymes, biological function is directly related to activity, and therefore, knowledge of activity patterns i...

Degradation of chloroplasts and chloroplast components is a distinctive feature of leaf senescence. In spite of its importance in the nutrient economy of plants, knowledge about the mechanism(s) involved in the breakdown of chloroplast proteins is in...

Soybean isolines with different combinations of photoperiod sensitivity alleles were planted in a greenhouse at different times during the year resulting in natural variation in daily incident irradiance and duration. The time from planting to first...

Plants are constantly confronted to both abiotic and biotic stresses that seriously reduce their productivity. Plant responses to these stresses are complex and involve numerous physiological, molecular, and cellular adaptations. Recent evidence show...