The new salt tolerant cereal, Tritipyrum (2n=6x=42, AABBE^bE^b) offers potential to introduce desirable characters for wheat improvements. This study was aimed to generate a segregating population from Iranian local wheat cultivars (2n=6x=42, AABBDD) and Tritipyrum crosses, study of the meiotic behaviour in F₂ hybrids and identification of E^b chromosomes in F₃ individuals. Results showed meiotic abnormalities in F₂ plants and different pairing frequency in the meiosis among F₂ plants. Genomic in situ hybridization revealed that total and E^b chromosome number of F₃ seeds ranged from 39 to 45 and 0 to 10, respectively. A significant prevalence of hyper-aneuploidy was observed among F₃ genotypes. C-banding patterns identified E^b chromosomes in Tritipyrum, indicating that it also can be useful to study wheat-Tritipyrum derivatives.

Cotyledonary leaves of 9-d-old tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV 3101 harboring binary vector pBI101 containing kanamycin resistance gene (npt II) as selection marker. Murashige and Skoog (MS) inorganic salts with Gamborg's B5 vitamins supplemented with optimized concentrations of zeatin riboside and indole-acetic acid resulted in enhanced regeneration efficiency. Under optimized conditions of plant regeneration, transformation frequency in cvs. Pusa Ruby, Pusa Uphar and DT-39 was greater than 37 %. Transformed shoots were selected on kanamycin medium and the presence of the transgene in the primary transformants was confirmed by PCR. Integration of the npt II gene in the tomato genome was further confirmed by Southern blot analysis. RT-PCR analysis using neomycin phospho-transferase (npt II) gene-specific primers confirmed the expression of the transgene in transgenic plants. Transformed plants were successfully transferred to phytotron, where these plants grew to maturity and produced flowers and fruits.

The aim of this study was to investigate acclimation of micropropagated plants of Rhododendron ponticum subsp. baeticum to different irradiances and recovery after exposure to high irradiance. Plants grown under high (HL) or intermediate (IL) irradiances displayed higher values of maximum electron transport rate (ETR_max) and light saturation coefficient (E_k) than plants grown under low irradiance (LL). The capacity of tolerance to photoinhibition (as assessed by the response of photochemical quenching, q_p) varied as follows: HL > IL > LL. Thermal energy dissipation (q_N) was also affected by growth irradiance, with higher saturating values being observed in HL plants. Light-response curves suggested a gradual replacement of q_p by q_N with increasing irradiance. Following exposure to irradiance higher than 1500 μmol m^-2 s^-1, a prolonged reduction of the maximal photochemical efficiency of PS 2 (F_v/F_m) was observed in LL plants, indicating the occurrence of chronic photoinhibition. In contrary, the decrease in F_v/F_m was quickly reverted in HL plants, pointing to a reversible photoinhibition.

The regulation of contents and activities of peroxidase (POX), diamine oxidase (DAO) and polyamine oxidase (PAO) were determined in relation to polyamines and lignin content in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grains. Two cultivars WH 542 (heat susceptible) and PBW 343 (heat tolerant) were used. Activities of POX, DAO and PAO were substantially higher in PBW 343 as compared with WH 542 and appeared to be independently regulated. POX and PAO showed peak activities at mid-milky stage (15 d post anthesis) while the activity of DAO showed continuous decline. Histochemical localization of POX and PAO in situ revealed their presence in the chalazal cell walls, crease and seed coat. Substantially higher activities of enzymes in PBW 343 correlated well with a higher degree of lignification in the chalazal cells as compared to WH 542.

The effect of plant growth regulators (PGRs), gelling agents, sucrose and heat shock on shoot multiplication, shoot growth, rooting and subsequent survival of Chlorophytum borivilianum Sant. et Fernand was evaluated. Benzyladenine (BA) was found to be better cytokinin over kinetin (KIN) for shoot multiplication. Sucrose concentrations from 116-290 mM in the basal medium (BM) promoted shoot multiplication. Heat shock (50 °C, 1 h) also promoted shoot multiplication at these sucrose concentrations on both BM medium and BM supplemented with 5.0 μM BA. Beneficial effect of sucrose was also observed on rooting of shoots on BM as well as BM supplemented with 5.0 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Phytagel as a gelling agent was found to be more effective for shoot proliferation and growth compared to agar. Amongst various soil mixtures tested, higher survival of plants was observed in soil containing Vermicompost. It was interesting to note that a maximum plant survival (> 95 %) was observed when plants were directly transferred to net-house (irradiance reduced to 50 % with green net, without humidity and temperature control) than poly-house (with humidity and temperature control). Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis of regenerated plants showed genetic similarity to mother plant.

A synthetic chimeric gene SbtCryIII(A) encoding the insecticidal protein btCryIII(A), was transformed into Pinus armandii embryos and embryogenic calli using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Polymerase chain reaction and genomic DNA Southern blot analysis showed that the SbtCryIII(A) gene was integrated into the genome of transgenic Pinus armandii plants, and Northern blot analysis indicated that the SbtCryIII(A) gene was transcribed.

The effect of foliar spray with 10^-12 M aqueous solutions of 24-epibrassinolide or a synthetic androstane analogue of castasterone on the activity of photosystem (PS) 1, the Hill reaction activity, the content of photosynthetic pigments and the specific leaf mass was examined for three different leaves developed after brassinosteroid (BR) treatment in two inbred lines of field-grown maize and their F1 hybrid. The brassinosteroids significantly affected neither the efficiency of photosynthetic electron transport, nor the content of chlorophylls or carotenoids.

In the conversion of oleic acid to linoleic acid, δ¹²-fatty acid desaturase (δ¹²-FAD) is involved. Based on the conserved oligo amino acid residues of the FAD2 genes from other plants, a new full-length cDNA (DiFAD2) encoding a δ¹²-FAD was cloned from Davidia involucrata Baill. Sequence analysis indicated that the DiFAD2 gene had an open reading frame (ORF) of 1 149 bp, coding for 382 amino acids residues of 44.3 kDa, pI of the deduced protein was 8.8. The deduced amino acid sequence of the cloned DiFAD2 showed high identities to those genes of other plant δ¹²-FAD. RT-PCR showed that DiFAD2 was expressed in all tissues and expression was abundant in young stems. Expression of DiFAD2 is not enhanced by low temperature and the altered polyunsaturated fatty acid content in leaves treated with low temperature may be due to the post-transcriptional regulation of the DiFAD2 gene or the other FAD2 gene family regulation.

Seedling hypocotyls were used as explants to establish a regeneration protocol for Eucalyptus urophylla and N-phenyl-N'-[6-(2-chlorobenzothiazol)-yl] urea (PBU), one kind of di-substituted urea, was found useful growth regulator. The hypocotyls incubated on a modified Murashige and Skoog medium (SPCa), supplemented with 6.6 μM PBU and 0.57 μM indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) dedifferentiated and form calli (100 % after 7 d). Compared with other growth regulator combinations, PBU stimulated more vigorous calli and restrained their darkening. In addition, the calli induced by PBU showed high frequency of adventitious buds formation (57%). Shoot proliferation and elongation was then stimulated on SPCa medium containing 0.44 μM 6-benzyladenine (BA), 0.54 μM naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and 0.3 μM gibberellic acid (GA3). For rooting, shoots were cultivated on root induction medium containing 2.5 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Plantlets were then successfully transplanted to greenhouse.

Plants face variable environmental stresses that negatively affect plant growth and productivity. The multiplicity of responses is an important aspect of the complexity of stress signalling. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a broad-spectrum phytohormone involved not only in regulating stomatal opening, growth and development but also in coordinating various stress signal transduction pathways in plants during abiotic stresses. The both ABA-dependent and ABA-independent signal transduction pathways from stress signal perception to gene expression involve different transcription factors such as DREB, MYC/MYB, AREB/ABF, NAM, ATAF1,2, CUC and their corresponding cis-acting elements DRE, MYCRS/MYBRS, ABRE, NACRS. Genetic analysis of ABA mutants has given insight that ABA-dependent and ABA-independent pathways for osmotic stress and cold stress interact and converge. This review focuses on ABA-dependent and ABA-independent transcriptional components and cascades, their specificity and crosstalk in stress gene regulation.

Arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) secreted by zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) cell cultures into the medium are implicated in cell proliferation. Conditioned medium derived from cell suspensions of squash cultivar Dundoo could enhance multiplication rate of slow-growing cell line Cx3005. To examine the role of AGPs, a precipitation assay was performed using Yariv reagent which binds selectively to AGPs. This AGP precipitation as well as proteinase application arrested cell division. However, chitinase treatment successfully increased embryogenic callus mass. A growth promotion was also obtained by arabinogalactan addition to the culture medium. Immunoblotting analysis using the MAC 207 anti-AGP monoclonal antibody showed high AGP expression in Dundoo cell cultures.

A simple and efficient protocol for the micropropagation of Drosera intermedia, using cultures initiated from in vitro produced seedlings, is described. Shoot proliferation was significantly influenced by Murashige and Skoog (MS) macronutrient concentration, showing higher multiplication rates for 1/4 MS (the lowest concentration), but was not affected by the addition of 0.1 mg dm^-3 kinetin. In all cases a multiplication percentage above 90 % was recorded. High rooting percentages (up to 100 %) were obtained in multiplication phase on 1/4 MS medium without growth regulators. In average 15.8 plantlets per initial shoot was produced after 8 weeks of culture. All plantlets were successfully acclimatized to ex vitro conditions, exhibiting normal development.

The effects of trehalose pretreatment on thylakoid membranes of winter wheat were investigated under heat stress. Under normal growth conditions, the winter wheat synthesized 502 μg g^-1(f.m.) trehalose, which increased to 1250 μg g^-1(f.m.) under heat stress and to 1658 μg g^-1(f.m.) in trehalose-pretreated seedlings. Under heat stress, proteins in the thylakoid membranes and the photosynthetic capacity were protected by trehalose pretreatment. Moreover, the electrolyte leakage, contents of malondialdehyde, superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide, and lipoxygenase activity in trehalose-pretreated seedlings were lower than in the non-pretreated plants.

The o-acetylserine (thiol) lyase (OAS-TL) gene is part of the plant sulfate assimilation pathway. The synthesis of cysteine, the first product of the pathway containing organic sulfur, has been previously observed to be dependent on the availability of sulfur and activity of OAS-TL. In this study, the ability of Vicia sativa L. to alter its metabolism to compensate for deficiencies brought about by sulfur stress was utilized to elucidate the functionality of Voas-tl5 (GenBank Accession No. DQ456491), a gene cloned from Vicia sativa. The transcription levels of Voas-tl5 increased in response to sulfur deficiency, indicating that the gene was active in the cysteine biosynthetic pathway.

Increased aldose reductase (ALR) activities were detected in the leaf tissues of tomato plants grown for 3 weeks in culture medium containing 10^-7 or 10^-4 M salicylic acid (SA), and in the roots after the 10^-4 M SA pretreatment. The ALR activity changed in parallel with the sorbitol content in the leaves of the SA-treated plants. Salt stress elicited by 100 mM NaCl enhanced the accumulation of sorbitol in the leaves of control plants and as compared with the untreated control the sorbitol content in the SA-pretreated leaves remained elevated under salt stress. DEAE cellulose anionexchange column purification of the protein precipitated with 80 % (NH₄)₂SO₄ revealed two enzyme fractions with ALR activity in both the leaf and the root tissues. The fraction of the leaf extract that was not bound to the column reacted with glucose and glucose-6-P as substrates, whereas glucose was not a substrate for the bound fraction or for root isoenzymes. The root enzyme was less sensitive to salt treatment: 50 mM NaCl caused 30 % inhibition in the leaf extract, whereas the enzyme activity of the root extract was not affected. It is suggested that increased ALR activity and sorbitol synthesis in the leaves of SA-treated tomato plants may result in an improved salt stress tolerance.

To further understand the process of Al-induced citrate secretion from soybean roots, the effect of protein synthesis inhibitor, anion channel blockers, and citrate carrier inhibitors on Al-induced citrate exudation was investigated in Al-resistant soybean cultivar PI 416937. Citrate exudation from roots increased with the increase of Al concentration from 10 to 50 μM and initiated after 4 h of Al exposure. Protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide (CHM; 25 μM) completely inhibited Al-induced citrate secretion during 12-h exposure, suggesting that novel protein synthesis was necessary in Al-induced citrate efflux. Also both anion channel blocker anthracene-9-carboxylic acid (A-9-C) and citrate carrier inhibitor mersalyl acid (Mersalyl) significantly reduced citrate secretion, suggesting that both anion channels in plasma membrane and citrate carriers in mitochondria membrane were the rate limiting factors of Al dependent citrate release. However, Al-induced citrate secretion was insensitive to anion channel blockers phenylglyoxal (PG), 4,4'-diisothiocyanostibene-2,2'-disulfonat (DIDS) and citrate carrier inhibitor pyridoxal 5'-P (PP).

The aim of this research was to determine whether exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) applied immediately after ex vitro transfer of in vitro grown plants can improve their acclimatization. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plantlets were transferred into pots with Perlite initially moistened either by water or 50 µM ABA solution and they were grown under low (LI) or high (HI) irradiance of 150 and 700 µmol m^-2 s^-1, respectively. Endogenous content of ABA in tobacco leaves increased considerably after ABA application and even more in plants grown under HI. Stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and net photosynthetic rate decreased considerably 1 d after ex vitro transfer and increased thereafter. The gas exchange parameters were further decreased by ABA application and so wilting of these plants was limited. Chlorophyll (a+b) and β-carotene contents were higher in ABA-treated plants, but the content of xanthophyll cycle pigments was not increased. However, the degree of xanthophyll cycle pigments deepoxidation was decreased what also suggested less stress in ABA-treated plants. No dramatic changes in most chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters after ex vitro transfer suggested that the plants did not suffer from restriction of electron transport or photosystem damage.

RAPD markers linked to beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) resistance genes were identified in two Beta vulgaris accessions Holly-1-4 and WB42 using bulked segregant analysis. The polymorphism revealed by the RAPD markers in the F₂ generations of WB42 was higher than that of Holly-1-4. The segregation distortion at marker loci was slightly lower in the B. vulgaris × B. maritima cross than in the B. vulgaris × B. vulgaris cross. For Holly-1-4, a RAPD marker was identified in a long distance from the resistance gene of Rz ₁ . However, a RAPD marker tightly linked with Rz ₂ gene in repulsion phase was detected with an approximate distance of 0.036 rf. This marker was not generation specific and showed high repeatability. The distance between Rz ₁ and Rz ₂ genes was estimated as 0.464 rf. After the Rz ₂ Rz ₂ and Rz ₂ rz ₂ genotypes were identified using ELISA values and repulsion phase RAPD markers, comparison of their ELISA means revealed lack of the gene dosage effects. Nevertheless, under the field or severe infection conditions, the difference between ELISA mean values of the Rz ₂ Rz ₂ and Rz ₂ rz ₂ genotypes might be more than that observed in this study and the gene dosage effects of Rz ₂ allele might be important.

Following leaf application of salicylic acid (SA), calcium chloride, hydrogen peroxide and 6-benzylaminopurine (BA), Manila grass (Zoysia matrella) plants were exposed to day/night temperature of 7/2 °C for 120 h in a growth chamber. The lower content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and H₂O₂ and higher activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) during exposure to low temperature in pre-treated plants in comparison with control plants demonstrated that these compounds improved the chilling tolerance of Manila grass.

Rice overexpressed thaumatin-like protein gene and the proteins from the leaf blades of 2-week-old transgenic rice seedlings were fractionated into cytosolic and membrane fractions, and separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and stained with Commassie brilliant blue. Among of 440 detected proteins, 5 proteins were up-regulated and 5 proteins were down-regulated by the overexpression of thaumatin-like protein. In the sense thaumatin-like protein transgenic rice and/or in rice inoculated with Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xo7435), 2-cys peroxiredoxin, thaumatin-like protein and glycine cleavage H protein were up-regulated, while oxygen evolving complex protein 2 was down-regulated. These results suggest that thaumatin-like protein-mediated disease resistance of rice against bacterial blight disease is the results of changes in proteins related to oxidative stress and energy metabolism in addition to changes in proteins related to defence.

Pea (Pisum sativum L., cv. Scinado) seedlings were exposed to low doses of ultraviolet-B (UV-B; 4.4 and 13.3 kJ m^-2 d^-1) or UV-C (0.1 and 0.3 kJ m^-2 d^-1) radiation for 14 d. Aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid (ACC), indoleacetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) contents were quantified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The accumulation of ACC upon irradiation was dose-dependent. ABA content was reduced and IAA content increased upon UV-C treatment whereas the UV-B doses used did not cause significant changes in ABA and IAA contents.

The ZEITLUPE (ZTL) protein is involved in the control of circadian period, hypocotyl elongation and flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana. The aim of the present work was the identification of the InZTL gene and localization of its mRNA in the model short-day plant Ipomoea nil. The deduced InZTL protein of 622 amino acid residues contained a LOV domain at the N-terminal part, followed by an F-box domain and six carboxy terminal kelch repeats. Amino acid sequence of InZTL showed 84 % homology with Mesembryanthemum crystallinum ZTL (McZTL) and 83 % with Arabidopsis thaliana ZTL (AtZTL). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to InZTL mRNA showed its high accumulation in the vascular bundles as well in the guard cells of the cotyledon. Immunolocalization of ZTL protein indicated a similar distribution pattern of ZTL protein as InZTL mRNAs.

The induction of defence compounds and enzymes involved in the phenylpropanoid pathway were studied in the ripe and green chilli fruits inoculated with Colletotrichum capsici and Alternaria alternata. Total phenols and the activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), peroxidase (PO), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and catalase (CAT) increased in the inoculated ripe and green chilli fruits compared to the corresponding healthy fruits. Total phenols and the activities of the enzymes were at the maximum 2-3 d after inoculation and thereafter declined sharply in ripe chilli fruits, whereas slowly in green chilli fruits. In comparison with ripe chilli fruits, green chilli fruits were more resistant as they showed higher accumulation of total phenols and also higher activities of enzymes.

Transgenic Podophyllum peltatum plants were successfully produced by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Embryogenic callus was co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens harboring a binary vector pBI 121 carrying β-glucuronidase (GUS) and neomycinphosphotransferase (NPT II) gene. GUS-histochemical analysis revealed that, 50 µM acetosyringone treatments during Agrobacterium infection and 3 d co-cultivation with Agrobacterium showed enhanced transformation efficiency. Percentage of GUS positive callus increased rapidly as the subculture time proceeded on selection medium containing 100 mg dm^-3 kanamycin. Kanamycin resistant somatic embryos were formed from embryogenic callus after cultivation with 11.35 µM abscisic acid (ABA) for 3 weeks and then on hormone-free selection medium. Somatic embryos were germinated and converted into plantlets on medium containing 2.89 µM gibberellic acid (GA₃). The integration of GUS and NPT II gene into transgenic plants was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and Southern analysis.

The effects of exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) on lead tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings were investigated. Pre-treatment with 0.1 g m³ ABA for 2 d restricted amount of Pb translocated from roots to shoots, decreased malondialdehyde and H₂O₂ contents in leaves, and alleviated Pb-induced decrease in plant growth and leaf chlorophyll content. Further, ABA pre-treatment adjusted leaf antioxidative enzyme activities (increased ascorbate peroxidase and catalase activities while decreased superoxide dismutase activity) and so alleviated oxidative stress.

To better understand the mechanisms involved in aluminum toxicity and tolerance in plants, microarray technology was used to evaluate changes in gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana under Al stress. With the use of Affymetrix Arabidopsis ATH1 Genechip, a comparison of RNA expression profiles was made between control and Al-treated Arabidopsis seedlings. A total of 256 genes were identified as Al-responsive. Ninety-four genes were shown to be up-regulated and 162 were down-regulated; comprising 1.1 % of the 24 000 Arabidopsis genes. Real-time RT-PCR was used to confirm the microarray data. The analysis showed that a large number of transcription factors and several putative signaling components were up-regulated by aluminum. Chloroplast structural and photosynthetic genes were, in general, down-regulated. A number of previously identified Al-responsive genes, e.g. GST, Auxin-regulated, Peroxidase, and Chitinase, were up-regulated by Al-stress, whereas Wali 3 and Wali 4 were down-regulated. We also identified several up-regulated genes involved in vacuolar signaling, sorting and docking. Three genes were also up-regulated by Al-stress, Ras GTP-binding protein, ABC-cassette binding, and the AtELP1 receptor genes, have previously been documented as responsive to drought and/or oxidative stress and may play important roles the detoxification of Al ions by transportation and storage into root vacuoles. Ultrastructural changes in the roots tips cells of Arabidopsis were evaluated using transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis with scanning electron microscopy and results showed Al accumulation in the root tips of Arabidopsis.

Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used to assess the genetic stability of long-term micropropagated plantlets of London plane tree (Platanus acerifolia Willd.). Twenty micropropagated plantlets were chosen from a clonal collection of shoots that originated from a single mother shoot. This clonal collection had been maintained under in vitro culture conditions for at least 8 years, as achieved by axillary branch multiplication. Out of 38 ISSR primers screened, 16 primers were found to produce clear reproducible bands resulting in a total of 103 distinct bands with an average of 6.44 scorable bands per primer. Of these 103 bands, 86 were monomorphic across all 20 of the plants tested and 17 showed polymorphisms (16.5 % polymorphism). Based on the ISSR band data, similarity indices between the plantlets ranged from 0.92 to 1.00. These similarity indices were used to construct an UPGMA dendrogram and demonstrated that all 20 micropropagated plants grouped together in one major cluster with a similarity level of 91 %. A total of 1771 scorable bands were obtained from the full combination of primers and plantlets and only 51 (2.88 %) were polymorphic across the plantlets which indicates that this micropropagated line of P. acerifolia is genetically stable.

Effect of long term soil salinity (control-S₀ and three levels S₁ to S₃) was studied in two maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes, PEHM 3 (comparatively tolerant) and Navjot (susceptible) at vegetative and anthesis stages during summer-rainy season. Salinity stress decreased relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoid (Car) contents, membrane stability index (MSI), potassium and calcium contents, and increased the contents of superoxide radical (O₂ ^.-), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), proline, glycinebetaine, total soluble sugars, and sodium, and Na⁺/K⁺ and Na⁺/Ca²⁺ ratios in both the genotypes. Contents of zinc, copper, manganese and iron increased up to S₂. Though under S₀ PEHM 3 had higher content of all the metals, Navjot recorded higher content of Zn at all salinity levels and contents of all metal ions at S₂ and S₃. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductase (GR) increased upto S₂ in both the genotypes, and upto S₃ in PEHM 3 at the two stages. Salinity induced decrease in RWC, Chl, Car, MSI, K⁺ and Ca²⁺ was significantly greater in Navjot, which also recorded higher Na⁺ content and Na⁺/K⁺ and Na⁺/Ca²⁺ ratios than PEHM-3. PEHM-3 recorded higher contents of proline, glycine-betaine, total soluble sugars, K⁺, Ca²⁺, activity of SOD, APX, CAT, GR, and comparatively lower O^{2 .-}, H₂O₂ and TBARS contents compared to Navjot.

In this study we examined the genetic diversity and geographic scale of genotype distribution within the model legume species Medicago truncatula widely distributed in pasture and marginal agricultural lands in Greece and other Mediterranean countries. Thirty one Medicago truncatula and Medicago littorialis accessions were chosen on the basis of their geographical distributions and studied using 9 polymorphic simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers. The number of alleles per locus varied between 3 and 7. A total of 42 alleles were detected with a mean value of 4.66 alleles per locus. Geographic origin was not related with genotypic similarity among accessions. However, there were instances of close genetic relatedness between accessions from neighboring locations in a geographic compartment. In conclusion, the presented data revealed extensive M. truncatula genotype dispersal in Greece pointing to the significance of preserving local genetic resources in their natural environment.

In over 80 % of the angiosperms, the female gametophyte is comprised of seven cells, two of which are the synergid cells. These cells are considered pivotal in assuring successful fertilization. The synergid cells direct pollen tube growth toward the female gametophyte, and facilitate the entrance of the tube into the embryo sac. Once the pollen tube enters the synergid cell, its growth is arrested, the tip of the tube breaks, and two sperm cells are released. This sequence of events is also synergid dependent. In addition, separation of the cells of the male germ unit, orientation of the two sperm cells in the degenerating synergid, and fusion of the egg and central cell with sperm cells may also be related to synergid cells. Synergid structure has been widely studied, but development and function of these cells during angiosperm fertilization remains elusive. Recent molecular approaches have provided an enhanced understanding of the role of synergid cells in fertilization. The present review summarizes the results of current studies regarding the role of synergids in angiosperm reproductive function.