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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Caffeine: a well known but little mentioned compound in plant science.

Caffeine, a purine alkaloid, is a key component of many popular drinks, most notably tea and coffee, yet most plant scientists know little about its biochemistry and molecular biology. A gene from tea leaves encoding caffeine synthase, an N-methyltransferase that catalyses the last two steps of caffeine biosynthesis, has been cloned and the recombinant enzyme produced in E. coli. Similar genes have been isolated from coffee leaves but the recombinant protein has a different substrate specificity to the tea enzyme. The cloning of caffeine biosynthesis genes opens up the possibility of using genetic engineering to produce naturally decaffeinated tea and coffee.

Biotechnology↗
PubMed1999

Zinc-finger proteins: the classical zinc finger emerges in contemporary plant science.

TFIIIA-type zinc fingers have been found in a number of eucaryotic transcription factors as DNA-binding motifs. In plants, as many as 30 proteins have been reported that have either one, two, three or four zinc fingers. Plant zinc-finger proteins are characterized by long spacers of diverse lengths between adjacent fingers and a highly conserved sequence, QALGGH, located within a putative DNA-contacting surface of each finger. In vitro DNA-binding experiments with two-fingered proteins of petunia have revealed that these proteins bind to target DNA sequences in a manner that is distinctive from that of their animal counterparts: (1) they specifically recognize the spacing between two core sites in target DNA, (2) they have a unique base-determinant position. Regulatory functions have been assigned to some of the TFIIIA-type zinc finger proteins in Arabidopsis, petunia and chinese cabbage. SUPERMAN, AtZFP1, PetSPL3 and BcZFP1 have been implicated in the developmental regulation of various floral and vegetative organs, presumably through the control of cell division and/or expansion in particular cell types. Several anther-specific zinc-finger proteins in petunia are presumed to be involved in the regulation of gametogenesis in both reproductive and non-reproductive tissues of anther. STZ and ZPT2-2 are implicated in the response of plants to or tolerance for various stresses.

DNA-Binding Proteins↗
PubMed2006

Quantum dots--a versatile tool in plant science?

An optically stable, novel class of fluorophores (quantum dots) for in situ hybridisation analysis was tested to investigate their signal stability and intensity in plant chromosome analyses. Detection of hybridisation sites in situ was based on fluorescence from streptavidin-linked inorganic crystals of cadmium selenide. Comparison of quantum dots (QDs) with conventional detection systems (Alexa 488) in immunolabeling experiments demonstrated greater sensitivity than the conventional system. In contrast, detection of QDs in in situ hybridisation of several plant chromosomes, using several high-copy sequences, was less sensitive than Alexa 488. Thus, semiconductor nanocrystal fluorophores are more suitable for immunostaining but not for in situ hybridisation of plant chromosomes.

Journal Article↗