Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “vascular bundle”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Rice ENOD40: isolation and expression analysis in rice and transgenic soybean root nodules.

The early nodulin ENOD40 has been proposed as playing a pivotal role in the organogenesis of legume root nodules. We have isolated the ENOD40 gene homologues ObENOD40 and OsENOD40 from the wild and cultivated rice genotypes Oryza brachyantha and Oryza sativa, respectively. Rice ENOD40s contain a sequence at the 5' end (region I) for encoding an oligopeptide that is highly conserved in all legume ENOD40s. Furthermore, at the 3' end (region II), the nucleotide sequence of rice ENOD40s exhibited a considerable homology to the corresponding region in legume ENOD40s. Among various organs of the rice plant, expression of OsENOD40 was detected only in stems. In situ hybridization studies revealed that, within the stem, transcription of OsENOD40 is confined to parenchyma cells surrounding the protoxylem during the early stages of development of lateral vascular bundles that conjoin an emerging leaf. Expression pattern of OsENOD40 promoter-GUS fusion in nodules developed on transgenic hairy roots of soybean was also found to be restricted to peripheral cells of nodule vascular bundles, thus evidencing that rice ENOD40 promoter activity is essentially the same as that of soybean ENOD40. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that OsENOD40 and legume ENOD40s share common, if not identical, functions in differentiation and/or function of vascular bundles.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Ficus rubiginosa 'variegata', a chlorophyll-deficient chimera with mosaic patterns created by cell divisions from the outer meristematic layer.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sections leaves of Ficus rubiginosa 'Variegata' show that it is a chimera with a chlorophyll deficiency in the second layer of the leaf meristem (GWG structure). Like other Ficus species, it has a multiseriate epidermis on the adaxial and abaxial sides of the leaf, formed by periclinal cell divisions as well as anticlinal divisions. The upper and lower laminae of the leaf often exhibit small dark and light green patches of tissue overlying internal leaf tissue. METHODS: The distribution of chlorophyll in transverse sections of typical leaves was determined by fluorescence microscopy. KEY RESULTS: Patches of dark and light green tissue which arise in the otherwise colourless palisade and spongy mesophyll tissue in the entire leaf are due to further cell divisions arising from the bundle sheath which is associated with major vascular bundles or from the green multiseriate epidermis. Leaves produced in winter exhibit more patches of green tissue than leaves which expand in mid-summer. Many leaves produced in summer have no spotting and appear like a typical GWG chimera. There is a strong relationship between the number of patches on the adaxial side of leaves and the number on the abaxial side, showing that the cell division in upper and lower layers of leaves is strongly coordinated. In both winter and summer, there are fewer patches on the abaxial side of leaves compared with the adaxial side, indicating that periclinal and anticlinal cell divisions from the outer meristematic layer are less frequent in the lower layers of leaf tissue. Most of the patches are small (<1 mm in longest dimension) and thus the cell divisions which form them occur late in leaf development. Leaves which exhibit large patches generally have them on both sides of the leaves. CONCLUSION: In this cultivar, the outer meristematic layer appears to form vascular bundle sheaths and associated internal leaf tissue in the entire leaf lamina.

Cell Division↗

[Kidney medullary hypoxia: a key to understanding acute renal failure?].

The ability to produce a concentrated urine is imposed by a uniquely low ambient oxygen pressure in the renal medulla due to shunt diffusion within the vascular bundles. As the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (TAL-segment) is able to glycolyse anaerobically, a phase of oxygen deficiency may be bridgespanned. It allows an exceptionally high oxygen extraction of 80% in this area. If oxygen capacity is reduced systematically, which can be effected in the isolated kidney model by using cell free perfusate, a typical pattern of lesions occur in TAL-segments. Segments near vascular bundles remain intact, as they take advantage from a radial oxygen diffusion originating from vascular bundles. The extent of lesions is increasing directed to the inner medulla due to the reduction of oxygen pressure, whereas lesions are not present in the inner medulla itself. Cells of TAL-segments are swelling during oxygen deficiency, when transport work surpasses the available energy necessary due to the luminal fluid inflow. Lesions could be prevented, when oxygen capacity was enhanced by adding erythrocytes or when transport was blocked by furosemide. Swollen cells in TAL-segments however are able to aggravate medullary hypoxia by an outflow block in vivo. Secondly, it can be demonstrated, that oxygen shunt diffusion is not only present in renal medulla but also within renal cortex especially as a preglomerular diffusion shunt for blood gases. Thus PCO2 has been measured to be 65 mmHg in the outermost cortical zone and thereby some 20 mmHg higher than renal venous blood.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acute Kidney Injury↗

A cell wall protein down-regulated by auxin suppresses cell expansion in Daucus carota (L.).

We investigated the function of the auxin-regulated cell wall gene DC 2.15, a member of a small gene family, present in Daucus carota (L.) and other plants. Cultured cells derived from carrot hypocotyls transformed by the DC 2.15 cDNA in antisense direction were ten-fold longer than wild-type cells, indicating a function of the corresponding protein in suppression of cell expansion. The analysis of carrot plants expressing the DC2.15 gene in antisense direction showed that the corresponding protein and/or related proteins probably are involved in leaf and vascular bundle development. The antisense plants generally displayed a retarded growth phenotype and delayed greening in comparison to wild-type plants. The asymmetric architecture of the wild-type leaves was degenerated in the DC 2.15 antisense plants and the leaves showed a torsion within and along their major vein. The vascular bundles showed a lowered ratio of the phloem/xylem area in cross sections of the leaf middle vein whereas the bundle sheath and the cambium showed no obvious phenotype. Expression of a promoter-GUS construct was found primarily in vascular bundles of stems, leaves and in the nectar-producing flower discs. The observed pleiotropic antisense phenotype indicates, by loss of function, that one or several related cell wall proteins of this gene family are necessary to realize several complex developmental processes.

Cell Size↗

A Variation of C(4) Leaf Anatomy in Arundinella hirta (Gramineae).

The species Arundinella hirta L. posseses a striking variation of the leaf anatomy that is characteristic of C(4) grasses. In addition to a sheath of large, bright green cells around the vascular bundles, there are strands of large parenchyma cells which appear identical to the bundle sheath cells and which run parallel to the vascular bundles, but which are not associated with any vascular tissue. This species may be useful for studying the cellular compartmentalization associated with the C(4) pathway and should provide interesting material for determining the role of translocation in the functioning of the C(4) system.

Journal Article↗

[Anatomy and uses of the mature leaves of three species of Sabal (Arecaceae) of the Yucatan, México].

This paper describes the leaf anatomy of Sabal mauritiiformis (Karst.) Griseb. & H. Wendl., Sabal mexicana Mart. and Sabal yapa Wright ex Becc., three of the four most representative species of the Yucatán Península, in Mexico. These species are locally used: in the roofing of traditional homes, as food (fruits and apical buds), and in the production of hats, brooms and handicrafts. Leaf samples were collected in secondary growth of lower montane rainforest in the state of Quintana Roo and in two home gardens in the state of Yucatán. Herbarium samples were obtained, and samples of blade and petiole were fixed in formaline-acetic acid-alcohol. Cross incisions were made on the blade and petiole, and were dyed with safranin and toluidine blue O. The results show that S. mauritiiformis and S. yapa are morphologically alike: both are tall, slim palm trees; the leaf in S. mauritiiformis is a shorter palm-like structure compared with the other two species. The shape of the main nerve, as seen in cross section, is rectangular in the three species. The hastula in the three species is acuminate and adaxial. The foliar anatomic structure is similar in the three species, although there are some differences. The adaxial an abaxial epidermis of the blade consist of one layer and, superficially, the anticlinal walls are straight; the stomata are intercostal, of the tetracytic type, present on both surfaces in S. mexicana and S. yapa and only on the abaxial surface on S. mauritiiformis. The hypodermis is one layer thick in S. yapa and in S. mexicana and two layers thick in S. mauritiiformis. In the three species the palisade parenchyma consists of several undefined strata as the cells are similar-in shape and size--to the cells in the spongy parenchyma, so there is no marked difference between these strata and the spongy parenchyma seems almost continuous. Both fibrous and vascular bundles are distributed between the hypodermis and the palisade parenchyma; the fiber bundles can be found towards the abaxial surface while the vascular and fiber bundles are located towards the adaxial surface. The fibers, in the three species, are elongated, with the pointed tips, undivided and unseptated. One to three wide vessels of metaxilem can be seen in the vascular bundles, those in S. yapa being the widest in diameter. The vascular bundles are surrounded by thick fiber sheaths which come in pairs. The anatomic structure of the petiole is similar to that of the blade, and is characterized by the many vascular and fiber bundles dispersed in the parenchymatous tissue, and which are very resistant. The histological structure of the blade and petiole reflects strength and flexibility, qualities which make these plants adequate in the construction of roofs for rural housing and other buildings.

Arecaceae↗

A model of nitric oxide tubulovascular cross talk in a renal outer medullary cross section.

We developed a two-dimensional model of NO transport in a cross section of the inner stripe (IS) of the rat outer medulla to determine whether tubular and vascular generation of NO result in significant NO concentration (C(NO)) differences between the periphery and the center of vascular bundles and thereby affect medullary blood flow distribution. Following the approach of Layton and Layton (Layton AT, Layton HE. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 289: F1346-F1366, 2006), the structural heterogeneity of the IS was incorporated in a representative unit consisting of four concentric regions centered on a vascular bundle. Our model suggests that the diffusion distance of NO in the interstitium is limited to a few micrometers. We predict that, under basal conditions, epithelial NO generation raises the average C(NO) in pericytes surrounding peripheral descending vasa recta (DVR) by a few nanomoles relative to that in pericytes surrounding central DVR. The short descending limbs and long ascending limbs are found to exert the greatest effect on C(NO) in pericytes; long descending limbs and short ascending limbs only have a moderate effect, whereas outer medullary collecting ducts, which are situated far from the vascular bundle center, do not affect pericyte C(NO). Our results suggest that selective stimulation of epithelial NO production should significantly raise the periphery-to-center DVR diameter ratio, thereby increasing the outer medulla-to-inner medulla blood flow ratio. However, concomitant increases in epithelial superoxide (O(2)(-)) production would counteract this effect. This model confirms the importance of NO and O(2)(-) interactions in mediating tubulovascular cross talk.

Animals↗

Companion-Cell Specific Localization of Sucrose Synthase in Zones of Phloem Loading and Unloading.

An immunohistochemical approach was used in maize (Zea mays) and citrus (Citrus paradisi) to address the previously noted association between sucrose synthase and vascular bundles and to determine the localization of the low but detectable levels of sucrose synthase that remain in leaves after the import-export transition. Sucrose synthase protein was immunolocalized at the light microscope level using paraffin sections reacted with rabbit sucrose synthase polyclonal antisera and gold-conjugated goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G. Immunolabel was specifically observed in phloem companion cells of minor and intermediate veins in mature leaves of both species. Similar localization was apparent in the midrib of mature citrus leaves, with additional labeling in selected files of phloem parenchyma cells. A clear companion-cell specificity was evident in the phloem unloading zone of citrus fruit, where high activity of sucrose synthase has been demonstrated in vascular bundles during periods of rapid import. Sucrose synthase protein was not associated with adjacent cells surrounding the vascular strands in this tissue. The companion-cell specificity of sucrose synthase in phloem of both importing and exporting structures of these diverse species implies that this may be a widespread association and underscores its potential importance to the physiology of vascular bundles.

Journal Article↗

Integrated study of the structural and metabolic degeneration of skin during 4 degrees C storage in nutrient medium.

Integrated studies of the structural and metabolic degradation of skin during 4 degrees C refrigerated storage in Eagle's minimal essential medium were undertaken. Skin degeneration occurred in three phases during the first 7 weeks of refrigeration. Phase I (Days 1-10) was characterized by the release of cellular debris and leakage of intracellular enzymes into the storage medium, shrinkage of the epithelium, and vacuolization and cell loss in the vascular bundles of the papillary dermis. The release of debris was accelerated by a 2-hr incubation of the skin at 25 and 37 degrees C prior to 4 degrees C storage. The ability of dermal cells to metabolize glucose, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, ornithine, and orotic acid to carbon dioxide dropped to low levels during Phase I. Phase II (Days 11-30) was characterized by a period of less intense physical decay, but with continued cellular and vascular degeneration. By the third week, there was nearly total loss of recognizable vascular bundles in the papillary dermis. Phase III (Days 31-58) was characterized by the exfoliation of large amounts of cellular debris and significant loss of structural integrity. By the fifth week, nearly all of the nuclei in the epidermis became pyknotic, and the vascular bundles of the reticular dermis were lost. Previous reports of the maximum allowable duration of skin storage at 0-8 degrees C have ranged from 0.3 to 185 days; however, our findings suggest that the useful limit of refrigerated skin storage in nutrient medium is 1 week if physiological function and structural integrity are desired for optimum postgraft performance.

Animals↗

Taxonomic significance of leaf anatomy of Aniselytron (Poaceae) as an evidence to support its generic validity against Calamagrostis s. l.

A comparative study of leaf anatomy on Aniselytron Merr. and Calamagrostis Adans. s. l. was conducted to review the systematic status of Aniselytron Merr. Calamagrostis s. l. exhibits wide variation in many features, but basic leaf structures of the genus remain constant: absence of a midrib-keel; median and large vascular bundles are central, with double sheaths, accompanied by girders both adaxially and abaxially; prickles have a bulbous base and are not sunken; the abaxial epidermal cells are short and wide and relatively thick-walled. Aniselytron differs from Calamagrostis s. l. in: midrib-keel is present, consisting of a large central bundle with small ones on either side; all vascular bundles are abaxially situated, with abaxial girders only, parenchyma takes the place of the adaxial sclerenchyma; the bases of the prickles are sunken and are not bulbous; the abaxial epidermal cells are tall and thin-walled. These distinct anatomical features, in combination with the differences in spikelet structure and habitat, suggest that Aniselytron should be generically separated from and not merged with Calamagrostis s. l. Due to the adaxial parenchyma in the midrib which has never been found in Pooideae, Aniselytron might have a relationship with some other subfamily.

Plant Epidermis↗

[Morphological and histological studies of the Chinese drug lao-guan-cao].

Lao-guan-cao has long been used in Chinese traditional medicine. It is used as an antirheumatic and circulation promoting drug for the treatment of acute and chronic rheumatalgia; also used as a detoxicant for enteritis and bacillary dysentery. The dried aerial parts of Erodium stephanianum Willd. and Geranium wilfordii Maxim. (family Geraniaceae) have been specified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (1990 ed.) According to the literature and the authors' market investigations, the commercial drug Lao-guan-cao chiefly consists of the aerial parts of Erodium stephanianum Willd. Also those rather popularly used in several provinces are the aerial parts of Geranium nepalense Sweet and G. sibiricum L. In this paper, the morphological and histological characters of the crude drugs derived from E. stephanianum Willd., G.nepalense Sweet and G.sibiricum L. are described. It is found that the following characters are useful for distinguishing the drugs derived from the above mentioned three species. (1) The shape and size of leaf; (2) the number and arrangement of the vascular bundles of stem; (3) the number of the vascular bundles in midrib and layers of palisade cells of leaf; (4) the presence or absence of stomata in upper epidermis; (5) the characters of cells containing crystals in sepal; (6) the characters of epidermis cells, cells containing crystals and fibers of pericarp; (7) the types of hairs and glandular hairs on epidermis of stem, leaf, sepal and pericarp; (8) the characters of anticlinal walls of epidermal cells of seed coat.

Drugs, Chinese Herbal↗

Sucrose-metabolizing enzymes in transport tissues and adjacent sink structures in developing citrus fruit.

Juice tissues of citrus lack phloem; therefore, photosynthates enroute to juice sacs exit the vascular system on the surface of each segment. Areas of extensive phloem unloading and transport (vascular bundles + segment epidermis) can thus be separated from those of assimilate storage (juice sacs) and adjacent tissues where both processes occur (peel). Sugar composition, dry weight accumulation, and activities of four sucrose-metabolizing enzymes (soluble and cell-wall-bound acid invertase, alkaline invertase, sucrose synthase, and sucrose phosphate synthase) were measured in these transport and sink tissues of grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) to determine more clearly whether a given enzyme appeared to be more directly associated with assimilate transport versus deposition or utilization. Results were compared at three developmental stages. Activity of sucrose (per gram fresh weight and per milligram protein) extracted from zones of extensive phloem unloading and transport was significantly greater than from adjacent sink tissues during the stages (II and III) when juice sacs grow most rapidly. In stage II fruit, activity of sucrose synthase also significantly surpassed that of all other sucrose-metabolizing enzymes in extracts from the transport tissues (vascular bundles + segment epidermis). In contrast, sucrose phosphate synthase and alkaline invertase at this stage of growth were the most active enzymes from adjacent, rapidly growing, phloem-free sink tissues (juice sacs). Activity of these two enzymes in extracts from juice sacs was significantly greater than that form the transport tissues (vascular bundles + segment epidermis). Soluble acid invertase was the most active enzyme in extracts from all tissues of very young fruit (stage I), including nonvascular regions, but nearly disappeared prior to the onset of juice sac sugar accumulation. The physiological function of high sucrose synthase activity in the transport tissues during rapid sucrose import remains to be determined.

Journal Article↗

Isolation of COV1, a gene involved in the regulation of vascular patterning in the stem of Arabidopsis.

The molecular mechanisms that control the ordered patterning of vascular tissue development in plants are not well understood. Several models propose a two-component system for vascular differentiation. These components include an inducer of vascular tissue development and an inhibitor that prevents the formation of vascular bundles near pre-existing bundles. We have identified two recessive allelic mutants in Arabidopsis, designated continuous vascular ring (cov1), that display a dramatic increase in vascular tissue development in the stem in place of the interfascicular region that normally separates the vascular bundles. The mutant plants exhibited relatively normal vascular patterning in leaves and cotyledons. Analysis of the interaction of cov1 with a known auxin signalling mutant and direct analysis of auxin concentrations suggests that cov1 affects vascular pattering by some mechanism that is independent of auxin. The COV1 protein is predicted to be an integral membrane protein of unknown function, highly conserved between plants and bacteria. In plants, COV1 is likely to be involved in a mechanism that negatively regulates the differentiation of vascular tissue in the stem.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Developmentally regulated expression of two MADS-box genes, MdMADS3 and MdMADS4, in the morphogenesis of flower buds and fruits in apple.

Two MADS-box genes, MdMADS3 and MdMADS4, were isolated from the apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) cultivar Fuji, and their spatial and temporal expression patterns were studied during morphological differentiation of the flower buds and the fruits. Both MdMADS3 and MdMADS4 showed high sequence similarities to FBP2 from petunia, TM5 from tomato, and AGL2, AGL4 from Arabidopsis. Although MdMADS3 was expressed in the inner three whorls of the floral primordium, its expression was hardly detectable in developing fruit. The second gene, MdMADS4, was ubiquitously expressed in the inflorescence meristem, floral meristem, all four floral organs, and fruit. Moreover, MdMADS4 expression was high in the vascular bundles assigned to the floral tube and the carpellary vascular bundles in fruit at early developmental stages. The MdMADS4 transcript also accumulated in embryos of the developing seeds. These results suggest that MdMADS3 and MdMADS4 are involved in different functions, and that MdMADS4 may function in the important events controlling flower and fruit development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Anatomically preserved Woodwardia virginica (Blechnaceae) and a new filicalean fern from the middle Miocene Yakima Canyon flora of central Washington, USA.

Anatomically preserved Woodwardia virginica (Blechnaceae) and a newly recognized onocleoid fern are described from the middle Miocene Yakima Canyon flora of central Washington State, USA. Identification of the W. virginica fossils is based on a combination of vegetative pinnules, rhizome and stipe anatomy, and fertile pinnules with indusiate sori and sporangia like those of extant W. virginica. Fronds are isomorphic. Vegetative pinnae are elongated and pinnatifid, with a secondary vein paralleling the midvein. Secondary veins of the pinnule lobe anastomose to form primary areoles and are either simple or dichotomize toward the margin. Rhizomes have a simple dictyostele with 3-5 cauline vascular bundles and often a sclerotic hypodermis. Leaf traces contain two large adaxial vascular bundles that occur laterally and adaxially, flanking an arc of 4-6 smaller bundles. Fertile pinnules have linear sori that are somewhat embedded in the laminae and are enclosed by a thin indusium. Leptosporangia display a vertical annulus and an elongated stalk. A second fern, Wessiea yakimaensis gen. et sp. nov., is represented by anatomically preserved branching rhizomes and attached frond bases that conform to the Onoclea-type pattern of rhizome and frond-base vasculature. Rhizomes have a simple dictyostele of 4-5 cauline meristeles. Leaf divergence is helical, with paired hippocampiform rachial traces. These two ferns occur in the same matrix with specimens of Osmunda wehrii. They demonstrate that filicalean fern assemblages similar to those of extant temperate floras were well established in western North America by the middle Miocene and further emphasize the exceptional species longevity of some homosporous pteridophytes.

Journal Article↗

Reconstruction of elbow flexion, wrist and finger extension by transposition of pedicled latissimus dorsi muscle and flexor carpi ulnaris muscle.

The technique of restoring extension of the hand and fingers is described in an inveterate injury of the brachial plexus. The insertion of m. flexor carpi ulnaris was transferred with an intact nervous and vascular supply to different tendons of the m. extensor digitorum closely above the retinaculum extensorum. The muscle strength was 4--using Janda's muscle test. Dorsal flexion of the hand was possible from the basic position, with extension of the fingers to their full extent. Anatomical investigation revealed that the mean length of the caput humerale m. flexor carpi ulnaris is 26.5 cm, the number of final nerve branches 2-3, the mean length of the nerves varies between 1.3-2.3 cm, the vascular supply is in 90% directly from the ulnar artery. In 10% of dissections the vascular supply is from the anterior ulnar recurrent artery. The length of the vascular bundle is 3.2 cm. In 10% of upper extremities examined an additional vascular bundle was present which was 2 cm distal from the main hilus, also from the a. ulnaris. The pattern of the neurovascular supply is no impediment for the transposition of the insertion tendon into the regio antebrachii posterior. The transfer of the insertion tendon of the m. flexor carpi ulnaris in inveterate injuries of the brachial plexus is a useful alternative for the reconstruction of nerves to restore the extension of the hand and fingers.

Elbow Joint↗

Autoradiographic analysis of the distribution of beta-adrenoceptors in the dog splenic vasculature.

The technique of in vitro labelling and autoradiography has been used to localize beta-adrenoceptors in sections of the splenic vascular bundle of the dog. Binding of (-)-[125I]-cyanopindolol (Cyp) to sections of splenic vascular bundle equilibrated within 150 min and slowly dissociated after addition of (-)-propranolol. The process was saturable with a dissociation constant (KD) of 40.3 +/- 4.4 pM and Bmax of 18.9 +/- 1.7 fM (in 6 sections). Binding to sections was stereoselective, the (-)-isomer of propranolol being 90 times more effective than the (+)-isomer in competing for (-)-[125I]-Cyp binding. Delineation of beta-adrenoceptor subtypes using the selective antagonists betaxolol (beta 1) and ICI 118,551 (beta 2) indicated that the receptors present were almost exclusively of the beta 2-subtype. Autoradiographic studies under the conditions evaluated in the biochemical experiments showed that beta-adrenoceptors are unevenly distributed in the dog splenic vein, artery and associated nerve bundles. High concentrations of receptors are associated with the splenic nerves and lower but still significant concentrations in the vasculature. Higher resolution studies with nuclear emulsion coated coverslips revealed concentrations of beta-adrenoceptors over cells adjacent to the lumen in veins. In arteries most beta-adrenoceptors were found associated with the medial layer with fewer receptors towards the intima or adventitia. Serial sections of either artery or vein incubated with (-)-[125I]-Cyp in the presence of (-)-propranolol showed low levels of non-localized binding.

Animals↗

Specificity of a promoter from the rice tungro bacilliform virus for expression in phloem tissues.

The major promoter region for the transcription of the genome of rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV), a newly described badnavirus, has been identified. Fragments of the RTBV genome upstream of the site of transcription initiation were isolated and tested for promoter activity using a beta-glucuronidase receptor gene (gusA). Assays of transient gusA expression were performed following introduction of the chimeric gene into protoplasts via electroporation. The chimeric RTBV-promoter: gusA gene was more active in rice protoplasts than in maize or tobacco protoplasts, but was weaker than gusA controlled by an enhanced 35S promoter from cauliflower mosaic virus. Analysis of gusA gene expression following introduction of chimeric reporter genes into intact leaves via micro-projectile bombardment indicated that the GUS activity is present primarily in vascular tissues. Transgenic rice plants carrying the chimeric gusA gene had GUS activity only in the phloem of the vascular bundles in the leaf. Tissue printing studies demonstrated that RTBV accumulates in the vascular bundles of infected rice leaves. The results of our study indicate that phloem-specific expression from the RTBV promoter is an intrinsic property of the viral promoter.

Base Sequence↗