Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Plant Structures”

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 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

The Structure of Plant Cell Walls: I. The Macromolecular Components of the Walls of Suspension-cultured Sycamore Cells with a Detailed Analysis of the Pectic Polysaccharides.

This is the first in a series of papers dealing with the structure of cell walls isolated from suspension-cultured sycamore cells (Acer pseudoplatanus). These studies have been made possible by the availability of purified hydrolytic enzymes and by recent improvements in the techniques of methylation analysis. These techniques have permitted us to identify and quantitate the macromolecular components of sycamore cell walls. These walls are composed of 10% arabinan, 2% 3,6-linked arabinogalactan, 23% cellulose, 9% oligo-arabinosides (attached to hydroxyproline), 8% 4-linked galactan, 10% hydroxyproline-rich protein, 16% rhamnogalacturonan, and 21% xyloglucan.The structures of the pectic polymers (the neutral arabinan, the neutral galactan, and the acidic rhamnogalacturonan) were obtained, in part, by methylation analysis of fragments of these polymers which were released from the sycamore walls by the action of a highly purified endopolygalacturonase. The data suggest a branched arabinan and a linear 4-linked galactan occurring as side chains on the rhamnogalacturonan. Small amounts or pieces of a xyloglucan, the wall hemicellulose, appear to be covalently linked to some of the galactan chains. Thus, the galactan appears to serve as a bridge between the xyloglucan and rhamnogalacturonan components of the wall.The rhamnogalacturonan consists of an alpha-(1 --> 4)-linked galacturonan chain which is interspersed with 2-linked rhamnosyl residues. The rhamnosyl residues are not randomly distributed in the chain but probably occur in units of rhamnosyl- (1 --> 4)-galacturonosyl- (1 --> 2)-rhamnosyl. This sequence appears to alternate with a homogalacturonan sequence containing approximately 8 residues of 4-linked galacturonic acid. About half of the rhamnosyl residues are branched, having a substituent attached to carbon 4. This is likely to be the site of attachment of the 4-linked galactan.The hydroxyprolyl oligo-arabinosides of the hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein contain 3-linked, 2-linked, and terminal arabinosyl residues. The structure of the hydroxyprolyl oligo-arabinosides deduced from our methylation studies agrees with the structure reported for similar oligosaccharides.

Journal Article↗

Structure of potato calmodulin PCM6: the first report of the three-dimensional structure of a plant calmodulin.

The crystal structure of a potato calmodulin (PCM6) was solved by molecular replacement and refined to a crystallographic R factor of 22.8% (R(free) = 25.0%) using X-ray diffraction data in the resolution range 8.0-2.0 A. This is the first report of the three-dimensional structure of a plant Ca(2+)-calmodulin. PCM6 crystallizes in a crystal form that belongs to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), which is different to that of most other calmodulin crystals. The main structural difference between PCM6 and the other calmodulins is in the central helix region and appears to be caused by crystal packing. The surface properties of PCM6 molecules were compared with those of animal calmodulins, which provided an explanation for the unique crystal-packing state of PCM6.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[AFLP analysis on genetic structure of planted Acacia auriculiformis population in Heshan].

AFLP analysis of Acacia auriculiformis populations in 3 different planted communities with the same provenance and same planting time indicated that the genetic heterozygosity was quite high in the plantation population. 90.73% of total genetic variance distributed within a population, while only 9.27% among populations. The most distinct genetic structural difference was found between pure plantation and legume mixed plantation, next was between legume and non-legume mixed plantation, and the most similar was between pure and non-legume mixed plantation, which revealed that the genetic variation in this Acacia auriculiformis population was relatively higher than that from the natural forests by isoenzymic analysis data. The genetic differentiation was not the result of gene flow, but the result of the artificial selection and the microenvironmental changes.

Acacia↗

The Structure of Plant Cell Walls: III. A Model of the Walls of Suspension-cultured Sycamore Cells Based on the Interconnections of the Macromolecular Components.

Degradative enzymes have been used to obtain defined fragments of the isolated cell walls of suspension-cultured sycamore cells. These fragments have been purified and structurally characterized. Fragments released from endopolygalacturonase-pretreated cell walls by a purified endoglucanase and the fragments extracted from these walls by urea and alkali provide evidence for a covalent connection between the xyloglucan and pectic polysaccharides. Fragments released by a protease from endopolygalacturonase-endoglucanase-pretreated cell walls provide evidence for a covalent connection between the pectic polysaccharides and the structural protein of the cell wall. Based on these interconnections and the strong binding which occurs between the xyloglucan and cellulose, a tentative structure of the cell wall is proposed.

Journal Article↗

Large-scale analysis of 73 329 physcomitrella plants transformed with different gene disruption libraries: production parameters and mutant phenotypes.

Gene targeting in the moss Physcomitrella patens has created a new platform for plant functional genomics. We produced a mutant collection of 73 329 Physcomitrella plants and evaluated the phenotype of each transformant in comparison to wild type Physcomitrella. Production parameters and morphological changes in 16 categories, such as plant structure, colour, coverage with gametophores, cell shape, etc., were listed and all data were compiled in a database (mossDB). Our mutant collection consists of at least 1804 auxotrophic mutants which showed growth defects on minimal Knop medium but were rescued on supplemented medium. 8129 haploid and 11 068 polyploid transformants had morphological alterations. 9 % of the haploid transformants had deviations in the leaf shape, 7 % developed less gametophores or had a different leaf cell shape. Other morphological deviations in plant structure, colour, and uniformity of leaves on a moss colony were less frequently observed. Preculture conditions of the plant material and the cDNA library (representing genes from either protonema, gametophore or sporophyte tissue) used to transform Physcomitrella had an effect on the number of transformants per transformation. We found correlations between ploidy level and plant morphology and growth rate on Knop medium. In haploid transformants correlations between the percentage of plants with specific phenotypes and the cDNA library used for transformation were detected. The number of different cDNAs present during transformation had no effect on the number of transformants per transformation, but it had an effect on the overall percentage of plants with phenotypic deviations. We conclude that by linking incoming molecular, proteome, and metabolome data of the transformants in the future, the database mossDB will be a valuable biological resource for systems biology.

Bryopsida↗

The crystal structure of plant acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase complexed with NADPH, two magnesium ions and a herbicidal transition state analog determined at 1.65 A resolution.

Acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase catalyzes the conversion of acetohydroxy acids into dihydroxy valerates. This reaction is the second in the synthetic pathway of the essential branched side chain amino acids valine and isoleucine. Because this pathway is absent from animals, the enzymes involved in it are good targets for a systematic search for herbicides. The crystal structure of acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase complexed with cofactor NADPH, Mg2+ ions and a competitive inhibitor with herbicidal activity, N-hydroxy-N-isopropyloxamate, was solved to 1.65 A resolution and refined to an R factor of 18.7% and an R free of 22.9%. The asymmetric unit shows two functional dimers related by non-crystallographic symmetry. The active site, nested at the interface between the NADPH-binding domain and the all-helical C-terminus domain, shows a situation analogous to the transition state. It contains two Mg2+ ions interacting with the inhibitor molecule and bridged by the carboxylate moiety of an aspartate residue. The inhibitor-binding site is well adjusted to it, with a hydrophobic pocket and a polar region. Only 24 amino acids are conserved among known acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase sequences and all of these are located around the active site. Finally, a 140 amino acid region, present in plants but absent from other species, was found to make up most of the dimerization domain.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

History can be more important than 'pollination syndrome' in determining the genetic structure of plant populations: the case of aconitum lycoctonum (Ranunculaceae)

The Aconitum lycoctonum complex is a widespread yellow-flowered group of species found in central and southern Europe. Because of extreme morphological variability, the systematics of this group is confusing, and hybridizations among taxa are often hypothesized. To determine whether hybridization, realized mating system within populations or colonization from different Pleistocene refugia might explain some of the morphological variation, the genetic structure of 19 populations from central and southern Europe was studied using starch gel electrophoresis and 10 enzyme loci, of which eight were polymorphic. A pattern typical of an outcrossing species was expected because A. lycoctonum flowers are adapted to pollination by long-tongued bumblebees. However, heterozygosity was very low (between 0.031 and 0.150), which is atypical of either widespread or outcrossing species. The inbreeding coefficient, FIS, also suggested inbreeding in more than half the populations. Analysis of molecular variance showed that 31% of the genetic variation is found among populations, again suggesting inbreeding. A neighbour-joining tree based on Reynolds's genetic distance showed a clear separation between the central/eastern European populations and the samples from the Iberian peninsula and Alpes Maritimes. These data are consistent with the hypothesized refugia and the phylogeographical histories of several European forest trees. The genetic identity of all populations was very high, suggesting that all investigated populations belong to the same species despite high morphological variability. Hybridization was not supported by the data.

Journal Article↗

Freeze-fracture analysis of phloem structure in plant tissue cultures. III. P-Protein, sieve area pores, and wounding.

Phloem sieve elements in small nodules of callus tissue have open sieve pores and scattered P-protein when the tissue is fixed intact. Intentionally slicing the nodules prior to fixation results in the formation of wound responses, including an alteration in P-protein distribution and the formation of plugged sieve pores. Freeze-fracture replicas show well-preserved P-protein as randomly oriented filaments in intact sieve elements. Wounded sieve elements, however, demonstrate dense bundles of oriented P-protein filaments in freeze-fracture replicas. Open pores with few P-protein filaments are seen in replicas of undamaged sieve elements. These callus nodules can be used as a model system to investigate phloem structure, function, and wounding.

Cell Membrane↗

Constituents of rosaceous plants. I. Structure of new triterpenoids from Cowania mexicana.

In our search for possible anti-tumor-promoters, we carried out an investigation of the leaves and branches of Cowania mexicana D. DON (Rosaceae). Two new cucurbitane type triterpenes, 15-oxo-cucurbitacin F (3) and 15-oxo-23,24-dihydrocucurbitacin F (4), were isolated together with cucurbitacin F (1) and 23,24-dihydrocucurbitacin F (2). These triterpenes were inhibitorss of Epstein-Barr virus early antigen activation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, a well-known tumor-promoter. The structures of 3 and 4 were determined from 2D-NMR spectral data and difference NOE experiments.

Anticarcinogenic Agents↗

Interspecific evolution in plant microsatellite structure.

Several intragenically linked microsatellites have been identified in the floral regulatory genes A. sandwicense APETALA1 (ASAP1) and A. sandwicense APETALA3/TM6 (ASAP3/TM6) in 17 species of the Hawaiian and North American Madiinae (Asteraceae). Thirty-nine microsatellite loci were observed in the introns of these two genes, suggesting that they are hotspots for microsatellite formation. The sequences of four of these microsatellites were mapped onto the phylogenies of these floral regulatory genes, and the structural evolution of these repeat loci was traced. Both nucleotide substitutions and insertion/deletion mutations may be responsible for the formation of perfect microsatellites from imperfect repeat regions (and vice versa).

Carrier Proteins↗

Comparative effects of pollen and seed migration on the cytonuclear structure of plant populations. I. Maternal cytoplasmic inheritance.

We explicitly solve and analyze a series of deterministic continent-island models to delimit the effects of pollen and seed migration on cytonuclear frequencies and disequilibria in random-mating, mixed-mating and self-fertilized populations. Given the critical assumption of maternal cytoplasmic inheritance, five major findings are (i) nonzero cytonuclear disequilibria will be maintained in the island population if and only if at least some migration occurs each generation through seeds with nonrandom cytonuclear associations; (ii) immigrant seeds with no cytonuclear disequilibria can strongly affect the genetic structure of the island population by generating significant and long-lasting transient associations; (iii) with all else being equal, substantially greater admixture disequilibria are generally found with higher rates of seed migration into, or higher levels of self-fertilization within, the island population (with the possible exception of the heterozygote disequilibrium); (iv) pollen migration can either enhance or reduce the cytonuclear disequilibria caused by seed migration, or that due to mixed-mating in the absence of seed migration, but the effect is usually small and appears primarily to make a noticeable difference in predominantly outcrossing populations; and (v) pollen migration alone cannot generate even transient disequilibria de novo in populations with completely random associations. This same basic behavior is exhibited as long as there is some random outcrossing in the island population. Self-fertilized populations represent a special case, however, in that they are necessarily closed to pollen migration, and nonzero disequilibria can be maintained even in the absence of seed migration. All of these general results hold whether the population is censused as adults or as seeds, but the ability to detect nonrandom cytonuclear associations can depend strongly on the life stage censused in populations with a significant level of random outcrossing. We suggest how these models might be used for the estimation of seed and pollen migration.

Cell Nucleus↗

The Structure of Plant Cell Walls: VII. Barley Aleurone Cells.

The walls of barley (Hordeum vulgare var. Himalaya) aleurone cells are composed of two major polysaccharides, arabinoxylan (85%) and cellulose (8%). The cell wall preparations contain 6% protein, but this protein does not contain detectable amounts of hydroxyproline. The arabinoxylan has a linear 1,4-xylan backbone; 33% of the xylosyl residues are substituted at the 2 and/or 3 position with single arabinofuranosyl residues. The results of in vitro cellulose binding experiments support the hypothesis that noncovalent bonds between the arabinoxylan chains and cellulose fibers play a part in maintaining wall structure. It is suggested that bonding between the arabinoxylan chains themselves is also utilized in forming the walls.

Journal Article↗