Contents
Original Papers
Evaluation of genetic relationships in Plantago species using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers
Sanghamitra Samantaray, Urvik M. Dhagat, Satyabrata Maiti. . . . . . . 297 [PDF]
Genetic relationships in seven species of Plantago using RAPD markers showed a wide genetic variation between and among them. Thus, RAPD markers have the potential for conservation of identified clones and evaluation of genetic variation/relatedness among the species.
Microscale alkaline nitrobenzene oxidation method for high-throughput determination of lignin aromatic components
Masaomi Yamamura, Takefumi Hattori, Shiro Suzuki, Daisuke Shibata, Toshiaki Umezawa. . . . . . . 305 [PDF]
The conventional nitrobenzene oxidation method has several drawbacks including the requirement of a sizeable amount of sample material and the rather slow completion of the reaction process. In the present study, we established a microscale nitrobenzene oxidation method using deuterium-labeled internal standards.
NAD+-malic enzyme affects nitrogenase activity of Mesorhizobium loti bacteroids in Lotus japonicus nodules
Nanthipak Thapanapongworakul, Mika Nomura, Yoshikazu Shimoda, Shusei Sato, Satoshi Tabata, Shigeyuki Tajima. . . . . . . 311 [PDF]
A Gram-negative bacterium, Mesorhizobium loti, contains a NADP+-malic enzyme (mlr5329) and a malate oxidoreductase (mlr0809) in the genome. The nodules induced by malate oxidoreductase mutants failed to fix N2, although NADP+-malic enzyme (NADP+-ME) mutants induced nodules exhibiting no change in nodule nitrogenase activity.
Molecular and functional characterization of novel furofuran-class lignan glucosyltransferases from Forsythia
Eiichiro Ono, Hyun Jung Kim, Jun Murata, Kinuyo Morimoto, Atsushi Okazawa, Akio Kobayashi, Toshiaki Umezawa, Honoo Satake. . . . . . . 317 [PDF]
Forsythia plants produce a plenty amount of various lignan glycosides. Through the biochemical and expression analyses, we show that UGT71A17 and UGT71A18 encode lignan glucosyltransferases which are, in part, responsible for accumulation of lignan glycosides in Forsythia.
Isolation and characterization of formaldehyde-responsive genes from golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
Yuichi Tada, Tomoya Matsuzaki, Yuya Tanaka. . . . . . . 325 [PDF]
To investigate the effect of formaldehyde on gene expression in plants, we searched for formaldehyde-responsive genes in golden pothos using differential screening, and identified two genes. One of them encoded a putative class II chitinase, and the other one was represented by an unknown open reading frame.
Gene dosage and genetic background affect miraculin accumulation in transgenic tomato fruits
You-Wang Kim, Tadayoshi Hirai, Kazuhisa Kato, Kyoko Hiwasa-Tanase, Hiroshi Ezura. . . . . . . 333 [PDF]
We generated hybrid tomato lines between miraculin accumulating transgenic tomato and six pure line cultivars, and evaluated for their miraculin accumulation. The miraculin productivity of hybrid lines was affected by the gene dosage and genetic background.
Short Communications
Mycorrhizal colonization of transgenic Eucalyptus camaldulensis carrying the mangrin gene for salt tolerance
Kipkorir E. Lelmen, Xiang Yu, Akira Kikuchi, Takayoshi Shimazaki, Makiko Mimura, Kazuo N. Watanabe. . . . . . . 339 [PDF]
The interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were evaluated with salt-tolerant transgenic Eucalyptus camaldulensis transformed with the mangrin gene. These transformants were substantially equivalent to nontransformants in terms of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization under both saline and nonsaline conditions.
Gene Note
Phenome Analysis of Root Development in Arabidopsis
Masahiro Yuguchi, Takuro Yokouchi, Rumi Tominaga-Wada, Takashi Kuromori, Kazuo Shinozaki, Kiyotaka Okada, Takuji Wada. . . . . . . 345 [PDF]
Mutant lines covering all Arabidopsis genes allow us to pursue systematic functional genomics. A comprehensive phenotypic description, called phenome, is highly sought after in the profiling of -omics date. We totally observed root-phenotypes of 1817 lines, and identified seven phenotypes in roots.
Technical Note
The floral inoculating protocol: a simplified Arabidopsis thaliana transformation method modified from floral dipping
Mari Narusaka, Tomonori Shiraishi, Masaki Iwabuchi, Yoshihiro Narusaka. . . . . . . 349 [PDF]
We established that A. thaliana can be transformed by inoculating 5 μl of Agrobacterium cell suspension in flower buds, thus avoiding the use of large volumes of Agrobacterium culture. This method reduces the required workload, cost, time, and space. Furthermore, an important aspect of this modified protocol is that it allows many independent transformations to be performed at once.
Tissue Culture Note
Protoplast isolation from bamboo leaves
Yoko Hisamoto, Mikio Kobayashi. . . . . . . 353 [PDF]
Protoplasts with a yield greater than 2.0 × 106 cells per 0.3 g fresh weight were isolated from leaves of four bamboo species: a herbaceous bamboo, Lithachne pauciflora, and three woody bamboos, Phyllostachys meyeri, Sasa jotanii, and Bambusa vulgaris. , these which viability was counted at 83% in average with an FDA staining.
Establishment of a tissue culture system for somatic embryogenesis from germinating embryos of Arabidopsis thaliana
Toshihiro Kobayashi, Youichi Nagayama, Katsumi Higashi, Masatomo Kobayashi. . . . . . . 359 [PDF] [Supplement]
Somatic embryogenesis of Arabidopsis thaliana was simply induced from germinating embryos cultured in the presence of 2,4-D. Using this culture method, we examined the effect of genotype on the formation of somatic embryos in 352 natural accessions.
Thidiazuron-induced rapid shoot regeneration via embryo-like structure formation from shoot tip-derived callus culture of sugarcane
Mwathi Jane Wamaitha, Kyoko Suwa, Ken-ichi Fukuda, Masahiro Mii, Hiroyuki Daimon, Kei-ichiro Mishiba. . . . . . . 365 [PDF]
Rapid shoot regeneration system from callus cultures of a sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) cultivar NiF8 was established. Yellow compact calluses were transferred onto a modified MS medium containing 1 mg l-1 TDZ and 0.1 mg l-1 NAA, and shoots were regenerated from the calluses within 4 days of culture.
Transgenic Note
Overexpression of a calcium-dependent protein kinase gene enhances growth of rice under low-nitrogen conditions
Takayuki Asano, Masataka Wakayama, Naohiro Aoki, Setsuko Komatsu, Hiroaki Ichikawa, Hirohiko Hirochika, Ryu Ohsugi. . . . . . . 369 [PDF]
A calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK)-overexpressing rice plants indicated improved growth under low-nitrogen conditions. Total nitrogen and amino acid contents of the plants were higher than those of control plants, suggesting that the CDPK affects the metabolism under nitrogen-starvation conditions.