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How do Sieve Elements Transport
Assimilates from Photosynthetic Organs to the Remainder of the Living
Tissue
You
may have often wondered how photosynthetic assimilates are trasported
from the leaf to the remainder of the living tissue via sieve elements
when the latter contain cytoplasm, plasma membrane and plastids.
Two more questions may also trouble your minds: why the cytosolic
organelles are not dragged with the assimilates through the sieve
pores and what role the companion cells play in the transport of
the solutes. Advances in technology such as the use of non-invasive
methods, and use of Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM), aided
by the use of fluorochromes, provide unmistakable evidence that
mass flow occurs through sieve pores without displacement of organelles
including endoplasm reticulum on the sieve plates.
Read
the fascinating story by clicking here.
Molecular Markers in the Improvement
of Agricultural Products. Where to Start?
Where to Start if you want to know what is exactly meant by "Molecular
Markers" and how this technique has revolutionized breeding
work both from the point of view of creating novel varieties of
crops, ornamentals, timber trees, medicinal and cash crops and accelerating
the program by a few years while cutting down the cost.. Read the
full story by clicking the following title. Comments and queries
are most welcome.
Use
of Biotechnology and molecular Tools for Crop Improvement and Sustainable
Agriculture - Full Article
Exciting Findings about How Cytokinins
Work
 We
all use cytokinins in different ratios to obtain callusing and differentiation
of plant tissues but the mechanisms how this group of phytohormones
work were enigmatic until recently. Although the full story has
yet to come, the unravelling of Arabidopsis DNA base sequence published
a couple of years back has made it possible to gain insights about
the cytokinin receptor and many other missing links to show how
cytokinins work. Please read the full story by clicking here.
The story is based on an article published in the February issue
of Plant Physiology
Explanation to the figure: A transgenic
tobacco plant (right) with a high content of cytokinin shows fewer
signs of senescence compared to a wild type plant (left) in which
all the lower leaves are dead. The superimposed chemical structure
is that of trans-zeatin, the principal cytokinin in higher plants.
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