A cDNA encoding γ-tocopherol methyltransferase from Brassica napus (BnTMT) was overexpressed in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] under the control of seed-specific promoter of Arabidopsis fatty acid elongase 1 (FAE1) or soybean glycinin G1. Two and three transgenic plants were selected, respectively, after Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blots confirmed that BnTMT was single-copy integrated into the genome of transgenic plants. RT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of BnTMT was higher in the immature cotyledons than in the mature cotyledons, while no expression was detected in the leaves. Moreover, the expression level under the control of FAE1 was higher than that of G1. HPLC analysis indicated that the seed-specific expression of BnTMT resulted in 11.1-fold and 18.9-fold increase in α- and β-tocopherol content, respectively, in T₂ seed. These results suggested that introducing BnTMT into soybean can be used to increase the vitamin E composition in seeds.

Differential mRNA display was used to identify pathogen-responsive, stress-related genes in potato cell suspensions treated with salicylic acid and a cell wall-derived elicitor from Phytophthora infestans. Among the positive clones identified, one was found to be expressed at a significantly higher level in elicited cells than in control cells. DNA sequencing of this amplicon revealed high homology and identified it as a potato cyclophilin cDNA. The maximum amount of the cyclophilin mRNA was found 9 to 12 h after elicitation. Cyclophilin (CyP) mRNA synthesis was also up-regulated from 12 to 24 h in potato leaves locally infected with zoospores from Phytophthora infestans. However, untreated leaves responding systemically to the pathogen showed only a weak, delayed response at 24 h post infection. The observed accumulation of potato CyP mRNA in response to salicylic acid, P. infestans elicitor and P. infestans infection, suggest that CyPs play an important role in plant stress responses.

Rosaceae is a large family, however, our understanding of its phylogeny is based largely on morphological observations. To understand the relationship between subfamilies Rosoideae, Amygdaloideae, Maloideae and Spiraeoideae at a molecular level, we isolated and compared the plant phosphatidyl ethanolamine-binding protein-like genes TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1)-like and CENTRORADIALIS (CEN)-like, which are involved in the control of shoot meristem identity and flowering time. A comparison of gene structures and phylogenetic tree analyses by the Neighbor-Joining method showed that each of the two TFL1-like (MdTFL1-1 and MdTFL1-2) and CEN-like genes (MdCENa and MdCENb) in Maloideae were classified into two distinct clades. The TFL1-like and CEN-like genes of Gillenia in Spiraeoideae belonged to monophyletic Maloideae groups, suggesting that Gillenia and Maloideae have a common near ancestor. However, the Gillenia TFL1-like gene does not contain the insertion sequence of the third intron that is found in MdTFL1-2-like genes of the members of Maloideae such as apple, Korean whitebeam, quince, and Siberian mountain ash. Therefore, after the Maloideae ancestor genome became polyploid through hybridization between Gillenia-like species or genome doubling, an insertion sequence of the third intron of MdTFL1-2-like genes was generated.

Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used to analyse genetic diversity of Swertia chirayita genotypes collected from the temperate Himalayas of India. Allied species of Swertia chirayita were used in the study as outliers. Nineteen UBC primers generated a total of 315 ISSR bands, revealing 98.7 % polymorphism among the genotypes assayed. This was reduced to 42.5 % when the outliers were excluded. The results revealed a high genetic diversity within the genotypes.

To investigate the molecular mechanisms of Al toxicity, cross-species cDNA array approach was employed to identify expressed sequence tags (ESTs) regulated by Al stress in root tips of Al-tolerant maize (Zea mays) genotype Cat100-6 and Al-sensitive genotype S1587-17. Due to the high degree of conservation observed between sugarcane and maize, we have analyzed the expression profiling of maize genes using 2 304 sugarcane (ESTs) obtained from different libraries. We have identified 85 ESTs in Al stressed maize root tips with significantly altered expression. Among the up-regulated ESTs, we have found genes encoding previously identified proteins induced by Al stress, such as phenyl ammonia-lyase, chitinase, Bowman-Birk proteinase inhibitor, and wali7. In addition, several novel genes up-and downregulated by Al stress were identified in both genotypes.

A full-length cDNA for ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase large subunit (AGPL) was isolated from tropical epiphytic orchid Oncidium hybrid Goldiana. The cDNA was 1754 bp in length with an open reading frame of 1551 bp encoding 517 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence showed 73 % identity with those of potato isoform 3 (AGPL3) and Arabidopsis thaliana isoform 1 (AGPL1), 71 % identity with that of barley isoform BLPL. RT-PCR analysis showed that AGPL was expressed in mature leaf, immature leaf, developing inflorescence and flower of Oncidium. No expression was detected in roots.

MADS-box genes are known to be important for the development of flowers. Two MADS-box genes (MCAG2 and MCAG6) were isolated from the bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) female bud based on the MADS-box conserved sequences. The complete cDNA sequences of MCAG2 and MCAG6 encode a 231 and a 247 amino acid protein, respectively. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis showed that MCAG2 and MCAG6 had high identities of amino acid with AG-like and AGL6-like genes, respectively. The alignment of the deduced amino acid sequence of AGL6-like genes revealed that there were two highly conserved regions in the C-terminus, which were designated AGL6 motif I and AGL6 motif II. Phylogeny reconstructions suggested that AGL6-like genes were divided into three major clades. RT-PCR analysis of the MCAG2 and MCAG6 genes showed that they were both expressed in floral organs at different levels. However, MCAG6 was also expressed highly in shoot apex. Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that the expression of MCAG2 was detected at high levels in carpel, whereas MCAG6 was detected at high levels in shoot apex. The gene expression patterns suggest that MCAG2 and MCAG6 have a role in regulating bitter gourd floral development.

Universal (consensus) primers are those primers that have the ability to amplify the targeted region of DNA across a broad range of individuals in a certain group of organisms. In plants, such universal primers have been designed to target regions in the nuclear, mitochondrial or chloroplast genome. Among these three genomes, the chloroplast genome is the most suited for the design of consensus primers due to the lower rate of evolution and hence conservation of gene order and sequence of the genome among the different plant species compared to the other two genomes. Several molecular studies in plants have developed and used chloroplast-specific universal primers. In this review, I present some examples of the nuclear DNA-specific universal primers and discuss the features of the chloroplast DNA that make it the most suited for the design of such primers. I then refer to all chloroplast-specific primers developed so far and provide some examples of molecular studies and applications that made use of them.

A novel protocol for plant regeneration from cotyledon explants of eggplant (Solanum melongena) reducing concentration of sucrose was established. The most efficient bud induction medium consisted of Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.0 mg dm^-3 zeatin, 0.1 mg dm^-3 indoleacetic acid and 10 g dm^-3 sucrose. After 15 d, the shoot buds were fragmented and transferred to the shoot elongation MS supplemented with 1.0-2.0 mg dm^-3 gibberellic acid and 4.0-8.0 mg dm^-3 AgNO₃, which promoted shoots elongation. The genetic stability of the regenerated plants was analyzed by flow cytometry, RAPD and SSR molecular markers. The results indicated that almost no somaclonal variation was detected among the regenerants.

Vigna Δ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS) cDNA was transferred to chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivar Annigeri via Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation. Following selection on hygromycin and regeneration, 60 hygromycin-resistant plants were recovered. Southern blot analysis of five fertile independent lines of T0 and T1 generation revealed single and multiple insertions of the transgene. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis of T0 and T1 progeny demonstrated that the P5CS gene is expressed and produced functional protein in chickpea. T1 transgenic lines accumulated higher amount of proline under 250 mM NaCl compared to untransformed controls. Higher accumulation of Na⁺ was noticed in the older leaves but negligible accumulation in seeds of T1 transgenic lines as compared to the controls. Chlorophyll stability and electrolyte leakage indicated that proline overproduction helps in alleviating salt stress in transgenic chickpea plants. The T1 transgenics lines were grown to maturity and set normal viable seeds under continuous salinity stress (250 mM) without any reduction in plant yield in terms of seed mass.

Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, is a perennial halophytic shrub typical of Mediterranean salt marshes. The present study aims to investigate some combinations of inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers applied in real PCR. Thereby, the potential of R-ISSR markers to detect new genomic loci in 3 genotypes of A. macrostachyum grown in the Western coast of Syria was examined. Different combinations of RAPD and ISSR primers produced bands that were absent when single ISSR or RAPD primers were used. The results have demonstrated that ISSR primer (AG)₈TC gave more informative pattern when combined with different RAPD primers comparing to other tested primers. In contrast, the tested ISSR primer (GACA)₄ gave less informative pattern when used alone. These combinations were successfully applied in real PCR to detect new genomic variability in A. macrostachyum genotypes.

Zephyr lily (Zephyranthes grandiflora), an important ornamental plant has been micropropagated in vitro after controlling microbial contamination by a pretreatment with 0.2 % Bavistin and 0.1 % Pantomycin for 4 h before final sterilization with 0.1 % mercuric chloride. In 67 % of the sterile cultures, 11 shoots on average were regenerated directly from basal half of bulb scales in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 3 % sucrose and 2 mg dm^-3 benzylaminopurine (BAP). Shoots emerged in bunches on a basal achlorophyllous bulbous part. Combination of 2 mg dm^-3 BAP with 1 mg dm^-3 gibberellic acid (GA₃) enhanced shoot growth. Stout roots (maximum of 5-6 per shoot) were developed in presence of 1 mg dm^-3 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Micro-bulbs showed potential of regeneration and could be used as secondary explants. The morphologically identical plants derived by in vitro propagation were genetically identical as shown by PCR based ISSR marker analysis of genomic DNA.

The trnS/psbC region of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) was sequenced for 18 Elymus polyploid species, Hordelymus europaeus and their putative diploid ancestors. The objective was to determine the maternal origin and evolutionary relationships of these polyploid taxa. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Elymus and Pseudoroegneria species formed a highly supported monophyletic group (100 % bootstrap values), suggesting that Pseudoroegneria is the maternal genome donor to polyploid Elymus species studied here. The phylogenetic tree based on cpDNA sequence data indicates that E. submuticus contains a St-genome. Taking into consideration of our previously published RPB2 data, we can conclude that hexaploid E. submuticus contains at least one copy of St and Y genomes. Our Neighor-joining analysis of cpDNA data put Psathyrostachys juncea, Hordeum bogdanii and Hordelymus europaeus into one group, suggesting a close relationship among them.

The variability of the Strawberry vein banding virus (SVBV) isolates was investigated. In total 267 strawberry plants from 6 European countries and North America were tested for the presence of SVBV. Only 4 plants were positive. Partial genomic sequences of the capsid protein gene of three North American SVBV isolates were determined. Only minor sequence variability (0.7 %) was observed during a comparison with existing nucleotide data of the European and the North American isolates (9 isolates). No variability at all could be found in the annealing regions of primers and probes used for molecular detection of SVBV for these isolates. However, a comparison to a sequence of a Chinese isolate published recently revealed a much higher DNA sequence difference (9.5 %) of this isolate.

Protocol was developed for high frequency in vitro multiplication of an endemic species, Zingiber rubens Roxb. The sprouted buds of the rhizomes were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 6-benzyladenine (BA; 0.5-5.0 mg dm^-3), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA; 0.5-2.0 mg dm^-3), kinetin (KIN; 1.0-3.0 mg dm^-3), naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA; 0.5-1.0 mg dm^-3) and adenine sulphate (ADS; 80-100 mg dm^-3). MS basal medium supplemented with 3 mg dm^-3 BA and 0.5 mg dm^-3 IAA was optimum for shoot elongation. The elongated shoots (1-2 cm) were transferred to multiplication medium containing 2 mg dm^-3 BA, 1 mg dm^-3 IAA and 100 mg dm^-3 ADS. The multiplication rate remained unchanged in subsequent subcultures. Upon ex vitro transfer, 85 % of plants survived. Genetic stability of micropropagated clones were periodically evaluated at an interval of 6 months up to 30 months in culture using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis and genetic uniformity in all regenerants was confirmed.

A novel gene induced during hypersensitive reaction (HIR) in wheat was identified using in silico cloning and designated as TaHIR2. The TaHIR2 gene was deduced to encode a 284-amino acid protein, whose molecular mass and isoelectric point (pI) were 31.05 kD and 5.18, respectively. Amino acid sequence analysis demonstrated the presence of stomatins, prohibitin, flotillins, HflK/C (SPFH) domain and prohibitin homologue for the TaHIR2 protein. Phylogenetic analysis of 13 HIR genes from different monocots indicated that TaHIR2 was highly homologous to HvHIR2. Transient expression analysis using particle-mediated bombardment showed that the TaHIR2 fusion protein was located in the onion epidermal cells. Quantitative RT-PCR analyses revealed that TaHIR2 transcripts were significantly accumulated in adult wheat leaves with maximum induction at 18 h post inoculation with the stripe rust, whereas slightly up-regulation could also be observed in the compatible reaction at the seedling stage. These results suggest that TaHIR2 may play an active role in wheat defense against stripe rust.

The knowledge of breeding impacts on the genetic diversity of hybrids of Eucalyptus is crucial to the exploration of genetic resources. We estimated genetic polymorphic parameters of 112 hybrids of Eucalyptus spp. using 10 genomic simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers and 10 expressed sequence tags (EST) microsatellite markers. According to Student's t-test, there were no significant differences between genomic SSR and EST-SSR markers. Our results also revealed high polymorphism in the hybrids analyzed, indicating that both markers are appropriate for use in genetic breeding programs.

A cDNA encoding a putative translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) was isolated from a cDNA library made with mRNA isolated from red ripe strawberry fruits. This protein is highly conserved in all species analyzed. Expression of strawberry TCTP increased along the ripening of strawberry fruits, and is constitutively expressed in vegetative tissues. The putative function of this protein remains still unknown

We isolated and characterized eleven polymorphic microsatellite loci for Aegiphila sellowiana an outcrossing pioneer tree species that is frequently used in reforestation programs of tropical riparian forests in Brazil. A total of 38 alleles were detected across a sample of 45 individuals of A. sellowiana, with an average number of 3.45 alleles per locus. The average polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.430 and the observed (H_O) and expected (H_E) heterozygosity values varied from 0.156 to 1.000 and 0.145 to 0.730, respectively. Eight loci exhibited significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P ≤ 0.001) and 32 pair combinations of loci showed significant linkage disequilibrium (P ≤ 0.001). All 11 primers were tested for cross amplification in 12 species belonging to the family Lamiaceae and 5 species belonging to the related family Verbenaceae. The sequence and diversity information obtained using these microsatellites and their cross-transferability to other species of Lamiaceae as well as Verbenaceae will increase our understanding of genetic structures and species relationships within Aegiphyla and other genera of these families.

The shrub Chimonanthus praecox L. (wintersweet) which is native to Chinese montane forests produces its flowers in the midst of winter. This indicates that the floral organs of this species are adapted to growth and development under freezing temperatures. Here, we report the isolation and preliminary characterisation of a 33 kDa apoplastic antifreeze chitinase (CpCHT1) from the petals and its corresponding cDNA. The chitinase activity of CpCHT1 was confirmed by activity staining. Antifreeze activity was validated in terms of the formation of bipyramidal ice crystals and high thermal-hysteresis values. CpCHT1 was also found to affect the germination of fungal spores of four major plant pathogens. In addition, the gene and protein are expressed constitutively not only in flowers, but also in leaves, bark and root tissues. From these data we hypothesize that this protein is multifunctional and may protect wintersweet from freezing injury and provide nonspecific disease resistance.

To broaden our knowledge of flower development, two floral homeotic genes, LbAG and LbSEP3, were isolated from the flower of Lycium barbarum L. The open reading frame length of LbAG and LbSEP3 were 1090 and 992 bp encoding 249 and 242 amino acids, respectively. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicated that LbAG belonged to C-type MADS-box gene and that LbSEP3 was E-type MADS-box gene. Compared with other floral homeotic proteins, LbAG held the conserved AG motif I, II and LbSEP3 conserved SEP3 motif I, II. Expression profile showed that LbAG transcripts were abundant in inner two whorls and fruit but not in root, leaf, sepal, and petal, and that LbSEP3 constitutively expressed in root, leaf, fruit, and all the four floral whorls.

Arabidopsis thaliana plants (wild type accessions Col and N1438) were grown in nutrient solution for 34 d with or without 50 mM NaCl. Salt stress inhibited plant growth rate more in Col than in N1438 and a decrease in K⁺, Ca²⁺ and nitrogen contents was observed in both accessions. NaCl diminished accumulation of malate, fumarate and citrate only in Col accession. To measure the effect of NaCl on transcript level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) isoforms and copper chaperone for SOD genes, a semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was developed using cDNA normalized against the EF1a gene in parallel with quantitative real time RT-PCR (Q-PCR) technique. Both methods gave the same results. The abundance of transcripts of the three genes coding for Cu/Zn-SOD responded similarly to NaCl in both accessions: CSD1 gene was overexpressed, and CSD2 and CSD3 genes were repressed. However, the genes coding for Fe-SOD (FSD1), Mn-SOD (MSD1) and Cu-chaperone for SOD (CCS) responded to NaCl differently in Col and N1438: the former gene was overexpressed in Col and repressed in N1438, and the opposite behaviour was observed for the latter two genes.

RFLP analysis of a cDNA probe SLG6, governing self incompatibility (SI) in Brassica oleracea, using a recombinant inbred population of Brassica campestris followed by genetic linkage analysis led to the detection of two marker loci, SLG6a and SLG6b controlling SI. SLG6a was mapped in linkage group (LG) 9 and was flanked by the RFLP markers ec4f10 (6.4 cM) and wg5b9 (4.2 cM). SLG6b positioned in LG 2 and was flanked by the RFLP markers wg2d11 (9.9 cM) and ec4e7 (26.9 cM). These results indicated the scope of marker-aided introgression of these genes into self-compatible genotypes for production of SI lines suitable for hybridization in B. campestris. Comparative mapping of LG 9 containing SLG6b with corresponding linkage groups of B. oleracea (BO 2) and B. napus (BN 16) led to the detection of small homologous regions with SLG6 locus linked with another RFLP locus. This evidenced for homology of the SLG genes across Brassica species and possibility of using any single cloned SLG gene for development of SI lines in any Brassica species.

Thirteen genomic microsatellite (gSSR) and sixteen expressed sequence tag (EST)-SSR (eSSR) markers were compared to estimate genetic diversity among 29 cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) accessions. gSSR markers detected mean 4.46 alleles with a mean polymorphic information content (PIC) of 0.664, against eSSR markers with mean 3.38 alleles and a mean PIC of 0.397. gSSRs amplified more null alleles than eSSRs. Genetic diversity within the accession set was estimated by construction of dendrograms using gSSR or eSSR data. There was a clear consistency between gSSR and eSSR trees in terms of positioning of most cucumber germplasms. gSSR markers could separate various types of cucumber germplasms on the whole, although clustering of some accessions was not based on their geographical origins in eSSR tree. eSSR markers identified an independent sub-cluster containing five accessions resistant to downy mildew, suggesting a probable relationship between eSSRs and disease-resistance trait in cucumber. The Mantel test between gSSR and eSSR matrices revealed a good fit correlation (r = 0.836). The general dendrogram constructed using the combined data of gSSRs and eSSRs was similar to those obtained separately with each marker.

TaCer6 was firstly cloned by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and identified as a tissue-specific gene in wheat. To determine if environmental factors such as drought and low temperature induce TaCer6 transcription, we examined the effects of these factors on TaCer6 in two wheat cultivars. Our results demonstrated that light was essential for TaCer6 transcription, salt stress inhibited TaCer6 expression and application of salicylic acid enhanced TaCer6 transcripts accumulation. In addition, polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) and abscisic acid increased the expression of TaCer6 more in the drought- and cold-tolerant cultivar Jinmai47 than in non-tolerant cultivar Shi4185. Low temperature increased TaCer6 transcription in Jinmai47 while decreased it in Shi4185.

Xylanase inhibitor TAXI-I gene was cloned from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and then TAXI-I encoding sequence was expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant TAXI-I protein inhibited glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 11 xylanases in Aspergillus niger (Anx; a fungal xylanase), and Thermomonospora fusca (Tfx; a bacterial xylanase), and also inhibited hybrid xylanases Atx (a hybrid xylanase whose parents are T. fusca and A. niger) and Btx (a hybrid xylanase whose parents are T. fusca and Bacillus subtilis). Among the tested xylanases, A. niger xylanase was the most inhibited one by wheat xylanase inhibitor TAXI-I, while T. fusca xylanase was the least inhibited one. The profile of TAXI-I gene expression in wheat in response to phytohormones was also investigated. TAXI-I gene expression was drastically induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJa), and hardly detected in gibberellic acid (GA) treatment. Therefore, TAXI-I might be involved in plant defense against fungal and bacteria xylanases.

To get insight into mechanism by which apple tree (Malus domestica Borkh.) regulates flowering, two apple flowering locus T (FT) homologues, MdFT1 and MdFT2, were isolated from the leaf cDNAs of cultivar Gala. The open reading frames (ORFs) of two MdFTs encoded 174 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of MdFT1 and MdFT2 showed 94.3 % similarity to each other, while 72.6 and 76.0 % to AtFT protein, respectively. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR indicated their specific expression in leaves. Visualization of MdFT2-GFP fusion protein demonstrated its localization on membrane. Ectopic overexpression of either MdFT1 or MdFT2 in Arabidopsis significantly induced early flowering by activating the downstream flowering-related genes.

The major capsid protein L1 of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) was transiently expressed in tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana and Nicotiana tabacum) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) leaves using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The expression vector pTV00 was derived from tobacco rattle virus (TRV). The highest L1 expression 15 μg g^-1(f.m.) was achieved when the coding sequence of L1 was optimized for expression in humans that caused an increase of the guanine and cytosine (GC) content from 38.2 % in wild type HPV16 to 64.1 % in optimized sequence. L1 monomers readily self-assembled into capsomeres and further into virus like particles (VLPs). Immunological characterization and electron microscopy showed that 89 % of L1 retained VLP structure also in extracts prepared from freeze-dried leaves. Plant expressed L1 in crude extracts was highly immunogenic without any additional adjuvant as vaccinated mice developed strong humoral and cellular immune response, comparable to that elicited by purified VLPs derived from insect cells. Further, the induced antibodies effectively neutralized infection of 293TT cells with pseudovirions. This finding demonstrates that the TRV expression system is comparable to other plant expression systems and due to the broad host range of TRV is particularly attractive when expression in plants with low content of toxic alkaloids is desired. Moreover, a monoclonal anti-L1 antibody E2 raised in the course of immunization with crude extract from freeze-dried leaves expressing L1 is specific preferentially against HPV VLPs and could be used in direct ELISA for monitoring of VLPs assembly and VLP purification protocols.

The import of ATP into plastids is facilitated by members of the plastidic ATP/ADP transporter (AATP) family. Our results indicate that the cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) genome possesses two genes encoding for putative ATP/ADP translocases, which we have designated as MeAATP1 and MeAATP2. Their deduced products are 92 % identical, and phylogenetic reconstructions of plant AATP sequences suggest that MeAATP1 and MeAATP2 are the result of a relatively recent duplication event. Both genes were found to be expressed in a wide range of plant organs via RT-PCR, including young and mature leaves, fibrous and tuberous roots, and green stems. Neither MeAATP1 nor MeAATP2 showed evidence of increased transcription in the presence of exogenous sucrose. Interestingly, the transcriptional activity of MeAATP1 in leaves appeared to be upregulated after wounding, potentially indicating its involvement in the wound response mechanism of cassava.

Bacillus cereus C1L was demonstrated to induce systemic resistance in Lilium formosanum against leaf blight caused by Botrytis elliptica. Suppression subtractive hybridization library of L. formosanum triggered by B. cereus C1L were screened and 3 differentially expressed genes were identified. Based on sequence analysis, these genes encoding putative glycine-rich protein, metallothionein-like protein, and PsbR protein of photosystem 2, were designated LfGRP1, LfMT1, and LfPsbR, respectively. The results of Northern blot analysis showed that expressions of LfGRP1, LfMT1 and LfPsbR increased in response to B. elliptica infection. On the other hand, expression of LfMT1 increased but expressions of LfGRP1 and LfPsbR decreased when the rhizosphere of L. formosanum was drenched with suspension of B. cereus C1L with or without subsequent challenge with B. elliptica on lily leaves. Similar expression profiles of homologues of LfGRP1, LfMT1, and LfPsbR (named LsGRP1, LsMT1, and LsPsbR, respectively) were presented in Lilium oriental hybrid Star Gazer. In addition, application of the photosynthetic inhibitor, 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, on the leaves reduced disease severity and expressions of LsGRP1 and LsPsbR just as that in response to B. cereus C1L treatment.