Search Results (6)

Efficient adventitious root formation is crucial for Lavandula angustifolia Mill. propagation. This study evaluated the effects of continuous and short-duration pulse applications (1 min, 1 h, and 1 day) of the auxin dichlorprop (DCP) and its prodrug dichlorprop-2-ethylhexyl ester (DCPE) at varying concentrations on adventitious rooting and callus formation. DCPE generally proved more effective than DCP in promoting rooting, especially at lower concentrations, with continuous application of 0.1 µM DCPE yielding the highest number of adventitious roots. Notably, a brief 1 min pulse of 2.5 µM DCPE induced superior rooting, including high root number and weight, while minimizing callus formation compared to longer exposures. In contrast, 1 h pulse treatments showed a positive correlation between auxin concentration and root number but led to substantial callus development. These findings highlight DCPE’s potential as an efficient auxin source for lavender propagation, likely due to its rapid hydrolysis to active DCP within plant tissues, facilitating systemic distribution. The enhanced rooting achieved with short pulse treatments offers significant implications for optimizing commercial propagation for this economically important aromatic plant. Full article

Light provides seeds with information that is essential for the adjustment of their germination to the conditions that are most favorable for the successful establishment of the future seedling. The promotion of germination depends mainly on environmental factors, like temperature and light, as well as internal factors associated with the hormonal balance between gibberellins (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA), although other hormones such as auxins may act secondarily. While transcriptomic studies of light-germinating Arabidopsis thaliana seeds suggest that auxins and auxin transporters are necessary, there are still no functional studies connecting the activity of the auxin transporters in light-induced seed germination. In this study, we investigated the roles of two auxin efflux carrier (PIN3 and PIN7) proteins and one auxin influx (AUX1) carrier protein during Arabidopsis thaliana seed germination. By using next-generation sequencing (RNAseq), gene expression analyses, hormonal sensitivity assays, and the quantification of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) levels, we assessed the functional roles of PIN3, PIN7, and AUX1 during light-induced seed germination. We showed that auxin levels are increased 24 h after a red-pulse (Rp). Additionally, we evaluated the germination responses of pin3, pin7, and aux1 mutant seeds and showed that PIN3, PIN7, and AUX1 auxin carriers are important players in the regulation of seed germination. By using gene expression analysis in water, fluridone (F), and ABA+F treated seeds, we confirmed that Rp-induced seed germination is associated with auxin transport, and ABA controls the function of PIN3, PIN7, and AUX1 during this process. Overall, our results highlight the relevant and positive role of auxin transporters in germinating the seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana. Full article

Difficult-to-root plants often perform poorly during acclimatization and in vitro rooting can increase the survival and quality of plants. The influence of auxin application and mineral nutrition on in vitro rooting and subsequent effects on plant quality in eight Prunus genotypes were investigated. Microshoots were rooted in vitro on Murashige and Skoog (MS), ½ MS, Driver and Kuniyuki (DKW), or New Prunus Medium (NPM) media formulations in combination with 15 µM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), 4-day 15 µM IBA pulse, 1 mM 30 s quick-dip, or IBA-free treatments. Shoots were observed pre- and post-acclimatization to determine rooting methods to maximize quality and minimize labor. A genotype-specific response to auxin application was observed with seven of eight genotypes achieving 100% survival when paired with the recommended IBA treatment. Peaches performed best when treated with 4-day IBA pulse or 30 s quick-dip. Rooting of P. cerasifera, it’s hybrid to P. persica, and P. munsoniana all benefitted from IBA application. Shoots rooted with 15 µM IBA were smaller and lower quality in most genotypes. DKW maximized size and quality in six genotypes. Better shoots and larger root systems during in vitro rooting produced better plants in the greenhouse with no detrimental effect of callus growth. Rooting techniques to maximize plant quality while reducing labor are specified. Full article

Lactuca serriola L. (wild lettuce) is a highly invasive C₃ weed in many countries, including Australia, Canada, and the USA. This weed is a severe threat to agricultural systems, especially in crops grown with reduced or no-tillage approaches, which commonly include wheat, cereals and pulses. Owing to the vertical orientation of its leaves in the north-south plane and its root architecture, L. serriola can maintain high water use efficiency under drought conditions, giving it the ability to expand its range under a drying climate. Each plant can produce up to 100,000 seeds which have no primary dormancy and form a short-term seedbank lasting up to three years. Most seedlings emerge in autumn and overwinter as a rosette, with a small flush of emergence in spring depicting staggered germination. Research into control methods for this weed has been performed, and these methods include chemical herbicides applied alone and in combination, the establishment of plant competition, tillage, mowing and bioherbicide. Herbicides can provide effective control when applied in the seedling or rosette stage; however, spring germination is difficult to control, as it skips the rosette stage. Some biotypes are now resistant to ALS inhibitor and synthetic auxins, causing concern regarding using herbicides. A dedicated integrated management plan for 3–4 years is recommended for the control of this troublesome species. This review will explore the biology, ecology, distribution, current control techniques and previous research on this weed, allowing us to make recommendations for its future research and management. Full article

The improvement of previously described protocols for the regeneration of shoots from ‘Canino’ mature seed hypocotyl slices has been accomplished. The effects of different factors such as the part of the hypocotyl used, vacuum-infiltration, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid pulse, vacuum-infiltration and sonication on regeneration and transient transformation were analyzed. When the three slices obtained from the hypocotyls were evaluated separately on regeneration medium, the highest percentages of regenerating explants were achieved in the part close to the epicotyl and in the central part. On the other hand, sonication of the explants for 30 s followed by vacuum-infiltration during Agrobacterium infection for 20 min allowed for an increase in the transformation events. The application of these modifications to the procedure increased the regeneration efficiencies, and transient transformation events and may reduce the frequency of failed experiments. An efficient regeneration/transformation protocol could facilitate its use as a biotechnological technique for apricot breeding. Full article

The lines of research conducted within a country often reflect its focus on current and future economic needs. Analyzing “search” trends on the internet can provide important insight into predicting the direction of a country in regards to agriculture, health, economy, and other areas. ‘Google Trends’ collects data on search terms from different countries, and this information can be used to better understand sentiments in different countries and regions. Agricultural output is responsible for feeding the world and there is a continuous quest to find ways to make agriculture more productive, safe, and reliable. The application of phytohormones has been used in agriculture world-wide for many years to improve crop production and continues to be an active area of research for the application in plants. Therefore, in the current study, we searched ‘Google Trends’ using the phytohormone search terms, abscisic acid, auxins, brassinosteroids, cytokinin, ethylene, gibberellins, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and strigolactones. The results indicated that the African country Zambia had the greatest number of queries on auxin research, and Kenya had the most queries in cytokinin and gibberellin research world-wide. For other phytohormones, India had the greatest number of queries for abscisic acid and South Korea had the greatest number of ethylene and jasmonic acid search world-wide. Queries on salicylic acid have been continuously increasing while the least number of queries were related to strigolactones. Only India and United States of America had significant numbers of queries on all nine phytohormones while queries on one or more phytohormones were absent in other countries. India is one of the top five crop-producing countries in the world for apples, millet, orange, potato, pulses, rice, sugarcane, tea, and wheat. Similarly, the United States of America is one of the top five crop-producing countries of the world for apples, grapes, maze, orange, potato, sorghum, sugarcane, and wheat. These might be the most possible factors for the search queries found for all the nine phytohormones in India and the United States of America. Full article