Your browser does not fully support modern features. Please upgrade for a smoother experience.
Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort by:
Most Viewed Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Filter:
All Topic Review Biography Peer Reviewed Entry Video Entry
Topic Review
Morphological Plasticity of Leaves
Plants adapt to environmental changes by regulating their development and growth. As an important interface between plants and their environment, leaf morphogenesis varies between species, populations, or even shows plasticity within individuals. Leaf growth is dependent on many environmental factors, such as light, temperature, and submergence. Phytohormones play key functions in leaf development and can act as molecular regulatory elements in response to environmental signals. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge on the effects of different environmental factors and phytohormone pathways on morphological plasticity and intend to summarize the advances in leaf development. In addition, we detail the molecular mechanisms of heterophylly, the representative of leaf plasticity, providing novel insights into phytohormones and the environmental adaptation in plants.
  • 1.7K
  • 19 May 2021
Topic Review
Iris Species
The genus Iris from the Iridaceae family consists of more than 262 recognized species. It is an ornamental and medicinal plant widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Iris species convey a long history as valuable traditional drugs with a wide variety of applications in various cultures, having been recorded since medieval times. 
  • 1.7K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Underlying Biochemical and Molecular Mechanisms for Seed Germination
With the burgeoning population of the world, the successful germination of seeds to achieve maximum crop production is very important. Seed germination is a precise balance of phytohormones, light, and temperature that induces endosperm decay. Abscisic acid and gibberellins—mainly with auxins, ethylene, and jasmonic and salicylic acid through interdependent molecular pathways—lead to the rupture of the seed testa, after which the radicle protrudes out and the endosperm provides nutrients according to its growing energy demand. The incident light wavelength and low and supra-optimal temperature modulates phytohormone signaling pathways that induce the synthesis of ROS, which results in the maintenance of seed dormancy and germination.
  • 1.7K
  • 09 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Capsaicinoids and Capsiate in Pepper
Capsaicinoids and capsinoids, which are bioactive compounds of interest, are  responsible for the level of pungency of chili peppers, which is one of their most important commercial traits. Both capsaicinoids and capsinoids have received great attention from consumers because of their extensive pharmacological and physiological effects, i.e., antitumor, antioxidant, antiobesity, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic.
  • 1.7K
  • 09 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Exploitation and Benefits Derived from Bivalves
The windowpane oyster Placuna placenta lives in brackish coastal waters and has long been economically important to the Philippines because of its durable and translucent shell, which is used as a glass substitute and material for making windowpanes and handicrafts. There has been considerable degradation of the P. placenta fishery over the past. 
  • 1.7K
  • 11 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Monarda Species
The genus Monarda (family Lamiaceae) contains 22 species of which three are native to southern Alabama, M. citriodora, M. fistulosa, and M. punctata. Several species of Monarda have been used in traditional medicines of Native Americans, and this present study is part of an ongoing project to add to our understanding of Native American pharmacopeia.
  • 1.7K
  • 11 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Perovskia Atriplicifolia
Perovskia atriplicifolia (/pəˈrɒvskiə ætrɪplɪsɪˈfoʊliə/), commonly called Russian sage, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant and subshrub. Although not a member of Salvia, the genus of other plants commonly called sage, it is closely related to them. It has an upright habit, typically reaching 0.5–1.2 m tall (1.6–3.9 ft), with square stems and grey-green leaves that yield a distinctive odor when crushed. It is best known for its flowers. Its flowering season extends from mid-summer to late October, with blue to violet blossoms arranged into showy, branched panicles. It is native to the steppes and hills of southwestern and central Asia. Successful over a wide range of climate and soil conditions, it has since become popular and widely planted. Several cultivars have been developed, differing primarily in leaf shape and overall height; 'Blue Spire' is the most common. This variation has been widely used in gardens and landscaping. P. atriplicifolia was the Perennial Plant Association's 1995 Plant of the Year, and the 'Blue Spire' cultivar received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. The species has a long history of use in traditional medicine in its native range, where it is employed as a treatment for a variety of ailments. This has led to the investigation of its phytochemistry. Its flowers can be eaten in salads or crushed for dyemaking, and the plant has been considered for potential use in the phytoremediation of contaminated soil.
  • 1.7K
  • 01 Nov 2022
Topic Review
ToLCNDV
The tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) is a bipartite, single-stranded begomovirus that was first identified in India in 1995 affecting solanaceous crops. A different strain, named ToLCNDV-ES, was introduced in Spain in 2012 and causes severe symptoms in zucchini crops. Virus transmission experiments with the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, were used to compare the transmission parameters in zucchini and tomato plants.
  • 1.7K
  • 28 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Essential Oil Extracted from Lavandula dentata L.
An essential oil (EO) is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile, easily evaporated at normal temperatures, chemical compounds isolated from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the oil of the plant, from which they were extracted. EOs of various species of Lavandula dentata (Lamiaceae) have a broad range of biological effects including sedative, antibacterial, antifungal, antidepressant, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
  • 1.7K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Ludwigia decurrens Walter
Ludwigia decurrens Walter is a dicotyledonous plant belonging to the family Onagraceae. It is native to Central Eastern USA but has been spreading quickly and has naturalized in aquatic and riparian ecosystems (including rice paddy fields) in many countries; therefore, it is now considered an invasive noxious weed. L. decurrens is highly competitive with rice and causes a significant reduction in rice production. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of the herbicide penoxsulam for the control of L. decurrens in rice fields. The seeds of L. decurrens were collected from four villages in Indonesia, and penoxsulam was applied to L. decurrens in seven dosages (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 g a.i. /ha) 3 weeks after seed sowing. The plant populations from Hegarmanah, Jatisari, and Joho showed complete mortality at the recommended dosage of penoxsulam (10 g a.i. /ha). However, the plants from Demakan grew, flowered, and produced seeds 56 days after treatment with 40 g a.i. /ha of penoxsulam. The resistance index value of the population was 36.06. 
  • 1.7K
  • 26 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Histone Acetyltransferase GCN5
Transcription of protein-encoding genes starts with forming a pre-initiation complex comprised of RNA polymerase II and several general transcription factors. To activate gene expression, transcription factors must overcome the repressive chromatin structure, which is accomplished with multiprotein complexes. Histone Acetyl Transferases (HAT) catalyze acetylation of specific lysine residues in histone N-tails, which are involved in transcriptional regulation and other nuclear processes. HATs are parts of large multiprotein complexes, like the SAGA complex, where their activity is enhanced, and their substrate specificity is altered. The whole complex is recruited to target sequences on the genome with other components involved in protein-protein interactions. A prototypical HAT which acts as a transcriptional adaptor is known as General Control Nonrepressed protein 5 (GCN5), first identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. GCN5 was defined biochemically as the first transcription-linked HAT with specificity for histone H3 lysine 14 (H3K14). However, GCN5 could also acetylate additional histone lysine residues, such as H3K9, H3K18, H3K23, H3K27, H3K36, other histones such as H4 and H2B and non-histone nuclear proteins.  In Arabidopsis, GCN5 is required for many developmental processes such as leaf development, apical dominance, root meristem activity, inflorescence, floral meristem function and flower fertility. 
  • 1.7K
  • 10 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Tagetes (Asteraceae)
The genus Tagetes, which includes plants known as ‘marigolds’, belongs to the Asteraceae family and contains more than 50 cultivated and wild species. Marigolds are native to America, but several species are naturalised in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Plants of the genus Tagetes are amongst the most widespread garden flowers worldwide. Marigolds are popular amongst gardeners due to their easy cultivation, wide adaptability, low demands for ecological and technological factors, and flower production throughout the year.
  • 1.7K
  • 21 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Domestication in the Neotropics
Charles Darwin used domestication as a metaphor for natural selection because everyone is familiar with the term. Since Darwin, domestication has become a major topic of research, both to help understand evolution, as Darwin did, and to understand how human societies came to dominate the world, which also interested Darwin. However, Darwin did not define the term, which has allowed students of domestication, such as geneticists, archaeologists and others, to tailor their definitions to their own objectives. Even our grammar influences the way we interpret simple phrases about domestication ( p. xiv), as we tend to put ourselves, as individuals or the human collective, in charge. As Darwin pointed out, however, the long history of human interaction with plants and animals that resulted in the domestication of some of them was influenced more by unconscious selection than conscious selection. Only when considering the latter type of selection, which Darwin called methodical selection, can we affirm that humans are in charge, and even then unintended consequences are common. Nonetheless, especially when used in studies to understand how humans came to dominate the world, definitions often assume that humans are in control, which is unlikely at the beginning of human interactions with plants and animals. As pointed out by Dolores Piperno and Deborah Pearsall ( p. 6), clear definitions of concepts are extremely important when discussing domestication and the food production systems in which many domesticates are grown or raised. Melinda Zeder reviewed a set of definitions to highlight their differences and theoretical frameworks, and emphasized that definitions for plants and animals are often quite different. Clement et al. prepared a short list of definitions for plant domestication since Zeder. Full definitions can help identify nuances that place human culture within Nature, as occurs in most Neotropical ontologies, rather than outside, which is typical of ideas of being in charge. We think that returning to a dictionary is also an appropriate exercise to explore definitions, especially as the definitions in Zeder and Clement et al. were designed by their authors to meet their own objectives, the majority of which are associated with identifying changes in morphology or genetics that prove that human selection resulted in a response. We will use the 1989 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), whose first edition was being researched and published at the same time that Darwin was writing. The verb domesticate comes from the Latin domesticäre – to dwell in a house, to accustom. The house is the center of the domus, the Latin root of domesticäre. The OED definitions include: “1.a. To make, or settle as, a member of a household; to cause to be at home; to naturalize. 1.b. To make to be or to feel ‘at home’; to familiarize. 2. To make domestic; to attach to home and its duties. 3. To accustom (an animal) to live under the care and near the habitations of man; to tame or bring under control; to civilize. 4. To live familiarly or at home (with); to take up one's abode.” It follows that the noun domestication is “the action of domesticating, or the condition of being domesticated” (OED), i.e., both the process itself and the results of the process. These definitions are about humans, who domesticate each other in their houses, with their associated gardens, orchards, pastures, woodlots, agroforests, and adjacent managed forests. Hence, the house and the surrounding landscape comprise the domus , until humans started living in cities or more recently in apartments. Animals are recognized in one of the definitions as being domesticated in the domus also, and it was Darwin who included plants. From these definitions, domestication is clearly anthropocentric, i.e., it is about us humans. Note that only one definition mentions control.  What are the human behaviors involved? Two are explicit in the definitions: care (of the occupants of the domus) and duty (the tasks of caring for the domus and its occupants). Two are implicit. Selection – since humans are selective about what is brought into the domus. The fact that selection is implicit, rather than explicit, may be why Darwin adopted domestication as his metaphor for natural selection. Accumulation – as people and animals are brought into the domus, both from nearby (familiarize) and far away (naturalize). As Darwin recognized, humans like variety, which can be seen in most gardens and even more clearly in swiddens. The definitions above are about both organisms (humans, animals, plants) and the domus. Most current definitions of domestication concentrate one behavior (selection), but care and accumulation are just as important.
  • 1.7K
  • 04 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Heme Biosynthesis
Heme biosynthesis is essential for almost all living organisms. Despite its conserved function, the pathway’s enzymes can be located in a remarkable diversity of cellular compartments in different organisms. This location does not always reflect their evolutionary origins, as might be expected from the history of their acquisition through endosymbiosis. Instead, the final subcellular localization of the enzyme reflects multiple factors, including evolutionary origin, demand for the product, availability of the substrate, and mechanism of pathway regulation. Chromera velia is a coral-associated alga bearing complex rhodophyte-derived plastid with a peculiar tetrapyrrole pathway. It synthesizes ALA using heterotrophic C4 path (same as apicomplexan parasites), which additionally supplies chlorophyll for photosystems. Using a combination of bioinformatics and experimental approaches, we investigated localizations of heme pathway enzymes in C. velia. Our data show that the pathway very likely starts in the mitochondrion, with the remaining enzymes located in the plastid. We demonstrate that the proteins are targeted to various cellular compartments by stringent translocon mechanisms that are not universal even for evolutionarily related organisms.
  • 1.7K
  • 08 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Vitro Plant Regeneration
Plants generally have the highest regenerative ability because they show a high degree of developmental plasticity. Although the basic principles of plant regeneration date back many years, understanding the cellular, molecular, and physiological mechanisms based on these principles is currently in progress. In addition to the significant effects of some factors such as medium components, phytohormones, explant type, and light on the regeneration ability of an explant, recent reports evidence the involvement of molecular signals in organogenesis and embryogenesis responses to explant wounding, induced plant cell death, and phytohormones interaction. However, some cellular behaviors such as the occurrence of somaclonal variations and abnormalities during the in vitro plant regeneration process may be associated with adverse effects on the efficacy of plant regeneration. A review of past studies suggests that, in some cases, regeneration in plants involves the reprogramming of distinct somatic cells, while in others, it is induced by the activation of relatively undifferentiated cells in somatic tissues. However, this review covers the most important factors involved in the process of plant regeneration and discusses the mechanisms by which plants monitor this process.
  • 1.7K
  • 02 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Agastache mexicana
Mexico is the center of origin of the species popularly known as toronjil.  its use and commercialization for traditional Mexican medicine make it the most important member of the Agastache genus in Mexico. The species Agastache mexicana divides into two subspecies, based on anatomical characteristics and chemical composition: red lemon balm, Agastache mexicana Linton & Epling subspecies mexicana, and white toronjil, Agastache mexicana subspecies xolocotziana Bye, E.L. Linares & Ramamoorthy.
  • 1.7K
  • 22 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Quinoa and Chia Seeds
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) and chia (Salvia hispanica) are essential traditional crops with excellent nutritional properties. Quinoa is known for its high and good quality protein content and nine essential amino acids vital for an individual’s development and growth, whereas chia seeds contain high dietary fiber content, calories, lipids, minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc), and vitamins (A and B complex). Chia seeds are also known for their presence of a high amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Both quinoa and chia seeds are gluten-free and provide medicinal properties due to bioactive compounds, which help combat various chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic diseases such as cancer. Quinoa seeds possess phenolic compounds, particularly kaempferol, which can help prevent cancer.
  • 1.7K
  • 17 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Gynogenesis in Agricultural Crops
Gynogenesis is a viable methodology with promising results in recalcitrant species for the generation of doubled haploids, which uses unpollinated female gametophytes. This technique has been successful in loquat (Eriobotrya japonica (Thumb) Lindl.), citrus (Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck), spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), cucurbits, red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and Gentiana ssp. crops, where it is feasible to apply this technique in breeding.
  • 1.7K
  • 24 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Plant Abiotic Stress Responses
Abiotic stresses are among the principal limiting factors for productivity in agriculture. In the current era of continuous climate changes, the understanding of the molecular aspects involved in abiotic stress response in plants is a priority. The rise of -omics approaches provides key strategies to promote effective research in the field, facilitating the investigations from reference models to an increasing number of species, tolerant and sensitive genotypes. Integrated multilevel approaches, based on molecular investigations at genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics levels, are now feasible, expanding the opportunities to clarify key molecular aspects involved in responses to abiotic stresses. To this aim, bioinformatics has become fundamental for data production, mining and integration, and necessary for extracting valuable information and for comparative efforts, paving the way to the modeling of the involved processes. We provide here an overview of bioinformatics resources for research on plant abiotic stresses, describing collections from -omics efforts in the field, ranging from raw data to complete databases or platforms, highlighting opportunities and still open challenges in abiotic stress research based on -omics technologies.
  • 1.7K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Plants in Slovenian Folk Songs
Traditional knowledge about plants, including their economic and symbolic values, is passed down from generation to generation in many different ways, such as by being written and via the oral tradition. Literary texts and poems across the globe, from the earliest times to the present, abound with plant references and emphasize the past and present importance of plants in daily life. Although these texts cannot be fully trusted as historical documents, they can still be used as sources for understanding the relationship between humans and plants.
  • 1.7K
  • 06 Apr 2022
  • Page
  • of
  • 52
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Reprints

>>
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Encyclopedia of Engineering
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of Medieval Royal Iconography
Academic Video Service
Feedback