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Journal of Experimental Botany Nov 2022Cytokinin is considered to be an important driver of seed yield. To increase the yield of cotton while avoiding the negative consequences caused by constitutive...
Cytokinin is considered to be an important driver of seed yield. To increase the yield of cotton while avoiding the negative consequences caused by constitutive overproduction of cytokinin, we down-regulated specifically the carpel genes for cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase (CKX), a key negative regulator of cytokinin levels, in transgenic cotton. The carpel-specific down-regulation of CKXs significantly enhanced cytokinin levels in the carpels. The elevated cytokinin promoted the expression of carpel- and ovule-development-associated genes, GhSTK2, GhAG1, and GhSHP, boosting ovule formation and thus producing more seeds in the ovary. Field experiments showed that the carpel-specific increase of cytokinin significantly increased both seed yield and fiber yield of cotton, without resulting in detrimental phenotypes. Our study details the regulatory mechanism of cytokinin signaling for seed development, and provides an effective and feasible strategy for yield improvement of seed crops.
Topics: Down-Regulation; Seeds; Cytokinins; Ovule; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Cotton Fiber
PubMed: 35792654
DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac303 -
Cells Jan 2022is a large carnivorous plant that is endemic to Brazil. It forms an extra-ovular female gametophyte, which surpasses the entire micropylar canal and extends beyond the...
is a large carnivorous plant that is endemic to Brazil. It forms an extra-ovular female gametophyte, which surpasses the entire micropylar canal and extends beyond the limit of the integument and invades the placenta tissues. Due to the atypical behavior of the female gametophyte, it is interesting to determine the interaction between the gametophyte and sporophytic tissue. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the placenta, the ovular tissues, the hypertrophied central cell and the integument in guiding the pollen tube in Gardner by studying the distribution of homogalacturonans and hemicelluloses. It was also determined whether the distribution of the homogalacturonans (HG) and hemicelluloses in are dependent on pollination. The antibodies directed against the wall components (anti-pectin: JIM5, JIM7, LM19, LM20 and the anti-hemicelluloses: LM25, LM11, LM15, LM20, LM21) were used. Because both low- and high-esterified HG and xyloglucan were observed in the placenta, ovule (integument, chalaza) and female gametophyte of both pollinated and unpollinated flowers, the occurrence of these cell-wall components was not dependent on pollination. After fertilization, low methyl-esterified HGs were still observed in the cell walls of somatic cells and female gametophyte. However, in the case of high-esterified HG, the signal was weak and occurred only in the cell walls of the somatic cells. Because xyloglucans were observed in the cell walls of the synergids and egg cells, this suggests that they play a role in sexual reproduction. with an extra ovule-female gametophyte is presented as an attractive model for studying the male-female dialogue in plants.
Topics: Flowers; Ovule; Pollen Tube; Pollination
PubMed: 35159284
DOI: 10.3390/cells11030475 -
BMC Genomics Feb 2023Paeonia ludlowii (Stern & G. Taylor D.Y. Hong) belongs to the peony group of the genus Paeonia in the Paeoniaceae family and is now classified as a "critically...
BACKGROUND
Paeonia ludlowii (Stern & G. Taylor D.Y. Hong) belongs to the peony group of the genus Paeonia in the Paeoniaceae family and is now classified as a "critically endangered species" in China. Reproduction is important for this species, and its low fruiting rate has become a critical factor limiting both the expansion of its wild population and its domestic cultivation.
RESULTS
In this study, we investigated possible causes of the low fruiting rate and ovule abortion in Paeonia ludlowii. We clarified the characteristics of ovule abortion and the specific time of abortion in Paeonia ludlowii, and used transcriptome sequencing to investigate the mechanism of abortion of ovules in Paeonia ludlowii.
CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the ovule abortion characteristics of Paeonia ludlowii were systematically studied for the first time and provide a theoretical basis for the optimal breeding and future cultivation of Paeonia ludlowii.
Topics: Paeonia; Ovule; Transcriptome; Plant Breeding; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
PubMed: 36803218
DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09171-1 -
Plant Physiology Jul 2017In rice (), hybrids between and subspecies are usually highly sterile, which provides a model system for studying postzygotic reproductive isolation. A...
In rice (), hybrids between and subspecies are usually highly sterile, which provides a model system for studying postzygotic reproductive isolation. A killer-protector system, , composed of three adjacent genes (, , and ), regulates female gamete fertility of hybrids. To characterize the processes underlying this system, we performed transcriptomic analyses of pistils from rice variety Balilla (BL), Balilla with transformed (BL) producing sterile female gametes, and Balilla with transformed and (BL) producing fertile gametes. RNA sequencing of tissues collected before (MMC), during (MEI), and after (AME) meiosis of the megaspore mother cell detected 19,269 to 20,928 genes as expressed. Comparison between BL and BL showed that induced differential expression of 8,339, 6,278, and 530 genes at MMC, MEI, and AME, respectively. At MMC, large-scale differential expression of cell wall-modifying genes and biotic and abiotic response genes indicated that cell wall integrity damage induced severe biotic and abiotic stresses. The processes continued to MEI and induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress as indicated by differential expression of ER stress-responsive genes, leading to programmed cell death at MEI and AME, resulting in abortive female gametes. In the BL/BL comparison, 3,986, 749, and 370 genes were differentially expressed at MMC, MEI, and AME, respectively. Large numbers of cell wall modification and biotic and abiotic response genes were also induced at MMC but largely suppressed at MEI without inducing ER stress and programed cell death , producing fertile gametes. These results have general implications for the understanding of biological processes underlying reproductive barriers.
Topics: Apoptosis; Cell Wall; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Gene Ontology; Hybridization, Genetic; Oryza; Ovule; Plants, Genetically Modified; Reproductive Isolation; Up-Regulation
PubMed: 28483876
DOI: 10.1104/pp.17.00093 -
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Aug 2023: Vulvovaginal infections pose significant health challenges for women, necessitating effective treatment approaches. This retrospective observational study aimed at... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
: Vulvovaginal infections pose significant health challenges for women, necessitating effective treatment approaches. This retrospective observational study aimed at investigating the efficacy of collagen-based vaginal ovules therapy, specifically Plurigin Ovules, in restoring cervical epithelialization and reducing inflammation in mycotic, viral, and bacterial cervico-vaginitis. : A total of 398 women with cervico-vaginitis were included in the study, categorized into three groups: bacterial cervico-vaginitis (Group A), viral cervico-vaginitis (Group B), and fungal cervico-vaginitis (Group C). Participants received vaginal therapy with Plurigin Ovules for three months. Vaginal health parameters were assessed at baseline (T0) and after six months (T1) using various diagnostic tests and analyzed with appropriate statistical tests. : Significant improvement in cervico-vaginitis was observed in all three groups. At T1, 87.7% patients of Group A, 66.7% of Group B, and 71.5% of Group C achieved infection resolution (all < 0.05). Positive colposcopy results decreased across all groups ( < 0.001). Positive vaginal swabs and altered vaginal pH decreased in group A and C ( < 0.001). Positive HPV tests decreased in Group B ( < 0.001). Positive Pap tests and clinical examinations decreased significantly across all groups ( < 0.001). The odds ratios were calculated to reveal the significant associations between these diagnostic outcomes. The therapy was well-tolerated, and no major adverse events were reported. : Plurigin Ovules exhibited promising therapeutic outcomes in the three cervico-vaginitis conditions studied. Bacterial cervico-vaginitis showed the most significant improvement, followed by fungal and viral cervico-vaginitis. These findings emphasize the potential of Plurigin Ovules as an effective therapeutic option for cervico-vaginal inflammation and infection, highlighting its role in promoting re-epithelialization and reducing inflammatory processes in the cervix and vagina.
Topics: Humans; Female; Cervix Uteri; Ovule; Re-Epithelialization; Inflammation; Collagen
PubMed: 37629780
DOI: 10.3390/medicina59081490 -
The New Phytologist Mar 2023In cereal species, grain size is influenced by growth of the ovule integuments (seed coat), the spikelet hull (lemma and palea) and the filial endosperm. Whether a...
In cereal species, grain size is influenced by growth of the ovule integuments (seed coat), the spikelet hull (lemma and palea) and the filial endosperm. Whether a highly conserved ovule tissue, the nucellus, has any impact on grain size has remained unclear. Immunolabelling revealed that the barley nucellus comprises two distinct cell types that differ in terms of cell wall homogalacturonan (HG) accumulation. Transcriptional profiling of the nucellus identified two pectin methylesterase (PME) genes, OVULE PECTIN MODIFIER 1 (OPM1) and OPM2, which are expressed in the unfertilized ovule but absent from the seed. Ovules from an opm1 opm2 mutant and plants expressing an ovule-specific pectin methylesterase inhibitor (PMEI), exhibit reduced HG accumulation. This results in changes to ovule cell size and shape and ovules that are longer than wild-type (WT) controls. At grain maturity, this is manifested as significantly longer grain. These findings indicate that cell wall composition during ovule development acts to limit ovule and seed growth. The investigation of ovule PME and PMEI activity reveals an unexpected role of maternal tissues in controlling grain growth before fertilization, one that has been lacking from models exploring improvements in grain size.
Topics: Edible Grain; Ovule; Hordeum; Seeds; Cell Wall; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
PubMed: 36600397
DOI: 10.1111/nph.18714 -
NeuroImage Apr 2021Female chemical signals underlie the advertising of sexual receptivity and fertility. Whether the body odor of a pregnant woman also has a signaling function with... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Randomized Controlled Trial
Female chemical signals underlie the advertising of sexual receptivity and fertility. Whether the body odor of a pregnant woman also has a signaling function with respect to male behavior is yet to be conclusively established. This study examines how the body odors of ovulating and pregnant women differentially affect the behavior of heterosexual men. Body odor samples were collected from 5 pregnant women and 5 matched controls during ovulation. In a double-blind functional magnetic resonance imaging design, 18 heterosexual men were exposed to female body odors during ovulation (OV) and pregnancy (PRG) while being required to indicate the attractiveness of concurrently presented female portrait images. The participants were also required to indicate whether they assumed a depicted woman was pregnant. While neither OV nor PRG altered the perceived attractiveness of a presented face, the men tended to identify the women as pregnant while exposed to a PRG body odor. On the neural level, OV activated a network of the frontotemporal and limbic regions, while PRG activated the superior medial frontal gyrus. The results suggest that the detection of sexual availability activates the male brain regions associated with face processing and reward/motivation, whereas sensing pregnancy activates a region responsible for empathy and prosocial behavior. Thus, the female body odor during pregnancy likely helps foster circumstances conducive to the future care of offspring while the body odor advertising sexual availability promotes mating behavior. The brains of heterosexual men may be capable of unconsciously discriminating between these two types of olfactory stimuli.
Topics: Adult; Brain; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Odorants; Ovulation; Pheromones, Human; Photic Stimulation; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Sexual Behavior; Smell; Young Adult
PubMed: 33484852
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117733 -
BMC Plant Biology Sep 2023As the male and female gametophytes of flowering plants, pollen and ovules largely determine the upper and lower boundaries of plant reproductive success. It is commonly...
BACKGROUND
As the male and female gametophytes of flowering plants, pollen and ovules largely determine the upper and lower boundaries of plant reproductive success. It is commonly predicted that pollen and ovule number per flower should increase, and pollen-ovule ratio (P/O) per flower should decrease with increasing elevation in response to a more stochastic pollination environment. Here, we aimed to determine the response of pollen number, ovule number, and P/O to other floral traits and elevation gradients for 84 insect-pollinated herbaceous flowering plant species in five sub-alpine and alpine communities (2709 to 3896 m a.s.l.) on Yulong Snow Mountain, southwestern China.
RESULTS
Six floral traits, including P/O, floral display area, flower number, tube depth, flower shape, and pollen presentation, were highly correlated with pollen and ovule number per flower. With increasing elevation, pollen number and P/O per flower increased marginally and significantly, respectively; ovule number per individual, flower number per individual, stigma stamen separation, and inflorescence height decreased significantly. However, ovule number per flower and other floral traits (i.e., floral display area, tube depth, stigma height, stamen height, and pollen and P/O per individual) did not change with elevation. We detected significant phylogenetic signals for pollen number, ovule number, and P/O, suggesting that these traits may be highly conserved and with limited response to changing environmental conditions.
CONCLUSIONS
Results revealed patterns of plant reproductive character evolution along elevation gradients and the potential factors governing their spatial variation in high-elevation environments. Plant species at high elevations are more likely adapted to cross-pollination, indicated by increased P/O per flower at high elevations on Yulong Mountain. Combined effects of phylogenetic history and plant-pollinator interactions should determine plant trait evolution.
Topics: Ovule; Phylogeny; Pollen; China; Flowers; Magnoliopsida
PubMed: 37710175
DOI: 10.1186/s12870-023-04433-2 -
Biology Letters Feb 2009Recent research has documented a variety of ovulatory cues in humans, and in many nonhuman species, the vocal channel provides cues of reproductive state. We collected...
Recent research has documented a variety of ovulatory cues in humans, and in many nonhuman species, the vocal channel provides cues of reproductive state. We collected two sets of vocal samples from 69 normally ovulating women: one set during the follicular (high-fertility) phase of the cycle and one set during the luteal (low-fertility) phase, with ovulation confirmed by luteinizing hormone tests. In these samples we measured fundamental frequency (pitch), formant dispersion, jitter, shimmer, harmonics-to-noise ratio and speech rate. When speaking a simple introductory sentence, women's pitch increased during high- as compared with low-fertility, and this difference was the greatest for women whose voices were recorded on the two highest fertility days within the fertile window (the 2 days just before ovulation). This pattern did not occur when the same women produced vowels. The high- versus low-fertility difference in pitch was associated with the approach of ovulation and not menstrual onset, thus representing, to our knowledge, the first research to show a specific cyclic fertility cue in the human voice. We interpret this finding as evidence of a fertility-related enhancement of femininity consistent with other research documenting attractiveness-related changes associated with ovulation.
Topics: Cues; Female; Fertility; Humans; Ovulation; Voice
PubMed: 18845518
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0507 -
Plant Reproduction Mar 2021Analyses of secretomes of in vitro grown pollen tubes from Amborella, maize and tobacco identified many components of processes associated with the cell wall, signaling...
Analyses of secretomes of in vitro grown pollen tubes from Amborella, maize and tobacco identified many components of processes associated with the cell wall, signaling and metabolism as well as novel small secreted peptides. Flowering plants (angiosperms) generate pollen grains that germinate on the stigma and produce tubes to transport their sperm cells cargo deep into the maternal reproductive tissues toward the ovules for a double fertilization process. During their journey, pollen tubes secrete many proteins (secreted proteome or secretome) required, for example, for communication with the maternal reproductive tissues, to build a solid own cell wall that withstands their high turgor pressure while softening simultaneously maternal cell wall tissue. The composition and species specificity or family specificity of the pollen tube secretome is poorly understood. Here, we provide a suitable method to obtain the pollen tube secretome from in vitro grown pollen tubes of the basal angiosperm Amborella trichopoda (Amborella) and the Poaceae model maize. The previously published secretome of tobacco pollen tubes was used as an example of eudicotyledonous plants in this comparative study. The secretome of the three species is each strongly different compared to the respective protein composition of pollen grains and tubes. In Amborella and maize, about 40% proteins are secreted by the conventional "classic" pathway and 30% by unconventional pathways. The latter pathway is expanded in tobacco. Proteins enriched in the secretome are especially involved in functions associated with the cell wall, cell surface, energy and lipid metabolism, proteolysis and redox processes. Expansins, pectin methylesterase inhibitors and RALFs are enriched in maize, while tobacco secretes many proteins involved, for example, in proteolysis and signaling. While the majority of proteins detected in the secretome occur also in pollen grains and pollen tubes, and correlate in the number of mapped peptides with relative gene expression levels, some novel secreted small proteins were identified. Moreover, the identification of secreted proteins containing pro-peptides indicates that these are processed in the apoplast. In conclusion, we provide a proteome resource from three distinct angiosperm clades that can be utilized among others to study the localization, abundance and processing of known secreted proteins and help to identify novel pollen tube secreted proteins for functional studies.
Topics: Magnoliopsida; Ovule; Peptides; Pollen Tube; Nicotiana; Zea mays
PubMed: 33258014
DOI: 10.1007/s00497-020-00399-5