acnistus/nicotine

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play pivotal roles in development and environmental interactions in eukaryotes. Here, we studied the function of a MAPK, NaMPK4, in the wild tobacco species Nicotiana attenuata. The NaMPK4-silenced N. attenuata (irNaMPK4) attained somewhat smaller stature,

Greenhouse-grown tobacco plants of the speciesNicotiana sylvestris (Solanaceae) subjected to leaf damage show a fourfold increase in the alkaloid content of their undamaged leaves. This increase in nicotine and nornicotine concentrations begins 19 hr after the end of the damage regime, reaches a

Ecological interactions between flowers and pollinators are all about timing. Flower opening/closing and scent emissions are largely synchronized with pollinator activity, and a circadian clock regulates these rhythms. However, whether the circadian clock increases a plant's reproductive success by

Plants protect themselves against herbivory using a continuum of strategies, ranging from constitutive defenses to intermittent induced responses. Induced defenses may not provide immediate and maximum protection, but could be advantageous when continuous defense is either energetically or

BACKGROUND Floral nectar (FN) contains not only energy-rich compounds to attract pollinators, but also defense chemicals and several proteins. However, proteomic analysis of FN has been hampered by the lack of publically available sequence information from nectar-producing plants. Here we used

Being shaded is a common environmental stress for plants, especially for densely planted crops. Shade decreases red: far-red (R:FR) ratios that inactivate phytochrome B (PHYB) and subsequently release phytochrome interaction factors (PIFs). Shaded plants display elongated hypocotyls, internodes, and

Lipoxygenases (LOXs) are key enzymes in the biosynthesis of oxylipins, and catalyse the formation of fatty acid hydroperoxides (HPs), which represent the first committed step in the synthesis of metabolites that function as signals and defences in plants. HPs are the initial substrates for different

Nicotiana attenuata, a wild tobacco species native of the southwestern USA that grows in the immediate postfire environment, is one of the important host plants for herbivore populations recolonizing recently burned habitats in the Great Basin Desert. Based on more than 20 years of field research on

BACKGROUND A plant's endogenous clock (circadian clock) entrains physiological processes to light/dark and temperature cycles. Forward and reverse genetic approaches in Arabidopsis have revealed the mechanisms of the circadian clock and its components in the genome. Similar approaches have been used

Most land plants live in a symbiotic association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) that belong to the phylum Glomeromycota. Although a number of plant genes involved in the plant-AMF interactions have been identified by analyzing mutants, the ability to rapidly manipulate gene expression to

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/ oxygenase (RuBisCO) is the most abundant protein on the planet and in addition to its central role in photosynthesis it is thought to function as a nitrogen (N)-storage protein and a potential source of N for defense biosynthesis in plants. In a recent study in

Jasmonic acid (JA) plays important roles in plant resistance to insect herbivores. One important derivative of JA is 12-OH-JA, which is produced by two independent pathways: direct hydroxylation of JA by jasmonate-induced oxygenases (JOXs) or hydrolyzation of 12-OH-JA-Ile.Yet the function of

We recently characterized a highly dynamic fungal disease outbreak in native populations of Nicotiana attenuata in the southwestern United States. Here, we explore how phytohormone signalling contributes to the observed disease dynamics. Single inoculation with three native Fusarium and Alternaria

Natural variation can be extremely useful in unraveling the determinants of phenotypic trait evolution but has rarely been analyzed with unbiased metabolic profiling to understand how its effects are organized at the level of biochemical pathways. Native populations of Nicotiana attenuata, a wild

The introduction of genetically modified plants into natural habitats represents a valuable means to determine organismic level functions of a gene and its effects on a plant's interaction with other organisms. Nicotiana attenuata, a wild tobacco species native of the southwestern USA that grows in