Under defined cultural conditions, large populations of zygotes
of the brown algae Fucus vesiculosus L. and F. distichus L. Powell
synchronously form a cell wall shortly after fertilization. Intact cell
walls, free of cytoplasm and maintaining shape properties of early
stages of embryo development, have been isolated from these zygotes....
Fucus distichus L. Powell zygotes were used to investigate
cell wall synthesis and development and to construct a model of
cell wall structure.
Alginate synthesis was investigated. Zygotes were cultured
in seawater containing ¹⁴C-bicarbonate. Alginate represented
12%, 37%, and 1.7% of the label recovered from whole zygotes,
wall, and cytoplasm,...
The overall focus of this thesis is on the distribution of specific lipids and membrane proteins of the external and internal membranes of plant cells, in the context of the roles that those lipids and proteins may play in microbe-plant interactions. The work includes the development of several new tools,...
Plants develop a vast array of cell shapes and sizes by selectively modifying their surrounding cell walls to expand in some regions and not in others. This process of morphogenesis requires the delivery of secretory vesicles to specific locations at the cell periphery, where exocytosis adds new membrane and proteins...
Imaging spectra of plant tissues yield considerable potential and useful information
for basic studies and agriculture practice. We constructed an imaging spectrophotometer
with spectral range from 400 nm to 1100 nm, which was used to study various
physiological events of plant germplasm: location of bundle sheath and mesophyll cells in...
The thesis begins with an introduction to signal transduction
and an analysis of current understanding of plant signal
transduction. There are similarities between plants and animals,
but also key differences, including lack of protein kinase C and of a
cAMP signaling pathway in plants, and presence in plants of
calcium...
Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt. (sub-alpine fir) trees of comparable
vigor growing in eastern British Columbia were studied in
order to determine the effects of cork bark disease on phellogen and
vascular cambium activity.
Diseased trees form hard deeply fissured rhytidome several
inches thick over large areas of the bole when...
Herbs have been used for many centuries in diverse civilizations for the treatment of heart disease. Only a few natural supplements claim to have direct cardiovascular actions including hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) and berberine derived from the Berberidaceae family. Several different studies indicate important cardiovascular effects of hawthorn and berberine. For...