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35 years in plant lectin research : a journey from basic science to applications in agriculture and medicine Ghent University
Plants contain an extended group of lectins differing from each other in their molecular structures, biochemical properties and carbohydrate-binding specificities. The heterogeneous group of plant lectins can be classified in several families based on the primary structure of the lectin domain. All proteins composed of one or more lectin domains, or having a domain architecture including one or more lectin domains in combination with other ...
Messages from the past : new insights in plant lectin evolution Ghent University
Lectins are a large and diverse class of proteins, found in all kingdoms of life. Plants are known to express different types of carbohydrate-binding proteins, each containing at least one particular lectin domain which enables them to specifically recognize and bind carbohydrate structures. The group of plant lectins is heterogeneous in terms of structure, biological activity and function. Lectins control various aspects of plant development ...
Involvement of OsRIP1, a ribosome-inactivating protein from rice, in plant defense against Nilaparvata lugens Ghent University
Rice is the most important staple food in the world, but rice production is challenged by several biotic stress factors like viruses, bacteria, fungi and pest insects. One of the most notorious pest insects is Nilaparvata lugens, commonly known as the brown planthopper, which feeds on rice phloem sap and can cause serious damage to rice fields. In order to protect themselves, plants express a wide array of defense proteins such as ...
A trait‐based analysis of the role of phosphorus vs. nitrogen enrichment in plant species loss across North‐west European grasslands University of Antwerp Research Institute for Nature and Forest KU Leuven
1. Both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment have been identified to drive plant species losses from nutrient-poor semi-natural grasslands. The relative contribution of N vs. P to species loss remains unclear, however. 2. We investigated how soil N and P availability affect the occurrence of 61 grassland species across North-western Europe. We selected 132 study sites, located in Great Britain, Belgium and France, along a soil fertility ...
Effects of slope angle and aspect on plant cover and species richness in a humid Mediterranean badland KU Leuven
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Soil erosion is one of the most severe land degradation processes in the Mediterranean region. Although badlands occupy a relatively small fraction of the Mediterranean area, their erosion rates are very high. Many studies have investigated to what extent vegetation controls soil erosion rates. This study, however, deals with the impact of erosion on vegetation establishment. In semi-arid badlands of the ...
Optical traits perform equally well as directly-measured functional traits in explaining the impact of an invasive plant on litter decomposition KU Leuven
Functional traits can help elucidate and predict the impact of invasive plant species on ecosystem functioning. Yet, this approach requires comprehensive and labour‐intensive trait collection campaigns, covering intraspecific trait variation of both the invader and native species in the invaded community. One potential way to overcome these logistic constraints is using hyperspectral remote sensing technology to efficiently quantify functional ...
Are dietary lectins relevant allergens in plant food allergy? Ghent University
Laboratory study of the effects of leek lectin (APA) in transgenic tobacco plants on the development of cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera) Ghent University
Transgenic tobacco plants expressing the Allium porrum L. (leek) agglutinin (called APA) under the control of the 35S constitutive promoter were tested for their insecticidal activity against the cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Southern blot and PCR analysis confirmed that the APA gene was integrated into the plant genome. Northern and Western blots as well as semi-quantitative agglutination assays revealed ...