List of recently published papers on plant flow cytometry - October and November

As I told in the previous post, I've had limited time to dedicate to the blog. Because of that I bring you the list of the recently published papers of the two last months, October and November. There are some very interesting papers in this package... so, I wish some nice readings.

Genome size:
Palomino G, Hernandez LT, Torres ED. Nuclear genome size and chromosome analysis in Chenopodium quinoa and C. berlandieri subsp. nuttalliae. Euphytica (2008) 164: 221-230.

Robert ML, Lim KY, Hanson L, Sanchez-Teyer F, Bennett MD, Leitch AR, Leitch IJ. Wild and agronomically important Agave species (Asparagaceae) show proportional increases in chromosome number, genome size, and genetic markers with increasing ploidy. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society (2008) 158: 215-222.

Achigan-Dako EG, Fuchs J, Ahanchede A, Blattner FR. Flow cytometric analysis in Lagenaria siceraria (Cucurbitaceae) indicates correlation of genome size with usage types and growing elevation. Plant Systematics and Evolution (2008) 276: 9–19.

Costa IR, Dornelas MC, Forni-Martins ER. Nuclear genome size variation in fleshy-fruited Neotropical Myrtaceae. Plant Systematics and Evolution (2008) 276: 209–217.

Rosado TB, Clarindo WR, Carvalho CR. An integrated cytogenetic, flow and image cytometry procedure used to measure the DNA content of Zea mays A and B chromosomes. Plant Science 176 (2009) 154–158.

Temsch EM, Greilhuber J, Hammett KRW, Murray BG. Genome size in Dahlia Cav. (Asteraceae–Coreopsideae). Plant Systematics and Evolution (2008) 276:157–166.

Ploidy level:
Ecology
Arvanitis L, Wiklund C, Ehrlen J. Plant ploidy level influences selection by butterfly seed predators. Oikos (2008) 117: 1020-1025.

Biosystematics
Singliarová B, Chrtek J, Mráz P. Loss of genetic diversity in isolated populations of an alpine endemic Pilosella alpicola subsp. ullepitschii: effect of long-term vicariance or long-distance dispersal? Plant Systematics and Evolution (2008) 275: 181-191.

Fortune PM, Schierenbeck K, Ayres D, Bortolus A, Catrice O, Brown S, Ainouche ML. The enigmatic invasive Spartina densiflora: A history of hybridizations in a polyploidy context. Molecular Ecology (2008) 17: 4304-4316.

Ricca M, Beecher FW, Boles SB, Temsch E, Greilhuber J, Karlin EF, Shaw AJ. Cytotype variation and allopolyploidy in North American species of the Sphagnum subsecundum complex (Sphagnaceae). American Journal of Botany (2008) 95: 1606-1620.

Biotechnology
Perera PIP, Perera L, Hocher V, Verdeil JL, Yakandawala DMD, Weerakoon LK. Use of SSR markers to determine the anther-derived homozygous lines in coconut. Plant Cell Reports (2008) 27: 1697-1703.

Astarini IA, Plummer JA, Lancaster RA, Yan G. Identification of 'Sib' plants in hybrid cauliflowers using microsatellite markers. Euphytica (2008) 164: 309-316.

Apomixis
Kaushal P, Malaviya DR, Roy AK, Pathak S, Agrawal A, Khare A, Siddiqui SA. Reproductive pathways of seed development in apomictic guinea grass (Panicum maximum Jacq.) reveal uncoupling of apomixis components. Euphytica (2008) 164: 81-92.

Cell cycle:
Bagniewska-Zadworna A. The root microtubule cytoskeleton and cell cycle analysis through desiccation of Brassica napus seedlings. Protoplasma (2008) 233:177–185.

Functional studies:
Zonno MC, Vurro M, Lucretti S, Andolfi A, Perrone C, Evidente A. Phyllostictine A, a potential natural herbicide produced by Phyllosticta cirsii: In vitro production and toxicity. Plant Science (2008) 175: 818–825.

New paper on Nature Protocols

The Central Europe plant flow cytometry triangle team, i.e., Jaroslav Dolezel (Olomouc), Johann Greilhuber (Vienna) and Jan Suda (Prague), has just published another very interesting manuscript on the estimation of nuclear DNA content in plants using cytometry. This review and step-by-step protocol has just been published in Nature Protocols the online resource for protocols of the Nature Publishing Group.

The article is very carefully written and presents step-by-step protocols for the analysis of nuclear DNA content in plant tissues, with the underlining of the procedure's critical steps. A very useful troubleshooting table is also provided, with the possible reasons and solutions for the most common problems that may appear upon analysis of plant tissues using flow cytometry. Therefore the article is utterly recommended not only for beginners but also for more experienced users of the area of plant FCM.

Below follows the abstract and the link to the online version of the manuscript.

Abstract:
Flow cytometry (FCM) using DNA-selective fluorochromes is now the prevailing method for the measurement of nuclear DNA content in plants. Ease of sample preparation and high sample throughput make it generally better suited than other methods such as Feulgen densitometry to estimate genome size, level of generative polyploidy, nuclear replication state and endopolyploidy (polysomaty). Here we present four protocols for sample preparation (suspensions of intact cell nuclei) and describe the analysis of nuclear DNA amounts using FCM. We consider the chemicals and equipment necessary, the measurement process, data analysis, and describe the most frequent problems encountered with plant material such as the interference of secondary metabolites. The purpose and requirement of internal and external standardization are discussed. The importance of using a correct terminology for DNA amounts and genome size is underlined, and its basic principles are explained.

Author for correspondence: Jaroslav Dolezel; e-mail: dolezel@ueb.cas.cz

Online version