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Journal ArticleDOI

Selenium increases seed production in Brassica

01 May 2009-Plant and Soil (Springer Netherlands)-Vol. 318, Iss: 1, pp 73-80
TL;DR: Although there was no change in total biomass, Se treatment was associated with a 43% increase in seed production and the Se-treated Brassica plants had higher total respiratory activity in leaves and flowers, which may have contributed to higher seed production.
Abstract: Selenium (Se) is essential for humans and animals but is not considered to be essential for higher plants. Although researchers have found increases in vegetative growth due to fertiliser Se, there has been no definitive evidence to date of increased reproductive capacity, in terms of seed production and seed viability. The aim of this study was to evaluate seed production and growth responses to a low dose of Se (as sodium selenite, added to solution culture) compared to very low-Se controls in fast-cycling Brassica rapa L. Although there was no change in total biomass, Se treatment was associated with a 43% increase in seed production. The Se-treated Brassica plants had higher total respiratory activity in leaves and flowers, which may have contributed to higher seed production. This study provides additional evidence for a beneficial role for Se in higher plants.

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Book
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors defined the sources of heavy metals and metalloids in Soils and derived methods for the determination of Heavy Metals and Metalloids in soil.
Abstract: Preface.- Contributors.- List of Abbreviations.- Section 1: Basic Principles: Introduction.-Sources of Heavy Metals and Metalloids in Soils.- Chemistry of Heavy Metals and Metalloids in Soils.- Methods for the Determination of Heavy Metals and Metalloids in Soils.- Effects of Heavy Metals and Metalloids on Soil Organisms.- Soil-Plant Relationships of Heavy Metals and Metalloids.- Heavy Metals and Metalloids as Micronutrients for Plants and Animals.-Critical Loads of Heavy Metals for Soils.- Section 2: Key Heavy Metals And Metalloids: Arsenic.- Cadmium.- Chromium and Nickel.- Cobalt and Manganese.- Copper.-Lead.- Mercury.- Selenium.- Zinc.- Section 3: Other Heavy Metals And Metalloids Of Potential Environmental Significance: Antimony.- Barium.- Gold.- Molybdenum.- Silver.- Thallium.- Tin.- Tungsten.- Uranium.- Vanadium.- Glossary of Specialized Terms.- Index.

1,684 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Key developments in the current understanding of Se in higher plants are reviewed and recent advances in the genetic engineering of Se metabolism are discussed, particularly for biofortification and phytoremediation of Se-contaminated environments.

486 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The present study suggests that selenium can play a protective role during HT stress by enhancing the antioxidant defense system.

397 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review traces a plausible link among Se levels, sources, speciation, bioavailability, and effect of soil chemical properties on selenium bioavailability/speciation in soil; role of different protein transporters in soil-root-shoot transfer of Se; and the potential role of Se in different human disorders/diseases.

292 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the potential for increasing grain Se concentration in a high-yielding UK wheat crop using fertilisers was determined under standard field conditions in two consecutive years at up to 10 sites.
Abstract: Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for humans and livestock. In the UK, human Se intake and status has declined since the 1980s. This is primarily due to the increased use of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in UK soils which are naturally low in Se. The aim of this study was to determine the potential for increasing grain Se concentration in a high-yielding UK wheat crop using fertilisers. The crop response of winter-wheat to Se fertilisation was determined under standard field conditions in two consecutive years at up to 10 sites. Selenium fertilisers were applied as high-volume drenches of sodium selenate solution, or as granular Se-containing products. Yield and harvest index were unaffected by Se fertilisation. Under all treatments, grain Se concentration increased by 16–26 ng Se g−1 fresh weight (FW) per gram Se ha−1 applied. An application of 10 g Se ha−1 would thereby increase the Se concentration of most UK wheat grain 10-fold from current ambient levels and agronomic biofortification of UK-grown wheat is feasible. Total recovery (grain and straw) of applied Se was 20–35%. The fate of Se in the food-chain and in the soil must be determined in order to optimize the efficiency of this process.

230 citations


Cites background from "Selenium increases seed production ..."

  • ...In Brassica rapa, seed number and weight increased with selenate fertilisation (Lyons et al. 2009)....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Suggestions are offered to statisticians and editors of ecological journals as to how ecologists' under- standing of experimental design and statistics might be improved.
Abstract: Pseudoreplication is defined. as the use of inferential statistics to test for treatment effects with data from experiments where either treatments are not replicated (though samples may be) or replicates are not statistically independent. In ANOVA terminology, it is the testing for treatment effects with an error term inappropriate to the hypothesis being considered. Scrutiny of 176 experi- mental studies published between 1960 and the present revealed that pseudoreplication occurred in 27% of them, or 48% of all such studies that applied inferential statistics. The incidence of pseudo- replication is especially high in studies of marine benthos and small mammals. The critical features of controlled experimentation are reviewed. Nondemonic intrusion is defined as the impingement of chance events on an experiment in progress. As a safeguard against both it and preexisting gradients, interspersion of treatments is argued to be an obligatory feature of good design. Especially in small experiments, adequate interspersion can sometimes be assured only by dispensing with strict random- ization procedures. Comprehension of this conflict between interspersion and randomization is aided by distinguishing pre-layout (or conventional) and layout-specifit alpha (probability of type I error). Suggestions are offered to statisticians and editors of ecological j oumals as to how ecologists' under- standing of experimental design and statistics might be improved.

7,808 citations


"Selenium increases seed production ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Although the growth conditions were similar between the growth rooms, having the two Se treatments in two separate growth rooms resulted in pseudoreplication (Hurlbert 1984), making it impossible to perform proper statistical analysis of the data....

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Book
01 Jan 1973
TL;DR: This chapter discusses the media of Plant Nutrition, nutrition and growth, and the role of transport in the development of sustainable agriculture.
Abstract: PART I: ELEMENTS.- Introduction and History.- The Media of Plant Nutrition.- Inorganic Components of Plants.- PART II: TRANSPORT.- Nutrient Absorption by Plants.- Upward Movement of Water and Nutrients.- Downward Movement of Food and Nutrients.- PART III: METABOLISM AND GROWTH.- Nitrogen and Sulfur: A Tale of Two Nutrients.- Mineral Metabolism.- Nutrition and Growth.- PART IV: HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT.- Physiological Genetics and Molecular Biology.- Ecology and Environmental Stress.- Big Picture: Past, Present, Future.

2,221 citations


"Selenium increases seed production ..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...Each pot contained 0.125-strength modified Hoagland solution (Epstein and Bloom 2005)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
Ian M. Møller1
01 Jun 2001
TL;DR: The alternative oxidase and possibly NDin(NADH) function to limit mitochondrial ROS production by keeping the ETC relatively oxidized, together with small antioxidants such as glutathione, that help remove ROS.
Abstract: The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as O2- and H2O2, is an unavoidable consequence of aerobic metabolism. In plant cells the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) is a major site of ROS production. In addition to complexes I-IV, the plant mitochondrial ETC contains a non-proton-pumping alternative oxidase as well as two rotenone-insensitive, non-proton-pumping NAD(P)H dehydrogenases on each side of the inner membrane: NDex on the outer surface and NDin on the inner surface. Because of their dependence on Ca2+, the two NDex may be active only when the plant cell is stressed. Complex I is the main enzyme oxidizing NADH under normal conditions and is also a major site of ROS production, together with complex III. The alternative oxidase and possibly NDin(NADH) function to limit mitochondrial ROS production by keeping the ETC relatively oxidized. Several enzymes are found in the matrix that, together with small antioxidants such as glutathione, help remove ROS. The antioxidants are kept in a reduced state by matrix NADPH produced by NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase and non-proton-pumping transhydrogenase activities. When these defenses are overwhelmed, as occurs during both biotic and abiotic stress, the mitochondria are damaged by oxidative stress.

1,583 citations


"Selenium increases seed production ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), along with antisense and other reverse genetic studies of mitochondrial proteins (Heiser et al. 1997; Gomez-Casati et al. 2002), have shown a strong correlation between mitochondrial function and pollen viability (Moller 2001b and references cited within)....

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  • ...The antioxidant system exists within the cell, chloroplast and mitochondria to protect against oxidative damage (Moller 2001a)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
28 Nov 2003
TL;DR: Recent advances in the understanding of the plant's ability to metabolize Se into volatile Se forms (phytovolatilization) are discussed, along with the application of phytoremediation for the cleanup of Se contaminated environments.
Abstract: Plants vary considerably in their physiological response to selenium (Se). Some plant species growing on seleniferous soils are Se tolerant and accumulate very high concentrations of Se (Se accumulators), but most plants are Se nonaccumulators and are Se-sensitive. This review summarizes knowledge of the physiology and biochemistry of both types of plants, particularly with regard to Se uptake and transport, biochemical pathways of assimilation, volatilization and incorporation into proteins, and mechanisms of toxicity and tolerance. Molecular approaches are providing new insights into the role of sulfate transporters and sulfur assimilation enzymes in selenate uptake and metabolism, as well as the question of Se essentiality in plants. Recent advances in our understanding of the plant's ability to metabolize Se into volatile Se forms (phytovolatilization) are discussed, along with the application of phytoremediation for the cleanup of Se contaminated environments.

1,243 citations


"Selenium increases seed production ..." refers background or methods or result in this paper

  • ...The control and treated plants were placed in separate phytotrons to preclude transfer of volatile Se compounds from the treatments to the controls (Terry et al 2000)....

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  • ...0 μg kg in growth media would be able to satisfy their Se requirement (Terry et al. 2000)....

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  • ...It has been argued, however, that molecular evidence is yet to support the conclusion that any of these enzymes are true selenoproteins (Terry et al. 2000)....

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  • ...It has been suggested that, if Se were essential to vascular plants, an available Se concentration as low as 1.0 μg kg−1 in growth media would be able to satisfy their Se requirement (Terry et al. 2000)....

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