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• Effects of silicon in plants with particular reference to horticultural crops - Review article

  95-105.

  O. Bat-Erdene

  A. Szegő

  M. Gyöngyik

  I. Mirmazloum

  I. Papp

  Views:

  294

  Silicon (Si) has long been considered as non-essential element for plant’s growth and production. Numerous efforts are being made for the discovery of its beneficial effects with large scale studies laying foundation for new findings and hypotheses. Therefore, Si has been suggested to be a quasi-essential element due to its positive effects against biotic and abiotic stresses alike. Though Si is the second most abundant element in the soil profile, its availability to plants is limited to the form of monosilicic acid only. Besides, plants’ ability to take-up Si and use it in their physiological processes also depends on the available transporters associated with it. Thus, the present review covers uptake and transport of silicon in plants as well as Si mediated physiological processes, including mechanisms underlying induced tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses with a particular emphasis on horticultural species.

• Transmethylation and the general defense reaction of plants

  35-40.

  E. Szarka

  E. Sárdi

  G. Csilléry

  J. Szarka

  Views:

  162

  Plant breeding for resistance, namely building specific resistance genes into cultivated plants to ensure resistance against certain pathogen species, is a several-decade-long practice. While looking for purposes of failures appearing during the cultivation of varieties created in this way, a plant feature that ensures non-specific reactions against effects which evoke biotic stress attracted our attention. We named this plant defense form the general defense reaction. The general defense reaction is a fundamental attribute of the plant kingdom, fulfils the role of plant immune system and manifests itself in cell enlargement and cell division. Plants with a high level general defense reaction endure abiotic stresses as well.

  In studying the biochemical background of the interaction of the general defense reaction and transmethylation, we found that transmethylation has important role in warding off both biotic and abiotic stresses. According to our observations, plants possessing high level general defense system are suitable for thorough examination of the process and plant physiological role of transmethylation. Biochemical studies also strengthened our observation, which has been taken on the basis of phenotype, that the general defense system can not be ignored during future plant breeding.