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Morphological and biochemical evidence for cold-stress-induced apoptosis in meristematic cells of maize roots

Ning Shunbin, Song Yunchun, Wang Ling, Liu Lihua

Center for Developmental Biology,Wuhan University.Wuhan 430072,Hubei

Abstract

The statistical result on root growth showed that cold stress could suppress the growth of maize roots and this suppression could be released under normal temperature. Nonrandom degradation of nuclear DNA (shown as DNA Ladder in electrophoresis pattern) and characteristic morphological changes and the sequence of the changes of chromosome and nucleus suggested that apoptosis pathway be activated in maize roots in vivo. These results provided valuable insight into the physiological mechanism of cold resistance in plants.

Key words: Cold stress;Apoptosis;Chromosome spreading;TUNEL;Plants

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Citing This Article：

Ning Shunbin, Song Yunchun, Wang Ling, Liu Lihua. Morphological and biochemical evidence for cold-stress-induced apoptosis in meristematic cells of maize roots. Acta Physiol Sin 2000; 52 (3): (in Chinese with English abstract).