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Hordeum Vulgare (hordeum + vulgare)
Terms modified by Hordeum Vulgare Selected AbstractsIdentification of hydroxyl copper toxicity to barley (Hordeum vulgare) root elongation in solution cultureENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2009Xuedong Wang Abstract The effect of pH on the acute toxicity of Cu to barley (Hordeum vulgare) root elongation was investigated in solution culture. The results showed that the median effective concentrations (EC50s; i.e., the concentration that reduced root elongation by 50% based on free Cu2+ activity) were not significantly different in the low-pH range from 4.5 to 6.5, but in the high-pH range from 7.0 to 8.0, a significant effect of pH on EC50s was found. The nonlinear relationship between EC50 and H+ activity in the present study indicated that the increased toxicity with increasing pH in solution may not be caused by decreasing H+ competition. When we take account of CuOH+ activities, a good linear relationship (r2 > 0.97) between the ratio of CuOH+ activity to free Cu2+ activity and acute Cu toxicity to barley root elongation was achieved, which indicated that the observed toxicity in the high-pH range may be caused by CuOH+ plus free Cu2+ in solution. Linear-regression analysis suggested CuOH+ had a greater binding affinity than Cu2+ at the biotic ligand sites. The logistic dose,response curve showed that expressing the Cu dose as Cu2+ + 2.92·CuOH+ improved the data fit significantly compared to consideration of the free Cu2+ activity only. Thus, our results suggest CuOH+ was highly toxic to barley root elongation. The enhanced toxicity of CuOH+ therefore needs to be considered when modeling the effect of pH on Cu toxicity to barley for exposures having pH greater than 6.5. [source] Different Patterns of Physiological and Molecular Response to Drought in Seedlings of Malt- and Feed-type Barleys (Hordeum vulgare)JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 1 2010M. Rapacz Abstract A number of physiological and molecular characteristics are proposed as selection criteria for drought tolerance. This study measured the associations between physiological and molecular characteristics of drought response in malting and fodder spring barleys. Plants of 13 malt- and 14 feed-type Polish genotypes were exposed to drought at the four-leaf stage for 7 days. Drought susceptibility indexes (DSI) were calculated for membrane integrity, water status, gas exchange and PSII photochemical activity. Accumulation of HVA1 and SRG6 transcripts in drought was measured with real-time PCR. A wide range of variation in the drought response was observed among studied genotypes. Malting barleys were less sensitive to drought than feed-barleys according to all the traits studied. In both groups, different patterns of relationships between traits were observed. In malting genotypes only, CO2 assimilation rates in drought, as well as PSII efficiency were related to both water content and the accumulation of HVA1 transcript in leaves. On the other hand the SRG6 expression was highly correlated in both groups of barley with the photochemical efficiency of PSII. The results suggest that different physiological, biochemical and molecular characteristics should be applied in the selection towards drought resistance in the case of malting and fodder barleys. [source] Impact of Soil Tillage and Crop Rotation on Barley (Hordeum vulgare) and Weeds in a Semi-arid EnvironmentJOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 6 2004H. Z. Ghosheh Abstract Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of mouldboard- or chisel-ploughing and rotations on barley crops and associated weeds in a semi-arid location. Two primary soil tillage operations and eight crop rotation-tillage operation combinations were evaluated over two successive seasons. Drought conditions prevailed (<152 mm annual precipitation) and affected the measured parameters. Barley grown in mouldboard-ploughed plots had higher biomass compared with chisel-ploughed plots. Barley grain yield was greater in mouldboard-ploughed plots in a fallow-fallow-barley rotation. Weed species densities varied between tillage systems and rotations. Density of Hordeum marinum, for example, was high in fallow-barley-fallow in chisel-ploughed plots, and was high under more continuous fallow in mouldboard-ploughed plots. Similar variations were also observed in weed fresh weights and in numbers of seed produced. The results describe the productivity of barley under extremely dry conditions, where an advantage for mouldboard ploughing was observed. The results also indicate the complexity of weed communities in their response towards different tillage-rotation combinations. [source] The Change of Heat Emission and Phenolic Compound Level in Hordeum vulgare (L.) and Festuca pratensis (Huds.) Calli Treated with Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc.) Shoem.JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 1 2000Phytotoxins The presented work was conducted on calli of spring barley and meadow fescue that differed in degree of sensitivity to leaf spot pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana. Callus reaction to fungus phytotoxins was examined on the basis of the amount of total phenolics and heat emission. The study was conducted dynamically , the measurements were performed after 1, 3, 6, 10, 24, 48, 72, 168 and 240 h after the moment when the calli were elicited with fungus metabolites. The greatest metabolic activity of fescue calli was observed between the 6th and the 24th h after treatment with phytotoxins and amounted to 170 % of control values. On the 10th day of culture this activity dramatically decreased in comparison with control (17 %). In the case of barley calli, increased heat emission was registered during the first 10 h of pathogenesis (130,150 % of control values). Calli of both studied plant species also differed in the dynamics of phenolic content changes. In meadow fescue tissue a significant decrease in phenolic level in comparison with control (40 %) was observed after the 7th day of experiment. In barley calli the amount of total phenolics decreased within the first 3 h (60,70% of control). The results obtained show that spring barley and meadow fescue differ in the rate of reaction to B. sorokiniana phytotoxins with regard to changes in metabolic activity and phenolic content. It also suggests a different degree of the plants sensitivity to the studied pathogen on tissue level. [source] Time allocation of a parasitoid foraging in heterogeneous vegetation: implications for host,parasitoid interactionsJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2007TIBOR BUKOVINSZKY Summary 1Changing plant composition in a community can have profound consequences for herbivore and parasitoid population dynamics. To understand such effects, studies are needed that unravel the underlying behavioural decisions determining the responses of parasitoids to complex habitats. 2The searching behaviour of the parasitoid Diadegma semiclausum was followed in environments with different plant species composition. In the middle of these environments, two Brassica oleracea plants infested by the host Plutella xylostella were placed. The control set-up contained B. oleracea plants only. In the more complex set-ups, B. oleracea plants were interspersed by either Sinapis alba or Hordeum vulgare. 3Parasitoids did not find the first host-infested plant with the same speed in the different environments. Sinapis alba plants were preferentially searched by parasitoids, resulting in fewer initial host encounters, possibly creating a dynamic enemy-free space for the host on adjacent B. oleracea plants. In set-ups with H. vulgare, also, fewer initial host encounters were found, but in this case plant structure was more likely than infochemicals to interfere with the searching behaviour of parasitoids. 4On discovering a host-infested plant, parasitoids located the second host-infested plant with equal speed, demonstrating the effect of experience on time allocation. Further encounters with host-infested plants that had already been visited decreased residence times and increased the tendency to leave the environment. 5Due to the intensive search of S. alba plants, hosts were encountered at lower rates here than in the other set-ups. However, because parasitoids left the set-up with S. alba last, the same number of hosts were encountered as in the other treatments. 6Plant composition of a community influences the distribution of parasitoid attacks via its effects on arrival and leaving tendencies. Foraging experiences can reduce or increase the importance of enemy-free space for hosts on less attractive plants. [source] Competitive dynamics in two- and three-component intercropsJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2007METTE KLINDT ANDERSEN Summary 1Intercropping is receiving increasing attention because it offers potential advantages for resource utilization, decreased inputs and increased sustainability in crop production, but our understanding of the interactions among intercropped species is still very limited. 2We grew pea Pisum sativum, barley Hordeum vulgare and rape Brassica napus as sole crops and intercrops under field conditions using a replacement design. We collected total dry matter data from sequential harvests and fitted the data to a logistic growth model. At each harvest we estimated the relative Competitive Strength (CS) of the three crops by fitting the data to a simple interspecific competition model. 3The pea monocrop produced the largest amount of biomass from the middle to the end of the growth period, but pea was not dominant in intercrops. 4Fitting data to a logistic growth model emphasizes the importance of initial size differences for interactions among intercrops. Barley was the dominant component of the intercrops largely because of its initial size advantage. The competitive effect of barley on its companion crops, measured as CS, increased throughout most of the growing season. 5The performance of each crop species was very different when it grew with a second species rather than in monoculture, but addition of a third crop species had only minor effects on behaviour of the individual crops. 6Synthesis and applications. Including sequential harvests in experiments on intercropping can provide important information about how competitive hierarchies are established and change over time. Our results suggest that increased understanding of the role of asymmetric competition among species and the resulting advantages of early germination and seedling emergence would be valuable in designing intercrops. More focus on understanding the mechanisms that govern interactions between intercropped species is needed for designing optimized intercropping systems. [source] Isolate specificity of quantitative trait loci for partial resistance of barley to Puccinia hordei confirmed in mapping populations and near-isogenic linesNEW PHYTOLOGIST, Issue 3 2008Thierry C. Marcel Summary ,,Partial resistance is considered race-nonspecific and durable, consistent with the concept of ,horizontal' resistance. However, detailed observations of partial resistance to leaf rust (Puccinia hordei) in barley (Hordeum vulgare) revealed small cultivar × isolate interactions, suggesting a minor-gene-for-minor-gene interaction model, similar to so-called ,vertical' resistance. ,,Three consistent quantitative trait loci (QTLs), labelled Rphq2, Rphq3 and Rphq4, that were detected in the cross susceptible L94 × partially resistant Vada have been incorporated into the L94 background to obtain near-isogenic lines (NILs). Three isolates were used to map QTLs on seedlings of the L94 × Vada population and to evaluate the effect of each QTL on adult plants of the respective NILs under field conditions. ,,Rphq2 had a strong effect in seedlings but almost no effect in adult plants, while Rphq3 was effective in seedlings and in adult plants against all three isolates. However, Rphq4 was effective in seedlings and in adult plants against two isolates but ineffective in both development stages against the third, demonstrating a clear and reproducible isolate-specific effect. The resistance governed by the three QTLs was not associated with a hypersensitive reaction. ,,Those results confirm the minor-gene-for-minor-gene model suggesting specific interactions between QTLs for partial resistance and P. hordei isolates. [source] Multivesicular compartments proliferate in susceptible and resistant MLA12 -barley leaves in response to infection by the biotrophic powdery mildew fungusNEW PHYTOLOGIST, Issue 3 2006Qianli An Summary ,,There is growing evidence that multivesicular bodies and cell wall-associated paramural bodies participate in the enhanced vesicle trafficking induced by pathogen attack. ,,Here, we performed transmission electron microscopy in combination with cytochemical localization of H2O2 to investigate multivesicular compartments during establishment of compatible interaction in susceptible barley (Hordeum vulgare) and during hypersensitive response in resistant MLA12 -barley infected by the barley powdery mildew fungus (Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei). ,,Multivesicular bodies, intravacuolar vesicle aggregates and paramural bodies proliferated in the penetrated epidermal cell during development of the fungal haustorium. These vesicular structures also proliferated at the periphery of intact cells, which were adjacent to the hypersensitive dying cells and deposited cell wall appositions associated with H2O2 accumulation. All plasmodesmata between intact cells and hypersensitive cells were constricted or blocked by cell wall appositions. ,,These results suggest that multivesicular compartments participate in secretion of building blocks for cell wall appositions not only to arrest fungal penetration but also to contain hypersensitive cell death through blocking plasmodesmata. They may also participate in internalization of damaged membranes, deleterious materials, nutrients, elicitors and elicitor receptors. [source] Carbohydrate,ethanol transition in cereal grains under anoxiaNEW PHYTOLOGIST, Issue 3 2001Lorenzo Guglielminetti Summary ,,Cereal grains differ greatly in their reponses to anaerobiosis. Here, the in vivo conversion of carbohydrates to ethanol and CO2 under anoxia is reported for three cereal grains. ,,The conversion of glucose, fructose or sucrose to ethanol under anaerobic conditions was investigated in rice (Oryza sativa), barley (Hordeum vulgare) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) grains; alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1) and pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.1) activities were also analysed under aerobic and anaerobic incubation. ,,Our data suggest that rice grains are able to produce ethanol under anoxia for the whole period of anoxic treatment, whereas barley and wheat grains can produce this terminal product of fermentation only during the first days of anaerobiosis. The level of enzymes involved in the fermentation pathway increases strongly under anoxic conditions in all three cereals. ,,Conversion of hexose to CO2 is nearly unaffected by anoxia in wheat, barley and rice, whereas only rice grains are able to degrade and utilize sucrose efficiently under anoxia. By contrast, wheat and barley do not utilize sucrose efficiently under anaerobic conditions. [source] Epigenetic chromatin modifiers in barley: I. Cloning, mapping and expression analysis of the plant specific HD2 family of histone deacetylases from barley, during seed development and after hormonal treatmentPHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM, Issue 3 2009Kyproula Demetriou Epigenetic phenomena have been associated with modifications of chromatin structure. These are achieved, in part, by histone post-translational modifications including acetylations and deacetylations, the later being catalyzed by histone deacetylaces (HDACs). Eukaryotic HDACs are grouped into three major families, RPD3/HDA1, SIR2 and the plant-specific HD2. HDAC genes have been analyzed from model plants such as Arabidopsis, rice and maize and have been shown to be involved in various cellular processes including seed development, vegetative and reproductive growth and responses to abiotic and biotic stress, but reports on HDACs from other crops are limited. In this work two full-length cDNAs (HvHDAC2-1 and HvHDAC2-2) encoding two members of the plant-specific HD2 family, respectively, were isolated and characterized from barley (Hordeum vulgare), an agronomically important cereal crop. HvHDAC2-1 and HvHDAC2-2 were mapped on barley chromosomes 1H and 3H, respectively, which could prove useful in developing markers for marker-assisted selection in breeding programs. Expression analysis of the barley HD2 genes demonstrated that they are expressed in all tissues and seed developmental stages examined. Significant differences were observed among tissues and seed stages, and between cultivars with varying seed size, suggesting an association of these genes with seed development. Furthermore, the HD2 genes from barley were found to respond to treatments with plant stress-related hormones such as jasmonic acid (JA), abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) implying an association of these genes with plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. The expression pattern of HD2 genes suggests a possible role for these genes in the epigenetic regulation of seed development and stress response. [source] Mobility of boron,polyol complexes in the hemiparasitic association between Rhinanthus minor and Hordeum vulgare: the effects of nitrogen nutritionPHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM, Issue 1 2008Fan Jiang Boron (B) is an essential nutrient required for plant growth and physiological processes. Long-distance B transport is facilitated by the formation of B,polyol complexes. We investigated B uptake and distribution in response to differing levels of exogenous nitrogen supply in the hemiparasitic association between Rhinanthus minor and Hordeum vulgare (barley) and in unparasitised barley and single Rhinanthus plants. In this system, the polyol mannitol is the major assimilate in Rhinanthus, whereas polyols are not detectable in barley. Furthermore, previous studies have shown that the accumulation of polyols within Rhinanthus is negatively affected by the application of exogenous nitrogen. Within the association, the strongest accumulation of B was detected in lateral buds and inflorescences of Rhinanthus, consistent with the greatest B demand in strong sink organs supplied through the phloem that contain high concentrations of mannitol. In the host, the strongest B accumulation was found in xylem-supported leaf lamellae. Roots and sheaths did not accumulate substantial amounts of B, while re-circulation of B through the phloem vessels accounted for only 10% (unparasitised) and 8% (parasitised) of the xylem sap-imported B in the mannitol-free barley hosts. In contrast, 53% (attached) and 39% (in the absence of a host) of the xylem sap-imported B was re-circulated in the phloem in the mannitol-rich Rhinanthus. We therefore present the first quantitative uptake and flow models of long-distance B transport in polyol-rich and polyol-free plants. Our findings are consistent with a close relationship between B re-translocation and mannitol concentrations in phloem vessels. [source] Identification and characterization of novel senescence-associated genes from barley (Hordeum vulgare) primary leavesPLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 2008N. Ay Abstract Leaf senescence is the final developmental stage of a leaf. The progression of barley primary leaf senescence was followed by measuring the senescence-specific decrease in chlorophyll content and photosystem II efficiency. In order to isolate novel factors involved in leaf senescence, a differential display approach with mRNA populations from young and senescing primary barley leaves was applied. In this approach, 90 senescence up-regulated cDNAs were identified. Nine of these clones were, after sequence analyses, further characterized. The senescence-associated expression was confirmed by Northern analyses or quantitative RealTime-PCR. In addition, involvement of the phytohormones ethylene and abscisic acid in regulation of these nine novel senescence-induced cDNA fragments was investigated. Two cDNA clones showed homologies to genes with a putative regulatory function. Two clones possessed high homologies to barley retroelements, and five clones may be involved in degradation or transport processes. One of these genes was further analysed. It encodes an ADP ribosylation factor 1-like protein (HvARF1) and includes sequence motifs representing a myristoylation site and four typical and well conserved ARF-like protein domains. The localization of the protein was investigated by confocal laser scanning microscopy of onion epidermal cells after particle bombardment with chimeric HvARF1-GFP constructs. Possible physiological roles of these nine novel SAGs during barley leaf senescence are discussed. [source] Viability and bar expression are negatively correlated in Oregon Wolfe Barley Dominant hybridsPLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL, Issue 3 2007Phil Bregitzer Summary The expression level of bar, which encodes phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT), was correlated with the inviability of barley hybrids between 20 Golden Promise-derived transgenic lines (Ds-bar lines) and a specialized genetic marker stock, Oregon Wolfe Barley Dominant (OWBD). Each Ds-bar line was homozygous for a modified maize Ds element that encoded bar and that had been delivered via transposition to a unique location. All Ds-bar lines were viable and morphologically similar. Only four of the 20 hybrid populations were viable. The remaining populations died prior to producing seed. Phenotypic, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analyses of these lines, and of lines from unrelated transformation events that also expressed bar, showed that viability was negatively correlated with bar expression. Analysis of crosses of a high- bar -expressing line with the OWB mapping population showed that the sensitivity of OWBD to PAT segregated as a single locus on chromosome 6HL. No sensitivity to PAT could be detected in several other lines and cultivars. OWBD has been shown to be genetically divergent from other germplasm groups within cultivated barley; therefore, the observed sensitivity may be peculiar to OWBD and thus would not impact generally on the utility of bar as a selectable marker or source of herbicide resistance in barley. Nevertheless, these results demonstrate the extent of allelic variability present in Hordeum vulgare, and suggest an additional variable for consideration when devising protocols for the transformation of Hordeum cultivars or landraces that are not known to be tolerant to PAT. [source] Screening for resistance in the primary and secondary gene pool of barley against the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus neglectusPLANT BREEDING, Issue 5 2009T. Keil Abstract Root-lesion nematodes of the genus Pratylenchus are significant pests in crop cultivation throughout many parts of the world. A study was initiated to determine the resistance of Hordeum vulgare and H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum (wild barley) against one major representative of the genus Pratylenchus, P. neglectus. A glasshouse test was first established. Barley seedlings were grown in 20 cm3 tubes filled with sand. Each plant was inoculated with 400 P. neglectus juveniles. After 12 weeks of cultivation nematodes were isolated from roots and sand using a misting chamber. The nematodes were counted under a microscope. A representative collection of 565 barley and wild barley accessions was tested in this way. The average number of nematodes per accession ranged from 350 to 12 000. In a verification experiment, 35 accessions with low and high infection rates were tested. This experiment identified a number of accessions with low infection rates. The perspectives for future breeding of barley cultivars resistant to root-lesion nematodes are discussed. [source] Waterlogging tolerance in the tribe Triticeae: the adventitious roots of Critesion marinum have a relatively high porosity and a barrier to radial oxygen lossPLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 6 2001M. P. Mcdonald Abstract Nine species from the tribe Triticeae , three crop, three pasture and three ,wild' wetland species , were evaluated for tolerance to growth in stagnant deoxygenated nutrient solution and also for traits that enhance longitudinal O2 movement within the roots. Critesion marinum (syn. Hordeum marinum) was the only species evaluated that had a strong barrier to radial O2 loss (ROL) in the basal regions of its adventitious roots. Barriers to ROL have previously been documented in roots of several wetland species, although not in any close relatives of dryland crop species. Moreover, the porosity in adventitious roots of C. marinum was relatively high: 14% and 25% in plants grown in aerated and stagnant solutions, respectively. The porosity of C. marinum roots in the aerated solution was 1·8,5·4-fold greater, and in the stagnant solution 1·2,2·8-fold greater, than in the eight other species when grown under the same conditions. These traits presumably contributed to C. marinum having a 1·4,3 times greater adventitious root length than the other species when grown in deoxygenated stagnant nutrient solution or in waterlogged soil. The length of the adventitious roots and ROL profiles of C. marinum grown in waterlogged soil were comparable to those of the extremely waterlogging-tolerant species Echinochloa crus-galli L. (P. Beauv.). The superior tolerance of C. marinum, as compared to Hordeum vulgare (the closest cultivated relative), was confirmed in pots of soil waterlogged for 21 d; H. vulgare suffered severe reductions in shoot and adventitious root dry mass (81% and 67%, respectively), whereas C. marinum shoot mass was only reduced by 38% and adventitious root mass was not affected. [source] Mechanisms involved in control of Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei in barley treated with mycelial extracts from cultured fungiPLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2002H. Haugaard Treatment with mycelial extracts, prepared from liquid cultures of Bipolaris oryzae, Pythium ultimum and Rhizopus stolonifer, protected barley (Hordeum vulgare) against powdery mildew disease caused by the fungus Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei. The mechanisms of this protection were studied using histopathological methods and molecular analysis. Germination and appressorial formation of B. graminis were generally reduced after treatment with mycelial extracts. Although this reduction (between 12 and 62% depending on treatment and experiment) was inconsistent and only occasionally significantly different from the water-treated control, it indicated a direct antifungal effect of the extracts. In situations where the fungus succeeded in forming an appressorium, penetration efficiency and haustorium formation from these appressoria was not affected , no enhanced penetration resistance associated with papilla formation was detected. However, a post-penetration effect was observed, as B. graminis colonies on mycelial extract-treated leaves produced 50% fewer hyphae than on controls. Northern blot analyses showed earlier accumulation of defence-related gene transcripts following treatment with B. oryzae and P. ultimum mycelial extracts, and to a lesser extent R. stolonifer mycelial extract, compared with water-treated leaves. It is suggested that the protection mechanism of the mycelial extracts involves direct antifungal effects and possible induced resistance for the B. oryzae and P. ultimum mycelial extracts. [source] A proteomic analysis of 14-3-3 binding proteins from developing barley grainsPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 6 2006Ross D. Alexander Abstract 14-3-3 proteins are important eukaryotic regulatory proteins. Barley (Hordeum vulgare,L.) 14-3-3A was over-expressed, immobilised and used to affinity purify 14-3-3 binding proteins from developing barley grains. Binding was shown to be phosphorylation-dependent. These proteins were fractionated by PAGE and identified by MALDI-TOF MS. In total, 54,14-3-3 binding proteins were identified, 49,of these interactions are novel to plants. These proteins fell into a number of functional categories. The largest category was for carbohydrate metabolism, including plastidic enzymes for starch synthesis and modification. 14-3-3 was shown to be present in isolated plastids. Four of five enzymes involved in sucrose biosynthesis from triose phosphates were identified, suggesting co-ordinated regulation of this pathway. Invertase and sucrose synthase, which break down sucrose to hexoses, were found. Sucrose synthase activity was shown to be inhibited by exogenous 14-3-3 in a dosage-dependent manner. The second-largest functional group was for proteins involved in stress and defence responses; for example, RGH2A, closely related to the MLA powdery mildew resistance protein, was found. This work illustrates the broad range of processes in which 14-3-3 may be involved, and augments previous data demonstrating key roles in carbohydrate metabolism and plant defence. [source] Structure of Hordeum vulgare NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase 2.ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 9 2009Unwinding the reaction mechanism Thioredoxins (Trxs) are protein disulfide reductases that regulate the intracellular redox environment and are important for seed germination in plants. Trxs are in turn regulated by NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductases (NTRs), which provide reducing equivalents to Trx using NADPH to recycle Trxs to the active form. Here, the first crystal structure of a cereal NTR, HvNTR2 from Hordeum vulgare (barley), is presented, which is also the first structure of a monocot plant NTR. The structure was determined at 2.6,Å resolution and refined to an Rcryst of 19.0% and an Rfree of 23.8%. The dimeric protein is structurally similar to the structures of AtNTR-B from Arabidopsis thaliana and other known low-molecular-weight NTRs. However, the relative position of the two NTR cofactor-binding domains, the FAD and the NADPH domains, is not the same. The NADPH domain is rotated by 25° and bent by a 38% closure relative to the FAD domain in comparison with AtNTR-B. The structure may represent an intermediate between the two conformations described previously: the flavin-oxidizing (FO) and the flavin-reducing (FR) conformations. Here, analysis of interdomain contacts as well as phylogenetic studies lead to the proposal of a new reaction scheme in which NTR,Trx interactions mediate the FO to FR transformation. 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