B class MADS-box genes play important roles in petal and stamen development. Some monocotyledonous species, including liliaceous ones, produce flowers with petaloid tepals in whorls 1 and 2. A modified ABCE model has been proposed to explain the molecular mechanism of development of two-layered petaloid tepals. However, direct evidence for this modified ABCE model has not been reported to date. To clarify the molecular mechanism determining the organ identity of two-layered petaloid tepals, we used chimeric repressor gene-silencing technology (CRES-T) to examine the suppression of B function in the liliaceous ornamental Tricyrtis sp. Transgenic plants with suppressed B class genes produced sepaloid tepals in whorls 1 and 2 instead of the petaloid tepals as expected. In addition, the stamens of transgenic plants converted into pistil-like organs with ovule- and stigma-like structures. This report is the first to describe the successful suppression of B function in monocotyledonous species with two-layered petaloid tepals, and the results strongly support the modified ABCE model.
We focused on the colloidal contribution of lipid and protein in soymilk, and investigated the influence of pH on the stability of soymilk. The particle size distribution and viscosity were evaluated in relation to decreases in the pH of soymilk. By the addition of ascorbic acid, the average size of particles in soymilk was slightly increased at pH 6.0-5.8 and remarkably increased at pH 5.6. Moreover, the fluidity index was severely reduced from 1 at pH 5.8 or less. These results show that the viscosity of soymilk increased as a result of lipid and protein aggregation depending on the pH decrease. Then, soymilk colloidal stability was assessed using the centrifugal method. The state of soymilk changed in three steps as a function of decreasing pH. With respect to the viscosity and stability changes of soymilk, it was suggested that lipid-protein aggregates were generated, and the soymilk constituent content influenced the generation of lipid-protein aggregates. These results show that the pH-dependent stability of soymilk could be predicted from the constituent composition of soymilk.
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