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The present study uses RSM (Response Surface Methodology) to verify the fusibility of bottom ash from coal industry, and efficient flux between, calcium oxide (CaO), lithium oxide (Li2O) and sodium oxide (Na2O). The bottom ashes,have demonstrated the possibility to be used in the development of glass-ceramics, and glassy materials, due to the presence of high concentrations of aluminum silicates.

Semiconductor nanowires show a great deal of promise for applications in a widerange of important fields, including photovoltaics, biomedicine, and informationtechnology. Developing these exciting applications is strongly dependent onunderstanding the fundamental properties of nanowires, such as their opticalresonances and absorption spectra. In this thesis we explore optical absorption spectra of

Mitochondrial biogenesis and function in plants require the expression of over 1000 nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial proteins (NGEMPs). The expression of these genes is regulated by tissue-specific, developmental, internal, and external stimuli that result in a dynamic organelle involved in both metabolic and a variety of signaling processes. Although the metabolic and biosynthetic machinery o

Upon disturbance of their function by stress, mitochondria can signal to the nucleus to steer the expression of responsive genes. This mitochondria-to-nucleus communication is often referred to as mitochondrial retrograde regulation (MRR). Although reactive oxygen species and calcium are likely candidate signaling molecules for MRR, the protein signaling components in plants remain largely unknown

Plants require daily coordinated regulation of energy metabolism for optimal growth and survival and therefore need to integrate cellular responses with both mitochondrial and plastid retrograde signaling. Using a forward genetic screen to characterize regulators of alternative oxidase1a (rao) mutants, we identified RAO2/Arabidopsis NAC domain-containing protein17 (ANAC017) as a direct positive re

The expression of a variety of nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial proteins is known to adapt to changes in environmental conditions and retrograde signaling. The presence of putative WRKY transcription factor binding sites (W-boxes) in the promoters of many of these genes prompted a screen of 72 annotated WRKY factors in the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genome for regulators of transcripts

Throughout the life of a plant, the biogenesis and fine-tuning of energy organelles is essential both under normal growth and stress conditions. Communication from organelle to nucleus is essential to adapt gene regulation and protein synthesis specifically to the current needs of the plant. This organelle-to-nuclear communication is termed retrograde signaling and has been studied extensively ove

The Arabidopsis thaliana genome contains two genes with homology to the mitochondrial protein LETM1 (leucine zipper-EF-hand-containing transmembrane protein). Inactivation of both genes, Atletm1 and Atletm2, together is lethal. Plants that are hemizygous for AtLETM2 and homozygous for Atletm1 (letm1(-/-) LETM2(+/-)) displayed a mild retarded growth phenotype during early seedling growth. It was sh

Mitochondrial components dynamically change in response to environmental and developmental cues. However, the regulatory pathways that underlie these changes are largely unknown. A global analysis of changes in mitochondrial components at the transcript, protein and metabolite levels was undertaken, to gain a greater insight into how mitochondrial functions are regulated and respond to various int

Diurnal regulation of transcripts encoding proteins located in mitochondria, plastids, and peroxisomes is important for adaptation of organelle biogenesis and metabolism to meet cellular requirements. We show this regulation is related to diurnal changes in promoter activities and the presence of specific cis-acting regulatory elements in the proximal promoter region [TGGGC(C/T)], previously defin

Reactive oxygen species and redox signaling undergo synergistic and antagonistic interactions with phytohormones to regulate protective responses of plants against biotic and abiotic stresses. However, molecular insight into the nature of this crosstalk remains scarce. We demonstrate that the hydrogen peroxide-responsive UDP-glucosyltransferase UGT74E2 of Arabidopsis thaliana is involved in the mo

Twelve years after their discovery in plants, prohibitins (PHBs) have retained their status as some of the most enigmatic mitochondrial proteins. Although the original hypothesis that PHBs act as negative cell cycle regulators has lost its impetus in plants, the essential molecular function(s) PHB complexes perform in the inner mitochondrial membrane are now beginning to be understood. We review t

To obtain a global overview of how mitochondria respond to stress, we aimed to define the plant mitochondrial stress response (MSR). By combining a set of 1196 Arabidopsis thaliana genes that putatively encode mitochondrial proteins with 16 microarray experiments on stress-related conditions, 45 nuclear encoded genes were defined as widely stress-responsive. Using green fluorescent protein (GFP) f

When subjected to stress, plants reprogram their growth by largely unknown mechanisms. To provide insights into this process, the growth of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaves that develop under mild osmotic stress was studied. Early during leaf development, cell number and size were reduced by stress, but growth was remarkably adaptable, as division and expansion rates were identical to con

Plant cells integrate signals from external sources and from organelles to regulate gene expression, referred to as anterograde and retrograde signaling, respectively. Functional characterization of the promoter of ALTERNATIVE OXIDASE1a (AOX1a) from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), a marker for mitochondrial retrograde response, was carried out by testing the ability of the AOX1a promoter to dr

The alternative oxidase (AOX) is found in all plants examined to date, fungi and lower invertebrates. We propose that AOX is not only part of the stress response in plants, but it also plays a central role in defining the stress response. Three lines of evidence support this proposal: (1) The absence of AOX leads to an alteration of stress defences in normal and stress conditions, (2) the expressi

In this study we analyzed transcript abundance and promoters of genes encoding mitochondrial proteins to identify signaling pathways that regulate stress-induced gene expression. We used Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) alternative oxidase AOX1a, external NADP H-dehydrogenase NDB2, and two additional highly stress-responsive genes, At2g21640 and BCS1. As a starting point, the promoter region of

Mitochondrial electron transport pathways exert effects on carbon-nitrogen (C/N) relationships. To examine whether mitochondria-N interactions also influence plant growth and development, we explored the responses of roots and shoots to external N supply in wild-type (WT) Nicotiana sylvestris and the cytoplasmic male sterile II (CMSII) mutant, which has a N-rich phenotype. Root architecture in N.

The Arabidopsis thaliana genome expresses five evolutionarily conserved prohibitin (PHB) genes that are divided into type-I (AtPHB3 and AtPHB4) and type-II (AtPHB1, AtPHB2 and AtPHB6) classes, based on their phylogenetic relationships with yeast PHB1 and PHB2, respectively. Yeast and animal PHBs are reported to have diverse roles in the cell cycle, mitochondrial electron transport, aging and apopt