The metabolic effects of native and transgenic hemoglobins on plants
The strictly aerobic bacterium Vitreoscilla expresses a hemoglobin-like protein, VHb, when subjected to oxygen stress. When expressed in plants, this has several intriguing physiological effects, such as improving the overall growth rate, speeding germination and flowering, and increasing the productivity of certain oxygen-requiring metabolic pathways. Although the mechanisms behind the effects of