Synthesis and anti-microbial activity of pyrazolylbisindoles--promising anti-fungal compounds

A series of pyrazolylbisindole derivatives have been synthesized by reacting substituted pyrazole aldehydes with substituted indoles using phosphotungstic acid, a Keggin type heteropoly acid as catalyst. The synthesized pyrazolylbisindoles were evaluated for anti-microbial activities. The effect of pyrazolylbisindoles on the mycelial growth of plant pathogenic fungi is revealed. Entries 3c and 3d emerged as the most interesting compounds in this series exhibiting excellent anti-fungal activity.     

Fine- and local- scale genetic structure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dysoxylum malabaricum,</Emphasis> a late-successional canopy tree species in disturbed forest patches in the Western Ghats,India

Dysoxylum malabaricum (white cedar) is an economically important tree species, endemic to the Western Ghats, India, which is the world’s most densely populated biodiversity hotspot. In this study, we used variation at ten nuclear simple sequence repeat loci to investigate genetic diversity and fine scale spatial genetic structure (FSGS) in seedlings and adults of D. malabaricum from four forest patches in the northern part of the Western Ghats. When genetic variation was compared between seedlings and adults across locations, significant differences were detected in allelic richness, observed heterozygosity, fixation index (F _IS), and relatedness (P < 0.05). Reduced genetic diversity and increased relatedness at the seedling stage might be due to fragmentation and disturbance. There was no FSGS at the adult stage and FSGS was limited to shorter distance classes at the seedling stage. However, there was clear spatial genetic structure at the landscape level (<50 km), regardless of age class, due to limited gene flow between forest patches. A comparison of the distributions of size classes in the four locations with published data from a more southern area, showed that large trees (diameter at breast height, DBH, >130 cm) are present in the southern sacred forests but not in the northern forest reserves. This pattern is likely due to stronger harvesting pressure in the north compared to the south, because in the north there are no cultural taboos regulating the extraction of natural resources. The implications for forest conservation in this biodiversity hotspot are discussed.     

Babesia gibsoni: Detection in blood smears and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues using deoxyribonucleic acid in situ hybridization analysis

In this study, we attempted to detect Babesia gibsoni in blood smears and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues obtained from B. gibsoni-infected dogs using in situ hybridization. Using a digoxigenin-conjugated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) probe, both intraerythrocytic and exoerythrocytic parasites in the culture could be specifically stained in blood smears fixed with 4% phosphate-buffered paraformaldehyde. This indicated that genomic DNA extracted from the parasites could be detected using in situ hybridization. Moreover, the parasite could be specifically stained in paraffin-embedded spleen, lymph node, and kidney sections using in situ hybridization. Infected erythrocytes in blood vessels in the spleen and kidney, hemosiderin-laden macrophages in the spleen, and phagocytized erythrocytes, which seemed to be infected with the parasites, in lymph nodes were also specifically stained. This suggests that in situ hybridization can be utilized to investigate both the life cycle of B. gibsoni and the pathological condition of canine babesiosis.     

Synthetic analogues of mycobacterial arabinogalactan linkage-disaccharide part II: synthesis and preliminary screening of lipophilic O-alkyl glycosides

Lipophilic analogues of the linkage-disaccharide found in the mycobacterial cell wall were synthesized and the synthetic analogues when biologically evaluated showed promising antimycobacterial property with MIC value in the range 3.13–12.50 μg/mL against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H₃₇Rv.     

Chemometric Studies of Multielemental Composition of Few Seagrasses from Gulf of Mannar,India

This paper discusses the determination of minerals content (cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, manganese, magnesium, iron, zinc, sodium, potassium and calcium) of six seagrass samples, Enhalus acoroides, Thalassia hemprichii, Halodule pinifolia, Syringodium isoetifolium, Cymodocea serrulata and Cymodocea rotundata using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometry and flame photometer. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis revealed different mineral compositions of the seagrass samples. Among the 13 elements investigated, Ni 1.513, Na 690.167 and Ca 220.333; Cr 3.957; Mn 23.427, Zn 17.593 and Fe 156.567; Cd 0.357, Co 0.431, Pb 2.040, Mg 912.733 and K 300.9; Cu 7.8 mg/kg dry weight, respectively, were found at high concentrations in E. acoroides; T. hemprichii; H. pinifolia; S. isoetifolium and C. rotundata. PCA analysis confirmed the presence of three components with 91.28% of the total variance. The toxic elements Pb, Cr and Cd were also found in all six seagrasses, although the concentrations were below the permissible limits proposed by the World Health Organization.     

Integrating Pathways of Parkinson's Disease in a Molecular Interaction Map

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a major neurodegenerative chronic disease, most likely caused by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Information on various aspects of PD pathogenesis is rapidly increasing and needs to be efficiently organized, so that the resulting data is available for exploration and analysis. Here we introduce a computationally tractable, comprehensive molecular interaction map of PD. This map integrates pathways implicated in PD pathogenesis such as synaptic and mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired protein degradation, alpha-synuclein pathobiology and neuroinflammation. We also present bioinformatics tools for the analysis, enrichment and annotation of the map, allowing the research community to open new avenues in PD research. The PD map is accessible at http://minerva.uni.lu/pd_map.     

Systematic CpT (ApG) Depletion and CpG Excess Are Unique Genomic Signatures of Large DNA Viruses Infecting Invertebrates

Differences in the relative abundance of dinucleotides, if any may provide important clues on host-driven evolution of viruses. We studied dinucleotide frequencies of large DNA viruses infecting vertebrates (n = 105; viruses infecting mammals = 99; viruses infecting aves = 6; viruses infecting reptiles = 1) and invertebrates (n = 88; viruses infecting insects = 84; viruses infecting crustaceans = 4). We have identified systematic depletion of CpT(ApG) dinucleotides and over-representation of CpG dinucleotides as the unique genomic signature of large DNA viruses infecting invertebrates. Detailed investigation of this unique genomic signature suggests the existence of invertebrate host-induced pressures specifically targeting CpT(ApG) and CpG dinucleotides. The depletion of CpT dinucleotides among large DNA viruses infecting invertebrates is at least in part, explained by non-canonical DNA methylation by the infected host. Our findings highlight the role of invertebrate host-related factors in shaping virus evolution and they also provide the necessary framework for future studies on evolution, epigenetics and molecular biology of viruses infecting this group of hosts.