Profiles of alkaline protease production as a function of composition of the slant,age, transfer and isolate number and physiological state of culture

Summary Factors underlying the phenomenon of variant formation leading to reduced harvest value were studied. These include the role(s) of homogeneity (not contamination) of the culture, composition of the slant medium, its transfer and isolate number, growth state, age, storage in and outside the inoculum medium, etc. A set of criteria is tentatively laid down that ensures relatively stable production profiles of alkaline protease.     

Somatic Embryogenesis in Capparis decidua (Forsk) Edgew — A Multipurpose Agroforestry Plant

An efficient protocol for direct somatic embryogenesis in Capparis decidua has been developed. Mature zygotic embryos cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) liquid medium with 2,4-0 (0.1 mg l^?1) and BA (0.5 mg l^?1) produced somatic embryos directly without an intervening callus phase from the subepidermal cells. Treatment with ABA promoted maturation of somatic embryos and BA (1 mg l^?1)promoted germination. One zygotic embryo produced approximately 230 somatic embryos within 14 to 15 weeks. Embryos germinated in eight weeks and acclimatized plants were transferred to pots.     

The influence of oral corticosterone replacement on plasma prolactin levels of adrenalectomized female rats

The administration of 80 μg of corticosterone/ml of drinking solution to adrenalectomized (ADX) rats resulted in a 24 hour serum corticosterone pattern similar to that of intact animals except that the magnitude of the afternoon-nocturnal surge was one third. Basal plasma prolactin levels and the estrogen-induced afternoon prolactin surge were similar for intact and for ADX animals receiving corticosterone in the drinking solution. Adrenalectomized animals receiving 0.9% NaCl to drink, however, had an afternoon prolactin surge that was significantly lower than that of intact animals while basal levels were similar.     

Trail formation in ants. A generalized Polya urn process

Faced with a choice of paths, an ant chooses a path with a higher concentration of pheromone. Subsequently, it drops pheromone on the path chosen. The reinforcement of the pheromone-following behavior favors the selection of an initially discovered path as the preferred path. This may cause a long path to emerge as the preferred path, were it discovered earlier than a shorter path. However, the shortness of the shorter path offsets some of the pheromone accumulated on the initially discovered longer path. In this paper, we model the trail formation behavior as a generalized Polya urn process. For k equal length paths, we give the distribution of pheromone at any time and highlight its sole dependence on the initial pheromone concentrations on paths. Additionally, we propose a method to incorporate the lengths of paths in the urn process and derive how the pheromone distribution alters on its inclusion. Analytically, we show that it is possible, under certain conditions, to reverse the initial bias that may be present in favor of paths that were discovered prior to the discovery of more efficient (shorter) paths. This addresses the Plasticity–Stability dilemma for ants, by laying out the conditions under which the system will remain stable or become plastic and change the path. Finally, we validate our analysis and results using simulations.     

Chilli peppers — A review on tissue culture and transgenesis

Biotechnology techniques involving plant tissue culture and recombinant DNA technologies are powerful tools that can complement conventional breeding and expedite Capsicum improvement. The rate of progress in Capsicum is relatively slower than other members of Solanaceae because of its high genotypic dependence and recalcitrant nature. Capsicum is a recalcitrant plant in terms of in vitro cell, tissue and organ differentiation, plant regeneration and genetic transformation which makes it difficult to apply recombinant DNA technologies aimed at genetic improvement against pests, diseases and abiotic stress. Despite this, application of tissue culture and genetic transformation have led to significant development in chilli pepper plants, and studies are underway to achieve the targets of pre-harvest improvement and post-harvest characterization for value addition to this crop. This review presents a consolidated account of in vitro propagation and focuses upon contemporary information on biotechnological advances made in Capsicum.     

Effect of cadmium on physiological parameters of cereal and millet plants—A comparative study

Metal load is an abiotic stress that becomes stronger by continual industrial production, wastage, and long-range transport of contaminants. It deteriorates the conditions of agricultural soil that leads to lower growth of cereals as well as decreasing nutritional value of harvested grains. Cadmium (Cd) entry by food chain also affects the health of population. The present study is focused on finding out the superior cereal variety under increasing Cd regime. The plants were grown in increasing Cd levels (0–1000 µM) in the medium and were investigated on 15th day of the exposure. Various parameters like antioxidative enzymes and osmoprotectant levels were studied in both roots and shoots. Cd accumulation in plant organs was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Analysis of stress tolerance mechanisms through reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and better partitioning of Cd in roots indicated kodo millet to be more stress tolerant than wheat.     

Laticiferous taxa as a source of energy and hydrocarbon

Twenty-nine laticiferous taxa of Apocynaceae, Asclepiadaceae, and Sapotaceae were screened for suitability as alternative sources of renewable energy, rubber, and phytochemicals and to select the most promising ones for large-scale cultivation. Of these,Allamanda violacea (14.9% protein, 13.8% polyphenol, 8.6% oil, 3.2% hydrocarbon),Catharanthus roseus (15.4% protein, 10.4% polyphenol, 11.5% oil, 1.9% hydrocarbon), andHolarrhena antidysenterica (14.2% protein, 16.4% polyphenol, 5.4% oil, 4.8% hydrocarbon) of Apocynaceae;Asclepias curassavica (19.3% protein, 6.5% polyphenol, 3.9% oil, 2.0% hydrocarbon), Calotropis gigantea (18.5% protein, 6.8% polyphenol, 7.0% oil, 2.8% hydrocarbon) of Asclepiadaceae;Mimusops elengi (11.3% protein, 9.7% polyphenol, 7.2% oil, 4.0% hydrocarbon) of Sapotaceae show promising potential for future petrochemical plantations; of all these taxa,Holarrhena antidysenterica yielded an unusually high percentage (4.8%) of hydrocarbon fraction followed byMimusops elengi (4.0%). NMR spectra confirmed the presence of cis-polyisoprene in all species studied exceptNerium indicum (white-flowered var.). These data indicate that the majority of the species under investigation may be considered for large-scale cultivation as an alternative source of rubber, intermediate energy, and other phytochemicals.