Interaction between Meloidogyne incognita and Pochonia chlamydosporia and their effects on the growth of Phaseolus vulgaris

An experiment was conducted to test the effect of different doses of 2, 4 and 8?g/2?kg of soil of Pochonia chlamydosporia against the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) on Phaseolus vulgaris. It was observed that inoculation of plant with the nematode alone, and 15?days prior to fungal inoculation, reduced the plant growth when compared with the plant with fungal application followed by the nematode. Plant length, fresh and dry weight, chlorophyll, carotenoid, protein contents and nitrate reductase activity decreased in nematode-infested plants. Application of higher dose of 8?g/2?kg of soil of P. chlamydosporia increased all the plant growth parameters as well as biochemical parameters. Highest number of galls per root system was recorded on the plants infested with nematode but not treated with the fungus. However, application of fungus prior to nematode inoculation improved the plant growth and reduced the number of galls and the number of egg masses per root system.     

In vitro regeneration and morphogenesis studies in common bean

An efficient protocol for high frequency in vitro regeneration of multiple shoots and somatic embryos from the embryonic axis of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) was developed. Ten common bean cultivars representing a wide range of diversity among current commercial market classes were used for in vitro regeneration evaluation in our study. These cultivars were tested on 63 different media formulations consisting of combinations of cytokinins, namely benzyladenine (BA) and thidiazuron (TDZ) at concentration levels of 0.0, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mg l⁻¹ and auxin, namely naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) at concentration levels of 0.0, 0.05, 0.1 and 1.0 mg l⁻¹. P. vulgaris cv. Olathe pinto bean performed the best producing over 20 multiple shoots per explant while cv. Condor black bean was the poorest with nine multiple shoots per explant. The optimum media for regeneration of multiple shoots was 4.4 mg l⁻¹ Murashige and Skoog (MS) containing 2.5 mg l⁻¹ BA and 0.1 mg l⁻¹ IAA supplemented with 30 mg l⁻¹ silver nitrate. Adventitious shoots and somatic embryos were regenerated on 4.4 mg l⁻¹ MS medium containing 1 mg l⁻¹ TDZ and 0.05 mg l⁻¹ NAA supplemented with 30 mg l⁻¹ silver nitrate or activated charcoal. Efficient and effective rooting of plantlets was achieved by dipping the cut end base of in vitro regenerated shoots in 1.0 mg l⁻¹ indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) solution and culturing on media containing 4.4 mg l⁻¹ MS supplemented by 0.1 mg l⁻¹ IAA, NAA or IBA.     

Induced variations in quantitative traits by EMS and SA treatments in Linum usitatissimum L.

The Linum usitatissimum L. var.NDL-2002 has high oil yield potential. The seeds of the variety were exposed to different concentrations (0.02–0.10%) of ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) and sodium azide (SA). Observations on germination, germination inhibition, morphology, plant height, yield parameters, branches per plant, etc. were recorded in M1 generation in control and treated plants. Leaves notching, effect on internodal length were observed and also the more adverse effect of EMS was observed than SA.     

Investigation into the Anticancer Activity and Apoptosis Induction of Brevinin-2R and Brevinin-2R-Conjugated PLA–PEG–PLA Nanoparticles and Strong Cell Cycle Arrest in AGS,HepG2 and KYSE-30 Cell Lines

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Our study aims to establish a biocompatible nanostructure for the improved delivery of anticancer peptide, Brevinin-2R, to treat human...     

Anticancer Activity of Brevinin-2R Peptide and its Two Analogues Against Myelogenous Leukemia Cell Line as Natural Treatments: An In Vitro Study

Human chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a stem cell driven hematological malignancy which shows resistance to existing therapeutics. This property of CML accentuates the necessity to develop alternative anti-CML therapeutic agents. Herein, we have evaluated the anticancer activity of a novel anticancer peptide, Brevinin-2R and its two analogues, Brevinin-2R-C and Brevinin-2R-D regarding their inhibitory activity against K562 cells. Various cell-based analyses have been conducted to analyze the effects of these peptides and their mechanism of action. Hematotoxicity assay was performed to determine their hemolytic activities. MTT and neutral red uptake assays were conducted to examine anti-proliferative effects, propidium iodide (PI) staining to monitor the DNA content in different phases of cell cycle and Annexin V/PI staining to detect the apoptosis induction for the peptides. Our findings indicated that these peptides are capable of diminishing the cell growth and inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Brevinin-2R and its two analogues inhibited cell proliferation through strong cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase leading to apoptosis induction. The cytotoxicity of Brevinin-2R was higher than that of its two derivatives. These observations have provided new insights into the therapeutic activity of Brevinin-2R and its two analogues and suggest that these peptides have the potential to act as anticancer agents in treatment of K562. Further in vivo investigations on the therapeutic potential of Brevinin-2R and its two analogues are required to get a better grasp of their mechanism of action.

     

Changes in antioxidant systems in sunflower partial resistant and susceptible lines as affected by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Sunflower, Helianthus annuus L., is a major oil-seed crop widely cultivated throughout the globe. White mold, caused by necrotrophic pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary, is a common and widespread disease of sunflower. Changes in various physiological activities such as production of malondialdehyde (MDA) as the main end product of lipid peroxidation, enzymatic and non-enzymatic activities and proline content, were investigated in leaves and stems of sunflower lines either resistant or susceptible to S. sclerotiorum. The results showed accumulation of high amount of free proline in the leaves of the resistant line. S. sclerotiorum invasion resulted in increase in the MDA content in both lines compared to the controls. Superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase and guaiacol peroxidase activities significantly increased in the stem and leaves of inoculated lines. In the resistant line, Sclerotinia infection significantly induced catalase (CAT) activity both in the stem and leaves of contaminated plants. The activity of CAT was significantly decreased in susceptible line. Based on our results the activity of antioxidant enzymes was much pronounced in sunflower resistant line than in susceptible one. Studied lines showed distinctive activity considering different biochemical parameters, which may point to further directions in exploring host-pathogen interaction and lead to selection and production of new lines to achieve an improvement of plant adaptation to pathogen.     

PSII photochemistry in vegetative buds and needles of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) probed by OJIP chlorophyll a fluorescence measurement

Vegetative buds represent developmental stage of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) needles where chloroplast biogenesis and photosynthetic activity begin. We used the analyses of polyphasic chlorophyll a fluorescence rise (OJIP) to compare photosystem II (PSII) functioning in vegetative buds and fully photosynthetically active mature current-year needles. Considerably decreased performance index (PIABS) in vegetative buds compared to needles pointed to their low photosynthetic efficiency. Maximum quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm) in buds was slightly decreased but above limited value for functionality indicating that primary photochemistry of PSII is not holdback of vegetative buds photosynthetic activity. The most significant difference observed between investigated developmental stages was accumulation of reduced primary quinine acceptor of PSII (QA-) in vegetative buds, as a result of its limited re-oxidation by passing electrons to secondary quinone acceptor, QB. We suggest that reduced electron transfer from QA- to QB could be the major limiting factor of photosynthesis in vegetative buds.     

In Silico Analysis for Determination and Validation of Iron-Regulated Protein from Escherichia coli

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - The iron ion is an essential element in biological processes. Many of biological activities in cells, such as peroxide reduction,...     

Comparing the Recurrence of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis in Patients Undergoing Prophylactic Treatment with Probiotic and Placebo During the 6 Months

This is a randomized, double-blind, clinical/comparative trial study, involving the recurrence of vaginal candidiasis (VVC) after initial treatment with oral fluconazole in patients undergoing prophylactic management with a probiotic and placebo for 6 months. Fifty-nine VVC patients who were diagnosed based on their history, physical examination, and culture of vaginal discharge were initially treated by a single dose of 150 mg fluconazole. According to the table of random numbers, the sample was divided into two groups. The patients from one group took probiotics, while those from the other group took a placebo, with all of them being continuously monitored for 6 months. The patients complaining of vaginal candidiasis symptoms, such as burning, pruritus, and a vaginal (curd-like) discharge, were examined and the discharge was cultured for candida. The positive cultures were considered to be recurring for the patients in each group. Thirty-one cases from the placebo group and 28 cases from the probiotic group were carefully observed. In total, the 6-month recurrence in the control group was eleven (35.5 %) and in the research group was two (7.2 %). The results from Fisher’s exact test for the value p = 0.01 and OR 0.14 95 % CI (0.028–0.7) showed significant recurrence in the placebo group. The findings demonstrated that taking probiotics withazole antifungal drugs could be highly effective in treating VVC, resulting in a lower recurrence rate as well.