Molecular Evidence for the Association of Tomato leaf curl Gujarat virus with a Leaf Curl Disease of Phaseolus vulgaris L.

A leaf curl disease with symptoms typical of begomoviruses was observed in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) at the Main Research Farm of the Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur, India. Infected plants had severe distortion of leaves and the plants were unproductive. PCR indicated the involvement of French bean leaf curl virus (JQ866297), a recently described Begomovirus, and Tomato leaf curl Gujarat virus (ToLCGV). The full‐length genome of ToLCGV associated with leaf curl disease of bean was 2757 nucleotides long and had maximum identity (97–98%) with seven isolates of ToLCGV (AY234383, AF449999, EU573714, GQ994098, AY190290, FR819708, AF413671) and is designated as Tomato leaf curl Gujarat virus‐(IN:Knp:Bean:2013) (KF440686). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of ToLCGV infecting a leguminous host, P. vulgaris.     

Hairy root culture of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Picrorhiza kurroa</Emphasis> Royle ex Benth.: a promising approach for the production of picrotin and picrotoxinin

Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. is an endangered plant producing various compounds of medicinal importance. Hairy roots of P. kurroa were obtained following cocultivation of shoot tip explants with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains A 4 and PAT 405. Bacterial strain A 4 appeared to be better than the strain PAT 405 in terms of both growth of respective hairy root cultures and secondary metabolite production. The optimal growth of both the hairy root cultures occurred on half-strength semisolid medium with 3% sucrose. Picrotin and picrotoxinin from the roots of wild type field grown plants were compared with 8-week-old hairy root cultures induced by the A 4 and PAT 405 strains of A. rhizogenes. Picrotin and picrotoxinin content were evaluated in hairy root cultures as well as roots of field grown plant of P. kurroa. In terms of the production of picrotin and picrotoxinin, the A 4 induced hairy roots appeared to be a better performer than the PAT 405 induced hairy root cultures. The picrotin and picrotoxinin content was highest in 8-week-old A 4 induced hairy roots (8.8 μg/g DW and 47.1 μg/g DW, respectively). Rapid growth of the hairy roots of P. kurroa with in vitro secondary metabolite production potential may offer an attractive alternative to the exploitation of this endangered plant species.     

Hybridization-displaced charges for amino-acids: a new model using two point charges per atom along with bond-center charges

A new charge distribution is proposed for the amino acids where each atom is associated with two point charges while each bond center is associated with one point charge. Centroids of charges arising due to atomic orbital hybridization called hybridization-displaced charges (HDC) and those located at the atomic sites and bond centers obtained by a modified form of the Mulliken scheme were combined. The density matrix calculations required for this analysis were performed at the B3LYP/6-31G** level of density functional theory. The combination of HDC centroids with the modified Mulliken charges was found to yield dipole moments and surface molecular electrostatic potentials (MEP) of the amino acids in good agreement with those obtained by rigorous DFT calculations or those obtained using the MEP-fitted CHelpG charges. This study shows that the combination of HDC centroids with the modified Mulliken charges is significantly superior to the conventional Mulliken charges.     

Elucidation of underlying molecular mechanism of 5-Fluorouracil chemoresistance and its restoration using fish oil in experimental colon carcinoma

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Latest strategies for cancer treatment primarily focus on the use of chemosensitizers to enhance therapeutic outcome. N-3 PUFAs have emerged as the strongest...     

Peripartum Cardiomyopathy Presenting With Ventricular Tachycardia: A Rare Presentation

A 25-year-old previously asymptomatic pregnant woman at 36 weeks'' gestation was noticed to have repetitive monomorphic ventricular tachycardia. A dilated left ventricle with moderately reduced systolic function was found on echocardiographic examination. This is a very rare presentation of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCMP) presenting with repetitive monomorphic ventricular tachycardia.     

Studies on aspergilli xix. Role of carbon and nitrogen on citric acid production

Summary The effect of various carbon and nitrogen compounds on the production of citric acid byAspergillus luchuensis was studied under controlled conditions. Unhydrolysed sucrose was better than the hydrolysed one. The other carbon sources, viz., maltose, lactose, Gur, Ral and cane molasses were unsuitable for citric acid fermentation. With all these carbohydrates low yields were obtained. Sodium nitrate was found to be the best nitrogen source for the maximum yield of citric acid. It was closely followed by potassium nitrate. Ammonium compounds and amino acids, in general, were unsuitable for the production of citric acid.     

Influence of nutrition and ph on growth and sclerotia formation of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de bary from Gaillardia pulchella foug

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causing foot rot ofGaillardia pulchella was found to grow well on semi-synthetic media. Amongst synthetic media, Richard's medium and Czapek's medium supported good growth and sclerotial formation. Glucose among monosaccharides and maltose followed by sucrose, among disaccharides, were good sources of carbon for the growth of the fungus. Glycerol and mannitol were observed to be poor sources. Best sclerotial production was favoured by glucose. Ammonium sulphate was utilized well followed by potassium and sodium nitrates. Ammonium phosphate favoured best sclerotial formation. The pathogen could tolerate a wide range of pH, but good growth and sclerotial formation were favoured at pH varying from 4 to 5.5.

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Zusammenfassung Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, die Ursache der Fäulnis vonGaillardia pulchella, wächst gut an semisynthetischen Nährböden. Unter den synthetischen Nährböden, diejenigen von Richard und von Czapek, unterstützten gutes Wachstum und Bildung von Sclerotien. Unter den Monosacchariden Glukose, unter den Disacchariden Maltose und Sukrose waren gute Quellen für Kohlenstoff für Pilzwachstum. Glycerol und Mannitol ergaben geringeren Ertrag. Die beste Bildung von Sclerotien war von Glukose unterhalten. Ammonium sulfat war gut benützt ebenso wie K und Na nitrate. Ammonium phosphat ergab die beste Bildung von Sclerotien. Der Pilz ertrug einen großen Bereich von pH, aber gutes Wachstum und Bildung von Sclerotien bevorzugten pH zwischen 4 bis 5.5

     

Sporophore production ofAgaricus bisporus in aseptic environments

Production of mature sporophores ofAgaricus bisporus was achieved for the first time in amended, autoclaved soil, gamma-sterilized soil, and soil-extract agar medium. The initiation of sporophores was triggered by metabolites of soil-inhabiting bacteria, particularly nodule forming isolates. Whether a single metabolite or several metabolites of these bacteria caused formation of sporophores could not be established; however, biotin alone when added to soil extract medium produced comparable results. The potentiality of different bacteria to induce sporophore formation varied considerably within species and isolates.Amino acids favored vegetative growth ofA. bisporus, but failed to induce formation of sporophores. Organic acids supported luxuriant growth and poor sporophore formation. Among several growth-promoting substances and vitamins, biotin induced abundant formation of mature sporophores.The authors are thankful to Dr. C. Corke, Department of Soil Microbiology, University of Guelph, Ontario, for providing some bacterial cultures used in this study.     

Chemical Composition,Cytotoxic and Antibacterial Activities of Essential Oils of Cultivated Clones of Juniperus communis and Wild Juniperus Species

Needles of seven cultivated clones (C1 – C7) of Juniperus communis at lower altitude and three wild Juniperus species (J. communis, J. recurva and J. indica) at higher altitudes were investigated comparatively for their essential oils (EOs) yields, chemical composition, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities. The EOs yields varied from 0.26 to 0.56% (v/w) among samples. Sixty‐one volatile components were identified by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and quantified using gas chromatography GC (FID) representing 82.5 – 95.7% of the total oil. Monoterpene hydrocarbons (49.1 – 82.8%) dominated in all samples (α‐pinene, limonene and sabinene as major components). Principal component analysis (PCA) of GC data revealed that wild and cultivated Juniperus species are highly distinct due to variation in chemical composition. J. communis (wild species) displayed cytotoxicity against SiHa (human cervical cancer), A549 (human lung carcinoma) and A431 (human skin carcinoma) cells (66.4 ± 2.2%, 74.4 ± 1.4% and 57.4 ± 4.0%), respectively, at 200 μg/ml. EOs exhibited better antibacterial activity against Gram‐positive bacteria than against Gram‐negative bacteria with the highest zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 (19.2 ± 0.7) by clone‐7. As per the conclusion of the findings, EOs of clone‐2, clone‐5 and clone‐7 can be suggested to the growers of lower altitude, as there is more possibility of uses of these EOs in food and medicinal preparations.