A steroidal saponin from the seeds of Allium tuberosum.

A steroidal saponin, named tuberoside, together with seven known compounds, were isolated from the seeds of Allium tuberosum Rottl. ex Spreng. Its structure was established by spectroscopic data, hydrolysis, and comparison with spectral data of known compounds to be (2alpha, 3beta, 5alpha, 25S)-2,3,27-trihydroxyspirostane 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoyl-(1-->2)-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranoyl-(1-->4)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside.     

Isolation of a small chitinase-like antifungal protein from Panax notoginseng (sanchi ginseng) roots

An antifungal protein, with a molecular weight of 15 kDa and an N-terminal sequence analogous to those of chitinases, was first isolated from the Chinese medicinal material Panax notoginseng, using cation exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography. The protein was adsorbed on CM-cellulose, Affi-gel Blue Gel and Mono S. It exerted antifungal activity against Coprinus comatus, Fusarium oxysporum and Mycosphaerella arachidicola but not against Rhizoctonia solani. The protein was devoid of ribonuclease activity against yeast tRNA.     

Covalent anthocyanin-flavonol complexes from flowers of chive, Allium schoenoprasum

The structures of eight anthocyanins have been determined in acidified methanolic extract of pale-purple flowers of chive, Allium schoenoprasum. Four of them have been identified as the anthocyanin-flavonol complexes (cyanidin 3-O-beta-glucosideAII) (kaempferol 3-O-(2-O-beta-glucosylFIII-beta-glucosideFII)-7-O-beta-gl ucosiduronic acidFIV) malonateAIII (AII-6-->AIII-1, FIV-2-->AIII-3), 1, (cyanidin 3-O-(3-O-acetyl-beta-glucosideAII) (kaempferol 3-O-(2-O-beta-glucosylFIII-beta-glucosideFII)-7-O-beta-gl ucosiduronic acidFIV) malonateAIII (AII-6-->AIII-1, FIV-2-->AIII-3), 2, and their 7-O-(methyl-O-beta-glucosiduronateFIV) analogous, 3 and 4. Pigments 1 and 2 are the first final identification of covalent complexes between an anthocyanin and a flavonol, while 3 and 4 are formed during the isolation process. The other four anthocyanins (5-8) were found to be the 3-acetylglucoside, 3-glucoside, 3-(6-malonylglucoside) and 3-(3,6-dimalonylglucoside) of cyanidin. The three latter pigments have earlier been identified as the major anthocyanins of the chive stem. The covalent anthocyanin-flavonol complexes show intramolecular association between the anthocyanidin (cyanidin) and flavonol (kaempferol) units, which influence the colour.     

The composition of volatiles from different parts of Allium tuberosum plants

The percentage of methyl and 2-propenyl (allyl) radicals present in the volatile disulphides liberated from chopped Allium tuberosum tissue was monitored. Quantitative differences were detected when different parts of the same plants were analysed. The significance of this finding to previous chemotaxonomic work using volatiles from Alliums as characters is discussed.     

Purification and characterization of a chitinase-like antifungal protein from black turtle bean with stimulatory effect on nitric oxide production by macrophages

An antifungal protein was isolated from black turtle bean, Phaseolus vulgaris cv. "Black Turtle". The purified protein displayed an N-terminal amino acid sequence with 60-80% homology to chitinases. The isolated protein specifically inhibited two species of fungi, namely Fusarium oxysporum and Mycosphaerella arachidicola , among several phytopathogenic fungi tested. Its antifungal activity was retained after incubation at 60 degrees C for 15 minutes, diminished after exposure to 80 degrees C, and was completely abrogated after treatment at 100 degrees C. The antifungal protein had higher thermostability than the antifungal protein mollisin from chestnut. It stimulated nitric oxide production by murine peritoneal macrophages, but exerted neither mitogenic nor cytotoxic activity on murine splenocytes, activities that may be related to allergic responses.     

Fatty acid composition of the seed oil of Allium tuberosum

The fatty acid compositions of seed oil from ten kinds of Allium tuberosum (Chinese chive, Liliaceae) were determined by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS). The seed oil of Allium tuberosum contained much important fatty acids with linoleic (57.0-71.6%) and palmitic (6.6-9.7%), the most abundant unsaturated and saturated fatty acids, respectively. The total unsaturation for the oil was 79.2-93.0%. It is concluded that Allium tuberosum oil is of important nutritional value.     

A cytolytic protein from the edible mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus

Aqueous extracts of the edible mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, contain a substance that is lytic in vitro for mammalian erythrocytes. The hemolytic agent, pleurotolysin, was purified to homogeneity and found to be a protein lacking seven of the amino acids commonly found in proteins. In the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate it exists a monomers of molecular weight 12 050 whereas under non-dissociating conditions it appears to exist as dimers. It is isoelectric at about pH 6.4. The sensitivity of erythrocytes from different animals correlates with sphingomyelin content of the erythrocyte membranes. Sheep erythrocyte membranes inhibit pleurotolysin-induced hemolysis and the inhibition is time and temperature dependent. Ability of membranes to inhibit hemolysis is abolished by prior treatment of membranes with specific phospholipases. Pleurotolysin-induced hemolysis is inhibited by liposomes prepared from cholesterol, dicetyl phosphate and sphingomyelin derived from sheep erythrocytes whereas a variety of other lipid preparations fail to inhibit. It is concluded that sphingomyelin plays a key role in the hemolytic reaction.     

Purification and characterization of ferredoxin-sulfite reductases from leek (Allium tuberosum) leaves

Ferredoxin-sulfite reductases (Fd-SiRs) [hydrogen-sulfide: ferredoxin oxidoreductase, EC 1.8.7.1] from leek leaves have been purified to homogeneity. The enzymes (SiR 1, SiR 2 and SiR 3) were separated by Mono Q chromatography. The collective molecular mass of the enzymes was estimated to be 65 kDa by gel filtration. In all three cases, subunit analysis by SDS-PAGE yielded a single protein band corresponding to a molecular mass of 64 kDa, indicating that the enzymes each exist as a monomer. In the oxidized forms, SiR 1, SiR 2 and SiR 3 all exhibited nearly identical absorption maxima at 279∼280, 389∼390, 588 and 714 nm, indicating that siroheme is involved in the catalysis of sulfite reduction. On enzymatic properties, SiR 1, SiR 2 and SiR 3 could only react with the physiological electron donor, feriedoxin. The enzymes exhibited different heat stabilities. The pH active curve obtained from SiR 2 was different from the others. Moreover, SiR 1 exhibited a lower Km value for ferredoxin than SiR 2. Although the N-terminal sequence was the same, the results of some enzymatic properties, amino acid analysis, and peptide mapping suggested the presence of the Fd-SiR isozymes in leek leaves.     

A robust genetic transformation protocol to obtain transgenic shoots of Solanum tuberosum L. cultivar ‘Kufri Chipsona 1’

The genetic transformation of plants is an important biotechnological tool used for crop improvement for many decades. The present study was focussed to investigate various factors affecting genetic transformation of potato cultivar ‘Kufri Chipsona 1’. It was observed that explants pre-cultured for 2 days on MS2 medium (MS medium containing 10 µM silver nitrate, 10 µM BA, 15 µM GA3), injured with a surgical blade and co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 [O.D600 (0.6)] for 2 days results in maximum transient β-glucuronidase (GUS) expression. The addition of 100 µM acetosyringone in MS2 medium also increased rate of transient GUS expression in both the explants. Clumps of putative transgenic shoots were regenerated using the optimised culture conditions from leaf and internodal explants. The stable integration of T-DNA was established using histochemical staining for GUS and amplification of DNA fragment specific to nptII and uidA genes. Within the clumps, around 67.85% of shoots showed uniform GUS expression in all the tissues and about 32.15% shoots show intermittent GUS expression establishing chimeric nature. Uniform GUS staining of the tissue was used as initial marker of non-chimeric transgenic shoots. Quantitative expression of nptII transgene was found to be directly proportional to uniformity of GUS staining in transgenic shoots. The present investigation indicated that manipulation of culture conditions and the medium composition may help to get transgenic shoots with uniform expression of transgene in all the tissues of potato cultivar ‘Kufri Chipsona 1’.     

韭菜的小孢子四分体微核和核型的初步研究

本文研究了昆明栽培的韭菜的小孢子染色体数目和核型,多数小孢子的染色体数目n=16,少数是非整倍体,核型公式为n=2x=16=14m+2st(SAT)。同时观察了韭菜的育性和小孢子四分体微核情况,育性和四分体微核率分别为48％、23.6％。上述结果说明韭菜的核型与前人曾报道过的韭菜的核型—样是同源四倍体。     

稀碱法提取食用蝇蛆蛋白

对蝇蛆粉充分脱脂后采用稀碱法提取蝇蛆蛋白。结果表明,液料比、浸提温度、碱浓度对提取得率有显著影响(P<0.01),提取时间对提取得率影响差异不显著。蛋白提取的最佳条件为:液料比20mL/g,浸提温度80℃,浸提时间2h,碱浓度1%(w/v)。在此条件下,所得蝇蛆蛋白粉蛋白氮含量为11.14%,蛋白得率为57.53%,提取效率为69.84%。对最优条件下得到的蝇蛆蛋白粉进行理化指标检测,并与速溶豆粉的企业标准以及脱脂乳粉的国家标准进行比较。结果表明,水分、灰分、脂肪、蛋白含量均已达到可食用级别的要求,重金属铅、汞、砷含量均低于限量要求,微生物检测不含致病菌和大肠杆菌,在最优提取条件下所得蝇蛆蛋白粉,综合指标已达可食用标准。