Inhibitory effect of essential oils of Eucalyptus sp. and Zataria multiflora on fungal growth of Macrophomina phaseolina

Macrophomina phaseolina is a causal agent for charcoal rot and cause economic damage in plants. In recent years, the great tendency for the use of biological substances to control of pests, weeds and the pathogens has been created. In this study, antifungal effects of concentrations 30, 60 and 120?μl/100?ml of essential oil of Eucalyptus sp. and Zataria multiflora were evaluated on the growth of M. phaseolina in vitro condition. The experiment was conducted on phactorial basis of completely randomised design with four replications. According to the results, a significant difference between inhibitory percentage of essential oils and different concentrations of essential oils on fungal colony growth has been observed (p?≤?0.01). Highest inhibitory percentage was related to the concentration of 120?μl/100?ml of Z. multiflora with 58.16% inhibition.     

Construction of an expression plasmid (vector) encoding Brucella melitensis outer membrane protein,a candidate for DNA vaccine

Background:

DNA vaccination with plasmid encoding bacterial, viral, and parasitic immunogens has been shown to be an attractive method to induce efficient immune responses. Bacteria of the genus Brucella are facultative intracellular pathogens for which new and efficient vaccines are needed.

Methods:

To evaluate the use of a DNA immunization strategy for protection against brucellosis, a plasmid containing the DNA encoding the Brucella melitensis (B. melitensis) 31 kDa outer membrane protein, as a potent immunogenic target, was constructed.

Results:

The constructed plasmid, pcDNA3.1+omp31, was injected intramuscularly into mice and the expression of omp31 RNA was assessed by RT-PCR. The integrity of the pcDNA3.1+omp31 construct was confirmed with restriction analysis and sequencing. Omp31 mRNA expression was verified by RT-PCR.

Conclusion:

Our results indicate that the pcDNA3.1+omp31 eukaryotic expression vector expresses omp31 mRNA and could be useful as a vaccine candidate.Key Words: Brucella melitensis, omp31, DNA Vaccine, pcDNA3.1     

The 6-Methoxymethyl Derivative Of Pyrrolo-Dc For Selective Fluorometric Detection Of Guanosine-Containing Sequences

The β-cyanoethyl phosphosphoramidite derivatives of 6-methyl- and 6-methoxymethyl-3-(2-deoxy-β-D-ribofuranosyl)-3H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-2-one have been synthesized. These monomers have been employed for oligodeoxynucleotide synthesis to evaluate their effect on duplex stability and ability to fluorometrically report on hybridization. The structurally conservative 6-methoxymethyl-substitution results in a pyrrolocytidine that is stabilizing toward hybrid formation (Δ Tm = +1.3 °C) whereas the known 6-methylpyrrolocytidine is destabilizing (Δ Tm = ?4.7 °C), in the sequence examined. The 6-methoxymethylpyrrolocytidine retains excellent mismatch discrimination and its fluorescence is selectively quenched when hybridized to a match oligodeoxynucleotide sequence. The quenching of fluorescence for an internal position is approximately three-fold, whereas a terminal position (5′-end or 3′-end) experienced approximately two-fold decrease in the fluorescence intensity.     

Modelling cellular signal communication mediated by phosphorylation dependent interaction with 14-3-3 proteins

The 14-3-3 proteins are important effectors of Ser/Thr phosphorylation in eukaryotic cells. Using mathematical modelling we investigated the roles of these proteins as effectors in signalling pathways that involve multi-phosphorylation events. We defined optimal conditions for positive and negative cross-talk. Particularly, synergistic signal interaction was evident at very different sets of binding affinities and phosphorylation kinetics. We identified three classes of 14-3-3 targets that all have two binding sites, but displayed synergistic interaction between converging signalling pathways for different ranges of parameter values. Consequently, these protein targets will respond differently to interventions that affect 14-3-3 binding affinities or phosphorylation kinetics.     

Distribution of indole-3-acetic acid in Petunia hybrida shoot tip cuttings and relationship between auxin transport, carbohydrate metabolism and adventitious root formation

To determine the contribution of polar auxin transport (PAT) to auxin accumulation and to adventitious root (AR) formation in the stem base of Petunia hybrida shoot tip cuttings, the level of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was monitored in non-treated cuttings and cuttings treated with the auxin transport blocker naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) and was complemented with precise anatomical studies. The temporal course of carbohydrates, amino acids and activities of controlling enzymes was also investigated. Analysis of initial spatial IAA distribution in the cuttings revealed that approximately 40 and 10 % of the total IAA pool was present in the leaves and the stem base as rooting zone, respectively. A negative correlation existed between leaf size and IAA concentration. After excision of cuttings, IAA showed an early increase in the stem base with two peaks at 2 and 24 h post excision and, thereafter, a decline to low levels. This was mirrored by the expression pattern of the auxin-responsive GH3 gene. NPA treatment completely suppressed the 24-h peak of IAA and severely inhibited root formation. It also reduced activities of cell wall and vacuolar invertases in the early phase of AR formation and inhibited the rise of activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and phosphofructokinase during later stages. We propose a model in which spontaneous AR formation in Petunia cuttings is dependent on PAT and on the resulting 24-h peak of IAA in the rooting zone, where it induces early cellular events and also stimulates sink establishment. Subsequent root development stimulates glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway.     

Hormonal Priming with BAP and GA3 Induces Improving Yield and Quality of Saffron Flower Through Promotion of Carbohydrate Accumulation in Corm

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - This work investigated the effects of the hormonal priming of saffron corms before planting with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) as cytokinin, and gibberellic acid...     

A stability-indicating high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay for the simultaneous determination of atorvastatin and amlodipine in commercial tablets

A simple, rapid, precise and accurate isocratic reversed-phase stability-indicating HPLC method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of atorvastatin (AT) and amlodipine (AM) in commercial tablets. The method has shown adequate separation for AM, AT from their associated main impurities and their degradation products. Separation was achieved on a Perfectsil Target ODS-3, 5 microm, 250 mm x 4.6 mm i.d. column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-0.025 M NaH(2)PO(4) buffer (pH 4.5) (55:45, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 ml/min and UV detection at 237 nm. The drugs were subjected to oxidation, hydrolysis, photolysis and heat to apply stress conditions. The linearity of the proposed method was investigated in the range of 2-30 microg/ml (r=0.9994) for AT and 1-20 microg/ml (r=0.9993) for AM. The limits of detection were 0.65 microg/ml and 0.35 microg/ml for AT and AM, respectively. The limits of quantitation were 2 microg/ml and 1 microg/ml for AT and AM, respectively. Degradation products produced as a result of stress studies did not interfere with the detection of AT and AM and the assay can thus be considered stability-indicating.     

The effects of gradual or abrupt changes in salinity on digestive enzymes activity of Caspian kutum,Rutilus kutum (Kamensky, 1901) larvae

This study investigates the effects of gradual or abrupt changes in rearing salinity on food transit time and digestive enzymes activity of Caspian kutum (Rutilus kutum) larvae. The larvae (532 ± 0.05 mg) were supplied and randomly allocated into 12 tanks at a density of 45 fish per tank. Experimental treatments were fresh water (salinity 0) [FW] as control, exposure to salinity 5 [T₁], and gradual transfer to salinity 10 in two steps of first to 5 h, then and after 12 h to a salinity of 10 [T₂], and abrupt change (direct transfer to a salinity of 10 [T₃]). Results showed at 8 h after start of feeding that the larvae intestine was filled with food pellets except in treatment T₁. Enzyme activity responded to salinity change as follows: the highest trypsin, amylase, and chymotrypsin activities were observed in T₁; however, these were not significantly different to treatment T₃ (P > 0.05). Trypsin activity peaks in the FW and T₂ groups occurred 8 h after feeding, and in T₃ and T₁ groups 5 h after feeding. Peak chymotrypsin and alkaline phosphatase activity was observed 5 and 8 h after feeding in all experiments, respectively. The highest α amylase activity in FW and T₂ groups occurred 5 h after feeding, while in T₃ and T₁ these peaks were observed 8 h after feeding. These results indicate that salinity had some noticeable effects on the activities of digestive enzymes after feeding.     

Length‐weight relationships in some populations and species of Iranian loaches

Length‐weight relationships were estimated for eight species of Iranian loaches. The L‐W parameters for three of the species are given for the first time.