Oxyprenylated secondary metabolites: a survey of their innovative extraction methodologies

Phytochemistry Reviews - Oxyprenylated secondary metabolites of plant, fungal, and microbial origin have emerged as biologically active natural compounds with a great potential for the next future....     

Characteristics and Regulatory Properties of the H+-ATPase in a Plasma Membrane Fraction Purified from Arabidopsis thaliana

The aqueous two-phase partitioning technique was utilized to isolate a plasma membrane (PM) fraction from etiolated seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana. The purification procedure adopted yielded a fraction highly enriched in PM as compared to inner membranes, with a recovery of about 30%, as judged from the activities of PM markers such as vanadate-sensitive ATPase, FC binding and UDP-glucose sterol glucosyltransferase. The purified PM fraction displayed vanadate-sensitive H⁺ pumping activity. Its purity was confirmed by the biochemical characteristics of its ATPase activity assayed in the absence of Ca²⁺: sensitivity to vanadate (IC₅₀ ca. 1 μM), Mg²⁺-dependence, insensitivity to molybdate, oligomycin and nitrate, pH optimum at 6.6. The PM H⁺-ATPase activity was stimulated by fusicoccin and by a controlled treatment of the PM with trypsin. In both cases stimulation was much stronger on the activity assayed at pH 7.5 than on the activity at pH 6.6. Moreover, neither fusicoccin nor the treatment with trypsin stimulated the portion of activity (30 to 40% at pH 7.5) which decayed upon preincubation of the PM in assay medium without ATP.     

A common β hexosaminidase gene mutation in adult Sandhoff disease patients

-Hexosaminidase gene mutations were analyzed in two adult-onset Sandhoff disease Italian patients by PCR analysis of a common known mutation (5) and by heteroduplex analysis of genomic and RT-PCR DNA fragments, covering the whole gene. The patients' genotypes were 5/C1214T, and G890A/C1214T, respectively. As mutation C1214T (Pro405Leu) is also present in the other two late-onset cases so far described, we suggest that C1214T is a common mutation in this type of Sandhoff disease. Mutation G890A (Cys297Tyr) is a novel mutation which presumably causes altered processing of the pro chain.     

Primary multilobated T-cell lymphoma of the breast diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology and immunocytochemistry

The fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytologic, immunocytochemical and ultrastructural findings of a primary multilobated T-cell lymphoma arising in the breast of a 61-year-old woman are described. Large pleomorphic multilobated malignant cells were primarily identified as lymphomatous in origin and phenotypically as T-cells by a selected panel of monoclonal antibodies applied to the original smears obtained by FNA biopsy. This appears to be the second report of a multilobated lymphoma arising in the breast and the first with a T-cell phenotype in this anatomic site.     

Playing together,laughing together: rapid facial mimicry and social sensitivity in lowland gorillas

In nonhuman animals, the phenomenon of rapid facial mimicry (RFM)—the automatic, involuntary, and rapid (<1 s) replication of others’ facial expressions—has been mainly investigated in the playful domain. In immature lowland gorillas Gorilla gorilla gorilla both play face (PF) and full PF (FPF) are rapidly mimicked between the players. This makes the species suitable to test hypotheses on the factors influencing RFM during play. The observations on 3 captive groups of lowland gorillas (N = 27) revealed that contrary to expectations, the closeness of social bond negatively influenced the occurrence of RFM but it did not affect either RFM latency or its overlapping index (OVERLAP). RFM was affected by the degree of symmetry of play fighting: the more balanced the session, the higher the occurrence of RFM. Players of the same sex class responded faster than players of different sex. These findings suggest that RFM may help synchronizing behaviors of playmates matching in size (same-sex) and promote symmetric playful interactions. “Laughing together” (measured by the RFM OVERLAP) lasted longer when the responder perfectly mirrored the partner expression (PF→PF; FPF→FPF). If PF and FPF convey information on the different play roughness degree, through “laughing together” the players could coordinate their actions and share positive moods and playful intensity. If the perfect congruency in the motor resonance, also known as social sensitivity, can foster a possible emotional dialogue between gorillas remains to be investigated.     

A quantitative trait locus involved in maize yield is tightly associated to the r1 gene on the long arm of chromosome 10

We produced and studied for 3?years two synthetic populations of maize differing in their constitution only for the selected alleles present at the red color 1 (r1) locus (R-sc vs. r?Cr). r1 is a regulatory gene conferring anthocyanin pigmentation in different tissues: the R-sc allele confers pigmentation only in the aleurone seed layer, while the r?Cr allele confers pigmentation in several tissues such as root, silk and anther but the seed is colourless. The colourless population (r?Cr/r?Cr) was characterized by improved agronomic features, such as ear weight and plant height, compared with the R-sc/R-sc coloured population. This finding was confirmed by studying single F4 R/r families where the presence of the r?Cr allele conferred positive features, acting as a dominant trait. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis performed using molecular markers on the long arm of chromosome 10 (bin 10.06), where the r1 gene maps, identified a QTL map position for plant height tightly associated to the r1 gene. Thus the r1 gene may represent a major QTL or it could be closely linked to another gene involved in the agronomic performance of the two populations studied.     

Chemical characterization (GC/MS and NMR Fingerprinting) and bioactivities of South-African Pelargonium capitatum (L.) L' Her. (Geraniaceae) essential oil

Chemical fingerprinting of commercial Pelargonium capitatum (Geraniaceae) essential oil samples of south African origin was performed by GC, GC/MS, and (13) C- and (1) H-NMR. Thirty-seven compounds were identified, among which citronellol (32.71%) and geraniol (19.58%) were the most abundant. NMR Spectra of characteristic chemicals were provided. Broad-spectrum bioactivity properties of the oil were evaluated and compared with those of commercial Thymus vulgaris essential oil with the aim to obtain a functional profile in terms of efficacy and safety. P. capitatum essential oil provides a good performance as antimicrobial, with particular efficacy against Candida albicans strains. Antifungal activity performed against dermatophyte and phytopathogen strains revealed the latter as more sensitive, while antibacterial activity was not remarkable against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. P. capitatum oil provided a lower antioxidant activity (IC(50) ) than that expressed by thyme essential oil, both in the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and β-carotene bleaching tests. Results in photochemiluminescence (PCL) assay were negligible. To test the safety aspects of P. capitatum essential oil, mutagenic and toxicity properties were assayed by Ames test, with and without metabolic activation. Possible efficacy of P. capitatum essential oil as mutagenic protective agent against NaN(3) , 2-nitrofluorene, and 2-aminoanthracene was also assayed, providing interesting and significant antigenotoxic properties.     

ENDOPHYTIC BACTERIA FROM SEEDS OF NICOTIANA TABACUM CAN REDUCE CADMIUM PHYTOTOXICITY

Although endophytic bacteria seem to have a close association with their host plant, little is known about the influence of seed endophytic bacteria on initial plant development and on their interactions with plants under conditions of metal toxicity. In order to further elucidate this close relationship, we isolated endophytic bacteria from surface sterilized Nicotiana tabacum seeds that were collected from plants cultivated on a cadmium-(Cd) and zinc-enriched soil. Many of the isolated strains showed Cd tolerance. Sterilely grown tobacco plants were inoculated with either the endogenous microbial consortium, composed of cultivable and noncultivable strains; single strains; or defined consortia of the most representative cultivable strains. Subsequently, the effects of inoculation of endophytic bacteria on plant development and on metal and nutrient uptake were explored under conditions with and without exposure to Cd. In general, seed endophytes were found to have a positive effect on plant growth, as was illustrated by an increase in biomass production under conditions without Cd. In several cases, inoculation with endophytes resulted in improved biomass production under conditions of Cd stress, as well as in a higher plant Cd concentration and total plant Cd content compared to noninoculated plants. These results demonstrate the beneficial effects of seed endophytes on metal toxicity and accumulation, and suggest practical applications using inoculated seeds as a vector for plant beneficial bacteria.     

Migratory orientation of sedge warblers (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) in relation to eating and exploratory behaviour

Orientation tests performed with Emlen funnels show much variation. This scatter in responses can be partially explained by considering the birds’ personalities.We studied a Passerine migrant, the Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), on autumn passage at Kalimok Biological Station, Bulgaria. Birds caught in the morning were kept in cages with known and regularly controlled amounts of food. In the evening they were tested for orientation, the next morning they were observed for 3 min in an unfamiliar cage, then released.Birds that ate on the first day oriented in the expected, southward direction, non-eating birds were scattered.Eating behaviour was related to the exploration pattern on the next day. Eating birds moved and flew less, hopped, looked around and explored the cage more, and were quicker in eating a food item if present.Lean birds ate and explored more but also oriented better, contrary to expectations where fat reserves indicate readiness for migration. A hypothesis is discussed where fat, migration and personality may be linked.Personality aspects may influence the individuals’ ability to cope with an experimental situation and influence the outcome of the tests, therefore its analysis can help in predicting the birds’ performance in apparently unrelated experiments.