Design,synthesis and structure–activity relationship of 2-(3′,4′,5′-trimethoxybenzoyl)-benzo[b]furan derivatives as a novel class of inhibitors of tubulin polymerization

The biological importance of microtubules in mitosis and cell division makes them an interesting target for the development of anticancer agents. Small molecules such as benzo[b]furans are attractive as inhibitors of tubulin polymerization. Thus, a new class of inhibitors of tubulin polymerization based on the 2-(3′,4′,5′-trimethoxybenzoyl)-benzo[b]furan molecular skeleton, with electron-donating (Me, OMe or OH) or electron-withdrawing (F, Cl and Br) substituents on the benzene ring, was synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activity, inhibition of tubulin polymerization and cell cycle effects. Adding a methyl group at the C-3 position resulted in increased activity. The most promising compound in this series was 2-(3′,4′,5′-trimethoxybenzoyl)-3-methyl-6-ethoxy-benzo[b]furan, which inhibits cancer cell growth at nanomolar concentrations and interacts strongly with tubulin by binding to the colchicine site.     

Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci for Butter Content and Hardness in Cocoa Beans (Theobroma cacao L.)

Cocoa butter is an important raw material for the chocolate, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. The butter content and quality in cocoa beans are genetically controlled characteristics, and affect its commercial value and industrial applicability. In the present work, an F₂ population derived from the cross between the ICS-1 and Scavina-6 cocoa clones was used for molecular mapping. A linkage map was constructed based on amplified fragment length polymorphism, random amplified polymorphic DNA, and simple sequence repeat markers, resulting in a total of 273 markers, distributed in 14 linkage groups (LGs). Phenotyping of butter content was performed after ether extraction and butter hardness was determined by sweeping differential calorimetry. One quantitative trait locus (QTL) associated to butter content was mapped at linkage group 9 (LG9) and two QTLs for butter hardness were identified at linkage groups 9 and 7 (LG9 and LG7). The two QTLs mapped at the LG9 explained 51.0% and 28.8% of the phenotypic variation for butter content and hardness, respectively. These QTLs were concentrated in the same map region, suggesting a close genetic linkage or pleiotropic effect. The QTLs identified may be useful in further marker-assisted selection breeding programs aimed at cocoa butter quality improvement.     

OsCKX5 Modulates Root System Morphology and Increases Nutrient Uptake in Rice

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Cytokinin is a plant hormone and an important regulator of root growth. Reduced cytokinin levels increase root systems, which can be beneficial for crops grown...     

Accessible haptic technology for drug design applications

Structure-based drug design is a creative process that displays several features that make it closer to human reasoning than to machine automation. However, very often the user intervention is limited to the preparation of the input and analysis of the output of a computer simulation. In some cases, allowing human intervention directly in the process could improve the quality of the results by applying the researcher intuition directly into the simulation. Haptic technology has been previously explored as a useful method to interact with a chemical system. However, the need of expensive hardware and the lack of accessible software have limited the use of this technology to date. Here we are reporting the implementation of a haptic-based molecular mechanics environment aimed for interactive drug design and ligand optimization, using an easily accessible software/hardware combination.     

A morphotypological analysis of an Italian population: association with obesity

The morphotypological method of Brian (1960) was applied to the data collected in Aosta (N. Italy) during an investigation on human obesity. The data consist of anthropometric measurements on members of families ascertained by the presence of obesity in the children and therefore the frequency of obesity is much higher than in the general population. One of the morphotypes was found only among the obese and two others were much more common among the obese than among the non-obese. More than 80% of the obese (vs. 10% of the non-obese) belonged to these three classes. There was a positive parent-offspring association for two of the components of the morphotype (morphy and somy).