Purification and Characterization of Polygalacturonase-3 from Jamaica cherry (Muntingia calabura Linn)

Endo-polygalacturonase-3 (PG-3), the key enzyme of fruit ripening was purified to near homogeneity as judged by native PAGE from the fruit tissues of Jamaica cherry (Muntingia calabura) using ammonium sulphate fractionation, followed by anion-exchange, gel filtration and affinity chromatography. The molecular mass of the PG-3 enzyme was determined as 85 kD, by size exclusion chromatography. SDS-PAGE of PG-3 revealed two dissimilar bands of 62 and 21 kD as heterogenous subunits. The optimum pH of PG-3 was found to be 4.0. The enzyme had an optimum temperature of 40°C and was relatively stable at 50°C and 60°C. K_m for the substrate polygalacturonic acid was found to be 0.27%. The purified enzyme was a glycoprotein with 6.6 % carbohydrate content.     

Isolation and functional characterization of three abiotic stress-inducible (Apx,Dhn and Hsc70) promoters from pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.)

Molecular Biology Reports - Pearl millet is a C4 cereal crop that grows in arid and semi-arid climatic conditions with the remarkable abiotic stress tolerance. It contributed to the understanding...     

Kitam Bird Sanctuary,the only low elevation protected area of Sikkim: A conservation hotspot for butterflies in the Eastern Himalaya

The lowland areas of the Himalayan region are subjected to immense anthropogenic pressure because of least representation in the protected area network. Kitam Bird Sanctuary is the only representative protected area that occurs below 1000 m in Sikkim state of India (a part of globally significant biodiversity hotspot of Himalayas) and serves as the refuge for various species of flora and fauna. Here we studied butterfly diversity and community composition in Kitam Bird Sanctuary (a small protected area of 6 km² geographical area) following point count method spread across predetermined transects. Altogether 1674 butterflies belonging to 111 species and six families were recorded after completion of 240 point counts. Among these, 18 species are federally protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972) of India. Most of the butterflies were forest specialist in terms of habitat preference, whereas based on host plant specificity, the butterfly community was mostly dominated by generalist feeder (Oligophagous II and Polyphagous). Butterfly community parameters showed a strong correlation with habitat variables. While Kitam Bird Sanctuary is primarily designated for conservation of lowland birds, the high diversity of butterflies both in terms of taxonomic richness and trait composition suggests that the sanctuary harbors an ideal habitat for butterflies of the tropical region and invites conservation attention.     

Dendrobium tamenglongense sp. nov. (Orchidaceae) from Manipur,India

Dendrobium tamenglongense R. Kishor, Y. N. Devi, H. B. Sharma, J. Tongbram & S. P. Vij sp. nov. from Manipur, India is described and illustrated as a new species. The new species differs from D. jaintianum in having larger and glabrous leaves with acute apices, green sepal apices, a 1–3‐flowered inflorescence, smaller and non‐fragrant flowers and a 3‐lobed labellum with fimbriate midlobe.     

The history of the discovery of blood circulation: unrecognized contributions of Ayurveda masters

Ayurveda, the native healthcare system of India, is a rich resource of well-documented ancient medical knowledge. Although the roots of this knowledge date back to the Vedic and post-Vedic eras, it is generally believed that a dedicated branch for healthcare was gradually established approximately between 400 BCE and 200 CE. Probably because the language of documentation of these early textbooks is in Sanskrit, a language that is not in day-to-day use among the general population even in India, many significant contributions of Ayurveda have remained unrecognized in the literature related to the history of medicine. In this communication, the discovery of blood circulation has been taken up as a case, and a few important references from the representative Ayurveda compendia that hint at a preliminary understanding of the cardiovascular system as a "closed circuit" and the heart acting as a pump have been reviewed. The central argument of this review is that these contributions from Ayurveda too must be recorded and credited when reviewing the milestones in the history of medicine, as Ayurveda can still possibly guide various streams of the current sciences, if revisited with this spirit.     

Optimization of a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacopa monnieri</Emphasis>-based genetic transformation model for testing the expression efficiency of pathway gene constructs of medicinal crops

A fast regenerating Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation protocol for Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst. was developed as a model system for heterologous expression of terpenoid indole alkaloid pathway genes from Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. The direct regeneration of shoots from leaf explants co-cultured with A. tumefaciens resulted in the integration of a tryptophan decarboxylase (tdc) and strictosidine synthase (str) cassette (<hpt-<Tdc2-<Str-gus>) in the regenerated progeny. The highest transformation efficiency (83.88%) was achieved when leaf explants were infected on the adaxial laminar surface by manual pricking with 48- to 72-h-old suspensions (OD₆₀₀ = 0.5–0.6) of A. tumefaciens strain LBA1119 (carrying the binary vector pMOG22). The heterologous expression of tryptophan decarboxylase and strictosidine synthase genes that are otherwise not present in B. monnieri plants was confirmed through semi-quantitative PCR and metabolite quantification assays. The entire protocol duration from co-cultivation through regeneration of transgenic plants to their establishment in the glass house took 40–45 d. The developed B. monnieri model can be used to test expression cassettes carrying genes for plant secondary metabolic pathway engineering, especially those genes that are expressed in differentiated cell, tissue, or organs.