Genetic analysis of Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre populations using AFLP markers

A study of genetic diversity in Pongamia pinnata representing 33 candidate plus trees (CPT) was undertaken in five agro-ecological zones of Southern Peninsular India. Eleven primer combinations generated 532 bands with an average of 48 bands per primer combination. E-ACG/M-GCC showed the highest polymorphism of 98.80 %. E-ACG/M-GCC, E-CAA/M-CTG, and E-CAG/M-GTG with higher polymorphic information, marker index, and resolving power were found to be effective in detecting unique bands. Nei's gene diversity and Shannon's indices of 0.159 and 0.247, respectively, indicated the presence of high gene diversity in southern dry and transition zones of Karnataka. The inter-population differentiation between zones (G _ST) was 0.296. The level of gene flow (Nm) estimated was 1.34. Analysis of molecular variance indicated that 44.78 % of variance occurred within the provenance when compared to variations among agro-ecological zones (22.22 %) and among provenances within zones (33 %). Based on un-weighted pair group method using arithmetic averages method, the pongamia accessions were grouped into three major clusters and four sub-groups depending on their geographical locations. The diverse CPT identified in this study could be selected and used for tree breeding, germplasm conservation, and biofuel program in India and other tropical countries.     

Quantitative estimation of newly synthesized radioactive proteins: use of minicolumns of antibody embedded in agarose gel or immobilized on Sepharose.

Immunochemical methods for the quantitative determination of radioactive proteins synthesized by chick embryo hepatocyte cultures are described. Cell culture medium containing secreted labeled serum proteins was concentrated and applied to agarose gels containing rabbit anti-chicken serum. Nonspecific binding in control gels was reduced to less than 2% of applied counts under conditions where more than 60% of the nondialyzable counts were precipitated in the presence of antibody. Labeled cytosol fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (Fru-P₂ase) from cell sonicates was selectively adsorbed onto columns containing Sepharose-immobilized anti-chicken liver Fru-P₂ase. Radioactivity bound on these columns was eluted with 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate for electrophoretic analysis. Addition of dialyzed horse serum was used in both cases to minimize nonspecific binding. These techniques provide simple alternatives to direct immunoprecipitations in solution where nonspecific binding of radioactivity may be unacceptably high.     

Exploring Crop–Microbiome Interactions Towards Improving Symbiotic Performance of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) Cultivars Using Cyanobacterial Inoculants

The significance of integrated nutrient management practices is well established in improving the productivity of chickpea (Cicer arietinum); however, the effects of the inoculation of cyanobacterial inoculants on nodule metabolism, microbiome and associated genes are less explored. In the present investigation, cyanobacterium Anabaena laxa (A. laxa) and biofilm developed using Anabaena torulosa, with Mesorhizobium ciceri as a partner (An-M. ciceri), were evaluated along with Mesorhizobium ciceri (M. ciceri) alone, in three chickpea cultivars. Microbial inoculation led to 40–70% enhancement in nitrogen fixation, leghaemoglobin and ureide content, and two- to threefold increment in nitrate reductase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity of the nodules. An enhancement of 30–50% in the soil available macro- and micronutrients and plant growth attributes was also observed. A significant correlation between the soil microbiological and plant parameters was recorded, particularly in relation to the nitrogen dynamics. Increases in the leghaemoglobin content in nodules due to An-M. ciceri, A. laxa and M. ciceri ranged from 18 to 40%, particularly in chickpea cv. BG372 in which 60–80% enhancement was recorded. Whereas the nifH gene copies in the nodule tissues ranged from 5.00 × 10⁶ to 3.35 × 10⁷ g⁻¹, the application of A. laxa led to higher abundances of nifH gene copies in desi chickpea cv. BG372 and kabuli BG1053 cultivars. An-M. ciceri, followed closely by A. laxa, was the top-ranking treatment, and chickpea cv. BG372 was the best performing cultivar; An-M. ciceri—chickpea cv. BG372 proved to be the superior combination for higher plant growth and soil nutrient-related traits.

     

Alterations in Photosystem II Organization by Cobalt Treatment in the Cyanobacterium Spirulina piatensis

The presence of low concentrations of cobalt ions (200 μMCoCl₂) retarded the growth of the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis. However, cells grown in the presence of CoCl₂ exhibited an enhancement in the levels of phycocyanin and carotenoids, while showed a decrease in the content of chlorophyll a, when compared to the untreated control cells. Thylakoid membranes isolated from CoCl₂ treated cells demonstrated enhanced rates of both photosystem II (H₂O → pBQ) and photosystem I (DCPIPH₂ → MV) mediated electorn transport activities. The stimulation in the rates of photosynthetic electron transport activities in the CoCl ₂ grown cells are attributed to the alterations occurring in the thylakoid membrane organization, as the thylakoids from CoCl₂ grown cells possessed more membrane fluidity. The decrease in the chlorophyll a content may have occurred due to modifications in the chlorophyll a complexes in this cynaobacterium. The enhancement in the phycocyanin levels in the CoCl₂ grown cells appears to be because of the stimulated induction of heme oxygenase. Thus, the cobalt ion treatment appears to be useful in studying the thylakoid membrane and antennae organizations in cyanobacteria.     

Feasibility of cord blood bank in high altitude Abha: preclinical impacts

We explored the possibility of the cryo-storage of cord blood hematopoietic stem cells (CBHPSC) with respect to the quantity, quality and biologic efficacy of high altitude (HA) region Abha against sea level (SL) region. The results of the post-processed total nucleated cell count was 8.03 ± 0.31 × 10⁷ and 8.44 ± 0.23 × 10⁷ cells in the HA and SL regions respectively. The mean post processing viability of the nucleated cells was about 87.03 ± 1.39 (HA) and 88.33 ± 1.55% (SL) while post thaw cells were 85.61 ± 1.44 (HA) and 86.58 ± 1.61% (SL) after transient cryo-storage. The proliferation of CBHSCs after thawing were comparable between the HA and SL regions. The results of the colony forming unit (CFU) assays of CFU-E, CFU-GEMM, CFU-GM and BFU-E were comparable between HA and SL in both fresh and post thaw, while a declining trend with viability was significant. The differentiation capability of post thaw samples into adipocytes and osteocytes were comparable between HA and SL regions. Overall from the results, it can be evidenced that HA cord blood collection, processing or storage does not hinder the quality or biological efficacy of the CBHPSC.     

Evaluation of microalgal consortia for treatment of primary treated sewage effluent and biomass production

The present investigation was aimed towards analyzing the potential of consortia of native filamentous microalgal strains (MC2), native unicellular microalgal strains (MC3), and selected microalgae from germplasm (MC1) in terms of nutrient removal, water quality improvement, and biomass production using primary treated sewage water. Highest NO₃-N (90 %) and PO₄-P (97.8 %) removal was obtained with MC2-inoculated sewage water. Highest decrease in total dissolved solids to 806 from 1,120 mg L^?1 and highest increase in dissolved oxygen of 9.0 from 0.4 mg L^?1 were obtained using MC2-inoculated sewage water on the sixth day. The biomass production was also highest in MC2 (1.07 g L^?1) followed by MC1 and MC3 (0.90 and 0.94 g L^?1, respectively) on the sixth day. The consortium of filamentous strains from native environment not only proved promising in nutrient removal efficiency but also led to enhanced biomass. The present study highlighted the utility of such a consortium for sewage wastewater treatment and the promise of sewage water as a growth medium for biomass production.     

Increased m6A-RNA methylation and FTO suppression is associated with myocardial inflammation and dysfunction during endotoxemia in mice

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Endotoxemia triggers life-threatening immune and cardiovascular response that leads to tissue damage, multi-organ failure, and death. The understanding of...     

Crab Pentapeptide and Its Anti-inflammatory Activity on Macrophage Cells

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Marine fishes have long been known due to their nutritional and pharmaceutical importance. In this study, marine crab (C. natator) body...     

Seipin traps triacylglycerols to facilitate their nanoscale clustering in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane

Seipin is a disk-like oligomeric endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein important for lipid droplet (LD) biogenesis and triacylglycerol (TAG) delivery to growing LDs. Here we show through biomolecular simulations bridged to experiments that seipin can trap TAGs in the ER bilayer via the luminal hydrophobic helices of the protomers delineating the inner opening of the seipin disk. This promotes the nanoscale sequestration of TAGs at a concentration that by itself is insufficient to induce TAG clustering in a lipid membrane. We identify Ser166 in the α3 helix as a favored TAG occupancy site and show that mutating it compromises the ability of seipin complexes to sequester TAG in silico and to promote TAG transfer to LDs in cells. While the S166D-seipin mutant colocalizes poorly with promethin, the association of nascent wild-type seipin complexes with promethin is promoted by TAGs. Together, these results suggest that seipin traps TAGs via its luminal hydrophobic helices, serving as a catalyst for seeding the TAG cluster from dissolved monomers inside the seipin ring, thereby generating a favorable promethin binding interface.

A combination of biomolecular simulations and experiments reveals that the disc-like oligomeric lipodystrophy protein seipin interacts with and traps triglycerides in the endoplasmic reticulum, thus facilitating the formation and growth of lipid droplets.