Induced Homoeologous Pairing for Transfer of Useful Variability for High Grain Fe and Zn from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aegilops kotschyi</Emphasis> into Wheat

Biofortification of bread wheat by the transfer of useful variability of high grain Fe and Zn from Aegilops kotschyi through induced homoeologous pairing is the most feasible approach to alleviate micronutrient malnutrition worldwide. Deficiency of chromosome 5B in interspecific hybrids allows homoeologous pairing and recombination of chromosomes of wheat with those of the related species. The interspecific hybrid plants without 5B chromosome showed much higher chromosome pairing than did the plants with 5B. The F₁ plants without 5B chromosome were selected and repeatedly backcrossed with wheat cultivar PBW343. The chromosome number of BC₂F₁ plants ranged from 43 to 60 with several univalents and multivalents. Molecular markers and GISH analysis confirmed the introgression of U/S chromosomes of Ae. kotschyi and their fragments in wheat. The BC₂F₂ plants showed up to 125 % increase in Fe and 158 % increase in Zn compared to PBW343 with Lr24 and Yr36. Induced homoeologous pairing in the absence of 5B was found to be an effective approach for transfer of useful variability for enhanced grain Fe and Zn content for biofortification of wheat for high grain micronutrient content.     

Green synthesis of isoamyl acetate via silica immobilized novel thermophilic lipase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus aerius</Emphasis>

Isoamyl acetate, a pear or banana flavor, is widely used in food, beverage, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. In the present work, lipase from Bacillus aerius was immobilized on silica gel matrix in the presence of a cross-linking agent, glutaraldehyde, and its efficiency in synthesizing isoamyl acetate using esterification reaction was studied. The esterification of acetic acid and isoamyl alcohol by silica-bound lipase was studied as a function of time and temperatures. The incubation time of 10 h, temperature of 55°C, substrate molar ratio 1: 1, and the amount of lipase as 1% were found to be optimal for the esterification reaction. The bound lipase catalyzed the esterification of acetic acid by isoamyl alcohol with the yield of about 68% under the optimized reaction conditions. The product was identified as isoamyl acetate using gas-liquid chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and Fourier transform IR spectroscopy analysis by the presence of an ester group at the wavenumber of 1720.5 cm^–1.     

The co-chaperone CHIP is induced in various stresses and confers protection to cells

The C-terminus of Hsp70 interacting protein (CHIP) is being considered to be a cellular quality control E3 ubiquitin ligase because of its ability to degrade misfolded proteins in association with heat shock chaperones. The neuroprotective role of CHIP also has been implicated in several familial neurodegenerative diseases including polyglutamine diseases. However, the regulation of the expression of CHIP under different stress conditions and its protective role thereon is unknown. Here we have shown that the mRNA level of CHIP is significantly increased in the cells exposed to oxidative, endoplasmic reticulum and proteasomal stress. CHIP also protected from various stress-induced cell death. Finally, we have demonstrated upregulation of CHIP mRNA levels in the expanded polyglutamine protein expressing cells. Our result suggests that the upregulation of CHIP under various stress environments is an adaptive response of the cells to deal with the excess burden of misfolded protein.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 1,2,3-triazole derivatives as anti-tubercular agents

A library of seventeen novel 1,2,3-triazole derivatives were efficiently synthesized in excellent yields by the popular ‘click chemistry’ approach and evaluated in vitro for their anti-tubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra (ATCC 25177 strain). Among the series, six compounds exhibited significant activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 3.12 to 0.78 μg/mL and along with no significant cytotoxicity against MBMDMQs (mouse bone marrow derived macrophages). Molecular docking of the target compounds into the active site of DprE1 (Decaprenylphosphoryl-β-d-ribose-2′-epimerase) enzyme revealed noteworthy information on the plausible binding interactions.     

A molecular insight into papaya leaf curl—a severe viral disease

Papaya leaf curl disease (PaLCuD) caused by papaya leaf curl virus (PaLCuV) not only affects yield but also plant growth and fruit size and quality of papaya and is one of the most damaging and economically important disease. Management of PaLCuV is a challenging task due to diversity of viral strains, the alternate hosts, and the genomic complexities of the viruses. Several management strategies currently used by plant virologists to broadly control or eliminate the viruses have been discussed. In the absence of such strategies in the case of PaLCuV at present, the few available options to control the disease include methods like removal of affected plants from the field, insecticide treatments against the insect vector (Bemisia tabaci), and gene-specific control through transgenic constructs. This review presents the current understanding of papaya leaf curl disease, genomic components including satellite DNA associated with the virus, wide host and vector range, and management of the disease and suggests possible generic resistance strategies.     

PGPR’s mix treatment to Moringa improved plant growth and iron content in foliage as substantiated by biochemical and molecular methods

In this study, Bacillus pumilus SE34 and B. pumilus T4 were combined with Bacillus subtilis GBO3, B. pumilus INR7 and Pseudomonas fluorescens UOM14 to form COM1, COM2 and COM3, respectively. All combinations were used to find their synergistic effect on Moringa oleifera for growth promotion and Fe accumulation efficiency in foliage. The results indicate a significant increase in Fe content in foliage using COM3 (405.70%) followed by COM2 (105.83%) in comparison to the control with a simultaneous decrease in the soil Fe content. Increased expression of iron-transport-related genes like iron-phytosiderophore oligopeptide transporter and natural-resistance-associated macrophage protein, in foliage of Moringa using real-time PCR correlates with the enriched iron content in foliage of treated plants. Increase in citric acid was in direct relation to the Fe accumulation in foliage. Growth promotion and Fe enhancement using plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria’s combination was significantly higher, proving its synergistic effect as a great source for sustainable development in agriculture and nutrition.     

Arginase modulates Salmonella induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages and is required for Salmonella pathogenesis in mice model of infection

Arginine is a common substrate for both inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and arginase. The competition between iNOS and arginase for arginine contributes to the outcome of several parasitic and bacterial infections. Salmonella infection in macrophage cell line RAW264.7 induces iNOS. Because the availability of l-arginine is a major determinant for nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, we hypothesize that in the Salmonella infected macrophages NO production may be regulated by arginase. Here we report for the first time that Salmonella up-regulates arginase II but not arginase I isoform in RAW264.7 macrophages. Blocking arginase increases the substrate l-arginine availability to iNOS for production of more nitric oxide and perhaps peroxynitrite molecules in the infected cells allowing better killing of virulent Salmonella in a NO dependent manner. RAW264.7 macrophages treated with iNOS inhibitor Aminoguanidine reverts the attenuation in arginase-blocked condition. Further, the NO block created by Salmonella was removed by increasing concentration of l-arginine. The whole-mice system arginase I, although constitutive, is much more abundant than the inducible arginase II isoform. Inhibition of arginase activity in mice during the course of Salmonella infection reduces the bacterial burden and delays the disease outcome in a NO dependent manner.     

Meroditerpenoids from the southern Australian marine brown alga Sargassum fallax

Chemical investigation of the southern Australian marine brown alga Sargassum fallax resulted in the isolation of three meroditerpenoids fallahydroquinone, fallaquinone and fallachromenoic acid together with the previously reported compounds sargaquinone [isolated and identified in a mixture with sargaquinoic acid], sargahydroquinoic acid, sargaquinoic acid and sargachromenol. As a result of this study the complete 2D NMR characterisation for sargaquinoic acid and sargahydroquinoic acid can now be reported for the first time. All structures were elucidated by detailed spectrometric analysis. Sargaquinoic acid and sargahydroquinoic acid displayed moderate antitumour activity.