High-efficient <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium</Emphasis>-mediated <Emphasis Type="Italic">in planta</Emphasis> transformation in black gram (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vigna mungo</Emphasis> (L.) Hepper)

In vitro culture and genetic transformation of black gram are difficult due to its recalcitrant nature. Establishment of gene transfer procedure is a prerequisite to develop transgenic plants of black gram in a shorter period. Therefore, genetic transformation was performed to optimize the factors influencing transformation efficiency through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated in planta transformation using EHA 105 strain harbouring reporter gene, bar, and selectable marker, gfp-gus, in sprouted half-seed explants of black gram. Several parameters, such as co-cultivation, acetosyringone concentration, exposure time to sonication, and vacuum infiltration influencing in planta transformation, have been evaluated in this study. The half-seed explants when sonicated for 3 min and vacuum infiltered for 2 min at 100 mm of Hg in the presence of A. tumefaciens (pCAMBIA1304– bar) suspensions and incubated for 3 days co-cultivation in MS medium with 100 µM acetosyringone showed maximum transformation efficiency (46 %). The putative transformants were selected by inoculating co-cultivated seeds in BASTA^® (4 mg l^?1) containing MS medium followed by BASTA^® foliar spray on 15-day-old black gram plants (35 mg l^?1) in green house, and the transgene integration was confirmed by biochemical assay (GUS), Polymerase chain reaction, Dot-blot, and Southern hybridisation analyses.     

Extending the definition of additive genetic variance to more than one gene-a viewpoint

Following the Fisherian approach, the expression for additive genetic variance is derived in a single gene system through a regression equation in two variables which are used to obtain the additive and dominance variances. The approach is extended to two genes with restricted linkage and inbreeding. It was brought out that additive genetic variance defined essentially for one gene does not extendper se to multi-gene systems.     

Nitrogen fixation and nitrogen balance studies in Rhizobium-VA mycorrhiza inoculated legume-grass association by15N isotope dilution technique under a field condition

A mixed pasture comprising of buffel grass and a legume siratro was studied under field condition for a two-year period to know the fodder yield increase, nitrogen fixation and nitrogen balance with and without the inoculation of VA mycorrhiza to grass and Rhizobium to legume component.¹⁵N dilution technique was followed using labelled ammonium sulphate. The data showed that during the first year of the above study combined inoculation of VA mycorrhiza and Rhizobium to grass and legume respectively significantly increased the total dry matter (DM) (23,900 kg ha^–1 yr^–1) and total N content (308 kg ha^–1 yr^–1) of the mixed pasture over the uninoculated mixture. However, the above increase due to combined inoculation was maximum during second year with respect to DM yield (28,200 kg ha^–1 yr^–1), but the total N harvested through grass-legume mixture was comparatively lower than the first year (297 kg ha^–1 yr^–1). The amount of biologically fixed N was highest in the first year (79 kg ha^–1 yr^–1) and showed a very drastic reduction at the end of second year (39 kg ha^–1 yr^–1). A positive nitrogen balance was observed in the grass-legume mixture irrespective of inoculation of VA mycorrhiza and/or Rhizobium.     

A Genetic Basis Behind Combining Ability and Breeding Values in Mono- and Di-genic Systems

Combining ability and breeding values are concepts of crucial importance in practical breeding. However, in early literature, methods of partitioning the genetic value into additive and dominance effects were described mostly in single gene and under random mating. Though average effect and average excess of gene substitution were defined by Fisher and a practial method of obtaining breeding values outlined by Falconer, concerted attempts are scarce in integrating the concepts of combining ability, breeding value and additive effects. Only a few workers have reported the values of those parameters for inbred populations while published reports on those effects in digenic systems with linkage appear to be not readily available. Practical breeders continue to use those concepts as if they were independent. This paper is therefore an attempt at filling the research gaps and setting those concepts in proper practical perspective.     

Conversion of potato phosphorylase isozymes

The conversion of a slow moving potato phosphorylase isozyme to a fast one, in sprouting tubers, either on freezing the whole tubers or on storage of their crude extracts, is due to limited proteolysis. High protease inhibitor concentration seems to be the primary factor preventing this conversion in freshly harvested tubers under similar conditions. Though MW determinations on both isozymes show the removal of a peptide during conversion, it is also likely that the enzyme may take up a different conformation due to the removal of this peptide.     

Surfactant-cobalt(III) complexes: synthesis, critical micelle concentration (CMC) determination, DNA binding, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity studies

A new class of surfactant-cobalt(III) complexes, cis-[Co(bpy)₂(C₁₁H₂₃NH₂)Cl]²⁺ (1) and cis-[Co(phen)₂(C₁₁H₂₃NH₂)Cl]²⁺ (2) (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridyl, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), have been synthesized and characterized. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) values of these complexes in aqueous solution were obtained from conductance measurements. The specific conductivity data (at 298, 308, 318 and 328 K) served for the evaluation of the temperature-dependent CMC and the thermodynamics of micellization . The interaction between these complexes and calf thymus DNA in aqueous solution was investigated adopting electronic absorption spectroscopy, emission spectroscopy and viscosity measurements. Results suggest that the two complexes can bind to DNA via groove binding, van der Waals interactions and/or electrostatic interactions. The complexes showed moderate antibacterial and antifungal activities against certain selected microorganisms. The cytotoxic activity of the complexes on HBL-100 human breast cancer cells was determined adopting MTT assay and specific staining techniques, which revealed that the viability of the cells thus treated was significantly decreased and the cells succumbed to apoptosis as seen in the changes in the nuclear morphology and cytoplasmic features. Furthermore, the influence of complexes on normal cell lines from green monkey kidney was also determined and the results indicate that the effect is small on inhibition of viability.     

Neuroprotective effect of rhaponticin against Parkinson disease: Insights from in vitro BV‐2 model and in vivo MPTP‐induced mice model

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative illness associated with the loss or damage to neurons of the dopaminergic system in the brain. Few therapeutic approaches and considerable side effects of conventional drugs necessitate a new therapeutic agent to treat patients with PD. Rhaponticin is a natural hydroxystilbene, found in herbal plants such as Rheum rhaponticum, and known to have desirable biological activity including anti‐inflammatory properties. However, the neuroinflammation on rhaponticin levels has only been investigated partially so far. So, the current study explored whether rhaponticin could ameliorate the pathophysiology observed in both the in vitro microglial BV‐2 cells and the in vivo (1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,5‐tetrahydropyridine [MPTP])‐mediated PD model. The results show rhaponticin significantly attenuated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐mediated microglial activation by suppressing nitric oxide synthase in conjunction with abridged reactive oxygen species production together with proinflammatory mediator reduction. In vivo rhaponticin treatment improves motor impairments as well as the loss of dopaminergic neurons in MPTP‐treated mice possibly through suppression via mediators of inflammation. Taken together, these results offer evidence that rhaponticin exerts anti‐inflammatory effects and neuroprotection in an LPS‐induced microglial model and the MPTP‐induced mouse models of PD.     

Distribution pattern, endemism, threat status and conservation measures of fishes in the Tunga and Bhadra rivers of Western Ghats, India

This study documents the distribution patterns, endemism and uniqueness (species richness) of fishes in the Tunga and Bhadra rivers of Western Ghats, India. We recorded 77 species represented by 7 orders, 16 families and 44 genera, of which 36 species are endemic to Western Ghats, 12 species endemic to India and 26 species endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. Based on our analysis on the distribution patterns, the Tunga River is richer in diversity and higher in endemism than the Bhadra. We calculated the similarity of the species composition among sites within these two rivers using the Jacquard index. The similarity index between the sampling sites of these rivers revealed that the similarity decreases with increasing distance between the sampling sites. Of the 77 fish species we collected, 8 species (11.1%) are in the Critical category, 10 species (13.8%) are in the High Risk category, 36 species (50%) are in the Moderate category and the remaining 18 species (25%) are at lower risk. The threat status of fishes found in the Tunga and Bhadra rivers strongly suggests the need for effective conservation measures to conserve the fish species richness of these rivers.