Time-dependence of auxin and ethrel effects on flowering in chenopodium rubrum L.

IAA, NAA and ethrel (1 × 10^-4M and 3 × 10^-4M) was applied to the plumula of Chenopodium plants at different time after the start of photoperiodic treatment and the flowering response was investigated. The inhibitory effect was found with all the applications during the first two days, whereas a stimulatory one on the third and fourth day. We assume this dual effect reflects the differences attained in developmental phase and in the degree of shoot apex differentiation.     

Histochemical enzyme pattern of microfilaria of Setaria cervi

The present study deals with the histochemical localization of glucose-6-phosphatase, malic dehydrogenase and aldolase in the microfilaria of Setaria cervi. Marked activity of glucose-6-phosphatase was observed in the cephalic cells, excretory and anal pores, G-cells and Innenk?rper. Malic dehydrogenase activity was noted throughout the body (including cuticle) of the microfilaria except for Innenk?rper. Intense aldolase activity was observed in the excretory pore and G-cells only. Muscle cells and anal pore were negative for this enzyme.     

Bacteriophage Mu-induced modification of DNA is dependent upon a host function.

The DNA of bacteriophage Mu, extracted from induced lysates, is partially resistant to digestion by the endonuclease BalI. This modification of DNA is controlled by the Mu modification function (mom), which acts in conjunction with the dam (DNA-adenine methylation) function of Escherichia coli. Since the BalI recognition site is apparently different from the dam recognition site, these results imply that either the specificity of the dam function is changed by the mom function or the mom function requires the dam function for its activity.     

Music of metagenomics—a review of its applications,analysis pipeline,and associated tools

Functional & Integrative Genomics - This humble effort highlights the intricate details of metagenomics in a simple, poetic, and rhythmic way. The paper enforces the significance of the...     

Data mining of transcriptional biomarkers at different cotton fiber developmental stages

Functional & Integrative Genomics - Advancement of the gene expression study provides comprehensive information on pivotal genes at different cotton fiber development stages. For the betterment...     

Exploratory algorithm to devise multi-epitope subunit vaccine by investigating Leishmania donovani membrane proteins

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a deadly parasitic infection which affects poorest to poor population living in the endemic countries. Increasing resistant to existing drugs, disease burden and a significant number of deaths, necessitates the need for an effective vaccine to prevent the VL infection. This study employed a combinatorial approach to develop a multi-epitope subunit vaccine by exploiting Leishmania donovani membrane proteins. Cytotoxic T- and helper T-lymphocyte binding epitopes along with suitable adjuvant and linkers were joined together in a sequential manner to design the subunit vaccine. The occurrence of B-cell and IFN-γ inducing epitopes approves the ability of subunit vaccine to develop humoral and cell-mediated immune response. Physiochemical parameters of vaccine protein were also assessed followed by homology modeling, model refinement and validation. Moreover, disulfide engineering was performed for the increasing stability of the designed vaccine and molecular dynamics simulation was performed for the comparative stability purposes and to conform the geometric conformations. Further, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation study of a mutated and non-mutated subunit vaccine against TLR-4 immune receptor were performed and respective complex stability was determined. In silico cloning ensures the expression of designed vaccine in pET28a(+) expression vector. This study offers a cost-effective and time-saving way to design a novel immunogenic vaccine that could be used to prevent VL infection.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma     

Disruption of Elements Uptake due to Excess Chromium in Indian Medicinal Plants

Chromium and its compounds may cause disturbance in the nutrient level of the plants. Iron, manganese, copper, and zinc are essential nutrient elements and required for balanced growth and development of plants, but chromium uptake sometimes disturbed their concentration in plants. Therefore, in the present paper, an effort has been made to observe the effect of different levels of Cr on nutrient uptake of Phyllanthus amarus and Solanum nigrum, the medicinally important plants of indigenous systems of medicine having hepatoprotective and diuretic properties. The study revealed that Cr causes significant changes in nutrient uptake as compared to control plants. Besides, Cr-treated plants showed growth depression and decrease in fresh and dry weight too. With the increase in Cr supply, accumulation of Cr in roots was increased significantly. Concentration of manganese and zinc was also increased. However, copper concentration in both the plants seemed less affected by Cr.     

In vitro denaturation-renaturation of fibronectin. Formation of multimers disulfide-linked and shuffling of intramolecular disulfide bonds

It is well established that fibronectin into extracellular matrix undergoes repeated tensions applied by cells, resulting into dramatic structural changes which reflect its elastic properties. However, there is currently no study reporting with precision the consequences of this elasticity on fibronectin structure and conformation. In the present work, we investigated fibronectin structural and conformational reorganization in vitro through a denaturation-renaturation approach. The similarities and differences between "refolded fibronectin" and "native fibronectin" were investigated using various spectroscopic methods, hydrodynamic characterization, molecular imaging and biochemical characterization. In the refolded form, secondary structure elements as well as local tyrosine and tryptophan environment are identical compared to the native form. Interestingly, some differences in global tertiary structure organization and molecular conformation were observed. These differences are due to the reactivity of the two free cysteines, which are buried in the native state but become accessible during the unfolding process. First, oxidation of these residues leading to the formation of intermolecular disulfide bonds results in formation of stabilized multimer. Second, some illegitimate intramolecular disulfide bonds are formed. The presence of iodoacetamide, the sulfhydryl alkylating agent, during the unfolding-refolding process prevents all these events. This study clearly demonstrates that, under near physiological conditions, competitive renaturation pathways occur, involving free cysteines in either multimer formation or intermolecular shuffling of disulfide bonds. These findings might have important implications for future studies and be helpful to develop a deeper understanding of fibronectin morphology.     

Analysis of proteomic changes in roots of soybean seedlings during recovery after flooding

A proteomic approach was used to identify proteins involved in post-flooding recovery in soybean roots. Two-day-old soybean seedlings were flooded with water for up to 3 days. After the flooding treatment, seedlings were grown until 7 days after sowing and root proteins were then extracted and separated using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE). Comparative analysis of 2-D gels of control and 3 day flooding-experienced soybean root samples revealed 70 differentially expressed protein spots, from which 80 proteins were identified. Many of the differentially expressed proteins are involved in protein destination/storage and metabolic processes. Clustering analysis based on the expression profiles of the 70 differentially expressed protein spots revealed that 3 days of flooding causes significant changes in protein expression, even during post-flooding recovery. Three days of flooding resulted in downregulation of ion transport-related proteins and upregulation of proteins involved in cytoskeletal reorganization, cell expansion, and programmed cell death. Furthermore, 7 proteins involved in cell wall modification and S-adenosylmethionine synthesis were identified in roots from seedlings recovering from 1 day of flooding. These results suggest that alteration of cell structure through changes in cell wall metabolism and cytoskeletal organization may be involved in post-flooding recovery processes in soybean seedlings.