Biochemical and Physiological Responses of Cucumis sativus Cultivars to Different Combinations of Low-Temperature and High Humidity

Low-temperature and high humidity are typical environmental factors in the plastic tunnel and solar greenhouse during the cold season that restricts plant growth and development. Herein, we investigated the impact of different combinations of low-temperature and high humidity (day/night: T1 15/10 °C?+?95%, T2 12/8 °C?+?95%, and T3 9/5 °C?+?95%) along with a control (CK 25/18 °C?+?80%) on cucumber cultivars viz: Zhongnong37 (ZN37: resistant) and Shuyanbailv (SYB: sensitive). The low-temperature and high humidity stresses increased electrolyte leakage (EL), malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and intercellular concentration of carbon dioxide (Ci), and reduced morphological indices, relative water content (RWC), net photosynthesis rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (E) and leaf pigments in both cultivars as compared to control (CK). Superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), and glutathione reductase (GR) were decreased in cv. SYB under stress conditions as compared to cv. ZN37. Low-temperature and high humidity treatments showed an increase in proline and soluble protein content in cv. ZN37 as compared to cv. SYB. Abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonic acid (JA) were augmented while indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), zeatin (ZT), zeatin riboside (ZR), and gibberellic acid (GA) were decreased in both cultivars. Under T3 (9/5 °C?+?95%), Pn, protoporphyrin, and ZT were extremely decreased by 71.3%, 74.3%, and 82.4%, respectively, in cv. SYB compared to control. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA) based on physiochemical traits confirmed that cv. ZN37 had the strongest correlation with antioxidant enzymes, proline, and soluble protein content than cv. SYB under low-temperature and high humidity treatments. Our results suggest that a stress-tolerant cultivar mitigates stress damage in cucumber transplants by regulating photosynthetic efficiency, antioxidant capacity and hormonal profile when compared to a stress-sensitive cultivar.

     

Abutilon indicum Exhibits Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Effects in Mice Models

Doklady Biochemistry and Biophysics - Abutilon indicum Linn (A. indicum) is native to tropical and subtropical zones and traditionally used in ulcer, diabetes, piles, jaundice, gonorrhoea and...     

Ultrasound promoted green synthesis,anticancer evaluation,and molecular docking studies of hydrazines: a pilot trial

We reported herein an efficient, environmentally friendly synthesis of hydrazine carboxamides (6a–l) in a water-glycerol (6:4) solvent system using ultrasonic irradiation. Ultrasonicated reactions were found to be much faster and more productive than conventional synthesis. The prepared compounds (6a–l) were tested against nine panels of 60 cancer cell lines according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI US) protocol. N-(4-Chlorophenyl)-2-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)hydrazine-1-carboxamide (6b) was discovered to be promising anticancer agents with higher sensitivity against CCRF-CEM, HOP-92, UO-31, RMPI-8226, HL-60(TB), and MDA-MB-468 with percent growth inhibitions (%GIs) of 143.44, 33.46, 33.21, 33.09, 29.81, and 29.55 respectively. Compounds (6a–l) tested showed greater anticancer activity than Imatinib, except for compound 6k. Compounds 6b and 6c were found to be lethal on the CCRF-CEM leukaemia cell line, with %GIs of 143.44 and 108.91, respectively. Furthermore, molecular docking analysis was performed to investigate ligand binding affinity at the active site of epidermal growth factor (EGFR).     

Definition of an inhibitory juxtamembrane WW-like domain in the platelet-derived growth factor beta receptor

A variety of tumors contain activating mutations in the cytoplasmic juxtamembrane domain of the type III family of receptor-tyrosine kinases, and some constructed mutations in this domain induce ligand-independent receptor activation. To explore the role of this domain in regulation of receptor activity, we subjected the juxtamembrane domain of the murine platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) beta receptor to alanine-scanning mutagenesis. The mutant receptors were expressed in Ba/F3 cells and tested for constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation, association with phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase, and their ability to induce cell survival and proliferation in the absence of interleukin-3. The mutant receptors accumulated to similar levels and appeared to undergo a normal PDGF-induced increase in tyrosine phosphorylation. Alanine substitutions at numerous positions located throughout the juxtamembrane domain caused constitutive receptor activation, as did an alanine insertion in the membrane-proximal segment of the juxtamembrane domain and a six-amino acid deletion in the center of the domain. It is possible to model the PDGF receptor juxtamembrane domain as a short alpha-helix followed by a three-stranded beta-sheet very similar to the known structures of WW domains. Strikingly, the activating mutations clustered in the central portions of the first and second beta strands and along one face of the beta-sheet, whereas the loops connecting the strands were largely devoid of mutationally sensitive positions. These findings provide strong support for the model that the activating mutations in the juxtamembrane region stimulate receptor activity by disrupting an inhibitory WW-like domain.     

Large, rapidly evolving intergenic spacers in the mitochondrial DNA of the salamander family Ambystomatidae (Amphibia: Caudata)

We report the presence, in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of all of the sexual species of the salamander family Ambystomatidae, of a shared 240- bp intergenic spacer between tRNAThr and tRNAPro. We place the intergenic spacer in context by presenting the sequence of 1,746 bp of mtDNA from Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum, describe the nucleotide composition of the intergenic spacer in all of the species of Ambystomatidae, and compare it to other coding and noncoding regions of Ambystoma and several other vertebrate mtDNAs. The nucleotide substitution rate of the intergenic spacer is approximately three times faster than the substitution rate of the control region, as shown by comparisons among six Ambystoma macrodactylum sequences and eight members of the Ambystoma tigrinum complex. We also found additional inserts within the intergenic spacers of five species that varied from 87-444 bp in length. The presence of the intergenic spacer in all sexual species of Ambystomatidae suggests that it arose at least 20 MYA and has been a stable component of the ambystomatid mtDNA ever since. As such, it represents one of the few examples of a large and persistent intergenic spacer in the mtDNA of any vertebrate clade.      

Human-mediated introgression of exotic chukar (Alectoris chukar, Galliformes) genes from East Asia into native Mediterranean partridges

Mediterranean red-legged (Alectoris rufa) and rock (Alectoris graeca) partridge populations are affected by genetic pollution. The chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar), a species only partly native to Europe, is the most frequently introgressive taxon detected in the genome of hybrid partridges. Both theoretical (evolutionary) and practical (resources management) matters spur to get insight into the geographic origin of the A. chukar hybridizing swarm. The phenotypic A. rufa populations colonizing the easternmost part of the distribution range of this species, the islands of Elba (Italy) and Corsica (France), were investigated. The analysis of both mitochondrial (mtDNA: Cytochrome-b gene plus Control Region: 2,250 characters) and nuclear (Short Tandem Repeats, STR; Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA, RAPD) genomes of 25 wild (Elba) and 20 captive (Corsica) partridges, disclosed spread introgression of chukar origin also in these populations. All mtDNA haplotypes of Elba and Corsica partridges along with those we obtained from other A. rufa (total, n = 111: Italy, Spain, France) and A. graeca (n = 6, Italy), were compared with the mtDNA haplotypes of chukars (n = 205) sampled in 20 countries. It was found that the A. chukar genes detected in red-legged (n = 43) and rock partridges (n = 4) of Spain, France and Italy as well as in either introduced (Italy) or native (Greece, Turkey) chukars (n = 35) were all from East Asia. Hence, a well-defined geographic origin of the exotic chukar genes polluting the genome of native Mediterranean A. rufa and A. graeca (inter-specific level) as well as A. chukar (intra-specific level), was demonstrated.