Protein slot blotting: An easy,rapid and reliable technique to identify the expression of a protein in transgenic plants

A technique based on immunological recognition of a foreign protein in transgenic plants has been developed. It allows a quick and reliable screening of many plant samples, improves the accuracy of the results compared to ELISA and is easier to carry out and more sensitive than a western immunoblot. This technique has also been tested to recognize foreign proteins in rice and tobacco leaf extracts.     

Octopus: a platform for the virtual high-throughput screening of a pool of compounds against a set of molecular targets

Octopus is an automated workflow management tool that is scalable for virtual high-throughput screening (vHTS). It integrates MOPAC2016, MGLTools, PyMOL, and AutoDock Vina. In contrast to other platforms, Octopus can perform docking simulations of an unlimited number of compounds into a set of molecular targets. After generating the ligands in a drawing package in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) format, Octopus can carry out geometry refinement using the semi-empirical method PM7 implemented in MOPAC2016. Docking simulations can be performed using AutoDock Vina and can utilize the Our Own Molecular Targets (OOMT) databank. Finally, the proposed software compiles the best binding energies into a standard table. Here, we describe two successful case studies that were verified by biological assay. In the first case study, the vHTS process was carried out for 22 (phenylamino)urea derivatives. The vHTS process identified a metalloprotease with the PDB code 1GKC as a molecular target for derivative LE&007. In a biological assay, compound LE&007 was found to inhibit 80% of the activity of this enzyme. In the second case study, compound Tx001 was submitted to the Octopus routine, and the results suggested that Plasmodium falciparum ATP6 (PfATP6) as a molecular target for this compound. Following an antimalarial assay, Tx001 was found to have an inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of 8.2 μM against PfATP6. These successful examples illustrate the utility of this software for finding appropriate molecular targets for compounds. Hits can then be identified and optimized as new antineoplastic and antimalarial drugs. Finally, Octopus has a friendly Linux-based user interface, and is available at www.drugdiscovery.com.br.

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Graphical Abstract Octopus: A platform for inverse virtual screening (IVS) to search new molecular targets for drugs.

     

Educating about radiation risks in high schools: towards improved public understanding of the complexity of low-dose radiation health effects

Radiation and Environmental Biophysics - The levels of stochastic health effects following exposure to low doses of ionising radiation are not well known. A consequence of the uncertainty is that...     

Partial desiccation of mature embryo-derived calli,a simple treatment that dramatically enhances the regeneration ability of indica rice

Regeneration of indica rice varieties remains a limiting factor for researchers undertaking rice Iransformation experiments. As reported for japonica rice and other crops, partial desiccation of indica rice calli dramatically promotes organogenesis and leads to high regeneration ability. We are now able to obtain 66.5%, 61.1% and 73.7% of calli that regenerate plants for the indica varieties TN1, IR72 and IR64 whereas in non desiccated controls only 30.0%, 15.5% and 18.7% of calli regenerated, respectively. Plants obtained were phenotypically normal and 50% were highly fertile. Partial desiccation is a reliable and simple method for improving indica rice regeneration. It also shortens the time of in vitro culture.Abbreviations 2,4-D 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - BAP 6-Benzyl amino purine - DTT Dithiothreitol - EDTA Ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid - MS Murashige and Skoog - NAA Naphtalene acetic acid - PAGE Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - PAR Photosynthetic active radiation - SDS Sodium dodecil sulfate