Effects of NaCl and iso-osmotic PEG stress on growth,osmolytes accumulation and antioxidant defense in cultured sugarcane cells

In order to discriminate between the ionic and osmotic components of salt stress, sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L. cv. Co 86032) calli were cultured on media containing NaCl or polyethylene glycol (PEG) 8000 that exerted the same osmotic pressure (−0.7 MPa). PEG stress exposure for 15 days led to significant growth reduction and loss in water content than salt stressed and control tissues. Osmotic adjustment (OA) was observed in callus tissues grown on salt, but was not evident in callus grown on PEG. Oxidative damage to membranes, estimated in terms of accumulation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances-TBARS and electrolytic leakage was significantly higher in both the stressed calli than the control however, the extent of damage was more in the PEG stressed calli. The stressed callus tissues showed inhibition of ascorbate peroxidase activity, while catalase activity was increased. These results indicate sensitivity of cells to PEG-mediated stress than salt stress and differences in their OA to these two stress conditions. The sensitivity to the osmotic stress indicate that expression of the stress tolerance response requires the coordinated action of different tissues in a plant and hence was not expressed at the cellular level.     

Probing binding mechanism of interleukin-6 and olokizumab: in silico design of potential lead antibodies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases

Computer-aided antibody engineering has been successful in the design of new biologics for disease diagnosis and therapeutic interventions. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a well-recognized drug target for various autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and psoriasis, was investigated in silico to design potential lead antibodies. Here, crystal structure of IL-6 along with monoclonal antibody olokizumab was explored to predict antigen–antibody (Ag???Ab)-interacting residues using DiscoTope, Paratome, and PyMOL. Tyr56, Tyr103 in heavy chain and Gly30, Ile31 in light chain of olokizumab were mutated with residues Ser, Thr, Tyr, Trp, and Phe. A set of 899 mutant macromolecules were designed, and binding affinity of these macromolecules to IL-6 was evaluated through Ag???Ab docking (ZDOCK, ClusPro, and Rosetta server), binding free-energy calculations using Molecular Mechanics/Poisson Boltzman Surface Area (MM/PBSA) method, and interaction energy estimation. In comparison to olokizumab, eight newly designed theoretical antibodies demonstrated better result in all assessments. Therefore, these newly designed macromolecules were proposed as potential lead antibodies to serve as a therapeutics option for IL-6-mediated diseases.     

Linked Cross Sectional Schemes for Estimating Growth of Children

For estimation of growth, the efficiency of linked cross sectional scheme has been compared with pure longitudinal and cross sectional schemes. The relevant estimation theory has been developed and the expressions for the optimum estimators alongwith their variances have been derived. It has been observed that for estimation of growth, the linked cross-sectional scheme has been observed to be less efficient as compared to pure longitudinal scheme but more efficient than pure cross-sectional scheme.     

Tree ring imprints of long-term changes in climate in western Himalaya,India

Tree-ring analyses from semi-arid to arid regions in western Himalaya show immense potential for developing millennia long climate records. Millennium and longer ring-width chronologies of Himalayan pencil juniper (Juniperus polycarpos), Himalayan pencil cedar (Cedrus deodara) and Chilgoza pine (Pinus gerardiana) have been developed from different sites in western Himalaya. Studies conducted so far on various conifer species indicate strong precipitation signatures in ring-width measurement series. The paucity of weather records from stations close to tree-ring sampling sites poses difficulty in calibrating tree-ring data against climate data especially precipitation for its strong spatial variability in mountain regions. However, for the existence of strong coherence in temperature, even in data from distant stations, more robust temperature reconstructions representing regional and hemispheric signatures have been developed. Tree-ring records from the region indicate multi-century warm and cool anomalies consistent with the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age anomalies. Significant relationships noted between mean premonsoon temperature over the western Himalaya and ENSO features endorse utility of climate records from western Himalayan region in understanding long-term climate variability and attribution of anthropogenic impact.     

BglII restriction fragment length polymorphisms at the human p53 gene locus

Summary A new restriction fragment length polymorphism detected with the restriction endonuclease BglII (AGATCT) is presented.     

Induction of aflatoxin biosynthesis inAspergillus parasiticus by ascorbic acid-mediated lipid peroxidation

The effect ofl-ascorbic acid on the biosynthesis of aflatoxin inAspergillus parasiticus was studied. Ascorbic acid at lower concentrations did not inhibit the growth of fungus but markedly induced aflatoxin biosynthesis. At a concentration of 1000 ppm of ascorbic acid, 4.8-fold higher levels of aflatoxin were detected. Copper did not enhance the induction of toxin synthesis by ascorbic acid when added to the growth medium. Ascorbic acid at 1000 ppm was also found to induce aflatoxin synthesis in resting mycelia. Chloroform (1% vol/vol) was found to induce aflatoxin synthesis under similar conditions. Ascorbic acid in the presence of ferrous ion can cause lipid peroxidation, which in turn is responsible for the induction of aflatoxin synthesis. During the induction of aflatoxin synthesis by ascorbic acid, the uptake of carbon source (acetate) was not affected. This observation suggests that on ascorbic acid treatment a precursor or an intermediate of aflatoxin biosynthesis is synthesized in vivo and is responsible for the higher levels of toxin without increasing the uptake of acetate.     

Effect of pH on lipid accumulation by an oleaginous yeast:Rhodotorula glutinis IIP-30

Maximum lipid production (66% w/w dry wt) inRhodotorula glutinis IIP-30 utilizing glucose in a fed-batch fermentation under N-limiting conditions at 30°C, was at pH 4. At pH 3, 5 and 6, the lipid contents were 12%, 48% and 44%, respectively. There was only a small change in the fatty acid profile over the pH range examined, although the ergosterol content decreased by a third as the pH increased.     

Plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone and progesterone during superovulation of dairy cows using follicle stimulating hormone or pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin

Eighteen lactating Holstein cows were randomly divided into three groups of equal size. Six cows were not superovulated; the remaining cows were superovulated using either FSH-P or PMSG beginning on Day 12 of the estrous cycle (day of ovulation = Day 0). Animals treated with FSH-P were injected intramuscularly (i.m.) with 4 mg FSH-P every 12 h for 5 d. PMSG was administered i.m. as a single injection of 2350 IU. Cloprostenol (PG, 500 ug) was injected i.m. 56 and 72 h after commencement of treatment and at the same time in the cycle of controls. All cows were inseminated 56, 68 and 80 h after the first PG injection. Blood samples (5 ml) were collected daily and every 15 min for a period of 9 h on Days -1, 0, 2, 8 and 10, with continuous blood sampling at 15-min intervals during Days 3 to 6. Ovulation rate was 27.7 +/- 8.22 in animals treated with PMSG, and 8.0 +/- 3.2 embryos per donor were recovered. In the FSH group, ovulation rate was 8.3 +/- 1.48 and 3.0 +/- 1.1 embryos per donor were recovered. Progesterone concentrations were similar in all three groups until the onset of the LH surge, when progesterone concentrations were greater (P<0.05) in animals of the PMSG group. After the preovulatory LH surge, concentrations of progesterone started increasing earlier (44 h) in cows treated with PMSG, followed by FSH-treated cows (76 h) and controls (99 h). The LH surge occurred earlier (P<0.05) in PMSG-treated cows (37 h after first PG treatment), than in animals treated with FSH-P (52 h) or controls (82 h). In animals treated with FSH-P, the magnitude of the preovulatory LH surge (24.2 +/- 1.02 ng/ml) was higher (P<0.05) than in the other two groups (PMSG = 17.1 +/- 2.04 ng/ml; control, 16.7 +/- 1.24 ng/ml). Superovulation with FSH-P or PMSG did not affect either mean basal LH concentration, frequency or amplitude of LH pulses during Days -1, 0, 2, 3, presurge periods, or Days 8 and 10 post-treatment. At ovariectomy, 8 d post-estrus, more follicles > 10 mm diam. were observed in the ovaries after treatment with PMSG (8.5 +/- 5.66) than after treatment with FSH-P (0.7 +/- 0.42) (P<0.05). Maximum concentrations of PMSG were measured 24 h after administration. Following this peak, PMSG levels declined with two slopes, with half-lives of 36 h and 370 h.     

Influence of added limestone and fertilizers upon the micro-nutrient content of forage tissue and soil

Summary Five rates of limestone and 4 rates of fertilizers were used in a split-plot design to study their effects under field conditions on Mo, Cu, B, Mn, and Zn levels in mixed forage tissue and soil, and on the forage yield. An increase in soil pH resulted in an increase in Mo and Cu content of plant tissue while B, Mn, and Zn decreased. The micro-nutrient content of the tissue increased as the harvesting season progressed. Increasing rates of applied fertilizer did not affect the micro-nutrient content of the forage tissue or soil. Liming to a pH of 5.6 and above reduced the availability of Mn and Zn in the soil. In general, the available B was low at pH values greater than 6.1. Lime did not affect the quantities of Mo and Cu in the soil. Manganese is supplied in large quantities by limestone and is not apt to be deficient in limed soil. However, addition of B and Zn may be required on the high pH soils of Eastern Canada in future. Molybdenum was adequate where the soil was limed to a pH of 6.1 or greater. The dry-matter yield of forage increased significantly with successive increases in lime up to pH 6.6 and with each increment of fertilization. Contribution No.226, Research Branch, Research Station, P.O. Box 1210, Charlottetown, P.E.I. and No.166, Experimental Farm, Nappan, N.S.