Development and validation of multiplex-PCR assay to simultaneously detect favourable alleles of shrunken2, opaque2, crtRB1 and lcyE genes in marker-assisted selection for maize biofortification

Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Sweet corn has emerged as a popular vegetable worldwide. Commercial shrunken2 (sh2)-based sweet corn lacks lysine, tryptophan and provitamin-A,...     

An In Silico Evaluation of Molecular Interaction Between Antimicrobial Peptide Subtilosin A of Bacillus subtilis with Virulent Proteins of Aeromonas hydrophila

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Subtilosin A, a cyclic peptide from Bacillus subtilis is known for its antimicrobial activity against a diverse range of bacteria....     

Protein Paucimannosylation Is an Enriched N‐Glycosylation Signature of Human Cancers

While aberrant protein glycosylation is a recognized characteristic of human cancers, advances in glycoanalytics continue to discover new associations between glycoproteins and tumorigenesis. This glycomics‐centric study investigates a possible link between protein paucimannosylation, an under‐studied class of human N‐glycosylation [Man_1‐3GlcNAc₂Fuc_0‐1], and cancer. The paucimannosidic glycans (PMGs) of 34 cancer cell lines and 133 tissue samples spanning 11 cancer types and matching non‐cancerous specimens are profiled from 467 published and unpublished PGC‐LC‐MS/MS N‐glycome datasets collected over a decade. PMGs, particularly Man_2‐3GlcNAc₂Fuc₁, are prominent features of 29 cancer cell lines, but the PMG level varies dramatically across and within the cancer types (1.0–50.2%). Analyses of paired (tumor/non‐tumor) and stage‐stratified tissues demonstrate that PMGs are significantly enriched in tumor tissues from several cancer types including liver cancer (p = 0.0033) and colorectal cancer (p = 0.0017) and is elevated as a result of prostate cancer and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia progression (p < 0.05). Surface expression of paucimannosidic epitopes is demonstrated on human glioblastoma cells using immunofluorescence while biosynthetic involvement of N‐acetyl‐β‐hexosaminidase is indicated by quantitative proteomics. This intriguing association between protein paucimannosylation and human cancers warrants further exploration to detail the biosynthesis, cellular location(s), protein carriers, and functions of paucimannosylation in tumorigenesis and metastasis.     

Molecular diversity and genetic variability of kernel tocopherols among maize inbreds possessing favourable haplotypes of γ-tocopherol methyl transferase (ZmVTE4)

Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Vitamin E deficiency is a serious health concern in humans. Biofortification of maize kernel with high vitamin E (α-tocopherol) provides...     

Exploring membrane permeability of Tomatidine to enhance lipid mediated nucleic acid transfections

Intracellular delivery of nucleic acids is one of the critical steps in the transfections. Prior findings demonstrated various strategies including membrane fusion, endosomal escape for the efficient cytoplasmic delivery. In our continuing efforts to improve the nucleic acids transfections, we harnessed cell permeable properties of Tomatidine (T), a steroidal alkaloid abundantly found in green tomatoes for maximizing intracellular delivery of lipoplexes. We doped Tomatidine into liposomes of cationic lipid with amide linker (A) from our lipid library. Six liposomal formulations (AT) of Lipid A (1?mM) with varying concentrations of Tomatidine (0–1?mM) were prepared and evaluated for their transfection efficacies. Owing to its signature characteristic of cell membrane permeability, Tomatidine modulated endocytosis process, enhanced the intracellular delivery of the lipoplexes, and in turn increased the transfection efficacy of cationic liposomes. Our findings provide ‘proof of concept’ for enhancing transfections in gene delivery applications with Tomatidine in cationic liposomal formulations. These findings can be further applied in lipid mediated gene therapy and drug delivery applications.     

Antineoplastic and antibacterial activity of some mononuclear Ru(II) complexes

These ligands (L) show a bidentate behavior, forming octahedral ruthenium complexes. The title complexes were subjected to in-vivo anticancer activity tests against a transplantable murine tumor cell line, Ehrlich's Ascitic Carcinoma (EAC) and in-vitro antibacterial activity against several Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial strains. [Ru(bpy)2(ihqs)]Cl2 and [Ru(bpy)2 (hc)]Cl2 (where bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, ihqs = 7-iodo-8hydroxy quinoline-5-sulphonic acid and hc = 3-hydroxy coumarin) showed promising antitumor activity. Treatment with these complexes prolonged the life span of EAC bearing mice as well as decreased their tumor volume and viable ascitic cell count. All the tested complexes exhibited mild to moderate antibacterial activity.     

Genetically and Phenotypically Distinct Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cystic Fibrosis Isolates Share a Core Proteomic Signature

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is among the main colonizers of the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. We have isolated and sequenced several P. aeruginosa isolates from the sputum of CF patients and compared them with each other and with the model strain PAO1. Phenotypic analysis of CF isolates showed significant variability in colonization and virulence-related traits suggesting different strategies for adaptation to the CF lung. Genomic analysis indicated these strains shared a large set of core genes with the standard laboratory strain PAO1, and identified the genetic basis for some of the observed phenotypic differences. Proteomics revealed that in a conventional laboratory medium PAO1 expressed 827 proteins that were absent in the CF isolates while the CF isolates shared a distinctive signature set of 703 proteins not detected in PAO1. PAO1 expressed many transporters for the uptake of organic nutrients and relatively few biosynthetic pathways. Conversely, the CF isolates expressed a narrower range of transporters and a broader set of metabolic pathways for the biosynthesis of amino acids, carbohydrates, nucleotides and polyamines. The proteomic data suggests that in a common laboratory medium PAO1 may transport a diverse set of “ready-made” nutrients from the rich medium, whereas the CF isolates may only utilize a limited number of nutrients from the medium relying mainly on their own metabolism for synthesis of essential nutrients. These variations indicate significant differences between the metabolism and physiology of P. aeruginosa CF isolates and PAO1 that cannot be detected at the genome level alone. The widening gap between the increasing genomic data and the lack of phenotypic data means that researchers are increasingly reliant on extrapolating from genomic comparisons using experimentally characterized model organisms such as PAO1. While comparative genomics can provide valuable information, our data suggests that such extrapolations may be fraught with peril.     

Synthesis and pharmacological activities of some mononuclear Ru(II) complexes

A series of mononuclear Ru(II) complexes of the type [Ru(M)2(U)]2+, where M = 2,2'-bipyridine/1,10-phenanthroline and U = tpl (Ru1), 4-Cl-tpl (Ru2), 4-CH3-tpl (Ru3), 4-CH3O-tpl (Ru4), and 4-NO2-tpl (Ru5), -pai (Ru6), where tpl = thiopicolinanilide and pai = 2-phenyl-azo-imidazole, have been prepared and characterized by IR, UV-Vis, 1H NMR, 13C-NMR, FAB-Mass spectrophotometer, and elemental analysis. The complexes display metal-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transitions in the visible region. The title complexes were subjected to in vivo anticancer activity tests against a transplantable murine tumor cell line, Ehrlich's ascitic carcinoma (EAC) and in vitro antibacterial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative microorganisms. Ru1-Ru6 were found to increase the life span of the tumor hosts by 19-52%, and decreased tumor volume and viable ascitic cell count. The results of the present study clearly demonstrated the tumor inhibitory activity of the ruthenium chelates against transplantable murine tumor cell line. The treatment with ruthenium complexes could be secondary to tumor regression or due to the action of the compounds itself. The significant antibacterial activity was observed for Ru1-Ru4 against microorganisms like Vibrio cholera 865, Staphylococcus aureus 6571, and Shigella flexneri as compared to that of standard drug chloramphenical. Ru5 showed moderate activity against S. aureus 8530. However, all the complexes fail to show significant antibacterial activity against V. cholera 14033 and Shigella sonnai.