Comparative bioinformatics analysis and abiotic stress responses of expansin proteins in Cucurbitaceae members: watermelon and melon

Protoplasma - Watermelon and melon are members of the Cucurbitaceae family including economically significant crops in the world. The expansin protein family, which is one of the members of the...     

Effect of Axial Ligand Length on Biological and Anticancer Properties of Axially Disubstituted Silicon Phthalocyanines

In this study, three new axially disubstituted silicon phthalocyanines ( SiPc1–3 ) and their quaternized phthalocyanine derivatives ( QSiPc1–3 ) were prepared and characterized. The biological properties (antioxidant, antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and microbial cell viability activities) of the water-soluble silicon phthalocyanines were examined, as well. A 1 % DMSO diluted with pure water was used as a solvent in biological activity studies. All the compounds exhibited high antioxidant activity. They displayed efficient antimicrobial and antimicrobial photodynamic therapeutic properties against various microorganisms, especially Gram (+) bacteria. Additionally, they demonstrated high antibiofilm activities against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. In addition, 100 % bacterial reduction was obtained for all the studied phthalocyanines against E. coli viable cells. Besides, the DNA cleavage and binding features of compounds ( QSiPc1–3 ) were studied using pBR322 DNA and CT-DNA, respectively. Furthermore, the human topoisomerase I enzyme inhibition activities of compounds QSiPc1 – 3 were studied. Anticancer properties of the water-soluble compounds were investigated using cell proliferation MTT assay. They exhibited anticarcinogenic activity against the human colon cancer cell line (DLD-1). Compounds QSiPc1 and QSiPc3 displayed a high anticarcinogenic effect on the DLD-1 cell line. The obtained results indicated that all the studied compounds may be effective biological agents and anticancer drugs after further investigations.     

Fluorinated Phthalocyanine/Silver Nanoconjugates for Multifunctional Biological Applications

In this study, a new phthalonitrile derivative namely 4-[(2,4-difluorophenyl)ethynyl]phthalonitrile ( 1 ) and its metal phthalocyanines ( 2 and 3 ) were synthesized. The resultant compounds were conjugated to silver nanoparticles and characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. The biological properties of compounds ( 1 – 3 ), their nanoconjugates ( 4 – 6 ), and silver nanoparticles ( 7 ) were examined for the first time in this study. The antioxidant activities of biological candidates ( 1 – 7 ) were studied by applying the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. The highest antioxidant activity was obtained 97.47 % for 200 mg/L manganese phthalocyanine-silver nanoconjugates ( 6 ). The antimicrobial and antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (APDT) activities of biological candidates ( 1 – 7 ) were examined using a micro-dilution assay. The highest MIC value was obtained 8 mg/L for nanoconjugate 6 against E. hirae. The studied compounds and their silver nanoconjugates exhibited high APDT activities against all the studied microorganisms. The most effective APDT activities were obtained 4 mg/L for nanoconjugates ( 5 and 6 ) against L. pneumophila and E. hirae, respectively. All the studied biological candidates displayed high cell viability inhibition activities against E. coli cell growth. The biofilm inhibition activities of the tested biological candidates were also investigated against S. aureus and P. Aeruginosa. Biological candidates ( 1 – 6 ) can be considered efficient metal nanoparticle-based materials for multi-disciplinary biological applications.     

A note on the brine shrimp Artemia in Tuz Lake (Turkey)

Population density, fecundity andreproduction period of Artemia sp. in TuzLake, Turkey, beside environmental factors, such as oxygen,temperature, salinity, pH and electrical conductivity werestudied during 1993 and 1994.Artemia sp. occurred at two stations at the coast.Overwintering cysts hatched in early May, when the population was composed of 90% metanauplii (93%at Y4 and 99% at Y5) and few adult females. Peak abundanceoccurred in late May, at 106to 114 ind.m^–3.     

Linkage and Association Mapping for Two Major Traits Used in the Maritime Pine Breeding Program: Height Growth and Stem Straightness

BackgroundIncreasing our understanding of the genetic architecture of complex traits, through analyses of genotype-phenotype associations and of the genes/polymorphisms accounting for trait variation, is crucial, to improve the integration of molecular markers into forest tree breeding. In this study, two full-sib families and one breeding population of maritime pine were used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for height growth and stem straightness, through linkage analysis (LA) and linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping approaches.ResultsThe populations used for LA consisted of two unrelated three-generation full-sib families (n = 197 and n = 477). These populations were assessed for height growth or stem straightness and genotyped for 248 and 217 markers, respectively. The population used for LD mapping consisted of 661 founders of the first and second generations of the breeding program. This population was phenotyped for the same traits and genotyped for 2,498 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers corresponding to 1,652 gene loci. The gene-based reference genetic map of maritime pine was used to localize and compare the QTLs detected by the two approaches, for both traits. LA identified three QTLs for stem straightness and two QTLs for height growth. The LD study yielded seven significant associations (P ≤ 0.001): four for stem straightness and three for height growth. No colocalisation was found between QTLs identified by LA and SNPs detected by LD mapping for the same trait.ConclusionsThis study provides the first comparison of LA and LD mapping approaches in maritime pine, highlighting the complementary nature of these two approaches for deciphering the genetic architecture of two mandatory traits of the breeding program.     

Determination of plasma microRNA for early detection of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is the fourth most prevalent malignancy worldwide and remains the second most common cause of cancer-related death globally. Understanding the molecular structure of gastric carcinogenesis might identify new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for this disease. Thus, early detection of gastric cancer is a key measure to reduce the mortality and improve the prognosis of gastric cancer. There have recently been several reports that microRNAs (miRNAs) circulate in highly stable, cell-free forms in blood. Because serum and plasma miRNAs are relatively easy to access, circulating miRNAs also have great potential to serve as non-invasive biomarkers. Although a number of miRNAs associated with gastric cancer have been identified, the underlying mechanism of these miRNAs in tumorigenesis and tumor progression remains to be investigated. The purpose of this study is to identify the potential of serum miRNAs as biomarkers for early detection of gastric cancer patients. RNA was isolated using the High Pure miRNA Isolation Kit (Roche) following the manufacturer’s protocol. cDNA and preamplification protocols were obtained from the isolated plasma miRNAs. The BioMark? 96.96 Dynamic Array (Fluidigm Corporation) for real-time qPCR was used to simultaneously quantite the expression of 740 miRNAs. All statistical analyses were performed using the Biogazelle’s qbase PLUS 2.0 software. In this study, among 740 miRNAs that we analyzed only miR-195-5p was significantly (p < 0.05, fold changes = 13, 3) down-regulated in gastric cancer patients compared with control. We demonstrated that miR-195-5p is a novel tumor suppressor miRNA and may contribute to gastric carcinogenesis. The miRNA expression profile described in this study should contribute to future studies on the role of miRNAs in gastric cancer.     

IMMOBILIZATION OF BOVINE CATALASE ONTO MAGNETIC NANOPARTICLES

The scope of this study is to achieve carrier-bound immobilization of catalase onto magnetic particles (Fe₃O₄ and Fe₂O₃NiO₂ · H₂O) to specify the optimum conditions of immobilization. Removal of H₂O₂ and the properties of immobilized sets were also investigated. To that end, adsorption and then cross-linking methods onto magnetic particles were performed. The optimum immobilization conditions were found for catalase: immobilization time (15 min for Fe₃O₄; 10 min for Fe₂O₃NiO₂ · H₂O), the initial enzyme concentration (1 mg/mL), amount of magnetic particles (25 mg), and glutaraldehyde concentration (3%). The activity reaction conditions (optimum temperature, optimum pH, pH stability, thermal stability, operational stability, and reusability) were characterized. Also kinetic parameters were calculated by Lineweaver–Burk plots. The optimum pH values were found to be 7.0, 7.0, and 8.0 for free enzyme, Fe₃O₄-immobilized catalases, and Fe₂O₃NiO₂ · H₂O-immobilized catalases, respectively. All immobilized catalase systems displayed the optimum temperature between 25 and 35°C. Reusability studies showed that Fe₃O₄-immobilized catalase can be used 11 times with 50% loss in original activity, while Fe₂O₃NiO₂ · H₂O-immobilized catalase lost 67% of activity after the same number of uses. Furthermore, immobilized catalase systems exhibited improved thermal and pH stability. The results transparently indicate that it is possible to have binding between enzyme and magnetic nanoparticles.