Genetic difference in adventitious rhizogenesis in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Albizia procera</Emphasis> Benth. with IBA treatment

Variable adventitious rhizogenesis of juvenile shoot cuttings was observed in seven half-sib families (TP-1, BAN-1, AN-3, JR-3, SL-16, UM-3, and UM-5) of Albizia procera Benth. Treatment with IBA invariably promoted sprouting by 8%, adventitious rooting by 218%, root number by 869%, and root length by 36.4% compared with the control. Interaction between families and IBA treatment significantly enhanced sprouting and root length in BAN-1, JR-3, UM-3, and UM-5, and root number in all families, but had a significant suppressive effect on sprouting in AN-3. Treatment with IBA increased family heritability (h _f ²) 1.38-fold for sprouting, 2.86-fold for adventitious rooting, and 10.86-fold for root number, but reduced family heritability by a factor of 8.25 for root length. Thus, direct genetic effects seem to have strongly affected sprouting and adventitious rooting, with IBA playing an auxiliary role, but had little effect on root number and length, for which IBA had a dominant regulatory role.     

Neuroprotective effect of methanolic extracts of Allium cepa on ischemia and reperfusion-induced cerebral injury

The present study is designed to investigate the effect of methanolic extract of outer scales and edible portions of Allium cepa bulb on ischemia and reperfusion-induced cerebral injury. Global cerebral ischemia was induced by bilateral carotid artery occlusion for 10 min followed by reperfusion for 24 h. Pretreatment with methanolic extract of outer scales (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) and edible portions (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) of A. cepa bulb markedly reduced cerebral infarct size and attenuated impairment in short-term memory and motor coordination. The protective effect of methanolic extract of outer scales and edible portions of A. cepa bulb was accompanied by a marked decrease in mitochondrial TBARS.     

Variation in drought response of sal (Shorea robusta) seedlings

Plant development and distribution in areas with seasonal rainfall are often related to the ability of plants to postpone desiccation or tolerate low water potentials during drought. Regeneration of Shorea robusta Gaertn. (sal), a commercially valuable, widely distributed tree of the Indian tropical belt, is unsuccessful at the base of the Himalaya. Seedling shoots die back repeatedly during the long drought that follows the monsoon rain. During the course of one year, we monitored changes in plant and soil water potentials (Psi), leaf conductance (gw), osmotic and elastic adjustment, and xylem conductance of sal seedlings of different sizes from three landforms: an alluvial plain at 540 m elevation, a slope at 510 m, and a montane site at 1370 m. Predawn plant Psi and gw were lowest in the smallest seedlings (< 20 cm tall). Across sites and seasons, seedlings > 100 cm tall had higher morning gw than seedlings in the other size classes. In all size classes, plant Psi was lowest during early summer, when leafing begins. Among sites, Psi and gw were lowest in seedlings at the montane site. Osmotic potential was lowest during leaf development and highest during the rainy season, and tissue elasticity was highest during winter. As leaf area increased during leaf development, xylem conductance per unit of xylem cross-sectional area also increased. We conclude that low Psi is unlikely to be a major cause of seedling mortality. Small seedlings, with low Psi, had low leaf conductance. Adjustments of osmotic and elastic properties appear to aid responses of seedlings to drought.     

Indole acetic acid differently changes growth and nitrogen metabolism in Pisum sativum L. seedlings under chromium (VI) phytotoxicity: Implication of oxidative stress

The present study investigated impact of exogenous application of indole acetic acid (IAA; 10 and 100 μM) in pea seedlings under hexavalent chromium (Cr VI; 50, 100 and 250 μM). Cr and 100 μM IAA alone as well as in combination decreased seed germination rate compared to control. However, under Cr phytotoxicity, addition of 10 μM IAA recovered seed germination rate to the level of control. Exposure of pea seedlings to Cr and 100 μM IAA during their early stage caused decrease in fresh mass, length, protein and nitrogen contents of roots and shoots compared to control. Treatment of pea seedlings with Cr resulted in a rapid accumulation of this metal in roots and shoots. Moreover, addition of 100 μM IAA together with Cr, further increased accumulation of this metal in roots and shoots compared to Cr treatments alone. Treatment of pea seedlings with Cr and 100 μM IAA, resulted in a marked decrease in nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase (GOGAT) activities (except 50 μM Cr alone for GOGAT), and an increase in ammonium content and glutamate dehydrogenase activity. Parameters related with oxidative stress, i.e. superoxide radicals and reactive carbonyl groups (protein oxidation) were increased by Cr and 100 μM IAA compared to control. By contrast, addition of 10 μM IAA together with Cr, alleviated negative effect of Cr on growth, protein, nitrogen and nitrogen metabolism, and led to decrease in oxidative injuries caused by Cr. The data indicate that 10 μM IAA protects pea seedlings during the early growth period against Cr phytotoxicity by regulating Cr accumulation and oxidative damage. However, addition of 100 μM IAA together with Cr showed opposite responses.     

Pathogenesis-related (PR)-proteins: Chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase in defense mechanism against malformation in mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Mango, the king of fruits in India is cultivated commercially in many tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Undoubtedly, mango malformation is a serious disease affecting mango production in India and many other countries around the world. It is now shown that the malady is inflicted by Fusarium, a fungus, and also that the plants have the capacity to suppress or reduce pathogen attack by inducing the synthesis of antimicrobial metabolites such as chitinase and/or the synthesis of lignin, both of which may enhance plant defense system. The present study was aimed at investigating the variability and relationship between activities of chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase and content of lignin in the leaves using 12 mango cultivars with the different degree of resistance to floral malformation. Results revealed that the activity of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase in the leaves were significantly high in mango cultivars resistant to malformation (r = −0.90 and r = −0.91, respectively) during the flowering period, whereas lignin content did not show a significant correlation with malformation. The highest activity of chitinase (1.977–2.011 units) and β-1,3-glucanase (80.54–82.06 units) was recorded in resistant mango cultivars Bhadauran and Elaichi. In contrast, these activities were less than 1.010 and 25.21 respectively in highly susceptible mango cultivars such as Amrapali, Eldon and Neelum. Lignin content was highest in resistant cultivar Bhadauran, but it did not show significant relation to the malformation intensity of the cultivars. Thus, leaf chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase may be contributing towards resistance to malformation in mango and that the relative activities of these enzymes can be used as a criterion to predict and screen the mango germplasm and cultivars for resistance to floral malformation.