Biomedical Compounds from Marine organisms

The Ocean, which is called the ‘mother of origin of life’, is also the source of structurally unique natural products that are mainly accumulated in living organisms. Several of these compounds show pharmacological activities and are helpful for the invention and discovery of bioactive compounds, primarily for deadly diseases like cancer, acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS), arthritis, etc., while other compounds have been developed as analgesics or to treat inflammation, etc. The life-saving drugs are mainly found abundantly in microorganisms, algae and invertebrates, while they are scarce in vertebrates. Modern technologies have opened vast areas of research for the extraction of biomedical compounds from oceans and seas.     

Seed protein electrophoresis of wild and cultivated species of Celosia (Amaranthaceae)

Total seed storage proteins of five species of Celosia (14 taxa) have been compared by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Relative similarities between the taxa were estimated by Jaccard's similarity index and cluster analysis was performed to produce a UPGMA dendrogram which divides 14 taxa into two groups while C. trigyna holds an isolated position. One group includes 4x C. cristata and C. plumosa, wild 8x C. argentea and 12x C. whitei and the other separates four accessions of 4x C. argentea. This raises a doubt regarding 4x types of C. argentea being the direct progenitors of the cultivated types.     

Plant genetic resources of Nepal: A guide for plant breeders of agricultural, horticultural and forestry crops

Summary Nepal is rich in indigenous wild and landrace plant genetic resources for agronomic, horticultural, forestry, or medicinal uses, but much of this germplasm remains uncollected and awaits economic development. We list 485 entries (species, or genera for ornamental plants) in 14 categories, and compare these to existing germplasm collections in Nepal and the United States to highlight collection and conservation needs. To help plant plant collecting, we outline the key botanical and logistical data and legal framework for planning field work in Nepal.     

Bioactive contaminants leach from disposable laboratory plasticware

Disposable plasticware such as test tubes, pipette tips, and multiwell assay or culture plates are used routinely in most biological research laboratories. Manufacturing of plastics requires the inclusion of numerous chemicals to enhance stability, durability, and performance. Some lubricating (slip) agents, exemplified by oleamide, also occur endogenously in humans and are biologically active, and cationic biocides are included to prevent bacterial colonization of the plastic surface. We demonstrate that these manufacturing agents leach from laboratory plasticware into a standard aqueous buffer, dimethyl sulfoxide, and methanol and can have profound effects on proteins and thus on results from bioassays of protein function. These findings have far-reaching implications for the use of disposable plasticware in biological research.     

Characterization of 169 diverse pea germplasm accessions for agronomic performance, Mycosphaerella blight resistance and nutritional profile

Improved agronomic performance and nutritional profile are among the major objectives in pea breeding, but the narrow gene pool available in pea germplasm has slowed progress. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate 169 diverse pea accessions from Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Australia and Canada for agronomic performance, Mycosphaerella blight resistance and nutritional profile under western Canadian growing conditions. In general, eastern European accessions required less days to flower, had higher protein, acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre concentrations in the seeds, compared to western European and Canadian pea accessions, which had better lodging resistance, less days to maturity, higher grain yield and seed weight, greater resistance to Mycosphaerella blight and powdery mildew and higher starch concentration in the seeds. Significant correlations were observed between different traits. Principal component analysis revealed significant variation among traits with the first four principal components explaining 68 % of the total variation. The wide range of variation in agronomic performance, Mycosphaerella blight resistance and nutritional profile detected will provide useful parents for pea breeding.     

Proteome profiling of seed storage proteins reveals the nutritional potential of Salicornia brachiata Roxb., an extreme halophyte

Salicornia brachiata is an extreme halophyte that grows in salty marshes and is considered to be a potential alternative crop for seawater agriculture. Salicornia seeds are rich in protein, and its tender shoots are eaten as salad greens. Seed storage proteins were fractionated by sequential extraction using different solvents, including distilled water for albumins, NaCl (1.0 M) for globulins, NaOH (0.1 N) for glutelins, and ethanol (70% v/v) for prolamins. Globulins accounted for 54.75% of the total seed storage proteins followed by albumins (34.30%) and glutelins (8.70%). The fractionated proteins were characterized using 2D-diagonal SDS-PAGE and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. The globulin fraction, composed of seven intermolecular disulfide-linked polypeptide pairs of molecular mass 63.5, 62.5, 54.7, 53.0, 43.2, 38.5, and 35.1 kDa, encompassed a basic and an acidic subunit. Two-dimensional gels revealed approximately 32 spots, with isoelectric points and molecular masses ranging from 4.93 to 11.6 and from ～5.2 to ～109.4 kDa, respectively. Protein spots were identified by MALDI-TOF MS peptide mass fingerprint analysis and further classified. Homology analysis demonstrated that 19% of the proteins were involved in metabolism, 16% were involved in signaling, and 15% were regulatory proteins. Peptide mass fingerprint analysis confirmed the presence of inter- and intramolecular disulfide linkages in the globulin fraction. Sulfur-rich proteins are of high nutritional value, and disulfides make S. brachiata a potential source of dietary supplementation.     

Cumulative effects of tree-based intercropping on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

In tree-based intercropping system (agroforestry), the role of perennial trees in maintaining active populations and mycelial networks of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is well documented. Agroforestry positively influences the AMF community, but complete studies regarding mycorrhization in such systems are scarce. The present study was conducted to assess the effect of tree introduction in agriculture fields on mycorrhization. In particular, we investigated the effect of trees on AMF colonization of intercrops and vice versa, the effect of canopy management of trees on their root colonization, and the cross-infectivity of AMF isolated from tree rhizosphere in intercrops and vice versa. The results of the field study suggest that in agroforestry systems, trees acted as AMF inoculum reservoir for intercrops, especially during the rainy season. Intercropping (Phaseolus mungo and Triticum aestivum in the rainy and winter seasons, respectively) increased mycorrhization, i.e., root colonization and spore population in the rhizosphere of Albizia procera and Eucalyptus tereticornis. Canopy management, i.e., shoot pruning, reduces root colonization in A. procera, Anogeissus pendula, Dalbergia sissoo, Hardwickia binata, and Tectona grandis, especially in April 2005 (late spring), but during subsequent periods, differences among the treatments were at par. Results from greenhouse suggest that AMF are nonspecific in their selection of host since species isolated from tree rhizosphere could colonize the roots of crops and vice versa.     

Quorum Sensing Inhibition by Asparagopsis taxiformis,a Marine Macro Alga: Separation of the Compound that Interrupts Bacterial Communication

The majority of the marine algal species, though completing their life cycle in seawater, are rarely susceptible to fouling, making them an important source of quorum sensing (QS) inhibitory substances. The separation and characterization of QS inhibitors are crucial for any potential application. Thirty marine macroalgae were tested for QS inhibition activity by using Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 as the reporter strain, and among them, Asparagopsis taxiformis showed antibacterial, as well as antiquorum, sensing activities. Cinnamaldehyde (75 mM) and methanol were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The antiquorum sensing activity of A. taxiformis was further confirmed using the sensor strain, Serratia liquefaciens MG44, having green fluorescent protein (gfp). Methanolic extract of the alga was fractionated by solid phase extraction (SPE), and each fraction was tested for QS inhibition. Two types of activities were observed—zone of clearance (antibacterial activity) and zone of inhibition with or without finger-like projections (QS inhibition). Out of five SPE cartridges, Bond Elut PH showed clear separation of these two fractions. The Ion Cyclotron Resonance Fourier Transformation Mass Spectrometer (ICR-FT/MS) analysis of the fractions further supported the bioassay results. The presence of strong QS inhibitory compound in A. taxiformis indicates its potential use in antifouling preparations.